You have to have been living in a cave to not know that health care reform is THE issue on the front page of every newspaper in America right now. And thanks to Senator Max Baucus releasing his plan from the Finance Committee earlier today… this post is relevant!
Last week, I photographed a health care rally in support of a public health care option and health care reform in general. It was a HUGE turnout with crowds estimated in the low thousands. Surprisingly, there were no counter protests like you see on TV.
Still, that didn’t mean every local politician considering a run for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat at the time wasn’t there trying to one up the other!
9.7.2009 - BOSTON - Anette Zielinski, who is undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian cancer, expresses her support of a public healthcare option with friend Karen Hartke, right, on Boston Common on Sept. 7, 2009. Though she receives insurance through her job as a footwear developer for Puma, she said, 'I wouldn't have had the will to live' through her six cycles of chemotherapy, which recently totaled $47k for two days of treatment. 'I can't imagine not having it.'
9.7.2009 - BOSTON - Thousands of supporters of a public healthcare option stretched the length of Boylston Street from the rally starting point on Boston Common to its finish on Copley Square on Sept. 7, 2009.
9.7.2009 - BOSTON - Massachusetts congressman John Tierney, flanked by congressmen (from left) Stephen Lynch, Michael Capuano and Ed Markey, addresses supporters of a public healthcare option on Boston Common on Sept. 7, 2009. All are likely candidates for the U.S. Senate seat left open by the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was a longtime champion of universal healthcare.
9.7.2009 - BOSTON - Yolande Louis, a registered nurse from Waltham, voices her support in favor of a public healthcare option at a rally on Boston Common on Sept. 7, 2009.
I had the opportunity to photograph the TILL Games this weekend for the Herald. Here’s a fun pic I got from one of the wheelchair races.
9.12.2009 — BOSTON — John Casanave, of Andover, gets some encouragement from his brother, Dave, right, and nephew Cody, 2, during the 50m manual wheelchair race â?? even after he lost his shoe â?? at the 15th annual TILL, or Toward Independent Living and Learning, Games at the Reggie Lewis Center on Sept. 12, 2009. The TILL games allows severly disabled people to compete against each other and on teams with the non-disabled.
I spent this past Saturday photographing my first wedding as a second shooter/assistant with a colleague of mine from the Boston Herald, Matt Stone. My job was basically to provide a second look to complement Matt as he went about getting the “bread and butter” type shots that you would expect of a wedding photographer, as well as assist with some of the lighting set ups for the formal portraits. It was fun, and being able to try out different looks was certainly artistically liberating, for sure!
Here’s a selected look at some of the photos I captured as the second shooter:
Coolest centerpieces ever.
The flower girl and ring bearer.
So while Matt was off getting photos of the bride getting ready, I was hanging out with the groom and his groomsmen. Nice laid back bunch, though things got a little stiff as time ticked closer to the ceremony…
Beautiful day for a wedding!
It's go time... GULP!
But of course, everything worked out in the end:
The new Mr. and Mrs. Darren Gastrock!
All-in-all, it was a ton of fun, and I’m definitely looking forward to shooting another one!
It’s not every day that you get to dance in the middle of Boylston Street in Boston. But here they were, a bunch of Emerson College move-in “street team” members, dancing along to that awful Black Eyed Peas song…
9.7.2009 — BOSTON — The Emerson College move-in 'Street Team' was having an impromptu dance party as they waited for the remaining four students of the incoming class to move into the dorms on Boylston Street on Sept. 7, 2009.
9.7.2009 — BOSTON — Junior Brittany Parro, 20, left, of Northbridge, senior Molly Goodman, 21, of Newton, center, and Cherylynn Tsushima, 20, of Pasadena Calif., and the rest of the Emerson College move-in 'Street Team' was having an impromptu dance party as they waited for the remaining four students of the incoming class to move into the dorms on Boylston Street on Sept. 7, 2009.
Ah, college…
Here are some samples from a portrait project I’ve had sitting on the backburner for quite some time. Basically, it’s portraits of my family. Having been away from home for the better half of the decade, it’s been somewhat of an impossibility, given the equipment needed. But, now that I’m home with all my gear, now’s the perfect time, especially with my sister being home for the weekend.
Got most of the family done over the weekend, with a few stragglers left to get before Thanksgiving. Let me know your thoughts!
My grandfather, Chun Don Wong.
My grandmother, Hau Har Wong
My cousin, Sera Tapia.
My cousin, Savina Tapia
