"The West Point Experience"

Covering the USMA in 2008. Since it's contest time again, I've been reviewing a lot of my work from 2008, particularly at the United States Military Academy. For the past few months I've thought about putting together a piece like this containing the best images I've shot there at West Point. Here's my take on covering the USMA at West Point during 2008:


*(Use the arrows at the bottom of the player or click the image to scroll forward through the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. )

*Visit my paper's webpage on our West Point coverage by clicking here.

"Back to work..." 12•26•2008

Had Christmas Day off for a change. Friday I was right back on the grind. Out on the mountain of a small ski facility here in the area. Made a few nice images of kids snowboarding and skiing; remembering to keep my feet firmly planted in the softer snow off to the sides of the main runs.
Managed to make a few file type images too, which could come in handy for future winter economy, business or just plain old ski / sport stories this winter. Or any winter for that matter.
I'll probably head to my favorite outdoor shop to pick up a pair of those clip-on type traction "thingies" that'll fit over your boots too.
Guessing the next time I get a ski assignment I'll consider riding the ski lift to the top of the course for different images, particularly at the starting gate of a competition like last year.
I'm already thinking about schlepping up another snow & ice covered mountain with two or three camera bodies, including one with a 300mm, and wondering secretly where I can possibly place a remote somewhere along the course for the high school championships at Belleayre Mountain, should I get that assignment again like last winter. (at right.)

Stay tuned & Happy New Year! -cg.

"The Card. Happy Holidays...!" Christmas Day 2008.

For the past 12 years or so, I've been producing my own "Holiday series" cards. What initially started out as a few late nights slumped over developing trays in the darkroom at The Journal News in White Plains, NY in the mid-90's. (Boy that all seems like eons ago...) has progressed into a full-blown work schedule, and in past years, a mailing list of nearly 100 recipients. One year I think I put 105 cards in the mail.
Production of the cards has progressed along with my PhotoShop and Microsoft Word skills, as well as the self-assigning the work to actually photograph an image(s) intended for the card production. A lot of those early images were intentionally made on the streets of New York City, particularly found while roaming around the East Village neighborhood in lower Manhattan. Seemed as though I was always able to find compelling imagery down there. I will have to put together some sort of collage of those earlier images, as they've become a collector's item for quite a few friends and colleagues. As a photojournalist, there probably isn't any greater honor than to have a viewer make the effort to keep my work. -cg.

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night..."

"Monster Snowstorm #1 (Day 2)..." 12•20•08

This one from Saturday up in Ulster County after covering a college graduation at SUNY New Paltz in the morning. -cg.
Ann Beeble of Highland with her horse, "Renegade", a 25 year old Appaloosa at the Gray Horse Farm in Gardiner, NY on Saturday, December 20, 2008. Friday's snowstorm dumped nearly a foot of snow in the Hudson Valley region with another storm expected to bring snow, rain and ice tomorrow. Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON

"Monster Snowstorm #1..." 12•19•08

I must be slippin' here. (no pun). I forget to put a few of these images up last night. Had to 'be out in it' yesterday, making images and avoiding accidents for work. Just stayed in the Newburgh / home area, so it wasn't too bad at least. Today hopefully will prove much easier to get around the coverage area. *(I sometimes secretly wonder to myself when I'm out working in weather like this; what all those folks who say they'd like to come out with me and "carry your camera bag..." are doing. Especially when the hands get numb, the snow is collecting on the gear, or worse, melting down the back of my neck...) I'll probably have my fill of making snow photographs by 10:47AM today or so. More snow expected on Sunday too. We'll see.

Back to work. -cg.

*"Overnight repairs on the TZB..." Nov. 13-14, 2008.

2AM - Over the Hudson River:
This is from an assignment I shot last month, but had to wait until it was published last week, before writing about it here. (of course I had the HS State Championship
and Army vs. Navy
football games to cover in Syracuse and Philadelphia during the interim.) It certainly wasn't your typical work environment on the Tappan Zee Bridge, spanning the Hudson River up here between Rockland & Westchester Counties in NY. Spent an overnight shift on a chilly mid-November night with union iron workers and other laborers as they removed sections of the original roadway surface, and replaced them with new, pre-fabricated roadway sections, weighing upwards of 50-tons. That's right, 50-tons! It was some night to watch & photograph these specialized workers. I remember thinking it was quite the intricate dance they perform every night there over the river, in all kinds of weather. Here's the slideshow from that overnight. *(Note: All the images were shot available light, utilizing a bank of industrial floodlights powered by a generator, mostly behind me and to the left of my shooting positions.) -cg.


