WINEMAKER TO WATCH PROFILE — GAVIN CHANIN OF CHANIN WINES

In late December 2011 I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing Gavin Chanin for the San Francisco Chronicle’s annual “Winemakers to Watch” series.  After finishing high school, Gavin Chanin began working with Santa Barbara County winemakers at Au Bon Climat and Qupe where he is presently the assistant winemaker. In addition, he started his own wine company, Chanin Wines, making Pino Noir and Chardonnay from the Bien Nacido vineyard in Santa Maria, California. Chanin holds an art degree from UCLA and each of his wine labels features his original art work.   The article  ran in the Food & Wine section on Sunday, January 15, 2012, and then on its website, SFGate on the 16th. Read about Gavin Chanin’s wines in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Photoshelter is an invaluable resource for budding and seasoned photographers. They have been at the forefront of helping photographers market work, expand their online footprint and grow their businesses. Over the years I have read the articles on their site, watched their video tutorials, listened in on their webinars and basically soaked in as much information as my brain would allow.

In 2011 I began teaching a new kind of web class at Brooks Institute, one that was inspired by all that I have learned from the Photoshelter community over the years. Grover Sanchagrin caught wind of this and interviewed me recently. He posted our conversation on Photoshelter’s blog today, including 5 attitude changes toward photography websites.

Click on the image to read this post on Photoshelter's blog.

I grew up with the sounds and smells of a coffee percolator brewing the morning cup of Joe in our household. I hadn’t thought much about it until I stumbled on to this story on NPR’s website about sounds that have all but disappeared.

The idea for the NPR story was inspired by a blog post on Mental Floss titled “11 Sounds That Your Kids Have Probably Never Heard.” Remember the rotary phone? Our home number took a particularly long time to dial. It had a 9, a 0, a couple of 7′s. It was a laborious and time-consuming phone call to make by today’s standards (as you can see in the video below).

NPR took this idea a little further and grouped the clips to allow viewers to play these sounds to create some natural sounds music, so to speak. And then they modernized it by finding today’s equivalent sounds and grouped them, as well. Have look – and a listen.  Brooks Institute visual journalism grads Maggie Starbard and Melissa Forsyth helped out with the project.

Chloe awaits the arrival of Cpl. Ward Van Alstine in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2011. Van Alstine befriended the stray dog in August while serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan, and adopted him through a program called Nowzad Dogs charity. (Photo by Joe Gosen)

On November 23 I was inching along the freeway in pre-holiday traffic when my cell phone rang.

It was an assignment editor from the San Francisco Chronicle asking if I would be available to shoot an assignment on Thanksgiving.

I had to think about it a minute.

Cpl. Ward Van Alstine is reunited with his dog, Chloe, in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2011.

I already had plans for the day with my family and friends. Did I really want to work on a holiday?

“The story is about a marine who befriended a stray dog while on a tour of duty in Afghanistan,” the editor said. “He managed to adopt it through an organization and have it flown back to the U.S. They’re going to reunite on Thanksgiving day in Santa Barbara.”

I didn’t have to think a second longer.

“Yes, I’ll do that story!”

Have a look at the touching story that ran in the San Francisco Chronicle’s website - SF Gate. Four of my pictures ran in a gallery with the story.