Head of the Charles: Course Committee

October 21, 2007 – Michael Todd, one of three Course Committee chairmen for the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA, unloads anchors from his boat at the Weld Boathouse, home of the Harvard-Radcliffe crew teams, to the helping hand of Bill Sichel, a safety crew volunteer. The anchors held buoys in place, which marked the course for the rowers. The course boundaries are of utmost importance because they help to direct crewmembers away from danger zones such as bridges and shallow water. Todd is in charge of making sure the buoys do not drift during the course of the event, which is subject to occur due to rising water.

October 21, 2007 – Ellie Reinhartt, 17, of York, ME, pulls a green boundary buoy from the Charles River in Boston, MA, at the completion of the Head of the Charles Regatta. Several other course development volunteers, including Ruth and Katherine Sweeny, of Reading, MA, and one of three course committee chairmen, Tim Wood, coach of the Belmont Hill crew team, join Reinhartt in the boat. Together the team is responsible for pulling all of the 350 course boundary buoys; the job takes over an hour to complete. According to Michael Todd (not pictured), another course committee chairmen, it takes three hours to set the course.

October 21, 2007 – Michael Todd, one of three Course Committee chairmen for the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA, ties together blue buoys with Betsy Walkerman, who came from Vermont to volunteer, at the Harold W. Pierce Boathouse. Todd is in charge of setting up the course boundaries with buoys and taking it apart. Blue buoys are placed at the end of the course, just after the finish line, creating a path rowers must follow after completing the race. All crews must past beyond them before turning back down the river to avoid congestion.

October 21, 2007 – Michael Todd, one of three Course Committee chairmen for the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA, grabs a rope to tie it into a sea gasket, a sailors knot that prevents tangling, as Travis Ebel, a course volunteer, grabs a crate full of buoy anchors, bringing them to the Harold W. Pierce Boathouse for year-round storage. The anchors are hand-made of PVC and concrete and weigh 20 pounds.

October 21, 2007 – As the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA, comes to a close, George Bird, a member of the Course Committee, who is part of a group of volunteers in charge of setting up and pulling apart the course, repairs a light on his boat after docking for the night at the Harold W. Pierce Boathouse.

Hillary Clinton Campaign

I thought I was cool getting into this event as a press photographer but soon realized that having credentials limited me significantly. After attaining my press pass and speaking to one of the event coordinators, I was told that I could not leave from the "press box", which was basically a platform for all reporters and cameramen at the back of Symphony Hall. (Later on we were given a few minutes to get shots from a balcony.) Aside from being restricted in movement, I only had a 70-200mm lens with me (and no tripod). I realized that had I not took the time to establish myself as a photographer and instead roamed about with my camera as an audience member, I would have had much better (closer) shots (although you probably can't tell from my chosen five). Nevertheless, I did the best I could given the circumstances.

October 10, 2007 – Lead singer of the band the Goo Goo Dolls, Johnny Rzeznik, opens for Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA. Rzeznik traveled all the way from Buffalo, NY, to be at the event to support Clinton.

October 10, 2007 – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gives a thumbs-up to an audience of mostly college-aged supporters before she begins her speech at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA. Audience members were handed “Hillary for President” signs, which were held high throughout the event.

October 10, 2007 – Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses an audience of mostly college-aged supporters at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA. Clinton expresses her plans to remove troops from Iraq, take action against global warming, and reform health care in America. Behind her stand three groups of a cappella singers from Wellesley College, who performed as an opening act for Clinton, a Wellesley alum.

October 10, 2007 – After a rally to gain support from college voters at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stands in front of a giant American flag and applauds her audience. If elected, Clinton will become the United States’ first woman president.

October 10, 2007 – After a rally at Symphony Hall in Boston, MA, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton bids her audience farewell by shaking the hands of supporters.

Lead in Toys

I went into this shoot assuming it was going to be just a protest, but I soon found out it was much more. After their demonstration outside, the group of protesters went into the Mariott hotel for an information session regarding the hazardous amount of lead that is being found in toys.

September 27, 2007 - A group of concerned parents gathered outside of the Marriott hotel on Huntington Ave., in Boston, MA, in silent protest of the lack of action taken by the Massachusetts legislature regarding the hazardous amounts of lead in children’s toys. Despite levels as high as seven times the federal limit, such toys are still currently found on the shelves of stores. The protesters wear stomachs of made of plaster to express the fact that lead exposure during pregnancy causes long-term complications in newborns.

September 27, 2007 – Dr. Sean Palfrey, a Boston Medical Center pediatrician, explains to an audience of concerned parents at the Boston, MA, Marriott hotel the harmful effects of excessive amounts of lead on the body. Exposure to lead increases the chances of suffering from asthma, ADHD, and autism, to name a few. High levels of lead are currently being found in toys that are made of cheaply produced material known as PVC.

September 27, 2007 - The portable XRF, an x-ray fluorescence analyzer that detects chemicals in any substance in less than 60 seconds, such as the levels of lead in paint, is used at the Marriott hotel in Boston, MA, to reveal to an audience the dangerous amounts of lead in popular toys, such as the rubber ducky. Judy Robinson, a concerned parent, addresses the audience in the background about her fears and questions why there has been no action in the state of Massachusetts to protect children from such unnecessary and avoidable harms.

September 27, 2007 - Joseph Allen uses a portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) device to test a “Superfly” monkey, whose cape is made with PVC (vinyl), for levels of lead in the Marriott hotel in Copley Square in Boston, MA. Allen is a doctoral student at the Boston University School of Public Health specializing in the exposure of toxic chemicals in the home environment and is especially concerned because he has a one-year-old son who plays with toys similar to those failing such tests.The experiment proves to an audience that certain children’s products are hazardous to health and development. Costing between $30 and $40 thousand dollars, the XFR is by no means a common household electronic, making it unavailable to parents concerned about their own children’s toys.

