CIF Football

This Friday and Saturday I covered two CIF final football games, one was between two schools in my area. The other was a local school against a school from out of the area. The first game was between Vista Murrieta and Chaparral, I have covered both of these schools regularly in the past four years and have become very familiar with the players on both teams. So it was really neat to get to see them play each other for the title match.



I covered the Vista Murrieta side of the game and another photographer covered the Chaparral side, to make sure we got the reactions from the winners and the losers at the end of the game. It rained off and on during the game but for the most part it stayed pretty dry, but it did get a little foggy which kinda made it a bit moody. The Chaparral team endded up winning so I had the job of photographing the sad faces of Vista Murrieta, which I never love to do, I mean these kids worked so hard to get this far and I really feel bad for them not winning, but I guess they can't all win.



The following night I covered Linfield Christian a local school play Rio Hondo in Covina. I knew this game was going to be a wet one do to the fact that we had a big winter storm roll through the night of the game. By the time I got to the field there was probably a good inch of water on the it already and the rain didn't seem to show any sign of stopping.



After being on the sidelines for about ten minutes my pants were completely soaked and I was very glad I remembered to bring my water proof jacket. My biggest problem was my cameras, I had made some waterproof coverings for them with plastic bags but the eyepiece on my main camera kept fogging up and by the end of the first quarter it was useless. So I just had to shoot the action by feel, which might sound very zen but when your soaking wet, covered in mud, and freezing cold its very hard to even come close to anything zen like.



The action in the game was great but the fact that Linfield won was even better because I got to photograph the celebrations after the win. And if I thought I was muddy before the end of the game I got a huge surprise because the guys hit the field like it was a mud covered slip-and-slide and then came the apple cider. It was a great time and a great game to cover. To view more images from both the games go to this link http://www.photoshelter.com/c/andrewfoulk/gallery/CIF-Football/G0000Y.KMlokS8Cs/

Salton Sea

Today a fellow photographer and I packed up the car and headed out to the Salton Sea so I could scout locations for an upcoming shoot. The Salton Sea is actually an inland saltwater lake that was formed (in its most recent incarnation) in 1905 when the Colorado River breached its banks and filled the Imperial basin, for a period of almost two years. After awhile it became the playground of the rich, famous, and also just many families trying to escape from L.A. to spend time fishing, boating, or just enjoying the salty brine of the sea.



Unfortunately the good times didn't last for the sea or the people who inhabit the area surrounding it. Due to the fact it has no real water flow with an inlet and outlet, the salinity level in the sea started to rise because of evaporation, causing most fish species to die off. Also with the seas close proximity to the all of the farming in Imperial county pesticides, fertilizer and other chemicals started polluting the water. To make matters worse the New river dumps directly in to the sea, the New river being one of the most polluted rivers in the U.S.A.





All of these factors make this one of the most striking landscapes to photograph in. As soon as you reach the shoreline your hit with the fact that the shore isn't covered in sand its covered in fish scales and bones, and I don't mean just a layer of them above the sand, I mean as far as you can dig you'll be digging through fish bones. The other amazing thing about the area is the amount of abandoned buildings, cars, trucks, and even towns. It really has an otherworldly sense to it. I didn't really get a good amount of time to make images today because most of my time was spent driving looking for locations but here are a few images I made. To view more go to: http://www.photoshelter.com/c/andrewfoulk/gallery/Salton-Sea-Nov09/G0000yn_YwnYN8dI/

Clean-up

Yesterday I spent my morning hiking through overgrown Manzanita bushes, on paths that were never intended to be walked on by humans. The area I was in is just a stones throw away from Temecula. In fact you can even see Old Town Temecula from one of the spots I was at. This area however is completely remote in the middle of De Luz, no real houses near-by, and yet somehow it was littered with trash. That brings me to the reason I was there. To cover a group of volunteers do an annual trash removal. The area I was at was just a small portion of the area involved in the clean-up. It encompassed the entire 26.2-mile Rancho Santa Margarita watershed, and yet in this huge expanse of wild area dotted with orchards and ranches, the organizers expected to collect over 10 tons of trash.



