Goodbye Fall

Today's weather seems to indicate that fall's on its way out and that winter is approaching the District. I have to say... I'm not sure if I'm ready for snow boots and sub-freezing temperatures. Here's a last glimpse of fall I spotted last weekend on a hike in Great Falls, MD.

Banjo . Farmer

I stopped by Eastern Market in DC last weekend and met a banjo playing farmer named Tyler. Tyler and Heather Caudle own Wisteria Gardens in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Their delicious produce is the product of farming without using harmful pesticides, fungicides or herbicides. This photo typifies a normal scene at the Wisteria Gardens stand at Eastern Market.

New in 20009...

No I did not accidentally type an extra zero in this title. 20009 means I'm officially a new resident of a new zip code! Though I'll miss the people with whom I spent such great times up in New England, it was time for a new change of scenery and a career redirection. So, two weeks ago I relocated from Cambridge, MA to our nation's capital...

(This poster is from www.orkposters.com. I have this one... I love it and I love this designer!)

Now here's the thing... I have never lived alone. I've always had (awesome) roommates, and before roommates I shared a place with two parents, a sister, and a dog. So needless to say, some things have been new to me. For instance, I'm not familiar with being able to see every square inch of my apartment in one quick scan (it's a tiny studio). I'm not used to cooking on a stove that resembles an Easy Bake Oven. I'm also not accustomed to locking myself into a room for an evening, waking up to the voice of Liam Gallagher as he screams "...and so Sally can wait" at 6:30am from the stereo of my courteous neighbor, or staring at my plants due to the absence of a television. Yeah, it's been a bit of an adjustment. Though this picture I paint might not seem so great, to be completely fair I have (for the most part) really enjoyed this new lifestyle!

My first order of business when moving in to my new studio was to go all Ty Pennington on the joint and then do what I love to do... snap some photos of it!

Here's the before...

... and the after!

The key to this layout was to hide my bed behind my book shelves. My top priority with this place was to not feel like my entire studio was a bedroom. When you have that kind of setup, it is extremely hard to have guests over and have them and you feel comfortable in the space. The bookshelves did a great job dividing the room leaving a private sleeping nook and a well defined living room. My favorite part of this apartment is my MANtastic new leather couch and the image hanging above it. You might recognize it from a previous post! Here's the view from the couch.

The windows on the left of this photo bring in great light for the entire space. Without 5 foot windows, I think the apartment would feel really dark and cavernous.

Thanks for checking out my new digs and drop me a line if you like what you see. Now that my life is settling down into a routine I hope to post more photos of my adventures in the weeks to come.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Single Speed Project... Complete!

During my months of pretirement, I've operated with the almost daily goal of trying something new. That attitude guided my (ill advised) decision to take apart my 21 speed road bike back in May with the aim of turning it into a single speed bike. Though in all honesty I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I'm proud to introduce you to the final product... my new self-assembled single speed road bike.

The bike is constructed from an old early '80s vintage Univega frame and most parts are recycled as they were stripped off my old bike.

You may be wondering why I wanted to do this and why someone would want to reduce their ride from 21 shiftable speeds to 1 fixed speed. To answer the latter part of that question, many bike purists consider a single speed road bike to be the most efficient way to get around town. I won't get into too much technical detail, but when all the extras are removed from a bike (gear shifters, derailers, extra cogs, and a longer chain) you're left with a streamlined and much lighter ride. If this interests you, read this article by Sheldon Brown that initially piqued my interest.

I'm not sure I have a definitive answer to the former part of the question. I guess my desire to make my own single speed came from a bunch of different motivations. On a purely aesthetic level, I think single speeds look amazing. Their uncomplicated and streamlined and pretty much non-technological compared to modern bikes. And though I hate to admit it, single speeds and fixies are a staple in hipster culture... and deep down there's a little bit of hipster in me. On another level, I just wanted a new project.

To complete this project, I've been walking into Cambridge bike shops for around 2 months asking very stupid questions about bikes in an effort to get free advice. Later I would go home and try out what I've been told. Most of the bike shops' hipster workers have treated me like a complete idiot. Here's a typical transaction.

Kevin: "Hi, um I'm looking for one of those, uhh you know bolt things that attaches to the pedal arms???"
Hipster Bike Shop Worker: "Haaa pedal arms? Um do you mean a bottom bracket?"
Kevin: "Sure?"
HBSW: "(Long annoyed sigh) Ok... yeah well I don't know what you need, so you should just bring your bike by and we'll do it for you. BTW, rad Celtics t-shirt. Is that vintage?"
Kevin: It's TJ-Maxx.

I was almost ready to give up on local bike shops until I met Tyler at Paramount Bicycle in Somerville, MA. On a rainy Tuesday in July I walked into Tyler's shop only to find a guy sitting in the back of an empty store drinking what seemed to be his 7th High Life. Literally the first thing out of the guy's mouth... "Damn you're a little &%@$# like me... you probably have a $#@&@ huge Napolean Complex like me." This was no normal bike shop.

