The Ink is an independently and locally owned monthly print publication, covering community news, arts & culture in the Truckee and North Lake Tahoe areas of California & Nevada .... Part newspaper, part magazine.
As the U.S. loses two local newspapers per week, it is impressive to see Moonshine's continued high quality journalism without the financial support (and control!) of some large media corporate owner.
Truly independent media.
As the staff photographer of The Ink, I get to see the creativity, talent & commitment to solid journalism that goes into this publication, from the inside.
Working with Publisher/Owner Mayumi Peacock & the rest of the staff has been pleasantly impressive.
Whenever I bring up to locals that I'm working for Moonshine Ink, the adoring admiration and respect they show for Mayumi, our team and the publication is impressive and touching. I'm working with a true community asset.
In my first year with The Ink, my assignments have ranged from the fun & creativity in our community, to real tragedy.
Celebrating this first year, I'm sharing a few of my images & stories from these editions. You can click some images to read accompanying stories.
For anything without links, you might find related articles at these Moonshine's Facebook posts, or by looking through the digital edtions at MoonshineInk.com.
You can also seek more of my work by searching my name at MoonshineInk.com.
First Assignment: Going Deep
The first shoot I was sent out on was to cover the massive "Deepcember" snowfall at the end of December 2021 and the related scenery, difficulties (like empty gas stations because the gas tanker trucks couldn't get over the mountain passes for a few days) - and fun.
The images ran in the January 2022 print edition, and then we ran more pictures and videos from coworkers and the community along with the story at MoonshineInk.com.
In Cold We Trust
For the Feb. 2022 edition, in the middle of the winter and over a mile high in the snowy mountains, one of Moonshine's contributing writers, Le'a Gleason, had the bright idea to do a piece on cold water plungers (in a lake that is always cold - Lake Tahoe).
Being the cold weather wimp that I can be, I channeled the spirit of Manjushree Orphanage's Lama Thupten Phuntsok. I once asked him how he and all his orphans, high in the Himalayas, tolerated the cold without all the techhie (sp?) winter gear that my American cohorts and I wore.
I asked if it's a mind-over-matter meditation type thing, or if they were just acclimated to it, or what. His matter-of-fact answer, with a serene smile on his face, simply, "no... we're cold."
With that in mind, I suited up in full wetsuit, booties, gloves and hoodies - jumped right in for the shots .... and I was still colder than these plungers.
Our news reporter, Alex Hoeft, part of the super talented team I get to work with, had the creative idea for me to get "over/under" shots (since Lake Tahoe is so clear/transparent). Our publisher/owner, Mayumi Peacock, green-lit me to research and purchase the underwater camera gear for The Ink, to make it happen.
Then, to work out the kinks of my novice underwater photography and editing-for-newsprint skills, Mayumi and our graphic designer, Sarah Miller, stepped in to help us get the shots print-ready.
A true team effort, and we were thrilled with the results :)
Listening
This Feb. 2022 edition was also the start of me doing the "Do Tell" article, where we ask one question to several people out and about, and then we print 5 of their answers.
Sometimes the questions are light and fun, sometimes they're more serious.
This was my first one.
Mind, Body & Soul
You know you're teamed up with good journalists when they're giving attention to foreword-thinking wellness matters like this, that also ran in the February 2022 edition.
Stay tuned for Part 2 :)
Want to help?
If you're ever looking for some hard working truly do-gooders to support, Moonshine Ink (or any other good independent local media you are familiar with) is definitely deserving and can use all help (whether financial, or needed goods and services) that it can get.
Want to collaborate?
If you're an editor (of photo and/or video) and would like imagery & projects to collaborate on, I'm your guy! I have lots of material and ideas from over the years, ready and waiting for finishing and delivery. If interested, let me know!
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I think it was 10 years ago, today, on Aug. 25, 2005, that I got a call from an old friend living in Alabama. She and I had been talking over the previous months (or years?) about finding a fixer-upper house in New Orleans, LA ("NOLA") that we could afford to buy, as an investment and fun project. We both loved New Orleans, and delighted in the idea of a way to live/work/play there for a while and then be reimbursed for our time and expenses later by selling the house - or maybe living in it!
