100% Humboldt
Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.
We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.
We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing Northcoast of California 100%!
Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt
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100% Humboldt
#84. Capturing Humboldt: Jose Quesada's Journey Behind the Lens
What does it mean to truly see a place? To capture its essence through a lens while maintaining the human connection behind the camera? In this heartfelt conversation with Jose Quesada, we explore the remarkable journey of Humboldt County's most dedicated visual documentarian.
Born to Guatemalan parents (the first "gringo" in his family, as he likes to say), Jose's path led him from Catholic school in Southern California to hitchhiking across America at 19, eventually landing in Humboldt County where he spent his first night on a bench at College of the Redwoods. Little did he know this would begin a lifelong love affair with the region he would later capture so beautifully through his camera.
The conversation takes us back to the late 1970s and early 80s when federal funding created vibrant youth recreation programs throughout the county. Jose and I reminisce about our days working with young people at Camp Kim 2 in Willow Creek, where we witnessed firsthand how these programs built community and changed lives. Jose's career evolved from early childhood education to workforce development to a 30-year stint with the county before health challenges pushed him toward his true calling.
For nearly six years, Jose's photographs have graced an entire page in the Times Standard every Saturday, documenting everything from protests to celebrations, from stunning landscapes to intimate human moments. His work has appeared in publications like the New York Times, but his heart remains deeply connected to showing Humboldt County to itself. As he puts it: "I want to be known as the guy that documented Humboldt County. He saw it. He helped us see it."
Through riveting stories about having SWAT team guns pointed at him and capturing Highway 101 protests from atop his ladder, Jose reveals the creative spirit that drives his photography – finding perspectives others miss, seeing beyond the obvious, and maintaining an open, curious mind. His journey reminds us that sometimes the most powerful stories are told not through words, but through the compassionate eye of someone who truly sees the community they love.
About 100% Humboldt with Scott Hammond
Humboldt County CA USA is the home of some of the most iconoclastic, genuine, and interesting folks in the world.
We are getting curious about the movers, shakers, and difference makers in Humboldt County CA-Home of the giant redwoods, 6 Rivers, and the vast Pacific Ocean.
We will discover what makes people live/evolve in the beautiful, diverse, isolated, and ever-changing North Coast of California 100%!
Listen in and learn what it is to be 100% Humboldt!
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Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors, welcome to the 100% Humboldt Podcast Show in Humboldt County, featuring my new best friend, my new best old friend, jose Quesada. Hi Jose.
Speaker 2:How you doing. Hey Scott, I've known you since last century. It's good to see you this century, since last millennium.
Speaker 1:Did I have hair then?
Speaker 2:Did you have hair?
Speaker 1:then Did you have hair? Then, yeah, I had long hair, right.
Speaker 2:Oh heck, yeah, you had hair.
Speaker 1:I was 19. You were a kid. I was an Adonis of beauty. You were a kid. You were a leader.
Speaker 2:You were taking care of kids in a recreation program and what I liked about you is that you were the quiet, competent leader, which is what kids really. You weren't the loud, look at me, follow me because I'm loud and stuff. You were always being quiet, kind of quiet, the quiet guy, really good counselor. You were one of the older counselors, so definitely one of the leaders in that regard.
Speaker 1:But you knew how to handle it.
Speaker 2:I remember well Camp Kim 2 in Willow.
Speaker 1:Creek. How many times have we been to Camp Kim 2 in Willow Creek? How many times have we been to Camp Kim 2 in Willow Creek? Willow Creek, by the way, so I can use my prop right out of the gate is right up. See where that 299 goes east. I can see Camp Kim 2 from here.
Speaker 2:Camp Kim 2 was really the birth of a lot of kids' dreams, I tell you. We used to take kids from 14 to 21 years of age and we would be out there for a week with them and we would talk about finding yourself, finding your interests, finding out about the world. You know, look, we're not going to be your parents, but we're just going to tell you what it's like.
Speaker 1:And it was a good opportunity. I look back and I agree with that. So, Jose, you're the masterful photographer of the Eureka Times Standard newspaper, but before we go there, which is there's a lot to say, you know, AI really thinks you're something.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm not sure what AI is saying, but one clarification that I want AI to know is that I'm freelance.
Speaker 1:You're freelance.
Speaker 2:I sell my photographs to the Ferngel Enterprise. I've sold to the North Coast Journal. If you Google Jose Casata, new York Times, you'll see some of my work there, more a lot of interviews that I did for them. They included in the story. So I'm freelance, local, too Local. I am crazy. I am one local boy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, lost Coast Outpost, good one, see what he did with that. So let's set the stage for the recreation program. So Humboldt Rec Program, located in Humboldt County, started in the late 70s, probably early 80s.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's right, that's right, that's when there was CETA money, comprehensive Employment Training Act monies that were coming into Humboldt County State of California. No, no, these were federal monies. Oh, that was Fed. Oh yeah, totally federal monies.
Speaker 1:Was it Jimmy Carter years?
Speaker 2:Probably no 1970. Nine eight Jeez.
Speaker 1:I think that's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it probably was Jimmy Carter, so that was federal money. Now that I think about it, it was federal money. The predecessor for the youth programs was called NOVA N-O-V-A and that was definitely probably late 60s or so. But CETA, the program helped adults, that helped youth. Indeed, some of the youth that were part of our program, our business owners now have been employed with the county for decades and are contributing members, you know that was when we were able to invest in youth.
