Urban Shield, Part I

A few weekends ago, Adm and I photographed an event in the Bay Area called Urban Shield for 5.11 Tactical. It was unlike any other experience I've had, and I'm so glad that I was able to do it. Urban Shield is a competition and training exercise that brings 24 of the best swat teams from around the country to the Bay Area to participate in a 48 hour straight series of various scenarios at 24 different locations. Adm and I tag-teamed the Livermore Police Department swat team by switching on and off in ten hour shifts at all hours of the day to cover each of their scenarios. This was such an eye-opening experience on many levels: I entered places I never would be able to get into, I learned to shoot through a large safety mask, and saw things I never get to see. The guys on the Livermore PD team were so nice and patient with me - I really have so much respect for what these guys do.

Here are a few photos from the weekend. I plan to post more later. Photos by Alison Yin

This was the first scenario for Livermore. It took place at Camp Parks military base in Dublin at 06:00, Saturday, September 13, 2008.



Here are the guys repelling down the side of Glen Dyer Jail in Oakland, Calif.





Police surveillance chase at the Fairmont Animal Shelter in San Leandro, Calif.



Lots of volunteers from all over Alameda County Sheriff's Department were called on to participate in the scenarios as evaluators, hostages, bad guys..... Here is a bad guy surrendering.



Keith at about his 40th straight hour, looking pretty tired at San Lorenzo High School in San Lorenzo, Calif.



The final scenario in Dublin, Calif., at about 04:00, Monday, September 15, 2008.

Fig in the Night

Alison is a thief. Yes, that is right. When Alison and I were at her mother’s house in Glendale for Labor Day, she stole figs from the neighbors, as yet, unpicked tree. The figs were just crowding the leaves so she helped them out with their fig problem. Susan, Alison’s mother, paired them with goat cheese and aged balsamic vinegar; the figs were great and it was all thanks to my climbing and stealing girlfriend.







Photos by Adm Golub

Cynthia and David Wedding Photos

Lately, I have been photographing more weddings, which is one of the new directions I'm heading towards. I really enjoy the spirit of weddings - everyone is abnormally happy and in a good mood, there is a lot of beauty, and I like the challenge and pressure of capturing significant moments. These are a few of my favorite photos from a recent wedding that I shot with Preston Davis. It was a really fun and interesting wedding because the bride, Cynthia, is from Kenya, and so a lot of her family flew out from Africa for the ceremony and therefore combined Kenyan traditions with American ones. Lots of color and energy. Photos by Alison Yin

Mementos from my father

I like finding little treasures from the past. The older I get, the more sentimental I feel. Recently, I went on a little treasure hunt while shooting for the Modesto Bee. Here are some things I found that my father left behind.

Recent Portraits 2

More portraits from the recent archives.

This is my uncle John.



Lucille Burkhart turned 100 years old on August 10.



Amelia Marshall just co-authored "Oakland Equestrian History" with Terry Tobey, and she poses for a photograph with Dee, a Paint mare, at Skyline Ranch in Oakland.



This is Ray Chavez, staff photographer for the Oakland Tribune.



Photos by Alison Yin

Recent Portraits 1

Here are some portraits that I made recently.
This is Chad Lewis, the co-founder and CEO of Eldr Magazine.





This is Jessie Lorenz who has been blind from birth and is heading this summer to Beijing to compete for a gold medal on the women's Goalball team at the Paralympic Games.



This is Keba Konte, an artist and photographer in Oakland.



More to come later. Photos by Alison Yin

Movie Night

While Alison was working late one night for the Trib, Seal, Salami and I stayed in to watch some movies and eat some Goldfish.



Photo by Adm Golub

Jakob Dylan, Jakob Dylan

While Alison was photographing Outside Lands in San Francisco, I shot a small intimate concert with Jakob Dylan at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto. I had to shoot from the sound booth in the back, and I don't feel very strongly about the images I made. The angle was steeper than I wanted, and I was only able to photograph the first two songs. Furthermore, Dylan is not the most expressive performer. I am used to shooting a lot of indie shows where my only restriction is to not knock anything over on stage. If you have any thoughts on which is the stronger image or just want to complain about shooting at certain venues, feel free to comment.





By the way, Jakob Dylan was amazing.
(Adm Golub/ The Modesto Bee)

UNC: Andaman Rising

At least once a year, UNC's visual journalism program works on a collaborative project abroad somewhere to create a documentary multimedia website. Back in the summer of 2006, I participated on a site about the Atacama Desert in Chile. Now, I'd like to share the latest project that UNC has produced: Andaman Rising, which looks at life after the 2004 tsunami in Thailand.

Based out of a village next to the Andaman Sea, students used photos, audio, video, graphics and design to craft cultural snapshots of a region that has risen above tragedy. Working with a team of Thai translators, they documented the story of a teenage cross-dresser in a traditional Muslim community, the narrative of an illegal immigrant family from Myanmar, and the spiritual transformation of a young monk. This is the culmination of work from 14 JOMC students, five professional coaches and direction from my professor Pat Davison.

There is a lot of content on the site, so I encourage you to look at it when you have at least a few moments.

PhotoShelter Prints Beta

One of my photos was chosen to be part of a new project at PhotoShelter where they are temporarily offering art prints for sale. Click the photo to see all the prints.



Here is the blurb about the project from PhotoShelter:

"Who wouldn't want to be responsible for discovering great art? At PhotoShelter, we have a lucky team of photo editors who spend their entire day reviewing thousands of image submissions from photographers worldwide. Since we launched The PhotoShelter Collection, our stock photo marketplace, our editors have spent one full year pouring over 4,000 new images every day. Along the way, we've uncovered some exceptional art photos that defy the typical notion of stock photography. And, visitors to PhotoShelter — mostly professional designers and photo buyers — apparently feel the same way because they keep asking us for art prints. PhotoShelter Prints is our answer.

Now through October 1, we're offering a limited opportunity to obtain prints from a select group of PhotoShelter photographers. Curated by our photo editors, these gallery quality images embody the freshness and authenticity you've come to expect from The PhotoShelter Collection, now in print."

Thanks for looking!

Greeley Hill

A few weeks ago, Adm and I went to Greeley Hill, which is in the mountains near Yosemite, to stay with Adm's parents for a few days. Photos by Alison Yin









Early morning self-portrait: