May 2008 Archives

Two excellent photos come to the Photo of the Day. The first, by staff photographer Leo Jarzomb, catches a dive at the plate. The caption reads: La Serna High's Branden Montoya dives for the winning run at home plate as the Crespi High catcher Jeremy Rodriguez struggles to control the throw in the CIF Southern Section playoff. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb/SGVN)

The second comes from staff photographer Keith Birmingham who shot a bunch of photos from the release of a peregrine falcon. The caption reads: Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA's Steven R. McNall holds the four week old peregrine falcon before being released from the twelfth floor of the AT&T building in Pasadena. (Photo Keith Birmingham/SGVN)

This comes from staff photographer Watchara Phomicinda. The caption reads: Candlelit circumbulation during Vesak Day Candlelight Ceremony for World Peace at the Dhammakaya International Meditation Center in Azusa on Monday night. Vesak Day is the most important Buddhist festival which marks the birth, enlightment and the passing away of the Buddha. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda/SGVN)

If you want to see all of the photos from the Photo of the Day, grab this widget. It's a slide show of all the photos selected as the Photo of the Day. Soon, it will be hundreds of photos, some of the best shot by the photo staff at the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group.

A goofy moment from the Renaissance Pleasure Faire from correspondent David Pardo. The caption reads: Dan Rutherford has a fun moment with characters from The Renaissance Pleasure Faire as it came to a close on its final day on Sunday at the Santa Fe Dam in Irwindale. (Photo by David Pardo/Correspondent)

You've seen hurdles from above the hurdle before. Staff photographer Keith Birmingham took a look at what you see below. The caption reads: Whittier Christian's Kyle Clark competed 110 high hurdles during the CIF Track and Field Finals at Mt. SAC in Walnut. (Photo Keith Birmingham/SGVN)

Excellent baseball action shot by Sarah Reingewirtz is the Photo of the Day. The caption reads: Northview's Rich Pedroza throws a ball to first contributing to an out during Friday's game against Beverly Hills at Northview in Covina. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/SGVN)

A beautiful, and most unusual photo by Keith Birmingham. Keith's sports portraiture is one of his signatures. He took that talent to a new height. The caption reads: Bronwyn Reed, at her Pasadena home, sits on her four hundred year-old plus bed from the City of Stratford-upon-Avon South Warwickshire, England which is the home of William Shakespeare. Reed, a student at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, won the 2008 National Shakespeare Competition. (Photo Keith Birmingham/SGVN)

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I usually don't look at the pro sports photos for our little feature, but I considered the photos by Keith Birmingham from the Laker game since they are always good. Take a look at his photo gallery at our Web site, and he made a slide show too. The caption reads: Laker Ronny Turiaf, #2, fights for the ball with Utah Jazz Paul Millsap, #24, in the second quarter during game five of the Western Conference Semi final playoff's between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, SGVN)

Keith Birmingham, sports photographer extraordinaire, keeps the greatness going with this photo from a local high school baseball game. The caption reads: Schurr's center fielder Rudy Jordan dives but just misses a double by Cal's Enrique Murillo in the third inning during a Division III Wild Card game between Schurr and California High at California High School. Schurr beat Cal 3-2. (Photo Keith Birmingham/SGVN)

A simple idea on a day when there weren't too many photos to work with. The caption reads: Rafael Bolanos, a processing supervisor, shows how cord blood is stored in Liquid Nitrogen tanks at StemCyte during their opening ceremony of their Covina facility. The company, founded in 1997, has the ability to store up to 75,000 units of cord blood for transplants. (Staff Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/SGVN)

Another photo by Sarah. Simple photo, but check out the toenails. The caption reads: An Unsyncable goes under the water with ballet legs as the group does drills at Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center. The synchronized swimming group was founded in Pasadena in 1985 and has won the Natioinal Championship six times since 1997 and is the current U.S. Masters National Champions. The members are from age 20-89. (Staff photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/SGVN)

This photo just made me smile. Looks like the small dog will be the other dog's snack. The caption reads: Bullet, a 2-year-old pit bull, and Alvin, a 6-month old mutt, meet up during A Dog Walk-A-Thon at Azusa High School's softball field. The event was put on by CSF students to raise money for Guide Dogs of America. (Staff photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/SGVN)

Staff photographer Walt Mancini spent some time with this centennarian last week. He got this photo that will mean a lot to the family as the generations grow. The caption reads: Sayne Davis, 2, gives her 4th generation grandmother Teola Davis a kiss. Teola Davis is 103-years-old and will be celebrating her 104th birthday August 27, 2008. Church members of Jubilee Christian Faith Center in Pasadena, where Teola is a member, have honored her as "Mother of the Year". (Staff photo by Walt Mancini/SGVN)

Staff photographer Watchara Phomicinda was sent out to Covina to cover this assignment. The caption reads: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall stands at Covina Park on Thursday evening. The Moving Wall is a replica of a Vietnam Veterans Memorial found in Washington DC. (Watchara Phomicinda, SGVN)

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This photo comes from correspondent Mike Mullen, formerly a staff photographer for our newspaper group. The caption reads: South Pasadena High School stand-out freestyle swimmer, Anders McCarthy, 17, at practice in the school's aquatic center.

