Steady Footsteps

Virginia Lockett, of Steady Footsteps, works with an autistic boy, Muhn.

Working with Steady Footsteps at a children's school for the disabled in Da Nang.
-more updates coming soon-

Good Morning Vietnam

5am on a Da Nang beach in the early morning light.
In a terrible guest house with no hot water. Hard pillows. & not much else around for miles. Just Patrick & I.
Hungry. Broke. & a little homesick for Mom's home-made meatloaf.
(home-made anything really..)

Lucky.
for everything I've seen & experienced thus far.
& everything I will experience until I fly home in February.
I'm incredibly lucky. So, so incredibly lucky.

Looking out onto the ocean, realizing California and everything I tried so hard to distance myself from is out there somewhere.
Everything has come together & fallen apart in the past two months... I've lost most, & won few.

I wouldn't change a damn thing.

Vietnamese Chess

Elderly Vietnamese men gather at the Ngoc Son Temple on the Hoan Kiem lake every afternoon to play in friendly matches of this version of chess. Often getting quite heated, they always keep the competition good-natured. You don't need a translation to understand the jokes being thrown back and forth.

Yi Peng in Thailand

Revelers of the traditional Thai festival, Yi Peng, held on the full moon of the second month of the ancient Lanna Calender, release paper lanterns into the sky in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. The ancient capital of the former Lanna kingdom, where now both Loi Krathong and Yi Peng are celebrated at the same time, result in paper lanterns being lit and floral boats floating on the waters.

Another night spent shooting the festival in Thailand...

Happiness is infectious. & smiling is contagious.

Loi Krathong in Thailand

Revelers of the traditional Thai festival, Loy Krathong, release "krathongs," or homemade boats, into the Ping River in Chiang Mai, Thailand on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2010. The floral floats are lit with incense and candles and released at a river as a symbol of good luck and to mark a fresh beginning to life.

The Festival of Light in Thailand...
If I could bottle up this kind of eyelight, carry it with me and have it on every poor day of shooting? My life shooting would just be incredible.

Despite being covered in mosquito bites and the possible gamble of contracting malaria, the quiet moments observed by the river... Watching the Thai people offer their prayers into the river with their krathongs, filled with good wishes and hopes for the year to come, while shooting, was like offering my own prayers with each photo of a small floral boat taken... in hopes of a better year, filled with better things for me and better wishes, to come.

The Flood

My journey on the train was cut quite short when landslides damaged the rail lines and left no way to pass through the central part of the country, foundering our train south of Nha Trang. With the oh so kind help of Vietnamese law enforcement (I use that word lightly), we were shuttled into small, miserable buses to traverse the flooded roads to the next station.
I can say with complete confidence that Vietnamese buses can also double as small flotation devices when necessary.

I spent my Halloween wading through knee-deep water throughout the city of Nha Trang, shooting the flood in a torrential downpour... Praying to the Photo Gods' that my homemade rain cover from my only poncho, which of course was covering my camera and not myself, held up against the weather.

Finding something endearing about the clumsy American girl snapping their photos, soaked to the bone in the pouring rain with no jacket... I wanted to make myself as raw and exposed to the elements as they were in flimsy ponchos, doing nothing to keep out the inevitable rain. You can't ask someone for access, if you guard yourself literally... or figuratively, from what they endure.

No communication necessary, no similar language to exchange, just one smile & one nod to the camera. Seeing something genuine in my determination to brave the downpour photographing their efforts on the beach that day.

Xin Chao from Vietnam

A thirty-four hour train ride spent on the way to Hanoi from Ho Chi Minh City with new friends.

I chose to take the journey in the cabin in traditional Vietnamese fashion, in a soft sleeping chair in the crowded train cabin.
Despite the obvious language and cultural differences, the family I sat next to was incredibly kind. They shared their dinner with me, hardly knowing who I was but speaking enough English to inquire about my travel plans and where I was from. Calling me "beautiful girl" several times, one of the younger sons insisted I drink wine with them.

A smile is universal. No translation is needed, genuine expression resonates with every language.

Farmer's Market

Sabrina Bohn, owner of Sheer Rock Farms located in Santa Paula uses a common farming tool to replant a crop of radishes that failed to grow weeks before on Saturday, September 11, 2010 in Santa Paula, Calif. Kale, two species of beets, and radishes are the staple crop grown on the 19 acres of Sheer Rock Farms (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010).





Sabrina Bohn and day-worker, Tivo Juarez, groom a crop of radishes of weeds and dead plants on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at Sheer Rock Farms in Santa Paula, Calif. Bohn, with her husband and two day-workers, perform all the daily labor tasks required to maintain and groom 19 acres of farming property (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010).