Speaker 2:That's when we were able to say look, this is what a job means. Going to work from this time to this time means you get this kind of a paycheck, and you were one of the people that we depended on to be able to communicate with the kids. We were the older kids and stuff, and that's the way you learn Sure, Sure Key role.
Speaker 1:I remember a lot of good memories. Gosh, Camp Kim 2, Don't Eat the Stew at Camp Kim 2.
Speaker 2:We had t-shirts. Oh, Greg Devaney. Rest in peace, Greg Devaney.
Speaker 1:God bless you.
Speaker 2:You're one of the salt of the earth. Peter Shepard yeah, pete Shepard, he was instrumental at the beginning. Humboldt Recreation Programs was a network of about 24 different recreation programs.
Speaker 1:Way out in the middle of nowhere. Everywhere, chrysler Manila. Nowhere, everywhere, chrysler Manila.
Speaker 2:Everywhere, from Alder Point to Shelter Cove, to Redway, garberville, wichita, pequon, right, right right right. Oreck everywhere and everything in between.
Speaker 1:But what?
Speaker 2:they had in common is that they had funding. They had funding to be able to have the community organizers in those particular communities come together and say, look, we got monies for recreation programs. Pete Shepard was key in being able to get a lot of that going through the Manila West Haven Parent Council. And Sue Williams and John Woolley right, and John Woolley absolutely Been on the show, yeah, that's right. And Kim Montgomery was part of that scene as well and it was a really good thing because they were able to also start for the first time the summer lunch program.
Speaker 2:So here we have kids and we have food and we don't have any kind of eligibility. You come up and you have fun, you come up and you eat, that's right. And neighbors would come in together, the kids would all know each other and it was real community building without knowing that it was community building and it's something that is kind of has gone on. We've had some recreation programs that have gone on, some even some organizations, some businesses that have gone on from those days that acted as kind of a seed. I mean, that was a few decades ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I remember they would bring in a rafting trip. We do a rafting trip. I mean expensive stuff for broke kids that live in nowhere.
Speaker 2:Humboldt.
Speaker 1:And to conceive of that now would be tough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Actually, most of our kids did canoes, that's for sure, although there were a few rafting trips that were put together. But when we went to camp it was a lot of kids that really didn't get an opportunity to get out of their neighborhood would have an opportunity to get into a canoe and be able to learn some water safety.
Speaker 2:We'd have lifeguards like Paul Ganja. I remember that would spend a lot of time. Oh safety, we'd have lifeguards like Paul Gange. I remember that would spend a lot of time. Oh gosh, is he still around? Oh yeah, paul Gange, absolutely still around. Curly hair.
Speaker 1:He still has his curly hair. He probably has this hairstyle. Paul gosh, you're remembering people that I've forgotten? Oh, gosh, and then Steve Robel.
Speaker 2:Oh, steve Robel, oh my gosh. What was his name? Cafese, cafese, cafese. What a leader. He was one of the most unique and odd leaders I've ever worked for. What ever became of him. I don't know. I imagine he is still bright, I still imagine him being involved with things and the guy was pretty, it was pretty amazing. But so, uh, rick Littlefield, uh, was uh a leader back then uh, with our program and um.
Speaker 1:Hey, ricky running ENF now two stores.
Speaker 2:Oh yep, Good guy.
Speaker 1:I mean he's. He's an example of a your example, stellar example besides me, uh, that you know he was an adult leader at the time.
Speaker 2:No, he was no. No, no, he was my boss, he was your boss. Oh yeah, he was definitely my boss. He had doubts about hiring me. Yeah, well, he's doing it. I don't blame him. I helped start the first Head Start program, that's right. And Annie Bolick was in Crescent City and I was, that's right. Montaigne, who recently passed, about two and a half months ago, was an architect in getting Head Start to spread out and stuff. And I brought it up because I was moving from Head Start to go work in workforce development, work in summer programs, and Rick didn't know if I would have the transferable skills and stuff. Sure, but it worked out well. It worked out well. Hey, we made it to the studio today. Well, we made it to the studio today and along the way I stayed with workforce development. I stayed with the county from workforce development and then went into economic development for almost 30 years.
Speaker 2:With Rodney. Was he part of that? Oh no, rodney was. Yeah, I used to say, yes, rodney was one of our vocational Rodney Johnson, right, rodney Johnson, yeah, good man, he was one of our vocational counselors. Oh, so many good people. Ron Halverson was one of our good guys A lot of good people. We, ron Halverson was one of our good guys A lot of good people. We had to switch the channel a little bit. We had a 50-year reunion with soccer.
Speaker 1:Oh, is that right.
Speaker 2:So I started one of the first co-ed soccer teams in Humboldt County. And to get back to Pete Shepard Pete Shepard was also key in getting soccer going in Humboldt County. The camps in the summer, right, he started the Red with the first soccer camps and now you got athletic camps all over the place. Is he still around? Pete Shepard was honored at a reunion that we had just about a month ago. Gosh, I got to look him up. I haven't seen him in— Yep, Pete Shepard. He's 80 years old and still the same Pete, still kind of a silly guy, still bright, still will make you laugh, guaranteed what's up Petey boy, Ah, petey boy, and he had Greg Devaney together.
