Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day, or decoration day or something else I don't remember.

I continued my trend of working on this holiday, by freelancing for the Blossom Valley Times. I actually never mind working on Memorial Day, since it presents a unique opportunity for a classic all-American photo. There are flags and uniforms everywhere, and it is pretty cool to watch the whole event unfold. People are proud to be there and be American, and I am proud to cover the event.

Going into this kind of function, which was a memorial service at a cemetery, I am looking for flags and uniforms and emotion. I am looking for something that people can identify with. It's hard not to get in the way of the attendees and it's even harder to move around all of them. There were a couple of photographers there also, so I tried to roam around and find different shots.

These two shots were just kind of things I saw. If you want to see what ran, you'll just have to mosey on over to the Blossom Valley Times in a week or so.

I feel I got some solid shots, nothing that was portfolio worthy, but I came away with some good stuff. I also got stung by a wasp, but that's just a minor wound.

Freelance

So I had my first freelance gig in the Bay Area with a newspaper finally publish. I had covered one assignment already, but it will not be published till the end of the month.

I was the go-to-guy for a Friday night showdown between two prep football powerhouses, Oak Grove and Gilroy High Schools in the Central Coast Section Open Final Championship game. I was on assignment for the Blossom Valley Times, which is part of Times Media Inc.

It was a cold night at San Jose City College, but an awesome game that led to me getting two front page photos, a story and four inside photos.

Boy, have I missed the newspaper life. I missed the fresh stories, the interaction with people, and the excitement of the events themselves. It was nice not to be in an office all day, and even nicer to be making money.