Meet some of my role models

While in Boston, I was able to get some face time with a few of the folks who had a hand in helping me become the person and photojournalist I am today. Many thanks to them; I hope I can continue to make them proud.

Professor Mitchell Zuckoff, Boston University Journalism Department



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Pastor Lorraine Thornhill, First Holiness Church

(her "oh, can I go there, Church?" face)

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Vernon Doucette, Boston University Office of Photo Services

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Professor Peter Southwick, Boston University Photojournalism Department



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Professor Joe Lippincott, Boston University Photojournalism Department

Joe: "Phoeb! ...What the hell are you doing here?"
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Justin Ide, Harvard News Office Assistant Director for Photography

I triple-dog-dare you to have a portfolio edit with him. Triple.Dog.Dare.

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Rick Young, Boston University Office of Photo Services

Life is good.

[ Tyler ]

Meet the Inner Strength Gospel Choir of Fall 2008

The whole reason I am in Boston is to follow through on my personal dream to sneak back and surprise my choir for their concert. I tried to do it last year, but ended up canceling the flight because their Spring concert was far too close to finals week for me to both make the trip and pass school that semester. This Fall was one of my last chances to fulfill my dream and still have people in the choir who knew who I was, so I kept my trip super secret and strolled into sound check earlier this evening. For a first-person account of this, go here:

And now, for some pictures (nothing too innovative; all were taken from my seat area):


Tyler at the start of the [really awesome] liturgical dance.


I just like this photo. And she sang really, really well.


The choir had a huge amount of energy - it was wonderful to witness!


Herbert S. Jones, one extremely talented director.


This is my Dionte, with whom I used to sing in the front row of the tenor section. He had two really wonderful solos tonight; I'm so proud of him!


Everyone listening to Matlin's wise words.


I love Marsh Chapel (despite the fact the acoustics aren't too friendly with gospel music) and was happy to get to look at all its intricacies again.


Tyler was KILLING it as a director and brought some extreme joy and energy to his two songs.


It was an awesome concert with such great music - the trip was absolutely worth it.

[More to come from this event - stay tuned!]

Meet my fall Boston trip: first 24 hours

I am in Boston and it is glorious. Some highlights:


Dominick showing off his scooter tricks in BU's photo-j hallway.


My boys Eron and Andy being some sort of ridiculous right before
we all decided to chop off about six inches of my hair.


Andy giving it up for the deliciousness of our dessert choice.


One of my absolute favorite T musicians. I was first hooked when he and his buddy would play the Park Street platform Wednesday afternoons at the time when I'd be on my way to Harvard News Office. Today, he was playing "Besame."

Meet Multi-Light Training Camp

So, this is a light. And a very stern TA in the background.
(I was paying attention!)

Be safe: protect your equipment from Dynalight VD.

Esten keeps Rita on one lapel and David on the other so he can be a well-balanced,
driven photographer at all times. And because the buttons are super cool.

Woo hoo! Cross lighting achieved!

Now with fill light! Esten approves.

Apparently the cool thing to do in lab is be serious and point at the camera.
(PFal, why so serious?)

Things I forgot to say before I took this picture:
"Hey Esten, I'm going to take a picture of you holding that fill light." (sorry, buddy)

Break dance party.

"J-School Rocketman" -or- "Who needs wrists to photograph?"

Meet my ode to learning flash: labs in review.

I didn't think I'd survive it, but I've made it through all the individual assignments involving flash for Advanced Techniques. A look back on the painful process for all to enjoy (or lament), done in the style for competition submission (amped up contrast, saturation AND vignetting: the trifecta):


Flash? Really? But...but...I can do fine with available light...

And flash just makes me that much more conspicuous to my subjects! (This shot was an intentional
homage to the amazing and hilarious laundromat shot we saw in class.)

Yeah, Jimmy, the idea of juggling another piece of equipment and
technical calculation makes me feel dead inside, too.

It's going to be okay, Will. We're all scared. Just wait it out.

I feel your pain, Anjali. Trust me, girl, I feel. Your. Pain.

Jakob's fancy German Leica flash has the ability to reach a higher power (badumpching).
He wastes no time calling out for help.

A huge, special, wonderful thanks to Catalin for holding our hands and drying our tears through this painful process.

Meet Balance Flash

(November 13, 2008, Columbia, Mo.) Sonny Schwarte, a mechanic for Big O Tires on Broadway in Columbia, Mo., rolls a new tire through the garage to be washed before being placed on the car Thursday morning as he changes the tires on two different cars. Schwarte, who has worked at the garage for “a year and a day, exactly,” says he spends most of his shifts doing standard procedures such as tire and oil changes.

Extra assignment (Pop Flash):

(November 8, 2008, Columbia, Mo.) Dan Hatfield plays the steel guitar during a warm-up rehearsal of the Beacon Street Band Saturday evening at Hazel Kinder’s Lighthouse Theater near Columbia, Missouri. Hatfield, a Springfield, Mo., native, began playing the steel guitar and the piano in high school and enjoys country, bluegrass and gospel music.

Meet Andrew Paul Jons

While looking through some photographs I forgot I had taken, I found this little gem that is such a telling portrait of my bestest friend Andy. We've known each other since seventh grade and reconnected after high school in Boston, where he was at Berklee, I was at Boston University and we both sang in the Inner Strength Gospel Choir. We ended up living together for my last year in Boston and had some of the best times two friends could ever hope to have. Andy's always looking sharp and is always singing something; here's a photograph of him doing both of those things on Mass. Ave. last spring after a delicious lunch at the Indian buffet. I love this kid.

Meet my li'l point-n-shoot

When I was working in a camera store, I wisely took advantage of the employee discount and, among other (more useful) things, bought a small but well-made point-and-shoot camera so I wouldn't have to lug a big SLR out to the bars and so I could have something to keep in my bag for photo ops. I have a Panasonic FX-06, which has a wide angle (complete with vignette!), great black-and-white and really nice video (I may or may not have edited a small "news story" on bar nachos with video clips taken by this plucky camera. I highly recommend the camera and would like to point out that Panasonic also manufactures the Leica point-and-shoots and Leica just slaps on a red dot and $200. The quality is still there.

Anyway, I was digging through some archives and found a bunch of decent shots taken with this camera so I thought I'd share them here. All the black and whites were taken in B&W, I only juiced up the contrast a bit.

Enjoy!


Nicole in left field at Fenway Park. She was my guest for Family Day last year; I've always loved this shot but wish I had done a better job on the framing. I like the hyper-green tone of the photo: getting to run around the outfield at Fenway is a fairly surreal experience.

Shots like this are why I'm glad I keep the camera with me. Pastor Lorraine at First Holiness, working in some beautiful light.

Taken on the fly in Paris while walking in the tunnel that goes from the Arc de Triomphe to the outer circle of the Champs-Élysées. One of my favorites from the trip.

Taken on the fly in New York City.

Dominick doing my dishes as a thank you for me cooking a farmer's breakfast as a thank you for him taking care of me after my widsom tooth removal surgery.

Life as a young professional in New York City - or - John Tozzi after work.

Tozzi showed me the New York Public Library; I got this while he explained (or made up a story about) the lion statues.

Jodie. IHOP. A delicious breakfast at the end of my trip to Indiana (2007 was a year of such travels!). Don't be fooled: neither she nor I were ever this proper on the trip.