Hoquiam, Washington for The New York Times

Another really fun shoot for The New York Times exploring the lumber towns of Hoquiam and Aberdeen, Washington.  The town, largely dependent on the struggling timber industry is in a limbo as they wait for the paper mill to reopen.  Many of the residents are on the last weeks of their unemployment benefits and depend on the work to support their families.
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Razor Clams for The New York Times

Last week I spent two days on the Olympic Peninsula exploring Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Ocean Shores for several assignments. I've always been fascinated by the depressed old timber towns here that are now struggling to keep their economies moving forward. One of the assignments I was asked to shoot was the clam diggers that gather along the Washington coast during low tide events to harvest razor clams. I didn't know quite what to expect and was hoping for a nice morning and not a torrential downpour. The morning turned out to be beautiful and something I will definitely be back to take part in and photograph again. At six in the morning, people began to drive their cars out on the beach to begin searching for the signs of clams. Some diggers used shovels, while others used a tube that when shoved into the sand around an unsuspecting clam, creates a suction that pulls up the sand and hopefully a good size clam. It was fun to see a diverse group of people including small children dogs, and old timers who had been clam digging all of their lives. Here is a selection of photos from the shoot.
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Community College Alumni Programs for The Chronicle of Higher Education

I recently shot a challenging assignment for The Chronicle of Higher Education about Community College Alumni problems and how small or non existent they are at some schools. I visited with Madison Gridley at Highline Community College and tried to create some imagery that conveyed the story, or at least set the tone. It was fun to try different lighting situations and then turn them off and shoot the same image to create different moods and looks. Here is a selection from the take.

Distraction for The Chronicle of Higher Education

I was recently asked to photograph several students in David Levy's class at the University of Washington called Information and Contemplation. At the beginning of every class they do a 15 minute meditation in complete silence only interrupted by the click of my shutter. The article talked about how students are exposed to a myriad of devices, iPhones, tablets, laptops, Facebook, Twitter, and the list goes on. All of these things and more can cause a serious distraction for students. Meran Hill, one of the students I photographed in David Levy's class, took 15 minutes a day to do her email and just do her email, nothing else. The exercise forces students to concentrate on the one thing they are doing and not get distracted by searching for other interesting things on YouTube or Google. It was a fun assignment to try and illustrate. Here are some of the images from the shoot.

Choice Organic Teas for Seattle Business

Last month I visited Choice Organic Teas in Seattle. It was a nice change from the normal business portrait shoots usually assigned by Seattle Business. The tea company was in a large warehouse with aisles of boxes filled with herbs, tea leaves, and packaging supplies. It was a fun place to shoot and the tea tasting added a little bit of unexpected color to the morning. View Article Here>>