A Day in Utah: Or, Spring Break Pt. 3

Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, UT

If Colorado was the relaxing part of vacation, Utah was where I tried to do everything in the span of a day (+ a little extra). We only had 30 hours in the Beehive State, and I wish it had been longer. In that time, we hit up Arches National Park, Mesa Arch in Canyonlands for sunrise, and a quick detour to Dead Horse Point State Park (nice name, huh?).  According to legend, cowboys used this point to corral wild mustangs they found, picked the horses they wanted, and for some unknown reason, left the rest to perish. Thoughtful.

I think it’s  important not to let what you enjoy get in the way of, well, enjoying yourself. While I tried to balance my photography with vacation, I often found myself stressing out about  “getting the shot.” I don’t know when I’ll have the opportunity to be back there and wanted to make the most of it. But I couldn’t  do much about the lighting conditions or be in two places at once. And as hard as I tried to make two sunrises and two sunsets miraculously occur in a day, it strangely didn’t work. Neither does commanding the earth to stay in one place to prolong either of them. It was another good lesson in control and patience. Do the best with what you have and see what you get.

There’s also something to be said about landmark photography. As it happens with national parks, many thousands of photographers have been there before you and will be there after you. And, of course, they’re there with you– along with hundreds of other people climbing all over the things you want to photograph. At the crack of dawn at Mesa Arch, for example, there were about 15 other photographers there with their tripods just like me. That’s the truth we like to omit most of the time—that there’s nobody there with us. The arch (not to mention many of the other landmarks) has been so heavily photographed that most of my photos aren’t incredibly unique . But I just tried to enjoy the fact that I was there. And even if it wasn’t the “best” sunrise, it was still pretty spectacular.

This day also gave me a perspective check. Most of what I’ve been doing lately has been photojournalism in a large metropolitan city. But  I was walking around these huge structures that have been here for thousands of years–and will for thousands more.  It’s a bit cliché, but as we hiked around or watched the sun rise, I couldn’t help but think about how fleeting our lives are.  I had this strange image of protesters walking around holding their signs at a place like Mesa Arch and couldn’t help but laugh to myself. That’s not to say they don’t have value,  but that we’re maybe not as important as we’d sometimes like to think. It’s mostly just an observation on the vastness of nature.

We are so small.

Double Arch, Arches National ParkBalanced Rock, Arches National ParkJuniper at Dead Horse Point State ParkSunrise at Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National ParkNavajo Arch, Arches National ParkMountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides), Arches National ParkTrail to Landscape Arch, Arches National ParkPotash solar evaporation ponds, Dead Horse Point National ParkLower O, Double O Arch, Arches National ParkSmall Juniper, Arches National ParkChipmunk running, Arches National ParkLa Sal Mountains from Delicate Arch, Arches National ParkNear Navajo Arch, Arches National ParkDelicate Arch, Arches National Park

Thanks for looking.

Colorado: Or, Spring Break Pt. 2

To my 1 or 2 loyal readers, apologies for shirking my blogging duties.

This is technically part 2 of my spring break post.  After spending the weekend with the owls, my dad and I flew over to the Vail area of Colorado to visit my aunt. Colorado was lovely but surprisingly warm–and thus lacking the snow levels it’s known for.  On the last day I was walking around in a t-shirt and almost wished I was wearing shorts.

I didn’t shoot a great deal while we were in CO, but I brought my gear along on a few cross-country trails and had the opportunity to go snowmobiling before we left. During the latter I did not kill anyone, got up to 55mph at one point, and got some great views of the Rockies from Machine Gun Ridge.  As I’m standing safely next to the edge, of course, our guide decides to tell us a story about how a client once fell off the side and caused a mini avalanche in the process (but apparently was fine).

