Causes and Events

It is Official – The Derby Double

I first published this blog post on Saturday July 19, 2014, one week after the Bay Area Derby Girls regular season double header at The Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, California. The bouts decided which teams will skate for the regular season title on August 23, 2014. You can see the entire photo gallery here. I chose photos that […]


Part II – I Need Pictures

If you missed Part 1, “If I Could Write A Letter to Brad Paisley,” you can click the link and read it. Mr. Paisley or someone who can control his Twitter feed contacted me which is not as important as the issues surrounding imagery and people with disabilities. I am going to continue the discussion here. […]


If I Could Write Brad Paisley a Letter about Epilepsy

Brad, You’re not supposed to say the word Epilepsy, in a song. It’s just another Saturday night and you are probably busy. You are a big country music Celebrity, and I am just one of  millions — one of millions of Americans living with epilepsy, so I do not expect you to read this letter any more […]


Golden Bowl Derby Story

Ten Days.  That’s how long it takes for me to recover from photographing roller derby on Father’s Day weekend. (I don’t know how long it takes for the skaters.)  Photo Gallery When the schedule for the 2014 Golden Bowl roller derby tournament was released, I was excited. Four top WFTDA teams would compete at a Bay […]


Kimberly Marie Hamilton 10 Year Angel Day

I drove to Fresno County on Wednesday to visit a friend. I drove four hours one way so that I could turn around and drive three hours home. It was worth it. My long term projects have become my close friendships. Kimberly Marie Hamilton died ten years ago May 7, 2004.  Mary Minnette Sappington gathered […]


Bout Saturday Night – Wrecking Belles v San Francisco ShEvil Dead

Today, April 29, is my childhood friend Steve’s birthday. We met in second grade. Today is also Uma Thurman’s birthday. If you read my post about Bout 1, you realized that I quoted Mia Wallace, Uma Thurman’s Pulp Fiction character. I am not sure if I am old or if I have a good memory. Pulp Fiction was […]


BADG Double Header Bout 1 – Oakland v Berkeley at The Armory

The B.ay A.rea D.erby G.irls held their second Double Header of the 2014 home season in San Francisco at The Armory on Saturday, April 26, 2014. I posted a few photos on my Facebook page already, but the images look better on my derby photography website. I almost always upload galleries at www.AFlatTrackMind.com after a bout. […]


Conversations with Teachers Past

One of my photography students recently asked me, “Are you a teacher or a photographer?” I am a teacher. I have always felt that I was a teacher, although I am photographer and a student too. Often when I look through my photographs, I am surprised by my ability to take a decent picture. I […]


Sharon’s Ride for Epilepsy San Diego

Depending on when you met me in the epilepsy community, you may know me as a poised advocate who always seems to have his camera or you might know me as a nervous neurological wreck. When I first visited the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County last February, I was the awkward version of myself. This […]


National Walk for Epilepsy – Purple Day

On Saturday, I participated in the 2014 National Walk for Epilepsy in Washington, DC. It was the fifth time I attended the national event and the Epilepsy Foundation’s 8th annual walk. Today is also international Purple Day. Purple Day was started by Cassidy Megan in 2008 when she was just a kid. (She is still just […]


Emotion Blur – Part 311, Brainstorm

I got to tell you something… Today is 311 day. (March 11.) 311 is a band. 311 can be many other things too, from a government help line to a fictional area code. I am posting tonight so that my Advanced Photography students can learn more about me as a photographer with epilepsy. This week […]


Keep Calm and March On – Season Openers

On Saturday March 1, I attended two season openers. One was a campaign and the other was a sporting event. There is probably a cheap joke here, but neither event felt cheap. In the morning, I attended Libby Schaaf’s “Libby for Mayor Oakland Campaign Kickoff.” (I took a few hundred pictures; here is the edited […]


