Seattle city council member Dan Strauss has proposed a bill that would require venues with loud music to provide free or cheap earplugs to concertgoers. For CascadePBS and KNKX I went to Fremont's Add-A-Ball to see what music fans thought of the proposal at an album release show for Fluung with openers Waltzerr and Letterbomb. Most people said they already bring their own earplugs and the venue already had earplugs available for 50 cents. The musicians we spoke with said hearing protection is important but they wished the city council would do something to make it easier for musicians and artists to survive and thrive in Seattle.

#seattle #pnw #pacificnorthwest #music #photojournalism #photography #onassignment #nightlife

Shipping containers at the Port of Seattle recently for a CascadePBS story about how the ongoing tariff war will affect businesses in Washington state.

#photography #photojournalism #industrial #seattle #port #onassignment #pacificnorthwest #business

Kitty Dukakis, the former first lady of Massachusetts, died last week at age 88. In 2016 I photographed her, and husband former governor and Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, at their home in Brookline, Mass., for a New York Times story about electroconvulsive therapy (formerly known as electroshock therapy). Kitty said that the treatment was instrumental in her overcoming alcoholism and had become an evangelist for the procedure. I visited one of the weekly ECT support groups that the couple held at their home and we joked about the turkey carcasses that Michael famously collected from friends every year after Thanksgiving to make broth. One of the portraits I took was in the NYT obituary published in Sunday's print edition.

#photojournalism #politics #obituary #onassignment #tearsheet #massachusetts #boston

Three years ago today, the US awoke to news that Russia had invaded Ukraine after weeks of increasing aggression. A small group of Ukrainians and Eastern Europeans gathered outside the Massachusetts State House in Boston in one of the first public shows of opposition in the US after the invasion began. I especially remember Iryna (last image) tearfully speaking with her mother in Ukraine and discussing a rumor that Russian forces had just taken hold of Chernobyl. Photographed for NYT.

#photojournalism #photography #news #ukraine #war #onassignment #boston #massachusetts #standwithukraine

A few minutes with Kayla, a Drone Integration Engineer at Amazon's Prime Air, photographed recently for Amazon. Her job is making sure the software and hardware systems all communicate with one another.

#photography #portrait #portraitmood #portraiture #commercialphotography #commercialphotographer #science #scientist #onassignment

Washington state inaugurated a new governor last month, former Attorney General Bob Ferguson. His inaugural address focused on the state's gubernatorial history and his vision for the future. Immediately after speaking, he went to the Governor's office in the Capitol building and signed three executive orders focusing on the cost of housing and protecting reproductive freedom. For Cascade PBS.

#photography #photojournalism #onassignment #politics #olympia #pacificnorthwest #washingtonstate

Tulsi Gabbard was just confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, with a lone Republican voting against. I was reminded of photographing her unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, when she was a Democrat, and this very strange campaign stop, in which supporters said media organizations were conspiring to keep her out of the race. Gabbard was supposed to speak at the event (see unused mic in the first image), and rumors were flying that she was hanging out in a nearby RV, but she never showe, the RV left the scene, and everyone packed up their signs.

#photography #photojournalism #politics #onassignment #newhampshire

⛵❄️ Sailing Expedition to Svalbard – An Arctic Adventure ❄️🏔️

Sailing through the icy waters of Svalbard, we explored one of the most remote and breathtaking regions on Earth. From the deck of our ship, we watched glaciers carve their way into the sea and ventured ashore on snowshoe hikes through the frozen landscape. Along the way, we encountered Arctic wildlife—reindeer, foxes, and even massive elephant seals. 🦊🦭🦌

An unforgettable journey through ice and wilderness, where the silence of the Arctic and the vastness of nature made every moment special.

📸 Swipe through to see the highlights of this unique experience!

#SvalbardExpedition #ArcticSailing #IntoTheWild #FrozenNorth #NatureAtItsBest #WildlifePhotography #LandscapePhotography #AdventurePhotography #ArcticExplorer #WildernessCulture #OnAssignment #TravelPhotography #ExpeditionPhotography #SailingPhotography #ColdLands #IceAndSnow

Tacoma's Northwest Detention Center, privately operated by GEO Group for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is one of the largest ICE detention facilities in the US, with 1575 beds. In 2021, the Washington Legislature banned private detention centers, hoping to close the Northwest Detention Center in 2025 when the current contract expires, but legal rulings and the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration seem to indicate the facility will not close. For cascadepbs.

#photography #newtopographics #landscape #tacoma #pacificnorthwest #immigration #politics #photojournalism #onassignment

On Saturday, approximately 3500 people took part in the People's March in Seattle, marching from Capitol Hill to Seattle Center. I spoke with people who had been protesting since the 1970s, and some for whom this was their first political action beyond voting. For Cascade PBS.

#photography #photojournalism #onassignment #politics #seattle #pnw

I wasn't at the DNC this week, so here's a few from Kamala Harris' first and second visits to New Hampshire early in 2019 at the start of her ultimately unsuccessful bid in the 2020 presidential primary. The excitement and joy apparent at the DNC this week was palpable during the early stages of her entrance onto the national stage (in much smaller venues!)

