A Mighty Dense and New Place to Play

dense |dens|
adjective
closely compacted in substance : dense volcanic rock | swirling, dense smoke.
• having the constituent parts crowded closely together : an estuary dense with marine life.
• figurative (of a text) hard to understand because of complexity of ideas.
• informal (of a person) stupid.

Some good news. I have been hired as a staff photographer once again. After seven months of 'furlough' (laid off) from the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, I have been re-hired back to LANG to lend my full-time photojournalistic skills to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, The Pasadena Star-News and the Whittier Daily News (The San Gabriel Valley News Group). After a few days of intensive self-imposed training including: studying the coverage area on the map (that area will take about a year for me to get the lay of) finding, organizing, typing in and programing the emergency frequency codes in the scanner and most importantly, learning the ropes of my new gear. After shooting Nikon gear for 20 years I was handed Canon gear. A bit of a learning curve for the level I need to shoot at right out of the gate.
This area is dense. The basic footprint of our coverage is the Los Angeles County area from Pasadena to La Verne to Diamond Bar to Cerritos. I am finding that it takes time and patients to get from A to B in constant road-rage, L.A. traffic using a lot of surface streets.


Union Pacific Rail Road workers clear the debris of a Penski rental truck after it was struck by a freight train at Nogales St. and E. Railroad St. in the City of Industry, Friday. Aug. 21, 2009. SGVN/Staff photo by Eric Reed
Muslims gather for afternoon prayer to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan at the Islamic Learning and Practicing Center in West Covina, Friday. Aug. 21, 2009. SGVN/Staff photo by Eric Reed

The Summer of Holga

Student Work:

Holga images from Kimberly Albright's "Untitled Architecture" series.



The Summer Photography 101 course at Victor Valley College proved to be quite a lot of fun and a good learning experience for all including the instructor, yours truly. The Holga is a piece of crap camera with a plastic lens and light leaks galore. With that in mind it makes truly amazing images that have that old photographic aesthetic and levels the playing field of those using it. Because it has no relevant settings it has a 'point n shoot' nature so a high degree of technical ability is not required, just your creativity and in the case of this class the learned ability to hand develop black and white 120mm or 2 1/4 film. I enjoyed the opportunity to develop my Holga images along side the students to see the difference in cameras (each one is unique) and trouble shoot the assignment. One thing is for sure, enthusiasm and a true love of photography makes a huge difference in the learning process for everyone not just regurgitating facts and numbers. Shoot on!


Holga image from Ashley Wilkins' "Working Lives" series.

Holga image from Sara Taylor's "Lost Hearts" series.

Holga image from Johnny Martinez's "Vintage Wheels" series.

Holga images from Crystal Carroll's "Little Helga" series.

And to add one of mine. I had to take this to a new level for me and shot 35mm color film run through the Holga.

Freelancing New Politics

The game of freelancing has its ups and downs. I often find myself happy to shoot whatever, whereas as a staffer I would complain about some assignments. Don't get me wrong there are some things I am very happy not to be shooting anymore, like a lot of spot news and courtroom. So like the Obama inauguration day to photograph one of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's town hall style meetings in San Bernardino as part of his campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, seemed to me, to be a treat. At least the Mayor's team did a little decorating to make the photos a little more interesting.

Gary

Desperate Water

Desperate Water is a social documentary project which is to use my skills as a photojournalist, journalist and digital story-teller to bring the issues of water into a new light. Water is becoming a hot topic. Most people never think twice about it. It flows from the tap and that is that. Only when it stops may it command attention. The public understanding of our most precious resource in life and a basic human right in society is out of mind, taken for granted. Here it will no longer be out of sight.

Here is where I officially begin, a kick off if you will. To start in earnest a photographic documentary project I have wanted to seriously work on for many years. Now is the time. Now it begins.

A side note on the ethics of a documentary photographer. I have been covering news and events for the main stream media for decades. To some, that means I can not be objective by default. To others there is opportunity to critizize a journalist for being 'too close' to the subject matter. I contend it is utterly impossible to be un-bias in any form because we are human. We care. We get involved. I would not attempt to cover an issue I cared nothing about. The story and images would suffer in quality due to a lack of passion. Great documentary photographers of history and in our time have been accused of getting to close to their subjects. Photographers like Hansel Meith, Sebastiao Selgado and Matt Herron. There is a fine line between a documentarian with passion and a propagandist. A fine line to walk.