I am always amazed at how inconsiderate people can be, and when I got to the site I wasn't let down. I found the volunteers hiking through a dried up waterfall pulling out broken remnants of old televisions, pulling beer bottle after beer bottle from the soil, and placing it all on to a abandoned couch. It turns out the road at the top of the hill is a favorite hang-out for teens to get drunk at, and after a few what could be more fun than a good old game of "Let throw stuff off the edge of this cliff and see what happens". Well the good news is the volunteers pulled out a good portion of what was there, and they will be back again next year to do the same. Hopefully with less work to do.

The pretty people

Yesterday afternoon and evening was spent in downtown San Diego photographing a few non-models I found on-line. The purpose of the shoot was to do a mock commercial shoot for my portfolio. There is not too much to say about the shoot other than all three of the non-models were great to work with and we had a lot of fun running around the Gaslamp making these pictures. I also had the pleasure of having Paul Gallaher come down and help with some of the lighting.

I smell something fishy

This morning I had an assignment to photograph a local fish die off at Lake Elsinore, I was warned before arriving at the lake that it smelled awful, but I didn't think anything of it. In fact I had forgotten to even think about the smell, right up until I opened my car door, and was overcome with this nostril burning, eye watering, vomit inducing smell. That really took a few minutes to adapt to.

After coming to terms with the fact that I was going to be surrounded with stench for the time being, I got to work and started trying to visualize how I wanted to photograph this. And unfortunately for me and all the people I dealt with later today, it involved me kneeling on and around dead smelly fish. To get a low angle of the corpse's and to try and get someone fishing in the background.

After waiting around for fisher-men to fill my background at the right time. I decided to leave. My ride to my next assignment, was just awful, the entire car stunk like dead fish, I even tried dousing myself and the car with cologne to no avail. All I have to say is I am sorry if I smelled like a dead fish today when I was near you, but I got to make these pictures for the stink of it!

Aflac

Here are a few images from last nights Aflac All American high school baseball classic, held at Petco Park in San Diego

Comic Con War Journal, Day Three

Comic Con 09-2 - Images by Andrew Foulk


Another day with lines, and disappointment as far as the way things are run at Comic Con, The press is really treated like a bunch of parasites unless you have the "golden ticket" from the movie studios. I think one of the main problems with it is the sheer amount of press credentials handed out, I don't have an exact number but I believe it is near 1,800. And the biggest problem with that is a good portion of those passes are going to Bloggers ( I get the irony of complaining about bloggers in my Blog) who are not real journalist just fans with a lot of time on their hands and a computer. The people in charge of Comic Con really need to only give press credentials to people who are working press.

Aside from all the heartache with the way things are run, I tried to make today be about anything but what was happening inside the convention center, I spent some time outside at the back of the center. With a group of renaissance battle re-enactors, who were amazingly funny and great to hang out with. Then I walked around the " Gaslamp Quarter" for awhile trying to catch a super hero drinking a beer, or eating a burger, but really didn't have much luck with it. I did however get some images that showed the carnival like atmosphere of the convention.

Comic Con War Journal, Day two

Comic Con 09-1 - Images by Andrew Foulk

Can anyone say LINES? Today was spent in and around lines, and one of the biggest problems with Comic Con is, almost every single person there has spent their entire existence in lines. Lines for the next big movie, the next big video game, or the brand new limited edition "Darth Vader" bust with matte black paint on it. The bottom 'line' is your up against the pro's! when you think its too hot, they'll drink a cup of coffee, when you start to think you might need to go to the bathroom, they'll be drinking a "Big Gulp", when your legs are about to give out, they'll be doing jumping jacks. They are good and they are driven, if there is someone/thing they want to see they would cross a desert of glass, barefoot in the middle 120 degree temperatures.