*(Use the arrows at the bottom of the player or click the image to scroll forward through the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. )

"BOP, POYi and WPP..."

"Contest time..."
This mere phrase can easily bring head-scratching, queezy stomachs, sleepless nights, nervous late-night phone calls to colleagues, and hurried emails to contest organizers. It's that time of year again in the photojournalism trades. Contest time. Editing and preparing your year's best work for entry in the premiere photojournalism contests isn't an effort taken lightly by working photographers all over the world. Actually it's more like a nightmare. This is the time of year when you find out how well organized your work is - and usually more importantly - if you can find it all to begin this mind numbing process. (see my earlier blog post on the importance of good captioning, archiving and finding your images: here) Just the entry instructions alone in each contest can make one's head spin.
The trade offs? Each professional organization now allows on-line entries, and each publishes a book of the winners in all categories. World Press Photo (WPP) in Amsterdam, lists all entrants in an alphabetical listing in the back of their annual book. ALL ENTRANTS. That's a pretty cool list to see your name included among some of the biggest names in the industry who've entered. POYi (Pictures of the Year International) offers cash awards of up to $1,000. AND the latest, whizz-bang digital Canon professional camera body to it's first place winners.

I feel as though I've had a decent year professionally, having won a few of the NPPA's - MNCC contests,
and am mentally preparing for the long nights of re-editing my images for entry into these year-end competitions.







And so it all begins again. -cg.

"Going home..." December 2008.

I made my way down to the NJ Shore a few days ago to see family. Took a few moments to stroll on the boardwalk in Asbury Park, NJ - literally in the same footprints where my career began 20 years ago.
I remember hustling to photograph presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson here when he campaigned in Convention Hall back in the late 80's. Boy, was I green in the business back then or what...? Such changes going on there in the area now, as I can see how the developers have begun completely anew, starting with new in-laid sidewalks, lampposts, and infrastructure. Even the landmark Rock club, The Stone Pony is undergoing renovations. Looks like there are some grand plans for the region, and I'm wondering what will become of the longtime residents in the area. We'll see. -cg.

109th. ARMY - NAVY Game. Philadelphia, PA. 12•06•08

Just getting home at 1AM from Philadelphia after covering my second ARMY - NAVY Game on Saturday. I'll post a slideshow of my take on the game later today, complete with more on the weekend of preparation, notes & thoughts on covering this football rivalry between the two service academies.
OK, Here goes: My day for covering a 12-noon game like this starts with a 6AM wakeup & hotel checkout by 7AM (at left). Fortunately we weren't too far from the ballpark this year. (Actually, this stadium is really close to the airport, and I remember thinking how that might've been a well-deserved alternative in better financial times.) I like to arrive at the stadium before 8AM, especially working in a venue I've never been to previously, get thru press gate security; which means having every piece of gear x-rayed, just like at the airports, and find the photographer's field level pressroom. Hustle to get to the top of the stadium to install my remote camera for the fisheye view of the whole stadium; particularly when the cadets and midshipmen fill the field in full company formations, starting around 9:15AM. Yea, that's still 3 full hours before game time. This game meant a lot - particularly for a former U.S. Marine like me. Not because it was my second Army-Navy game, after Navy's rout of Army in Baltimore last year. Not because it marked the official end of football season coverage for me. Not because POTUS was going to be there. (POTUS: President of the United States. - more of that coverage later.) Not because I was again looking forward to installing a remote camera in another pro stadium. (The game was played this year in Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, and it's just an exceptional ballpark to watch & work a game.)
I guess it was a culmination of all the work this season covering games, practices, press conferences and the like. I was beginning to feel as though a great weight had been lifted from shoulders as I arrived in the photographer's workroom just after 8AM. I knew this was going to be it for me. I was sure I had my "A-Game" tucked away beneath the multiple layers I was wearing. Surely had enough practice traveling & dressing for cold weather games the previous two weekends. Regardless of the outcome of the game - I was there again to photograph an extremely important sporting event. The butterflies in my stomach never made an appearance, which was a surprising good sign.

Here's my edited take on the game:

*(Use the arrows at the bottom of the player or click the image to scroll forward through the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. )

HS Football Championship Game. Carrier Dome - Syracuse University. 11•30•08

"Road trip...." In the previous post below this one, I kind of laid out everything I packed for the Monroe-Woodbury vs. Orchard Park Class AA State Championship game in the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University on Sunday. Let's just say it was a lot of gear and support items. No need to list it all here. I try to anticipate any sort of shooting challenges that I might encounter, especially on the road, so I tend to "pack heavy..." I've known for a few weeks that I'd be making the trip to cover this game if our team continued to win, and as of last weekend when they beat a powerhouse team from across the Hudson River in the frozen semi-final game, I knew it'd be a long weekend. Driving up to Syracuse again, this time with our web-video guy, I figured that we should hustle and get thru the 3+ hour drive and stop at the team's hotel, about 40 minutes south of Syracuse. That guess and/or gamble if you will, paid off, as the team bus was pulling into their hotel promptly at 5PM. I was pumping gas across the street when I spotted their bus pull in. Making those few images of players getting off the bus, and then being around in the hotel lobby with our sports writers allowed me to become a familiar face with the coaches, players, etc. the night before their game. This was a perfect time to wish the head coach good luck, offer my business card, and again make sure he recognized me. We had previously corresponded by email, as I'd asked for permission to photograph and record audio in their pre-game locker room. This game is a good example on how all the pre-planning in covering an event like this comes into place and allows the photographer to make intimate photographs, particularly behind the scenes of a game of this magnitude for these kids. This was their fourth trip in a row to the state championship game by the way; so you could really feel the tension when they arrived at the stadium two hours before game time. I knew this was all going to be special, so all I had to do was stay on top of my game, and make game-telling images.By the time I'd put up two remote cameras, and hustled back to the locker room with the team for their final talk & prayer with their head coach, I had to abandon the audio recording. I knew this game was going to take a lot out of me physically, not to mention worrying about running four cameras, editing a couple of hundred frames, and transmitting nearly 20 images before making the 3+ hour drive back to the office & home that night. Fortunately I had two days off to look forward to. This week it's a similar routine in preparing for the ARMY - NAVY Game this coming weekend in Philadelphia. Ah, the road beckons once again. Thanks for looking. Stay tuned. -cg.

Here's a slideshow of my take from the game:

*(Use the arrows at the bottom of the player or click the image to scroll forward through the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. )

Syracuse, NY. HS State Championship Football. Nov. 2008.

My gear layout at home on Saturday, November 29, 2008, packing for the Monroe - Woodbury vs. Orchard Park Class AA High School State Championship game in the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University in Syracuse tomorrow afternoon.




Spent the morning packing up gear for tomorrow's big game in Syracuse, NY. Stopped on the way up to make a few frames of the players arriving at their hotel a few miles down the road from the Carrier Dome. It's fourth trip in a row to this game for Monroe - Woodbury High School, so some of us here at my paper are secretly rooting for them. More after the game tomorrow. -cg.

"The Frozen Tundra..." Kingston, NY. November 2008.

HS Football State Semifinal game: Monroe-Woodbury vs. New Rochelle. Game time: 8PM. Temperature: 22ºF. Wind Chill Factor: 12ºF. w/ a slight wind. Visibility: Clear.

*(I could almost hear the booming voice of John Facenda of those long ago NFL Films highlight shows. I knew this night was going to be our Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers...)

