Jeff Kennel Photography

Proud Ground Video

2012-01-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a recent video I made with Proud Ground, an amazing non-profit that helps low-income first-time homebuyers get into quality homes in normal neighborhoods. Rebecca and I actually bought our condo with them and we couldn't have worked with a nicer organization. If you're looking for a place in Portland, please check them out.

New Smart Car University of Portland Video

2012-01-11T15:35:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest video I made for the University of Portland playing at all home basketball games.

The idea was pretty straight forward. We unfortunately didn't have a lot of time, although this is pretty typical. A dept. wants a video and comes to marketing at the last minute with a short deadline. Not ideal, but pretty standard. We sketch out a rough idea for it and work on scheduling the shoot. In this case we had to shoot it in about 3 hours as the coach is super busy and they were leaving town for a couple weeks for some games on the road.

It was shot with a couple lenses (tried the new Tamron 16-28mm f2.8, which was is surprisingly high quality, although heavy and lacks the ability to use a screw on filter) and a 5d mark ii. Edited in Premiere 5.5 with magic bullets color grading.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

Onward! To 2012!

Hello human.

A mass Elk mooning. Considered good luck in these parts.

We stayed at the the once NY Times food critic and American chef James Beard's house located in Gearhart, Oregon. James was large but his house was small.

Leo looking back on 2011 and shortly thereafter taking a satisfying crap in the tall grass, a fitting farewell.

Thomas Garran | Chinese Traditional Medicine Practitioner & Herbalist

2011-12-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Beijing Art District 798

2011-11-26T23:56:00.001-08:00

Work Related Hazards

2011-11-24T14:22:00.001-08:00

An unusual thing happened to me the other day while out shooting the "3 Bans and 4 No's for the Chengguan" story here in Beijing. I was shooting b-roll of Beijing street vendors on a pedestrian overpass. A young boy walked by carrying his goods and table (see above) and I panned to film him as he walked down the stairs. A nice shot I thought showing how portable their stuff needs to be in order to pack up and be gone at a moment's notice.
Instead of continuing down the stairs though, he carefully put down his stuff, turned around and pulled out a switchblade. Then he slowly came at me. In all the places I've photographed around the world some people have gotten agressive and yelled at me to stop photographing. It happens and there is a gray line where you have to decide if it is worth what you're shooting or if you've crossed the line and are being a jerk. I didn't think I crossed that line here, but it seemed he strongly disagreed.
What was a bit scary about this day and this boy was that he very calmly pulled out his knife and came at me with real determination. No yelling, no emotion, just a look of "hey a-hole, i don't appreciate you filming me and now I'd like to stab you."
Long-time photojournalist Sharron Lovell was surprised and said it was quite rare for someone to do that in China. Lucky me. If they did pull out a knife in public, then it's very serious, she said, as it isn't done for show or as a bluff. They probably intend on using it.
As soon as I heard the blade click out, a motion he made so natural, and realized "holy shit, this kid is going to stab me," the old English teacher in me came out. I turned off and lowered the camera (something in hindsight I think I should have left rolling) and yelled in broken Mandarin, "Ni gun shenma!?" -- "What are you doing?" The other vendors and passersby turned their heads but said nothing, a common occurrence in China. On a side note, while in Northeastern China (Jilin Province) I had a large beer bottle thrown at me while just walking down the street. He was an old crazy looking man. The bottle broke at my feet and a huge crowd formed around me and the crazy guy, something akin to the Indiana Jones scene where the guy had a sword and Jones shot him was running through my head. Everyone gathered around to see what the Yanguizhe (foreign devil) would do. A rare silence fell on the crowd. Time screeched to a crawl. Two options popped into my head, fight or flight. I stood there thinking a Chinese person would come to my aid, yell at the old man and maybe even apologize to me for what happened. This was not going to happen so I slowly turned around and pushed my way out of the crowd.
Back to the story, I said as sternly as I could, "Jiega shur hao ma?" "Is that good (what you're doing)?" I'm not sure why, but this made him stop. He turned around and put his knife back in his pocket. I asked him "Nida mingzhe shur shenma?" "What's your name?" He said something. I walked down the stairs put my head close to his and asked him politely again. He turned back into a nice young boy and answered. I introduced myself and pulled out my big camera and showed it to him. I asked him to take it and look into the viewfinder to take a photo. He did but said he didn't understand how to use it. I showed him how. He smiled and in a small way became friends.
After he finished setting up his table and goods down the stairs he came back up to see what it was we were doing. I kept an eye on him as my paranoid self imagined him stabbing me from behind saying "Don't ever point that camera at me again foreigner!" But he didn't of course. He found out that we were doing a story about the police that come and harass and sometimes abuse people like him and I think in some small way be became comrades.

