Last week I photographed an assignment for National Public Radio on a story about new depression drugs saving lives. I met 28-yr-old Chris Stephens, who was very open about his depression and his life in general. He was also super open about being photographed which really helped me. I spent a couple hours working on various portraits, in and around his home, and to his favorite writing spot. The challenge was to show a new life for a people suffering with depression.
This story is fascinating because the new drugs being developed are designed similarly to Special K. And in fact "Special K," which is "an FDA-approved anesthetic named ketamine, can relieve even suicidal depression in a matter of hours. And it works on many patients who haven't responded to current antidepressants like Prozac."
And for people like Chris, this has given them a second life.
An October travel assignment for the New York Times travel section sent me to Sebasotpol for the day to photograph their eclectic food and arts scene.
These assignments are always really fun, but they can be super crazy and stressful as I'm usually running around with my shotlist photographing places and people under varies lighting conditions. I try to shoot indoors when its in the afternoon and outside places when the light is softer. Sometimes I have to be at two places at the same time as I'm trying to compete with time before the light falls. Its just hectic sometimes! But I always meet really cool people and discover new places, such as one of the best thrift stores I have ever been too, Aubergine.
Sebastopol is also home to some very creative people, and one of them is Patrick Amiot, whom is picture in my outtakes. I also want to thank his wife Brigitte Laurent for giving me a private tour of their home, Mr. Amiot for showing me his "studio," which is pretty much a very cool junkyard, and a photographer's paradise to photograph.
The town also has really incredible food. I was also lucky to photograph a farm (this was off the list but I really wanted to go) where most of the foods for dishes at the restaurant, Peter Lowell, are grown.
For the New York Times and Bay Citizen...what a great assignment and program for these kids. I shot this in early December. I hope that more schools will develop hands-on, creative and innovative programs to help give disadvantage kids opportunities such as this. I'll just let you read the story by Trey Bundy, whom I've worked with a few times, and is a fantastic reporter. Here's the lede of the story, "For decades, teachers and school districts have battled truancy, struggling to engage students who cope with economic hardship, community strife, domestic violence and drug abuse. Some students avoid school because they are not interested or because they are being bullied. But since 2008, in part because of programs like those at Downtown, the San Francisco district’s chronic truancy has dropped by 31 percent."
An assignment for the Wall Street Journal about San Francisco becoming the first big city in the U.S. with a minimum wage topping $10 an hour, on Jan. 1, 2012. I was assigned to photograph a clothing manufacturing factory in downtown San Francisco in an area that most folks don't go. In fact one construction worked asked if I was lost because I was trying to find the backdoor of this building. But inside the seamstresses were busy. It was a bit challenging because first the lighting was awful. The women were also really shy, and didnt speak english, but they were all sweet and we had many laughs as I'm sure I looked really silly to them trying to photography inconspicuously.
Last month's assignment for the New York Times and Bay Citizen....was so fun to be out on the water.
The tugboat was a state-of-the art two-year-old boat that cost about $50m. I had first envisioned the old classic tugboat, being out in the elements, the wind whiplashing my hair and seawater spraying on my face..hahaha none of the really happened. But it was still a fun assignment! The captain did let me drive for a bit too...
That day's job entailed assisting a cargo ship coming in from Singapore to the Oakland docks. The ship was incredibly huge. I often see them off the coast of San Francisco from Ocean Beach or from the window of my flat. You really have no idea how enormous these ships are until you are next to it. Really interesting experience, and of course I love any kind of water assignment.
I'm thrilled to announce that i am the newest member of Wonderful Machine for the San Francsico location! WM is a boutique agency/photographer's representation which helps connect commercial art buyers with specialized photographers.
Toxic Tour is an environmental investigative journalism project supported by the California Endowment. I'm excited to be collaborating with audio producer and reporter Jasmin Lopez, and several other outstanding journalists and community activist -- photo/multimedia Suzy Salazar, photographer Zackary Canepari, videographer/photographer Sandra Garcia, and non-profit director Lucia Torres
"Dissected by five major freeways and neighbor to several industries, the residents of Boyle Heights face significant amounts of noise, air, industrial and traffic pollutants every day. As part of the award-winning “Toxic Tour” reporting project sponsored by Newsdesk.org and Spot.Us, this project will bring you coverage from this underreported community highlighting the detrimental effects caused by pollution and other harmful environmental health factors."
Please click on the link to read more aboutAll Roads Lead to Boyle Heights and help support independent journalists bring these stories to light. Their issues and stories need to be shared so that it can stimulate change in policies. Please share this post or the Boyle Heights link.
Well here it is. I've been procrasting on posting my 2010 year in pictures because I've had such a hard time editing, but thanks to friend and photographer Kevin German who helped pretty much edited my selects from the year. And also because i've been absurdly obssesed with this particular song to go with the slideshow. For me, it sort of articulated the mood of this edit. I ended up having to cut it short, poor song, but in the end it really doesn't matter because its not about the song as it is about these pictures. Right? So if you are over it, go ahead and hit mute. Otherwise, the song is untitled, by an Icelandic band called Sigur Rós.
This is my second year working as a freelance photojournalist. It's been a year of tremendous growth in the way I photograph, what I look for, and opening my eyes up to see beyond the immediate. I especially thank my closest friends and mentors for the support and for pushing my vision. Without an agency, or a collective, or really even any proper marketing, I've managed to successfully obtain new clients, from assignment work to resales. While its great to have the support and annual get togethers, in my opinion, you don't have to be a part of a collective to make it as a photographer. You just need trusted friends, colleagues and mentors. And a home for your archive.
