a wolf on the moon

2009_03_07_time for a change, bradvest.com/blog

2009-03-07T15:47:00.008-06:00

2009_03_07_time for a change, bradvest.com/blog

Things are changing. I've decided to finally start hosting my blog on my own web space. I haven't quite gotten my actual website up and running yet, but I think hosting my blog on that space will work out better for me than using a blogger account. No more unsaturated colors and blacks, no more strange sizing methodology before posting. It's a pretty simple blog still but better. I'll be using a word press account on my website which will allow me more freedom to customize my blog, size my photos, and include more personalized posts.

So from now on everything will be posted at bradvest.com/blog. I hope you'll continue to follow my adventures and enjoy the photography and ramblings of myself in this new space.

Again, as always, thanks for looking. And I'll see you at bradvest.com/blog

Thanks,
Brad Vest

bradvest.com/blog

2009_03_02_Way of the wagon

2009-03-02T22:57:00.001-06:00

2009_03_02_Way of the wagon

Heading out of town for a couple days into western Kansas for some assignments; number, location, and information of said assignments remains unknown. Well, I know of one but since we'll be going so far away we try to cover a lot of stuff to make the trip worth while.

I just hope I find some time to shoot random things for myself. I think I'll be toting the tripod along this time also.... maybe do a few nighttime shots. I should really order the trigger for my canon so that I can make an exposure that's longer than 30 seconds.

I'll bring my Rollei and Holga along for the ride also. I'm running extremely low on 120 film though. I've only got a few shots left in the Rollei and maybe two in my Holga. I can only imagine those will be gone by the time I get home on Wednesday. Problem is I shoot quite a bit of film but have so much to be developed I should probably slow down a tad until it's all been souped. It'll be surprising when I get the film done though, I've forgotten what was even shot on some of it.

Probably be a little incognito for the next couple of days while I'm gone, hopefully I'll have some nice stuff to throw up when I get back though.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

2009_03_01_Mining the creative

2009-03-01T15:01:00.012-06:00

2009_03_01_Mining the creative

Heading down into the Hutchinson Salt Mine was one of the more interesting day long shoots I've been on. I drove up to the mine at around 5:30 am to grab all of my safety gear and still beat the first miners arriving for their shift. After a quick introduction to the guys it was time to get to work, for all of us.

Heading down into the mine.

After the miners had quick cup of coffee it was off the the lift down 650 feet into the mine. I was expecting the ride to be a slow jostled trip into the depths, but was soon to be surprised by the little lift that could. The lift, with five miners and a photographer crammed into the small 5x5 space (maybe), shot down must faster than expected. Covering the 650 foot journey in maybe 45 seconds or so with bumps along the way as the sides ground against the shaft in a deep black one would only expect to encounter deep in the Mariana trench. As the cart dropped further and further into the earth the conversation between miners was littered with the sounds of 3 second exposures and the incessant fumbling of controls through the jury rigged, hopefully salt proof protective bag I had taped around my camera in my early morning haze over a giant cup of sumatran coffee.

Just as I started to think about what I would find at the end of this lift ride light started to come up through the floor of the small cart, close. I was surprised at how strongly lit the mine was, this will be easy I thought, things changed. We all gathered outside the shaft as one of the miners walked off and retrieved one of their custom mine transporters, an old chevy suburban that had the roof cut off, no doors, and a completely stripped interior with the seats being bolted back into place. Off we went and off went the light. Soon we were being solely guided by the two headlamps of the old bio diesel salt truck.

The rest of the dark day was spent in the newest areas of the mine and the makeshift break room that the miners keep near the area where they are currently mining. The miners were working on drilling and blasting away new salt faces to bring down 300 tons of new salt each time to haul off to the conveyor and up to the surface.

Hopefully during my time here I can find a few more opportunities to head down into the mine. I am definitely going to try and spend a few more days with these guys and make some more of the infinite images that exist in this place.

Either way, here are just a few of the photos that I made in this strange, unique place.

Thanks for looking.

Best,
Brad Vest

Once you step foot into the salt mine you realize that pretty much everything is coated in a fine powder of salt, like the consistency of powder.

There is absolutely no light down in the working area of the mine except the light that comes from the machines and the miners headlamps. In other words, it was harsh to shoot in.

A long exposure of the LHD, load haul dump, front end loader coming to drop off a 4 ton load of salt. The salt is then hauled off by the conveyor over to the mine shaft where 2 buckets bring the salt up to the surface.

A shot from my camera as it rides along the conveyor belt with the salt.

The salt that is blasted off the walls is in relatively large chunks that need to be ground up before entering the conveyor. With that said, all the salt that drops on the ground, drilled, and cut out of the walls is turned into a fine powder after being run over by the large machines hundreds of times.

A long exposure of miners working at the end of a tunnel. Again, the only light in the mine comes from the workers machines and headlamps.

This way.... to the batcave.

The salt mine was nothing like I expected. No small spaces, just large vast areas of blasted salt with columns set to hold up the ever increasing grid of openness where the salt is mined from.

This is my favorite shot from the day. The salt pattern, the chairs, and the miners during one of their breaks says a lot about the place, and the people that work in this place.... Not to mention the calender on the wall.

The miners have to sharpen about a 2 gallon bucket load of the cutter and drill tips each day to keep them sharp enough to cut the salt efficiently.

Heading up after a long day in the mine.

Listening to: Blame it on the Tetons, Modest Mouse

2009_02_28_overcast, under appreciated

2009-02-28T23:01:00.003-06:00

2009_02_28_overcast, under appreciated

peace,
Brad Vest

2009_02_27_

2009-02-27T23:10:00.002-06:00

2009_02_27_

Airplanes rarely venture near this place, just jet streams on the horizon.

Best,
Brad Vest

2009_02_26_

2009-02-26T23:58:00.000-06:00

2009_02_26_

-brad

2009_02_26_mining preview

2009-02-26T21:32:00.008-06:00

2009_02_26_mining preview

As you know I headed down into the Hutchinson Salt Mine this past Tuesday. I spent the entire day shift down in the mine with the workers. The Ad Astra photo page isn't inked until this Sunday so I can't share any of the actual photos. But here are just a few behind the scenes shots.

I had to tag up before heading down into the mine like every other miner. You leave one tag at the surface and keep one tag on you. This is in case of emergencies they know who is down in the mine. As I was going through the safety training the manager joked... 'for some reason they make them out of brass, so when you're stuck in the mine and burn up it's easy to identify you by the melted drop of metal seeing as brass melts at 200 degrees.' Haha, not very funny.

The self rescuer that turns poisonous CO into CO2. Granted it doesn't add any oxygen so if you're using this thing you better be moving quickly to the exit.

Sparkly salt ceiling.

I was shooting the powder man who's in charge of setting the explosives in each and just as we finished up the first wall it was time to move on to the next wall a few hundred yards away. The truck he uses the get around only has one seat in the front so I saddled up with my legs hanging over the side of the flatbed. Just as he was getting in the front he called back, 'you can sit on the explosives if you want'. Why not. Riding around with the powder man on top of around 1000 lbs of ammonium nitrate explosives, it was ironically comfortable.

ESCAPE WAY!

I turned a 5 dollar camera rain jacket into pretty much a completely sealed jacket to keep the abundant salt particles off my gear.

Since the camera was completely sealed with the bag and close to a full roll of electrical tape this made controlling the camera difficult. I do know how to control everything in the dark by touch, but the bag made the controls much more sluggish and slippery. It was tough when adjusting from a iso3200 @ 1/15th shot to an iso 640 shot @ 1/50th.

Best,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, Vampire Weekend

2009_02_25_Don Quixote for a day

2009-02-25T18:55:00.000-06:00

2009_02_25_Don Quixote for a day

I felt like the obsessive fictional hero as I somewhat frantically drove around the four square miles or so of roads that surrounded the thirty-three newly constructed windmills outside the small Kansas town of Marienthal. However, instead of battling the windmills in a more chivalrous endeavor, I was dealing with something much more fleeting and obscure, the light.

After driving over four hours straight west into the vast, barren, brown land known as western Kansas and only being a few handfuls of miles from the Colorado border I was banking deeply on the fact that the sky would open up and give me one of her more fantastic sunsets to work with. After all, the sole reason I came all this way was to make a pictorial type photo, beautiful in its nature, of the windmills for the upcoming cover for one of the four sections of The Hutchinson News' yearly progress section.

When the light started to fade I knew it would either be a great sunset or there wouldn't be one at all. Clouds had started to roll in which is actually a great thing since clouds make the sky more dynamic and actually enhance the colors of the sunset. But, with those benefits also comes a huge downside, clouds can completely kill a sunset by blocking out the light. At the beginning it was great, the sun was parting the clouds and creating beautiful shades of color on the clouds and reflecting off the large reflective bases of the windmills.

I became worried though just as the sun was starting to get into it's peak position it was matted out by the clouds. I waited and waited but nothing changed the sun just stuck to the back of a huge set of clouds concealing all the light except for a few shades of not so fantastic grey. Just as I was about to call it a day she broke through right at the horizon line and lit up the entire cloud mass that used to be blocking here.

It worked out for some wonderful pictures and a great trip.

Thanks for looking.
-Brad Vest

After about 20 minutes of nothing but grey, the sun appeared again and gave a wonderful show of color for about ten minutes before continuing on to other parts of the western hemisphere.

This is the photo we chose to run for the cover of the wind progress section. It was so great to see the way we used the photos for the covers of each section. We went big! Each section front was just a photo, no text, no graphics, just a giant photo welcoming readers into the section.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Stork and Owl, Tv on the Radio

2009_02_25_hear that sound

2009-02-25T18:36:00.004-06:00

2009_02_25_hear that sound

I miss the Puget Sound and that city that sits off her eastern side.

Best,
Brad Vest

2009_02_24_ballers

2009-02-24T20:34:00.003-06:00

2009_02_24_ballers

Best,
Brad Vest

Listening to: I Hold Nothing, Mount Eerie

2009_02_24_Working in a sodium chloride mine going down down down

2009-02-24T07:02:00.006-06:00

2009_02_24_Working in a sodium chloride mine going down down down

Right about now I'll be stepping onto an elevator and descending about seventy stories below the surface of the earth into a strange, dark, and dusty place, the Hutchinson Salt Mine. I'll be spending the day with the workers documenting their underground lives. I'm not quite sure what to expect except for really challenging lighting and a nice dry 65 degree day without the sun.

I lightened everything out of my bag except for the essentials and a lunch consisting of a couple pb and j sandwiches, a banana, a granny smith apple, and a bottle of water. That way it will be much easier to get around all day.

Lightened load, only the essentials.

Fully charged batteries for a full day of shooting. I marked them a while back so that I know which are spent and which still have a charge when I am sifting through my bag.

Other than that all I have to carry, among other things, is a certified breather that's about the size of mango, but in rectangle form. The breather only weighs about 3 pounds and in case of emergency it turns poisonous carbon monoxide into harmless carbon dioxide to allow for greater time to run out of the mine. Knock on wood, don't worry though, salt mining is actually very safe, especially when compared to coal mining.

Waiver and releases let you know what you'll be doing is exciting.

I also sorta enhanced the seals on my camera with some electrical tape and rubber bands to keep the salt dust from getting in where it shouldn't. If the mine is worse than I am anticipating as far as particles in the air and getting all over my camera I'm also bringing down two weather bags that fit around my cameras and lenses. I really don't want to use those though, they are a real pain in the butt.

Super seal, patent pending.

