Foot in the door...And so it begins!
Well, my proverbial foot is in the door and that door is some heavy! C-R-U-S-H!
I had my interview tonight with the photo editor and it went very well.
Good conversation, good mixture/exchange of ideas, lots of common interest
and most importantly sincere appreciation for my portfolio and genuine interest in getting me aboard as a freelance PJ. I am glad that I went through the process. I was required to fill out standard application as this will be a PT position with the paper and not simply freelance. I am not sure of my odds with regard to this role yet, but time will tell.
The current freelancers have received some fabulous work as photographers for Getty Images, NBA, NFL, and even other larger papers with fulltime staff PJ gigs. I am humbled and excited at these opportunities but I need to secure the position first.
I will send out the traditional Thank You note and follow-up via email in about a week to ascertain where I stand.
Time will tell if I will make the cut. In any case, I am glad I got a chance to audition for the part. EXIT STAGE LEFT!
See ya next time,
Andy
Critique my Portfolio!
I have pieced together just a sampling of my images for the interview tomorrow night with the large Metro paper. I am still learning the ropes, but enjoying the fun in getting into the ring and paying my dues. I wanted to include a variety of images and events so bear with the multitude of techniques and topics presented. Honest, candid and genuine critiques are favored. Thanks!
Portfolio ImagesThanks!
Andy
Stringer Interview!
I have been accepted as a candidate for a stringer position for a large metro paper, and I have an interview on Monday. I am expectedly nervous to a small degree about the pending audition, but I am confident and have relatively solid experience, genuine respect for the PJ field, and a pretty nice equipment arsenal. Through the mentorship of such great friends & professionals as
Mark Hancock , I truly believe I have a legitimate chance to land the gig. I am in the midst of picking through my wide range of shots to find a variety of captures that will highlight some of my experiences. I am thinking of sharing my sports captures (main reason I am certain for their interest --- you know the HS football season), pics from local events (festivals, fairs, etc), fireworks, 1 infrared for good measure (shows out-of-box photo interest/ability), couple macro wildlife, and few other decent impressions. I think it may be padded a little so I need to get it streamlined (I have 19 posted on my review page so far!) :-)
In any case, I will keep this blog updated for a while and see what happens!
I have missed time behind the glass, and I am eager to get back into the mix.
(for pennies on the dollar in stringer fees no less...) :-)
Best Wishes,
Andy
50th Wedding Anniversary - Photography
I had the dubious honor of being selected as the official photographer for my parent's quite extensive 50th wedding anniversary celebration which took place this past Saturday August 6th, 2005 in New Orleans, LA. I would say hired, but I agreed to snap away pro-bono for the benefit as my token of appreciation for my parents and in honor of this momentous occasion. The initial church performance was held in one of my majestical and elaborate church buildings I have ever observed. It was a testiment to the religious factions of years past, the monuments made of stone and stained glass captivated with such amazing detail, that DaVinci would be proud. Soaring some 100ft high the interior ceilings were simply breath-taking and the overall mood the room created was seemingly akin to a timewarp back to the 16th century. I truly felt moved, moved back to another era, a calmer, more tranquil and peaceful era...the proper word for all of this was too appropriate..."heavenly"
In any case, onward to the photography! For this job I relied on my handy, dandy flesh-tone loving beast in the Fuji S2 Pro and shot extensively in RAW 12MP mode. For lens, I used the D70 "kit lens" which is one AMAZING lens, especially for money.
The lens is actually the Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED --- you see why I simply said "kit lens" --- (grin) --- it focuses extremely fast, provides excellent results and is very reasonably priced! For flash unit, I mounted the awardwinning Nikon SB-80DX unit with diffuser. All shots were hand-held and ISO ranged from 200-400 most of the time.
Samples:
Picture from left of Allison & Robin Smothers at their mother Alyce's (center) 50th Wedding Anniversary held at St. Joseph Church on August 6th, 2005.
Holding it together: Robert and Alyce Smothers celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary in New Orleans, LA
Brother and Sister: Andy and Allison SmothersOverall, I would say that the results were great and the photos were all very well received. For their wedding present and to commemorate this event, I gave my parents a set of approximately 30 5x7s and about 5 8x10 prints which I actually had printed at the local Sam's Wholesale Club. Incredible results at a very fair price! All-in-all, I would have liked to have been able to secure more shots of extended family and friends at the event, including more close-up shots during the actual ceremony, but due to lack of rehersal, it was all so rushed and a tad bit uncomfortable. I did manage to capture over 400 shots during the evening and likewise had a good time. Since I wasn't "on the clock" I was also able to sample the inherent and well-flowing libations at the reception! It was a great platform to shake off my rust and get a little time back behind the glass. Hope you had a great weekend likewise!
