Aperture Priority

2011 Top Photos by Elias Funez

2011-12-29T09:02:00.001-08:00

Well folks, here they are, my selection of the top 40 images of the West Side over the year 2011, in my order 1-40, from top to bottom. Unfortunately my usual story couldn't accompany these photos, so you'll have to make up your own!

After browsing through the images you may get a sense of some of the hardships and struggles I may have had to go through to capture these images, but it was nothing like you would imagine, and without my story, I guess you'll never know.

#1 Police chief Tori Hughes and tow truck operators pull one of the many vehicles from the depths of the Delta Mendota Canal in January as they search for the vehicle of Jose Esteban Rodriguez during the Juliani Cardenas investigation.
#2 A hit and run suspect is pulled from the San Joaquin River after jumping from the bridge in an attempt to evade authorities.

#3 Tabitha Cardenas is consolled by a family member of Esteban Rodriguez' at Cardenas' home after news of the tradgedy spread.

#4 Councilwoman Annette Smith listens for calls for her to step down as a councilmember following a Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury report stating her misconduct as councilmember.

#5 Hundreds of Patterson residents, including Ida Pena Perez (bottom right), who was recently killed in a vehicle accident on Hwy 33 at Marshall, mourn the death of City Councilman Sam Cuellar.

#6 A high speed chase is photographed through the Patterson Gardens subdivision before the suspect is tazered and subdued.

#7 Not #9 as published in the paper, is this photo of 5 horses looking for high ground as water levels at Patterson's River Oak Arena rise during March of this year.

#8 S.W.A.T. team members serve an arrest warrant on Washburn Avenue.

#9 Friends, and relatives of Ernesto Ordonez lined along the Delta Mendota Canal, turn their heads to the acknowledgement of the local Sheriff's, as the tractor he had been driving is pulled from the water. Ordonez's body was attached to the tractor.

#10 not #8 as published in the paper, is this aerial view of the live stations of the cross I captured by climbing a tree. This alternate vantage point was initially overlooked and never published earlier in the year.

#11, not #7 as published in the paper is this image of one of the only persons I witnessed wearing the usual shorts and sandals during an unusually wet and cold Apricot Fiesta.

#12 Candles begin to gather in the driveway of the Cardenas' on Barros avenue as folks hope for the best during the investigation of the Juliani Cardenas kidnapping.

#13 Firefighters work to cut holes in the roof of a home on fire on North 3rd Street.

#14 Multitudes of media trucks and personnel descend on Patterson for the Juliani Cardenas kidnapping story.

#15 A vigil for the cities' residents is held in front of city hall during the Cardenas event.

#16 Pallbearers don the familiar newsboy hats in honor of Sam Cuellar during his funeral.

#17 The grand opening of the skate park.

#18 A fire victim on Shasta Creek ct. sits surrounded by items of her belongings rescued from the home by firefighters.

#19 A sikorsky sky crane is utilized to lift the many air-conditioning units needed during the construction of the 800,000 square foot + distribution facility.

#20 Reyes and Eddie Cuellar accept the flag used during the funeral of Sam Cuellar by the American Legion.

#21 A passing storm brings a rainbow to the palm tree city of Patterson.

#22 Art on stage as the Glass Menagerie comes to the PHS auditorium earlier in the year.

#23 Residents of the oleanders along Hwy 33.

#24 Hikers with the hikes and bikes program work on the most strenuous of three hikes in the Minnear Day Use Area in Del Puerto Canyon.

#25 The first council meeting after Sam's death.

#26 Bloodless bullfights in Gustine for the festa de Espiritu Santo.

#27 The blighted conditions that squatters take upon as living quarters were observed in the North 1st street area.

#28 The tractor of Ernesto Ordonez is kept in the water for over an hour before pulling Ordonez' body out.

#29 The skate park was closed after grand opening due to the lack of ordinance put in place by the council. Said repairs that were brought up, were never repaired, considering the park didn't really need repair.

#30 Fog in Patterson in February.

#31 One of my favorite places, a cave in remote Stanislaus County.

#32 Councilwoman Annette Smith retains the audience of police officers for nearly an hour at the skate park after a sting targeting skaters not wearing helmets.

#33 Skaters are ticketed for not wearing helmets. During a Parks and Recreation meeting, following the sting, Sargeant John Walker apologized to the commissioners for the harsh treatment of the skaters, lifting their ban on usage of the park.

#34 Tabitha Cardenas is consolled during one of the many candle vigils held during the search for Juliani, this one in Graceada Park in Modesto.

#35 A typical scene of the Patterson Colony.

#36 Umbrellas are donned by the Miss Patterson pageant contestants during the 2011 Apricot Fiesta Parade.

#37 The Circo Osorio acrobatic circus tent went up in Patterson again this year.

#38 Laird Park in Grayson.

#39 A crop duster crash landed near an airport off of Hwy 33 in Newman.

#40 Rain drops gather on the skin of apricots during the unusually rainy 2011 Apricot Fiesta.

NO 2011 YEAR IN PHOTOS story.

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

To all of the faithful followers of this blog and the year end photo review story, it is my sad, sad, response to inform you all that my 2,000 word story, normally slated to run in today's final newspaper of the year, was deemed unfit for publication by the newspaper's editor Jonathan Partridge.

His quick response to me was that it was "too political".

Apparently it "detracted" from the photos. I find that to be a completely false claim considering the text provided insight as to the inner-workings of a real, day to day photojournalist.

I felt that it included completely personal, behind the scenes accounts of what went into making the images of 2011, including the troubles experienced along the way. Unfortunately this world we live in isn't all puppy dogs and flowers, and my story definitely showed the REAL side of things that I've had to go through to bring the photos to you here in West Stanislaus.

So to those that wonder... you'll have to keep wondering, or just find me on the street if you really want to know.

Photo Day week 15 at the Oakland Raider's vs. Detroit Lions

2011-12-22T09:13:00.000-08:00

When Patterson High School was offered the opportunity to attend an Oakland Raider game, meet the team's photographer Tony Gonzales, and photograph the pre-game warm ups from the sideline, the high school jumped at the idea and picked up 50 tickets. So a group of photo instructors, including myself, hopped on a charter bus for the week 15 game against the Detroit Lions along with 40 or so students, 9 from my photography after school program. After a lot of waiting and checkpoints, we were on the field of the Oakland Coliseum waiting to talk to the team's photographer. Getting to know the background and photographic interests of the Raider photographer Tony Gonzales was really interesting and helpful for the aspiring young photogrpher.

Everyone had the opportunity to ask questions, and afterwards got to take photos of the pre-game excitement.

Raiders' quarterback #3 Carson Palmer pulls back to throw a pass during the pre game warm ups.

Khalif Barnes gets the crowd going before the game.

Some interesting looking tail-gaters gathered in the parking lot of the Oakland Coliseum after the game.

One of my after school program photography students Austin Luckert, getting the pre-game war paint applied on the drive to Oakland.

Raiders' Wide Receiver Denarius Moore pulls in a pass during the pre-game warm ups.

Back in our seats, during the nailbiting 28-27 loss to the Lions. The Raiders were ahead the entire game, but had to lose it in the fourth quarter in typical Raiders' fashion.

Talking photography and showing students camera operation on the bus ride there.

Oakland Raiders' #21 Lito Sheppard runs down the sideline to high five fans and photographers alike, photo taken by student photographer Reily McNamara

Bullfights on West Side provide other worldly experience

2011-09-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

I've always had a deep appreciation for the many culturally diverse activities that occur in our little slice of California we call the West Side. One such event that holds a fond place in my heart, are the bloodless bullfights that occur as the culmination of festivities for the Portuguese Festa de Espiritu Santo (F.D.E.S.) or festival for the holy spirit. The latest came after Gustine's 75th anniversary of their Festa this last Monday September 12th.

Even though this event has been a West Side staple for many decades I still find it amazing how many West Siders have no idea of this wonderful spectacle of Portuguese braun, beast, and tight knit camaraderie.

I caught wind of a free ticket from my friend Audrey, whom we trade free tickets from time to time depending on who gets them first. She took a carload of first timers who had no idea what they were in for. "I always like breaking bullfight virginities," she proclaimed as they drove off.

And break them in she did. A pair of the first timers, Mike and Chris, were awestruck, jaws practically hanging to the ground at the sight of the very visually astounding event before them.

First timers never expect what there is to be experienced on their first trip out to Bella Vista Park between Newman and Gustine. After all, many locals have traveled this route along Hwy 33 many times before not knowing that an archaic looking bull fight ring resided just beyond the fields of corn off of Canal School Road.

After parking the cars along a corn field next to hundreds of other cars, we hiked about a mile in the dark before the lights of Bella Vista Park emerged from the walls of corn.

It seemed if we had just stepped through some sort of time warp where we were in a different world in which everyone was speaking a foreign language (Portuguese) that sounded like a mixture of Russian and Spanish. And although it may have seemed like we were blending in, I knew better, I knew we stook out like sore thumbs.

"I'm coming back every year!" my friend Chris said while turning his head in admiration of the impromptu fashion show going on around him. No doubt, the Portuguese women and men have a country style all their own, and for an event as large as this one, you better believe that folks show up dressed to impress.

After making stops at the beer and food booths, its back into the seats of the arena for a glimpse of the action.

Members of the suicide squad, the Forcados Amadores of Turlock, take the bull by the horns and basically hold onto the bull until it can't move any more before they let it go. Sometimes the suicide squad can't hold him the first try and keep going until they do.

After the fights are over, it's down to the dance floor where a disc jockey plays all of the Portuguese favorites and folks dance a series of traditional dances.

Matador Luis Vital "Procuna" of Portugal dances with a bull in the arena of Bella Vista park.

While photographing the action from the stands, I noticed one of my photographer friends Dianne Moody (right) behind the wall of the arena floor. We caught each other up on news in our respective photo worlds, before I let her get her attention back to the bull fight, warning her about a nasty accident I had witnessed the year prior when a bull jumped the arena wall and trampled unsuspecting folks thinking they were safe from danger.

Area youth mingle and dance after the bullfights.

2010 Year in Review -Top Photos-

2010-12-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

Another year and another look back at the images that I helped to bring forth for the Irrigator, most of them published, some of them forgotten and none of them less or more important than the other. #1 --05-19-10-- Top on my list was the main image from covering the AMGEN Tour of California, capturing the peloton of riders as they roll through Plaza Circle and past the century old historic center building from San Jose en-route to downtown Modesto. I had photographers stationed in Del Puerto Canyon and at various other locations along the route to help capture the city’s brief encounter with Lance Armstrong in his final stage of the AMGEN race before bowing out in the 5th stage.

#2 --06-08-10--Photographing wildfires is something I’ve become more adept at over the years. Being able to watch and read the weather patterns in order to get close enough for a good shot yet keep a safe distance, is a necessary skill when approaching an uncontrolled conflagration. A hillside vegetation fire west of I-5 near Newman and Crowslanding was the largest wildfire in the direct area burning 721 acres before being doused by a force of firefighters on the ground and in the sky. The ground view of the wall of smoke and flames that had begun to quickly advance in my direction heightened my senses as I kept within close proximity of my vehicle. The ground crews kept in contact with the air tankers and helicopters and the blaze was extinguished shortly thereafter.
#3 --06-26-10-- A different fire on the opposite side of our coverage area prompted me to call fellow employee Maddy Houk, who lived in the vicinity of what turned out to be a huge plume of black smoke emanating from the Grayson area. Sure enough, word came back that the County Honor Farm was on fire and I found myself quickly changing into fire proof nomex gear and heading out to the scene. Upon arrival, the inmates could be seen all penned up in a side yard, some of them waving their arms towards their family members and loved ones that had began to gather in the parking lot nearby. Sheriff’s deputies and police dogs were on guard as the man hunt went on for an escaped prisoner that fled during the confusion of the fire into a nearby corn field.

#4 --01-14-10--Early in January, I got the call for a possible drowning/stabbing which turned out to be the Jennifer Bigham incident with her child. I feared the worst when I walked past row after row of flashing sirens to the house on Thrush Lane, and unfortunately realized the worst after walking away. I glimpsed up and noticed the solemn stare of a young boy with mother and child who may have well known the tragic victims of that most unfortunate circumstance.

#5 --11-26-10-- A solemn expression on the football field from PHS senior Cesar Gomez after the rough loss to the Del Oro Eagles caught my eye as outgoing head coach Rob Cozart gave his post game speech to the team. While the Tigers didn’t advance to the Section Finals or achieve a state championship, they did hand the DIII state champs their only loss and beat the Central Catholic Raiders for an outright Western Athletic Conference title. The highly anticipated matchup of the two rivals proved to be one of the most memorable, rare wins over Central in many years, an achievement that will long be remembered.

#6 --03-02-10--A very wet rainy season provided many opportunities to photograph spring in and around Patterson, including Del Puerto Canyon, that untouched gem of the eastern Diablo Range that could face commercial and residential development with the adoption of Patterson’s aggressive 2010 General Plan.

#7 --10-16-10-- Another locale that may soon see the wayside is that of the Fantozzi Farms Corn Maze and pumpkin patch. A recently approved plan for the Patterson Logistics Center may soon force the Fantozzi’s to seek their ventures elsewhere. Hopefully the ghoulishly good times will stay an area staple come fall time again in Patterson.