Other than that I guess there isn't much. I'm really excited to get down there and start making pictures. I'm leaving my apartment at 5am or so to get to the mine before the workers start to arrive to capture the whole process of one of their full work days.

So, if you need to get in touch with me tomorrow, good luck, my phone won't have much signal due to the interference of 700 feet of rock, sand, dirt, and salt.

See you topside,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Your rocky spine, Great Lake Swimmers

2009_02_23_partly organic

2009-02-23T21:00:00.005-06:00

2009_02_23_partly organic

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: I've got it all (most), Modest Mouse

2009_02_23_Youth rodeo

2009-02-23T07:26:00.009-06:00

2009_02_23_Youth Rodeo

As always, thanks for taking a look.

Best,
Brad Vest

Listening to: upon this tidal wave of young blood, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

2009_02_22_Ignoring generics

2009-02-22T21:33:00.004-06:00

2009_02_22_Ignoring generics

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Once Around the Block, Badly Drawn Boy

2009_02_21_Five angry bulls and a puppy

2009-02-22T17:50:00.001-06:00

2009_02_21_Five angry bulls and a puppy

Yesterday I had the chance to shoot a rodeo for the first time. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I definitely knew it would have its fair share of excitement. Turns out it was a little more exciting than I bargained for.

When I first got to the small rodeo I wandered around the outside took pictures and grabbed a coffee. I knew the best pictures would be in with the bull riding competitors that stay inside a fenced in area at one side of the large rodeo ring. The competitors enter the confined ring where they are safe from the large bulls, get dressed and prepared to mount the bulls. The bulls come in on the right side and follow a path around to the front into their holders before being released into the ring with a rider on top. After the ride, the bull is guided out on the left side of the small fenced in ring where the riders wait and out into the pen behind the building.... At least that is the plan.

He's a Blue Healer and he was awesome.

Young cowboy getting his gear ready for his upcoming ride.

I entered the confined ring and started making pictures as the riders prepared to start riding the bulls. There was a tiny puppy in the ring and that took up most my attention for a little while. Either way, I was shooting pictures of one of the younger riders getting his rope ready and all the sudden people were yelling and jumping all over the place. Apparently someone forgot to make sure the gates were chained together which allowed five angry bulls to bust through into the 'safe' area where the riders were getting prepared. As I looked left I saw three bulls running right at me. I ran across the area and leaped onto a large metal grate that riders climb up onto before lowering themselves down onto the bulls. I tried to make a few photos as soon as I was safe from the 5 pairs of horns that continually raced around the small area butting at anything that came near them.

The shutter was triggered as I ran across with the giant bulls chasing me down.

After I thought I was in a relatively safe position I turned and tried to make a few images of the bulls reeking havoc in the small 'safe' zone.

Bull runs full steam into the fence where guys scramble to the other side.

It was a very exciting experience and my heart was racing a little when it was all done. Luckily no one was injured, and who knows how, but the little puppy made it out unscathed also.

The little guy didn't even seem to mind after the whole ordeal was over.

What a great little kick to get the day going.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

One cowboy was scared out of his boot.

Listening to: Chicago, Sufjan Stevens

2009_02_21_A window on Kansas

2009-02-21T22:46:00.004-06:00

2009_02_21_A window on Kansas

I didn't think of it at the time of making this image but while editing it reminded me of a project I like that Chris Hondros created while in Baghdad, Iraq. Hondros gathered images that he made from his travels inside of the US Hummvees that he was constantly traveling around in.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Our Swords, Band of Horses

2009_02_19_Hostage camera situation

2009-02-21T20:46:00.005-06:00

2009_02_19_Hostage camera situation

This past Thursday there was an armed standoff in downtown Hutchinson. It started out as a hostage situation, but by the time I got there the hostages were released unharmed and the only thing being held hostage apparently was my ability to make nice photos and the time in which I had to make them. A man confronted his ex-wife, who had just enacted a restraining order, at the law office with a loaded pistol and took her and the other people at the office hostage. He quickly released the hostages but stayed holed up in the office with police surrounding the building.

Police Officer with very large gun.

This was my first time covering something like this and I wasn't surprised at how hard it was to make photos while there. The first thing that hinders photos is proximity. With the cops pretty much shutting down an entire square block around the scene nothing was going to be tight with a 70-200mm zoom lens. I tried to overcome this shortcoming by using contacts that I had made in this small town. It just so happened that the scene was right across the street from a downtown loft that I shot an assignment in earlier this month. I made may way the loft talked with the owner and got permission to get up on top of his roof to shoot photos down at the scene. The top run on the ladder placed outside was as far as I got before a SWAT member politely stared at me, shook his head, and pointed down. Well it was worth a try right?

Either way, nothing really happened for a few hours and then my photo editor called me and told me that I had to move on to an assignment to cover an art walk that happens every third Thursday on the south side of downtown Hutchinson. We did have another photographer covering the scene from the other side of the block, but I was caught off guard to say the least when I was asked to leave an armed stand off to cover an art gallery. I mean, I was ready to sit there all night and wait for anything to happen, that's what journalists do.

Granted, I was going to go shoot this event, edit my photo for the feature section of the paper, and then rush back to the scene to hang out for the rest of the night. But just like anything that one waits for a long time and then ends up leaving, it happened without me. Just as I was getting back from shooting the feature walking into the Hutchinson news building 9 bangs were heard rolling from downtown, flash-bangs. In an instant it was over and I was 3 blocks away.

Keep in mind, even if I was there I probably would not have made any decent pictures of the relatively peaceful arrest at nighttime, luckily no one was injured. But it's those kind of moments that as a photojournalist I live to be there and cover. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen whether I'm there or not, and I want to be there.

Cheers,
Brad Vest

I got pretty bored and found a double reflection of me, woot.

There were a lot of pigeons trying to get a better look at the crime seen, they were also shooed back.

This is the feature photo that I went and hastily made.

Listening to: The Strain, Blockhead

2009_02_20_Seized

2009-02-20T22:43:00.003-06:00

2009_02_20_Seized

Listening to: In the lost and found, Elliot Smith

2009_02_19_

2009-02-19T10:43:00.002-06:00

2009_02_19_

Cheers,
Brad Vest

Listening to:

2009_02_28_ISBOP Story

2009-02-18T23:15:00.000-06:00

2009_02_28_ISBOP Story

Picture Story—sty—A maximum of 10 images that
together tell a story.

I've posted this story on here a couple times. So if you'd like to see the entire 9 image story go here.

Best,
Brad Vest

2009_02_18_ISBOP News

2009-02-18T22:45:00.000-06:00

2009_02_18_ISBOP News

News—nws—A photographic report of a scheduled
or unscheduled news event.

2009_02_18_ISBOP Portrait/Personality

2009-02-18T22:36:00.000-06:00

2009_02_18_ISBOP Portrait/Personality

Portrait/Personality—pop—A picture of a person
that reveals the essence of the subject’s character.

2009_02_18_ISBOP Pictorial

2009-02-18T22:16:00.000-06:00

2009_02_18_ISBOP Pictorial

Pictorial—pic—A picture that exploits the graphic or aesthetic qualities of a subject with an emphasis on composition.

2009_02_18_ISBOP Feature

2009-02-18T21:55:00.000-06:00

2009_02_28_ISBOP Feature

Feature—fea—A picture of a “found” situation that features strong human interest, or a fresh view of an everyday scene.

2009_02_18_ISBOP FEA

2009_02_18_IPPA Student Best of Photography

2009-02-18T21:07:00.007-06:00

2009_02_18_IPPA Student Best of Photography

ISBOP is a photography contest between all the Illinois students and interns within the photojournalism community. Each year the IPPA, Illinois Press Photographers Association, gets together at some exotic locale (last year was Champaign, IL this year is Madison, WI) to discuss photography, listen to speakers, judge the contest entries, and of course have a much needed get together party.

I just sent off my disk of images shortly before the already extended deadline to get your entries into the mail. This will only be the second ISBOP competition that I have entered but I feel that I learned a lot from my last years entries and I am pretty happy with what I will be showing this year.

I entered the maximum 20 entries including a photo story entry. This year I am also entering into the student portfolio of the year competition, why not.

After gathering what I thought were my best images and editing those down to just 20 entries I know I still forgot some and overlooked a diamond in the rough here or there that I will stumble upon while looking through my archives sometime in the future. The process of having a few friends share my screen using Mac's Leopard operating system helped out a lot as they went through all my images that I had up and could talk directly to me while reviewing the images. It was just like looking over images being only feet away instead of hundreds of miles. I hope that the images that I sent are a pretty good representation of my 2008 year in work, and I am excited to hopefully be able to make it up to the conference at Madison in late March.

Either way, I figured I would share the images that I sent off to the competition here on my blog and get any feedback you have to offer. I know there are a couple that I had a hard time leaving in there, but the images meant something to me and the way that I shoot.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

I'll start out with the sports photos. Here's what I entered in the sports action category and the sports features category.

Sports Action—spa—A photograph that captures
the competitive spirit; peak action.

Sports Feature—spf—A photograph that increases understanding and appreciation for individual and team sports or celebrates the role athletics play in the lives of amateur and/or professional athletes and fans.

2009_02_18_

2009-02-18T17:10:00.002-06:00

2009_02_18_

Listening to: some older British Sea Power tracks

2009_02_17_Sub Astra

2009-02-17T18:51:00.003-06:00

2009_02_17_Sub Astra

This Sunday The Hutchinson News published another Ad Astra that I had shot. This time was quite different than the other two that I've had published before. It wasn't planned at all really until the day before and the Ad Astra was to be based around an event instead of an idea.

For this Ad Astra I simply covered The Hutchinson Invitational wrestling tournament that has been held at the Hutchinson Arena for the past thirty-four years.

I shot like crap and didn't come away with many images that I liked. It was a huge event and there were a lot of images that I was seeing, I just didn't produce.

I'm coming up with other ideas for these Ad Astras that I think will make more meaningful images and short visual stories. By the time I leave here I hope that I have the chance to publish at least a few more of these photo pages with completely original ideas and thought out visual stories. It would be a shame to not make some inspiring short stories with the great space that is provided every week.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Three Peaches, Neutral Milk Hotel

2009_02_17_

2009-02-17T13:42:00.002-06:00

2009_02_17_

Listening to: It's a fact, Matt and Kim

2009_02_16_Vision on a daily basis

2009-02-16T07:55:00.002-06:00

2009_02_16_Vision on a daily basis

I've been thinking lately about changing up a few things, well adding actually. You'll still see the same types of posts that I have been all along, but now I'm also going to whole heartedly try and post a stand alone picture each day. These photos won't be necessarily be explained in depth, or have any reasoning behind them except for the fact that it's a photo I love that I've made that day, or very recently. Sometimes titled sometimes not, but always a photo.

It will just sort of be a daily vision, a work that grows each day, a photo for no other reason than the fact that I made it and want to share it. These probably won't be from assignments or work related in any way, just something I've made and want to share.

v1

Best,
Brad Vest

Stairway to everyone's heaven

Listening to: Mykonos, Fleet Foxes

2009_02_15_A long walk through one of the many moments of time

2009-02-15T21:46:00.006-06:00

2009_02_15_A long walk through one of the many moments of time

For now I usually have Sunday and Monday off each week while I work Tuesday through Saturday. I was relatively productive today cleaning up a tad, getting my images ready for the Illinois Student Best of Photography, contest coming up near the end of March.

