Earth Day and Volunteering

I nearly forgot to wish everyone a happy Earth Day. Calabasas hosted an earth day celebration earlier this month. I took a few shots there. The little guy above is writing "Food Counts" on his calendar coloring contest entry. The city holds the contest every year on a earth-friendly theme like composting, recycling, etc. This year's theme is the importance of properly disposing of food waste.











And then I shot a mosaic mural project at Sinaloa Middle School, where a volunteer group is working on their latest project. They have done murals all over the city and this project shows the school's mascot bursting through the wall of their amphitheater.

Turmoil & blue skies.

Well, it's a sad day here at the Acorn. We lost three very talented people in the first layoffs in the history of the paper. I can only wish them all the best in the future.
Fortunately, the photo department is running a very tight ship and therefore we were spared from any cuts. It was so nerve-wracking to hear about the layoffs, knowing that the photo dept is usually the first place publishers look to cut. But we're at three photogs for five papers and it's already tight. Here's to hoping that this is the bottom for us and we'll pull out of this hole a stronger, leaner paper. I know as a department we're still learning so much. The three of us make an excellent team. I have no doubts that this year, all three of us will be award-winning photographers in the CNPA awards. We can only improve... I know this year's graduations and sports finals will be fantastic, now that I have the 20D and the MkIIN. Having both bodies will be a major plus, and on top of that I'll likely be buying a 70-200 4.0 with my tax return. I can't afford pocketwizards, but I'm going to give the $60 set of Cactus V2s a shot for off-camera lighting and I'm planning on attending some lighting workshops and becoming an active strobist poster as well. With the improved gear and some added education, I think my photos should improve a ton.
So it's stormy in the office here but in other news, we've had ridiculously hot weather lately and bright blue skies. When it's that nice I pull out the polarizing filter every chance I get and pop those clouds.

Here are a few shots from this week:

Moorpark High School varsity baseball player Landon Hunt.










And a roofing company in Moorpark generously donated a new roof to the Little League snack shack. I found a nice banner flapping in the wind for some color.

On the lighter side...

A mobile home park putting competition! This was so much fun, just a sweet little event at their new putting green. 

Tea Party Protests

Protesters gathered at the Simi Valley Civic Center this week for one of two TEA Parties in the city. Shooting was fine, and most people didn't mind giving their names, but I got quite a few nasty looks when I mentioned I was with "The Acorn". I finally resorted to saying "the local newspaper" or "Acorn Newspapers", then hastily explaining that we are not connected with the political organization A.C.O.R.N.
Anyway, a few photos:

Youth Soccer

Only one of these shots ran, and it was one of those happy/sad accidents.
The photo that I like the best was one that I didn't see until I returned. I pointed the camera, took the picture and thought to myself, that's not the one. And moved on. But when I looked at the shots afterward, it was one of my best images. But I had no info. So my editor held it back for a week so he could get some info on the coach and team.
Unfortunately, that meant there was less room for the photos. So only one ran, instead of the two or three that might have run. These are the situations where I am glad I have a photo blog. Here are my favorites.

More Baseball...

This was a Simi High practice a couple weeks ago. A cold, dreary day and very little time to make a good photo. However, I did end up with a few nice frames. It's always hard to make those standard practice shots interesting. I hope these images are a little more surprising and unusual.
























Even the coach got in on the practice!

Art Show in Newbury Park; Season Opening at McGrath Family Farms in Oxnard

Westlake Art show at the gallery in Newbury Park next to the library.







McGrath Family Farms opens for the season.

Newbury Park High Infielder Michael Dennis

A few shots from last week. I was hoping for more photo room so a couple of these could run, but then again I'm always hoping for more photo room! :)
I always enjoy shooting the NP baseball team - every time I go out there, they're funny and easy to work with.
The full story can be found here: http://www.toacorn.com/news/2009/0402/Sports/091.html