I was recently added on Reuter's The Wider Image iPad app. It's a really great app if you are interested in photography.
I was recently added on Reuter's The Wider Image iPad app. It's a really great app if you are interested in photography.
I had been running all over Seattle for eight hours photographing same-sex weddings that had begun at midnight when I got a call about Frankie’s Sports Bar & Grill in Olympia. It has been a whirlwind of excitement in Washington this past week since Initiative 502 and Referendum 74 became law. Referendum 74 legalized same-sex marriage and Initiative 502 legalized recreational use of marijuana for personal use, in private, to people over the age of 21 in Washington.
It’s hard to describe the feeling of photographing people using cannabis out in the open. I’ve only seen it once before at Seattle’s Hempfest, and it’s still such a strange sight to me. It wasn’t all that long ago that I was in Illinois riding along with Galesburg police officers ready to make arrests for possessing any amount of marijuana.
As I walked into the “Friends of Frankie” second floor space I was immediately hit by the smell of cigarette smoke. For a while now, patrons had been paying the ten-dollar fee to use the smoking area since Frank won a legal battle with the state. Only within the past week has marijuana made an appearance. It was interesting to note how segregated the two vices were in the area equivalent to the entire downstairs bar.
I asked the bartender to point me toward Frank, the bar’s owner, and found him engaged with a group of medical marijuana users. Frank doesn’t use marijuana personally, but sees it as a way to pull in money during hard times.
A grinder and a lot of marijuana were set up on the table. The medical users were all sharing their cannabis. The medical marijuana users also had paraphernalia like pipes and items that I had never seen before — a device for smoking amber-colored hash oil. The patrons were using a blowtorch to light the pipe.
Initially, the group was open to being photographed but as I was writing down names they began to change their minds. Since marijuana is still considered an illegal substance by the federal government, some patrons were worried that it would affect their ability to obtain federal assistance.
A member offered another patron and medical marijuana user, Robert, to try their vaporizer bag. Robert explained that he appreciated there was somewhere to go to use cannabis away from his family where he could interact with other cannabis users.
There was also a young man, Russell Diercks, and his friend, a new member of the Friends of Frankie club, lighting up in the bar. Russell explained that he works nearby and would occasionally stop by the bar for a drink, but it wasn’t a regular event. However, since Frank has started allowing members to smoke cannabis in the bar, Russell has been coming in more frequently, bringing his friends and even his mother along — exactly what Frank was counting on.
I've only seen one bird of prey up close before. It was socialized and had a handler. This time it was very different. I stood in a small flight pen as a bald eagle swooped down towards me. My assignment that day included trying to get a clean shot as of this rather large bird as it was flying sporadically about thwarting PAWS naturalist Kevin Mack’s attempts at capture. But that is the charm of photojournalism. You never know exactly what you are walking into. Each assignment has the potential to be great or pointless depending on what you make of it.
Watching Kevin chase the eagle with a large 15-foot net was an interesting sight. He told me he planned to flush the bird out toward the corner of the room and catch it. Soon he had the bird cornered, but as he tried to put the net around it, it gave flight directly towards me. I ducked down, still shooting, hoping the bird wouldn't land on me. As Kevin rushed past after the bird, finally catching it with the net. He slowly picked up the juvenile eagle and inspects the wings and body for any possible damage from capture. The eagle is ok, and so he and a volunteer load the bird into a dog crate for transport to the release site.When we get there, I debate a lot where I should stand and what lens to use. I ended up sticking with the wide angle with the idea that I can switch to the telefocus lens when the bird is flying away. The moment arrives and the eagle’s crate door is opened. The bird takes one jump out and is gone to enjoy his new found freedom.Once back, I knew I needed to find something else at the PAWS center for the assignment. Wandering around, I found a vet fixing a pigeon's fractured leg. In the room I saw the pigeon’s x-rays up on the light board and I thought it was interesting.
On the way back home, it hit me that the PAWS center probably had quite a few animal x-rays with interesting stories behind them and that I would like to photograph them for readers to see. I called Kevin up and asked if he could pull 10 or so x-rays of interesting cases. Luckily, the paper's publish date wasn't until two weeks allowing me to head back and make the x-ray images.A pregnant raccoon was taken to the PAWS Wildlife Center that suffered a fractured leg and severe head trauma. PAWS Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. John Huckabee delivered three raccoons by cesarean section. The kits were able to nurse on their mother however she never recovered from the accident. A large egg, unable to pass naturally, is shown in an x-ray of a Red-tailed Hawk. Fortunately, the PAWS Wildlife Center veterinarian was able to remove the egg and the bird made a full recovery and was later released in Fort Dent Park.