PEOPLE

More developed film from my trip to Mexico (Spring Break)

Bad little kids playing soccer in the street. They wanted me to take a group photo of them so I asked if they were ready and they posed like this...


Streets of a really poor neighborhood in Monterry, Mexico where some of my family resides. In this photo cousin and aunt.


My little cousin who I've never knew or met in my life. It was nice to get in tune with family I didn't know existed. it was also really sad due to the environment their home conditions are in.

my fav person

i took the 2 pictures below out at my brothers house on my dads birthday, the boy is my nephew who is on of my favorite person in the world. the first pic on the left i shot with natural light and his face has a lot of shadow on it his leggs look all blown out, on the second pic i used a filler flash to bring his face out and i under exposed the image to bring down the parts of the picture that would be blown out.

Bzzz

This bee carrying pollen around an aloe plant was taken in my backyard last weekend. I eat bee pollen in supplement form, as it contains all 22 essential elements that compose the body. It gives you great energy!

Fill flash exercise

Knowing fill flash is another indicator to show that you are better than an amateur photographer. Master it. Hope to see your presentation on Wed. and Thursday.

Best of Photojournalism 2009

The judging/awards for BOP 2009 are going on now!!! Our very own Express-News photographer Nicole Fruge received Honorable Mention for a picture story on soldiers in Iraq. Check out the best this business has to offer and get inspired!

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

Portraits

These are just some pictures I took of my soon to be sister-in-law. Her and my brother-in-law are getting married soon and asked me to do engagement photos of them. I just wanted some advice from yall in places to do them, the kind of shots I should take.... really just any advice you wanna give me. I know it's not photojournalism but it's my first photo shoot that actually matters (this one I just did was more for fun), I just want it to be as professional as possible.

From This Week

Education sophomore Erika Palacios shelters herself from the rain while heading to class south of Loftin on Thursday, March 26. Tyler Cleveland/The Ranger

Theatre Instructor and Director Ronnie Watson laughs during rehearsals for "The Imaginary Invalid," in McCreless Theatre on Monday, March 23. Tyler Cleveland/The Ranger

Following the light

just checkin..

IM JUST CHECKIN HOW TO DO THIS...

so this is the lead singer of a band from Israel called the monotonics, i saw them in Austin @ SXSW they had to be one of the worst bands iv ever herd but man did they put on a good show. the lead singer through the bass drum into the crowd climbed on top and began to sing.  if only i could have plugged my ears & just watch, i would have thought wow what a great band i wish i could here them, but that wasn't the case i did here them & that was the only draw back to their show.  i did how ever see & here lots of other great bands from Metallica to DEVO yes DEVO who rocked out so hard. but ill save that for another blog.    

Freelance photographer J. Michael Short is coming

Hi folks,

Local freelance photographer J. Michael Short has just promised to come to our department and talk to some photojournalism-thirsty souls. The only condition is that we all have to visit his Website and promise to ask questions on his visit. His Website url is:

http://www.jmichael-photo.com/

The date is April 9. 11:30 a.m. Please mark this on your diary.

Michael is a freelance photographer mainly works in editorial topics and is a frequent contributor to Express-News.

Happy shooting.

A Long Time Without Dad

It has been a goal of mine to form a collection of images from the Via bus, of the journey people take on their next destination in life. And where that life will take them, the destination is not always known.

While waiting for the Via to arrive, I noticed a woman beginning to change her toddler's diaper on the bench, right as the bus pulled around the corner. "We'll do this on the bus," she said. That was a reminder for me to take out the camera. I did this to look legit, to avoid whipping out my camera from the backpack and just start shooting on the bus, it would look like I take pictures everywhere, that this is what I do.

And it worked. As I sat down behind the woman and her children, a man to the right of me immediately asked, "are you a photographer?!?!"

Knowing the woman in-front of me would overhear, I told him I worked for the paper at San Antonio College, that I have loved meeting people and being let into their lives, and that the Via is especially great for that (he asked a few questions). He just nodded and I looked up at the woman as she began changing the diaper, exchanging smiles before I took the first shot. No awkwardness, it was great.



Great until I began asking her where she was coming from (as I often ask people), and to hear her reply, "actually, I'm on my way home from the court house. My husband got locked up for two years off a dope charge."

Shocked, I paused momentarily, shoving out a sighed "wow...man."

"yep," she said. "Two years."

At this point, her daughter was jumping up and down on the seats, yelling out the loudest screams after her mom told her to sit down. She handed Precious McGaritty over to her mother in-law in the mobile chair.

