Annalog

My college paper the Daily Cal is running a feature piece tomorrow on Cal men’s swimmer Sean Mahoney. Our beat writer for men’s swimming, Christina Jones, penned the piece. I took the accompanying portrait earlier this week at Spieker Pool on campus.

On New Year’s Eve I photographed Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue at the Independent in San Francisco. I posted one image from the show (taken post-midnight) for day one of my 365 day photo challenge. To check out a few more, visit Live Daily or the Independent’s photo galleries.

By the time yesterday evening had rolled around, my feet were heavy from walking. I had spent ten hours roaming around campus snapping shots while a crowd of UC Berkeley students protested the proposed 32% tuition increase. Friday was the final day of a three day protest against free hikes and budget cuts. Meanwhile the UC Regents meeting on the UCLA campus was met by student protests.

I’ve just discovered yet another cool way to integrate my life — blogging from my iPhone. So now my “mobile device” Twitters — feeding to my Facebook — and publish blog posts from the road. Next step: making Twitter feed to this blog — simple enough just as long as the Wordpress theme allows it.

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Since Michael Jackson’s death was announced last Thursday afternoon, I have a new found appreciation for his music and his dance moves. I’ve tapped my feet to “Beat It” in the BART station and attempted to Moon Walk. I have been a proud card-carrying member of the iPod generation the last few days, listening to Invincible and HIStory almost nonstop. Guess it’s going to be a while before I can get through his whole discography. (more…)

Politico published an article today accusing the Obama administration of giving unfair access to The New York Times. The article goes so far as to accuse Obama of *gasp* reading the Times magazine. This type of accusation isn’t new. Just a few months ago during the Presidential election media outlets, like the Times, were again accused of sucking up to the Democratic candidates. (more…)

I’m participating in a weeklong workshop hosted by the Newspaper Association of America this week at the University of Nevada, Reno. Industry professionals are coming to talk with our group of 15 students about ways of reinventing the news industry and “gaming the news.” We got an early start today. The students and professionals met in the journalism school on campus for breakfast.

The tone of the conversation about the impending transformation of the new industry has changed from one of despair and fear, to one of hope, in just one year. I attended conferences just last year during which professionals talked about the “demise of print journalism” and the possible end of news. But in just a few months, the conversation has changed to one of hope. Professionals are looking for a new way to conceive of “news.” What a relief! Though I knew it wasn’t true, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. (more…)

I went home to Washington, D.C. for winter break and got to see first hand as the city made the last few preparations for the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20th. Posters flew up announcing events and the iconic image of Obama by Shepard Fairey. Every magazine had an image of the President-elect on the cover. This was a historic occasion, but in all my years living in D.C. I never saw as much hype and anticipation for the transition of office. (more…)

This evening, a panel of reporters for the Associated Press came to the Graduate School of Journalism to talk. It was part of an event called “The American President,” a series of photos being showcased in the halls of North Gate. The images were taken by AP photographers who have covered American presidents, dating back as far as Abraham Lincoln.

Before the panel started, AP showed short video that included a number of images, including one of Truman holding up a copy of the Chicago Daily Tribune the day he won the seat of president that reads “Dewey Defeats Truman” and other images that show a human, vulnerable quality in our presidents—current and past. (more…)

So early in the afternoon and yet, so little to do. Sometimes I welcome slow afternoons. Once I’m out in the car though, I feel totally different. Every car trip becomes an adventure, something to reflect on later in the day, and time to think about potential images.

After the past few days, I look forward to going home and reading, sitting in Mugged and getting a cup of lemon ginger tea, and going through some of my photographs from this summer. I think I need some time to reflect on the work I have done and how to make it better. (more…)