#8 --02-22-10-- This GMC SUV smashed into the dining room wall of Jackie Coble’s N. 4th street home where the force of flying debris knocked her to the ground on a Monday morning in February.

#9 --02-22-10-- Another incident involving a damaged home happened across town later that same Monday in February on Berlin Way. In this case, a fire caused in part by a ruptured gas line sent black clouds over east Patterson capturing my attention. The fire quickly consumed the nearby fence and began to burn the side of the house before firefighters turned off the gas and put out the flames.

#10 --02-02-10-- The Del Puerto Health Care District’s current landlord John Ramos looks on during a February city council meeting while planning commissioner and local developer Ron West approaches the council on how he’d like to see wastewater treatment facilities in the list of allowed uses in the West Patterson Business Park. In the crowd, then district CEO Margo Arnold can be seen, as well as community activist and former council member Kathy Wright, along with other concerned members of the public there to support the advancement of health care on the Westside. Those meetings were just the prelude to one of the most contentious elections in Patterson’s history for both the city health care board and the city’s.

#11 --09-18-10-- The on stage view is always a vantage point I try to include when photographing musical or staged venues, and Patterson’s Mexican Independence Day celebration was no exception. Many bands took to the stage including Patterson’s Ilusion Nortena, and Grammy award winning Mexican band El Tiranos del Norte, who played on stage for thousands of Patterson residents on downtown’s Plaza Circle.

#12 --06-05-10-- The view of the Apricot Fiesta fireworks show from the football field was one I had anticipated since I learned of the news to re-open the field for the annual fiesta event for the first time since the stadiums’ renovation with all weather turf grass. However when Fiesta time came around and I kept bringing up the opening of the stadium, no one knew what I was talking about reassuring me that it would once again be closed. I always remembered watching the fireworks from the 50 yard line and meeting everyone that you knew there and finding out what would be going on afterwards. Why was the community being barred from the community stadium? I eventually found the article in our own paper that quoted then superintendent Patrick Sweeney saying that the stadium would be open for the 2010 fireworks. I printed a copy of the article and presented it to the district a few days before the Fiesta. Sure enough, I got a phone call later that day with a message of reassurance that the football field will indeed be open. Even with the late notice of the opening of the stadium, roughly 500 folks got the opportunity to view the fireworks once again from the stadium with out having to worry about any untimely sprinklers on an all weather turf field.

#13 --06-11-10-- Ten year old Makenna Hernandiz takes the stage during July’s Friday Night Lights event in downtown Patterson’s North Park. This particular theme was Patterson Idol Night, where participants could take the stage and show their stuff while a panel of judges takes notes and provides constructive comments on their performances.

#14 --09-23-10-- Wal-Mart representative Marko Milkoton, president of River City Communications, talks to Wal-Mart supporters at Pizza Plus where they were treated to free pizza before heading out to the planning commission meeting regarding the superstore. At the meeting, many of them approached the commissioners regarding their desire for the store. The depth of the crowd is what I like most about this photo, as well as the expressions on the faces of the pizza eaters.

#15 --06-21-10-- Flames from a fire sparked by a blown tire made their say up the Southbound I-5 Patterson off ramp at Sperry Avenue as southbound travelers speed by near the flames. After burning about 10 acres of range land just west of the city, Cal Fire and West Stanislaus fire crews contained the fire with the help of an air tanker and a fixed tank Super Huey helicopter.

#16 --05-01-10--Children play into the night, while others take care of every day business as Patterson Community Stadium is transformed into a tent city for the annual American Cancer Societies' Relay for Life.

#17 --09-24-10-- Cal Fire and Westley El-Solyo fire fighters work to douse the flames of a burning SUV while paramedics work on the sole passenger who was ejected into the grass nearby.

#18 --09-18-10--Patterson's own Illusion Nortena band takes to the stage as the sun sets over downtown Patterson's Mexican Independence Day celebration. The mixture of natural and stage lights is what appeals to me in this photo. The thousands of folks who came downtown that day can be seen in the background of the photo.

#19 --06-12-10--A Bodo de Leite oxen handler pulls his cows along Salado Avenue as the procession heads back to the Festa De Espiritu Santo hall. The size of these huge animals is put to scale as they stand next to their handler.

#20 --05-27-10--Students and PHS faculty sit tight through a downpour during last Thursday's graduation ceremony at Patterson Community Stadium. Despite the occassional cloudbursts, attendees to Thursday's graduation touted the ceremony as being one of the best in recent years.

#21 --11-05-10--Patterson's varsity football team enters Patterson Community Stadium before their Western Athletic Conference title winning game over the visiting Central Catholic Raiders.

#22 --01-25-10--A trio of elementary school students walks home with a pair of colorful umbrellas after school during a rain shower in late January.

#23 --08-25-10-- Construction workers at the Granger distribution center work away on the foundation of the 800,000 + square foot facility. I really enjoyed the silhouettes of the workers on the massive foundation back lit by the rising sun.

#24 --09-09-10-- Patterson resident Shaun Hale (second from right) regains his energy after being pulled from the currents of the California Aqueduct which he was stuck in for more than an hour before being rescued by CHP officer James Dixon and a crew of fire fighters. Hale said he hooked a large catfish before slipping into the water and tried to climb out, even taking off his shoes to help grip the concrete side of the canal, but was unsuccessful. "Thankfully someone saw me holding on and called 911," Hale said.

This was one of those random instances where I heard wave after wave of sirens and decided to check on the commotion. Upon approach to the scene I could tell that the emergency first responders all had gathered on the banks of the aqueduct and my spirits immediately dropped. I've covered too many incidents where folks fall into the canal, almost all of them have an unhappy ending, but this story ended on a positive note. The story was even a good chance for our new editor Jonathan Partridge to get his feet wet in our coverage area again.

#25 --09-18-10-- Cowboy hats, leather belts, and belt buckles were popular attire on folks attending the Mexican Independence day celebration in September.

#26 --03-27-10--A group of 26 hikers, led by the Patterson Parks and Recreation Department, make their way along a series of trails through the Minnear Day Use Area as the first of three scheduled hikes took place in Del Puerto Canyon for the Westside Healthcare Taskforce's Hikes and Bikes to better your health event. Hikers of all ages and skill ranges took part, including District 5 County Supervisor Jim DeMartini. The hikes and bikes, and even kayaks, will make their way to the area again in 2011.

#27 --06-04-10--Patterson High School's Savannah Vento addresses the crowds from the Apricot Fiesta main stage after being named the 2010 Miss Patterson. Once again, a back stage shoot through with Miss Vento looking sideways enabled me to capture the lights, the crowds, and her expression all in one photo.

photographing the Amgen bicycle race

2010-05-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

After a year hiatus in Patterson, the Amgen Tour of California, the nation's premiere cycling event, once again passed through the city for Stage 4 from San Jose to the downtown Modesto finish.

When I first heard that the Amgen was returning to Patterson after rolling down Del Puerto Canyon and Mines' road from the hills to the west, my mind began to think of all the possible vantage points I may want to photograph the race from. A fellow from a helicopter company gave me a call at the Irrigator asking if I wanted to go up and get some aerial shots. Who wouldn't want to go up in a helicopter right? Well, for $350 an hour I had to pass him up on his offer.

As race day May 19th was upon us, and final preparations were being put into place, I found myself in Modesto on the main stage of the Gallo Center for the Arts at 10:30 a.m. where they had a media center set up.

It was my first time in the Gallo Center and the facility was nothing short of impressive

While waiting for my media credentials, Modesto Bee photographer Joan Barnett Lee noticed me and we struck up a conversation. I had met her previously when I was interviewed for a position there, but couldn't be guaranteed enough hours, so I tried to pass the job onto my girlfriend Lori Marklund, whom Joan also remembered. I informed her that Lori was working for me that day at a vantage point we had scoped out the day before in Del Puerto Canyon, and she told me that Bee photographer Bart Ah You was going to be getting aerial shots via a Cesna airplane.

For a brief moment I had almost wished I had taken that helicopter guy up on his offer, and although I like the images that Bart produced, after seeing them, I have to say that I'm glad I stayed on the ground... well, sort of on the ground.

With the help from the City of Patterson's bucket truck, and friend Cody Manning, we got these aerial shots much like those when the Amgen rolled through two years ago. This is typical Patterson, 100 year old palm trees, Apricot trees in an orchard to the left and the historic center building at the vanishing point of Las Palmas avenue behind.

Excited fans cheer on the side of Las Palmas avenue as the peloton of riders passes by.

This photo, that my girlfriend Lori Marklund helped me take, required quite a bit of planning to accomplish. I had always noticed how one certain boulder along the Del Puerto Canyon roadway in the Minnear day use area always seemed to hang onto the hillside, looking as if it would fall from its place at any moment, and some how I wanted to incorporate this into a shot. So we went up the day before, and scoped it out to see if it would work. From the roadway where the cyclists are pictured I could see that through a clearing of trees and bushes there was a barren spot of hillside across the creek that looked like would probably be a good vantage point to incorporate the riders and the canyon's Wile E. Coyote boulder.

The hike to the hillside clearing wasn't as easy as it at first seemed, but no pain no gain right? The vantage point and composition of the photo was decided, and Lori agreed to return the next day before the race came through.

Back in town, on the circle, where I had another of the cities' boom lifts situated, excitement was building in anticipation of the riders.

A few folks were using team Radioshack banners as makeshift umbrellas as the sky began to drop some rain.

Tina Dudley from Oak Valley bank on the circle, helped keep us all current on the racers while we watched the live feed from inside.

The first group of break away sprinters roll through town while members of the Red Hat Chicks cheer them on.On the other side of town, the peloton of cyclists with Lance Armstrong (center) pushes its way fervently down Las Palmas Avenue between Las Palmas School and Patterson High.--photo by Kendall Wright/Patterson Irrigator

From my slight aerial position, I photographed the image at the top of this post as well as these images of the break away riders and the peloton passing through Plaza Circle and on its way to where Cody was positioned in the bucket truck. Notice the green helmet from the spectator at lower right? Gotta love those Patterson Vegetable Company green helmets.

This photo shows the peloton, and the traffic held up behind on Hwy 33, as well as the blue genie boom lift (doh!)

The break away riders reach Cody Manning on the edge of city limits.

And the peloton and entourage of team vehicles stocked with extra bicycles follows shortly there after.

Nice wide angle of the 100 year old Canary Island Date Palms, nearby Apricot orchard, and peloton of riders as they leave city limits.

And the racers continue on towards the Modesto finish to hopefully return another day.

After quickly compiling all the images and selecting those to be submitted to the copy desk editors (seven submitted, and three used) for a deadline held specifically for the Amgen, Cody Manning and I were back off to Modesto to see what else may be going on.

Everything was pretty much shut down by 5:30, but we made our way into the media center mentioned earlier to see what and who we might see. Everyone was busy working away on their laptops, but in the lunch room, folks were socializing and I got a chance to talk with former Modesto Bee photog Al Golub. He had worked with the Bee for many many years and it was quite interesting to hear his point of view on a craft that we both know so much about. He is quite set in his ways and completely denounced film photography, but then said that he still uses his film photos; then talked smack about the famous black and white photgrapher Ansel Adams, then later said he helped spread his ashes with the family of Ansel on Mt. Ansel Adams when he died. Intersting guy Al is, full of stories, and very pointed points of view, but still a wealth of information and experience when it comes to photography.

Well, recapping on the day, I was quite satisfied with the images that team Irrigator produced, and while I may not have had a helicopter or a Cesna plane, I still got a variety of aerial and ground level shots with the help of a few polite requests and some dedicated friends of mine, thanks again to all who helped.

fire in the hills

2010-05-07T15:56:00.000-07:00

It's fire season again in Patterson.A vehicle accident along southbound I-5 near the Patterson exit sparked a blaze that was fanned by evening winds into the hills.
I first heard and saw emergency response vehicles driving to the vehicle accident while I was photographing a baseball game. When I saw the smoke I figured it was time to leave the game and get to the hills.

Encroaching flames were visible from Del Puerto Canyon road.

Flames and smoke visible from Sperry ave.

Fire Chief Kinnear assessing the flames and communicating via radio to helicopters, bulldozers, and fire trucks from Jeff Arambel's hill top orchard.

Traffic backed up to near the Westley exit.

Scattered remnants of the wreck that started the blaze photographed the next morning.
A few charred peach trees, but all in all I think the trees will make a full recovery and maybe receive some added nutrients from the black ashes of the fire.

After photographing the fire, it was back to the high school and still time for the second half of a contentious girl's soccer match against Livingston.

not feelin' the 5th

2010-05-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo isn't quite for everyone, as this Pattersonite demonstrated on Wednesday May 5th with his fist-pumping, American and Confederate flag display on his Ford Ranger.

Photographed along south 9th street near Las Palmas avenue 5-5-10

stylin' ?

2010-04-20T12:42:00.001-07:00

I know this may be the "Pants on the Ground" style, but I honestly think this guy needs a belt, and maybe some longer pant legs.