Spending the whole week enjoying nature and photographing these grand vistas and amazing owls gave me some time to shoot for myself. Most of what I’ve shot this (academic) year has been for someone else,  and while many of those assignments were and are great fun,  I think it’s important to do something every once in awhile where you can photograph just because you want to. It was a pretty great week. Many thanks to my dad for being my travel/ wake-up-at-4am buddy.  This makes up for my freshman year, where I spent the entire week mourning the loss of my wisdom teeth with lots of gauze and vicodin.  Here are some images I liked.  Stay tuned for part 3!

Snowy Owls at Boundary Bay, B.C.

As you may have heard by now, this year marked a particularly significant “irruption” of snowy owls in North America. The last one along the WA/B.C. coast was around 2005. Snowy Owls, with their striking white plumage, normally live roughly 3,000 miles away in the Arctic. However, from my understanding,  many have flown down because of a possible lack of lemmings to eat up North.  I was lucky enough to catch the tail-end of the group at Boundary Bay, which has a healthy population of closely related voles. They come to places like these to rest and eat up before heading back.

Some of them appeared to be juveniles, which are distinguished partly with their barring and more brownish color.  The older they get, the whiter they tend become. Adult females retain heavier barring, while adult males have only a bit. I’ve read that the juveniles are more likely to be adventurous and head down here. Another theory about the irruption, however, postulates that there is simply a ‘bumper crop’ of juveniles who were  pushed down.

I had a little under 8 hours of shooting time total, with afternoon-sunset  and  sunrise-midmorning. This may sound like a long time to some–until you realize that all owls do in the morning is yawn or look like you poked them in the eye.

If you’ve ever tried wildlife photography, you know a lot of it is standing around waiting for something to happen. This was certainly no different.When I started in photojournalism, I realized I could apply some  of my previous experience in animal photography to slow moving events. I noticed my mindset was the same that weekend as when photographing a boring speaker: keep your camera up, button on the trigger, and wait for the subject to gesture.

Of course, the owls weren’t the only birds there. We spotted a few herons, Harrier Hawks, juvenile bald eagles and a tiny little guy (or gal) I haven’t yet identified. Any birders out there? Looks like a juvenile or a type of pygmy owl.

Hopefully we’ll see them back here soon.

John T. Williams Memorial Totem

Last Sunday, in a feat of pure human strength, a group of roughly 100 people carried a 33-foot, 5,000 pound totem pole 1.5 miles and raised it in the shadow of the Space Needle. The totem, accompanied by a large group of supporters, Native drums and song, was carved in honor of First Nations carver John T. Williams. Williams was famously shot by Seattle Police officer Ian Birk in August 2010, sparking public outrage and anger at SPD. But Sunday showed little of that anger; it was about community and honoring the memory of Williams. The whole event was pretty impressive.

This was a hard shoot for a number of reasons, and I got frustrated because I wasn’t getting what I felt I should be getting. It was a fast moving event with lots of harsh light, and photographers were kept at a distance and occasionally blocked by security. When there are so many other photographers around, you start to wonder what everyone else is getting. How can you make your shots better than everyone else who is right next to you? It’s easy to worry about missing things. Is everyone else getting something better?  In a way it’s like a  form of performance anxiety. While this wasn’t something I actively dwelt upon during the event, I think it was in the back of my mind the whole time and affected my shooting.

The security that day was another lesson in how to draw less attention to myself. While they all wanted media to stay incredibly far back, one man was particularly aggressive in shooing us away. I discovered it was easier to move to the opposite side whenever I saw him approaching. Occasionally I would fall back to the side and walk with the totem as I looked for shots or tried to avoid being spotted.

And, if I’m continuing my “here’s what I learned” trend, here’s an important one: If you’re photographing something outside, just wear your {insert hiking shoe brand here}. Really. You never know when you’re going to have to step in some mud (literally).

After the event was done, I realized I hindered myself by overshooting the event because I didn’t want to miss anything. The irony is that I was down 2 CF cards and at one point was trying to shoot more selectively. Somewhere along the line that (obviously) went out the window. While my deadline wasn’t immediate, I did myself no favors by taking almost 2,000 photos. Having to wade through a bog of thousands of photos to find about 20 keepers certainly can try one’s patience.

