Curiosity: A photoblog

Yelle at Jack Rabbit's (RGB)

2011-12-15T20:23:00.000-05:00

I left this year's Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar with hundreds of ideas spinning around in my head. David LaBelle told us to photograph our lives and document everything that's around us; Mike Davis told us to take qualitative photos, to use color to create moods, to keep our subjects out of the center of the picture ("See what happens when you put stuff in the dead center? ...it just dies.") There was so much inspirational work being done, too many powerful images and ideas to process in such a short weekend.

As soon as I got back to Jacksonville, I met a friend to see Yelle, a super-fun French dance-pop group. Jack Rabbit's has long been one of my favorite local venues (In 2008, while on crutches, I met Nada Surf there). The light, fog and energy during the show was really great, and I couldn't help pulling out the camera for a few snaps when I wasn't shakin' it. Yelle in RGB:

After War, from Wife to Caregiver (for the New York Times)

2011-10-07T15:45:00.000-04:00

Here are some of my favorite images from a really compelling story I worked on with Catrin Einhorn. The Markums are a wonderfully kind and welcoming family in South Georgia. It breaks my heart to think about how many families have to fight through hardships like theirs long after our soldiers return from foreign wars. Catrin's article, Looking After the Solider, Back Home and Damaged, is really touching, and the audio she gathered drives it home. View our audio slideshow on NYTimes.com: After War, from Wife to Caregiver.

Vacation in Puerto Rico, feat. special guest: Hurricane Irene

2011-09-22T20:21:00.007-04:00

Last month I went to Puerto Rico with a couple of close friends. Hurricane Irene decided to tag along. Aside from the nasty weather, difficult driving conditions, closure of the national parks, and dearth of electricity and hot water, it was a wonderful vacation. Here are some snaps from San Juan on the eve before the major storm hit.

Plastic Surgery for Senior Citizens

2011-08-11T18:33:00.008-04:00

I spent some time last week in Tallahassee and Thomasville, Ga., working on a New York Times story about senior citizens getting cosmetic surgery. Mary Graham is 77 and had a facelift and breast implants earlier this year. She's possibly the most eccentric person I've ever photographed. She works seven days a week, running one restaurant and making plans to open another. She has boundless energy, plenty of money, and doesn't take 'no' for an answer. She certainly does not look 77.

Jacksonville Beach 4th of July Fireworks, Motion Blur

2011-07-06T15:12:00.004-04:00

My family got a late start heading out to watch the fireworks at Jacksonville Beach and landed a very mediocre viewing spot on Beach Blvd. That's no reason not to experiment with long exposures and motion blur, though. Can you tell those are bicyclists in the second picture? Check out the rotary motion of the reflectors on their wheels.

Happy 4th of July from Jacksonville Beach

2011-07-04T13:09:00.001-04:00

Neptune Beach | Peaceful waves, Pelicans, and a Paddle Surfer

2011-06-23T12:21:00.004-04:00

Travel Photography: Scenes from Greater Phoenix, Arizona

2011-06-21T17:02:00.006-04:00

On my Phoenix trip last month I met a bighorn sheep, chilled in a wonderful donut shop, and didn't cry over spilt milk.

Puss & Boots

2011-06-17T16:43:00.003-04:00

Just an odd picture I liked from my friend's kitchen before a night out back when it was still boots weather. (From left) Mr. Loggerfeld, Whitney and Meghan.

Foreclosure Art in Gainesville

2011-06-13T13:12:00.004-04:00

I felt a small sense of triumph when I read this story last week about a Florida couple foreclosing on a bank. It reminded me of a Florida foreclosure story I worked on last year but never blogged. It's always inspiring to see folks take back power and make a statement after being foreclosed upon.

Last year, writer Matt Shaer and I met a local artist and professor named Jack Stenner who turned his foreclosed house into an interactive public art project. Matt's story, Open house: Foreclosure art meets the whims of the web, describes our visit to the house and includes encounters with squatters, Mormon missionaries, stray cats, and a spider 'the size of a child's palm'. Definitely not my typical CSM assignment, and well worth the read.

The Cutest Boston Terrier In The World

2011-05-23T17:22:00.003-04:00

I puppy-sat for Cassie last weekend. I'm in love.

Islam in Northeast Florida: Women on Eid

2011-05-13T14:40:00.004-04:00

These portraits are part of a personal project I started last year about Islam in Northeast Florida. After spending much of last summer in the Islamic(/secular) countries of Turkey and Bosnia, I was shocked to return to my hometown and learn that an angry evangelical pastor was threatening to burn the Koran right in our backyard. I thought back to the one Muslim girl I knew in high school, and to the rhetoric she had to endure as we discussed the War on Terror in our US History class shortly after 9/11. Although I'm unfamiliar with Islam, I am all-too-familiar with feelings of alienation and religious discrimination. I decided to shift my focus away from the controversy and anger in Gainesville. Instead I spend some time with Muslims in Jacksonville during their annual Eid festival (which is delightfully redundant), marking the end of Ramadan. The celebrations were full of color, joy, gossip, and family. Here are pictures of some of the girls and women I met. I'm not sure what's in store for this project after this post, but it was time to start sharing these images.

Nature Photography - Beautiful Trees of Sedona, Arizona

2011-05-12T09:58:00.000-04:00

I did some hiking in Arizona's Sedona desert earlier this year, and I couldn't get enough of the wildlife. Sedona is remarkably green for a desert, and so full of life. I was also really inspired by the quality of desert light. Anyway, here are some pictures of trees. Some were alive, some looked pretty dead, and some of them had bark peeling off of them in fascinating patterns that were either symptomatic of disease or simply part of their life cycle. I was hiking, not reporting.

Clay County Fair - Green Cove Springs, Florida

2011-05-09T17:56:00.002-04:00

Here's a bit of eye candy from the Clay County Agricultural Fair out in Green Cove Springs last month. It was the first time in I-don't-know-how-long that I went to a fair for fun instead of work. I made pictures and talked to strangers anyway, but possibly not as many.

My classy friends (part 1)

2011-04-07T10:41:00.006-04:00

Here are a few pictures of two of my oldest friends, Meghan and Lee, getting ready for a night out. Besides being hilarious and fun, they are two of the most stylish people I know. Lee works for a local interior designer and always seems to have a pulse on the latest trends ("Popsicles are the new cupcakes"). Meghan is a thrift store maven who runs an adorable Etsy shop and occasionally acts as my personal shopper. I'm always proud to be seen with them.

Lindsay & Madeleine

2011-04-06T15:37:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple of "family photos", featuring two of my favorite models here in Jacksonville: my friend Lindsay and her daughter Madeleine. They've grown up so much since their previous blog appearance, just after Madeleine was born (almost three years ago!) I made these using window light in an adorable ice cream shop in Avondale.