Photo taken yesterday at the intersection of Las Palmas and 9th street Patterson.

rafting the San Joaquin river

2010-03-16T11:40:00.000-07:00

Got the ol' flat bottom Jon boat ready for the river and took it out a week ago to see what's been happening on the San Joaquin River. It's just a small 14ft boat, good enough for up to 3 people, but it's perfect for the river when the water levels get really low in the summer time. With the flat bottom, you just pull up the motor and skim right over the sand bars to get to the fishing spots.
I haven't picked up my fishing license yet this year, but I need to get it soon, because we could see and hear tons of fish jumping in the river around us. The purpose of the trip wasn't for fishing this time though, it was just to see how long it would take to float with the current from the Las Palmas boat launch in Patterson, to the Grayson landing at Laird Park. I'd floated from Crows Landing to Patterson before, and it only took a few hours, but traveling by the twists and turns of the San Joaquin is a lot longer than the distance that the crow flies and decided to try it for myself.
I was surprised to see so much wildlife along the river. Only using a trolling motor and some paddles, we were able to sneak up on a lot of wildlife that would have otherwise heard us a lot earlier had we had an outboard. This was one of a handful of beavers that we'd seen between Patterson and Grayson, as well as quite a few other river faring mammals that were probably muskrats or some kind of river rat.
Although there was alot of birds and animals abound, it is always quite sad to see how polluted our portion of the San Joaquin River is. It may look like the chocolate river from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but you definitely don't want to drink these fluids. With the high water levels, alot of the trash has been washed away, however, more trash from upstream has washed down and become lodged anywhere it can. Besides the entire river being lined in some sort of trash, these barrels of who knows what and two half sunken boats could be seen.
But it was still a very beautiful day, a little sun, a little clouds. Many many Red Tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, Egrets, Mallards, Mergansers, and Cormorants could easily be seen. This natural by way may be very close to where we all live, but it seemed a world away that afternoon.
I doubt many folks are seen traveling this water way that was once the pathway for paddle boats headed to Grayson, Newman, or Gustine. Probably why these cows were so curious.
Also passed by this skumpy looking teepee as we neared closer to Grayson.

I knew we were getting real close when we could see the inmates of the Stanislaus County Honor Farm. I had no idea that the river was so close to the correctional facility, but when we floated by, the inmates all came up to the fence to ask if we had caught any fish.

All in all, the trip took about 3.5 hours, way shorter than I originally anticipated. As we pulled around Laird Park and docked the boat, I noticed and photographed this strange looking water fowl. I've looked in a few bird identification books and have come up clueless as to what this bird may be. I'm guessing it's some sort of goose with an interesting color mutation on its plumage, but it seemed like a permanent resident of Laird Park.

parting images of 2009

2010-01-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Alas another year end issue of the Irrigator has come and gone, and my chance to showcase all the news photos from the previous year that meant alot to me... problem is, there's not enough space in our paper to show all of them.

So here they are, in the order that I prioritized them in, from #1 to #34, with a little bit about each one. When you see numbers missing, those were the photos that were chosen by editors to be included in the print edition of the Irrigator.

#1 Spectators at the Stan Co. fair destruction derby

Trying to find a new angle on the derby I noticed members of the pit crews peeking over fences and standing on top of fences to get a better look at their competing contestants. I was really trying to capture that feel of everyone trying to get a glimpse of the action and decided to do my own tight rope act by standing on a fence, holding the camera high above my head to really try and emphasize that aerial shot. Compositionally I love this photo, the entire frame is filled with something interesting going on. The lower foreground, mid ground, and back ground are filled with spectators giving immense depth to those in attendance yet those in the foreground don't block out too much of the action. The upper left quadrant of the photo is filled with the familiar smashing and bashing of the derby that everyone wants to see.

#3 Water Allocation
Taken during an amazingly beautiful day in February. I was photographing the local waterways for a story on the scarce water allocations being handed down by the state. I had some other shots of the Delta Mendota, but the other ones didn't have the red and white life preservers that were near this bridge in Westley and I felt that those floating balls gave the photo more depth and scale of how much water runs through our community that we don't have access to. Looking closely, you can even see the blooming almond orchards over the levee at right.

#4 Fig Avenue house fire
This one was one of my favorites. I elaborated more on this in the article that I wrote for the Irrigator which you can check here. This one I thought told the story well. Fire, spreading through the roof and to the yard, threatening the animals penned up behind before the owners came to let them free.

#5 Vernalis River Fire

I also recounted these accounts in the article, but I really liked this one because, although it didn't show the majority of the flames, I did feel that it portrayed alot of the mayhem going on in that small portion of isolated vegetation fire. Volunteer firefighters going every which way with their hoses in hand while the flames and smoke continued to surround us.

#8 "Performance Evaluation"

It may have been just a routine evaluation of our city manager Cleve Morris, but a crowd of well over a hundred people packed city hall with signs and banners ready to voice their opinions about their support for Morris, and make sure that this routine evaluation didn't go sour. Many of the anxious folks in the crowd (many of them city employees) wished to speak to the council before they went into closed session but were denied by the mayor. As they walked into the closed session chambers the crowd began to grumble, some of them saying out loud "...what about the BROWN ACT..." Then councilwoman Annette Smith turned and leaned into the microphone, furtherly supporting the mayors decision in denying the people their opines. "This is a performance evaluation", before they left into closed session. A few days go by after the meeting and a political watchdog group notified the city that they had violated the Brown Act and broken the law for not allowing the public to speak before the meeting.

#9 Crash Landing no.1

Stockton flight instructor Rick Tutt begins to diagnose the problem that caused the engine on this Piper Malibu passenger plane to fail. The single prop airplane was on its way to the Tracy airport before it crash landed in a field by a farm in Vernalis. The reason why this one is titled #1 is because about a month later, another single prop plane crash landed, that one into a waste water treatment pond.

#10 Gerry Kamilos and Patricia Snoke at the Crows Landing Air Base

When photographing the ground penetrating radar search for a lost cemetery at the Crows Landing air facility, Gerry Kamilos the developer in charge of the proposed West Park project, showed up to check on the progress. I had no idea that he would show up, but as I recognized him driving up I began to position myself for photographs. This photo is symbolic in so many ways, developer Kamilos (center) with Deputy Executive Officer in Stanislaus County's Chief Executive Office, Keith Boggs (left), standing next to Gustine's Patricia Snoke on the completely opposite end of the spectrum. Snoke also had shown up to check on the progress of the g.p.r., a family member of hers was buried in the lost cemetery, she's the one who spearheaded this entire search when she brought the issue to light for consideration going into the West Park EIR (environmental impact report). Then of course, Kamilos is standing in the middle of thousands of acres of prime farmland, the additional 3,273 acres that he plans on converting from ag use to that of an inland port and train yard for the port of Oakland. It helped that this photo was taken while the vegetation was really green on the surrounding farmland, no fallow fields here, even the walnut orchard in the background was looking strong thick and healthy for the photo. Anytime you can frame a photo with its surroundings makes the image that much more interesting as was done with this one being framed from the top by the hanging overgrowth of the unkempt trees at this ghost town facility. And final notes on this photograph, Pat Snoke's hair is glowing as it's back lit by the sun, giving almost a kind of halo effect.

#12 Civil War re-enactments at Knights Ferry

I had never been to one of these, but am glad I did. It was tons of fun, I followed the Reynolds' family from Patterson around a bit during the event which lasts a few days. At designated times during the day, the war ready troops line up and perform what a civil war battle may have been like. The two battling parties blasted gunpowder at each other across the Stanislaus River with the historic covered bridge nearby. Costumes and authenticity, it all made for some pretty impressive images, which I gave a little bit of a rustic look in photoshop.

#13 Grayson's Moses Alvarado shot dead at age 19

The murderer(s) of Moses Alvarado have yet to be apprehended in this unsolved mystery that occurred March 16th of this year in a remote section of the San Joaquin River north of Grayson leaving these two family members to console one another, while Sheriff's deputies stand nearby trying to work on any leads in the case.

Police surrounded a vehicle at Grayson's One Stop Market where the vehicle that supposedly carried Alvarado from the river, was left behind.

#14 Low Snow in Del Puerto and San Antone Valley

Last year we had two really low snow days, one in early March, and one in December. I love photographing the snow especially so close to home. But the low snow in December came at a particularly difficult time. A day before the phenomenon, friend and Del Puerto Canyon resident Dave Currier had unexpectedly died. I hadn't been up to the canyon until going up there to inspect the snowfall and I couldn't help but think of Dave as I drove up the road, it was almost as if he left a small reminder of his presence with the blissfully beautiful snowfall that graced his and wife Bj's hilltop home that day.

#19 Power Team display

The Power Team came to town and Creekside Middle School in August, to perform their inspirational, motivational, downright fun strength show. They broke stacks of bricks, splintered wooden planks, bent the occasional cooking pan, and oh yeah... exploded cans of soda all over the unsuspecting crowd!

#20 A blustery day

Late October brought some windy days, toppling tree branches, uprooting tumbleweeds, and this huge tree in front of a house on Spooner Ct. When I got to the scene, city workers were inspecting the problem, which consisted in the tree blocking the whole street. This phenomena attracted all of the neighborhood children, as they played on and in the felled tree until city workers dismembered it and shredded it.

#22 City Manager's Smile

While it may seem like less of a smile than that of the Mona Lisa's, but I consider this expression from city manager Cleve Morris to be one of relief, as he glances at the huge crowd that amassed in his support during the "performance evaluation" mentioned earlier.

#25 At the scene of the Grayson shooting

While much of the drama was unfolding at Grayson's One Stop Market where 19 year old Moses Alvarado was dropped off, the Sheriff's were busy at the scene by the San Joaquin River where Alvarado was fatally shot, looking for clues, trying to piece this case together. This photo is actually two images taken next to each other at the same time, only to be stitched together later in photoshop. This allows me to retain more detail in the image by not having to zoom out or get farther away from the scene to take the photo.

#26 Fig avenue house fire's flames

Being able to see fire chief Steve Hall through the heat waves mottling the depiction of him was unpredicted yet welcomed, especially knowing that each firefighter that is shown in the paper gets fined(usually with pizza or icecream), hopefully this gave him a little slack since it's a little hard to tell who it actually is (although I could tell).

#27 Patterson City Council

Patterson Mayor Becky Campo explains to council member Dominic Farinha why farmland mitigation should be excluded from the city's latest industrial annexation at Tuesday's council meeting, as they voted 4-1 not to save farmland elsewhere. Strong expressions from the councillors made for this interesting photo.

#31 Skateboarder Stabbed

A skateboarder who tried to break up a fight was stabbed on the street intersection of Las Palmas and Pipit dr. near the Save Mart parking lot June 27th. Droplets of blood including these wrangled sun glasses could be found on the ground at the scene.

#32 Grainger Ground breaking Ceremony

I'm not one for ribbon cuttings or official ceremonies, so I took this shot from one end of the new Grainger distribution center site with earth movers and churned soil in the foreground, while the officials pulled out the golden shovels and performed their own ground breaking in the tent beyond.

#33 Firefighters at the Vernalis River Fire

These two firefighters didn't seem to care that the large tree behind them was going up in flames, but I knew some thing was about to happen, the wind was beginning to pick up. Sure enough, flames from this very picture, shot into the sky and spread spot fires that grew and spread rapidly on their own. After the flames were subdued, the firefighter at right said "I thought that was going to happen" as he walked by me. I told him that I saw it happening too.

#34 Wal-Mart's big wall

For the stories that the Irrigator did on Wal-Mart, I was sent to some of the surrounding supercenters for photos. I waited outside of this one for a bit until everyone came into the composition that I kind of had in mind. Cluttered, chaotic, some of the words that come to mind when I see this picture and think of Wal-Mart. I feel that this picture does no justice to chaotic and cluttered, as some of the other instances in Wal-Mart lore that I have witnessed.

Not just Patterson's Centennial

2009-10-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

While pursuing my never ending quest to further understand the inner workings of this ever changing, always interesting Earth of ours, I stumbled across the small crumbling ghost town of Rhyolite Nevada. Gold was first discovered near this site in late 1904, which sparked a gold rush and attracted thousands of prospectors, developers and other such entrepreneurs that flocked to make their fortunes. By 1907 Rhyolite provided electric lights, water mains, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, a school, an opera house, a stock exchange and a population near 5,000.I was at one of the Patterson Library's bi annual book sales when I came across this book titled "Ghost Towns of the West" published by the editors of Sunset Magazine in the 1970's. Though it was kind of old, the thick hardcover book was full of really interesting images of ghost towns in every state west of the Rockies. That was the first time I had seen Rhyolite, and an image of the Cook Bank (above) was portrayed in a night photo that I was determined to photograph for myself. So I paid $1 for the book and made off like a bandit with new found loot to sift through. (Just a note, the library still has a copy of this book on their shelf)
The first destination of a week and a half long Eastern Sierras and Basin and Range road trip, led me over the Tioga pass, down hwy 395, into Nevada, and eventually into Rhyolite in the middle of the night. So I busted out with the camera gear, portable studio lights, tripod, shutter release cable, and began illuminating what was left of what used to be the fanciest, largest building in the booming gold mining community that boasted 10,000 residents by 1910. However, the nearby ore producing mines were already nearing depletion and folks began abandoning Rhyolite which was left at a population of less than 1,000 by 1911. Residents moved entire buildings to nearby Beatty Nevada, sold portions of the Cook Bank Building, and even demolished portions of the bank to extract the gold that lie in it's walls (hence it's missing sides).
Rhyolite circa 1908

Interesting Architecture

As I went to bed in the nearby desert that night, I couldn't help but think about the city of Patterson and how both were similarly founded around the same time at the turn of the last century. The desert sunlight doesn't let you stay in your tent too long, so after breaking camp I returned to Rhyolite to see what the daylight would bring.

