14 April 2009

Desert Living

I went on vacation with my family to Phoenix, Arizona at the end of March. Thought I'd break out the telephoto lens to capture the scenery. Very different from the city landscape in Chicago and the rolling hills of Athens, Ohio, and very beautiful.










13 April 2009

Growing Season

When I went back to be with my family in Western Springs over spring break, I got to spend some more time with my brother, Ben. Since January, Ben has been working at a green house in West Chicago called We Grow Dreams. There they give jobs primarily to teens and adults with special needs. Ben goes with either one or both of my parents every week to do tasks like filling pots with soil, stacking them, etc. Afterward, they go out for lunch and Ben gets to eat his favorite food: potatoes.












25 March 2009

Bringin' the Blues to Athens

Although, the Athens County Harmonica Club’s members consist of men primarily over 70 with varying talents on the instrument, the club seems young at heart as it performs and practices traditional folk tunes in numerous settings, and all the members enjoy it more than the audience in most cases. These men, however, are a dying breed of talented folk harmonica players, some having learned as young as 5 years old. As the club seeks younger members to carry on the tradition, they find a thrill in the tiny wind instrument and performing for others.

















A few notes about this story:
I'm mostly done shooting, and I realize that this is a huge edit, so I'll most likely narrow it down. The next step is audio, which will be a project for spring. This has been one of the most enjoyable projects I've ever done, and I can't wait to continue.

09 March 2009

Volunteer Story

Supporting Diversity

Jessie Williams goes above and beyond the average senior at Vinton County High School. She is in the drama club, Science Olympiad, takes the highest level of classes offered, and spends much of her time volunteering for an organization in McArthur, Ohio called Sojourners, which provides programming for Foster Children in Kindergarten through 6th grade. But beyond all her involvement, another thing that makes Williams unique in Vinton County High School is that she is the only African American student in the entire school.








______________________________

This is my only story from this quarter that is officially done.

Inauguration Day - 1.20.2009

I know it doesn't seem timely, but pretty soon VisCom is putting out a magazine of images from the day. Here are some of mine.





All of the above images were taken at Mary Ann and Norman Garber's home in Athens where they had a small gathering of their friends over to watch the historic event.


At night at 19 South there was a "Bye Bye Bush" party that was also a fundraiser for the indie film 'Trailerpark' being produced here at OU.