tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-202221092024-03-13T16:21:18.858-07:00S(urrender) L(aughter) R(egularly)A student’s take on photojournalismS. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.comBlogger296125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-35826451245802574602011-04-05T14:17:00.000-07:002011-04-05T14:20:33.206-07:00This site has movedHi,<br /><br />It's been a fun ride, but it's time to move on to bigger and better.<br /><br />I've moved this blog to my new home at <a href="http://www.shaminderdulai.com/">ShaminderDulai.com</a><br /><br />There you'll find this blog and my photojournalism and multimedia portfolios all in one place.<br /><br />Thanks to both my readers for years of good times and I hope you'll join me at the new house.<br /><br />Later!S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-64395176891939322932009-11-19T15:55:00.000-08:002009-11-29T16:29:23.163-08:00Bones and kids<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2615/4144809013_62e1d1954e.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2615/4144809013_62e1d1954e.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />A couple of you saw me tweet this today and were curious about what I was up to.<br /><br /><blockquote><br />"Walking around in the woods w/ boy scouts showing me where they found the dead body. Now I've nvr seen Stand by Me, but I imagine it's this"</blockquote><br /><br />Well it turns out a group of friends were walking through the woods, hunting for birds with a BB Gun Friday evening, behind their homes when they came across a pair of old pants and what looked like a bone inside. Being Boy Scouts they quickly recognized it as a human bone and then found other human remains.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2634/4145571952_6718a3b0fb.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2634/4145571952_6718a3b0fb.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It was later learned that the remains were that of a man who went missing on Mother's Day in May 2007 and police are still investigating a cause of death.<br /><br />It was a surreal experience for me. On the one had a man had died where we were walking around. But on the other hand the kids didn't see to be bothered by it and they and their parents were sort of in awe of the whole situation. It was a strange mix of respect for the dead and sense of Indiana Jones style adventure.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2765/4144810095_3e874b267f.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2765/4144810095_3e874b267f.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Walking among the final resting place of the remains and the remnants of a police investigation. I guess that's what this job is like sometimes. We're not ever supposed to have an opinion on anything anyway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2597/4144814377_7bfc0eb155.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2597/4144814377_7bfc0eb155.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2783/4145574986_3478f51185.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2783/4145574986_3478f51185.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-48746601689440490372009-11-18T23:21:00.000-08:002009-11-29T17:27:12.050-08:00Birds on a wire<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2582/4145549298_d11616380b.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2582/4145549298_d11616380b.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />San Antonio seems to be under some flight path for many migrating animals. Last spring there were tons of grackles, I'd never seen them before but they look like something between a raven and a crow, and some of them are pretty mean to as you'll see <a href="http://dulai.blogspot.com/2009/06/dive-bomb.html">in this video</a>. A couple months ago we were inundated with moths, they were everywhere and around sunset they filled the sky. I never got a good picture of them though (sorry no link... sigh... I've failed you Roberto, Daniel and my mom... because seriously y'all are the only ones reading this), they were so small that by the time you got a good look they had already run into your face. Around that same time <a href="http://dulai.blogspot.com/2009/10/butterfly-migration.html">came the monarch butterflies</a>.<br /><br />Well, the latest critter to fill our skies has been these birds, which I am still not sure what kind they are, but they are everywhere. A year ago when I lived in Midland, Mich I had a very similar experience when groups of crows started showing up and filling every single tree around my home, and I thought that was amazing, but this now is insane. They're on every perchable surface imaginable, poles, signs, freeway mediums, buildings, wires, cars, post office boxes... you get the idea. It's like the playground scene out of the birds. And what fascinates me is how they all seem to keep an equal distance from each other on all those surfaces. It's like they all carry around a ruler to measure it out.<br /><br />Nature huh?S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-53562656921060116552009-11-11T19:16:00.000-08:002009-11-28T19:40:18.531-08:00Veterans Day 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4142744186_9140326321.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 339px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4142744186_9140326321.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This year for Veterans day I was sent to a new GI Forum housing and a work center for homeless veterans. It's part of a larger campus called Haven for Hope which is all designed around aiding the homeless and low income folks in need of a hand. The campus isn't open 100% yet, they started building it last Spring (around March I think) and pieces of it have been opening as they are finished. <br /><br />I've done a few stories down there but there's still a ton of real stories to be told still. Today I meet a group of Vets from a local VFW post in San Antonio, all very nice guys who have done more than their fair share for this country.<br /><br />I thought that since today is Veterans Day, I'd share some of the pictures from the day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2648/4141986461_6b8fac7bcb.