Travel Photography: Sanski Most, Bosnia, by night

2011-03-31T21:56:00.002-04:00

Travel Photography: People of Sanski Most, Bosnia

2011-03-16T11:11:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures of people I saw and met in Sanski Most, a town in northwest Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's friendly and lively and full of beauty and good humor mixed with grief and lingering frustration from the recent war. Beautiful and complicated, full of photojournalistic fodder. I hope to go back someday. I'm jealous of my host, who works as sort of a cultural ambassador there. I recently contributed photos for him to use in a website promoting tourism and cultural opportunities in the region. It seemed like a good excuse to share some of them here, all shot during my visit in August.

You might also be interested in this photo post from our hike to a waterfall near Sanski Most.

Greasewood Flat, Scottsdale, Arizona

2011-03-09T11:46:00.005-05:00

Some images from Greasewood Flat and Reata Pass, a bar and restaurant nestled in an old stagecoach stop in Scottsdale, Arizona. It's a lovely local gem with no frills-- just great atmosphere, live music, good beers and spicy chili. We hear the place is for sale, but I hope it ain't so.

Summer Nights

2011-03-07T16:03:00.005-05:00

"Will you please pull over on this two-lane rural highway in Croatia so I can take a picture of some people making full-body shadow puppets on the side of a church?"
"Okay."

"And will you hang out just a minute longer while I also photograph this woman selling fruit by the side of the road?"
"Sure."

Everyone should have friends and travel companions who are as supportive and accommodating as mine from last summer. Thanks again, ladies.

Peaceful Traveler

2011-02-02T18:04:00.002-05:00

I shot this from my seat on a flight back in August from Heathrow to Boston. For some reason it's stayed in my head.

Scenes from Arizona

2011-01-23T14:31:00.005-05:00

Here are some photos from my recent trip to Phoenix and Scottsdale. It's amazing what a couple of good assignments and a new (to me) city filled with beautiful light can do for my photographic inspiration. I can't wait to go back.

Rebecca and Joe's Engagement Portraits

2011-01-10T12:49:00.006-05:00

My good friends Rebecca and Joe got engaged last year, to the delight of pretty much everyone they know. Today is Joe's birthday, and I wanted to take the opportunity to post a few of my favorites from their engagement portrait session back in May. They wanted to center the shoot around the Boston neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton, where they live, work, study and play. Congratulations again to two of the funnest and kindest people I know. (Slideshow below).

From the Macro Files... A Yellow Jacket on a Wine Bottle

2011-01-05T12:00:00.003-05:00

No, I didn't get stung

Shot on the Kornati Islands in Croatia, July 2010

Kotor, Montenegro (Travel Photography)

2011-01-04T14:25:00.003-05:00

Here are some scenes from Kotor, a lovely little town in Montenegro on the Bay of Kotor.

Mirogoj Cemetery, Zagreb, Croatia

2011-01-03T09:04:00.005-05:00

We spent a cloudy summer day wandering in Mirogoj Cemetery, on the outskirts of Zagreb, Croatia. Our guidebook called it one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Europe. We decided to make a detour since the weather wasn't cooperating with our original plan (mostly beach-basting). We were struck by its beauty, by the ornateness and variety of the grave-sites there, and also by the variety of religion and ethnicity of those buried there.

Hike to a Waterfall near Sanski Most, Bosnia

2010-12-31T17:00:00.003-05:00

Here are some snaps from a wonderful summer day of hiking with new friends to a waterfall near Sanski Most, Bosnia. If I ever decide to publish a calendar called Waterfalls of the Balkans, this one will certainly be a strong contender. Thanks for looking.

Plitvic Lakes (Plitvička jezera) National Park, Croatia

2010-12-29T16:37:00.005-05:00

When we visited Plitvic Lakes National Park in Croatia, I still couldn't get my tourism project from Istanbul out of my mind. I'd seen the waterfalls before, so this trip I decided to spend some time focusing on their visitors.

Dugi Otok, Croatia

2010-12-28T10:37:00.003-05:00

Dugi Otok is a Croatian island in the Adriatic sea. Croatia's tourism motto is The Mediterranean As It Once Was. That doesn't apply as well around Dubrovnik, Hvar, and some of the other more-touristed areas, but as soon as we got to some of the outer islands and national parks, the natural beauty was breathtaking. Here's a little bit of what we saw.

Snapshots from Slovenia

2010-12-18T15:37:00.004-05:00

Here are a few more photos from our adventures through Slovenia last summer. We asked for directions as we rented a car and a man told us, "It is such a small country. You cannot lose yourself." We did our best. Thanks for looking.

Speaking of Turkey, and Being Thankful...

2010-11-25T16:03:00.003-05:00

Here are some images from a long day of hiking and adventuring with new and old friends in Cappadocia, Turkey, last summer. It was probably the best day of my life.

Giving Thanks with Local, Kosher, and Ethically-raised Turkeys

2010-11-24T14:25:00.003-05:00

I shot this story around this time last year. It's about a group of Jews in Boston who wanted local, Kosher meat for their Thanksgiving celebrations. They spent a day on a farm, where they watched the ritual slaughter and helped to de-feather the turkeys by hand. For more details, see the captions with the images. They were a lovely, caring, and socially-aware group of people. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to spend a day with them.

Warning: Some images in the slideshow are somewhat graphic, and not for the faint-of-heart.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you-- local and non-local, Kosher and non-Kosher, turkey-eaters and non-turkey-eaters.

Lake Bled, Slovenia

2010-11-02T13:44:00.003-04:00

It's a cloudy election day here in North Florida. Here are some completely unrelated pictures from a beautiful swim spot in Slovenia. I shot them back in July, but if you haven't seen them, they're new to you!

Ljubljana: Parks, Canals, and Streets

2010-11-01T11:52:00.002-04:00

Here are a few snaps from Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, shot back in July.

That's Tivoli Park at the top, a really gorgeous public space.
Next is the walking path leading to the park.
Third is the hands of my longtime friend and superstar hostess Orlena holding a rose in Tivoli's botanical garden.
Fourth was a cheap shot of a tourist from our canal boat tour.
Last you see some good old English-language graffiti on a billboard.

Jacksonville Air Show at NAS Jax, featuring the Blue Angels

2010-10-24T21:49:00.002-04:00

My family had a great time at the Jacksonville Air Show at NAS Jax today. (My camera is family too now.) It was my first time seeing the Blue Angels perform. I was impressed.

