UConn Post-Championship Celebration at the JW Marriott Galeria in Houston

More of a personal post for me, but being a huge UConn Huskies fan I was there to enjoy the post-celebration of the UConn team and fans at the JW Marriott hotel in Houston, TX.
Fans cheered the team bus when they arrived...

Kemba Walker gave a cheer to the fans...


And inside the ballroom the fans packed in and cheered for the team as they were honored with the NABC Championship award.
Jeremy Lamb did the "Lamb Shake" for the fans...
And Calhoun gave thanks for the "Best Fans in College Basketball."
The party continued in the ballroom...

And in the hotel lounge friends and family gave Calhoun congrats as he kicked back with a beer.
The players mixed in with the fans...
And then Calhoun 3 made is way from the party...
A great way to end a great night. UCONN BABY!

Recent Work for the Marin IJ

Working at the Marin IJ the past few months has reminded me why I love doing newspaper photography. Every day is a new challenge and a chance to learn something new:
For example I photographed New York composer Rob Kapilow and learned he has been commissioned by the Marin Symphony to write for a piece of music to be composed in honor of the Golden Gate Bridge's 75th birthday in 2012. He is visiting community groups in the Bay Area asking them "What does the Golden Gate Bridge Sound Like?" Kapilow visited the Marin City Community Center in Marin City to meet with students about the sounds, images and emotions of the bridge. The composition will include the sounds heard everyday on the bridge.

As fun as that assignment was, a challenging assignment was photographing the public memorial service for popular Terra Linda high school English teacher Debra Schmitt. She was found dead in a creek bed near her house in Ross, Calif. after leaving a goodbye note on the blackboard in her classroom. A standing-room crowd of hundreds of people packed St. John's Episcopal Church for a public memorial service.
I feel you want to be respectful as possible of the people you are photographing grieving while doing your job, including Stephen Smith, the husband of Debra Schmitt, who hugged Patricia O'Brien, a teacher at Terra Linda high school, after the reception. You can read the Marin IJ story here.
I also learn about a new green technology being introduced into the marketplace: hydrogen fuel cells. In this photo, Mark Colby, Vice President of Clear Edge Power (second from left), shows a 5KW hydrogen fuel cell to David Liu. The fuel cell supplies some of the electricity needs to Bruce Raabe's home in Kentfield. Hydrogen fuel cells, which runs off natural gas, can reduce utility bills, reduce carbon emissions and are a more productive source of alternative energy than solar. You can read the Marin IJ story here.
And a fun assignment being able to view some of the amazing artwork of Alaagy, an artist from Ghana. His work was on display at the De Young Museum in San Francisco.

And of course in February its playoff season for high school basketball.
The love the effort and emotion of high school playoff basketball.
It might not be on the grandest stage...
...but rafters packed to ceiling the energy and atmosphere is electric.
Everything is put on the line..

And when you win its pure joy...
...ecstasy...
...and a time to celebrate! You can view a slideshow of more of my basketball images on the Marin IJ website.

NYC Chinatown Parade

I was lucky enough to be in New York City for the annual Chinatown New Years Parade.
I've been to the San Francisco one several times, but this was my first one in New York.
Safe to say the parade was intense as New York City is.
It was a celebration for the year of the Hare, or the Rabbit or the Bunny...
Before the parade in the staging area the energy was fantastic...
everyone was ready to have fun.

And when the parade got started...

...and confetti started to fall down...
and the lion and dragons filled the streets...
kids of all ages took it all in with big smiles on their faces.



I actually had so much fun at the NYC Chinatown parade that I am thinking of checking out the SF one as well. As I say, you can never have too much of a good thing.

USA vs. Chile

After a 5 month break, the USA national soccer team returned to action for the finale of "Camp Cupcake" playing Chile at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles. The team and the USA fans were ready for the game.
The crowd at the game this year was by far the largest pro-USA support group I have ever seen for the January friendly. Thanks largely to the organization of the American Outlaws, a group of around 200 USA fans marched into the stadium.
The chanting and cheering started well before the game...
...and the supporters were singing their guts out even before the action started.
It was a fun game, between the nation's two "B" sides; essentially a bunch of young players trying to impress their head coaches and make it onto the national team's roster.

Chile scored a goal early in the second half, to the dismay of the USA fans....
...but the cheers of the Chile fans that made it to the match.
But with the introduction of Juan Agudelo...
...and Teal Bunbury up top, the USA put the pressure on the Chile defense.
It finally cracked when Agudelo broke through the penalty box and was fouled by a Chilean defender.

And received congrats from his teammates.
The fans celebrated Bunbury's penalty goal and the game ended up a draw: 1-1.

A good result and a great chance to see some of the new talent on the USA Men's National Team. Afterwards Mikkel Diskerud said thanks to the fans who made it out for the friendly. A good showing for the team and the USA fans to start the new year. When is the next game again?