Jay Z has given the music world so much, but local Hagerstown rap recording artist Spencer "Spence" Jackson, pictured above, took it another step and recently wrote, recorded, and stared in this locally produced "Hub City State of Mind" video below. Yeah it is a take off video from that OTHER town, on a small island a few hours north of here, but does NYC have The Maryland Theatre, Krumpe's Do-Nuts, a WAL-MART Super Center, and The Prime Outlets? I think not.
Spence is a really cool person, and a smart young man who will go places and do just fine for himself. He is smooth, and never over does things. A great person to represent the Hub City, and he is for hire!
So like the song says, "Where are your H's at? Get 'em up." and be proud of your home town, the Hub City. Thanks Spence
It's late June in Washington County and that means two things, fresh picked corn and tons of Little League 9 and 10 year old All-Star games!!!! The best players battling it out for the MD District 1 Championship title. I shot a winner's bracket game tonight, Clear Spring vs West End, at West End LL. Clear Spring went up 11-0, West End rallied to make it 11-7, but Clear Spring came back to make it a 26-7 game. Great Game! I really thought West End might pull it off.
A few tuff breaks for West End, a great team effort by Clear Spring.
The 9 and 10 year olds only go to state championships, the 11-12 year olds go to states, regionals, and if they are REALLY good, The SHOW. Yeah, The SHOW!!! The Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. THAT show!!! Is there any other?
Several photographers have made a huge impact on my life, my photos, and the way I approach photography. I will talk in depth of these men and women in future posts. Yes, names like Annie, Mary Ellen, Henri, Eugene, Tom, Mark, Terry, Kendal, and several others. Photogs that encourage me and all of us to be ourselves, see images the way we see them, and shoot what and who you like THE WAY you like.
I got into photography in the mid 1980's, and two things became very clear to me early on. You either shoot color or you shoot black and white. And I mean you shoot COLOR as in Kodachrome 25 or 64, underexposed by a 1/3 or 2/3 of a stop, and shot with strobes OR you shoot gritty available light 400/1600 ASA B&W or smooth studio lit B&W film on a black, grey, or white seamless paper backdrop.
Richard Avedon was the master of Black and White photography shot on a white seamless backdrop. There have been others and there will always be others who gravitate to this style, I am guilty as charged, but I think we all owe a tip of the cap to Avedon for this and SO MUCH MORE.
Avedon (May 15, 1923 - October 1, 2004) was more than a great B&W shooter, beyond a celebrity shooter, or a magazine shooter. He was THE photog that changed fashion photography forever. He took it from catalog work to artwork. He breathed life into it, gave it energy, and made the viewer of his photos think while also engaging themselves into the mood or style of the clothes he was shooting. A career that spanned from the mid 1940's til 2004, that is parts of 7 decades. This man changed the way things were done, and changed them for the better.
We are experiencing one of the hottest Junes on record, and with the heat and humidity come editors that ask the Herald-Mail photo staff for a "Heat" feature photo. Yes, a photo that shows the impact of the heat, or one that shows man's ability (or inability) to deal with the heat. I found Verizon road crew member Keith Bloyed Wednesday afternoon battling the heat the old-fashioned way, a couple ice cubes placed directly on the head. Quite a balancing act if you ask me. Don't laugh, it works. If the brain is cool, or believes it is cool, so is the rest of the body. Like Vanilla Ice used to say, Ice Ice Baby!!!!!
Like I said in Tuesday's post, you know summer is here when the annual fireman's carnivals are happening. I had the pleasure of a ride in the countryside Tuesday evening as I made my way to the annual Mont Alto (PA) Fireman's Carnival. They have a brand new carnival grounds, tons of space, lots of buildings for bingo, food and drink, a stage area, and oh yah, RIDES!!!!! So if you are in the Franklin County, PA area this week, stop in, enjoy yourself, and help out the Mont Alto Volunteer Fire Company.
You know it's summer time when the heat and humidity, gas grills, swimming pools, tractor pulls, carnivals, long lines at the Dairy Queen, and Super Soakers come out. Such was the case yesterday when I was cruising Hagerstown for a Herald-Mail feature photo and found these two "kids" fighting it out in a local neighborhood.
I think I'll make a stop at the local dollar store and restock the Crocetta family's fully automatic water gun collection. Good clean fun!
My oldest son Max demos the new sleek iPod earbuds 4.0, which produce life like AM radio quality, Low-Fi, low volume, low quality, sound. One size fits all, hand held OR duct tape-able, and can double as a pair of portable speakers. So run out and get a pair for your new iPhone 4.0!!!!!!
I am a full time photojournalist with the Herald-Mail newspaper in Hagerstown, MD. I cover general news, breaking news, sports, features, and advertising assignments.