3 Bans and 4 No's for the Chengguan

2011-11-24T14:20:00.001-08:00

by Jeff Kennel

"Don't be so chengguan!" is becoming a common expression in China if you're being overly aggressive or a bully. It has found it's way into the popular lexicon thanks to the steady stream of excessive abuse, and even death in a few cases, inflicted on street vendors around the country by the Urban Inspection Force or Chengguan. The government agency includes 7,000 urban management officers and 6,500 security guards and their main duties involves busting illegal street vendors.

In China, selling fruit, slippers or cell phone cases on the street is their only means of survival.
General public opinion in China is that they act as thugs, criminals and bullies. According to the first Chengguan Image Analysis Report that released in May of 2011, the Chengguan image "has been demonized among internet users due to their conflicts with civilians over the past several years." The report goes on to say that this demonization is due to bad PR and public prejudice.

The Chinese government has been desperately trying to change that image, resorting to changes in uniform color (to a more friendly hue of blue in some cities) to hiring pretty women on rollerblades.

But their image seems to be a bit better in Beijing than it does in other parts of China. Liu Xing (left) is a college drop out from Tonghua, a small town in northeast China. He runs an illegal business on an overpass in northwestern Beijing selling and installing LCD screen protectors for cell phones and other devices. "The Chengguan here are my friends," he explains. "They come around several times a month. We talk and they tell me I have to leave. There is no trouble. They don't make me pay and they aren't abusive."

Maybe the bad apples have spoiled the bunch because the government is looking to reign in the powers and abuses of the Chengguan. The Beijing Evening News reports that the government has instituted what is known as the "three bans and four no's." From now on there will be no forceful temporary seizure of goods, no forceful check on vehicles, no chasing vehicles and no chasing people on foot. No mention if chasing them by rollerblades is allowed. The three bans include a ban on beating, abusing or insulting the other party, a ban on taking goods and ban on giving advance notice of any action. That should clear things up nicely. No doubt that was confusing before.

The Beijing Urban Management Authority Chief Li Runhua told the Beijing Evening News however, that they will crack down on violent resistance from vendors in order to protect the rights of the Chengguan. How violent those crackdowns will be will likely shape the Chengguan's image much more than 3 No's and 4 Ban's on paper.

Week 7 Assignment

2011-11-12T19:25:00.001-08:00

www.proudground150.blogspot.com

Week 6 DSLR Video Skills Training: Eid al-Adha, Festival of Sacrifice Prayer Service

2011-11-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

Portland, Oregon--

Thousands of Muslims from the Portland metro-area gathered at the Portland Expo Center to take part in a prayer service as part of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice. It is one of two Eid holidays and one of the most important religious festivals on the Muslim calendar.

Graphic Design Madness

2011-11-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

Prof. Aziz Inan here at the University of Portland asked me to design a graphic for him that illustrates the palindrome date of Nov. 2, 2011 (10/02/2011). Under his art direction, this is what we came up with. It has been picked up in about 20 newspapers (Los Angeles Times above) and TV station blogs, usually under the "weird news" heading. His photo there is also a "palindrome"...cut in half and reflected.

IMMJ Writing Assignment Week 5

2011-10-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've been googling "standard wire service format" but am still unclear of how to do this. I'll revise it after consulting with DJ.

Scam Artist Targets Unsuspecting North Portland Shoppers

by Jeff Kennel

Published: Oct. 30th, 2011

Yoga instructor and North Portland resident Mia Kennel knew something strange was going on as she watched a woman leaving and entering the Fred Meyer at 7404 North Interstate Avenue with different people over a 1 hour period. Not content to just watch she decided to do something about it.

