Day 19 (Mon., Sept. 19)

Today seemed like it was going to be a slow day. I was a little tired because I didn't have a full day off last week. But my schedule was pretty clear today, so I didn't have to worry much. That's until a few minutes before my shift was over and I was asked to go cover a local angle on tropical storm Rita. Many residents of Monroe County in the Florida Keys were taken to Florida International University in Miami for shelter. I was sent there to document what was going on.

I met some really cool people. I talked w/ Susan and Jason, a transient couple, who hitchhiked to Key West all the way from Oregon. I also met Gilbert and Karl, two musicians who were on the road. I also met Judy and her three-week-old boy, Rene. They are photographed above as she fed him. It's crazy how the baby has lived such a short life, but has been through Katrina and Rita, a pair of two meaningful hurricanes in a long time. The baby's grandmother (center) and aunt are in the background eating a hot meal from the Red Cross at the shelter. They are neighbors of a 79-year-old lady from Peru, who I met earlier. She took a few belongings w/ her, including her U.S. Citizenship certificate. It was cool to see that this is the most important of the old lady's possessions.

My photos, however, did not get to the newspaper office in time. Unfortunately, I didn't meet deadline. That's because every Starbucks in town closed down early because of the weather conditions. The Borders, which was just three blocks away was closed, too. I have wireless access on my laptop at these locations, but it's no good if these places are closed. I tried working near a window of Starbucks, but that didn't give me much luck. When I finally found an open location, I was 15 minutes late. I feel awful. Today I didn't succeed.

The photo does work, however. It's what Roberto Sanchez at Al Dia and my CSUN professor, Todd Bigelow, have been trying to teach me. Front and back. The layering of a photograph. It's the composition that makes a photo strong. But if I am shooting for publication and I don't make deadline, then it's worthless -- to some extent. I have been congratulated by some editors who have seen some of my best work that has never made it into publication. I shoot photos because I love to shoot, but I don't just shoot them to make a buck. Getting paid for doing it is great, but that's not the real reason why I choose to make photographs.

Yesterday - Main - Tomorrow