Speaker 1:I was just like he called them veins, veins, what's up? Greg Devaney and Keith Shepard. Man, what a pair they brought magic.
Speaker 2:They brought magic to a camp. What a pair. Yeah, you know what? To this day, I can honestly say that it's almost a miracle that we did not lose any child.
Speaker 1:Well, I was going to be. I was going to offer my story because I almost did. I almost lost two, yeah, yeah. So my first job was up in Trinidad, and I was actually. It was a second job. I was a rec leader out in Blue Lake with Pete Fulks, remember Peter? Oh yeah, and that was an experience. So summer rec is perfect for a recreation major my kids go. What'd you major in Humboldt Well, recreation what's that, dad Recess? I go. What'd you major in Humboldt Well, recreation what's that? Dad Recess? I go? Yeah, pretty much. It's community building, I like that better. So first summer, blue Lakes. Second summer you get a job in Trinidad as the rec leader, as a supervisor.
Speaker 1:And don't you know, I had not one, but two accidents. One was a mop bucket. The reclining mop arm came up and broke a girl's tooth out, oh shit. And then you know those folding cafeteria tables that go in the wall. They go back in the wall, but they can fall. Yeah, they have wheels. Sometimes they can fall backwards on kids. And how would I know that? Well, I pretty much wanted the world to fall on me. After that I thought, you know, my career wreck is over. I've I've injured two kids and what they found out and Pete, I'll correct, maybe I'll call Wally on this is the program didn't have proper insurance liability and, as a state farm guy, now I go. That's anathema. How did? There was no coverage, well, but it's interesting that you should have got it.
Speaker 2:Well that. But those were also the days. Do you remember the? The McMartin Preschool? Yeah, mcmartin Preschool, were these people? The teachers were accused of doing horrible things with kids, et cetera, et cetera. They were, it should be noted. They were years later, they were vindicated. But anyways, to get back to that, I distinctly remember running the Manila Recreation Program and when that happened, the very next summer, something was born, it was called liability insurance.
Speaker 2:It did not exist. It did not exist before that. You need to have now that liability insurance was based on that, mcmartin, but it was just beginning. So the days that you're talking about, I'm not sure if it was like people were doing it, but it was still. But it is interesting because I did not know they must have had it through Manila, west Haven. Parent.
Speaker 1:Council. Eventually, I think they got it if they didn't. But I remember just being scared to death going. You know this I'm going to lose my job and my career. It's over here, baby.
Speaker 2:You know, anyone who? Happens to be hearing this, if you happen to be young or any age, you know we take ourselves too seriously, and by that I don't mean that to be insulting. I mean that oftentimes we judge ourselves and guilt comes in and it's horrible. And the reality of it is is that it's either understandable or no one even paid attention.
Speaker 1:Fear, shame and guilt are three killers, you know.
Speaker 2:You know, it's true. One thing I've always liked about you, scott and guilt, three killers, it's true. One thing I've always liked about you, scott, is that you're very positive, always very positive. You will bend over backwards to be positive. I'm going what? We'll fluff this guy up? Nothing, fluff, trust me. Well, you're a human being, I know. Yeah, sure, I know that you're a human being, but that spirit and I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but that's a spirit that we really all need to have is more of an acceptance of each other and judgments and making fear is a motivator. People not knowing about other people that is what is freaking people out. You know, that's true, I won't get political, but fear is unfortunately something on both sides.
Speaker 1:That is just it's dividing us and the war begins again and again and again. Yeah, sad, and I wish I had answers with you and for you and for me.
Speaker 2:I wish I had answers with you and for you and for me, the best thing that we can do and it sounds like this is more of a glorification of you, but it's your spirit that I think that we need to adopt more, and that spirit is and I need to work on this really badly I need to work on not being so judgmental.
Speaker 1:You really do.
Speaker 2:On not being so reactive. It just shut in my doggone mouth and just you know I don't have to say something. You know what's the term. It's better to be pleasant it.
Speaker 1:And you're right, I think, what possesses us to go. You just coughed out a big thing of stupid at my dinner table. I got to call that out. Something possesses this old guy to go. Hey, and I've really had to bite my tongue.
Speaker 2:Shut your pie hole, that's called grace and just have grace. That's called grace, you know, and grace is. You're not born with grace. Grace is a, is a, it's a, it's a, it's, it's a construct of our mind, we. It is something we decide to do Now we may have a productivity, to be more graceful with our, our nature, but it's something that we learn, I believe, and it's something that we decide to do.
Speaker 1:Well, hopefully, when you receive enough, you give enough. Well, that's the. And when you know how many people have tolerated your butt for your whole lifetime, you better step up. Buddy, I'm looking in the camera. I'm looking at all of us going. It's time to kick down some grace.
Speaker 2:My heart goes to those children that, for the millions of reasons, did not have that opportunity to learn love, to learn grace. They had more things as a priority, like eating, like shelter, like you know protecting yourself.