Now as a member of the working press I normally don't have to stand in said lines, because I am just there to photograph the event and I am not going to even be taking a seat. Comic con is different though, with the influence of Hollywood, almost all of the panels are filled with celebs of one kind or another. So in order to gain access to the panels, other then standing in line, you have to have a special studio issued pass. So it makes getting the photos of the celebrity's you need very difficult.

Today I did manage to sneak my way into the "Robot Chicken" panel with Seth Green, and it was really great I was right up in front of the cast and was able to get some good shots of Seth. Plus it was really funny! Another way to get around the lines is to just by photographing the lines, and I spent some time today doing just that.

With one and a half days down and three more to go, all I can say is I love covering Comic Con, but thank God its only once a year.

Comic Con War Journal, Day one

Comic Con 09 - Images by Andrew Foulk



Wow, I just spent my evening surrounded by literally, thousands and thousands of people. All of whom, seem to be after the same toy, autograph, free schwag, or just the latest die cast of Doctor Who. Yes I spent my evening covering preview night at the 40th annual San Diego Comic Con "International". This is my forth year covering this event, and being a Comic book fan (nerd!) myself I really love the chance to get to be around so many people who make the industry work.

On the other hand, it seems like every year there seem to be more and more people showing up, and with he addition of Hollywood spending all their time and money promoting the next big "Comic Book" blockbuster. The convention has really changed from its roots, a small get together of around 300 comic book fans, to a massive four day festival of the avant-guard, filled with random people dressed as the "Gods" of their new religion of super hero, space captains, or even just you run of the mill Mario bother. It is still a great event that I look forward to ever year, but it has really outgrown its home, which is really the sadist part.

On the plus side, no matter how packed it gets, you'll never run out of interesting people to photograph. From kids in strollers dressed as Superman, to grown men and women dressed as Stormtroopers, to a random guy walking around dressed as Jesus. It is really a lot of fun, and can't wait till tomorrow for the first full day.

Its over!

09 Grad - Images by Andrew Foulk


Well after two weeks of graduations I finally just shot my last one this morning, I really have a love hate relationship with this time of year. I know that it is an amazing time in the young peoples lives who are graduating and I want to make sure that my images convey that message. However it is unbelievably hectic time for me because a lot of the graduations are done on the same night in different cites. I have done seven graduations this year and not been able to stay the entire ceremony for one of them.

Balloon Fest

Balloon and Wine - Images by Andrew Foulk

Memorial Day

Memorial Day - Images by Andrew Foulk





Today I covered the Lake Elsinore cemetery Memorial Day service, this is my 3rd time covering this particular service, and I have to say it was the best so far. I will always feel a special place in my heart for this day and this event, because three years ago when I covered it for the first time for a weekly paper, my grandfather passed away.

It actually happened the fallowing day as I was writing my captions, and I will never forget which one it was! It was of a honor guard group doing a twenty one gun salute, just as I was writing down their information my aunt came into my office and said, with a broken voice "he's gone". My grandfather had never been in active combat but he spent two years on what he lovingly referred to as "the rock" (Hawaii) during his Army service. He spent three long years battling health problems, never backing down, never giving up, until he just had nothing left in him for the fight. I feel that in someway his passing at this time of year was very fitting for a man who spent his entire life in service to his family, his country, and his beloved fire department ( he was also a 30 year veteran of the Camp Pendleton Fire Dept) without ever thinking of himself first.

Thanks again, for everything you did for me grandpa!

April fires bring May flowers?

In southern California its always fire season and today was no exception, even though it was in the high sixty's today and it is April. I received a call at around 2pm from one of my editors about a blaze going on not more than three miles from my house. Like the old saying goes " If it were a snake it would have bit me"

As I got in my car I was amazed at the column of smoke and I instantly knew this was going to be a good sized fire. I have already been on three or four small brush fires this year, most of them had been put out by the time I arrived. This fire on the other hand was a different story, as I approached I had to go through a CHP road block and then as I got closer to the fire I realized I couldn't see a thing. The wind had shifted and I was enveloped in ash and smoke, not the best thing when you are still trying to find your bearings.

