Random….

Hey guys, BEEN awhile! I am just starting a project, which right now is called Randomocity.. taking photographs of things around town and in random locations and situations… Will be posting the first pics very soon!

Mother Nature… Thank you for the White Christmas

And the pain in thee @$$ of an ice-storm this past weekend. Oh wait, i guess those are the sacrifices we make. This is after all, New England… I worry for those still out of power. I spoke to a few classmates before engaging into a science final, and some had moved into hotels. It was clearly the weekend from hell, but in the end of it all, sometimes you are able to see who is there for you, and who is not, when your life is potentially on the line. I won’t ever forget that freezing feeling, the house stooping to a bitter 52 degrees. Huddling together, keeping every bit of heat you can below the sheets in order to get a halfway decent rest before the morning comes again. My Girlfriend and I, along with her dad, searched everywhere for a generator, her dad going as far as south of Boston, no luck. And to make matters worse, her apartment flood, the whole first floor. That was a major buzz-kill to an already bad beginning. Her father and her, both got extremely sick. I got the remains of it, and was feeling very sick, though not upchucking thank god. I was not well for sure, but I managed to get out in the freezing cold and grab a few shots of the days events. One made it front and center into the front page of the newspaper which i was not expecting. Another was the other day taking photos for my nephews mom so she could make christmas cards, the photo came out great but you can see the mistake in the DOP(seeforyourself). Another was tonight, i really enjoyed it. Two people were ’strolling in the streets’, enjoying the weather and going to the local convenience store and i just stopped dead in my tracks, literally making my jeep slide about five feet until it finally came to a silent stop, hence the faint artificial lighting you can see towards the bottom of the frame. Well, Merry Christmas everyone, and a happy holidays.

Two pedestrians stroll on a snow covered road.

 

America, you’ve done it!

Whether you like it or not America, you have elected your first African-American president in the nation’s history. Barack Obama is now the president-elect, and will be sworn in Jan. of 2009. So ends the Bush Administration, and what a relief. This wasn’t the change I myself was seeking, but I am certainly willing to give Mr. Obama a chance. After all, this is the U.S. we are talking about here. If we can give Wall street and banks all the chances they want, we can atleast give Barack one. 

Over the past 200+ years, America has been strained with adversity, racism, white supremacy, homosexuality and more. But we are overcoming those obstacles and are challenging them with our hearts. There is still a lot of work to be done, but one thing is for sure… last night made world history, and most importantly American History. I think that is something to be extremely proud of. We looked past the color of a man’s skin, we almost elected a woman into our white house, and got even closer to electing a VP, also a woman, into the office. It is a proud day to be an American, and I give president-elect Obama my best wishes to him. 

With that being said. it has been a busy couple of weeks, I think it’s been about a month since i’ve posted. I’ve shot sports, photojournalism, and even some quality candid family portraits. I recently sent in a resume to Boston Globe to try to get an internship, wish me luck!

Here is some stuff…

Young kids enjoy the town fire truck as the firehouse host

 

John Sununu talks to supporters in a last ditch effort to grab votes. He lost to now U.S. Senator Jean Shaheen

 

Salem RB tries to move past defenders.

 

Sarah Palin visits Salem,NH weeks before the general election. McCain and Palin got beaten by the Obama/Biden ticket

Kennedy makes stop for Obama campaign@ Salemhaven

Ethel Kennedy sings

Let’s face it, everyone who knows me personally, knows I’m the underdog photographer with amateur equipment, limited resources, and I’m stretching them to the limits everytime I use them. I don’t have that special $2000 lens, or that camera that can shoot full-frame at 9 frames a second.

With that, I was assigned, out of all the photographers the newspaper has, to shoot Ethel Kennedy, wife of her late husband, Robert Kennedy. Out of any spot in the country, Mrs. Kennedy was here, and I was right next to her. Whether she had or not, I put my personal and political differences aside, briefly greeted myself, and she continued on with her campaign personnel, greeting the fellow residents and supporters of the Obame campaign. Photographers from the Salem Community Patriot, Salem Observer(thatsme!), The Eagle Tribune, and the Boston Globe. She was a presence I won’t soon forget, and it was an assignment that I will forever hold as one of the highlights in my early career.