Reflections on Travel (2 of 2)

2010-10-21T09:38:00.005-04:00

Here are a couple more reflection pictures, playing on yesterday's theme.

Another passenger on the train from Villach to Ljubljana.

Unintentional photographer's self-portrait in the window of an Istanbul barber shop.

Intentional self-portrait in the window of a wine store in Bra, Italy.

Reflections on Travel (1 of 2)

2010-10-20T11:01:00.007-04:00

These are some things I saw in mirrors and windows as I moved from place to place last summer.

A passenger enjoying the view on a train from Villach, Austria to Ljubljana, Slovenia. This young man was sitting a few cars over from us, and I couldn't stop photographing him. His eyes seemed to see the world as a place of beauty, filled with endless opportunity. (There's another frame of him in the portraits section of my new website).

Passengers napping away an afternoon bus ride.

In front of me on the same bus, where the people in the last picture were napping, there sat a group of Spanish teenage girls. They kept giggling and singing and throwing their hands up in the air. I was hoping to capture their energy and spirit of adventure in the reflection of their hands against the mountain view.

Sunset in the window of a rooftop café in Ljubljana. You could see the whole city from here.

My friends Vali, Safia and Bobby, and also a stranger checking herself in a window in Brasov, Romania.

That's me, shooting a self-portrait in a cluttered window in Bucharest, Romania.

Kumkapi, Fatih, Istanbul (2)

2010-10-12T20:46:00.005-04:00

Istanbul nostalgia drags on... Here are three more. Most of these were shot for a 24-hour deadline assignment during Foundry Photo Workshop, where we had to document a day in the life of a neighborhood.

This happened a stone's throw from Kumkapi, so I'm throwing it in the mix. This guy was riding his horse down down a heavily-trafficked six-lane street.

Kumkapi, Fatih, Istanbul (1)

2010-10-11T12:19:00.007-04:00

I've been feeling nostalgic for Istanbul lately, and especially the neighborhood where I was based during my time there. Kumkapi is a neighborhood in Istanbul's Fatih district that borders the Marmara. It's relatively conservative, populated with lots of Armenians and Kurds. There are also many international refugees since the Foreigner's Detention Center is located there.

What stood out to me the most after a month in Istanbul is that, no matter what time it is or where in the city you are, there is always something happening (and someone trying to sell you something). I walked past a barber shop after midnight on a Wednesday night once, and saw a customer getting a haircut. Nobody I was with found this strange.

I spent a while trying to capture the busy energy of the neighborhood, the texture and the beauty. Here are 3 I liked. More to come...

Balloon Sunrise in Cappadocia

2010-10-10T08:27:00.003-04:00

Here are some outtakes from a story I stumbled upon last summer in Cappadocia about a hot-air balloon pilot school. During our visit to Cappadocia, my friend and I were tempted to take a hot-air balloon ride, but we were discouraged by the price tag. I decided to wake up before sunrise to jealously watch the balloons take off. I met some balloon pilots-in-training who let me tag along with them for a good part of their lessons that morning. They were a lot of fun. The first picture here, (featuring my canine friend) is on entry on my newly-redesigned website, SBGlicksteen.com. You'll find the whole package under Vignettes.

This gorgeous spectacle happens every morning just outside Goreme, Turkey. The local stray dog seems impressed. But maybe that's just projection.

Balloon silhouette. I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit jealous of all those passengers.

Photographer's shadow picture.

Pretty things in front of pretty things.

Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world... (Cappadocia)

2010-09-28T12:25:00.003-04:00

I stumbled on this girl and her brother having a blast with a sheet of plastic after a long day in Cappadocia last summer. It reminded me of this scene from American Beauty. I hope you find it as beautiful as I did. It still warms my heart.

Abandoned School (outtake)

2010-09-23T06:20:00.003-04:00

Here's an outtake from my piece about the abandoned school in Ruse, Bulgaria. I liked this image but I wanted to keep them all horizontal for consistency in the slideshow.

Portrait of a Young Fruitseller

2010-09-22T19:30:00.003-04:00

This boy sat for a portrait exactly as I found him. He was selling watermelons that were bigger than he was in Kumkapi, the Istanbul neighborhood where I lived for a month this summer.

Moving Day (Boston, Ma.)

2010-09-04T09:49:00.004-04:00

"One thing about pioneers that you don’t hear mentioned is that they are invariably, by their nature, mess-makers. They go forging ahead, seeing only their noble, distant goal, and never notice any of the crud and debris they leave behind them. Someone else gets to clean that up and it’s not a very glamorous or interesting job."
- Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Leases in Boston typically start on September 1. That means that on September 1, almost every resident of the student/immigrant neighborhood of Allston moves everything he or she owns from one Allston apartment to another Allston apartment. Double- and triple-parked U-hauls (booked weeks in advance) clog the streets, trashed furniture litters the sidewalks, and landlords and tenants shout obscenities over just about everything.

After moving myself on (or around) moving day four years in a row, I wanted to examine it from a different angle. This is the first draft of my attempt to capture the absurdity that is Moving Day in Boston. I focused on the frustration and exhaustion of moving, and the waste and filth that movers leave behind.

Diary of a Japanese schoolteacher (Ruse, Bulgaria)

2010-08-12T03:45:00.004-04:00

This is a short piece I did back in June about Boryana Kirilova and Saori Takehisa, who teach Japanese at Vasil Levski, a public high school in Ruse, Bulgaria. In an effort to spread Japanese language and culture in Bulgaria, the Japanese embassy had paid for renovations to Vasil Levski, and paid for Saori to come from Japan to teach in Bulgaria for three years. They also offer free textbooks and programs for teachers.

More and more students are drawn to Japanese through anime, martial arts (aikido and karate), and manga. Saori frequently hosts cultural events, cooking a Japanese meal for students or inviting them to Karaoke. Boryana, a young Bulgarian schoolteacher, is fascinated with Japan and loves to teach it. Outside of the classroom she does tutoring and small adult classes in students' homes.

Once, as we ate sandwich-sized Chinese dumplings served in little plastic bags that you can pour hot sauce into (in the running for the best street food ever), Boryana said "Shiawase." She explained to me that in Japan they have a word that means "I am happy." They use it with small meals or beer, anything that is small that makes them happy. In Bulgaria, she said, happiness is a big deal - like getting the job you have always dreamed for or a family with two kids.

Boryana said she likes how the Japanese perceive the world. She describes them as kind and unselfish. They find charm in a lot of small things. "You saw when we were walking to the market," she said, "[Saori] stopped to show me the flowers and they were heart-shaped and she was so excited." She says few Bulgarians notice those kinds of things. She doesn't. But she's learning from them.