I would learn that all five of the children with this woman were her children. "They're a handful," she said, kissing her fifteen month-old Sapphire on the cheek.



"You have a lot of patience," I told her. "And you've got two boys there to help," this being the most I could say before she would pull the "stop request" cord. She looked at her sons and smiled, "yeah, I do."

"Is daddy going to be gone a long time?" her son asked anxiously. "Yes," she said while exiting the bus, "a long time, a long time."


Anita Davilla, 8, and fifteen months-old Sapphire gaze into the camera lens while riding the Via home with their mother (name withheld) on Monday, March 23. The family of five was returning home from the courthouse downtown, their father sentenced to two years in federal prison after a drug related felony.

Warning: I spammed our blog with photo's from my weekend.

A collective of my most memorable photos from my weekend. Usually weekends aren't this eventful. Welcome to the life of destiny and random adventures I wander off into.

This, visual here is a place I like to come and relax and get creative. "The Ditch"

After enjoying an entire evening at the ditch I yandered to my favorite mexican ice cream shop (Fiesta Palebolis). They make all their ice cream freshly.

After the ice cream went on a nightly adventure and enjoyed the environment of this street so I flicked it.

My friends car was broken into before the way to Austin for South by South West's Music Festival.

Shephard Faireys crew was there to install a mural infront of Industrys Art Gallery.

I took part in the movement and helped out with the mural. This photo wasn't taken by me obviously.

I forgot this dogs name but he was adorable and "give a dog a bone" expression fits well here.

After we left the Art Gallery we went to a taco stand on the way to see Erykah Badu perform. This guy had the most crazyest blinged out fang grill I've ever seen!

The capitol building at the end of my stay in Austin.

My sunday spent at the park with family and clowns for my little cousins 1st birthday.

& buenas noches (goodnight) i need to wake up for class in a couple of hours and my sleeping pattern is still on spring break mode.

Last Day

It's not like the old days. People aren't reading the paper like they used to, and newspapers around the country are shutting down, while some are terminating print and going exclusively online.

Today was the last day of work for seventy-five Express-News journalists, including several of my most admired staff photographers. I'm not exactly sure of all who are being laid off, though they will surely be missed.

Some of the best photos, the news clippings I have tacked on my wall, came from those photographers. The clippings were hung to inspire me, to remind me of what can be achieved only by hard work and perseverance. These photographers have motivated my determination for success, and they continue to teach me, regardless of their absence from the page.

They will pick themselves up and dust off the economic woes, grabbing their camera and going back to work.

Several have decided to freelance. Photojournalist Mark Sobhani made a website for potential clients, detailing wedding and portrait rates. Mark is an A-1 photographer, and an amazing photojournalist. He and many others were undeservingly forced to abandon their family at the Express, forced to avoid further abandoning what defines them and doing what they love to support their families.


Mark Sobhani at the Express,

When I mentored with William Luther, I felt the comradery among that photo team, of which every member felt so grateful to be a part of the others' lives. It reminds me of what I have felt working with those at The Ranger and in our News Photo One class, those who are as passionate about the job and the success of yourself and others as you are.

This must not be made less eminent in our minds, we cannot begin to stop motivating each other, to lend a helping hand or communicate our feelings about this career. This positive and supportive element of my classmates and mentors is what keeps me as a student working hard, and without that element, I find myself less motivated or doubting my own abilities.

Send a kind word to the Express-News photo staff by e-mailing them or writing on their blogs. We as photojournalism students must continue to support and learn from each other during these doubt-filled times. I find myself struggling to maintain an unwavering dedication to this work, although I love photojournalism and will work my hardest to make it, the effort and end results must be reciprocated; who takes pictures only for their own eyes?

Some current and remaining staffers (all have a facebook, too):

Billy Calzada's Blog, video and stills

Kin Man Hui, former Ranger staff

Lisa Krantz, amazing amazing amazing

Nicole Fruge, see for yourself....

For Posting's Sake

More Via action:


John Evans shows bus riders his rolled cigarette of Buglar tobacco on Thursday, March 19. Evans prides himself on rolling a "perfect one every time, even while driving."

Various Things

So I am putting my two cents in. I am new to photography so be nice! Lexie that means U! These are mainly pictures from vacations or places I have been in general.

First, this is street in downtown Madrid. I love architecture and Europe has some great buildings. I think it is funny when people tell me that their house is very old and it was built in the 1920's. Then you go to Europe and those houses have been in existence since for hundreds of years, not 80 years. Anyway, I like the composition of this photo so I am posting it.










