Far Sighted

New Year's Eve

2010-01-02T13:20:00.010-05:00

You can read more about my New Year's Eve HERE. I spent it with Greg Kahn and Tristan Spinski. It was so much fun. It involved walking three miles to make sure Tristan could kiss his wife, Sarah, at midnight and a lot of people watching.

Also, please go HERE to listen to some serious New Year's resolutions.

Still thinking about it all

2009-11-07T17:01:00.006-05:00

I need to talk this out. So, I'm putting it here.

On October 3, I and fellow journalists at the Naples Daily News covered the Damas family funeral. For those who don't know, it was for a woman and her five children who were found killed in their home in Naples. Her husband is charged with first degree murder for killing all six of them.

Today, I was looking through the photos again to enter them into the National Press Photographers Association monthly clip contest. I enter this contest every month and, normally, I don't have any problem submitting photos I've taken. But, there are times, like today, that it just seems weird to be entering photos from someone else's tragedy for my own personal gain. At the same time, it's an opportunity for the story to reach more eyes, and for the possibility of a greater good. Still, I'm conflicted.

The funeral was one of the hardest things I've had to cover in my seven years at the Daily News. I didn't sleep for days after. Not only because of the emotion and heartbreak that I witnessed from the family, but also because I was reconciling within myself why it was important that I photograph them in their most painful moment. I worried about what the family must have thought of us. Of me, holding a camera up to their pain. Did they realize I wasn't there to hurt them more? Only to show the world how much their six slain family members were loved and how the act of one man can shatter lives of so many. Also, to show what can happen when society does not stand up hard enough against domestic violence.

I was amazed that day at the Haitian community in Florida. So many who didn't even know the family drove from all over the state to give support.

None of the reasons to do the story are very consoling at the time, but you shoot the pictures because in the back of your head somewhere, you think the larger view will emerge later. Hopefully.

As journalists, we are consumed with the story for the weeks between when we first hear of the slayings and the day of the funeral. Then, for the most part, things calm down on our end. We cover the story as more details are discovered or the court proceedings begin, but really, the intensity is over.

I've moved on to other stories and things that are important to the newspaper and to me on the day to day. But today, it hit me all over again going through the pictures. This family is still missing those six beloved people. My heart goes out to them. I wish I could ease their pain.

I didn't feel right about putting the most intense pictures up on my blog. But, I found this one today. I took it before the family arrived to the burial ceremony. These two children were among hundreds to show up and give support. It could have been taken at church or a wedding. It doesn't tell the story of the day. But, that's ok with me for it's purpose here. I liked it. I like the look and the children's faces. I like the way she is holding his drink and his hand. And I love how grown up they look in their dress and little suit and all the while, a little awkward.

Tejano

2009-11-02T11:57:00.003-05:00

A few pictures from a slideshow I created about the Tejano Dances in Immokalee, Fla. Please watch the slide show HERE. And read the story by reporter, Steven Beardsley HERE.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T23:21:00.006-04:00

I had to shoot trick-or-treating tonight and happened upon a really cool haunted house. I accidentally changed my camera settings to monochrome (I didn't even know I could do that). Luckily, I liked the way it looked. And double-luckily for the newspaper, I figured out how to change it back. But, not before I made a picture that I liked in black and white.

'Come and get 'em, folks'

2009-10-26T10:23:00.007-04:00

An audio slideshow of my latest photo column can also be viewed HERE.

Over the squeak of the wheels and rattling of carts, over the beep of the checkout counter and the crying of the babies, over the constant noise that is Costco Wholesale in Naples on a Saturday afternoon, a voice can be heard.

Protein bars! Come and get’em,folks. Have ’em on the golf course, folks.
Eat ’em while at the computer, folks. I’ve got protein bars, woo!

“If I wasn’t loud, the customers would think there was something wrong with me,” says Sheila Roughan. “They’d say, ‘Are you ill? Are you not feel ing good?’ ” Roughan, 53, is best known as the singing sample lady at Costco. She works for Club Demonstration Services, a company contracted by Costco to hand out product samples throughout the large box store.

Her sing-song style of serving customers everything from pastries to potato chips can be heard through the aisles. This day, she’s at the front of the store just behind the checkout lanes selling protein bars. It’s a premier spot where Roughan can persuade people they need a box of 18 for $17.49 before they head out the door.

Power bars, they’re chocolate and chocolate always makes ya feel good.
Take some hoooooome.

“She is the ultimate huckster, and I mean that in a wonderful way,” says Jerry Jackson, referring to Roughan’s showy style of pitching the products she sells. Jackson, a middle-aged, frequent Costco shopper, turns to Roughan, “I come here, in part, because I love seeing you on Saturdays.” She thanks him with a smile and tells him it’s her honor.

He proceeds to checkout and Roughan doesn’t miss a beat singing out to the customers moving in her direction.

No one would believe the spunky redhead is shy. But, before she got the job at Costco three years ago, she was.

Roughan has dyslexia and bipolar disorder — two things that have, in the past, made her reserved.

“The job changed her life to a great degree,” said Roughan’s father, Fred. “She was always shy and conscious of her handicap and consequently always stayed in the background.”

Those days are gone.

Roughan calls to everyone. She sings out with authority that they will love what she has to sell them. Customer after customer comes to her smiling and laughing about her delivery. Half of her customers seem to buy the product less because they love protein bars, and more because they love to buy them from her.

Come on over and try some, pleeeeease take some home.

“She’s the best, she’s so energetic,” said Naples resident Sandy Piekarski between bites of a chocolate protein bar. “It’s fun, she’s got great spirit.”

That’s what makes Roughan love coming to work.

“I just have fun, otherwise it would be boring,” Roughan said. “I put a smile on people’s faces.”

Tumbling

2009-10-17T20:44:00.000-04:00

She's One of the Boys

2009-10-13T17:00:00.005-04:00

I'm a little late in posting. Life has been crazy. I'll try to update more often.

She hits like a boy, blocks like a boy and loves sports like the boys.

The only thing that gives her away on the field is her ponytail.

Gianna Rose, pictured above, is the only girl on her pee wee football team. In fact, she’s the only girl out of about 120 football players in the Marco Island Eagles Youth Football Organization.

The blonde ponytail hangs just past her shoulders, sticking out from under her helmet, as she crouches until the snap. She fires up and explodes, shoving her hands into the chest of her opponent while 20 boys wait their turn during drills on a recent evening at Mackle Park on Marco Island.

“You guys watch Gianna — she’s one of our best blockers out here,” said Jim Prange, the assistant coach whose son also plays for the Golden Eagles. “We need a few more girls on this team.”

The boys groan.

Gianna doesn’t flinch.

“Some girls are afraid to hit, but I’m not,” Gianna said.

The 9-year-old Tommie Barfield Elementary School student has had a passion for football since she was a baby watching New York Giants games from her high chair. Her mom has the pictures to prove it.

“I’ve been around football my whole life,” she said. “I just love it so much and I watch it all the time, so I actually know what to do.”

She plays running back and tight end, but if she had her choice of any position, she would play wide receiver so she could get her hands on the ball and make touchdowns.

“She’s probably a better athlete than 50 percent of the boys out here,” said Joe Bartos, a parent and coach with two sons on Gianna’s team.

The sun sets beyond the park as five teams in the organization — two pee wee, two junior and one senior team — get ready for the upcoming Saturday game. Gianna pulls out her mouth guard and spits. Between plays she scraps in a harmless push-and-shove with her opponents and slaps teammates on the shoulder pads with kudos for a job well done.