After spending the first half of the day in the apartment I was starting to get a little case of cabin fever and decided to head out for the rest of the day on a long walk with my camera and Einstein's Dreams, I headed south towards Carey Park following whatever caught my eye on a zig-zag discombobulated course. Eventually I did end up at Carey Park, found a nice spot along the Arkansas River, (remember that's Our Kansas here, they even pronounce it like that on the radio) and read a couple of the fable like excerpts from the novel.

Wandered back as the light was starting to slowly fade below the horizon and walked in the door just as the batteries on my half charged ipod disappeared.

It was a great day.

Best,
Brad Vest

A memorial in downtown Hutchinson with Abe Lincoln (?) on top standing tall. I waited a while for a flock of birds to fly by, or something, but nothing ever came to fill a little of that empty space.

Listening to: To go home, M.Ward

2009_02_15_Four walls and a roof

2009-02-15T20:16:00.008-06:00

2009_02_15_Four walls and a roof

So, this is where I live. It's nothing much and nothing original, but it works. The Hutchinson News has a deal with one of the local landlords to keep one of his apartments open for the paper's yearly intern rotation. This made things very easy when I decided to take the internship in which all I had to do was call him up and let him know when I'd be getting into town. The other nice thing is that it's furnished, so I didn't have to lug much stuff with me on my drive to Kansas.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

The Main Place, top third window from the right.

I forgot to drop off a pair of shoes when I swung through Urbana, Illinois on my way out to Kansas.

Living room with flags and news pages trying to un-bland the wall a tad. More have been added since this photo was taken. My entertainment system holds my film cameras, boxes of photo paper (I may build a pin-hole camera while I'm here) and my portfolio building supplies. Very entertaining.

I've never liked glass tables. Maybe I just don't understand the reasoning behind wanting to see whats under the table? As a kid I always wanted a glass table though, with a fish tank underneath it.

Looking towards the kitchen out of the living room. There's no coat rack or anything so the chairs are usually the easiest place for cold weather clothes and such.

Not much, but its got a stove and full size fridge.

A couple Seattle reminders in the kitchen. Um, no I didn't just staple that drawing to the wall??

Comfy bed and a small bag of Jasmine I nabbed from Seattle.

I guess I was lucky that furnished also included towels.

Tracking a wild animal.

Broken space needle snow globe.

Listening to: some older Minus the Bear tracks

2009_02_14_Frying peppers

2009-02-14T19:52:00.001-06:00

2009_02_14_Frying peppers

Red and jalapeño peppers with onion.

Mexican rice with chicken, black beans, chopped tomato, and the fried peppers. So good.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Electric Feel, MGMT

2009_02_13_sueños

2009-02-13T20:33:00.009-06:00

2009_02_13_sueños

Shared a good book with a friend today?

Thanks,

Best,
Brad Vest

Listening to: I'm still waiting, Bob Marley
Reading: Einstein's Dreams

2009_02_12_Befriending an ass

2009-02-12T18:05:00.009-06:00

2009_02_12_Befriending an ass

Another day, another small farm. As expected there was the staple of any farm, a great farm dog. This time it was an excited, younger yellow lab that loved puddles. As the owner of the farm walked the reporter and I around the outside of his farm I took photos and played with the hound as the reporter conducted her interview.

A cool farm dog, as expected.

Cool farm dogs always enjoy puddles, it's a guarantee.

I wanted a few more closer photos so we backtracked around and went in with his cattle and sheep herd. I didn't know this but I guess donkey's are a great animal to protect smaller animals such as sheep from fox and coyotes. They become the dominant animal in the herd and protect them from predators. This herds protector was named sneaky for very good reasons.

Not expected, really friendly farm donkey.

Sneaky was a very nice, curious donkey. It was a great assignment.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Post War, M. Ward

Whats this here thing you're holding??? Ah! What was that sound?

This donkey was extremely curious about my cameras. While I'd be kneeling down shooting pictures of my subjects all the sudden I would get a lens full of donkey nose.

Donkey nose.

Sneaky was a very proper name for this donkey. I'd be shooting and turn around, donkey. For what I assume is a 300 plus pound animal, it was very surprising how quietly she got around.

Oh, the cattle had little afros and long puffy hair on their bodies. This is a Highlander calf going mop top with blond highlights.

2009_02_11_National Geographic photographer and a storm chaser

2009-02-11T17:41:00.000-06:00

2009_02_11_National Geographic photographer and a storm chaser

Today while out on assignment in McPherson, Kansas I decided to swing by Jim Richardson's studio in Lindsborg, Kansas during the hour between assignments. I wasn't expecting him to be in town given the life of a National Geographic photographer, I was hoping so though. Even if he wasn't at his office I was really looking forward to looking at some of his gallery work and getting a taste of some terrific photography.

I lucked out though and he happened to be in town working in his office which is in the back of his gallery. I introduced myself and we got down to talking about today's photography, jobs, and a my plans and his advice for getting into today's market. It was a sobering talk as always in today's world, he had a lot of great advice for me, outstanding points on breaking into international photojournalism, and how to market myself along the way.

Richardson then showed me some of his new work that he is currently editing through and some challenges that came up while shooting and the shots that meant the most to him.

I'll be heading back to Lindsborg in March to meet up with Richardson again and run through my portfolio with him after he gets back from a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC. I know my shots will be torn apart, but that's the process of getting better, having someone at the top of their game look at your photos and show you how you could improve.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Best,
Brad Vest

Oh, also, at the second assignment of the day I met a veteran storm chaser based out of McPherson, Kansas. We exchanged information and I'll hopefully be chasing a few storms with him in the upcoming months, documenting the trips and photographing the life of a storm chaser on the road. Awesome.

Listening to: Decatur, Sufjan Stevens

2009_02_10_Reuben Reuben I've been thinking

2009-02-10T22:38:00.002-06:00

2009_02_10_Reuben Reuben I've been thinking

Spent a few hours on a farm today for a story running in the near future for The Hutchinson News. Farms are always so fun, I loved spending time at my mom's family's farm while growing up and still enjoy trotting around amongst the animals.

Things that are almost guaranteed on a farm.

Mud, a cool dog, and curious farm animals.

Cheers,
Brad Vest

Listening to: How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm, Andrew Bird

He was a mix between something and an Australian Sheep dog, he was awesome.

Adolescent calf hams it up for the camera.

Full grown cow also interested.

I should probably get a pair of boots.

2009_02_10_Countryside PDF

2009-02-10T22:05:00.002-06:00

2009_02_10_Countryside PDF

Here's how my second Ad Astra looked when it ran in the paper this past Sunday, February 8th.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Fisher of Men, M. Ward

2009_02_09_Scary times

2009-02-09T21:29:00.006-06:00

2009_02_09_Scary times

Failure to act "could turn crisis into catastrophe," President Barack Obama during his first prime-time press conference.

New York Times article on the press conference.

Best,
Brad Vest

2009_02_09_Laundry day

2009-02-09T18:45:00.001-06:00

2009_02_09_Laundry day

For the first time in a long while I don't have easy access to a washer and dryer. I don't think I'll mind going to the laundry mat though; my camera, ipod, a good book, and a close coffee shop should get the job done. Not to mention the interesting people that could be met.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

My change stash is going through a quarter famine.

Oldest dryers ever, they get the job done quickly though.

Listening to: Walking on a dream, Empire of the Sun

2009_02_09_Passport to where?

2009-02-09T15:32:00.002-06:00

2009_02_09_Passport to where?

I finally applied for my passport today. It's not that I haven't been to a lot of places, I just haven't been to anywhere besides the US and Canada. And I don't think I would change that, I've been to some of the most amazing places, but I think it's time to get a little further from the homeland.

Things will be changing soon, to where? Not quite sure. But it's nice to know that a week or two from now I'll have the ability to go anywhere in the world in an instants notice.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Fisher of Men, M. Ward

2009_02_09_Kansas countryside

2009-02-09T08:20:00.005-06:00

2009_02_09_Kansas countryside

I happened to acquire another Ad Astra space for this weeks Sunday paper. I was originally thinking of doing a photo story on the geese migration that is taking place. After a few days of not coming up with much I switched over to an Ad Astra about my new surroundings, the Kansas countryside.

Since this was just more of a fun, go out and shoot the countryside, type of assignment I wrote a short paragraph about how I came up with the idea and why it ran as an Ad Astra for The Hutchinson News. Here's the brief intro I wrote for the paper.

Country Views, By Brad Vest

"I've spent the past six months of my life either on the road in in Seattle, situated in the Pacific Northwest where mountains, water, and forests are limitless. After arriving in Kansas for the first time in my life a little under three weeks ago, I was caught off guard by the natural beauty of the wide open landscape and the peacefulness that comes with it. I want to be out in the countryside as much as possible while here. I want to familiarize myself with my new surroundings explore them, and make images that represent this new place. Here are just a few images I've made so far while exploring this new, wonderful environment."

I'll download the PDF at work on Tuesday and throw that up here so you can see how it ran in the paper again like my last Ad Astra about the Reno County Landfill.

The rest of the photos are down below, some of them published some did not.

Best,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Exclusive first listen of Animal Collective on NPR

Some sort of hawk?? Circles a wheat field in search of small creatures.

Like a lot of rural areas it's almost more rare to see a sign without bullet holes riddling the entire sign. I don't quite understand shooting signs, I doubt it's very difficult to shoot stationary targets that are reflective.

I ran across a gaggle of some sort of guinea fowl while driving around, 15-20 of them or so just walking around in the middle of the road.

A tractor track imprinted on one of the numerous dirt Kansas country roads.

2009_02_08_Fly like an eagle

2009-02-08T17:05:00.000-06:00

2009_02_08_Fly like an eagle

Yesterday I had the chance to drive to Wichita, Kansas to cover the release of a rehabilitated American Bald Eagle, Trapper John, back into the wild. He was named Trapper John because he was injured when he landed in a steel hunting trap that injured one of his legs. He had been fully rehabbed at the Eagle Valley Raptor Center which has rehabbed hundreds of injured birds.

The hood keeps the birds surprisingly calm, once the hood came off before the release the Eagle became very stressed and nervous.

I found it strange that they would decide to release the eagle in Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, out of all places that Kansas has to offer. Releasing in such a densely populated area brought quite the crowd out though. The release was right along the Arkansas river, pronounced 'Our Kansas' to most people in this area. When Ken Lockwood helped loft the eagle into the are that was it, Trapper John took off and kept flying till he was out of site, north along the river.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Good flying Trapper John.

On the way home I stumbled across a controlled brush fire that one of the farmers had set to burn out a patch of around 8 acres of prairie. I got there right as it was finishing up, I really want to shoot an entire burn like this. Shot from the car window as I was looking for people to photograph with the fire, sorry for the tilt haha.

Listening to: Anonanimal, Andrew Bird, probably my favorite song on the album.

2009_02_08_Pete Souza was here

2009-02-08T00:02:00.000-06:00

2009_02_08_Pete Souza was here

I'd be lying if I told you I'm exactly where I want to be. I'd also be lying if I told you that I'll find this place anytime in the near future. All I do know is that I'm in a great spot right now as I pursue one of the toughest careers to break into, so a little inspiration goes a long way as I start out into this brave new world.

One of the photographers I have followed of late has been Pete Souza. He's an amazing photojournalist that has just been named President Obama's White House Photographer.

Even the most talented and passionate photographers have to start out somewhere on the road to 'making it'. Souza just so happened to start out in a small town in Kansas named Hutchinson. Souza worked at The Hutchinson News from June 1979 through November 1980. So for a mere 17 months Souza trotted the same halls that I will be trotting for the next 5 months.

