Day 24 (Tues., June 22)

I don't know if I should hang around Sal anymore. I am not superstitious, but he just opened an umbrella indoors.

Sal now has a cast of bad luck! I can't hang out with him anymore. Haha. Well, maybe, instead, Sal shouldn't hang out with me -- I am the photographer that likes to use umbrellas to bounce light during indoor photo shoots, so what am I talking about. Anyways, Sal figured he showed off his new umbrella and couldn't wait to get a photo of it. Man, I still can't believe that it's raining so much. I don't mind. I love the rain, but coming from dried-up Los Angeles, I am not used to see so much rain. After my day off yesterday, I returned to work today. It was cool. Started the day by going on a breaking-news type of assignment. It was a small protest at the Dallas Country Administration Building. It was quite funny. Most of the protestors were high school students. Sal mentioned that some of them did not know the reason they were there to protest. Some had an idea. However, that idea wasn't the right one. Then, the funniest thing happened. I took a photo of a young man who had his face painted white (pictured below). Now, the face paint wasn't that funny. The funny part was that he had a picket sign that was misspelled. The past school year I spent a lot of time shooting photos at protests. And I have seen some odd and funny signs. However, it's kind of hard to make someone accept your view when your sign is misspelled... I am still trying to shoot without a flash. I have to say is challenging, but the photos are coming out a lot better. I can see light more now. The second-to-last photo shows a man inside the Dallas County Administration Building. I saw the light and figured it would be a good shot... Later I went to a center that gives immigrants and refugee families free immunizations for their kids. The last photo shows a 6-year-old boy who recently moved to Dallas from Mexico. I saw a lot of kids get their shots and it took me back. When I first arrived here from Mexico in 1989, I was 10 years old. My mom put us in school, but in order to go to school the office needs to have proof of immunizations. However, they did not accept the health records we brought from Mexico and I was forced to get a bunch of shots in one day (I think it was 8 shots). Going to this place reminded me of my first summer in the U.S. It was all very new to me. Now, 15 years later I am in a whole new place: Dallas. And, again, it's all new to me. I have to say the summer of '89 and the summer of '04 are very eye-opening. Wonder what I will be exploring 15 years from now. For that keep reading the journal and you might find out in 15 years. :)

It's sad, but if you can't spell... Then, your message will not get across.

Looking for light. I'm learning to shoot w/o flash.

The good old days. I remember being 10 years old and getting all my shots.

Yesterday-Main-Tomorrow