On Bandit, the USO's Comforting Canine

Remember a few months ago when I was trekking around Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, recording story about a wonderful dog named Bandit?

Well, if you don't, you can read about that here. If you do, keep reading. I have great news.

A few weeks ago, I finally finished editing together the video about Bandit, and it turned out awesome -- like, one-of-my-favorite-videos-ever kind of awesome. It has everything in it you could ever ask for a in a non-profit video: cute dogs, touching family stories, amazing people.

What can I say? Sometimes my job is really, really easy when I'm asked to tell such inspiring stories.

While I don't want to give too much away about the story (and take away too much traffic from the USO!), I will at least give you an embed of the video to enjoy. If you want to read more about Bandit and hear more about his work with the USO, click here.

Behind the Shoot: Filming Trace Adkins & Casey James in at Ft. Hood for the USO

Note: I posted a previous version of this blog post featuring photos that I had to take down for legal reasons. Thank you for understanding and please watch the video I produced from the event & read the new-and-improved post! :)

There's something about shooting a concert that makes me tingle with excitement, without a doubt, each and every time. Maybe it's the huge crowd of excited people. Maybe it's the music blaring in the air. Or maybe, it's the colorful stage lights that twinkle in the audience's eyes.

Whatever reason, I always look forward to covering concerts for the USO -- almost as much as I look forward to doing feature stories with military families, those are still my favorite things to shoot.

While I was busy running (literally running) around shooting video from the day's events and didn't get a chance to chat with any of the military families at the concert, I did get to chat with the USO photographer who was also covering the event, Fred Greaves. He was super nice and I had quite a fun time geeking out with him over photography. It's always nice to meet new people at these events -- even if those new people are working for the same company as me!

Bearing all this in mind, it should come at no surprise to hear that I had a blast while covering my latest assignment for the USO -- a free concert in Ft. Hood featuring Trace Adkins and Casey James. Not only did I get the chance to head back to the 'Great Place' and my home state, but I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with both Trace and Casey and ask them about their respective histories of performing for troops around the world.

Both men have traveled overseas (Trace many, many times with the USO) to entertain deployed service men and women over the years and spoke very sincerely about their admiration for the work and sacrifices troops make by serving the country. I think that's one common theme that runs through all of the celebrity performer interviews I do for the USO -- they all seem so appreciative to be able to sing, dance, do whatever, for men and women in uniform. Often times, they feel like the troops are doing more of a service for them then they are for the troops. It's really moving to see such popular performers speak so humbly about their time spent with troops. I wish everyone could hear them speak so candily and from the heart.

That, at least, is a constant reminder to me that my job to capture these unique sentiments is just that much more important.

Volunteers are just so awesome, aren't they? My latest video for the USO.

BOO! Happy Halloween, you spooky one, you ;)

When I was down in Ft. Benning a few weeks ago shooting a few stories for the USO, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down and chat with the October Sesame Street/USO Moment Maker of the Month, Elizabeth Gasper.

In my line of work with the USO, I get to talk to a lot of amazing people: Troops who have been injured; Stay at home moms who hold down the fort at home while daddy protects America overseas; Even 60-year-old grandmas who spend their days volunteering for free at their local USO center; And yes, people like Elizabeth Gasper, who are just trying to do the little everyday things to make a difference in their local community.

While Elizabeth has not won any wars or ever worn a uniform herself, she's played a key role in the web of support for those that do chose to put their lives on the line for our country. Elizabeth works for the Ft. Benning MWR, or, for us laypeople, the Ft. Benning Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation -- aka the people who help make sure troops and their families are happy and healthy participants their community.

While this might sound like any old desk job, the more I thought about the importance of Elizabeth Gasper's job to troops across Ft. Benning. Without people like Elizabeth, who would help plan fun family activities during the holidays? Who would ensure military families, and not just the troops, also receive the adequate care and entertainment they so desperately need during difficult times, like deployments?

It's for all these reasons that Elizabeth Gasper was awarded October's Sesame Street/USO Moment Maker of the Month Award, and the reason why I was able to do a video feature about her and her wonderful work with the Ft. Benning community.

Behind the Shoot: Lifting spirits with the USO Show Troupe

The past week has been a huge blur for me. From jetting down to NYC, to playing in my GW softball alumni game this past weekend, I've been on the go for as long as I can remember.

Luckily, being busy means I have more to share with you :)

I finally got a chance to sit down and edit my still photographs from my NYC trip for the USO. I'm actually quite pleased with these, since, really, the trip was all about shooting video. These little nuggets are just bonuses, really.

