Recent Work: September 2010

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Flag Retiring Ceremony

A flag was retired recently at the Veteran's Home of California in Ventura. The ceremony was also in remembrance of those who died in the 9.11 attacks of 2001. A color guard from the USAF was there to perform the ceremony in front of a large crowd of veteran's, firefighters, policeman, servicemen, the boy scouts and girls scouts troops. The old US flag was ceremoniously taken down and with reverence was cut apart in strips, each strip given a patriotic meaning before placed into the fire by a dignitary. It was an incredible display of patriotism and reenforced in me the importance of the flag and the pride of being an American.

USAF A1C Daniel Crosier reaches to grab an old US flag as it is pulled down for the last time to be retired, Saturday, September 11, 2010 during a Flag retirement ceremony at the Veteran's Home of California in Ventura. The ceremony also honored those who lost their lives in at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

City Council member of Ventura Christy Weir, left, USAF veteran Richard T. Lee and Terri Taylor Gonzalez stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, Saturday, September 11, 2010 during a Flag retirement ceremony at the Veteran's Home of California in Ventura. The ceremony also honored those who lost their lives in at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

USAF A1C Daniel Crosier holds and inspects an old US flag before passing it to USAF Msrgt. Jeff De la Cruz as it is retired, Saturday, September 11, 2010 during a Flag retirement ceremony at the Veteran's Home of California in Ventura. The ceremony also honored those who lost their lives in at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

USAF Lt. Col. Connie Poulson (cq) cuts an old flag to be retired as members of the USAF 146th Airlift Wing Honor Guard hold the flag, Saturday, September 11, 2010 during a Flag retirement ceremony at the Veteran's Home of California in Ventura. The ceremony also honored those who lost their lives in at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Congressman Elton Gallegly burns a strip of an old US flag as it is retired, Saturday, September 11, 2010 during a Flag retirement ceremony at the Veteran's Home of California in Ventura. The ceremony also honored those who lost their lives in at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

New Dog Park in Moorpark

To follow suit with Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, Moorpark opened its own new dog park last week. The cool place has separate running pens for big dogs and little dogs, new dog bone benches for the owners to sit and drinking bowls and fountains for the thirsty pets. Its nice to see efforts to provide a place for owners and their pets to get out of the house and bond a bit and get exercise. It just makes everyone happier.

Jim Thomson and Dori Thomson watch the dogs run free while their dog Niki, right, is apprehensive about meeting new dogs, Friday, September 10, 2010 during the opening day of the new dog park, at the College View Park in Moorpark. The dog park features an enclosed running dirt turf for dogs to run free, park benches for the owners, dog waste bag stations and water bowl stations.

The ball is the object of the game as one dog is run over by another, Friday, September 10, 2010 during the opening day of the new dog park, at the College View Park in Moorpark. The dog park features an enclosed running dirt turf for dogs to run free, park benches for the owners, dog waste bag stations and water bowl stations.

Boston Terriers Bob, left, and Tippy enjoy each other's company, Friday, September 10, 2010 during the opening day of the new dog park, at the College View Park in Moorpark. The dog park features an enclosed running dirt turf for dogs to run free, park benches for the owners, dog waste bag stations and water bowl stations.

Elizabeth Morin, 14, holding Bella, laughs as Mercedes also wants to be picked up, Friday, September 10, 2010 during the opening day of the new dog park, at the College View Park in Moorpark. The dog park features an enclosed running dirt turf for dogs to run free, park benches for the owners, dog waste bag stations and water bowl stations.

Rosh Hashanah

This is a Rosh Hashanah service I covered a couple weeks ago at the Ventura Harbor put on by the Temple Beth Torah from Ventura. They had a ceremony first by the beach which included the sounding of the shofar, or rams horn, the reading of the Torah, a ceremony for the blessing of the children and the tossing of bread into the ocean to symbolize the casting away of sins.

Patty Thompson shows her granddaughter Amber Shields how to throw bread into the oncoming wave representing the casting away of sins for the new year, Thursday, September 9, 2010 during a Rosh Hashanah service for the members of the Temple Beth Torah, in Ventura.

Yuhee Lefkowitz, right, and his brother Ganghee Lefkowitz help to unroll the Torah as Rabbi Lisa Hochberg-Miller reads a part of the Torah, Thursday, September 9, 2010 during a Rosh Hashanah service for the members of the Temple Beth Torah, in Ventura.

Jason Bonilla, 11, receives blessings from his grandfather Chuck Fagelson, grandmother Lillian Fagelson and mother Jill Bonilla during the a prayer and blessing for children, Thursday, September 9, 2010 during a Rosh Hashanah service for the members of the Temple Beth Torah, in Ventura.

