more website designs

-TB

Photo Column from 07/09/08

This is a column I wrote over the summer for the DE that I never posted on here because I wasn't actively updating my blog. Now that it's on here, my man MESSE JESSE MEYERS in the KS can see it. The picture's been on here before, but the column hasn't. Student advisor Wendy gave me a piece of candy for it, one of the DE's prestigious weekly awards.

My internship for The Hutchinson News in Hutchinson, KS was unquestionably an eventful one. I spent all spring taking photographs of star athletes, horrible car crashes, violent criminals, tornado-torn towns and even the President of the United States. The photo staff at the News is well-organized and almost always had something for me to go shoot (40+ hours per week), so it was often difficult to find free time or effort to pursue photographic projects of my own. When I did, however, the world of skateboarding photography opened up to me. Hutchinson, a city of around 45,000 people, has a few skate parks and shops that I had driven by on almost a daily basis and it was easy to find someone who knew the ropes in the city’s skating community. That’s when I met Jesse.

“Messe” Jesse Meyers, pictured here jumping a ramp at Hutchinson’s Carey Park, works part-time at a local shop, Disabled Skate & BMX, and has been skating just about as long as he’s been walking. At 25 years old he has four professional sponsorships and receives all of his skateboards and much of his clothing for free. Skating is pretty much his life and he was more than willing to head out for a photo shoot the first time we met. After that, he became the best friend in Kansas I have. Every day after work, we’d get together to do some skate sequences. Other times, we just played video games and had a few beers. I’ll admit it was probably the most fun taking pictures I have ever had, which is surprising to me, because I wasn’t even being paid to do it. I was easily putting around 1,500 frames on my camera per day, and it finally croaked on me, but I was having a hell of a time while doing it. Even though I was working off the clock for my own interest, I really felt like I was doing something worthwhile, which, in journalism, sometimes is a feeling that’s hard to find.

Jesse helped me realize that friendship, respect and understanding of people are what bring the best out of us as (photo) journalists. He’s had a hard life of pain and passion that, through our friendship, is forever my story to tell. In my opinion, the fact that something is newsworthy doesn’t exactly make it a great photograph or article, at least not to the one telling the story. If there’s no decent relationship between the subject and the journalist, then the story will only ever be half told. My only hope for the news industry is that those coming into this career, as well as those already in it, at some point get to learn the lesson as I have.

-TB

New Website Planning

Tonight in our Web Design class we drew up what we want our websites to look like in Photoshop. Well, actually we just had to arrange a layout with rectangles, but most people went ahead and started using images and designing logos and that kinda junk. This is a base idea for what I want mine to look like when its finished. Black on white mostly, with a logo at the top and a constant dominant image in the center. 

I'm not all that sure what I want to do with the navigation bar. I'll probably have more than just those 4 links. Probably end up having more like 6, but I dunno what they all are right at the moment. I was playin around with a transparent bar over the image in several different spots, and also on top of the image, but putting them on top takes too much away from the image.

Something like this will be the logo/title and remain constant throughout all the pages on the site. Also the dominant image and and navigation bar will remain constant, but the dominant image will change to a slideshow on my portfolio page, resume on my resume page and blog on my blog page. I'm hoping I can incorporate this blog directly into the new website. It'll have to change though, to match the elegant simple look that the new site will have. I may make a logo like this that says THE DAILY TOM with THOMAS BARKER, PHOTOJOURNALIST underneath it, but I don't happen to have that font on my computer, so it'll wait til later when i do it in class.

That's all right now.

-TB

Ice Cream & Cake Social

Tonight I attended an Ice Cream & Cake Social put on by the Carbondale Park District at their city residence the Hickory Lodge. I think it was mainly for senior citizens, because thats all who showed up, but I think it was open to anyone. There was free cake, cookies, pie, ice cream, popcorn and lemonade along with a live performance by keyboardist Bob Pina.