To give you an idea of what this photo essay is about, here's 30-second a debrief: The USO has its own performing group called the USO Show Troupe: Think the Andrews sisters meets modern music. Basically, the Show Troupe, which is made up of professional performers, travels all around the world entertaining troops and their families. I caught up with one of the performers, Larissa Klinger, while she was at her home base in NYC, and shot a day-in-the-life style piece. Essentially, I followed her around all day with a camera and totally invaded her personal space, but I think the end product was worth it!

These are my 20 favorite shots, although, I should be even more selective if I were to publish it.

Created with flickr slideshow.

I did a project similar to this in college about a classmate of mine, and honestly, I can see a huge difference in my evolution of photography skill. Not only has my eye improved, but my concept of lighting has, I think, drastically changed as well. Thoughts?

Created with flickr slideshow.

All the things I'm working on for The USO & Fiterazzi!

Hey-oh blog world! Happy Friday! Are you planning anything fun for this weekend? Mr. Boyfriend and I are planning on hitting up Union Brewery this weekend as well as seeing the O's play and watching Josh Abbot Band at 9:30 club. What can I say, we're busy folks :)

I've been busy lately for the USO & Fiterazzi, drafting up stories and videos for all to see. I just produced this awesome video of a care pack stuffing event on Capitol Hill this Wednesday. It was my first chance to practice shooting time lapses, so I was pretty impressed with the result.



I even decided to dabble in some new media and shot a hyperlapse on-scene.

I've also been busy writing a lot of cool stories for the USO, including this one about Operation C.H.A.M.P.S which is a educational program for military children. This year the program is headed to South Korea to visit kids living overseas with their families. I got to chat with the authors a little bit about all the awesome work that they do and then wrote all about it for the world to see.

Also, my first of two peices for Fiterazzi about the art of getting fitness shoes that are properly fitted ran today! I'm so proud of this piece and totally love the photographs and the awesome people at Potomac River Running who helped me make it informative and fun for the Fiterazzi community.

Enjoy :)

Dabbling in Graphics: My First Printable HIIT Workout for Fiterazzi

In case you didn't know, when I'm not shooting or writing stories for the fantastic USO, chances are, I'm out and about finding a cool story to write for Fiterazzi, the only online Fitness magazine that keeps it REAL!

This past week, in addition to working on a few awesome product review stories, I had the chance to shoot photos for and edit together my first printable for the magazine, featuring the fabulous Sara Snyder as a model.

Now, I don't really consider myself a graphics artist at all, so I'm pretty proud of the final result I got after only a day of asking for feedback and advice.

Take a look and let me know what you think -- oh, and head over to Fiterazzi magazine for more amazing fitness workouts, recipes and amazing articles about healthy living!

You're never to old to learn new things: Relearning lighting in photography

Happy Thursday! I can't believe its the third week of August. It seems crazy to think that summer is coming to an end, kiddos are heading back to school, and boot-wearing season is only a few weeks away!

I digress. Anyway.


Yesterday I had the chance to head out on a shoot with an awesome colleague of mine and learn a few new tools of the videography/photography trade. It was SO fun! I felt a little bit like an intern again, honestly. :)

We were shooting a promotional video for the USO about the story of one wounded warrior's road to recovery, and how the USO has been for him along his recovery. After he was medically evacuated from the battlefield, and taken to Germany, and then Walter Reed, this amazing service member was surprised (thanks to the USO!) by his entire battalion upon his arrival home to Seattle. Pretty cool, eh?

But back to photography takeaways.

More than anything, I re-learned the importance of good lighting. After all, a camera is just a glorified light-capture box. Good lighting means good pictures, no doubt about it. While I'm pretty comfortable using and manipulating natural lighting, I'll admit, using lighting set ups intimidates me a little bit-- plus, they're a little costly, if you want to purchase something that will grow with you as a creative artist. However, maybe it's time to take the plunge...

Thoughts?

Yup, I work for the USO.

Side note. Or main note.

I get a lot of questions about my 9 to 5 job, which, I'll admit, I'm slightly in love with.

Here's a few of the most common.

Where do I work?: The USO

What's that?: The USO is an organization that focuses on lifting the spirits of troops and their families.

But how do you do that?: Programs. Concerts. Airport centers. Food. All different things! It really depends on where you are and what you need. I'd say check out the website for more info, honestly.

Oh, so you mean Bob Hope's thing? That's still around?: You betcha. But not like you'd think. Its a way different organization than it was back in the 1940s.

Got it. So what do you do for them then?: Me? I'm a multimedia journalist for the USO. Meaning, I get to write, photograph and take video of the awesome work that we do around the world. Think of me as a traveling storyteller. Pretty cool, huh?

What have you been up to lately? This! I really do a whole bunch of things, but I've been writing a lot lately, especially for USO.org and the USO blog!