Public Defender

I had the great privilege of photographing one of Columbia's public defenders yesterday, my last shift on the Missourian. My photos accompanied a great story by Ryland Devero. This is a story I'm eager to return to next semester. I'm off to Seattle tomorrow (!)


Jenean Thompson, right, discusses possible sentences with Vanessa Bennett, at the Boone County Jail on Thursday. "Everyone has a constitutional right to adequate legal representation," Thompson said about the rising caseloads of public defenders. "But 'adequate' just isn't good enough for me."


The scene of an arson is one of the many stops Jenean Thompson, a Columbia public defender, made Thursday. Thompson stopped to consider the location of witness's window before returning to the office for an afternoon in court.


Jenean Thompson sees as many clients as she can before lunch at the Boone County Jail, which begins as early as 10:30. Public defenders are facing increasing caseloads, and must juggle the demands of client relationship with the mounting paperwork that accompanies new cases.
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Jenean Thompson surveys the scene of a crime. Law enforcement officers are responsible for accurately documenting evidence, but there are cases where vital details go unreported.

Christmas Time

A lovely piece in the Seattle Times on Alan Berner's Christmas cards. Makes me want to quit portfolio-ing for a day and go take pictures.



Also, if you haven't seen the work of Jonathan Harris, the time is now. I can't even begin to imagine how databases can be made so beautiful. I am so excited to spend this next month reading and designing and editing audio and catching up on all I've been too busy to sit with.

Dacota, Continued

Every once and a while you fall in love with a subject, and my new love is Dacota, who I've posted about before. What a wonderful extended family he has-- he spends his afternoons with his cousins because his parents work In Columbia, about 30 minutes from Sturgeon, where they live. I'll be following him to school and hanging out with him this weekend. Dacota is a complicated kid, and there's just some magic about him. I hope I'll be able to convey that.

Kendra

A strange and difficult assignment yielded this image, and this presentation: http://www.columbiamissourian.com/media/multimedia/2007/pages/1124wic/index.html
Not quite my style, but another classic situation of wanting the reporter to contact photo earlier in the reporting process. We had just a few days to throw this together, finding subjects ourselves.

Connecticut

Walked around an orchard with my parents, getting ready to go back to Missouri. Being in CT makes me want to work for a paper here. Maybe . . .

Radio Lab

To learn about the posibilities of sound, take a moment this Thanksgiving and listen to:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2007/11/09

"Sound is like touch, at a distance."

Yale Harvard Game

How did I end up here, back in Connecticut, photographing football? The character of a Yale/Harvard game is so different from a Mizzou game, and there were things I recognized there as part of some culture I may once have been a part of. Yale lost, 6-37. That is a Yale player pictured above.

Beautiful Girls

Little Magic

A strange and wonderful thing happened today in Jefferson City, as I was photographing at a prayer luncheon. At 1/640th the fluorescent lights took on a life of their own, and my frames were stripped with orange and blueish-green. In this frame, the light became warm all around this woman, and I'm going to consider it a happy accident. At other exposures, you can see the pattern of the ceiling tiles, but I like the softness of this light much better. So there can be magic under fluorescent lights! This is an ongoing story, and much, much more will come later.

*Update* Parker: these are some other frames:

Breath

Taking a break from CPOY and driving the back roads of Missouri. The light is beautiful, even at noon.

Veteran

Here in CPOY, watching all the amazing photographs go by. Whew. I took this on assignment a few days ago, and had a moment to put it up.

Professors Emeriti

Waiting to do a boring photo of a politician today, I hung out in the Senior Center. Super fun:
For the past five years, four professors emeriti from the University of Missouri meet to play pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Senior Center in Columbia. Bob Kvam, PhD., right, professor of accounting for 27 years, readies his shot as Joe Kunce PhD., left, watches. Jim Craigmile PhD. and Earl Lundgren PhD., wait to take their turns. Only people over fifty are allowed to play pool at the Senior Center.

Dacota

Stacey, Dacota's mom: "He's quite the talker. It's just in his nature. he'll go up to just about anyone. He didn't talk until he was two, and he did a lot of garbled mumbling. When he was four he was diagnosed with ADHD and a learning disability, and now he spends half his time in school with special resources and speech therapy. We chose karate because we want to do anything that can bring out his self confidence, get his energy out."

Studio Time Again

Arooj Mohsin, a pre-med student at the University of Missouri, says that while her religion is important to her, she thinks that all good people aren't necessarily religious. "All good people will go to heaven," she says, "as long as they do good things in this lifetime."

Women's Prayer

For the 36 hours project my friend Jenn set me up with an assignment to photograph a women's prayer meeting. I'd love to go back.

Sleepless 36 Hours

The photo students at Missouri spent the past 36 hours out and about in Columbia, documenting the life of the city in 4-hours shifts around the clock. So many situations, so many frames. I'll post more as soon as I've had a shower and a decent meal. I will say that it was AMAZING to see all the beautiful pictures other people took, and I can't wait to see them all together.

Final Season

Antwayn Spears, Hickman senior lineman, injured his ACL at football camp over the summer and likely won't be able to play this season. What a sweet kid. He went out for practice and cheered his team on.

Rain

Circus

The circus came to town and I spent my day backstage, getting dirty and gross and talking to the nicest circus people ever.

Boone Life One

While his mother chats with friends, Xavier Rolley, 11 waits on the steps to the basement of St. Paul's AME Church in Columbia, Mo. Xavier and his mother Veronica Rolley and little sister Vonyae had their family portrait taken at the church's fundraiser.


For fifty years, Washington Elbert has been a member of St. Paul's AME Church, on the corner of Ash and 5th streets in Columbia, Mo. Elbert waits to have his portrait taken with his wife for the church's fundraiser on Saturday, September 22nd, 2007. "I've been coming to this church since 1957, " said Elbert, "and not too much has changed. Older people pass on, and younger ones join. I do wish we had more young ones."

Not quite fall

Draft Horse Auction

More madison

My friends are lovely and I see them seldom, but when I do, I am happiest.

Lindsay's Wedding

Just got back-- tired, ready for bed, but boy was that an amazing wedding.

Labor Day