Epic Gold – Best BAD Photos from 2013 Derby Season

When I review my photos at the end of each year, I am always surprised. How did I get so lucky? Yesterday I recalled meeting track legend Tommie Smith. Today I am overwhelmed that I photograph women’s flat track roller derby for the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls. HERE IS THE 2013 GALLERY. The league has […]


Peace Love and Theft

and the greatest of these is Love. Ten days ago, my friend Chad Barth announced the lineup for 7th Annual Concert for Epilepsy. On New Year’s Eve, country artists Craig Morgan and Love and Theft will perform at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.  Ten months ago was probably my worst New Year’s Eve. Ever. In two […]


Beatitudes Society Fellows in Berkeley California

Ten days ago I photographed the 2013-14 class of Beatitudes Society’s Fellows during their retreat in Berkeley, California. The Beatitudes Society is a national Progressive Christian organization that selects emerging faith leaders who have demonstrated an ability to lead.  (You can view my photos at this link.) Originally, I had wanted to photograph the new class a day […]


We All Got Bruises – Mothers of Angels

Ten days ago I visited Martha Tessmer during my trip to Fresno, California. If you count this recent August trip, I have visited Martha and the support group she created for mothers whose children have died, the last five summers. In the previous years, I met with many of the members of the Mother of an […]


A Flat Track Mind – The 2013 BAD Championships

Saturday night I photographed the 2013 Bay Area Derby Girls Roller Derby Championships. I am almost a regular. I will probably always feel awkward referring to a grown woman as a “girl,” but derby is a place where awkwardness is normal. I might never live up to my derby photographer name either. I may never […]


Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California and Katherine Keeney

  At the beginning of this month, I photographed  Katherine Keeney, the new Executive Director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California, at the EFNC Youth Summer Camp in Occidental, California. SEE THE Photo GALLERY HERE! I also photographed the campers, counselors and the medical volunteers, including Dr. Joe Sullivan from UC San Francisco. In Northern California, […]


Geek on Light and Fiona Apple Sauce – Derby Photography Recipe

A Bay Area teacher friend drove to Brooks Institute this week for The Teachers’ Workshop. When I worked for Brooks, veteran high school photography teachers often shared stories about Brooks’ summer workshops in Santa Barbara. Teachers enjoyed meeting other high school teachers and the Brooks instructors. A few teachers recalled sailing with the founder Ernie Brooks off […]


Dog Day at Roller Derby

I went to photograph women’s flat track roller derby … and an animal adoption fair broke out. The four regular season teams of the B.ay A.rea D.erby Girls skated in a doubleheader and, though I can’t be sure of the final score, I think the all-volunteer non-profit Rocket Dog Rescue won. (To See more photos from the […]


A Tale of Two Mayors and a Shadow Photographer

Earlier this month, the Bay Area Derby Girls All-Star team hosted the roller derby club from Montreal. The Golden Girls defeated The New Skids on the Block 217-122 at the Oakland Convention Center. During half-time, Oakland’s Mayor Jean Quan proclaimed May 11, 2013 as “Bay Area Derby Girls Day” for the entire city. I have known […]


Peace Love Poetry Understanding Frosting

(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding – Nick Lowe   I had already decided to write about poetry for this blog post when I heard the Elvis Costello version of Peace, Love and Understanding and decided to change direction again. (There is a Nick Lowe version too.) I have finally filled in the third blank but I do […]


National Walk for Epilepsy

Dorothy Gale! This morning when I woke up in my own bed, I finally had an explanation to my recent eight day odyssey. I had survived three (?) Emerald Cities in eight days. I photographed two epilepsy awareness walks (Here are photos from yesterday’s National Walk for Epilepsy). My adventure included lions and super shuttles […]


Operating Instructions – Photographer With Epilepsy

I am in the Washington, D.C. area preparing for the National Walk for Epilepsy. Last Sunday, I photographed the 2013 Sharon’s Ride.Run.Walk for the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County, and though I processed the photos, I have not fully processed the experience. During the San Diego walk, I felt the emotional cost of being […]