The old developing room at the Hutchinson News.

Red light, off.

Obviously things have changed a lot since then. The shift from film to digital, the struggle for newspapers to stay alive, and just about everything else in the world has changed substantially. It's nice to know that such an great photographer had his humble beginnings at the same paper that I am also starting to etch my beginning from. Granted, he was still souping his film and enlarging his prints, I'm just glad I had a chance to still do all the dark room work.

Tough to get that water to a nice 68.5 degrees.

Before being named Obama's Chief White House photographer Souza followed Obama from his humble beginnings in the Illinois Senate all the way to his rise to become the 44th President of the United States. He published an amazing book named The Rise of Barack Obama, it's an intimate set of images following an awe inspiring story.

From Hutchinson Souza went straight east.

I'm not quite sure where I'll be going after here, but I can guarantee it will be in one of these directions.

The direction that I hope to follow will lead to becoming a freelance documentary style photojournalist focusing on the environment and environmental interactions. This would include; environmental disasters, human conflict based around environmental resources, pristine and impacted ecosystems, use and abuse of resources, focusing on natural ecosystems dealing with human impacts, and other types of events based on people around the world and their unique interactions with the environment. The problems that need to focused on are numerous and vastly important in today's world.

Get inspired, I have.

Cheers,
Brad Vest

Absorbing inspiration in the old revolving dark room door.

Listening to: Masterswarm, Andrew Bird

-2009_02_07_Andrew Bird and a chicken sandwich

2009-02-07T20:40:00.004-06:00

-2009_02_07_Andrew Bird and a chicken sandwich

After work today I lackadaisically walked home with my camera slung over my shoulder shooting things on the little over a mile walk home, so relaxing. Nothing beats just wandering around ipod on, or off sometimes, and just seeing.

I'm trying to walk to and from work a different way every day to explore as much as possible and discover new things on different routes. I'm scoping out certain photos that don't look amazing right now, but know that if I time it right the light will really make a gorgeous photo. What I love about this town is the numerous amounts of alleys and back streets, beautiful little pathways strewn with graffiti, garbage, wires, clutter, and other strange colorful things.

When I got home I decided to slip into my weekend off, Sunday and Monday, by running through the new Andrew Bird album, Noble Beast, while cooking dinner. The album as a whole is a little more subdued as far as rhythm and pace goes, but it's wonderful. I highly recommend acquiring it.

green peppers and onion along with a spreadable avocado.

roasted red pepper chicken with green peppers, onion, tomato, avocado, and a little parmesan cheese.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Souverian, Andrew Bird Noble Beast

2009_02_07_Tough decisions

2009-02-06T19:16:00.005-06:00

2009_02_07_Tough decisions

Cutting through relatively redundant images is always difficult. The light changes so quickly during sunsets I always take a lot of photos throughout the sunset's progress. Sometimes the early light is best, sometime the light waits till the moment right before the sun dips beneath the horizon to show its true colors.

Well, I went through a few hundred images from a recent assignment tagging every single one that even remotely peaked my interest, now I just have to narrow those 90 or so down to about 10. Out of those, maybe 3 will be published.

Here's to looking for the needle in a haystack.

Best,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Post War, M. Ward

2009_02_06_Turning trash into treasure

2009-02-06T17:27:00.005-06:00

2009_02_06_Turning trash into treasure

So here is the Ad Astra page which I have talked about. It runs in the paper every Sunday and unbelievably the photo department gets the front page each week for a full photo page. I know, the column on the right does run every week, but still, this is a ton of space to just let the creative juices flow outta the printers.

I'll also have this Sunday's page revolving around my change of scenery and exploring the countryside of the local Kansas area. I'll post those images along with the pdf of how it ran in the paper on Monday.

Cheers,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Andrew Bird has a new album! Noble Beast / Useless Creatures Andrew Bird on NPR

Reading: I'm looking to get back to reading often. I sorta slipped off when I went to Seattle, so any suggestions for books is much appreciated.

2009_02_05_Tempting pregnant heifers

2009-02-05T00:39:00.001-06:00

2009_02_05_Tempting pregnant heifers

The range of assignments that I've been getting here so far is wonderful. I've chased windmills, tracked down geese, explored a landfill, trotted through factories, and just today I had the chance to go a little northeast of Hutchinson and shoot a story about a woman and her cattle.

Now these may not sound like amazing assignments to non photographers. But, don't be mistaken, nothing is better than going to really weird, complex, and unique places. Creativity just seems to flow while on assignments like this, and even if you don't come away with great images at least you spent the day doing something completely different and entertaining.

Today was great. There were around 80 cattle, most still pregnant but some had already had their calves which were now running around and giving baby 'moos'?? Since the cattle were pregnant they had to be coaxed over by the owner with a bag of feed to allow her to check in and make sure they were all doing well. I tried to coax them closer with a handful of dead grass, they were not interested.

I had to fight back the urge to just start running after the calves, they were so hilarious, like big puppies.

Either way, I have a few different things I am working on. But I've been pretty busy with assignments and just general shooting. I'll have a few more things up soon though.

Thanks for looking.
Be well,
Brad Vest

2009_02_01_Talking trash, making pictures

2009-02-01T20:02:00.001-06:00

2009_02_01_Talking trash, making pictures

In my first week at The Hutchinson News I had the opportunity to shoot a regular weekly photo page that comes out every Sunday in a special section, Ad Astra. I'm really excited about having this open photo page every Sunday to share with the three other shooters at the Hutchinson News. For a paper to still have a space reserved just for photographic creativity is a far in few between now-a-days.

This week I was told to just go hang out at the Reno County (that's right, I live in Reno County, not as cool of cops though) Landfill and make some images while the sun was setting. I tried to make images that make the reader recognize beauty in something that one would never think of having beauty, a trash dump.

The last load of garbage comes in just under the 5pm deadline when the landfill closes its gates for the day.

I love the sky out here and I am really excited about the summer storms, giant clouds, and rolling wall clouds that I'll hopefully be able to experience while out in the vast, open space.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

A flock of seagulls is scared up off the trash as a land grader makes a pass covering some of the days trash.

Landfill machinery works into the early evening seen through one of the large mesh fences made to catch blowing trash.

A seagull flies off with a treat.

The Reno County Landfill at sunset.

A seagull comes in for a landing on the flattened waste.

Powered parachutes enjoy the unusually warm winter day as they fly near the Reno County Landfill.

2009_01_30_Kansas sheds her light

2009-01-30T15:29:00.004-06:00

2009_01_30_Kansas sheds her light

This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to travel about four hours west of Hutchinson to a small town near the border of Colorado called Marienthal, Kansas, where a fresh set of Vestas wind turbines is sprouting from the ground. I can't post any of the actual windmill photos since the paper is not publishing the story until later in February or even March, I'm not quite sure. They'll be up at some point in time though.

Here's just a little peak at the western Kanas sky. I was banking on an amazing sunset to really make the photos while shooting the wind farm and she didn't disappoint. At first I was a little worried as the sun dipped behind the clouds before it had a chance to really make the sky glow. But just as I was getting ready to call it a night it started to peak back out and eventually came out right before it dipped below the horizon.

Thanks for the light Kansas, I'll put it to good use.

be well,
Brad Vest

Listening to: I.H.O.J, Destroyer

2009_01_29_Desolation

2009-01-30T14:41:00.001-06:00

2009_01_29_Desolation

Kansas is a very different place than anywhere that I have come from. Parts of it show a likeness to the flat and open parts of northern Illinois, but it's different. It seems more open, old, worn, and in some parts very desolate. Desolation is a theme that I seem to keep on seeing throughout where I travel for assignments and just around town in general. Parts about Kansas also seem to really sync with the economic perspective of the entire United States right now. While I've been here I've seen and heard commercials that say that Kansas is still going strong and it's doing much better than the rest of the United States. There are still parts however that seem very impoverished and showing the wear of the ages.

I am going to start exploring these parts of my city, Hutchinson, and the state more in depth. There are so many possibilities for photos here it is sort of mind boggling, maybe it's just because it is completely foreign to me, but I feel I am drawn to a lot of different subjects here.

Here are just a few shots of sort of a theme I am trying to build on while here, open spaces, desolation, deterioration, etc. etc.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Chicago, Sufjan Stevens

2009_01_28_A hound's handshake

2009-01-28T15:11:00.010-06:00

2009_01_28_A hound's handshake

If you've been keeping up with this blog you know how attached I am to animals, especially dogs. I just can't get enough. One of the best parts about wandering around everywhere for assignments is that it's not a rarity to see a lot of animals, birds, deer, and especially dogs. It's great to run into dogs because I've always had a dog around my entire life and while out doing internships like this it stinks to be away from my dogs at home, Maize and Holly.

Oh hello there. It was muddy outside, whatever though, jump on me all you want.

The other day way out on the west side of Kansas, about 30 minutes from the Colorado border. While shooting art for a story The Hutchinson News is writing about the new wind farm going up I ran into the a very cool dog whose owner lives very close to the windmills. While the writer interviewed the man to get his opinions on the wind farm, the money it brings to town, and such, I politely excused myself to wander around his property and take photos on the wind turbines to show the proximity of them to his property. Ahem, hang out with the cool dog.

He was sorta scared of my camera, I assume he has never seen one before. The initial fright turned to curiosity though.

I did take some pictures, but there really wasn't a great angle to capture the wind turbines and his property. I ended up just hanging out with the awesome dog that he had adopted from the pound as a puppy a year or so earlier. I love big dogs, and this dog was large. Most likely a cross between a golden retriever and a german shepherd if I had to guess.

The hound was really energetic and loved jumping up to my chest to be pet on the head. He also did this hilarious thing when I stopped petting him or when I was walking around to get better shots.... he'd latch onto my hands with a very gentle chomp. Just enough to hold on to as if saying, 'let me walk with you' or 'start petting me again please'.

Hand Shake.

Hand smell.

Gentle hand chomp.

What a great day.

Best,
Brad Vest

Overexposed the first frame since I was still set for indoor exposures. I think this turned out really cool though. That's a reflection of me in his eye.

Listening to: Campus, Vampire Weekend

2009_01_26_Wireless bradbook pro

2009-01-26T12:14:00.003-06:00

2009_01_26_Wireless bradbook pro

I don't leave home without having at least one camera, this notebook (or an offspring to come), and a great pen. Nothing really beats a reliable pen. The wireless bradbook pro features wireless 0.1 capabilities. It can't connect you with the world, you need a writing utensil, and it doesn't beep when you get a message. It can go anywhere with you though, no wires necessary.

No signal at the Hutchinson Airport.

I know Moleskin(e)s are expensive, but I only go through maybe one every 3 months or so, in pages that is usually 3-4 a day. With the audio tagging on my Canon Mark III I usually only take notes if it's a very important subject, or if it is a noisy area where I am working. I do jot down a lot of ideas I have or projects I want to get started.

It's the size of a wallet, usually more valuable monetarily, and almost always of more importance if lost. I wouldn't want to lose my wallet or have it stolen, but chances are whatever is in the wallet can be replaced.

Customizable to each consumers need.

Weather is set to be amazing this week for January in Kansas, only two day's under 50, really looking forward to trotting around meeting some people and making some photos

Best,
Brad Vest

This guy has been with me since Seattle. The landscape has definitely changed, a lot.