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2648/4141986461_6b8fac7bcb.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2538/4141984449_37eeecfafa.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2538/4141984449_37eeecfafa.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2708/4142740682_922f2d5120.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2708/4142740682_922f2d5120.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-47690888245254722642009-10-29T18:24:00.000-07:002009-11-28T18:30:43.557-08:00Stopping by at Can't Stop Street<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2001.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 395px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Everyday as I leave for work I drive past a man who walks up and down my street with a broom. When I come back he's still walking.<br /><br />Years ago I lived next to a women who every Thursday morning, before the sun came out, would cruise through recycling bins. A few months later the bank foreclosed on her home.<br /><br />Last summer I found a man drawing with chalk on street corners. Everyone knew about him, but no one knew his name.<br /><br />We've all seen them and everyday we look over our shoulder as we fly by and wonder what they're about. But we never stop to find out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2006.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2006.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I think that's partly why I got into this field. I was always a shy kid. But the camera drew me out. The chance to communicate my thoughts and ideas, to show others the way I see things and to do so without having to talk to anyone sounded pretty good at the time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2002.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 507px; height: 400px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It didn't last though. Walking anywhere with a camera in my neighborhood wasn't very inconspicuous, I might as well have hired a guy to walk around behind me with a spinning arrow. In hindsight that probably would have been safer.<br /><br />I was getting noticed everywhere I went, people were coming up to me, curious about the clicking box in my hands, asking me to take their picture, wondering what I was up to. I was talking to people I would never have normally stopped to talk to; hearing their take on current events, sharing laughs and taking trips down memory lane. Sitting with them on a street corner, at the bus stop, walking in the park; I was finding stories and interesting people everywhere I turned.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2003.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2003.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. My camera had become my excuse to not be shy and before long I was finding my curiosity was taking over too.<br /><br />Fast forward to today and I guess I'm still at it. Stopping at a street called Can't Stop, because my camera allowed me the excuse.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2004.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2004.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2005.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/102909%20mifoto%2005.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-36103330275161552282009-10-18T17:09:00.000-07:002009-11-29T17:17:48.420-08:00Butterfly Migration<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/butterflies+sd+06.jpg"><img style="float:center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 550px; height: 367px;" src="http://media.mysanantonio.com/images/butterflies+sd+06.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Turns out there's a family of the monarch butterflies which migrate through south Texas and today I had the opportunity to make a two hour drive to spend the day in a sea of them fluttering all around me.<br /><br />For a day, I feel like I'm back in California :)<br /><br />There's more pictures if you're interested in <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/slideshows/Butterfly_migration.html">the slideshow</a> over at the San Antonio Express-News website.<br /><br />Enjoy!S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-88592371087011336362009-10-05T17:59:00.000-07:002009-11-28T18:24:27.633-08:00Sinkhole rechargeA series of caves in Stone Oak City Park are part of the recharge zone for the aquifer.<br /><br /><object id="flashObj" width="486" height="412" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1691027887?isVid=1&publisherID=742773084" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=43962496001&playerID=1691027887&domain=embed&" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1691027887?isVid=1&publisherID=742773084" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=43962496001&playerID=1691027887&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-16527089163364803032009-10-02T18:31:00.000-07:002009-11-28T18:34:19.988-08:00Lost in translation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20huevos%20100209%2001.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20huevos%20100209%2001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />When I was handed an assignment sheet to cover the San Anto Cultural Arts press conference, I was a bit confused.<br /><br />They're going to crown King and Queen Huevo? "Eggs," I thought. "Am I losing something in translation here?"<br /><br />It turns out my two years of bumbling through high school Spanish had once again come through.<br /><br />It was their founders' sense of humor, I was told when I arrived. Even calling the event they were promoting a gala was part of the joke.<br /><br />I liked the sound of that; I carried some of the same affinity for the absurd.<br /><br />In reality, the 12th annual Huevos Rancheros Gala fundraiser taking place Oct. 3 is far from a formal affair, but instead a picnic style breakfast at Plaza Guadalupe. The gala features music, a silent art auction and, of course, a full huevos rancheros breakfast. Admission is 99 cents to $999 — i.e. pay what you can.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20huevos%20100209%2005.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 200px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20huevos%20100209%2005.