Hollywood and Hitler: portraits of Thomas Doherty and Ben Urwand for the Chronicle of Higher Education
October 11, 2013

 Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University. His most recent book is “Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939”
Ben Urwand is a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. His most recent book “The Collaboration: Hollywood’€™s Pact With Hitler” alleges that Hollywood studios actively cooperated with Nazi propaganda efforts in order to secure the German movie market.
Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University. His most recent book is “Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939”
Ben Urwand is a Junior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. His most recent book “The Collaboration: Hollywood’€™s Pact With Hitler” alleges that Hollywood studios actively cooperated with Nazi propaganda efforts in order to secure the German movie market.
A few months back, I photographed both Ben Urwand of Harvard and Thomas Doherty of Brandeis University for the Chronicle of Higher Education's coverage of their books on Hollywood's cooperation and complicity with Nazi Germany (my images appear in the print edition of the Chronicle's magazine The Chronicle Review, but not online). Not unsurprisingly, their writing has been discussed and written about countless times online and in print, especially Urwand's allegations that (primarily Jewish) Hollywood producers in the 1930s bargained with Hitler's regime and the German consulate in Los Angeles to edit scripts and cancel anti-Nazi films in exchange for distribution rights in Nazi Germany. Here's a long New Yorker review of both Urwand's and Doherty's books: Hitler in Hollywood: Did the studios collaborate?

Accessible Icon Project for theChronicle of Higher Education
October 10, 2013

 Dr. Brian Glenney, Professor of Philosophy at Gordon College, in Wenham, Massachusetts, helped develop the Accessible Icon as part of the Accessible Icon Project. The icon is a redesign of the International Symbol of Access (also known as the handicap symbol) that shows an active and engaged person with arms in motion. Glenney’s research focuses on the philosophy of perception and he maintains active interest in graffiti and street art. The Accessible Icon has been adopted by cities and institutions around the world, including Gordon College, Nissan, New York City, Malden, MA, and others.
Dr. Brian Glenney, Professor of Philosophy at Gordon College, in Wenham, Massachusetts, applies a sticker with the Accessible Icon to a parking sign at Gordon College. Glenney helped develop the Accessible Icon as part of the Accessible Icon Project. The icon is a redesign of the International Symbol of Access (also known as the handicap symbol) that shows an active and engaged person with arms in motion. Glenney’s research focuses on the philosophy of perception and he maintains active interest in graffiti and street art. The Accessible Icon has been adopted by cities and institutions around the world, including Gordon College, Nissan, New York City, Malden, MA, and others.
Dr. Brian Glenney, Professor of Philosophy at Gordon College, in Wenham, Massachusetts, helped develop the Accessible Icon as part of the Accessible Icon Project. The icon is a redesign of the International Symbol of Access (also known as the handicap symbol) that shows an active and engaged person with arms in motion. Glenney’s research focuses on the philosophy of perception and he maintains active interest in graffiti and street art. The Accessible Icon has been adopted by cities and institutions around the world, including Gordon College, Nissan, New York City, Malden, MA, and others.
Dr. Brian Glenney (right), Professor of Philosophy at Gordon College, in Wenham, Massachusetts, helped develop the Accessible Icon as part of the Accessible Icon Project. Cyndi McMahon, Director of Marketing Communications at Gordon College, is the volunteer publicist for the Accessible Icon Project and has helped spread usage of the symbol. The icon is a redesign of the International Symbol of Access (also known as the handicap symbol) that shows an active and engaged person with arms in motion. Glenney’s research focuses on the philosophy of perception and he maintains active interest in graffiti and street art. The Accessible Icon has been adopted by cities and institutions around the world, including Gordon College, Nissan, New York City, Malden, MA, and others.
Parking spaces at Gordon College display the current version of the Accessible Icon. The icon, designed by the Accessible Icon Project, is a redesign of the International Symbol of Access (also known as the handicap symbol) that shows an active and engaged person with arms in motion. Glenney’s research focuses on the philosophy of perception and he maintains active interest in graffiti and street art. The Accessible Icon has been adopted by cities and institutions around the world, including Gordon College, Nissan, New York City, Malden, MA, and others.
Earlier this summer, I had a quick assignment for the Chronicle of Higher Education to go up to Gordon College and photograph the creators of the Accessible Icon Project, a more active redesign of the International Symbol of Access (also known as the handicap symbol). The new icon, designed by Brian Glenney, has been adopted by New York City and a growing number of municipalities and organizations around the US. It features a more active view of the person in a wheelchair, leaning forward and ready to go. You can see more images at my archive: Accessible Icon Project - Gordon College - Chronicle of Higher Education.