These 25 pictures are a cumulation of assigment and personal work. The resilency of these people i've met and photographed will always make me a stronger person. This year I continued my projects on addiction in Cambodia and Sharia law in Aceh. In Cambodia, I gained rare access to a drug detention center (or re-education center) that had been reported on for human rights abuses. I also had several incredible travel assignments from the NY Times, here in San Francisco, throughout wine country Northern California, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Foto8 featured a collaborative story on dam issues in the Mekong delta, and twice Slideluck Potshow DC selected two stories for their events.
My goal for 2011 is to refine the kind of photographer I want to be; telling stories about people and places affected by politics on a social level. I've always believed in the power of journalism, and the still image. I know that at the very least, it engages people into discussion. I prefer not to cover stories where there are dozens of photographers already there because other just-as-important stories go forgotten. And I don't have to travel (far) but I do, because these journeys have always been a part of my existence, since my first breath of life.
I'm back in Cambodia finishing up a couple stories, yet trying to maintain my ADD in starting new ones. But in light of my return, I just wanted to share some pictures. I've been a freelance photographer for almost two years now. My income comes from editorial assignments, unpredictable as they may be, although I don't know otherwise, and weddings. This year I was fortunate to afford to continue working on projects outside of my home base.
I've been traveling since I was born. Literally. I was global jet-setter before my first birthday. And I am thankful I grew up in a multicultural home where we celebrated all of our heritages (that means good food). So naturally, my curiousity to see the world grew. But as of now, I'm in my cell-like hotel room with the fastest internet in town, the ethernet, trying to muster up my confidence to head out and finish my stories. At the same moment, trying to figure out how to financially justify why I need to dash off to yet another country, which struggles from two natural disasters.
anyway, lets get back to the pictures (and all images are copyright protected and cannot be used w/o permission):
I was disappointed to find that that two subjects i photographed for a new york times assignment a few months ago were cut from a story on foreclosed assisted living homes. Their stories were touching and I was touched to be a part of their story, to photograph a bit of their lives. But sometimes, depending on the shape and where the story goes, subjects do get cut. here on my blog i have an opportunity to share these pictures, even though they didn't make it to the newspaper. the first few images were taken of an elderly couple who had to move from the assisted living home, the following last images, because it foreclosed. The owner of the business struggled to keep it open for his clients, but the bank defeated his efforts and he was unfortunately no longer able to keep it functioning.
On Dec. 26, 2004, water rushed into the city of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Many thought the looming grey background was the overcast sky until the series of several large waves engulfed the city as high as four stories.
My photo essay on life in Banda Aceh post-tsunami was featured on NPR's the Picture Show recently:
and my work was also highlighted on photographer Ed Kashi's blog, who mentored me a few years ago and has seen my work develop. Ed's constant reminder to follow stories that I care about has resonated with me for many years, especially through the tough times when I was not progressing visually. His incredible work on photojournalism and storytelling on the effects of politics, whether through health care or natural resources can all be seen on his website and stories throughout National Geographic.
The people of Banda Aceh never knew what a "normal" life was previous to the 2004 tsunami, which killed about 160,000 people in the Aceh Province of Indonesia. They lived with 30 years of war in a politically unstable region. With the help of hundreds of international aid organizations, the entire city and surrounding villages were rebuilt, leaving residents to continue on without them with the daily buzz of motorbikes and the call to prayer. And without political strife due to the signing of the 2005 Helsinki peace accords between the Indonesian military and the rebel army of the Free Aceh Movement.
over the weekend in ventura, ca i attended a workshop on multimedia for recently laid off photographers to learn some new skills or refresh some old ones. for me i was challenged with the decision-making process of combining two forms of storytelling - pictures and audio - into one cohesive piece. I was also challenged with the fact that my story wasn't complete because i wasn't able to get access to family life of these fishermen; something that i didn't foresee. Friday morning i landed on the docks of the harbor looking for story and this is where i met these two brothers. I get seasick but tried to just focus on shooting and audio recording. I was only able to shoot from just a couple of spots bc it was a small boat. But in the end, i made a couple of nice images and met some great photographers and editors at the workshop. Good people. Thank you thank you team! www.vjworkshop.org
fun night of two gallery shows: sf exposure featured San Francisco based photographers Mike Kepka, Ray Potes and Ted Pushinsky. later at hamburger eyes magazine release party at 111 minna, featured more street photography of slices of life...fun pictures...and a david bowie spotting. http://www.hamburgereyes.com/ some random images from minna....
My workload in last week of August was pretty varied. It usually isn't though as I work the late shift, and so I mostly shoot high school sports during the school season. At times its fun, and I shoot my best...but it usually feels awkward as I know its not my strength. So here are -- a vineyard manager who planted a magnificent garden for the workers of the winery. I shot him in rows of corn. although the color of the leaves reflected off his skin color, so it was a little tricky to get the skin tone right. i also realized that i had never been inside a corn field before...it was kinda neat (okay so im a nerd). like a jungle. at the Napa airport, i photographed their annual open house, showing off their new and old planes. i met a group of retired men who hang out in the hangers, their shops, and maybe every sunday they will take out their planes and fly out for breakfast! ha! the luxury! and finally, autographs and pictures form the spicey Voices of Latin Rock!
I'm So excited to shoot with a hasselblad tommorrow! I'm shooting food and maybe some portraits at the Ceja Winery while they cook up a feast for a wine club event. But its a great way for me to learn to see with a different format camera -- other than my holga.