Until next time... :-)
Andy
In the limelight, with no light --- eating humble pie.
The only way to get better is to keep shooting & realize that some days will be better than others. Last night, I had the assignment to shoot local division 1-AA
college football Southeastern Louisiana University vs. Sam Houston. I was stringing for 2 local papers and a private sports agency to resell the pictures back to the home paper in Texas. I had to get back to HQ and deliver my pics by halftime in order to get them into the mix for Sunday's printing. I stayed around and waiting for my CF card to be downloaded, have my contact sheets printed and watch them tear down and critique the heck out of my pictures. For some reason, a larger % than usual of my shots (165 by halftime) were unusable and more out of focus than expected. It was quite awkward to feel that I had not gotten the shots that I was assigned to deliver. I wanted to just slide out of the back door and eventually I did before I got too deep. I did stop and apologize and say I am not pleased with my work this evening and I am sorry for the lack of usuable shots --- They found a few to use, but I have to find a way to increase the quality of my work. I have examined all of my settings and tested all of my gear to ensure that everything was setup properly. I will have to keep plugging away and find out why the focusing was off.
I was shooting 800-1000ISO fully Manual at 1/200 or 1/250 at f/2.8 with 80-200mm AF-S
All images taken in AUTO WB and Cloudy -3 on Nikon D1h on 681B Bogen monopod with Quantum Turbo Battery pack. (No flash allowed)
Some shots from last night (open for additional critique)
SLU RB Terrance Davis (21) tries the left side with plenty of success on this 35 yard run against Sam Houston on Saturday night.
Kats' RB Stevie Smith (45) exploits the field in a very successful outing on Saturday night against SLU of Hammond, LA. Sam Houston won 45-17.
Its all good...
Mark Hancock, (markhancock.blogspot.com) my official idol and mentor kindly reminded me in a recent email that I have offered nothing up to my ramblings here for the entire month of September. Well, I have been busy covering Friday night football and boy has it been a blast! You just got to love the respect you get as an official media photog --- even if you know the $ you will make will barely (and most of time not even come close) to paying for your gas, fat snack at game and CD to burn your media to deliver back to office. (But I still love it, for now and that is certainly - "ALL GOOD!")
I finally got my D1H/SB-80DX setup correctly to be able to record some pretty decent shots. For those curious, I am running ISO800 or 1000 and running shutter to about 1/200-1/250 with f/2.8 and flash set to manual with 1/8 power. (Yes, Mark I was listening to your EV journal post!) I can certainly tell you that the Turbo Battery unit is worth its weight in a solid gold chocolate camera bag. It truly allows your flash unit to recycle nearly instantly and helps to deliver far greater % of shots. You charge it up, and use use use it and it lasts for HOURS powering both the camera body and the flash in full. BTW, I heartly recommend the Bogen 681B monopod. Simply excellent! :)
So here are some shots:
First day on the sideline
Well, this evening was the night to hone your skills for the upcoming HS football season in our neck of the woods. We have 24 local HS teams to cover and just like our neighbor Texas, Louisiana HS football is a BIG-TIME religion! The stage: SouthEastern Strawberry Stadium. The Event: 2004 HS Football Jamboree!!!
Ten of the premier local HS football programs competed in a 2Q each exhibition in front of a crowd of 10,000 strong at SLU new football stadium. This stadium uses the latest in turf technology, Sprinturf and it was a fast field indeed.
I arrived a little late but in plenty of time to cover hours of action. I spent the evening with my trust S2 since my D2h had not gotten back in from cleaning (even though I paid for 2nd day air but FEDEX apparently cannot read checked boxes properly, so it won't arrive till Monday) The S2 is a great portrait, wildlife and still photog lens but not exact the top in terms of action sports coverage.