About 400 people walked the streets of L.A. for the symbolic journey of three miles that many in the world have to walk for fresh water each day. Clean and available water is something many of us in the U.S. take for granted but that is changing.

With pollution, drought and population issues arising more often, the future of water in the Southwest region of the U.S. and our neighbor Mexico is in question. Like air, water is seen by many as a basic human right. The cost of infrastructure and who controls its delivery is seen to be threatened by corporations who seek a profit from those who can’t afford to pay and who need it like everyone else. The rising cost of water will hit those who have the least like many other things. The cost of water will also affect the cost of food produced in California’s San Joaquin Valley (Central Valley). The lack of water will also cost jobs.




El Mirage Dry Lake Bed is a recreation area run by the Bureau of Land Management in the High Desert area of the Mojave Desert. Many off-roaders and the like enjoy the vast three-mile smooth surface of the lake bed to go fast. These landsailors scoot across the moon scape with a fine dust rising in their 40mph wake only mere yards from thousands of cows. Several dairies boarder the rec area know for its lack of water. On the surface anyway.




Taking a look around, ultalite pilot Max Colman of Lancaster flies over the California Aqueduct in the High Desert region of Llano in the Mojave Desert. This view gives some perspective to water resources in the arid landscape.

Rick Harris fishes in the California Aqueduct in the High Desert region of the Mojave Desert. Eric Reed/Photographer

Desperate Water

The world is becoming an increasingly thirsty place. People expect clean water to flow from the tap and do not realize the social, political, environmental and technological problems that loom down that pipe.
Desperate Water is a photographic documentary project exploring the aspects of water and its future in California.
California has more than 37 million people most of which live in the southern third of the state. The water that provides the resources for drinking, business, agri-business and recreation come from two main sources: The Sacramento Delta and the Colorado River. These regions are under increasing pressure and threat from dwindling supplies, tainted quality and increasing demands. The disparity of water uses and users are becoming more prevalent. The politics of water, where it is acquired and who gets how much is slowly creeping into the public consciousness as the topics of environment and climate change unfold. Those who can afford it will feel little difference in their daily lives but pollution can and will affect the health of every one, especially those with out adequate health care or clean water supplies.
There are many public programs to help the public understand the importance of conservation but there are very few using the power of photography to connect and educate that same public to understand the people who are most effected. People who have less means in the state are often those who are adversely impacted from water quantity and quality. California’s low-income workers and families are loosing jobs on farms from decreased water allotments from the state’s resources and often can not afford the rising costs of clean water for them selves. These people are the ones lacking a voice. Drowned in today’s mass-media market, lost in the river of world affairs and the public’s divided attentions, these people need that voice and some one to help tell their story.
I have wanted to work on this issue for many years, watching and waiting, but have lacked the time and resources to seriously tell this story. Out of frustration and a driving force to move forward I have attempted in earnest to begin researching and photographing aspects of our Desperate Water.

NPPA: Best of Photojournalism

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http://bop.nppa.org/2009/


2009 NPPA BOP Judging from Poynter Institute on Vimeo.

A Blur of Bikes

Over 800 kilometers of professional cycling and countless kilos of amateur mileage at the 25 Annual Redlands Bicycle Classic. Pro bikers from around the world converge on the premier U.S. cycling event in the Inland Empire. After shooting this event for the past 10 years it is still possible to occasionally see something new and find a new angel. It helps that the course changes a little each year. Another thing that made the Saturday of shooting more fun was having photography students hang with me to force me to look for and explain what I was shooting and why. I know I was no were near as beat as the riders on the course come the finish line Sunday but several of miles of walking with gear each day was enough for me to enjoy Monday off.

The Men's and Women's Criterium Races during the 25th Annual Redlands Bicycle Classic in Redlands. Saturday, March 28, 2009. Eric Reed/Photographer