"I was waiting in line forever to return an item at Fred Meyer and saw this woman going in and out of the store, each time with a different white person and each time they would be buying different things for her. This didn't seem normal. She looked nervous while she stood in line with them as they bought her groceries and other items. I decided to follow her outside to see what was going on. She would approach different people each time with different stories. From "Could you help me out, I need to buy some groceries for my kids," to "My car ran out of fuel and I need money to buy a gas can and some gas."

Eventually, according to Mia, she would hook someone and they would be pulling out their wallets or taking her into the store to buy her groceries. "She always approached the same type of people- sweet-looking older white people, middle-aged 'hipster' white mothers and young college aged white kids."

Mia was upset and decided to do something about it. Mia approached one of the woman's victim who was helping her buy some groceries and said "Excuse me, this woman is scamming you. I've seen her do this with many other people." The woman became irate according to Mrs. Kennel and denied that she was scamming people. "She then said something strange. She said, 'I'm not going to go buy drugs. I don't do drugs,' which isn't anything I even accused her of."

"The woman stormed off and I thought that was the end of that."

A few days later while taking her dog out for his morning walk she saw a woman knocking on a neighbor's door, a strange thing to be happening at 7:30 in the morning.

"Although it was early, I really didn't think anything of it until I started talking with her. She said she was looking for John, my neighbor. She said they worked together and he wasn't answering his phone or coming to the door. She then told me her car ran out of gas and she needed some gas money. I said sorry, I couldn't help her and she left. About 5 minutes later I realized that it was the same woman from Fred Meyer! Her voice was very distinct."

Later that morning Mia got in touch with John, her neighbor, to see if he knew the woman.

"I helped her out a few days ago," recounted John. "She said she needed a ride to a drug store to buy some medicine for her elderly grandmother. I felt bad for her so I gave her a ride and bought her the medicine. She said she wanted to thank me by taking me out to lunch later in the week, so I gave her my phone number. I see now that she was just ripping me off. She is very good at what she does. Very convincing."

John and Mia decided to contact the police. They had her first name (at least what she had given them) and telephone number. The police said that they couldn't do anything just based on their stories. She would have to commit a crime for them to do anything.

"It's too bad that there is nothing legally we can really do," says Mia. "People like her are out taking advantage of others. Basically stealing from them. If the police won't do anything, I will. I'm going to put up flyers at that Fred Meyer warning people and around my neighborhood. Sooner or later everyone will know about her."

Snaps of the University of Portland

2011-10-27T18:30:00.001-07:00

A few photos around the campus of the University of Portland, where I work.

IMMJ Assignment Week 4: Photo Gallery: A New Kind of Starbucks

2011-10-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

IMMJ Assignment Week 4: Post a photo gallery on your digital space with images captioned and meta dated using an appropriate workflow.

A New Kind of Starbucks

2011-10-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Assignment:

Produce a 1.5-2.5 minute video + 4 – 10 picture photo story of a national news event using a mobile phone/ipod touch or point and shoot camera. We suggest you check the newspapers, TV news and web to see what is happening or find a newsworthy issue to illustrate. Post a photo gallery on your digital space with images captioned and meta dated using an appropriate workflow. You also need to post the video and add text, maps, microblog feeds if need be to explain the story. The object of the exercise is to test your resourcefulness in adapting to a breaking news story without your equipment backpack. The deadline for the assignment is October 23rd.

Voices of Occupy Portland: Julie

2011-10-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Interview with Julie from SE Portland at Chapman Park (Occupy Portland HQ) about why she is part of the Occupy Portland protests. USA. 11 Oct. 2011

IMMJ Audio Assignment: Week 1 *Updated

2011-10-10T16:08:00.001-07:00

2: Produce a 1.5-2.5 minute audio story of a national news event. An MP3 Audio File should be processed, captioned and meta dated using an appropriate workflow. The audio file should be uploaded to your blog (to embed use audio boo or soundcloud).

I realized I went over the 2.5 min. limit. Here's a revised version:

Occupy Portland Audio Assignment by jeffkennel

Occupy Portland protesters, estimated at 5,000, gathered at the Waterfront Park to voice their concerns about a range of issues from the economy and financial system to marijuana prohibition and unemployment. USA. 6th October 2011

IMMJ Video Assignment: Week 1

2011-10-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

3: Produce a 1.5-2.5 minute video news or feature story. An FLV File should be processed, captioned and meta dated using an appropriate workflow. The video file should be uploaded to your blog. Please make sure there is a good explanation of the story in the metadata on the FLV.