Southie’s drugs and gentrification for the Wall Street Journal
September 5, 2013

 A view of Andrew Square near the Andrew T stop in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well. Residents in the area say they frequently see police arrest people in the parking lot of the Tedeschi convenience store (rear right).
Keith Lombard is a former heroin addict and alcoholic, now clean for 5 and 6 years, respectively, who now works in outreach and counseling at the South Boston Collaborative Center in the Old Colony Housing Project in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Lombard’s addiction started with a precription for painkillers after a 47-foot fall sustained while working as a carpenter in 2003. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
Ellery Street in Andrew Square in South Boston is notorious among residents as a place where drug users congregate. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
Houses near Andrew Square in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
Ellery Street in Andrew Square in South Boston is notorious among residents as a place where drug users congregate. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
A view of Andrew Square near the Andrew T stop in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
Houses near Andrew Square in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
A mural by the Andrew Square Civic Association decorates a parking lot wall in Andrew Square in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
A view of Andrew Square near the Andrew T stop in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
A view of Andrew Square near the Andrew T stop in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
Andy Ward, LICSW (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker), has worked for 16 years at the South Boston Collaborative Center in the Old Colony Housing Project in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Ward provides counseling and outreach to addicts seeking recovery. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
A view of Andrew Square near the Andrew T stop in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
A view of Andrew Square near the Andrew T stop in South Boston, Massachusetts, USA. South Boston has the largest problem with heroin addiction in the Boston area. Andrew Square, at the border between South Boston and Dorchester with a Red Line T stop and close to downtown, is a hot spot for heroin usage, despite recent gentrification. There are a number of methadone clinics in the area, as well.
I had a quick hit assignment a few weeks ago to photograph Andrew Square in South Boston for a story about high heroin use in the area despite recent gentrification and efforts to clean up the area. Because we didn't have anyone willing to go on record about their drug use, I had to shoot mostly anonymous views of the area, which is at the confluence of a few major roads and subway and bus lines, the border between Dorchester and Southie, and close to downtown. We also spoke with people at the South Boston Collaborative Center in the Old Colony Housing Project near James "Whitey" Bulger's old stomping grounds. The SBCC is a recovery center that assists people trying to escape addiction rampant in the area. You can see a slideshow that the Wall Street Journal ran and read the article here.

