Personal Journey

Here's a gallery of some of my photos from the trip to Brazil to visit my friend Diana. We had a blast racing around trying to do everything we could in the time alotted. There's a ton of things we didn't get to do, but that gives me something to do the next time.

I will update this when I get a chance to tone the last batch of photos from the last couple days. So check back shortly. If you click on the photos in the gallery below it will take you to the group of photos on my Flickr page.

First Take

So here I go, down the new visual journalism highway....video. I had shot a couple of stories that were never produced to make a final piece in the last couple weeks. This story almost had the same fate. After having to put out a couple fires and shoot a few assignments other than the video assignment last Saturday, there just wasn't time for me to produce a video.

I took another crack at it today and after a few lumps from slamming my head on the desk, chasing a bear three times that seemed to never truly exist and learning that compressing HD takes longer than even a good Scotch. I'm talking the stuff with a plastic cap too by the way.

After all that here's my world premier. I sure hope I get better AND faster.

A new, old world

Leaving DIA was simple, arriving in Sao Paulo was difficult. A severe thunderstorm in Houston closed the airport leading to a four hour sit-and-wait at the Austin airport. That delay lead to me missing my connection to Brazil and to spending a night in a Houston hotel. I was given a flight from Houston to Panama to Sao Paulo. I would arrive a day later than expected but at 4:30 a.m.

So as I stared at the seats of an airplane for hours and hours, I wondered what Brazil would have in store for me. Later I would learn how many barriers I had rebuilt in my mind about people since my last escape from the United States.

Flying over Brazil at night there were several super bright epicenters illuminated in the darkness. Then there was Sao Paulo. Probably the biggest city I have ever seen. I have been told by a few that Sao Paulo would be like combining New York City and Los Angeles. Diana drove us to her hometown city from the giant metropolitan area and along the way there were slums (favelas) and people warming themselves near small fires on the roadside. It is the start of winter here and the locals are used to much warmer temperatures. When we arrived in Campina, Diana's city, I was surprised to see the size and scale of it. With a population of nearly two million, it is not a small community by any means. The road system is similar to the States, even more so to the horrid roads in the city of Boulder this time of year. Potholes and speed bumps abound.

After catching up on a bit of sleep, Saturday Diana took me to a park in the heart of the city called Taquaral. It is a park with a dirt path around the lake and a trolley. Various animals and plants thrive there as very athletic Brazilians race around the circuit.

For Mother's Day we traveled back into the heart of the city to visit a craft fair along with one of Diana's brothers. The diversity of this country is something that Americans really only talk about. I have been having to break down stereotypes of what a typical Brazilian should look like. There is not a typical Brazilian. This woman is a Japanese artisan that has lived in Brazil for 40 years. Speaks fairly fluent Portuguese and her native Japanese. She was only the first of many folks that did not fit my cookie-cutter concepts. I am still learning many things about this country and it's people.

More later. Have to run, litter ally. I've been eating way too much bread and cheese. It's a major staple of a meal here.

Sorry for the delay

It's been pretty busy the last couple weeks, but that is not a decent excuse to not post for more than two weeks. Anyone know a good time manager?

Today's post will be a photo fest. Just some random photos from those last couple weeks. I'm in the midst of finishing up the semester teaching Photojournalism I, trying to find my niche in my new role at the paper and preparing for my first personal journey out of the country in eight years. I'll be traveling to Sao Paulo, Brazil for about 10 days starting May 10th.

I'll try to post a few times while I'm on the opposite side of the planet. I'll be making pictures and mini videos of the home country of my friend Diana Marques (pronounced G-Anna Marx). Don't be too disapointed if there is little to no action here. Connecting to the world wide web will be once in a while and we may just be having too much fun. It should be a great experience and I already can't wait to get off the plane after traveling for 13 hours. Enjoy the month of May.