I remember as a kid, for the first time meeting president George Bush Jr. He shook hands with me, posed for a picture taken by my dad, and wouldn’t you know it, we developed the film, had a good frame, and somehow managed to meet him again. He looked at me and smiled, signed it, patted my head and moved on. We met him three times after that, having a Texas Rangers had signed, and one of his campaign signs. You just never know when your going to meet somebody important like that (whether people admire that person or not).

 I remember being even younger, when Bob Dole made his bid to the white house in 96′. Ya, the year the Pats blew in the superbowl, we know. Meeting him was an early lesson that there was more to life than your videogames and primetime television. After I met Bush for the first time, and after the election, I was watching tv about 80% less. I was more focused on news, current events, and school. I have since worked hard crafting my art, and my passion for photography. It is something that has become obsessive, challenging, and rewarding, all at the same time. It’s never an easy road, and requires alot of sacrifice at times, but in the end, sometimes, your able to get a nice shot.

Ethel Kennedy is greeted with a bouqet of flowers by residents on Salemhaven

Ethel Kennedy is greeted by residents

A Sad day in Hollywood’s History:Paul Newman dies at 83

To those of you who watched Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Message in a bottle, and who can forget Road to Perdition, this is clearly a sad day for all. Hollywood has lost not a star, or a media frenzied actor, but a true legend of the screen, Paul Newman. He was as cool as luke, and you could never forget a face like his, especially in road to perdition. A man of many things, from acting, to race car driving, to being an social activist, he strived to serve the world better. He lost his bout with cancer, but not after a hard fought match, mr. luke himself. His many accomplishments will not be forgotten, nor will his legend. This is a salute to you Paul, godspeed on your trip to the eternal.

courtesy of FNC/AP

Talent… “few’n'far in between”

I was sent out the other day to take a photograph of a basketball player trying out for the school. It was for an article being written by NECC sports editor Christian Stone. He couldn’t have made the first sentence any clearer, or better for that matter.

” A group of eight men play a four on four basketball game across one half of the NECC gymnasium. On the other half a man practices solo.”

The article starts of perfect, and ends it for that matter. I digress…

I was walking down into the basketball court, more formally known as, the gymnasium. I immediately saw him as well, with the practice jersey, #278 on the back; He was playing like number one. He was at ease within himself, and the game of basketball. Concentrating on not flashy moves, or pretty fadeaway’s, but his game. I found myself watching his moves for a good five minutes, before I realized I had my camera on my neck, waiting for me to press the button, and be done with the assignment. I tried to wait until he got near me, as not to through hame off of this magical experience i was watching, and made a fool of myself after picking up the basketball for the first time since i was fourteen. I asked him if I could shoot him for a few minutes, and he just nodded, not willing to sacrifice his game for anybody, keeping himself concentrated. It was admirable. I shot for a few minutes, his buddies laughing and giving him a hard time that the “press” was all over him, as the sports writer had just left. He just smiled. Some people just know their it. I have a feeling he was one of them.

Leo Liriano dunks the ball in the NECC gymnasium.

Hanna, thanks for nothing…

Well, I guess we needed the rain anyways. Unforunately for the Gulf coast, they have yet another fierce hurricane heading there way, as florida residents just started breathing again after about a week of the media saying it was the end of days for the peninsula as we knew it. Hanna flew up the coast like a racehorse, and was gone after one night of splashing New England with a nice wash. So, Hanna, thanks for nothing… weell, actually, thanks for washing my car, i havent done it in weeks! I was on lunch break, I had nothing to do, so i said, when it rains, SHOOT BACK! and i came out with this…