“From an attitude standpoint, I wish I had 22 just like her,” said Eagles head coach Greg West.

Her heart for the game shows as she’s one of the first to the line and first to the huddle.

“She has so much enthusiasm for this,” said her mom Daneen Rose, who supports her daughter’s love of the game, but didn’t always like the idea of her being on the field.

“After I saw her play (in the first game) I was much calmer,” said Rose, who helps coach her other daughter, Francesca, 5, on the Eagles cheerlead ing squad.

But, Gianna’s never been scared to play and she knows the boys underes timate her. She uses it to her advantage.

“They don’t think I’m tough,” Gianna said. “And then I go up against them and I nail them, and they’re like ‘whoa.’ ”

Practice is almost over. A few more plays left before the teams head home.

“Hey G, ready to hit a boy?” said opponent Will Glasser, a boy her same age, but a couple inches taller.

Gianna crouches at the line, her green eyes focus on Will with a look that says he better watch out. She wasn’t only ready to hit a boy, she was ready to hit like a boy.

Stop the press

2009-08-31T09:01:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it took me seven years of working at the Naples Daily News to go in and talk to the pressmen and watch them in action. Great guys. September 8th, they will abandon the old press at our Central Avenue location and start working on a state-of-the-art press in our new building in North Naples. We are a newspaper that is very lucky to still be investing in our print product, as well as our online product. Please go HERE to watch a video produced by me and videographer Manuel Martinez about the old press.

They are equal parts artist, scientist and engineer.

They receive no glory, little recognition and they have no byline.

Pressmen are sometimes the forgotten but without them there would be no newspaper.

“We’ve never not printed a paper since I’ve been here,” Casey Cote said confidently. “We’ve come close.”

Cote, a 29-year veteran and pressroom manager at the Naples Daily News, got his start at the Daily News when he was 20. He was working on a community press in northern New York when his mom handed him a classified ad that said “Live and work on the sunny Gulf of Mexico.”

Over the years, he and his crew of press operators have prided themselves on their teamwork and being able to set up or fix the press quickly. Cote has sometimes had to sleep in his car in the parking lot of the newspaper, one time on the night of Easter Sunday, waiting to fix what he called a “major break” in the old press.

The Goss Metro press, which Cote refers to as the “old goat,” was acquired by the Naples Daily News in 1993. It was previously owned by The Rocky Mountain News out in Denver.

It’s hard work. But it’s not all work.

“We pulled a lot of pranks when we were younger,” Cote said.

On a recent evening in a breakroom, Cote and several others laughed about experiences in the pressroom — some funny and some not-so-funny. Like when they pulled a prank on Rocco, leaving him with black ink dripping down the back of his head. Or, when Rocco was driving a clam truck carrying five, 2,000-pound rolls of paper and it tipped over sending the rolls into the catwalk of the press.

Rocco Bovenzi, pictured above, has worked on the press for 17 years.

He says you “gotta be half crazy” to work as a pressman.

“Everyone’s home in bed while we’re here doing this stuff,” said the 56-year-old former musician who sports a ponytail and loves the blues.

Long after the reporters have gone home and the page designers have shut down their computers, the pressmen are still in the thick of it.

When you’re in the pressroom, you don’t really know if it’s night or day. It is hard to determine if you’re upstairs or downstairs. It’s a world of its own where time is kept by the papers flying by on a belt.

Maybe he’s right. Maybe you do have to be a little crazy to work in there.

Or maybe you just have to love newspapers.

“My wife says ‘you got ink in your blood,’” said Barry Mundy, a pressman at the Daily News since 1998.

Mundy is a 51-year-old former Marine who started as an apprentice more than 20 years ago in New Jersey. He remembers having to bribe his way in to the pressroom up north with a six-pack of beer.

He loves the history of the press. But he’s also excited about the future.

Mundy and a handful of other pressmen are still working at the old press on Central Avenue, making sure the paper comes out everyday while the operation switches over to the Daily News’ new location on Immokalee Road.

In the next few weeks, they will say goodbye to the press that is more mechanical than technical and say hello to a state-of-the-art printing press called WIFAG Evolution 371.

In the new building, their feet won’t stick to the floor, the air will be better circulated and they may not even need earplugs. Instead of moving the machine themselves, they will tell the machine to move with the touch of a button.

Many things will be different.

Pressmen working tirelessly behind the scenes will remain the same.

Summertime ...

2009-08-12T18:56:00.001-04:00

... and the livin is easy.

I Heart Savannah

2009-08-07T23:58:00.007-04:00

I took my little sis to Savannah last weekend. It was a whirlwind, one-day trip. She'd never been out of Florida so we went to the coolest city nearest to the Sunshine State. Here's a few pics from 10-year-old film used in the Holga.

More Macedonia

2009-06-28T13:12:00.003-04:00

Macedonia

2009-06-26T15:24:00.003-04:00

I shot vacation bible school at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church yesterday. The story is about kids getting fed during bible school. This picture doesn't make the cut. So, I place it here.

Moving day

2009-06-15T12:37:00.007-04:00

The residents of Glade Haven, a trailer park in Bonita Springs, Fla., have until midnight tonight to move out to make way for a 200-unit condominium. I went there this weekend for a daily story to see if anyone was packing up. Here are two of my favorite images.

A Living Testament

2009-06-07T14:07:00.006-04:00

Please go HERE to watch the mini documentary I've created on three historically black churches in Naples.

I feel incredibly lucky to work at a newspaper that still gives amazing space for stories it deems important. Here is the layout for the story that ran in today's paper. Read Katy Bishop's story HERE

The devoted

2009-06-02T01:19:00.005-04:00

Tanya pulls out a scrapbook with pictures from the past year. Smiling faces of two teenagers in love peer back from the pages. She and her boyfriend, Ramade, are hugging and smiling at Busch Gardens, King Richard’s, from photo booths and swimming pools.

Looking through, you would never know that Ramade has spent nearly half of the past 15 months in the hospital and almost died twice.

Ramade Robles, 19, or Rome to those who know him best, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in January 2008. It was one month after he and Tanya started dating.

“He gave me the option of leaving,” said Tanya Lyristakis, 20, a computer science student at Florida Gulf Coast University. “But, I asked ‘why would I do that?’ ”

Tanya has taken it in stride. The hardest time for them came in December when Rome was sent to the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center in Gainesville for acute pancreatitis, a problem caused by his chemotherapy treatment. Rome was put into an induced coma for two weeks so his body would heal.

“A nurse told me to prepare for the worst,” Tanya’s voice shakes as she remembers. Doctors told her he had a 13 percent chance of surviving. She called his family members so they could come say goodbye.

It has been a tough road. But, in many ways, not as difficult as the road he walked before being diagnosed.

Rome is the youngest of seven but has been in and out of foster care, sold drugs on the streets in Tampa at age 16, has been arrested on more than one occasion and has little family support.

Before being diagnosed, he was cleaning up his life. He landed a job at UPS, where he met Tanya.

For Rome, the physical pain he has gone through since his diagnosis is more manageable than his lifetime of emotional pain.

But the past is not what concerns them now.

Rome started attending a weekly support group on Wednesdays at Cancer Alliance of Naples. Tanya goes with him.

“It helps to know there are other people out there who have an understanding,” Rome said. Talking to people who are going through similar experiences makes him feel normal.

