At time when the news out of Mexico and Mexico City is rarely positive comes the intriguing story of the Mexican Suitcase, three cardboard boxes containing 4,300 negatives.  The work of three photographers; Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and David Seymour; the cases most likely made their way into the hands of a Mexican diplomat stationed in Marseille in the late 1930′s and then to Mexico.

Contained within the cases are images of the Spanish Civil War by two of the founding members of Magnum and, between the three photographers, what is seen as the foundation of modern war photography.

New York Times Article

Slideshow of Images from the Mexican Suitcase

Yesterday, Air Force One took in some of the tourists sites in New York Harbor, posing for a photo op, and sending workers scurrying out of buildings with memories of the low-flying planes on 9/11. All was okay; the mission pre-approved, but the planners were a bit too tight on the need-to-know protocol.

There is no mistaking Air Force One. Even though it’s a 747, the coloring announces itself instantly. According to Wikipedia there are two Air Force Ones – with whichever one the President is on getting the “One” distinction. Neither the President nor his staff were on the one buzzing New York Harbor yesterday.

I had a run-in with Air Force One once while photographing a very utilitarian building for an architecture firm. The place was the Atlantic City International Airport and the building is used to house snow removal equipment.

As I started to photograph Air Force One came in for a landing on the runway just behind the building. It only touched down and then took off again. Then it touched down again, took off, circled around, and started the process over. Enough times for me to get it into some images for the client.

SJTA Snow Removal Facility with Air Force One,

Atlantic City International Airport, Atlantic City, NJ, June, 2003

Click Image to See a Larger Version

It turns out that the A.C. airport serves many purposes – FAA Technical Center, Air Marshal Training Center, Air National Guard and Coast Guard Air bases, Space Shuttle Emergency landing site – and on the day I was there Air Force One practice site.

Earlier this week I noticed that one of the SuperDrives in my Mac Pro was acting funky. It saw any burned DVD as blank. I have *two SuperDrives in the computer so using the second drive confirmed the issues with the first. A call to Apple was in order. Normally, that’s not painful but as with any customer service you’ve got to navigate their phone menu and then hold until a rep is available. Want to avoid all that?

Apple now has a web page called, Apple Expert. Any time, 24/7, you can log in with your Apple ID, and choose a convenient time for them to call you. I requested 9:15am and an Applecare rep called me the next morning at 9:15am exactly. The Apple customer service experience was always very good but this kicks it up a few more notches.

The next day I had a new SuperDrive under a warranty exchange and I’ll ship the defective one back to them in the same box.

*In case you are wondering, why have two SuperDrives in a Mac Pro? Two speeds up burning & verifying time. I often have to get multiple DVD’s out the door, into FedEx, and make backups. You can run two SuperDrives at once (just duplicate Toast.)  Having the two drives in the computer also saves desktop space, frees up power outlets, and doesn’t tax the Firewire/USB bus at all.

Both galleries well worth a look:

Damon Winter/New York Times for his Campaign Coverage (feature photography)

Patrick Farrell/Miami Herald for his coverage of the devastation in Haiti (breaking news)

I met Damon this winter while covering the funeral of Cardinal Avery Dulles at St. Patrick’s in New York. Very nice, low-key guy. I had seen his campaign photo galleries already on the Times’ site. Beautiful work. I admired his ability to show up with barely a camera bag; might have been a pouch and one or two prime lenses. My client needed more coverage than that so I was weighted down with zooms, flash if needed, backup camera, etc.

Patrick Farrell’s images are full of emotion but be sure to turn up the volume and listen to his words. You will not be able to finish without sharing his pain and having a closer understanding of what the Haitian people endured.

New home page image (from the Monticello series) and a personal work gallery added over the weekend. The personal work gallery highlights recent work seen in the blog over the past few months.

In New York City last week to location scout.

New York, NY, April 9, 2009

Canon G10 Composite

Monticello is in the press a bit currently. A new education center is being dedicated there later this week. I happened to visit a week ago.

Monticello, Charlottesville, VA

April 6, 2009

Jefferson’s Spherical Sundial, Monticello, Charlottesville, VA

April 6, 2009

Railroad Tracks, Downtown Charlottesville

April 6, 2009

HD Marquee, Downtown Charlottesville

April 5, 2009