Somebody got a new camera... by Jessie Wright-Mendoza

I've been thinking about replacing my medium-format camera for awhile, and while I was on the road a few weeks ago I stopped off in central Ohio to do some antique hunting and found an old Yashica TLR that I scooped up. I was already planning on stopping in St. Louis to see my dear friend Lara and meet her new baby boy, so I took the opportunity to try out the camera on her daughter Charlotte, who is one of my favorite subjects. Though it's not easy to capture a super active 2-year-old with a camera meant for more, shall we say, cerebral subjects, I was really happy with the shots. Being able to capture one of my oldest friends in 'mom' mode has been something I've really enjoyed as her family has grown and these are a nice little addition to the collection.

Magic Maps by Jessie Wright-Mendoza

I've been playing with some new multimedia tools for a new project that I'm working on. I love (LOVE!) maps, so I'm really into Knight Lab's StoryMap platform. I used it to make this map for Blank on Blank that tied in with an episode on Ray Bradbury. You can see the whole post here: http://blankonblank.org/2015/05/hollywood-houses-scandal/

From the Blank on Blank blog: The Union of Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement by Jessie Wright-Mendoza

A companion piece for Blank on Blank's episode featuring John Coltrane that premiered last week. Click-through to read the post, and watch the Coltrane episode here: http://blankonblank.org/interviews/john-coltrane-rare-interview-jazz-saxophone-spirituality/