In early 2008, I visited the Children’s Surgical Center on the outskirts of Phnom Penh at the request of one of its US-based supporters. I was working for a few NGO’s while in Cambodia and using the time to continue my personal work on human trafficking. At the Center, I found a woman who recently had acid thrown upon her. I forget the circumstances of the attack, but her grand daughter was also covered by the indiscriminate spray, and had already died. The woman was feverish with infection, her breath rapid and shallow, and the doctors fought a losing battle. Blood transfusions seeped out of her damaged skin faster than they could replenish her fluids. Her adult children watched over her, fanning her, slack-faced and in shock. A few days later the woman died.

I had heard of acid attacks before, but hadn’t thought about it in Cambodia. Although barely quantified at the time, readily available acid in Cambodia’s violence desensitized and traumatized society meant acid attack was an increasingly common method of settling disputes or seeking revenge.

Not long after I met the acid attack victim in 2008, I visited the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity to photograph the survivors who were making a new life for themselves. Although horribly scarred, I found the women engaging, fun, and full of vitality.

A couple of days ago the NY Times published this piece on acid attack in Cambodia.

Click through the jump below for images from my visit in 2008.

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I am a photojournalist who has evolved into a multimedia journalist and producer. When I work in the field I have a minimal footprint, often trying to do the work of an entire production crew on my own.

Being a one-person-band isn’t preferable and, having spent time working with MediaStorm I am an advocate of working as a team. But, sometimes the budget, location, or story don’t allow for more than one, maybe two people.

Part of a series, this post is intended for others journalists who are shooting, or starting to shoot, video with the HDSLR Canon 5D Mark II. I’m posting because I’ve spent a lot of time researching blogs, forums, and testing through trial and error.

I hope this becomes the one-stop-shop I wish I’d stumbled upon and, as such, I would like to encourage reader comments. What tips do you have? What links, videos, or content pertinent to the post would you like to share? Help us grow in this new world of media production.

However, please note the date of the post. HDSLR videography is a rapidly changing field and this information may soon be old.

Click through the jump to learn more about the 180 degree shutter rule, shutter speed, ND filters, and the “rolling shutter” of CMOS sensors.

(Many thanks to my sweetie for her iPhone picture of me wandering around home figuring out gear).

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The Aftermath Project is now accepting applications for a single $20,000 grant made possible by the Open Society Institute.

“The Aftermath Project is a non-profit organization committed to telling the other half of the story of conflict — the story of what it takes for individuals to learn to live again, to rebuild destroyed lives and homes, to restore civil societies, to address the lingering wounds of war while struggling to create new avenues for peace.

“The Aftermath Project holds a yearly grant competition open to working photographers worldwide covering the aftermath of conflict. In addition, through partnerships with universities, photography institutions and non-profit organizations, the Project seeks to help broaden the public’s understanding of the true cost of war— and the real price of peace — through international traveling exhibitions and educational outreach in communities and schools.”

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I’m typing on an Apple MacBook Pro while data backups are running in the background; gigabytes of images and video are flitting from Seagate to Lacie to Netgear hard drives. I have a Belkin router, a Comcast modem…I have all the accouterments of technology I need to capture content and publish in a digital world. What I don’t have is peace of mind.

I’ve spoken about and written about this before and, increasingly, so are many others. We are talking about conflict minerals, those metals essential to the electronics industry and our everyday conveniences. These metals also pay for ongoing war and sexual violence. As a consumer, I feel powerless to affect such a global issue. But, it is becoming easier to see how our role in the killing and what we can do to stop it. Like many things, it starts with transparency and accountability, through knowledge and conversation.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs, as reported by Wired, recently responded to a customer about conflict minerals in Apple products. The customer wrote:

“Are you currently making any effort to source conflict-free minerals? In particular, I’m concerned that Apple is getting tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold from Eastern Congo through its suppliers.”

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It’s been awhile since I’ve done any music photography, but Spike, who I did this Sasquatch or Bust story on, invited all of us to see his son perform at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard, Seattle.

Bare in the Woods has only existed for about six months, and done about as many shows, but they rocked it at the Sunset. Two other bands performed–they are projects from a bunch of the original Seattle grunge bands–and Bare in the Woods was sandwiched right between them. The coolest thing about it was the family feeling, the mutual support, the casual air, and the shouts of “encore” after BITW performed…to which David (Spike’s son) replied, “Uh, we’ve never been asked for an encore…” but they gave us one.

