protest

Mr. President came to town today, so a bunch of people gathered to hold signs downtown. here's an audio slideshow

freedom

Woke up at 4 a.m. today to make it to a cemetery 1.5 hours away in Brigham City. Volunteers were setting flags on veteran's gravestones as a tribute to the day.

young love

A kiss after winning the state championship. It reminds me of an adolescence that I never had...star of the baseball team, hottest girl in school, coolest car...

mining

They’re all still here. Dog, Booger, Repo and McGoo. Their discolored, mangled name tags hang on nails tacked to a wooden plank as they work deep in the earth with only a headlamp to illuminate their paths. They spend eight or ten hours a day underground, working hard to support their lifestyle. Despite the exchange of mules for gas, ghosts of the past still rein strong. You can see the rough black faces of disheveled men shoving wads of chew under their lower lip. They’ll crack punchlines and make jokes. But before continuing down the shaft into the deep black, they’re sure to tell each other to be safe. The price of coal is high. Consumption fuels the toll on the environment and the constant risk on the workers’ lives. And as dependence on coal falls, eastern Kentucky will struggle to keep up, leaving this slice of rural America life lost in the dark.

I was able to go down into a small independent mine the last day of shooting. I only got about an hour down there, but it was a great experience. I just wish I could go spend a couple weeks with these guys...hopefully I can go back sometime and do that.

Kentucky. Swerving between the hollows of rolling mountains lush with saturated forests the nooks of American culture reveal themselves. Littered with opaque bottles and rusty cars of twisted metal, weaving vines engulf the past. The history of this place is strong in the people, but one must dig past strip malls and 4-lanes to find the inherent drive to remember and cherish the past. Just follow the winding road through creeks and hollows to the smallest branch and find the place of dying city centers--the core of the coal country. A people with insights simple and true. And families ready to care for a neighbor—a luxury that modern America sometimes neglects. It’s rural America. A long drawn-out sigh. Fresh air.


I just got back from Pikeville, Ky from the American Diversity Project. Little sleep and lots of shooting. Here's the link to the Web page: www.americandiversityproject.org It's not complete yet, but I think the stories, etc. will be up soon. I will post more in the coming days/weeks/whenever I feel like it.

after the move in

The Browns just moved into their new apartment.

i climed a mountain

I've never made one of these before.

Train -Yee Haw

I shot a video about a new train that just made for commuters to ride from Salt Lake City to Ogden. It reminded me of Europe. With the trend in gas prices, I imagine this idea might become more popular in the next decade. Hopefully, we'll someday become connected through tracks like Europe.

HERE'S THE VIDEO

I've spent part of the last couple days seeing how this family makes it. They've been staying at a hotel the last couple nights but are looking for an apartment. I went with Connie today to look at apartments. Some looked promising, but they'll have to move about an hour away to find an affordable place. Russ will have to commute to work each day. I'm surprised at how good of an attitude Connie has had during this whole thing. I think they are looking at this as more of an opportunity than a set back. Even though it is tiring for both of them to do all the leg work to make this happen, I think they are going to get through it.