Univision 45 Houston for Houstonia Magazine

I spent a couple of days making my way through the hallways and newsroom of Houston's Univision television station for Houstonia Magazine. It was quite fascinating to see how a nightly newscast comes together from gathering information, meeting with the news team, discussing stories and eventually writing the copy and presenting it to the audience. Oh, and anything can happen at any time so you have to be ready for that as well. Big shout to Univision 45 for letting me kick it with them at work. Check out the article written by Adam Doster HERE!

Carson George for the Houston Chronicle

I met Carson at his home last month to photograph him for a Chronicle story. He had written a book called Forever 22 about his son, a marine who had died in combat while fighting in Afghanistan. I spoke to him on the phone shortly before arriving at his home. Before we hung up he said, "come around back, I'm in the cave." So I did. And there he sat, in the cave, watching YouTube tutorials about photoshop techniques on wedding photos.

That day, I learned Carson was a photographer, a writer, a Vietnam War Veteran, a Kentuckian, a consumer of moonshine and a caretaker of a travelling memorial honoring fallen Texan soldiers. He sells walking sticks like the one you see in the photos to fund the upkeep and maintenance of the memorial and he's got bad knees like my dad. I usually try not to spend more time talking than shooting because a) I don't talk all that much and b) I like to respect the time that people have given me to photograph them. But sometimes, it just kind of goes and you spend a lot more time with the subject than you planned.

Paul Wall and his wife Crystal for the Houston Chronicle

Paul Wall aka The People's Champ aka The Po' Up Poet has had the internet going nuts for at least 10 years. I photographed the Houston rap legend and his wife a few weeks ago for a story about the couples collective 200-pound weight loss. Check out the article written by Joy Sewing about couple HERE. Hey Paul, can you hook me up with a grill though?

Sous Chef Beatriz Martines of La Fisheria

Beatriz Martines is a sous chef at La Fisheria who recently won an apprenticeship with the Roca brothers at El Celler de Can Roca. While I'm not sure exactly what that means, I think it's a pretty big deal in the culinary world. Maybe it's like getting accepted into the Eddie Adams Workshop for photojournalists. Anyway, I photographed her at an awesome looking restaurant called La Fisheria with lots of beautiful natural light and color (outside of the kitchen, of course). She was great, the bartenders were great and I'm sure the food is great, although I didn't get to try it. Shout out to the lemonade though...you have to try it!

Lejuan Holmes for the Houston Chronicle

About a month ago, I photographed Lejuan Holmes for the Houston Chronicle. Holmes is a double amputee from complications of having Type 1 diabetes. He is also a candidate for a kidney transplant. When it was discovered that he would need a kidney transplant, the doctors said he would need to lose weight before he was eligible to get on the list. Holmes thought he would have a hard time dropping the weight he needed to even get on the list so his doctor suggested that he undergo gastric bypass surgery. So far, so good and Holmes is getting closer to the weight he needs to be to qualify for the transplant list. Check out the story from Alyson Ward, HERE.

 

Geoff Greenwade, CEO of Green Bank for the Houston Chronicle

A little over a week ago I photographed Geoff Greenwade, the CEO of Green Bank headquartered here in Houston, TX. The occasion was the bank's announcement that they would be going public. I like the images I made with Mr. Greenwade and I'm sure the news that Green Bank is going public is great for a lot of people. But what is most interesting to me is that I've driven by this place about a hundred times and never thought twice about it except that it was a pretty cool building. Then one day, I got a call to meet and photograph the CEO. Too bad he's a Cowboys fan.

Houston's Historic First Ward

I photographed a woman named Gloria Vera a few weeks ago for the Houston Chronicle's Spanish language off-shoot, La Voz. Vera, who grew up in the First Ward neighborhood of Houston was on a mission to get the area designated as a historic district. She wanted to see her quaint neighborhood stay intact with single family homes and views of the city's skyline and not overrun by 3 or more storied apartment buildings. On May 28th, she got her wish as the Houston City Council voted in favor of designating First Ward as a historic district.

Apollo Chamber Players for the Houston Chronicle

I photographed a quartet of musicians that call themselves the Apollo Chamber Players a few weeks ago. The group consists of three violinists and a cellist that "explore the intersection of classical and folk music" according to their website. I scouted around Houston's museum district and eventually found a prime spot in front of the Museum of Fine Arts. I had them all stand on a ledge behind a broken a fountain that was, at the time, being serviced. It would have been cool if they played a mini concert in the unusual space, but it totally slipped my mind to ask. Maybe next time! Anyway, you should check them out...it'll be fun.

Mitchell Katine for the Houston Chronicle

Mitchell Katine is a lawyer in Houston deeply involved in advocating for people with the HIV/AIDS virus and people in the LGBT community and has been for over 30 years. For my fellow political scientists who undoubtedly had to take a civil rights and liberties class in college, he also worked on the landmark case Lawrence v. Texas that he and the plaintiffs eventually won at the Supreme Court. These are a few images I shot as part of a story for the Houston Chronicle highlighting him as a hero in Houston.

Sidenote: As I toured Katine's office scouting for shooting locations, I ran into a kid (now a grown ass attorney) whom I went to Heflin Elementary with. I guess stuff like that'll happen when you move back to your hometown.

Luis Salinas for the Houston Chronicle

Luis Salinas was a victim of a scam in which a stranger called his house claiming to be a customs agent at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The stranger claimed that he had Salinas' cousin at customs and wouldn't be able to release him until Salinas wired a sum of money. In this case, it was two different transactions of $1500.