“He’s given hope and helped others to feel they are not alone, and they’ve done the same for him,” said Ellen Harris, a licensed mental health counselor who facilitates the support group every week. “We are all amazed at his ability to have an upbeat attitude about life despite all the things he’s been through at a very early age.”

Harris said the devotion Rome and Tanya have for each other has been an inspiration to the group.

That devotion is what keeps Rome moving forward through his illness.

“I count my blessings that I can walk, hear, see and taste normally,” he said. “And of course, I’m lucky to have you,” he adds looking over at Tanya in their East Naples living room.

“I would have died if I didn’t have her.”

The Cobbler

2009-05-04T00:23:00.007-04:00

To watch the video please click HERE

He’s like an old shoe. A little worn-in, but reliable, nonetheless.

Everyday his attire is the same — a black T-shirt, some variation of slacks and tennis shoes.

“My grandkids, when they were small, they thought this was my skin” said Silvio Palomba about his t-shirt. His blue eyes shine behind wire frame glasses. His salt-and-pepper mustache turns up in a smile as he laughs about his appearance. He throws his hands in the air in a way that says “eh, whatever.”

He could use a little polish. But, he saves it for the shoes.

Bells chime and a customer walks through the door of Silvio’s Shoe Repair on Ninth Street in Naples. It’s a sound Silvio has heard six-days-a-week since he opened the store 1980.

“I was a plumber in Italy,” Silvio, 62, said in an Italian accent he has retained despite living in the states more than 40 years. “So when I come to this country, my father-in-law (a cobbler in Boston) made the offer, ‘you come work for me I pay you 60 bucks a week.’ ”

He got a $20 raise every time he and his wife had a child. They had three.

Now, his grandson T.J. Palomba, 15, walks around his grandfather’s store to help every Saturday.

“He’s gonna be the next cobbler in town,” said Silvio, hoping to spark some interest in T.J. about the family business. But, he knows right now T.J. is probably more interested in video games.

”I’ve been coming here forever,” said T.J. “I grew up in the store. I know how all the bags and boxes and shoes are in order.”

An untrained eye may disagree that anything in Silvio’s storefront is in “order.” In fact, it looks a bit like chaos. Rows of boxes on top of boxes. Shoes stacked with yellow tags waiting to be returned to their owners.

Customers don’t seem to mind the lived-in feel of the store. A steady stream come in and out on a recent Saturday to drop off and retrieve shoes. Silvio prides himself on being able to alter shoes for a custom fit.

“He is amazing,” said Debra Newman who works at Marissa Collections on Third Street South in Naples. “If he can’t fix it, it can’t be done.”

But, shoes aren’t his sole business anymore.

Purses, belts, luggage — Silvio repairs it all. Over the years, he has had to take on these extra items to secure business.

Forty years ago he saw for the first time a shoe made with a plastic sole instead of leather. He and his father-in-law didn’t know at the time what they were dealing with. “We took them in, thinking it was like rubber and the glue wouldn’t stick on them.”

Today, he says, you can buy a shoe for less than you can repair it. “That is what ruined this industry,” Silvio said. “But, you can’t blame anybody, it’s progress.”

Anticipation

2009-04-30T22:53:00.003-04:00

My favorite part of the homecoming was the waiting. Monique Miles and her husband Alex Calvert came home for a two week leave from Iraq. I loved watching her family as they tried to spot them in the crowd.

Over and out

2009-04-30T22:48:00.003-04:00

Dedication

2009-04-14T22:23:00.005-04:00

The name on the cross says Lee Bumrok. His age has been worn thin. I didn’t know anything about him accept that he was a casualty of war.

But, with a simple internet search he came alive.

I saw his face and read his story.

His name is actually Bumrok Lee. He moved to the United States with his family from South Korea when he was 4 years old. He grew up in Cupertino, just outside of San Jose, Calif. He died at age 21 on June 2, 2004 after suffering injuries from a car-bomb in Iraq while serving as a corporal in the U.S. Marines Corps.

I found out that he was raised mostly by his sister, Elis, while both of his parents worked full time and that he joined the service so he could later go to college and help support his family. He and his girlfriend, who he had known since junior high, joined the military at the same time.

An article on SFGate.com tells that his girlfriend, Sakura Dao Pham, was an Army Reserve medic in Baghdad at the time of his death. After being wounded on May 29, 2004, he was sent to her hospital, but she wasn’t on duty. She didn’t find out he was there until four days later, after he died.

Her blog reads:

“It hurt so bad to find out you were critically injured and stayed in intensive care for four days at the 31st CSH. Everyday I visit and take care of other wounded soldiers, but I never would have thought that I would not be able to do that for you. How can God not let me see you and take care of you for the last time? But in my heart I know you wished for me not to see you hurt like that.”

He is one of more than 4,000 military men and women who have died in the war in Iraq. On the day I photographed his cross, I was focusing on the hand pulling flowers from the ground and the vast number of crosses on display in Arlington South last month on Naples Beach.

Lee has connected people in his death. Message boards dedicated to him are full of notes from people with shared experience and loss.

He ended up on Naples beach. And now, he is connected to me and to you. No longer anonymous in a sea of names.

Nina

2009-03-29T19:01:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted very regularly lately. Frankly, I feel like I'm in a bit of a slump with my daily work. That said, I am working on something that I care about that has taken up a lot of my time and hopefully is starting to take shape. So, stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I introduce you to Nina, my little sister from Big Brothers Big Sisters. We've been together for two years and I think she's awesome. She knows how to be herself. I keep telling her that puts her light years ahead of most people her own age. I dyed her hair blue yesterday (she dyed a little of mine too, but she pulls it off better). We did a quick photo shoot in my living room.

Sleepy time

2009-03-13T12:33:00.003-04:00

Remember when nap time used to be scheduled in to our day? We didn't know how good we had it.

You write the caption

2009-03-04T08:14:00.002-05:00

Ahhh Florida.

2009-02-24T18:59:00.001-05:00

Is it still winter in other places??

NAACP — Evolution of Equality

2009-02-12T08:33:00.014-05:00

Today marked the 100 year anniversary of the NAACP. I shot portraits of some of the black community leaders in Naples and Fort Myers as they gave their reflections on the NAACP — it's past, future, as well as race in our community. To read their entire contribution to the Naples Daily News go HERE.

Veronica Shoemaker, 79, former Fort Myers City Councilwoman, stands in an area that used to be called "the bottoms." The area, just north of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard near the railroad tracks, was where the black community lived in "shanty homes." The tracks separated black and white communities. "There were laws against African Americans going west of the railroad tracks," she says.

"We have come this far in the first 100 years and the time has finally come for all the other good things that are happening right now. People are very, very appreciative as we celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the NAACP for the effort that was put forth for us. But we can’t sit back and take it for granted.

We must never forget voter registration and education. That is the key, believe you me. Voting is a master key to the continuation and the implementation of what has happened in the last 100 years. The NAACP has been the mother, the father, the sister, the brother that has kept this civil rights movement together."

Oliver Phipps, 46, the principal of Estates Elementary School in Golden Gate Estates, stands with students of every color who attend his school. Phipps is the son of teachers. His mother was a third-grade teacher in a school with all black students and his father taught in an all white elementary school.

"Today, four decades after many African-Americans lost their lives because of the color of their skin, I am able to be an elementary school principal in a desegregated society. I remember my father telling me the story of his first day on the job as a teacher of an all-white middle school. When he got to the school and looked in his classroom, there were no materials. He went to the principal and the principal told him that his materials along with all the other teachers’ were in the cafeteria. He could not use the custodial staff to assist him until they were finished assisting the white teachers. When he got to the cafeteria, he thought he was in teacher heaven."