Listening to: Zimbabwe, Bob Marley (live version)

2009_01_23_Tag em' and bag em'

2009-01-23T23:34:00.000-06:00

2009_01_23_Tag em' and bag em'

It's begun, again. I received my new press credentials today. Time has been flying, it seems like just yesterday I was waiting at the Daily Illini for my first press tag and just this morning I was back at the Post-Intelligencer going through the introductions and receiving all of my credentials, papers, and such. I guess time flies when you're always on the move.

I know the time will go by just as fast while I'm here and I definitely need to make the most out of it. I've been kicking around ideas and brainstorming lately to get started on a few long term stories while I'm here. I've always had trouble with this and I am hoping to break into some pretty interesting stories while here. Make something that's worthwhile and has meaning.

So, here's to starting something new. As always, thanks for looking.

Cheers,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Walking on a Dream, Empire of the Sun

2009_01_23_X-Raying clementines

2009-01-23T22:29:00.002-06:00

2009_01_23_X-Raying clementines

Not much to say. I enjoy the little things in life such as seedless clementines. Why does such a small piece of fruit have to have such big of seeds?

Seeds or not though, soooo tasty and easy to peal. I usually x-ray the slices out my front window while I chill out in the morning before heading to work.

Best,
Brad

Listening to: Pterodactlys, Fujia $ Miyagi

2009_01_22_Dodge City with a side of beef

2009-01-22T22:17:00.002-06:00

2009_01_22_Dodge City with a side of beef

I've never seen as many cattle as I've seen while trotting around in Kansas so far. They're everywhere. Just the other day I was sent out to Dodge City, Kansas to shoot a high school basketball game in a tournament. As I was nearing the town I was hit by the overwhelming smell of cow, every single thing about a cow, all in one, all at once. I didn't notice the actual cattle at first just the huge plant with hundreds of freezer trucks waiting to be filled.

I arrived in town an hour or so early so I decided to check around and find the cattle. As I turned back to follow my nose I found a 'scenic overlook' on the outskirts of town. Not overlooking a majestic forest, mountain, or body of water, just a huge mass of cattle mooing and feeding.

It was an experience.

Best,
Brad Vest

Way to many cows to fit into a picture. This is just one of the many feed lots. It was crazy.

--2009_01_20_Obama for the inmates--

2009-01-20T20:47:00.002-06:00

--2009_01_20_Obama for the inmates--

My second assignment for the Hutchinson News was to shoot the Reno County Jail Annex in downtown Hutchinson. The county closed down the annex for almost a year to do some repairs and restoration. Using mostly inmates to do the work it was done for a very small amount of money and is reopening soon. As I walked through the annex shooting environmental portraits and searching out subjects for my photos I saw that one of the two large bunking rooms for inmates was broadcasting the post Inauguration coverage. I asked the Sergeant who was touring me around if I could go in and make some photos and found it strange when he had to unlock to door to let me in since I couldn't see anyone in the room.

As I was making images I heard a rustling from the shower and a few whistles, turns out there was some last minute cleaning going on. I'm not aloud for legal reasons to show photograph the faces of any of the inmates, I made some quick pictures and then the man came out all finished up and we talked for a little about the cleaning and the annex, then he brought up the inauguration and we talked about its significance and historical value very briefly before he went to the Sergeant and updated him on his progress before getting back to work.

I love the number of assignments I seem to be getting starting out with this paper. I always seem to make my best images while I'm busy but still have time at assignments to work the situation a little more in-depth than just your regular everyday hit and run photography.

From Kansas with love,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Time to Pretend, MGMT

2009_01_20_Congratulations Mr. President

2009-01-20T15:46:00.006-06:00

2009_01_20_Congratulations Mr. President

It's a special day. I wish I had the opportunity to be in DC for the inauguration, it looks like some amazing photos and stories are coming back.

Obama in Danville, Illinois in 2006.

I spent my Inauguration Day at a famous Mexican restaurant here in town called the Anchor Inn. One of the workers in particular was extremely touched by the peaceful transfer of power when Barack Obama was sworn in. Here are a few images over the years of Barack Obama and events surrounding him. At the end I have shared a few images from the restaurant on Inauguration Day. It's so refreshing to see people excited about this country again, people who didn't even vote for Barack Obama can't help but be caught up in this exciting time and transfer into a new era of United States rule.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: The sounds of a once again invigorated country

Public art along Pike street in Capitol hill in Seattle, Washington in 2008.

Election night celebration Rainier Avenue in Seattle, Washington.

Election night celebration on the corner of Pike and Broadway in Seattle's Captiol Hill neighborhood.

Guadalupe Ochoa, a waitress at Anchor Restaurant, crosses her heart during the Inauguration of President Barack Obama while preparing for lunch at Anchor Inn, January 20, 2009. 'I'll pray for him, and I'll pray for our country,' said Ochoa about the transition of power.
(Brad Vest/The Hutchinson News)

Guadalupe Ochoa, a waitress at Anchor Inn Restaurant, prays along with the Inauguration of President Barack Obama while preparing for lunch at Anchor, January 20, 2009. 'I'll pray for him, and I'll pray for our country,' said Ochoa about the transition of power.
(Brad Vest/The Hutchinson News)

Guadalupe Ochoa, a waitress at Anchor Restaurant, reacts as President Elect Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at Anchor Inn Restaurant in Hutchinson, Kansas.
(Brad Vest/The Hutchinson News)

2009_01_19_Onward to Kansas

2009-01-19T23:53:00.003-06:00

2009_01_19_Onward to Kansas

Following the wonderful breakup breakfast I headed on my way to Hutchinson, Kansas. The drive was uneventful and pretty long for one day. Once I was through Kansas City the few miles afterwards still had lights and signs of civilization as the sun was just dipping under the horizon. As I swung off the four lane highway with a little over an hour to go the lights seemed to disappear. The last leg of the drive was pretty rough, no lights, very few cars, and no idea if I was even heading in the right direction. The one thing that was spectacular though were the stars, without any light pollution so to speak the sky was as dark as I have ever seen it with the stars popping like holes drilled through a black lamp shade. (I have no photos of this, but I will eventually)

Either way I'm here, Hutchinson, Kansas. I'm slated to be here through the end of June so from here on out most posts will come from this strange and foreign place to me.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Crossing the Mississippi along with a flock of birds.

Kansas.

I don't normally do self portraits, however the light on the way to Kansas was a very intense orange and I couldn't resist. Pardon the scummy facial hair, it was a long week with little time for frivolities like shaving.

The only lights for miles around were the cars passing by me on the two lane highway towards Hutchinson.

2009_01_19_Breakfast fit for a farewell_bv

2009-01-19T23:06:00.000-06:00

2009_01_19_Breakfast fit for a farewell_bv

I left for Kansas this past Monday. After the short week or so at home then a wonderful weekend in Champaign-Urbana it was time to head out to the next internship. As a farewell my friends that are still in town at school and I cooked a great breakfast to fill my up for my 10 hour trip back across the vast openness of the midwest.

It was an amazing little cook up at Aaron's apartment that he will soon be leaving, and even though a couple people in our core group are spread across the country I feel they were there in spirit celebrating, hanging out, and eating a massive plate of great breakfast food.

I'll miss everyone so much, again, as I head out for the next 5 months into the unknown. It's a very strange time to be trying to make it as a photographer, crap, make it as anything. Just remember what really matters; friends, family, great times, and pursuing your dreams.

Again, thanks for looking. Have an amazing day.

Best,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Birds without wings, David Gray

Erica works the light and the coffee cup. We love light.

Babs, you have to crack the huevos before adding them to the mix. Oh, that was just erica throwing them into the mix, acceptable.

Food coma sets in.

2009_01_18_Zumi Zumi

2009-01-19T21:18:00.002-06:00

2009_01_18_Zumi Zumi

On Sunday friends and I headed over to Murphy's to hang out. It was a Sunday, but due to having no school the next day to honor MLK the bars were packed and we were relegated to the basement. The basement at Murphy's is horrendous and it seemed to have gotten worse over the past few months.

To top it off after we were situated a group of people moved into the booth next to use and started playing this came that I can only assume is called zumi zumi. I have never heard of this game, zumi zumi, but apparently it was all the craze with the table next to us at Murphy's. It's a pretty loud and obnoxious game which involves thumping the table and screaming numbers.

It was a great time though even with the unnecessary ruckus coming from next door. Nothing could have dampened my spirits while seeing some of my best friends. Great times.

Cheers,
Brad Vest

This is when babs was pretty close to destroying the zumi zumi game. (photo: Erica)

It was getting pretty rough with all the table pounding and yelling. Oh, there was a side of drama also so it seemed when someones boyfriend left the zumi game without saying goodbye. (photo Adam)

It nearly killed face.

Sway sweatshirts. (photo: Face)

This should be an advertisement for something. (Photo: Face)

We don't pose for photos often. That's probably a good thing.

It was another great night.

2009_01_17_Driving like a Blind Pig

2009-01-17T16:28:00.002-06:00

2009_01_17_Driving like a Blind Pig

After my brief week at home I headed a little out of the way to go south to Champaign-Urbana to visit with a few friends there before heading out to Hutchinson, Kansas. Just as Seattle's weather tried to hold me back when I left there, I had to brave pretty treacherous roads to make it down to U of I. There was no way I was going to head out to Kansas without making it to see a few great friends first however.

The usual two and a half hour drive turned to be a close to four hour slick endeavor with a few snow drifts along the way. There were quite a few cars in the ditch along the way but as long as you drove slow it was pretty safe. There was one area where a ton of police cars were and such but it seemed to only be a fender-bender that was blocking a couple of lanes.

After arriving safely in town the weekend began as a few friends and I hit downtown Champaign for a great time.

Cheers,
Brad

Listening to: I love you more, The Streets.

The Blind Pig, a great little establishment in downtown Champaign.

I think Face was in awe, or shock, for a little bit over the fact that I was going to the famous land of Kansas. (photo: Adam JB)

The end of a very long night.

2009_01_16_Not enough hours in the day

2009-01-16T13:32:00.000-06:00

2009_01_16_Not enough hours in the day

It was great being home for a tad between internships. I only had the chance to spend a little more than a week at home between traveling from Seattle and to Kansas. A month would have been nice, and a week was far to short. However, it was great to catch up with family and friends while I was home for that short period of time before heading off on the next adventure.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Place to belong, Little Dragon

Giant slice of pizza from the new place in DeKalb.

Curious pup watching the grill.

Collision? or a little love?

Coming from Seattle where the weather is not exactly ideal in the winter, a little cold and rainy, it was a sunny day on the beach compared to the -10 to -20 degree weather northern Illinois was having when I returned.

Very, very cold.

2009_01_15_Chicago_bv

2009-01-15T16:24:00.002-06:00

I'm in Chicago for a couple days. It's really cold.

5 days till I start in Kansas.

Best,
Brad Vest

2009_01_14_I've got that apocalyptic feeling_bv

2009-01-14T00:25:00.000-06:00

2009_01_14_I've got that apocalyptic feeling_bv

One of my great friends, Pat Traylor, swung through DeKalb on his way to O'hare to catch his flight out to Guatemala on Wednesday night. We met up and had a great little send off party for Pat, along with one of my other great friends, Beck Diefenbach, who has a job with my home town's daily newspaper, The Daily Chronicle.

The night was very chill with a lot of photojournalism talk, a little photojournalism wallowing, and the appearance of the infamous flat pat who just had to say goodbye to 3d pat.

