Joe Gosen, MA

Associate Professor
  • I’m not what you’d call a diehard baseball fan who can cite obscure stats from the fifth inning of some random game six years ago, nor am I someone who knows the batting average of every shortstop in the AL West, but I have an appreciation for the game. I grew up in Fremont, California, and the Oakland Coliseum was just 20-minute drive from my home (depending on traffic). I enjoyed my share of games there, whether I was in the cheap seats as a fan or on the field taking pictures early in my career. So, like many fans I followed the eventual countdown of the A’s departure from Oakland (just like the Raiders and Warriors did before them).  In September I managed to catch the last two games where the Athletics donned their Oakland jerseys when they faced the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. My childhood friend, Eric, who is an actual diehard fan, flew up for the occasion. Although it was bittersweet to witness the end an era, it was fun to share that time with an old friend and see the late, great Ricky Henderson throw out the first pitch while sporting a half-A’s, half Mariners jersey.

    Back at work I have carried on with my usual course load of visual journalism classes but I also organized another Bellingham Visual conference in October. It was a fun and inspiring day filled with filmmakers and visual journalists from around the region. If you missed it, News-Ed student Jenna Milliken wrote up nice recap of Bellingham Visual for the alumni newsletter.

    Looking ahead, I will be on professional leave during the spring 2025 quarter so I can begin working on another documentary project with Brian J. Bowe. Stay tuned! In June I’m planning to attend a visual communication conference in Estes Park, Colorado.

    During my free time I’ve been slowly going through my archive and digitizing my slides and negatives from the 1980s and ’90s. It’s a slow and tedious process but it’s also fun to look back. Here’s a photo from the Oakland Coliseum from 1988, the year I graduated with a degree in photojournalism from San Jose State University. I wanted to capture the whole scene with Jose Conseco in the foreground. I then moved in much closer and knelt down to get a low angle shot of him as he took some practice swings. He chuckled and nicely asked me to step back a little so I he wouldn’t knock my head off. The access and freedom to move about on the field between batters is unheard of these days. As I always say to students, hold onto your pictures because you’ll someday you’ll enjoy looking back. And you never know when you might discover a hidden gem, like this photo for me. This image has never been published until this post. It captures a time and place that will never occur again.

    Oakland A’s outfielder Jose Conseco at the on-deck circle as Dave Henderson gets ready to bat during their game against the Milwaukee Brewers at the Oakland Coliseum in 1988. // Photo by Joe Gosen