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />The press had been called to gather under the brightly colored La Musica de San Anto mural along Commerce Street. Flanked by depictions of other mifoto huevos 100209 05.jpglocal musicians, there was Cultural Arts founder Manuel "Manny" D. Castillo Jr. mid-song: eyes winced, mouth agape, pounding the drums with his signature print of Our Lady of Guadalupe lining the drum bass.<br /><br />I have no idea who he is.<br /><br />The locals look at me like I'm an alien when I ask about him.<br /><br />It's not a look uncommon to me since I arrived in San Antonio a few months ago. The last time I'd seen that look, it came from David Robinson's father, Ambrose. I approached him to get his name.<br /><br />Hey, what can I say? I'm not from around these parts. Plus that is one of the joys of this job — getting to learn something new every day.<br /><br />As I hear tales of Manny from the volunteers, family members and the organization I look up at his mural and I am sad. I wish I would have met this man who touched so many lives and tried to make a change in his community, even when the odds were against him.<br /><br />It's something we all aspire to — making a difference. In my line of work, I think it is what drives most of us photojournalists. It certainly isn't the pay. This job is not about getting one over on someone or making them look bad — only the bean counters care about that. Those of us in the trenches, we're just hoping to end the day having shined a light on a dark corner and maybe if we're lucky, once in our career, will report something that affects positive change.<br /><br />The podium is moved into place and after the speakers make their announcements one by one, its now time for the crescendo. With Manny reigning over the event from his Technicolor stucco canvas, a crown of feathers and sequins are placed atop his mother and father.<br /><br />Long live King and Queen Eggs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20huevos%20100209%2002.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20huevos%20100209%2002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-48881413148588632432009-09-22T19:21:00.000-07:002009-11-28T18:52:50.152-08:00Time out Tuesday: Art HeistThis week I came across a piece of marketing for HBO that just had me hooked for hours. And it wasn't because of anything slick from the PR department, it was all about the storytelling.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.hboimagine.com/#/art_heist/"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuwD24j9kSISKZcjKauTvmJ8wjZoHjwEn8XPCUykxw4xS1j0TeaWgAM_3-ksG5P-Ff1Z6Yg7mnhtP7KfPolTqeUudvnRXVyExuGU9TGAZ7Fyimh_dOBZLlsi_F5_nN_JU8f-rmg/s400/hbo+i.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://www.hboimagine.com/#/art_heist/">"Art Heist"</a> is an interactive website which invites you to explore a story in a non liner narrative. Each of the short films is told from four different camera angles and you can choose to flip back and forth and go back and replay portions.<br /><br />Parallel story structure isn't anything new. The idea that many stories are taking place at once and only once you have gone back to see all of them will you come away with a better understanding of the whole story, has been toyed with in the arts since forever.<br /><br />The entire story structure of one of our oldest surviving stories, Oedipus Rex, is built upon the device. Shakespeare knew of the emotional punch it could carry and devised the climax of Romeo and Juliet around it. The film Pulp Fiction hings on it as a device. It's the basis of pretty much every french screwball comedy ever made. In sci-fi aspects of Back to the Future 2 touched on it. I can make a list a mile long of other works that have used it: Magnolia, Timecode, 24, Rashomon, and NBC's criminally short-lived Boomtown all toyed with the idea.<br /><br />I can't say for certain how this could translate into journalism, but it's all very inspiring and a nice alternative story form to play with.<br /><br />Enjoy!S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-32735023160642932542009-09-15T18:40:00.000-07:002009-09-19T19:20:56.874-07:00Time out Tuesday: Choosing ThomasWhen Deidrea and T.K. Laux learned during their first pregnancy that their unborn child had trisomy 13 (a rare DNA abnormality which makes it impossible for newborns to live more than a couple hours to days outside the womb) they were faced with a choice, carry the child to term and say goodbye to him within days or abort the pregnancy twenty weeks in. They choose <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/photography/2009/thomas2/">Thomas</a>.<br /><br />"Facing death can be the hardest for a family expecting new life. Follow T.K. and Deidrea Laux's journey after they learn that their unborn son has a genetic disorder. They hope the intimate look helps others understand and cope with infant loss"<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ToNWquoXqJI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ToNWquoXqJI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Dallas Morning News shooter Sonya N. Hebert produced <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/photography/2009/thomas2/">Choosing Thomas</a> with stills, video and excerpts from Deidrea’s personal diary to take us deep. <br /><br />With the most intimate of moments, from welcoming Thomas into the world to saying goodbye to the young life. It's a heart-wrenching emotional story with many genuine lessons and a deep look at a subject that is often covered in the most superficial of fashions. <br /><br />It's not often that something comes along, especially these days, that stops us in our tracks and makes us reflect on more important things; this piece does that.S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-9530959703435451132009-09-08T18:08:00.000-07:002009-09-19T18:37:12.641-07:00Time out Tuesday: Journey to the End of CoalThis week I've found something that is just cool. Very very cool.<br /><br /><a href="http://doclab.voyageauboutducharbon.com/">Journey to the End of Coal</a> takes a look at the exploding growth of China's economy and the new energy needs that have come with it. By visiting various sites around Beijing, viewers are invited to dictate the path of two freelance journalist as they seek out the stories of the millions of Chinese coal miners who power China's economic growth.