Tag Archive for 'Texas'

Tea Party for NY Times

Published on February 21, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: America, Clip, NY Times, people, rant, Tea Party, Texas.

Back in September when President Obama had high hopes for the now impossible passage of the health care bill, the Tea Party movement was just gaining attention. I had a two day shoot for The New York Times, one in Waco and the other in Dallas, to cover rallies by these people as they traversed the country towards Washington. The rallies culminated in a large overly stimulating and uneventful protest in the capital. I use the term “these people” in an unusually derogatory manner, at least for me. Let me explain…It is unimaginable for me to see how these people feel so strongly against Barack Obama and government in general, yet do so in such a hateful and ignorant manner. Forgetting the clearly ridiculous signs and shouts portraying Obama as a Nazi, which are so undeniably offensive it is barely worth noting, these claims of the Democrat’s direction towards socialism really get me going. How is having affordable health care socialist? How is raising taxes on overly rich people communist? Obama is so far for nationalizing government it is almost comedic to listen these critiques. I see this movement attracting more people. I am not so much offended by their expressing ignorant and hateful ideas, as much as I’m simply shocked by the ease at which people can believe this stuff. The likes of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin are obviously just personalities looking to gain power, or maybe just money, but how can so many American’s follow their phony ideals so blindly. At times, I question the intelligence of this country. Even for a Republican party that is working non-stop to defame and humiliate our president with a no vote on everything, the Tea Party takes it to another level. Perhaps it will work against them…speaking out against the GOP may turn out hurting both the Tea Party and the old elephants.

What was so interesting at these rallies is the urgent desire to appeal toward peoples patriotic hearts as a method to attract followers. Is it really that patriotic to bash the president presiding over two wars and such a deep economic crisis?

Take a look at the great article by David Barstow on the NY Times website. He has a great article describing the general platform (or lack there of) for the Tea Party Movement. He does a great job describing how there is no one group which dominates or defines the ideology of the Tea Party. Rather, the party attracts a number of groups who have nowhere else to turn.

“The Tea Party movement defies easy definition, largely because there is no single Tea Party. At the grass-roots level, it consists of hundreds of autonomous Tea Party groups, widely varying in size and priorities, each influenced by the peculiarities of local history,” writes Barstow.

“Local Tea Party groups are often loosely affiliated with one of several competing national Tea Party organizations. In the background, offering advice and organizational muscle, are an array of conservative lobbying groups, most notably FreedomWorks. Further complicating matters, Tea Party events have become a magnet for other groups and causes — including gun rights activists, anti-tax crusaders, libertarians, militia organizers, the “birthers” who doubt President Obama’s citizenship, Lyndon LaRouche supporters and proponents of the sovereign states movement.”

I hope this works out in the end by making it difficult for any one leader to gain too much popularity as a result of trying to reach too many different ignorant minds.

The Times also ran a nice slide show which featured 5 of my photos. Despite running my images 5 months after I shot them, they did run a huge picture in color. That was pleasing.

T. Boone Pickens for The New York Times

Published on January 18, 2010 in Uncategorized. 5 Comments Tags: America, Clip, NY Times, portrait, T. Boone Pickens, Texas.

I got to take a portrait of oil man turned wind man T. Boone Pickens for The New York Times. He is continuing his advertising push to promote wind energy and natural gas as a way to get off our oil problems. He claims it is a matter of national security. The man has some points. He also avoids others.

I did shoot a speech, but by far, the highlight was taking his portrait and visiting his office in Dallas. The only other office with more of a “museum” feel is the Perot offices. Boone (what a name!) has a great Western painting collection. The best place to take the portrait was his office. I had some other ideas, but after waiting two hours for Mr. Pickens to finish his lunch I only had three minutes to shoot. After three minutes (exactly three minutes…17 frames to be exact) I was told “you got it.” I think I did OK. Without being sarcastic, this is not to say Boone is rude. He was extremely nice and I was impressed to see he remembered my name immediately (after all, Matt is an odd one.) He introduced me to people wherever we went and we had a great conversation about his amazingly large ranch in Texas.

The New York Times ran a great 5 column picture in print. I also liked the shot of Boone looking out the window into downtown Dallas. The curtains give it a cool old look. You can see the article written by Cliff Krauss online.

Illiteracy in Laredo for The Wall Street Journal***

Published on December 31, 2009 in Uncategorized. 25 Comments Tags: America, assignment, Clip, economy, literacy, Mexico, Spanish, Texas, Wall Street Journal.

I had an awesome gig about three weeks ago to shoot a story about illiteracy for The Wall Street Journal. The news peg was about Barnes and Noble closing their B. Dalton bookstore, making Laredo the largest city in the US without a bookstore. This reflects a multitude of issues primarily including the state of the economy and literacy along the border. Laredo’s location as a border town presents a unique view into immigration politics as well as the English-Spanish dichotomy facing any immigrant to the US.

I was excited to be working with photo editor Taylor Umlauf and we immediately saw the potential for a larger story. My pitch was to work it into a longer piece extending beyond the closing of the book store. I had four days in Laredo and realized after day one that I would need more time.