When all was said and done, after beck and I looked at images and bullshitted into the late hours of the evening it was time to head home. Walking from Beck's killer downtown apartment I walked out into what seemed to be the aftermath of an apocalypse. Zombies I presume. It was so peaceful and with the light inch or so dusting of snow DeKalb had that night I felt as if I were the last one on the planet making the short walk to my car. I strolled down the middle of the street taking photos, glancing at things in a new way, and thinking about just how fragile everything is when put into context.

It was the perfect ending to a great night.

Great seeing those two, it had been too long.

Cheers,
Brad Vest

2009_01_13_Going white

2009-01-13T22:55:00.000-06:00

The blog is going white.

Like? No?

I'm a little in between.

Best,
Brad Vest

01_10_2009_Home, past the holidays_bv

2009-01-12T19:51:00.005-06:00

--01_10_2009_Home, past the holidays_bv--

After ~2732 miles, a little over a day of driving, and a few seedy hotels I've finally arrived home, DeKalb, Illinois. In 9 days I'll be starting my second internship with the Hutchinson News in Hutchinson, Kansas. But for now it's nice finally spending more than a few hours awake in some other position besides being behind the wheel of a car.

necessary?

The last leg of the trip was uneventful as far as scenery goes. Along interstate 80 Nebraska is about as visually interesting as a beige piece of construction paper. Though it would be great to spend some time in that strange state making photos. After all, everywhere has amazing people and photos, you just have to look.

Dirty window, clean energy.

In this short time at home I have a lot of things to keep me busy, this little vacation is going to go by very quick. Home with friends and family, a trip to Chicago for a couple days, reorganize my stuff and get ready for the trip to Kansas, and finally a little get together down in Urbana with a few great friends.

Due to this and the fact that I'll most likely be off the internet grid for a while I may not be updating much over the next week. I'll be shooting as always, things will be up eventually.

Thanks for looking.

Best,
Brad Vest

Biggest full moon of the year. It would have been great to have a 400mm in the trunk and really take advantage of this guy, it was huge.

Sunset in the side mirror, oh man, mind blowing, original, awesome. (ha)

I love being home to see my family, but they knew I was coming home. It's always fun to see how the dogs will react.

Nice to see you too.

01_09_2008_Sad day_bv

2009-01-09T22:03:00.007-06:00

--01_09_2008_Sad day_bv--

"Were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the later." -Thomas Jefferson

I saw this quote everyday as I climbed the stairs to the third floor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer building to the photographers room on the third floor. The first time I saw the quote it really inspired me. Newspapers are full of the most talented journalists in the world. Newspapers do the most in depth, accurate, and insightful stories out of every media outlet. The fact that so many papers around the country are closing is scary as a citizen of a country with a free press. When papers have no money to cover stories that need to be told who will fill that gap?

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer went up for sale today by its parent company Hearst. The Seattle Times just went through another major round of layoffs and is not faring well either. Seattle could become a major metro city in the United States without a dedicated daily paper. Hopefully something changes and the Post-Intelligencer can continue in some fashion.

My heart goes out to all the amazing journalists and wonderful people at the paper I called home for four brief months.

seattlepi.com
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/395463_newspapersale10.html
http://www.kuow.org/program.php?current=TC

It's a sad day.

Sincerely,

Brad Vest

01_09_2009_Very slow moving h2o molecules_bv

2009-01-09T20:33:00.005-06:00

--01_09_2009_Very slow moving h2o molecules_bv--

Forgive me, I'm going to keep this short, I'm exhausted. I was going to try and make it to Iowa today, but Mother Nature had other plans. I woke up this morning to about 3 inches of fresh snow on the ground in Wyoming. The roads were okay, but the beginning of the trip I had to travel pretty slowly due to the high winds, snow, and slippery curves.

I love snow, just not so much when I am going to be driving all day long. This is sorta like a very expensive digital holga shot?

Once I was out of the Elk mountain area of Wyoming the roads cleared up and I cruised for a few hundred miles until about 70 miles from Lincoln, Nebraska. At that point the roads became one big sheet of ice combined with 50mph gusts of crosswinds I decided to call it a short day and stopped in the small town of York, Nebraska. I'll hole up here tonight before completing the rest of the trip in the morning.

About 7 hours to go. Not to shabby.

Best,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Solo Impala, The Fashion

A lot of warning signs as I have made my way east the past few days.

It wasn't to great to drive in, but it was pretty gorgeous.

Energy in motion. I've passed so many of these on the way home, I love it.

That little guy was probably headed to a nearby farm like this one. It was so windy out today, these things were spinning like helicopters.

This was actually a lot less slippery than the final leg in Nebraska at night when I decided to call it a night and relax instead of drive 45mph behind semi trucks.

01_08_2008_running from the sun_bv

2009-01-08T22:56:00.009-06:00

--01_08_2008_running from the sun_bv--

It's always fun to drive west into the sunset, but the rest on the eyes coming back east isn't anything to complain about either.

Two days in the books and two more to go. After close to 1,300 miles (would have been a couple hundred less if there were no flooding) I have just under a thousand left. Something like 946 or so. After the minor setback of Wednesday I made up some time today as I made my way through Salt Lake City and out onto I 80. With only a few more mountains left before the boredom of Nebraska sets in I spent a lot of today enjoying the sights and trying to make a few pictures.

641 mi – about 9 hours

The sun was hiding a lot of the day behind a blanket of clouds, but when it came out it made for some spectacular light. Between those brief moments of light I played around with the clouds and the mostly backlit conditions.

Here are some scenic shots along the route. Enjoy the clouds and mountains.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

Listening to: Kids, MGMT

Utah, beautiful.

Devil's Slide.

25 MeH, Devil's slide.

The Great Salt Lake. My brother Jake, and I looked for this lake at 2am or so on our first road trip west. We were heading for San Francisco pulling an all night drive when we saw the exit sign for the lake overlook. We smelled fish and were wandering around a salt flat when some guy drove up on a motorcycle and told us we were about a mile away from water since the lake had receded so much.

A little peek from behind the mountains.

Rest stop.

Not that you can see to well, but there is a giant field of windmills. Awesome.

Seeing how many dead animals I've encountered along the road so far, after the sun goes down I usually find a fast semi and hide behind it as to not take any direct impacts from deer or elk.

01_07_2009_feeling the grasp of the northwest_bv

2009-01-08T02:01:00.008-06:00

--01_07_2009_feeling the grasp of the northwest_bv--

Leaving Seattle was a really tough thing to do. Emotionally and literally. After packing up all my stuff in the morning and dropping off a book at a friends I started out heading west on I 90 thinking the little bit of rain wouldn't impede my travels. I was wrong. Snoqualmie pass was closed to traffic due to avalanches and heavy mud and rock slides. I figured I'd give 410 a try since it is a tad more south and less busy..... Shut down. As I was turning around on 410 I came close to becaming stranded in Enumclaw, Washington. Enumclaw is a town surrounded by rivers along with roads that were clogged with bumper to bumper traffic in every direction searching for a way out.

After a little weaseling, I squeezed out of the gridlock and over a small bridge up to it's neck in water.

With high hopes of at least getting somewhere farther than 30 minutes from Seattle after three and half hours of driving I started to head south on I 5 to Portland. From Portland interstate 84 heads directly east along the Columbian River through the mountains.

The river was about 2 feet from flowing over I 5. I assume this could have been one of the sections that ended up having to close to traffic.

I managed to make it to Portland and from there everything was smooth sailing. The route is a little out of the way, but it paid off as I worked my way west out of the rain and through the mountains. It was pretty close though. All the roads are traveled on today, are or were at some point in time, closed. Including interstate 5 which isn't even near the mountains. I took as best of photos from my car as I hurried out of the rain.

A different route than planned. But at least I am east of the first set of mountains.

I felt a little weird driving away from a huge news event. But I knew that if I didn't make it out today I may have been stuck for days in the epic floodwaters that engulfed the northwest. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/395143_stormonline08.html

Pretty glad that I was driving on the side of the road without the waterfalls and giant rock walls.

Currently I am in the border town of Ontario between Oregon and Idaho. I'm on the Oregon side. I wish I could have had more time in this state. Just the drive along the river had me itching to come back and do some hiking.

Front focused waterfall.

I tried something different here with a longer exposure to blur the road and trucks passing to bring in some lines while keeping the relative shapes of the mountains along the horizon.

A long tunnel through one of the mountains along Interstate 84.

Cheers,
Brad

Listening to: (song that popped on shuffle as I drove out of Seattle) The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts, Sufjan Stevens

Kinda excited to use these guys after a long day of driving.

01_06_2008_the long trip home_bv

2009-01-04T15:51:00.014-06:00

--01_06_2008_the long trip home_bv--

Live in the moment.

My brief time here in Seattle has come to an end, for now. I honestly can't even begin to describe my feelings of leaving this place. I feel as if I am leaving something just as I was beginning to truly appreciate and understand some of it's intricacies. The hardest part is not the city, place, or the things here that this place has to offer that I have come to love, it's the people. I'll be leaving great friends and fresh friendships that I have developed in my time here. Feeling more and more at home as everyday passed while realizing it can only last a certain amount of time.

Today I embark on my journey home across the wide open tundra of the midwest to Illinois for a week with friends and family. From there I'll head off to Hutchinson, Kansas to begin my spring internship with The Hutchinson News.

Moving onto Kansas will be eye opening, foreign, and creativity inspiring place to this fresh-eyed wanderlust who'll be stomping its ground for the first time. I am really looking forward to making pictures and developing friendships in this new place. But for now I can't help but feeling the tug on the heartstrings as I leave this place, with people who've impacted my life so much.

I'll be back Seattle, one way or another. But for now this bird has a little more migrating to do before planting his feet. After all, it's the journey and the stops along the way, not the destination.

Stay tuned, the tide is changing.

Best,

Brad Vest

listening to: Once Around the Block, Badly Drawn Boy

Thanks for the drawing Anne, it was a fantastic 'last' night in Seattle. Time to go rock out in Kansas for a while and make some wonderful americana images.

01_01_2009_So this is the new year_bv

2009-01-01T19:00:00.005-06:00

--01_01_2009_So this is the new year_bv--

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful, energetic, and safe night. I can only hope that everyone had as wonderful of night as I had in Seattle. Here are just a few images of the Space Needle fireworks last night. These were taken from the Republican Street steps about 50 feet from where a friend of mine lives in Capitol Hill.

I'll probably post a few more images from the night coming up.

To all in this new year may you find happiness, health, and good fortune.
Best,

Brad Vest

--12_31_2008_Portfolio story: Historic house move_bv--

2008-12-31T21:30:00.002-06:00

--12_31_2008_Portfolio story: Historic house move_bv--

At the beginning of my time here at the P-I, which only feels like yesterday, I had the opportunity to work on one of my favorite assignments of my entire time with the paper. I turned the regular daily assignment into a little story for my portfolio.

This is the final piece of my 2008 portfolio. I hope you enjoyed the images and as I said, I'd love to hear opinions and thoughts about the images that I have posted here.

2008 went quickly. Here's to a fantastic 2009.

Cheers,

Brad Vest

--12_31_2008_Solos_bv--

2008-12-31T21:00:00.002-06:00

--12_31_2008_Solos_bv--

Here are my single, editorial, non sports images. Choosing portfolio images is one of the toughest things for photographers. There are images that mean a lot more to me emotionally so I feel more attached to them even though they're not my best images, those are the hardest cut out. I was fortunate enough to have members of the P-I staff look over my images many times and it has helped me imensly in narrowing down my final pics. Of course, no matter who you show your portfolio to, even if the first person loves every single image there will be people who just hate them. It's tough, but for now here are my single images in my short 3 year photojournalism career so far.

