Sarah Flagg Photography

California-'I Do'

2010-08-26T13:33:00.007-05:00

I've never taken pictures at a wedding before, and I did so at this one purely as a spectator so please excuse any discrepancies in wedding photography etiquette or technique.

Ilia- My beautiful new cousin-in-law

Cousin Evan had a little trouble after Ilia said her vow. They wrote their own - very commendable. And walked down the aisle to MJ's "I'll be there."

Victory!

California-Boards and Burgers

2010-08-26T13:23:00.006-05:00

My cousin Evan was getting married. In Laguna Beach. During the US Open Surfing Championships. Needless to say, my attendance was mandatory. I flew coast to coast for the weekend and had the best time with my family.

First of all, California meant a reunion with my one true love, In N Out. Quite possibly the best burger made by human hands, this organization is what is pure and true in fast food.

The beach crowd at the US Open Surfing Championships

Getting ready to ride the waves

Not to mention courts upon courts of sand volleyball. My parents refused to leave me there

And fishing...ew

Farewell Big Apple

2010-08-26T13:08:00.006-05:00

The less time I had left in the city, the more fun I had. I saved the pilgrimage to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty until my very last week.

I'm not one of those people who know exactly where they come from. I have no clue what my ancestors did for a living, or what type of boat they arrived on. That being said, I was extremely moved by Ellis Island. I found myself reading every statement, display and lingering at every picture that described the life of an immigrant trying to build a new life.

I met these guys at Bryant Park. They belong to an organization called Juggle NYC. If you're in the Big Apple, I highly suggest you check them out- fantastic guys.

I also had to say my good-byes to Central Park, by far my favorite place in the city.

Fourth of July- DC

2010-08-26T12:57:00.004-05:00

As wonderful as NYC was, I needed a break by the 4th of July. I'd never been to Washington DC, so I packed my bags for a long weekend to visit friends and sight see. Not only was DC fun, patriotic and educational, it hands down wins the "Cleanest City" award.

Children play in the fountains at the WWII memorial

Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial

And the best part... FIREWORKS!!!!

NYC Round 3

2010-08-26T12:37:00.006-05:00

Hello! I know I've been severely slacking, but after some hard drive issues, I've finally started to sort through my pictures from this summer. The more I got used to the concrete jungle, the more random and exciting things popped up. As an avid baseball fan, I went to a Yankees game and THEN miraculously got tickets to the Mets vs Cardinals series. I took my Cards jersey against the angry, intense Mets fans. Of course the Cards triumphed in extra innings, and I made sure every New Yorker knew I was from the Lou.

I had preconceived notions about Yankees fans being rude. Not the case. The Yanks were charm school teachers compared Mets fans. We sat next to the Cards bull pen and the taunting was a little more than harsh. Then, as we tried to defend our beloved Cardinals pitcher, Jason Motte, WE were told to sit and calm down. Prejudice much?

As amazing as the Yankees' game was... we missed A-Rod's 600th home run by two nights. Yankee stadium almost rivals Busch in its sunset beauty.

Boyz II Men Concert: NYC

2010-06-27T16:07:00.007-05:00

My dear friend Adam Liebman had the genius idea of seeing Boyz II Men in concert at the BB King in NYC. Just in case you've lived under a musical rock for the last 20 years, Boyz II Men is the origin of boy bands and pop soul music. The concert was amazing- they sang classics as well as new songs and covers of songs like "Amazed" and "I Can't Make You Love Me." In other words: they brought down the house. The concert was small but mind blowing- they still have the moves.

Serious dance moves and fresh wardrobe

Oh, and when they sang, "I'll Make Love to You," they handed out roses. So classy.

NYC Part Deux

2010-06-27T15:41:00.004-05:00

I've gotten much more comfortable in the city after the first week. And despite the disgustingly hot subway stations, I like the ease of getting around the city. This week I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and shot my first assignment for CPL. I've had pizza almost every day since I've gotten here and found some other cool places to hang out around my neighborhood. Here are some more random sights:

The night view from Pier 1, a gorgeous outside bar on the pier off 68th St.

Oh, and two random pianos on the end of the pier.

Somewhere in Brooklyn, on assignment for CPL

MOMA, and all it's free on Friday night wonder. It was the last weekend to see the Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit. Absolutely inspiring. The strangest part? A 'No Photography' sign right outside the exhibit.

Jackson Pollock was there along with Andy Warhol.

Biting the Big Apple

2010-06-15T16:03:00.008-05:00

So it's been a while, I know. Yes, I graduated. I didn't think it was real until I actually walked into Mizzou Area and realized my college years had mere hours until death. I had an amazing last weekend with my friends and parents and started packing up my life in Columbia. I have an internship for the summer in New York City, so I moved out there June 13. I start work on the 16th, so here are some images and thoughts from my first two days walking around and exploring.

I've already made friends with the local grocer, "I give you good specials and meat and fruit, you have hair like me Elsie." I can only hope that Elsie is a daughter or wife and not his dog. There are several cute little grocery stores in my area, expensive and tiny. The isles made me a little claustrophobic and everything is completely packed to the brim. However, the second day, I found my grocery store. Cheap and massive, this was an indoor farmers market very comparable to London. It's across Central park at 78th and Broadway and called Fairway Market. I'll have a trek getting it home, but it will be worth it.
Right away, I noticed the subtle similarities between New York and London.
People are always on the streets and most have been friendly. Everyone has a dog. Fortunately, my clothes and I do not stick out near as much as they did abroad. From what I can tell, my neighborhood is mostly ethnic, with very little English spoken on the streets, but safe and quaint. I haven't found any restaurants or staple eating places, but I have much more to explore.

To put it academically, my places exceeds expectations. It's pretty much a dorm with a workout center and laundry room. If I didn't have MizzouRec to compare it to, I'd say the workout room is exceptionally nice. My room is spacious and I have enough places for the abundance of clothes I brought. I have a roommate, Erika, who is very sweet. Compared to London, it is a palace. Compared to Juniper, it is a closet. The place- which I'm going to call 1760, is going to work out great. Except for the kitchen which in reality is a sink and one, single burner. One. My Iron Chef skills will have to be put on the shelf for a few months while I'm here.

As I was wandering aimlessly through Times Square, I noticed a swarm of people in bleachers under the Coke-Cola sign. When I asked a tough looking security guy what was going on he told me it was the unveiling of the new Volkswagen Jetta. I like cars, so I stuck around for a little while. He let me go into the VIP area because, 'my camera makes me look important.' WIN!

Oh yea, and then Katy Perry performed. Welcome to NYC?

New York drivers seem to think honking your horn is as natural as a turn signal. People honk if they're going to change lanes, or if they're even thinking about changing lanes. It's loud- and strange. For my first few days, I stalked where I'm going to work, went to the garment and food district, all through Times Square and Central Park, Columbus Circle, Museum Mile, Hell's Kitchen, Upper West Side, Park Avenue and have eaten more pizza than I care to admit. I feel like I have a lot more to see- my two main goals are Ellis Island and a Yankees game for now. Wish me luck at work tomorrow- Sarah in the City... Out.

Two Bros Pizza- 2 slices and a soda for $2.75. Beat that- I dare you

Central Park on a cloudy day

And last, back by popular demand...GNOME!

Picture Story- Bases of Tradition

2010-05-13T15:30:00.010-05:00

Alright guys- this is my final project for Picture Story. I hope you find the elements and emotions of baseball displayed in the photos shown below. A big thank you to the White Sox parents, players and Daniel Boone Little League President, Eric Chapman.

Baseball came to America through the European game of rounders. In the late 1790s, men played the game after town hall meetings, slowly evolving it into baseball. Fifty years later, Alexander Cartwright perfected the modern baseball field and his club, the New Yor Knickerbockers, formalized the rules known today. The Civil War increased the popularity of the game and it spread as far as California. With scandal and the strife of WWI, the game hit a plateau in the early 1900s, but skyrocketed when Babe Ruth entered the scene. Reflecting social change, baseball was the first sport to integrate African Americans into the white Major League. Throughout the last two centuries, baseball has echoed the changing social and technological climate in America. Weight rooms, televised games and grand advertising schemes have rapidly integrated themselves into the game. However, the purity of the game can still be seen in little leagues across the country. The White Sox is an age 10-12 team in the Daniel Boone Little League from Columbia, Missouri. This team exemplifies the basic components of baseball: summer, family, competition, teamwork, pride, nature, pace, and most of all, American symbolism.

Kaden Wilborn anxiously checks the batting order for the season opener against the Athletics. In baseball, the batting order becomes its own hierarchy of hitters. Placing the most consistent hitters first allows the third or fourth power hitters to bat them in. Moving down the list decreases in batters’ skills with the pitcher hitting last.

Several of the players on the 14-member team play on multiple teams. “Ya know we go to practice Sunday morning, and then have a double header Sunday night, its busy busy,” says George Batek, father of infielder Max.

