SF Embarcadero Grab Shots
While down on the Embarcadero the other day, I saw this gorgeous view of the Ferry Building, backed by a glorious blue sky and with a foreground of palm trees. I was standing practically in the middle of the street so I grabbed only two frames quickly before I made to move on. That’s when I looked where I was walking: almost directly into a man soldering(?) the cable car lines. I figured my chances of getting run over were slim with him right there as well, so I squatted down and grabbed this one frame quickly before scurrying along my way.
Graduation portraits at the YMCA Embarcadero’s Chance High School
About a week ago, my friend/co-wokrer Beth and I were asked by our boss to go down to the YMCA Embarcadero and take a few pictures. The YMCA has a special program known as Youth Chance High School and she had volunteered to shoot their senior portraits. Unfortunately, she had to attend a last minute meeting a the same time, and so wasted if we would be interested. Beth and I, of course, were delighted!
After taking the formal cap and gown photos inside the YMCA we went outside on a bit of a photo walk to do a few group shots and candid photos. Here are a few of my favorites from our morning with the Class of 2012.
Laid-Off: One Last Gazette Blog
As you may have heard, I was laid-off from my Staff Photographer position at The Gazette this past Thursday. I am now a product of the recession – or maybe the industry? Anyway you look at it, I am just another pin in the map of Paper Cuts.
Solidarity people.
Before I start my job search I wanted to tie up a few loose ends here on the blog and post my last photos from my time at the paper.
Colleen Gunn, 8, (right) and Oliver Kristeyra, 8, both of Mount Rainier tie their messages together as other members of the group dance around them during the “Rock Garden for Peace” ceremony conducted by Patricia Bullitt with the Little Friends For Peace at the Peace Park in Mount Rainier, MD
Deacon Lynette Washington dances in the aisles to “Days of Elijah” during the tribute service for Bishop John Meares at Evangel Cathedral in Upper Marlboro, MD. Washington first met Meares at Evangel Temple in Northeast Washington DC.
I think this second image is particularly fitting for this post; of the funerals I’ve attended, Bishop Meares’ was the first one I could really call a “celebration of life.”
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my co-workers for their amazing support. Over the past two years I have grown with you, groaned with you, laughed with you and learned from you. You have not only been colleagues, but my teachers and my friends. Wherever the next phase in my life takes me, I will be grateful for the time we had together and I hope we can stay in touch.
**images are reprinted with permission from The Gazette
Boy Scout Stream Clean-up
The last few weekends I’ve had quite a few clean-up assignments. I suppose it’s springtime and people are going outside after a long winter and realizing how much litter and trash has accumulated in their communities.
This little nook off Broad Creek in Fort Washington was some of the worst I’ve seen. Apparently, the trash floats in on high tide and then gets trapped when the tide goes out again. Thankfully, this small but dedicated group of Boy Scouts was there to fish out the flip flops, soccer balls, and water bottles.
Aaron Carmichael, 6, of Ft. Washington find a flip flop while helping to clean-up Broad Creek with other Boy Scouts from his pack in Fort Washington, MD on Saturday.
Fort Washington 04/9/11
Polar Plunge
A couple weeks ago I went to my first Polar Plunge event and it was AWESOME! These are my two favorite photos from the event:
Cute Kids …and parents!
As you might be aware, we’ve had a rather horrific string of homicides in Prince George’s County, Md. The other day my assignment was to shoot the memorial service of one of the victims. Funerals are one of the most emotionally draining shoots for a photographer, so I was thankful that right after I was lucky enough to attend Family Gym night at University Park Elementary in Hyattsville. What I found was astonishing! Not only were the kids totally into the games and exercising but the parents were as well!
(from right) Graham Brown, of University Park, helps his daughter Isobella Estrada-Brown, 8, a second grader, complete her cup stacking challenge at Family Gym Night at University Park Elementary School in Hyattsville, MD on January 20, 2011.
Hyattsville 1/20/11
p.s. I’d like to thank Dr. Hite, the PG Superintendent, for replacing the bulbs in University Park’s gym.
Making it a merry Christmas
Leading up to the holidays I’ve had a lot of assignments focusing on local groups who are doing their best to make sure the needy families in our area have smiles on their faces this Christmas. The outpouring of love and spirit of giving is awe inspiring (especially considering the current economic climate.)
Of all the photos I’ve taken on the topic this one is the best. No mountains of food or gift basket assembly lines – this little boy stole my heart. Volunteers from the Laurel Advocacy and Referral Service had just loaded mountain of food and presents into the trunk of his mini-van and even though the presents were wrapped you could tell he felt like he shouldn’t be witnessing this magic.
Photo Advent – Do you have a ref butt shrinker?
Disclaimer: Refs. Umps. Blues. Call them what you will, they get a pretty raw deal. They go out there and despite how blatant a foul is, half the people aren’t going to like their call. It’s a thankless job and I feel kinda sorry for them. That being said:
Why are they ALWAYS in my way? I mean, I understand that they are of vital importance to the game and all, but sometimes I think they take their job a little too seriously. The running up and down the field ad infinitum. The darned whistle blowing that penetrates even the best earbuds.
