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inside the lens

“all along the western front, all along the eastern shore”

Monthly Archives: April 2010

30/04/10 no shoes, no sunshine, no problem

8 April; it was damp, wet and overcast—the full trappings of an early spring day in Buffalo. I can recall that my thoughts through the better half of the day were towards to my warm apartment, a cup of tea and my couch where I was determined to watch Law & Order into the late hours.

That never happened.

Instead, my friend, William Clark, contacted me and asked if I wanted to do a shoot in the rain. The idea, admittedly, made me somewhat giddy as it must have been the mischievous inner-child cropping up. [When I was a kid, my brothers and I used to always sneak out in downpours to play soccer. We weren’t the smartest of children though because it only took my mom about thirty seconds to call us back in the house as we always made the goal the garage door; I think it may have been the loud ‘thumping’ noise that gave us away.]

More than that, my advocate nature got the best of me as I saw it a fantastic opportunity to be creative and promote the cause ‘One Day Without Shoes’–a day dedicated to spreading awareness about the impact a simple pair of shoes can have on a child’s life [http://www.onedaywithoutshoes.com].

Half of the shots were taken with shoes present and the other half were taken barefoot. That was applicable for not only William, but myself as well. Two words: freakin’. cold.
I can say, in all honesty, that this was probably my favorite shoot to date. Advocacy of any sort isn’t always fun, but it is certainly rewarding; April 8th reminded me of that and this day, I hope I have done the same.

My personal favorites are below—thanks again, William.
[sb]

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22/04/10 day o’earth

Earth Day.  Ah yes, the favorite holiday of granola loving hippies everywhere.  Or, at least, that’s one of the many images that this day tends to conjure up.

This morning I wrote a status message something similar to this:

“Myth: Earth Day is for the ‘dirty hippies’ and ‘flaming liberals. ‘ Fact:  Earth Day is for everyone.”

Of course, my sister was the first to make a comment.  She humorously retorted in only a way she can, “Only a dirty hippy that is a flaming liberal would write that.”  Not to be outdone by my little sister, I may have called her Sarah Palin and threw in an “I know you think that global warming is just God hugging you a little tighter” for extra measure.

A short conversation and two minutes later, a majority of Americans have been isolated; thus, Earth Day lives on just as it had—a politically charged, polarizing force.

But here’s the thing; the 22ND of April was never meant to be a tool of division.  Instead, it was designed to inspire awareness and a [globally] unified call to action.

And, it has. Over one billion people in 190 countries have taken action today. Disagreements about this and that may occur over certain environmental facts and/or theories, but at the end of the day, all of these people agree that a healthy, sustainable environment is non-negotiable.

So, put aside your preconceived notions of those [darn] environmentalists [aka: tree huggers] by becoming one yourself.  Join the movement and take action.

[sb]

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21/04/10 days of remembrance

The United States Congress established the Days of Remembrance as our nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust and created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent living memorial to the victims.

In commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, “Stories of Freedom: What You Do Matters” was chosen as the theme for the 2010 observance.

Days of Remembrance

Days of Remembrance are observed by state and local governments, military bases, workplaces, schools, churches, synagogues, and civic centers.

On  April 15th, Commander of U.S. Central Command, General David Petraeus, joined more than 100 World War II veterans at the U.S. Capitol to mark the Holocaust Day of Remembrance.

For the General’s full address at the Day of Remembrance ceremony, visit: http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/dor/

[sb]

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07/04/10 take two

They always say that you should stop while you’re ahead, but then again they also say why change a good thing?

Advantage: I fall in the ideology camp of the latter rather than the former.

It wasn’t long ago that I was writing about an aspiring musician named Ethan Steigerwald.  Since that time, Ethan has signed a modeling contract with an agency that is headquartered in New York City.  So, basically by the end of the summer, my friend will be having his photograph taken by men and women carrying cameras that I could only ever hope to afford.

Thus, I thought it would be a good idea to get some shots in while he was still around so this is the second installment in what will be a three part series.  The last shoot will have a rural backdrop and will hopefully include musical-oriented props.

For now, here are some of my favorites from Session II.

[sb]

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05/04/10 dukies on dyngus

I don’t think this day could have been planned any more perfectly—Dukies on Dyngus.

Today, two major events will take place: the culmination of all that is March [the Men’s NCAA Championship] and Dyngus Day.

Let’s break it down:

First, Duke vs. Butler.  I remember about a year ago when my then roommate stated that she was agnostic when it came to sport, paused and then firmly stated, ‘…but, go Duke.’  Even she was aware of the legacy that is Duke Basketball under Coach K.—eleven Final Fours, eight NCAA Championship games and three national titles.  Now, I’m not saying that this is a Davis versus Goliath, but this isn’t an even match-up either.  I can’t help but fear for the underdog; however, if this tournament has shown us anything thus far, it’s that that 2010 is the year of Cinderella—a fairytale ending might just be in store.

And, of course, it’s Easter Monday, or Dyngus Day.  Historically a Polish-American tradition, Dyngus Day celebrates the end of the observance of lent. Over the decades, Dyngus Day has become a way of celebrating Polish-American culture.  In my opinion, Buffalo-Polish is as close to Warsaw-Polish as they come.  And, if Saint Patrick’s Day is any indication of how much us crazy Buffalonians love our ethnic holidays, it’s sure to be a great evening of celebration in the city.

So, this evening—sit back, relax and enjoy the festivities.

Na zdrowie!

[sb]

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