Sabrina Bohn, owner of Sheer Rock Farms located in Santa Paula, examines a breed of hybrid tomatoes to be sold the following day at the Montrose Harvest Market in Montrose, Calif., on Saturday evening, September 11, 2010 on their farm property in Santa Paula, Calif. With help from husband, Kurt Bohn, they travel around Los Angeles to four weekly farmer's markets selling their organically grown produce (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010).



Sabrina Bohn tidies up her produce booth at the Friday's farmers market near Echo Park in Los Angeles, Calif., on Friday, September 10, 2010. With a background in interior design, Bohn places a special emphasis on the presentation of her produce booth; using wicker baskets and print table clothes to only further the appeal of her crop (PHOTOS BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010).



Farmer's Market from Picture Story... The dreaded assignment.
However, I absolutely loved this project and had a lot of fun shooting it. It allowed me to truly do what I enjoy and spend a great deal of time with my subjects making a story, rather than just shooting singles in a day and abruptly entering and exiting someone's life.

Sequence

First-year Brooks Institute of Photography film student Parker Worthington, 19, prepares to launch into the air to perform a "kick flip" skate trick where the skateboard pops and the skater must travel with the board on Sunday, September 12, 2010 in Oxnard, Calif. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010).





My sequence for Picture Story...
I had fun with this and wanted to try something interesting with fill flash. I love guerilla skateboarding.

Documentary Class

Local surf board maker and shaper, Dennis Ryder builds a hand-crafted surf board in his Ventura studio at home on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010 in Ventura, Calif. Ryder, who has building boards since the age of thirteen, creates custom made surf boards. (Photo by L.M. Parr/ Brooks Institute ©2010)




Some stills taken during the making of our final film for DOC270 class.
Definitely went a little crazy only being able to shoot video, & I had to get the itch for the shutter out.

Goodluck & God Speed

"Goodluck & God Speed" feature film, created as a portfolio piece by Brooks graduate Zachary Groll.

Directed by Zach Groll & Director of Photography, Juan Carlos Amaya

Breaking Jam

Performing a break dancing routine, Saul Ochoa, 21, of Stushii Doshii break dancing crew, dances in the second round of the two-on-two competition on Friday, June 4, 2010 at the "New Skool, New Krew" breaker jam in Orange County, Calif., at the Tesoro High School cafeteria. Ochoa, and dance partner Kevin Pascual placed first in the two-on-two category. (Photo by L.M. Parr/ Brooks Institute ©2010)

First Picture Story

Richard Parent often performs at home with his Yamaha concert piano for his wife and family when he's not volunteering his music for seniors on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Parent began playing the piano in the early 1930s under the tutelage of his aunt. (Photo by L.M. Parr/ Brooks Institute ©2010)

Environment Portraits

Aerial ballet artist, Lauren LiBrandi, 24, poses for a portrait with her aerial silks at the J.J. Aerial Gym and Practice Space in Van Nuys, Calif., on Monday, June 7, 2010. LiBrandi, a professionally trained ballerina, has been performing aerial ballet for the last three years, incorporating her stunts into her break dancing routines. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

Finally had the chance to play & experiment with dynalites in my PJN204 class to create environmental portraits. Although setting up can be quite cumbersome, I really enjoying using these studio strobes.

Aerial Ballet

Aerial ballet artist, Lauren LiBrandi, 24, practices her aerial silks at the J.J. Aerial Gym and Practice Space in Van Nuys, Calif., on Monday, June 7, 2010. LiBrandi, a professionally trained ballerina, has been performing aerial ballet for the last three years, incorporating her stunts into her break dancing routines. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

Enreverie Music Video

Another music video set I spent time on at Brooks shooting on-set photography for. A San Diego based band, Enreverie, filmed their music video for "ashes" on campus.

I spent a few hours shooting, & wished I could have spent more time but filming for DOC class had to take priority, unfortunately. I've finally gotten around to toning and editing down the images I shot months ago.

Directed by Tim Kochs & Director of Photography, Kevin Huang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiD6Ur1eF_U

Fourth of July

slow shutter speed. let 'er rip.

Sports Features

Some feature photos taken at the Cal State Fullerton baseball game in between play.

Staples Center Protest

Protesting statements made by Los Angeles Lakers coach, Phil Jackson, supporting the SB1070 Arizona immigration bill, demonstrators rally in front of the Staples Center as the Lakers take on the Phoenix Suns in Game One of the Western Conference Finals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs on Monday, May 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, Calif. Jackson has fallen under heavy fire for publicly supporting Arizona's new immigration law. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

A protest from a while ago I had shot outside the Staples Center. My first experience of SB1070 and the emotion it invokes in people who both vehemently support, and disagree, with it.

Jump Off

The Midnight Madness tournament at Ventura College...
10pm until 2am shooting nothing but basketball, definitely a good experience

Arlington West Memorial

Celebrating the lives of soldiers' lost in the United States occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arlington West memorial appears each Sunday from sunrise to sunset on the beach of the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif., maintained by the Veterans of Peace volunteers. Each white cross placed on the beach represents one military personnel killed in the war. (Photo by L.M. Parr/ Brooks Institute ©2010)

Arlington West in Santa Monica with a good friend from school.
A somber experience, and a Brooks rite of passage.

