REWIND - Images from the Archive.

BOLEZENO, SIBERIA. RUSSIAN FEDERATION. Train engineer pauses in a railway wagon during a change of locomotives stop along the Trans-Siberian Railway at Bolezeno Station in Bolezno, Siberia, Russian Federation on June 10, 2005. © www.chetgordon.com/blog

"Yea, I've got a serious thing for trains. What some describe as being a "train buff." Making this 11-day journey across the Russian Federation sealed it for me. Can't believe it's been 5 years ago already. Thanks again Ivan..." ~cg.

View a selection / slide show of my Trans-Siberian Railway journey by clicking HERE.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

"The Weather & Recent Work..." July 6 - 17, 2010

Youngsters kept cool in the spray of a sprinkler at Audrey Carey Park on Liberty Street in the City of Newburgh, NY on Friday, July 9, 2010. The Northeast U.S. has endured a heatwave for a week, with temperatures reaching past 100ºF. © www.chetgordon.com/blog

Valdrin Muriqi (right) of Newburgh, NY follows through on a punch to the head of Emmanuel Brujan (left) of Brooklyn, NY during their Middleweight fight at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, NY on Saturday, July 10, 2010. Muriqi defated Brujan in a decision. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

Kim Gore cries in Judge Robert Freehill's courtroom at the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen, NY on Friday, July 16, 2010. Gore is the Cuddebackville woman who was convicted in March on aggravated vehicular homicide and second-degree manslaughter resulting from the crash which killed her 3-year-old daughter Sierra Gore in June 2009. She was sentenced by Judge Freehill to 8 1/3 to 25 years on the aggravated vehicular homicide conviction and 5 to 15 years on the manslaughter conviction, to be served concurrently. Gore was high on cocaine at the time of the crash. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The soaring temperatures and high humidity continues here in the Northeast and around the country the past two weeks or so. Here's a look at some of my recent work since the Fourth, including a night of boxing following up on the earlier post of portraits of our local fighters, a court sentencing where 40-year old mother was sent to prison for killing her daughter in a cocaine induced motor vehicle accident last summer, a few hot weather, portrait and other features. You know it's hot out when a little league coach hands out ice-chilled washcloths for his players during an early evening playoff game (above).
One good thing about the weather is it allows me the opportunity to occasionally wear shorts (and sandals) if I'm lucky... ~cg.

*(Use the arrow at the bottom left of the player or click the image to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. Pause the portfolio slideshow in the right column by clicking the "II" pause button. There is no audio track with this presentation.)

"When They Grab Your Images..." (Thailand. Nov.•2007)

While starting the day with my morning coffee, imagine my surprise to find that an image of mine was lifted / grabbed / downloaded / copied or just plain stolen (again) and used without my authorization in a publication on the Thai - Burma border. The Irrawaddy (above) an English language publication in Southeast Asia used an image I made while on my off time during a humanitarian surgical mission in Mae Sot, Thailand back in the fall of 2007. I've just written a sternly worded letter to their photo desk, which I'm sure will go unnoticed, as I realize that this image grabbing & unauthorized use is a common practice in the business nowadays, but a simple email would've been nice. It's always reassuring when a courteous editor or picture buyer takes the time to write me directly to discuss the purchase of usage rights for one of my images. This is a business after all... ~cg.

"Haiti. 6 Months On..." 12•July•10

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A man views the collapsed Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Saturday, January 30, 2010. A massive 7.0 earthquake struck the Caribbean island nation on January 12th., killing upwards of 230,000 people. © Chet Gordon / THE IMAGE WORKS

It's been six months since the catastrophic earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti on January 12th. of this year. I volunteered my time without hesitation when longtime client Operation Smile called, asking if I'd document their initial team of orthopedic & trauma surgeons and support staff treating victims of one of the world's most tragic natural disasters. The call came on a Thursday afternoon and I found myself hustling through two airports at first light the next morning to make connecting flights from Newark (EWR) to Charlotte (CLT) and into their HQ in Norfolk, VA as the team was scheduled to be flown by a U.S. Marine cargo aircraft directly into Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (PAP). After a few logistical delays, we were flown by corporate charter into Santo Domingo, DR two days later. I was only in Haiti for a week back in late January two weeks after the earthquake, crossing over the border from after a tiring 5 hour van ride from the Dominican capitol. It was to be my third trip to Haiti and every assignment to the country - either self-financed, or for a client, has been emotional for me. How could it not be? You can view my earlier posts here on the blog from the Operation Smile mission here. (I have posted the slideshow of my work in the NGO camp & in Port-au-Prince below.)

The independent radio & web broadcast show Democracy Now! aired a very detailed show today on location on how things are transpiring in Haiti. A second day of reporting from Port-au-Prince on DN is here, including an interview with two-time Academy Award winning actor Sean Penn, who's running an NGO he founded in Haiti. He's been there 6 months. Please continue to follow this story as there are still 1.5 million Haitians left homeless and living in tents in Haiti... ~cg.
*(Use the arrow at the bottom left of the player or click the image to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. Pause the portfolio slideshow in the right column by clicking the "II" pause button. There is no audio track with this presentation.)

"Working the Fourth..." 4•July•2010

Worked the holiday yesterday. Two parades in two different counties, which meant a lot of driving. 100+ miles. (top & below) Temperatures in the 90º's. Hustled through the initial edits of those assignments when I got back home, as I wanted to try and make it down to the river to photograph the fireworks display here in my town (left and here). I couldn't remember the last time I'd humped a tripod out on location, especially at night. Oh yea, and one of the old Nikon D-1X's, and a small Domke bag with a full assortment of short lenses - everything from the 10.5mm fisheye to the 28mm - 70mm zoom, which was used to make most of the fireworks' images. Those cameras are still getting it done, particularly when shooting on RAW.

Here's a few more favorites from the workday. ~cg.

*More "Juice..." (Sports Photography) 1•July•2010

Poughkeepsie, NY. One of yesterday's assignments called for coverage of a few local boxers training for a night of boxing next weekend. This was sort a media event in one of their training facilities, at a local college across the river. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a boxing ring in this converted dance studio, (complete with a mirrored wall), so I had to immediately make do with what props and the location at hand. These fighters do train in a nearby boxing club here in my hometown, and I'm hoping to do a secondary shoot with a few of the fighters, including the local name fighter Luis DelValle (left). DelValle is a former NY and national Golden Gloves champion, now 9 - 0 (7 KO's as a pro), and I'd photographed him back in March during a full boxing card where he KO'd his opponent in the first minute of that fight. An amazingly fast featherweight, articulate, and just as important for me - he completely understood how to "look like a fighter", even sparring hard (at right) for a few minutes to get sweaty for the portraits, and was very patient with me in making the few portraits I needed. (My portable one-strobe & umbrella set-up is below). It was good to speak to him on a personal level for a few moments to learn about his background, growing up in Puerto Rico, training schedule, and for him to realize that I was genuinely showing an interest in him as a young athlete. I remember he kept telling me during the few poses we tried, "You're the boss..." To hear that from a young 23 year-old athlete, who's fought all over the world and just as easily could've been a prima dona, made it all pretty easy for me, considering I was perspiring quite a bit too in the stuffy second floor training room. I am looking forward to spending more time with him and other fighters out of the Newburgh Boxing Club nearby, and drawing the assignment next weekend. The sportswriter and I are already banging ideas around about possibly gaining access to the dressing rooms before their fights. Now that'd certainly make a heckuva audio slideshow. Stay tuned. ~cg.