#politics #photojournalism #usa #onassignment #photography #kamalaharris #newhampshire

I'm almost a month late in posting this, but I'm so excited to share the biggest photo I've ever had in print, published as the cover of the June 30, 2024, New York Times special section on pets. This very good boy is Max, a 2-year-old German shepherd, Belgian Malinois, and husky mix. His owner Alyxx, rescued Max in an incredibly emaciated condition, but now he's healthy and happy here in Seattle. Max is a participant in Darwin's Dogs, a science initiative investigate pets' genetics and behavior.

The editor called the day before asking if I could photograph Max both in the environment and against a seamless background, focusing both on Max's body parts and portraits with the possibility that the image would be the section cover. Thankfully I found a spot that was both in the shade and protected from the wind for the background, but it was still a bit of an adventure making it all work.

Big thanks to Anika for the call, and to Max (and Alyxx) for being so patient for the portraits.

#photography #pets #dogsofpixelfed #dog #doggo #portraiture #portrait #animal #onassignment #photojournalism

I'm in Milwaukee this week covering the Republican National Convention for Bloomberg Businessweek. Most of the work is embargoed for now, but this image was just published alongside a profile of vice presidential Republican nominee Ohio senator J. D. Vance. This was taken as he arrived on the delegate floor on the first day of the RNC, moments after Trump's announcement that Vance would be his running mate. A number of delegates had written "Vance" on their Trump campaign signs when the news broke. Yesterday, on Day 2, printed signs began to appear with both Trump and Vance's names.

#photojournalism #photography #politics #rnc #2024 #milwaukee #onassignment

One of the moderators for tonight's presidential debate is Dana Bash, CNN's chief political correspondent. At the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, I had a last-minute assignment from Elle magazine to photograph a quick profile of her on the convention floor and in CNN's studio overlooking the floor. I'd hoped I would get a little glimpse behind the scenes with her as she prepped for the day's broadcast, but little did I know just how short a glimpse that would be. Looking at the timestamps on my files, I had about 4 minutes on the floor and then about 6 minutes in the studio as she got ready to go live; she was on the phone almost the entire time. But I got the impression that that's what most of her days are like when she isn't in front of the camera.

#photojournalism #photography #onassignment #politics #news #cnn #television #behindthescenes

I spent an afternoon going around to a few of Seattle's more accessible graffiti spots with local chronicler of the scene BGnarley for a piece for Crosscut/CascadePBS ( @cascadepbs@cascadepbs@social.seattle.wa.us ) . These are spots in Ballard, SODO, South Park, and West Seattle. Go check out BGnarley's feed (and buy one of his zines; the latest one just came out) if you've got any interest in street art in the Pacific Northwest.

#photojournalism #photography #streetart #graffiti #seattle #onassignment

For Bloomberg, the 47-story luxury First Light tower in downtown Seattle is nearing completion, and most residential units in the building have been sold. The developers, Westbank, raised a McLaren Elva sports car to the top floor deck to celebrate the building's near completion. Owners of the penthouse in the building will be allowed to the use the $1.7 million supercar. The developers hope that the building will help revitalize Seattle's long-troubled downtown corridor, where empty storefronts seem to be increasing. Nearby Pacific Place Mall, once thriving, feels almost abandoned (image 8).

The story was picked up for the Seattle Times' May 23, 2024 edition (image 10), my first front page in the publication. Thanks to Sam and Anna at Bloomberg and to Bettina and Colin at the Seattle Times!

#onassignment #photojournalism #seattle #photography #business

Last week, right-wing provocateur and founder of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk (image 3) held an event on the campus of the University of Washington, not far from where the 100+-strong Pro-Palestine student tent encampment (image 2) is on the campus. There were brief skirmishes attendees of Kirk's event walked toward the encampment and protestors blocked them (image 1) from entering the campus' Quad. One activist apparently injured an ankle (image 8) and a few clearly inebriated Kirk-event attendees seemed to be looking for a fight. Eventually it seemed like people from both sides were stopping to have (sometimes animated) conversations about the current war in Gaza. One man, Carson Williams, who attended the Kirk event, talked at length with the Pro-Palestine protesters. He said, "I heard the chanting and that seemed like a good place to go for a healthy discussion." After speaking with the demonstrators for a while, he said, "We came to common ground. No more money for foreign wars," though he said they disagreed on the start and current state of the ongoing conflict.

Photographed on assignment for NYTimes.

#photojournalism #conflict #onassignment #photography #protest #activism #seattle #politics

A couple weeks ago I followed along as volunteers from the disaster relief organization Team Rubicon removed burnable material from Zintel Canyon in Kennewick, Washington, as part of an effort to mitigate wildfires in the area. Kennewick has a higher fire risk than 92% of U.S. communities. Team Rubicon was started by a US Marine Corps veteran in 2010, traveling to Haiti after that year's devastating earthquake and has grown to include more than 160,000 volunteers helping respond to or mitigate disasters both in the US and internationally. Photographed for Crosscut/CascadePBS ( @cascadepbs@social.seattle.wa.us ).

Thanks to Genna for taking the pitch and to Mai for her reporting on the piece, published this week on the Cascade PBS website.

(took a little break from posting over the past few weeks, but hopefully I'll get back into the regular swing of things)

#photojournalism #onassignment #photography #climatechange #pnw #pacificnorthwest #kennewick #tricities