The Unseen

Here are some images from the last week that did not make the print version of the Northeast Times. It's kind of a bummer when that happens, but hey, that's what a blog is for, right?

Jeremy Boukey, 5, slides down the slide at Pelbano Playground on Thursday April 14.

Philadelphia University / Archbishop Ryan Alumn Kevin McGovern throws a fastball clocked at 92 miles per hour.

Kevin Montague takes video of a dance group at Stearne Elementary School. The school hosted a Father Figure Day on Wednesday April 13 to honor fathers, grandfathers, uncles and other important male role models.

City Council candidate Bobby Henon stands next to Darren Daulton as the ex-Phillies catcher signs autographs for fans at the candidate's headquarters on April 12.

Jeanette Jablonski, 3, laughs as Helena Edwards gives her a push on the swings at Pelbano Playground.

Cherry Blossom Festival at Morris Arboretum

Last weekend I shot a cherry blossom festival at Morris Arboretum for WHYY's Newsworks. I've been to Morris before and was really excited to go back while cherry blossoms (one of my favorite trees) were in full bloom and also to see the various Japanese cultural events that were planned. I showed up early on Saturday to find bare branches but large crowds and beautiful weather. I was a little disappointed at first but decided to take another angle. Instead of solely focusing on photography, I thought this would be a great opportunity to test out my new audio equipment. I interviewed several subjects to get their take on the day and shot a lot of photos of the Japanese celebrations which continued despite the lack of cherry blossoms.
Here is the result :

Brennan & Associates

I interviewed Sean Brennan for a business story I was working on for WHYY. Sean was a great source and mentioned that he wanted to update the photos on the website for his business, Brennan & Associates. After the story ran Sean quickly reached out to me about shooting for him, here are a few images :

Portrait session with my Alien Bees light

It's been a while since my last post, I feel like I'm neglecting my poor blog. I have been working a lot, writing mostly, but also working on a short-term story on veterans. Anyway, here are a few preliminary photos, "sketches" maybe, that will be used on a website for the band In Grenada...

Josh

Jesse

Chris

Samuel Fels High School boy's swim team

It's been a while since I have posted anything, and not because I haven't been busy. I have a few projects in the works and hope to start posting in the coming weeks.
But for now, here are some photos I took of Samuel Fels HS boy's swim team. We were working on a general story about the team which is in its debut season. Their coach informed me that many of the boys had little experience in the water nine weeks ago. These were shot on Friday Feb. 4 during their last meet against George Washington HS.

Moms Interrupted

After nearly a year of research, interviews, and photographing women in prison and their families as well as countless social workers who advocate on their behalf, my story is finally being published in the Northeast Times! I'm so excited to see this in print, although it feels a little surreal at the moment considering the amount of work that went into it and the countless hours I spent on it. I'm so thankful that the Philadelphia Prison System worked with me as well as the wonderful people at MOMobile, not to mention the women who shared their stories with me and their families. Here is the finished product :

Black Friday Shopping

I spent a large portion of my Black Friday hunting for shoppers, not deals. I had gotten a call from an editor at WHYY's Newsworks blog saying that they wanted to do a story on the busy shopping day. We quickly realized that while some neighborhoods felt the holiday rush, in other areas, this was not so much the case. We were hearing a lot of comments from people that they would be going to the mall or they knew people who were at the mall rather than a shopping district in Chestnut Hill, Roxborough, Germantown or Manyunk. It was a fun day though and I got some interesting images. Here are a few.

A young woman glances at the shoe selection in Rainbow on Chelten Ave. in Germantown.

Shoppers walking down Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill.

Gael Alvarez, 3, attempts to make a convincing argument for a toy car set to his mother Rachel in O'Doodles in Chestnut Hill.

Chrissy DiPaolo looks at her reflection in a nearby mirror in Nicole Miller in Manyunk. The designer store held a White Friday sale with some gowns in the low 100s.

Holiday shoppers crowd the aisles and check-out lines of Kohl's in Roxborough.

Kristy Tomlinson

Here is a photo of Kristy Tomlinson, a senior short-stop and third baseman at Franklin Towne Charter who recently signed a letter of intent with Holy Family University. Unfortunately we didn't have any file photos of Kristy in action from last season so we needed a posed shot. Luckily I absolutely love shooting sports portraits, especially outdoors and I had a few ideas for how I was going to shoot Kristy. Don't get me wrong, shooting a live game is a lot of fun and I love the energy you feel in a packed stadium, field or gym. But I love the chance to have more control over movement and play with lighting. By the way, Kristy was a great sport, as not all athletes are completely willing to run around and perform actions in super-slow motion while I shine a bright light in their face. I don't use anything too fancy; just a strobe, umbrella and a SC-28 cord. Anyway I was pretty excited with the results and I particularly love the blue hues in the photos.

Archbishop Ryan's Rose Phress

Rose Phress, a senior golfer at Archbishop Ryan High School, is the school's first female golfer in school history and is currently the top shooter in the Philadelphia Catholic League. Phress is currently competing in the State Championships.

Phress holds a golf ball from her bag on which she has written the name of her grandmother, Sam, whom Rose has dedicated the season to after losing a battle with cancer.

Frankford Pioneers vs. Lincoln Railsplitters

A few shots from a game I covered at Lincoln High School on Friday. We did a feature on quarterback Mike McGroarty from Frankford High School. The Pioneers defeated the Railsplitters, 34-6.

Plaque Dedication for Sgt. Timothy Simpson

I have covered a number of plaque dedications over the past few years, sadly, this one being dedicated to the memory of Sgt. Timothy Simpson, a 24th district police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 2008 in Port Richmond. His family was in attendence, as was hundreds of police officers and city officials.


Kathy Simpson, widow of Sgt. Timothy Simpson held a somber gaze during the plaque dedication in honor of her husband in front of the 24th Police District on Wednesday Oct. 13. To her right are her children Courtney, 13, Terry, 17, and Samantha, 17, who is accompanied by her boyfriend, Ian O'Grady, 17.

Top of the Tower part 2

Here are a few more shots from the Sean Anthony show. Designer Lori Ruffin wanted shots of each garment as the models posed at the end of the runway so that's what you're seeing here. The models were great and we were able to talk about poses before the show so all of us were prepared and knew what to expect.