Speaker 2:And it's like I think, scott, that we need to care more about the world that we don't see, about the world that we don't live in, the world we don't experience. We need to care more about these kids that you know. One thing that I learned when I was working with the county we're studying the workforce, we're studying the economy, but most homeless people were at one time in the system Somebody's kid, somebody's foster kid.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And, and it's a whole, that's a, that's a generalization, but statistics have been holding it out. A large have never had that opportunity to learn, uh, to be literate, to be socially literate, and uh, and and to be understanding. But now I'm getting on my soapbox. I learned that all from my camera. I tell you what I being able to capture Humboldt County.
Speaker 1:I am the luckiest luckiest man in the world you are and you're going to capture some here in a minute as I take a quick break to say, if you're just joining us or even if you're not, this is my old, new best friend, jose Quesada. Or even if you're not, this is my old, new best friend, jose Quesada, and he's really didacting on his heart toward kids, which is magnificent and beautiful, and my son and I were talking about this. He has an addict friend who's come through drug deals and crazy background and crazy parenting and he's making a life for himself and it's cool and he's bucking the odds. And then we know other people of privilege and great love who are total jerks, who are not running the football up the field, and it's a paradox. Mike and I, my 20-year-old, were talking about this. Who's pretty brilliant, hey, micah, and I, my 20-year-old, we're talking about this. Who's pretty brilliant, hey, micah, and I said there's a paradox here that the humankind can overcome crazy odds and can forfeit, take a loss out of the jaws of victory pretty easily too, and it's kind of who we are.
Speaker 1:I don't know your background. I'm guessing similar to me. You know Southern California. My mom raised me out of nothing and she made $100 a week and I always had enough and I was never in trouble with the law. So there were social gaps in my head and upbringing, but not that I'm amazing. But I had enough coaches and love in my life, even albeit late, at 17, 18, 19 in the rec programs, and mentors who were lovely and modeled and didn't and their words, who maybe I could be and maybe I could be that quiet leader that I remember, my first leadership move. And then I want to talk about you. I'm done talking about me, let's talk about you. It was Patrick's point. There were 5 million children and it was a shit show. They were crazy, they were yelling and it was out of control. And I got up and I stood up on the table. I've never stood up in this podcast before. I've still not and I stood up and I stood on the table and I started doing my mime routine that I learned at Humble.
Speaker 2:Have you seen me do this?
Speaker 1:It's amazing, I'm so good at it. Anyway, my kids still laugh and it stopped the room. You bet. And it was outdoors and all the cacophony stopped and I said listen, and whatever the announcement was, you know, get in line, go go eat dinner, whatever we were doing, I who knows. But I go, I'm going to step up and I stepped up and it was okay, it took a risk.
Speaker 2:I tell you, it's that pushing that line.
Speaker 1:It's like, and there's guys like you that coached that without knowing it, pete and Greg, and hey, we're not going to do it. Why don't one of you peer counselors move off? Yes, that's what it was, the peer counselors. That's what it was. We were peer counselors. That's right. That's what it was, the peer counselors.
Speaker 2:That's what it was. We were peer counselors.
Speaker 1:That's right so tell us about your journey. Where are you from? Where did you go to school? Who are you?
Speaker 2:and what do you want? My mom was seven months pregnant with me when she arrived from Guatemala. Wow. My two older brothers were born in Guatemala and my dad had been here six months before. So she flew in to LA and I was born at LA General Hospital. I'm the first gringo of the family, I like to say.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:And then subsequently, I mean I've got three brothers and two sisters and we all lived in San Gabriel Rosemead and went to Catholic school, went to Catholic high school and went to Catholic college for a year- what's cool? I went to St Anthony's Grammar School, I went to St Gabriel Mission High School that's where Zorro used to hang out and I went to have a scholarship to St Mary's, a four-year scholarship to St Mary's College.
Speaker 1:In LA In.
Speaker 2:Moraga Moraga In the Bay Area. I only lasted a semester. I was only 17 years old, I was way too young. You know, I used to be student body president of my high school and I got decent grades and I was an okay athlete. So I had a scholarship. But I tell you, at 17, not ready. And at St Mary's, at that time, I tell you, it was an all-boys school and that was the first year that they let women in. So there was 100 women and 900 men and it was horrible. It made it even horrible. That's pretty rough. So I ended up hitchhiking across the country for the next year and a half and ended up in Humboldt County at age 19.
Speaker 2:So the rest of the education was on the road until you— A lot of education yeah, I learned how to build a log cabin in Pennsylvania, wow, and learn about gardening and stuff. And I hitchhiked into Humboldt County and it was a rainy night and I remember spending my first night on the bench of College, college of the Redwoods, brand new community college, yeah, and ironically, about 40 years later, ended up doing a class there for the late. Oh gosh TV, oh gosh oh.
Speaker 1:St Claire Adams. Oh, the other guy Was gosh. Oh, say Claire Adams. Oh, the other guy Was he at Adams, though he taught.
Speaker 2:No, he was a oh gosh, a broadcaster Gosh, why am I just forgetting his name? I'm embarrassed, I can't remember his name We'll think of it in a minute, but it was and doing a class at that same bench right in front. I'm going like, oh cool, I've come a long ways in 40 years, full circle. Yeah, talking about class, talking to kids, about you know what, don't get hung up on, I'm not qualified for this or I'm not qualified for that. You're more qualified than you think. You are. Transferable skills I enjoy talking about that.
Speaker 2:But anyways, I ended up going to College of the Redwoods, ended up going to Humboldt State University where I took home economics classes. Now that's what they called. That's where you would take early childhood education classes, right right, but they were under home economics. So of course the ratio was wonderful for me, you know, 20 to 1. To one. But with Susie Warburg we ended up opening up the first Head Start preschool and I stayed in early child education for about five years and then I went into workforce development and became a summer counselor and then I became a supervisor of summer counselors and then I started working for workforce development programs and then auditing them and managing projects. I went to economic development and kept that going.
Speaker 1:Is that when you were above the time standard in the old time standard?
Speaker 2:building. Yeah, that's where I met my wife, Heather Shelton. She was a lot younger than I am. She was one of those young reporters I was like, holy moly, is she cute?
Speaker 1:That's okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was going like oh yeah, but you know I was a gentleman. I offered to buy her breakfast once because she told me she had a Snickers bar as her breakfast and that was my opening line Is that your breakfast? And she went yeah, can I buy?
Speaker 1:you some food.
Speaker 2:Anyways, long story short, stayed with the county. Really happy to stay with the county. There's so many stories with the county, but I left the county because of my health. I left the county because of my health. You know, I developed diabetes and it was like falling asleep at work. I mean, like what is going on with my body?
Speaker 1:What am I doing now?
Speaker 2:Those of you out there that are feeling really tired, really thirsty, go to the doctor. So I was able to catch it and I just quit. Too much stress, but I was able to lose 45 pounds. Yeah, Started a music business with Heather. We've been doing music with babies for 16 years, kind of know that.
Speaker 1:Do you guys cut albums or?
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, no. We do music classes For babies. We have with babies and from our youngest has been 10 weeks old, and most of our 10 weeks, to about three years of age. But the parents bring their children and we don't even advertise, it's just word of mouth. But we fill up our classes with 15 families.
Speaker 1:So the kids can't get there on their own, Like get crawled to your studio.
Speaker 2:Some kids actually come in their strollers. I pushed it myself, yeah. So we do our classes in Bayside so some parents live out there so they love to do that. But no, I'll tell you music with children has been probably, for me, the thing that in some ways has saved my life mentally, that's for sure. I used to be pretty depressed because I was so stressed with work, deadlines, state reports, federal reports, in-kind matches, auditing, tripping on all the things.
Speaker 2:And you want to do a good job and I'm happy that I did a good job. But now I'm doing my photography, doing music with babies and hanging out now with the community again.
Speaker 1:I like it, yeah, pretty relaxed. I think you speak a dialogue that I'll identify and you'll know soon, as I do. There's a dialogue I'll tell you. I'll describe it in a story. We're driving home from church one Sunday. I go, joni, what do you think my spiritual gifts are? I'm amazing. Can I preach? I can lead Sunday. I go, joni. What do you think my spiritual gifts are? I'm amazing. Can I preach? I can lead worship. I'm a guitar guy. She goes, not really I go. Huh, she goes. You're really good with kids and you're really good with young adults specifically and your dad was really good in that way and I go. Well, I have nine kids, but I hate kids. I don't even like kids and I was being a little silly, but not much.
Speaker 2:I hope people are listening. He said he has nine children. I've always known this for many years about Scott. Talk about a giving couple, you and Joni nine children. How old is your oldest? He's 41 up in Medford. Don't say that because you're bumming me out, because I'm only 29.
Speaker 1:inside he's 41. How old is your youngest? He's 20. He'll be 21.
Speaker 2:Can't wait for it. Good for you, man, yeah.
Speaker 1:Pretty rad, only child man. My mom raised me in San Diego and the hood, which was kind of a new hood, the projects were new, all projects were new at one time and now it's pretty hoody. But when we were there it's like, oh, this is life. It's a hundred bucks a month and mom works hard and we go to the beach and party, because that's San Diego when you're 12 to 18. It was amazing, really fun time to live down there. It wasn't like LA no smog yet. But that, back to the dialogue. It's the dialogue and the connection with people. That I love about you and I remember hanging out now is that you have that, um, and some of y'all have it. It's ability to talk to and connect with people of all kinds. I'm convinced that's part of the gifting, but it's a developed skill. Social emotional intelligence to me equals spiritual intelligence and relational intelligence and connection intelligence and emotional intelligence, and to be able to put that together you are one well-rounded mofo. So so so I would.
Speaker 2:I would I? I it's hard for me to take compliment, but I will do that when I.
Speaker 2:I, I, I like. I enjoy people that, like you're describing. I enjoy people that can walk into a room and can size it up. I enjoy people that can talk to anybody and immediately be at their level I call that a high social IQ and folks that can walk in and kind of size the room out and kind of figure things out and just take it from there. Ironically, I love hanging out with people but I am so private. Yeah, I cannot tell you how much I enjoy getting up at dawn and just driving somewhere. Where am I going to find a nice dawn? Or where am I going to at the other end of the day? Where am I going to find a nice?
Speaker 1:sunset, and it's just my zen.
Speaker 2:It's my.
