Earth Day

I covered for the Student Conservation Association their Earth Day event at Diamond Park in Oakland this past Saturday. It amazing to see what a group of volunteers can achieve in such a short amount of time.
The SCA members were tasked with pulling out an invasive non-native species of blackberries that was choking off life for native plants in the park.
Kids of all ages helped out...
with tools in hand.
It was hard, but rewarding, work.
And the volunteers were able to get rid of a ton of the invasive plants to help restore the creek area of the park to a natural state. Truly amazing to capture their work.

You can view more of my images, and other SCA Earth Day events on their Flicker account:

The 105 Year Old Survivor

Bill DelMonte is one of the final survivors of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and the sole survivor to attend the Commemoration at Lotta Fountain in San Francisco on Monday for the 105 anniversary of the quake that destroyed much of the city.
I was assigned by the Marin IJ to cover the event which involved a moment of silence to honor those who lost their lives during the quake and subsequent fire that devoured much of the city. The fountain was the meeting point of old San Francisco, and was the location to try and find loved one's in the days after the quake.
A fire siren was played at exactly 5:12 AM, the moment the quake struck San Francisco 105 years ago.
Del Monte was only a 3-month old baby when the quake struck, and doesn't remember the event. Everyone wanted a moment with him to talk, thank him for coming, and ask him for advice how he has lived all these years (his answer: I don't know.)
But as a crowd of a few hundred (some gathered in period costume) gathered to past respect to one of the largest tragedies in the history of the city the question lingering in every one's mind was would this be the last year a survivor of the quake would attend the ceremony.
I know DelMonte told the Marin IJ he won't be back next year. I hope he does make it back.

You can view more of my photographs and read about the event on the Marin IJ website.

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.