Returning to the Cook Bank ruins (above left) revealed a very familiar architectural style visible off in the distance, and I instantly recognized it as turn of the century Mission Revival architecture, very similar to the style used in Patterson's Center Building and Del Puerto Hotel, built and designed in 1910 by famed Southern California architect Arthur Burnett Benton.

Could Benton have designed the Las Vegas and Tonopah railroad station at Rhyolite the year prior in 1909?

If you look past the large Joshua tree and other desert vegetation, it's easy to see the uncanny resemblances of the railroad station and Patterson's Center Building.

After a little research and a call to a historian in Beatty Nv, it was revealed that the two buildings were not designed by the same architect, but the two designers may have been colleagues at one point prior.

Either way, the abandoned railroad station kept me thinking about these two towns that were both founded around the same time in the early 1900's, and why one is still functioning, and the other is, well... a ghost town.

And the answer is quite simple. While both communities were built on working the earth, the gold mines in Rhyolite soon dried up about the time when the Patterson family was investing in agriculture and developing the world's first successful lift irrigation system, which is still in use today.

So whether today's residents/leaders of the city of Patterson want to admit it or not, we all owe our thanks to this thriving, ag producing, city of ours to the sound entrepreneurial decisions of T.W. Patterson and his investment in some of the best agricultural land around.

So for very good reason I've become very vocal (to the dismay of some) about any plans for the future of our city that don't involve preserving the agricultural heritage that the Patterson's worked so hard to create. Over the past 15 years here in Patterson, it's become quite apparent that our leaders wished to push the city in a new direction, a path that many other growing communities chose to go down. One that involved catering to a different economy... the Bay Area commuter economy. And while I appreciate the difference in overall homogeneity that the newcomers have brought to our community, I don't appreciate the poor planning that went into designing where they would reside.

Driving through a maze of row after row of single family dwelling units, many of which now sit empty and disheveled or vandalized, or sit on some of the best farmland in the world, isn't quite the way I envisioned preserving the city's agricultural longevity. T.W. probably would have been happier knowing his plan was preserved, than having his likeness placed on a plaque on City Hall.

If Rhyolite's economy was based on a more sustainable economy like Patterson's was, there still might be people around to celebrate Rhyolite's centennial.

Here's an interesting dwelling unit in Rhyolite that still remains. Built in 1906, a house made out of 30,000 beer and liquor bottles rightly named, the "Bottle House".

Another Farming Communities' Centennial

I spent alot of time growing up as the son of migrant farm workers, and although I was born in Patterson, a good portion of each year was spent living in Southern California's Imperial Valley. I recently went back there to visit my grandmother and some other family members there this last Summer.

Highs were around 107 degrees, remarkably quite cool for August. While driving through the city of Brawley at mid day with my windows down, I recognized a sign up on the marquee of the city's dilapidated Fox theater.

Brawley was also in the midst of celebrating their centennial.

Brawley Theater photos courtesy Esther Duarte

While the Imperial Valley cities that I spent so much time growing up in, like Brawley, hold a very special place in my heart, it's easy to see that their downtown has deteriorated since I last remembered. Many of their storefronts sit empty, their theater now sits boarded up, with only the silhouettes of those that may have once performed there to grace the balcony windows.

Many here in Patterson, Ca may complain about the lack of shopping opportunities or things to do, but after 100 years, I think we're still better off than many places. And while we may not quite have our downtown theater, at least it doesn't sit unused.

Some parting images from Rhyolite

Here's some more in case you didn't get enough of the deserted mining town of Rhyolite Nv. Those that still frequent the area have instilled a sort of open air installation artistry, called the Goldwell Open Air Museum. These art pieces, some towering as high as 25 ft, are quite striking as you come up to them... anyways I'll let you see and decide for yourself.

It's Fair time... you know what that means!

2009-07-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

That it's time for the annual Stanislaus County Fair Destruction Derby! I've commented before on assignments that I look forward to every year, and the fair, including the destruction derby, is probably my favorite.

I mean seriously folks, this is American entertainment at its finest! Where else can you go to legally watch full grown men and women bash into each other with their vehicles? It may seem like a pointless pass time, but this event only comes around once a year and many, many people, including alot of locals, look forward to it every year.... including myself. Every year that I attend, my love for the quirky sport grows with every crunch of every car, with the sounds of the finely tuned engines blowing, or hearing the hiss of a busted radiator or blown tire... music to my ears.

Well above is a sequence of photos taken from last years demo derby, I had never witnessed a car being flipped during the event, and it actually happened twice, this second time the car's engine burst into flames. It's hard to see in the small frames, but the crowd in the background is going wild.

Above is one of my friends Nic Gustafson, standing atop what's left of a 1973 Pontiac. He's waiting for one of the tow trucks to come pull him out of the arena and back to the pits after competing in his heat. Believe it or not, his accordion car was beat back into place by his pit crew and was back out on the arena for the consolation round during last year's derby.

The woman in the photo above is also waiting for a tow truck, her car didn't get much play due to an engine failure. Photo was taken with a Pentax 6x7, ISO 100 and looks great as a black and white print.

Flames shooting from an engine during the derby a couple years ago.

Above is Nic's "accordion" Pontiac being smashed by Westley's Keith Yamamoto in the Red #5 car behind him. You can see why I call it an accordion, the whole rear 4 feet of the car were missing after this final consolation heat during last year's derby.

Above is Patterson's Kyle Guido in the #69 Lincoln Town Car, mashing into Westley's Jason Yamamoto in his vehicle during a destruction derby two years ago, from what I remember, Guido did pretty good overall.

Above, Jason Yamamoto waves the red caution flag from his car after a fire breaks out in his cab filling it with smoke.

Above is Patterson's Brent Kaiser taking a hard blow from a car during the derby a couple years ago. Brent will be driving again this year as well.

Above is Patterson's Matthew Hollowell getting hung up on one of the K rails that surrounds the arena. He had a little radiator damage and damage to the points system that which controls the spark to the engine, but the same car above has been refurbished with electronic ignition, new paint, and is ready to go for his wife Amy to drive during Tuesday August 4th's Demo Derby.

Above, rural Patterson's Jake "trap shooter" Smith and his pit crew try to get his car started and into the consolation round after the car died on the way into the arena. They couldn't get it started and had to push it out of the way. I'm not sure if Smith is competing again this year or not, but I'd like to see him out there make more of a run this time around.
So getting the cars ready to go and driving them is half the fun. Putting them back together in a limited amount of time to get them ready for the next round is the other half. Above, Jason Yamamoto's car is being worked on by his pit crew... cut the fenders off in the back, work to get the engine running up front, and making sure that the fire won't happen again inside the cab while the rest of the derby pit madness goes on behind them. This shot was taken a couple years ago.

Above, rural Patterson's Marty Barbaste cuts the fenders off of Brent Kaiser's car after his first heat last year. Cutting the fenders off allows the tires of the car to move a little more freely, especially after the cars have been smashed in a little.

Above, Westley's Bob Yamamoto, welds the rear end of Jason's derby car together, giving him more traction in the rear wheels when driving in the arena.

Above a separate pit crew uses a handheld circular saw to cut away a trunk that is getting in the way sending sparks everywhere. The pit is always exciting to be around during the derby, there is always something going on, sledgehammers flying, sparks and hot embers getting stuck down your shirt or clothes... it's a complete auto repair shop, that has to get cars working in a matter of minutes rather than days, it really puts the pressure on.

Well, here's this year's competitors, above is Amy Whitman-Holloway, and Matthew Holloway standing next to their vehicles. The white car is an '84 Cadillac, and the black one is Matt's '78 Grand Marquis from last year. Unlike the other derby entrants, these two will be competing during Tuesday's event not Monday's Traditional Turmoil Destruction Derby event. Both are competitive, but the second day is a little easier for spectators to get tickets to and includes a derby class just for women, as well as a heat for more modern cars, and a heat for trucks and Suv's as well. I'm looking forward to the Metal Mayhem derby event just as much as Monday night's event.

Above Kyle Guido and some helpers from Ken Herger's Elm avenue shop (Thomas Dodd and Sergio Ceravantes) get to work on Guido's '71 Chrysler New Yorker. With less than a week before the Monday night event, the crew is still working to get the engine running, but under the direction of Ken Herger, I know that things will be running smoothly come competition time.

Above, Jason Yamamoto shows me the engine of his '69 Chrysler Imperial. His brother Keith is running an identical car posted at the bottom of the post, however this will be the last year that the county fair allows Imperials in the derby because the vehicles have proven themselves to be superior to others in the derby class.
Running with the Y&L Farms crew from out of Westley this year is going to be Johnny Azevedo's Chrysler Newport, the crew just started on this entry but will have it running by next Monday's event time.

There's Keith Yamamoto's car, minus the derby paint and numbers, a stout '69 Chrysler Imperial. Good luck to all of this year's competitors.

gone for a few days...

2009-07-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Took a few days off recently to get out of the area and out of the heat for a while. So, my girlfriend Lori and I packed up the car and headed north to the lush and green forests of Oregon and Northern California. It was a much needed getaway that encompassed 1,700 miles in 6 days. First stop in Oregon was the Umpqua natural hot springs shown below. This travertine springs formed originally when trees in the area grew old, died, and upon falling over, created a hole in the ground that the springs would form in. A perfect area to soak... that is if you can stand 112 degree heat.

Of course the water flowing from the source pool above has to go somewhere and flows into other pools, some natural, and some formed with the help of human hands, before trickling all the way down to the rushing, frigid, Umpqua river below.Such a beautiful, relaxing, place it was, very hard to leave. Lori and I hiked in about 3.5 miles with our overnight backpacks, and after staying a night at a nearby free campsite, were back on the trail through the Oregon Cascades.

There's Lori cooling down in a portion of Cougar reservoir. While the water was a little cold for me, it was just perfect for her. She swam over to the waterfall and back and contemplated some cliff diving. We camped there for two nights, relaxed at the Cougar hot springs (photographed at the top of the page) where natural hot water flows from the little fern covered cave at the bottom right of the picture.
After a few days in Oregon, we cut over to the Oregon coastline, stopping here and there to take in the scenery.

By the time the sun began to set, we had re-entered California and began to think about where we might camp for the night. Pulling off of hwy 101 we drove through the old growth forests of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park (also on Gov. Arnold's list of park closures). We found many open campsites and in the morning began to explore the many thousands of acres of old growth redwood forests.
I love how the sun peeks through the canopy of the tall redwood forests. Since the sun is always moving, there is always different types of lighting that shine through onto the forest floors. The light in its varying intensities, can really set the mood of a photograph, however you have to be quite quick in composing and taking your photograph due to the fact that in a few moments, the sun would be shining on something else.
Below, frequenters to the park beat the heat in the Eel River, which runs right through the Humboldt-Redwoods State Park.

Well, it was an amazing trip full of sights to see. Can't wait 'til my next stint of time off coming here in a few weeks, I think I might head down south to the desert, see some of my family that lives down there, and share some of their 117 degree heat that I miss so much. It definitely is a different part of the state, but still just as beautiful and deserves just as much attention in conservation and preservation efforts that the old growth Humboldt-Redwoods forests receive.

spectacular skies

2009-06-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah I know, babies, flowers, and sunsets, are some of the most cliche, things for a photographer to photograph... but lately, I haven't been able to not pay attention to the sky. The recent storm system that's brought us all of this nice cool weather, has been doing some really cool things to the atmosphere above us.

I'm sure everyone saw, or heard the lightning and thunder that came through Patterson late Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning. I was already on my way to bed when I saw flashing lights outside of my window that didn't look like fire or police.

Seeing the lightning, I grabbed one of my cameras and began to photograph, but the storm was quickly moving over Patterson and heading to the west and the hills of the Diablo Range.

Lightning storms of such magnitude don't happen around here every day, let alone every year, so the decision to follow the storm in search of better lightning photos was a quick and easy one.

Some of my most memorable experiences have come from the various lightning storms that I've been in/traveled through/photographed over the years. One such event, maybe 8 or 9 years ago, caught me by surprise one night after finishing a shift of slanging pizzas at Pizza Plus. I remeber, still in my work clothes, I jumped in my daily driver at the time, a 1970 Mach I mustang, and barreled on up into the canyon following the storm that was quickly clearing. I didn't have any camera gear with me at the time, but I wouldn't have wanted to get out of the car for a photo anyways because after driving into the canyon a few miles, the water was pouring out of the sky in buckets. And the lightning, striking in the clouds above me, and striking the canyon walls around me as I drove, was one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed. For a split second, while that brilliant flash of light explodes and expires, the entire canyon is lit up as bright as day. For me, that image didn't require a camera... the lightning seared that image into my brain forever.