Three Dogs I've Met Recently

2010-07-20T04:46:00.002-04:00

I've been spending a lot of time with a fellow dog-lover. We notice these guys.

(Bra, Italy)

(Goreme, Turkey)

(Bra, Italy)

Abandoned School (Ruse, Bulgaria)

2010-07-18T09:34:00.006-04:00

This school in a Roma neighborhood in Ruse, Bulgaria was closed when there weren't enough students to fill it. Within months it had been raided and destroyed. People stole everything that had any resale value-- even ripping cables from the walls. Now the building lies in ruins, and sometimes neighborhood boys go there to cause trouble. The students have been moved to another school nearby.

This is a slideshow. Click the arrows at the bottom left to navigate.

Special thanks to Georgi Kehayov for taking me here, for introducing me to all of the photographers in Ruse, and for being a neat person to hang out with in general.

A single mother backpacking with a 2-year-old

2010-07-17T04:14:00.004-04:00

I met Georgina Brooks last month, volunteering on an organic farm in Palamartsa, a village near Popovo in Bulgaria. She's a 23-year-old single mother from Fremantle, Australia, currently backpacking Europe with her 2-year-old daughter, Nina Golden.

Georgina's parents are British and Australian, and they met while backpacking. She met her ex-husband (Nina's father), who's British, while backpacking, too. Now she's convinced he was using her to get Australian citizenship. He's still in Ozzie, shacking up with one of her former best friends. She didn't really want to hang around all that, so here she is. She said she's convinced it's all part of a fairy tale with a happy ending, she just hasn't gotten to the good part yet.

Bless her heart.

Fish in a Barrel

2010-07-16T08:10:00.004-04:00

"Sorry, I just got this Macro lens so now when I see fish in a barrel I just have to shoot them."

I blame Katie Barnes for my recent macro kick. It would have been near-impossible to shoot along side her for four months and not want to capture some of those tiny little details.

A fisherman's bait on the Galata Bridge. Istanbul, Turkey.

Neat little fly in Ana's grandparents' garden in Fagaras, Romania.

Odd spider inside a flower in Ana's grandparents' garden. Fagaras, Romania.

Buttons in an abandoned house. Palamartsa, a village near Popovo, Bulgaria.

Wild strawberries: the best strawberries in the world. Palamartsa, Bulgaria.

Make a wish! Dandelion in the same field as the wild strawberries. Palamartsa, Bulgaria.

Tales of Tourism: Istanbul

2010-07-05T05:52:00.000-04:00

Here's my piece from the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop. I did a story that is completely different from anything I'd ever shot before. My instructor, Guy Calaf, has a very different vision from my own, but we care about many of the same things. He encouraged me to make pictures that are more suggestive than literal. It definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and I lost a few arguments over the final selection, but was a really interesting exercise and a heck of a lot of fun. I learned a lot from Guy, and I think we developed a really brilliant working relationship. I hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with him again in the future.

I feel as though I grew ages over the week of the workshop. I was shooting nearly every waking moment, and I took pages and pages of notes during classes, presentations, and panel discussions. I met dozens of creative people who care about the world. On the last night of the workshop, I was interviewed after accepting a really cool award. They asked me the most important thing I learned during the workshop. I thought about it for a while, and then said (with the articulateness of a Foundry student who hadn't slept in a week) it was that, as a photographer, my voice matters.

Up until now, I'd been trying to make myself small in stories, even trying to make myself disappear and letting my subjects speak for themselves. But I learned that it's important to express myself using photography, and to spend my time on work that exploits my knowledge, interest and talents. It's important to step back from the conversation, listen, and think about what I am adding to it.

I don't know if that's exactly what this piece does, or even if it's step in that direction. But, for me, it represents an important step towards thinking about my voice, and thinking about the bigger conversation. Thanks for watching.

Portrait of a New Hampshire Shoemaker

2010-07-05T05:00:00.002-04:00

This was a story I shot over a couple of months, and finished up during my last few days at the Concord Monitor. It ran in the Sunday paper about two weeks ago. If you get a chance, I strongly recommend you the Mathews' studio in Deerfield, Nh. Besides having gorgeous property and a workshop straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, Rob and Barbara are lovely people who I am happy to call my friends. Enjoy.

How to Survive a Romanian Wedding (Part 6)

2010-07-01T05:07:00.003-04:00

One of several wedding traditions: a chicken smoking a cigarette. I don't know if this is Romanian or Transylvanian or specific to Fagaras, but Ana (who has a bird phobia) was repulsed by it.

Wedding dance in the spot(ted) light.

Cuties.

Ana's parents, being happy and adorable.

Photographing the token cute kids.

Watching the traditional folk dance performance.

This was taken around 5 a.m. Ana's parents and brother look appropriately joyful and exhausted.

How to Survive a Romanian Wedding (Part 5)

2010-06-30T10:08:00.004-04:00

Ana saw this picture of her dad and immediately said, "Oh, you have to show that to my mom. She loves seeing my dad happy." My heart still melts when I think about this.

Just a couple of shots from the religious ceremony in the Brancoveanu Monastery - Sambata de Sus...

Newlyweds, for the second time today. Hitching a ride in a horse-drawn carriage to 12-hour banquet reception and dance party!

How to Survive a Romanian Wedding (Part 4)

2010-06-30T07:03:00.003-04:00

Awkward picture of an awkward moment as we formed a tunnel and waited to congratulate the happy couple.

Totally worth it, though. Have you ever seen two happier, more beautiful people?

Time for a few snapshots in the courtyard of the citadel.

Again, letting the other photographer take charge. Everyone looks great.

And then a caravan to the monastery for the religious ceremony, complete with ribbons and lots of honking horns.

How to Survive a Romanian Wedding (Part 3)

2010-06-30T06:53:00.003-04:00

Mircea arrives with the boys! There is dancing in the driveway.

It's time to leave for the civil ceremony. (Note:I was more than happy to be second-shooter.)

They're not married yet in this picture, but they're about to be...

At long last! One ceremony finished. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Lupu.

More Wedding Prep

2010-06-18T08:25:00.003-04:00

That's Ana's dress on display next to the first of several courses of cookies served throughout the day. These, along with Romanian wine and moonshine, were breakfast.

Safia and Christianah squeezing in a few snaps in the cookies room before the crowds came.

Anca texting away.

Ana's dad watches as her mom does some last-minute primping. Her hair looked beautiful all day. Don't let her tell you any different.

Ana's grandmother would never let her forget to eat.

...The groom hasn't even arrived yet. I have so many more to show you.

How to Survive a Romanian Wedding (Part 2)

2010-06-16T15:10:00.007-04:00

How to Survive a Romanian Wedding (Part 2): Have good hair.