Next is the obligatory tourist shot of one of the most famous and recognizable buildings in the world: The Moulin Rouge. In person you almost miss it because it is perched above all of these sex and stripper shops on that street. However, I spent several days in Pigalle in Paris so I saw it everyday. Finally, I decided to take the tourist shot.

Finally, since Tricia wont put any shots of animals or butts in the paper, I decided to post a picture featuring both. I love Jack Russell terriers and thought this photo was so cute.

Enjoy! Jose

Flash photography

Hi photo folks,

Seems like we have a successful and exciting experience in learning flash photography. We've learned the low light environment flash this week, we will try bright light environment flash next week. Hopefully we will have the same success in learning that.

For now, let's have some fun with seeing what we did in class.
Photos by Dr. Lo

Keep the posting coming

Photo folks,
It is great to see new postings on our class blog. I try to view it everyday. So far, we have had 5 people posted. We have Tylor, George, Destiny, Leda, and Lexie and me. It is exciting to see different people express their view and interest in photography. I always believe photography should have no boundaries, it is a form of expression; a living style; a tool of communication. Use it as a diary or reflection of the world around you.
So, keep the posting coming and don't hesitate to comment if you have special thoughts on others posting. I will promise to check the blog regularly and you will get your 3% bonus if you keep posting regularly.

Dr. Lo

Landscape Film Pictures

Ok, so I know I was going to work on my paper but I just found these pictures I took with an old film camera and wanted to post them!

This photo is supposed to look like that, I had to use tea to stain the photo for an assignment that I was doing but the picture is kind of sad and lonely. 

This is just a waterfall in the backyard of one of my friends houses in New York. I took pictures of this waterfall at different angles and depending on which angle I was at, it looks like a completely different time of the day as you will see in the following pictures. 

This picture and the next are taken around the same time and I think the glare from the sun adds a spooky mystery to the photo when it's in black and white. 

Not to much to say about this one, the sun caught the lens and added the glare but it draws my eye to bend in the stream and you wonder what's around the other side. 

I just personally love this picture. I love the reflection of the sun off the water and I like that the drop of the falls is dark and you see the water coming down.

Old School Pictures from DC

I'm currently avoiding writing a 5 page paper right now, so I'm going through some photos that I've taken from back in the day... I'm pretty sure that means from last year but that seems forever ago!!

 

This first one was taken at the US Postal Museum in Washington DC. It's probably not News Photo worthy but I like it. 

The one on the right is obviously the Capitol. I don't think that I need to 

say any more about that. 

Left: Picture taken at the Botanical Gardens in front of the Capitol. 

After a long day of touring the city with the in-laws we went by the Washington monument right sundown. I though it made an interesting effect with the silhouette.  

This is the Iwo Jima memorial in the DC/Virginia area. This is a very hard picture to take at night because of all the people that are around and there is very little light from the memorial and it's not around anything else to give off light. I took about 50 pictures I believe just to get a decent one and it's not great if it's too large but I just had my simple point and shoot camera w

ith me. I hadn't bought my SLR camera yet. I hope to go back and capture a better picture with my SLR 

camera.  

"Here We Mark The Price Of Freedom" is the saying in front of this wall of stars. This memorial is located with in the WWII memorial in DC. This is newest edition to their memorials and this particular memorial recognizes those that fell for our country during WWII.

Besides the new WWII memorial, this is my favorite memorial. This is the Vietnam War Memorial, a.k.a "The Wall". For those who haven't seen it or don't know what it is, it is a long black granite wall with lists of names of soldiers that were Missing In Action, Killed In Action or Prisoners Of War. Although it seems simple enough and not very emotional, most will tell you that it is the most emotional. To walk through the path and see the names continue on and on is heart wrenching. The wall has 58,000 names on it and they continue to update that wall as remains are found. As you see in this picture, someone left a flag for those lost. You see the reflection of the flag and as you walk past the wall you can see your own reflection, adding to the emotion of the memorial. My one hope is that my husband and I will one day get to go back so that I can have him kneel down, one hand on the wall with his head down and get a picture of him and his reflection on the wall. Although the idea is no original, it is close to home for me with my dad being in 2 wars and my husband currently deployed. Although this picture is very simple, it means so much to me and reminds me why my dad and husband do what they do. I hope that everyone will respect and thank the people that are or have fought for this country because in one war at least 58,000 people didn't come home to their families for our country. The story is touching and inspiring for me and pushes me into wanting to do documentary photography with an emphasis on war photography. 

Ok so now that I'm done with that long spiel!! I'm going to get to working on this paper of mine. I have tons of photos for there and other places that I'll post at another time.