<br /><br />The "very cool" twist on the story however is that "dictate" part. If you ever read a "choose your own adventure" book as a child then the structure should feel very familiar to you. Through a series of choices in travel and how you go about asking questions the miners story is reveled.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://honkytonk.fr/wp-content/themes/photo_graphic_studio_theme/images/Vignette_Journey.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 290px; height: 189px;" src="http://honkytonk.fr/wp-content/themes/photo_graphic_studio_theme/images/Vignette_Journey.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>"Your journey begins in Datong which is located just a couple hours away West from Beijing. You travel from there all around the region and visit its major coal mines, from the “best” state-owned complex to the worst private coal plants."<br /><br /><br /><br />It's a unique way at seeing how journalism works, and it feels authentic.<br /><br />It's so good I find myself forgiving the blurry photos and lack of visual variety. I think it's because I understand how difficult access was. Which brings me to a good point, as far as reporting and photography goes, the piece is lacking. We gleam a lot of knowledge by witnessing the information gathering, but in the end there is no reporting occurring, at least not in the traditional sense. I wonder if this is something the journalist behind the project recognized afterward and then came up with this ingenious idea.<br /><br />Those concerns addressed however, as an experiment and an alternative story form, I think it works in a major way. For one it shows folks that there is a real issue here and the obstacles that come in the way when trying to shine a light on that issue. In another way, it uses the shortcomings of the actual reporting in a way that shows viewers what the story is really about.<br /><br />Journey to the End of Coal is the closest thing to a teaching tool to show the public (and some confused college kids) what journalism is really about. Our craft isn't TMZ, Fox news and paparazzi, it's in-depth investigative feet-to-the-pavement walk-the-line hard work. On a good day anyway. But it's what we strive for in between Friday night football and city council meetings.S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-11117369761059787142009-09-04T23:29:00.000-07:002009-09-04T21:51:06.701-07:00They came from over the hills<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20090409%2001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20090409%2001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Do you remember that scene from Jurassic Park where the Tyrannosaurus Rex first appears? <br /><br />I never remember the dinosaurs or the car or the screaming kids from that scene, I mean I do eventually, but it's not the first thing I think of. <br /><br />I remember the water, and how it vibrated like a door ringer to announce the giant bird/lizard/whatever-scientist-think-it-is-this-week that was about to make its grand entrance.<br /><br />That water was on my mind Monday as I roamed around dense greenery and over mounds of upturned dirt at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, an arms length away from a small crew spouting out nautical terms as they hoisted a pair of 15 (or so) foot metal and wood beams.<br /><br />"That's not starboard."<br /><br />"Of course it is."<br /><br />"How do you know?"<br /><br />"Because I know where the holes are supposed to be," artist David Rogers concluded the exchange with a laugh before climbing a ladder to introduce two beams to a steel bolt.<br /><br />I frame a shot of giant ants over the horizon and I could see them crawling from one flower to another, the soundtrack from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (the good one, not the Keanu "dude I only have one expression" Reeves train wreck) playing in my head.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20090409%2002.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20090409%2002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>I was told of a giant spider in a remote part of the park, and when I stumbled though the woods unable to find it, it found me, and visions from grade school of watching Jeff Daniels fight off the beast followed.<br /><br />Around a 25 foot tall praying mantis I looked to the lady bugs crawling all over it, and I remembered the water. How the little details, like "the animals always know first," are important.<br /><br />It was like being in a movie.<br /><br />It's funny, well not funny ha-ha, but funny hmm how much pop-culture influences how you see things. I'm always reminded of something when I'm out shooting. Weather I'm looking for the perfect wide angle "Lawrence of Arabia" shot or the super compressed "Chungking Express" or the layers of "M*A*S*H" or the compositions of "The Good The Bad and The Ugly" or the details of "Jurassic Park."<br /><br />I guess inspiration is where you find it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20090409%2003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 400px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20090409%2003.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-54406124991573426452009-09-01T07:36:00.000-07:002009-09-01T07:36:00.518-07:00Time out Tuesday: In Bb 2.0I sat in on a lecture about social media recently and a gentleman asked the speaker what was the point.<br /><br />It was an interesting question, and answer seemed obvious. To explore new art forms and models of communication. To bring a simple medium to the people. And ideally to collaborate.<br /><br />The first two have been happening, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/nicholifavs">I don't always get it</a>, but the 3rd one not to much.<br /><br />It seems the premiere use of the social web has been to tell everyone how great they are, (BTW I'm great), or if you prefer PR jargon, to life-cast. Collaboration is in the minority. Like drinking tap water, everyone thinks its a great idea but no one does it.<br /><br />Well this week I'm writing about something where people are doing it, and it's the most inspired I've been in weeks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://inbflat.net/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2459/3872915858_b49d424fcf.