Speaker 1:I am in the moment, that's cool so you could go either way. Well, and I think the social thing is as an acquired skill too. You don't, you're not just born with that. You can acquire and get better at a lot of skills, including getting good with people. And I think it starts when you say reading the room. I hear I'm going to get out of my head and I'm going to go participate joyfully with my main man, jose, and hang out and at least say hi, he's across at Old Town. I don't know any of these guys, but I know that guy and he'll be glad to see me, even if it's for 30 seconds to high five and a hug. The stuff of the reclamation of what we were talking about earlier, of the division and the us and them. Pink Floyd song.
Speaker 1:It's all us and them, man. And so you know, if it wasn't for you guys being weird, we would be okay, and I think that that headspace needs to be dispelled. Joni and I call that getting curious, getting curious, getting curious, getting curious. What's, what's that guy thinking? Oh, they're different, politically, sexually, racially, economically, fashionably. And what is what's up? Let's chat, we're good, I'm we're good and okay, that was weird. And that's chat. We're good, I'm we're good and okay, that was weird and that's okay. And I was weird for you and it and it's all good. But unless we take that risk, it doesn't build it built half of the bridge.
Speaker 1:Mm, what are we doing? We might as well just go monk it up and go pray in the hills or something I don't, whatever that you know go in a dark room and be alone with our fear, shame and guilt friends that are ever present, sadly, but we'll talk about that later. Let's talk about photography. If you're just joining us, my new best friend, Jose Quesada, freelance photographer, who happens to be published a lot in the Times Standard. There you have it. How's that? Is that better? Yeah?
Speaker 2:They have let me do. They have let me given me an entire page for the last almost six years. Every Saturday they give me an entire photo gallery page, so I've been able to cover so many aspects of Humboldt County, even during COVID. Now that was a challenge because there weren't very many events and stuff, but it was still. Every week I'd come up with a gallery. That's my favorite part of my photography. My freelance photography is being able to choose whatever I want and they let me cover it. I like it.
Speaker 1:I like the way it says this Jose Casada has played a vital role in shaping the time standards identity and enriching its storytelling. Is that what A1 is saying?
Speaker 2:I mean artificial intelligence is saying I like this.
Speaker 1:This is probably true. His work serves as a bridge between the past, present and future. Okay, that's cool Preserving the essence of life in Humboldt County for generations to come. Wow that's a pretty tall order yeah.
Speaker 2:You do all that. I thought you just shot a photo. I feel like I'm eating a fortune cookie.
Speaker 1:Thank you, AI, for the cookie.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's very sweet, but do you remember what was her name? Linda Goodman's astrology book and stuff, and there were all these generalizations about your sign.
Speaker 1:Today you will breathe.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, you happen to like order more than disorder.
Speaker 1:You know, like real insights, like that You're going to meet people today and it's going to be something.
Speaker 2:They may be able to change your life if you're open to it. But one thing I was going to say that I didn't want to forget saying that you were describing talking with Joni and curiosity, yeah, but one thing that came to my mind is that I believe creativity, and that also comes with photography, and what you're choosing is having an open mind. People with an open mind are more apt, in my opinion, people with an open mind are more apt to be accepting.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Of different things Like okay, okay. And in photography, if you have an open mind, you don't necessarily have to frame. Oh, my photo has to look like this postcard or has to look no. The challenge in photography is how can I get a different perspective that not everyone sees, different perspective that not everyone sees? How can I get something that does not just look like a postcard? So that's really the challenge. Now, photojournalism is a little bit different, because you're just documenting. In photojournalism. I go for the moment I can't stand posing hey, will you take a picture of me? I will say yes and then I fake I could take a picture.
Speaker 1:I think you've done that with me.
Speaker 2:How many times? Oh, I take a picture, no, but I post yours, yeah, oh, do you? Okay? Yeah, sure, no, no, no, that's different. Click, click, click, yeah. The other thing with photography is this has happened a little bit more lately, which is people just come up to me and they go what are you doing? Huh, I go taking photos. Why, huh? And then I get depending on the mood that I'm in. I will never be insulting to anyone. You don't have a press badge at this point. Sometimes I do. I do have a, but sometimes I don't have it on. It's in my car or whatever.
Speaker 1:So you get interrogated or it's under my jacket. What's up, man? What are you doing here Exactly?
Speaker 2:Yeah, what are you taking pictures of? Why are you taking pictures? And I'm going, you know, I just try and say, well, because I want to, and so well, because it's my right. So when I finally start, you know, like it's my right to say, well, who are you doing it for? I'm saying, well, I'm doing it for different people, I'm freelance. And this is them getting curious.
Speaker 1:What sort of attitude? Fear, fear, curious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh no, no, it's all based on fear. It's like okay, so are you like? What I think is happening is like are you big brother? Are you the government? Sure, are you the? You know? Are you taking pictures of me? You know? And a lot of people are so egocentric as to think that, oh my gosh, if they take a picture of me now, cnn is going to put it on, Right right now, cnn is going to put it on Right right that night, although I have 10,000 on my Facebook page every night.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, oh my gosh, yes, but it's like it's so dumb, but it's dealing with other people's fears and stuff and I'll always be respectful Sure you are. But that happens a lot and these days is the distrust I'm going like Crazy it is I go. Don't you realize that every single person here has a little camera on their phone?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you use yours on the regular and no one ever asked you about that. Hey, I got a great idea Ready. It's time in the show where we win you one of these An Emery board from State Farm. An emery board, yeah, and a Dutch Brothers coffee. Do you drink coffee? Yes, I. Well, it could be your lucky day.
