StoryCorps in SLC: Photos from Opening Day

With the help of local NPR affiliate KCPW and its StoryCorps sponsors (including Calanan Photography) the StoryCorps in SLC team kicked off their 6-week stay with a recording of local businessman/celebrity Ken Sanders and his interviewer, Scott Carrier:



A crowd (including a class on a field trip from Realms of Inquiry) gathered to hear speeches from KCPW's Ed Sweeney:



...from SLC Mayor Ralph Becker



...and from the StoryCorps team of Whitney Henry-Lester, Anna Walters and Jeremy Helton. Here is StoryCorps MobileBooth Site Supervisor Whitney Henry-Lester being interviewed by Salt Lake's local Fox affiliate:



StoryCorps in SLC's second recording was of Anna Zumwalt, Gretel Zumwalt and Troy Hart - here they are waiting for their turn in the MobileBooth with KCPW's Andrea Ashbridge:



...and here are Gretel and Anna in the booth, sharing a moment just before their recording began:



Here's the StoryCorps MobileBooth:



Here's a slideshow of my ongoing photo gallery of the StoryCorps stay in SLC - I'll be adding more to this over the course of their 6-week stay:



Finally, the Deseret News has a story on this event at "StoryCorps adding Utahns' tales to touring collection".

In other Wasatch Woman news...

Speaking of Wasatch Woman Magazine, here are some sneak previews of the May/June issue, which is focusing on the theme of sisterhood.

First is an article on up-and-coming Food Network star and chef, Kelsey Nixon with her sister, Kylie Nixon at the Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. An outtake that wasn't selected for the article:



Nikon D700
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
Nikon SB-800, camera right, diffuser dome, triggered via CLS
Nikon SB-600, camera left, diffuser dome, triggered via CLS

I also brought along my vintage medium format Yashica Mat 124 and snapped some behind-the-scenes shots, here's one of Kelsey and Kylie being styled in the Grand America's courtyard:



Yashica Mat 124
Yashinon 80mm f/3.5
Fuji Pro 160S

And in another article a locally-owned boutique in the 9th & 9th district features sisters Sheridan Mordue Larsen and Suzette Mordue Eaton. Again, here's an outtake from the shoot that wasn't selected to run with the article.



Hip and Humble
9th & 9th Neighborhood
Salt Lake City, UT

Nikon D700
Tokina 12-24mm f/4
Nikon SB-800 fired via CLS

Wasatch Woman Magazine - Mar/Apr 2009 Issue

Hey-howdy! Just sharing some recent work, my second cover with Wasatch Woman Magazine is of the Utah Charter School Teacher of the Year, Andrea Johnson at the Utah State Capitol.



Nikon D700
Tokina 12-24mm f/4

Also used in Andrea's article is this photo, which was shot in the Capitol's lower level.



Be sure to read Andrea's inspirational story, "Engaging Minds" at WasatchWoman.com!

StoryCorps comes to SLC!

Anna unlocking the airstream, originally uploaded by calanan.

Salt Lake City and County Building
Salt Lake City, UT

The StoryCorps team and their beloved airstream braved the snows to reach Salt Lake City, UT this afternoon, parking their mobile recording studio in front of the Salt Lake City and County Building for their 6-week stay.

StoryCorps is hosted by the local NPR affiliate KCPW and my company, Calanan Photography, LLC is one of the local sponsors. I'll be providing photographic documentation services throughout the StoryCorps visit to Salt Lake City.

Here's a Flickr slideshow of the arrival of StoryCorps' mobile recording airstream at the Salt Lake City and County Building.

What is StoryCorps?

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening.

By recording the stories of our lives with the people we care about, we experience our history, hopes, and humanity. Since 2003, tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to take home and share, and is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. Millions listen to our award-winning broadcasts on public radio and the Internet. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, creating a growing portrait of who we really are as Americans.

Opening Day Ceremony and Celebration Open to the Public!

Please join KPCW, and local sponsors and partners in welcoming the StoryCorps team: Whitney Henry Lester, Jeremy Helton, and Anna Walters to Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 26th!  

An Opening Day Ceremony and Celebration will take place at Washington Square Park, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM. 

Festivities include a welcome by Mayor Ralph Becker, tours of the StoryCorps MobileBooth, and a chance to meet and hear from  local sponsors and partners, friends of the project, and the first 2 interview parties: Ken Sanders & Scott Carrier, and Jack Gallivan & grandson Duffy Gallivan.

The event is free of charge, and open to the public.

Learn more about StoryCorps in Salt Lake City's local sponsors and partners at http://www.kcpw.org/storycorps

.h is for habitus.

.h is for habitus., originally uploaded by calanan.

Salt Lake City, UT

Nikon D700
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

[Part of my "Drive-By Shootings" street photography series]

The Lager Family at Liberty Park

Nat and McKenna, originally uploaded by calanan.