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />It's a <a href="http://inbflat.net/">collaborative music project</a> where folks have recorded "instruments" and then, by employing YouTube and its pause/play button and volume control, invites you to come and create a mix. <br /><br />Oh, and it's addicting.<br /><br />I've played this three times now, mixing the elements in different orders and each time it not only works, but it creates a sound scape that tells a different story, with different characters and different emotions.<br /><br />It's brilliant!<br /><br />When sound boards starting coming out they were fun but of little use once the novelty wore off.<br /><br />Then came the beat pads and drum loops, my god I loved those. I've spend hours playing with them.<br /><br />But now this, this is the next evolution! Turning it into a living breathing collaborative animal. Well almost, It lets me mix it my way, but I'd sure love an option to upload my own "instrument" to the mix and really make it a "social" experiment.S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-50120719953328533642009-08-30T20:00:00.000-07:002009-08-30T20:14:12.095-07:00Late night driveThe other night we finally had some rain in San Antonio and it brought along some lighting to boot.<br /><br />In California lighting storms are pretty rare and I was feeling the itch to explore the light.<br /><br />So I grabbed my cellphone, sent off a Twitter update-- "Going for a late night drive in the rain. I love the rain. The sound, the smell, the splashing, how the light bounces around... Ahhhh :)" -- and started snapping away.<br /><br />It was freeing, just shooting for the joy of shooting. And aside from being chased off of a bike cop from under a freeway (I think he was just pissed that I woke him up to be honest), it was a pretty productive couple hours.<br /><br />Here's what I came back with. Nothing earth-shattering I know, but it sure was soul-filling. :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3473/3866225031_469ef11bfc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3473/3866225031_469ef11bfc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2477/3867001940_53c34750a8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2477/3867001940_53c34750a8.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/3866219727_62f1ac7d68.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/3866219727_62f1ac7d68.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2620/3866221033_f2912419e8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2620/3866221033_f2912419e8.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/3867006020_ecea64d17b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/3867006020_ecea64d17b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/3866224313_4ab2bbb3ba.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/3866224313_4ab2bbb3ba.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-21705311925665346752009-08-25T17:38:00.000-07:002009-08-30T19:34:01.953-07:00Time out Tuesday: ReTweet RevolutionWe all know the role Twitter played in the aftermath of Iran's elections. How tweets got the play-by-play news from the streets to the world. How it was used by some to organize protesters. How the White House asked Twitter to keep the servers online and push off scheduled system updates. And how it appears to some that the government of Iran tried to take down the service in an effort to squash protests. It was one of the first major tests for the young service that showed-- beyond a twitpic of a plane in the Hudson, a tweet about Tim Russert's passing, or of a student being arrested in Egypt-- its power to organize and become an effective means of mass communication, for protesters, spectators and detractors.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://giladlotan.org/viz/iranelection/about.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 368px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3484/3872915296_01db9c8cf8.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://giladlotan.org/viz/iranelection/about.html">The ReTweet Revolution</a> organizes the post-election communication. With time stamps and a rising bar chart shows how often a message was ReTweeted, visitors can see a living time line.<br /><br />It's worth a look, if only to see how a series of tweets can go from fleeting one-shot blasts, to a collective document of a movement.S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-38960626195345452352009-08-21T17:28:00.000-07:002009-08-21T17:28:00.188-07:00deer in the city<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20081109%202.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 353px;" src="http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/mi_foto/mifoto%20081109%202.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The buck lifted his head and stared at me as I tried to move closer. <br /><br />I was driving around Fair Oaks Ranch looking for a picture to go with a story on stage 3 water restrictions but wasn't having any luck. Some days are like that.<br /><br />It also didn't help that my eight hour shift had turned into a twelve hour and counting marathon. It had been a very long hot day and after logging nearly 200 miles, I was tired and I was hungry, but the clusters of deers running across the street and feasting on lawns were an unexpected diversion.<br /><br />He turned toward me and then another buck to his left stopped eating the grass on a manicured lawn and joined him in the stare down.<br /><br />I stopped in my tracks. No more clicks now, don't want to provoke the animal.<br /><br />Moments earlier I was crisscrossing the residential streets looking for anyone doing anything outside. As I rolled down one cul-de-sac after another at five miles per hour, I wondered which would happen first; would someone call the police to investigate a compact cruiser or would I happenstance upon a picture.<br /><br />But the streets were empty. As one may guess, many folks had not come home from work yet and those that were home weren't foolish enough to leave the sanctuary of central air.