Speaker 2:Do I drink coffee?
Speaker 1:So we're going to talk to you about First question, question number one Jose Quesada, for all the money, top three stories of a photo journey that went crazy, an event where you saw something pretty wacky, pretty wild, pretty out of the normal.
Speaker 2:I'm covering a gunman who is holed up in his house in Fortuna, and I have to give props to Mark McKenna who gave me the courage. Like, this is how you deal with it. You're a photojournalist. So, anyways, I'm in Fortuna covering this, I'm going, they're not letting me in, I can't get close to anything. All I want to do is get a shot of cops close to the house. I just want something, an image I can take back, and so, again, mark McKenna kind of showed me like sometimes you can take another way to get to what you want to do. And Mark's a photographer as well. Yes, mark McKenna, he's a long-time photographer. He's a professor at Humboldt State. Now, right, right.
Speaker 2:Okay, and he does a lot of work for a lost coast outpost. I believe you meant to say Cal Poly. I went to Humboldt State University. I like it.
Speaker 1:That's what I do, old school. Hey, it's Humboldt State, don't worry about it.
Speaker 2:So, anyways, I'm going to go around the block, I'm going to go up through this field, I'm going to go up from the back of the house and there's nobody here. I go right on, I go right and I'm walking about 40 yards in this field and around the corner, about, oh God, a dozen. A dozen, a dozen is a lot. It was a lot. These cops in full SWAT regalia with their guns pointing at me. Oh no, Get out of here. What are you doing? I'm like whoa.
Speaker 1:My camera, my camera.
Speaker 2:Well, I got a picture of them. I said, okay, all right, I'm going. But I went, click, click. You know, crazy, if you're there at the moment, you got to take it. Yeah, got to take it. And so I did so, yeah, Gotta take it, and so I did. So I got a picture of a SWAT team with their guns up and stuff. You know like well, this is what it would look like. You know, Did they all do this? Yeah, oh, we're on video now aren't we oh? My gosh, that's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah the video's right up here. No, they were a little upset at me, but I did have my press pass then and they didn't arrest you or shoot you, so that's good.
Speaker 2:No, but they did order me out but I got my shot. Yeah, kind of a little war zone deal it was. Yeah, yeah, I got a shot of cops waiting, you know, with their guns up and stuff. But again, it's just the image that I'm going for. So people have an idea what's going on, of what People have an idea of what's going on. This is kind of what it looks like. Good, I can fast forward to last weekend.
Speaker 2:I was taking pictures of the no King demonstrations. You know the newspaper will ask me if I will take a photo of it. Being freelance, I can say no. But I said yes and I said sure, I'll take what they call a standalone, just give us a standalone. Sure, no, but I said yes and I said sure, I'll take what they call a standalone, just give us a standalone. And so I go there and I take a few pictures. You know one that they'll use for a standalone.
Speaker 2:And as I'm leaving, I was parked on the side street facing the courthouse. I believe that is H-I-J-J Street, I believe, and it is J Street and facing the courthouse and I was leaving. I got my pictures and as I was leaving, the demonstration was still full force. I turned right and I realized there is no car in front of me. And I look in my rear window and my rear mirror and I see the crowd of what was an empty street at that moment converge on highway 101. Yeah, and so I went. Oh my God, I am the only car on this road. I have a camera and I have a ladder at the back of my truck. That's right.
Speaker 1:You carry your ladder.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, you had that at the when you're only 5'10" Kinetic race. When you're only 5'10", you know you're lying, because you're really 5'9".
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:But it's no, I need my ladder. But anyways, it was such a unique opportunity saying, oh my God, they have just closed US 101. And you got a nice aerial of that. I got on top of my ladder.
Speaker 1:I'm standing around that photo oh front page.
Speaker 2:Colorful. I'm standing around that photo, oh, front page Colorful Because it's a real weird angle, because you're able to get a lot more depth, because you're right on the highway.
Speaker 1:Ah, and down.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then I realized there were two cops that were looking at me on side streets. Right, they left me alone. Eureka Police Department did a magnificent job.
Speaker 1:Heard that Magnificent job EPD shut up. Magnificent job Heard that. Magnificent job keeping the order Brian Stevens man.
Speaker 2:I stopped my truck in the middle of US 101, pulled out a ladder, took a picture, put the ladder back in and they left me alone Of course I noticed them afterwards.
Speaker 1:They probably know you. Brian would know you. Maybe, oh, you're at enough events. Okay, question two. I'm a know you Maybe. Oh, you're at enough events. Okay, question two. I'm a yacker. Surprising, embarrassing, crazy event besides you know being Jimmy Olsen cub reporter out at Old Town Embarrassing. What went really well or poorly? Oh, something that went weird. Something really surprising Was there.
Speaker 2:Something that went weird. Well, I've got to say that when I was covering the occupation at Cal Poly Humboldt a little over a year ago, about a year, about 15 months ago- so you were on campus during that I was covering for New York Times, rad, okay, I was covering.
Speaker 2:I got three days of coverage in New York Times but as did, I believe, a couple it might have been. Another thing was when I was there the day after the police raid, the day I was there before and taking everything before, and I spent the night in my car waiting for the raid that I knew was going to come, and sure enough, I was sleeping when it happened, because they did it like at three in the morning, really late, yeah.