My one big goal in shooting this fire was to get images of large flames with the fire personal in the frame. I have been on many brush fires and never really been satisfied that my images convayed the intensity of the situation. This time however I really fell I got the images I have been searching for, there were a large number of big flare ups and they were at a distance I felt safe with.

The other good thing about this fire is that no one was injured and no structures were damaged. Its just like one of the residents of a house in the path of the flames said to me" Well if my house makes it through I wont have to worry about clearing all the brush around here this year" and good thing for him his house is fine and he has one less piece of yard work to do.

Candle light vigil

Last night I covered a candle light vigil for family and friends of victims of violent crime. It was all part of National crime victims rights week and it was attended by many local politicians, and law makers.

For me it was a very somber and uncomfortable scene to be at, I recognized many of the faces from crimes scenes I have been on and really didn't fell like it was fair for me to, yet again be invading these poor peoples lives at an already difficult moment.

Photographing for newspapers always has its ups and downs, you get to go to a lot of really cool places and meet some of the most amazing people in on earth. However there is a flip side to that, you have to make photographs of people during hard times, and for the most part readers don't really think about the fact that the photo on the front page of the local section had to be made by someone, someone had to be there and take from the person in the image.

At the heart of Photojournalism is that defining moment, the second that someone reacts to there surroundings, whether it be war, a natural disaster, or the loss of a loved one. That moment is the purpose for why I and every other Photojournalist pick up a camera everyday and try and share our worlds with the rest of the planet.

Easter Service

As a photojournalist I try and keep an open mind and stay as objective as possible, but when I am near fervent believers (especially of the Christian kind) I feel somehow uneasy. Like they have tapped into some kind of spiritual oasis that only the "saved" can pull from and by not knowing a way to tap into it, I am somehow an interloper sent to ruin and mock their celebrations. When in actuality I really respect them for having something they can believe in so strongly without having any real physical evidence of it.

That being said, I got to photograph an Easter play at a local church today, I was immediately hit with the fact that a large portion of the congregation had tattoos, they were in t-shirts, and shorts, and there was a lingering smell of cigarette smoke. Also it became apparent to me that their were many parishioners who were trying to restart their lives after problems with the law.

This was not the normal group of people I have come to know as church goers, they were really there to get closer to god and help themselves get to a better place. It was refreshing to say the least. As far as the photography, the church was poorly lit and I ended up having to use a flash, something I don't love to do. However considering how bad the lighting really was I felt I came away with some fairly good images and a good not uneasy feeling about the people I was sent to photograph.

The Hunt

Yesterday morning I had an assignment to cover an Easter egg hunt at a local park. This assignment seemed pretty straight forward and simple however its been a year or two since I shot an Easter egg hunt and I had forgotten how much energy those little hunters have.

Another local photographer Paul Gallaher was also there, and I think we both realized at about the same time that the plans we had formulated to photograph this event were not going to work. So after the first group of kiddos (4-year-olds) laid waste the close to football sized field of eggs in a matter of seconds, we both regrouped and made new plans on how to get the images we wanted.

So after about two or three age groups of kids I finally had the rhythm of the madness down and got away with some pretty nice images. Also Paul and I had a little fun snapping some photos of each other trying to make our pictures.



Here is Paul laying in wait and probably hopping not to get trampled.

What Next?

In the past few weeks I have been covering more and more stories about the economy, none of them good, some of them hopeful. But all generally the same, good hard working people who have either lost their jobs or are facing layoffs. Last night I covered a foreclosure seminar, which was a good thing, in a way because it was aimed at helping those who might lose their homes get help and possible keep them. Today I covered custodians at a local school, these people do some of the hardest work with some of the worst hours possible and yet they are all very happy with their jobs. However do to the fact that they are employed by the school district, they like so many others can't be sure how long they'll get to keep those long hard hours.

