I want to be a documentary photographer of Asian and Asian American issues.

Venting on the unjust society of America... So I'm tired of seeing this stuff and just sitting back. I had to write a paper on a lecture review and in it I realized that there are things just because I am Asian that I am already at a disadvantage. "So now I'm not gonna sit quietly... or rather type quietly. I really do want to make a difference. Starting with... at the Daily Orange, the student run paper here, there is a comic called "Agent Orange", which is what I can get from it a comic about cell phones.

For many people out there who don't know, Agent Orange (a link that spares you from the images) was a defoliant used by the US military to kill trees so that they can destroy hiding places for the enemy during the Vietnam War. They used it for 10 years, 61' to 71' and then realized that it was harmful to humans.

To this day, 3rd generation kids are still feeling the effects of the toxin. Disfiguration, missing body parts, mental retardation, cancers and much more... and the kicker of couse is that the USA refuses to pay any compensation to the millions of Vietnamese people who they have exposed to the "most toxic chemical discovered so far. There many many more issues that I could name off the top of my head... but doubting that anyone really reads this I will spare you.

Philip Jones Griffiths. Again because he did a story on Agent Orange. Very powerful images, I highly suggest you look at them.

Amnat Hong-Chittaphong was a member of ASIA and was here during the Denny's incident... if you dont know about it... look it up.

Sea of green.

Sudharak Olwe. Although I can't find it, he has this picture of a baby that was tossed away in the trash. It was a part a series he did on trash in India.

Red in a sea of green.

Home cooking

Balazs Gardi. Alexia Foundation's winner for this year in the professional division.

Dinner!

Fish Hatchery!

I love fishermen!!! I dunno, it's something about the blue water, the blue sky, and just a person resting peacefully... doing something they enjoy... for fun... for income... ( I kinda cheated... I have a pic of the day, but this is much better!) I will be returning in 3 weeks to get the lil eggs hatching! yay!

Oh and if you feel like being an editor... help me narrow this one down... I've got a couple of images that show the same thing!

Pep Bonet. I read an article that he wrote for On Campus the photography magazine for students. He talks about freelancing and doing projects with NGOs. It makes me want to freelance even more. I'm not sure that I even want to work for a paper anymore. I've very concern and interesting in people in health and social situations. I've have recently been looking through lists of NGOs and have found a few that I like, but then I run into the problem of, how do I even begin to ask someone if I can shoot for their NGO? Am I even remotely qualified? And a gazillion more questions... Oh and Bonet's work just gave me chills the whole time I was looking at them... it just makes you look at the scenes and people depicted and shows you how they really live and how life really is for them...

Bill Evans hands over a net full of Walleye fish to Rickey Bryant as Bruce Ryan is in the back grabbing more from the nets that had been placed on Oneida Lake. The hatchery pulled in all their nets today and started to strip the Walleye fish of their eggs and sperms to start the hatching process at the Oneida Lake hatchery.

Bill Evans hands over a net full of Walleye fish to Rickey Bryant as Bruce Ryan is in the back grabbing more from the nets that had been placed earlier in the week on Oneida Lake. The hatchery pulled in all their nets today and started to strip the Walleye fish of their eggs and sperms to start the hatching process at the Oneida Lake hatchery.

(left to right) Mike Dixon and Bill Schara grab a netful of fish from the net trap set on Oneida Lake earlier in the week. The hatchery pulled in all their nets today and started to strip the Walleye fish of their eggs and sperms to start the hatching process at the Oneida Lake hatchery.

Bill Schara nets a female Walleye for Bill Evans during to strip so that they can start the spawning process. The hatchery pulled in all their nets today and started to strip the Walleye fish of their eggs and sperms to start the hatching process at the Oneida Lake hatchery.

Students from SUNY at Coblerskill watch as Bill Evans on the left is stripping the eggs of the female Walleye, while directly across from him Bruce Ryan is stripping the male and between them B.J. Woodworth is stirring and keeping them wet so that they don't stick together. The hatchery pulled in all their nets today and started to strip the Walleye fish of their eggs and sperms to start the hatching process at the Oneida Lake hatchery.

Bill Evans on the left is stripping the eggs of the female Walleye, while directly across from him Bruce Ryan is stripping the male and between them B.J. Woodworth is stirring and keeping them wet so that they don't stick together. The hatchery pulled in all their nets today and started to strip the Walleye fish of their eggs and sperms to start the hatching process at the Oneida Lake hatchery.

Ken Dutcher and Brett Yerdon are stirring the eggs so that they don't stick together while the rest of the people are helping strip the eggs and sperms in the background. The hatchery pulled in all their nets today and started to strip the Walleye fish of their eggs and sperms to start the hatching process at the Oneida Lake hatchery.

