"Serwa"

I took this picture of Serwa. Serwa is a homeless single-mom. "Homeless?", you think to yourself. Yes. And she's raising a handsome young boy, 8 yrs old. I met Serwa at a recent event on Skid Row.  She lives at a family transitional facility. And because of anonymity, I will respect her wishes and not post the name of the place where she is staying. She is working part-time and going to school while raising her son. Kudos to all the single-moms...and dads out there. I can imagine how much harder it is to raise a child, alone, while being homeless. Thanks for reading.

Reaching Out to the Poor and Needy This Thanksgiving

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Now playing: Journey - Who's Crying Now
via FoxyTunes

Celebrity Shots: Tia and Tamar Mowry

I took this photo outside of Union Rescue Mission. Tia and Tamara were helping out the Mission by serving food to the homeless and poor of Downtown Los Angeles, CA.

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Now playing: Amazing Love
via FoxyTunes

Street Photography

Here is a Before/After of a hotel sign I took while roaming the streets of Los Angeles, CA.
Software used: Adobe® Photoshop™, Camera Raw 4.5
Plug-ins: Panos EFX
Effects: Photoshop's Blending Options..added shadows and burns around edges.

Genesis Creative Is Awarded Another "Designer Spotlight" Entry by iStockPhoto.com

For details on the graphics used, visit http://www.istockphoto.com/design_spotlight_details.php?ID=22692

California Wildfire

Designer Spotlight Entry APPROVED!!

I am pleased to announce that my entry for SUBWAY's ® Corporate Christmas Campaign flyer and coupon design was approved for iStockPhoto's Designer's spotlight! A small acknowledgement but I appreciate it very much. iStockphoto is arguably the best resource for photos, graphics, vector art and design inspiration. For more info about iStockphoto, visit thier website and join today. Thank you!

Social Work: Annual Report

URM's new annual report. Photography from the previous posts were included on the cover this year.

Software: QuarkXpress 7, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Bridge

Social Work Photography

Another photo taken on the Streets of Skid Row. I was able to find this gentleman and give him a copy of this photo. He was very appreciative of it. He was going to make copies and send them to his family back East.
Software used: Adobe Bridge, Adobe Photoshop's Camera Raw feature.


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Now playing: Kool & The Gang - Too Hot
via FoxyTunes

Social Work Photography

This past summer, I walked around the area of Los Angeles, CA known as "Skid Row". At the Union Rescue Mission, when the temps hit, or are expected to hit over 85 degrees, the staff volunteers to hand out cold bottled water to the homeless community. As time permits, I often join them, with my camera in hand, to see what I can capture. On this day, this gentleman was so thankful to receive a few bottles of water. One of which he poured...well, the photo tells the story. I asked him if I can take a photo of him and he said, "Sure. But let me pour it on me and you can take your picture." He then asked for a bus token and a copy of the photo. Two months later, I've yet to find him out on the street for his copy.

Software used: Adobe Bridge, Adobe Photoshop's Camera Raw feature.

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Now playing: The Ataris - The Boys of Summer
via FoxyTunes

Social Work Photography

Here is another PR photo I took and did the digital imaging for. I imported the border from Adobe Illustrator to Photoshop. I worked on the hues just slightly. As a final touch, I burned the edges just a bit to add some focus to the three main subjects.

Social Work Photography

Here is a photo taken by photographer, Rob Terry. He was gracious enough to provide me a disc of his photos taken at Union Rescue Mission for our use. This was taken at a public event held in the Mission with signs and banners making the public aware of news media coverage. I used Adobe Bridge to make the photo default to Raw. From there, I opened it in Photoshop and used the Camera Raw settings to pop out the reds.
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Now playing: Smokey Robinson - Cruisin'
via FoxyTunes

Social Work Photography

This is our standard Public Relations photo template. The media loves these types of shots. When you create your own PR images, best to include the contact info of the PR person.

Social Work Photography

Social Work Photography

In the next few posts, I will be showing some of my amateur photography work. Most of it is Social Work.

"SUBWAY® Christmas Campaign for Union Rescue Mission"

Greetings! This is a design I created for URM's Corporate Christmas Campaign. URM’s Corporate sponsor, SUBWAY®, requested that I create a flyer to post in all their Greater Los Angeles Area restaurants. The coupon will be posted on the web via the address listed on flyer to all who generously donate to the cause of the Mission. SUBWAY® is very happy with this piece and they look forward to the results of the campaign. Thanks for viewing!

• Photo Credit: Rene Macura
• Model Release: Not named. Mother/Child were guests at the Mission
• Artwork: http://www.istockphoto.com

©2008 Doctor's Associates Inc. SUBWAY® is a registered trademark of Doctor's Associates Inc. ©2008 Union Rescue Mission. URM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the poor and homeless.