Peter Earl McCollough: Seven Ways to Sunday » Politics http://www.petermccollough.com/blog Photographs from Peter Earl McCollough Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:01:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 2/2/12 WSJ: Tony Smith http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/2212-wsj-tony-smith/ http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/2212-wsj-tony-smith/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:15:47 +0000 Peter Earl McCollough http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/?p=4896 Oakland Schools Chief

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]]> http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/2212-wsj-tony-smith/feed/ 0 11/16/11 Occupy Cal http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/111611-occupy-cal/ http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/111611-occupy-cal/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:27:44 +0000 Peter Earl McCollough http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/?p=4764 Occupy Movement, Cal Berkeley March, General Assembly

]]> http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/111611-occupy-cal/feed/ 0 2/17/11 SF Magazine: Malia Cohen http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/21711-sf-magazine-malia-cohen/ http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/21711-sf-magazine-malia-cohen/#comments Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:32:19 +0000 Peter Earl McCollough http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/?p=4210 SF Magazine, San Francisco City Hall, District 10,
SF Magazine, San Francisco City Hall, District 10,
SF Magazine, San Francisco City Hall, District 10,
SF Magazine, San Francisco City Hall, District 10,
SF Magazine, San Francisco City Hall, District 10,
SF Magazine, San Francisco City Hall, District 10,
SF Magazine, San Francisco City Hall, District 10,
San Francisco City Hall, Politics, Editorial Photographer
San Francisco City Hall, Politics, Editorial Photographer

On New Years Eve I had the opportunity to meet and photograph San Francisco’s new District 10 supervisor, Malia Cohen, for the February issue of SF Magazine. I met with Malia, seemingly always vibrant and energetic, at City Hall where would soon be working on a daily basis. She recalled a trip as a young girl to City Hall that inspired her and helped instill in her the desire to become a politician. It was obvious that same awe and inspiration she experienced as a child seeing City Hall for the first time was still with her.

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]]> http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/21909-wall-street/feed/ 0 2/12/09 East Timor http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/21209-east-timor/ http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/21209-east-timor/#comments Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:45:18 +0000 Peter Earl McCollough http://www.petermccollough.com/blog/?p=213 easttimordeal_002easttimordeal_003easttimordeal_005easttimordeal_006easttimordeal_007
I’m still scanning and archiving and editing old photos. It’s turned into a larger task than I expected. These images are from an operation in East Timor back in 2002 when I was in the Marines. It’s strange looking at them, they don’t feel like pictures from 7 years ago but pictures from a past life altogether. East Timor was both exotic and barren, my brief time there made for some of my best memories while in the Corps. We traveled to several different villages, some in better shape than others. Many people we came across appeared to be incredibly peaceful despite the fact they struggled to survive. It was an experience that altered my view of both modern and Western culture. You spend your whole life taking certain things for granted, and you hear about how worse it is for some. Then the Marine Corps slaps you around a bit and you wake the fuck up, but in the end you’re still an American with a sense of security. Destitution doesn’t really sink in until you’re standing next to the people that are stuck in it. And I’m sure you can’t truly understand it until you become it.

I felt like an alien in East Timor. The security team that I was a part of was there to protect a team of doctors that was giving much needed care to the people in the villages. The team and I were geared up in case some shit went down, which was unlikely. I remember walking a patrol though the village, a lot of the structures were partially made from palm tree leaves and looked like they could just blow away. A young boy, maybe 4 or 5 turned a corner in front of us, like he probably had a thousand times before we ever showed up. But there we were, a couple of American 19 year-olds in camouflage uniforms, ammunition strapped to our bodies, throat mics around our necks, assault rifles in hand. The boy froze like Satan him-fucking-self just burst from hell spewing the souls of his dead ancestors. Poor kid just burst into tears, turned the other way and ran for his life. I remember, before laughing it off with my fellow Marines, feeling like I did something terrible without even wanting to. Later on I attempted a good deed by handing chocolate out to some of the kids. By the time I gave it to them, It had melted in the wrappers from the heat. It literally felt like I was handing them shit. I eventually scared another kid into tears without trying and made some of the elders really nervous. It felt like no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t do any good for those people. But, when I left that island I felt like I had received one of the greatest gifts of my life.

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