The sportswriters at my paper and I talk a lot about "Bringing your "A-Game" to cover games like this one last night. Nothing could be closer to the truth. Neither of us would even dare bring it up, but we knew we were all "prepared..." I start mentally preparing and planning on how to go about covering a game with weather conditions like this a few days in advance. Keep a careful watch on the weather links, sites, radio forecasts and the like. Secretly walk around mumbling to myself a few days prior; "Did I buy enough hand warmers..? How many layers am I going to wear...? What about rain gear...? Long underwear or the polar, heavy-duty stuff under fleece-lined pants...? The new Gore-Tex, steel-toed work boots are a no brainer. Chewing gum. An extra pair of gloves. Backup pair of gloves - that makes three pair readily available. Favorite Gore-Tex ski hat. 6-charged camera batteries. A third spare camera body in the trunk. Is the turf field going to be wet...? This could prove to be a major factor on how I shoot a big game such as this, and the results I'm after, as I like to work from my knees, particularly at football. This was going to be the real deal. Again. Yea, some of us thrive on this kind of game, with deadline pressures looking you right in the face - as I was required to send a photo to the office at half time, sometime around 9PM for the paper's website, to accompany the writer's game updates. (I sent three) Obviously dealing with the challenges of the extreme weather conditions. Did I mention the game time temperature...?
Oh yea, our home team won. On a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, by one of the best place-kickers ever in the state. The kid had hit 11 previous FG's this year and had a streak of something like 83 extra points in a row, before missing one earlier in the sectional playoffs. I remember hustling to get in place on the sideline for his kick, because I knew right at the time, if he made it - that might've been the game winner. That's a picture or series of pictures that you can't afford to miss - especially in a game as tight as this; with a return trip to Syracuse for the state title game on the line the following week. The kick was good. He gave it a "good look" and the "jubo" (jubilation) with the holder was sweet. They gave me one good hug frame which worked too.Didn't hurt that they also have one of the top-50 HS juniors at QB, according to the Sporting News, and he always makes for good pictures.
All I needed to worry about by the end of the game was making good reaction & "jubo". That's when the "gremlins" finally showed up. One camera battery died right at the last play of the game - so I actually missed a lot of the on-field craziness, but managed to quickly change batteries, and swap that body from the 300mm on a monopod, to the short 16mm - 35mm zoom, and run on the field for the ongong celebration. Took my gloves off for that battery and lens change, and found myself at midfield for 10 minutes or so, sans gloves. Big mistake. Hands were literally burning in the cold, trying to operate the two cameras.
Here's a slideshow of my take on the game. Just booked accommodations for another trip to the Carrier Dome up at Syracuse University this weekend for Monroe-Woodbury's fourth State Class AA Championship game in a row. Stay tuned. -cg.

*(Use the arrows at the bottom of the player or click the image to scroll forward through the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. )

"Fox" Battery. 2nd. Battalion / 12th. Marines. Okinawa, Japan. (circa 1986).

*Yours truly standing @ second row - second from right. M-198 Howitzer F 2/12 Battery, Fire Direction Controlman. (0844)
Today is Veteran's Day. Yesterday was the Marine Corps' 233rd. birthday. With all the happenings in the world today & in my career, it's hard to sometimes believe it's been more than 20 years ago when I proudly wore the uniform of the USMC. Being a Marine changed my life, and quite honestly, has had a lot to do with who I am each & every day. I think of my fellow Marines often..."Semper fi." -cg.

"OBAMA..." 04 Nov. 08

Tuesday night was historic, no doubt. My assignment for the night was up in Kingston, NY to cover the expected victory celebrations of our Democratic NY Congressman Maurice Hinchey and the first Ulster County Executive, Mike Hein. Kingston is a long way from the main office, and from home, probably 30 - 40 miles up the NY State Thruway. I knew it was going to be a late night, and the deadline clock was ticking feverously every minute after I'd arrived at the hotel to start making meaningful images of both candidates. Fortunately I know the Congressman's PR guy and even the Congressman himself, as our paper chases a lot of our elected officials. I knew it wouldn't be a problem getting close to him for the night. but he wasn't the (local) story of the night. Mike Hein, who I'd photographed back in the summer in a debate was the big deal on the this night, running for the newly established county executive position. So I had about an hour of potential shooting time to follow Hein and his family from their suite on the other side of the hotel, then their victory stroll, and introduction in the Holiday Inn's main ballroom. (Man, this was a long way from previous election night winners I've covered in NYC, etc. years ago...)
Here's a slideshow of the take from the night, starting off with the local coverage of Hein and his family, and then after quickly editing & transmitting a half dozen or so images to the paper right on the 11PM deadline, I decided to stay and watch Sen. John McCain's concession speech and then Obama's victory speech from Chicago's Grant Park. Emotions never got the best of me, as I knew I was there to document the folks in all their jubilation in Obama's win. Seeing that emotion and making images under such poor light after midnight was enough for me to remember this night... -cg.


