Keep it simple. . .

(Photos courtesy of Daniel Zolli’s flickr images)

On June 10th my friend Vince will be traveling to Moldova (Eastern Europe, part of the former Soviet Union) with the Peace Corps.  This small country is located in between Romania and the Ukraine and is home to 3,383,332 people.  After the fall of the Soviet Union, Moldova saw a sharp production downturn due to huge energy shortages.  Industry in Moldova began to collapse rendering a more or less crumbled economy.  ”In 2005 (Human Development Report 2008), the registered GDP per capita US $ 2,100 PPP, which is 4.5 times lower than the world average (US $ 9,543). Moreover, GDP per capita is under the average of its statistical region (US $ 9,527 PPP). In 2005, about 20.8% of the population were under the absolute poverty line and registered an income lower than US $ 2.15 (PPP) per day.” (wikipedia.com).  Vince will be spending 27 months among these people teaching them to rebuild what they have lost through diligence and teaching.  He is a great man and i believe whole heartedly that he will do great things for this country.  The point of the Peace Corps to improve American relations with other countries, improve other countries relations with the US, and to strengthen the view of the US abroad.  Keep others like Vince in your thoughts for what they do reflects us all.  Good luck Vince, see you soon enough.

Multi Media Update.

I have been lacking pictures of Isaac with his family.  I didn’t realize it was so apparent until i read comments (thanks to those that did).  Last weekend I spent the day trying capture Isaac in his brief moments of sibling interaction.  The nature of his disorder puts him at a constant communication disadvantage that even his siblings have a hard time penetrating.  However it is the smaller moments like the one below where his little sister imitates her older brother, that are touching and significant.  This weekend is Isaac’s little sisters birthday.  I hope to capture some family shots as well as some that will juxtapose Isaac with other children close to his age.  Today i am going to take some establishing shots, Isaac getting of the bus, Isaac transitioning from A activity of the day to B activity of the day.  Oh and i will be attending church the the family on Sunday.  Aside from that i am still collecting audio and figuring out what is the best way to tell this story (Isaac speaks minimally aside from repetition of popular sayings).  I made comments on Katie Mikos’s blog as well as Jessica’s blog.  Everyone’s work has been very impressive, especially considered where we were all at several months ago.  

Multi Media.

The due date of our final multi media project, which will include roughly 40 pictures of one subject and complimentary audio, is rapidly approaching and I am in desperate need of some critique.  Above are some of the images I have shot of Isaac (age 10, diagnosed with Autism at 2 years old).  So far i have pictures of everyday life, as well as a family outing.  I plan to attend school one day and church with the family.  Let me know what you think.  Let me know what I can improve on.  Let me know what I am missing.

Distorting a Photo with the Camera.

It was through current classmates Jennifer Steven’s blog that i was turned onto a new way to take pictures called through the viewfinder photography, TTV for short.  ”Through the viewfinder photography (TTV for short) is created when you use a digital camera along with a vintage Twin-lens reflex camera (TLR). A photographer first composes the photograph through the viewfinder of the vintage camera, then takes a photograph of the viewfinder with a digital camera.”  states Steven’s of the creative process of this type of photography on her blog on 3-16-09.  TTV takes a modern, ordinary images and gives and old feeling, and almost a creepy feeling.  Often times TTV adds a special elements to an otherwise ordinary photograph.  

Like father, like son.

I have heard after some time with a pet a strange phenomenon starts to take place; the owner and the pet begin to resemble one another.  However, in this case time was not essential.  This man arrived at the animal shelter to adopt a kitten for his daughter.  As they waited in line i stepped back to capture the adoption process.  At home, viewing my photographs from the day i couldn’t help but laugh at this series.

A Public Goodbye.

Izzy

March 4, 2008- March 9, 2009

You are loved.

At 22 I had it bad.  I was already a full blown, die-hard, power loving cat lady.  Perhaps it was not all cats but this one cat in particular that pranced into my life in a nonchalant way and placed herself deeply in the center of my heart.  I was not expecting to like this cat let alone love her.  School was coming to a close and people were beginning to wander their separate ways for the summer.  While I was happy with my life in South Carolina and doing well in school, there was a nagging feeling that something was missing.  My roommate Tyler, being the wonderfully intuitive woman she is sensed this void and took it upon herself to fill it with a tiny kitten we named Izzy.  She brought Izzy home in a cat carrier as the crazy kitty clung to the top doing trick for her new audience.  Tyler introduced us then left to return to work.  I was left alone with the fur ball whose legs were entirely to long for her body and whose head could justifiably be called a pea head.  At first we did and awkward dance around the room hesitant of one anther.  Slowly we began to play.  Slowly we became friends.  Her soothing purrs transcended the silence between us on many lazy nap days of the couch.  Our relationship was simple, I loved her and she loved me back without question.  We would clean together, dance together, sleep together, and eat together.  That void was gone and she had no idea what she did for me.  Eventually we moved from one house to another.  Izzy and her 4 roommates were very happy at their new house on Santee Ave.  Everyone fed her, talked to her, and loved her.  She watched over things perched on the shelves as we fixed up the house.  The house was finished and before we knew it Izzy was turning one.  As the future post college rapidly approached it was comforting to know that I would have a companion on my travels.  She was one and we had the whole world at our fingertips.  We were a duo, and in an uncertain future that was the most comforting thing I had.  What I forgot was the uncertainty of life.  Only one week after her birthday God showed himself in the face a little kitten.  She has been missing and several days later we found her body.  I wanted to know why, I wanted to know how yet in the end neither of these answers would ease my pain.  I cried and cried and then when I thought there was nothing left I cried some more.  As the shocking pain fades I can see a little clearer.  It is the little things that are the worst.  She no longer scratches on the bathroom door when she is locked out, or sits on the stoop when I pull up, she doesn’t talk anymore when she wants some food or cuddle on my belly while I watch a movie.  Though losing something you love will break your heart it will also teach you a thing or two.  Izzy came into my life and changed me with her simple love.  In a world where our love is far to often conditional, it is both humbling and gratifying to remember it does not have to be this way.  I miss her with all my heart and as I pick up the pieces of a life lost I remember fondly and with heart bursting love the bizzy Izzy that changed my life.