So beautiful, yet so violent... nature had let me witness something amazing on that dark wet windy stretch 16 miles up Del Puerto Canyon, but it wasn't going to let me get away completely unscathed either.

I was ready to follow that storm all the way over Mt. Hamilton, that is, until the rock slide. It was only a handful of boulders, mostly smaller, but the largest most jagged one, maybe the size of a soccer ball, was right in my path, and I was going too fast to avoid it completely. I didn't want to swerve and lose control over the cliff that borders the canyon road, so I slowed as much as I could, made sure that the rock wouldn't hit my tires or oil pan, and hoped that it would pass under... but it didn't.

When I finally came to a stop and checked under the mustang, I could see that the power steering fluid hose had been ruptured and was bleeding the dark red fluid all over the road as if I'd severed one of the cars' vital arteries. I had to turn back right away. About half way into the drive back I lost all power steering and eventually ended up frying the power steering pump because it was running with no fluid. But, $100 and a rebuilt power steering pump later, the car was back on the road.

Anywho... this latest round of lightning photos didn't quite turn out how I wanted. Photographing lightning requires a number of different factors that all have to fall in line, the main one being... LUCK! The lightning was striking over the ridge, and that was what I was aiming for, but then a strike would hit very close causing the shot to be way too over exposed... frustrating, but I did manage to get a few shots that somewhat showed some lightning bolts. Above is one of those shots where the lightning was too close, and the lower one, the lightning was farther enough away to be predictable enough to photograph.

Patterson's Blossom Hill Orchard

2009-05-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

We may no longer be the true apricot capital of the world... but before we grew tract homes, we grew multitudes upon multitudes of the tart orange fruit that helped give us the title that we base Patterson's biggest party around... the Apricot Fiesta.

We here at the Irrigator have been anticipating it as one of our busiest times of the year. Taking photos and writing stories in preparation. One of my pre-fiesta duties each year, is to photograph the many different processes that the apricot goes through each year here in Patterson.

Dave Santos, from the Santos-Lucich Blossom Hill farms off of Rogers Rd., has been extremely kind enough to allow me to follow along those who work to process the fruit from start to finish, and while we don't have the chance to publish all these photos in the newspaper or the Fiesta Issue, I'm glad that I get to share them here.

Above, Modesto's Jose Castillo carefully pours a bucket of Poppy Apricots into a bin that will be transported to the Lucich-Santos farms packing shed.

A Poppy Apricot tree, full of apricots in an orchard off of Zacharias rd. just west of Patterson.
Pickers carefully pour the apricots into bins that will be carted back to the packing shed for processing.
Absolutely beautiful, I love this assignment every year. I can't wait to walk through those orchards and smell the distinctive smell of the ripening apricots... the smell I and many others grew up with walking to or from our destinations around town. I used to love walking down 9th street on a warm summer evening, passing Mike Mahaffey's orchards and saving an apricot or two that may have fallen off the tree or rolled into the street. While those days are definitely over, I still hope I can buy some apricots that aren't from Turkey or Argentina from the Walgreens that will be going on his property.
3:00, quitting time in the orchard, but back at the packing shed, things are just about ready to get under way.
Here, a tractor is backing up the filled bins of Poppy Apricots at the packing shed, while stacks of organic Apriums (75% apricot, 25% plum) are first in line to go through the packing shed conveyors. According to Dave Santos, the organics have to be processed first because they have to go through the clean system, before any other non-organic fruits touch the conveyors.

The stacks of organic apriums are ready and waiting to go on the first day of operations at the Lucich-Santos farms on Thursday May 7th.

These two supervisors from the shed are so nice, they remember me every year I go back there, and I remember them.

Everything's just about prepped and ready.

Everybody's in their proper place and the only thing left to do is to flip the switch.

And here it goes.

The main switches and operations of the shed are controlled from this central elevated point, and the whole process can be stopped from here if it needs to be.
Here go the first organic apriums, poured into the system where they are rinsed and sent to the first conveyor.
Here's that first main line and the workers that begin hand sorting them based on quality.

Such a serious face from a seriously hard worker.

Sorting through the first organic apriums on the conveyor.

Some of them go onto these red plastic trays.
There's always some sort of glitch when starting things up again.

But, the kinks are worked out and things are up and rolling again.

After the fruit is sorted, some end up pouring into these boxes.
Gotta keep the boxes ready to be fed into the machine.

Some boxes are filled with the apriums on the sheet of plastic.

While the loose ones in the boxes are weighed out, then sent along to be shipped away somewhere.
Rolling along.
There's Dave Santos making sure that everything's running smoothly.

It's the end of the line for the organic apriums. They've been sorted, weighed, boxed, stacked on pallets and ready to be sent to their new owners.

Fiesta Issue Photos

2009-05-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

The 39th annual Patterson Apricot Fiesta is nearing and is right around the corner.

Our annual Fiesta special issue is out and available at the Patterson Irrigator.

I'll have to say, that with all of the changes going on around the Irrigator here, sometimes changing on a day to day basis, the anticipation of the Fiesta that normally builds for me has been a little befuddled. I got a chance to go out treasure hunting with some of my friends one evening only once. My friends briefly checked the Carnegie building across the street from where the treasure was found next to the downtown fire department. I had no idea, but once again the treasure was hidden within view of my front porch. It was a complete change of mood to see Wendy Lopez and son Corey come into the Irrigator office Tuesday afternoon with beaming smiles from ear to ear, shaking as they told us where they found the treasure.

It hasn't quite hit me yet, but as soon as some of the booths start getting dropped off down town next week, and the stage begins to be assembled for the downtown pageants on Friday, then the fiesta fever will probably hit.

I can't wait to see what old friends will return this year to the fiesta, and which new ones I will make.

Anywho... the Fiesta special issue is out and here are this year's Miss Patterson contestants. The 14 finalists, photographed along the historic row of Canary Island Date Palms off of Old Las Palmas ave.

Alejandra Gonzalez-Hernandez

Andrea Silva

Breana White

Brittany McDermott

Catarina Lam

Chelsea Taylor

Chelsea White

Darlene Ruiz

Jessica Carranza

Kelly Cox

Kiana Weinzheimer

Lacey Nicholson

Stephanie Camacho

and Valeria Nunez

The judges are going to have a hard time choosing this year, good luck to all the finalists.

Check back within the next week for another blog posting on the start-to-finish process of one of Patterson's most famous crops.

the 'Path of the Padres'

2009-03-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

I've always been interested in California history. It being a relatively new state in a relatively new country, a lot can be learned by looking back to our recent past. So I try to involve myself in whatever resources that come available that help facilitate learning about our historic area.

One such opportunity is that of the 'Path of the Padres', a moderately strenuous day hike that takes you along the original path that the Franciscan Priests (Padres) used to travel over Pacheco Pass from Mission San Juan Bautista on their way into the central valley. I had heard about the guided hike a few years ago and figured that it was about time to inquire about it, so after googling 'Path of the Padres', a telephone number listed on the city of Los Banos' website came up and I called it. After talking to a ranger I was informed that reservations for the hike (which begin in February) had been all reserved... all except for the day of the 21st of March, which was only two days after I had called. So I told them to hold me a spot. I met the ranger and the group of hikers selected to make the 5 mile round trip, at the boat launch of the Los Banos Creek reservoir at 8:00 a.m. There we boarded a small pontoon boat (The Arroyo Queen) that took us across the small lake where Los Banos Creek flows into the reservoir and our hike would begin. Along the ride we made stops, admired the numerous native waterfowl, and were pulled into a marshy area where the tules had grown and provided areas for animals to hide in.
After the boat ride, we began our hike up along the flood plain of the Los Banos Creek bed. Ranger Richard Ranc, leading the hike, informed us that we were about to cross the site where a sizeable Yokuts Indian village once stood.
Here's that site looking back towards the central valley.

Along the way, Ranger Richard pointed out the various plants and animals along the way. He showed us which ones were edible and were used by the Native Americans, and which ones were poisonous. Above he points to a poisonous plant called locoweed. Apparently, the Spanish named it that after they watched their cows eat it and then watched them go crazy. Now the cows stay away from it and it grows taller than the grass that surrounds it.

It was a beautiful day, the second official day of spring. It started out bright and sunny, then got kind of overcast and spotty through out the rest of the day. The constantly shifting light made it a little more frustrating to photograph considering the bright sunlight makes for a much more vibrant color photograph than does one with diffused grayish light.

Like some of the colors in these lichens on the rock and the petals of the poppy... they would have really popped out if the sun were shining... but being part of a guided hike, I couldn't be having the ranger waiting for me, waiting for the sun to come out... at least not for too long.

The trail started out relatively flat, but we soon entered the narrows of Menjoulet Canyon, formed by the erosion of the layers and layers of uprighted sediments that form the eastern edges of California's coastal mountain range.

This is the area where the creek makes large natural pools and was noted as the area where Padre Arroyo would stop to bathe during his travels between Mission San Juan Bautista and the central valley. These pools in the creek , referred to as 'Los Banos' by the Spanish, is what led to the name of the city of Los Banos. Another poisonous plant, this one some sort of Hemlock, is potentially deadly to humans.A ranger shows off a horsehair worm found inside a pool of standing water. It looks really tangled up right now, but as soon as it was put back in the water it quickly started to untangle itself.
On up Menjoulet Canyon were some really interesting rock formations, like this natural overhang.

Before reaching the terminus of our hike and breaking for lunch, Ranger Richard gave us the option of following him on a side hike up to the tops of the hills overlooking Menjoulet Canyon where we could see the largest grove of Sycamore trees in the entire state.
It was a rough hike straight up 600 ft, especially with my camera gear, but totally worth it. From there we could see the central valley, but we could also see a considerable amount to our west. From the west end of Menjoulet Canyon starts the huge Sycamore tree grove that snakes west towards the coast range.

Here's a Sycamore tree up close. The white bark really stands out, as do the green new growth leaves glistening in the sun.

So look closely at this map below. The ranger passed it around along the trail. The black area shows the existing waterways, the San Luis Reservoir, and the Los Banos Detention Dam and reservoir both constructed in 1967. In blue is a separately proposed off-stream reservoir approved in 1980.

The proposed Los Banos Grandes Reservoir would essentially dam up Menjoulet Canyon and flood the entire Sycamore grove shown above. Ranger Ranc informed us that neither the funding nor the water has become available to move this project forward since it's approval in 1980, so they continue to do hikes up here every spring, walking the same path as the natives and California's first European explorers did.

Hiking up steep means you have to hike down steep. If you ever explore this area, I recommend good sturdy shoes that you don't mind getting dirty.
A rope helped out with some of the steep slippery stuff. Then we were on our way back up the Los Banos Creek bed to meet up with the rest of the group, eat a quick lunch, then begin the hike back to the boat and back to the boat dock by 3:30. I recommend it for everyone. And while I went along with the ranger's tour, he said that people can hike back to that area with out the boat ride across the reservoir and with out reservations. He said not many people do though because it would require an extensive hike around the reservoir to the other side. So if you missed it this year, you've got something to think about for next spring.

clearing up the air

2009-02-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

around Half Dome that is...I had no idea that one simple photo that took me all of 1 minute to pull over on the side of the road and photograph, was going to cause so much controversy. And not just in the city of Patterson, but apparently in the online communities and blog sites having to do with photography and Yosemite National Park.

The original published photograph that appeared in the Feb. 18th edition of the Patterson Irrigator even prompted another photographer by the name of Tony Immoos, to see for himself if Half Dome is truly visible from the San Joaquin Valley, click on his link to see the product of his efforts... very impressive.

Apparently Tony's quest to find the truth in my photo led him to Denair where he snapped a series of different photos of the alleged dome with different scenes of farmland in the foreground... added proof that I and others are not crazy after all.

--Here's my story. It all started about four years ago when then managing editor of the Patterson Irrigator, Jonathan Partridge, decided to take a hike one day into the hills west of Patterson, namely, 12 miles up off of Del Puerto Canyon road. After climbing up a canyon and reaching a summit, Jonathan received a phone call where folks don't normally receive cell phone reception and continued to talk and talk and talk, until before he knew it, nightfall was before him. He ended up calling emergency services after he got lost, but no one, including a search and rescue helicopter, could find him. Jonathan was instructed to stay put and try to bundle up for the night 'til morning, which he did. In an article that he wrote after his experience, he described the view from the top of the mountain in the morning and said he could see Half Dome from where he was up in the Diablo Range. I, and many others were very skeptical of his description, and from then on I was determined to try and see it for myself.

Sure enough, a few weeks later, a huge winter storm blew through the valley and I figured that of all times, this would be the opportune time to see Half Dome, when the air was clean and clear. I was photographing in beautiful Del Puerto Canyon at the time and still skeptical, decided to climb a nearby hill to get an overlook of the valley. I'll never forget that day when I got that clear look of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and Half Dome... sticking out like a sore thumb! At the time, I was photgraphing with a wide angle lens on 35mm color film, but vowed to one day photograph this elusive phenomenon with better equipment. After returning back to my car and the Interstate 5 Patterson exit, I looked to the skyline and was able to still see Half Dome... in fact I was able to see it half way on my way to Turlock! (And as Tony Immoos has proved from Denair as well)

So, fastforward 4 years to Tuesday February 10th 2009. I was running late for a class I'm signed up for at Modesto Junior College when I noticed the elusive Half Dome looming up from a farm off of Jennings rd. I was already late, but I couldn't let it get away from me again, so I pulled over and took a total of 15 frames, the first of which is at the top of this post.

