That Time Of Year

Its fire season here in Southern California... actually it never went away. Our winter this year was really only two weeks long. Here is a link on fire bag tips featuring yours truly and Brett Snow via NPPA.

Wildfire Bag

Here is a fun shot I got last week of a firefighter getting water on his head as the grandson of a man who just lost his home watches.


Redlands Firefighter Dempsy Chappell rubs his head with water he and one-year-old Paul Perez are standing in after a blaze that destroyed one condo and damaged another at the Vista Loma Condominium Complex in Redlands, Saturday, May 26, 2007.

An intresting day

Yesterday began the mentoring and interning process of a new photographer a The Sun. Guy Kitchens. Watch for his stuff on our website www.sbsun.com ... We had quite a day. I wish I had that kind of luck when I interned in Vacaville at the Reporter. Although it was a very cool and invaluable experience to me. I would HIGHLY recomend a paid or unpaid internship to any serious student of photojournalism. Without it, one would really have no idea what they are getting into. We started the day with visiting a family whose brother was killed the night before by a gang member, then went to an auto salvage yard on fire and finnished off with a peace officers memorial.

Prodded, Herded and Handled

Being a photojournalist for the news media gets you used to being “handled” by public relations, agendas and even The Secret Service. I had the pleasure of photographing the President of the United States this last week. Talk about being herded. Between security, the military and the schedule, it was show up at 8A.M. and wait here… wait there… check in here and there… dog sniffs bags and cameras, people sniff same. Then I got a total of 10 minutes as the Prez spoke, to get the picture. Not that photographing a speach is difficult. Sitting so long, then rushed into the room to photograph was funny. The speech started the minute we were cattled in onto the photo stands. I was literally white balancing my camera and setting the exposure during the actual speech. No prep time. Classic “hurry up and wait… now get lost.” They were running us out of the room before the Prez had even finished shaking anyone's hand.
On the other end of spectrum, I really enjoyed creating a front-page story from a stand-alone / found situation. I was driving in the rural Mentone/Highland area when I stumbled across a beekeeper. I have seen bee boxes along the roads for a decade or so but have not found a keeper working since ’93. They put me in a bee–proof suit and I got close. I love bees, so this was cool. I am kind of particular about how I leave my equipment set. i.e. which lens is on what camera, ISO, white balance set, formatted cards, etc. so when I mixed up my camera and lens combo a couple of days later, I thought to actually smell the camera body. The one that smelled like bees wax had the 14 mm on it.

Trippin San Francisco

A collection of images from S.F.
Sidewalk/MUNI Imagery

Could It Get Worse?

It was a bad day in Berdoo. I found my old friend Sponge Bob face down in a trash-strewn field in the pre-dawn rain, next to Pioneer Cemetery. You have to laugh or you will cry. This town is going through a very challenging time with violent crime. I have seen this type of scene many times with people over the last year or so, a couple only yards away from this very spot. The assignment where I had discovered this scene was to spend the morning getting soaked with the SB Mayor and a writer on a census of the homeless in the city. We were able to find one man who was washing a towel he used as a bandage in the rain runoff from the street above. He was tending a wound he received from a gunshot to the stomach and lost his colon. This is his home.

Mojave Marines

Much like my experiences at Fort Irwin, (see previous blog entry in Archive: April 2006) the Marines at the Marine Corp Air Ground Combat Training Center in Twentynine Palms use the Mojave Desert as their playground. I recently spent some time at 29 Palms to watch the Marines train in a live-fire attack and work on urban warfare techniques. At the same time hundreds were deploying and returning from Iraq. This is an emotional time for the troops and their families. It is always an amazing experience to be apart of it, to witness this chapter in U.S. history.
--The slide show-- Large format, let it load... Then play.
MARINES

On the Spot

Spot news is an unplanned event that has a timely aspect and mass effect or appeal. Often, people do not understand this concept that a newspaper is trying to convey. It has to be of interest to many thousands of people. With the change in schedules at The Sun and the number of photographers there, I often will go a while without any spot news on my plate for as stint. Other times it comes in waves and I seem to see a lot in a shorter period of time. We, in Southern California, have had some unusual weather patterns of late. Overturned semi-truck season is usually around October. We seem to be in an extended season here in January. Along with the Santa Ana winds in Jan., high winds in the Mojave Desert caused dust storms along Interstate 15 to Vegas causing accidents as well. Apart from weather, a four-alarm fire of an apartment building in Grand Terrace broke out where 12 units were damaged. When I was called on this one I was already on the same street , the next city over. Being able to respond early to an event is 100% luck. Our coverage area is so large that getting to spot news often becomes a clean-up news feature… late. In case you did not know, firefighters who are published have to buy ice cream for the department... I sent these photos of the GT fire to a firefighter's trade magazine. I said I would buy, this time, if they were re-published, One firefighter acepted! This may cost me.