Kaden Wilborn swings away at a ball during the White Sox practice. The baseball bat is an integral part of the game. In the 1850s, players used all sizes and shapes, usually fashioning them out of wood themselves. Ten years later, the league commissioners set a rounded 42-inch standard rule for shape and size- the same rule still in effect today. The most famous name in bats – the Louisville Slugger- made its appearance in 1884. After seventeen-year-old woodworker John Hillerich watched Louisville player Pete Browning break his favorite bat in a night game, Hillerich approached Browning about making a new bat. From white ash wood, the two made a creation that allowed Browning bat three for three the next game. The wood bat still looks similar to its creation over 100 years ago.

The White Sox play at Daniel Boone Little League fields on the south side of Columbia, Missouri. Divisions start at age 5 and continue until age 16. From tee ball to player pitch to stealing and all-star status, the league’s principles include teaching boys the basics and strategy of baseball.

The league started in 1959 and was only open to boys 10-12 living west of Garth Road. Boys rode their bikes to games and drank cold sodas after a victory. The league has grown about 150 players each year since the 60s.

Pete Kardon critiques his son Alex’s batting after a strikeout against the Athletics. Baseball naturally bonds fathers and sons together. With the Daniel Boone Little League, fathers are often the coaches of their sons’ teams. Balancing the family bond with improving and teaching skills is a challenge and a joy according to Ric Wilborn, father and coach to Kaden Wilborn.

Sam Mitten hangs his head after pitching one of his first innings with the White Sox. Usually a steady and consistent pitcher, Sam let one loose, and injured the catcher for a moment in the process. While passion is necessary to continue playing the game of baseball, struggle and disappointment is inevitable.

Coach Ric Wilborn talks with the White Sox after a tied game against the Indians. “We have to hit boys, and we have to swing to hit the ball,” he chides. Tie games usually only occur in little and minor leagues, with the professionals playing until a lead is established in the bottom of an inning. According to the Baseball Almanac, the longest baseball game lasted 8 hours and 25 innings when the Chicago Cubs faced the Milwaukee Brewers in 1984.

The imitation of professional league players is clear even at the age of 11. Sam Mitten chews gum while anticipating the game-ending out. Chewing has become a staple in the slow pace of baseball. Players first starting chewing tobacco in the early 1920s when tobacco companies gave free samples to players waiting to bat in the dugouts.

The sun sets on the creation of Alexander Cartwright, reminding passersby that the field, like baseball, will continue to exist. Dubbed, “America’s Pastime,” even in its early days, baseball has been known to persevere through wars, technology and changing social values. As Walt Whitman once said, “In our sundown perambulations of late...we have observed several parties of youngsters playing base, a certain game of ball...Let us go forth awhile and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our close rooms...The game of ball is glorious.”

Picture Story- Works in Progress 2

2010-04-30T20:28:00.005-05:00

The White Sox had their first game this Wednesday against the Athletics. In the bursting sunshine, they pulled out a 4-3 win for their opener. Here are some photos- again- comments/criticisms/suggestions are welcome!

Picture Story- Works in Progress

2010-04-30T16:04:00.011-05:00

Here it is: the BIG ONE. We've done several little assignments for Picture Story and a few weeks ago, I started the main 30-day picture project. Baseball pops up again as I attempt to visualize the importance of the game in America. Originally wanting to work with a professional college team, I found too many distractions- advertisements, endorsements, steroids and an obsessive work schedule diluted from the simple point I wanted to illustrate. After contacting Daniel Boone Little League President, Eric Chapman, he graciously set me up with a team coached by Ric Wilborn. The White Sox are ages 10-12 with players' experience ranging from competitive to first timers.

The concepts I want to illustrate through my pictures are summer, family, competition, teamwork: part of something bigger, idolizing players, pride, natural outside environment, pace of the game and American symbolism.

I've been to the team practices for the last few weeks in preparation for the games starting the last week of April. Here are some images from practice. Feel free to let me know what you think- thanks!!

FOOODDD

2010-04-13T15:59:00.002-05:00

Like the PhotoJ majors, the magazine sequence kids are also knee-deep in capstone quicksand. Their task work in groups to create a complete magazine. My friend Claire Hanan's group is making a brunch magazine. I was excited when she asked me to photograph for the magazine and even more excited when we ate all of the food afterwards. Here's a sneak peak:

We start with lilac-infused champagne

Turkey bacon, asparagus and red onion pizza...

And a desert pizza of white chocolate, pistachios and cranberries

Random fact about me: I. Love. Bacon

Opening Day- The Best Holiday in St. Louis

2010-04-13T15:14:00.010-05:00

Baseball heaven is officially open! The first home game at Busch Stadium was a complete success with 46,918 people- the most in a regular season game at the new stadium. Albert hit another home run and had 4 RBIs. Wainwright also had an amazing game- not only great pitches, but a hit as well. A big thanks goes to Mom and Dad for scoring us tickets in Big Mac Land.

Third baseman David Freese swings away

Skip Schumaker at second

Pujols hits his fifth home run of the season... WHOO

Not a good picture, but I couldn't resist recording Mark McGwire's return to Busch.

Ronald!

Picture Story - Video Job Profile

2010-04-12T09:12:00.004-05:00

For my first time using a 5D Mark II for video, I did a job profile of Chef Darren Garmer. He teaches Cuisines Across Cultures at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in St. Louis, MO. I had a blast and learned about several cooking techniques I'll now be practicing on my roommates. The 5D Mark II made really crisp video and was easy to move around and focus, however, the audio was a challenge. Chef Garmer had a microphone during our sit-down interview, but the camera still picked up a ton of background noise.

Thanks to Le Cordon Bleu, Chef Davenport and Chef Garmer!

Job Profile from Sarah Flagg on Vimeo.

Picture Story Reading

2010-03-21T10:02:00.001-05:00

This week’s readings covered several important aspects of photojournalism.

The Picture Essay by Hurn and Jay focused on exactly the purpose of this class: telling a story or point through a serious of pictures. They offered advice on how to edit and group the pictures. Putting them in categories of overall, medium distance, interaction and detail pictures is a great way to figure out what pictures you still need or organize what you have. They also reminded photographers that the visual cliché is not the entire event. Telling the story is more important that providing that one extravagant ‘publishable quality’ photo. This is why visual note taking is such an important part in an in-depth story.

In reading Langton’s ideas on the relationship between a photographer and subject, I realized the importance and help we are to them as well as they are to us. Yes, they give us the material for a story, but we often provide comfort, or a simple ear to listen. He gave the example of the Rocky Mountain Times “Final Salute” story of a photographer accompanying the wife when she picks up the body of her Marine husband killed in battle. At the end of the night when the editors and photographers went to talk to the wife, she thanked them for allowing her to talk about her husband. Without compromising the story, we can help our subjects get through the tough times in their lives.

Chapnik’s reading focused on prosing a story. One of his main arguments was to not propose a story on an area to which you’ve never been. Too often we want to go to areas and tell stories we are sure are there, but in reality, may not be. Proposing requires the gift of being able to take criticism and being flexible on your story.

POYi Reaction: Picture Story 2

2010-03-06T17:12:00.002-06:00

The last week of POYi focused on multimedia and editing. I attended the Issue Reporting Multimedia category and was yet again impressed with many entries. Some entries were still images with audio, while others included video and music. Since this is a photography competition, I loved the judges’ focus on photography rather than video. One entry was about a job fair and done completely through video and audio. The economy was a common thread throughout the entries, but this story provided a completely different view. It used double frames to transition between the first character and second- something the judges commended. However, during discussions, the judges nixed the job fair piece saying the photography element was not strong.

Another economy piece thoroughly confused me. Opening with harsh music and for sale signs, it showed the transition between a once successful neighborhood and the present harsh times. The judges loved the music and photography. My confusion mostly stemmed from the music and the actual story being told. While this entry deserves to be commended, I did not see how the music did anything but dramatize the situation. I don’t consider myself an old school, by-the-book journalist, but believe if you do an audio piece with natural sound, putting unrelated music is a little jarring. The judges however, loved the music and kept coming back to the piece. I was shocked to see it voted out after the positive remarks.

The entry that won ("A Boy's Struggles") was the only story the judges watched all the way through in the first web-casted round. It brought tears to my eyes and is probably the single best audio with still piece I have ever seen. The story was about a boy who had been sexually abused by a tutor. What made this piece so amazing was the photography. The photographer completely avoided the faces of the mother and son. Showing the emotion of the situation as well as the character of the people without their faces is nothing short of artful. The comfort the subjects with the photographer were evident in the stunning audio produced in the piece. The entry was a hands-down winner, but at one point, the judges brought up the reasons why. Not only was the relevance of the issue apparent, but they story exhibited a deep understanding of the difficult topic. The limitation of identity perhaps caused the subject to open up more. Overall, the delicacy of the situation was handled perfectly.