Again, any criticism and comments are extremely welcome.

Thanks for looking.

-Brad Vest

--12_31_2008_a little farewell and the portfolio thus far--

2008-12-31T20:10:00.001-06:00

--12_31_2008_a little farewell and the portfolio thus far--

Since it's the end of 2008 and the end of my time here at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I figured I would throw up my current portfolio, as it stands now at the end of 2008. Note, these all were not shot in 2008 this is my complete portfolio. I figure it will be nice to look back at this and see how much it changes come 2009, 10, and so on. I'll split each section into different posts so it's easy to follow and separate out the different sections.

I think I have improved quite a bit this year and the Post-Intelligencer has been a huge part of that. I'll continue to wok on improving every aspect of my work in 2009 and we'll see where it leads.

Today is my last day of interning at the P-I. It's been a fantastic experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've grown as a photographer and a human being by being around such an amazing staff of photographers, editors, and writers. It'll be hard not coming through the P-I doors anymore to grab assignments that took me all over this wonderful city and parts of this state. I'll miss so much of my experience here and most of all the wonderful people I had the opportunity to work with each day.

In a few days I'll be leaving this amazing place and heading home to visit with my family and friends in Illinois for a little more than a week. Then I am off to my next internship in quite a different place than Seattle Washington, Hutchinson Kansas. I'll be working for Hutchinson News, a smaller 30k circulation paper in Hutchinson which is pretty much in the center of Kansas. It's sort of strange right now only staying in towns for 4 months at a time before moving onto the next opportunity. However, I enjoy the challenges that come with change and all the opportunities that follow closely behind.

Thanks to everyone at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, you made my first internship an amazing and unforgettable experience.

I'll post the portfolio in a few different blogs. Here are my sports images. It's a little long and I'll probably cut a few here or there depending on who I would be sending the portfolio to.

Best,
And have a great New Year.

-Brad

--12_15_2008_Withdrawing from a family Pt. 2_bv--

2008-12-27T00:03:00.001-06:00

--12_15_2008_Withdrawing from a family Pt. 2_bv--

The Seattle area happened to go through a cold spell while Joy and her family's heater was on the fritz. When the local American Legion heard of the family living in the cold they paid for them to stay in an extended stay hotel through the cold spell and until their heater could be fixed or replaced. I met up with Joy and her daughters early one morning to follow the beginning of their day from the hotel to school and dealing with the cold.

I have great respect for anyone in the armed services or any sector of work that forces you to be away from your family for long spans of time. I couldn't imagine leaving a family and being thousands of miles away for over a year. Not to mention all while putting your life in danger. No matter your views on any war the highest amount of respect should be given to those who volunteer and sacrifice so much.

Thanks for checking in.

Best,
Brad Vest

Joy Mack catches a quick break after brushing her daughter's, Megan, 6, hair, inside their room at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Joy Mack prepares her daughters lunches as Megan, 6, gathers her clothes to get dressed while at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup. The American Legion is paying for their stay during the cold spell since their homes heater isn't working properly.

Joy Mack shares a moment with her daughter, Megan, 6, at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel before starting their day on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.

Joy Mack and her daughter Megan, 6, wait outside the bathroom door while Mack's older daughter Kori, 11, cries inside of their hotel room bathroom because she didn't want to go back to the family's home and wait in the cold for her school bus, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup. The American Legion is paying for the family's stay during the cold spell because of the faulty electricity and heating in their home. Joy Mack allowed her daughter, Kori, to skip school and spend the day with her at work on Camp Murray.

Joy Mack and her daughters Megan, 6, and Kori, 11, step into the cold to head to work and school respectively leaving their room at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.

Joy Mack, center, and her daughters Megan, 6, right, and Kori, 11, left, take the elevator down to their car at the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.

Joy Mack and her daughters Megan, 6, and Kori, 11, prepare to leave the Crossroad Economy Studios Extended Stay America hotel, Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.

Joy Mack holds her daughter's, Megan, 6, hand as she drops her off for daycare at Camp McChord Air Force Base before heading to work at Camp Murray on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.

Joy Mack kisses her daughter, Megan, 6, goodbye while dropping her off at daycare before heading to work on Tuesday, December 16, 2008, in Puyallup.

--12_14_2008_Withdrawing a family Pt. 1_bv--

2008-12-26T16:58:00.015-06:00

--12_14_2008_Withdrawing a family Pt. 1_bv--

Recently I had the opportunity to follow a family of three dealing with problems leading up to the deployment of the mom, Joy Mack, for an 18 month tour of duty in Afghanistan. Many people in the local community are volunteering to help her in these last few weeks before she was set up to ship off to the Middle East.

Mack lives in Puyallup Washington with her two daughters Kori and Megan. Members of the local American Legion along with a volunteer from the Seattle Seahawks, the NFL team based in Seattle. Here are some photos from my first visit with the family. I was sent to cover the volunteers helping the family. On this day a few volunteers came over to help clear the yard of the overgrown blackberry bushes and other debris that the family obviously could not find time for in the rush to get prepared to go off to war.

The younger daughter Megan, was pretty much in love with my camera. It's always tough in those situations to shoot accordingly. As a photojournalist the most important thing I strive for is capturing real moments that would have happened as if I were not there. So whenever she would do goofy things, obviously just because I was there I would take a few photos to make her happy and then just sort of filter away into the background letting her do her own thing. Usually while shooting regular assignments it's tough to really 'disappear' and have the subject fell totally comfortable with you there. That's why it is great to get into longer term stories, where you become something of the norm and the subject becomes comfortable with you around taking photos.

Here are some of my favorites and a few examples of how hard it is to just blend in and shoot in a new environment.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Falling down, Oasis

Joy Mack is an Army Specialist being deployed for training in January before being sent for a tour in Afghanistan sometime in March, Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup. Mack is receiving a lot of help from the American Legion and other volunteers before being deployed.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Joy Mack, left, along with volunteer Mike Flood, the Vice President/Community Relations & Special Projects for the Seahawks, help clean up around Mack's yard by clearing blackberry bushes and other debris on Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

This is a photo I've taken hundreds of times. I shoot the person straight on with a little of their clothing showing and then record an audio clip with their name and information for my captions. Sometimes they turn out to be great portraits even though I am just shooting them randomly and quickly moving from subject to subject.

Army Specialist Joy Mack, left, kisses her daughter's, Megan, 6, injury from a blackberry bush while working outside with volunteers to clean up around Mack's yard by clearing blackberry bushes and other debris on Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

The daughters were very into drawing and other forms of artwork. They spent a lot of time showing my their artwork. Again, it is sort of hard to work and make pictures when you are obviously having an impact on being there. It was fun how open the family was and accepting they were to having me there documenting their lives.

Megan gets her boots on to go outside an help her mother cut back some of the blackberry bushes that have overgrown their lawn, Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Megan puts her hat on to go outside an help her mother cut back some of the blackberry bushes that have overgrown their lawn, Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Army Specialist Joy Mack, left, helps her daughter, Megan, 6, with her gloves while working outside with volunteers to clean up around Mack's yard by clearing blackberry bushes and other debris on Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Joy Mack gives Mike Flood, Seattle Seahawks Vice President / Community Relations & Special Projects, a hug after he helped clean up around Mack's yard by clearing blackberry bushes and other debris on Sunday, December 14, 2008, in Puyallup. Mack has seen an outpouring of support for her and her family in the last few weeks before heading off in January for training and her upcoming tour in Afghanistan.
(Brad Vest/Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

At some point in time I was attacked while taking pictures outside. It is tough to blend in, especially around kids sometimes that always just want to play and have fun. You just have to let them do what they do and eventually their interest in the new guy with a camera will fade.

--12_25_2008_Merry Christmas and happy holidays --

2008-12-26T00:57:00.007-06:00

--12_25_2008_Merry Christmas and happy holidays --

Well, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. It was my first time away from home for this occasion and it was relatively weird. But it also sorta just didn't feel like a holiday so I wasn't affected much I suppose. After all I'll be home in just a couple weeks so I'll have plenty of time to catch up with family and celebrate, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Either way, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with anything that you celebrate. Be safe, have fun, and be thankful for everything.

Here are a few way random images from my walk / bus ride home from after a little potluck at work.

Thanks for looking,
Brad Vest

Listening to: Sneaker Pimps, Blue Movie

--2008_12_19-22_Seattle on Ice_bv--

2008-12-22T22:35:00.013-06:00

--2008_12_19-22_Seattle on Ice_bv--

In the last few days Seattle has been rocked by an epic (in Seattle standards) amount of snow. This city shuts down after only a couple inches of snow. As a matter of fact, Seattle canceled all schools for this past Wednesday just at the mere threat of snow. Well, as it turned out, it didn't snow on Wednesday. It did however snow Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Accumulating a total of 8-10 inches of snow in the Seattle metro area. This is quite a bit of snow to fall at once even in Chicago standards. What makes it much worse here though is the face that Seattle has very few snow plows, no salt, and an enormous amount of very steep hills. These, along with 10 inches of snow, combined to pretty much shutdown the city.

Since I personally live on a giant hill, Queen Anne, my car has been out of action for the past 4 days and I've been hoofing it all around the city gathering photos. It's been great seeing the way most people here love the snow. Since they don't get it every winter and barely ever get this much it seems to bring out the kid in everyone.

So, the count. In the last 4 days.... I've gone through 12 pairs of socks, 8.67 gigs of hd space, plenty of coffee and tea, and around 30 miles of walking around from Queen Anne to Capital Hill and back multiple times along with some side treks. One of the many reasons I am going to intensely miss this city when I leave in about two weeks, the fact that when it snows and the biggest hill in the city shuts down it turns into a big party of sledders, skiers, and snowboarders. What an amazing place. It has really gone by way to fast.

Here are a few more of my favorite photos from the past few days building from the ones I've already posted here. Thanks for keeping me busy with your curve ball of weather Seattle.

Thanks so much for looking. If it is snowing where you're at, stay safe, go out, and have some fun.

Best,

Brad Vest

This says it all. Do not enter... my entire neighborhood. Risky.

I began to feel like one of these guys after treadging around in the snow for 4 days straight.

Cheers to you Seattle, it was a great few days of playing in the snow.

--12_19_2008_Sledding Denny_bv--

2008-12-21T23:01:00.012-06:00

--12_19_2008_Sledding Denny_bv--

Since my car is stuck on the side of a steep hill surrounded by nothing but ice I walked from my house in Queen Anne to a friends in Capitol Hill gathering photos along the way for an online slideshow. With no way back to Queen Anne we toughed it out on Capitol Hill by putting together a mini bar crawl... slide. Of course we had to swing by City Market to pick up a few supplies and found they were giving some local love to the gov of my home state, Illinois.
We ended up heading back to the apartment on Bellevue but couldn't pass up the opportunity to cruise down denny on cardboard boxes along with other local revelers of the snow.
It was tough to make photos cruising down Denny but I figured I would share these to let everyone see how much of a phenomena it is to have a lot of snow in Seattle. Everyone comes out to enjoy it. It's not just a regular pain as people view it in the midwest and east coast.
Many more photos to come. After Thursday's storm we have gotten an additional 10 or so inches and it is still snowing outside. Who knows when I'll be able to move my car again.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

Listening to: Solo Impala, The Fashion

Gotta love those City Market signs.

