merry christmas margaret

she spent the night at the homeless shelter was kicked out at 7.30 am walked through snow and slush in her pjs for a couple of miles ended up at the mariott shivering like an autumn tree and blood sugar that shot through the roof that's where they called the ambulance that took her to the hospital on the way to which she wet her pants and apologized profusely they'd warm her up and take care of the diabetes maybe find a place for her to spend the holidays inside the holidays ended yesterday the snow will stick until march merry christmas margaret.

i went to the moon

and they do have snow. lots of it. so there. i saw it.

happy

how about...some horse photos?

I went out to shoot the snow yesterday, and apart from sliding trucks and snow-shoveling home owners i found these horses. they didn't only look pretty but also blew some hot horse breath into my lens. sniff sniff, lick lick...

happy camper

my grandparents just sent me this photo. in 1985 we made tents out of blankets. they feel much nicer too and they and make you happy.

home bound

returning to utah from back east last weekend felt like coming home and it threw me off a little. home is what i've called many places in the last couple of years but something I haven't felt for any of them. and here it is, where I thought i'd be gone come january, then fall. it was a challenge to accept that moving around a lot will come to an end for a while. because it was easy to tell myself everything will be even better once i move. it made me not try as hard and made me dream up a future instead of tackling what's in front of me. but then i understood that not the moving makes me happy but what i fill my life with, what i chose to see in my photos and who i spend time with. poof went all the fear of being stuck. stagnating. becoming mediocre, sedentary and disillusioned. ok, I still want to keep moving around. but for now utah not just is home but feels home.

paid a visit

to the old paper...
pretty sad but interesting, now that i can see it with more emotional distance.
how many newspapers look like this around the country? those hundreds of dusty dark rooms and miles of peeling wall paper tell stories from days that seem so ancient and fragile it makes me want to tip toe around the newsroom, inhale history and start recording tidbits of the past that will soon be turned into a condo or torn down for a parking lot.

at-lan-ta

maybe i spoke too soon

maybe those papers won't close... Conn. Gov. Jodi Rell and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal aparently said they might look for a way to save the JRC papers. It'll be interesting to see where this will lead. Read the story here.

And there's kids playing guns in the street

And one's pointing his tree branch at me
So I put my hands up, I say "Enough is enough
If you walk away, I'll walk away"
And he shot me dead
[Bright Eyes]

funeral

of a police officer who died in a car crash chasing another vehicle

salvaged

i spent a good part of the night at the homeless shelter yesterday. it's getting cold, people are flocking there for a blanket and a mat. these guys are sleeping in the lobby where the lights are never off. i've hung out at st. anne's a lot lately and last night finally found who i was looking for...

just what we do too.

looking through glass, learning about life.

a heavy sigh of relief...

...because had i stayed i most likely would have joined the ranks of unemployed photojournalists come january.
JRC put the new britain herald and the bristol press up for sale and will shut them down if there's no new owner within 60 days. I've talked to people at the herald but the hartford courant officially reports it here. We knew this was coming but it still gives me chills. It makes me feel extra warm and cozy here at the standard...this time i escaped the burning house right before the roof collapsed. scary times. we'll see what comes next. i hope everyone to be laid off will make their way and find other opportunities.

who needs gear anyway?

or...girls can't carry a 400 -- let alone two
or...photojournalists for point'n'shoots
or...big gear's for loosers
or...let the intern break his back, carrying my gear (ouch!)
or...I need the LCD display to see what i'm shooting

Nick Draney and I put ourselves to work today. It's too cold outside anyway.

powder

snowbird opened. utah's snow season has started. it was so beautiful up there. what can i say...pretty nice day, i came away glowing. i also shot video, which is here.

pata

has tumors up and down his throat and now also in his lungs. he used to have them removed every two weeks. but that's not working anymore, so he's on chemo now.the machine helps him breathe when he gets dizzy. his mom's way of dealing with this and helping him blew me away. it's an assignment that i've been struggling to leave behind after walking out the door.

elections in utah

were rather unspectacular, compared to other places around the country. no lines at the polls, and when the results came in, ogden remained quiet. many poll workers still said it was busier than ever before.

giant feet

a jazzer is being stretched.

citizen journalism?

or voyerism? are we any better because we have a press pass? and a big camera? i was pretty annoyed with these people, klicking away with their cells and point'n'shoots. then i started questioning what i was doing. i don't know. just a thought, i guess.