Combined with my 80-200 AF-S f/2.8 and Bogen 681B monopod and Nikon SB-80DX TTL flash I was set! I decided to tack on the 1.4x TC in order to increase my overall focal length and giving up a stop going to a minimum of F4. I shot mostly in 800ISO (would have shot D2H in 1000 or 1250) but S2 goes from 800 to 1600 - (nice) So I was in a pickle and would have to try to get close to the action to maximize my flash sync and light saturation. I always try to shoot in manual or this contest perhaps shutter priority, but I still discovered LOTS of blurred images while chimping and later at the workdesk. Don't know if it had anything to do with my stabilization or the light levels. (Thinking light and shutter problem as the monopod is solid as a telephone pole)
I pumped off about 200 shots tonight. Had I gotten my D2h in, I would have mounted the H and left the S2 on my neck/shoulder with fast short focal length 50-85 or so for close shots. I am thinking about going to the Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 as that would give me nearly 180-450mm f/2.8 lens on my DSLR (cropping factor) --- NOT TOO DARN
bad for under $2K! And with better lighting, I could have an effective 252-630mm F4
(wow!) --- In any case, the pics were ok, but I CERTAINLY missed the ability to fire off at high FPS --- sometimes you really need the speed to get the shot. (at least it increases the chances of more keepers)
I have to admit that I was very friendly, outgoing and somewhat anxious about being out there but luckily I had met the sports editor covering the game as well as the other photog staffers couple weeks before and they were very calming and accomidating in return. It is the perpetual struggle of wanting to look professional and confident when you are just a complete newbie out there feeling completely out of the element. I fortunately happen to know football --- playing from pee-wee through HS and then into SEC/Div1 college and even on NFL practice teams. So, when you REALLY get into the flow, matrix and feel of the gameplay, you can really start to figure out what is going to most likely run where. (especially QB checks, hot routes, etc --- that is pretty easy to tell and I was shocked many times that the DBs simply did not recognize the play change --- I played SS so I guess I have had thousands of field hours to interpret these subtle nuances)
In any case, I did get a few keepers but man I do have to figure out if it was the DSLR or the settings or simply my shooting style that led to the abundance of blurred and slow images. The S2 has significant lag when compared to the D2h so perhaps that really did have more to do with it. We shall see! :D All-in-all, I am proud of the event, my equipment and overall how I seemed to kinda look like I knew where I was supposed to be. I was fortunate that a sports editor was at the game, so all I had to do was shoot and then confirm jersey numbers for key shots to be published. I am certain that I will not be so fortunate in the future and Mark Hancock's wisdom markhancock.blogspot.com will certainly help tremendously.
Well, best of luck to everyone this year. Will keep you all posted.
Cheers,
Andy
Officially in the mix ---
I received official press passes from all of the local newspapers that I will be performing photo stringer work this fall. I guess this kinda seals the deal with regard to 'official' coverage, but I don't really feel any different now. Well, yesterday I got the chance to fully 'enjoy' the privledges that are incorporated with the membership of this unique club.
Mission #1My mission was simple enough - get a team, head coach photo and some action shots of a mini-scrimmage of a local high school football program.
The team photo was easy enough. Get em to line up numerically, make sure everyone had their own 'window' to the camera, make note of any absent players and track jersey numbers to row numbers and anything else that might be needed. Get them to look straight ahead, and sit large. (situation of the helmets in front, shoes, belts, and accessories are other minor but important aspects for a cleaner image)
The head coach image was easy. Hey coach, need a stock headshot --- pause, CLICK,
one more, CLICK. Thanks coach --- Good luck with the scrimmage and off they went.
Drowning in my workWell, about 20 minutes into this mini-scrimmage, the heavens unfolded their wrath and a flurry of wind, rain, hail and lightning was released upon us. Wow. Scurrying around like a drenched idiot, I tried to find a place to protect my gear and my hide.
I managed to fire off a dozen less than keepable images. The game was called due to abundance and proximity of the lightning and off I went --- soaked and drowning with the knowledge that I basically had nothing to show for the event coverage. I guess I need some good rain gear & equipment covers. Aquatech gear seems great but a small piece of plastic doesn't make much sense economically at $225 in my humble opinion.
Perhaps others will have helpful hints for what is expected, what gear should be included on ANY assignment and how to handle situations like this again.
Cheers,
Andy
Everything you need to know about shooting football, I learned in the Boy Scouts (reprinted with permission from Tim Clark)
Notes: I ran across this article and thought it really worked in some nice additional football coverage & general good PJ practices.
