Posts Tagged ‘photo journalism’

July 10th, 2009

What I see… My Apartment

It was a bitter sweet feeling, when I woke up early on a Saturday morning in late November of last year. I knew this was to be my last time with roommates. I knew that I will be in a place where I could learn about myself, take my writing to a new level, and grow. Besides, I could be butt-naked and enjoy my girlfriend without the added pressure of other people to worry about.

Damn, this door represents so, so much.

Move-In Day - Uhaul stops, my friend and I get out, I look around and smile with excitement. I see an older gentleman of 50 or so, who, is watering his plants. He looks puzzled and confused, he doesn’t make much eye-contact, but is aware of my presence. I go up the stairs, I have this smile on my face, I go to greet him - and the fucker shafts me. He looks me dead in my face and proceeds to water his plants…

2 Days Later - Afterwork I’m eager to get back home. I was ready to shout to the world that I was living by myself. I get off the bus, I walk 4 minutes or so to my apartment, and instantly am greeted with more neighbors. Another older guy of 50 or much older said his name, where he lived, welcomed me to the apartment and neighborhood…mentioned something briefly about his partner. I saw other people from time to time during that first day. I didn’t think much about it…

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June 26th, 2009

What I See - The J.O.B.

From the looks of this building it is scary, uninviting, and like a jail cell.

I go through the heavy, solid glass door, walk through the carnival style security bar, by elevator I arrive on the 15th floor, swipe my badge and my day officially begins.

Everyday is the same, for the most part. I pour smelly, seldom dirty city water into my Brita filter, make toast, and slowly start my working day.

My workplace consist of 13 men and 4 women. They range in age from 25 to 60 something. They have different characteristics that are cool, but at times piss me off.

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June 19th, 2009

What I See, Story 2 - Bus Transporation

This is a new series of post I will do on Friday that is called, What I See. During the week I will take photos of various events around me. I will provide a story behind the photo. This is essentially giving my readers a glimpse into my writing, the way I think, and also about my life. It wouldn’t be fair to only talk about writing, I have to be willing to show yall my pieces, too. Let me know what you think.

It’s hard getting up early in the morning. To be exact, around 4:30. Well more like 4:50 after all the snoozing is needed to convince myself to at least write. After I write I have to drag my ass into the shower, then probably make breakfast or get it on the way to work. I run, run, run to the bus stop, this is done because I have terrible time-management skills.

The bus, that object with 4 wheels, that is transportation to annoying and nice people. That grotesque-never-been-washed hand rail and those uncomfortable seats I have to force my not-flat-ass into every single morning. For the most part, I run to the bus stop because I’m either making sure I didn’t forget anything and making sure I set my a/c past 90 degrees (apartment is an oven when I get back). If I didn’t decide to use the bus I could either jog at a decent pace (30-35 minutes) or ride my road bike (15 minutes). I can’t eat on the bus or drink (I wouldn’t want to drink a thing on a bus that is constantly stopping and jerking my body forward), but I can listen to a podcast with total concentration, I can read a couple of pages of a novel or blog post via iphone, or observing others.

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June 15th, 2009

My Other Addiction: Photography!

Why Photography?

It is a good idea, for anyone, who is starting to take something a little more serious than they usually do is to take baby steps. There is no reason to go fully overboard because one may find out it isn’t for them.

I did this very method of finding my passion through writing and now I have done so in the field of photography. I used to take photos with my crappy point and shoot camera. I would take the camera anywhere, I would take a photo a day, I took it even to work to see what interesting things I would capture. I had a great time doing so, but as months passed by I stopped using my camera, I just didn’t care anymore. I made the decision over the past Christmas break to get a present for myself. So I ended up getting a Nikon D60.

Great camera, bulking, but not unreasonable, and I could learn for days on how to use it properly. Everyone learns differently and the way I learn is by playing with things without using a manual. I finally hit a brick wall, so I read some of the manual, watched a couple of the videos, and read some information online. I even bought a bigger lense for my California trip so I could take better images far away. I was in the game and knew this was my second passion of active interest.

I have now committed to being a photographer. I have bought Apple Aperture, a 16 gig memory card, and a photography book that will teach me everything I need to know about photography. I can go to classes and get the experience there, but I want to do this on my own. This is the way I feel I will learn more efficiently and appreciate the art of photography.

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