*(Use the arrows at the bottom of the player or click the image to scroll forward through the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. )

Army - Air Force Football. Nov. 1, 2008.

"Oh Doctor...!" It doesn't get much better than this on our end. Army vs. Air Force in a battle of the two military academies here at West Point yesterday. Beautiful crisp Fall day. Two remote cameras. A 12 noon kickoff time. Actually I treated this game as more like a prep for the upcoming annual Army vs. Navy game in Philly next month... Here's a look at my take of the game, including a few frames of the gear I arrive with, and placement of my (2) two remote cameras, etc. -cg


*(Use the arrows at the bottom of the player or click the image to scroll forward through the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. )

"On Working Photographers & Colleagues..."

Ever since I've started this blog, I've thought of highlighting the important work that some of my closest colleagues are doing. I know how we all like to peruse the internet for the latest gadgets, ideas, professional organizations, multimedia & documentary sites, and E-Zines, but I just wanted to really keep it all pretty simple here.

So I'd like to occasionally use this space to mention the careers of "Working Photographers and Colleagues...", with a column here to introduce some of the hard working photographers I know and respect in the business. Sort of a personal referral if you will, to those out there who are getting it done, both locally, nationally and even internationally.

First on the list and head and shoulders above anybody I know today is Shiho Fukada of Beijing, China and formally of New York. I've known Shiho for nearly five years, dating back to when we worked the streets of New York while freelancing for the NY Daily News. I eventually was hired as a night photo-assignment editor at the News in 2004, and Shiho subsequently left the confines of freelancing for the paper, branching out and began shooting assignments for the Associated Press, The New York Times and many others. Speaking from my photo-editor background, Shiho's work exemplifies everything that I look for and admire in a true documentary photographer. She has the passion, commitment and dedication in her work, and the heartfelt compassion along with unending energy to complete self-assigned projects and stories in some of the world's most difficult locales. Her work appears regularly in the NY Times (and NY Times Co. owned International Herald Tribune), both when she was in New York and recently from China, where she'd covered the earthquake last Spring. She's also shot Olympic features in and around Beijing during last summer's Olympics. She's worked the aftermath of the tsunami a few years ago, Bangladeshi ship breaking workers (just an amazing story in itself), birthing mothers in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami, strippers in Japan, and a project that just downright knocked my socks off; a portrait project of the victims of the China earthquake with her subjects holding family portraits of their deceased loved ones killed in the earthquake. Shiho even took the time to interview the subjects, to learn a little about them and their lost loved ones, which is information crucial to the project in her thorough caption material. Some of the portraits alone just take my breath away, as I know firsthand how difficult it is to work in an earthquake region. (I've seen my share of earthquakes & natural disasters through the years...) I do hope that you will take the time to view her site and her fine work. Now that she's based in Beijing, I'm looking forward to following her work & career from there, as well as projects I'm sure she'll be working on in Southeast Asia. Shiho is the real deal and not afraid to go where the most important stories are on the world stage. -cg.

www.shihofukada.com/main.php

"A Voice for the Voiceless..."

One of my assignments on Wednesday was supposed to be a press conference at a local factory in my area, where 29 workers had previously been fired. I was really troubled to meet some of these immigrant workers demonstrating outside on that chilly afternoon, believing that they "didn't need union representation" at their factory, so soon after many of their fellow workers were fired by the owners earlier this month. Forty workers filed a petition, citing unsafe and sweatshop conditions, petitioned OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) as many of the workers receive only minimum wage, even after working at the factory for years. They have no health benefits, sick time or vacation time off. The factory, the nation's second largest nail-polish bottling plant, is being investigated for various violations. Having been to many of their home countries myself, like Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico, and of course knowing the importance of labor unions & workers' rights in this country, I am hoping our efforts in the press will do these workers some good. -cg.

"Covering a Murder Trial, HS Sports, & other related stuff..."

