Crasher

The Roving Photojournalist Strikes Again

I actually had a cool day at work today, the first in a
long time. I had fun assignments...not a single computer
geek found his way into my schedule. (No offense to
computer geeks. They're earning circles around me and
taking great vacations. I know because my brother is one.)
First I photographed a relatively well-known filmmaker who
is retiring from his professorship at the university.
Really down-to-earth yet philosophical guy. He told me
about a bunch of famous photojournalists that he knew when
he was young, like Eugene Smith and Minor White and Weegee.
He was fabulous to talk to and fun to photograph, with a
dramatic face framed by a narrow white beard. He said he
was once photographed by Andres Serrano (sp?), the famed
artist who put a picture of Christ in a jar of piss and
offended (notice I didn't say "pissed off") a bunch of
people. He said Serrano surprised him by being a decent
photographer.
Oh, and on the way to the filmmaker's office, I passed a
life drawing class with the door ajar, and got a
startlingly close view of a fully nude man, standing in a
ring of easels, facing my direction. Always appreciative of
the male form, I considered that a bonus to the day.
On the return trip, I got the view from the back. Already,
I figured, this was a decent day.

Then I got to photograph a young woman who is a black belt
in Tae Kwon Do, and is going to compete in the
International World Championships. I had her do a bunch of
jumps while shooting from a low angle, and made it look
like this 5-foot-3 woman was leaping higher than a two-
story building. Groovy. She was really fun to talk to as
well.

And then to wrap up, I took pictures of a woman making a
meal with all this organic produce she got from a
cooperative farm. Boring photos, but she fed me the best
meal I've had in a while -- ribs, roasted garlic, and
organic twice-baked potatoes and salad. Then a drive back
to the office watching the sun fall behind the mountains,
bathing the peaks in backlight like a painting.

On days like this I haven't a single complaint.