no idea what i'm doing

I've Moved (Again)

2010-02-24T15:40:00.001-08:00

I finally was able to secure an url with my own name! I'm very happy about this. I'm now over at jonathanhouse.com

Lady with Picture

2007-04-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

What's odd about this is that she kept an old photo of her parents that has them posing in their garden, yet the photographer completely cut off their heads.

I liked it.

Party Photo

2007-04-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

HeatherAnn

2006-10-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

HeatherAnn Borino suffers from a multitude of ailments, from Downs Syndrome to Autism. Her mother, Gina, (pictured) and her father are trying to raise twelve thousand dollars to afford a special-needs dog that can basically keep watch over her throughout the day. The family has done an absolutely amazing job taking care of her, considering the amount of attention she requires. But what impressed me most was how patient Gina was with her.

This is a small moment after HeatherAnn was finished playing outside. I think I might post a second photo from this soon.

Moving the Robinson Building

2006-08-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

I was at the site where a team of contractors was moving a historical building further away from the street to allow a wider sidewalk near downtown Tualatin. There was a pretty good crowd that got up early Sunday morning to watch and as you can see, some were so excited they didn't want to wait to finish curling their hair.

At the Lake Oswego Hunt Club

2006-08-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

We did a short piece on a Dressage competition at the Lake Oswego Hunt Club last week. For those who dont know, a dressage is a formal horse show where the horse and rider are given instructions on what to do and how to move by a judge, and then are graded on how well they complete the task.

Here, Sandee Archer is readying her horse "Imke," to take her out for some lunch.

Another snap from Chicago

2006-06-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

An impromptu puppet show on Michigan Ave.

Geekfest '06

2006-06-13T19:13:00.001-07:00

As usual I had a great time at Geekfest, the annual get-together of the A Photo A Day group. A lot of amazing photographers attended this year, just like the last, and hopefully into the future.

This was taken along Wabash Ave. in downtown Chicago

Wrestling

2006-03-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

This was part of a series that I posted to my Sportsshooter page a little while back. I have a couple of images that I really liked but since I've kind of gone over this assignment on the internet already, I'll just post this shot and be done with it.

State Dance

2006-03-26T20:07:00.000-08:00

I shot some Oregon State Dance this past weekend and the quality of competition was a lot better then I thought it was going to be. This turned out to be a last-second assignment (at least by my standards), where I was given it on Friday and had to be there early Saturday afternoon.

In retrospect, it would have been nice to know that I was going to do it sooner so it wouldn't have been such a surprise to me or the dance team that I was going to be photographing them for six hours. But anyway, everything went smoothly and in this shot, one of the coaches is giving last minute advice to the team before they head out onstage for their final performance.

Missing Aurora

2006-02-15T09:13:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been missing my time out in Aurora. It felt like the work that we did out there meant more to the community. Sure, the circulation out there was better than where I'm at now, but it also seemed that the stories themselves had more complexity; something which isn't the product of sales, more the desire on behalf of the reporters and photojournalists to do good work. But I also don't want to idealize the paper either. There were a lot of head-scratching assignments there as well, just not as many.

Even this assignment, a ride-along with an ice cream truck driver, had deeper implications within it. For instance, it turned out that most of her colleagues wouldn't drive the route she took because it went through the Jericho Apartment Complex, which has a historically high crime rate, and where I took this picture of the child on the curb.

She would tell me that other drivers had been jumped while winding through the complex, simply because the teenagers there were bored or wanted money. For the younger kids, there was absolutely nothing to do. The complex itself is sort of enclosed and on the edge of town by some farms, but not near anything. The kids mostly have to fend for themselves.

Rough Draft

2006-02-14T00:42:00.000-08:00

When I take pictures of friends, I often use the opportunities as a "rough draft" for future assignments to shoot. This particular picture of my girlfriend is based on an earlier picture that I took a year before, and most likely will manifest itself in a different way sometime in the future. As it is there's no real meaning to the photo; its usefulness is as a sketch for something farther along.

More Catch Up

2006-01-21T00:10:00.000-08:00

I'm going through some recent work from the past month . . .

This is of a card game in Central Oregon.

Look what I almost walked right through

2005-12-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fan of spiders, but I'll shoot one if the light's right.

Checking out the train

2005-12-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

A shot from a little while ago, but I'm just now getting some earlier-shot stuff back.

Someone doesn't want ice cream

2005-11-30T21:22:00.000-08:00

Just a funny scene at a McDonalds while I was working on a story.

Chuck Cass R.I.P.

2005-11-22T23:08:00.002-08:00

Chuck was a photojournalist in the same newspaper group that I did while I was an intern with the Aurora Beacon News in Illinois. He was easily one of the most talented photographers I've had the privilege to talk to, but unfortunately he spent the last few years battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma before succumbing to it two weeks ago.