And just when you think that you have successfully evaded them, they decide to put their big ref butt right in the middle of your shot. AND IT’S WHITE! IS THERE NO MERCY!?!?!?!
No rear-end has ever irked me more than this one. It was this past fall. October 16. On a 60degree, sunny Saturday, and I had the good fortune as to be assigned Bowie High School’s Homecoming game versus the Raiders of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Snap.
Fade Back.
Pass
Leap.
INTERCEPTION???
Click. click. Click. CLICK CLICK CLICK.
Joy of digital and pressing that playback button.
Utter misery.
Here’s hoping Santa puts a ref butt-shrinker in your stocking. Merry Christmas.
PG Science Bowl
I LOVE the Prince George’s County Science Bowl! It is an annual science game show of elementary and middle schools conducted by Prince George’s County Public Schools and it’s AWESOME! The kids get SO into it: they laugh, they cry, it’s better than Cats! and you LEARN STUFF! like that the largest digital camera is in fact on top of a volcano in Hawaii. So friggin’ cool :D
My love, however, is not necessarily echoed by many of the other journalists in my office. So this year, in order to get more people (emotionally) involved in what is possibly the greatest county-specific tournament of all time, we took a page from the NCAA March Madness handbook and created brackets!
(from left) Christopher Branche, Zoie Jones, and Cierra Owens from Rosaryville Elementary compete in the Science Bowl tournament at Bonnie F. Johns Educational Media Center in Landover, MD on November 16, 2010.
from left) Noreen Quilala, Andrew Quiteles, and Raymart Domagas of Flintstone Elementary compete in the Science Bowl tournament at Bonnie F. Johns Educational Media Center in Landover, MD on November 16, 2010.
Noreen Quilala from Flintstone Elementary competes in the Science Bowl tournament at Bonnie F. Johns Educational Media Center in Landover, MD on November 16, 2010.
Operami Olayiwda gives a thumbs up after his team from Beacon Heights Elementary won the first round in the Science Bowl tournament at Bonnie F. Johns Educational Media Center in Landover, MD on November 16, 2010.
Silver Spring Thanksgiving Parade
Last Saturday, Silver Spring held its annual Thanksgiving parade. I’ve shot this event before and, while there isn’t a lack of photographable happenings, much of the goings on have nothing to do with Thanksgiving. Not a turkey, pilgrim, or indian to be seen – and quite a few of the parade participants as well as spectators are in the wrong holiday spirit. However, nothing like a procession of ballerinas and santa to bring out the cute kids :D
Clara Howard, 4, of Chevy Chase, gasps as she sees her ballerina namesake on the Maryland Youth Ballet’s Nutcracker float with her brother Teddy Howard, 5, at the annual Thanksgiving Parade in downtown Silver Spring, MD on November 20, 2010.
A ballerina from the Maryland Youth Ballet waves as she rides on the Nutcracker float.
Sebastian Breman, 3, of Silver Spring, and Doron Kefer, 3, of Silver Spring, wave flags they received from the Boy Scouts of America during the annual Thanksgiving Parade.
Santa Clause, as per tradition, rides the last float.
Marching Band Showcase at High Point
I didn’t have a marching band at my high school. There was a band… and they stood on the field before games and played the fight song and national anthem but nothing like this. PCGPS high school marching bands are like no other. They’re outfitted to perfection with plumes and capes, they play popular music, and THEY DANCE!
Imagine the movie Drumline playing at your high school halftime – complete with dance teams. Yeah, that’s my Saturday :D
On October 13, 2010, the top schools assembled at High Point High School in Beltsville, MD to show off their skills in a non-competitive showcase:
Haunted Harbor
Remember how I jumped off a pirate ship a couple weeks ago? Yeah… that was AWESOME :D But what’s more awesome is how they turned the whole place into a haunted wonderland!
Shooting at night, however, not as awesome. Ever tried to focus in pitch black? oy! So, I decided to work with it. What’s scarier than the unknown? the unreasonable. Here are two shots in perfect focus with some interesting light (the one gypsy is actually holding a tea light behind the globe to make it glow like that) and two shots that are a little more artistic.
Zombies cross the platforms at Markoff’s Haunted Harbor at National Harbor, MD on October 8, 2010.
Madam Delores and Madam Jacklyn read fortunes – that’s the tea light!
One of the zombies.
And an insane caged zombie.
Lost and Found
I work for a weekly. (That used be a much less “loaded” term but I figure it still has the same literal meaning of “we publish once a week”. Actually, we publish a bunch of different papers once a week, same name but localized.) … So every Thursday I pick up a copy of all the different papers and leaf through, pausing to read stories that catch my eye and look at photos with interesting subject matter or light, etc. I pull out the photos I REALLY like (by any photog in the office) and set them in a pile on my desk for use in later contests, but I also pull out every single one of mine.
Right away I look at how each one was printed, compare the photo that was chosen to the others submitted, and check to see how the cutline was edited. The pages are then arranged in a nice little stack near all my photo gear at home, growing larger with each issue, until the end of the month. That’s when I sit down and look through them all again, giving myself a little critique.