Using the Canon 30D and the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens that I use for work, I focussed on the horizon and took a series of underexposed photos, knowing that it's easier to retain digital information when correcting an image that is darker rather than lighter. The air over the valley was quite clear, but I knew that the image would have to go through some PhotoShop filters and undergo some major cropping before I could even remotely want to have the photo published.

Here's the undoctored original image above.

I zoomed in and cropped it a little.

Cropped it a little more.

Here it is cropped to the original size and format it was when published. I had to use a combination of levels, curves, colorbalancing, and the history brush to get it where it is now.

Here it is cropped in just a little more to really emphasize it's presence. I would have used something along these lines, but I felt that the power line needed to have some context and I chose to include the power pole as well.

While these photos may not be the best photos of Half Dome, I think they clearly show that on a clear enough day, you can see Half Dome with the naked eye from little ol' Patterson. Here's a link to the original blog discussion on a Fred Miranda photography website, thanks Chaz for letting me know.

Amgen Stage 3 finish in Modesto

2009-02-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

I happened to be at the Stanislaus County Library in downtown Modesto Tuesday, working on a research paper for my English class on the Miumne and Hoyumne Yokuts Indians who used to live along the West Side of Stanislaus County until about 1809, when the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race came rolling by.They rode by very fast making two laps around downtown Modesto before crossing the finish line. This year Stage 3 started in San Jose, and much to the delight of a few Del Puerto Canyon residents, avoided traversing Mt. Hamilton and the Diablo Range before entering Modesto.

Even though the canyon and Patterson residents didn't get to see the race this year, so far 875,000 other folks have shown up to get a glimpse of the racers and Tour De France legend Lance Armstrong as he pedals through his comeback year.

McHenry ave. Modesto Wal-Mart

2009-01-27T10:01:00.000-08:00

Whether you like the idea or not, Wal-Mart has expressed their interest to build what would be the largest Wal-Mart in Stanislaus County... right here in Patterson. These photos are of one of the newest Wal-Marts, the one off of McHenry ave in Modesto. This store is around 120,000 square feet, while the one in Patterson, should it be approved, will be around 158,000 square feet.
Unbeatable?
Lots of room for produce.
At the check out aisle.
Like I said, lots of room for produce, besides all of the other products Wal-Mart normally provides.

my top photos of 2008

2008-12-31T12:16:00.000-08:00

These were my top choices of photos for 2008. For the full story that accompanied some of these photos in the 12-31-08 issue of the Irrigator, click on the link to the website here.The 2008 AMGEN tour of California pedals through Patterson en route to San Jose via Del Puerto Canyon and Mt. Hamilton.

A pair of Pitman High students ready the arrival of their dairy cows at the Stanislaus County Fair in August.

Family members grieve the loss of their loved ones in a fatal canal accident near Westley that claimed 7 lives and received national media attention.
I took this photo while hiking through Henry Coe State Park in late March, during my attempt to traverse the Diablo Range from Morgan Hill to Patterson.
Patterson's Greg Werne helps rescue thousands of catfish that were pulled up in vehicles by tow truck driver Doug Borges from the Delta Mendota Canal in January.

Lynda Zaragoza is named to the Miss Patterson court during the 2008 Miss Patterson pageant at the Apricot Fiesta.
Torreadors return to Patterson during the Festa de Espiritu Santu's (F.D.E.S.) bloodless bullfight. The bullfighters are all volunteers who chose to enter the ring at their own risk. Some used whatever they could to draw the bull's attention, like this spongebob blanket. I also saw people using umbrellas... it was so cool.
A structure fire off of Loquat Ave. in the Patterson colony, started by scrap metal recyclers using blow torches to retrieve the metal. The structures were total losses.
Some huge windstorms trapped a few Patterson residents' vehicles in late May.

Stanislaus County Sheriff's deputies Eugene Day and Matthew Wagner make a routine traffic stop on Del Puerto Ave. in front of the Total Discount Store.
The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Dive team assesses the recovery efforts that will need to be undertaken to retrieve two vehicles and and the victims trapped in the waters of the Delta Mendota Canal.
Construction slowly continued on the homes at Diablo Grande over the year despite the water woes and uncertainty of the resort's future.
A patch of California Poppies opens for the morning sun near Del Puerto Canyon's historic gateway. One of the largest displays of wildflowers in years could be witnessed over the spring season.
A crop duster crashed in a field off of Marshall road in mid July. The pilot escaped the burning wreck by jumping from the plane as it fell towards the ground. He then hitched a ride back to his car and checked himself into the hospital.

The colors of a setting sunset reflect off of the smooth foundation of the Patterson Business Park's newest building after a Summer storm late in May. The 580,000 square foot McShane Corp building awaits the installation of it's concrete walls, shown in the lower right quadrant of the photo.
Stanislaus County Supervisor Jeff Grover smirks as he listens to the many pleas of Patterson and West Side residents for the county NOT to continue business with West Park developer Jerry Kamilos during a meeting April 22nd. Supervisor Jim DeMartini is seated at his left.
Left over wreckage from the motorcycle that claimed the life of Patterson Planning Commissioner Jim McCluskey as he rode his bicycle along Diablo Grande Parkway in August.
Patterson FFA student Evan Bachelder takes a nap in his pigs' pen after tending to the animals during opening weekend of the Stanislaus County Fair.
San Francisco all girl rock band "Tinkture" plays during Patterson rock festival "Hellapop" in a garage on Ash Ave, along with many many other bands.
A vegetation fire burns 30 or so acres of thick riverside vegetation near Crows Landing August 11th.

Doug Borges of Borges Auto Service, pulls the second of two vehicles involved in a deadly Delta Mendota Canal accident, from the water around midnight. Investigators photograph the scene and cover up the bodies.
Del Puerto Creek west of Patterson flows close to it's highest for the winter/spring season of 2008.
05-26-08--Darrell and 13 week old son Miles Triano reverently visited the various grave sites of those who have served in the name of our nation, after the Memorial day services Monday at the Patterson District Cemetery.
Dominic Verducci ollies the auditorium 10 stair after the last day of school in May.
Eight year old Nicole Ramirez suffers from severe aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder in which too few red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are produced leaving her susceptable to sickness. In order to help prevent further sickness, Nicole is forced to play indoors, but finds refuge in her room where she can play for hours with her dolls and doll house.
Patterson and Central valley residents experienced poor air quality as more than 1,000 wildfires started by lightnign strikes burned in Northern California in late June.
UC Merced Anthropologists and county coroners work to dig up the remains of a 'Jane Doe' buried in the Patterson District Cemetery in 1971 after she was discovered with multiple stab wounds in the Delta Mendota canal. Stanislaus County Sheriffs detectives watch from behind, they hope to use modern technology to help identify the woman and hopefully find the womans' murderer. Later in the year investigators identified the body as San Francisco's Mary Alice Willey.
Homes slowly go up on a terrace on Golf Canyon Ct. in Diablo Grande in March.
Diablo Grande's Ranch Course and tract homes photographed in March.
An empty lot on Foxy ct. in Diablo Grande's custom built estate home sites photographed in October.
Patterson Mayor Becky Campo celebrates her re-election with friends food and drinks at Las Gaviotas Mexican Restaurant on November 4th.
The mood at mayoral candidate Luis Molina's campain party November 4th, was a little more somber as attendees watch the television for updates on the national election results, while Molina checks his cell phone and computer for updates on the local election.
Audiorama plays at the Emulsified Music festival in downtown Patterson October 18th.

Andre Smith from 'Nadine the Band' plays the drums on a closed of section of S. Del Puerto Avenue during the Emulsified Music Festival which featured 16 bands playing live
Farming is still the main activity to occur on the grounds of the proposed West Park inland port site in Crows Landing, as tractors use the defunct airfield as a means to travel between farms.
Record crowds filled North and South Parks over the Apricot Fiesta weekend.
Some friends enjoy the beer garden at the Apricot Fiesta during Friday night of the pageant. Many former and current Patterson residents converge on Las Palmas ave during the extent of the Fiesta to reunite.
Real Estate auction signs and foreclosure notices begin to trickle into Patterson in February.

Police and Paramedics stand watch as the new Mexican restaurant, Hacienda Arteaga, burns in early August.
The concrete walls go up on the 580,000 square foot foundation to Mc Shane corp's newest distribution center building.
The 2008 Miss Patterson pageant contestants take the stage during opening night of the Apricot Fiesta.
Political signs begin to cover the city as election day draws nearer.
Carlos Roque (right) and a woman who wished to remain annonymous, stand beside a roadside memorial put in place by Roque who lost his son to an auto accident six years ago at the same site of Monday night's fatal accident that killed Monica Martinez and three year old son Eloy. The woman, who witnessed the accident and tried to help the dying victims, says she hasn't been able to work for the past few days as the horrific details of Monday night's accident are stuck with her.
Patterson High School campus security Eddie Thompson helps keep students safe at the school in the wake of a gang brawl a year earlier.

Concrete walls go up at Walnut Grove Elementary School's new joint use gymnasium.

Construction continues at Walnut Grove's classrooms.

West Park consultants try to convice Patterson residents about the good things that West Park will bring, during an informational meeting held at City Hall.

the year in sports photos 2008

2008-12-31T11:32:00.000-08:00

2008 brought about many exciting and memorable moments in Patterson sports. Many thanks to those players and coaches that allow me to follow them along for the wins and the losses. These are some of my favorites.

some end of the year panoramic photos

2008-12-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

Going through all of the photos that I've taken for the Patterson Irrigator over the past year is quite a daunting task. For the past three and a half years that I've been at the Irrigator we've done an end of the year re-cap of top stories and top photos, and this year was no different. So I narrowed my selection of photographs down to about 30 news photos and 10 sports photos. I'll be posting them along with a story I wrote to go along with it on this blog site here soon.

But going through all the photos I came across these 13 panoramic photos and two sequences that I put together for the newspaper. Of all of them, half were published, but all of them I thought should receive some sort of special posting considering alot more time and post photographic effort went into making them.

So what constitues as a digital panoramic photo?

For me, they are multiple photos that are stitched together with the help of Photoshop to create one very wide angle of view.

Double click on the photos themselves to get a larger more detailed view of the scene at hand, but remember these photos are all copyrighted by either the Patterson Irrigator or me, Elias H. Funez

In this photo of the Hacienda Arteaga fire on Hwy 33 in Patterson August 21 2008, four images were taken at the same shutter speed, aperture setting, and focal point with the idea in mind that I would be stitching the photos together later. A tripod is recomended for taking these types of photos, but a steady hand and careful photographic technique should get you away from the tripod and out in the field.
This shot of the sunrise along side the McMansions of Diablo Grande one morning in October, was a stitching together of three photos. I turn to panoramic shots of things that require a wider more encompassing view, when my wide angle lens won't capture everything, or I wish for more detail and a larger photo.
This photo of students at PHS getting out of a day at school on the 9th street side was only two photographs.
When members of the General Plan Advisory Committee were confronted by landowner Jeff Arambel, and his desire to develop this area of Del Puerto Canyon just West of Interstate 5, I trodded out to the open range for a wider view, something that showed the entire area in question. This one is about 5 photos, and if you look closely on the upper right hand corner of the photograph, a truck can be seen on I-5 and the Kohl's distribution center can be seen beyond it.

Two photographs stitched together for the P.R.I.D.E. (Patterson recognizing individuals determined to excel) brochure that is handed out to perspective scholarship donors and those in attendance of the P.R.I.D.E. scholarship awards night.
Here's a sequence of seven shots of an amazing Patterson sk8er by the name of Dominic Verducci. It took him a couple of attempts, but by the second try he successfully ollies and clears the PHS auditorium 10 -stair. Some photos were needed for a story on the fact that the city has no designated skate area or skate park for area skaters to utilize. It was kind of a last minute assignment, so I just drove around until I found some skaters doing their thing. The skate park has been approved as a part of the Patterson Community Center master plan and a designer (Wally Hollyday) and some initial concepts have come forward as a result.
This was three photos taken off of Jennings road just east of Patterson on a partly cloudy day in January. I really love those old oak trees along the river there. Its scenic beauty always makes the drive to or from Modesto a little more peaceful.
The Irrigator received some numbers that showed the population of the city of Patterson slowing drastically. So I traveled to the empty corner of the Patterson Garden's subdivision in early May, where I climbed the fence for a wide angle shot. However even standing on top of the fence there I couldn't get it all into one shot, so again a panorama. Looks like alot of space to wait for Patterson Gardens to build out. Ahhh, the highly anticipated coming of TACO BELL! Two photographs stitched together. They don't all work out seamlessly though. If you look closely there is a slight discrepancy in the shadow that is created from the car that is ordering at the drive-thru speaker. That photo of the two cars at left, was placed over the photo used on the right and some of the information gets lost a little bit, but the high angle drive thru parking lot shot was still successful in my mind.

