unity.

to start off a whirlwind two weeks of jetsetting across the country for no real reason, i went to the UNITY conference in chicago, il, to learn more about the business, be inspired, talk to people about the state of the industry... and most importantly, to shoot.

i find myself a little out of my element at conferences, trying to make a good first impression on the movers and shakers in the journalism world. so when i don't know what to do with myself, i take refuge behind my camera. luckily, UNITY has a shoot-out for photographers and other journalists, giving us just about 48 hours to explore the city and take some pictures along a theme. this year's them was "diversity in chicago" so i split from the conference for an entire day to wander humboldt park, known as a largely puerto rican community that is dealing with impending gentrification. not the best work ever, not the best work for 24 hours wandering the streets, but there's nothing like talking to folks about their daily lives and sitting in the livingrooms of strangers to ground you when the going gets rough.
more to come from adventures in DC and St. Petersburg.

escape.

partly to celebrate my 23rd birthday and partly to escape everything i've been carefully juggling for the last few months, i hitched a ride with friend and fellow photographer heidi huber to portland, oregon, to visit friends and talk photo. thanks much to the incredible hospitality of sol neelman and thomas patterson. and bruce, true to our conversation, i will find a way to save us all.

so here are a few photos. and back to real life.