The newspaper industry, of which I get most of my work from is no better off, last week a local paper laid off a good number of its editorial staff including some friends. Also last week the Seattle Post-Intelligencer stopped printing a paper and moved to a web only edition. And just yesterday the San Diego Union Tribune sold to a private equity firm from L.A. for an unnamed price, no one knows what this will mean for the UT but my thoughts go out to all of those who are on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next.

I can't say exactly what got us into this current finical crisis we find ourselves in. Was it greed? probably! Was it ignorance on the part of "Joe public"? Maybe! Was it a mix of the two? definitely! The bottom line is we are here now and there is no one great answer to fix the problem. I just hope that things start turning around soon before they get any worse.

Why do I hate Car Shows?

Last night and today was spent photographing the Temecula Rod Run, a really great event that is a lot of fun to be at. However this is the 8th time I have shot this event and its getting harder every year to come up with a new way to photograph the same cars and people.

I hate photographing at car shows to begin with do to the fact that they are always held in open areas during the brightest part of the day, with a lot of distracting and hot backgrounds. The cars themselves add a lot of color but often have a lot of chrome and are really reflective so they tend to make unpleasing photos. Also the people are there to look at the cars and really don't seem to care if they walk in front of my lens. I spent around 20 minutes by a car waiting for someone to look in the window of it and every time someone started to, a group of people would walk right in to my frame.

The bottom line is I like car shows they are really fun to attend, I even like the people at car shows they are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. But I really hate photographing at car shows!

Drug House

I have always found the architecture of the old Lake Elsinore Navy academy building really gorgeous. So today when I got an assignment to follow a code enforcement officer while he and a couple police officers did a walk through to try and determine how bad the conditions in the unoccupied property was, I got really excited.

The building was once an Navy academy so it has all kinds of twist, turns, and rooms, and with no power and all the windows boarded up the building was really dark and impossible to see in. Also it has been a beacon for drug addicts and gang members for the past few years. The inside was like a pack of wild animals ransacked it, people have been stealing the wiring from the walls, and just about anything they could pry loose or saw off. The floors were missing section where they had pulled up the boarding to remove the steel pipes from the floor. We even found a soda bottle full of urine that some one had been using as a toilet. It was really an uncomfortable place to be in, you never knew who or what was around the next corner, and all you could do was expect to find a dead body or a strung out junkie waiting to protect his or her home.

Buzz

On Wednesday I got to cover the 32nd annual Riverside County spelling bee, I have covered a lot of bee's in the past few years but never one at this level. I am always amazed at the dedication these kids have, spelling words most of us have never even heard of before.

By the time I got to the bee there were five kids from my area left and after about five rounds they had all missed a word, so I was left waiting to see who the winner would be. After the 15h round all but two were left, and one of them misspelled his word. So it was up to the last contestant to spell her word correctly, and she didn't. So they brought back the other three spellers for another round and yet again they all misspelled their words including the last speller. This continued for two rounds then finally Paul Uzzo an 8th grader at Vista Verde Middle school in Moreno Valley correctly spelled "Metanoia" to win. I was really hoping he would win because he was really expressive, so I knew he would make a really great face when he won, and he did!

Studio Time

Well today I got a break from shooting news and sports to photograph in a studio, I had the privilege of getting to use Butch Owens (a local photographers) home studio. The shoot was with a friend who has never modeled before but she really has the classic pin-up model look. So we decided to try and replicate some of the classic pin-up shots from the past. It was a bit of a challenge to get the shots I wanted do to the fact that she wasn't used to modeling and I am not used to directing, but after a little time we really came away with so good images. Butch also gave me a great help by bringing some old tools to use as props.

(Foot)ball

I just got done shooting the CIF SS division III soccer finals in Downey, and man was it a was great game. the team that won was from Great Oak high, a local high school in my area. The final score was 3-1 and all three of Great Oaks goals were made by one player, Dakota Collins.

It was really nice for me to cover a local team win at that level, over the years I have covered many CIF finals and for the most part the local team never wins. So it was a great change of pace for me to be able to photograph the joy and excitement that winning a title can bring.