Laredo is quite the town. When I arrived, I had two hours before my first meeting. After checking into the cheapest hotel I could find (the Loma Alta), I briefly walked around the closest three blocks to my hotel. Amidst the many Mexican pottery import stores and mechanic shops adorned with signage brightly painted in Spanish with Mexican motifs and iconography, I forgot I was in the US. For my first two days in Laredo, I did not see another white person and did not hear English. Needless to say, it was great to feel like I was out of the country again…and refreshing to find a community like this in the US.

The problem with shooting such a wide ranging story in four days is that you can’t possibly understand all the dynamics that come into play and expect to know why Laredo has such low literacy. I met many interesting characters and was able to establish a base for further exploration. I feel that the combination of the economy, Laredo’s location on the border, the overwhelming majority of Spanish speakers and the culture of non-reading all mix to prevent reading from progressing.

Not all was bad. I spent some time at an elementary school, where students had written letters to corporate headquarters asking to keep their book store. These kids were smart and more than impressed me with their bi-lingual abilities and outgoing personalities. The problem became clear after talking to the kids for a short while. It isn’t that they can’t read, as much as their parents are not English speakers. Kids speak Spanish at home and leave their English at school. I believe this lies at the heart of the issue and presents a clear clue as to why illiteracy remains so high. Parents are often first generation immigrants to the US and simply don’t have a need for English in their everyday life.

I did find an adult ESL class studying English. It was in conjunction with a US history class to prepare for the citizenship exam. Many of the people I spoke with mentioned the desire to help their children with homework as a primary reason for taking the free class held at a local high school.

I connected with one particular family and spent a day with them. They were exemplary of everything I have mentioned. The mother was Mexican and the father was from the US. They own an apartment complex in Laredo, but like most Americans, have been facing tough times in the past year. In addition, they have two children ages 9 and 11. The mother is participating, out of her own will, in the adult literacy class. Not only does she desperately want to help with her children’s studies, but she will be taking over the day to day operations of the apartment complex as her husband find another job. She was a banker back in Mexico, but has had trouble in the US due to the language barrier. I really felt bad for this family. They were so nice and really seem to be struggling. I am sure the mother’s English will be great…I am hoping their economic situation improves. (I did not use their names, as their photos have not yet been published. You will have to wait for a future post.)

I met a man who had lit a fire in an abandoned cantina because his home had not heating. At first, I didn’t know how this would fit in the story. It became clear…he has lived in this country for several years and has trouble finding work. He speaks little English. Seems to top off the story.

The plan was to create a four part series online using all the elements I shot and the over three hours of audio recordings I made. Luck would have it that the Associated Press ran an article on the bookstore a day after I finished shooting and drove the article to publish early. We had to scrap two parts of the story including the one involving the family. I was still very pleased with the six column picture they used on A3 as well as the two slide shows.

Check out the article written by Stephanie Simon found on the Wall Street Journal site. The also ran a short audio slide show featuring some of the kids I photographed and made a nice update to their Photo Blog.

***I want to write an update to address several comments and thoughts regarding this post. People have expressed concern over this issue and suggest that I was presenting negative impressions of Laredo. I would like to point out that I never spoke poorly of Laredo and continue to feel that I had a great time and found the community very welcoming. Any negative perceptions regarding West Laredo do not come from me. Others have suggested that my post is one sided. This story was never meant to generalize Laredo as a city in general. It is a story specifically regarding illiteracy in a city ranked with the lowest literacy rate in the country. I invite people to offer their opinions as to why Laredo has trouble with literacy. We did make a point to talk about the many bi-lingual classes and other aspects which Laredo can be proud of. In addition, I would like to point out that I did not write the article which was published in The Wall Street Journal. I welcome criticism and enjoy the dialogue. I look forward to hearing more comments. Thanks, Matt

Cleaning Our Industries for NY Times

Published on December 15, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: America, assignment, Clip, industry, NY Times, Texas.

First…there are some BIG announcements coming soon. Be sure to stay tuned in the next few days for the fun!

I am still waiting on several assignments to publish, but did see the NY Times finally run this article by Cliff Krauss and Jad Mouawad on the cleaning process for the millions of gallons of water used to fracture shale rock in order to release the natural gas.

The story on natural gas seems to be getting bigger and bigger…as does the industry itself. I’m not sure if I am going to continue taking pictures, but I do find myself continually saying, “time to buy stock in natural gas.”

While natural gas is a cleaner energy then the burning of coal, I am worried about the environmental impacts of draining and sucking our shale deposit’s gas reserves. Once gone, won’t this free flowing cash cycle end?

Many of these wells are built in urban places…golf courses and country clubs are not resistant to offers of money. “Hazards like methane contamination of drinking water wells, long known in regions where gas production was common, are spreading to populous areas that have little history of coping with such risks, but happen to sit atop shale beds.”