Spike asked me if I could shoot some stills and video–band shots in a bar, something I haven’t done in ages! Normally, when I’ve shot Seattle bands in small venues, I used a strobe on an off camera shoe cord. At bigger venues, there’s usually better lighting (though you’re still probably shooting at 800 ISO, 125/sec and f2.8) but I was flipping between video and stills and loving the low-light capability of the Canon 5D Mark II. So I went with ambient light. You can see the noise in the files and because of that ambient light…I think I like the black and white. Or maybe it’s the nostalgia…black and white reminds me of grunge concerts, shooting Tri-X and TMAX 3200, and the smell of photo chemicals after hours in the darkroom. Yeah…all those toxic chemicals.

Check out more Bare in the Woods pix on my Facebook–both the color and the black and white.

Check out the Bare in the Woods Facebook and MySpace.

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A month ago I receive an assignment from Aurora Select, pairing me with Builder Magazine (a sister to another publication I’ve shot for). The story was about an architect, Rick Mohler, who finessed city code and zoning laws to build two homes on his single city lot.

As someone who believes in decreasing sprawl by increasing density, I found Mohler’s approach very interesting. So, not only was I doing a portrait job, I had a chance to talk with an engaging guy about everything from his house to public transportation to important documentary films. I liked him immediately. He also teaches at the University of Washington Architecture department, so I think it’s no surprise he had an ability to tell engaging stories and feel at ease with a photographer.

If I had the money to buy a city lot with a tear down, I would probably do the same as Mohler: build two homes and rent one out.

Read the article here, at Builder Magazine
Read a Seattle Times article here.

The magazine editor wanted a portrait of Mohler that emphasized the exterior of the home. So, while the lead image for this post is more about Mohler (and my favorite of the take), the picture at right is what they editor chose out of the various locations and setups I provided. This was a simple portrait, using gear I’ve traveled with in developing countries (minus the light stands): two Canon 580EX strobes, Pocket Wizards, and the Canon 5D Mark II. Oh, and I put home made snoots on the strobes…made out of heavy duty aluminum foil, the kind you’d use for baking!

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This is a story about a love for music and the strength of friendship. Sasquatch is a three-day music festival in eastern Washington, just 2.5 hours from Seattle. Thousands travel to the Gorge Amphitheater for the live bands, to camp on the grass, and celebrate with friends.

Spike Kane grew up immersed in the world of live music, witnessing the rise of bands such as The Clash and Echo and the Bunnymen. Many of his old friends in Liverpool are still musicians. For the last five years, Spike was unable to go to shows or even appreciate the music so vital to his existence.

In June, 2010, Spike returned to the Gorge with the help of his friends, to once again participate in a music festival.

Read more About “Sasquatch or Bust” including tech tips after the jump!

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Saturday, on the third of July, the Center of the Universe (Fremont) was crowded with thousands of zombies as Seattle broke the world record for the zombie walk. According to organizers there were 4900 signed entries and 4233 solid entries.

I had no idea there was a world record for zombies, nor that there was such a zombie following, but I remember seeing zombies last year around Fremont. Then, on Friday, Lu saw the notice for the zombie walk and Saturday morning we made a run to the local thrift store…along with our costumes we scored on a shirt, bathrobe, and tuxedo for T!

Out came the costume makeup kit and in short order we were the zombie family.

According to organizers, Zombies have gathered in Seattle since 2005, and in 2009 set the world record for the largest gathering. In short order, the record was broken in the UK at a rave. Proud of its oddities, Seattle decided to take it back this year.

If you’re into zombies check out the links, photos and video on the jump.

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Last week I had the honor of sharing the podium with Martin de Boer and Christopher Morris during the opening of the Our World at War exhibition at the Seattle Center. Martin is the Deputy Head of the Regional Delegation for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for the US, Canada, and the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Christopher is a founding member of the VII Photo Agency, contract photographer for Time, and has decades of war photography under his belt; he also contributed to the exhibition.

The event was hosted by the Seattle chapter of the Red Cross, and it was through these people Lu and I had the chance to learn more about what the Red Cross actually does. Martin spoke of the organization’s history, then he segued into the exhibition itself. The idea was to put a face on the statistics, to tell stories about individuals who live in conflict zones or who are coping with the aftermath of war.

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I put “The Cove” on my movie list when it was briefly in Seattle, before it won Best Documentary at the Academy Awards. When it became available on Netflix, it went into the cue; last night I was able to watch it with Lu. I was more than impressed, not just by the film, but by the call to action.

Having a marine biologist for a partner means I get some interesting insight. For instance, some of the interviewees in the film hold multiple roles most viewers wouldn’t know about. How the film makers chose to classify them helped me understand the context of their quotes. We also stopped the film several times so Lu could tell me who certain people were and their role in the IWC or other organizations. I like inside information.

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