Here are some photographs from winter break spent with family and friends on vacation in New London, New Hampshire.

Thank you for looking!
-Brooks

I was lucky enough to spend a few days at the Vets-Welcome Home, a house for homeless veterans in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. Based on the Oxford House model, the house is democratically run, self-sufficient, and has essentially one rule: don’t drink, don’t do drugs. For some reason, this is the only veterans-specific house of its kind in Massachusetts. The importance of a safe and sober environment to recovery cannot be overstated, and the Home certainly felt like a family home.

The residents I met and spent time with were amazing guys, and I’m honored to have had a glimpse into their lives. I hope to get back to Chelsea and spend more time telling their story, which I believe needs to be known.

Nerdy technical info: the 5D2 was crucial again. I shot most of this story at or above ISO 3200 and made many frames at 6400. I cannot imagine doing this with my original 1D. I never brought a strobe along, but things went just fine with a 50 ƒ/1.4 and 16-35 ƒ/2.8. I recorded audio for interviews, we shall see if that makes it into an audio slideshow sometime soon.

Along with about five other JO513 students, I shot the BU men’s basketball game at Agganis. Agganis games are worth celebrating, if you’ve ever shot in Case (Cave) Gymnasium.

Having shot my fair share of sports over the years, I’ve been trying to branch out a bit in my photo stories. However, this project would be the last weekly assignment for my JO513 career, and I really wanted to improve on my mediocre work at a soccer game earlier in the year.

I decided to include only one action shot, and an unusual one at that, because I just don’t like the standard action shots if I don’t have to use them. I’m decently happy with how I did, but I really wish I had been able to use my 1Ds Mark II (due back from Canon tomorrow!) for its autofocus. The 5D2 is superb in low light (I shot most of this at ISO 2000 or 2500) but its autofocus, even with an ƒ/2.8 lens, leaves a lot to be desired. It’s little-to-no improvement over the 20D. C’mon, Canon.

So without further ado, here is my story.

I went to the Boston Common several hours before the Veterans Day Parade to find a story. I wandered about and found the Veterans for Peace group that I had read about the night before. I knew I’d have a much better chance of making a cohesive story if I followed them, as they were not allowed to participate in the official American Legion Veterans Day Parade, so I could be with them as they marched.

I saw this man, Dudley Hartung, and was struck by how proud he seemed. He wore a custom “106th Tankers” jacket from the Korean War that looked like it had seen some use. I followed several other people, but when I did my edits I realized that I had to make my story about him. So here is my story.

Tech details:
5D Mark II with 16-35 ƒ/2.8L II, 24-70 ƒ/2.8L, 1D Mark II with 70-200 ƒ/2.8L, and a barely functioning 580EXII.

I joined the BU Vagiants (yes, that’s right) as they journeyed towards the Co-Ed Floor Hockey Championship that they attained in 2008. I probably had more fun shooting this than the countless Terrier men’s hockey games that I’ve shot.

I was able to shoot from the bench, which was a happy improvement from the penalty box that I’d expected to shoot from. The players were all passionate about the game, and their desire showed in a 3-2 win over the Little Brown Filipino Warriors.

Nerdy tech info: 5D Mark II, 1D Mark II, 16-35 ƒ/2.8L II, 70-200 ƒ/2.8L, 300 ƒ/2.8L IS. The lighting was dismal in the fitness center so the 5D2 was vital. It’s a formidable camera as long as it’s very, very dry.

Thanks for looking!
Brooks