This is Christianah doing Ana's hair before her wedding. It continued to look gorgeous for the 20 hours that followed. That's a killer combination of natural beauty and skill, if you ask me. Congrats, ladies.

How to Survive a Romanian Wedding (Part 1)

2010-06-09T11:29:00.003-04:00

How to Survive a Romanian Wedding (Part 1): Bring comfortable shoes.

Ana's bridal party basically runs through the streets of Fagaras to arrive only slightly late to the beginning of her 20-hour-long Romanian wedding ceremony and celebration. That's correct: 20 hours. Many more to come...

No Rain, No Rainbow

2010-06-03T03:41:00.003-04:00

Just a tourist snap from one of my first days here in Fagaras, a village in the Transylvania region of Romania. Ana, my friend whose wedding I came here for last weekend, thinks this unfinished cathedral was a massive waste of time and money here in her hometown. More to come...

Someone Else's Story

2010-05-23T21:00:00.003-04:00

My good friend (and former professor, mentor, thesis advisor, and by this point it's simplest to simply say good friend) Joe Lippincott has been following the ospreys who live in an Audubon nest near his home in Moswetuset Hummock for years now. He's utterly fascinated by them and his passion piqued my curiosity. I decided to spend my last day off in the northeast perched on a milk crate next to Joe watching these guys. He even lent me an extra 1000 mm lens. We were hoping the male would come back to the nest with a fish or something interesting, but he kept returning empty-taloned. I liked this shot, though-- his ladyfriend looks like she was hoping for better luck, too.

Here's another couple shot (different species). I told Joe and his wife Karen to do something funny, and this is what I got.

Columbia Hall, Demolished

2010-05-22T12:51:00.002-04:00

I'd felt a special bond with Columbia Hall in Contoocook, Nh., ever since my critically-acclaimed picture of a shadow of a tree on it ran on our front page in January. I was kind of sad to see the historic hall come down. The little boys were mostly excited to see all the trucks.

Tilton's (allegedly) haunted 1875 Inn

2010-05-16T17:02:00.002-04:00

I used Pocket Wizards to make a creepy assignment even more creepy...

Photo illustration in the Charles E. Tilton room at the 1875 Inn in Tilton, Nh., on Monday, May 10, 2010. The historic inn, long rumored to be haunted, will be featured in an upcoming episode of Ghosthunters. (Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Concord Monitor photo)

Inn Spirit (hah) is a good Sunday read. Check it out. And, if you're wondering, I'm pretty sure I met one of the ghosts.

An alpaca in a tutu

2010-05-13T06:32:00.004-04:00

Here's a fun little feature from last weekend. For the record, I never hope for a tiara to break. I just hope to be there when it happens.

Jazmin Martel, 11, from Hopkinton, reacts as she breaks her alpaca's tiara while undressing it after partipating in the costume class of the alpaca and llama show during the 34th annual New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival at Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Contoocook on May 8, 2010. Martel and her al paca, Mate, dressed up as dancers. Her stepsister and her alpaca (left) dressed up as rockstars. All participants earned ribbons. (Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Concord Monitor staff)

Here's a gallery of more from the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival, including The Deli Llama, who dressed up as a sandwich.

Colby-Sawyer Commencement 2010

2010-05-09T21:58:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I covered commencement for the Colby-Sawyer College Class of 2010 in New London, Nh.

Keeping with the grand tradition of New England commencement ceremonies, it rained through most of their celebration. But after a while, a gorgeous fog fell over the entire campus.

I guess this means I'm no longer a "recent graduate". Congratulations, class of 2010. I hope you have better luck finding jobs than we did.

(This is a slideshow. Click the picture or the arrows to navigate through the set.)

Romeo and... Bootz

2010-04-30T13:31:00.003-04:00

I found this last month when I had to feature-hunt by foot on a rainy day in while my car was in the shop. It ran big-- the entire length of the cover of the local page. Bootz's owner acted like he knew she was destined for fame. "I've been waiting for you guys to come and put her on the front page," he told me.

Ryan Rheaume talks to his dog, Bootz, outside their home in Penacook on Friday, April 16, 2010. Bootz, an Alaskan Huskie, got her name because all four of her paws are white from the joints down. (Concord Monitor photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

A field

2010-04-27T21:56:00.005-04:00

In case you were wondering where helium balloons end up when you let them go, this gorgeous field in Poughkeepsie, Ny., is one destination. Poor Mickey Mouse was far from home.

(Disclosure: My friend found the balloon first, kicked around until he could identify it, and then walked away before I came over and shot the photo. Vignettes occurred naturally in-camera, and I decided to keep them.)

[ALSO: What happens in the meadow at dusk?]

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture

2010-04-27T21:13:00.003-04:00

I spent the weekend visiting a friend in Poughkeepsie. We spent much of Saturday at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in nearby Pocantico Hills, New York. Neat place.

Sara Worden, a farm apprentice, waters root vegetables in a greenhouse. "Usually I use the irrigation system," she said, "But I wanted to give them a little extra love."

Also, a very large chicken coop.

Babies are cute...

... But lambs are cuter.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Napping

2010-04-05T12:54:00.003-04:00

I noticed Art soaking in the sunshine at a rest area as I was driving back to the newsroom after an assignment last week. He'd just delivered his first book to a bookstore downtown, and was bouncing some ideas around for his second. Over the summer he'd taken his Harley, Rosemary, through 35 states, visiting old friends he was excited to have found on facebook. I imagine that his is the last generation to get really excited about reconnecting in this way. I really enjoy staying in touch with old friends, but I can read daily dispatches from their lives online now, and I can't picture myself taking a road trip to catch up. But, maybe I should.

Art Desmarais, of Northwood, relaxes on his Harley, which he named Rosemary, while riding around in the sunshine on Friday. He said he and a friend used to always take in the scenery in this rest area on Dover Street in Epsom. Since his friend passed away, he stops here by himself to reflect every time he passes it on his way home. "You know how tough life is," he said, "It doesn't take much to mess it up." (Concord Monitor Photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

Culture Show

2010-03-31T20:18:00.003-04:00

Kerina Dahal, 3, from Nepal stands with her aunts as she enjoys a dance performance. Hundreds of people attended a cultural show of Bhutanese/Nepalese song and dance at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Concord on Friday, March 26, 2010.
(Concord Monitor Photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

Books and Ballerinas

2010-03-24T09:55:00.003-04:00

I went to this ballet demonstration in the public library with a picture in my head that I was sure I wanted to get. It was the second picture you see here. I ended up liking the first one better, though. I guess even a well-planned event in a familiar place can turn out to be unpredictable.

