Things got real busy for me when Sen. Ted Kennedy died last week — not because I had to cover the event and hoopla, but rather everything else going on around behind the scenes.
8.29.2009 - BOSTON - A large billboard on a building on Tremont Street in Mission Hill pays tribute to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, whose funeral will take place Saturday morning at the Mission Church (in background), on Aug. 29, 2009.
It was basically a lot of running around the state, photographing whatever the Herald had leftover with so many resources tied up with the big show.
I kind of felt like this guy, who was painting the Boston Police bomb squad truck the day before Senator Kennedy’s funeral… while it was parked in front of the church! I kid you not.
8.29.2009 - BOSTON - Antonio Echemendia of Boston Public Works applies some last-minute touch up paint to the Boston Police's Bomb Squad truck outside the Mission Church, site of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's funeral, on Aug. 28, 2009.
Despite the somber occasion, it felt good to be involved in another major news event.
Thank you Senator Kennedy for all your service to the people of Massachusetts.
As part of the ever-present desire to evolve and grow as a photographer, I’ve been trying to mix things up with my shooting lately. Tried messing around with some shallow depth-of-field shooting, particularly as it relates to portraits.
Here’s one from a recent assignment from the Herald, shot with my 28mm at f/1.8.
8.27.2009 — EASTON, Mass. — Marlene Owens is suing the Embassy Rehab and Health Center in Brockton after her stepfather, John Donahue (seen pictured with his wife and Owens' mother, Rose Donahue), died in their care.
Not really sure if this one works, but I’d love to hear what other people think. Feedback welcome!
So here’s the complete take on what I submitted for the 2009 AAJA Convention Dith Pran Photo Shootout, which featured the theme “The Freedom Trail.” Growing up in Boston, I never experienced the Freedom Trail from the point of view as a tourist. I always just saw it as something that tourists would flock to in the summer, and so that’s kind of the approach I took in shooting it for the contest — to shoot it from the outside in, looking at the marginal people around the Trail.
So here we go:
8/13/2009 — BOSTON — Timmy Gammon, 20, left, Gabby, 20, and Steve, 20, play music in Boston Common along the Freedom Trail for money on Aug. 13, 2009.
8/13/2009 — BOSTON — Steve Chaplisk, who is homeless, feeds dozens of birds outside the State House at the head of the Freedom Trail while commuters head home from their jobs on Aug. 13, 2009.
8/13/2009 — BOSTON — Street vendor, Juan, gets some reading time next to his stand along the Freedom Trail on Washington Street on Aug. 13, 2009. With cloudy skies, business was slow, he said.
8/13/2009 — BOSTON — A homeless woman watches tourists pass by along the Freedom Trail on Congress Street near Faneuil Hall on Aug. 13, 2009.
And of course, the award winner:
8/13/2009 — BOSTON — College student Sam Hines, 21, gives out 'Free Hugs' at the corner outside the Park Street T station for the simple reason that, 'It makes people happy!' on Aug. 13, 2009. It was Hines' first day at the spot at the head of the Freedom Trail this summer, though she said she spent a number of days out there last summer.
It’s a tough time to be a photojournalist, for sure. Business is down for most of us, layoffs across the board, difficulty fishing for clients — it’s hard to make a living doing this.
But every time I get frustrated or a little down, I think of this outtake from a recent assignment. This kid here, Angel Maldonado, age 2, found me along the parade route of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Roxbury:
7.26.2009 — BOSTON — Angel Maldonado, 2, expresses his curiosity about what a newspaper photographer is doing at the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Roxbury on July 26, 2009.
At most parades, you’d expect lots of noise and screaming kids. Not so at this one. It was so hot humid that most of the kids just seemed miserable… that is, until I walked by. Angel here found me and started asking me what I was doing, wanted to play around with my camera, looked through my viewfinder — should have seen his face when he did that! He was genuinely more interested in what I was doing than the parade.
So the AAJA Convention is in Boston this weekend. Part of the festivities included the 10th Annual Dith Pran Photo Shootout, hosted by AAJA Photo.
Here was one of my five entries, based on the theme “Freedom Trail.”
8.13.2009 — BOSTON — College student Sam Hines, 21, gives out 'Free Hugs' at the corner outside the Park Street T station for the simple reason that, 'It makes people happy!' on Aug. 13, 2009. It was Hines' first day at the spot at the head of the Freedom Trail this summer, though she said she spent a number of days out there last summer.
My idea was to photograph the marginal people along the Trail, basically all the people who ask for your money. As a local, I’ve always just known the Freedom Trail as one big money grab for tourists. I still haven’t ever walked the whole thing in its entirety.
Anyway, believe it or not, I actually won the shootout with this photo — the one photo that didn’t have a person asking for money! Thanks, Sam.
Basically, I shot these as a sharpness test for my trusty 50mm f/1.8, and I was a bit disappointed with the results. I was hoping to get a little wider on the portrait shot to show a little more of my dad’s “Garden in the woods,” just to show the wooded area behind the house. But the damn thing won’t focus unless you’re within 10 feet, or it’s backfocus city. Either way, my dad’s a ham — which is clearly both a good thing and a bad thing.
I spent the weekend in Ventura, Calif., at the Brooks Institute of Photography at the VJ Multimedia Workshop, which was a tuition-free workshop for recently laid-off photojournalists and students. Along with finally getting around to learning Final Cut Pro (I got the TriFecta now — Premiere, Avid, FCP!), it was a wonderful opportunity to re-train my brain in how I go about planning a story. To quote my team leader, Léo Kim, “You got to f**k with people’s minds!”
Here’s my project. Nothing too fancy, just an audio slideshow. The structure of the story is definitely different than how I would have done it in the past, but I’m proud of the way it turned out. I spent the day with a homeless street musician named Travis Burns, picking his brain on why he does what he does and about life in general.
Without further ado, I present “Confirm My Existence”:
The Park Plaza Hotel in Boston last night put on a “Taste of Park Plaza” event to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank. As part of a preview story for the Herald, I was sent to the Swan Cafe, where the hotel’s tea sommelier Cynthia Gold came up with an idea for tea-marinated hot wings.
7.27.2009 — BOSTON — The Park Plaza Hotel's Tea Sommelier Cynthia Gold is now featuring several tea-infused items on the menu at the hotel's Swan Cafe, including these grilled chicken wings served with a basil-jalapenÃÉo sauce on the side.