So, on about Aug. 25, 2005, she called me and said something to the effect of, "There's a big storm brewing out here, and I think it might result in some deals to be found!" I told her I had heard the news of the storm, and was thinking the same thing. We both knew that when big tropical storms, hurricanes and the like hit that SE area of the country, they often caused roof damage, home flooding and other problems that some homeowners no longer would want to deal with, and would want to sell the home quickly for a price we might afford.
My friend and I said we'd keep an eye on the storm and the area, and check back in with each other some days or weeks later. We were optimistic for our prospects, but we had no idea what was in store for this storm.
Fast forward a few months later to Feb. 2006. That storm had turned out to be Hurricane Katrina - the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, and the deadliest U.S. hurricane in 70 years (and top 5 deadliest in US history) and the national media had been talking like NOLA was done.
"No one will stick around. No one will return. No tourists will want to visit. NOLA might just not even celebrate it's annual February Mardi Gras in 2006." These are the things that "experts" were saying left and right - and I knew to be completely ridiculous. Why would I know different? I'd been to NOLA a handful of times, during Mardi Gras and during "off-season" (if there is such a thing as
"off-season" from fun in NOLA), and I have friends who have lived/worked/partied in the 9th Ward of NOLA for a long time. I love that city and I know the type of people that live there. And, if there's one thing I know from working in media for 20+ years - it's don't believe what the news tells you. There's a good chance it's sensationalized for shock effect, and inaccurate (often for questionable motives).
Armed with my sense of NOLA's true character and with my knowledge of the mainstream media's lack of credibility - I thought to myself, "THIS WILL BE THE BEST MARDI GRAS EVER!" Think about it. People in NOLA love to party and/or chill. Times are tough there in that economically-depressed socio-politically corrupt mess of a region that is the SouthEast U.S. - and New Orleanians have always decided to have a good time in the face of it all. NOLA is the poster-child, the iconic archetype, of making lemonade out of lemons, wrapped in a personally-responsible community lifestlye (much like Burning Man, which reminds me of some of my NOLA friends who don't go to Burning Man, because they pretty much live that celebratory, creative,
golden rule lifestyle without having to traipse from their NOLA swamp to the NV desert to find it).
SO - what would happen when NOLA gets hit with it's hardest punch ever? I thought it would inspire the best Mardi Gras ever! I didn't know if the quantity of attendees would be high, but I was sure that the quality of attendance, enthusiasm and poignancy would be great. With that in mind, I decided I wanted to go shoot a documentary of the first Mardi Gras after Katrina, rolling along with my NOLA friends 9th Ward Marching Band in the parades. I had nothing but an outdated video camera, no audio/lighting gear or assistance, but I just thought I'd roll with it and see if my "best ever" estimate was correct :-)
Just before the last weekend of Mardi Gras, I hopped a plane to Mississippi, grabbed a rental car and drove to NOLA. I interviewed NOLA residents, revelers, relief workers (including a couple living out of their car, who had driven down from Kentucky to help out for a few weeks), artists and community organizers -- rich and poor, black and white. I filmed disaster-stricken areas, parades -- sadness and happiness. Some 5 years later, I dug up the footage and hired a talented editor to put together the pieces for me. 10 years after Katrina, I share this video and more photos (both down below).
Oh, and what was it I heard from many people I met and hung with in NOLA?....
"Best Mardi Gras ever!"
As I sit here finalizing an edit of a video I shot a few weeks ago (scroll down for clip), I'm reminded how fortunate I've been to shoot so many great singers, dancers and instrumentalists over the years. Whether professionally or just for fun, whether photo or video - I always enjoy it.
From bucket drummers on the streets of NYC to San Diego favorite Stevie Harris; from New Orleans brass & marching bands to The Wet Spots; amazing rave DJs in the desert, Vic Thrill in a NYC dive bar basement, Shotgun the Band in the 869 studio garage and Christie Scott on her megaphone and piano in L.A.
