Red Tail

Red Tail, originally uploaded by peteg.

There's a Red Tail Hawk that lives in the power lines by the offices. He's my bro. On warm afternoons I like to watch him drift in the breeze.

jon

jon, originally uploaded by peteg.

Location, Location, Location

Location, Location, Location, originally uploaded by peteg.

Do it for Mendo

Do it for Mendo, originally uploaded by peteg.

Fort Worth/Haltom City Tornado

Funnel Cloud, Fort Worth, originally uploaded by peteg.

I watched a storm cloud twist into this shape. A few minutes later it touched down in Haltom City, three miles east of here, killing one, felling trees and ripping roofs off homes and businesses. Even though this was a relatively weak tornado, I have never seen anything like this. You can read the National Weather Service assessment of this tornado here.

In a seven day stretch, concluding last Friday, there was snow, 80+ degree weather, and a tornado. I documented as much as I could on video and put together this short clip:

Storm Approaches Downtown Fort Worth, originally uploaded by peteg.

Haltom City Damage, originally uploaded by peteg.

Bay Bridge

Bay Bridge, originally uploaded by peteg.

Spear Street, San Francisco

Spear Street, San Francisco, originally uploaded by peteg.

Morning, San Francisco Ferry Building

Morning, San Francisco Ferry Building, originally uploaded by peteg.

Friends

Joe M, originally uploaded by peteg.

Kana, originally uploaded by peteg.

Tarita, originally uploaded by peteg.

Andy G, originally uploaded by peteg.

Joe M, originally uploaded by peteg.

James Nachtwey's TED talk

(I am cross-posting from my website's blog because this is worth seeing)

Wow.

I just finished watching Jame's Nachtwey's 2007 TED Award acceptance speech.

Please take the time to watch this, even if you don't have an interest in photojournalism.



You can download a hi-res QuickTime file here. I suggest watching the hi-res file so you can see, in detail, Nachtwey's images as they cycle through during his talk.

Soft spoken, articulate and remarkably sincere, Nachtwey is perhaps the most driven person in journalism today. Nachtwey is an accomplished photographer; speaking simply of technique, his images are hauntingly beautiful and visually complex, perfect photographic pieces. But the true power of his work lies in the stories his images tell.

Nachtwey has spent the past 25 years document violence, famine, disease and conflict around the world. Despite considerable personal risk (Nachtwey was nearly killed by a hand grenade in Iraq in 2003) and the horrors that have passed in front of his viewfinder, Nachtwey's sense of purpose is unfailing.

At 20:45-21:15 in the video, Nachtwey said "Photographers go to the extreme edges of human experience to show people what's going on. Sometimes they put their lives on the line because they believe your opinions and your influence matter. They aim their pictures at your best instincts; generousity, a sense of right and wrong, the ability to identify with others, the refusal to accept the unacceptable."

I listened to Nachtwey speak at UC Berkeley last year. Although I feel wierd about agrandizing journalists, it was a privilege to hear Nachtwey discuss his work in his own words. He often explains his work by saying "I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated."

Please take a moment and look at this portrait Nachtwey made of a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda. Nearly a million people were killed in a month there. How can we let this happen again in Darfur?

(c)James Nachtwey

The work the Nachtwey does touches on the basic compulsions and desires that most photojournalists have. There is, in all of us journalists, a desire to show what is happening in the world, and by doing so, change it for the better.

We all want to do what Nachtwey does, to tell a story so directly, make an image where the only appropriate response is action. We want to inspire like Joe Rosenthal and his iconic image of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, or provoke outrage about the ware in Vietnam like Eddie Adams or Nick Ut.

Nachtwey was awarded a $100,000 by TED to pursue his wish to change the world. In his words, "I'm working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age."

More about his "wish" here.

Victor Buys Boots

Victor Buys Boots, originally uploaded by peteg.

Victor bought a pair of boots when he visited us last month.

Victor Buys Boots, originally uploaded by peteg.

Victor Buys Boots, originally uploaded by peteg.

Victor Buys Boots, originally uploaded by peteg.

Satisfied Customer, originally uploaded by peteg.

Joe

Joe, originally uploaded by peteg.

Reata

Reata, originally uploaded by peteg.

Mama Lou's Diner, Tulsa, OK

Waylon and Jessi, Johnny and June, originally uploaded by peteg.

Yes, that is a white Fila Track Suit.

Mama Lou's Diner in Tulsa OK

Mama Lou's Diner, Tulsa, OK, originally uploaded by peteg.

Mama Lou's Diner, Tulsa, OK, originally uploaded by peteg.

Mama Lou's Diner, Tulsa, OK, originally uploaded by peteg.

Tulsa, OK

Tulsa, OK, originally uploaded by peteg.