Also, look at ALL this extra crap which is used in the process. When the drills enter the ground they mix massive amounts of water, sand, and chemicals to separate rock and help gas flow. Of course, these companies process, clean, and distill the excess water to be reused again. While the science says it is cleaned, I continue to wonder where the mistakes show up and how much waste goes unreported. More striking is the unknown affects on the ground water around these wells. From the article, “A string of incidents in places like Wyoming and Pennsylvania in recent years has pointed to a possible link between hydraulic fracturing and pollution of groundwater supplies. In the worst case, such pollution could damage crucial supplies of water used for drinking and agriculture.”

This is obviously bad politics for these massive companies, although there is relatively low toxicity found (or reported). It’s the same story as companies claim their methods are sound and environmentalists claim there hasn’t been enough research. We’ll see who is correct.

Stay tuned for the BIG news!

Robot Jock

Published on December 6, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: America, assignment, Clip, Dallas Morning News, fun, people, portrait, robotics, robots, Texas.

I got to photograph the Texas regional robotics championship yesterday for the Dallas Morning News. It was my second assignment of the day, so I admit I was totally unprepared for the awesomeness that was awaiting inside the University of North Texas basketball coliseum. Not only were there loud, large, and energetic cheer squads and awesome engineering nerds, but they had robots! Now, I’m obviously somewhat nerdy myself, but these kids kick my ass. I actually think they are cool and not not nerds at all – just teens.

Each team of students, which came from high schools all around Texas and New Mexico, built a robot which had to battle others in timed matches. The goal of each match was to gather balls, globes, and cans and direct them back to a designated location. I don’t think I could even drive one, let alone build it.

I am kicking myself for not bring my lights to the event. I did manage to take a series of portraits with some of the kids and their robots. I could have spent all day with a studio set up…and would have. I’m pleased with the images I got simply because it was so fun to shoot. These kids are the future and they seem to be loving it. Pretty refreshing.

You can see the Dallas Morning News article written by Jeffrey Weiss online.

***Just as a note: I did not tell the kid to flex his arms like that. I suppose his ripped body just does it on his own.

Texan Episcopals for The Wall Street Journal

Published on November 11, 2009 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: church, Clip, people, story, Texas, Wall Street Journal.

I’ve never been one to get involved with religious arguments…political for sure, but never religious. Maybe it is my lack of a deeper faith. Perhaps it is simply my lack of actually understanding religion. I have always focused on outward and obvious arguments for bettering life now…not later. I try to change aspects of my life not to improve my afterlife, but to build a stronger existence now. At the same time, living in Texas for almost four years has certainly opened my eyes (and mind) to those who hold a greater faith. I don’t follow my religion too closely and rarely get judged for it, so I feel like I can’t judge others simply because they do follow theirs. I have met many who hold a solid belief for their faith and do not feel compelled to shove it in my face.

I was able to cover a great assignment for The Wall Street Journal. There has been a movement within the national Episcopal church towards liberalization which has led certain conservative churches to split due to differing opinions on where the future direction of their church should lead. While I can hardly claim to understand this issue after only photographing for a few short hours, I can say it seems clear that leading life in a way which serves all people seems more righteous than simply pushing your faith on others.

From the article, written by Stephanie Simon, “Those who have stayed with the national church have taken up their presiding bishop’s calls to focus on serving the poor and hungry, and to embrace a broad view of God as welcoming not just Christians but also Muslims, Jews and others into his kingdom.

“Traditionalists, by contrast, still reach out to the poor but they are putting their emphasis on missionary work, preaching what they see as the defining truth of the gospel: That the only path to salvation is accepting Christ as Lord.”

The article continues to highlight one such split at a church in Hurst, Texas. Both congregations I met in Fort Worth were full of friendly people and they seem to be neighborly towards each other despite the split. I’m told friendships have continued and dinners still occur. It just seems a shame that arguments over how other people think have led to such conclusions. I suppose this is why I don’t argue religion. There is too fine a line to walk when criticizing someone’s faith in what they truly believe to be right.

I was stoked to see the killer gallery with HUGE photos run on the Wall Street Journal Photo Journal.

Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.

Friday Night Return

Published on August 29, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: America, Americana, assignment, Dallas, sports, Texas.

Yesterday was the opening night for high school football in Texas. As everyone knows, it’s kinda a big deal here. Stadiums tower like college domes and tailgaters cook like it IS that holy day of the week. Only these are kids…17 year old kids. Needless to say, most of them are bigger than me.

I usually attend these games to shoot action shots for the Dallas Morning News. I’ll be the first to admit, I am not a great sports photographer. I only have short lenses. I also don’t like the deadline pressures. I have to miss halftime and most of the third quarter as I fumble to send photos into the office. On a side note, check out Dallas Morning News photographer Gerry McCarthy to see what awesome sports photography looks like.

It’s no secrete the best part of high school football is the culture surrounding the event. Everyone has heard of or read the book Friday Night Lights. I am also a fan of the documentary style television show. It is a true prize to photograph these games. It’s like being at a circus in the way that everywhere you look there is a photo to be taken. The hardest part is deciding when to press the shutter. I love the fans, the bands, the cheerleaders, and even the ridiculous Dallas women wearing heels to a high school football game.

I am hoping I get to shoot a lot throughout the season. I may even improve my action shooting…but I’ll certainly be looking elsewhere.