Market Basket Plaza

Back at home: NECC

And so, the winter months are nearing our road. Though the temperatures are still near their peak, and the ocean is as warm as it can get, and as the sun goes down the nights get cooler, and the mornings struggle to suck in the heat. I was recently contacted by the school newspaper, after my photography director at my school recommended me to them, to join the staff of NECC(Northern Essex Community College). It has been an interesting journey in the past three weeks, and in a little over a month, I will be traveling for only the second time out west, to Kansas City for a media convention for college students. I was also sent on many missions to capture some moments here at NECC. The bookstore was a madhouse, the sports teams are training for their seasons, and classes are in full swing. From taking photos of the volleyball team, to road safety, to the bookstore, here are some of the things that are going on, at a school that feels like, only 2 weeks ago, was a few buildings next to each other, housing no more than a couple of faculty, and probably a few NECC ghosts.

Dan Potter(left), and Annette Griffin(middle) confer with each other while helping students at the NECC bookstore

 

Elvin Ramirez, pictured, putties the last few spots on the 3rd floor of building C.

One day at band camp…

Well of course, I didn’t go. But thats not to say that thousands, maybe even millions, of kids each year don’t. My editor sent me in a 1hr mission, and that was to capture one photo. Sounds easy? Riiight… I want a photo of the pie stuffing, and maybe a few others if you can get them. Now of course, its a friday night, I won’t be doing much of anything, and I said I got it, don’t worry. Hung up the phone, and I waited. The worst thing for a photographer, for me is to over think on a certain photograph your going to take. It’s one thing to plan for it and another thing to think, wait a minute I could do it this way… or this way and so on. I began to get a little nervous, which is uncharacteristic of me when going to a shoot, so I decided to try and shrug it off. 7 o’clock roles around, I’m at the school stadium where the last night of band camp is being held. 45 minutes into the shoot, i’ve shoot a little over a hundred photos, just blasting away, having a good time listening to the bands “excerpts”, showing the parents a glimpse of the music they will be orchestrating during the season. Hundred’s of parents sat down on the stadium seats, and listened in. So finally they begin their little “march” competition, to see who can march the best for the longest, doing different marches called out by the band director. He happened to be calling the marches, despite his own rude awakening soon coming. Finally a kid by the name Mark wins. Crowd roars, out comes the pie. I’ll tell you, it is NOT easy to get in the middle of 100 plus high school students, just to get a shot of the teacher getting pied by a student in the face. I realized this night, that it wasn’t annoying for kids to get in the way, it’s not their job to watch a photographer trying to take a shot, its their night not mine. But what was annoying, was that I was a voice cord away from telling a photographer to get the hell out of the way, and ruining everyones night. I coughed like an ass, he looked back, and then he kneeled down. I would assume he grabbed a neat shot, with a cool angle. but no i couldn’t, because he was square in front of me. So i stood their, we were all waiting as he removed any electronic pieces. Headphones, microphones, etc. And in comes the pie, you could just see peoples eyes were wide, and none of them were closing, incase they missed it. Finally, Mike gets the pie, Band Director Marty Claussen gets ready, Mike fires up!…

Salem Kid Festival

Firefighter Chris Geras

Let it be known, that to most 19 year olds, their first thought of a good day, is not a Kid Festival. That being said, it was actually the opposite for me. It kind of brought alot of fond memories out of the dusty closet of childhood, so often forgotten as it stands downstairs in the house of life. There were alot of shots taken that day, but i have to say this one moved me the most. Kid’s having fun is great, catching a kid looking back for assurance on a rock climbing wall, thats awsome too. But to catch a real life hero, simply doing his job, something that he, and many others alike, love to do, was a great capture, and an honor as well. This is of Salem Firefighter Chris Geras, showing kids the helmet, and answering questions they had about the jaws of life demostration during the fest. This to the Salem Firefighters, and all of the firefighters across America, saving those less fortunate, well off, undeserving, deserving, thankful, unthankful, black or white, in the middle or out of the spectrum, you guys come to save the day, and risk your lives.