In fact, there were so many that I said to someone I could basically make a timelapse video out of it–so I did. YouTube definitely makes it choppier than the original, but take a look!

Gay Marriage and Obama (well, not at the same time)

(I apologize and warn you in advance of a very lengthy post…only made longer by this apology. )

Last week was apparently my political assignment week, as I covered gay marriage, a referendum against it, a Rick Santorum rally and Obama’s visit (3 out of 4 happened on one day).  The images themselves are nothing to write home about, but I think this week was more about the experiences I had and what I can take away from them.

On Monday Josh Trujillo and I covered the historic gay marriage bill signing by Gregoire in Olympia, and I was almost surprised–but glad–to see that there were maybe 7 protesters there.  Because there were so many photographers already in the room where Gregoire was doing the signing, I was left outside to make images of folks watching  just outside.  While I was initially a bit disappointed, in retrospect, I was actually glad to have stayed outside. I may have been the only press photographer to do so. Josh had a good quote:  “I was with the politicians, you were with the people.” Last time I checked, that’s what this was about. Sometimes I think news forgets that–a lot of the images used from that day were of politicians. First lesson: you don’t always have to point the camera where everyone else is pointing theirs.

Despite some horrible lighting (ex. handheld  at 1/10 at f2.8 and 3200iso) I came away with some decent images.

[The referendum filing was visually boring, save for the rather comical misfortune that befell the photojournalists. We all rushed to where we thought it was taking place, only to be told upon arrival that it was actually at the building we had just left (all of us running out was a funny sight). Less comical was me, the idiot intern, going to the wrong room initially. Nothing like a moment of sheer terror to wake you up. Second lesson: know where the hell you're going. ]

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The Rick Santorum rally was a whole different story. Photojournalists are supposed to be unbiased in their coverage, but it was difficult to go from an overwhelmingly positive atmosphere during the bill signing to, well, Rick Santorum. It was hard to photograph people who support him and still be as civil as when talking to two ladies who are happy they can get married. Aside from that, it was a very strange experience.  Santorum was lit in a way that made him look demonic, Occupy protesters were shouting the entire time, and Santorum protesters were shouting at them. I was also “kicked out” multiple times because I lacked a press pass… after being shoved a bit by a cop and a Santorum guy. Later I found out that few others had visible passes, so what was it about me that made them question what I was doing there? Next lesson: Body language might help you more than a press pass. Act like you’re supposed to be there.

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And on Friday, finally Obama himself. All in all a rather surreal experience. Just in case anyone is interested in how these things work, the arrival was about what I expected: a lot of waiting, prep and security for very minimal shooting time. After getting ID checked I hopped on a bus with the rest of the media and was shuttled to Paine Field’s gate E-68, where all of us were required to leave all our bags about 30 feet in front of us while they were sniffed (by a dog). We were all wanded, given passes and sent to a riser to sit around for an hour. Though the plane hadn’t arrived yet, a stream of military helicopters and a few snipers began showing up, so I amused myself with that. But when Obama actually showed up, he did his wave, ran down the stairs, talked to some politicians, shook some hands and left. And that was pretty much that.

I realized after he left that even though I had been maybe 10 feet from the President, I had barely seen him with my own eyes: my entire experience was removed one time by looking through a giant lens. In that respect it was almost just like watching him on TV like every other time I’d seen him. There were only a few brief seconds (in which I was frantically trying to find an opening in the crowd) when I literally saw him. I’m not sure it even matters at all, but it was certainly something I thought about on the way home.

While I again didn’t get amazing photos, it was without a doubt a milestone experience–and apart from the mild terror of screwing up, it was pretty fun. (Thanks, Josh!).  When I posted a photo to Facebook, a friend commented and called me a badass. I said no. Fourth lesson: Covering important people or events doesn’t make you important. Just because I cover cool things doesn’t make ME cool (trust me). Someone attack me with a needle if I ever get a big inflated head.

hang loose.