BMX racers. High School volleyball & football. And a few other assignments I've already forgotten. The past week (almost) panned out as another typical week on the job. Well, not so typical, as I spent three days covering the end of an emotionally charged murder trial, and witnessed the defendant found guilty on all 23 counts of a killing from May 2004. Cameras haven't been allowed in courtrooms in the State of NY for quite some time now, and I believe it's now up to the judge's discretion for each case, so the paper was pumped that we were allowed visual coverage during the attorney's final summations on Wednesday, the jury verdict on Thursday, and then a final sit-down interview with the son of the victim, who also was shot during the crime. Those long hours spent in the county courthouse with other media, as well as our top-notch crime reporter, Oliver Mackson, cautiously made my part relatively easy. I mean if you can call hanging out in the courthouse corridors for something like 6 hours waiting for a jury verdict easy... It all brought back a lot of memories of covering big trials in the city, and throughout my career. Oh yea, there were a few high school sports assignments thrown-in during the week, and the installation of a new college president at Mt. Saint Mary College, where the access was really good. Here's a slideshow of the week's take:


*(No audio this time. Use the arrows at the bottom of the player or click the image to scroll forward through the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. )

Honor Guard. October 10, 2008.

Army National Guard soldier PFC Aaron Mondie salutes with the American flag prior to a funeral at the Orange County Veteran's Cemetery in Goshen, NY on Friday, October 10, 2008. The Newburgh unit of the Military Forces Honor Guard of New York provides funeral services for active duty and former military personnel. Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON

*This is the kind of story that reminds me why I became a photojournalist. Access. Observation. Truth with a camera. All buzz words in the business, sure, but this is what it's all about for me. Nothing comes even close. I spent the day yesterday with soldiers in an Army National Guard unit that provide formal military funerals for active duty as well as prior service members (like me). This is part of a larger piece I'm working on with audio and hope to attend another funeral with full honors with this unit, as I have full behind the scene access into their preparation, rehearsals, etc. Stay tuned. Here's a slideshow from the day with audio. "Semper Fi." -cg.



*(Click the image above or click the arrow at the lower left of the player to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the captions button at lower right of the player. Remember to turn up your audio for the 2-minute piece. -cg.)

"...You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine..." - (actor) Steve McQueen as Frank Bullitt.

The Week: September 29th. - October 4, 2008. This has been one those weeks were everything sort of all kept falling into place technically, scheduling wise and esthetically. For making images and stories, it was wonderful. Just wonderful. Started the first part of the work week chasing another homicide story in Middletown, NY, covering everything from the PD brass holding an afternoon press conference or "presser", announcing the fifth murder of the year committed the night before. Immediately after, the reporter and I hustled to possibly see the victim's family, where we found his brother and niece grieving in a nearby neighborhood bodega. (This image would make the front page of the next day's paper.) Then that same evening we got a tip in the newsroom, that there were a ton of police cars at a house just a few steps from our main office. The reporter and I showed up on the street, and within minutes, Middletown and State Police removed one of the murder suspects from the house in shackles and handcuffs. On Wednesday I was up before the sun and back on the road to Middletown to be the first one at a new mosque to photograph the Muslim holiday prayer celebration, Eid al-Fitr, (audio slideshow below in separate player) and another law enforcement assignment brought me to the law office of a longtime local judge in a nasty election campaign for the county Surrogate Court seat. This was a good gig and offered me the opportunity to put up two portable strobes in the judge's law library to make a nice series of portraits of one of the true movers & shakers here in our coverage area.

On Thursday, on a more humanistic approach, I spent some time with a young couple and their 4 year-old son, who recently had a brain tumor removed and is undergoing chemotherapy & radiation treatments. On top of that, the boy's father just lost his job as a mechanic at a local Ford dealership, as they closed suddenly due in part to the national financial crisis.








The week is still unfolding, as we've had another police involved shooting just this morning. (early Saturday.) I will add a separate slideshow of the week's work ASAP. Here's the piece from the mosque in Middletown, NY:


*(Click in the text above or click the arrow at the lower left of the player to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the captions button at lower right of the player. Remember to turn up your audio for the 5-minute piece. -cg.)

Here's the rest of the week's work.

*(This is an updated player w/o audio, but will also play automatically by clicking the arrow at lower left to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the captions button at lower right of the player. -cg.)