I recently accompanied Jay and some others to a tree-lined pavilion of sorts in between university housing complexes in the U District and watched them re-purpose a thrown-out couch and set up for the night. Today I sort of rethought this young adult homelessness project after checking out a fascinating recent article in the NYTimes magazine about today’s 20-somethings, how cultural and economic forces have conspired to render them needing additional support and time to figure it all out, find work, become adults, become financially independent. For those with families and safety nets it can be space and opportunity to find a better-fitting path in life. But for those without…? It would seem they are missing a critical incubation period, this second adolescence, and perhaps demarcating the difference between wander and flounder. If career paths now require, on top of highshcool diplomas and college degrees, this new period of family-supported, pre-adult, post-education exploration, those who dropped out early are that much more disenfranchised.
Sleeping out
Shane
More work on the SPU/Gates/IWest homeless youth project. See below.
Tony
I’m glad to be starting some meaningful work for IWest with indirect funding from the SPU/ Gates homelessness grant. We’ll be looking at youth in Seattle and on the Eastside. Hung out with Tony today, homeless and on dialysis: a thoroughly unforgiving combination.
Engagement photos, Rachel & Arthur
There aren’t too many places nicer than Discovery Park for the ol’ mid summer sunset portrait session. A fine evening indeed, and I’m really glad we rescheduled from June when it was still raining and barely above 50. Rachel and Arthur thanks for being up for all my ideas. You look great!
Kendall Catwalk
Day hike near Snoqualimie Pass, Washington, up Commonwealth Basin, past Red Mountain and Kendall Peak, lunch at the catwalk.
Body work
So what I loved about this shoot was going overtime and making it up by getting my own session. Structural bodyworker Toni Natoli knows what she’s doing (voted best massage therapist, Seattle Weekly 2005). I was crooked. Now I am straight. These pictures will be used for her new website and marketing materials. We wanted to convey the physical aspects of her work, but also the connectedness she has with her clients.
Foundation work promo book
I just sent this book to print, a collection of images from my first two stints of an ongoing series documenting American poverty for the Marguerite Casey Foundation. My hope is to share this book with other foundations/non-profits in effort to get involved with and inspire other projects.
Finalists!!
I got a text from Claudia Rowe with the news, a letter arriving from the Center for Documentary Studies, indicating that our rural gang application for the prestigious Dorthea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize made it to the finalists round of 12. Pretty cool, a nice gust of encouragement.
I-West on PBS, in Seattle Times
Carol Smith’s powerful story about chemo drugs and the health hazards they pose to those who handle them, along with still images and video that I shot, recently appeared on PBS Newshour, KCTS 9, MSNBC, in The Seattle Times, and a few other places. A big step forward for InvestigateWest as they seek partnerships with established media outlets in and beyond the Pacific Northwest. Related: The Columbia Journalism review’s recently published article about I-West.
Boat camping, Lake Chelan
The finest lake camping in north america, is what I believe the old surfer told us before diving deep along the angled boat ramp into the coldest, cleanest water. 60 feet of visibility. 55 miles long. 1500 feet deep. No road access beyond 25 mile state park, just a dozen or so well-kept primitive campsites with docks and the kind of solitude and staggering beauty one can scarcely expect to come across these days without a sea plane or a week’s worth of travel. For us…15 hours after shooting a wedding and a night in the mountains near Leavenworth we were there, our senses delighted, taking her in…Amazing trip.
by Mike Kane
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