I Hate Wind

Wind & Paper, originally uploaded by erinkoneill.

I had 200 communications law quizzes neatly stacked on my kitchen table. They were sorted by last names. And last night, they blew away. I hate the wind.

Character Profile Remix: Man of Faith

Willie M. Jones uses his faith in God, his love for his wife and daughter, and his struggles as a boy in Houston to help young people avoid the mistakes he made as a young man.

I spent a second Sunday with the Jones family to round out the story, and to add a lot of natural sound to the edit. Please enjoy!

Job Profiles Well Done

It's no secret that I am in journalism love with the New York Times' 1 in 8 Million multimedia project. After all, I made all the staff photographers mimic it for Engaging People this summer.

This guy is the best. He fixes dictation machines! What a find!

Ed Grajales: The Dictaphone Doctor

Character Profile: Man of Faith

Willie M. Jones uses his faith in God and struggles as a boy in Houston to help young people avoid the mistakes he made as a young man.

A Story in One Day: BBQ

1. Chef Jon Chevalier slits the membrane on pork ribs to give the ribs more surface area, which then allows the ribs to absorb more flavor from the spice rub, at the Battle of the BBQ in Ashland, Mo. Sept. 12, 2009. Chevalier was a police sergeant in Ashland for many years, he now owns a resturant and catering business in Hartsburg, Mo.

2. Chevalier lifts charcoal for his second grill at the Battle of the BBQ. Chevalier specalizes in Memphis style BBQ pork ribs.

3. Chevalier places racks of pork ribs in his smoker grill. His smoker can hold up to 32 racks of ribs.

4. Mary-Lou Mayse and her daughter-in-law Jennifer Mayse bought two racks of ribs.

5. Chevalier prepares his pork ribs entry for the judges. He placed third in the BBQ chicken category, but did not win any awards for his ribs.

The Payne Family Graveyard

PayneGraveyard3, originally uploaded by erinkoneill.

In my parent's subdivision in Georgetown, Kentucky, there is a small graveyard with gravestones dating from the 1800s. The subdivision and golf course sits on land that was once belonged to John Payne, a veteran of the Civil War. The graveyard is the final resting place for John Payne and a few generations of his ancestors.

I've been meaning to make photos of the graveyard for some time, but a new lens made it more exciting. I love my 50 mm f/1.8 lens! More photos can be seen at my flickr photostream.

Say YES! to Michigan

Holland4, originally uploaded by erinkoneill.

My cousins Carah, left, and Cate Hoitenga with their respective boyfriends at sunset on a Lake Michigan beach.

In June I had a holiday in Holland, Michigan, home to my maternal Dutch ancestors. My mom and brother drove up from Kentucky, too. Holland is on the west side of Michigan, right on the beach. I had a lovely weekend visiting with family, turning myself into a lobster and enjoying the surf.

More photos are at my flickr photostream.

Once A Bridesmaid

Preparations, originally uploaded by erinkoneill.

Katy Montague got married! We had a lovely and long day, in and out of the very posh bridal lounge at Temple Israel in St. Louis. I didn't make many photos on the day because I was busy being photographed myself, but I did lend the official photographer my strobe flash unit when his broke. Glad I was prepared!

I promise I won't publish the one photograph where the Groom can't keep his eyes off the Bride's boobs, even if it does show off some nice direct flash technique....

Hi, Dad.

Dad, originally uploaded by erinkoneill.

At Jake's baseball game. Yes, it is supposed to be upside down. It's how I made the photo. Jake's team, the Marlins, won 14-3.

American Pastime

Home in Kentucky with the family, attending the JakeMonster's* little league baseball games, I decided to entertain myself with working on my shooting. Over 500 frames, and I really only like one of them (it's the top one, nice, clean, in focus). And it's not even of the JakeMonster (bottom). I find baseball to be an intelligible sport in the first place, which makes things even more difficult on my end. But, I have been informed that I need to improve my own technical photography abilities, and I shall do so come hell, high water, or little league baseball games.

*JakeMonster is Jake, my 8-year-old brother.