"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.)

"ARMY Football, Bobby Knight & Air Force One..."

Well, it was some weekend, and I am just getting around to recapping the assignments. First of all, thanks to my colleague & fellow Vet, Scott Strine. Scott loaned me his 400mm f/2.8AF for the ARMY - Akron game down the road at West Point on Saturday. Regardless of the game's outcome, I had a good time lugging that 'artillery piece' (left) around on my shoulder, making images from a different perspective on the field w/ that big-gun, even stretching the limits of the lens by utilizing a 1.4X tele-extender occasionally during the game. Pay close attention to some of the images in the slideshow shot "long" from the end zones and you'll actually see the heat waves rising in the background from the stadium's new turf. Three hours before game time, I'd installed a 4th. camera up in the press box to capture the pre-game arrival of the Army parachute team landing again at midfield. That's always a neat picture have on the fisheye, as it's a handy file image of the stadium for the sports dept. guys to reuse during the season, or when just writing about Army sports in general.
On Friday night, we covered Bobby Knight's induction into West Point's Sports Hall of Fame, during a black-tie banquet on post. Duke University & recent Beijing Olympic Dream Team Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski was the presenter, as they both were previously Army Basketball coaches. Isiah Thomas, who played for Knight at Indiana, and is currently a NY Knicks suit, was also in attendance. That was a nice affair, albeit a long night, but still fun to socialize a little with the Army brass in their dress uniforms and such. Knight, college basketball's winningest coach, was his usual sometimes callous self, but still kinda cool to be around a sports legend. He was also at Saturday's game & shows up again in the slideshow below. Finally, yesterday afternoon after returning the loaner 400 & heading to the office to upload a photo gallery of the Army game to the paper's website, I spotted a rather large aircraft circling over Stewart Airport's airspace here in my area. When the plane went on final approach, I sped to a parking location where I knew I could get a clean view of the Boeing 747 on the runway. Remembering that the UN General Assembly was in session this week, I knew instinctively that it was Air Force One arriving, with the President onboard. Although I couldn't get anywhere near the aircraft when it was parked, it was worth the effort to make a few file images of the plane. You certainly don't get to see Air Force One everyday, particularly in your own backyard...








Here's the slideshow from the game. -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. )

"The more things change, the more they, uh, remain the same..."

Similar stuff, I guess. Working at a small winery last week here in Ulster County, NY reminded me of images I'd made a few years ago while on holiday in California. Made the same detail images of Cabernet-Sauvignon grapes on the vine in Napa Valley. In additional to having the owner of the winery giving me a "swirl" of his product in the tasting room, I thought of the same resulting images when I asked a sommelier in a swank Manhattan eatery to do the same in their wine cellar a few years ago, while on assignment for the NY Daily News. Although I'd lit her up with two portable strobes, one into an umbrella and the other as a faint background fill-light, both images have the same nice, simple feel to them. "bon appétit" -cg.



Gamay Noir grapes on the vine at Whitecliff Vineyard in Gardiner on Friday, September 12, 2008.









Ripe Cabernet-Sauvignon grapes on the vine at Trefethen Winery in Napa, CA. August 2004.








Michael Migliore, owner of Whitecliff Vineyard swirls a glass of Gamay Noir in the vineyard's tasting room in Gardiner, NY on Friday, September 12, 2008.



Erin Sullivan, the Sommelier at Del Frisco Double Edge Steak House in Manhattan displaying a $21,000. magnum of Chataeu Mouton-Rothschild in one of the restaurant's glass enclosed and climate controlled wine cellars on Tuesday, November 15, 2005.