Article reprinted with permission from Tim Clark, Athlon Sports Magazine
ARTICLE:
I spent the early '70's in the Boy Scouts of America. I learned how to start a fire with two sticks, and I still can if one of them is a match. More important, I learned the scout law and the scout motto. I use them in my sports photography on every shoot.
Scout Motto: Be Prepared
There are three steps to "Be Prepared" - pre-planning, equipment and getting to the stadium early. Let's break them down.
Pre-Planning - Know where you are going and how to get there. Do you know where the media parking is? Where the pass gate is? Where the media 'Will Call' window is? Call the sports information director at the school or the media relations contact of the team to find out. You can also check the guide on sportsshooter.com - the information is there for most teams.
Know the teams and players you are going to shoot. Do you know who they like to go to on third down? Do they run mostly to the left or right side? Do they usually run on first down? Who has the most receptions? Most rushes? Most tackles? Do they blitz a lot? Research your teams and you will have a much better chance to be in the right place at the right time, which is the key to getting that great image. Don't just follow the ball on every play; you'll miss a lot of the real action.
Equipment - All of your equipment should be checked the night before the game. Equipment not used often should be checked days before, allowing for time to repair or replace. Make sure everything is in good working order and everything you will need is packed up and ready to go. Some people make a checklist. You wouldn't want to get to the game only to find that you left your extra batteries at home. Bring backups for everything; you never know when something will fail. Have more than enough cards or film. I suggest bringing twice as much film or card space as you think you will need.
Get there early - About three hours before kickoff is good. You can avoid traffic tie-ups that come with most college and pro football games. Get the game notes and flip cards for the game from the press box or photo room. If you didn't do your research before, it's all there in the game notes, so read them. After you have read the game notes and checked the starting line-up, instead of sitting around in the press box eating and chatting with the other photographers, go down on the field and check out the shooting positions. You can also take photos of key players without their helmets on, head coaches from both teams, etc. Most important, check the light and figure out where it will be during the game. Any Boy Scout can tell you the sun moves from east to west.
Scout Law: A scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.
How does this apply to shooting football?
Trustworthy, Loyal - Show up early and be ready to work. Give first choice of all your images to the publication that sent you to the game. Yes, even that really cool shot you just know SI or ESPN would love to run as a double truck. Don't badmouth other photographers or editors. It's a small community and they will hear about it. Also, don't touch anybody else's equipment.
Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind - Be nice to everyone, from the person checking your bags at the gate, to the cheerleaders, to your fellow shooters - yes even to the cable pullers and dish holders that are always in the way. Don't step over the line to shoot a play downfield from you and block the view of all the shooters behind you. Try saying 'Could you please move or kneel down' to the ball boys instead of yelling, 'Get out of the way.' If a shooter didn't get a flip card because they came too late (I know this wouldn't be you because you got there early!) give them the extra one you have because you were prepared.
Obedient - Shoot what was asked for by your editor, and more. What more you say? How about a cool overview from the top of the stadium. Of course you planned this out so that you could go up at halftime and shoot right at the start of the third quarter. You know the best way up and how to get back to the field fast so that you don't miss much game action because you were there early and made a plan. And because you were friendly and courteous, a security person has told you how to access the service elevator to make it happen.
Cheerful - No one wants to listen to a whiner. Be happy you are working in your chosen field. This makes for a better day for you and everyone you come in contact with.
Thifty - Think quality, not quantity. Don't try to set a record for how many images you can take at one game. A hundred images of one cheerleader is overkill. Clients don't like photographers who have $35 lunches and those who cheat on their mileage. We know how far you had to drive. Photo budgets are always tight, and we like to spend the money on photos and photographers' fees, not on chicken marsala lunches.
Brave - Get the required peak action shots of the key players first, then be brave and try something different like shooting from the high positions (you know where they are because you got there early and asked about them). Try a few panning shots or a really wide shot. Make some extreme close-ups, use a slow shutter speed for a few frames, etc. Just be creative. Try something new at every game.
Clean and Reverent - Keep your equipment clean and you will have better images. A little dust on the sensor of your digital camera can create time-consuming retouching later. A dirty lens makes for low contrast images. A clean background always makes a better photo than one with a busy background. Think clean, tight and pray for good light. You'll do alright.
