Eastman house

So today was a photo day... skipped school to go to Rochester and spend some time with Eric Meola and 15 other students to look through the archives. My two favorite photographer selections were Larry Burrows and the W. Eugene Smith prints that they brought out. I ended up buying Meola's book as well as Kashi's book while I was at the book store.

Lexington Hearld-Leader. I like their whole concept of having a photoblog that their whole staff can contribute their own pics.

Confused every so slightly at this image?

Productive day

I spent pretty much my entire shift printing out my portfolio X 2.5... cuz I'm applying for some photo things... but I think I'll just enter two of em, vs trying for the 3rd one, I don't think I have a niche in anything yet. (Oh and yesterday I was really really tired and passed out at like 8.... so I skipped an entry)

Jay Janner. One of the guys at the Statesman. He just did a slideshow with sound of the state fair... I told Zach Ryall, my editor that that was my goal for the summer... a photostory with sounds. I wanted to do the Intrepid Mime school or something like that in Austin as a story... but for the one with sound... ummm... they won't be making that much noise... but I still want to check out that story anyways :)

I cheated, Martyna was shooting Judy for her portrait, so I just snuck one in.

Running with the kids

Beautiful beautiful day out today. So I saw the boys running around playing with swords and guns... and come one it was too fun a picture to pass up... they were in some pretty light too!

Eric Meola. A syracuse alum who will actually be taking us to the Kodak Eastman house to look at different sorts of negatives from past photographers. Skipping the same class yet for the third time for a photo related thing.

Kids!

So I'm gonna start calling the Center For new Americans weekly to see if they have a good candidate for me to follow! yay!

Don McCullin. “When I was in Beirut, I photographed a woman who was screaming… and she came and punched the life out of me for my error. Everybody was at this place, because it was devastation, and (later) somebody came and said ‘you know that woman who punched you, she’s just been killed – another car bomb’s gone off and blown her away down the street.’ And I thought, that’s it, I’ve had it. I’ve had this war business… these war games. I’m going home.” Kinda scary what mental images stay with you when you shot such things as wars...

Jack Byrnes, 15 months old, motions for the crying baby in the song "The wheels on the bus" while parents around the room engage their own children in the song. Betsy Kennedy leads the room filled with mothers and children from birth until 2 years old. This year is Cazenovia's 120th anniversary.

End of the day

So sometimes you realize that you've been doing work and haven't taken your picture of the day. Self portrait, can't go wrong there!

Lefteris Piarakis. I've metioned Lefteris many times but I don't think that I have ever actually made him my photographer of the day yet. What I admire about him is that he holds firmly to his photojournalism ethics. He told me stories on many occasions where photographers would move things so that it would look better in a picture... like at a funeral move the direction of th e deceased persons portrait so that it faced whoever was coming to the casket (or something similar to that)... and he just couldn't shoot it... and he told his boss why he came back without the picture that he was sent to get. Very much an admirable trait for a photojournalist.

Good shootin day!

I had alot of fun today, the more fun I have the better my pictures seem to be. So hopefully I'm outta my mini slump, we'll see how next week goes, I asked for an assignment on Monday, so I'll be shooting a Mother Goose storytime thing in Cazenovia for their 120th anniversary.

Photostory Update- Meeting with the center for new americans on Monday to straighten out my exact borders and restrictions (hopefully very few).

Steve Horn. Passion. Reading the bio on why he chose to cover Bosnia, the effects it had on him and what he did about it was pretty inspirational. I feel that if you really want something enough... or rather, if there's a will, theres a way.

Anaelis Rivero Perez crosses behind the curtain on stage during their performance to get across the other wing. Perez who is a part of La Joven Guardia del Teatro Latino performed as one of the two senators during their play "Abdala." The Michael Harms Theater Festival is a two-day event created to display the theatrical skills and talents of students and teachers from public, private and parochial secondary schools in CNY.

During Media Unit's play "A Night on Disco Mountain with Cheesecake" the two performers danced and invited audience members to get up and join in the dance off while the stand on the side held up random facts about the play and teen drinking. The Michael Harms Theater Festival is a two-day event at the John H. Mulroy Civic Center created to display the theatrical skills and talents of students and teachers from public, private and parochial secondary schools in CNY.