Dr. Ann Knight, 76, a former Fort Myers City Councilwoman, sits in an old school desk in the classroom where she attended first grade at the WIlliams Academy Black History Museum. The Williams Academy was the first government-funded school for black students in Fort Myers.

"I returned to Southwest Florida after graduation from South Carolina State University and worked in the public schools for 40 years. I have witnessed many changes in our school system due to our desegregation.

In 1965, the local chapter of NAACP filed a suit in Lee County that mandated our public schools to become desegregated. As a result of desegregation of Lee County Public Schools other doors opened for people of color."

Wilson Bradshaw, 59, president of Florida Gulf Coast University, remembers growing up in segregated schools in West Palm Beach. He marvels at how times have changed and how the NAACP has helped in evolution of equality.

"With the recent election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America, our great country stands before the world as a glowing example of what can be achieved when the foundational principles of democracy are actualized. Still, we must not be complacent.

Since the inauguration, I have been asked many times, “Now that America has elected its first president of African descent, does race matter anymore?” Racism still exists and race still matters. However, we are living in a world where equal opportunity and education are beginning to matter more, and I am delighted to be a part of this evolving landscape."

Ralph Anthony, 42, a 16-year veteran of the Naples Police department, was the community policing officer for the River Park area in Naples for four years.

"I try to not focus on race. I try to just concentrate on doing the job. Again, the job is challenge. Once you start working on some of the problems, working with community leaders and they see that you’re dedicated to work on the problems, after awhile they see you as a part of their community and I don’t think race is a factor. After awhile everybody knows you.

Good people make good families. Which in turn makes for good schools, good recreational parks and good churches. That in turn influences the community. "

David Bankston, 46, is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Neighborhood America, a technology company based in Naples.

"Race is one of those things that is never far from your mind as African-American. Growing up, it seemed we could never be perceived as equal team members. I watched others get promoted with far less experience. I felt the instant reaction as you turn the corner to enter the room for an interview. Nothing was said aloud, but it was evident — you were not “what they were looking for” and the interview progressed to the inevitable conclusion. I overheard many “jokes” that were cut short. I drove behind the Confederate flag truck guys who were wishing for the days of separatism and inequality. I watched how it always seemed that the news highlighted the worst minority they could find for the “what happened quote.” I remember, as a child, walking into stores only to be followed, glared at.

Hmmm. I thought — what’s it going to take to change the world?

The answer, to my surprise, was there all along; the American spirit is still alive in all of us. The founding fathers’ dream still lives. “One nation...,” “Indivisible,” “Peace and justice for all.” It took us 100 years to overcome, and by no means has the issue of race in America been “solved,” but we as a nation have joined in one voice and said “Racism is old thinking, and it’s a new day. The majority of us agree.”"

LaVerne Franklin, 68, former Collier County NAACP president, sits inside the sanctuary Bethel AME Church, a historically black church, in Naples. Franklin, originally from Philadelphia, says that God's words have given her strength to persevere through the tough times of segregation and inequality.

"Raised and educated in the North, I encountered overt, covert and institutional racism. Stratification based on color and race in housing, academic course selection and employment was counteracted with social justice survival strategies that were taught by family members and the NAACP. God’s words gave me the strength to persevere — When you have fought the good fight, finished your course, and run the race set before you (2 Timothy 4:7) you won’t have to wonder what it would have been like if you had given up and failed to reach your goal. You will have no regrets as you hear our savior say, “Well done.”"

Never give up, never back down

2009-01-22T11:46:00.002-05:00

Lisa Lefkow, 48, right, kisses her sister Bonnie Thayer, 31, after they finish the 21st Annual Naples Daily News Half Marathon on Sunday, January 19, 2008 in downtown Naples. Lefkow is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The two said they were running for "Team Lisa," and sending the message "never give up, never back down."

Adji Update

2009-01-21T22:18:00.005-05:00

For those of you wondering, Adji Desir, the 6-year-old boy I posted about, is still missing. The Collier County Sheriff's office called off the ground search on Saturday, January 18 and are now continuing the investigation through tips.

This is one place you could go if you have tips: HERE

MISSING

2009-01-14T20:28:00.008-05:00

On Sunday, I covered the first day of searching for 6-year-old Adji Desir. He was last seen outside of his grandma's home in Farm Worker Village in Immokalee, Fla. — a migrant town about 40 miles outside of Naples. They have kept searching with no leads. He has been on Nancy Grace, Headline News on CNN and our local news non-stop, but still no sign of him. Please, I know people come to this blog from all over, and the chances of him being in California are slim, but keep your eyes peeled. And for goodness sake, if you have kids, hold them close. I feel so much for Adji's family. Please keep them and Adji in your prayers. Please take the time to read the stories and see his photo here.

Light Painting Photo Columns

2009-01-06T16:31:00.023-05:00

For all of 2008, I and fellow staff photographer Greg Kahn spearheaded a photo column where we light painted landmarks and historic sites in the Naples Daily News coverage area. It was a team effort that was fun, sometimes frustrating, but educational and definitely worth it. We published one picture a month for 12 months. Here they are. Feel free to click on the links to read the stories.

The Naples Pier
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay, Greg Kahn, Michelle Cassel and Jakob Schiller

The Ochopee Post Office
Team Members: Greg Kahn, Lexey Swall-Bobay, David Albers and Michelle Le

Lely Freedom Horses
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay and Greg Kahn

Edison Winter Home Banyan Tree
Team Members: Greg Kahn, Lexey Swall-Bobay, Michel Fortier and David Albers

Haldeman House
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay, Greg Kahn, David Albers and Courtney Potter

Holocaust Boxcar
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay, Greg Kahn, David Albers and Manuel Martinez

The Hitching Post
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay and Greg Kahn

Sunniland Oil Field
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay, Greg Kahn and Josh O'Connor

Koreshan State Historic Site
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay, Greg Kahn and Jennifer Whitney

Palm Cottage
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay and Greg Kahn

Naples City Dock
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay and Greg Kahn

Everglades City Hall
Team Members: Lexey Swall-Bobay and Greg Kahn

Year in Photos

2008-12-30T14:53:00.002-05:00

Please check out the great work done in 2008 by the Naples Daily News staff photographers. Go HERE.

or here:
http://www.naplesnews.com/videos/detail/2008-photos/

"Mejor Amiga"

2008-12-21T21:16:00.003-05:00

Miss Tracy Crazy Miguel is becoming Señora Navarro this weekend. I have the honor of shooting her wedding. Here are some pre-wedding portraits I shot of her and her fiancé, Kiko, today.

Golf

2008-12-15T15:42:00.006-05:00

Normally, I don't give a hoot about golf, and especially about photos of golfers teeing off. But, I like the intensity in Greg Norman's eyes in this picture I shot yesterday at a tournament here in Naples. This is the same intensity he gives you if you take a picture before his club hits the ball. I made the mistake of letting him hear my shutter on Saturday. I knew better then, and certainly knew better after. He turned and looked at me with the look of death (but I swear the club wasn't even in his hands). Didn't matter.

And I just thought this squirrel was funny. He seemed to like attention.

In search of irie

2008-12-15T15:24:00.005-05:00

In a dimly lit room filled with dust and handmade tools, Matt Nickell carves the perfect wave.

Cascades of white foam barrel away from his fingers and break to the ground.