Thoughts from a month (almost) at the PI

 

I should have known I was in for a good time when my first assignment was to photograph a bunch of people riding around without their pants.

After having interned for the Seattle PI for a little under a month, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the experience. My boss (though he doesn’t call himself that), Joshua Trujillo, is immensely talented and supportive.  I feel as though I’ve already learned a great deal from him and can’t wait to continue doing so. Because he often lets us choose what we do, I’ve enjoyed a wide range of assignments–odd news like building marriages and pantless people to Snowpocalypse 2012 and a Pinewood Derby. I’ve also been introduced to a great community of photojournalists and freelancers who have been very supportive as well. But I’m fully aware photojournalism isn’t all fun and games; as I write this, my boss just finished covering a horrible story in which a man purposefully blew up his house, killing himself and his two boys. I can only hope that I can learn how to handle difficult stories as well as the lighter ones.

One challenge has been training myself to work on a deadline. If you know me you know I’m a pretty indecisive person to begin with; this certainly carries through to my photo editing. Even though I’m still fairly slow by general photojournalistic standards, I’m slowly getting better at making quicker editing decisions. Previously I had only worked under weekly deadlines and could take about as much time as I needed. It can be difficult to toss photos you really like, but if it doesn’t help create the gestalt of the scene, there’s no place for it.

Because I haven’t blogged since the start of my internship, here’s an overview of all the stories I’ve covered so far. Thanks for looking.

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Full SeattlePI.Com galleries:

No Pants! Light Rail Ride (featured, #1)

Rally Against SPD Chief Diaz (#2-4)

Snowpocalypse 2012! (#5-8)

MLK Day March (#9-12)

Wing Luke Lion Dance (#13-14)

Mariners FanFest (#15-17)

Woman “Marries” a Warehouse (#18-19)

Susan G Komen Backs Down (#20)

Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby (#21-22)

Occupy Seattle Gets the Boot

After a fair amount of back and forth between the protesters and Seattle Central, Occupy Seattle finally bowed peacefully to the 72 hour eviction notice posted Tuesday. According to local news reports, a  few protesters planned on sticking around past the grace period. But by this evening, the majority of the camp had packed its tents and cleaned up the messes.

Somewhat surprisingly, the day went very peacefully with essentially no police presence. At one point during the afternoon campers were surprised by a motorcade of cops, but they turned out to be escorting an unrelated memorial for an officer. At the time of this post, no arrests have been reported and the actual cleanup for the eviction seems to have gone fairly smoothly. Of course, many were rather disgruntled at having to find a new place to live, but the majority seemed to accept the decision.  One man in particular, however, came up to me–and a few of the other photojournalists–and asked, “Are we in a zoo?” “No, we’re not,” I replied. “Isn’t that where you take pictures? Do we look like animals to you?”  I told him that we take pictures of a lot of things in a lot of places. Needless to say,  it wasn’t a very strong argument. But I got his point–he seemed to feel we were objectifying the movement somehow. This certainly isn’t true of all OS protesters, but I’ve gotten the vibe that many are angry at what they consider biased media coverage. (ex. they didn’t want us taking photos of lots of garbage, etc.). While I can understand that, I’d also make the point that what’s there is there, and I think most of us try to photograph a variety of things–we’re not solely taking photos of needles and garbage. How photos get used and in what context is another matter.

Occupy’s New “Home” For the Night

As Occupy Seattle at Seattle Central faces their impending eviction from campus (due to health and safety concerns from the college/SPD), last night around 6:30pm they decided to occupy a potential new headquarters: an empty  building on Union & 10th. I found out about the  “march” via their website, but in retrospect it was likely intentionally vague (the title being “Occupy Everything”) so as to avoid unwanted SPD attention. While occupiers didn’t mind me outside the building, once I stepped inside I was able to hang around for about 3 minutes before a few got angry and effectively kicked me out. But it did lend itself to a bit of a journalistic dilemma: how do you cover an event that’s happening when doing so requires you do commit what might be considered trespassing? That was my Friday night ethics  conundrum. Time for some research.

