Rule of Thirds

Thanks for the title Steve Gengler.

Into the Lion's Den

Public Service Announcement:

This is what you'll find waiting for you when you rip a bunch of people off, fake your own abduction and run off with your kid to Disney World. It's enough to scare anybody straight. I've now spent a total of eight hours sitting outside district court to spend about 4o seconds photographing Bonnie Sweeten, and all I can say is thank god for good company.

"Each Flag has a Name and a Face"

58,000 American servicemen were killed in the Vietnam War and more than 1,800 remain missing in action. More than 4,500 have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Vietnam vets Don Caruso(above) and Preston Creely(below) were two of the volunteers planting 65,000 flags in Falls Township in tribute to every one of these men and women.

I always enjoy assignments where I get to meet veterans because they've experienced things that give them a perspective most of us will never understand. When i got to this assignment I was pretty excited because hey, 65,000 flags in the ground means lots of cool visuals. I felt like an ass when Creely reminded me what they really mean. "Each flag has a name, and a face. It's good to see they're not being forgotten."

More Odeing

Somebody help me...I can't stop(see below).

Ode to Silhouettes

Silhouttes are a gimmick, a cheap trick for hacks who can't make a real picture. As a professional photographer, it's my obligation to turn my nose up at such trite ploys. At least I think that's what I'm supposed to say, but here's the truth: I freaking love 'em! Have a picture of yourself standing on the beach at Lake Nostalgia? Boring vacation snapshot. But a silhouette of yourself standing on said beach? Ooooh, artsy! Granted they can be a bit overdone at times, and if anybody belongs in a silhouette shooters' detox, it's me. But when done well, I think a good silhouette can tell a story quite nicely. As evidence, I present photographs A and B:

These are from separate graduations I've shot over the last two weeks. Check out how eerily similar they are. Besides thinking I apparently need to be more original with my compositions(I'm currently suing myself for plagiarizing...myself), I was struck by how much more I like the silhouette. Maybe if the grads in photo B had more expression it would be a different story(or if I did a better job framing out that light in the back), but I think the silhouette tells you everything you need to know, does it cleaner and quicker, and is much more likely to catch someone's attention when they're scanning a Web site or, if they're really, really old, a newspaper. Maybe those are just the clouded thoughts of an addict, but I'm curious to hear other people's opinions.

A Tale of Two People

Without question, the best thing about my job is getting to meet new and interesting people just about every day. They're what make putting up with pay cuts, crazy hours and unpredictable schedules totally worthwhile. Two that I met recently have nothing in common, but both reminded me what a privilege it is to tell people's stories.










Stephen Lawlor is 10-years-old and 3' 8'' tall. He was born with skeletal dysplasia, a condition that causes his internal organs to grow faster than his skeleton and one for which there is no cure. Faced with a lifetime of surgeries and more challenges than anyone should ever have to endure, he's chosen to focus on his strengths and has turned himself into a champion speller, which as a fellow former archdiocesan spelling finalist, holds a very special place in my heart. (Stupid auricular! Why don't you have two r's?? I could have been a champion!)

On the opposite end of luck's spectrum is Suzie Brown, a beautiful woman intelligent enough to go to Darmouth and Harvard, driven enough to become a cardiologist at Penn and talented enough to take time away from being a doctor to pursue being a singer/songwriter. With every reason in the world to be arrogant and pretentious, she was instead extraordinarily kind and humble and completely conscious of and grateful for the gifts she's been given.

Both of these people had a big impact on me. I can't wait to see who I meet tomorrow. (It better not be some jerk. Jerks are the worst and have no right to live amongst us.)

SuperSonic

People go absolutely crazy for Sonic. One comment from a reader on our newspaper's blog said, "Finally, a decent restaurant in our area." I have to say, I don't get it. Food delivered on roller skates tastes about the same to me as food passed through a window, over a counter, or out of a vending machine. Actually, the vending machine at work has double chocolate chip muffins that are incredible. I'm going to get one tomorrow, and I'm already excited just thinking about it.

Gut shot

A kick to the gut to go along with a 2-1 playoff loss. Ouchee.

Part Two

With newspapers failing and the market on photographing kids and puppies being pretty crowded, my new backup plan is photographing lawnmowers. This may be your only chance to invest in my new business before it really takes off. Seriously, please send me money.

Pleasantville, Part One

Penn Paddock

Building Blocks

BUSTed

April is the Cruelest Month

Hogwarts

Harry Potter Day at Memorial School, Cinnaminson, NJ

Citizen Soldiers

I got two spend two days in Oklahoma covering a unit of local National Guard soldiers training to deploy to Iraq. The plan was to shoot stills and video(I still say it's bad to do both), but I broke my still camera jumping out of a humvee pretty early in the trip, so I got to focus mostly on video. I'm starting to really enjoy video as I get a slightly better feel for it, so while I was pretty bummed about the camera, I admittedly felt relieved and excited to concentrate on strictly video for once.