Week 2

My second week got off to an okay start... I got to shoot my own assignment in a Wal-Mart. The story is about how companies and consumers are reacting to the problem of overfishing worldwide by switching to fish that is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. The pictures are boring so I'm not posting them. Then I got sent to meet up with Lou at a park that Dwayne Wade was going to be speaking at.

NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade celebrates the winning of the Staples Dream Park Challenge. Mitchell/Moore Park is the grand prize winner of $25,000 in park improvements on June 9, 2008.

This was a feature I shot at a nearby water park.

Ft. Lauderdale resident Michele Wiggins plays in the water with her son, one-year-old Angelo Piccirillo, at Croissant Park Pool on June 9, 2008. Wiggins takes her son to the pool about three times a week.

Then I got sent to shoot a portrait of a guy that is in trouble with the city of North Lauderdale for wearing the city seal on a t-shirt. I was so nervous because I'm awful at shooting portraits, but I really liked the way this one turned out. It ran on the front page of the Local section in color, which I was happy about.

Former North Lauderdale City Commissioner Bruce Tumin, 50, received a certified letter on Monday, June 9, 2008, threatening him with legal action for wearing a shirt with the city seal on it. Tumin has been seen around the city wearing a shirt with the city seal and the word "debt" underneath. Tumin says that he altered the seal by adding a word, therefore it is no longer the city's seal. Tumin also says that the letter he received is a violation of his First Amendment right to criticize City Hall for what he considers to be wasteful spending.

On Tuesday I went with Susan Stocker to shoot students at Hallendale Beach Elementary School receiving their FCAT scores.


(From left) Ten-year-olds Schnyder Lubin and Nathan Moulton celebrate when their fourth-grade teacher, Aleshia Coleman of Miami, reads out the math FCAT scores that were released on Jun 10, 2008. Schnyder received a three in reading, a four in math, and a six in writing. Moulton received a four in reading, a five in math, and a 5.5 in writing.

I rode along with Joe Cavaretta today to photograph a dog's graduation party. It was great, I love dogs so I really enjoyed it.


Five-year-old Ashley Hayes, Ft. Lauderdale, on left, watches as Franklin, a one-year-old black Labrador Retriever, performs a trick for his foster mom, Valarie Moser, during a graduation party for Franklin. Franklin is heading off to guide dog school. He has been part of the foster family at Lighthouse of Broward since he was nine weeks old. Lighthouse of Broward is a full-service educational and rehabilitation agency that teaches blind or visually impaired babies, adults and senior skills that helps them lead independent lives. Moser is the program director for Lighthouse of Broward, and has been Franklin's official foster parent, teaching him everything from how to behave around people to how to deal with crowds, street noise and riding in buses and airplanes. He will be traveling to the Southeastern Guide Dog Facility in Palmetto, Fla., where he will spend around six months training in a harness before he is matched with a blind person.