Tag Archives: nonprofit

Photography and More…Photography

Posted on by under Uncategorized

Img_0010fcutImg_4446psImg_4165CcposterImg_3263Img_0605psImg_5036psImg_0388rawImg_0409ps

It’s been some time since my last post, but that’s because I’ve had several back-to-back photography gigs over the past month. From food to music to nonprofit, I’ve gotten a good run for my money during the months of October and November!

Plus, I have an extremely exciting announcement coming up…but more on that later. 

After flying home from California and the Send Silence Packing Tour, I slept for a few hours and then drove upstate for a friend’s birthday party and potluck. After that it was back down to the city for dim sum with another dear friend, then a long gig with the Food Network. I was delighted to be the studio photography for Kelsey’s Essentials: Season 3. Working 14-hour days was interesting, but the lovely host, my old bosses, and most of the staff was great. As was the food. Ah, the food…I was not shy, let’s just put it that way.

Immediately following that was a gig with my very talented friend, an up-and-coming drummer. You can hear some of her music at http://www.colleenclarkmusic.com/.

After editing Food Network photos for 10 days, I traveled down to D.C., met up with several friends, and then joined the folks at Active Minds for their 8th National Conference. I did photography for the whole conference, but really enjoyed meeting all the employees I’d never gotten to meet before the California tour started. The students–who came from all over the country, and even Canada–were really smart students who are working to make a difference in the world of mental health.

All in all, I’ve had a busy month. After two Thanksgiving dinners and little time to rest, I feel a bit like resting, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. Why? I have a big announcement coming. Big news, and yes, travel is involved. Why wouldn’t it be?

Enjoy some photos from the last few gigs, and you’ll be hearing from me soon.

[3 photos each of Food Network (Kelsey Nixon’s cooking show), Colleen Clark’s artist shoot, and Active Minds’ National Conference in Maryland]

1 – Scallops with a White Chocolate Beurre Blanc

2 – Cooking on the show set

3 – Host Kelsey Nixon

____________________

4 – Drummer Colleen Clark

5 – Dandy shoes

6 – Ponderous

____________________

7 – The Mental Health Speakers Bureau panel discussion

8 – Mental health advocate Meg Hutchinson performs

9 – Me and some of the lovely gals at Active Minds

 

 

Advertisement

Goodbye for now, California! The SSP tour comes to a close.

Posted on by under Uncategorized

Img_0273psImg_0268Img_0302Img_0243_2psImg_0008Img_2234Img_0030_2psImg_2258Img_0044psImg_0077Img_0208Img_0120Img_9941Img_0131psImg_0107psKatcooperImg_0240

(Musings below.)

(1) It’s even more beautiful in person.

(2) Here I am, wrecking the scenery with one of my usual jump shots.

(3) I like the soft and hard, the colors, and the way the barbed wire and the mosses follow similar lines.

(4) Well hi there.

(5) Me drivin’ our truck.

(6) No. This is wrong. No. (From a store in K-town, L.A.)

(7) Walking to the beach.

(8) Cheese and squash pupusa with pickled cabbage and carrots, plus hot sauce! In central, sketchy L.A.

(9) I got to swim under these waterfalls last year, but this year I finally got a photo of them! Just like Ithaca, eh?

(10) Modeling the latest in seaweed fashion.

(11) Looks different in the fall, right? (Refer to California Road Trip pt. 1 from 2010 for the summer look).

(12) Mimic seagull in background.

(13) SSP display photos from the tour. 

(14) Reading the story backpacks.

(15) The display in Riverside, CA.

(16) Thanks, Vic! Me on the job in Irvine.

(17) A last farewell to the Pacific.


The California Send Silence Packing Tour has come to a close, and yes, I already miss it! I really, truly enjoyed such a unique and amazing job opportunity in an equally amazing place. 

Jobs are one thing, but living on the job and traveling every two days is something else entirely. It’s really a trip and an adventure, a journey where you’re constantly learning.