Chuck's story recently ran in the Naperville Sun, the paper he worked for, and you can read it here.

This is an image Chuck posted to A Photo A Day awhile back, and I just want to share it with everyone. It's from a polar plunge event. Much of Chuck's photography had a great sense of humor.

Gotta start playing catch-up

2005-11-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

The only upside to not posting that often is that there's now a lot to post. I'll have to start cranking out more photos here.

This is a snap from the stands of an eighth grade football team, where I was covering the coaches for an article. These cheerleaders were doing their best to set up balloons as it got windier and wetter.

Silhouettes

2005-10-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

Some of the photojournalists that I talk with aren't always too hot on shooting silhouettes, mainly because it's somewhat gimmicky if used too often. I agree, but on occasion I end up getting something a bit better if the conditions are right.

Tom

2005-09-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

My buddy Tom, a photojournalist with the Salem Statesman Journal, is currently in New Orleans embedded with the Oregon National Guard. He's been out there since Tuesday the 6th and has already produced some nice work.

Cheers to him.

Alex the Fencer

2005-08-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Alex Salsman is a fencer whom recently won two gold medals at a national meet in Sacramento. From what I hear, he's going to be very good. He was a nice kid, and it was fun to see what a fencing gym looks like. Too bad I forgot my flash there though.

The Motel

2005-08-16T23:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, the local police department started getting complaints regarding identity fraud from stolen credit card numbers. It turned out that this local motel, which went belly up at the beginning of the year, left behind years of financial documents including credit card receipts, employee social security numbers, and everything else that a business would keep filed in the manager's office.

The owners just walked away, leaving everything behind.

A new group took control of the building until it was to be demolished. The person pictured here is Jack, a homeless guy who was the unofficial caretaker of the place in the meantime. Jack was basically allowed to live in one of the abandoned rooms with his girlfriend in exchange for keeping the lot in good order and chasing away "tweakers" whom would come at night to tear copper out from the structure to sell for scrap. The room pictured was the old banquet room, with a huge hole ripped out of the roof. Jack speculated that it was made by one specific guy who would regularly return to the motel for scrap at night.

Two days after I took this, Jack was arrested for trespassing and taking scrap out of the abandoned motel after, supposedly, the contractor told them to stop.

Aaargh

2005-07-26T22:42:00.000-07:00

To any of you whom still check up on this blog, it's been a frustrating couple of weeks as my company has prepared for the big relocation of our office. It's been tough for me lately to post pictures, as I've had so much stuff to do and am forgetting to transfer my images unto my laptop after work.

This is an older image that I have reacquainted myself with as I was preparing (finally) a physical portfolio. His name is Tony, and I met him at a halfway house in the suburbs of Chicago where he was spending his first month out of prison. The tattoo on his left, "Soul," is a reference to the Southside Chicago gang he ran drugs for up until his five-year conviction in 1998. He admitted to doing a lot of other things to me as well, which I'm sure the prosecutor didn't know about.

Our paper got cold feet and never ran the story because the program which administered the halfway house refused to let us publish his last name (which ran counter to our policy), nor would they let the reporter refer to the specific convictions that Tony had (despite the fact they were public record).

I tried to check up on him about a year later when I returned to Chicago for a different internship, but he was already gone. I hope he's doing well.

Wedding

2005-07-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

From a friend of mine's wedding on a boat in Seattle. I was just there to have some fun, but the light was too good to not take a few pictures.

Taking a walk

2005-06-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

. . .was walking around my new neighborhood.

Just a stretch

2005-06-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Jessica Vining is a ballet dancer whom recently graduated from highschool in Troutdale. I was shooting her routine for a portrait special section on notable teenagers in the area. After she finished I asked her what the name of the move she was performing here was, and she replied that "It's just a stretch to cool down."

More Austin Fun

2005-06-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

The nicest thing about being out there was getting to meet all these people who I know through their postings on A Photo A Day, but have never gotten to meet. This is Sol, my team leader out there, who was coincidentally from Oregon as well.

Austin Pride Parade

2005-06-21T00:18:00.000-07:00

While Geekfest was happening, Austin had its annual Gay Pride Parade. This is "Boy Ben," the treasurer of the Texas Boys of Leather strutting his stuff.

Also, check out Slapfactory, whom took a picture of a few of the Geekfest crew while we were waiting for our next speaker outside the Hole in the Wall Tavern. I'm at the top, second from right (with slurpy).

Back from Austin . . .and Geekfest

2005-06-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

I spent five days in Austin, TX a week ago for the A Photo A Day get-together called Geekfest. We spent a four-day weekend doing a lot of shooting and hanging out, along with seeing some amazing speakers and their work.

This was a shot from the spillway behind one of the City's public pools where a lot of parents take their kids and pets to go run around when it gets hot outside, which is often.