The first major morning fog in town for the 2008-2009 winter season prompted me to scurry out my front door one morning and rush to find some subjects to photograph before the fog lifted. Got a shot of the highschool baseball field in the fog, then off to the rail right of way and a shot of the train tracks disappearing into the fog. I could tell the fog was lifting fast and ran to the second story of the City Hall building where some friends in the planning department kindly let me onto the balcony there, where I took these two photos and stitched them together.
This shot was created after Pacific Sod announced that it was closing it's business in September, showing some of the acres and acres of sod in place off of Loquat ave in the north Patterson Colony.
This one could be deceiving. Not many people think that this is multiple shots, but there was no way I could cram the entirety of the scene into one picture, considering I was already crammed against the backyard fence of a Heartland Ranch home where the weeds were as tall as I was. This was taken in three photos.

Two photos were stitched together to create this panorama of the Longs Distribution center in the Patterson business park, after Longs had announced the sale of their corporation to CVS pharmacy.

foggy days and foggy nights

2008-12-09T15:11:00.001-08:00

foggy daysand foggy nights
have returned to Patterson
so drive safely... or don't drive at all

don't trash the canyon please!

2008-11-12T12:46:00.001-08:00

So I got off of a long shift yesterday at work and decided to go to Del Puerto Canyon to admire the natural beauty that borders the western edge of our city there. Along the drive I noticed a female deer (doe) grazing in the tall grass between the canyon road and I-5 where the city's General Plan Advisory Committee suggested expanding the city's borders for the purpose of general commercial and estate residential housing. But I continued on, stopping to admire the site for just a moment. The sunset colors were soon about to peak and I had not yet decided what vantage point to assume, however, when rounding a corner an infamous pile of canyon trash caught my eye, neatly placed along side the road at the Eagle Rock (Graffiti Rock) turnout.

My first thoughts, of course, were to search through the bags to hopefully find a couple articles of junk mail with an address so that I could politely return the trash to its rightfull owner. Who knows, maybe they accidentally forgot their trash there and were hoping someone would return it to them... but I doubt it.

My rules for returning canyon trash to its rightful owner require me to find at least two articles of thrown away trash with the same address, that proves to me that it was much less of an accident if I found just one address.

This type of thing happens to me pretty often, unfortunately, when I go to the canyon. Last time, in the exact same turnout, I found boxes and bags of random household trash with three articles of thrown away mail with the same address... bingo! So I loaded it all in my car and returned it to its rightful owner at a house with a Tracy address in an upscale housing tract neigborhood complete with its own manmade lake. I can only imagine the look on their faces when opening the front door and finding all of their trash back on their porch after thinking they left it 30 miles away. I just hope that they learn not to do it again... especially not in Del Puerto Canyon! That's the worst place to leave your trash because hardly no one, including landowners, go out there to pick it up.

I'm just glad that I didn't find anything toxic in those bags of trash, for I've had to step in front of target shooters to grab one of their targets that happened to be a CAR BATTERY! sitting on a rock right inside the creek bed!!!! First these guys were shooting oak trees, and after I explained to them that they are slowly killing the tree they started shooting the car battery in the creek bed... @#$%@#$^%

After searching and retrieving the bags of trash, some that had rolled down the hill, only one address showed up. It was at the back of a training packet for KFC workers from store #261, the owners of which live in Merced. I thought it was kind of funny that one of the sections in the training packet was "PRACTICE CONTROLLING WASTE".

After further analysis of the trash, it was obvious that the bags were left there after someone collected all the trash in the Graffiti Rock area. Much of it was target practice, boxes shot full of holes, empty boxes of ammo, fast food trash from Jack In the Box, Wendys, Carl's Jr, In N' Out, discarded picnic supplies, beer bottles, etc. So to whoever it was that took the time to collect the trash...THANK YOU! I could fit all but two bags into the back seat and trunk of my car and will go back for the rest later if someone hasn't decided to use it as target practice. Now if we can only get the high school to go pick up their old gym lockers that wound up out there after the 1998 remodel.

some extra Patterson Pirates photos

2008-10-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

A couple Sundays ago the Patterson Pirates played the Stockton Aztecs during game three of a best of three series first round playoff matchup. The Pirates lost game 1, won game 2, and came really darn close to winning game 3. The next five photos were my selections for last Wednesday's 10-15-08 issue of the Irrigator, unfortunately due to space restrictions in the paper, none of them were used. I guess it just gives me the opportunity to post them here, including some of my other favorite Pirates' photos, some of them previously published, most of them weren't though. Enjoi!Patterson Pirates' Drew Barrett makes contact during a late game rally that would take the game into extra innings during Sunday's final best of three playoff game against the Stockton Aztecs.--Photo by Elias FunezPirates' shortstop Jerry Lawhorn fires a throw for the out at first.--photo by Elias FunezPirates' second base Tino Ramirez fires a throw to first in an attempted double play late during the Pirates' loss to the Aztecs.--Photo by Elias FunezPirates' pitcher James Pease readies to fire a pitch against the Stockton Aztecs.--photo by Elias FunezPatterson baseruner Tino Ramirez slides safely under the tag of the Aztecs second base man during the late game rally. I really like this photo. As the game went on, the low hanging sun back lit the cloud of dust that Tino made as he slid head first to second, you can't really see him, but he's there. Man I'd hate to be the ref making the call! 10-05-08--Pirates' first baseman Juan Garza just misses making the catch and the successful pick of a Predator base runner during a game October 5th.--Photo by Elias Funez10-05-08--After getting caught in a pickle, Patterson's #20 Beto Rodriguez makes it back to third base before the tag.--Photo by Elias Funez
09-21-08--Patterson baserunner Mark Gonzalez steers clear of a nearby play on his way to second base during a game against the Stoctkon Giants held at Felipe Garza Memorial Park in Patterson--Photo by Elias Funez
09-07-08--Patterson's #7 Juan Garza gets caught in a pickle as he hesistates running home. The Club Mexico catcher ended up over throwing a ball to third base which allowed tying run Jose Garza an uncontested home plate.--Photo by Elias Funez
08-10-08--Patterson Pirates' Tino Ramirez hits a double that brings in team mate Mark Gonzalez to put the Pirates on the board 1-0 after 5 innings.--photo by Elias Funez
09-07-08--Pirates center fielder Rafa Arroyo catches the final out of the game sealing off their 9-7 win over Club Mexico Sunday in Stockton.--Photo by Elias Funez
09-07-08--Patterson's Rudy Lozano prepares to make a sacrifice bunt during a Sunday game against Club Mexico of Stockton.--photo by Elias Funez
10-05-08--Pirates' center fielder Rafa Arroyo runs in to make an out during the 5th inning of a game against the Stockton Predators.--Photo by Elias Funez
09-21-08--Patterson's #27 Josh Hamm fires a pitch during Sunday's 13-3 win over the Stockton Giants.--Photo by Elias Funez
08-10-08--Pirates 1st base Jose Garza makes the out at first.--Photo by Elias Funez
08-10-08--Patterson base runner Jose Garza is tagged out on an attempted triple by Hurricanes third baseman Matt Berger.--photo by Elias Funez
Beto Rodriguez gets hit by an errant pitch early in the season.
A Stockton Aztecs player picks up a broken Pirates' bat. This year the Pirates joined the Cal-Mex baseball league out of Stockton, which required the use of wooden bats.Tino Ramirez goes in for a bunt.Jose Garza is tagged out before making to third base during a game earlier in the season.Pirates' catcher Rudy Lozano comes into contact with a sliding Aztecs baserunner at home.Pirates' pitcher Drew Barrett fires off a pitch (The umpire is longtime Patterson resident Harley Parson).Drew Barrett readies to hit a ball.Tino makes the tag at second base.James Pease had a really good season on the mound, striking out many players along the way.Catcher Jose Garza makes the tag at home plate during a game early in the Pirates' season.

Taco Bell...... here!

2008-10-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Wow! that was fast. A little over two weeks since I last photographed the Taco Bell site, and it was finished faster than I could add a new blog post. Taco Bell and the Longs Store were one of the first items brought to the Planning Commission after I and Pat Dooley were first appointed over three years ago. I think some people were waiting far longer.
Here's some folks checking out the drive-thru for the first time Wednesday night. I saw the line way longer, and the parking lot was packed when I rode by on my bicycle earlier around 1:30 p.m. Inside, a Taco Bell employee for 22 years reported this being her busiest day working for the Bell.My first Patterson Taco Bell drive-thru experience, a soft taco supreme and cheesy double beef burrito.
I sure did raise alot of suspicion photographing there that day. Not from the customers, they were all actually really cool, but from the managers and owner. I guess the sight of a professional camera in the hands of a young man means I'm going to steal all of their trade secrets. But after talking with the owner and telling him that I photograph for the Patterson Irrigator, he was more than happy to let me have full reign.

taco bell countdown

2008-10-02T17:51:00.001-07:00

With a projected opening slated for the end of October, the highly anticipated Taco Bell will be coming online very soon. I took these shots pretty quick while shooting assignments around town Thursday October 2nd.
This photo was taken through the front of the building looking in towards the dining room.
This one taken from the side entrance looking towards the front entrance through the dining room.
Drive thru, with the Longs in the background. Here's a shot taken August 11th, of some electricians going over blueprints, making sure everything's right before the concrete foundation is layed. This photo is taken in the same direction as the one above.
Some concrete workers ready to pour for an electrical transformer at the Taco Bell site.Construction of the counter area looking in from the side entrance.

making a case for film photography

2008-09-30T15:33:00.000-07:00

So I was recently looking at some medium format negatives that I recently developed at the MJC photography lab where I've been volunteering a few hours a week every semester for the past 8 years. These rolls of black and white Ilford Delta 100 speed film had been sitting in my camera bag for the course of the past few seasons where they've been slowly accumulating. Not really having any time to make prints from them yet, I decided to scan a few negatives to see what the exposures looked like.

With the constantly evolving realm of digital photography, many disregard the 150 years of photographic technique that preceded 'digital's' recent introduction to the playing field. But black and white print out processes, were really the only way things were done up until the late '60s and early '70s when color photography made its way to the scene.

There are still film techniques such as the zone system, (a scientific photographic process designed by world renowned photographer Ansel Adams) that amaze me to this day. I use the zone system as often as I can for my film photography.
This shot was taken north of Vernalis off of Hwy 33 during a foggy/overcast day in Winter '08.
These two were taken of the McShane corp. building going up in the West Patterson Business Park.
I like to show the black border of the edges of the negative, whenever possible. It shows that I didn't crop the image at all, and that the original image that I previsualized, is exactly what you the viewer sees. Alot of documentary photographers in the 60's and 70's printed in this matter to really emphasize their credibility.
Here's a shot from the north eastern corner of California up on the Modoc Plateau.

serving and protecting

2008-09-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

I recently went on a 'ride-along' with a member of one of Patterson's finest... Stanislaus County Sheriff's Deputy Eugene Day.

After brainstorming with the other guys in the office here at the Irrigator about possible photos to go along with the Patterson City Council's decision to renew the contract with the county sheriff's dept. for the next 5 years, I suggested that maybe we should just get some shots of the guys in black doing their thing on the streets... so a 'ride-along' was arranged for last Thursday September 18th.

<Here's a sequence of photos I took, one of which ended up on the cover of the newspaper when we ran the contract renewal story. I ended up taking 10 different photos when Deputy Day pulled up to provide backup for Deputy Wagner on S. Del Puerto, in front of the Total Discount store. I was really trying to incorporate the flashing lights from the vehicles and the available light from the street lights.

I really liked this photo, but Day ended up looking too much like he was from Blue Man Group, so I eliminated it from my choices.

This was my first time meeting deputy Matthew Wagner, so he naturally is looking at me and wondering what the hell it is I'm doing. I didn't normally like people looking in the camera (unless it's unavoidable, and really makes the picture), also Deputy Day is just too dark, and he kind of looks evil with that really red light, so I also nixed this one.
Again... too blue.

This was the fifth shot I took, good expressions on the face, perfect exposure of flashing light on Deputy Day, the color isn't too drastic either. I wished that Wagner's face wasn't as blown out as it was, but there's no way to predict how the flashing lights are going to react during a fraction of a second. Either way, it's easy to tell what they are both doing, it is a pretty sharp photo as well, so this was my #1 choice in photos for the story.

This was the last photo of the sequence I took. After getting the good one I decided to try something newer, a little closer.

Too close. My being closer grabbed their attention too much, causing Day to step back, and Wagner to glance at me once again.

These photos were all taken at ISO 1600, 1/15th of a second @ f4, so even the slightest movement from anyone gives the blurry out of focus effect.>

-Back to my accounts of the ride along-

I arrived to the back door of the police department (the door to go to when you really need to get helped) at around 5:00, filled out some paperwork with Sargeant Banks, and was on my way with Deputy Day patrolling the streets of Patterson in the passenger seat of his Police Interceptor. He was armed with his police issued side arm and an M-16 that was mounted in his car between the seats. I was armed with my Canon 30-D with a 70-200mm f/2.8 and a 17-40mm f/4, ready to capture anything on the camera's digital sensor that I could.

Day asked me what I wanted to see that day and I told him, "whatever it is you do out on the streets."