Here's a little slideshow with some of my faves from a recent afternoon at Liberty Park, Salt Lake City, UT with a great family.



Here's the set on Flickr.

.u is for unguis.

.u is for unguis., originally uploaded by calanan.

A rare windy day in the SLC.

Salt Lake City, UT

Nikon D700
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

[Part of my "Drive-By Shootings" street photography series]

Open call for participants - "This Is Their Place"

Hello, dear readers...if you or someone you know is living in the greater Salt Lake City, UT area and are interested in participating in my "This Is Their Place" interview and portrait project please drop me a line!

Here's a link to the project's site:

This Is Their Place

...and here's some more some information about the project:

On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young and the first Mormon pioneers exited Emigration Canyon and saw the Great Salt Lake Valley. The phrase "This is the place" is attributed to Brigham Young as he declared that the valley would become their new home.

This series features residents of the Salt Lake Valley - natives and modern-day "pioneers" alike - who wish to share their own place of significance.

The title "This Is Their Place" is a play on Brigham Young's famous phrase "This is the place"[wikipedia], as stated when he first saw the Great Salt Lake Valley.

The idea behind the project is to create portrait/interview sessions of locals who wish to share the story of their own place of significance, be it a positive or a negative association: The place where a marriage proposal was accepted; The place where love was lost; The place where someone found God; The last place one's stolen car was parked; Where someone won the lottery; Where someone was struck by lighting; and so on.

As a relative newcomer to Salt Lake City I started this project as a way to meet new people, see some interesting places and share those experiences with others.

Some of those people and places have included:

Jesse Harding at the "Living Room" up in Red Butte Canyon



Jake O'Connor at the Main Library



Sarah Nielson (and Daisy) at Liberty Lake/Liberty Park



Qualifications for participation

My guidelines for agreeing to a location are: The location should be within the Salt Lake Valley; No specific location can be used for more than one profile; The location must be publicly-accessible (preferably free).

Participants must be of legal age of consent, those not of age must be accompanied by their parent(s) or legal guardian(s).

How it works

Interested participants will respond to a series of interview questions before their photo shoot is scheduled. Questions asked of all participants include:

• Occupation/employer (optional)
  
• What is your place?
  
• Why is this place special to you?
  
• What do you enjoy most about Salt Lake City?
  
• What do you dislike about Salt Lake City?
  
• Do you have any additional comments about living here?
  

The subject and I will then meet at their place and after a model release is signed I'll take a series of environmental portraits. Despite Q&A being done beforehand, during the photo shoot I'll also talk with the subject to learn more details about them and their place and will ask a unique question specific to each participant after the portrait session.

Finally I process 6 images from the photo shoot and combine those with the text of the Q&A to create a profile that is published to this blog. I then schedule a meeting time to deliver a CD-ROM with all the photos taken during a participant's shoot, which they are free to publish or print for any personal use. Participants wishing to publish their photos for any commercial use should contact me for permission first.

For more information or to participate contact me at yourplace [at] calanan.com.

Thanks,

- mike

Calanan Photography
calanan.com

all in good time

all in good time, originally uploaded by calanan.

Main St
Salt Lake City, UT

Nikon D700
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

[Part of my "Drive-By Shootings" street photography series]

balancing act

balancing act, originally uploaded by calanan.

Salt Lake City, UT

Nikon D700
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

[Part of my "Drive-By Shootings" street photography series]

lying in wait

lying in wait, originally uploaded by calanan.

Salt Lake City, UT
Nikon D700

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

[Part of my "Drive-By Shootings" street photography series]

Some recent drive by shootings

ED STATES OF A (working title), originally uploaded by calanan.

Historic Frank Moss Courthouse
Main St
Salt Lake City, UT

Nikon D700
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

[Part of my "Drive-By Shootings" street photography series]

It's been a while since I posted a drive by and while I typically loathe loading a blog post with may photos I've decided to do just that so I can provide you, dear reader, with a catching-up of my favorite shots from January and February in one package.

The above was shot in front of what is becoming my favorite background, the US District Court (Historic Frank Moss Courthouse) on my favorite stretch of road, the northernmost section of Main St.

Here's another against the courthouse:



Historic Frank Moss Courthouse
Main St
Salt Lake City, UT

Nikon D700
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

Another stretch of road of which I'm fond is State St (US 89) between 100 S and South Temple as there's a nice uphill grade in addition to some great background elements. For example:





Making a U-turn and heading back down State St and then west on 100 S I capture these two fellows against some plain yet interesting backdrops:





It may be hard to tel by these smaller sizes but the bloke above caught me at work and is staring into the camera.

Alas my true love is with Main St, for both the myriad of backdrops and people...from deconstructed piles of rubbish to glistening, glass-covered structures...from the dusty construction worker to the polished officer worker:



You can view the whole, ongoing collection of these over at my "Drive-By Shootings" street photography series on Flickr.

Cheers.