Category: Uncategorized

On the third fairway as I scampered to catch Michelle Wie and that trio of golf goddesses, I remember mumbling about some damn volunteer and how he grabbed Jaymes Song and I and kept us from walking down a cart path cause the golfers hadn’t gone thru. I got really irritated and was just about to scream at him but he let go of us and I marched on. Our “under the ropes” media credentials always seem to fail the media when they are needed the most and usually, the good natured, power hungry senior citizens who volunteer to be security for these golf events always seem to irk the media one way or another.

Either way, I was grumbling about one thing or anther and before I knew it, I was crumbled over gasping for air as my right ankle found a small divot in the ground and twisted my ankle about 90 deg in the wrong direction. Mind you I didn’t dare drop or damage any camera but I did sit for about five minutes a bit disorientated about where I was, why my ankle hurt as such and wondering how far Michelle got.

I sobered up, slung the 400mm over the shoulder and marched on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW32tLb0zb4

A bit Alec Guinness, a bit adrenaline, and a bit “I can’t let the giant or any other idiot take a shot away from me. And from my last post, you obviously know I soldiered on. I marched on covering the golf course feeling no pain or discomfort.

So after the final putt was put in the hole and everyone walked off the field, my ankle began to swell and pain like no tomorrow. I limped back to the media center and filed my images and doddered all the way home.

Now here is the fun part, my ankle swelled to the size of a golf ball and pained to walk on. I iced it and tried to get it under control on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, there was little doubt I had a problem. The swelling didn’t subside and I knew it was time for a hospital visit.

Low and behold, I have a small hairline fracture and am now confined to wearing an air cast for a few weeks and popping Vicodin. Not a bad life with the pills and all. The docs said crack is pretty small and probably not too much of a problem but enough to get the works at the hospital…wheelchair, x-rays, ice packs, crutches and pills. I am a bit worried about the bill once I get it. I mean, can you imagine a ice pack for $129.74? I am guessing it doesn’t cost this much but I probably won’t be that that far from the mark.

The point of this blog is to show how dedication is only a word. When all the cards are down, you gotta keep marching on. You are only as good as your last job and any editor in the world will always look at you as such. If I had made a complete snap of my ankle I surely would have continued fearing bosses and the rest of my colleagues. Besides, I had to win. So if any of you are whining about the rain, ill tempered volunteers, or long distances, quit bitching. Soldier on and finish your job. The recession is gonna start taking jobs away from all of us. You can nurse your boo-boos once the job is done.

And if you are curious, I ended up telling that good natured power hungry volunteer off the next time I walked by him. I don’t care for people to be grabbing me and ordering me around if they are not law officers. Some golfers were about 100 meters away and he freaked out that I was in their site. He tried to grab me and yank me off the trail. I pulled away and gave him a few syllables, all polite of course. Don’t think he expected that…nether did I but I really don’t like being messed with when I’m loaded for work.

Oh and to really put my injury in perspective, I am not all that bad. I will probably be walking around by this weekend sans cast.

Thanks Gene Park for your t-shirt and inspiration to blog (blab) about…

Journalism is dying. Well, its been dying for some time. Why? Young people are gravitating towards their iPhones/Blackberrys for news and up to date information. Its quicker, easier, and its all in real time to get info off the net than to read day old news in a newspaper or week (month) old info in a magazine. There’s the Drudge Report, Craiglist, and Facebook for all your needs. Rense, luminous-landscapes, etc…just so much ready-at-hand info so quick to get.

Or could it be that journalism has been deceiving the public for years. Whether its CNN telling us the pro-Obama (lets bawwwwwww like sheep for four years) babble or the Rush Limbaugh right is right doctrines. I think journalism has truly killed itself. There is no truth in media. How can Sam Donaldson be replaced by Nancy Grace? Much of CNN has become Entertainment Tonight. News casts have all been MTVed.

But maybe we are the unwashed masses Obama and the media speak to. American Idol did garnish more viewers than Obama’s Inauguration.

Yet, newspapers are dropping readership, magazines readers are loosing interest, and in general, he media is really loosing their influence on the people. For me, I tire of the incessant bull that streams out of New York in a New York point of view. Now that I live in the furthest western state of the US, I sometimes take offense the media doesn’t represent me. Much of the national news represents itself and cares little to leave the island of Manhattan.

