GONE BABY GONE

Not exactly gone, I guess.

Just Moved.

http://jakeforddaniels.wordpress.com -- Just enjoying the format a little better, is all.

Beauty Queen!

There's a song that keeps coming into my head, but I can't remember the words ... something about "beauty queen ... prettiest girl I've ever seen" ... or maybe I'm misremembering ... actually, that's probably it ...

I ain't lyin'!

Just so I don't prove myself a liar, here's some older stuff from December. The first is of Ms. Jones, showing off her tattoo (it translates to "love conquers all," a happy ideal for all of us hopeless romantics out there), and the second is off Mike Groves, a tattoo artist who works at Pain and Wonder in Athens, Ga. Good people, both of them.


This was mainly just to show that, yes, I am really going to be updating with foto shtuff. I ain't lyin' ... this time ...

I Need a Stretch

So, seeing that I'm out of school (graduated and all that good stuff), and am once again shooting for a paper (and once again in the less-than-enviable-but-better-than-nothing position of "Photo Intern"), I should start posting again.

And I will, I swear. At the moment, however, I'm having issues because I can't get the 'net at my new abode, but I'll starting doing a mobile update from wherever I can get signal. Soon. Truly. Promise.

Speaking of "my new abode," I've moved up to Chattanooga, Tn., for the time being, and am interning at the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, which was voted the best newspaper in Tennessee, according to the big trucks outside. I basically live an hour away from my parents, a fact which they have yet to abuse (thanks, guys), and about two hours away from anybody who would seem to want to talk to me.

Phhbbbbbtttt.

But the staff is great, my roommate's cool, and I do enjoy the city. Things are decent/good enough.

Enough babble, I'll post when I've got something to show you. Till then, cheers, ziveli, etc, for a new city and a new job. Maybe if we run fast enough, we'll outpace the bad stuff.

Tattoo

Ms. Rachel this time.



Long weekend, tired and worn out.

Jeez ...

So I shot my next doc photo after having the first one fall through, and then I got home and set up my computer, thinking to myself that, okay, this'll be a little late, but not *that* late. And now, almost six hours later, after downloading three programs before one of them would process RAW (necessary because my GD-ed computer's Digital Photo Professional for some reason stopped working on RAW files), I'm finally getting around to actually posting it.

... sigh ...

I was considering doing a kind of wrap-around thing, since it goes all the way around his wrist, but his time ran short and I didn't want to keep him too long. Sic Semper Tyrannis --"thus always to tyrants." I think it might be more apt wrapped around one's middle finger, but that's just me ...

Body Art

Though I have no photos right now -- tonight, I may change that -- I'm going to be doing a documentary photo project on body art for my advanced photojournalism class. I'll be posting the photos on this blog and tagging each with the "DocPhoto" line, as well as anything else that may occur to me.

As usual, it might work, it might flop, it'll probably some combination of the two, but that's life, no?

Workworkwork

Since I've been back in Athens, I've taken up the mantle of Photography Editor at the Red and Black, which is pretty cool, but takes up most of my time with the actual managerial stuff that I've always detested. I've been taking to the concept that my photographers are my main concern, and I should do anything and everything to make their jobs easier. Because That's How It's Supposed to Go, right?

Anyway. I've always been trying to let them shoot the stuff that'll run bigger, and I've tried to take up the slack wherever I can. Including shooting some really boring question-and-answer sessions with the provost candidates.


I'm terribly excited that she came off the podium. I hate it when people feel like they have to stick behind a wooden desk ... hmm ... but it also makes the photo a little better, methinks.

AAAAaaand, a last minute tennis portrait. These guys are both from San Antonio, the guy in the back is a few years younger and claimed the guy in front was his childhood hero. Had to run out for it after the photographer had something come up. Three minutes to spare, too.


Oooh, and my roommate Colin had a plant that bloomed. Not particularly interesting until you hear that the plant only flowers once a year, at night, for only a few hours before it dies. Pretty cool, and, no, I have no recollection of it's name, scientific or otherwise.

But I do have photos.


I'm sure there'll be something else after a while.