September 27, 2007 – Michael Schade, of the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, who is also the coordinator of this information session, held in the Marriott hotel in Boston, MA, informs the audience about the harmful effects of lead in toys that are made of PVC (vinyl). He explains that all of the toys found on the table to his right, which are currently being sold in stores, exceed the federal limit established by a 1978 mandate in response to toxic levels of lead in paint.

Beantown Jazz Festival 2007

September 29, 2007 – Concession stands and merchandise tents stretch on Columbus Ave., between Burke St. and Massachusetts Ave., in Boston, MA, in lieu of the fifth annual Beantown Jazz Festival hosted by the Berklee College of Music.

September 29, 2007 – Jake Jacobs of Houston, TX, slices a rack of ribs to serve at his fifth Beantown Jazz Festival in Boston, MA. This is his fifth year catering the event.

September 29, 2007 – On the Sovereign Stage set up in the middle of Columbus Ave. in Boston, MA, Bob Franceschini jams on his tenor saxophone during the Mike Stern Band performance at the Beantown Jazz Festival last Saturday.

September 29, 2007 – Those who could not afford to pitch a tent at the Beantown Jazz Festival on Columbus Ave. in Boston, MA, found ways to improvise. Felix Delahegboned, 28, of Jamaica Plain, uses the fence of Carter Playground to hang his merchandise - t-shirts with Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, and Malcolm X printed on them.

September 29, 2007 – Keyon Harrold, a trumpeter in the Charles Tolliver Big Band, plays a solo on the Target Stage of the Beantown Jazz Festival on Columbus Ave. in Boston, MA last Saturday.

Welcome Home Soldier

During a layover in Washington, D.C. I noticed a family in front of me with balloons and signs waiting in anticipation of someone's arrival. I turn around to see what the celebration was about and realize that exiting the terminal behind me is a soldier returning home from the war in Iraq. Quickly taking the case off of the camera in my hands, I haphazardly grabbed the first shot and began shooting the rest of the greeting.

September 21, 2007 – Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Chapman embraces his wife, Heather Chapman, for the first time in one year at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. after having just landed. His arrival from Iraq comes one week after President George W. Bush announced plans to gradually withdraw troops.

September 21, 2007 – Reuniting for the first time in one year, Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Chapman, of the United States Army, stands next to wife, Heather, and gazes into the eyes of his three year-old son, Thomas, at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., as his six year-old son, William, shows off the sign he made to welcome his father back from Iraq. His niece and nephews, who made signs and carried balloons, welcoming their “Uncle Dennis, American hero”, also greet Chapman.

September 21, 2007 – Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Chapman entertains questions from his nephew, Ethan Armstrong, 8, who is curious as to what kind of weapons he had while in Iraq. Chapman had been in serving in the Iraq War for one year and is reuniting with his family for the first time here at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

September 21, 2007 – Having just reunited with his family for the first time after one-year of service in Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Chapman, of the United States Army, leaves Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. delighted to be home.

Boston Women's Wrestling

For my first assignment in Advanced Photojournalism, I shot a comedic women's wrestling performance at Harper's Ferry, a bar in Allston, MA. The Boston League of Women's Wrestlers (BLOWW) took on another league known as La Gata Negra. Both groups consist of various characters who call themselves "luchadoras," based on the Mexican wrestling style.

September 14, 2007 – Swiss Fist, a La Gata Negra wrestler, shows off Swiss Miss packets of hot chocolate before her match at Harper’s Ferry in Allston on Thursday night. A packet was later used against her by Boston League of Women Wrestlers opponent, The Wrathalie (not pictured), who pinned her down and poured it in her face to win. Swiss Fist is one of many comedic performers in the La Gata Negra wrestling league.

September 14, 2007 - La Gata Negra wrestler Swiss Fist holds back Boston League of Women Wrestlers opponent, The Wrathalie, as her sidekick, Saint Brawley Girl, fails an attempt to spray beer in the “luchadora’s” face in a match at Harper’s Ferry in Allston on Thursday night. The comedic staged bout ended with the Wrathalie winning by emptying a packet of Swiss Miss into the face of Swiss Fist, who lost by means of her own weapon.

September 14, 2007 – Swiss Fist, a La Gata Negra “luchadora”, traps her opponent, The Wrathalie, of rival Boston League of Women’s Wrestlers, in a submission technique known as an arm-bar at Harper’s Ferry in Allston on Thursday night. Despite this maneuver and earlier help from her tag-team partner, Saint Brawley Girl (not pictured), Swiss Fist lost the match by means of her own secret weapon, a packet of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix, which was poured on her face by The Wrathalie.

September 14, 2007 – Fueled by the music of Panty Raid, the official band of Boston League of Women Wrestlers (BLOWW), The Wrathalie, a BLOWW wrestler, sits on the face of her opponent, Swiss Fist, who is wrestling for rival league, La Gata Negra, at Harper’s Ferry in Allston, MA. The Wrathalie won the match by pouring Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix in the face of Swiss Fist. The leagues, each with their own characters and matches, perform such comedic performances in bars around Boston.

September 14, 2007 - After stealing a packet of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix from Swiss Fist, a La Gata Negra wrestler, The Wrathali, part of rival Boston League of Women Wrestlers (BLOWW), pours the contents onto Swiss Fist’s face and throws it into the crowd during a wrestling match at Harper’s Ferry in Allston on Thursday night. As Panty Raid, BLOWW’s band, wails in the background, the Wrathalie wins the match.