The Star Bulletin recently let go 17 full timers…journalists that is. The Advertiser union negotiated a 10% pay cut for two years. Two years…what the hell is this about? Would Exxon, the gas company, or T Mobile cut their profits 10% to make it easier for the unwashed masses? I can’t understand why a union would do this to its own workers. Well, maybe its better to keep a job at a lower pay than to loose a job all together but the Advertiser guy who is renting can’t just turn around and ask his landlord to cut the rent 10%, can he?

I am not sure who is to blame for the layoffs or pay cuts…it hurts. I think we killed ourselves. I am not nor do I really consider myself a journalists but I do see how there is no one else to blame for the layoffs and the decline of news watchers. I would love to dedicate my life to writing, documenting, and capturing the ills, joys, injustices, and fantastic life around me but the unwashed masses have spoken. There just isn’t any interest.

Dallas Cowboys Jay Ratliff

I’m not a big American football fan these days but will watch college ball as well as the big events like playoffs and superbowls when necessary. I do shoot lots of UH games as well as the occasional Pro Bowl–not that its gonna be here anymore–but I have shot professional football.

The amazing thing about many of the pros is there absolute size and power some of these men have. This Cowboy was a very large man. I couldn’t imagine this guy running full speed at me with hatred in his eyes. It would be quiet the sight.

Sadly, the Pro Bowl is leaving the Islands.

Why? A number of reasons…I can’t really say but can speculate the age and condition of the ridiculous Aloha Stadium, distance of Hawaii from the mainland, and the waning fan base of this exhibition game.

During this recent game, the players seemed more interested in the vacation that actually playing a real game. At the end, most of the plays seemed soft there was no real drive to win. But what are these wealthy players really playing for? I remember they used to have skills competitions in the old days where quarterbacks had to test their accuracy, linemen competed to see how much they could lift, etc…

To me, it was a hot, lackluster event. I hate to see it go as Hawaii is loosing many of their professional sports events but it seems to me the government isn’t doing enough to ensure Hawaii stays a premiere state and a location to sell to the world. Too much corruption, stupidity, and poor planning are really tearing this state apart. If the state could just think a head and really do something for the future, Hawaii could possibly live up to its wonderful reputation. I mean, perfect weather doesn’t make up for ignorance.

I’ve gone from cute girls to dogs…go figure.

I don’t know why this dog was sitting on the roof of a local restaurant but I couldn’t help but to shoot it. Cute dog as he was, he (maybe she) was really intent on finding his owner, roof top or not. Nice moment.

Did some scanning last night and wanted to share some images from a parade in Chinatown on Saturday. I found the parade to be of standard quality but saw the audience as a different character. Interesting to view. Interesting to snap. People oddly look at me as if I am a real photographer as I am not using a typical digital camera. They don’t actually know what to expect.

The girl above just struck me. The man standing behind lined up after I looked at the film. Didn’t notice him but he ads a dimension to the image.

I shot with my 50mm 1.4 lens and kinda feel its a bit cramped in the viewfinder. Not wide enough. However, the more I keep it on the M6, the more I enjoy seeing a few in a “normal” setting. My version seems to lack super sharp focus but it gives a nice feel to things. I’ve never shot with other versions but am happy with what I have.

With that said, I did actually crop the image in the shot as I felt there was way too much stuff around. The crop does well in my opinion. I usually like to showcase my film images full frame. Crops do help at times.

I rattled off half the roll of film until the kids faces came around. They were actually staring at a fat Ronald McDonald. Funny, he wasn’t the usual slim guy as McD would like us to believe he is. The family was inside a restaurant and the parents were just as excited as the kids.

I didn’t notice the girl staring or the older woman in the corner of the frame. I have a tough time learning to focus a rangefinder and I am finding I am loosing so many shots as I am fumbling with a camera I don’t use as much as I should. Rangefinder shooting takes a skill. And within that skill, it takes a different eye. Its absolutely everything a digital camera is not. Thinking about composition, focus point, exposure, and feel all come into play. Once again, subconscious took this image. I am not to impressed but find all the elements falling into place.

The dog, which I think was a corgi Jack Russell mix, was shaking away seemingly started by the drums, dancing, and noise. Might he be afraid of his owners toes?