I learned that I love working on the road. I knew it before, but despite the challenges of having no permanent home and living with coworkers, I absolutely love the variety. Plus, reaching out to so many folks through nonprofit work makes me proud of what I do.

I realized that I never want to live by my cell phone. With maps, reviews, and answers of all sorts available no matter where one is at any given time, people have become accustomed to walking around, holding out their iPhones and Droids and following directions like flocks of robots. I understand that this is entirely easier, and more convenient, than getting lost and asking for directions, but it’s simply not how I operate. I’ll try to keep the getting lost part to independent travel, though, because I understand that other people don’t get the same zany thrill as I do when I accidentally find a new park or Little El Salvador.

I discovered I have a lot in common with the people of California. What happy, outdoorsy, adventuresome folks! I had so many adventures, from mini food tours with friends to surfing and hiking with new acquaintances. 

There are so many more photos and thoughts to be shared, but a gig at Food Network is calling my name in Brooklyn. Enjoy the last set of ocean-themed photos from our drive up the coast to San Francisco, and I’ll post some mouthwatering food photos soon!

Moving to California to Travel on the Job. Non-Profit Work, Here I Go!

Posted on by under Uncategorized

Exciting News!

I got a dream 1-month job. I’m absolutely thrilled to have gotten a job offer to work with the national non-profit Active Minds.

This isn’t your normal desk job, of course; no, this is pretty much the opposite. I’ll be working for a month on the road in California! At college campuses and public areas from San Francisco down to L.A., I’ll be working to change the dialogue on mental health. Specifically, I’ll be one of two road staffers working on a tour called Send Silence Packing. Send Silence Packing, or SSP, is the largest program of Active Minds, and this will be the 3rd tour project of theirs. I’ll be traveling with my tour partner (and pretty cool dude–read about the projects he’s working on here) Brandon, as well as the occasional staff memeber from Active Minds’s D.C. headquarters. You can check out the Road Staff section of SSP’s website to learn more, and I’d be so happy for you to follow the blog! We’ll soon be posting photos, video, and daily happenings.

Besides touring and display work, I’ll be writing daily blog posts on ssp.org, taking photos, interviewing attendees, filming and editing videos, speaking with the media, and more. We’ll be representing Active Minds on this project, and I couldn’t be more excited to work on such a great project that utilizes so much of my work experience.

This project works to change the dialogue on mental health. By working with their 350+ national chapters, they act as a necessary resource, trying to erase the stigma associated with mental health and suicide. This is a grave issue effecting 1,100 students per year in the U.S. We can all help prevent suicide by just talking about mental health and suicide–that is, speaking to friends and family, expressing concern, using free college counseling center resources, and not being afraid to talk about this important issue.

To demonstrate our point, we’ll be taking 1,100 backpacks on the road. All have been donated by supporters, and hundreds are the actual backpacks of lost ones. They have heartbreaking stories attached, and some still have posessions inside. These stories remind us all that the 1,100 student lives lost to suicide annually. isn’t just a statistic, but our brothers, daughters, friends, and loved ones. These lives CAN be prevented.

On a happier note, this job will mean a lot to me, and to be working with the terrific staff at Active Minds makes it even better. Why am I so excited about this opportunity? First off, I’ll be doing meaningful work. Psych was one of my majors in college, and I worked for a year with my school’s mental health and counseling center, concentrating on mental health and suicide analysis with local and national data. I did presentations and spoke to quite a few students about it, so I’m quite familiar with the area! Second, for years I’ve been searching for a kind of on-the-road job. I can see differen tplaces, meet different kinds of people, and explore on the side. Selfish? Crazy? Other people enjoy stability and peace of mind. I enjoy the unknown, and that means that I’ll be in a healthier state of mind to work, giving everyone better results. And third, how many times can I say that spontaneous trips, living on the road, camping with strangers, and having adventures has helped me get a job?

Today starts a new, wonderful adventure.