Inside MIT’s Media Lab for Polka Magazine (France)
September 3, 2013

 Postdoc Gordon Wetzstein works on a camera sensor in his office in the Camera Culture group in MIT’s Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Wetzstein’s work in computational photography focuses on changing the way sensors and displays capture and project light. Here, Wetzstein is working on a printed filter that would alter the way the sensor captures light and which would then be decoded computationally to display captured images in novel ways. The work might be applied to create things such as glasses-free 3D viewing or ultra-high-definition imagery, among other possible uses.
People walk through the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
MIT students and visiting scholars work in the Camera Culture group at MIT’s Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Dr. Ramesh Raskar is the leader of the Camera Culture group in MIT’s Media Lab and Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Co-Director of the Center for Future Storytelling, and NEC Career Development Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
A person rides an elevator in the Media Lab lobby at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
A sign near MIT’s Media Lab points toward the building saying “Calculus” and reads “Real People” pointing toward MIT buildings housing the Sloan School of Management and the Department of Political Science at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Professor Ramesh Raskar (blue) leads his Camera Culture group in a meeting to discuss an upcoming Hackathon in India. Raskar is the director of the Camera Culture group at MIT’s Media Lab.
An exterior view of the Media Lab building at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The new Media Lab building (seen here) was designed by Maki and Associates, and the old Wiesner Building was designed by I. M. Pei.
Paper airplanes mounted on a wall advertise one of Professor Ethan Zuckerman’s courses in the Center for Civic Media at MIT’s Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Tools lay on a workstation desk in the Camera Culture group space in MIT’s Media Lab at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Professor Ethan Zuckerman is the director of the Center for Civic Media at MIT’s Media Lab and co-founder of Global Voices, a multi-lingual online news and blogging service.
Students and others gather in the open common areas in the center of the Media Lab building at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The area is a common place for students to chat informally, study, and collaborate.
Layered transparencies create a glasses-free 3D effect on a light table at the Camera Culture group in MIT’s Media Lab at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Staff researcher and civic technologist Ed Platt debugs code for the Vojo blogging-by-SMS project in the Center for Civic Media at MIT’s Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The project aims to give access to blogging and citizen media tools to those with little access to technology or other information infrastructure. Vojo allows people with feature phones, or flip phones, to blog on a mobile platform without a smart phone or data plan.
A placard for the MIT Living Museum states that a drawer contains cookies in the Center for Civic Media at MIT’s Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
A view of offices and labs from the lobby of MIT’s Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
LEGO blocks provide a rapid method for prototyping urban planning designs at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Researchers gather in a workspace at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Dr. Suelia Rodrigues Fleury Rosa, Associate Professor of the University of Brasilia Department of Biomedical Engineering, works on a wireless sensor to be inserted in a model of human foot for testing the condition of people with diabetes at MIT’s Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Students and others gather in the open common areas in the center of the Media Lab building at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The area is a common place for students to chat informally, study, and collaborate.
Mannequins are used to display smart prostheses in the lobby of MIT’s Media Lab at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The exhibition, entitled Wheels + Legs, displays the work of the Biomechatronics (seen here) and the Changing Places groups in the Media Lab.
People walk through the MIT Media Lab building at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
A few months back, I had a few hours to photograph MIT's well-known Media Lab for the French magazine Polka (an excellent, photo-focused magazine if you aren't already familiar). It was a very challenging shoot, because although there's a lot of cool stuff going on in the building, the vast majority of it was off-limits for the shoot. We were limited to two groups, Camera Culture and the Center for Civic Media, and even those had some restrictions on what could be photographed. The shoot happened right at the beginning of the summer, so most students and researchers were also away from the labs. But in spite of all of these difficulties, I was grateful for the access we did have and was happy with what I got from the day. You can read the article, in French, and see a few more pictures on Polka's website.

MIT Police Department and Grounds Crew for MIT News
September 2, 2013

 Officer Jeffrey Williams, an 11-year veteran of the MIT Police Department, stands behind Building 76 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Sergeant Cheryl Vossmer is a 29-year veteran of the MIT Police Department at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Vossmer works in crime prevention and community policing.
Sergeant Richard M. Sullivan, Aide to Patrol Commander of the MIT Police Department, spends most mornings dealing with crowds and tour buses at the Massachusetts Avenue crosswalk across from Building 7 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
The Grounds Crew at MIT maintains the grounds of the campus and helps set up for large events. The crew is photographed here in Killian Court on MIT’s Campus near the Dome of Building 10 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Officer Jeffrey Williams, an 11-year veteran of the MIT Police Department, stands behind Building 76 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Sergeant Richard M. Sullivan, Aide to Patrol Commander of the MIT Police Department, spends most mornings dealing with crowds and tour buses at the Massachusetts Avenue crosswalk across from Building 7 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
The Grounds Crew at MIT maintains the grounds of the campus and helps set up for large events. The crew is photographed here in Killian Court on MIT’s Campus near the Dome of Building 10 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Officer Anthony Rosanio, a 32-year veteran of the MIT Police force, sits in his cruiser across Massachusetts Avenue from Building 7 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Officer Jeffrey Williams, an 11-year veteran of the MIT Police Department, stands behind Building 76 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
The Grounds Crew at MIT maintains the grounds of the campus and helps set up for large events. The crew is photographed here in Killian Court on MIT’s Campus near the Dome of Building 10 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
The Grounds Crew at MIT maintains the grounds of the campus and helps set up for large events. The crew is photographed here in Killian Court on MIT’s Campus near the Dome of Building 10 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Sergeant Richard M. Sullivan, Aide to Patrol Commander of the MIT Police Department, spends most mornings dealing with crowds and tour buses at the Massachusetts Avenue crosswalk across from Building 7 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
A wooden chair, made and donated by the San Antonio police department, stands empty at all times in the MIT Police Department briefing room as a memory of MIT police officer Sean Collier, who is alleged to have been killed by the Tsarnaev brothers, who are accused of perpetrating the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
For a Labor Day spot on MIT's homepage, I photographed members of the MIT Grounds Crew and Police Department a few weeks back. These are the people that make that place run, and they rarely get the recognition they deserve. I was excited to be a part of highlighting the work they do behind the scenes.