The Devil finds work for Idle Blogs
Well, my friends it is time once again to fill the ole' ink jar and dip my pen into action. Mark Hancock, my friend and mentor has been busily blogging his way into stardom. Please check out his wonderful writings at
http://markhancock.blogspot.com -
Behind the Plexi-Glass
I just got back this past weekend from a fireworks show in Biloxi, MS. In lieu of being solely behind the glass, I was actually behind the plexiglass on this one. In fact, I was responsible for wiring 100% of the ignitors and completing the quickfuse for the 288 racks of shells for the display. After my last show in Hammond, LA - I volunteered (let's review that, self) to become part of the pyrotechnic team for the largest fireworks display company in the country, Pyrotecnico. It was an exciting but
extremely demanding event. Spanning from 5:00AM Friday to 4:00AM Saturday, this event truly tested your last nerve & muscle. Unloaded, stacking, wiring, nailing, loading shells, testing, < insert more grunt type work here >, then whoopie! a 15 min show, then 4 more hours of breakdown work, sweeping the barges, then loading the trucks back up and then driving 2hrs back home. It definately offered an -extremely- new perspective to the operational side of the firework display business. I think I will stick to the glass side in the future. :D
So, while you get to setup a little early for a show, take some well-timed exposures and leave --- the real work is all behind the scenes. 20 hours of work for a 15 min
show. Makes you wonder about the sanity of that decision, doesn't it?
PJ Work - Back on Track
Received a call last week after a recommendation to send an email to my local Photo Editor offering my services for football team photos and headshots. (Thanks, Mark!)
I was immediately informed that I would be able to carry as much work burden as I wanted to this fall for local HS and college sports coverage. There are 16 HS teams & 2 local colleges in the local coverage areas spanning some 45-60 miles throughout the various parishes around the local newspaper area that are in need of coverage. Well, shine my shoes --- (actually they still are pretty shiny) --- but I am a little anxious about what to expect, how to compose proper football shots (especially night games), and not making myself look like too much of a fool out there. I need to confirm the pay per game and time required to make this a reality as I don't want to drive 45 miles each way and shoot for 2 hours for $20 --- Perhaps, this is the reality and I just need to pinch myself and confirm!
I have a great deal of experience with the game of football and that should help.
I played football for 16 years including HS (HS rank TOP-5 USA-Today nearly every year), SEC Div-1 and even to the NFL combine and practice squads. I am very comfortable and familiar with the game so that should help when the ole' time comes around. (even though alot of it is just going to be luck, right?)
The Eyes of the Beholder?
The local paper only has 2 staff photographers and neither of them receive any DSLR equipment from the paper to use, so both rely on F100s & sometimes sneak their personal gear into the work environment. I haven't made the leap for my Nikon D2H yet but it is weighing heavily on my mind (and my pocketbook) - For now my trusty
D1x and Fuji S2 will have to make the cut. I have 3 f/2.8 lenses including a 70-200,
120-300, and fixed 300mm. Of course I get 1.5X cropping on my DSLR so that will increase the focal length factors a tad and I do have a nice 1.4TC which will help me get in pretty close. Heck the 120-300 f/2.8 effectively becomes a 180-450mm f/2.8 equivalent and tack on the 1.4xTC and you have a 252-630mm f4 --- Not too shabby and while not fixed lens quality, it will probably perform pretty admirably for my needs as PJ for these events even at non-ideal ISO-800 levels and higher. Well, hopefully everything will come together and my gear will hold up. For now, I just need to decide on a decent monopod. I have been looking at the Manfrotto/Bogen 680B and/or
681B units. I might need some input on these but I will keep looking around.
All-in-all, I am ready for the upcoming season and will hold Mark's insightful commentary close to heart in preparation for these events. Best of luck.
Cheers,
Andy
MEET THE PRESS(ER)?
Well, sorry for the delay in posting but I have been out of town on a "VA-CA-TION"
(hmmmmmm....Homer likes doughnuts!) --- actually a short trip to the Gulf coast for a little bit of R&R. (not railroad pictures, but that would have been exciting) :D
After covering some recent assignments and continuing my quest for more freelance work from the local paper, I had an opportunity to meet the publisher of the newspaper. He is a kind-hearted and quiet individual who happens to be a member of the same church that I attend. (Almost said "my church" -- but it is really "my" church?) I digress. I had emailed him before and actually worked with him on one Habitat for Humanity project, but never knew he was the publisher --- just a kind, distinguished 50-60ish hard-working guy who wanted to help the community become a better place. (seems like a great mindset of a person to have as publisher, doesn't it?) From his initial email response, I could tell it was generic and he didn't recognize me from my unnotable surname. I was a little diminished by this, but chose not to buck the waters but instead give it a little more time to develop on its own.