This lady, Sharon Helea, with her guy friend Ed Crawford, were the first ones to get up and dance and were very willing to have their picture taken. She also happened to mention that she's one of the longest-surviving people with the disorder Variegate Porphyria, a disorder that makes her skin extremely sensitive to sunlight. She said the Southern did a story on her in '86, but haven't since, and said I could come visit her and spend time with her and take pictures of her anytime I want. I may focus on her and produce a picture story about her for my advanced PJ class.

This lady was nice and told me her name, Lavina Thomas, even after I had admitted to having taken a picture of her laughing.

This couple, Joan and Dick Grammer, showed up everyone on the 'dance floor' with fancy spinny moves and dips. They were nice but not quite as willing, I dont think, to have their picture taken.

This guy was pretty cool, Charles Endres, 86 of Carbondale, who got the activities manager/bus driver from Prairie Living Supportive Living Center to dance with him and even wear his WWII veteran hat. 

This guy played the music. His name's Bob Pina and he gave me a few funny looks when I was taking shots of him playing, but was nice and introduced himself later on. He played a piano voice mostly but added in all kinds of percussion and drum beats so it was pretty swingin'.

-TB

Elizabethtown, IL

Went to this neat little town called Elizabethtown on the Ohio River this morning. Ended up finding this hotel/B&B on the river called The Rose Hotel. Turns out it is the longest-running hotel in Illinois and is, in fact, owned by the State. Sandy Vinyard has been managing it for four years and has done most if not all of the landscaping and interior decorating. It was built in the 1800s and sits right on the river, with a little gazebo built on a cliff of limestone out front. 

The limestone comes right up through the yard in some places, like in front of this hanging bench, and gives the yard a really cool look, particularly out at the gazebo. 

It costs $99 a night to stay, but this fall is already booked up, mostly by Chicago city folk who come down state to see the fall leaves and old town scenery. The rooms are large and decorated with all kinds of 19th century antiques. The Rose Hotel was the first building in Elizabethtown and once served as the community's post office and city hall.

The view from the upstairs balcony along the front is awesome. You can watch barges and riverboats roll by all day, and I imagine it's quite a site at night as well, since there's lights all along the front on both floors.

The city hall is pretty old and decrepit, but sits all castle-like atop a hill on main street and looks cool. Looks higher up from farther down the street. But then powerlines are all crossing in front of it and ruining the picture. f that noise.

This cat was really sad and sat on the porch of this litle ranch-home restaurant called Ms. Lizzie's and screamed at anyone who came here, particularly me with a big camera.

I definitely want to return to the town sometime this fall, get some pictures at sunset and nighttime and maybe even pictures of city folk who've come for a week or two. Maybe I can get Amber to go down there with me and get married at the Gazebo. Apparently, people do that, and the wedding Sandy said they had a couple weeks ago had 200 chairs set up in the yard. I bet that'd be cool, but it'd be too much of a hastle to get all of our family there and stuff, instead of in Effingham. 

/done

-TB

Cascade of Colors

-TB

we went to a baseball game

Me and Amber's dad, cousin, and exchange student Shintaro went to a cardinals game this week because amber's brother was too sick to go and they asked if I wanted to take his place. They were playing the Pirates and they got beat 14-4 because they had a shit-ton of errors and they started a new pitcher for the first time and he allowed like 9 runs in the first three innings. None of us are cardinals fans, they just wanted to take Shintaro to a major league game before he has to go back to Japan. It was fun though. I'm glad the cardinals suck so the cubs have a better chance of meeting the Red Sox in the world series.

Also me and amber have tickets to RED SOX @ WHITE SOX in Chicago at US Cellular Field on August 11, 2008, on my 22nd birthday! I'm gonna wear a Manny Ramirez jersey and I hope the white sox get their faces hammered into dust.

TB

storms!

Storm Moving In



-TB!

golfers and graduates

-TB

Abbyville Frontier Days Rodeo

-TB