Obama Loves Vegas

President Obama chose Las Vegas for the first trip of his second term, and this time it was my turn to be part of the local pool. This basically meant that me and a reporter were carted around with the national press and rode in their fancy vans in the motorcade to and from the airport. Sadly, Obama did not make any special stops on this trip, just the speech on immigration reform at Del Sol High School. He was on the ground in Vegas for less than two hours. It was still fun though. The best part was having a different view when Obama stepped off Air Force One for the presidential wave. I've always been positioned on a riser directly across from the plane. This time I was on the ground, closer to the plane, and there was a nice cloud overhead that had been blocking the sun intermittently all morning. So I decided to go for a wide shot. It's my favorite one of the day.

Citizen of Nowhere

Photographing someone without showing their face is always a challenge. But, it's a challenge I very much enjoy. Here, for a story by April Corbin called Citizen of Nowhere I photographed a local college student who has lived here for most of her life but was born in Mexico. She didn't want to reveal her identity, not because she isn't proud of where she came from and who she is, but because she was concerned about racist and unpleasant comments directed toward her and her family. Because of her undocumented citizenship status she has faced many challenges in pursuing higher education. I've met few students with so much passion for learning and scholarly pursuits. She wants to do so much with her life, and I hope she achieves it all and more.

Dream Rally

Demonstrators took to the streets of downtown Las Vegas today in defense of the DREAM Act, a measure that would offer a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who entered the country as children and enroll in college or enlist in the military. The DREAM Act hit a snag today in Congress. Here are my favorite shots from the rally. See more photos and read Rich Coleman's story about the rally here.