The Crossroads

As I was headed home today, I found the skies really amazing and decided to make a photograph. So I took some time and found some cows and made some images but was really unhappy with what I had, they just lacked that "it" quality. So I kept driving and found this memorial on the side of the road just as the sky was unleashing some really amazing clouds. I made a few exposures. I really have no idea who it was for or when it happened but I hope my image is some kind of tribute to who was lost at this site.

My fish

So I got a Canon G10 in December for my vacation, and finally decided to play around with the video mode on it. So I put together a video of me moving my fish from their old tank to their new one. I just wish I had it during the move to video the whole transition, so your going to have to put up with a bunch of still images and a lot of missing scenes, but at least the end has a nice amount of them swimming around. So here is a video of my other passion. That's right when I'm not taking pictures I don't retreat to my "batcave" and work on my next plan to thwart evil doers (even though I wish I did) I work on my reef! I hope you enjoy!

Poor little piggys

With the economy getting worse and people having to worry about if they will be able to pay their mortgage. More and more animals are getting left to their own devices and I got to cover one of these situations on Saturday. It was a real sad scene, the owners of the property had around 15 pot-bellied pigs to start with, but the owners had neglected them very badly. So badly that one of them was dead and decomposing, and the rest were all under fed and one of them had a very bad running noise and a possible infection,

The bank foreclosed on the property about ten days ago and so the water was also shut off so none of the animals could get fresh water. I came by in the morning and shot some photos of the pigs while a concerned neighbor feed them and tried to capture some o the loose ones. I was going to come back and shoot a local pot-bellied rescue group try and capture and transport the rest of them. However the realtor showed up while I was gone and called the sheriff on the neighbor for trespassing and was going to have her arrested (glad I left when I did). After a bit of begging and pleading, the neighbor got the okay from the bank to feed and rescue the pigs.

What happened to pong?

Last Thursday I had an assignment to cover an after school program at a local library. The program was a Rock Band 2 tournament called "Rockfest" there were probably 15 people playing and it was really surprising to me that they all seemed like they were at a funeral. None of them had any real expressions, except for this one little guy, who I guess plays the game all the time and is a 6 year old Rock Band phenome!

The library manager really wanted me to play so I had to give it a shot, and all I can say is playing a real guitar is a lot different and easier than the game version. Can you believe that this cute little toe-headed rug-rat totally kicked my butt! he got a 98% while I managed a meager 49%. I guess I'll just have to stay confident in the fact that I can probably play Stairway to Haven on a real guitar better then him!

My drive home

Today I had a few meetings in Temecula and also I had to scout a portrait location at a house near the edge of wine country. So when I was done I decided to go home through wine country , well on my way home the afternoon light was just perfect and I spotted some cows and bulls on the side of the road with some great light hitting them. I stopped and made a few exposures, The problem was that they saw me and the "alpha" bull (I'm not really sure what you call a leader bull) kept standing in front of the rest of the cows so I ended up with a bunch of two butted bovines.
On my way back to the car I spotted a bicycle tire stuck in the ground on end with this really nice green field behind it. So a made a few more exposures and got back int he car and decided to head home. Well as I crossed Winchester Road ( a rural highway that leads from Temecula to Hemet) I saw a huge wall a darkness to the north, at the edge of Menifee and the town of Winchester . With the winds picking up today I wasn't sure if it was just dust of a fire, so I decided to take a closer look.

As I got near the area I could quickly tell it was the wind picking up dust, but it was powerful enough to knock power in the area twice and the two traffic lights I had to go through in the area where out. All and all I think it was a fun drive home.

January Storm

I woke up yesterday looked out my window, and saw that some really great looking clouds had formed to the east of my home. So I picked up my cameras and headed out the door to hopefully make a picture.

I drove around for awhile and didn't really find anything to interesting to fill the frame with, just clouds! and as cool looking the clouds were it really didn't make an interesting picture. So as I was just about home I made one last turn down a country road and found this great farm house with "my clouds" hovering over it . I made a few frames and was fairly happy with what I came away with.