Did you wear go-go boots?

So I was going through some old documents and came across an old story that I remember I was pretty proud of. I believe I wrote it in 2006 for one of my Community College newspapers. I also submitted it to the Fresno State Collegian, but I don't think it ever ran in either of those. I don't know if it's because they didn't think it was as good as me or it just kind of fell through, haha.

It's funny that most of post on here revolve around photography. I was actually employed as a reporter and just got to take photos cause there was no one else to do it. I have been told before that I write better than I shoot. I don't know how to take that comment sometimes, but I do enjoy both, but I feel that I am more of a visual person.

I remember my thinking when I was writing this story. Without giving too much away, it was when a lot of vintage styles were making their way back and such. It's a good size story that I hope can make you chuckle and think a little.

Enjoy.

Are go-go boots and flares really in our future?

The speech your kids will ask you about...

This deserved more than just a link. Listen, learn and grow.

She is use to posing for me by now...

So I had an open assignment for my digital class and decided to shoot my gorgeous girlfriend. We set up in her family room with my homemade ringlight to camera right triggered by my Cactus V2 triggers.

She is an awesome model, and I got some excellent expressions from her. She should be use to it by now, because she suffers the fate of all photographer spouses or significant others of standing in front of the camera a billion times. Sooner than later they are like, "Ya, I love taking pictures," to "Ugh...Not again."

In my critique for class, I got some positive as well as some technical feedback. I did have trouble with the print, which printed a lot darker than the one you see here. Also it seems that the Nikon D200, well at least mine and another students, struggles with a lot grain in low light even though I was shooting at 160 ASA.

But I was still happy with what I got. Some people were saying that she had that '70s free love look going on. I can see that and dig it. While setting up, I just wanted to play with the light. I used the ringlight to the right because I wanted the light to quickly fall off as it traveled across her face. On some shots I had a reflector close to her face to help fill in. I also got a little light spill onto the wall about seven or eight feet away.

As far as her expression, I usually feed off of what she is feeling. She has been posing for me for a long time and knows that I really like to tap into those serious and intimate feelings. Usually, we start with a look and build from there, but I think this one was earlier in the shoot.

What do you think?

BBQ

On cue with the post below I took pictures of my bbq last night. Taking pictures of everything.

Photo time

Kevin German is an awesome photographer.

I don't even know the guy. Met him once at the NPPA flying short course in San Jose, actually he just taught one of the breakout sessions and I didn't really even talk to him. But I check out his blog consistently, and this guy just sees things.

When I was sitting in on his class during the short course, I was impressed with how excited he was about photography and life, and it shows in his work.

I was recently catching up on some of his blog posts and noticed a few things. He left the Sacramento Bee, where he was a staff photographer even having his own photo column. Now he is Vietnam, starting his own business.

He takes his camera everywhere and takes pictures of everything. That was one of the coolest things I notice.

So stop by and check out his blog and I will start carrying around my camera wherever I go. He continues to post pretty consistently about life and photography.

Midnight post

I wanted to get a quick post before I hit the hay and not get nearly enough sleep.

Today was an interesting day.The new New York mayor, David Paterson, came out in a press conference today and admitted to cheating on his wife. Who cares?

I know his predecessor messed up big, and I do mean big, but is it necessary that the media hound each and every political figure. I mean, this guy didn't break the law, it was several years ago and his wife is still by his side. I would assume it is a sore subject between the two of them. Some will say we have to hold our political figures responsible for their actions, but what are we holding him responsible for? That was his wife's job. And personally I don't need to know about political sex lives.

Is the media just searching for blood? Are we trying to find anything that could possibly be seen as immoral and wrong, and just running with it? Hillary is being hounded for not releasing documents, which I can see as a little more understandable as she is running for president, but really how far up their butts do we need to be.

This is all just a little rant, and my two cents. On another note here is a link to Barack Obama's speech in response to the criticism he's faced over his pastor the past week. I was watching CNN earlier, and one of the analyst said that this could be one of the greatest days in American history because of that speech.

The Luicidal interview

Newspaper Woes

Since moving to the Bay Area, I have become an avid reader of the San Jose Mercury News.

This past weekend they announced some bad news, not just for them, but for aspiring journalist everywhere. The newspaper owned by the Denver based MediaNews cut 50 jobs, including 20 from the newsroom.

I first heard about the announcement on KLIV radio in San Jose. I don't remember who was reporting it, but they were making some good points, about how the newsroom has shrank but the city is larger. How some beats are being dropped because there simply isn't enough staff.

This made me ponder. Are newspapers shooting themselves in the foot? We all know sales are down, but are we hurting them more by reducing the amount of people we have to report news? The less and less news that gets into the paper, the less attractive it will be to people. And with less journalist, there will be less news covered.

Pulitzer Prize winner Renée C. Byer felt that newspapers were already shooting themselves in the foot by putting so much effort into online, that they were producing a lesser quality print product which has turned people off.

This is basically what might be happening with newsroom layoffs. Because there is less news being reported as a result of less journalist being staffed, the quality of newspapers are declining, thus turning people off to print.

I could be wrong. I am sure the Mercury and newspapers all around the country have thought of this. There are plenty more reasons why newspaper sales are down and cutbacks are necessary, but instead of trying to dig up it looks like the industry is digging itself a deeper and deeper hole.