Glory Page casts a piece of bread into the ocean, symbolizing the casting away of sin of the past year, Thursday, September 9, 2010 during a Rosh Hashanah service for the members of the Temple Beth Torah, in Ventura.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Argentina Tango Tuesday at the Candelight Kitchen and Bar in Ventura

These are some photos I took for a stand alone display for The Star last night. This was a self-imposed assignment. Lately, its been suggested by my editor that I go ahead and look for subjects around the county to photograph for the paper and this is the first of many to come. What a joy it is to be set free to go around town to discover and share absolutely everything!

The Argentina Tango Tuesday is a weekly event of what the tango dancers call "social dancing". It is a dance form that was created by immigrants and laborers in cafes around Argentina in the early 19th century and was meant to be for relaxing and socializing after a tough day of work. The dance form seems easy, as it is based on a simple walk where the man leads and the woman follows, but because there is no set pattern or choreography the dance becomes an intuitive improvisation or "conversation" between the dancers. Though the dance seemed to be simple enough, the tango is a challenge to some. One of the male dancers I spoke with named Gene mentioned the difficulty with leading. He mentioned that a lot of men will quit in a few weeks because learning to improvise to the music is a challenge. As for Gene, underlining his own difficulty in practicing tango in the last 10 years, he says learning is 50% love of the dance and 50% determination. Gene attributes his mastery by focusing in three areas a) learning the mechanics of the dance, b) learning to listen to the music and c) feeling the mood of the music and tempo. He asserts that it takes many years to master these areas and he is still learning. But despite his challenges and drive to master tango, Gene relates that his once a week night of dance is a pure joy to him and relieves him from the pressures of his daily work life.

Other dancers there at this half "practica," (practice) half "milonga" (formal) dance were there less for the pursuit of perfection as to just socialize and find release in this incredible bar room of the Candelight restaurant. The dim red and yellow lights, the rustic Argentinian tango rhythm, and sliding of dancing soles on wooden floors of the old converted mansion seemed to be the perfect setting for intimacy and "conversation." I really felt transported to another place.

Technical: This assignment was really tough to shoot, everything being at 1600ASA @ a 1/10th of a second, i.e., incredibly dark. I didn't want to destroy the intimacy of the ambient lighting, but everything I was getting was saturated red and muddy, or motioned blurred and grainy. I tried my best to fill with minimal bounce flash at minus 1 and 1/4 stops to minus 2 stops off the ceiling ETTL, but because of the funny ceiling decoration all my frames were inconsistent. But I persisted in this method the whole night through. Another professional photographer who was there mentioned he didn't have any luck there on previous nights. I was hoping for the best.

Professional dancers from Buenos Aires, Argentina Jorge Visconti and Susana Goytia-Miller dance an Argentina Tango, Tuesday night, September 7, 2010 during an Argentina Tuesday Night Tango at the Candelight Kitchen and Bar in Ventura. According to Stephan Bauer, a tango teacher based in Ojai, Argentina Tango is an improvisational dance created by immigrants and laborers in clubs of the Rio de la Plata in the 19th century. Because there are no formal steps in this form of dance, as the man leads and the women follow, the dance is described as more of a conversation, directed by the tempo and mood of the music. And because of the simple nature of the Argentina Tango, according to Bauer, it is a fairly easy dance to learn. The Tuesday Night Tango meets every Tuesday night at the Candelight Kitchen and Bar in Ventura at 7:30 PM until 11 PM.

Brad Tipton and Abra Flores find intimacy while dancing an Argentina Tango, Tuesday night, September 7, 2010 during an Argentina Tuesday Night Tango at the Candelight Kitchen and Bar in Ventura.

Dancers find their step together on the dance floor, September 7, 2010 during an Argentina Tuesday Night Tango at the Candelight Kitchen and Bar in Ventura.

Bob Schaffer, left, and Ilya Magid watch the other dancers while taking a break from dancing, Tuesday night, September 7, 2010 during an Argentina Tuesday Night Tango at the Candelight Kitchen and Bar in Ventura.

Evelyn Reynolds and Gene Ekonomi move to the rythem of the music while dancing an Argentina Tango, Tuesday night, September 7, 2010 during an Argentina Tuesday Night Tango at the Candelight Kitchen and Bar in Ventura. Ekonomi, an engineer by day, says he looks forward to dancing each Tuesday after work, "here I can just let everything go. You have to be social when you dance, so unlike the fighting and stress at work, here I can be my real self."

Brad Wyatt takes off his work shoes and laces into his tango shoes from Buenos Aires before going onto the dance floor, Tuesday night, September 7, 2010 during an Argentina Tuesday Night Tango at the Candelight Kitchen and Bar in Ventura.