Occupy Portland protesters, estimated at 5,000, gathered at the Waterfront Park to voice their concerns about a range of issues from the economy and financial system to marijuana prohibition and unemployment. USA. 6th October 2011.

media: Jeff Kennel

IMMJ Photo Assignment: Week 1

2011-10-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

1: Produce a 4-picture story of a national news event. Check the newspapers, TV news and web to see what is happening or find a newsworthy issue to illustrate. Images should be processed, captioned & meta dated and uploaded to your blog.

Occupy Portland protesters gathered at the Waterfront near SW Ankeny and Naito Parkway on October 6th, 2011 to voice their concerns about a range of issues from the economy and financial system to marijuana prohibition and unemployment. Photo: Jeff Kennel

A protester at the Occupy Portland gathering on October 6th, 2011 holds up a sign reading, "This is a non-violent demonstration". Photo: Jeff Kennel

A man holds up a handmade sign during the Occupy Portland protest on October 6th, 2011 reading, "Go Beyond Captialism Investigate Resource-Based Economy." Photo: Jeff Kennel

Although largely Caucasian, much like Portland, the estimated 5,000 strong Occupy Portland crowd on October 6th, 2011 was diverse in terms of age and gender. Photo: Jeff Kennel

Pilot Soccer Fans @ UP vs Washington State Game 8/26/2011

2011-10-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

Fan project for UP Marketing Dept.

University of Portland Freshman Volunteer for SOLV at Baltimore Woods

2011-10-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

Multimedia piece shot for the Moreau Center for Service and Learning here at UP.

Sat. Sept. 3rd

Portland, Oregon--

The entire University of Portland freshman class volunteered on Saturday, September 3 as part of the University's "Building Community: Serving to Learn" program. All 835 students from the class of 2015, as well as dozens of other students, faculty, and staff, participated in the daylong program, which marks their first full weekend as University of Portland students.

Latest Work: Pilot Club Video

2011-09-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

Exhibition at Andina Restaurant for First Thursday

2011-07-31T15:54:00.001-07:00

I'll be showing some of my work from Peru at Andina during the Pearl District's first Thursday gallery night. Please come if you're in town.

Trip to Nicaragua

2011-06-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Some photos from a recent trip to Nicaragua to document a Service and Learning trip for the University of Portland.

Remembering Tripoli, Libya

2011-03-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

I visited Tripoli, Libya while on the Peace Boat back in 2005. I was amazed by the warmth and openness of the people and the severe paranoia that greeted us from the government. Walking around the city that day I met three men around my age at the time (28 yrs. old). They looked like Hip-Hop stars, or a Libyan version of American Rappers. They invited me to their home where their mother cooked us a fantastic dinner. I was a bit skeptical as to their intentions but they were just super curious about my life and news from outside Libya. Americans are not a common site in Libya as you can imagine. To have one over for dinner, even rarer. At that time Libya was just beginning to open up to mostly European tourists after formally apologizing for the Libyan state sponsored Lockerbie bombing and being taken off the U.S. list of terrorist nations.

I wonder if those 3 young men I met are battling in the streets of Tripoli right now.

the hole plant

2011-02-12T08:06:00.001-08:00

The Gordon House by Frank Lloyd Wright

2011-02-12T08:04:00.001-08:00

Forest Park Trail Runner Video

2011-02-12T08:01:00.000-08:00

Earth Expedition--Belize--Global Field Project--Miami University of Ohio

2010-07-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

A bunch of photos (hastily organized) from my recent Earth Expeditions Graduate Field Program in Belize.

Some Previous Work

2010-05-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

England's quick and nimble Jessica Clarke (left) was relentless, passing New Zealand's Anna Greene time after time to create chances that England failed to capitalized on.

For those interested in seeing more: jeffkennelphotography.blogspot.com/2008/11/fifa-u-20-worl...

Rural students in Chanleas Dai, Cambodia are part of a pilot program started by NGO PEPY Ride (www.pepyride.org) that provides not only XO laptops, but also a sat-link internet connection, a teacher trained in how to best implement the XOs into the curriculum and hands-on support.

Portrait of Lily

Cycling is the national sport of Eritrea...like some really great old expresso machines it was handed down from their days under Italian rule. Sunday is the big race day in Massawa, drawing hundreds of spectators and young hopefuls.