What did you DO this past month, Rachel Fus? Accomplish anything? Create any images? What did you learn? Where can you improve?
It was during this little ritual of mine that I stumbled across this image and I was shocked I had never blogged it! The light was SO GOOD! …and it was during this shoot that my curse was broken! I was at a firehouse when a call went out :D (shocking since they are the 10th busiest station in the country ::insert ironic inflection here::).
Seeing Pink
It seems like everyone has been affected by Breast Cancer in one way or another. For me, it was a cousin who, at the age of 29, died after a long fight. So for myself, my family, and many others, Friday was not just the start of October, but also the beginning of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
One of my favorite ways people participate is by wearing pink at athletic events. (Major shout-out to the pink cleats worn by the Skins this week in Philly!) But it’s not just the pros. Here are some photos of high school athletes (at my alma mater Montgomery Blair) doing their part to find a cure:
High Ropes
I’m not much of an outdoorsy girl (I’m sitting here typing this in white bermudas and an argyle tee). That being said, I’m also somewhat of an adrenaline junkie. So when Calleva opened up a new High Ropes course right in National Harbor I was first in line to ask my editor if we could do a story.
He agreed! and I not only got to shoot stills but created a multimedia piece as well (we duct taped a flip cam to my chest for that opening shot). Oh… and the piece I wrote to accompany it? They put it on the front page :D
anybody got the name of a good bungee jumping place?
Election Day
The beginning of the longest week ever was Election Day. Here in the DMV primaries hold a lot of stock seeing as Republicans and Independents don’t make much of a splash in the population. I thought this place looked straight out of OZ. The signs lining “the yellow brick road” were the poppies and the church is clearly reminiscent of Emerald City except for the one minor detail of not actually being green.
Robbie Crosby, of Upper Marlboro, sifts through campaign materials before casting her vote on Election Day at Evangel Cathedral, a polling location in Upper Marlboro, MD on September 14, 2010.
Upper Marlboro 09/14/10
Cute Old People
I know! I know! I didn’t need parental permission to publish this shot but sometimes 18+ people can be cute too :D
Note: I also shot a picture of a cute kid at this same event. That one made the front page. LOL!
First Day of School
Prince George’s County Public Schools opened for the new school year this past Monday and I was sent out to capture it at two local elementary schools: Melwood and Barack Obama. I wore my purple floaty skirt and…KIDDING! Photos:
Raymond Bradshaw the III, 5, of Clinton, walks behind his father Raymond Bradshaw Jr., as he checks his bag of school supplies on the first day of school at Melwood Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, MD on August 23, 2010. Bradshaw III is in kindergarten.
New principal Kristil Fossett and the Douglass High School Eagle, played by Douglass senior Kendall Harrison, waves to cars on Woodyard Road as they pass Melwood Elementary School on the first day of school in Upper Marlboro, MD on August 23, 2010.
Makayla Doyle, 5, of Clinton, hugs new her new principal Kristil Fossett, on the first day of school at Melwood Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, MD on August 23, 2010. Doyle is in kindergarten.
Parents and media swarm Barack Obama Elementary School on the first day of school in Upper Marlboro, MD on August 23, 2010. Prince George’s County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. William Hite and Maryland Lieutenant Governor were slated to attend.
PGCPS Superintendent Dr. William Hite surveys the crowd of new students with Principal Pearl Harmon on the first day of school at Barack Obama Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, MD on August 23, 2010.
Cute Kids Part (too many to count)
What are the cute kids of Prince George’s County up too these days? Learning to fish and playing at the park. This is deep.
Young Architect
When you ask most little kids what they want to be when they grow up they answer firefighter or astronaut or ball player. (As has been previously established) I was not your “normal” child. At the age of 7 I decided I wanted to be an architect. I was intense about it too. I started off with graph paper and just drawing different layouts, then in middle school I graduated myself to computer programs. I even started researching the best architecture schools when I reached high school; Cooper Union was at the top of my list.
As you may realize, I am not in fact an architect. It’s a funny story that begins with a teacher giving me an old camera my sophomore year and includes a small mental breakdown. But I digress, this past week I was given an assignment to shoot the Young Architects camp at Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel, MD and I was thrilled. There was blueprints and young people being creative and making models. It was AWESOME!
Feature Photos – Swim
Every news cycle has its slow days. In the summer, though, there are always opportunities for found features. With the 90+ heat, though, only ONE place has been consistently filled with people: THE POOL!
AA compilation of five photos of a boy doing a back flip of the low dive at Laurel Municipal Pool.
Graduation
So this is REALLY late. I shot quite a few graduations this year, not as many as when I worked for Lifetouch (THANK GOODNESS!) but still ‘a few’ and I was rather graduation’ed-out by the middle of June when I left on vacation.
This photo was from one of the PG County high school’s commencement ceremonies at the Comcast Center at the University of Maryland’s College Park campus.
Anyone know why some school graduate from Comcast and others from the PG Equestrian Center?