Ballerinas (from left) Alicia Sanders-Zakre, 14, of Concord; Hannah Durant, 15, of Hopkinton; and Flannery Black-Ingersoll, 13, of Concord, relax as they prepare to offer children a sneak preview of Petit Papillon's upcoming production at the Concord Public Library on Saturday, March 20, 2010. (Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Concord Monitor Photo)

Aspiring ballerina Emma Larson, 4, came straight from her dance class to enjoy a ballet presentation at the library with her mother, Erin Larson, of Concord. Teenage ballerinas from dance company Petit Papillon offer children a sneak preview of their upcoming production at the Concord Public Library on Saturday, March 20, 2010. When The Root Children Wake Up, an original ballet based on an old German folk tale, will be at the Audi Theatre in Concord on Saturday. Tickets at $10/$6 are available at Ballard's, Gibson's, and the door.
(Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Concord Monitor Photo)

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-03-08T23:03:00.002-05:00

I made a quick trip to Boston for my one-day weekend yesterday. It was a warm, sunny day packed with celebration and some of my favorite people. I lived there for too long and I took for granted how much there is to do there all the time. Then I got back to Concord, bought some things without paying sales tax, and noticed how many stars I could see in the sky.

Things one could do in Somerville: photograph strangers putting up signs in Davis Square; see the band Death and the Dance Machine at the suggestion of guitarist/harmonicaist/vocalist James Force (pictured).

Dress Rehearsal

2010-03-04T13:59:00.005-05:00

Last week I photographed the dress rehearsal for Spoon River Anthology, which is a collaborative project between Colby-Sawyer College and a local community theatre group. The director said it's part of an attempt to bridge town-gown relationships. I loved the dressing room straight out of the 70s, and also the great facial expressions in this first picture.

Bonnie Lewis, from Wilmot, Nh., tries on her mask in the dressing room during the dress rehearsal for "Spoon River Anthology" on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, with Colby-Sawyer students Kayla Pingree (left) and Travis Carlson. The production is a collaboration between the college and a community theatre group. (Concord Monitor photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

Some pretty detail on the inside of a mask. If you're counting, this is a natural vignette, and that's not my hand.

Charles Murphree, Burger King Singer

2010-03-03T09:39:00.002-05:00

2010 New England Pond Hockey Classic

2010-03-02T12:43:00.002-05:00

Here are a few of my favorites from a pond hockey tournament on Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith that I shot a couple of weeks ago. More than 75 teams in 5 divisions competed in a weekend long round robin 4-on-4 tournament. For more, here's a link to a photo gallery from the event.

Tom Acquisto (left), a Plymouth State student from New York, shows off a recent battle wound to teammate and classmate Andrew Neforas, of Fitchburg, after the team's first victory in the tournament on Friay, February 5.

Action!

Spectators!

Broken chair!

Sense of place!

I shot that last one from a helicopter. Mad props (ha!) to Ace Helicopter LLC out of Hampstead, NH, for taking me and another photographer up to shoot aerials of the event. They even took the doors off of the chopper so we could get clearer shots.

Distracted Kid at the State Track Meet

2010-02-23T14:47:00.002-05:00

To his credit, this was during the 5000, so he'd already seen the runners come around the track a few times.

The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association Class I-M-S and Class L Track and Field Champtionships took place on February 7, 2010, in the Leverone Field House on Dartmouth campus in Hanover.
(Concord Monitor photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

Rave X: Daredevils on Snowmobiles

2010-02-22T23:58:00.001-05:00

Ben Copp catches some air as he takes jumps during Rave X demonstrations. Spectators and participants enjoyed the Sno Bowl at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, February 20, 2010. (Concord Monitor Photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

The next Lindsey Vonn

2010-02-18T01:10:00.003-05:00

Well, maybe not quite. But Vonn's amazing run seems like a good enough excuse to post some photos from last weekend of New Hampshire's own fast female skiers.

Derryfield skier Carla Nyquist races in her second run of the slalom, with a finishing time 36.19. She completed her first run at 36.20, earning her the first-place medal for the race. Girls Alpine skiers competed in the NHIAA Girls Division IV State Meet on Cannon Mountain in Franconia Wednesday, February 10, 2010.
(Concord Monitor photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

Derryfield skier Carla Nyquist races in her first run of the slalom, with a finishing time of 36.20. She completed her second run at 36.19, earning her the first-place medal for the race. Girls Alpine skiers competed in the NHIAA Girls Division IV State Meet on Cannon Mountain in Franconia Wednesday, February 10, 2010.
(Concord Monitor photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

Hopkinton skier Hallie Loft races down the giant slalom during her first of two runs. Girls Alpine skiers competed in the NHIAA Girls Division IV State Meet on Cannon Mountain in Franconia Wednesday, February 10, 2010.
(Concord Monitor photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

Granny D in the Spotlight

2010-02-17T11:28:00.003-05:00

I was having trouble convincing my flash to sync with my camera, so I decided to get creative at Granny D's birthday party. I'm still not sure whether I love this photo, but I love the fact that I work at a paper that encourages a different take on situations where the typical photo op is so obvious. This one ran lead on the page, and it's up on the board of Photos of the Month.

Doris 'Granny D' Haddock speaks with the media as she celebrates her 100th birthday at a party in the Governor's Executive Council Chambers at the New Hampshire State House in Concord on January 28, 2010. (Concord Monitor photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

Ice Fishing Derby

2010-02-05T08:19:00.006-05:00

Coldest assignment yet: an ice fishing derby on Lake Winnipesaukee last weekend. I am getting used to New Hampshire. It seems everything we Southerners do on water, they do on ice and snow: skiing, tubing, fishing, walking... It's all very impressive.

The last photo might be my favorite. It ran big in the paper under the headline "Fish Pageantry". I shot it from behind the winner's board. Sometimes you lie down in the snow for a picture and it's not worth it, but then sometimes it is.