Surrounded by the color of the sea, Nickell moves his arms back and forth, shaving away millimeters at a time.

Irie.

It is what Nickell hopes to achieve in his art and in his life, and it’s the name of the surfboards he’s been making since 1992.

Irie is a Jamaican word that means to be in tune with nature and the planet, and the way he feels on the water, said Nickell, 38, who admits Jamaica is one of the few places he hasn’t surfed.

A Naples resident since 1977, Nickell, 38, grew up in the shallow surf of the Gulf Coast, but has chased waves just about everywhere. He rattles off a few of the places in no particular order — Nicaragua, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands.

“The waves are fickle in Jamaica,” he said. “If I’m going somewhere to surf, I want to know there are going to be waves.”

He continues to shape the board, referring every-so-often to one of the hundreds of handmade templates he’s created. Rock and roll music pours from a radio in the corner, surrounded by clutter: Music that is less for listening than for filling empty space, as he sands from the tail to the nose and back again.

His boards are used by some of Naples’ best surfers and sold in Olde Naples Surf Shop on Third Street South. He does it less for the popularity, and more for the love of creation.

Just like a wave that is sucked out to sea, only to become the next wave, Nickell’s passion and inspiration is recycled every time he is on the water.

He watches the way other surfers will come off of a wave, giving him ideas for the tail of his next board. Maybe instead of a thumb tail, he’ll create an octagon, giving the rider more maneuverability.

“The water is like a canvas,” Nickell said.

And a place to attain irie.

Dos and Don'ts

2008-12-08T18:04:00.004-05:00

Found a Goodwill and an Urban Outfitters today. So happy.

Little People in Savannah

2008-12-07T18:02:00.006-05:00

I drove to Savannah, Ga. yesterday. I guess I just needed my own personal silent retreat. Get out of Naples. Get away from work and everything familiar. My cousin asked me why I was coming here. I didn't have a reason, except that I've always wanted to see this city. Unfortunately, I arrived with five dead camera batteries and no charger. (I thought it was in my car. Apparently not.) So, I'm shooting with my point and shoot. It's ok, though. I love my little camera and it definitely lightens the load. I walked around for five hours today (good thing for new shoes) and I've probably only said a couple dozen words all day. That includes ordering a coffee at Starbucks and food at Spanky's. I find myself thinking in Facebook-speak — not to be confused with Bob Dole-isms. (i.e.: Lexey loves Spanish moss. or Lexey thinks the light is always good in cities like Savannah. or Lexey is effing cold.) I can tell when looking through my pictures from today, that I had no desire to really talk to anyone. Hence why everyone in each frame is itty-bitty.

Fair Prep

2008-11-18T18:34:00.001-05:00

I may run away with the fair.

Moved by Change

2008-11-05T11:43:00.010-05:00

There is sense of relief in the air. Whether it is because they voted for Barack Obama or because they are just glad the presidential election is over, most people I see are smiling today. A weight has been lifted and the country can move forward. I felt lucky to be covering the news last night. I felt lucky to be a journalist and witness and report on an historic moment in time.

'Tis the Season

2008-10-29T16:34:00.005-04:00

Shot a few portraits at our local haunted house.

Boo Spooky

2008-10-27T22:35:00.007-04:00

Good Things

2008-10-10T21:00:00.008-04:00

Grandmas

Eating food straight from the ground.

Dogs that smile

Parents who still love each other

Pretty light on pretty faces

Long and windy roads

Remembering when it was fun to photograph flowers

Carson City

2008-10-08T03:43:00.006-04:00

Spring used to be my favorite season. There was something about the smell of spring in San Jose. It was the sweet smell of cherry blossoms outside of the journalism building on my way to another class. I would close my eyes while walking just for a moment as I felt the breeze on my face. But, after living for six years in Florida, I have come to cherish the Fall and the reprieve from heat and humidity. It is even better when I can spend a little time in a place that is already well in to the season while summer feels like it may never let go of Naples.

Traveling Wall

2008-09-28T04:15:00.005-04:00

Naples has the honor of hosting The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall. Our whole photo staff has covered it through the week. I was speaking with my friend Tristan today about the Vietnam Wall and how it is the most moving and sentimental monument in our country. He lives in D.C. now and every time he goes by the wall he says there is always someone standing before it who is moved to tears. Vietnam is still so fresh in everyone's memory and life. There is hardly an American my age or older who doesn't know someone connected to that particular war. There are so many names on that wall.

The Summer's End

2008-09-22T02:48:00.003-04:00

The water is warm and the night is wet.

Couples trickle along the beach Sunday, flirting with each other and kicking at the sand. A woman with a cigarette and sunglasses hanging from her mouth skims the surface of the shore with a metal detector, stopping every so often to pick up a little treasure. Or maybe trash.

The pier is slightly less busy than a usual night just after sunset. Electricity lights up the sky as the sun falls farther past the horizon.

A young boy runs toward the water, a white cast net in tow.

Seth Barrios’ 8-year-old upper body twists all the way around as his feet dig into the sand. As if on a spring, he twirls and flings the net out into the water in front of him.

“Go all the way out to your waist” yells his mother, Jo Foster, as she and her boyfriend, Justin Maschue, embrace on the south side of the pier and watch her two sons play.

Seth is quiet. He diligently continues with the net, holding one end of the rope in his mouth as he straightens out the webbing. He raises his lanky arms to pull it out of the water.

“When is it going to be my turn?” Josiah Barrios pleads. Seth’s 7-year-old brother occupies his time playing a game of tag with the water that laps at the sand.

Josiah screams with glee as he outruns the shallow waves that move closer to his feet. Then, he turns around to chase them down as they head back out to sea.

In the 20 minutes he spends in the water, Seth is unconcerned that all he has caught is one large sand flea.

“Seth, it’s time to go,” says Foster for the fourth time. He doesn’t hear her, or chooses not to. The summer is coming to an end and he is determined to make every moment last a little longer.

adoro bailar

2008-09-21T13:46:00.003-04:00

I couldn't help but shake it while shooting the Willy Chirino concert. I love salsa music. I'm lucky anything is in focus.

It was a hard day

2008-09-18T23:06:00.008-04:00

Today, about 250 custodial employees for the Collier County School District found out that their jobs will be outsourced to a private company. They will possibly be rehired by the company, but are subject to salary cuts and loss of benefits. It was intense after the decision was made by the school board, 3-1, to cut the jobs. After the vote, people immediately left the meeting, went outside, held each other and cried.

Read the story Here

Clown Class

2008-09-17T22:16:00.003-04:00

Stood Up

2008-09-15T01:05:00.004-04:00

Had an assignment to photograph a girl tonight at the beach. She didn't show up. So, I amused myself.

Dilemma

2008-09-13T22:50:00.005-04:00

Tonight, I photographed a demonstration and candle light vigil held by district custodial workers whose jobs are being threatened by privatization. There is something I like about both of these pictures. Each for different reasons. I'm putting them both up on my blog hoping you all will give me your opinion. Which do you like better? Why? Also, please feel free to say if you don't like either....

Thanks. :)

Cel-e-brate good times, come on!

2008-09-11T01:45:00.003-04:00

Tonight, Gulf Coast High School beat Naples High School in a volleyball match. It wasn't really an important match except both teams were undefeated until tonight. And the fans at Gulf Coast LOVE their volleyball team.

Pick-up ball

2008-09-10T00:18:00.004-04:00

I walked out of a volleyball game tonight at FGCU and saw some guys playing pick-up basketball on the wet courts outside. They told me that if I end up writing about them in the paper to be sure to say that it's "B.S." that the school doesn't open the gym back up after the volleyball game. Apparently they didn't like having to play outside. It was bad for them, but good for me.

