What Things May Come

Ok the first image was taken on June 24, 2010 outside of Cooper Union, however, I felt compelled to share it. It’s not the composition that makes me want to share it, it’s who is in the picture. In this picture is Jimmy McMillan, who has generated a following as he is running for New York Governor under the “Rent is too DAMN High” Party.

I was covering a hearing at Cooper Union where a housing panel was to decide how much to raise rent stabilized housing. While small groups protested the rent hikes, McMillan had his car parked off to the side. He was willing to talk to anyone willing to give him some time.

I shot a few pictures of him just because he seemed to be an interesting person. I didn’t think twice about these pictures after the event, though. Fast forward to last Monday. I was watching tv and saw McMillan speaking at a New York Governor’s candidate debate and he essentially stole the show. When I saw him, I just have to laugh out loud because he had made a big enough impression on me that I vividly remembered my brief encounter with him.

So perhaps I should dedicate this blog post to Mr. McMillan as he was the main driving force behind me wanting to make this update.

I shot Rand Paul in Erlanger, Ky. on Oct. 2, 2010. It was a Tea Party rally the featured Paul, his father, Congressman Ron Paul and U.S. Senator Jim Demint of South Carolina. This was the first Tea Party event I had covered and I was blown away by the turnout. Picture three hotel conference rooms, standing room-only. It was at that moment I realized how big a deal Rand Paul was and is going to be.

On Oct. 11, I sought out the oldest-living person in Kentucky. After a little digging and snooping around, I found her.

Lera Williams, 110-years-old, of Campbellsville, Ky. is the oldest known living person in Kentucky. She was born on Feb. 9, 1900. She has lived in Campbellsville since 1928. Williams is one of 59 super-centenarians living in the United States and the only one living in Kentucky.

When her daughter called me letting me know that they would love to meet me, I dropped everything I was doing and drove the 90-minutes to Campbellsville. When I finally arrived at their home, I walked into Lera’s room and there she was sitting in her chair with an ear-to-ear grin on her face. Before I even had the opportunity to express my excitement in meeting her, Lera said, “I’m so happy you came to visit. I love it when people visit.” That pretty much was the tone of our conversation.

Before I even considered taking out my camera, I had to ask her a few questions. My first question was simply, “What is your secret to longevity?” to which she nonchalantly replied, “the secret to happiness is not to worry. God will take care of you. Life is just beautiful.”

Her response was just so perfect. Such a simple answer to such a complex question.

She proceeded to tell me how she had to use a skiff boat to cross a river to go to elementary school and how she had to borrow her neighbor’s car on her wedding day because it was the only car in town. Amazing story after amazing story flowed from Ms. Williams as if she were free-styling fantasy.

After about 45-minutes of chatting with her, I shot a few frames of her. I felt the image above was the most telling about her. 110-year-old hands – so fragile looking, but about as tough as they get.

I left her house that day enlightened. I rushed home to tell everyone about her. She really had an amazing impact on me. I must say to date, she had been the most interesting person I have ever photographed (and yes even more interesting than Lady Gaga).

On Oct. 22, I decided to dust off my sports shooting skills and shoot some Western Kentucky University volleyball. I parked up on the far seats and shot with my 400 mm.

Having never shot volleyball before, I found it to be a nice challenge. This was by far my favorite image I shot.

Children cool off in the Washington Square Park fountain on July 6, 2010. Temperature hit 102 degrees.

Lady Gaga performs at Rockefeller Center during the Today Show on July 9, 2010.

Dariana Casado practices with her teammate, Tiffany Chen, at the Kingsway Gym on W. 28th St. on March 23, 2010.

Casado competed in the 152-weight class championship at the 2010 Golden Gloves at Madison Square Garden on March 26, 2010. She ended up losing to La Tarisha Fountain by decision.

A church member holds up his palm during Palm Sunday mass at the Most Holy Trinity-St. Mary’s Church in Brooklyn. March 28, 2010.

Bikers come into Queens via the Queensboro Bridge.

Prior to the battle, three girls decorate their pillows.

As the battle began, anyone with a pillow became fair game.

A battler winds up to unleash his pillow fury.

This guy has his battle face on.

There were hundreds of simultaneous battles taking place.

This girl tries to protect herself.

Union Square was inundated with pillow fighters.

These two girls decided to have a one-on-one battle up in the air.

This guy tried to fend off a whole crowd.

Sitting on top of a friend’s shoulder made this girl an easy target.

Soldiers watched movies on the charter bus during the bus ride down to Florida.

Soldiers gather their equipment after it was downloaded off the bus upon after arriving at Camp Blanding.

Soldiers are convoyed out to the training area in Humvees.

Spc. Woodard sets up his tent upon arrival to the training site. This would be his home for the next 12 days.

Tent city – Bravo Battery’s home in the field.

The Bravo Battery Headquarters tent.

Capt. Lindemann shaves with the assistance of a Humvee mirror.

Sgt. Mateo enjoys some early morning coffee while sharing a joke with fellow soldiers.

Soldiers are served breakfast just as the sun begins to rise.

With limited electricity, soldiers have to share an outlet to charge their cell phones.

After heavy rainfall, soldiers dig trenches to drain the water from their living area.

Sgt. 1st Class Suarez screams out data he reads off his gun laying and positioning system.

Cpl. Owens takes a breather after a long training day.

Spc. Veloz practices some map plotting.

Soldiers speak to an artillery instructor on how to properly use their cannons.

With only the assistance of Humvee headlights, soldiers try to ready themselves for the training day.

A group of soldiers race on the road for fun.

Soldiers organize an ad hoc game of football.

Lavatory facilities were limited to only porta-johns.

Soldiers look on as their colleagues fire their cannons.

A soldier collects up unused gun powder during a heavy rain storm.

As part of his initiation into the battery, Pfc. Marte is thrown into a muddy pit.

Cpl. Lenehan packs his belonging as he prepares to leave the field.

Staff Sgt. Brown does a celebratory dance as the unused gun powder is burned on the road. The powder burning signified the end of training.