Lastly, I want to mention second place. While an amazing piece, I have several personal connections that moved me. First, I frequently drive through and have several friends who live in Wentzville, Missouri. Seeing homelessness in such an area that resembles my town is striking. These are average, middle class families who have hit hard times and suffered the worst consequences. Second, the story showed the struggle of one husband finding a job to support his family. He attempted several fast food restaurants and only found success with McDonald’s. The fast food company is constantly ridiculed for its hiring standards as well as its effect on our nation’s obesity epidemic. In times like this, people need to appreciate the good that one of the world’s most successful companies does for the average person. The subject could have snubbed his nose at the job, considering ‘flipping burgers’ beneath them as most people do. They paycheck as well as the added help many owner/operators give to their employees will hopefully allow this family to get back on their feet. Throughout the recession, McDonald’s has not cut back on charity donations and has kept the same hiring standards. I know I’ve strayed from the POYi reaction, but this makes me extremely proud to be associated with an organization that does so much good with so little recognition.

POYi Reaction: Picture Story

2010-02-25T19:56:00.002-06:00

The Pictures of the Year International is hosted at the University of Missouri and the most prestigious photojournalism competition in the world. I had the honor of working in the competition and also watched several of the categories. I was astounded at the amazing photography and broad topics shown in each category. For my Picture Story class, we were asked to write a reaction to a picture story category. I chose the Issue Reporting Picture Story by a Freelance/Agency category.

There were around 380 entries in this category and were defined as: A story or essay that explores an important social, economic, or political issue; twelve photographs maximum per story according to the POYi web site. While going through the entries, the skill of the photography was evident. However, more often than not, I did not understand what the stories were about. In the first round, there are no captions or text to explain the stories, so the pictures relied heavily on visual story-telling. I could not tell whether the story was about a person, place or idea. I also rarely saw the standard formula of scene setter, portrait, mid-range, transition, environmental portrait, closer, etc.

However, a few definitely stood out. The babies from nuclear mutations in Kazakhstan touched me as well as a simple story about two elderly people taking care of each other. However, the story that I understood and really just GOT was “Love Me.” The story ended up winning the category. I would describe it as more of a photo essay on the globalization of beauty and the high standards that come with society’s standards. I don’t know whether this story moved me because I am female and face the battle of being thin and attractive or because it was just that good. But by the third picture, I understood every concept of the story- and the global impact it had. The winner photographed 17 countries in 5 continents with subjects ranging from beauty queens to Iranian women to musclemen.

I was also impressed with the judges’ ability to sift through the graphic images to find good stories. I think one of the faults with our profession is the confusion between graphic and dramatic issues and good photojournalism. Is it good because the victim is deformed? Or because the photographer portrayed them well? The dramatic stories still need to be told with skill, but a lighter story can be just as good with excellent photography. That being said, I thought the dramatic stories that were selected for awards reiterated the point. The poverty in Moldova and drug struggles in Tijuana illustrated the struggles without going overboard on graphics to make up for poor photography.

Anyway, I’ll get off my soap box. Because I worked the voting box, I found certain images to be automatic ‘outs’ for the judges. Many of these images were pictures of pictures, unfocused images and very wide-open space images. When I am shooting my 30-day project, I will remember these auto-outs and hopefully not include them in my story. Watching this judging was extremely inspiring.

Picture Story - One Day Photo Story

2010-02-18T14:22:00.003-06:00

For this assignment, we had to photograph a story- in one day. I chose the Albanian family who runs the restaurant Felini in downtown Columbia. Let me know what you think.

Alex Baumhardt serves Saganaki to a couple eating dinner at Felini in downtown Columbia. Felini is a Greek and Italian cuisine restaurant run by the Canhasi family. Saganaki, or ‘flaming cheese’ is one of the many traditional Greek dishes they offer. After the cheese is breaded and fried, it is doused with a mixture of Everclear and Brandy, set on fire for presentation, and finished with a yell of: “Opa!”

Leonora Canhasi prepares Spanakopata, a spinach-filled pastry in the kitchen of Felini. Leonora is one in the family of twelve Albanian refugees who escaped Kosovo in 1999. During the Kosovo War, NATO bombed their city and the family was trapped in their home for 19 days. Then, while they were eating lunch, cries came that the town next to them had been completely destroyed. The family fled with only small possessions in their hands. They traveled to the US, and were matched with a sponsor in Mexico, Missouri. One of the few possessions from Kosovo is a wedding portrait of Leonora and her sister, dressed in gold-threaded dresses. After fleeing, they were left with almost nothing.

Ilir Canhasi pours broth over lamb shanks. The shanks cook for one hour and then slow marinade cook for three. According to Ilir, “the kitchen is the heart of the restaurant. It sets the beat because you have to time the food perfectly.” Ilir and his family owned a restaurant in Kosovo named Felini after the Italian director of “La Dolce Vita.”

Grape leaves surround beef and rice as Leonora compiles the Greek Combo Special. Coming to the United States was starting over for the Canhasis. They got jobs in a factory in Mexico, Missouri working 84 hours a week. “We all worked and saved to rent an apartment and buy one Dodge Spirit, dreaming of rebuilding Felini,” said Ilir. After four years of hardship, the family saved enough to buy the restaurant without loans. Ilir, Leonora and her husband Bekim are the primary cooks at Felini, with cousins and nephews filling in as servers. Ilir has taught his two children to cook traditional Albanian and Greek dishes as well as speak Albanian. “They will grow up American, but it is important for them to know about our language and our old home.”

Ten years have gone by in America, with six of them wrapped in the dream of Felini. Some of the family still lives and works in Mexico, searching for satisfaction after the destruction of their home and former life. Felini, like many other businesses, has had to adjust their hours to comply with the economic recession. At the end of the day, Ilir counts the day’s wages, only totaling $300.

Picture Story Reading 5

2010-02-14T22:23:00.003-06:00

Radio: Glass and Abel

This was my first collegiate reading in the form of comic book. Seriously, I felt like I was reading ‘Sally Forth.’ I loved it. The reading focused on collecting and editing good audio for a radio story, but was applicable to any audio interview. Glass and Abel said, ‘a story can be told as a sequence of actions,’ and that a character was needed to relate to people and tie the story together.

I agreed with their pre-interviewing tactics: to go in with a general plan with key plot questions and then obtaining details whenever possible. One thing I need to improve upon is asking the subject to create a visual picture: where they were standing, what they were doing before ‘it’ happened, etc.

Lastly, I had never heard of logging and audio interview. I thought editing was listening in Audacity and cutting out the parts that didn’t make sense/weren’t relevant and then ordering it so it told a story. The idea of a log simplifies the process and creates a story automatically. Thank you, comic audio lesson.

Sound in the Story

Not quite as entertaining, but still useful. The reading was a very strict, to-the-point commentary about what to do and not do in an interview. Necessary, but redundant of things we have covered in other classes. Still, the refresher was nice. The components a good audio can piece include: interview, ambience, natural sound, voice-over and supplemental music. I’ve never questioned ambient sound as being inauthentic. The thought that some audio shows may incorporate sounds not from the story is shocking.

Picture Story Reading 4

2010-02-11T15:06:00.000-06:00

This week’s reading from Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird focused on character, plot and dialogue. While discussing character, Lamott requires answers to important character questions: why should we care about them? And what makes us want to know about them?

Especially in photojournalism, we strive to describe people without literal descriptions. Lamott gives the example of how teaching her son peace chants tells more about Lamott’s political beliefs than a more straightforward “these are my beliefs” description.

Also with characters, Lamott highlights on one of my weaknesses: not forcing your characters to be who you want them to be. One can’t choose what the characters do or how they act- they must be allowed to act on their own with you recording it.

Lastly, relating to plot, Lamott discusses a formula Alice Adams created for stories. The formula is ABDCE, standing for action, background, development, climax and ending. The similarities to the photo story formula (for lack of a better word) are obvious. A lede photo, detail scene setter, an interaction shot, a transition for development and lastly a closing. Both models are excellent starts to photo stories.

Picture Story Reading 3

2010-02-03T22:13:00.001-06:00

The readings for this assignment were both a history lesson in photojournalism. Langton began by giving a brief history of the camera and it’s awkward start with slow shutter speeds and portraits. As technology advanced, the camera became smaller and more versatile. I found it unbelievable that photographers had to bring their darkrooms around with them. Life and Look emerged as the industry’s leading photographic outlets and soon they featured a different medium to tell a story.

Chapnik traces the modern picture story back to a German publication and two photographers who discovered a relationship could exist between two images. His chapter on great photographic essays illustrates examples several photographers and their adventures in photo essays. Chapnik closes his reading with requirements (if you will) for a great photo essay: time, cooperation, an abandon of preconceptions, detail and most of all, passion.

The message I took from these readings was simple: do what has not been done before. We see many photo stories on drug abuse, but Bill Eppridge was the first to do it, and do it well. Gene Smith developed the modern photo essay himself, leading to thousands of stories. Obtaining the access these photographers had with no precursor is just downright amazing.

