Farmers and Actors and Vegans, oh MY!

Where to begin. . . I can't possible give a detailed post on the happenings of this past week. I've been even busier than I expected. The life of a newspaper photographer is crazy and diverse. I have met farmers, musicians, actors, vegans, and the Waterbury Mayor. In addition to talking to them and interviewing them I've had the opportunity of photographing them. So Instead of writing a novella I will simply post some of the photographic highlights and let the pictures do most of the explaining, because after all, that's what they are suppose to do.

We went home with some of these eggs. yum.

The sweetest people you will ever meet.
Mike Kachuba played the banjo, guitar, dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, jaw harp, harmonica. . .

They're discussing a Vegan ratatouille recipe.Puerto Ricans while listening to their anthem. They are waving the Puerto Rican flag.

Puerto Rican Mayor for a Day, Felix Rodriguez. He is also a police commissioner, and holds various other public official titles. I met/photographed the real Mayor as well.
Coming out of the Mayor's office.

All of these pictures were shot on assignment for the newspaper. These weren't necessarily the photos I chose to submit, but I liked them. I have pictures I've taken recreationally but I haven't had the opportunity to process them yet. They will be posted later.

I do enjoy taking pictures, processing them, submitting them and then waking up the next morning and seeing them in print. It is very gratifying.

I have the day off tomorrow and I think I am going to drive to the coast. It should be a nice drive and I have never been to a northern ocean beach. Hopefully I will get some good pictures from the journey.

A promise for later...

This post will be short and sweet, not because I have nothing to say, but because it is nearly midnight here and I am exhausted from a busy two days. I have MANY pictures that I will post soon and talk about but I wanted to show you a little something of what I've been up to.

Today another photographer and I went on several assignments. One of which was a Jazz Camp located at a private school in Kent, CT. The school is out of session but is being used by the camp. Kent is a private preparatory boarding school and tuition and board are $45,000 a year. The facilities are amazing and the setting is straight out of the Dead Poets Society. . . only nicer. So Jim Shannon and I went to the Jazz camp to take pictures and get video of the camp. The campers are crazy talented. Anyways, enjoy the little video.

We also killed an extra 3 hours driving around the countryside. Pictures of rivers, covered bridges, and quaint homes are to follow. (hopefully tomorrow)

Safe and Sound in Connecticut

Sunday, July 18, 2010 10:21 p.m.
Trip car mileage: 1156 miles

Today I was in seven states: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. A personal new record for most states in one day.

So yesterday and this morning I discovered how fiercely Virginia enforces their speed limit. But then I realized that in other states (aka New Jersey and Connecticut) Speed Limit signs are posted out of some unpracticed sense of American responsibility or as roadway decoration. It was insane, the speed limit was not even a consideration when driving. Like this Porshe:
From this picture you can't tell how fast he's going, so you'll have to take my word that it was about 30 m.p.h over the posted "limit."

The day went by without incident, which makes a wonderful day for me but a fairly unexciting blog. The scenery was BEAUTIFUL still. Pennsylvania is a state full of picturesque farms plotted on rolling hills with weathered red barns. I would have snapped a picture but there was no good pull over place with a vantage point. New York is rolling hills and green, green, green.

Traffic was heavier in New Jersey and New York. But I got to cross the Hudson on a very expansive bridge.

I wish these pictures were better but they were all I could manage today. I literally only stopped once all day. I was trying to cover as much ground as possible in a little time. But the scenery was beautiful. If you have never driven through New England states. . . you MUST. Don't fly, take your time and drive. (Kevin, this has got to be your next roadtrip)

So, I'm at the Falcetti's house, they and their children are sweet, beautiful people and I look forward to getting to know them better over the next two weeks.

I am going to Waterbury tomorrow to start at the newspaper. I should have pictures tomorrow that aren't taken from inside a car.

Travel Day One

Saturday, July 17, 2010 7:59 p.m.
Trip car mileage: 593 miles

Troutville, VA - One day of driving down.

I was a little worried that I would get bored or restless driving by myself, but I made it nine hours today and it went by pretty quickly. I listened to Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens. It made good company along with "Queen: Greatest Hits." I'll admit there was a fair amount of singing off-key, but that's a benefit of roadtripping by yourself.