Seizing the opportunity of spotting him at church, I introduced myself again to him after the worship service. He immediately {BOOM! LIGHTS, ACTION, MEMORY!} made the correlation between the emails and apologized for not making the personal connection.
We spoke at length for nearly twenty minutes until our respective wives attempted to tear us literally in two different directions. We spoke on his new purchase of a D70 and he also commented about comparing his work to the recent fireworks pictures and other pics published last weekend in the paper. (Not realizing those shots that printed were actually my captures) --- He said he could use a little help on composition and use of the camera, and I offered my friendly services to him quite eagerly. He confided in me that there were only two staff PJs and with limited budget, they can simply only cover so many events in the area. I interjected and offered my assistance as a reliable local PJ who would be grateful to assist in any future assignments as needed by the paper.
Personally, I don't know what exactly the publisher's influence or role would be in this circumstance or whether he is more "numbers minded" and let's the Sr. Editors run the show. I did offer some organized and insightful suggestions for improving the website and he responded quickly stating that if I was interested in performing the role as webmaster, he would be looking for a replacement in the fall (as the current amateurish designer now is off to the Navy) --- It is now an hour or two a day type of job where they have a monthly contract for the work done on the website. I am more of a vision-driven and ideas person than a typeset Quark guy but perhaps I can help with this as a part of a larger need for the paper.
Well, the saga continues...but looks like the publisher is on my side --- and this cannot be a bad blessing. Wonder how much influence the publisher has on the paper, the staffers and the overall business? It is like the CEO or are there other entities at work and pull the strings? Maybe time will tell.
Cheers
-Andy
Same old --- Same old????
"Boy, look at this neat picture...", a friend told me last night over dinner.
It was a picture of close-up fireworks bursts over some town, some place taken I guess
sometime after Nicephore Niepce's last model. (grin) I informed him that I thought the technique and fundamentals were in place, but there was absolutely no sense of locality, meaning or place. It could have been taken 50 years ago over the Alaskan pipeline from a igloo or taken yesterday in your backyard on top of your Winnebago. My point was simply this: without implementing foreground imagery, scale, or sense of place in shots --- the viewer is not usually moved. It is only when you complete the vision, that people will get the picure. I asked him when he took the shot --- did you wear blinders? Didn't you see other people, boats, buildings, lakes/rivers, policemen, something that would add a sense of humanity to the image? He was offended at first by my candor but quickly realized I was not telling him he was a failure, just that his shots could have been more interesting.
Well, back to reality from the land of lofty ideals. I received a call today from the editor telling me that I was on the docket to cover as much HS sports (fall football) &
college (Div-1) football this fall as I could handle. I guess this is good news, as I played football from playground through college (SEC) and professionally until I had ACL problems and stress fractures. It will help that I know the game and while you can change up your offensive/defensive sets --- it is still the same sport. It should be fun.
Longest focal length glass I own is 300 F4, I do have (2) short-tele lenses in 70-200mm f/2.8 and 80-200mm f/2.8 (why I still have 2 I don't really know) Shooting at 1600ISO with shutter speed I am assuming of 1/500 should be rather noisy and grainy but something I will have to contend with. I have heard that Fred Miranda (another great site that I have been a member of for last few years) www.fredmiranda.com --- has a few really nice actions for PS that will help tremendously with the high film speed/noise problem. So, I might have to check it out as most games are at night under less than ideal lighting conditions.
I like sports, but figure it might get a little hairy and mundane at the end of the day.
Perhaps, I will get more community assignments like this past weekend as I really enjoyed the interaction. Sports can be more handsoff and "reporting news" to me where the festival coverage was personal, & deliberate. I know that my mentor Mark M. Hancock has covered sports extensively, so I will wait for him to chime in here or in an email or perhaps in his own blog report on tips, tricks and insight on covering HS football games at night. (hint, hint Mark!)