Picture Story Reading 2

2010-01-31T17:04:00.002-06:00

Lamott: School Lunches and Polaroids:

Lamott ties something as simple as school lunches into writing. Everyone had school lunches and using it as a writing start is an intelligent way to communicate. She writes with such common analogies, but really delves into the deeper meaning when relating them to writing. In writing these things, she finds truth. When first experimenting with photography, I would take the same picture over and over again. The things in the frame would be the same, but I would try it with different angles and distances.

Lamott describes writing a story like the slow forming of a Polaroid. I hope this is what my 30-day story will turn out to be. I see it forming, but then other components surface and the story may change, or become truer.
Hurn and Jay: Selecting a Subject

First of all, I loved their definition of the destination of photography: "to reveal what something or somebody looked like, under a particular set of conditions at a particular moment in time, and to transmit the result to others." Free from passion, but correct.

They pose questions that help to find a subject- something I definitely think will be useful in my quest for stories. Narrowing stories and relating them to something else, such as a moral has always been a struggle of mine. Hurn and Jay point out the struggle is universal. I don’t know if I agree with their claim that it’s necessary to incorporate photography into everything done every second of the day. Sometimes I enjoy not thinking about it, and I do not believe one has to be thinking of stimulating visuals all the time to be good.

Cabo San Lucas

2010-01-29T22:19:00.014-06:00

My parents and I kicked off the new year on the warm, sunny beaches of Mexico's Cabo San Lucas. Sure to be one of our last vacations as a family, we spend the entire week lounging, eating and taking advantage of 2 for 1 happy hour.

The view from our condo

Our resort from the sea

We went whale watching one night and it was amazing. We saw 5 whales, and some of the other boats were tiny- I thought they were going to get knocked over.

Sea lions?

Moby Dick vs tourists

This is the famous arch that is Cabo's landmark. Nice, but no gateway to the west.

View from the sky pool, complete with aqua bar... legit

The return of the gnome... and time to go home.

Photographic Essay and Picture Story

2010-01-28T14:59:00.003-06:00

Yes, I'm once again using this blog for a class. This is my last one, my capstone for MU people. Photographic Essay and Picture Story is a class on telling a story with a group of pictures; the final project being an in-depth 30-day story resulting in a picture story. I'll be posting assignments, reading responses and updates on my story progress.

Here is reading assignment numero uno!

“One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore.” Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott, xii.

I’ll start the response to this reading assignment with the above quote. While the same theory applies to photojournalism, I had never realized the truth in this career choice. People who report have a strong desire to experience, and then tell. I thought I wanted to travel through society and cultures because of photojournalism. The reality of the situation is that I am a photojournalist because I want to travel and explore.

Although this book is about writing rather than pictures, many things can be transferred. Lamott advises to write about everything. Start with your past, your memories, write about what happened to you on the playground while reading the Babysitters Club. The same can apply when learning to make pictures. Photograph your family, go to anything and everything and shoot a variety of sports, people and nature.

I think I’ll discover when starting a good photo story is that it doesn’t always turn out how it starts. Lamott says to start with a small piece and combine more small pieces to become a whole, rather than trying to photograph or write an entire story thinking of the entire story. She does an amazing job relating every day occurrences to writing and life: like Heidegger, she sees the bigger picture. When her throat muscles were cramping and closing due to the absence of her tonsils, the analogy of our psychic muscles cramping around our insecurities and pain was exceptional.

Lastly, Lamott engrained this into my skull: your work will not be perfect the first time. Most likely, the second time will still be flawed. But maybe, by the third or fourth time, satisfaction will settle.

Langton Reading: In Langton’s introduction, he describes newsworthiness and objectivity as it relates to photojournalism.

He points out sometimes costs effect the time and energy spent on a subject, rather than it’s actual newsworthiness. An example was a photographer who wanted to stay in Haiti to cover the peoples’ turmoil. He was told to stay if he could fund himself. Later however, Haiti’s government became international news with its corruption. What made it news one day and not the next?

Langton made me realize news photographs are more memorable and have a higher sense of purpose then other photographs. They affect the way people are educated and perceive the world. One of the duties photographers have is to show people the way they truly are.

Although I am spending the semester as a photo editor, one thing Langton said made me think about why I like shooting more than editing. The editor does not always know the story. Their perceptions and what they want the story to be can be different from the shots from the photographer. It is at this point, the photographer needs to clearly see what is newsworthy.

2009 in Review

2010-01-17T11:14:00.004-06:00

Thought I'd do a little 2009 recap to help me figure out 2010.

I left for London Jan 9, 2009 and still haven't recovered. If 2010 brings a return trip or move back to capitol of Brits, I wouldn't be disappointed. Traveling around Europe also dominated the first half of the year and was the greatest experience of my life thus far.

I had my first serious internship at MSN UK. If I find work in 2010 as satisfying as the colored butterfly, I'll be astonished and beyond happy.

I spent the summer in Columbia, MO working as a staff photographer at the Columbia Missourian completed the first semester of my senior year in the fall.

One of the best classes I've taken, Electronic PhotoJournalism, required me to create a portfolio web site. I considered myself software retardant, but with enormous help, www.flaggphotography.com is now a reality.

In attempting to hold back my hostilities about graduating, I have begun the job search. Enough said.

2010 started off on the beaches of Cabo with my family (pictures coming soon). The week was a wonderful reprieve to the constant gnawing of absent life plans.

This semester I'm taking my Capstone as well as returning to theMissourian as a photo editor. While I have no idea where life will take me after May, I'm going to enjoy the last few pages of my MU Tiger chapter.

Flagg out.

Multimedia Critique 2

2009-11-01T19:41:00.002-06:00

Tim Matsui is a photojournalist who specializes in environment and human trafficking stories. Focusing on hope, he has done several informational multimedia pieces for non-government organizations. In a piece for WL Gore called Cambodia: Victim to Survivor, he explored the human trafficking industry in Cambodia.

In an extremely moving piece, Matsui uses audio, interviews, video and photography to focus on the informational side rather than personal stories. The project was well mixed with video and photography starting out with a video and title text that I would like to incorporate into my final project.

For more dramatic text throughout the story, white letters appeared on a black background. The words were statistics, countries, or info clips. While this was extremely effective for the dramatic mood of the presentation, it is inappropriate for my project. The music throughout the piece was also fitting as was the speed of the photographs in accordance with the music.

Aside from the video at the beginning, the only other video was interview clips. To be honest, watching someone talk is much less appealing than having audio superimposed over pictures or other video. I will have no direct interview video in my project. The only part of this story I disliked was the too-quick transition from a sad story to happy, to sad again. Feeling a bit bipolar, at the end, I didn’t know if I should feel hopeful or cheerless. I will make sure my transitions in my project are clear.

Technically, the ability to hide the play/pause buttons and status bar is something I would like to learn. As a naturally distracted person, I catch myself looking at status bars instead of focusing on what I am watching. Is this possible in Flash?

The design of the story is very simple, with a white background and logo at the top of the page, and a small, informational sentence at the bottom of the page.

EPJ Multimedia Critique 1

2009-10-15T15:35:00.003-05:00

This project was a story about a woman from Africa who survived AIDS by taking anti-viral medicines after she had lost two partners and her son to the disease. Also, the story included the news anchor that has helped spread her success story to gain funding for other victims. The technical sides of the project were flawless. The audio was perfectly clear, pictures artistically done and the video even had picture overlays. The video included a button to make it large screen and volume controls with a way to skip to the beginning or end.

The user doesn’t have control of the project, as there is no interactivity besides play or pause buttons and chapters are not included. However, this adds to the simplicity of the story. AIDS isn’t an easy topic to develop with interactivity.

Aside from photographs, the piece had a live video interview which gave it a news story feel for legitimacy, but still kept the photo and personal feel. Photographs were inserted at visually expectant places and when we needed explanations, interview video was played. The slow transitioning of the pictures and the breaking up of pictures in Flash was very well done. I would like to include how some pictures fade-in in pieces in my final project.

The surrounding color scheme was the only thing I hated. The MSNBC logo was necessary, but the bright color montage in the background was distracting and inappropriate for the content. A black background would have been much more effective. A side bar also appeared next to the piece, but was not distracting.

EPJ Website Critique 2

2009-09-30T16:38:00.007-05:00

The portfolio website of Penny De Los Santos contrasts sharply with the last critique I did of National Geographic photographer, Joel Sartore. De Los Santos is a photojournalist from Texas who has also worked for National Geographic, but has taken her photography to a food level. Literally, she integrates her journalistic talents to food in different cultures.

Anyway, I met Penny at the Missouri Photo Workshop I’m helping with this week (more details to come later). In stalking her and the other faulty members, I found her web site and decided to use it for this assignment.

De Los Santos’s website is plain and clear, much like her food photography. Both the pictures and the sit complement each other well. The white background on the site goes with the white plates featured in many of her shots. The site is also easily navigable. Home, and category buttons are at the top of every page. Her portfolio button becomes a drop-down menu featuring her galleries. I have mixed feelings about this. I like that a user can choose what they view first, but I don’t like pictures not accompanying the gallery titles. Also, the light gray font color blends into the main image on the home page. The galleries don’t become impossible to read, but become more difficult.