Feelin Nutty

So sometimes the camera and I feel like nuts and wanna chase squirrels... so squirrels we chased... well only one... but still.

Barbara Gluck. She shot the Vietnam War, as always I have quite an interest in Vietnam history and the photographers that covered during that time.

Vietnamese blood.

Nothing to do with photo much.... just my state of mind.

This semester I've been doing alot of exploration of my own culture. My two sociology essays as well as my entended photo story. Somehow, I'm not sure but I feel at home with this subject... studying it and learning more about myself... this is the first time I feel that I'm actually learning something of importance. Unfortunately there isn't a place that I can go to, to learn about that. It still kinda bothers me that the Asian population is the 2nd largest minority population here and we still don't have a Asian studies... but somehow we have one for those who make up a very small portion of the school population.

Racial stereotypes as well have been bothering me a bit more lately. In my race, class and gender class everything is about black and white. Asian are put on the bottom rung of the ladder and there really isn't an argument if they are or not.

And as with any culture mixed with America. Its sometimes hard being a Vietnamese-American. You will never really be an american because you are Asian and because you are Asian you will never have the upperhand.

Usually I am neutral and and don't bring up much but race really plays a factor in everything that I do.

Because I was never taught Vietnam history or anything about the Vietnam war growing up I feel that theres a void in me that I should know about and unfortunately don't know.

My daddy's story. Part 1 Part 2 For Father's day we brought my dad flying lessons. It was the first time he's flown in over 30 years... last time being 1975 when he was a Pilot in the Vietnam Air force... I told my editor about it just to offer her fun pictures... she saw deeper than I did and realized that my parent's were trying to live the American Dream.

Mom has an equally interesting story... her family fled by moonlight on a boat with about 30 others... stayed on the sea for many days (maybe weeks)... I still have yet to transcribe her story.

My Uncle. He was a photographer during the Vietnam war... he sold his pictures to the American papers and the Communist police took him to jail where he eventually ended up dying in jail.

My roomie Tessa!

Rub a dub dub

So my entries really are daily... I just update at night so sometimes its a really late nite and I end up on the next day's entry.

Platon. Ohh very impressive... very much enjoy how his portraits are so very simple and yet very well done. Possible my 2nd favorite photographer after Larry Burrows.

A bit of an unusually picture, eyes are a bit foggy but I kinda like it though... at first I was gonna try something that I saw David Leeson do... but camera during a hot shower is a bit hard...

Front of the camera

More the subject than the photographer today.... and tomorrow too actually.

Nan Goldin. She photographed her life and made it her work. Interesting stuff. She photographed a friend who had AIDS and showed her attending her husbands funeral and then a couple of months later she too died... I can't seem to find too many pictures of hers though...

This is my perspective from the other side.

Smoooothie!

So I have less that 48 hours to do a pee test... A letter came for me this morn and I didn't find it till later... so early morn pee test tomorrow for The Statesman. Other than that nothing new... was suppose to try and start my immigration story... but the line was busy... must remember to call tomorrow.

Donald Miralle. For all you sports shooters out there... Getty staff photographer with lotsa stuff on stock.

Smootie with tapioca balls at the Unique Tea House on Marshall Street.

Snowing outside

Yay mastered the first lesson of flash in the Flash Journalism book by Mindy McAdams... nothing much but its fun learning this stuff.

Constantine Manos. He seems to shoot alot of shadows as well as visual separations... I see alot of straight lines and walls that separate the frame in thirds... and he likes to shoot and put stuff in the corners of his frame. Saw him on The Maine workshop site... so thought I'd look further into him. I'm thinking of adding it to my list of fave photographers...

Watching The Sopranos.

Just another Saturday

Just another Saturday for me. I think I'm doing better... but not yet to my full potential. I think I need to buy a GPS system too!

James Nachtwey. Again, I went to VII and this story just caught my eyes and gave me the chills. It's his coverage on Congo, can be found under recent work.

