World traveler and photographer Glen Allison is in Siem Reap complaining about a little rain. He calls it a typhoon. But typhoon – monsoon. What’s the difference. Rain is rain. As Ernst Haas says, “It’s all part of the effect.”
Western causeway to Angkor Wat in a little rain
Sure you can write circles around me in that blog of yours with all of your poetry sounding words, but can you shoot?
You’ve been around the world what two times going on three now? I was juggling shooting with being social in a group in between diabetes talks, and did I complain about the rain?
When you’ve got something to show let us see what you’v got.
There is plenty of speculation how the Jay Leno Show will change the late, prime-time TV landscape. The little nugget I can add to that debate comes from witnessing to an interview with Jay Leno conducted by Sharon Osbourne before the launch of her daytime talk show.
Jay Leno advising Sharon Osbourne
I heard one of the smartest dissertations on the recipe for success for a talk show you will ever hear. Somewhere that tape is sitting in a vault. It should be pulled out and played for every TV executive and perhaps even business school students. Jay understands what it takes to please an audience and make a TV show work. He mixes his talent with hard work with being a genuine nice guy. During the break in the taping Jay grabbed food and ate with the crew happily trading tales about his car collection.
Sharon Osbourne happy to receive Jay's advice
I will be watching to see how Jay will do in his show opener tonight and my bet is that Jay will find a way to make the show work.
It’s all because I now have Virginia Postrel as a new Twitter follower and Facebook friend. The glamour rubs off from from Virginia being the Editor-in-Cheif of DeepGlamour.net. We met back in 2004 when I was asked to create a portrait of her for a Research Magazine article where she was stressing the economic importance of design on a city. The new Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall had just opened and it seemed like the perfect place to highlight the style of Los Angeles.
Opening night lighting on the Walt Disney Concert Hall
It was scouting for the portrait session that I learned that much of the grounds and building are considered public property and are open for public use. I now use it as a location to a teach a portrait lighting class through the Julia Dean Photo Workshop. The next meeting of my Finding and Creating Great Portrait Lighting class is coming up soon on the weekend of Oct. 17 -18th.
My portrait of the glamourous Virginia Postrel
Unlike basic square buildings that simply have a sunny and shady side, the Gehry building is full of curves and reflections. This makes the background and the lighting formula change every time you walk around the corner. There are also some great views of the city from some of the balconies.
Actor/model Michael Pierce surveying his city empire
The last time we held the class it actually rained in LA and just like a real photo shoot we improvised by jumping in and out of the building as the weather changed. This allowed us to explore the building interior more and the students ended up shooting some of their best photos of our models in the underground parking garage.
The New York Times today has a business story on the Tech Companies Push to Digitize Patients’ Records. It’s a major undertaking that may be solved with major investments by big corporations and government stimulus money.
Converting existing paper records is an issue
Readers of my oncology office post saw a real-life example of the paper challenge.
I expected more sadness than hope in the Cancer Care Associates oncology office, but I found just the opposite. Decades ago I made a quick portrait of an oncologist who had just finished informing his second patient of the day that his cancer had returned. I imagined how hard it would be to go into work everyday with that prospect. Yet my social experiences with David Chan and his family have always been pleasant and upbeat.
Dr. David Chan talking with a patient
The hope I experienced in the office could be a sign of the progress of cancer treatment or the optimism that is deployed to supplement the treatment . Even while witnessing the visit of a 77 year old woman there was no despair as she recited the litany of complications resulting from her cancer and advanced age. She knew that she lived a good long life and was resigned to the fact that death was near. The appointment focused on the smaller details of her medical care – such as billing the insurance company for her wheel-chair and receive help with the issues that caused her pain. Dr. Thomas Lowe was very attentive, listening to her needs, writing the prescriptions and guiding his patient to the appropriate staff members that followed-up with her scheduling and questions.
Patient with breast cancer receiving an infusion of Herceptin
For many patients the repeat visits take place in one of the three infusion rooms. Here is where the long hours of chemotherapy infusion take place while patients sit in lounge chairs. Surprisingly this too is a happier place than I expected. The nursing staff become familiar with the patients and there is a shared bonding experience with others in treatment.
Drip chamber for an intravenous infusion set delivering chemotherapy
You can view the full resolution file here and then come back. It’s big, but short. Control is in lower left-hand corner. (Works better in Safari than Firefox.)
Some patients bring in family members to play board games and there is a warm chatting with staff members to pass the time. It was a friendlier place than the short term medical reception waiting room. People know that they will be here a while and are looking to make the best of their time together.
Medical file clerk searching for a patient chart
Tucked away out of sight from most patients is the billing and medical record side of the office. Caitlin spends much of her day spinning through the racks of charts pulling out and stuffing back the medical records. There is great expectations on the cost-savings and streamlining of care that will be achieved with the introduction of electronic medical records, but David is waiting for the next drop in system prices before he is ready to commit to the new technology.
Radiologist reviewing digital mammograms
Downstairs there is another categorization task taking place. Here we see the new technology coming into play as radiologist Dr. Glenn Huettner is able to zoom in on questionable areas of digital mammograms.
Medical research binders for a breast cancer study
The greatest hope for future treatment resides in the far corner office full of research binders. Row upon row of clinical trial data is collected from the treatment of Cancer Care Associates patients and combined with similar sites to help develop tomorrow’s treatments and potential cures.
Life's always more interesting with a camera. It's not about the box that captures light. What's interesting is how the box becomes a key. It opens doors, introduces me to fascinating people and encourages me to explore wondrous places.
There will be pretty pictures to see, many of them related to healthcare, but it's not about me. It's about including you in the journey and sharing the people I meet and places I get to see here in Los Angeles and beyond. I hope you enjoy the trip.
