LeKnott

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Molly and Fitch @ Quailhurst

Elka LOVES Sticks

Photo of Elka on Election Morning Nov. 4 2008

On election day morning, Elka and Jeff hit their park for a frisbee session. Elka looks especially fly on the fall leaves and happily jogging about in the crisp air.

Elka on Election Morning Nov. 4 2008, originally uploaded by Jeff Lennan.

Amazing Photo Gallery of the Obama Campaign

Thank you Jen for sharing this link to the Boston Globe's photo journal of Obama and the historic and mind-bending Presidential campaign.  Click to view the gallery "The Next President of the United States".

Photos from the RNC Convention in St. Paul

I got to attend the RNC convention in St. Paul to take photographs for an upcoming documentary called 'Papers' - A film about immigrant youth and the challenges they face when they become adults without legal status in the United States.

We interviewed over 40 people inside and out at the Xcel Center in St. Paul and it was an amazing experience.  I was surprised how you build a relationship with folks you interview for something like this - and it made all of us think hard about being respectful and straight-forward about how we represent these interviews in the documentary.

It was especially cool to talk with people from all walks of life, and across the political spectrum, and from protesters to delegates.  We even got several interviews with locals not attending the convention for either side. 

Here are some more photos from Thursday outside the convention.

"Hand Made" Signs at the RNC Convention

I had the opportunity to attend the RNC convention in St. Paul last week.  I was helping to shoot an upcoming documentary film called "Papers" about the challenges faced by undocumented youth when they turn 18 and are considered (illegal) adults.  Learn more at www.papersthemovie.com.

On Wednesday night, GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin addressed the assembled delegates and the world, and the mood was electric.  The major news outlets were crawling all over the place, and their was a great deal of coverage, particularly on CNN, MSNBC and the late night shows like The Daily Show and Leno.

While I watched the crowd rally toward fever pitch in anticipation of the grand finale of Palin's speech, I noticed what appeared to be RNC (or McCain) campaign staff, all in bright yellow caps, in the aisles around the Excel Center, working the crowd.

As I watched these folks from my balcony perch, I saw as they began to hand out large posters to the crowd, with hand written lettering saying things like "Keep America Strong' and "Hockey Moms for Palin". I watched the staffer below us hand out about a dozen of these signs, and as I scanned the stadium, I saw staffers handing them out all over the place.  They were even showing the convention attendees how to wave them over their head, and when they should do it.

The staffers would motion for people to stand and clap, and even to sit back down and be quiet.  The staffers in front of us were actually quite good, complete with super-animated faces and grand arm gestures, not unlike a team mascot leading 'the wave' at a major league baseball game.

The view of these waving signs gave the impression that they had been made by supporters and brought to the convention to show their 'grassroots support' for Palin and the RNC. Of course nearly all of the signs in the arena were the same signs created en masse by the campaign, and handed out to the crowd by campaign staff.

The full impact of what I was watching was driven home later that night, back at my hotel watching post convention coverage.  MSNBC was playing back highlights from speeches by Romney, Gulliani, and Palin and in each speech snippet, the network would cut from the speaker out to a 'hand made' rally sign in the crowd. Problem is, the signs were 'hand made' by the campaign expressly for the purpose of the TV shots, and the entire process was engineered to feign 'grassroots' rallying for the event.  Check out more photos here.

Performance Horse Photography Gallery : HITS Thermal Circuit V March 3, 2007

Copyright 2007 Performance Horse Photography

I had the great fortune of being able to link together a business trip to Long Beach, CA with a trip back out to the desert in Indio for the HITS Thermal Horse Show's fifth circuit Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, 2007.  I did not get too many good shots from a combination of light/weather and timing (with a broken down '78 Volkswagon van thrown in for good measure), but I had a great time and was so lucky to be able to go and take more pictures and learn more.  Click here to view the galleries from HITS Thermal Circuit V at Performance Horse Photo.

Gonzo: The Early Years

Hunter S Thompson, a camera and a posse of Hell's Angels - it sounds like a recipe for disaster. This is, after all, the man who famously said: "I hate to advocate drugs, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."

Check out the sweet image gallery here.

Thompson's photographs prove surprisingly sedate: moody reportage shots of his early days as a correspondent in Puerto Rico and California, which included spending almost a year riding with the hirsute bikers. The images are thin veils for typical Gonzo chaos, though: Thompson ended up with a savage beating after the Angels discovered that he would make money from the book he wrote about them. By Elaine Hake for The First Post

Pictures from the Garden from June 9 2006

I'm a couple months behind dealing with posting some pics from our garden.   

Click here for a few from June 9 2006.