My relationship with my dad is one of the most important in my life. He's always seemed to 'get' me, always able to pinpoint the exact thing that bothers me or brings me joy. We share the same sweet tooth, an appreciation for small cute critters, and an irreverent, dry wit. I'm immune to most appeals to Hallmark sentimentality, but when it comes to depictions of Dads and Daughters I cry every time.
The Statesman called me last month to spend a morning with a group of girls who recently lost their dads. A faith-based organization called the Kids Outdoor Zone brings them together for a group discussion about their loss and then leads them into the great outdoors. I fell instantly in love with the cause of KOZ.
It was a gray, drizzly morning but the girls were bright spots of love for each other. You can read Joshunda Sanders' story here.
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(Left to right) Nicole Basey, Kendal Rhodes, and Amy McInnes say a prayer during a KOZ group meeting on Saturday May 21, 2011. Kids Outdoor Zone is a youth ministry devoted to helping girls who have lost a father. |
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Destiny Richter, 12, (left) and Salem Severance, 9, right, look for a passage about faith the size of a mustard seed in the New Testament. |
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CC Vantrease, right, gives a reassuring hug to Salem Severance, second from right, as they lead KOZ group members to an open field for a lesson in tent construction at Mary Moore Searight Park in South Austin. |
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Salem Severance, left, and CC Vantrease, right, fold up tent poles while singing a song about team work. |
I've had a series of delicious assignments recently for the Statesman. Thanks, Nell! I shot Bryce Gilmore last year for the Dallas Morning News for his awesome Odd Duck trailer in South Austin. This January Bryce opened a brick and mortar location called Barley Swine, combining his love of all things pork with microbrews from around the country. Brilliant combination. Maybe that's why Bryce was recently named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs of 2011.
There's more than pork on the menu, my favorites, the crab stuffed crepe and barley crumble dessert, are below. You can read the long form review here, but my opinion, two pints up!
This legislative session has been a non-stop series of protests at the capitol over projected budget cuts and shortfalls. Some days crowds swell into the tens of thousands, other days only a handful show up to fight for their cause. Whatever the size, their passion and sense of urgency is the same.
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| Ron Cranston, center, of Austin, listens to speakers during a Don't Wreck Texas rally at the capitol on April 1, 2011. Several organizations including the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities participated in an all-day rally and vigil while the Texas House debates HB1 the budget bill that many expect will cut funding to state programs and services. |
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| A mock funeral was held on the south steps of the capitol with coffins representing programs affected by projected budget cuts. |
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| Dwight Harris, of Victoria, holds a coffin representing funding for nursing homes during a mock funeral on the steps of the capitol. |
Morgan Spurlock, the man who enlightened us and totally grossed us out with 'Super-Size Me,' came through Austin promoting his new documentary 'The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.' Spurlock once again takes us on his personal journey, this time into the land of advertising and product placement.
Thus ends the "5-minutes with famous people" posts.
The comedic film duo that brought the world 'Shaun of the Dead,' Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, came through Austin promoting their new film 'Paul' about two English comic-book nerds who take an All-American RV roadtrip from Comic-Con to the fabled alien sites in the US. We had five minutes with these guys, but they were the funniest five minutes I've had in awhile.
Susanne Bier won this year's Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film for In a Better World. I had just heard a great interview with her on Fresh Air when I got a call to make the most of our ten minutes with Bier at the W Hotel in downtown Austin. You can read Chris Vognar's interview with Bier here.
In a Better World explores the themes of bullying, justice, and the cycle of violence in both small-town Denmark and war-torn Sudan, linking the mundane punishments of school children to the cruelty of warlords.
Ah, Fiesta time in San Antonio. It's our version of Mardi Gras - 11 days of parades, crowds, adult beverages, delish food, music, revelry, and afterward, mountains of trash.
This year San Antonio's Mayor Julián Castro is appealing to the better nature of the estimated 3.5 million Fiesta-goers asking them to clean up after themselves with a new recycling initiative and more plentiful trash cans. The recycling program has taken off, but does nothing for the millions of confetti pieces left behind from the traditional cascarones. There is an app for that, but so far the analog smashing of egg shells remains the most popular. I'm still finding confetti in my camera bag.
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| Streets are clean an hour before the gates open on Night in Old San Antonio (NIOSA) in downtown San Antonio. |
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| Edna Jimenez arranges cascarones for sale in a basket on Villita street. Jimenez has been working the event for 28 years and estimates she sells over 2,000 of the confetti filled eggs each night of Fiesta. |
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| Kieran Mason, 20, left, holds Tyler Knight, 7, center, as Cameron Toomey, 19, right, cracks a cascarone over his head. Cascarones are empty egg shells filled with confetti and are cracked over the head of friends and loved ones for good luck and the fun of it. |
Most of my assignments these days boil down to portraits. As a freelancer, most of my calls come after some big news event has happened and editors need the photos yesterday. Whenever I can, I broaden the scope to include documentary shooting. If the deadline is flexible and some meaningful interaction close at hand, I'm happy to put in the extra time. These are the photos that are the most revealing to me, the ones I love to make.
At a recent portrait assignment, I sat in on an interview with Gilbert Ramirez and his wife Jane. Like many east Austin residents, they're worried about rising property taxes and the loss of community as older families move out and new neighbors settle in. Gilbert told me about his neighborhood's communal tool shed and a commitment to help elderly residents with their yard work. There's community spirit in action.
With a long lead-time on publication, I went back a few days later when a group of neighbors came together to help Maddie Collins get her yard into shape for spring. The paper might still run the portrait, but I'm more fulfilled as a photographer, story-teller, and neighbor by making the extra effort.
