New York Times: SUMO

For my Capstone class, called "Picture Story and the Photographic Essay" we'll be posting to our blogs almost weekly. It's won't always be photos that I've taken, because most of our assignments are more long-term. However, that means we'll be looking at other peoples works and talking about story and style.

I found a slideshow/essay on the New York Times, published January 24th, 2010, on Sumo Wrestling in Japan. I found the coverage to be different that what I thought it would be. When I think of sports, I often picture peak action moments, but photographer Ko Sasaki showed us a little more. It's a mini essay on Sumo's presence in Japanese culture. What strikes me the most is the parallel you can see between American sports and Japanese Sumo. The 3rd photo can be seen in any sporting event, yet it is unique and speaks for the culture of Sumo. The 7th photo also caught my attention. Again, it speaks to a culture that is similar in many ways to our own, but completely different. Most American pound hotdogs and beer, but you'll never see a platter of sushi at a Yankees game. I find that the essay is presented in a much more comprehensive manner than most essays/stories that come out of sporting events.

Photo © Ko Sasaki for the New York Times

Poker with good friends

What is really nice about coming home is hanging out with a couple of good friends from high school. Poker is a popular pastime, and, while I'm no good, it is still a lot of fun. It gets pretty serious, as you can see, between playing our table, and multiple other tables online. Good times, good times.

Photos © Jason Lenhart

Hoarfrost

We had some really weird weather right around Christmas. Between rain, snow, and other wintery precipitation, the conditions were perfect for hoarfrost. Basically it's frozen fog that creates these loose crystal formations on the branches and other small object. Didn't last long cause the sun came out, but it was really pretty for a while.

Photo © Jason Lenhart

High School

Photographed a Rock Bridge girls varsity basketball game a few nights back. Thought I throw this outtake up. It just shouts "High School". If I was one of those bloggers who put music on their site that auto-starts when you load the page, "Party In the USA" would play right about now. That's because it is the song that covered halftime, when I took this shot. Yea.... High School.

Photo © Jason Lenhart