Leebo's Part Two

2008-09-09T16:56:00.004-04:00

Page up

2008-08-28T19:42:00.003-04:00

Sacha Samotin, 16, remembers as a young child that his grandfather bought him a book called "Ghosts of the White House." He was reading about the Presidents of the United States while other kids were exchanging Pokémon cards. He remembers at the age of nine watching the 2000 elections with his mom as the nation learned about hanging chads and the ballots were counted and recounted. All eyes were on Florida as the battle for the presidency was fought. It was an impressionable age, and Samotin found the whole ordeal fascinating. Two years ago Samotin began volunteering with the local Democratic Party in Naples and Sunday he will begin a semester as a page with the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. He doesn't know which side of politics he wants to be on, in the spotlight or behind the scenes, but he knows he wants to a part of it.

Election Night goofup...

2008-08-27T20:33:00.007-04:00

The Supervisor of Elections office in Collier County needed a little help with their web updates last night. They reported that 100 per cent of the votes were in. But, they failed to say it was 100 per cent of the absentee ballets that were counted. Anyway, this photo was taken after the woman running for school board (fourth from the left at top) was told (unfortunately by a Naples Daily News reporter) that the count was wrong, that the race was not yet over, and she had not, in fact, won. This photo was made as the news was announced to her supporters. She did eventually still end up winning the majority of the votes. But, the premature announcement was a bit annoying for some.

Dry run

2008-08-20T18:32:00.005-04:00

Looks like Fay might become more of a storm for the northern part of the state. She blew through Southwest Florida with some wind and rain, but no real damage. I was in Everglades City during the night of the storm and hung out at Leebo's Rock Bottom Bar, where the locals didn't seem too concerned, and then ventured out the next morning.... If nothing else, we'll be prepared if a stronger storm comes our way.

'Jesus would be, like, thrilled'

2008-08-15T13:57:00.007-04:00

I spent some time following women who belong to the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist that teach at Ave Maria Grammar and Preparatory School. I was struck by how "normal" they were. They were about my age, all 30-ish, give or take a few years. They said words like awesome (and not only in the correct way of saying that God is Awesome.) They were kind and funny and were great with their students. Read the story here.

Edges

2008-08-14T19:09:00.002-04:00

This is my attempt today at composing from the outside, in.

His Life So Far

2008-08-14T18:58:00.003-04:00

Born in Copeland Fla, in 1961, the ninth of twelve children. He grew up in Copeland and Naples, living in a world of poverty, abuse and drugs. At 17, he went to prison for the first time. He ended up in prison seven times, serving for a total of 22 years. Now in his late 40s, Nick Chandler has turned his life around, though he’s the first to admit that it’s been a struggle. He’s living in Sarasota, working and writing a book about his life, “Determined to Change.”

Collier County Bull Bash

2008-08-06T14:29:00.005-04:00

This is a daily assignment I did a couple weeks ago. I'm a little late getting it up, but I am lacking in other content at the moment. So, here ya go.

Pet Funeral

2008-07-20T15:51:00.003-04:00

Mr. Spock lays on his wooly blanket with a slipper snuggled against him. He looks like he is sleeping.

His "mama," Julia Giles, bends over the casket that holds him, crying and telling him how much she loves him and how much she’ll miss him.

This is her chance to say goodbye to the 11-year-old long-haired German shepherd that has been her companion since he was 8 weeks old.

She knew he was sick. She knew his time was coming, but she hoped she would be there when it happened. Instead, she received a call from her husband Randy on a recent Sunday when she was in Argentina.

Randy knew it was time. Mr. Spock hadn’t really moved all day. He wasn’t himself. Randy called Julia, held the phone to his friend’s furry black ear and let Mr. Spock hear his mama’s voice one more time.

Shortly after, Mr. Spock died in Randy’s arms.

"What do I do now," Randy thought to himself.

He found Pet Reverend Arlene Ponack through the Internet.

"Arlene took control of the situation and handled it for me," Giles says. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me at the time."

She contacted Pets at Peace, a pet funeral home affiliated with Fuller Funeral Home in Naples, that just opened on Tamiami Trail East. Licensed funeral director Brian Laurent arrived at the Giles’ Golden Gate home to take the dog in less than two hours.

"We’re handling your pets the same way we would handle a member of your human family," Laurent says.

During the service (the first at the funeral home), Ponack reads a poem: "With my pal gone, my side is bare. Just looking down, he is not there."

Randy and Julia sit in on a bench in front of the casket. They lean on one another and occasionally bend down to pet Tribble, the 7-year-old female German shepherd that was Mr. Spock’s mate.

She whimpers and then lays her head on the ground.

After the service, the Giles’ spend some time remembering Mr. Spock. He was plagued with illness for most of his life, but made up for his physical problems with a sharp mind.

He knew how to unscrew the caps off of soda bottles. He knew how to unlock and open the door. And he knew how to make his mama do something by grabbing her most expensive pair of shoes.

"The thing we enjoyed most about him was how he learned to love us and how he made us feel so content when he was around," Randy says. "He had sort of a magical affect on people, especially his mom and dad."

The funeral gave Mr. Spock the send off his parents felt he deserved and the time they needed to say goodbye.

"It helped my wife and I somehow get through the grief we’re still feeling," Randy says. "It is a Godsend."

And... another

2008-07-13T20:47:00.004-04:00

I know I've already posted so many pictures of this baby, but I really love these pictures. Rebekah is such a pretty girl and doesn't have the scrunched look that so many newborns have. :) I also wanted to post a personal, yet public, message to Sarah and Scott.

Dear Sarah and Scott,
Thank you so much for asking me to photograph the birth of Rebekah. It is the single most important event I have ever photographed. Thank you for trusting me to be there. Thank you for allowing me to witness what will possibly be the single most important moment in YOUR lives. I can't tell you how touched and honored I feel to have been there. I love you both so much and I already love Rebekah so much.

Sarah, in all the time we've known each other, I knew you were nurturing just in the way you have fostered our friendship, the way you have listened and the way you have cared for everyone around you. But Friday, I watched that nurturing turn in to something so natural for you. You became a mother. And in the first seconds of Rebekah's life, anyone watching could tell that this is the life you were made for. It's like your own mother said to me, "Sarah was born to be a mother." She's right.

I can't wait to watch Rebekah grow and to watch as you and Scott become amazing parents.

The Dussault Family

2008-07-13T00:00:00.005-04:00

Sarah woke up at 8 a.m. Friday with contractions, arrived to the hospital around 11 a.m. and delivered at 12:03 p.m. All I can say, is she must have done everything right to be blessed with such a short labor. I'm just glad I didn't miss it. I walked in to the room after arriving at the hospital in Coral Springs from Naples ten minutes before Rebekah came in to the world. Here are a few (approved) pics. :)

Rebekah Lynn (la parte tres)

2008-07-12T23:09:00.002-04:00

Rebekah Lynn (Part Deux)

2008-07-12T22:59:00.002-04:00

Rebekah Lynn

2008-07-12T10:39:00.002-04:00

Rebekah Lynn Dussault

2008-07-11T22:45:00.005-04:00

She takes the middle names of both her parents. And she is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Sarah did amazing, and as soon as I sift through all of the pictures (and get the approval from the mommy about how graphic they can be), I will be posting photos from the day. But, here is one of my favorites.

