seniors

a long overdue entry

well let’s just jump right in. i’m loving the job, and am getting the opportunity and resources to make great storytelling photos…and occasionally work on longer-form stories. so the ball’s in my court. on that note, shortly after i started, i was assigned to photograph three families for a series writer Gary Stern was working on about the different approaches families take for caring for their elders/parents. here are a few photos from my time with the Siragusas. my goal, while working within a specific window of time, was to give a glimpse into the everyday routine of children taking care of their elderly parents.

Nancy Siragusa, 48, top, cares for her parents, Edmund Siragusa, 92, and Mae Siragusa, 85, with help from elder-caregiver Dorothy Rinda, far left. Nancy attends to her parents while Dorothy feeds Mae and Edmund naps in the elder's New City home July 7, 2010. ( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

Nancy covers her mother with a blanket to be comfortable while watching television in Mae's room July 7, 2010. ( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

Nancy Siragusa, 48, makes calls to try and procure a lightly-used wheelchair for her mother after setting her down to watch television July 7, 2010. Nancy cares for her father, Edmund Siragusa, 92, left, and mother, Mae Siragusa, 85, in their New City home. ( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

Nancy shares a lighthearted conversation with her father July 7, 2010. ( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

Nancy Siragusa, 48, pulls her mother, Mae, over a curb on their way to the Nanuet salon to get her hair done by Marie Limongelli on July 10, 2010. ( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

Nancy Siragusa, 48, cares for her parents, Edmund Siragusa, 92, and Mae Siragusa, 85, in their New City home. Mae is photographed July 10, 2010, geting her hair done by Marie Limongelli at Hair Creations in Nanuet, while Nancy, right, watches. ( Xavier Mascareñas / The Journal News )

in related news, you can now see my work at LoHud.com, the website for The Journal News in White Plains, New York, which has two separate editions — one which cover Westchester County (the location of the main offices, and larger paper/coverage area —home to the cities of Yonkers, White Plains, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Scarsdale, and a whole load of villages and towns), and Rockland County (across the Hudson, on a little triangle of NY that borders NJ). the coverage area for breaking and community news is so vast, and publications numerous, i do not always know what runs when, but i will post selected work here on a more frequent basis. ideally.

thanks for stopping by.

several photos from the last couple weeks — and some personal news

…and they go hand-in-hand. actually, i haven’t posted any photos for a few days, but i wanted to be sure and post them now, because the foreseeable future has me sorting, trashing, packing, loading, driving, and driving, and … I am moving cross-country! to New York (White Plains) for a staff job with The Journal News! enough exclamation points for now, here’s some recent work. enjoy.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Cedar Ridge Inn resident Bill Trotter, 90, reacts to a kiss on the cheek and an earful of flattery from Director of Nursing Nicole Templeton while slow dancing on Friday during the Senior Prom, named “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” which was held to celebrate Nursing Home Week, according to administrator Lisa Higgins.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Newly-crowned Senior Prom royalty Ramoncita Maestas, 93, and Miguel Valdez, 85, who makes a face for a photo, sit at a table Friday during Cedar Ridge Inn's event, dubbed “By the Light of the Silvery Moon," while surrounded by family.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Prom escort Dante Bird, 9, peers at the crowning of the Senior Prom King and Queen on Friday at Cedar Ridge Inn. The event, dubbed “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” was held to celebrate Nursing Home Week, administrator Lisa Higgins said.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Farmington Police officials Cpl. C. Malone, left of center, and Detective Ron Paquin, on the phone, investigate a fatal vehicle wreck on East 20th Street at Tucker Avenue on Friday. A man driving an older model Ford F-250 pickup truck, far right, was driving recklessly, according to officials, and caused private property damage in the area before crashing into another pickup truck and coming to a halt on the sidewalk in front of Aloha Salon on East 20th Street. Alcohol was a factor in the accident, according to Detective Paquin.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Julie “Snoop Dogg” Ellison interacts with an adoring crowd at McKinley Elementary on Friday after performing a reading-themed rap, set to the music of MC Hammer’s “U Can't Touch This,” during an assembly celebrating the school’s reading program.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Richard White, far right, gets excited as he talks about the horses racing in the Kentucky Derby, and the odds of them winning, with Chuck Slattery, far left, and Gerald Barber at SunRay Park & Casino on Saturday before the start of the televised race in Churchill Downs.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Horses carry their jockeys toward the finish line in the third race of the day, for a distance of 400 yards, at Sunray Park on Sunday.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Racehorse-owner Wade Whitehead, of Tucumcari, N.M., vents his frustration after learning that his horse, "Rances Reason," did not place higher in the second race of the day Sunday at the track at Sunray Park.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Jockey Adam Martinez, fresh from riding "Cala Me Debonaire" in the first race of the day at Sunray Park on Sunday, relaxes near the stalls between races.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; “Jenuine Joy” appears to be recovering from taking first place in the fourth race of the day Sunday, while director of racing for SunRay Park, Lonnie Barber, right, waits to congratulate jockey Ricky Ramirez.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Piedra Vista High School sophomore baseball player Shilo McCall hits the ball with a solid crack of the bat Thursday during practice at PV.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Bloomfield High School player Rockey Mackey follows through on a tag on Robertson High School’s Fabian Montoya at third base Saturday during the first round of Class 3A state baseball tournament play at BHS. Montoya tried to advance to third base on a sacrifice fly ball to the outfield, but centerfielder Jeremiah Duran rifled the ball directly to third for the double play to end the fifth inning for the Cardinals’ at-bat.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Mesa State center-fielder Kevin Becker makes a run to the outfield fence Saturday after a hit by New Mexico Highlands University batter Danny Brown in the fifth inning of the Division II Central Regional NCAA Baseball Championships tournament at Ricketts Park in Farmington, N.M. NMHU won, 11-8.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Mesa State’s Austin Buck congratulates catcher Brett Nigbur after Nigbur hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday to tie the ball game against the Winona State Warriors during the Division II Central Regional NCAA Baseball Championships tournament at Ricketts Park in Farmington, N.M.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys pitcher Cruz Sedillo leans down to hug teammate Phillip Rodriguez after the Cowboys’ 12-8 loss to the St. Cloud State Huskies on Saturday night at Ricketts Park in Farmington, N.M., during the Division II Central Regional NCAA Baseball Championships tournament. The game was the Cowboys’ final one in the tournament, which wraps up Sunday, May 16, 2010.