I’ve decided I like the look of top navigation rather than on the left side like I have on my site. My name will need to be a little smaller and aligned left and then my categories will be smaller on the right.

In her galleries, she has a scroll bar to the left but without navigation arrows. Users must move their arrow up and down the pictures to click to enlarge; I think arrows would make it easier. De Los Santos has anywhere from 20-32 pictures for each gallery. While I do not have that many good pictures for my site, I love the variety and amount she has.

Lastly, in her bio category, she has links on words like ‘family.’ A new window will pop up with a little blurb about her family. I love this. Many people want to share their family, but not necessarily everyone wants to read about it. With this interactive tool, people have the option to learn more.

EPJ

2009-09-20T16:46:00.007-05:00

This semester, I am enrolled in a class called Electronic Photojournalism. Although not required, I decided to take this class to expand my non-existent knowledge of web-site building, Flash and other aspects of outside-camera photography.

The class requires a blog, so I will occasionally be posting assignments as well as my current photography. I bought a domain name and will also be building a real website throughout the semester!

Our first assignment is a web site critique.

For my first critique, I chose to analyze Joel Sartore’s photography web site. Mr. Sartore has been one of my favorite photographers since I first picked up National Geographic Magazine in high school.

I’ve visited Mr. Sartore’s site many times, but never for ease and content review. The gray background with white type makes his site stand out from the average black or white photography backgrounds.

Mr. Sartore included links at the bottom of each page to return to the home page, galleries, bio, store and stock as well as links to Facebook and Twitter.

The home page displayed three big pictures. Two linked to galleries and had a slideshow effect that I would like for my site. The third was a personal story photograph. The site displayed Mr. Sartore’s current work on amphibians along with his updates to his old work. A short description also accompanied every gallery, which helped distinguish his different projects.

Mr. Sartore’s site is all-inclusive. Not only does he have a biography and blog, he has a section of frequently asked questions and links to his field notes. While this is unnecessary for my site, I respected that he is willing to share his knowledge easily. He also has forms for contact and many contest and information links for great interactivity.

What I did not love about the site was the sidebar distractions. The sidebars were links containing more of Mr. Sartore’s videos and information or National Geographic advertisements. While they were organized, they distracted me. Without the bars, the main images could have been bigger.

This class also requires a final project incorporating multimedia. I only have one project idea so far. The St. Louis Cardinals are having a break-through season. My family has season tickets and I would like to do a project on the Cardinals while they finish their season. I can interview fans, and photograph games to create the story of the end of their season.

Mizzou Volleyball

2009-09-20T16:43:00.003-05:00

I've been attending some of the Mizzou women's home volleyball games, here are some pictures from the stands:

Jubilation after winning only 1 of 4 games.

Julianna Klein is an amazing outside hitter and her sophomore year, she tore her ACL. Sound familiar? For my Fundamentals in Photojournalism class, I did a photo story on her and her recovery as a two-time ACL destroyer. It makes me so happy to see her out on the court again kickin ass.

Columbia Missourian

2009-09-20T16:39:00.007-05:00

Hi! I know it's been a while, but this has truly been a summer of photography. I stayed in Columbia this summer and was a Staff Photographer for the Columbia Missourian. While working, I covered anything from the Show-Me-State games to the Harry Potter premiere to a portrait about a private investigator. Eventually, I'll include links to multimedia in addition to my photos.

I really enjoyed the random assortment of things I did for the paper this summer. Although challenging, it gave me the experience of a daily newspaper staff photographer.

Boone County Horse Fair

So apparently, Centralia, Missouri is the land anchor capital of the world. They're the leading manufacturer of the things that drive holes into the ground. Every year, they have a town celebration called Anchorfest and no joke- an anchor driving competition. In probably one of the most entertaining sporting events, people of all ages compete to be the fastest anchor driver.

The City of Columbia is trying to pass an ordinance that allows its citizens to own chickens. Bluck Blaahhh.

Stephen's College dance rehearsal.

The Columbia Entertainment Company put on My Fair Lady this summer.

Two hysterical Show-Me-State game volunteers.

Columbia also played host to the regional Soap Box Derby this summer.

The two firefighter divisions in Columbia joined this summer and had training exercises.

50 and over softball: EPIC. These old guys can play better than I ever have.

Show-Me-State Games mountain biking at Rock Bridge State Park. Yes, I did hide in the bushes.

Who knew kickball was an official sport at the Show-Me games

Summer concert series at Shelter Gardens

It rained on the Fourth of July, but all the staff photographers covered the fireworks show splendidly.

This was for a story about a woman who struggles financially and looks for free things to do with her kids.

At the Boone County Fair, a new animal show came which displayed exotic animals from hyenas to tigers to bears... and an adorable baby monkey.

Back in the Homeland

2009-06-30T15:38:00.008-05:00

I survived 5 months in Europe, and am struggling to find things in Wal-Mart? Needless to say reverse culture shock is real- much more real that I ever imagined. Seeing my friends and family brought tears to my eyes, but after the initial home-shock was over, I was completely at a loss. What am I supposed to do now? Where do I go? Although I had plenty of tasks to keep me occupied, none of them ranked among Fashion Week or jetting off to Dublin for the weekend.

I knew I was moving back to Columbia, Missouri to take summer classes at Mizzou, but in the two limbo weeks I had at home, I was completely clueless. What helped me get through this strange parallel universe? Family, American food, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

After missing my first Opening Day in years and having to read updates instead rather than attend games, Dad gave me three Cardinals game tickets upon arrival home. Going to these games with family and friends made me realize what I missed most about America- companionship, familiarity, and an amazing baseball atmosphere.

Baseball Heaven and Cubs vs. Cards
22-year-old Colby Rasmus prepares for a bunt
Fly balls always make for entertaining faces

Soriano about to strike out
Another amazing play by the Cardinals

Nick Stavinoha connects with that ball

While pitcher Sean Marshall looks on, the Cubs make the one good play at their loss of a game.

Cards vs. Royals was the third game I attended right after the sweep of the Cubs. Of course, the Cardinals won again, 5-0.

Albert Pujols crouches to out outfielder David DeJesus.

Skip Schumaker rockets one out to centerfield

The umpire looks confused, as if he didn't expect Royals Teahen to catch the ball

The night before, Albert slammed one out to Big Mac Land and injured the 'I.' Free Big Macs for everyone!!!!

Kyle McClellan prepares for a strike

Now that I am back in Columbia, I am lifeguarding at Oakland Community pool, teaching water aerobics at Lake of the Woods country club, taking two classes, and taking pictures as a staff photographer at the Columbia Missourian. News pictures are coming next!

Cheerio London!

2009-06-24T16:49:00.007-05:00

Just a compilation of my last days/weeks in London, where I worked, and a photo tribute to how much I'm going to miss everything.

The Wobbly Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral

A stroll in St. James's Park

Squirrlin' Around

Even pigeons can be pretty

100 Victoria St, known as Cardinal Place is the headquarters of MSN UK, aka the most incredible job ever created. This glass palace is my office building, complete with hot chocolate machine. My ridiculously fantastic boss, Laura.

My last Sunday in London was the day of the London Marathon.

Santorini

2009-06-24T15:36:00.007-05:00

Only four days remained in our European adventure, so we high-tailed it out of Athens and set sail for Santorini, one of the southern Cyclades Greek islands. After an eight hour ferry ride, we landed in Athinios port and were picked up by Stavros, the man who ran our hostel. Driving to the hostel our breaths were taken away by the landscape of the island: it looked fake, it was so beautiful. I've been to California and Florida and neither prepared me for the blue of the water. The main city, Fira, was built right into the cliffs. We stayed in a small village called Karterado at Stavros Villas.

The city of Fira

After relaxing away the first night on the black sand beaches, we started the next day with an island excursion. Right off the island is another small island with a volcano named Thirasia and hot springs. Climbing around the volcano led us to see only black and red rock, and blue blue ocean. We got back on the boat and headed to the hot springs on the edge of the mini-island. They were not hot springs- more like swim in freezing water to get to lukewarm springs. But, it wasn't as cold as the water in Wales, and still gorgeous.Coming down from the volcano

The day after, Lainey signed us up for scuba diving. I wish my camera was water proof because the most amazing sights of my entire 5 months abroad came from beneath the water with swarms of fish around us. The comedic part of this adventure was that Lainey thought she'd signed us up for snorkling... and was in for an awakening when the air tanks and weight belts were brought out. Still, the sight of the sunlight coming down through the water while a rainbow of fish swam around me is something I will not forget in this lifetime or the next.The Red Beach

The moon was even gorgeous in Santorini

Santorini has the most beautiful sunset in the world. I'm not exaggerating. Google it. We rode our ATV up to the town of Oia and watched this sunset. Tears came to my eyes, speech was driven from my mouth and I took about 800 pictures. Truly, this was the best sunset in the world- prove me wrong- I dare you.

