New Life, New Camera

I'm living a new life.

Gone are the days of calling photo editors pining after assignments that never materialize. Gone is the feeling of failure as a person and photographer. And after two challenging years, gone is the hurt from the layoffs.

I'm no longer just a photojournalist. I'm now a student, public servant, and social media fiend. Two days into my EPA fellowship and I feel this new life breathed into my lungs. The mood around the office is happy. No one's lurching behind their desk waiting for the axe to fall. They have goals, purpose, and an incredible team spirit. I feel like I belong.

I've been wanting to make pictures like I used to before I ever became a professional. Images fueled not by deadlines, but by my desire to see things differently. I've not had access to my trusty Nikon for hobby work for the better part of three months now. I could experiment with film again - or, I could get a BlackBerry. I chose the latter - and have been putting the little 3.1 megapixel technological marvel to work.

Welcome to my new life.

Kickin' Legs

Eight hours of shooting track & field and soccer in the blistering heat leaves one feeling a bit discombobulated.

But its done and here are some of my favorite images:

Buzz Cuts For Cancer

I had a great time today at the Cedar Hills Landfill where I photographed and wrote about several welders, truck drivers, and shop mechanics who host an annual BBQ to raise money for Relay For Life by shaving their heads.

The whole thing started five years ago when one of the automotive machinists lost his father to cancer. Since then, the team's raised several thousand dollars to go to cancer research.

Here are some fun pics!

Mexico

I took a break from photography, school and work to vacation in Mexico last week.

No, I did not catch the Swine Flu. Yes, I had a blast.

Here are some pictures from various point and shoot cameras.

More train-ing and other news

I spent some more time on The Sounder today with a new, smaller camera Joe borrowed from work. The Canon G10 is a rough and tumble point-and-shoot camera that reminds me of my dad's old Rollie film camera. He used to take that thing everywhere - it was an amazing "toy."

The sun came out in time for the M's home opener - and of course, my ride home from work.

I recently found out that I was the recipient of the EPA's NNEMS Fellowship and will be going to work for them (in Seattle) starting in June. It is weird how opportunities come lumped together - especially when it seemed it had been such a long time between them. I'm excited about the future and must remind myself that I'm living a surreal dream. They are going to have me working on multimedia and shooting photos for their website. Something tells me I'm going to like that.

Tracks that equal progress

I haven't posted in a while because I got a job where I'm not working as much with a camera. This isn't a bad thing since I'm actually getting paid a decent wage to gather content for a quarterly newsletter at King County's Solid Waste Division. I shoot images for it too. So in many ways, this new job is developing skills in me that I can hopefully use to secure a job after I graduate.

One of the best perks of this job is the Flexpass I get to ride anywhere Pierce, King or Sound Transit operates. This benefit combined with the fact that I don't own a car has proven to be invaluable as I daily ride the train to and from work. (this equals a $10 per day savings)

I was feeling artsy on my home tonight and made some images from my seat on the train.

Enjoy!

The Goat Lady

Rhonda Gothberg is a dairy goat farmer.

With 40 goats, and more on the way, she keeps herself busy from the hours before sunrise until the last chore is done and she can go to bed.

Gothberg owns and operates Gothberg Farm, which sits on 40 acres of pristine Skagit Valley farmland. In addition to milking, feeding, and taking care of her goats - Rhonda is an artesan cheesemaker . You can read all about her on her website: www.gothbergfarms.com

I had the pleasure of meeting Gothberg while on a recent assignment to her farm.

My favorite images of her follow: