Columbia, Missouri

The End of the Beginning or the Beginning of the End

Today was the last day of my internship at The Washington Times in Washington, DC. I want to thank the staff so much for all the help and for the awesome opportunity. It was a great experience and I had a great time day after day!! I would recommend this internship to anyone.

It is weird saying this, and not like anyone cares, but this is my last internship...ever. It feels like only yesterday when...just kidding. It's been a crazy ride and I've loved every second of the last couple of years. The people I've met. The friends I've made. The people to stay away from. And the experiences through it all. Rad-tastic.

Party this weekend. Pack my bags. Start a new chapter.

I <3 Sushi

Went to a Sushi and all around pretty sweet Restaurant today for a story the newspaper is doing featuring the place.

i Spy

The National Archives has declassified records and files for nearly 24,000 personnel who served with the Office Of Strategic Services, the wartime intelligence agency, during WWII that lead way to the CIA. Several members of the OSS attended the opening at the National Archives in College Park, Md., on Wednesday, August 14, 2008. Julia Child is one of several who have become popular since their time with the OSS.
Julia Child's file.

Island Living

Today I was sent south to Richmond, Va., to illustrate an AP story about a group of people squatting some islands near downtown Richmond on the James River. After spending the day dodging trains, island hopping, and running into abandoned camps, I found an inhabited one. However, the two men were upset by an article which ran a few days earlier and wanted compensation in exchange for being photographed. I talked with them a little more and split town tired and with a few detail shots.

House Protest

Today started the second week the House Republicans have been on the floor protesting the summer recess. The Republicans have held numerous press conferences demanding Democrats head back to Washington to decide on a solution to the gas problems.

Tragedy on the Bridge

On Sunday morning, a tractor-trailer headed eastbound plunged into the Chesapeake Bay from the Bay Bridge after being involved in a accident. The truck broke through the concrete walls lining the bridge and dropped into shallow water. The driver did not survive. Today the truck was pulled from the water.

more from the music fest...

Virgin Mobile Festival

Spent Sunday at the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore, Maryland. I had a pretty good time shooting and keeping curious.
Lil' Wayne

Moby

The Global Peace Festival

I had about an hour today to head over to The Global Peace Festival on the west lawn of the Capitol. The weather was beautiful and I wish I had more time to roam the crowds. Pretty fun.

Detrick's Olympic Blog

My friend Chris Detrick, a staff photographer at The Salt Lake Tribune, made it his goal to shoot the Olympics sometime during his life. He's is now in China covering the games and has a pretty sweet blog going on. Check it out >>HERE<<

Kids Fitness

Photographed at a Sterling, Va., fitness gym designed towards keeping kids fit and active.

All Hands on Deck

Police and the Mayor of DC were out today kicking off "All Hands on Deck," a program designed to put more police on patrol in area neighborhoods.

Jamaica

I was sent to Jamaica to cover the 46th Anniversary of the country's independence. See text below.



Just kidding. This was a festival in downtown Washington DC.

Protest

People were out in front of the White House today protesting a war with Iran. What war? Exactly. Some interesting folks.

Guns on campus

Ken Stanton, a PhD student at Virginia Tech, speaks to participants, both supporters and opposers to the idea of concealed guns on campus around the country. Stanton, who was attending Virginia Tech during the April shootings by Cho Seung-Hui, heads the school's chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. The group had their first national conference to discuss the Second Amendment and how it is applicable to college campuses on Friday afternoon at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Restaurant

Had about 45 minutes tonight to photograph at a restaurant tonight for a business story. I didn't want to do anything but grab the food and lock myself in a closet and eat it before they could throw me out. But I restrained myself and went home and made nachos. Yay.

Sometimes these are the hardest stories to photograph. The restaurant obviously wants to look good to attract more customers, so will do everything possible to arrange things and make the place squeeky clean. I never quite know how to respond sometimes to their ideas and requests and questions. "Do you want us to make a desert? This is our specialty dish, should we prepare it for you to photograph?" I basically resort to default and tell them I don't want them to do anything special for me. If someone ordered the specialty dish, I'll wait until it is prepped and try and get a shot before it is delivered to the table. It always creates a moment of awkwardness and sometimes frustration, but often it's a good thing because they just go back to what they were doing. I'm not there for them to like me, but most of the time talking with them eases whatever confusion there was and they insist I come back and eat sometime. Not sure why I was compelled to write this, but how do other people approach this situation cause I have no idea if the local restaurant feature shoot is even important for ethical debate. Despite how much of a pain in the ass it may be to wait until someone orders a dish or what not, in the end I'd feel guilty if the chef prepared a dish for me and then had to throw the food away. Also, there's no way I would eat it. I'll drool over it, maybe go back and buy it another time, but there's no such thing as a free lunch...or dinner.