<br /><br />So when I turned a corner and about two dozen deer ran across the street, a part of wondered if I had really just seen that and another part was excited to take advantage of the setting sunlight.<br /><br />I pulled over and walked closer to a small group that was grazing, trying to make the most of the crimson glow fading behind the horizon.<br /><br />Maybe I can sell it on the "the grass is all dead and even the dear are starving" angle I told myself.<br /><br />They were everywhere, encroaching on homes as if they couldn't read the no soliciting signs. Or maybe it's the other way around?<br /><br />I fired off a couple frames and slowly and deliberately composed each shot, trying to make the most of it, but I'd gotten too close and now a pair of stags were eying me.<br /><br />It was time to go, no point pressing my luck any further.<br /><br />I slipped back into my car and slowly backed down the road, with one eye on the rear view and another on the bucks now standing guard.<br /><br />I continued driving and the hunt for people doing anything, dodging the dears that were now amalgamated to their new surroundings.<br /><br />I asked some folks what the story was, they all shrugged and looked at me like I was speaking Canadian.<br /><br />As the sun was going down I approached a man who was squeezing in some practice on the putting green at a golf course.<br /><br />"One more thing, it might sound weird," I said as we finished talking about water restrictions. "What's with all the dear?"<br /><br />"Oh," he laughed, miffed at the seemingly silly question. "It's... the hill country."S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-5596363830008004292009-08-18T23:17:00.000-07:002009-08-21T15:41:44.129-07:00Time out Tuesday: Ira Glass on StorytellingI don't even think I have validate this entry to time out, it's F'n Ira Glass, women like his style and men have been ripping off his hipster style for years.<br /><br />The host of PBS radios "This American Life" has carved out a piece of the radio landscape and delivers each week the find of long form feature slice of life stories that local papers used to do before they cut back staffs and spread the survivors so thin that what you read now is pretty much, save for a handful of columnists and special reports across the country, regurgitated PR-releases disguised as event coverage and reaction stories, i.e. It's hot, a car crashed, someone shot someone, etc. etc...<br /><br />But I digress, we'll save that rant for another day.<br /><br />Ok, enough of me, peep some inspiration (in four parts).<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/loxJ3FtCJJA&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/loxJ3FtCJJA&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KW6x7lOIsPE&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KW6x7lOIsPE&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BI23U7U2aUY&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BI23U7U2aUY&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/baCJFAGEuJM&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/baCJFAGEuJM&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_profilepage&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-72965557464896856672009-08-11T09:55:00.000-07:002009-08-21T15:41:31.662-07:00Time out Tuesday: Dr. Horrible<object width="512" height="296"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/Z4kt7M5Uta51JuIDJV6HeQ"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/Z4kt7M5Uta51JuIDJV6HeQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" width="512" height="296"></embed></object><br /><br />Ok ok, so two weeks ago I did kind of cop out by posting Spaced, but you know you enjoyed it. ;)<br /><br />It's 42 min, but if you haven't seen it, you are so missing out on something awesome. The controversial ending alone is genius.<br /><br />Created during the writer's strike in 2008, it was basically a couple of friends getting together to make sometime for fun and on the cheap. But what makes it really cool is that they distributed it on the net in three weekly installments, for free and completely gained an audience by word of mouth.<br /><br />The lesson, if you put it out there and it resonates with people, it will find an audience. It also helps if you have a cult following like writer/director Joss Whedon (I'm not a fan BTW, sorry) or get your little silly musical antihero movie nominated for an Emmy.<br /><br />Enjoy :)S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-31101981958244897682009-08-05T21:22:00.000-07:002009-08-08T21:29:13.509-07:00Tea for 61<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/3803087328_17a73162c0.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 323px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/3803087328_17a73162c0.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Tea parties are pretty strange. I mean, if you think about it, they're pretty strange. Men in sharp black suits and polished shoes not going to the office. Women in flower-adorned hats and their Sunday best not going to church, well Sunday church.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2429/3802272529_d397692ef1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2429/3802272529_d397692ef1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Everyone stopping in the middle of the day and dropping all their cares to drink dried leaves given names like British breakfast tea and Earl Grey and snack on tiny crust-less sandwiches with slices of cucumber and sides of puffy balls with cream. They're all gathered around tables draped in linen and topped with floral arrangements while they sip from gold-rimmed teacups and ask each other about how their family is doing, laugh about theories on why young people don't wear hats and propose the best wisdom on beating the heat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2485/3803087468_0e0bc3455d.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2485/3803087468_0e0bc3455d.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Slowing down, talking with friends and enjoying the day instead of racing from point A to point B like the rest of the world. What strange people.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/3802272149_990aca6387.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/3802272149_990aca6387.