So he started cruising the streets, first responding to reports that somebody had been seen jumping a fence in Patterson Gardens, possibly making off with some stolen property from an unoccupied home. A vehicle was identified along with a license plate which gave an address off of Kinshire Way here in Patterson. After Day looked for the suspects vehicle in the reported neighborhood, he went to where the registerd owner's address was reported, however the suspect was not at home.

...back to patrolling the streets. Then another call, from a home owner on the 1200 block of Ganet Way who reported his home had been broken into and burglarized. When the victim's address showed up, he automatically knew who it was and told me that his home had already been broken into recently twice before.

Many times during the four hours I spent that evening with Deputy Day I found myself laughing at the jokes and criticisms he offered while driving around town looking for criminals... however this time he was very serious, and very seriously bothered that he missed the crime as it happened. Day would make many passes into Heartland Ranch and Walker Ranch by way of American Eagle (adjacent to Ganet) that day and every other day due to many of the crimes that occur there, and he was upset that this crime happened in broad daylight and he missed it. Apparently someone had broken in through the back glass sliding door, picked up a a widescreen television, and took it out through the front door. He looked for some fingerprints that could have been left behind, and after finding some possible prints, called in the crime scene technician to have the place screened.

...so back to the streets again. I'm glad that the officers on the street take the time to joke and laugh, especially with the very serious job that they have. Maybe it was because Day finally had someone to talk to in his squad car, or because of the novelty of having a photographer follow your every move... I don't know. One thing's for sure though, I definitely felt safe there in the front seat of his car... except when I would bump my elbow on the magazine cartridge of his M-16 assault rifle sitting right next to me.

A few times Deputy Day would end up providing back up for some of the other officers patrolling the streets at the time, and alot of time checking up on areas known for crime. He said that it was a pretty slow day. I wasn't complaining. Any day with less crime in Patterson is a good day.

-Here's another one of the many photos taken that did not work out. It's kind of funny too, every time I would take a shot from inside the vehicle he would ask why I wanted a picture of his big nose. Little did he knows.-

While I'm glad that the city has the sheriff's around to 'protect and serve' us, I am also glad that the city is going to be looking at ways to retain its own police department (again!) by the time the contract is up in 5 years. Right now, many county sheriff's deputies spend only two years in a community before being shipped off. Many county sheriff's look up, toward aspirations of working for the Modesto Police Department, or Turlock Police. Why can't we be the community that police officers want to serve in, instead of only seeing our community as their duty. I've met many great sheriff's deputies here in Patterson that I've gotten to know well, only to find that their time in Patterson is almost all but over. Prior to going on the 'ride-along' I realized that all the deputies on the street (beside deputy Parra) at the time, I did not know at all. While that may be a good thing for some people, I really like to get to know who is protecting and serving our community, don't you?

I really like what the city of Ripon's police department does. They have baseball type cards placed at different sponsoring businesses that showcase the different police officers, what they've done in the community, and how long they've been a part of the force. Something so simple, yet effective in integrating the faces of the police force with the local community, letting people know that these people are here to help us.

Since there is such a high turnover of sheriff's deputies here in Patterson, maybe the City Council should push to have new officers introduced at council meetings more regularly. After all, new city staff and maintenace workers are slated to be introduced at every city council meeting.

shooting agriculture, and riding a tomato harvester

2008-09-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

A few days ago editor James Leonard asked for some photos relating to the drought relief story that would likely be featured on the cover of our newspaper. He suggested photographing anything to do with agriculture and maybe try to get some water in the shot.

I immediately thought of an image most of us Westsiders have probably witnessed driving north or south on Hwy 33 during the evening hours, sun hanging low on the horizon, just about to dip below our beautifully untouched rolling coast range hillsides, the sun backlighting row after row of sprinklers irrigating a crop, the mist from the light seems to glow as golden as the dry grass waving on the hillside just beyond.

Low directional light in the morning and evening hours of a day can create dramatic effects in a photograph. Landscape photographers almost always try to photograph during these times of day, the light is very warm, and can add saturation to photographs that you might not get if you shot the same photograph at high noon.

That being the desired effect, all I had to do was wait for the sun to get low, then find a field being irrigated with sprinklers.

After spending some time photographing the high school football team's scrimmage against Ceres High, the sun was just over the tops of the hillsides. By that time I new I only had 20 to 30 minutes of daylight left, so I drove to the elevated banks of the Delta Mendota Canal, just south of Patterson, hoping I would be able to scope out what I was hoping to see from there. I could see south to the Covanta Waste to Energy Plant, and sure enough, between there and the canal were two separate fields being irrigated by sprinklers, one was just adjacent to the canal off of Marshall Rd. I drove up, got on top of my car for an even higher point of view, and got what I needed just before the sun went down.

Being how I love to photograph and document the many different types of agriculture that reside in the central valley, I enjoyed this assignment very much. But one shot wasn't going to do it for a photo package, I would need two or three at least, so I continued to photograph agriculture but I emphasized on the tomato harvesting that happens nearly around the clock this time of year.
I had always been fascinated with the harvest, the processes that takes these plants from their natural environment and readies them for human consumption. Growing up in the country at an early age, being around farming and farm equipment, and going along with my father to the sugar beet fields in the Imperial Valley as he would take loads to 'Holly Sugar' probably attributed to my love of the earth and farming.

So when I was coming home late from Modesto earlier that same day I had to pull over and snap some shots of a tomato harvester filling up trailers full of tomatoes right off of East Las Palmas ave. After photographing a little, two farm hands noticed me and asked if I would like to get some shots while riding the harvester.

"No way," I thought at first, but he was being serious. I totally dig when I get access to or on a piece of moving farm equipment, especially one I haven't been on before like the tomato harvester. It's one thing getting shots of the production from afar, with a telephoto lens, but being right up and in the process can provide for a much more intimate wide angle shot, an image that can hopefully put the reader right there in the action with me.

I switched lenses from the f/2.8 telephoto, to the 17-40mm wide angle and attached the flash to a TTL cord that would allow me to hold the flash separately from the camera. I try to shoot available light as much as possible, even at night, but a bright flash (even though very intrusive) can illuminate so much that you wouldn't be able to get shooting available light.

So, when the machine stopped, I jumped on, and stood on a small catwalk surrounded by railing where I was able to easily see how the entire tomato plant gets scooped up, is separated from the plant, is sorted, and sent into the trailer to be shipped to the cannery. The entire process takes only a matter of seconds. The ride itself reminded me of a carnival ride, swaying back and forth, making sudden stops, my hands suspended in the air (because I was holding the camera in one hand and the off camera flash in the other). After spending 20 to 30 minutes on the harvester it was time for them to shut down. It was about 1:00 am and I was informed that all tomato harvesting has to cease at around this time because the cannery itself shuts down.

All in one day's work. Even though the photos of the harvester never made the print version of the newspaper, nor were used for the drought relief story, I'm glad I got to post them here.

A few days off

2008-09-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

Running around town on various assignments for the newspaper I see many familiar faces at the many different functions and sporting events that the city has to offer. Sometimes I run into people twice in one day at separate events and a person might say, "hey, you're everywhere!"

Well... sometimes I have to be. Especially in the case of photography. If I miss something, there's no going back. If a fire happens, I can't ask the firefighters to go back later and pose next to the building that burned. If Patterson High beats Central Catholic, I can't go back and ask the quarterback to recreate the game winning touchdown so I can take a picture. When the city maintenance workers cut down the wilted palm trees in the Save Mart parking lot, I couldn't tell them to put them back so I could get some night shots.

You've probably heard this before, but a great deal of capturing an image has to do with being in the right place at the right time (the other main aspect is knowing what to do with your equipment when you get there).

So the more places I can get to, the greater chance I have of finding myself in the right place at the right time.

Needless to say, being on call as the Irrigator's main photographer sometimes takes it's toll on my personal life, and I have to arrange a few consecutive days off to get away and take part in some of the other things that I love so much like... driving, traveling, backpacking and camping, documenting the whole experience along the way through writing and of course through photography.

Ahhhh.... to be free! There's nothing like the feel of the open road in front of you when you have no particular place to go, no particular time to get there, and nobody in particular that you have to meet.

Even during my high school years I can remember getting off of a long day of delivering pizzas at Pizza Plus. With a wad of cash from my tip earnings I would fill up the 22 gallon tank (used to be .99 a gallon) of my 1970 mach I mustang and flip some coins to see if I would be driving north, south, east, or west. Before getting tired and pulling over, I could find myself witnessing the full moon glimmering off of the sheer granite walls and waterfalls of Yosemite Valley, crossing the Golden Gate, or watching the sunrise atop Mt. Hamilton next to the gigantic telescopes of the Lick Observatory.

More recently though, I headed north and found myself in the Oregon Cascades along a fork of the Willamette River just east of Eugene where all of these photos were taken.

I had been in the area a few years back, so I was kind of familiar with the terrain. While looking for a campsite, I met some folks who asked me for a ride a couple miles up the road to where they were staying.

So after making some room in the car we were on our way. I asked them which were the better campsites in the area and they directed me to two separate campsites that bordered a nearby lake. But after giving them a ride they asked if I would rather stay with them at their lakeside campsite tucked away in the woods.

They were good friends with the host of the campsites who originally showed them what I referred to as, their little piece of heaven. Everything was there, food, shelter, beautiful waterfalls, there was even a natural undeveloped hot springs nearby.

They let me stay in their "guest room" (pictured below) which was actually quite comfortable. There I met their resident forest cat named "dice", but they all called it jungle kitty.

Later, sitting around the campfire we all shared stories. I told them about Patterson and some of the big issues going on there, while they told me about growing up on the streets of Eugene and what it was like to have been shot at when being involved around gangs.

They realized that their street life would eventually take its toll on them, so they decided to take the bus one day out of town and into the wilderness surrounding the Willamette River where they were amazed at how nice and giving the people they ran into out there were.

They had been out there for over two weeks now and didn't have any plans on leaving back to Eugene anytime soon.

After a night, I wished them well and was on my way back to Patterson. Not too shabby of a trip for just a weekend.

a little about myself and the blog

2008-08-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! My name is Elias Funez, I've currently been photographing items and issues relating to the West Side of Stanislaus County for over ten years, and I can say that I am truly blessed to have been able to make a career out of something that started out just as a hobby years ago in the black and white photography darkroom at Patterson High School.

Photography has come a long way since the days of dektol developer and T-Max films (both are still great products though). The advent of digital photography has streamlined the production process for an image and has allowed photographers to express themselves in ways that could never before be accomplished. I'm not saying everyone should throw out all their old film cameras though. As an everyday user of digital photography, I still think there is a nostalgic quality that old film cameras and processes can give to an image. I still carry around an old '70s Nikon 35mm camera, a '70s Pentax medium format camera, and a 4x5" large format view camera probably from the 1950's. Those old cameras are tanks, I never have to worry about breaking them, and they're so easy to use also.

In this blog I hope to touch on everything photography, from techniques and strategies, a little photo theory, include some film images, images from around the area you might have missed, images that didn't get published in the paper, images from some of my trips, and my thoughts and comments on the inner workings of some of the images. I really love photography, it's become a huge part of my life, and now I get to share part of my passion with you through this blog! So be sure to check back and leave a comment every once in a while to let us know what you think.

Did I mention I love Patterson? I mean, where else can you go to see something like this? Huge lumbering oxen pulling traditional Portuguese carts down Salado ave can't be witnessed every day here, but at least twice a year, once for the Festa De Espiritu Santo (Festival of the Holy Spirit), and once for the St. Anthony's celebration held by Sacred Heart Catholic Church and the F.D.E.S. hall.

One thing that these photos can't convey is the screeching sound the carts make as the wooden construction slowly rubs against itself. Every time the Bodo de Leite (Parade of Ox Carts) strolls through town, it's sights and sounds seems to catch someone off guard. In the past it's been new residents to North 5th street. I remember one morning a family in particular, all standing on the front porch, still half asleep, squinty eyed in the low morning sunlight, mouths agape, and in their full nightgown attire probably wondering 'what in the world!'

This time, it was a few unsuspecting first responders to an accident at the high school football stadium where volunteer Jason Yamamoto had cut his leg open helping to put in the new bleachers on the visitor side. As a paramedic waited for the arrival of an ambulance, the screeching sound of the processional alerted him to something he'd never seen before, which reminded him to run ahead of the slow moving parade to make sure the ambulance would have access to the parking lot before the cows blocked it off.

Of the festivals that the Portuguese hall hosts, many people may only see the parade of ox carts ( I don't blame them, free milk, bread, cheese, and wine distributed at the parade's terminus of Sacred Heart Church), but there's a lot more to it including Mass in Portuguese, livestock auctions, music and dancing into the night, an occasional bull fight, and of course the Sopas and other traditional Portuguese dishes offered to all in attendance.

All the times I had attended portions of the weekend long festival, I had never photographed the candlelight procession that returns the statue of St. Anthony back to Sacred Heart Church, and made it a point to be there Sunday night when the festival ended. Volunteers, led by the senior queens and their side maids, placed the statue on their shoulders and began the walk back as a solemn group of followers recited different prayers along the way.

These photos didn't make it in the August 27th issue of the Irrigator, but I figured they were cool enough to put up here.