John Boal Photography

No photos today. No pictures today for me to show. I found out three days ago that I won't be attending this year's Eddie Adams Workshop (eddieadamsworkshop.com). For those of you who know what that is, you know how much it sucks. Not getting in, that is. For those that don't: it's one of the preeminent photojournalism workshops for aspiring photojournalists, and it's tuition free. You have 3 shots at it. They take 100 people. If you don't get in in those 3 years, that's it. If you're accepted, then it's 4 days of an intense experience that is designed to get you connected to 99 others just like yourself, in addition to tons of industry professionals. That's what I've heard, because, of course, I've never been and won't be going this year for the 2nd year in a row. If I sound a little bitter, it's because I am. What drives me insane about this process is that, unlike most other application processes, you can actually l...

So I wrote about going to my girlfriend's nephew's graduation a few weeks back. And as I came back to VA, I had the opportunity to shoot some graduations in my hometown. Not only did I shoot the graduation of our rivals (when I went to high school), but I also shot my Alma Mater, 15 years after the fact. I always remember the day as being among, if not THE, happiest day of my life. I never felt settled in high school, and consequently, always looked ahead to better days. The grass is always greener of course. Funny how I felt the same towards the end of my collegiate career that spanned 4 years of undergraduate, and a dragging 4 years of graduate work. This naturally resulted in a change of careers 5 years later, to pursue a life, that, by some accounts, is an utterly bad idea . Just check out what some people have to say about it here . Not all of them are photojournalists, but there is certainly a level of malcontent that brews in the journalism industry that can'...

A couple weeks ago I went to Albuquerque for my girlfriend's nephew's high school graduation. While there, we naturally had to visit her friends in Santa Fe, being only about 40 mins from Albuquerque.  Gorgeous weather, great friends and killer food (if you've never had a New Mexico green or red chile, then you don't know what good chiles are), made for a nice trip.   Some of getting older, I'm starting to learn is seeing friends and family get older.  When you're younger, you don't necessarily have friends with children, moving on in their marriages, their lives; heading out to Santa Fe, somewhere we visited as recently as last August, helped me witness these friends and family move along in their lives.   Alicia's sister, Yvonne has a two year-old daughter who is beginning to speak.  Each time we visit, there is something new to watch and discover.  Any time I entered a room, she just stared.  No reaction, good or bad, just a focused stare.  These are ...