Friday, December 18, 2009

Cynicism Can Suck It




Because tonight people graduated from Tidewater Community College and their families came out to support them (bottom), and many of them worked full time while earning their degrees (top), and one graduate with cerebral palsy got out of his wheelchair and walked across the stage to get his diploma (center).

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Winter Light | Holding Onto Normal



Isn't it perfect, the winter light? Working on a story about a family of seven that recently found themselves homeless. In the first frame, the teenager hides under the blanket in the hotel room they all share. How I remember those grim days of being fourteen, exhausted and solitary. And there's nowhere to go when you live in one room with your family. The triumph of this family is how hard the parents work to keep everything 'normal'; homework, tidying up the living space, tossing the football in the parking lot.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Tis the Season



Choirs from Norfolk public schools sang on Wednesday night. I was so lucky to hear about in on the radio, because I've had a slow few days in terms of shooting, and it was an indescribable joy to just shoot in strange light. Just to shoot, to see, to move, to think.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Inner City, With Pasture


After watching the rural health story again, I was reminded of this strange picture.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Rural Health: The Full Story


I am so excited today-- the rural heath care story I worked on in Dallas was published in the Sunday paper. When I arrived in Dallas, all the previous interns I talked with encouraged me to find a project to work on throughout the summer. After a month of research, phone calls and long drives, I found a hospital in rural Texas where I could have full access and where the story was compelling. I spent nights in the emergency room, went on house calls, and hung around the Rural Health Clinic. Eventually, they assigned a writer to the story. I could not be happier with the article written by Gretel Kovach. Texas has the country's largest rural population and its residents are, on average, older, poorer, and in worse health than their urban counterparts. It is a challenge every day to give rural people the healthcare that most of us take for granted. Read the article and watch the multimedia. This was my first real multimedia project, and it was all made possible because of the amazing people in the photo department at the Dallas Morning News. They gave me time, training, equipment, support and guidance. It was a tremendous experience. The singles now live on my redesigned website.