Some Jazz Trumpet

2005-05-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

Terrell Stafford, right, the director of Jazz Studies at Temple University, gives J.J. Kirkpatrick a few pointers on the use of a plunger mute for a trumpet during a visit to the Beaverton Arts and Communication Magnet Academy's Jazz Orchestra. The visit preceded the orchestra's trip to New York City, where they'll perform in the Lincoln Center's 10th annual Ellington High School's Jazz Band Competition.

Illustration on Faith

2005-05-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

This was one of two shots which ran for a story about a woman finding her faith after recovering from cancer.

Yikes

2005-04-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

I'm really bad at posting.

I found out that I took an "Honorable Mention" in the Illinois Press Photographer's Association Pictorial Category with an image that I made from my internship. It was of a golf tournament last summer at the public course in Aurora.

Opening Day of Little League

2005-04-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Beaverton Little League had an opening ceremony with an introduction of all the teams. The results were a lot of bored kids waiting for their team to be called.

Oregon Elementary Counselor of the Year

2005-03-31T21:13:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a bit.

This is Nancy Ferguson whom won Elementary Counselor of the year at Templeton Middle School in Tigard. I orginally was going to get a shot of her on the front of the school's stage (this was shot behind it with the curtain closed) but I liked the coloring better doing it the opposite way.

Also, a shot of her at her office the day after winning. I went black and white with this because the sign is bright red and very hard to read this small.

Swing Dance

2005-03-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

A shot from a small swing dance in Newberg, OR. The assignment was about the instructor, but I'm more partial to this one. The reason for the black and white (I always seem to default to color as a preference) was that I didn't feel the orange cast added anything to the content.

Any opinions as far as when to grayscale a color photo?

VP Julie

2005-03-20T23:34:00.000-08:00

A quick portrait of Vice President of Oregon Scientific, Julie Hui.

Julia

2005-03-16T23:20:00.000-08:00

I came home late the other night and my girlfriend, Julia, was already asleep. I found her with the door slightly cracked open.

Chess

2005-03-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

I was at a chess tournament and found a finished game outside of the tournament hall.

My Buddy Jeff

2005-03-13T23:18:00.000-08:00

Jeff is one of my oldest friends, and is coming up from California this week for a medical school interview at the Oregon Health Sciences University. Two summers ago we took a road trip from Chicago back home in my very well-used '88 Ford Escort. This is from the top of a mountain pass in western Montana, after my rear tire blew and Jeff kept trying to call AAA on his cell phone. He eventually got through and we got a tow, but the day wasn't over until my alternator died not 15 minutes after the new tire was installed.

Skyhawks Win

2005-03-08T21:41:00.000-08:00

Girls State Basketball this last weekend. The Southridge Skyhawks ladies earned the titled by beating Central Catholic of Portland.

IPPA

2005-03-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

A hectic week, which I'm finishing off by trying to get all of my entries together for the Illinois Press Photographers Association Best of Photojournalism contest. I interned at a paper out in the suburbs of Chicago for most of last year. I really miss my old staff, most of them were great..

Here is one of the images that I'm submitting.

Fernando Martinez checks to see if is son is still studying for a college exam in their living room while he reads the bible on his mechanical bed. Martinez fell to the ground while painting a home three years ago, which snapped a vertebrae and left him a quadriplegic. He is now on a list for an experimental surgery that would allow him to breathe on his own without a hose, but it will cost at least a hundred-thousand dollars and the health plan of his wife Maria, will not cover it.

Afternoon at the Capitol

2005-02-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

Spent part of the day earlier this week at our State Capitol in Salem for a pro-education rally by teachers and students from all over the State. I received the assignment at the last minute, and because I wasn't able to travel with the school bus congregation from our coverage area, I had to go around and guess to see who was from where, which isn't easy in a group of thousands.

I think that this is the problem with our paper, but by no means unique to it: advanced planning. Well anyway, this little boy was sitting on a pedastal in front of the capitol after the rally, looking ponderous or bored.

One after another

2005-02-24T18:52:00.000-08:00

I had a maddening amount of portrait assignments yesterday, all without the benefit of studio lights or reliable lenses. She's the manager of a local farmer's market, and it was my last one of the day. I didn't know really what to do with her because the market doesn't start until May, and I felt it would be a bit too boring to pose her with a shirt that read "Farmer's Market." So basically I met her out by where it takes place, and tried to find something interesting. This picture won't run, but it was my favorite of the bunch.

. . .and one more to get it out of my system

2005-02-23T00:23:00.000-08:00

A New Start

2005-02-22T23:53:00.000-08:00

I've started a new job, to go along with this new journal, here in Portland, OR. So far, I've been getting a lot of sports assignments which I'm not too interested in.

Something from a wrestling meet the other day.