more February photos, and the sun peeks out

proof of the sun coming out…

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Three-year-old Aaron Youell stares at the sky for a moment Thursday while playing around Farmington Lake's shore with his uncle, Timothy Livingston. The hard-packed dirt around him gives him something to explore and climb.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; San Juan County Republican Party Convention volunteer Hope Larimer registers convention participants on the computer while her sister, San Juan County Republican Party treasurer Joy Larimer, far left, jokes with Mayor of Bloomfield Scott Eckstein at the Totah Theatre on Monday.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; George Johnston, 79 years old, smiles after playing his 12-string guitar along to 72-year-old Manuel Abeyta's rendition of a Mexican folk song, "All in el Rancho Grande," on Friday at the Bonnie Dallas Senior Center Annex during the Fifty-plus Jam Session.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Russell Blevins, 68, strums rhythm on his guitar Friday during the Fifty-plus Jam Session at the Bonnie Dallas Senior Center Annex.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Piedra Vista mock trial student Logan Hanhardt, with the prosecution, adjust his glasses with flair as he argues a point while cross-examining a witness in a mock trial Sunday in district court Judge John Dean's courtroom.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times Farmington High School player Hayden Spellbring practices bunting off of a pitching machine while catcher Austin Fieldsted stays ready during a team practice Monday at Ricketts Park.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Doug Scovel, of Utah, pulls in a fish Saturday while fishing in the San Juan River below Navajo Dam. The area where he caught the fish, Texas Hole, was one of the more popular fishing spots within Quality Waters on Saturday.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Gayle Bidwell, of California, steps through a doorway at the Aztec Ruins National Monument on Saturday. Bidwell and boyfriend Jack Spey were visiting in the area, and she wanted to return to the site after her first visit 15 years ago.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Country Club Elementary fifth-grader Alex Shay, 11, thinks carefully before answering District Science Fair judge Jerae Curtis' questions Saturday at the Farmington Civic Center. Shay's project on oil cleanup was produced with classmate Brandon Montoya, 10, of Carrie Sweat's class.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; New Generation Plastering employee Joe Archuleta walks past a display of dresses at Silk, A Bridal Boutique after touching-up plaster work on the storefront on College Boulevard on Monday. New Generation Plastering owner Max Archuleta, who is working under property-owner Silver Ridge Development, said "business is picking up, now that the weather is warming up."

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; New Generation Plastering employee Joe Archuleta does touch-up plaster work on the Silver Ridge Development storefront on College Boulevard on Monday.

the next two photos are more of a public service than anything — i never knew Aztec Ruins National Monument had a Kiva this large, and the wide horizontal photo was used to show the contrast of new developments versus the ruins.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; Aztec visitors Gayle Bidwell, left, and boyfriend Jack Spey spend time Saturday inside the Great Kiva, one of possibly fifteen in the area according to literature at Aztec Ruins National Monument.

Xavier Mascareñas/The Daily Times; A playground and newly developed structure in the City of Aztec can be seen past the Aztec Ruins National Monument on Friday.

Light matters

a long overdue entry

several photos from the last couple weeks — and some personal news

more February photos, and the sun peeks out

tag cloud

xavier’s Vimeo feed

archive

Meta