It's A Girl!

2008-07-11T14:15:00.003-04:00

Baby Dussault (still waiting on a name)
Born: July 11, 2008 at 12:03 p.m.
6 lbs. 15 oz., 18 inches long

Little Miss Firecracker

2008-07-07T15:17:00.002-04:00

Brandy Bowen - Age 6
Everglades City, Fla.

Draw 10

2008-07-02T02:33:00.007-04:00

Today I was supposed to find a rain feature for a story that was slated for tomorrow's A section. Well, it didn't rain.

So, instead I went out to get a standalone feature at a fireworks stand. I met a really nice family who has run the stand for the past three years. There weren't very many customers so to pass the time they sit and play UNO together while waiting.

The kids, Katlynn and Travis, could maybe get a little bored sitting out there all day. But, the comfort and fun they have with each other, at least while I was there, seemed to override any boredom they may have been feeling. I was thinking how nice it was that the kids weren't around computers, video games, television, cell phones.... just spending part of their summer with their dad, uncle and grandma and having a really good time doing it.

Any time now...

2008-06-30T17:27:00.010-04:00

Sarah and Scott are just 17 days away from the due date of their beautiful baby girl. (I don't even need to see her to know she will be stunning.) Yesterday, while my hand was on Sarah's ever-growing belly, I felt the baby hiccup and kick. It is incredible to watch her body transform as this life grows inside her.

I have known Sarah since my first semester at San Jose State University. We met because our boyfriends (well, her boyfriend, and a guy I was "dating") were roommates. We let go of them eventually, but never of each other. The first time we sat and talked it was for three hours on a bench in Dwight Bentel Hall after a photojournalism class. Now, nine years later, we can still sit that long and talk when time allows. We've been fortunate enough to both end up in Florida for now, and I am eternally grateful for her unending love and support. I'm equally grateful to be able to take pictures of her and her husband at such an important time in their lives.

We Are the Waiting

2008-06-17T20:47:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I photographed a neighborhood clinic that offers free dental care to residents who don't have insurance. Coincidentally, I had to go to the dentist this morning for fillings. I pretty much felt exactly like Hector, pictured below, as I waited in the chair for the dentist to come.... ugh.

sometimes....

2008-06-12T00:49:00.006-04:00

less is more.

unless you are my friend Christina, who thinks More is More.

Therapy

2008-06-09T22:38:00.011-04:00

I went to the beach tonight to try to breathe. I needed some fresh air and decided I would go without my camera. No distractions... just me and a book or my journal.

Well, the light and the sunset were just too amazing. I ended up walking down the beach kicking myself that I hadn't brought my camera so I broke out the camera phone.... a sad replacement for my Canon, but it was fun and kind of therapeutic after a day where I took two mediocre (at best) portraits and made an enormous amount of personal blunders.

Here are a few...I know I know, mostly silhouettes.... but.. hey, it's a cell phone camera. :)

This is how I feel...

2008-06-04T16:30:00.001-04:00

After The Fire

2008-05-31T21:08:00.003-04:00

"Picture everything you had in your life, now it's all gone," said Donald Steinheiser. "I just thank the good Lord for not taking my family with it."

Walking into the future....

2008-05-28T21:33:00.003-04:00

How's THAT for a graduation cliché?

Spring Football

2008-05-25T02:59:00.010-04:00

One more game before the school year ends.

Olympic hopeful

2008-05-21T09:43:00.007-04:00

Dayana Octavien was raised in the United States but her family is from Haiti. This summer she will competing to qualify to represent her native country in the 2008 Olympics.

Speaking of mothers...

2008-05-12T22:26:00.006-04:00

My best friend, Sarah (Orr) Dussault, is a mommy-to-be. She is the one who inspired my blog post about Prenatal Yoga. I drove to her home in Fort Lauderdale today to take some belly pictures that she can post to her baby blog.

It is so cool to watch her body change shape. I generally think pregnant women are beautiful, but I think Sarah is stunning. And, yes, I'm totally and completely biased. I don't care. I defy anyone to say differently. Seriously, look at her. Just amazing.

Look for more on Sarah later. I'll be photographing her again. I'll also be photographing the birth of her baby, a little girl (yet to be named) who I can't wait to meet.

Mom

2008-05-11T22:57:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother's Day mom. I love you.

Saw a message in the sand...

2008-05-09T20:51:00.001-04:00

Things you might see: Part II

2008-04-30T00:23:00.005-04:00

It's that time of year again. I am photographing the 2009 Bonita Springs Firefighters Calendar. Yes, yes, difficult job. I know. (Thank you, Lisa Krantz, for passing this responsibility on to me.)

Seriously, it's fun, but it's also a lot of work. I won't be posting those pictures here. But, last year shooting the calendar, I spotted bizarre little things at the station and posted it here. The trend continues. Today, another bizarre little photo.

Saving Grace

2008-04-25T21:46:00.010-04:00

I returned to Florida and started back to work yesterday after my trip home. Two days of working felt like a week. For the past two days my job felt like a P.R. nightmare. Hospitals, schools, building construction at the new Emergency Operations Center — each place has some public relations person hovering or telling me what I can or can not photograph. This control of information is getting ridiculous.

It's frustrating because I feel like I'm not doing journalism. I feel like I'm the lackey for the whichever public relations firm happens to be in control at the time of the given assignment.

Thank goodness for Grace Place. The family community center and the people in it was just that, my saving grace. Children were getting free shoes and were genuinely excited about it.

Grape juice! What is it good for?

2008-04-21T00:31:00.004-04:00

My 83-year-old grandma, who still works at Wal-Mart full-time, is pretty funny. We went grocery shopping today and as we went down the juice aisle, she says:

"I drink grape juice because they say it's good for.... Well, hell.... I can't remember what it is good for. So, I drink it."

:)

Dad... thinkin'..and drinkin'

2008-04-20T00:16:00.005-04:00

Dinner tonight had a cool wallpaper and cool light.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2008-04-19T23:46:00.003-04:00

I went to work with my parents today (more pictures of that later). They work as dietary aides at an assisted living facility. I watched as the wife of one of the residents came in with a special request for her husband's lunch. I watched my mom hold her hand and listen to exactly what the woman was asking, then promptly take care of the request. I had to take a quick picture, because right then, I realized where I get this trait from. But, I only recognized the moment because a couple of weeks ago, a photographer named Ed Foster took a picture of me at the Ave Maria Oratory dedication. A woman was asking me to use her camera to take a picture from the middle aisle for her because she was stuck in the pew. I touched her hand as I listened and then did exactly what she asked me to do.

Arletta Marie Hardin

2008-04-18T20:40:00.010-04:00

One year ago today we said goodbye to my grandma. I thought today would be more difficult. Maybe it isn't more so because there are so many other things happening in life, I have been distracted. Or maybe being with my parents on this day has made it easier. Or maybe it is because I miss her always, no more today than any other.

She was an amazingly complex woman. Beautiful. Cunning. Funny. Artistic. Poetic. Strong. Much like my own mother.

I copied these pictures from a guest book I made last year for her memorial.

Rest in grace, grandma. I feel you with me, everyday.

graveyards, cousins and trying not to get impaled by a fence post

2008-04-18T13:59:00.011-04:00

My beautiful cousins, Dustin and Sarah, drove down to visit me in Carson City from Idaho. Yesterday we went to Virginia City. We checked out the graveyard, only after missing the turn and having to jump a fence to get to it. I ripped my pants more, but it was completely worth it. They left this morning. Which, of course, was a total bummer.

photo of me struggling over the fence by Sarah Mays

The Rents

2008-04-16T19:57:00.003-04:00

Home is where they are.