Dave and Terri's 20th Anniversary

2010-05-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Terri and Dave wanted casual documentary style photographs to celebrate their 20th anniversary. This slideshow was part of the package to help them share their photos with friends and family on social networking sites.

Jewellery by Gisella

2010-05-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Shots from a quick and dirty shoot for Hong Kong/Chiang Mai based jewelry designer Gisella.

Conservation, Education & Media Production--Back to School!

2010-04-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

My blog has been pretty quiet recently, but here's some great news. I've been accepted into a part-time and mostly online graduate program that really gets me excited and will be putting me in a direction (production of environmental and conservation-based media) that I can see dedicating the rest of my life to. I'll start this Global Field Program (I'll be getting an MA in Zoology) with a trip to Belize this summer to study Howler monkeys, Manatees, coral reefs, inquiry-based education and community-based conservation, among other topics.

**UPDATE: I have decided to find a Master's program more suited to my learning style (online just doesn't do it for me) and more suited to what I like to do, make media. Chalk it up to another "have to try things to know if they'll work or not."

Patara Elephant Farm

2009-11-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

"Patara Elephant Farm is a Thai owned and managed farm focusing on health-care and breeding management for friendly, beautiful and special elephants to produce healthy elephants to live on Earth..." www.pataraelephantfarm.com

Chiang Mai, Thailand

The Botany of Desire

2009-10-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

Often, spinning around in my own washing machine of thought that is usually stuck on Normal cycle; warm|warm, I forget how wonderful it is to encounter new ideas and ways of thinking, especially in regard to tangible everyday things. Plants domesticating humans...fantastic!

Leftbank/Stumptown Coffee Summit

2009-10-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago Leftbank held a panel discussion and tasting organized and hosted by Stumptown Coffee Roasters. They brought in coffee farmers and buyers from Kenya, Costa Rica and Colombia and discussed direct trade, development and how Stumptown is spearheading a farm-to-cup culture that is a win-win-win scenario for the coffee farmer, the buyer and finally, the consumer. It was great to hear directly from farmers about how direct trade is helping them improve their lives, their business and their coffee.

Mr. Leo

2009-09-22T11:29:00.001-07:00

leo

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

2009-09-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

I took a photograph of this octopus tentacle a while back and thought it would make a great cover to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.

5d Mark II Video Fun

2009-09-20T11:45:00.001-07:00

Playing around with a steadycam system I've made for the 5d mark ii.

80 Japanese Girls and One Boy

2009-09-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

click to enlarge

Was hired by Nagoya Future Culture College and Andeo to do a shot of their exchange student group the other day on the steps of the Portland State University library. We had about a 10 minute window to get everyone organized and do the shoot and everyone was very cooperative and with some creative Japanese instruction by yours truly everything fell right into place and we got the shot we needed. I wonder how this would have worked with 80 eighteen year old American kids.

PEPY Essay accepted by PhotoPhilanthropy

2009-08-29T11:13:00.001-07:00

PhotoPhilanthropy has accepted a photography essay of mine about PEPY Ride, a great NGO working in Cambodia. If you have time please check it out.

IBJ Cambodia Essay on PhotoPhilanthropy.org

2009-08-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

My IBJ Cambodia submission has been accepted by PhotoPhilanthropy. They are website that is all about promoting, inspiring and supporting photographers working with NGOs and other non-profits, etc. This type of work hardly ever makes it to mass media outlets, so having as many platforms as possible to show your work and possibly be recognized for it is more important than ever. If you have a chance click on the photo above and go check out all the great essays out.

More about PhotoPhilantropy:

The PhotoPhilanthropy Activist Awards
Change the world with your camera. The PhotoPhilanthropy Activist Awards provide a platform for student, amateur and professional photographers to publish Photo Essays designed to educate and engage people in a wide variety of social campaigns.

Longboard Superstars

2009-08-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Some video of my brother Jamie and friend Rebecca longboarding down Mt. Tabor.

Rebecca B.

