track

arizona immigration

Mesa's main street feels forlorn. the part that houses the hispanic stores and businesses, that is. the impact of sb1070, the immigration bill passed last year, can be partially measured by looking at the empty strip malls and boarded-up storefronts. this is the backyard of russell pearce, the senator who introduced the bill and who is the public face of the immigration debate in the state. he is proud of this impact, "they're leaving in caravans," he said. but others aren't so thrilled. a recall petition is gaining ground in the neighborhoods, and fellow republican lawmakers are turning their backs on him. it used to be a potential model for how to handle utah's immigration woes. a year later some in mesa are looking at our approach, the utah compact, as something possibly more fitting for their state. the lds church also plays into this story in interesting ways. a great read. here.

CONCACAF

Dawa Chodon, 10, carries a piece of cake during a candlelight vigil held by Utah Students for a Free Tibet for the 22nd birthday of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet, at the City County Building in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sunday, April 24, 2011. The Panchen Lama and his family have been missing for 16 years since their abduction on May 14, 1995 by the Chinese government. As the 2nd highest Religious Leader of Tibet after the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama plays a significant role in Tibet’s politics and history. Official reports from the Chinese government claims he is safe and hidden for his safety, however he has not been seen since he was abducted.

easter sunday

recovery

Stephen Pio hangs out at his family's home in West Valley City, Utah, on Saturday, April 23, 2011. The 9-year-old recovers from injuries after he and his sister were hit by an SUV while crossing a Kearns road in February.

kit-hae

meows coming from a phoenix backyard last week. kitty had been sleeping under a tree and stepped out into the sunlight. snap.

Cowboy Poetry for NYT

The Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nev., has been the recent subject of budget wars in Washington. They put on the annual Cowboy Poetry Festival and have a huge archive of cowboy-related documents and media. They only receive a small amount of their funding from federal sources but politicians have used it in their tug of war between left and right nevertheless. Story here.

conference (and lots of it)

fatty

Sadie, a Samoyed, was 30 pounds overweight when her owner got her from the shelter. With some exercise and diet the dog lady had lost 15 of them six months later. This giant fur ball of a dog was the sweetest thing I had come across in some time.

big**s bridge on wheels being moved in the dead of night.

toooor!

First game of the year. RSL beat Galaxy and I was happy to shoot fussball again.

day-to-day

now that the wonderful iphone has brought me back to shooting a lot here and there I'm actually considering taking a real camera out with me again.

Tucson

went back to the old home for a few days for ncaa. beautiful and confusing and happy-making.

The Trio

Daniel Day Trio portrait when I thought I was shooting a show of theirs and had neither lights nor location figured out but then things are never the way you expect them to just gotta make the best of it and these guys were very patient with me and my long exposures and Mike's clunky tripod that saved my life.

more iphone bonanza

how do they do it?

military homecoming after 12 months in afghanistan.
no idea how families deal with it, it must be incredibly hard.
i tried to put myself in the shoes of the woman who was crying so hard when she saw her husband. i couldn't even bear it. it brings tears to my eyes now. the girl below would not stop sobbing as she was holding her dad. and this is even supposed to be the good part, the happy end if you will. what about those who aren't coming back and their families....

GAGA

I've always dismissed lady gaga as some pop culture phenomenon i'm not really interested in, in part because i'm not into her music in the first place. it was awesome though to see how open minded the fans were i mean when is it ever a cool thing in mainstream utah to see someone dressed up in drag?! the people seemed from pretty wide ranging social backgrounds yet the atmosphere was incredibly relaxed and friendly. you could see how lady gaga's appearance had a huge impact on how these people thought about being different and celebrating that. loved it.