Sent out yesterday to photograph 70 year-old Manuel Rodriguez, who's family has been upended by foreclosure in Petaluma. While we always try to get eyes open in our subjects, once in awhile having eyes closed makes for a different image. Grief is a most difficult thing [...]
As much as one movie reviewer mentioned that this was the summer of "shrapnel' for all the shoot em-up flicks out there, I would call it the Continuing Summer of Color for photography. At least here in Sonoma County. The stars seem to be lining up for my trusty Canon [...]
Like I mentioned before, The light seems to be better this year. And of course, I'm closer to a AARP card, which means that i've photographically matured. Whatever the reason, color seems to be a theme this year. [...]
There is a gentleman, his name is Arthur Webb. Webb is a local runner who likes to run 135 miles during the summer. Did I mention he runs 135 miles in 48 hours? In Death Valley? This is a man that likes to push his body to the limit by [...]
Couldn't sleep last night, so I did what any insomniac would do. I shot the moon. The orange tint to the moon is supplied by the recent heat wave and the inversion layer it created, trapping tons of pollutants. The picture was rated at ISO 800, with a shutter of [...]
Kodachrome You give us those nice bright colors You give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah! I got a Nikon camera I love to take a photograph So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away -Paul Simon 1973 Once in awhile [...]
Yes, once again it's NASCAR Sunday out here at Infineon Raceway. Most of us remember it as Sears Point. The first year I covered any type of racing for the Press Democrat was 1987. I remember the old Sears Point Raceway with a rickety old wood grandstand and a media [...]
It's so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. Well, not really. This is a mini heat wave. A junior to the senior heat we get in August and September. This is a non-fry an egg on the sidewalk type of wanna be broiler. With a little time [...]
Finally it seems, summer has arrived. Even though the temperatures are about normal for June, it feels downright hot. I guess because winter stole the show from spring. What we all need to do now is acclimatize to the incipient summer. I couldn't get out of the hot weather [...]
Animals need to show off too. The 62nd annual Future Farmers Twilight Parade in Healdsburg provided the appropriate platform for animals and people to show-off. Last weeks Rose Parade was not the last walking fest, as reported in my last post (a little more research would've helped I guess). Thus [...]
How many frames in a photojournalists life? Millions. Literally.
I’ve lost count since I started shooting photos at eight years-old with a Polaroid Land Camera (which I still own). It’s a way of life this photojournalism thing which is endlessly fascinating. The trip along the way, now in my 31st year professionally and the last 25 with the Press Democrat, has been an adventure in life. What it has to offer, ranging from implausible beauty to the utterly cruel things life randomly pitches out have shaped and molded who I am. That means I get to witness history. Pretty cool, eh? This journey has included photographing lots of inanimate objects which can be terribly boring. I’ve also borne the brunt of people unhappy to see a photographer show up to document less than pleasant circumstances. Then there’s the weather, which wreaks havoc on the human race daily. So I document the clouds. My advice for anyone having a bad day is to go outside and take a picture of those clouds once in awhile. It will do wonders for the interior beast. Unless you are using a metal tripod in an electrical storm.
-Kent Porter