![[ Camera Obscura 5280 ]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KFeTp3QCyLc/SMWT6m9GdNI/AAAAAAAABHg/vg8E0GNeWYU/S1600-R/obscuraheader2.jpg)
I don't like nostalgia unless it's mine. ~ Lou Reed
It has been 372 days since I first drove across county, over the Raton Pass and into a new career.
Since moving to Colorado I’ve worked as a freelance photographer for a number of publications. It’s been a lesson in humility, budgeting, and networking. I have many people to thank for helping me get my foot in the door.
This year everything was new, new faces, new light, a few new friends and new experiences.
Some folks have asked me what I would do differently. The first thing I will do differently this year is to streamline my invoicing workload. Before venturing out into the murky world of freelance photography I was a staff photographer in North Carolina for three years. My paycheck, every two weeks, was automatically deposited into my bank account. It was magical.
The magic of direct deposit is gone, but the bills remain.
***
I’ve covered some very interesting and sad assignments over these last 372 days.
One long story was in Utah. I was assigned to cover the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse, where six miners and three rescuers lost their lives. The days were very long and the access was limited to the point of madness. The press had no access to family members nor would any one in the small town of Huntington speak. Large packs of media roamed the streets in search of the story, like gangs armed with lighting equipment and barking CNN producers pounding out emails on Blackberries.
It was a challenge to photograph without too much to show for my efforts even though I stayed for six days, two of which I slept in my Jeep so I would not miss the 4AM press conferences. Since it was a national story I met some really great still photographers in the long waits between press conferences and candlelight vigils.
They never found those miners but the families had funeral services for the victims anyway. I did not attend the services, though I had been invited.
One long story was in Utah. I was assigned to cover the Crandall Canyon Mine collapse, where six miners and three rescuers lost their lives. The days were very long and the access was limited to the point of madness. The press had no access to family members nor would any one in the small town of Huntington speak. Large packs of media roamed the streets in search of the story, like gangs armed with lighting equipment and barking CNN producers pounding out emails on Blackberries.
It was a challenge to photograph without too much to show for my efforts even though I stayed for six days, two of which I slept in my Jeep so I would not miss the 4AM press conferences. Since it was a national story I met some really great still photographers in the long waits between press conferences and candlelight vigils.
They never found those miners but the families had funeral services for the victims anyway. I did not attend the services, though I had been invited.
***
The year 2007 was the deadliest year for American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This year I covered the funerals of two soldiers, from Colorado, killed in Iraq. One was only 19. The other soldier was a young father, from Pueblo, who left behind a two-year old son and wife.
Specialist Dane R. Balcon, 19:
Sergeant Blake Harris, 22:
Politics aside, covering the funeral for an American service member, is both physical and emotional. As the son of a retired Marine officer and brother of a Marine officer who served in Iraq you think about all the ‘what ifs’ as you are working. The flags, the soft sobs. The distant playing of Taps can be overwhelming.
You think about the mother of the fallen. You think about how easily your role could be reversed.
As a photojournalist it’s hard, if not impossible, to walk in the shoes of the people you are photographing. But if you, as a photojournalist, cannot at least imagine what the person or family is going through then your images will reflect that callousness.
I still have so much to learn.
This year I covered the funerals of two soldiers, from Colorado, killed in Iraq. One was only 19. The other soldier was a young father, from Pueblo, who left behind a two-year old son and wife.
Specialist Dane R. Balcon, 19:
Sergeant Blake Harris, 22:
Politics aside, covering the funeral for an American service member, is both physical and emotional. As the son of a retired Marine officer and brother of a Marine officer who served in Iraq you think about all the ‘what ifs’ as you are working. The flags, the soft sobs. The distant playing of Taps can be overwhelming.
You think about the mother of the fallen. You think about how easily your role could be reversed.
As a photojournalist it’s hard, if not impossible, to walk in the shoes of the people you are photographing. But if you, as a photojournalist, cannot at least imagine what the person or family is going through then your images will reflect that callousness.