The building itself is rather run down, formerly hosting the Seattle Museum of Mysteries for a short time, as well as a capoeira studio and a potential brewery. I hear it is scheduled for demolition soon, with construction on a new apartment building to start in January. In a flyer someone handed me, they said it was to be “our new center of resistance” where they envisioned it being used as a kitchen, theatre, clinic or meeting hall, among others.

While the police didn’t seem terribly interested last night, apparently they came back this morning  for a “pre-dawn” raid complete with a SWAT team to do the job. A Seattle Fire Dept. truck’s ladder was used for roof access as well. Unfortunately, I was snoozing away when it happened, so no photos from that. At the time of this posting,  SPD  made about 16 arrests ( Go to Capitolhillseattle.com for full details). The flyer I was given anticipated such arrests, saying  they are “neither unexpected nor a sign of failure. It is instead a sign that we constitute a real threat to capitalism and…private property.”

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Occupy Seattle Central, Vacate the Banks

On Monday I picked up a last minute assignment for the Spectator that sent me to the nearby Occupy Seattle camp at Seattle Central. I hadn’t made it over there previously, and I was surprised to see how established it is. Some people have barbeques outside their tents, they have a small library tent, a well stocked food area, and a few honey buckets. However, I learned that they are costing Seattle Central a great deal in security overtime as well as custodial services and supplies. Evidently, most of the protesters have been able to use the bathrooms during normal school hours, so the college is going through bathroom supplies like nobody’s business. That’s just crappy for SCCC (see what I did there? I’m so clever.) As seen from the photos, the entire place has a bed of straw, which I’m sure is going to be a mess for grounds when (at some point) the protesters leave. I’m not making any sweeping judgement calls; legally the protesters are allowed to camp out there. But it does seem like SCCC has some valid concerns as far as costs go. Hopefully the two parties can work something out on friendly terms.

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Double post! This is certainly old news, but I didn’t get around to posting in a timely manner: On Nov. 5, Occupy Seattle participated in Bank Transfer Day, in which many people closed their accounts at large, corporate banks and opened accounts at local credit unions like BECU. The activity was relatively peaceful, though the protesters were fired up as usual. Towards the end a man tried to start a fight with a cop but was quickly drowned out by those advocating for a peaceful protest. No pepper spray this time!

Here are some images from the day. Let me know what you think of either set! Thanks for taking a look.

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The Death of a Viaduct

Frank Smith and his children Maya, 6, and Oliver, 4, pick out broken pieces of the Alaskan Way Viaduct to take home during its first official day of demolition on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011. The viaduct  is being demolished to make way for a new deep bore tunnel. Lindsey Wasson| The Spectator

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I know this was awhile ago, but for anyone interested and who didn’t happen to go, it was a fairly interesting piece of history. Literally, actually. As seen above, they had a rubble pile where people could snag a piece of already demolished Viaduct. I snagged a portable one.

The Viaduct was around for 58 years until they finally decided to demolish it starting on Friday, Oct. 21st. On Saturday afternoon, WSDOT put on a big show of celebrating the demolition by allowing people to walk on it and view the skyline (and the demolition). As the morning was a bit of a drizzly one, everyone came prepared with raingear of sorts, which made for some fun photos. Gregoire and a few other government related folks were there, but the real show was the winners of a WSDOT contest asking what groups would do with 30 minutes on the Viaduct.  The Rat City Rollergirls and the Seattle Cossacks motorcycle stunt team both won and were part of the celebrations.

An interesting tidbit for the non photographers: yes, you can actually take so many photos that the shutter fails. During the morning my camera’s shutter started sticking every few shots, and I found out later I’m about 137,000 photos in on a roughly 150,000 rated shutter.  I’m not looking forward to the repair costs…but here are some photos.

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