2014 Sonoma County College Fair
Before I became a father, I started working for a photography college as an admissions officer. I thought that I would work for Brooks Institute for a year and then return to teaching. My life changed and I remained at Brooks for nearly five school years. Now I have a ten year old daughter and […]
The Tapestry of Art Education
Last week I attended the third annual Art is Education summer institute in Oakland, California. The Integrated Learning Summer Institute: Inventing Our Future was held at the Chabot Space and Science Museum from August 12-14, 2014. The Alameda County Office of Education’s Alliance for Arts Leadership organized the event. For links to the galleries and notes, visit […]
Caroline Yee Memorial Building at Lincoln Elementary
I could write this post for months and never say everything that I want. Perhaps the best way I can get my words around my emotions is to say that sometimes I believe in God. I mean, really believe in God. When my life is going sideways and my dreams are shattered, sometimes God seems […]
Melrose Leadership Academy 2014 Community
My two children attend Melrose Leadership Academy in Oakland, California. MLA is a Spanish dual immersion K-8 school. Our school is part of Oakland Unified School District. In previous years, I have posted more frequently about our school, but this year I have been busy teaching photography and yearbook at Pittsburg High School. Both school […]
Spring Forward Part 2 – Roller Derby Season Begins
I am an official photographers for the [wb_fb_f name=”bayareaderbygirls” id=””] . I have a camera, a press badge and a really cool derby name. (I am P Giddy.) One of my friends asked me how I lucked into this gig. I really do not know. I showed up one day after attending a bout. I […]
Fire and Flight – Runway Show 3
Hot Couture Runway Show 3 Photo Slideshow Before an artist can fly, an artist must fight. A good artist argues with him or herself. Artists are their own collaborators, their own muse, their own liberators. An artist’s process is uneasy. Art is the fire, the wood and the shadow. Non-artists usually only see the final […]
Shadows in the Jungle – Hot Couture 2014 Second Runway Show
Photo Gallery for Runway Show 2 “Life is wasted on illusion….” Bow Wow Wow, from Do You Want To Hold Me Since last weekend’s Hot Couture fashion show at The Crucible in Oakland, California, I have contemplated the relationship between the music and fashion industry. Popular artists influence hairstyles. New styles of music force designer […]
Self-Portraits, a metaphor by another name
Self-portraits are a visual diary hidden in plain sight… or so says me. (Here is my 2013 self-portrait gallery.) The Oxford Dictionary chose “selfie” as the 2013 word of the year. A selfie is similar to a self-portrait, but a selfie is meant to be shared on social media. According to the Oxford Dictionary, selfies […]
Capoeira – Batizado e Troca De Cordas
Yesterday was just another day at Melrose Leadership Academy… just another Saturday. Professor Chipa and his capoeira students performed at Melrose Leadership Academy in Oakland, California for the “Batizado e Troca De Cordas.” Melrose Leadership Academy is the Oakland Unified dual immersion elementary school that my children attend. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art/ extreme […]
Surprise Answers
I believe that people often ask us the questions we most want to avoid. We may not realize that we are avoiding the questions, and we certainly may not understand our reasons for doing so, because the reasons reveal insecurities. Sometimes, the difficult questions appear easy, such as, “How long have you been a photographer.” […]
Emotion Blur – Part 1
I was dreaming when I wrote this. Forgive me if goes astray…. (Prince 1999) Before I begin writing, I usually want to know where my article is going to take me, but I know from previous experience, writing is a process. I have actually published a few blog posts, but nothing that has captured the […]
Every Day is Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Until this year, I waited until Thanksgiving to thank people… and then something changed. more later… now time to play football. Here is an old post about Stogie Bowl from 2009. Here is something a little more recent (2012.) It is later. Early this year, my former priest, Robert Cromey, […]
Marketing for Superman and the Devil
One of my students wore a shirt today with the words, “It started with a smile.” The shirt reminded me of one of my previous blog posts as well as a song lyric to (Everybody Talks) “It Started with a Whisper.” I talk. I talk to myself. I talk to my pictures. They talk back. […]
Sonoma County College & Career-Ready Fair
Last week I attended the2013 Sonoma County College & Career-Ready Fair at Windsor High School. Almost ten years ago, I had an idea that high school students in Sonoma County should have a Fall college fair. I worked for a college and when I visited the local high schools, I realized that many schools had eliminated […]
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 […]
On Track – Nine Years Later
The Friday after photographing the Bay Area band Train, I took the Railroad Avenue off ramp and started my new job with Pittsburg Unified School District. I am teaching photography and advising the yearbook at Pittsburg High School. My first day with PUSD was also the ninth anniversary of the day my father shot himself. […]
Melrose Leadership Kindergarten and First Grade Photos
Registration just started for the 2013-2014 school year. Kindergarten families and first graders register today. (I remember registering our first child before the Spanish immersion program started. We were scared!) Many people worry when they send kids to school… any school, so I thought I would post the galleries from last year’s kindergarten and first […]
The Dual Immersion Curriculum Development Institute
When I first became a parent, I felt as if I had joined a secret club. Membership included our own version of a secret handshake too. (It is a sleepy head nod.) New parents could identify each other anywhere. We would also commiserate about our lack of sleep and share our humbling experience of becoming […]
Melrose Leadership Academy Spring Performance
Besides learning Spanish and English, Melrose Leadership Academy students also learn presentation skills. In the four years of the Spanish dual immersion bilingual program, my daughter has participated at least nine times during a “presentation expo.” There is always a Winter Expo and a Spring Expo. A few times the students perform twice each season. […]
JEA NSPA Spring 2013 Leave Your Heart Everywhere
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” John Lennon As one of the local committee members who planned the 2013 Spring JEA National Convention, I was busy creating expectations. After the last convention in San Antonio, I even thought that I would influence the story. Wrong. I did not even control my […]
Getting Closer to the JEA Digital Photography Workshop
“If your photographs are not good enough, you are not close enough.” – Robert Capa (1913-1954) Getting closer is a useful skill, and as we “get closer” to the 2013 Spring National High School Journalism Convention, I have been contemplating Capa’s quote and the meaning of “getting closer.” On the first day of the convention, […]
Photography Portfolios – What Do We Do Next
One year ago today, Mark Murray and I presented a workshop about photography portfolios at the 2012 Spring JEA/NSPA National Convention. He and I have presented together for several years. How we present changes each time, because each convention space influences the presentation. The rooms are different sizes. Some conventions have more workshops and fewer […]
Sausal Creek Trail Field Trip for Melrose Leadership Academy
I often tell my son, “Today is a good day. Do you know why?” He does. If he is having trouble, he reluctantly answers, “Because you get to spend it with me.” And it is true. Every day I spend with my boy (or my daughter) is a good day. Yesterday, was a great day, […]
testing comments plugin
feel free to ignore. trying to fix my comment plug ins. many of my imported comments only appear with the following tag (comments imported from blog) … not content So, instead of actually importing the comments on Facebook sites, everyone can only see that there were comments. Not very user friendly. I should have […]