I still have so much to learn.
***
Below is a small sample of my work since moving to Colorado. Would love to hear what you think.Thanks for reading.
Cheers,
Nathan W. Armes
Sparky Adir, 42, helps remove rubble from a family home in Holly, Colo. Thursday, March 29, 2007. A deady tornado raged through the small Colorado town Wednesday, March 28, 2007.For The Associated Press
B.B. King before an audience at Red Rocks during the B.B. King Blues Festival Sept. 1, 2007.For The Denver Post
The flag draped casket of Specialist Dane R. Balcon, 19, is placed into a waiting hearse outside the U.S. Air Force Academy Chapel Sept. 14. Balcon died from injuries sustained from an IED on September 5 while deployed in Iraq.For The Denver Post
Colorado rancher, Dan Valentine, 59, stands with his cattle dog, Taz, in an alfalfa field April 21, 2007. Water used to irrigate the field has been polluted by the dumping of waste water created by the extraction process of methane gas from abandoned coal mines in the area.For The Denver Post
A young girl hangs out of a car window as her family enters the Cinderella Drive-In Theater.For The Denver Post
Rick Allnutt, president of Allnutt Funeral Service - framed by a crucifix carved into a headstone - stands in the Resthaven Cemetery where a proposed crematorium was scheduled to be built. Allnutt was told by Ft. Collins officials that if he wanted to move his crematorium, he had to start pulling the deceased's teeth or install a very expensive scrubber on his chimney. Allnutt has refused to do either. The cremation industry is very opposed to this and they call it ghoulish.Around the country, states are trying to tackle the issue of mercury emissions from the deceased people's teeth when they're cremated.
For The Los Angeles Times
Kelly Connery, 28, and Billy Gotti, 27, party at Club DC10 April 7, 2007 while a club dancer gyrates behind them. The two are celebrating the birthday of friend, Kyle Jenkins, 31, with a few bottles of Patron and Veuve Clicquot Champagne.For The Denver Post
A woman walks in downtown Denver on a cold overcast afternoon.
A group with the Brown Palace ghost tour make their way up an elevator to the second floor of the historical Denver landmark. The hotel was opened in 1892 and has been the visited by the famous and infamous. Some of the visitors never leave as the palace is believed to be haunted.For The Denver Post
Leslie Garcia, 8, wrapped in an American flag while attending a rally in support for better treatment of immigrants in the United States. The rally, which followed a march through the city of Denver, CO., featured speakers, music and a festive atmosphere.For Sipa Press - Time Year in Images 2007
Isaac Wak Wak, 63, a Lakota Indian from the Sanpiol Tribe receives communion mass from the Reverend Monsignor Thomas S. Fryar at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception July 15, 2007. Wak Wak was taking part in the Sunday mass honoring the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.For The Denver Post
Attendees of the annual 2007 MAX Fashion Show, on Dec. 1 at the Exdo Events Center in Denver, watch models show off spring fashions from American and European designers. The show featured a live auction which helped raise money for Volunteers of America and the Brandon House in Denver. The Brandon House is a place of refuge for homeless women and children or victims of domestic violence.
Al Abrego, places his hand on a photograph of trapped miner, Carlos Payan, during a candle light vigil for the six trapped miners. The coal miners have been trapped since early Aug. 6.For Sipa Press
Denver Nuggets Allen Iverson is greeted by fans and fanfare during the season opener introductions at the Pepsi Center.For The Denver Post
Jennifer Loucks holds her adopted son, Remmi, who has autism, at her Arvada home after receiving a reverse offering from the Culpepper family of the Community in Christ Lutheran Church.
A man, who refused to provide his name, says a prayer outside the New Life Church.
1 comments:
These are gorgeous photos. Really amazing. I found you from the photos you took of the Colfax Marathon runners last May. Thanks for sharing!
Post a Comment