2009-07-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

PEPY finalist for Geotourism Challenge 2009

2009-07-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

PEPY, an NGO in Cambodia I do volunteer work for (and helped photograph their school projects last year, see that project here), is a finalist in the Ashoka Changemaker's Geotourism Challenge 2009. It's all about sustainable tourism and...they explain it better than I do:

"The goal of the Geotourism Challenge is to identify and showcase innovators—individuals and organizations—that directly or indirectly support good destination stewardship and the approach known as geotourism: “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.” Innovators who improve or protect that character of place are as important as geotourism practitioners."

PEPY is awesome and if you have 5 minutes they could use your vote to help them keep doing what they do. Click here to register and vote.

Portland Summer

2009-07-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

NY Times...

2009-07-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's been nice knowing you all. Surely I'll have very little time to communicate with normal people from here on out having had my photo and name grace the NY Times, the holy grail of photojournalism. You're no doubt saying to yourself, "Jeff, that's great, but surely you are taking a bit...well, an immense and possibly ridiculous amount...of liberty with the word "published," no? I mean, your photo is just one of 300 some odd reader's cell phone photos featured in little known section of the Times (online version at that). You weren't even paid and it's doubtful more than a handful of people will click on the tiny thumbnail that is your photo and see it." And I stare at you a moment in what looks to be either incredibly deep thought or a minor stroke and respond with a swift, resolute and determined "Yes! Liberty taken and embraced...possibly groped. My dear friend or family member or lucky visitor, you are here. Where? Here...at the humble iPhone photo beginnings of a wonderful career shooting for the NY Times." (cue applause) I'll just be waiting here by the phone.

Camper Shoes

2009-07-06T15:16:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted a pair of super soft comfy quirky shoes from Camper, a family owned shoe company from Mallorca, Spain, but the price tag has always been a bit much to get over. Finally I found a pair of nice flip-flops and shoes that were on some sort of super sale (from Amazon no less...probably a few years out of season or something). I'm all about buying quality made gear (like Patagonia for example) even if it costs a bit more (which is a good policy when all your material possessions fit in a couple backpacks) in the hopes that it will last longer and you won't need to replace it as often. These velcro puppies ought to do double duty as semi-formal and casual sneakers.

Sirena Queen of the Dirt

2009-07-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Portland's Last Thursday of the Month Art on Alberta St. Festival

2009-06-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

Meiji Shrine Weddings; Tokyo, Japan

2009-06-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Weddings at Meiji Shrine in Shibuya (June 13th, 2009)

Tourism: Colca Canyon, Peru

2009-06-01T19:27:00.002-07:00

Tourism: Giza Pyramids, Egypt

2009-05-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

The pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx are, as you'd expect, crawling with tourists from every corner of the globe. That much I expected. One of many things that surprised me besides the suburbs of Cairo closing in was the bus parking lot sitting right in front of one of the giants. If only the ancient Egyptians knew, they could have accommodated them! I imagined that this place was somewhat sacred and parking lots would be far away out of view and people would be dropped off by eco-buses with Sphinx heads and witty bus drivers. So much for that. It's very hustle and bustle, with vendors, camel ride rentals, etc., etc.

Tourists

2009-05-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

I've been taking photos of tourists as I've always found them and the culture of tourism quite interesting. Not sure if I have any interesting enough to do anything with, but I thought I'd share some here. Will post more from different locations soon. These are from Angkor in Cambodia. The top photo are of course of Asian tourists, probably Chinese in origin (notice the black socks, sandals, gloves, utter contempt for the sun (westerners on the other hand are on the whole practically naked to ensure full sun exposure for that "I've been on vacation" tan when returning home), wanton abuse of the color pink, and of course, the classic herd touring mentality. The bottom photo is likely Japanese given what appears to be his professional photography/traveling vest and outfit. This guy is ready to leap off crazy ass ruins and do battle with Laura Croft. To me his outfit says, "Screw the unimaginable heat of Cambodia, there are f-ing snakes and mythical creatures afoot. An unprepared Indiana Jones is a dead Indiana Jones. Excuse me while I line up a great shot of these carvings with my digi-cam that I will bore my friends and family with when I get home." Or he could be thinking, "Let me take a photo of this jackass westerner taking a photo of me to complete my series."

Modern Thai/Borneo Long House, Chiang Mai, Thailand

2009-05-07T05:43:00.001-07:00

Landscaping is yet to be done...The neighborhood was built in the middle of an lychee/mango orchard and overlooks a small lake.

