John Boal Photography

I don't usually use this blog to talk about causes, but two days ago I became aware of one of the more perplexing land swaps in U.S. history.  Perhaps for the first time ever , the U.S. Government is attempting to transfer sacred Native American land into the hands of a private foreign interest.  How?  Why?  Maybe we should follow the money. The pictures are from the demonstrations held on the U.S. Capitol lawn yesterday.  These are the San Carlos Apache and their supporters. To see a full edit, check my gallery here: http://johnboalphotography.photoshelter.com/gallery/SaveOakFlat-DC-Rally-2015/G0000n9TZ0_2pwKc Carrie Sage Curley, San Carlos Apache, dances to music played by fellow members of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. In December of 2014, as we drew near another shutdown, the Defense Authorization Act was passed in Congress and at the last minute, a rider was slipped in... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/03/ndaa-land-deals_n_6264362.h...

I am a "generalist", as they say.  In some circles this might be the kiss of death.  Often the advice is to specialize and market the heck out that one thing you do really well.  But as someone who cut their teeth as a photojournalist at community newspapers, I rapidly found  that I enjoy doing different things.  The mix helps keep me fresh, and engaged alowing me to always be thinking about how to do something better. Even though I consider myself a generalist, I do tilt toward the editorial and portrait world.  So when I shoot other things like events, conferences, often I think about how I would shoot this if it were an assignment instead of a commissioned job for a corporate client.  The dilemma as a generalist is keeping my portfolio up to date.  So I'm always looking out for the moments that might work for the client and for my portfolio. Here are some of the best of those from the past couple months: ...during a video shoot. ...

I had the distinct honor of photographing Jessica and Patrick for The Boston Globe in December for a story that ran in late January (see the story here) , who happened to be victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.  Both had lost their left legs as they watched the marathon.  Jessica, at the time of the assignment, had been considering amputating her right foot, due to the pain and continued rehabilitation/recovery.  Ran with story, here .  Initially, the idea was that I would accompany her on a visit to the doctors and therapists at Walter Reed.  When that idea fell through (permissions, especially when it's close to the holidays are especially difficult to come by).  So the best we could do was meet in front of the NIH metro stop and shoot for about 30 mins.  The initial story (a year after the bombings) is here , and you should read this one and the one that ran in January, because Eric did a great job following this story over the...

A few weeks ago I applied for a staff position at the Boston Globe.  I did not get it.  Staff jobs, especially ones at greatly respected papers that win Pulitzers, are very hard to come by.  However, they contacted me about freelancing for them in DC, which is the next best thing.  You never know who is going to see your work and find a reason to get in touch. Then on Halloween I received a call from one of their photo editors (Yes, they have more than one!) about a portrait they needed that day in Washington. They were doing a story on millennials and their impact (or lack thereof) on the upcoming elections.  The subject was a pleasant 18 year old intern at the Hart Senate Office bldg who happened to be from the Boston area.  The assignment was fairly open ended.  They had interviewed the student and had quotes to use, like this one: “If you ask any number of my friends, they don’t even know how to apply for an absentee ballot or that you even cou...

I really had a plan to attend the Prince William County Fair for a few days and get some good pictures.  August often is a slow month so I thought it'd be perfect to spend some open days shooting on my own.  Then I lost my phone.  Then my car broke down, then I got busy with work.  I did, however spend 1 morning (with Catherine and Lawrence Deeds of Skyline Farm in Orange, VA) and one evening (roaming) there.  Here are some of my favorites.  One of the first things I did, when I had a free night was go to the rodeo.  Then I saw Missy.  So we talked and I figured I had to get a picture of her, and she was very cooperative.  So was the light. Melissa McMullan, Miss Rodeo Virginia 2014, of Ft. Valley, VA, stands with her horse, Sarah, during the Dave Martin Rodeo.  McMullan represents Virginia regionally and nationally, while promoting "rodeos and the western lifestyle" in Virginia.  A child shooting bubbles, next to a fo...

A couple months back I had the opportunity to photograph Thomas Parham for University of Mary Washington Alumni Magazine.  He is the director of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Tidewater Ecosystems Assessment office.  Basically he's in charge of making sure the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay is healthy and helping the public understand and care about the health of the watershed.  The Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses 64,000 square miles and portions of 6 states, it's no small task. When I started to plan for the shoot, the natural inclination was to find a spot where we could get Thomas near the water.  Sandy Point State Park, next to the Bay Bridge was a natural spot.  We met up at dawn and unfortunately we didn't get that gorgeous golden light to erupt behind the bridge.  Instead, it was a foggy, rainy morning.  But with that, you get that nice blue, soft light.  So we made do.  Here is the picture that ran, al...

When I first changed careers in 2006 to become a photographer, one of the first things I had to figure out, naturally, is how to make money.  Weddings, events, portraits, and obviously photojournalism all pay to some degree or another.  What I didn't anticipate was my long-standing relationship to real estate photography.  After interning at two different papers and starting on my path toward a career in photojournalism, I came back to DC in 2007 with no work.  It shouldn't have been surprising, but it was.  So I had to find other ways to make money.  That led me to shooting real estate, while I figured out how to get paid to shoot photojournalism.  First I shot for the company Homevisit, then on my own.  To this day I shoot real estate, even if only for a few people that I like shooting for, but still, it's occasional work that is actually interesting. After walking into hundreds (thousands?) of homes, the furniture, the art, the books and...