An Alaskan Wedding

My first wedding. Well, not mine, but the first I've shot. But I'm sure you knew that. 'Cause I've been married, like, a half dozen times now, yeah?

Anyway ...


Think I should do this stuff for money? Like, cash with which I could actually pay for things?

An Alaskan Engagement

When I was up in yonder blue-skied wilderness of Alaska, I got asked to assist on some engagement photos for the local medic. Come to find out that the engagement photos were shot only 3 days ahead of the actual wedding, so I ended up shooting the wedding as well. Wedding pictures later, engagement pictures now ...




And the ring, of course ...


Fun Alaskan Fact: A person has the ability to marry together two other people in Alaska, regardless of occupation or education. But only once per person. Cool, huh?

Interior Alaska -- minorly boring

I mean, I'm enjoying all of this, but Interior Alaska is kind of boring unless you like to hike and such. Which is fine with me because I love to hike and such.

Anyway, more landscape shots of places I done seen, y'all.


I do love me some hiking.

How you like them mountains?

Went hiking up one of the Delta River tributaries, the Darling Creek.


I do so enjoy this place. The solitude, the quiet, the grandiosity of the place.

Ahhhhh ....

Long time, no post

Since I was writing pretty much all of last semester, I didn't really feel that I had much of anything to post here. Now that the summer has reached its peak, and I have been shooting some stuff, I feel mildly compelled to go ahead and start posting again. My connection might be a little iffy at times, mostly because I'm up in the great wilderness of Alasaka, but I'll do what I can.

Just a short thing for now, more to come, promise.

Donnelly Dome, the 4000-foot geologic intrusion near Fort Greely, the military where I'm staying. I've made the minor determination to climb it at least twice a week. So far, so good.

Chana came up with me for the first week of the trip before she started work. As you can see, my little sister seemed to get along with her pretty well ... this was at a local hang out called The Bluff about 12 miles outside of Delta Junction, the local town.

More later, ciao till then!

Boo

Surpised? I'm still here. Promise.

I'm going to skip the banter and get to the photos, mostly because I'm weirdly tired today. Didn't sleep last night, and it's showing.

I shot the SGA debate on Tuesday night. Couple highlights here ...



Jump over to my other blog (it's somewhere in a side panel) to check out my other blog for a couple stitches I've been working on, including one of the debates.

Ciao for now.

Blondes on his mind

This is an old story -- heck, I shot it back in November -- but I've been a little rushed on things lately, as ...

a) I'm moving back to Georgia on Wednesday.
b) Wednesday also happens to be my last day at the internship.
c) It's friggin' Christmas.

... so I'm going to post this and then That'll Be It For A While. As in, I probably won't be post for a week or two (or three) as I make the move back to Athens, college, and actually having a social life. Looking forward to all three of those. And not so much the same about leaving Birmingham.

... on second thought, I'll be posting something kinda a reminisce-y about the internship and Birmingham on the whole. Maybe not a whole heck of a lot, but just something pretentiously nostalgic and maudlin.

So, the story: there's a group that makes bikes for kids with disabilities. It's a cool idea, since what little kid doesn't love the idea of finally getting mobile? I think the excitement of a bike for a four-year-old is motivated by the same feelings a sixteen-year-old has for his first car. Anyway. It's a cool story, and the writer, Rakhia Nance, found a pretty cool angle to suit it.

This little guy has an unidentified mitochondrial disease that affects all the muscles in his body. He has practically no muscle control, none at all. He can't hold himself up, he can't lift his arms and legs, he can't even swallow on his own volition. I'm in awe of his parents. And these guys decided to build him a bike. It turned out more like a tricycle, but it'll allow him to sit up in the bike and be helped along by someone behind him.

Biggest thing I remember about this assignment: the kid was unabashedly attracted to blondes. A couple of the girls helping out at the foundation where they presented him with the bike were young attractive blondes, and every time one would walk by, he'd loll his head to the side to watch them, then give them this little grin. Mitochondrial disease or not, guy knows what he likes.

With grandma.

Just hangin' out, waitin' for my bike ...

Blonde alert.

With his mom.

The trike needed some adjustment when they first got him into it, but it wasn't bad for a first time.

I hope things work out with the little guy.

Okay, more later.