USC v. UK

On Sunday, March 1st the lady Gamecocks faced off against University of Kentucky in their final game of the regular season.  For the seniors of the team it was their last chance they would have to play in the Colonial Center as a member of Gamecocks athletics.  Dawn Staley ends the year confident that they have put in the blood, sweat, and tears this season to make the next a victorious one.  Pictured left: Sutton as she approaches the hoop in the final period of the game.  Pictured right: Falohun turns to face three of her teammates as half time is called.

The men play Tenn. tonight at 7:30pm in the Colonial Center.

A New War on Drugs. Photo Story.

A tattooed man stands on a hill overlooking Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Cartels have launched a wave of violence against the government of President Felipe Calderon since ti began a crackdown on organized crime on 2006. According to the attorney general's office there were 5,370 drug-related homicides in one year. And the deaths can be horrific- victims have been tortured, beheaded or dissolved in acid.

The casket of David Miranda Ramirez, 36, is carried by fellow police at his funeral on Nov. 13, 2008. An estimated 50 od Ciudad Juarez's police officers were killed in 2008 in incidents blamed on drug gangs.

Inside a car where two people were gunned down on Dec. 17, 2008. Violent deaths have multiplied throughout Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched the "war on drugs" in late 2006.

Fmaily of slain police officer Miranda Ramirez mourn his loss at his funeral.

Last class, 2-24-09 we discussed the idea of a photo story.  Taking the idea from concept, to relationship, to execution.  The photo story, to me seems an ideal assignment.  The photographer is given the chance to not only tell some elses story through a powerful medium, they are able to leave traces of themselves in the photographs they take as well.  Whether the subjects is an escalating drug war or a rural South Carolina cattle auction, one story can lead to many.

I have included some photos from a story done on the recent violene in Mexico due to an escalating drug trade.  These photos and more can be found at MSNBC.com.  The photographer is Shaul Schwartz.

Isaac Has Autism

This is Isaac.  He is the oldest of four children to Spring and Sam Slagle of Chapin, SC.  I began working as a personal care aide to Isaac roughly 10 months ago.  Autism can be a tricky disease to identify due to its great spectrum of severity.  On one end there are those that are midly afflicted, usually diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, at the other end are those as severe as Isaac.  Austim causes no physical deformities or degenerative qualities,  rather it impairs one’s communication abilities.  Isaac has no means of conveying how he is feeling, what he is thinking, or even what he would like to eat for dinner.  Likewise, Isaac has a very hard time processing the words of others.  He knows simple commands and basic expressions.  He likes to watch Veggie Tale movies and surf e-bay. Isaac has taught me above all that things are not always as they appear to be.

This photo was taken at the begining of my time with Isaac.  It was taken with a simple point and shoot camera in Isaac’s room.  It was late in the afternoon lending little natural light to aide the camera.  I manually changed the ISO to 1600 to more properly expose the picture.  While it did, the picture came out quite grainy.

Your Shot at National Geographic

Photo by Zong Ye Quek

First published in September of 1975, National Geographic hence forth has published their magazine with the richest writing, flawless layout, and above all pictures of inconceivable beauty.  The photographs are a glimpse into peoples lives, places that we may never go, and of moments gone by that may never again be recounted.  The pictures are, to say a few words, raw, vibrant, inspiring, breathtaking, original.  The photographers are, no doubt in the like of their work.  I feel to work for and be published in National Geographic to be a huge honor for a photographer, an honor that would place you among the best.  However, such an honor is not reserved only for the veterans of great photos.  In the true spirit of the magazine, NGM sponsors a photo competition with every new issue.  Your Shot is a chance to put your work among others with a similar love of being behind the camera and of being in the right place at the right time.  Submission are accepted begining on the 15th of every month by simply going to http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot.  The winners are published monthly in the magazine or on the website.  I think there is a lot of talented people around us that could find a great outlet in utilizing this opportunity.  I have posted some of the winner from May 2009.  Goodluck.

Photo by Hideta Nagai

 

 

Photo by Tanawat Likitkererat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Archimedes Fresco