Gregg Grant anchors down his bob house after retrieving dragging it back where it belonged, on Lake Winnipesaukee, January 29, 2010. Friday's heavy winds blew the hut almost half a mile across the lake. "It felt like 10 miles when we were dragging it back here," he joked. Grant plans to sell coffee to competitors in the 2010 Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby this weekend. (Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Concord Monitor staff photo)

Ice fishermen participated in the 2010 Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby on Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith, NH, on January 31, 2010. (from left) Jorja Moore, 1, Melissa Moore, Dante Moore, 3, and Alexis Moore, 5, watch as Alexis' father and Dante and Jorja's uncle catches a yellow perch. Earlier in the day he caught a 12 1/2 inch-long ellow perch weighing .94 pounds that made it onto the board. "It's my first time posting on the board after fishing all these years," Thomas Moore Jr. said. He's fished in this derby for 15 years, since he was 12. Over the course of the day, each kid pulled up a yellow perch. (Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Concord Monitor staff photo)

Rick Forcier, from Dalton, waits in line at derby headquarters with a rainbow trout that had a preliminary weight of 2 1/4 pounds. (Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Concord Monitor staff photo)

Patrick Kelly, 9, watches as his dad, Pat Kelly announces the winner of the derby, Dave Waniski (right), of Gilmanon Iron Works, who won a boat for catching a 3.05 pound tagged rainbow trout. Photographer on right is Jerry Ulbricht, of Moultonborough. Ice fishermen participated in the 2010 Great Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby on Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith, NH, on January 31, 2010. (Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Concord Monitor staff photo)

Good eye

2010-02-03T13:01:00.005-05:00

I shot this photo of reporter Taylor Barnes' eye for a CSM Weekly cover just before I left. John Kehe added the circuit-boards. Cool, huh?

Slush Puppie

2010-01-25T20:20:00.002-05:00

Found this while feature-hunting in a snowstorm. My editor asked that I avoid cute kids, so I went for my second-favorite feature standby. Also, this was my first time shooting Canon with any degree of seriousness. Those white lenses are good camouflage up here.

A dog peeks over a snow pile as flurries continue in Concord on Monday morning. The latest snowstorm is dropping snow in some places at the rate of an inch an hour. Snowy scenes from Concord, NH, on Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2010. (Concord Monitor photo/Sarah Beth Glicksteen)

The Christian Science Monitor at 8mm

2010-01-13T23:21:00.002-05:00

Today was my last day at The Christian Science Monitor, after being their photo intern for over a year. It has been a privilege. I wrote an email to tell my colleagues that I am proud that the Monitor's thoughtful, thorough and hopeful approach to world news has helped to form my journalistic voice, and I meant it. I miss everyone already, but I'm excited to delve back into community journalism in my new gig at the Concord Monitor.

I'm feeling awfully sentimental, so I decided to balance that with some fisheye shots from the newsroom.

[Click to see them bigger.]

From left: Alfredo Sosa, Director of Photography; Melanie Stetson Freeman, Chief Photographer; John Kehe, Art Director; a bulletin board featuring some cover mark-ups; and me with the photo staff minus Mary Knox who is en route to Haiti (that last photo's by John Kehe. See his foot?)

I also shot a couple at 35mm: Joanne & Alfredo enjoying my farewell lunch.

Someone Whose Job is Reportedly Slightly Better Than Mine

2010-01-07T11:06:00.005-05:00

I was inspired by the Wall Street Journal list of Best and Worst Jobs in 2010, which lists Photojournalist just below Firefighter (numbers 189 and 188, respectively), to post a recent portrait of a fire chief I shot for the CSMonitor. I borrowed a technique from Sean Stipp, a colleague of mine from Pittsburgh who uses his garage as a studio (the open garage door acts like a giant softbox).

Shirley Fire Chief Dennis Levesque had to lay off four of six full-time firefighters and cut staffing from 24/7 to weekdays only. Photo by Sarah Beth Glicksteen/The Christian Science Monitor

Ana, Banana

2010-01-06T11:46:00.005-05:00

I spent some holiday vacation days at Ana's family's house outside Bethlehem, Pa. It has a really interesting open floor plan and great light. It was snowy out and the interior of the house is almost all wood, so the whole experience was not unlike being in a sauna. I shot these from a walkway/balcony that overlooks the kitchen and living room. I also shot plenty of more normal photos. These two are kind of bizarre and I don't know why I like them, but I do.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-15T12:49:00.002-05:00

Jacksonville has this fantastic event over Thanksgiving weekend called the Jacksonville Light Parade, where folks dress their boats up in Christmas lights and drive around the Landing to show off. There's also a huge Christmas tree and live music. Then they launch fireworks over the river from two different bridges.

This is the Acosta, which is my favorite bridge in Jacksonville even when there isn't light pouring off of it. I love Thanksgiving in Jacksonville. Happy Holidays, everyone.

8mm, or What I Do in My Spare Time

2009-12-08T17:00:00.035-05:00

I've been playing around with Nikon's 8mm fisheye lens (we had one buried in a closet in the studio here). Half of my photo friends think it's really cool-- the chief photographer here at the Monitor even suggested I do a book. Everyone else thinks it's a total waste of time. Ken Rockwell says, "This is among Nikon's least useful lenses for photography."

I will defend the 8mm. As a colleague once pointed out to me, when you use different lenses, you look different places for photos. Shooting at 8mm has helped me to notice everything, since basically everything ends up in the photos and in focus (including my feet, sometimes). It's fun to play with because it's so different from my normal work, which focuses on truthful portrayals of genuine moments and personalities. It's tough to capture a "moment" with a fisheye lens. As far as people go, well, everyone looks goofy at 8mm. Fisheye photos are more about shapes, light and shadows.

Here are a few--click to see them bigger.

A collection of fisheye photos. These were taken over the past several weeks in Somerville, Allston, at Walden Pond (I biked almost 40 miles with that heavy chunk of metal on my back and was not about to let these go to waste), and Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

All that goofiness actually came in handy when I had to photograph Yelp's iphone app for a Monitor article on Augmented Reality. Yelp's Monocle uses the iphone's camera, GPS, and compass to display reviews of places right in front of you (when it works). The fisheye let me get the image on the phone and the restaurants behind it in the same picture, properly-exposed, and all in focus. With a little help from the graphics department, we have an Innovations section cover that carries the page (see below). Take that, fisheye naysayers.

CSM Pictures of the Year

2009-12-04T10:58:00.003-05:00

We're in the final stages of editing the Christian Science Monitor staff photos of the year for our upcoming special issue (you know, the thick one that counts as two weeks and lets us take Christmas week off). It's been quite the editing process, and we have a gorgeous 6-page spread. I'm delighted that two of my pictures made the cut this year. Most notably, this photo from Obama's inauguration is on the first page, and it's the biggest in the spread.

We have an extremely talented team of editors and our staff is top-notch. In the past year they've covered assignments in India, Africa, Ecuador, and all over North America. I can't think of a greater honor than to have my work featured with theirs.

Charisse Raysor, from Washington, D.C., shows off her earrings during the inauguration of Barack Obama in the National Mall. January 20, 2009. PHOTO: SARAH BETH GLICKSTEEN / The Christian Science Monitor.

Light on the Money

2009-11-25T12:12:00.007-05:00

The center two pages of the CSM weekly magazine is always a photo spread. This week's was called "Panoply of Patterns". This was my contribution. I shot it on Front Street in the lovely little town of Bath, Maine, where I stopped on my way up to some assignments last month. The small title that ran with the photo read "Light On Cash". I'm not sure who wrote it, or why they avoided the obvious, terrible pun: "Light on the Money."