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-81512271670533820742009-08-04T20:41:00.000-07:002009-08-21T15:41:15.900-07:00Time out Tuesday: Letters to the President<object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5892044&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5892044&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><br /><br />"Every day, President Obama reads ten letters from the public in order to stay in tune with America's issues and concerns. "Letters to the President" is an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the process of how those ten letters make it to the President's desk from among the tens of thousands of letters, faxes, and e-mails that flood the White House each day."<br /><br />When Obama took office I posted that I would like to throw my hat in the ring to start adding videos to the press office's offering, I guess he didn't get my resume ;)S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-25309212378090140382009-08-03T19:32:00.000-07:002009-08-11T15:09:27.872-07:00Blue Therapy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2490/3802258587_774c3966b3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2490/3802258587_774c3966b3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I was in knots as I walked out of the office. So much on my mind. So much to process.<br /><br />I looked up and saw a shade of blue sky that gave me an excuse. So for the next twenty minutes I walked around and thought only about blue. It was calming, for the time being.<br /><br />Call it a barley started career crisis, or an idealist reality check or a size 10 to the netherlands. Whatever you want to call it, I'm at a crossroads.<br /><br />Somewhere in the mind scape, I'm standing on an x with my thumb to the void. On one side, the desire. On the other, the reality. In the middle I feel like I'm failing.<br /><br />I had one of those moments today, when you get shook up and start to re-examine.<br /><br />There was a time when I thought I had the answers. Just work hard and do good. I thought all I had to do was shine a light on the s*** and the rest would take care of itself.<br /><br />When I first picked up a camera I didn't take it to seriously, I just tried to have fun. The freedom of doing whatever I wanted was freeing. And it seemed I had a knack for it, at least my teacher thought so. "You have the upside down eye," my teacher Mr. Frankie once told me. That's what he called it when you see things different.<br /><br />Fast forward and I'm here now. Working at a paper, doing something that a 16-year-old me could never imagine in his/my wildest dreams. <br /><br />And at that age, you have some wild dreams.<br /><br />Along they way I saw the power of the image. I discovered Gordon Parks, Eugene Richards, Alex Webb, Dorothea Lange, Raghubir Singh, William Eugene Smith and countless others that escape my sleep deprived mind at this hour,and I saw the potential of photography to effect change. To shine a light.<br /><br />Coming from where I come from, it wasn't the roughest part of town, but it was only a short two min drive from it. If you can think of it, it was happening out there. <br /><br />It's gotten better since those days, mostly thanks to the tech boom that brought folks with cash into the poor side of town, which lead to community organizations, which lead to councilmen and women looking to please said organizations which lead to clean-ups, a new park, stop signs, speed bumps, graffiti clean-up and what have you.<br /><br />But that's now, way back when it was a different story. Now I'm not saying it was the worst of the worst, but we saw things and dealt with things that kids shouldn't have to. Hell adults shouldn't have to either. Drugs, gangs, stabbings, graffiti, police copters shining a light in your back yard, etc. etc.<br /><br />A part of me thought that when I picked up a camera maybe I'd be able to be a voice for this community that never had one. At least not until the Mercedes-leasing, home expanding, political-organizing, girl-scouting crowd moved in to the neighborhood.<br /><br />Maybe I'd be able to do something that no one was able to do for me and my friends.<br /><br />But lately I don't know. <br /><br />I feel like I'm failing to do what I set out to do. I keep visiting crime scenes, I keep talking to concerned citizens, I keep trying to bring attention to a problem... and today I comforted an elderly couple as I told them a man they knew had been shoot and killed.<br /><br />Days like today... they make you think.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2627/3803074070_f522428808.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2627/3803074070_f522428808.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />There's something that happens you're behind the camera. Everything melts away and the world becomes reduced to a 24x36mm window.<br /><br />Some of the war photogs describe it as tunnel vision. It's only happened to me once, but it's real. I was caught in the middle of a quickly escalating riot in downtown San Jose a couple years ago over Mardi Gras. It wasn't until I looked down and saw I'd walked down a block and left a trail of bloody footprints, that it hit me.<br /><br />It's like the opening scene from Saving Private Ryan when the soldiers go in and out of the water. Above the water, the sounds of war and total chaos. Below, there is silence, stillness, solitude and a sense of calm.<br /><br />Tonight I needed it. I needed the tunnel vision. The calm.<br /><br />The pics above, they come from the tunnel vision.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/3803074788_04cc470e32.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3522/3803074788_04cc470e32.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I wonder still if anything we do makes a difference. "You do it because you love it, there's no money in it so you have to," I joke with people still.<br /><br />On days like today I tell myself that what we do matters. <br /><br />That it makes a difference.<br /><br />But I wonder.<br /><br />I wonder if it even matters what we do. Are we like the tree in the woods that feel over? Are we just pissing in the wind? Does anyone even care?<br /><br />The press has power. I'm in a place where I can do something and I try. But nothing changes.