--12_18_2008_S(n)O(w) it begins--

2008-12-20T01:43:00.005-06:00

--12_18_2008_S(n)O(w) it begins--

An epic snowstorm his Seattle this past Thursday. Well, epic for Seattle standards. Due to the fact that Seattle pretty much has zero snow plows combined with more hills than MTV. With those two factors it's a mixture to paralyze a city. Just to let you know how scared Seattle is of snow, on Wednesday there was just a chance that it may snow.... cancel school, everything. It didn't snow, it was pretty funny. Then of course the snow came on Thursday with a vengeance.
Due to the fact that I live on Queen Anne HILL I haven't been able to move my car in two days. If you don't have chains in this neighborhood don't even think about it. So I've been walking miles a day up and down the slopes of Seattle making pictures along the way.
It's great here to see how the kids react to snow since they don't usually get to see it, let along 6 inches of it. Everyone seemed to be having a great time as long as they weren't trying to get anywhere.

Thanks for looking.

Stay safe out there,

Brad Vest

Listening to: Flying Lotus, RobertaFlack (feat Dolly)

Apparently this snowman has no interest in the great view from Kerry Park. I guess he could have just been posing for a photo. Only in Seattle have I found snowmen with eyes made from coffee beans, fitting I guess.

The storm parted for an instant and the sun bathed down on Eliot Bay for a brief instance.

These kids were catching some massive air cruising down 11th Avenue in US Post Office boxes. Even the parents got into it. It was great hanging out for a while.

There are a lot of these little berry trees all over Seattle. The deep red really popped out against the stark white snow.

Pretty much every bus trying to get into my neighborhood was stuck on a hill, somewhere. Luckily this morning on my way back from a friends the bus was running all the way up. Actually the first one to go up the hill was the bus that I caught, I know lucky. They had just sanded the hill and the buses were outfitted with chains around their tires. Here a resident asks a driver if he wants anything to drink or eat while he was stranded in his bus waiting for a tow off the hill near the end of the storm.

All the hills make for fantastic views. I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe having chains for my car.

Snowman numero dos.

--2008_1218_The Emerald City goes White_bv--

2008-12-19T13:25:00.002-06:00

--2008_1218_The Emerald City goes White_bv--

It's cold and snowy. Plenty related photos on the way.

--12_14_2008_8mbs worth of memories--

2008-12-16T23:19:00.007-06:00

--12_14_2008_8mbs worth of memories--

One of the best parts about being out here at this certain nexus of time is the fact that one of my greatest friends is living out here also. She just happens to be one of the people that I was with when I was introduced to this amazing city during a summer of revelry. (oh and the other is coming out for a few days around new years... amazing) The three of us came to this place green in every way regarding the northwest with high hopes of obtaining jobs, making enough money to pay for the entire trip, and pretty much breaking even when we returned home to Illinois for the fall semester at the University of Illinois.

As it turned out, we didn't find jobs and we ended up exploring the city and meeting new people every day to the wee hours of the night while having an amazing and unforgettable time in the emerald city.

While hanging out last night we just happened across an old camera that she had picked up from our roommate at the time near the end of the trip. With the tiny bit of battery life that the camera had images from the end of the summer flickered to life. What an outstanding and surprising find.

Here are just a few images from the tiny 8mb card that was stuck into what may be the largest digital point and shoot camera that is still functional. It's scary how fast technology has evolved since then. They are all from my last night in Seattle before heading home to the midwest. We took a ferry out to Bainbridge Island to grab some dinner and caught the ferry back right at sunset. Epic night. It's sad that I'll be repeating this process in some sort of similar way come early January. Time to head out of this wonderful place and move on to the next internship. Will I be back? definitely. Will it be soon? Only time will tell.

Side note: Things I wish I still had..... That hair, the weather, and the 3 years of college I had yet to complete at the time of this picture. Oh the memories.

Cheers,

Brad Vest

I could use a few of these cards.... They would pretty much hold only one photo.

Olympic Mountain range.

A nice photo from a nice stranger.

I've seen photos like this a lot after we took this. Hmmm, copycats? Probably.

--12_12_2008_marching in the rain--

2008-12-15T15:22:00.007-06:00

--12_12_2008_marching in the rain--

A sophomore basketball phenomena Tony Wroten has recently been ruled ineligible and has not been allowed to attend Garfield High School any longer. The school district ruled Wroten ineligible after completing a investigation using private detectives to determine that Wroten lived outside of the Garfield district rendering him ineligible.

On Friday, day's after the ruling Garfield high students walked out in protest of the ruling that removed Wroten from their school. The students marched about 3 miles from the high school to the Seattle Public School's main Administration center.

Here are a few images I made along the way. I think my shoes are still drying out after being soaked to the bone following them around and hopping through puddles in attempt to get the best photographs.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

--12_11_2008_Santa Moose_bv--

2008-12-11T15:14:00.000-06:00

--12_11_2008_Santa Moose_bv--

On Thursday I headed over to the Seattle Ronald McDonald House for a little get together between some of the kids and the Mariner Moose. The Moose, along with a couple retired Mariners players, came to the Ronald McDonald House to give out souvenir gifts and hang out with the kids for a while. A few of the younger children had to warm up to the giant furry Santa Moose at first, but in the end everyone seemed to have a lot of fun during this special opportunity.

--12_05_2008_4A State Championship--

2008-12-10T23:26:00.006-06:00

--12_05_2008_4A State Championship--

On Friday I shot the 4A State Championship football game for Washington state high school teams in Tacoma, WA, at the Tacoma Dome. There is always something great about covering non-pro playoff or championship athletic events. The best of the best fighting it out, not for money or fame, but just for the love of the game and the passion they have for their team.

Apparently they were broadcasting the game on the moon. Viewership wasn't very high though.

I sorta struggled during this game to get great action shots. I don't know, it seemed like no matter where I was the action was either at the other end of the field or I had referees blocking my shot. I usually fair pretty well when it comes to sports but I left this game feeling a little jaded after shooting 7 gigs of shots and walking away without anything anywhere near spectacular.

I always fight with myself over how much to shoot during sports games. I consider myself a stingy shooter and usually do not over shoot games like I did with this one. After all, nothing is worse than being minutes from deadline and sitting at your computer waiting for hundreds of shots to download.

Working press only... and some random popcorn eaters.

Either way, it was nice to shoot high school football under lights that were brighter than a couple kitchen table candles.

Here are a few shots that I found away from the action, since that's where I seemed to find myself during most of the game. As always, thanks for looking.

Be well,

Brad Vest

Okay, I snuck one action shot in. Where the heck are all the other players at? I like the epic looking dive for the ball with the two players battling it out on the field, alone.

--11_28_2008_Close Call--

2008-12-08T23:28:00.007-06:00

--11_28_2008_Close Call--

On my sisters last day in seattle we didn't have any major plans. She was going to sleep in while I cover black Friday madness at 4 in the morning. After I got home at around 10-12pm we were going to catch lunch, hang out around the city a tad, and then head out to the airport so that she could catch her 5:30pm flight back to Chicago.

Everything was going as planned until right after I got home and sent off my Black Friday photos I was called in on a bus crash that occurred on I-5. Turns out the Bellevue Football team's bus crashed on the way to the playoffs after a ladder fell off a truck in front of the bus which caused the crash.

A couple friends were able to use a Zip car and take my sister to the airport as I ended up covering the crash for quite a while. Luckily no one was seriously injured in the crash and in the end the game was just postponed. Turns out the team was actually wearing all of their football pads on the bus, that may have made the difference between an interesting story to tell their friends and a tragedy.

Thankfully I was able to meet my sister at the airport before her flight out.

As always, thanks for looking. Feedback welcome, have a great night.

Best,

Brad Vest

I had to fight through a jillion thorny bushes to get this picture. As I balanced with one foot clinging to the wet hillside and the other holding down a vicious raspberry bush I only got off about 5 frames before being herded back down the hill by Seattle's finest worried about my safety... I think it was worth it though, gotta get that overall shot somehow.

--11_24_2008_Topping out--

2008-12-07T20:48:00.007-06:00

--11_24_2008_Topping out--

No trip to Seattle is complete without a trip to the top of the Space Needle. Yeah, it's pretty much a useless structure with an observation deck but it's iconic to Seattle. Even with the observation deck coming in at a stubby 520 feet, the panoramic view created by the 360 degree deck is tough to beat.

I've been there multiple times, it's never the same each time you go up. Luckily enough while my sister was here Seattle experienced some great weather and on one of the very clear days we made our way up to the top to enjoy the view.

Thanks for coming sis! I'm so glad you had the chance to come out and spend a week with me in this wonderful city, it was a blast!

cheers,

Brad

--11_25-27_2008_'Wild Animals'--

2008-12-06T16:52:00.006-06:00

--11_25-27_2008_'Wild Animals'--

While my sister was here we had time to explore and meet a few of the wild animals that inhabit this area. From the Woodland Park Zoo to the Seattle Aquarium with a few not so lively animals in between.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

Giraffes?

That's a full size VW bug under his hand.

terradactyl?

--11_27_2008_Helping to discover a park--

2008-12-05T15:40:00.000-06:00

--11_27_2008_Helping to discover a park--

One of my favorite parks in Seattle is Discovery Park in the Magnolia neighborhood. Discovery park is a large park that used to be a military base for the United States. However, with the base gone the public has been left with a huge swath of land that hugs the Puget Sound just miles north of Seattle. Discovery is not your usual big city park. If one were dropped in blind folded it would be easy to forget that you are only 15 minutes away from one of the US's larger cities, Seattle.

My sister Colleen and I explored the park early on Thanksgiving day before heading over to a friends for a great Thanksgiving party later that day.

Here are just a few shots from the park.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

--11_26_2008_Very adhesive wall--

2008-12-04T17:23:00.005-06:00

--11_26_2008_Very adhesive wall--

The first time I came to Seattle was in the summer of 2004 after my freshmen year at the University of Illinois. A couple friends and I decided it would be an amazing idea to pack our bags and head out west for the summer, Seattle. We found a cheap place in the University District and spent the summer looking for jobs. After not being too successful we pretty much spent the summer hanging out and roaming the city everyday.... It was an amazing trip and introduction to a city that I have come to love.

One my favorite places in the city is this little crack that runs along 1st avenue known as Post Alley. It's a strange little back alley that houses a comedy club, brewery and is a backdoor to Pike Place market. It's usually pretty dark, smelly, and a little filthy. But the thing that draws me there time and time again is the giant gum wall that has formed on the east side of the alley near the market.

The wall was supposedly started in the early 90's while patrons waiting for the comedy show stuck their chewed gum to the wall. The first time I came in touch with this colorful wonder it was maybe about a 1/2 the size it is now. Just goes to show how quickly things change. It's fun to see how many different people have happened across the gum wall. However, it's nice to know that I had gum up there years ago, when it was just a wee baby of a gum wall.

Maybe the next time I come through Seattle the entire alley will be covered in gum. Although hopefully after I leave in January I'll be back quicker than it will take to accomplish that feat.

Thanks for looking,

Brad

--11_20's_2008_Reworking the space--

2008-12-03T00:53:00.009-06:00

--11_20's_2008_Reworking the space--

Seattle is best known for a few things. Being green in every single way, the rain, coffee, and of course the space needle. I have been shooting it wherever I see it. I am always looking for new angles and different ways to capture something that is photographed thousands of times a day. While my sister Colleen was here we were out and about near the needle quite a bit and I came away with a few new shots that I like and I think are relatively unique for something so regularly photographed.

At the end of my time in Seattle I'll probably revisit this subject with my final edit of favorite shots that I will leave this amazing city with.

Hope you enjoy.

Best,

Brad Vest