Pat Ricchiuti of P-R Farms
Today I photographed Pat Ricchiuti of P-R Farms in Clovis for McClatchy News Services. I had planned to do the shoot with lighting gear the day before and called Pat to make sure we were still on and to get some details on where to meet. I set up in a peach orchard by 8:45 a.m. for the 9 a.m. shoot. Pat was really gracious with his time and even though I felt I had what I needed he offered to take me to an olive orchard as well. Sure, why not? I thought. So we spent another 30 minutes or so taking those photos which gave us plenty of options for the article and helped me get some valuable time working with remote lighting in a place with no electrical outlets.
Masumoto family
[dropcap]I[/dropcap] photographed the Masumoto family of Fowler for a story in the The Fresno Bee about their new family cookbook. I took a few shots inside of the family preparing a couple of their recipes including a cold peach soup and peach scones. All the recipes in the book have come to be developed over the years in the family farm kitchen. After that I thought I'd get a flavor of the family farm and set lights near the barn and a tractor. That's when the family dog, Bo, decided to get in on the action and do a little rolling around on the ground for me. May not be the shot we were looking for in the paper, but for me, it made putting up those lights worthwhile.
Clovis High Grad Brian
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith the exception of English, Brian says he will miss his days at Clovis High School. The senior, who will graduate this May, is a four-year marching band member who played the trumpet. Brian comes from a family whose parents were also Cougars. Brian is looking to begin making his mark on the world at Willow International this fall. Here's hoping he keeps his musical talents with him, and doesn't have to struggle too much with English.
Light it Up Concert
[dropcap]H[/dropcap]ere are a few images from the Wiz Khalifa "Light it Up" concert at the Save Mart Center last week. It's quite a ways from my style of music but I will say that I rather enjoyed the spectacle. The lights, the crowd... the smoke - it was all quite a sight.. and smell. This was a deadline challenge for me since we wanted to use one shot of Wiz in the paper and he wasn't going on until 10 and my deadline was 10:30. He was late too and didn't go on until maybe 10:12. But I managed to just be a few minutes late transmitting the image and then created a nice online gallery of the whole show. We broke from our usual mainstream performance coverage and worked in some diversity here, which I can appreciate. And yes, I had my earplugs.
Lean and Vartan
[dropcap]I[/dropcap] will be shooting Leanne and Vartan's wedding this September for Mark Janzen Photography and I got to know the couple a little better recently when I photographed their engagement session. We had a really nice spring afternoon to do photos that started at Leanne's home near Fowler. Then we rode east to the foothills and found a few cool spots to make pictures. They were really cool and were game for any of my crazy ideas - like lying in the long grass in the foothills. We ended up at that cool old rock chimney that stand alone on the side of the road near highway 180 in the shadow of Jesse Morrow Mountain. It's a cool spot for photographs that I'll have to remember again some time down the road. Good times guys! Can't wait for the wedding.
Track Championships
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n Thursday I covered the Tri-River Athletic Conference track and field championships at Clovis East High School. I stayed the entire four hours of the meet because I really needed to cover the first races as well as catch the winner of the long jump at the very end. Although the heat was tough to work in, it was a very exciting meet to watch. The unusual part of this meet was how many freshman contenders there are - especially in the girls events. Perennial powerhouse Buchanan had several up-and-comers as did meet winner Clovis North. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of some of these athletes over the next three years.
May Day March
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n May Day, May 1, also known as International Workers Day, is a day where protestors take to the streets to urge for change. In recent years, it has been a time for demonstrators to push for comprehensive immigration reform which could be passed by Congress this year. May Day Marches were held all over the country including Fresno, which I covered for The Fresno Bee. I was actually surprised by the number of protestors who came out. The newspaper cited 1,000 in the mostly latino crowd. They held a demonstration, organized by the May Day Coalition for Immigrants' Rights, with speakers, music and dancing in Courthouse Plaza and then marched along M Street on out to Fresno Street. The police blocked traffic on the routes to make room for the group which held signs, chanted slogans, beat on drums and played music. A standalone photo was used on the front page of the paper the next day, with the story running inside.
Clovis Rodeo
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Clovis Rodeo is one of the more sought-after assignments we get at The Bee all year. It used to be a real fight to be the one to go but now that there's only a few of us, it goes to the lucky guy working the late shift. In particular, the first Thursday event, the Pro Bull Riders tour, is primo. Instead of waiting until the very end of the show, you get bull riders the whole time. That's like a fireworks finale from start to finish. The hardest part, and the least attractive part, is trying to get the names of the riders. Between the loud music and the announcers who seem to gloss over many of the names, it can be a real chore. You'd think they'd have names and numbers like other rodeo events, but not this one. I guess you're supposed to *know* these guys if you're a real rodeo fan. Oh well. Anyway, enjoy the photos.
Genocide anniversary
Today was one of those super busy days were I was bouncing back-and-forth from one assignment to the next, jumping from downtown, to uptown, to across town. But the final assignment of the day had to have been the best. I observed a special prayer service held at the memorial to unknown Armenians killed during the Armenian Genocide that occurred in the Ottoman Empire beginning in 1915. It is estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians were killed during the Genocide. The anniversary of the beginning of that terrible time was April 24, 1915. Local Armenian clergy gathered to remember the tragedy and offer prayers to those who were lost. I really enjoy being able to witness events like this even though I'm really not a part of their community. I just have a lot of respect for their reverence and reflection.
Bee Sweet Citrus
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]oday's commercial job was at the Bee Sweet Citrus packing house in Fowler. We opened the day with staff portraits in the office and then photographed a couple of hours working the naval orange line, the Mandarin orange line and the lemon line. Once we finished up with that we went out to a ranch partly owned by Bee Sweet to get a nice portrait of owner Jim Marderosian. For that we needed the big lights and lots of power. But because we were clear out in an orchard, we needed to rent a generator. Ya do what ya gotta do. Everything worked out in the end and we got a great picture of Jim.
ArtHop Exhibit
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]y first-ever art exhibit is being held through the end of April at P*de*Q near Fresno High. I was asked to show some Fresno Bee images at the bakery starting on ArtHop night, April 4. I had 10 images printed up to 12x18 and mounted on foam board. So it was pretty easy to put up. Thanks to Antilabs for having me there and for the help putting them up. I chose a variety of images including sports, news, portraits, entertainment and landscapes. I titled the show "Your Valley" since it's kind of a reflection of what the Valley is and what it means to those who make this place home. I hope someday I can do a much bigger show with, of course, much bigger pictures.
Spring Blossom Festival
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]aturdays are event coverage for me when I'm working at The Bee. On this day I lucked out with an incredibly beautiful, sunny day and was treated to an assignment at the Fresno Bonsai Society Spring Show and Spring Blossom Festival at the Shinzen Garden in Woodward Park. This is definitely worth checking out. The Bonsais are really cool, but I was mesmerized by the azaleas which are at their peak of bloom throughout the park, but especially in their enchanted ume garden. If you love beautiful gardens, you have to check it out.