Speaker 2:And so the next morning at seven I got up and I started walking to the campus, and the cops would not let me in and at the time I wish I would have known what I know now, because I asked them has this been declared a crime scene? Because I knew enough that if it had not been declared a crime scene, they really can't stop me from going in. It's public. And they hesitated, they hemmed it's public and they hesitated to hand the hod. And I, frankly, it's like you pick your battles. You know I'm going well, you know it's not like I.
Speaker 1:It's going to be the end of the world if I don't get this picture Right and these guys have been up all night and these were the Arcata police.
Speaker 2:These guys were local, but they're cooler yeah, well, right, but I was covering and the police covering. They were not local, they were from out of here. Oh, there was hundreds.
Speaker 1:It was ugly, it was ugly. These guys came from all over the state.
Speaker 2:But the guys were local they're going to. I'm not going to hassle them, but I did take my time leaving. They escorted me out but I would stop and take a picture and they would let me. They gave me their names, they gave me their badge numbers, which they're actually obligated to do, but you kind of let it go. But that was kind of creepy. I wish, scott, that I would have held my ground, because I had a New York Times lawyer I could have called at that moment. But it was just like I was being flush with all kinds of things.
Speaker 2:So that was a weird photography moment for sure.
Speaker 1:So you've got to be on your feet at all times.
Speaker 2:You've got to be at your feet. You've got to be respectful, especially with kids. You've got to be respectful, sure, with kids. I will sometimes get either do one of two things Take the picture because it's got to be candid, and then go get the permission from the parent. If the parent doesn't like it, which doesn't happen very often I delete it in front of them, got it? And or if I go to schools, if I take, I always go to the principal's office. Okay, which kid cannot?
Speaker 2:you know, you got to have that respect. You got to have that.
Speaker 1:With you on that. The last question you got a whole day to take Heather to do whatever you want to do in Humboldt. I write the check, you go do it. What are you going to do for 9 am to 9 pm? Eat out the whole nine and go? This is for all the money. By the way, this is for all the coffee beans.
Speaker 2:We're talking a lot of coffee beans here. Right, there could be a lot in here. Well, I tell you, I would start today helping Heather at the stables, at the horse stables. That's how I start my mornings. I'm earning my mucking merit badge, I bet you are.
Speaker 2:And then go to Gil's by the bank, nice, and have really good breakfast there. And then we'd like to. What we like to do is go to the casino after a Saturday night it's like Sunday afternoon and stuff. We'll go in Nice Because we figure that all the losers have put their money in and we're going to and stuff. We'll go in Because we figured that all the losers have put their money in and we're going to win big. Oh, I see. So we'll do that. But we only take 20 bucks. We put 20 bucks in. How's it working so far? We have done pretty doggone good. We have done pretty doggone good Nice. That's a whole other set of stories. And then take our dogs, our two kids we don't have kids, but we've got our two dogs, a 15-year-old and a two-year-old Take them to the river Nice and probably have a couple of beers there she won't drink, but I will and then go to the Bembo Inn.
Speaker 1:Man, you've got a whole thing I like it have dinner. Winner, winner.
Speaker 2:But you know what? I'm going to be drinking Dutch coffee, coffee beans the entire time, because it's going to keep the Dutch Brothers coffee the entire time.
Speaker 1:Ladies and gentlemen, the winner, winner, chicken dinner. So, while you shoot a photo of Nick and I if that's okay with Dick, Absolutely, Could you, can you answer me one last question, Not last what, what? What do you want to be remembered for, Jose? What's, what's your legacy? Celebration of life tombstone. If you got one, what would you? What would you? You know, when I moved to Humboldt County.
Speaker 2:Um, I was 17 and I fell in love. I was 19 and I fell in love with Humboldt County and I was kind of poor. I hitchhiked my first couple of years here in stuff and I always said, God, I hope I can stay here. And to me, even though I'm proud of the 30 years work that I did with economic development and workforce development and proud of the work that we did, I tell you it's about living in Humboldt County and being able to photograph somewhere that is so content, rich, and I mean from the nature to people yeah, you know, so we are so rich. And I mean from the nature to people yeah, you know, so we are so rich. It's true, I want to be known as hey. That's the guy that documented Humboldt County. He saw it, he saw it.
Speaker 1:Oh, he helped us see it. Yeah, yeah, I like it, man Like a guide.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like it, man, like a guide. Yeah, I just rediscovered that I've got about 15 years worth of photojournalism photos that I have not even opened since I gave the published. It's a collection, bro. Anyways, thank you, scott.
Speaker 1:I appreciate it. Thanks for coming. Yeah, you want to shoot a photo of me while we sign off, so I'll let you shoot while I just keep talking. Hey, thanks for joining us. 100% Humble Podcast with my special best friend who's actually shooting the photos. Where's your partner? Oh, there's Nick over there. Shoot Nick if he wants it, and would you like us? Would you come and visit us on YouTube and all these socials and make comments that are positive, hopefully, and come on back next week where we're going to talk to you about the movers and shakers and difference makers in Humboldt County on the 100% Humboldt podcast with your new best friend, scott Hammond. Thanks for coming. Appreciate you, brother.
Speaker 2:You're the dude. You're the dude.
