I’m making good on something I said last year. I recently got back in touch with Ed Samaan, the teenage bodybuilder I met last May while on assignment for a feature about his state bodybuilding title. He’s put on nearly 60 pounds since I last saw him, and I’m going to check in with him periodically to document his journey as he hardens up, then cuts about 50 pounds as he preps for this year’s national competitions. This is from Day One of the project.
Eli may look like a tough guy, but after his initial curiosity when I snapped these, he turned and ran every time I brought my camera to my face and pointed it in his direction.
Soon, but not soon enough, it will be sunny and 75, I will be in shorts and a jersey, and this view will be a whole lot greener.
Mixed feelings this morning with my first Chicago Sun-Times cover. It’s not easy to point a camera at people who are in pain and grieving, but I hope my images helped illustrate how loved Shaun was and what the community has lost with a senseless act of violence.
A second grade teacher was stabbed to death late last night in a bar when he tried coming to the aid of his friend and breaking up the fight. Tonight, his friends and family gathered for a memorial service to mourn and remember their friend. I’ve been covering it all day.
One day on this job you will find yourself standing in an elementary school gym listening to the owner of some obscure world records talk to fifth graders about things like the importance of time, calling your parents and watching Marines die in Afghanistan, and in the back of your head you will hear David After Dentist asking “Is this real life?”
Earlier this month I took a step in a new direction with my photography: I bought into studio space that is shared by a few other photographers and artists. It’s a pretty sweet deal. For a fraction of what most studios in Chicago charge by the day — hell, it’s less than half what they charge for pre-daylight access — I get by the month; I just have to sign out time online. It’s got big glass doors with western exposure and access to lights, and walks out onto a deck overlooking the Fox River. Though working in a studio is completely foreign to me, I had my first shoot in there yesterday and I can tell working in there either on my own shoots or assisting others for the experience will be a nice counter-balance to my news work. I’m happy I got the invite and pushed myself to jump in feet first.
One of my favorite things to do is pull quiet out of chaos. Even at a fight — with its pulsing techno, the crashing of bodies onto the octagon mat, the rising roar from fans as a fighter rains hammer fists into the face of a prone opponent — you can find it.
It might be fans reacting to seeing how much damage even a gloved fist can do to a face, a ring girl shielding herself from the spraying blood and sweat as fighters edge closer to the fence, or a relatively new fighter giving that look that says he’s wondering just what has he gotten himself into before the flying knee of a soon-to-be pro ends his night and sends a doctor to his side 40-something seconds into Round One.
These split seconds might be few and far between, but they’re there.
If you haven’t been paying attention or don’t live in the suburbs, you probably haven’t noticed but mixed martial arts has exploded. Gyms are popping up in strip malls on seemingly every corner. Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts are now broadcast on FOX. And around Chicagoland, people come by the hundreds to drop $20 or more on tickets to a night of amateur fighting and a chance to see grown men (and sometimes women!) beat each other bloody.
A good friend and former roommate of mine is running a sports blog with a heavy MMA focus. He’s asked me to come to fights before, but I’ve always had schedule conflicts. Last night was the first time I had an opportunity to make it out, and I’m glad I did. I’m not interested in the fighting so much, but the atmosphere and culture surrounding it.
I think I have a new project.
