May 23: The birth of my sister Nancy's twins was very symbolic this week. On Friday, May 21, at 11:51, Nestor Xavier was born. A minute later, his sister, Rebecca, followed him into the world at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills. Both babies were healthy and big, weighing a combined 13 pounds, 11 ounces.

I say their birth was symbolic because of the eventful week. On Tuesday, I was given the good news that I was accepted as the Al Dia Newspaper's photography intern for the summer. This week will include packing up and getting ready to spend the summer working for this publication. Starting, Monday May 31st, I will have a photo diary of the whole internship happenings. So check back then to see what I have been up to during this adventure.

However, accepting this internship meant I had to say goodbye to the Los Angles Daily News, a newspaper that I have called home for the last six years. Their staff has become a part of my family and saying goodbye was hard. So the birth of Nancy's kids highlight the beginning of a new life. And in some sort of way, it marks the beginning of my new post-Daily News life.

Cortez Pic of the Week -- This section will feature a photo that will highlight what the previous week was like for me. The idea is to show what my lens saw and how my applied techniques made it work. Some photos, if not most, will have some sort of technical flaw, which I will observe for the following week in hopes of improving. Sometimes the photography will feature what I thought about before, during and/or after the image was made. If you have any thoughts, concerns, tips or just want to laugh at me; please let me know by e-mailing me your thoughts at JulyThePhotoGuy@aol.com