Virginia is beautiful. It was good scenery to drive through. However, the speed limit is 60/65 m.p.h all the way. And the police are EVERYWHERE. I saw lots of people pulled over and signs that said, "Speed limit is strictly enforced" and "Speed limit is enforced by air." Traveling tip for the day: Don't speed in Virginia. So I made it to Troutville, VA and I have a nine hour drive ahead of me tomorrow.

The hotel I'm staying at is brand new. They had a "Now Open" sign on the front of the building. I thought, "Good, the rooms will be nice and new." I went to the desk, asked how much a single room was and the clerk quoted me a reasonable price. When she booked it the price came out more and it puzzled her. But she reduced it to the price she had told me. After I signed the paperwork she realized that she had booked me in an executive room on accident, but said it was her mistake so I could still have it at the agreed price. YAY!

So this is my room. Complete with couch, desk, microwave, refrigerator, king-size bed, and the coolest carpet ever. Needless to say when I got into the room I did a little happy dance. (benefit #2 of roadtripping by yourself)

I have soft and firm pillows and they labeled them. haha!

Weird/cool carpet. :) Yes it is green and brown.
TADAH! I give this hotel a thumbs up! (I recommend the executive rooms)
My last task for the day was finding FOOD! I got an 8" pizza from a local pizza place called Bellacino's. I heartily recommend it as well! :) yum

So I'll be back on the road tomorrow. Nine more hours and I'll be in Connecticut!

Tomorrow is the big day. . .

Friday, July 16, 2010 10:38p.m.
Trip car mileage: 0 miles

There's a lot to think about before you step out of your normal life for a whole month. I've done so much errand running over the past week you would think I was leaving for four years instead of four weeks.

I've survived the pre-trip responsibilities and tomorrow is the day when all my planning pays off. I've done laundry, packed, cleaned (I love coming home to a clean house), packed more, bought travel sized EVERYTHING and cleaned my car, (see picture proof below) well,the inside anyways. I saw little point in washing the outside since it would be covered in bug guts a few miles down the road.As for the packing, ugh. I hate trying to pack for so long. I'm definitely going to have to do laundry some along the way. (not that I don't have enough clothes to last a whole month, because trust me. . . I do, but I can't justify PACKING that much.) But here is the true dilema: I love SHOES! I can't help but have the perfect pair of shoes for every outfit, and I could fill a suitcase with just shoes. I constantly reminded myself that I needed to pack practically and that I wouldn't have the opportunity to sport a lot of shoes since I would be running around on photo assignments. So I narrowed it down to . . . eight pairs. . . plus the ones I'm traveling in. Yeah, I know, but in my defense I'm also packing for a wedding and pre-wedding festivities (Bethany I am so blaming this on you. . . thanks). So we'll see how this goes. All my clothes, shoes, and practicalities fit into one suitcase. Then I just needed my camera bag, a bag for my lighting equipment, and a laptop case which is also carrying a book and magazines for later and acting as my purse while traveling. I would have got out with one suitcase if I didn't have to pack technology. Speaking of which I need to get a proper case for my lighting equipment.

So, here I go. I'm hoping to be on the road by 8a.m. I promise to post better pictures than the one above in future posts and I also promise that I won't force anymore paragraphs devoted to my shoe obsession on anyone. I'll update tomorrow night at the hotel.

WISH ME LUCK!

5 days more. . .

Monday, June 12, 2010 4:15p.m.
Trip Car Mileage: 0 mi

I'm taking a trip. A very long trip.

This summer I'm interning for a photographer and a newspaper in CT. The former is Robert Falcetti, the latter is The Republican American. Because of my schedule and Robert Falcetti's schedule my interniship is of the bite-sized variety and I will only be working for 2.5 weeks.

I am driving to Plantsville, Connecticut in my trusty Honda Accord (19 hrs, 1121 miles) and then driving to Hobe Sound, FL (just north of West Palm Beach, 22 hrs, 1310 miles) to be in my dear friend Bethany Griggs' wedding. And then I am returning home to Jackson, TN (14.5 hrs, 958 miles). I have purchased several books on tape to keep me company and am excited even about the drive, although I may feel differently 2000 miles into the trip or so.

I am, of course, traveling with my camera and I had planned on keeping a photo journal of the trip, but someone suggested that I also blog about it and I rather liked the idea. So here I am, maybe the only person who will ever read these words in cyberspace. I will post regularly and comments will be appreciated.

I leave Saturday morning.