Moral Injury for American Public Media
July 12, 2013

 US Marine veteran living in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. This man developed an opposition to US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after being deployed.
Giselle Sterling served in the US Marine Corps in Afghanistan, seen here at her father’s home in Sandown, New Hampshire. Sterling enlisted at age 17. Her father served in the Marines from 1970-1973.
Giselle Sterling (in black) practices Brazilian jiu jitsu at the Combat Sports International MMA training gym at the Beacon Hill Athletic Club in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Sterling, a former Marine, says the training recalls some of what she learned in the military and offers the same sort of camaraderie she experienced in the Marines.
Nelson Sterling of Sandown, New Hampshire, served in the US Marines 1970-73. His daughter Giselle Sterling also served in the Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan.
Giselle Sterling looks at her father’s Parris Island Marine boot camp book at her father’s home in Sandown, New Hampshire. Giselle and her father Nelson Sterling are both Marine veterans. Giselle deployed to Afghanistan, and Nelson served 1970-1973.
This woman served in the US Army Reserve and was deployed to Iraq in 2006-2007. She is now a graduate student.
Michael Spinnato served in the US Marine Corps from 2003-2007 and was deployed to Iraq in 2005-2006. Spinnato worked as motorized transport while deployed, but has since become an outspoken opponent of the war, active with the group Iraq Veterans Against War. Spinnato graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 2012 and is studying for the MCAT and hopes to go to medical school.
Nelson Sterling of Sandown, New Hampshire, served in the US Marines 1970-73. His daughter Giselle Sterling also served in the Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan.
Giselle Sterling (in black) practices Brazilian jiu jitsu at the Combat Sports International MMA training gym at the Beacon Hill Athletic Club in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Sterling, a former Marine, says the training recalls some of what she learned in the military and offers the same sort of camaraderie she experienced in the Marines.
An official Marine Corps portrait of Giselle Sterling hangs in her father’s home in Sandown, New Hampshire. Sterling was deployed to Afghanistan.
Michael Spinnato served in the US Marine Corps from 2003-2007 and was deployed to Iraq in 2005-2006. Spinnato worked as motorized transport while deployed, but has since become an outspoken opponent of the war, active with the group Iraq Veterans Against War. Spinnato graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 2012 and is studying for the MCAT and hopes to go to medical school.
Giselle Sterling, a Marine Corps veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan, puts her dress blues in the back of her car at her father’s house in Sandown, New Hampshire. Though Sterling left the service, she wore her uniform during President Obama’s recent trip to Boston after the marathon bombings.
US Marine veteran living in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. This man developed an opposition to US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after being deployed.
This woman served in the Army Reserve from 2003 to 2009 as an Arabic linguist. She is now an anthropology student.
A photo shows Michael Spinnato in uniform on the USS Carter Hall in 2005 as he leaves North Carolina for his deployment to Iraq. Michael Spinnato served in the US Marine Corps from 2003-2007 and was deployed to Iraq in 2005-2006. Spinnato worked as motorized transport while deployed, but has since become an outspoken opponent of the war, active with the group Iraq Veterans Against War. Spinnato graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 2012 and is studying for the MCAT and hopes to go to medical school.
Giselle Sterling and her father Nelson Sterling talk about their experience in the military at Nelson’s home in Sandown, New Hampshire. Nelson Sterling served in the US Marines during Vietnam and Giselle Sterling served in the Marines in Afghanistan.
US Marine veteran living in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. This man developed an opposition to US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after being deployed.
Last spring I was contacted by American Public Media for a difficult assignment. The subject was moral injury in American military veterans. Moral injury is a term used in mental health circles, and studied by the US Veterans Administration, to describe the situation when a person's actions violate their sense of right and wrong, usually at the orders of a superior in high-stress situations. In the case of these subjects, actions they participated in while deployed in conflict situations violated their morals. Many of the photos and interviews required anonymity, which proved to be a fun challenge in the context of portraiture. The images ran as part of a series on moral injury in partnership with Boston's WBUR public radio station and the Public Insight Network. I'm thankful to the veterans featured in the story for letting us in to learn about such a painful topic. Please contact me for image licensing.

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