Race for the Cure 2008

Tina Best (left) of Evergreen stands on the bleachers with the 1-5 year breast cancer survivors during the award ceremony. Over 62,000 people registered for the race in Denver, Colorado, October 5, 2008. FOR THE CAMERA/Cora Kemp

Charles Bolta founder of American Environmental Products, Inc. shows off his new, cutting-edge light, the Glow-Lux that gives off a green glow after the light has been turned off. This light takes zero energy and can glow even when unplugged. Longmont, Colorado, October 23, 2008. FOR THE CAMERA/Cora Kemp

So it has been two months since I've posted...
Life has been crazy hetic. I got the Photo internship at The Camera,
Boulder, Colorado's daily newspaper. Its not paid and 30 miles away
but the experience there has been worth it. I am a staff fotog, except I
do not get paid. But we all have to start somewhere...
I am more than stoked that the election is tomorrow and this nightmare of non-stop
politicians dropping into Denver is almost over!!! Another long night but hopefully after
Wednesday it will all be over!
I will upload photos after tomorrow is OVER!

Photo by Cora Kemp
Police stand guard during the Veterans Against the Iraq War unpermitted march on Aug. 27 at 16th st and Arapahoe. The march started at the Denver Coliseum after the free Rage Against the Machine concert and ended at the Pepsi Center. According to Police over 4,000 people participated in the march.

Photos by Cora Kemp

Ruben Valdez is one of the many who were moved to tears during Michelle Obama's speech on Aug. 25 at The Pepsi Center. Valdez was especially moved as Obama spoke of the need for a future for the children of America.

DNC: Day 1 Adventures

Last night was quite and eventful one... just when we were thinking that it was actually going to be quite boring... We were wrong.

If you were looking at the Metro Media blog at all since about 6 last night it was anything but boring.

I had been assigned to cover Michelle Obama's speech in the evening, which meant I was out of commission from 3-10. I had to get in to the security zone and claim my seat.

We have 4 credentials for the Pepsi Center. Two perimeter passes that allow two people to roam around outside of the building but inside the security zone (basically the entirety of Auraria Parkway and the Pepsi Center grounds.) We have what is called an Arena Pass that allows one person to roam the halls of the Pepsi Center but they are not able to walk into the actual hall. And we have one hall pass, in the nose bleed section.

With all this said, there is a lot of handing passes off ... which is totally legal and a huge pain! I forgot I was not wearing the Hall Pass last night because I was inside with a writer and we were trading off being in the actual Hall. I tried walking in, the same entrance I had used all night, the guard lady knew I'd been in before but she would not let me through because I had the wrong pass. Yeah. Security is tight.

Getting into the Security zone is a pain to begin with ... especially if you are like me (and all 7 million of the other fotogs out there) I walk in to the security check with two camera bodies, a camera bag, a backpack with my lap top, a 300 2.8 Lens (it is about 2 ft long and 20 lbs) in its own separate bag. Yeah, this week I need a person in front of me with a banner that says wide load! I was joking with my boyfriend on Sunday when he came to town with me because he was offering to help carry my two bags and two cameras and I declined just because I do not have him around all week so I can get spoiled or my body won't be able to manage. But I tell ya, when you shed about 50 extra pounds in the evening ... Man do you feel skinny!

But getting to the Pepsi Center was not even the beginning of my adventure. Around 6 I began getting a lot of text messages from my fotogs telling me something was happening with the Recreate 68 group. Then I get a frantic phone call from a writer saying "Cora, gas has been released" ... and a whole lot of other stuff that I would not like to repeat.

Immediately I go into mommy mode because I have at least 5 photographers covering the rally. I begin frantically sending out texts ordering everyone to send me a text asap and let me know they are ok. All checked in, and one of my fotogs, Steve said, I think I broke my jaw and my camera is not working.

I begin to panic then. I call him and he is able to talk, but I am not able to leave because I have an assignment to shoot. One of my assistants is at our home base on 15th and Blake holding down the fort and I call him and tell him to let up any one and notify him of Steve's situation. This is supposed to be fun, and no one is supposed to get hurt.

Though everyone knows of the potential danger.

Steve is ok. He has a few chipped teeth, and today, now that the adrenaline has worn off is on his way to the dentist as I type. He has a broken flash that is insured so that is good.

He was the only one who got hurt he was the last fotog in the "disturbance." He got stuck between a group of protesters and a cop. He was shoved to the ground and hit his face on the curb. He has a few scratches behind his ear. But photojournalists are meant to endure it all. I received a text from him at 9 this morning asking if he has missed anything.

The worst for me was that I was stuck inside the Pepsi Center with all the people who don't even know what is going on outside of the building.

Steve got the best photos. See what smashing your face can do? Check out our blog!

Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu
Swami Paramananda is planning to walk the entire perimeter of the Pepsi Center Aug. 25 to protest the protest barriers that have been set up through out the city, including Auraria Campus. Large concrete barriers and fences have been installed to keep protesters out of the security clearance zone. Paramananda was only worried about having to cross the overpasses of I-25 that do not have pedestrian areas.

Campus Lockdown... We're not kidding!

Photo by CORA KEMP/ckemp4@mscd.edu

By Tara Moberly
Surrounded by fences and concrete barriers, Campus Village looms like
a fortress, impenetrable by the average person.
The only way in or out is through the parking lot entrance, which is
guarded by Denver Police officers dressed in riot gear.
Residents can enter and leave the building as long as they have a
special sticker affixed to their school ID.
“It’s pretty scary,” remarked resident and UCD student Chandra Carnew
as she headed out to do some shopping with another occupant, Laura
Aldrich.
Carnew’s roommates have left town this week.
For Aldrich, leaving town to avoid the DNC wasn’t an option.
“I live in Texas, so I really had no choice,” she said.
While on a bike ride over the weekend, the two encountered fences that
seemed to appear out of nowhere, as well as other barriers.
“There was SWAT cops patrolling asking ‘Where are you going?’” Carnew
said.
As the conversation turned to protesters and police, Aldrich laughed
at the idea of a special area outside the Pepsi Center for protestors.
“I wasn’t aware we had to have free speech zones,” she said before
running off to catch the light rail.

Photo by Cora Kemp/ckemp4@mscd.edu
Christine McNamara of Longmont kneels in front of Christopher A. Anderson's memorial boots at Eyes Wide Open in Cuernavaca Park on Aug. 24. McNamara went to high school with Anderson. Anderson died in Iraq in spring 2007 when he was 24 years old. "I did not even think I would find his boots here," McNamara said.

We are starting. We have been kicked off campus and now are holding our final meetings under a bridge in a park to take shelter from a Colorado afternoon storm.
We done all the prep that we can. Ready or not. GO.

Hey Everyone,

Its been a pretty stressful day getting everything taken care of. We are now officially locked out of the campus all doors were locked at 10 pm tonight. Downtown was more like a maximum security prison today than anything. Fences and gates everywhere, and plenty of patrol cars. Today was the first day the Pepsi Center was open to the public where tours were given all day to see how the sports arena was transformed. I sent a fotog. Its is almost like an alternate reality this whole thing. Well prepared or not, get ready cuz there is no stopping this monster! Here is a link to our newspaper blog. Photos, video and writing updated all week! http://metrostudentmedia.blogspot.com/

The Different Worlds

Two weeks in. Three classes down. And I'm asking myself why. This is my last semester at Metro and I have already completed all my major courses, all I have left are nine credits (three classes) for my minor.
I am minoring in Speech Communication. Now that I look back, not really the best minor, but its really late to go back and start over again. If I had the chance, I would change it to a Digital Media Minor, but I was misled by my "academic advisor" and told I could not minor in Digital Media if I was majoring in Photo J. Really, I should not get started on the adviser thing, as it is not really the topic of this blog, but really, why do they even have them??? Students wait in line for literally HOURS to talk to the high and mighty advisers. We sit down i their office (them having no idea who we are. They look at our papers and ask us what class we want. At one point I went in and asked my advisers if my year of Sign Language would count for part of my language requirement I need for my Journalism degree. What did she do? Called the Journalism department. She was not very good at getting my message across and told me no, according to the department, I had to take 4 semesters of the same language.
So I enrolled in a summer of Spanish. Not that I am complaining too much, I got a guy out of the deal so ya know, it was not all THAT bad. Then I enrolled in Spanish 3 for last fall. Sat down in class the first day and it was like I had never taken Spanish at all. I could barely understand what my professor was telling us to do. I stuck it out for about 5 weeks, and after getting "Fs" and "Ds" on all my tests (with hard studying to accompany all) I went to the head of the Photo J department and asked him what I should do. He pulls up my transcript and says "Cora, you already have 4 semesters to meet the foreign language requirement, 2 in Spanish and 2 in Sign." Well, I was relieved but had to roll my eyes. Those advisers are anything but. They are just there to push the "register" button on the computer, which any Metro student can do for themselves by registering online.
Now to the point of my story (I don't have to write in journalistic style here!) On Friday, I spent the day at school helping with the Met Report (The student News Cast) auditions that happen at the beginning of every semester. TV is a totally different ball game that I have never been very interested in. It is to sensational and too much depends on your looks. That is what I enjoy about the dying print journalism. You could be the ugliest person on the planet but dang do you take AWESOME photos. You would not be turned away. However (and I've seen it with my own eyes) People can be turned down, even if they are amazing, if they do not hold that presence on TV or do not look as good as the person before, they will not make the job. And that, to me is a sick thing. A person cannot help how they look. Talent is talent.
So, though I have strong opinions I have found myself in my last semester taking three classes all related to the TV industry. Yeah. I'm crazy, and sadly part of it is because that is the way the industry is going, toward moving pictures. So I must follow suit and having TV production classes on my transcript will help me out immensely. I am also looking into becoming one of their photographers. I know the gang well because Eric is a sports anchor and I usually am around anyway. Though I've noticed the sports industry is much more laid back (though Eric owns more make-up than I do - it is only for when he is on desk, and my occasional need for cover up - But the guys tend to care less and there is not as much drama.