Cal State Fullerton v. Northridge

Cal State fullerton junior, Corey Jones #1, rounding second base during Senior Day 2010 against the Cal State Northridge Matadors on Sunday, May 30, 2010 at Goodwin Field at Cal State Fullerton University in Fullerton, Calif. Winning 15-4 against the Matadors, the win was Fullerton's seventh in a row and 23rd in 25 games to improve to 41-15 and 21-3 for the Big West title. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

My first time shooting baseball at the Cal State Fullerton Titan Stadium. Baseball is definitely not the easiest sport to shoot so I stuck with the basic CYA shots, hopefully I can improve on my next few attempts shooting.

Got some great photos of the team and got to meet the legendary Matt Brown, not too shabby of a day at the office, if I do say so myself.

SB1070 in Phoenix

Marching through downtown Phoenix, protestors organized a rally against Arizona's controversial SB1070 law, allowing authorities to ask for proof of citizenship when given probable cause. Saturday, May 29, 2010, the National Day of Action Against SB1070, 50, 000 activists marched the five miles to the Arizona state capital demanding that President Barack Obama repeal the law on May 29, 2010 in Phoenix, Ariz. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

Deciding in a matter of hours to jump in my car and make the crazy seven hour drive to Phoenix, Arizona for the SB1070 Immigration Protest, I have to say I'm generally happy with the results of my photos. This was my first protest on a large scale.

I made the conscious decision to under-lens myself, with only a 16-35mm on my camera, pushing myself to interact with the crowd and step out of my comfort zone and truly understand the raw emotions of the protestors through my photos. I knew bringing a 70-200mm with me would only serve as a crutch, allowing me to shoot from a distance.

Marching with these people, listening to their chants and sharing their emotions on the five mile march to the capital really altered my view of this issue. I experienced their joys and their passion for this issue in the two days spent in downtown Phoenix.

Alternative Sports

Competing in the Gold Coast 3 Hunter Jumper Show, # 208 Lauren Guilterez, aboard "Hampton," clears the final double oxer on Friday, May 21, 2010 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank, Calif. Guillterez finished third in her Open Working Hunter class. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

My first attempt at shooting alternative sports for class.

The Los Angeles Equestrian Center may be my new home, for the time being. I'm in love with shooting equestrian sports after this weekend. What was originally just an assignment turned into a complete obsession over the period of three days, striving to get the best possible photos before deadline.

I will definitely be back to shoot at this place again.

Renaissance Faire in Irwindale

Sir Roger North, portrayed by Matthew Karrel, performs at the Queens' Court on Sunday, May 16, 2010 at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale, Calif. Karrel's character, based on an actual man in the Tudor Court, specialized in both vocal and theatre arts. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

Queen Elizabeth I passes through the MayDay crowd with the Queens' Court at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire on Saturday, May 15, 2010 in Irwindale, Calif. The Faire recreates the original MayDay festivities, educating the public on medieval traditions. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

Robert Moshier, store-owner of Ananda Trader, explains to customers the beneficial uses of particular incense scents at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire on Sunday, May 16, 2010 in Irwindale, Calif. Ananda, meaning bliss in Sanskrit, specializes in Eastern European practices. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

Retired ships' musician Bugle Biggins relaxes while playing his penny whistle on Sunday, May 16, 2010 at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale, Calif. Biggins has been playing the medieval-style flute for 13 years. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

Thomas Thorne and Mary Everett wash the days dishes after closing on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale, Calif. The Faire recreates the original MayDay festivities, educating the public on medieval traditions. (PHOTO BY L.M. PARR/ BROOKS INSTITUTE ©2010)

An event coverage assignment from my first Photojournalism class PJN204.

The Renaissance Faire in Irwindale was an absolute blast, and the people could not have been kinder. A series of singles turned into three weekends of continuous shooting spent, ensuring the event had been covered thoroughly. This assignment definitely inspired a future story I want to pursue in 2011 about this Faire.

Adult Entertainment Feature

A few stills from a student feature being filmed at Brooks... A porn parody called "Adult Entertainment."

Art is What You Can Get Away With.

& I'm attempting mass murder.

Machine 22 Music Video

A few selects of my On-set photography stills taken from the "Citizen Zero" Music Video shoot for the band, Machine 22. I really had a lot of fun being involved with this video, it was by far one of the best sets I've had the pleasure of working on while at Brooks.

Working around a crew that was as passionate about film as the band was about playing, made my job there incredibly easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4Zp6phVyhc

Directed by Nate Wehrman & Director of Photography, Kenny Keeler.

A NoTown Media Production ©2010