Love it All

2008-04-15T18:23:00.005-04:00

Wow.

So far, this trip to Nevada....Sheesh. What a ride. And I'm only to Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Of course, this morning, I was running late. As usual. But not so late I thought I would miss my flight. As I walked in to the airport they were calling my flight number for last boarding call. Oh SH#T. Apparently they were leaving early.

After paying extra for my overweight bag (I should have put her on a diet before my trip), and running through the airport and begging to cut ahead in line for security, I am the last person to board my flight. Phew.

Only to sit.

For two hours.

Because the gear on a private jet collapsed on the only runway at the airport.

I knew I was going to miss my connecting flight in Chicago to Denver. Then my next connection from Denver to Reno. Unfortunately, Fort Myers to Chicago was through American, and the rest on United. What a freakin' fiasco. American says they can't help me (their only responsibility is to get me to Chicago.....whenever..) United says my reservation is through American so they can't help me. I end up on the phone with cheaptickets.com as we are finally taxiing on to the runway to see if they can piece it together to get me to Reno some time today.

Please keep in mind this is condensed. And not nearly as dramatic as the original events.

The flight to Chicago? Interesting. Annoying British people (not annoying because they are British, but annoying who HAPPENED to be British) sitting behind me, arguing the entire time, two screaming babies and a dog...yes....little dog...who liked to yip. Oh, and a man next to me to said the school teachers in the U.S. get paid TOO much, and that all schools have enough money to buy books. uh huh...ok, dude.

I laugh at something the Brits say behind me. And the other man next to me looks at me and says I am in good spirits considering how my day has been discombobulated. I laugh again and he says I have ... and I quote "good mental health." HA!

If he only knew....

I was starving so I bought a snack. I recommend these....

The reasonably priced trail mix. woo hoo... bargain price $3.

Finally at O'Hare I am booked on a flight going to San Francisco (not Denver) and will arrive in Reno sometime around 11:30 p.m.

That's fine.

I am reading a book "Eat, Pray Love" (those who know me know I've been reading this forever) but.... in it, there is a passage that talks about a Sufi poem which says:

"God long ago drew a circle in the sand around the spot where you are standing right now. I was never not coming here. This was never not going to happen."

So, here I sit. The Kooks on repeat. Wiping greasy McDonald's french fries from my fingers. Watching the feet of hundreds pass by me. The vibration of their ergonomically correct rolling bags thumping every so often.

And if the above is true, this is where I'm supposed to be. Right here. Right now.

Motherhood

2008-04-12T14:07:00.007-04:00

My best friend is having a baby. This isn't new news. But, it is something I think about often. She only lives an hour and a half away, but because of conflicting schedules and busy lives, we haven't seen each other much during her pregnancy. I think because of it, I have found myself gravitating toward stories that have to do with the things currently happening in her life. It is a way for me to understand what she is going through, since I don't get to be there with her. She told me while back that she was taking prenatal yoga. I decided to see if they offer that in Naples. Turns out they do. It was beautiful to watch.

"Even though this is your first baby, you are already mothers." — Tanya Colvin, yoga instructor

Bridge

2008-04-10T20:18:00.004-04:00

Today I photographed a Bridge tournament. I know only one of these pictures even looks like a card game. But, I was more fascinated with faces, I guess. Some of these people were very serious about their Bridge. The woman in picture number four told me..... now, I don't know if she said I was annoying or the fact I was taking pictures was annoying. Either way, she said I didn't belong in a bridge room. Eh...

Intimacy

2008-04-07T01:01:00.003-04:00

I'm all about the chapstick...

2008-04-05T17:42:00.002-04:00

But, who puts on lipstick to ride 62 miles?

Something to smile about...

2008-04-05T00:46:00.003-04:00

I came across a picture today that made me so happy. It instantly filled my heart with joy. Not because it's the best picture in the world, but because these are my nephews, Benjamin and Bryce, sitting on the front porch of the home I grew up in in Bakersfield. I shot this on Memorial Day weekend four years ago. I can't believe it has been that long. So cliché, but it really really does feel like only yesterday. I don't usually post pictures of family or stuff that is too personal. But, I started thinking today... why not? Pictures of my family are the pictures I cherish the most. And when I'm with them (which is only about once a year) I photograph them as if they won't last another second. Especially these two boys. I love them so much. I mean... come on.. who wouldn't? look at 'em! In a couple weeks I'm going to see my parents for the first time in their new home in Nevada. I will be posting hopefully from there. So mom... be prepared to see your business all up on this blog. :)

Dedication

2008-03-31T22:14:00.004-04:00

Relief

2008-03-29T12:00:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, you just need to take a break.

Five years....

2008-03-19T23:39:00.008-04:00

Today marked the five year anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. In that time, 3,990 service men and women have died. Some photos from our local coverage.

Vietnam veteran and Marine Chuck Gunther holds one of the many crosses he has repaired Monday, March 17, 2008, in preparation to be used in Arlington South in Naples. Each cross has the name and age of a service man or woman who has died in Iraq.

Volunteer Marnica Andrews places flowers at the base of each cross at Arlington South next to the Naples Pier on Wedensday, March 19, 2008.

Love, At First Sight

2008-03-19T23:23:00.005-04:00

I was covering a tennis match last week when someone pointed out to me that the children of the two players were sitting next to each other. It appeared they couldn't care less how well-known their fathers are or how well they were doing in the match.

Jade Krickstein, 4, right, gives her attention to Jack Martin, 5, instead of watching the tennis match between their fathers, Todd Martin and Aaron Krickstein during The Oliver Group Champions Cup on Friday, March 14, 2008 in Naples, Fla.

It is a beautiful thing.

2008-02-29T21:24:00.009-05:00

Yesterday, I saw first-hand evidence of why we, photojournalists, do what we do. It was a beautiful and moving moment that echoed a beautiful and moving moment.

I want to share it here, even though it isn't really my moment to share.

My good friend and colleague, Greg Kahn, handed me his iPhone while we were sitting in the office. He received a message from a woman whose son was killed in action during the war. On January 28th, he posted a photo from the funeral to his blog and the soldier's mother found it and commented on the photo. Today, he received another message, from the soldier's wife.

Please go read them here:

http://gregkahn.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-heart-broke-today.html

I'm writing this, and pointing you in this direction, because it touched my heart, and it touched his.

Funerals are so hard to photograph, as I know it was for Greg. I think they are difficult for most journalists. We worry that the people we are photographing will feel like we are just there to take... to show their pain to the world, rather than share in it. Even though, every funeral I've ever covered, I have shared the pain. I have cried, either during or after.

I told Greg, I live to work for days like he had yesterday. He was given a gift from the soldier's mother and wife. One that said they understand and appreciate that he handled their most horrible day with respect, giving them the space they needed to grieve with dignity, yet still capturing a moment that makes them want to remember.

Good job, Greg. Keep up the great work.

International Festival

2008-02-23T02:06:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you just feel like your missing a piece of yourself. I'm lacking a certain amount of intimacy in my pictures lately....

President's Day Feature

2008-02-20T20:24:00.007-05:00

"Go out to the beach this afternoon and look for a feature. Maybe there will be people doing stuff since the kids are off for President's Day."

Ok. Here you go.

I guess it wasn't cute enough. It didn't run in today's paper. But that's ok. I'm publishing it here.