Sadly, paradise had to end. Eight hours later, we found ourselves back in the shithole that is Athens. Ten hours later, I landed in London. Twelve hours later I took off for Chicago, my first destination stateside. Another eight hours found me in O'Hare. In three hours, I touched down in St. Louis, and 17 minutes after my plane landed, I collapsed into the arms of my parents.... I was home. My time abroad had come to an end. Jerry's Food!!!

Athens

2009-06-11T17:48:00.007-05:00

I'm not going to lie, Athens was disgusting. As beautiful as Prague was, Athens was twice as ugly. As soon as you got past the Acropolis, Agora Ruins and Zeus's Temple, the city was a dirty, perverted mess. Graffiti covered everything, creepy men stared (and did other things) at Lainey and I, and the city just smelled. Sticking to the gorgeous parts and city views, here are my pictures.
We stayed just one and a half days in Athens and hit the Acropolis with the Parthenon first thing. Atop the Parthenon is actually three different temples dedicated to the Greek gods. Built on a giant hill, we saw the entire city.

The Parthenon was under construction

Crowds climbed through the famous columns

A stadium next to the ruins

The Agora Ruins from the Acropolis

A view of the Parthenon through the gardens at the Agora Ruins

Zeus's temple was ground level, but just as gorgeous.

The intricacy of these columns 60ft in the air is surprisingly noticeable

The Athens Olympic stadium

View while climbing Mt. Leviticus

Praha...ha

2009-06-01T18:18:00.009-05:00

Most Beautiful City in Europe: Prague. Without a doubt, Prague had the most dazzling effect on me. When Lainey and I arrived, we hiked to the top of the Petrin Tower (like Prague's Eiffel Tower) and watched the sunset over the city.

View of Old Town Square

Old Charles Bridge

The architecture more than made up for the disgusting food such as pig knuckle and fried cheese.

Old Town Square from the ground

Lainey's friend Ariel met up with us that night and Prague's beauty did not leave with the sun.

So, we knew that some building in Prague was the inspiration for the Disney Castle- not to be confused with the one from Germany- that's Sleeping Beauty's castle. All of the buildings were so gorgeous that we kept walking around saying, "Look! It's Disney!"

We spend the next day sight-seeing the castle, gardens, Jewish Cemetery, etc.Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral

Inside St. Vitus

A man playing accordion on the Old Charles Bridge.

Locks!! Just like in Rome and FlorenceI did not know that John Lennon had connections to Prague. In the Mala Strana section of the city, a graffiti-filled wall was dedicated to John and the Beatles.

The Rudolfinium- they love their classical music

That night we went to the self-proclaimed largest club in mid-Europe with some people from our hostel and had probably one of the most fun nights since being abroad. Our last activity in Prague took us to the beer gardens. We need these in America. This is the view from the gardens.

Kutna Hora: Mines and Bones

2009-06-01T17:34:00.006-05:00

Since we were in Prague for three days, we decided to take a day trip out to Kutna Hora- a small town about an hour away from the city. Why Kutna Hora? Well, the Google machine told me there was a bone church there. A Bone Church? Yes, a church made out of bones. Bones from victims of the Black Plague to be exact. These bones sat around for two hundred years before some royalty decided to make a sick church out of them.*** Odd things below A bone chandelier hung from the ceiling. I didn't know bones smelled, but this place smelled of bones.

Called the Kostnice Ossuary, the Bone Church is eerie to say the least. Aside from the musty marrow smell, the skulls almost seem to have facial expressions. A bone coat of arms was made to represent one of the family who commissioned the project. Over 40,000 bodies decorate the church.40,000 was a little more than they needed, so the designers built large chambers on the sides of the church and just piled up the bones... decoratively.
The town also had an old siver mine. After the church and food, we took a trip down there. During a tour completely in Czech- where we couldn't understand a word- we explored the mine and its leftover deposits. Pretty awesome, slightly claustrophobic, and hilariously funny, we dominated that mine and headed back to Praha.

Berlin

2009-05-18T14:16:00.007-05:00

My Dad traveled to Europe the summer after his junior year in college. Dad and his best friend hitchhiked to New York and then hopped across the pond, bought an old VW and drove around Europe (I have a point, I promise). At some point, they reached Berlin. In the 70's, the Berlin Wall was up and strong. Communist East Berlin was a different world than a block away from Allied-controlled West Berlin. The wall separated families and split everything. Dad faced machine guns when seeing the two sides of the city, having to travel through Checkpoint Charlie to ensure that he was not an East Berlin citizen trying to escape to West Berlin.Understandably , he had a few worries with Lainey and I hitting the former disaster city.

The weather was gorgeous- hello European summer.

However, we discovered not only a different Berlin, but a shockingly modern one. Of course most of its buildings were destroyed in the war, so the architecture was modern, but what shocked me the most was the complete spackle job. You know when you accidentally poke 5 nail holes in the wall while trying to hang that picture and then you have to get the white spackle and fill in your mistakes? Well, spackle- meet Berlin. The city is trying desperately hard to cover up not only WWI and II, but also the Berlin Wall and everything unpleasent the country encountered over the last 100 years. I can't blame them, but amazed at what a good job they did of it. Hitler's bunker didn't even had a sign marking it, the bullet holes in many building had been covered with advertisements and the streets cleanly paved.Checkpoint Charlie

Remnants of the Berlin Wall

The monument erected after defeating Napoleon

The walking tour we took was the same one we had taken in Dublin and Paris and did not disappoint.
We started at the Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz. The Platz is the home of Hotel Adlon, where Michael Jackson dangled his baby. Also, it's named Pariser Platz because it celebrates the defeat of Napoleon when they came to invade. The statue above the gate was changed (after Napoleon stole the original) to face France... saying: back off!

The Jewish Holocaust Memorial was more like a giant maze than a memorial.Bebelplatz was the site of the Nazi book burnings. Books are now sold on the outskirts of the platz, many of the books were those that were forbidden. Under the square, rows and rows of empty bookshelves serve as a memorial.German cathedral

Museum Island

Some German/London graffiti

The Reichstag- we climbed the dome on the top. The dome is open to the public and is supposed to remind the goverment officials below the see-through dome that they are below-therefore serve- the people.

The view atop the Reichstag- the giant pole thing is the Fernsehturm- the television tower

They all went down to Amsterdam

2009-05-18T13:54:00.006-05:00

My program in London ended April 24th and I was not ready to leave the wonderful continent of Europe. Lainey's program ended that time as well so we planned a small Eurotrip before heading back to American flags and cars. Our first stop was Amsterdam. Aside from drugs and hookers, the city was unlike any other in Europe. Similar to Venice, Amsterdam had canals running through its city and much of its economy operated through boats. However, roads still existed and absolutely everyone biked.The city had few tourist sights, but those that it had were profound. Our first stop was the Anne Frank House. Not only was the Secret Annex turned into a museum, but it told a story more completely than any exhibit could dare to explain. We also went to the Rijks Museum and saw the famous paintings of Rembrandt and Vermeer- the artist who painted Girl with a Pearl Earing. The Dutch had some pretty impressive artists.

Lainey and I had amazing timing. We hit Amsterdam the day before their Queen's Day celebration. Take St. Patrick's Day and apply it to Amsterdam. Fairs, parties and their national color of orange was everywhere. In Amsterdam, literally anything goes. Walk into a store and buy a cannibus joint, or another store and buy magic mushrooms. Sex shops are more common than McDonald's and the Red Light district is NOT an exaggeration. I didn't take any pictures there. If I tried, the prostitutes would have come out and broken my camera right in front of my face.We rode the swings at night over Dam Square

Barcelona

2009-05-18T13:52:00.002-05:00

Over the Easter holiday I went to Barcelona to visit one of my best Mizzou friends, Lainey, in Barcelona. She was studying abroad in the Spanish city like I was in London. The pictures and a proper entry are still under construction...

Je Amour Paris

2009-04-09T20:09:00.010-05:00

Paris exceeded all expectations- I had heard from several people that I would be disappointed. I don't know if I had low expectations, or the city was just amazing but I loved it. Gorgeous and shockingly friendly, Paris is one of my favorites.

The memorial dedicated to the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe. This is the Eternal Flame. According to our walking tour guide, some Australians decided to pee on it one day making it not so eternal. The Arc was built by Napoleon to commemorate his triumphs and is in the middle of the most dangerous round about in Europe.

The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Exposition in 1889. Officials had a contest to see what giant monument could be built so that you could see it from anywhere in the city. Entries included a giant cyclops and an elephant. Gustav Eiffel won with his tower. So it was built and was going to be a temporary monument until Gus talked to Thomas Edison who wanted to light that baby up. Once Parisians saw it lit... they were in LOVE. It became permanent- and was built using American rivets.

View from the first level. There were three and apparently Gus had an apartment on the very top level- can we say bachelor pad?

The Sienne River

The Champs de Mars

Every 7 years, the Eiffel Tower is repainted a different shade of brown. The painting is a tradition and is done by hand. Whew.