Despite his explicit crudeness, Tyler was the first guy in the area that treated me like an adult. After going through the normal litany of bad questions about bikes, Tyler offered his shop, expertise, and tools to me... free of charge. For two days, I worked in the back of his shop while he barked orders to me about what I needed to do next to my bike. When I cut my finger and asked for a band aide, he called me a pansy (censored) and threw me a greasy towel and a beer. When I nearly stripped one of his allen wrenches, he threatened to shoot me with his taser... seriously he had a taser in his shop and he pointed it at me.

Though this may sound like a rough experience, I was oddly at ease with this guy and his generosity was unmatched. I recommend him to anyone... he really, really knows his stuff. If you'd like more of a review on Tyler, check out his Yelp.com reviews here. Specifically, read Ricardo A's review. His take on Tyler is priceless and dead on.

Had to throw in some Lititz, PAride on my bike. This is a bumper sticker celebrating Lititz's 2009 inclusion in the Dozen Distinctive Destinations.
I hope you enjoyed my rambling recanting of bike project as well as the photos I took outside my apartment. I'm extremely happy with the end result and can't wait to zip around town on it. As usual, I'd love to hear from you if you enjoyed this post.

Featured on the Boston Globe Website

Today brought some great news. A photoessay that I put together for the Boston Globe went live on Boston.com this morning. The story features a quick blog about the project that I undertook in Guadalajara with a corresponding photoessay of 12 photos.

Above is a screen shot of the Boston.com page that features my work. Please click HERE to visit the site and check it out. I'm really excited about the exposure that this development will bring to the organization that I worked for in Guadalajara. Feel free to drop me a line if you like what you see!

Thanks also to the great people at Truth With A Camera for picking up the blog. Above is a screen shot from the Truth With A Camera Workshop Blog.

Update from Guadalajara

Greetings from Guadalajara, Mexico! I’ve just completed my third day on assignment and besides being tired, hungry, and mentally drained, I’m going to bed content that my week with Truth With A Camera has far exceeded my expectations.

My assignment began as a story about children who work on the streets of Guadalajara and the NGO that provides services to these children. When I began meeting the families of these children, hearing their stories and learning about their lives, my story evolved into an intimate portrait of the resilient women of one family who, without the presence of active husbands, are raising amazing children under the most complex and trying circumstances.

I’m way too exhausted to provide more context (more context will come when I return to the states) so I’m going to just dump 22 images from my last three days with some short captions.

Enjoy!

A girl asleep on the 52A bus that travels from the center of the city to the outskirts of the city.

Ette and Joanna in the front room of their home in Cerro de Cuatro. Cerro de Cuatro is one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Guadalajara.

Juana, one of the mothers I am profiling sits with family photos in the bedroom of her mother.

Ette listens as her mother tells stories of her family.

It's a humbling experience when an 8 year old boy with a giant backpack serves as your guide as you try to find your way back to your hotel. Jaime is a student at the Guadalajara-based NGO, CODENI.

Another student at CODENI poses in downtown Guadalajara.

Felipa is the grandmother, and the matriarch of the home where I am working. She takes great pride in her housework. With the help of Juana, her daughter, the house is spotless.

Juana and Felipa are Otomi, an indigenous population of Mexico. In this photo Felipa shows off a hand sewn blanket that took six months to create.

The above photo is a hand sewn laptop bag that will sell for about 30 pesos.

Ariana (on the left) leads her cousins to the local store for some candy.
Omar is Felipa's son. He is about the same age as Jauna's children... which makes him their uncle. I arrived at their home on Wednesday before the children woke. This is my favorite image of the trip so far.

Miguel, Juana's oldest son, wakes up every day before his brother and sister to help his mother with the daily chores.
Juana prepares breakfast and lunch for her children every day. They always sit together to share the meals.
Getting ready for school, the boys brush their teeth at the sinks in the front room.

Ariana watches as her mother brushes her hair.

Juana jokes with her daughter about school over some remaining lunch.

Juana's son, Hermando arrives each day to help with some more difficult chores. Without a consistent presence of men in the home, the children seemed unsure around him.

In a neighborhood plagued by drug use and rampant alcoholism, barbed wire and broken glass serve as the family's security system.

Joanna reacts when her cousins leave for school.

Juana sells potato chips in the center of Guadalajara. On the days that she sells, she accompanies her children to school for a one hour bus ride.

There will be more work on its way in the next couple days. If you took the time to look through the images, I'd love to hear from you.

Estoy en Guadalajara!

Greetings from Mexico. I'm in day two of the Truth With A Camera workshop and so far it has been amazing. Though we haven't really had much time to shoot, it has been wonderful to meet photojournalists from across the country who share a similar passion and vision of photojournalism as myself. The instructors are extremely open, humble about their illustrious careers, and driven to help us succeed. I've only shot a few street scenes in our walks to various locations but here's a couple to get an idea of what I'm seeing. Check back again for updates from my first official day of work.

A view of the beautiful Spanish architecture in Guadalajara. This is one of the big open squares in the center of town.

We stumbled upon some street performers doing some sort of crazy clown and accordion routine. The Guadalajarans loved it.

Watching the street performance was this little girl. Lucky for me, she was quickly distracted by a gringo with a big camera.