*"Pigs, Football & a few Angels..." Sept. 2008

The week that was - September 9 - 13, 2008. Put this one in the books. Just when I thought I was done finding imagery with similar color schemes as last week's yellows, greens & reds, the very first image here in the slideshow gallery below screams with reds & yellows over the bland tones of brown. More reds with the coverage of Curtis Sliwa and his Guardian Angels arriving in Middletown, NY - one of the main cities in my paper's coverage area. A few generic assignments mixed in, including a trek to a really nice vineyard up in Ulster County, more HS football practice, waited nearly 3 hours to photograph four HS soccer players that stand over 6' (photo'd them in the gym as their game was played in a downpour & no way was I setting up lights to shoot them in the rain, although it would've been a killer image on the field if we'd gotten a break with the weather) and finally a real-life football game after driving nearly 90 miles for a farming feature story, highlighting how local farmers are turning to raising pigs for slaughter. That assignment capped off the work week, and reminded me how humbling this business can sometimes be; considering I thought last week's gig photographing a guy in his backyard picking up dog-poop was about as low as I'd ever been. Here's a look at some of the favs from the week. "Cheers." -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. )

*"Reds, Yellows, & Greens..." Sept. 2008.

The Work Week - Sept. 2-6, 2008. (or noticing a few unintentional themes once again in my work...) So I'm sitting in my kitchen appreciating the cooler morning breezes, and thinking of how to add a newer post recapping the work week just passed. Started examining the week's images, and immediately was struck by an underlying theme, if you will, of how some pretty obvious color themes, saturation of those colors, combined with some very nice light, if I do say so myself, sort of hit me over the head while viewing the files for the re-edit. A second cup of Java helped me to grasp what I thought was a pretty cool aspect of the week. You'll notice the reds, yellows & greens in all these fav images here from the week. The reoccuring American flag imagery was executed completely on auto-pilot as I was sloshing around in the rain, covering yet another local firemen's parade yesterday. Fortunately, this parade was close to the paper's main office and the remnants of Hurricane Gustav didn't ruin the gear - or me for that matter. Managed to clamp up two portable strobes during the week too, for a feature on a HS freshman swimmer in their new refurbished pool. Still waiting to get the call for either a HS football game or of course an Army football at home. *On a side note: The images of the subject with the "pooper-scooper" device in his backyard at 9AM just really broke me up. This assignment was after a 7:30AM back to school gig at a Catholic Elementary School, not far from home. I literally couldn't stop laughing at the set-up, the business plan, etc. that this guy had devised. Actually wasn't laughing at him - more at me being assigned to photograph it all. Now I'd seen everything I reminded myself. He'll probably turn it all into a profitable business - started by, you guessed it, picking up 'doggie-doo...'
Here's a slideshow from the week:

*(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. )

Shooting Stock. (or how I spent the Labor Day Holiday Weekend. Aug. 31 - Sept. 1, 2008.)

It was a good weekend to totally relax, get away & be away. Even though I stayed relatively close to home. Concentrated on making personal images starting out on Sunday, and into Monday along the Hudson River. I wanted to of course make something fresh for my stock photography agency, THE IMAGE WORKS. Made it a point to dust off my two older Nikon D-1X bodies & put them through working conditions, particularly shooting files on RAW. Even brought out the ancient Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 manual focus and tele-extender. Boy what a piece of glass. Remember making portfolio images with that lens back in the day on film cameras, but wouldn't think of ever using a MF (manual focus) lens nowadays. Hey, wait a minute on that one... One of the bodies was severely drenched in a downpour back in early August when I used it as a remote body on the infield of the Meadowlands Track for the low angle finish line view of DEWEYCHATUMNHOWE winning the $1.5 million Hambletonian. Never got to make that image anyway, as I pulled the camera from the field & stored it in an electrical storage locker at track side off the winner's circle before the big race.
First stop on Sunday was back to West Point for the memorial service honoring some of the remaining "Buffalo Soldiers" and greet retired Army Sgt. Sanders Matthews again. It's honestly a thrill as a former Marine to have a few minutes' personal time with an Army veteran who served in a mounted, all-Black regiment during WWII. Then spent a few hours down on the river just watching the sailboats, jet-skiers, kayakers and managed to grab what I thought was a pretty cool image of a CSX Railroad freight train barreling down toward me. Again all made with the old Nikon body and long manual focus long glass. Here's a slideshow (below) of more of my fav images from the weekend. - 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. )