Notre Dame: the most famous Gothic cathedral in the world took over 200 years to complete. It was worth 200 years. The view was breathtaking- if you could climb up all 400 winding stone stairs.

The statues aren't actually gargoyles- they are call Chimeras and are evil spirits. I thought this was a little strange to have evil spirits guarding a church, but who am I to judge?

This square was designed by the architect Haussmann who pretty much designed all of Paris.

Saturday morning we got up early and went to Versailles. King Louis XIV decided one day that he didn't want Paris to be his home anymore, so he picked up his royal court and peaced 30 minutes away to Versailles. He built the most amazing palace I have seen yet and massive gardens. I can understand why the French Revolution happened when the monarchy had this place.

The Hall of Mirrors- where the Treaty of Versailles was signed.

A chandelier in the palace

The amazing fountains outside the palace- we watched a fountain show as well

The Louvre... so massive

Sacre Coeur- the basillica was on top of this massive hill and outside people were drinking and relaxing while inside others were deep in prayer.
The Pont Neuf bridge in Paris. It's the oldest bridge- but the name is 'new bridge.' What's funny about this is the heads on the bridge. Henry V liked to party and after getting his friends wasted one night- he woke up all the artists and had sketches of his friends made. Then Henry instructed these artists to carve his friends' portraits on the unfinished bridge- the past's drunk photo.Monmarte was my favorite area of Paris. The hill leading up the the Sacre Coeur was filled with artists, shops, cafes and bars. The atmosphere was pure fun and relaxation. Ryan and I spend several hours there Saturday night and Sunday day.

I loved this painting, but couldnt afford its 300 euro price.We also saw Paris's red light district and the Moulin Rouge, the Bastille, Luxembourg Gardens, Museum D'Orsay, walked down the Champs Elysees, etc. What a weekend!!!

Paris: the People

2009-04-09T19:03:00.005-05:00

So for Paris, I decided to mix things up a bit. I have two entries, one is the typical visit entry - and this one is about Parisians. Or at least who I think are Parisians and figure importantly in their culture.

Paris is the city of love- there was love... and frequent public display of affection

I don't understand what's going on here, but that is the biggest jar of Nutella I have ever seenMany of the homeless men had puppies- there goes my change
Character portraits in MonmarteThis guy was doing the robot outside the Arch de TriumpheA couple sits outside of the Luxembourg Gardens eating bananasI should think this one is obvious
A Parisian's life is rough Live entertainment- all the time!
These bikers were outside the Bastille plaza. I noticed as I photographed them, people were extremely careful not to get in my way- who knew- polite Parisians?Venus de Milo

Several times on their Metro, people came aboard just to serenade us

Music was even abundant in the Louvre, most rooms had some type of musical instrument

This guy was in the fountains at the Palace of Versailles. The gardens stretched for miles and it was easy to see why the French lower classes started a Revolution

G20 Meltdown Protest: Bank of England

2009-04-01T18:42:00.012-05:00

The G20 Summit came to London and with it- angry people about the economy. Quick recap: the G20 is a big economic/banking conference held with 19 countries plus the European Union. This year it was hosted in London.

Security was tight all around the city, and protests were as common as red telephone booths. April Fools' Day was the first day of the Summit (ironic) and was supposed to be the biggest protest day. Most major organizations protested- Stop the War Coalition, nuclear disarmament organizations, etc but the largest was a group called the G20 Meltdown- an anti-capitalist group that threatened to put "bankers brains on a picnic."

The group came from four streets and congregated at the Bank of England led by effigies of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. About 5,000 people showed up for the protest, over 30 were arrested and 7 were hospitalized for minor injuries as of nightly reports. Here are my photos:

The police had to physically hold each other to fortify the line

Businesses closed and boarded up their windows

Protesters threw flour and beer cans at the police. When I first saw the flour flying, I thought it was a bomb ...The crowd kept pushing me forward and the police were pushing the line back- suddenly I found myself at the front facing a baton. Luckily, Ryan pulled me back and out of bludgeon reach.

The anarchists started cheering at random times

A policeman calls for reinforcements too late

MSN video- You can see me at the end down at the bottom right hand corner- my hands and camera pop up in a red raincoat.

MSN photo gallery with Associated Press Pictures and my pictures.

Really amazing pictures from the protest

CNN Story

We went to another protest in Trafalgar- this was the Stop the War Coalition and the nuclear disarmament organization- and it was peaceful.

I did not like his sign

Howth and Malahyde

2009-04-01T15:49:00.007-05:00

On Sunday of our little trip, we got out of Dublin and went to the Irish countryside- villages of Howth and Malahyde. Howth is a fishing town and has a gorgeous coast, nature walk and market. Malahyde just had a castle, but was fun to explore.

These seals waited by the docks every day waiting for the fishermen to toss them extra fish.

The town was extremely quaint

The bus dropped us off at the top of the hill and we nature-walked all the way down... the view by the sea was amazing. When my dad went to Ireland on a golfing trip in August 2006, he said out there was "God's Country." True true and more truth.

All Malahyde really had was a castle- the town was really gorgeous though.

Dublin: ShamRockin'

2009-04-01T14:27:00.009-05:00

Picture it: Dublin: the weekend before St. Patrick's Day. Definitely one of my favorite trips, Dublin combined history with fun and tradition with alcohol. I'm getting really used to the early-morning traveling experience. Our short plane touched down at 8:30am and we began the day at the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery.Even though whiskey isn't my favorite alcohol, I was interested in the making of the famous Irish whiskey. What separates Irish whiskey from Scottish or Jack Daniels is the number of times it is distilled. Americans filter their whiskey once, Scottish twice, and the Irish three times. I got picked to taste-test the difference between these three whiskeys. I was tipsy.

Next, we went to Kilmainham Goal, Dublin's famous jail. The jail was used to house the Irish freedom fighters who constantly rebelled against England.

Up to 5 people were in these tiny cells- even children were imprisoned for things as small as stealing bread. The serious criminals were shipped to Australia.

Joseph Plunket, Edward Daly, and Eamon de Valera's cells were still in the jail.

The jail was used in movies- the Italian Job, the Escapist and a U2 video.

Its most significant role in history was housing the rebels of the 1916 Easter Rising, who were later executed. This is where they were shot.

The Guinness Storehouse. When he started the brewery, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease because he was so confident in his product.

View from the Gravity Bar

Christchurch Cathedral

St. Patrick's Cathedral

This cat and rat was mummified in Christchurch cathedral and referenced several times in literature especially by James Joyce.

The gardens at St. Pat's Cathedral

Dublin castle. The British were were stationed in this castle and took it from the Irish. The statue is supposed to represent Justice. But there are three reasons the Irish think this is a joke
1. Justice is supposed to be blind- this chick has no blindfold
2. The lady is facing away from the city, and in towards the castle- turning her back on the Irish
3. The scales were real and one filled with rain- tipping them and making them uneven

These buildings were painted because the architect liked pretty colors... no joke

Dublin Castle

The oldest remains of a Viking settlement

Trinity College

Spring Break 09: Rome

2009-03-27T18:13:00.013-05:00

Rome was indescribable, but I will attempt to do it justice. We arrived at 8:30am. Since my parents were coming to London for the second half of my spring break, I cut Italy short and had one day in beautiful Roma. Actually, I had 8 hours. I had to see the Colosseum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain and countless other sights... in only 8 hours. Luckily, Ryan was up to the task and we had the most intense day of traveling of my life so far. We met these girls our last night in Florence that had just come from Rome- they saved our lives with their advice...

After we dropped our bags at the hostel, we took the Metro to the Colosseum. The Colosseum is one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world- and I could tell exactly why- it was stunning. In Italy, people get an actual syndrome from sensory overload. When I first read about it, bullshit came to mind. After this trip, I understood- there just comes a point when you're surrounded by so much beauty and history it becomes impossible to fully appreciate it.

We took a tour around and learned the history of the great structure. With the many different types of gladiators, countless games were held in the area, but it also had days of disrepair. The structure is actually called the Flavian Amphitheater but was named Colosseum after the 'colossal' statue of Nero. I could have stayed at Palatine Hill for days taking pictures of the extensive ruins. Every ruler of Rome had built new palaces, not next to, but on top of the previous rulers' palaces.This statue represents the two brothers who founded Rome, Romulus and Remus. Romulus ended up killing Remus and becoming the first king of Rome. The Museo Capital was beautiful, and the weather in Rome couldn't have been more gorgeous.We went to the Campo de Flor market, the Piazza Campi Digilio and the Piazza Navona where we saw charactering artists and sellers of everything.The Pantheon was one of the first churches I saw where I felt moved. Instead of massive ornate religion, I was more attuned to comfort and community worship.

We saw a few more plazas and gorgeous buildings and then stopped for gelato at the Della Palma- the most amazing and massive display of gelato I have ever seen... heaven.

