(Belated) 4th of July!

So, due to absolutely horrible weather the past couple days and an absolutely dreary (actual) 4th of July my assignment for shooting fireworks was postponed until today. I tried to have some fun with the quintessential fireworks assignment that it seems all of us photojs get assigned to at least a million times once during our careers. So here it is, and happy 4th of July, everyone!

My day with Dougie

During today’s assignment, I had the chance to meet an amazing little boy and his wonderful family. Dougie, 5, has an inoperable brain tumor and with the help of Burlington Fire Department, got a very special surprise this 4th of July. He has always dreamed of becoming a fire fighter according to his family and he got to live out that dream on Friday at the Burlington Fire Department. Given his very own personalized, tiny turnout gear, he was sworn in and explored the department with all of the guys. He had the opportunity to see all of the trucks, try out a fire hose, and even ride in a truck during the town’s 4th of July parade. His parents, Angela and Rich, and Dougie’s brother and sister got to join in on the fun as well. It was a great experience to see the way this little boy’s face lit up as he got to see inside all of the trucks and was given his own firefighter’s jacket. As a side note, I will forgive him for trying to spray me and the other photographers with the fire hose since he was so cute. We will pretend it was an “accident”. Thank you, Dougie and your family for letting all of us join you today. Also, great job by the Burlington Fire Department for everything they did.

A fund to help Dougie and his family cover treatments and other medical expenses has been set up. Donations can be made at: Salem Five Bank Douglas Davis Fund, P.O. Box 2523, Woburn, Mass., 01888

It’s been awhile…(African drumming and more to come)

Hello! It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted on here. I’ve been shooting a ton despite what it looks like from the lack of blog posts. Moving to the Boston area and trying to establish myself in an unfamiliar place has proved difficult, but I have found fairly steady work shooting a variety of assignments for Wicked Local, which owns many of the town papers in the area. This broad coverage area has opened up a variety of interesting and challenging assignments for me. This is my most recent assignment from Friday: African drumming at an elementary school. I have covered something similar to this before and loved the atmosphere of both times. The kids are always so excited to play with the drums and learn and it usually makes for great photos. The children were in one room for the workshops and that proved to be some what visually difficult, but here’s what I got.

My site!

Hey everyone! I wanted to just let everyone know that I have a site along with the blog.

Special Olympics

One of my last assignments to end the summer with the Gazette was shooting the Special Olympics’ August Tournament in the Pioneer Valley. This is was a new experience shooting sports and I absolutely loved it. I really tried to capture the high energy and emotion that filled the weekend of the Games. Not only was there the Games, but also an opening ceremony with the lighting of the torch and a dance party with the UMass athletes.

My 4th of July…

So as most people were enjoying cookouts and fireworks today, I was shooting like many of my photog friends were doing as well. Today’s assignments were a naturalization ceremony (immigrants officially becoming American citizens) and an Independence Day festival. I expected the naturalization ceremony to be much more formal than it was, so that definitely took me off guard. The festival had so much going on that I didn’t know where to even begin. But, I enjoyed attending and photographing both. Here’s what I got out there on the ridiculously hot 4th of July.

Dancers and goats

I have had the opportunity to shoot a variety of events, people, and places during my month at the Gazette. I am going to try to spend the next few days uploading a few of my assignments and favorites. These two assignments were very unique and I really enjoyed shooting. One was a couple that raised goats in their front yard for their milk to make cheese and soaps. The other was a dance/painting collaboration. The artist, Marlene, painted while dancers Beth and Margaret performed in front of her. Marlene created landscape paintings while incorporating the dancers’ movements into the work.

My first (almost) week with the Daily Hampshire Gazette

So, I have been in Massachusetts for about a week now, and I have been pretty busy! I have about 3 assignments a day on average I think. I have loved all of the assignments so far, and they have been interesting in their own ways. Some have been a little more challenging than others. For example, the Amherst high school baseball field has less-than-desirable lighting for sure, an obvious downside for sports. I drifted away from regular news shooting for awhile to focus on sports so the change of pace is nice to mix it up a little. I’m not going to post all of my selects, but just some of my favorites from the few days I’ve worked there. And a disclaimer just for good measure…

NOTE: THE DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE OWNS ALL OF THE RIGHTS TO THESE PHOTOGRAPHS. DO NOT USE FOR ANY PURPOSE WHATSOEVER. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY AN IMAGE, PLEASE VISIT THE GAZETTE’S WEBSITE. THESE ARE NOT MINE TO DISTRIBUTE.

These assignments include: Amherst baseball tournament game, decontamination training with the fire department, South Hadley graduation, and rescue team training

Moving is crazy

So I am finally moved in after a 10 hour drive with all of my things, my mom, and my puppy shoved into just my car just a few days ago. I have started to take the opportunity to get familiar with the area. My first assignment for the Daily Hampshire Gazette is tomorrow which is of course exciting. I will be shooting a high school graduation and hope to post some photos from that tomorrow night!

About to be a real world photographer!

Well, I have graduated from Viscom after four years under some of the best professors in the industry. So this time next week, I will be starting my adventure to Massachusetts to my new apartment and first post-graduate internship. I am so excited to start working with the staff of the Daily Hampshire Gazette!! I have been in contact with Carol Lollis, the photo editor, for about a month now, and I am so happy to have her as my first real photo editor. She seems great, and I can’t wait to meet her and the staff in person. The paper is in Northampton, Mass and my apartment (with a roommate I have yet to meet but she seems nice) is in Amherst. I cannot wait to start posting my work from my internship!