All the roof tiles were handmade and glazed by a local artisan...which accounted for the house taking a year and a half to finish. The owner moved in last week.

Bedroom

Jacuzzi bath

I was invited to a scrumptious lunch party at a wonderful woman named Carol's new house just outside of Chiang Mai. While in the Peace Corps in Borneo in the 60's Carol lived in a long house and her dream has been to build a house of her own inspired by that with a some Thai influence thrown in (think I got that right). Here is the incredible result. She isn't totally moved in yet and these are just some snaps so please pardon the mess. Thanks Carol, Wat, Adam, Jessica and Steve!

Care for Dogs Shelter, Chiang Mai, Thailand

2009-05-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

For those with a slower connection please click here.

Please visit www.carefordogs.org and help if you can.

The Dinner Jacket

2009-04-26T22:36:00.001-07:00

The Dinner Jacket, a new online fashion magazine out of Ontario, Canada has published my Santiago Street Fashion photos in their March issue. Check it out here: www.thedinnerjacket.com/

On the Street: Omotesando/Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

2009-04-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

March in March--Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

2009-03-08T06:16:00.002-07:00

Hundreds of Gaikokujin (foreigners) and Japanese make some noise and hit the streets in solidarity for job security, equality and a living wage for foreign workers in Japan and all workers in general on a cloudy Sunday afternoon on March 8th in Shibuya for the 5th annual "March in March" organized by the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu.

Arequipa and the Colca Canyon, Peru

2009-03-04T01:15:00.001-08:00

A slideshow about Arequipa and the Colca Canyon

"Revibe 4 da one peace"

2009-03-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

Chiloe, Chile

2009-02-23T03:57:00.000-08:00

I have finally gotten around to putting my Chiloe photos into a (hopefully not too long) slideshow. It is a fascinating part of Chile. Hope you enjoy.

Peruvians in Black and White

2009-02-22T00:35:00.000-08:00

Working on some alternate versions of my portraits from Peru.

Cuzco, Peru

2009-02-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, We Do!

2009-02-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

Some Obama-marketing-mania in Shibuya, Tokyo. I love the deals you can find during the rare inauguration sales in Tokyo. Quite odd (and very welcomed) going from a president who was vilified to one who is glorified.

Cross Country Skiing at Cloud Cap, Mt. Hood

2009-01-23T21:50:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, it was the best of days, it was the worst of days. Beautiful sunny warm day up on Mt. Hood, just 1 1/2 hours outside of Portland, but it had been sunny for the past few days, which meant the snow was melting in the daytime and freezing at night, forming what is known as "Cascade Concrete."
To make things worse there had been high winds the day or two before and the snow was covered in tree debris, all making for some rough cross country skiing. Carrying a huge heavy camera around your neck while learning to x-country ski for the first time also tends to make things interesting, especially when falling. Shooting on skis on icy slopes also makes for a challenging day. But even with all that it was a spectacular day to be up on the mountain.

Rilassi Coffee House and Tea

2009-01-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

Pixie Project

2009-01-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

Recent photos for the Pixie Project here in Portland, a hip and very cool animal adoption center here.

Portland, Oregon

2009-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

My goofball brother Jamie and Lily; New Mexico

2008-12-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

Peruvian Portraits Slideshow

2008-12-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

I've put most of my Peruvian portraits into this slideshow including a bunch I haven't posted before. Quite a mix of styles here, hope it isn't too jarring. Let me know what you think.

Working Models

2008-12-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

Lots of these girls, young and old, wander around the streets of Cuzco with their baby goat or llama looking for photo happy tourists. They work for tips, usually about 30 cents to a dollar for a photo session. We talked for a good while as I inquired about their lives. They live in a small village outside of Cuzco and use the money to pay for school supplies and the like.

Machu Picchu

2008-12-12T14:38:00.001-08:00

SImple

2008-12-09T14:51:00.001-08:00

A boy runs along rolling a wheel on a rural road in Colca Canyon near Chivai, Peru.

Portraits from Cuzco, Peru

2008-12-08T16:40:00.001-08:00

Chivai Portraits

2008-12-08T06:13:00.000-08:00

Chivai, Peru (in Colca Canyon)

Street Fashion Santiago: Jersey

2008-12-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

I was excited to see this guy on the street as it is rare to see guys so well put together in Santiago (for the short time I've been here I've seen either grungy tattoo types or banker types in suits). Turns out he's from New Jersey. Really nice guy who's been in Santiago for 8 months teaching English.

