This Week in MN

This Monday, the first day of Amazon’s “Prime Day” sales, I photographed a strike and rally at the Amazon warehouse in Shakopee, Minnesota for Bloomberg. Amazon workers walked off the job that afternoon to join supporters in protesting poor working conditions at the warehouse.

Then on Thursday, I captured a Town Hall meeting on “Medicare For All” in Minneapolis hosted by U.S. Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) for Reuters. 

In this intensely racist, Islamophobic era of American history, it was gratifying getting to amplify these actions that came about thanks to Somali leadership and organizing.  To those who chanted “send her home” about Rep. Omar at a recent Trump rally: she’s clearly already here.


A Couple Friends

Please enjoy a few recent photos of my dog friends, Linde (pictured above) and George. As you can see, these puppies are exceptionally beautiful. I hope they make you feel all nice inside. 


The Bomb Cyclone

I hung out in Minneapolis’s onslaught of snow and hail yesterday to get some shots of this freakish “bomb cyclone” weather phenomenon for Reuters. MSN, PBS, and Yahoo! also published some of the images. Here’s the full set:


Baraboo for BuzzFeed News

Last Monday, March 25th, I drove from my home in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Baraboo, a town of just over 12,000 in Eastern Wisconsin. I spent two days there on assignment for BuzzFeed News, capturing images for an article on the aftermath of the viral Seig Heil prom photo (above) that shook the town and made waves nationally last November.

The piece is a thoughtful reflection on the insidious ways racism and antisemitism manifest in the rural Midwest, and what can be learned when those undercurrents collide with overt bigotry rampant on the national stage.


L’Acte VIII

In major cities throughout France, over 50,000 people came together on Saturday for L’Acte 8 (act 8), the eighth week of protests against Emmanuel Macron’s government and the country’s rising wealth gap. About 3,500 mobilized in Paris near the Champs-Elysées.

Protesters face off against riot police.

Yellow vest protesters treat a woman suffering from tear gas exposure near Musee D’Orsay in Paris.

Yellow vest protesters gather outside Musee D’Orsay in Paris.

A Parisian riot cop walks past graffiti on his way to confront protesters.

I joined the protests around 2pm outside Musee D’Orsay, where riot police were already clashing with demonstrators. I read that much of the morning had been relatively calm, but it certainly wasn’t when I arrived.

A protester navigates their way through a barrage of tear gas outside Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

I’d never run so hard at a protest before this one. At times the riot police chased us on foot for blocks, sometimes through streets too narrow and crowded to escape. Between my heavy camera backpack and weak knees, I ran past my limit, trying not to breathe in tear gas, praying I wouldn’t trip.

A protesters navigate their way through a barrage of tear gas outside Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

Street medics administer eye drops  to help alleviate burning from the tear gas.

Demonstrators march from Musee d’Orsay through Rue du Bac in Paris, carrying flares.

Demonstrators march from Musee d’Orsay through Rue du Bac in Paris, carrying flares.

Demonstrators march from Musee d’Orsay through Rue du Bac in Paris, carrying flares.

A demonstrator carries a French flag through the streets of Paris.

Parisian firefighters put out a street fire set by protesters near Sainte-Clotilde Catholic Church.

Parisian firefighters put out a street fire set by protesters near Sainte-Clotilde Catholic Church.

What remains of a municipal waste bin and electric scooter lie along Quai d’Orsay during demonstrations in Paris.

Demonstrators wave to a tour bus while marching towards l’Arc de triomphe

A demonstrator pushes a shopping cart full of rocks through Jardin des Tuileries.

Demonstrators and passers-by dodge tear gas in Paris’s 7th arrondissement.

Christmas trees burn along Rue Fabert in Paris.

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