A streetlight casts a shadow on bricks and a bank depository in Bath, Maine. Sarah Beth Glicksteen/The Christian Science Monitor

My second CSM weekly cover

2009-11-12T23:10:00.003-05:00

Well, ¼ cover this time, but still. I shot the Boston skyline at the lower left.

Commuters

2009-11-12T10:39:00.002-05:00

In the spirit of working through a nasty cough today, here's an article about people doing the same. I shot this a couple of weeks ago.

Of the several hundred people I photographed, perhaps 2 made eye contact with me. Even Boston can't possibly be full of this many unfriendly people; I maintain that the morning commute constitutes an altered state of mind.

Packed: Commuters crowd downtown Boston. Nearly half of US workers don't have paid sick leave, and some may ignore exhortations to stay home if feeling unwell.
Sarah Beth Glicksteen/The Christian Science Monitor

Such a beautiful country.

2009-11-06T16:40:00.009-05:00

I kept my camera pointed out the window when I flew from San Francisco to Boston a couple of weeks ago after a weekend in Vegas celebrating my grandma's 80th birthday (who takes direct flights anymore, really?).

I spoke with an older woman who was so excited to have a window seat a couple of rows up from me. "I always feel like a child when I fly," she said, "We live in such a beautiful country."

I've been feeling the weight of a couple of national tragedies today, so it seems like a nice time to remember that.

San Francisco

Sierra-Nevada mountains.

(It doesn't hurt to note that this post is taking a page from shooting from the hip. Scott Strazzante, one of my favorite photographers-- and also one of the nicest people you'll ever meet-- posts photos from his flights on his blog when he travels on assignment. I enjoy them.)

Happy Halloween to you, too.

2009-10-31T21:36:00.003-04:00

I won a Halloween costume contest in Ringer Park today and my prize was 12 sticky eyeballs. I handed them out to the kids at the party, who were simultaneously grossed-out and delighted. After a while, their grimey hands caused the eyeballs to lose their stickiness and fall apart. Darth Vader here asked me if he could have a new one because his was broken. This was his face after I said no. It was a gift, not a guarantee-- plus I'd already given the rest of them away to other kids who also wanted new ones.

Liam Rushe, 5, from Allston, celebrates Halloween dressed as Darth Vader at a party in Ringer Park.

Whittier Street

2009-10-26T15:24:00.004-04:00

I spent a good chunk of time shooting and interviewing some very nice folks in the waiting room of this community health clinic for a CSM weekly article on MassHealth. You'll see my contributor's byline at the end of Mark Trumbull's weekly magazine article: What lessons Massachusetts holds for US healthcare. Mark is brilliant, but I was proud of my reporting on this article.

Also, a cute kid with the sniffles:

Carol Wideman cares for her great-nephew Dewight Andrews, age 15 months, as he waits to be seen for a cold at Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury, Mass., on October 2, 2009. Wideman is currently making expensive COBRA payments to Harvard HMO after being laid off from her job. She says MassHealth works fine for her great-nephew, and thinks it's good for kids. PHOTO: SARAH BETH GLICKSTEEN / The Christian Science Monitor.

Father & Ford

2009-10-19T18:06:00.004-04:00

My editor said I was lucky to find this pair during the hour I had in the middle of a weekday to find a photo to accompany a CSM weekly magazine article on Obama's fatherhood initiative. I told him I make my own luck. This family was great. I'm just thankful they didn't send me out to photograph "bipartisan accord".

Togetherness: Paul Christie of Somerville, Mass., enjoys lunch with his son Ford. The father of two boys works nights but says he tries for two meals a day with his family. A new federal initiative is advancing the value of active parenting.

Freelance hoopster

2009-10-12T00:07:00.001-04:00

Jenn Bliss, who organized Friday's East Somerville Honk! Festival, and acted as parade marshal during Honk!Fest's Sunday march down Massachusetts Avenue, enjoys some hula hooping during the Environmental Encroachment band's performance on Saturday in Davis Square.

I asked Jenn if she was affiliated with the Chicago-based Environmental Encroachment Band as she took a break while performing with them at Honk! last night. She said no, she was just freelancing. I saw her around the festival a few more times after photographing her. She looked like she was having a heck of a time. And, yes, that's her real last name.

My first Christian Science Monitor weekly magazine cover photo

2009-10-06T17:01:00.004-04:00

Just a still life I lit and shot in the studio. I'm not famous, but that stethoscope is. Thanks, Skenderian Apothecary.

Fair fan: Carly Marsh

2009-08-29T08:09:00.004-04:00

I made this short turn-around piece about a contestant in the Fair Queen pageant. The goal was to tell the story of the Westmoreland Fair through the eyes of someone who absolutely loves it. Feedback welcome.

Sunshine Superman

2009-08-25T08:05:00.004-04:00

Kara Shafron, 8, from Ligonier, holds her Bantum breed baby chicken, Superman, at the Westmoreland County Fair in Greensburg, Pa., on August 22, 2009. Shafron is in the Sunshine 4-H group. Superman is a Quail Antwerp Belgium chicken, and also Kara's first chicken with a beard. He attracted a lot of attention, which Shafron explained was "'cause he's so cute!"
(Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Tribune-Review)

Kara's affection for Superman illustrated beautifully the love and care that these kids put into the animals they show at the Westmoreland County Fair.

Also of note: when I returned to the fair the following day to photograph Kara's 11-year-old sister, Leah, who won this year's apple pie baking contest, I was delighted to see that someone had cut out my photo of Kara from the Trib and taped it to the door of the chicken tent. This is better than refrigerator journalism!

Pooch swing

2009-08-15T08:56:00.001-04:00

You can't make this stuff up.

Rachel Knopf, 17, of Irwin, gives her Jack Russell Terrior, Pixie, a push on a swing at Irwin Park during Irwin Heritage Days on August 9, 2009, with some help from her boyfriend Joseph Donofry, 17, also of Irwin.
(Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Tribune-Review)

Story time

2009-08-15T08:50:00.002-04:00

Mandy was a great storyteller. The kids were so enthralled with her tale, they didn't even notice a photographer hovering inches away from the storybook pictures.

Mandy Mangan, of Jeannette, reads to a kindergarteners and first-graders during story time at the YMCA Greensburg summer day camp in St. Clair Park on August 4, 2009. Mangan, who is studying elementary education at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, is working her second summer as a YMCA camp counselor.
(Sarah Beth Glicksteen/Tribune-Review)