I had the opportunity to speak with the journalism class at PCC yesterday, asked to talk about multimedia and where newspapers are going. We are at a seed change about we acquire news and distribute it. From the conversation I had with the students and staff, it isn't only newspapers who will have to change.

Journalism departments around the country, if their ears are to the ground and looking at newspaper Web sites, are seeing more and more online video. Newspapers, ours in particular, have quickly moved into the world of video. Interviews, game action, profiles, stories... you name it and we'll likely be there with cameras.

The surprise that I sprung on the students is that a lot of video is being shot by reporters, not just the photographers. Two reporter applicants, with equal reporting abilities will find it a lot easier to get the interest of an editor if they can shoot and edit video too. This is also true of photographers.

When I was in school, video wasn't even a consideration unless you went into broadcast journalism. We didn't have video cameras in the newsroom until a little over two years ago. Now we have quite a few of them and we're very close to putting together the ability for streaming live remote video.

Today's journalist should learn video. They should learn to shoot a story and take notes at the same time; how to edit a video and get a story written by deadline; troubleshoot when the microphone isn't working. Where should they get the experience. In school. It starts in school.

Rachel Fermi, the photography instructor at PCC is already on track with the multimedia projects she's introducing. Students are creating online slideshows using primarily photos and high-quality audio to tell a story. She agrees the next step is video.

I think gone are the days of push-back from the traditional journalist. I still hear it today that it's too difficult to balance the demands of a camera and a video camera, or a reporter saying they still have to write a story, how are they going to edit the video.

The old ways are dying hard, but they are also dying fast.

This photo by Keith Birmingham was an attempt to try out the features of a Nikon D3 camera he borrowed. Our new Photo Editor Bernardo Alps isn't too keen on photo illustrations being shot for game coverage, one of the reasons it didn't. The multiple exposure effect, while not perfect, isn't bad. Here's the caption: Multiple exposure of San Marino's Trevor Dority #42 pitches in the fourth inning during a baseball game between San Marino and Monrovia at Monrovia high School.

Sarah Reingewirtz put a lot of information into this photo. The multiple flags and the ceremony really come together. The caption reads: AMVET Post 113 holds a military service for Juan Paderes Marquez at his gravesite on what would of been his 100th birthday at Forest Lawn Covina Hills. Marquez, who served in the Texas National Guard from 1930-39 and moved to Baldwin Park in 1945, died in 1986 without a veteran soldier's burial.

The Cinco de Mayo celebration at Whittier Narrows is an annual event that draws thousands. Sarah Reingewirtz got behind the performers for this photo. The caption reads: Efren Aguilar, of El Tigrillo Palma, performs to a large crowd during a Cinco de Mayo Festival at Whittier Narrows Regional Park in South El Monte Sunday, May 4, 2008. A large crowd watched top Latin billboard acts throughout the day.

Sarah Reingewirtz did a nice job with kind of a corny idea. The caption reads: From left, Lois Matthews, chairman of the Huntington Hospital board, Frtitz Coleman, KNBC weatherman, and Suzanna Guzman, of the LA Opera, pose Saturday night during the Wellness Community "Believe In Magic" 16th Annual Angel Gala in Pasadena.

All that's needed is a trapeze. All they needed was muscles and a lot of fearlessness to put together the act. Correspondent David Pardo got this image of the action. The caption reads: Wrestlers from Empire Wrestling Federation of San Bernardino, wrestle at the 12th anniversary extravaganza wrestling show at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Covina.

We had been following this story for a couple days and it came to a head on Thursday as people who put down a deposit found the house was not available. Staff photographer Raul Roa shot the photo. The caption reads: Some of the people who were scammed out of $2,400 as deposit to rent the Covina house in background wait for information from L.A. County Human Services Department. The homeowner reportedly rented the house at 5441 Calera Ave. to as many as 50 families, who were supposed to start moving in from today up to June 15, 2008. According to officials, the owner, who placed the rental ad on Craigslist, cannot be located.