Accidents are Best

For those of you who have worried about me, no, I have yet to be arrested. They have not upped the security to that extreme... Plus I think they are worried that if they begin arresting before next week they are not going to have room for all the protesters during the actual convention! One of the best - but also most frustrating - things about photography is that your best picture can be totally unintentional. Its great, the majority of the time, when I am photographing my best photos are the ones that I just clicked and it happened. Either the light was just right, the angle was perfect or the subject was caught in the best moment. The frustrating thing about this phenomenon is that it makes the ability to recreate the photo almost impossible. And that is what I love. Sure, its another basketball game with the same starters and the same coach ... maybe even the same opposing team. But that moment that you froze will never happen again. I think about this upcoming week, how "history is being made" and this will never happen again. That happens every day of our lives. Why is it the big events that we stop and think about it? And its this time where we will never see this again in our lives, yet many are trying to get history to repeat itself with Recreate '68. I tell you, being an observer of the human condition and human race, we have no idea what we want. This is just a funny photo, I have a ton, but this is actually pretty interesting with the shadows. This is what my camera sees when I am not using it. It usually happens when walking to class after an assignment because I forget to turn off my camera.

Topping The Day Off

Not only did I have to worry about my duties as photo editor and preparing for my first fotog meeting, recruiting, promoting the Student Media, o yeah, and attending my classes, i also had to go to the Pepsi Center to take our cover shot for the issue. Now that may sound easy, but having already been kicked off the premises once and told I could not take any photos inside - or outside the center it is a little more difficult to maneuver around. Especially now since the tents are almost done in the parking lot. And for some reason, Secret Service is a little worried about photographs taken of the tents. We are not sure why, its not like they are a secret, I'm sure thousands of people see the tents on a daily basis.
So once everything slowed down and I had the great evening light, Eric and I hiked across Auraria Parkway to the Pepsi Center. And thanks to my Ethics class from last semester I knew that I could not be arrested... or at least I could fight my case if I was... from the side walk. We played it cool, fired off a few frames and left with no trouble.

Day One

Well, as expected, the beginning of a new semester was entertaining, exciting, exghsting, and calorie-burning. Not only is this our first issue of the paper but it one of the most important issues the Met is putting out. It sounds a little odd because we are doing our DNC pullout this week... yes, two weeks before the actual convention but because we are weekly this is the ideal time. Our issues come out on Thursdays and most classes are not held on Fridays so most of the student body will not even see the issue until the following Monday. This poses as a problem for us since our campus will be on "lock down" as of the 23/24. Hardly any one would be able to see our most important issue. So we have decided to put it out this week, giving students a full week to pick it up. However, that has left it a little stressful because a lot of staff (not including Editors) are still on summer mode. So the issue will have about 4 of my 12 fotogs work.
Now just because they are locking us out of their office and we are a weekly (which means any coverage we do at the convention will not be published till a week after the DNC is over) does not mean we are not covering. We are setting up a home base at my Assistants apartment right off of 15th and we are going to be doing all web work. We hope that we will have video and slide shows to put up on the site. I will post that site as soon as it is ready!
This is a shot I took on Sunday of a group of protestors who met and then marched over to the Pepsi Center to say their piece. Their sign says: "Our Future Will Be Decided For Ourselves." In both Spanish and English.

The Beginning of The New Semester

So, as the complete opposite of most Metro Students, I have spent my last day of summer preparing for the new semester working at the Met. I shot two assignments related to the DNC issue that will be on the stands Aug. 14. I spent 45 minutes talking to Robert and Ronald, two homeless men who rely on the soup kitchen that is supported by St. Elizabeth church near Central Classroom on Auraria Campus.
We talked about the impact that the lock down of Auraria and how it is going to affect those who go to the soup kitchen. There are a lot of factors that we as middle class college-going students do not even consider. Robert used to be a professional painter, and after getting hernias and hepatitis C and D could no longer be around the chemicals.
Since the economy has been so terrible, he had no choice but to turn to the streets. Robert has been off and on the streets for over a year and a half.