(center) Ken Dutcher watches as Ron Tanner places a hatching jar filled with about 450,000 eggs to be incubated for the next three weeks when they are expected to hatch. The hatchery pulled in all their nets today and started to strip the Walleye fish of their eggs and sperms to start the hatching process at the Oneida Lake hatchery.

Yesterday's post... a day later... again

Hey look a bar!

La di da di DA!

Nevada Wier. Fishermen yay! Shes def has that geographic travel feel... which she is a geo photog anyways... but its some good stuff.

I love my 20mm!!!

R.I.P.

Thomas James Abercrombie. (1930-2006) He was a National Geographic photographer, to me his style is very much like beautiful postcards. "During my some 40 years roaming the planet for National Geographic I enjoyed many “special destinations”—Afghanistan, Easter Island, Beirut. Sadly, many have suffered from war and revolution and tourist buses." It is sad that when you think of Afghanistan you see war town villages and what not in your head, not of the images that he has captured of a beautiful foreign place.

Anticipate it.

Tessa has the overnite shift, and I'm gonna pull an all niter... least try to. My picture will try to be... fighting off sleep... of Tessa or Vaughn.

They didn't get quite as tired as I wanted them to... actually I was the one that took a nap at 5 am. But on the way out to head home at 7 am the light shining into food.com was amazing golden and pretty... and I left my camera in the lab... I was way to exhausted to run for it... but just seeing it that morning was pretty.

Syracuse University Art Collection. I stopped by on my walk home because I kept seeing the sign with W. Eugene Smith's name on it. They have a kinda gallery inside of Schaffer. My fave Smith prints were towards the end of the International Nickel Plant, especially the men working. Some of the other stuff that they had were photographers Bernice Abbott and Barbara Morgan, painter John Sloan, Pablo Picasso and Norman Rockwell.

Also beside the room is the MFA 2006 exhibit going on. I was really impressed by their stuff and would recommend you drop in and have a look. My fave is Mark Mcleod project and Rebecca White's pictures.

I smell like fish.

Sooo I woke up early and drove out to the fish hatchery on Oneida lake and stayed with the fellas there until about 1. Twas very fun. I was drench until one of the guys lent me a pair of pants. I smelt like fish for the whole day... till I finally got home and shower... that was after my photo shoot in the studio and a marketing meeting. Overall a fun and eventful day. Forgetful too, I left my CF card at work. So no fishing pics today, I wanna have em all together. And I'm gonna go out to the hatchery in about 3 weeks when they start hatching.

Roy Caretozzolo. Street photographer. kinda interesting

Teasing weather

Mostly just computer work today. But if the weather is great tomorrow, which it is expected to rain, I will be waking up wee early to drive about 45 mins out to photograph these guys pulling in fish from their nets. Ohh how I really love photographing fishermen! :)

Lazy a bit, so no photog for yesterday's entry.

David Butow. Oh he won NPPA's best of photojournalism photo story 2005. I noticed his name this week during msnbc's pictures of the week. His was of a row of mirrors hanging on a wall reflecting the poeple as they walked by.

Maplely!

Went to a maple festival... yummy maple.

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!

Start of a photo story

I was good today... I shot my photo story for a couple of hours, shot my love without showing it, then shot my studio stuff, and then even shot as I was coming home.

Yay, I had a very productive day today. I woke up and slowly went upstairs to my landlord where I would start a photo story on her. She is married with 2 kids and one on the way. The fun thing is that she has her own jewlery making business in her basement. Least thats where her studio is. I'm trying to make this one audio... I got the initial interview... dunno how sound quality is yet... and sadly my voice recorder doesn't have software for macs... gar! but Shooting was fun, gave me a chance to spend more than 10mins - an hour at an event... I enjoyed myself... I even shot my "love without really showing it" shot... tony probably won't like it... I'm not the best at photo illustration yet...

Ron Haviv. I met him once, I think last year at the Northern Short Course... or was it at the Best of photojournalism... not sure... but it was a NPPA event... sadly I didn't ask anything intelligent... I was meerly checking the facts for my newswriting class... glad those days are over! I love the the picture of the guys in Army work out clothes and the sgt or whoever's shadow it is casting over them.

Love Without Really Showing It. (no its not brushing my teeth... has to do with my bf)

Michelle DaRin converses with a friend about her business and the expose that it has gotten.

Sanding away at cuttlefish to make a mold for a ring.

Silver scraps are melted and poured into the mold to make a silver band.

Cutting up chicken, Michelle DaRin prepares dinner for her two boys and school teacher husband who all just recently returned from school and were all ready for dinner.

Roomie Tessa talking to another photog in the snow.

I wish yall were there to see it, it was the softest, lightest snow falling down... pretty, but cold.