There's been Julie Dillon strumming her guitar down the late night streets of Reno, Tsha Marie in studio, The Blessings in a Gothic Victorian house, Tibetan kids on stage in the Himalayas, cabaret, breakdancing, bellydancing etc, etc, etc...
.... I repeatedly find myself around music.
This recent video shoot was my first time shooting for Visionary Dance Theatre in a couple years, and I'm gladly reminded what a great job Spencer, Mickey and their team do with their kids. As Artistic Director Spencer Powell says, "Visionary will always be about providing the performing arts to the people, especially those who don't have the means or the access".
The show was Visionary Youth Theatre's "Pop Rock Revue - Music of the 80s". The audience loved the show, the kids very obviously love what they're doing and I really
enjoyed watching it. I wish they had a budget for a higher production-value video (multi-camera, location/rehearsal scouting, sound/lighting/choreography helpful for video) - as their creativity and enthusiasm merits it. If you're in San Diego and have kids looking for a theatre group, I recommend considering Visionary.
Or if you're just looking for a good show, check them out!
Here's some of the great moments from the show:
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Back in early photo days - early-mid 1900s - most documentary photographers used similar lenses and b/w film stocks that would call for an aperture of F8 in common situations. The key to getting a great or important photo was having your camera ready (film loaded & lens aperture set to F8), and just being there to get the shot --> F8 and be there!
I believe - and you may feel the same way - not all interesting photographs are necessarily "photographically" special. With some photos, it's just that the subject is interesting, not that the photographer did something artistically or technically skilled or innovative; s/he was just there to get the shot.
Sure, you always want decent exposure, focus, composition/framing - but sometimes, it's largely about the content.
Often, it just comes down to being there with whatever camera you happen to have on you - which in this day and age is often a camera phone. For the last 20 years, I've always had some camera on me - whether my 1982 35mm Canon AE-1, several Pentax 35mm point-n-shoots, and then eventually my Canon digital S90 (til it got stolen). After that, the camera phone has taken over as my everyday "be there" camera. My current camera phone is the now pretty outdated iPhone 3GS (soon to be replaced with something current).
With that said, I present a simple, but interesting, image (as seen through the dirty scratched lens of my iPhone 3GS).
Whoever first answers my question about the photo (SEE BELOW FOR QUESTION) will WIN a Prize
QUESTION: Whose display is this?
PRIZE: 8x10 print of any one of my photos posted here on Zenfolio or elsewhere online that I have images posted. See "Portfolio" and "Fine Art" drop down menu near top left, for links to various galleries & images.
HINT: It is in San Diego, CA (whose Pride Parade is coming up this Saturday July 18.)
HINT #2: It's in North Park
TELL ME your GUESS: in the Comments section down below
THE ANSWER: Shaun Murphy guessed correctly (over on the TC3 Imagery FB post of this). It is at Auntie Helen's on 30th St, in North Park, San Diego.
Happy Pride weekend, everyone!
Stay Tuned (Be There): for future GuessIt contests.
Couple closeups...
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Although my photo and video works are scattered around the web, perhaps this Zenfolio site here will be where I begin to consolidate or centralize my online presence. In that pursuit, I'll list here some of the places on the web you can find some of my works:
TC3Imagery.com - my original and main website, mostly photo, some videos, nothing new on there since 2007. At some point, I'll revamp that site, or link it to something more up-to-date (like this Zenfolio site).
TC3Imagery on Zenfolio - my public home page/slideshow - has some of my favorite images from recent photoshoots.
TC3Imagery on FaceBook - Several different photo gallery categories, and one video. I'm thinking about duplicating these as galleries here at Zenfolio, and then continuing from there.
TC3Imagery Fine Art on Zenfolio - images for sale for home/business decoration/wall-hangings, gifts, greeting cards and other merchandise. The images at this page are just a few, with many more to be added.
TC3Imagery on Flickr - some favorite photos from 2011-2013
I also have some VIDEO works scattered online, so I'll round those links up to post here, another time.
All for now. I'll leave this post with an image from latest shoot - Stevie & the Hi Staxx at 7 Grand in N. Park, S. Diego - 2 nights ago. Wow, they put on a great show performing great songs.
Be good!
Ted
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