I saw this beggar while climbing the Spanish steps. I was stunned her humbleness. Usually beggars ask for food or money or just sit on the street and stare, but she just knelt with blind faith that people would give her change. The Plaza Spagna and the Spanish Steps Trevi Fountain- I tossed in a coin and am definitely coming back to Rome Around three thirty, we made it to the Vatican. I had about two hours left to do the Vatican and the St. Peter's Basilica.The Vatican was huge, cold and empty with treasures scattered about like they were the avocados in the Alpha Phi formal room. It should have been stunning, but it put me in an off mood.The Sistine Chapel... Impressive in the work that went into it, but definitely not the
defining spiritual moment I was expecting. Steps going out of the Vatican.
St. Peter's plaza and Basilica... BREATHTAKING. What the Vatican and Sistine Chapel lacked, St. Peter's more than covered. I don't know whether it was the stunning sunset or the vast area, or the fantastic architecture of the square, but it was literally moving.

St. Peter's and inside the basilica

Spring Break 09: Florence

2009-03-27T17:01:00.010-05:00

We got up early the morning of February 29 and headed to Florence. Even though the weather was crummy, Florence was amazing, I fell in love in the first three seconds.

The Duomo cathedral and opera house next to our hostel. It is the largest (non-sports) dome in the world and the largest building made of its material.

I snuck a picture in the Accademia. This is Michelangelo's the David- upon first glance, it was perfection. The head is actually bigger than a proportioned head is because it was supposed to be posted at an extremely high point.Ok, so this is one of the oldest leather stores in Florence. Only 25 people in the world know how to craft real Italian leather- that's why it's so expensive. The only way to learn how to craft the leather is through apprenticeship. Actually, the leather isn't Italian, its the craft that is- the Italians buy the leather from Australia and New Zealand. We walked into this shop and got a leather demonstration and information session. It was shockingly fascinating- showing the dedication and time spend in the craft. The most interesting thing we looked at was the Florentine box. When Florentine married Henry II in France, she wanted to take with her something to remind her of home.
She took the box. These boxes took months to make layering layers upon layers of leather. The boxes are one piece of leather soaked and then formed around a wooden mold. After the months of layering, crafters used a specially heated instrument to imprint a gold design on the top of the box. If the gold design got messed up- the whole box was a waste.
The box was originally shaped like a saddle because she had to sit on it on her way to France. Now various designs have been recreated.
View from Ponte Vecchio Statue of Jason slaying Medusa
Basilica San Croce: where Galileo and Michelangelo are buried Galileo's tombMichelangelo's tomb The Medici Chapels
The big market in FlorenceAnd here's my favorite part: The view from Michelangelo's Hill. Simply stunning...

Spring Break 09: Venice

2009-03-27T14:06:00.013-05:00

Panama City, Mexico and Puerto are all amazing Spring Break places. However, so is ITALY!!!!!

Six of us took off for the week and hit Florence, Venice and Rome.We arrived in Venice at about 9am February 27. I knew it was a city on the water, but I don't think I realized the extent what a canal city meant. I did not see a car. Not one. We took a canal taxi to the center of the city and stepped off the boat into the Piazza San Marco.
Basilica San Marco and Piazza San Marco

We fed the pigeons with rice cakes. Seriously got attacked by the damn pigeons... I had four on me at one point. The really hilarious pictures are on facebook.

After the plaza, we went to find our hostel. Venice doesn't have roads, but mere ally ways- made for a little difficulty. Our hostel was right next to the S.S Giovanni plaza.

My first gondola ride was gorgeous, but I was a little disappointed in our gondolier. I thought they sang and talked to you... whoops. Still a fun experience.

This is the oldest building in Venice. Over a thousand years old, it was a home to Marco Polo.

The Ponte de Rialto is the oldest and most gorgeous bridge in Venice.

So Venice is obsessed with masks. We saw hundreds of entire shops, stands and cards filled with masks. Ranging in creepiness, size, color and glamour, I will forever associate Venice with masks. Later that day, we went to the market next to the Ponte de Rialto. The fish part was my favorite- they literally had caught them this morning.

The Doge Palace is right next to San Marco. The rooms inside were beyond extravagant. We bought one of those passes and got to see all four museums in the Museo Correro and then we went to the Doge.

The Ponte dei Sospiri means 'the bridge of sighs.' Ryan and I snuck in with a tour group and learned about it- it's actually not a bridge at all, but was a prison/torture chamber. It is called the bridge of sighs to commemorate the prisoners who would sigh as they saw their last look at freedom going from the courtroom to the cell.

View from inside and outside the bridge of sighs

Venice shut down at about 9pm. The nightlife was non existent (ok because were so tired from traveling). However, I thought it was strange that we were the only ones out at night most of the time.

Venice was gorgeous to walk around, but aside from the museums, palace, bridge and San Marco's, there wasn't a whole lot to do. We did learn that if you bring an empty water bottle into a wine shop, they will fill it up with whatever wine you want for an extremely good price. We got water bottles full of wine for something ridiculous like 90 cents- literally cheaper than water.

Work Update

2009-02-25T15:11:00.003-06:00

I realize I've been working for over a month now, and have nothing to show for it on my blog. Here are some highlights:

Photo Galleries from my photos:
Fashion Week
Chinese New Year
London Snow Day

Photosynth:
Queen Mother Statue

Photo Galleries from Press Association photos:
Beijing Chinese New Year
Japanese Snow Festival
Plane Crash in NY
Australian Wildfires
Famous Flubs

Video:
Lent
Valentine's Day

Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet

2009-02-25T14:02:00.010-06:00

Last Thursday, I learned I was attending London Fashion Week. That same day, I was offered to shoot Porsche. Yes, the car. Peter Bale, Executive Producer for MSN UK came to my desk to ask me on a photoshoot for a Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. The team from MSN Cars was writing an article about the car and Porsche lent them the car for the week.

On Tuesday, February 24th, I rode in that Porsche. We started at 8:30am and went to the Cliveden House Hotel in BLANK. Mapquest said it was about 50 minutes outside of London-we got there much quicker. I will admit, driving through the English countryside in a Porsche creates a different experience than of my past tourist visits outside the city.

When we arrived at the house, we discovered more Porsches, a plethora of Porsches. Incidentally, Porsche was doing a photoshoot there as well! The same guys that rented us the car were there and welcomed me to shoot the other cars. They were due to leave early, but I snapped a few before they drove off.

The Cayman S Series

We made a pit stop at Windsor Castle to take a few pictures, and then headed back to work.

Later that day, I shot the new Queen Mother statue and made a Photosynth. Architect Philip Jackson designed the memorial of Queen Victoria and it was presented to the public. A photosynth is a program developed by Microsoft that allows viewers to see all angles of a photograph. Since I can’t really explain it- here are some good examples from the Web site
National Geographic –Stonehenge
St. Louis Post Dispatch –T-Rex Exhibit
And here is the one I created: Queen Mother Memorial.

London Fashion Week

2009-02-25T13:19:00.012-06:00

February 20th started London Fashion Week. Buyers and fashion enthusiasts look at the upcoming trends for the season and London is among the biggest fashion weeks next to Milan, Paris, and New York City.As an MSN news intern, I was fortunate enough to preview the first show of the week.

Admittedly, my only experience with fashion is the copious episodes of “Project Runway” I watch each season back home in America. When I actually heard someone utter, “Make it work,” the slogan of guru Tim Gunn, I felt like I had stepped (with high heeled shoes of course) into Heidi Klum’s world.I was clueless for expectations. After wandering around before the show, I joined the queue going into the catwalk tent. Once inside, I found that the audience was just as impeccably dressed as the models. Fashion did not stop at the catwalk, especially for this front row viewer.

The London Fashion Week celebrated its 25th anniversary this February. Usually held at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, the show will move in September to Somerset House. The week is organised by the British Fashion Council and funded by sponsors. For the last seven seasons, Canon Europe has been the primary sponsor. According to the Fashion Week website, the show generates £20 million to the London economy with direct spending and £100m in orders for the region.

When the show was about to start, the audience was blacked out and the runway was lit up brighter than Parliament at night. The models started to walk down the catwalk towards a wall of photographers' flashes. The facial expression variety in the models I observed astounded me. Their faces matched the outfits, if that is possible to believe. This model looks mart and sassy with this pocket dress, but later elegant and aloof in an evening gown.

The designer I previewed was Paul Costelloe. Originally from Dublin, Costelloe has five stand-alone stores and has his lines in many other stores throughout the UK. Princess Diana as well as Liza Minelli have both worn Costelloe’s clothing. I felt like I had arrived in a potato sack with a camera as my only accessory.

Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” blasted from surround sound speakers for the first half of the show. Models came pouring out from behind a white stage and paraded down the catwalk. I discovered that unlike most other fashion shows I had seen on the TV, Costelloe’s clothing was much more down to earth than I had expected. Reading his bio, I discovered his goal was to clothe ‘real’ women, not just models.

Large hair that would have done any 80s rocker proud stayed completely still as models took over the catwalk. Clearly, neon is back in fashion as every eye shadow colour bordered Day Glo shorts. Dramatic eyes and bright red lips took away the need for extravagant jewellery.