<br /><br />I feel like I'm failing. The reason I got into this business is because I felt like I could make a difference. I thought I brought a unique background to the job, something that added to the discussion.<br /><br />Maybe I'm just naive.<br /><br />Right about now you're probably wondering what happened, or more likely you've stopped reading like 20 graphs ago. If you're still here, you're probably getting pretty upset that I haven't told you... well... anything really.<br /><br />What happened isn't the point. It's what isn't happening. <br /><br />(But I'll meet you half way. If you're a decent journalist and your curiosity is too strong, a simple search on the the Express-News site should quench your thirst.)<br /><br />So at this point, let me turn it over to you. If you have this job and you have the medium of the press and you have the desire, if you have all that, let me ask you now... what would you do?S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-12842893215982465682009-07-28T23:28:00.000-07:002009-08-21T15:41:02.625-07:00Time out Tuesday: Spaced<object width="512" height="296"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/LgyxQx4OKsvtS5r-BhmNcw"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/LgyxQx4OKsvtS5r-BhmNcw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" width="512" height="296"></embed></object><br /><br />What? You say I'm phoning it this week? Look, <a href="http://www.hulu.com/spaced">Spaced</a> is about showing respect for your audience to get it without spelling it out, telling an honest story, making it entertaining and most of all, understanding your consumer and how to reach them. Sounds a lot like journalism no? Aren't we all trying to figure out how to reach a new audience and getting them to value our craft enough to want to pay for it? Plus, I think you'll agree, we're a much more cynical America then the one of of just ten years ago, people are more media savvy, they demand transparency and they demand to be included in the discussion and they want to feel like you get it, that they get it (even if they always don't, sorry, but it's sometimes true).<br /><br />But seriously, inspiration is where you find it. If you're not listing to music, visiting art museums, sketching, cruising YouTube or looking at some other form of creativity other than inside the journalism field, then you my friend are only cheating yourself.<br /><br />Now <a href="http://www.hulu.com/spaced">go enjoy</a> a kick @$$ show. :DS. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-31211234740228680072009-07-23T23:01:00.000-07:002009-08-03T20:04:40.954-07:00body/percussionThe Third Coast Rhythm Project visits the youth program at San Juan Community Center to teach kids to make music using their bodies as instruments.<br /><br /><object id="flashObj" width="486" height="412" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1691027887?isVid=1&publisherID=742773084" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=30498249001&playerID=1691027887&domain=embed&" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1691027887?isVid=1&publisherID=742773084" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=30498249001&playerID=1691027887&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-62829789422454230922009-07-22T19:30:00.000-07:002009-07-22T20:07:00.464-07:00The promising, the inspirational and the dumb@$$<span style="font-weight:bold;">The promising</span> NPR.com is undergoing a redesign. A very clean design with simple navigation, lots of white space and tons of information without the need to scroll or click through. Plus customization like picking your local station helps to really create a "home" for the user. Plus the demo video itself is very well put together to! Could the conversation (i.e. Web 3.0) be here? Well... almost. But this is a step in the right direction?<br /><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wok4JiFUdwQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Wok4JiFUdwQ&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The inspirational</span> Stop motion goodness and with some ok tunage behind it. Creativity up the wazoo, slightly made less cooler knowing that's it's not a shoe-string indie video and instead the official music video. But still... wow o_0<br /><br /><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Mi9WRZpSC0U&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Mi9WRZpSC0U&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The dumb@$$</span> This is just silly. Silly delicious. But what do you expect to find on dem internetz?<br /><br /><object width="320" height="265"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/I8L7TnWx8As&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/I8L7TnWx8As&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="320" height="265"></embed></object><br /><br />Enjoy.S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20222109.post-33841569967228642762009-07-22T14:15:00.000-07:002009-08-03T20:08:32.377-07:00To the moon: The flagmakerSome days you just have to stand back and realize it. There's no money in it, all your friends are looking for jobs, the doomsayers are becoming <a href="http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue9912/editorial.htm">prophets</a>, it's long hours with sometimes little thank you, and most days it seems like no one even sees your hard work unless Michael Jackson or Britney Spears are involved, but some days, you remember it. You remember why you love this job.<br /><br />I met this really amazing gentleman on Monday for a story to tie in to the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. <br /><br />Oscar Torres reflects on his part in creating the American flag that astronauts placed on the moon.<br /><br /><object id="flashObj" width="486" height="412" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1691027887?isVid=1&publisherID=742773084" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=30176404001&playerID=1691027887&domain=embed&" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1691027887?isVid=1&publisherID=742773084" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=30176404001&playerID=1691027887&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><br /><br />What a character. :)S. Dulaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15947147238519695088noreply@blogger.com0