Tiny Toones in The NY Times

2008-11-30T08:15:00.000-08:00

You might remember my photos of the Tiny Toones breakdancers (above). I covered the opening of the Tiny Toones activity center in Phnom Penh last summer (which was featured in the Cambodian Daily). I'm happy to see that the big boys, the NY Times, have done a nice article and short video about them. Read the article here...

Malaysian Cooking Event at Malaysian Ambassador's Residence

2008-11-28T08:19:00.000-08:00

Held at the Malaysian Ambassador's lovely estate the event was attended by many top chefs in Santiago as well as members of the public.

A full course was presented by a very lively and fun professional Malaysian chef flown in especially for this and other cooking events in Chile over the next two weeks.

Nov. 27th, 2008; Santiago, Chile--Not to be outdone by the Thais, the Malaysian embassy flew in their own professional chef and had a special cooking demonstration followed by a buffet lunch yesterday at the Malaysian ambassador's private residence (another photographer and writer were covering the event, so I didn't take many photos. My concentration, rightly, was on the food!). Needless to say the food was amazing, mouth watering satay (meat on a stick) covered with peanut sauce, coconut curries and roti, banana leaf deserts, and on and on. The demonstration was very professionally executed and had the feeling of a live celebrity cooking show complete a fun, witty and amiable chef. A dozen or so top chefs from Santiago were on hand to learn some of the secrets of Malaysian cooking, so hopefully we'll see some more Malay dishes on offer in the future here in Santiago.

22nd Thai Cooking Class held at the Thai Embassy

2008-11-28T06:24:00.000-08:00

Lucky participants whose name's were drawn at random out of a bowl had the chance to learn side-by-side with the chef

The main dish (sorry, I forgot the name): fried fish covered in a sweet and sour thai salsa

After each course participants were able to sample the dish

Ambassador Vimon Kidchob holds up a Thai cookbook to give away to one lucky winner in a lottery at the end of the cooking demonstration

Hungry for more? Read the Santiago Times article here (Santiago Times is sadly behind the times and does not offer its content for free, so, sorry to say that full articles are only available to subscribers.)

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup: England vs New Zealand

2008-11-27T18:34:00.000-08:00

Find more information about the game at FIFA's official website.

3 Summer Dresses Under 30 Luca

2008-11-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Santiago, Chile - Street Fashion

2008-11-22T04:25:00.000-08:00

Chuck Close & Bob Holman: A Couple of Ways of Doing Something.

2008-11-21T21:02:00.001-08:00

click photo to read
tapestry detail

Better late than never. You might have already caught this exhibition, but if not: an impressive showing of Chuck Close's mesmerizing daguerreotype big head hyperrealist "holy shit how did he make this" portrait tapestries of his close friends and fellow artists (these are the portraits he uses to make his famous paintings). Also on exhibit are a selection of his photogravures as well as smaller printed portraits of the same and more friends presented alongside quirky praise poems by Bob Holman.
The exhibition (free entry) has been on since October 1st and lasts until November 28th. Get there this week if you can, not to be missed.

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Alameda 390
Santiago, Chile
+56 (2) 354 6516

Nearest Metro: Univ. Catolica

AFEP Protest

2008-11-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the order of these posts...getting some "somewhat" recent stuff up...more "recent" recent photos will return shortly.

Chile Public Worker's Protest and Strike - 11/11/08

2008-11-21T20:53:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Strike ended on the 21st (or thereabouts) with a 10% pay raise.

Cafe - La Signoria (Bellas Artes)

2008-11-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

Check out the article here in Revolver Magazine (warning: bad writing ahead)

Cien anos, Mil Suenos Concert - Nov. 8th, 2008

2008-11-21T20:46:00.000-08:00

The hole in my throat

2008-11-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

A Chilote (person from the island of Chiloe in southern Chile) sits on his stoop and points to the hole in his throat, afterwards he smiles and makes a smoking gesture.

Dogs in Chiloe

2008-11-21T20:32:00.001-08:00

A Few Photos from Chiloe, Chile

2008-11-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

Seaweed Farmer - Chileo, Chile

2008-11-21T05:56:00.000-08:00