Guadalajarans young and old enjoy the amazing May weather in the plazas of the city. This man listens as an evangelist preaches in front of the cathedral.

There will be much more to come this week. Thanks for checking out my first post from Mexico!

Packing for Guadalajara

On Saturday I'll depart for a week in Guadalajara, Mexico as a participant in the Truth With a Camera Workshop. I've eagerly anticipated this week for about three months and packing time is finally here.
For those of you who have visited my blog these past months, I hope that I can keep posting while I'm in Guadalajara so that you'll have some new things to see. For those of you unfamiliar with my pending trip... here's a quick update.

Truth With A Camera is an annual workshop that sends photojournalists to various spot around the globe to hone their photography skills by photographing the work of local NGOs. During the week I'll be photographing the amazing work of CODENI. CODENI provides direct service to over 100 children and adolescents who rely on the streets of Guadalajara for their survival through social-work, street outreach programs, and education. In the evenings, I'll have the priceless opportunity to learn from fantastic photojouralists like Chris Tyree, Faith Cathcart, Dave Ellis, and Josh Meltzer!

Please check back in the next week to get a glimpse of the work I'll be doing!

Boston T Series... Coming Soon!

A few months ago I snapped this close-up of the side of an old, weathered T car standing idle at Government Center.
In the next couple of weeks I'll attempt to duplicate this shot for all the lines on the Boston T map, creating a Boston T Series. Check back in a couple weeks to see the poster!

Creative Departure

During this past year, my creative interests took a surprising turn... I found myself drawn to urban art. This interest was definitely born from following Shepard Fairey's influence on the Obama Campaign. From Fairey I learned about the work of Banksy, Ron English, and Sam Flores. Oddly, I was hooked. I started looking at graffiti as art, I collected a few rare screen prints, and I found myself secretly wanting the over-sized graphic t-shirts worn by urban high schoolers. I know, I know... I too am relieved that this new interest did not leave it's mark on my wardrobe.

Yesterday though, this rural kid made his first attempt at combining the aesthetic style of urban art with photography. Here is the result in low-res quality. To get a better view, click on the image.

The above image started as 12 vertical photos stitched together. Because yesterday's overcast weather was less than optimal for photography, the sky was completely washed out, leaving a natural blank white background. Noticing this, I thought that this photograph might make a great candidate for some experimentation. I then ran the composite image through multiple Adobe processes. After about 5 hours of tweaking and editing, I arrived at the above 200 MB file. If I ever learn screen printing, this would make a really sharp print. I don't expect this to be the direction that my photography takes, but nonetheless it was a fun creative departure for a day. Let me know what you think!

Downtown Panorama: View from Bay Village

As neighborhoods go, Boston's Bay Village is an incredibly well kept secret. Nestled between the Boston Public Gardens and I-90, the streets of Bay Village offer the quaintness and old-world feel of Beacon Hill and the North End, minus the foot-traffic of meandering tourists.

The real jewel of Bay Village however is found on its buildings' roofs, not outside their front doors. My friends Pete and Sarah are two Bay Village residents who experience this on almost a daily basis. Yesterday morning I got out on their roof deck to capture the view they enjoy.

The photo above was taken at about 10:30am. Though it was an overcast morning, I was quite happy with the results. Please click on the image and larger version will open up in a new tab. The detail is really remarkable.

If you have a great view from your home/apartment in Boston and want it photographed, send me an email.

Boston Marathon 2009

Today marked the 113th running of the Boston Marathon. While over 25 thousand remarkable athletes exercised their bodies and minds through 26.2 grueling miles around Boston, I decided to exercise my new Canon 5D and head down to Beacon Street to capture some of the action.
This was the first time I witnessed a marathon, and frankly it was much more inspiring that I expected. For me, it wasn't the remarkable speed of the elite finishers that stuck with me. Instead it was the ceaseless 5 hour tide of runners that blew me away. I stood at the 24 mile mark, and seeing so, so many runners nearing their inevitable finish made me realize what a personal accomplishment the Boston Marathon was to these people. It sounds odd, but I almost felt privileged to be a witness to their success. There's a lot of photos here, so I hope you all enjoy!
Pictured above are the elite women runners who placed in the top 3. Kenya's Salina Kosgei (leftmost runner) wound up winning the race, while Dire Tune of Ethiopia placed 2nd. USA's Kara Goucher (pictured in front) placed 3rd, only .09 seconds behind Kosgei.
It's no surprise that this shot is poorly composed... Deriba Merga was flying! Merga, of Ethiopia won the elite mens race with a time of 2:08:42. It sometimes takes me that long to finish my morning coffee... for real.
Daniel Rono of Kenya placed 2nd.
Ryan Hall of the United States placed 3rd, only .98 seconds behind Merga.
Pictured above is 3 time Boston Marathon winner Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya. Cheruiyot finished in 5th place. This is one of my favorite shots from the day.
The most inspiring two seconds of the day came with Richard Whitehead of Great Britain ran by.
This dude may not have won, but he did win Best Mustached Marathoner of the Day.
A view of the Boston Marathon from the Green Line T.