"Cookie" played by Sarah Davies, starts a pie eating competition for Jacob Jones played by her younger brother John Davies, and Cornelia Loomis played their younger sister Beth Davies. The competiton is rigged and the pie that Cornelia is eating has an added ingredient. The Great Canal Caper is a one-act opera that starts out with Cornelia Loomis of the "Loomis Gang" stealing a horse named Sal.

Jennifer Gaut, 22 takes 13-year-old Jehnna Trautman's order on the first day of Manlius' Sno Top opening. Trautman and her two other friends walked about a mile in the cold to get their first Sno Top of the year. The Giordano family has owned the stand since 1974 and it will be open weekends in March and full- time beginning April 1.

St. Patties day... sorta

So I was all pumped to go to this Irish pub in Tipp Hill... and then we roll up and its jam packed with college kids... I had built up in my head this peaceful scene with mid-age Irish men drinking... but of course in reality I guess of all days especially St. Pattie's its gonna be the college drunks. Oh well... and I chickened out a bit and just got pics of Kirk. Happy St Pattie's day!

Simon Wheatley. Coverage on youth, drugs in amsterdam, and just recently the student protest in France.

Kirk at Coleman's Irish pub in Tipp Hill.

Seeing the light

Today for the most part has been pretty unproductive... but on the way out the light was so perfect, I don't think I captured it for all that it was worth... but I just happen to grab my camera with the 20mm and headed to the park.

David Hurn. Out of randomness, I would love to do a photostory on a coal mine...

Driving directly into the sun... beautiful golden light... but a bit blinding!

Spring break

Back from spring break already... twas a fun time, learned a lot from the NSC and ate a lot and had fun in NYC. Ohhhh and a photo update... we went to B&H while in NYC and I last minute decided to buy a 20mm 2.8 canon lense... and I love that thing! But gotta def wait till this summer before I make anymore big additions to my camera bag!

Thomas Hoepker. There's something about his photography that I really enjoy... Can't seem to put my finger on it... kinda reminds me of what Vincent Laforet said during the NSC... paying attention to light, color, form, position, as well at symmetry and having patience.

Theresa Carr, a first time visitor of NYC, takes a picture with one of the dancers who performed in the underground station at Time Square. Her friend Lynn Babin who is taking the picture said that Carr a Cincinnati, OH native has never had a vacation from work and is now spending 5 days in the city.

Busy bee

Busy bee, but sadly more for my other minors and whatnot rather than with photo. So I've finished almost everything in preparations of Spring break! First is the Northern Short Course and then off to NYC somewhere for a few days.

I think we are due for another inspirational speaker here, cuz I'm def in need of one to jump start me again... oh wait I guess thats the beauty of the NSC. yay, will be fun!

Gordon Parks. 1912-2006. "I chose my camera as a weapon against all the things I dislike about America--poverty, racism, discrimination." He was the first black photographer on Life magazine's staff. I hadn't heard about him until today. I think that one of the factors sometimes is that it's not only the photographs that make them good photographers, its about who they are, and how they give back. I find that I respect and love photographers more when of course they care about the generation under them. From the article it said that he was one of those types of people.

Police officers from Utica salute as officer Joseph Corr's body is being carried out of the church following the service at St. John the Evangelist Church on Oxford Street in New Hartford.

Police officers lined the streets as the procession carries officer Joseph Corr's body to St. John the Evangelist Church on Oxford Street in New Hartford.

Slightly upset about a store in NYC which has her jewelry on display, Michelle is on the phone talking to another person who also has their merchandise on display at a store. The store had made many promises and weren't fully following through with them.

Michelle helping her son Joseph with his long division math homework right before bed.

Waiting for potential customers at a hotel conference room in Rochester during a breast cancer awareness organized trade show.

Strawberries in the studio... shhh about the photoshop work... i'm a bad leaf manipulator.

Twas suppose to be my portrait... but I didn't change the light for a close up and left it for full body... gar... so no nice dramatic shadows or anything... oh well, isn't he cute though?!

The two brothers... lil bro and big bro!