Today I kicked off a self-assignment that I've been planning for a while: an ongoing study of what can be considered to be "non-mainstream" religions existing and thriving in the midst of an overwhelmingly Christian American society.

I am not a religious person myself, but I have always been interested in the history of religion and the effects it has had on the human race.

Christianity is shoved down the throats of Americans on a daily basis, whether it be in the pledge that our children recite at school, on the currency we handle, or on any one of hundreds of bumper stickers that feature various combinations of the American Flag and the word "God".

Yet there are many established "non-western" religions that exist and strive in American society.

Here is part one of who-knows how many parts: Vietnamese Cao Dai services that I photographed this morning in San Antonio. These photos should be viewed full size if you look at them.

BTW, it's situations like this where rangefinders really come in handy.

This is the kind of morning I don't mind getting out of bed for. I had a 9 a.m. shoot for Wyndham Resorts that went over quick and neat (except for when I backed into a construction sign) which is how I like assignments to go. After the shoot was done, I headed over to my friend Eddie's coffee house (Casa Chiapas) in the Southtown arts district, and treated myself to one of his mom's most-excellent ham and egg omelettes.

The sun is shining, it's about 65ºF, I'm full of omelette, and I'm sitting on a shaded porch watching people walk by and sipping on an Americana coffee while writing this post. I could stand a few more days like this per month. Oh, and Casa Chiapas has free WiFi, which should be the standard by now (HINT to Starbucks [whore]Coffee and everyone else who charges for public WiFi).

And I don't have any other assignments today, so theoretically, I could stay here as long as I like... And I will.

Expect another post soon about what it takes to make it as a pro shooter. I said "shooter" not "photographer". You can be both, but there is a difference.

I've been talking to a lot of young photographers lately – well, they've been talking to me – and they've been asking me about how to make it as a shooter (must be the season), and what advice I could give them, etc., and I've found that most of them don't really want to listen to what I'm telling them. They seem to think that since they can pick up a camera and make a good-looking image of, say, a tree, or maybe something else artsy, they know everything they need to know about being a photojournalist or a wire shooter.

Okay, now that I have a few minutes to myself I can actually sit down and write a blog entry. The last several weeks have presented me with a wide variety of assignments, which is to be expected in what I call "the off-season".

The second quarter of the year is always a little odd because it seems to be a season when there isn't a lot of any one thing going on. Assignment topics tend to be quite random.

For instance, in the last several weeks, I've shot a Final Four assignment for ESPN, a science fair for AP Images, a politician on a Harley for the American Heart Association, lots of hockey, a couple weddings, and a lot of other unrelated, completely random stuff. Usually, at least for me, assignments follow trends throughout the year... Except for the second quarter. It's like a box of chocolates.
I've been so busy the last several weeks, I didn't notice that I had a huge blank spot on my calendar that has been creeping up on me. I've been going round the clock, and now I have nothing to shoot. I'm bored.

I texted one of my AP editors in New York and told her that I was bored, and that she should send me overseas or something. She replied back, telling me that if it were that easy, she'd send herself, complete with little winking emoticon. Cute. Still, though... Send me somewhere.

The AHL Calder Cup playoffs are in full swing, as I'm sure at least a couple of you have noticed from the PPI blog and Uber site. The San Antonio vs. Toronto series has been a nail-biter, with game six to be played back in Toronto on Sunday, with the Marlies ahead in the series 3 - 2.

Which reminds me, I was treated to some really shitty hockey tonight. SA looked like they had put themselves on a morphine drip before the game. It wasn't until there were only two minutes left did they show some spark, and by then it was too late. Oh well, we'll see what happens in Toronto.