Guitar Hero and Ashes

These are some images from a few weeks back, a history professor who wants to start a guitar hero tournament at school, and an Ash Wednesday service given by the Catholic Student Center.

History instructor Sean Duffy jams with his Guitar Hero controller in Chance Academic Center on Monday, Feb. 23. Duffy challenges students and faculty members to play with him and hopes a Guitar Hero Tournament can take place.

Counselor Enrique Velasquez receives a cross-shaped ash mark by Catholic Campus Minister Joseph Liedecke during an ecuminical Ash Wednesday service given by the United Methodist and Catholic Campus Ministries in the Visual Arts Center on Wednesday, Feb 25. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent with fasting and repentance. The ashes come from the burned palm tree leaf crosses of last years Palm Sunday.

Jeff Corwin Visits SAC

I had a blast shooting Jeff Corwin (from Animal Planet) at my school last week. Had fun meeting him in person and laughing with the audience during the performance.


Sell-out crowd


Holding her stuffed-animal snakes, Linbsey Kastner, 5, and her mom Amy Kastner, enter McCallister Auditorium befor seeing Jeff Corwin on Friday, Feb 27. Calling herself Jeff Corwin's biggest fan, Kastner's said snakes are her favorite animal.

Jasmine Brown, 10, tries to stay dry as a Cane Toad unexpectedly pees in the hands of Jeff Corwin

Andrew Esteves, 14, gestures for the crowd to be quiet while Jeff Corwin and herpetologist Michael Ralbovsky bring out a water monitor lizard to surprise him.

Sebastian Gilbert, 6, hoists the tail of an eight-foot American Alligator

Elementary education sophomore Celia Ramirez braces herself as Jeff Corwin and herpetologist Michael Ralbovsky lower an albino Burmese Python into her arms in McCallister on Friday, Feb 27. Native to southeast asia, the Burmese Python is one of the largest snakes in the world. Although the snake fears humans, Corwin reminded the audience of its strength of constricting and swalling man-sized prey.

One from the home

Travels to the Capitol

Here are some images from my drive up to the Capitol in Austin a few weeks back.

Getting ready to report


the points of the star are eight feet apart!

Lunch delivery

Donuts for Portraits

So I spent maybe five minutes of thinking about how I would complete the "portrait assignment" in my News Photography class. For what compelled me to think about donuts, I have no idea, but as soon as the idea popped in my head, I knew it would work. I could now fall asleep, knowing that tomorrow morning would be spent in Shipley's Donuts off Bandera Rd and Loop 4-10, photographing those delving donuts to working America.

Arriving to see a group of old men talking over coffee and pastries, I walked inside Shipley's and greeted the family working there. Chanthea Chem and her father Chheng Sok moved to Texas from Cambodia twenty years ago, and have been working at Shipley's out of Houston before moving to San Antonio.

Their energetic and enthusiastic attitude about the job is what made my photographs. You could tell, these people really enjoyed serving Donuts and Coffee to people, and were thankful for the opportunity to work, although it didn't seem like just a "job"for them.

After spending an hour of my morning with them, I decided to bring back a dozen for the newsroom. Chem offered that I take them without paying, but I insisted on tipping them five dollars at least.

I look forward to printing out a photo for them to post in the restaurant, and maybe splurge on some of the tastiest donuts ever, too.


Chanthea Chem and her father Chheng Sok serve pastries at Shipley's Donuts at Bandera and Loop 4-10 on Tuesday, March 3. Chem and Sok came to Texas from Cambodia twenty years ago.