Well, at the end of the day --- Don't take shots that don't provide a sense of place, locale or meaning. People are human and need something to feel as well as "see" --- if they cannot "feel" the shots go off above the park that they walk around each morning or let their kids swing in each weekend, they will not feel your work. It needs to hit home and only when we bring the shots back down, will they have a more impactful glow. :D
Cheers,
Andy
The Calm after the storm! :D
Well, after my pics were printed, I still had not received a call nor an email or anything from the newsdesk to indicate that they were pleased with my work. What NOT to do is to call and inquire and bother them with their impressions of your work, your photos, compositions, or cutlines. If you don't receive a call, consider it good --- because if your work was bad, your little ringer would be red hot. :D
This morning as I made to the office of my real job, I received a kind email from the editor stating she was extremely thankful for my ability to handle the assignment and that I did a great job! She then wanted to confirm my address and SS# for my payment check from the paper. That meant a lot to me --- (not the $) but the kind words.
Have confidence in your ability --- but remain humble and steadfast among the public. I found it hard to relate at first as I am strolling around with $10K worth of photographic equipment taking pictures of people who are mostly rural and simple-minded.
Once I started to recall that it was my job to serve the community and the people at this event, everything was just fine. DON'T walk around with an attitude simply because you are the "PJ" of the day --- You put off the wrong person and you might just be making PB&J sandwiches tomorrow to earn a living. It requires great social, clerical and artistic skills to be a complete PJ (credit to Mark Hancock) --- if you don't have all of them in check --- it is going to be a struggle.
You got to have vision. You have to see the shot before you take the shot. It must move you. If the picture you are composing doesn't move you, it won't move the readers or the editors either. We are all human and emotional beings. Of course not every composition will make you that much closer to a Pulitzer prize, but don't just shoot to fill the daily quota. It will no more rewarding than the meter-maid who has to ticket 25 cars by lunchtime in a downtown city. Take the time and constantly be looking around ---- trying to find the epitomizing shot of the assignment.
Cheers
-Andy
Judgment Day ---- Good news prevails! :D
My first assignment was to cover the "Light Up the Sky on the 3rd of July" festival & fireworks show in lovely Hammond, LA for the local paper, Hammond Daily Star. I was challenged to take the "patriotic" pics and some FW pics and then have them ready and resubmitted to the paper for early Sunday morning. I actually only took about 75 shots the whole day and that included the FW shots. With my new glass I didn't really have to worry about missed shots or retakes. (After all, how amateurish can it be to ask the mayor or congressman to pose again because you screwed up the first exposure?)
Yes, the mayor was there along with the City council members and public officers. I was treated very well the entire day by the local staffers and it seemed the only source of discomfort was the 105F heat index. I roamed around the relatively small festival grounds for several hours --- alternating between my 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and a very trusty 18-70mm DX wide-tele lens. What is one of the most important lessons learned in my experience with photography? From the nature master John Shaw, "Before you take a picture, ask yourself why am I taking this shot?" --- What are trying to say, how does it really portray your "storyline" (4th July festival) and will it sell? (by sell I mean print and do its job by pleasing the editors and the public) I truly feel that by utilizing this simple question and paying careful attention to people and remaining extremely alert --- you can make some great shots!
I found a couple young girls receiving red, white and blue star face paintings and that was one of the pics that was printed. I thought a few others were very representative of the assignment that didn't print --- but that's another story! What I learned quickly was that you absolutely need to be organized (for the cutline info and notes I used a cheap Mead 4x6" memo pad $0.67 ea at Wal-Mart) -- You need to take careful and deliberate dictation when asking for name spelling and hometown info for your cutlines.
(Kayleigh with an E, I, or Y -- etc) As
Mark Hancock so carefully explains, "If you submit WRONG info to the paper that might require retractions, your assignments will dry up instantly" --- There isn't a substitute for lack of attentiveness. You need to dedicate yourself to your assignment completely.
I happened upon a couple of solid "political" pics and several other action shots of kids at play at various sporting "events" set up around the complex. In addition, I got to the park very early in the day and captured my 3rd printed shot of the pyrotechnical team lead stuffing the shells into the firework finale racks. Interesting shot and it was used in a seperate section of the paper. Note: Parents will always EXPECT the shot to be in the paper --- so more than others, but almost EVERYONE asks when to expect the photo to run. Make sure you confirm that you are simply the PJ and not the editor, you will push the best pics and then decisions will be made about which pics go to the press.
Also, some parents will deliberately "run you down" trying to get "their precious and beautiful child" into the paper. I obliged, mostly not to appear rude, but knowing all of the while, this pic will never see my microdrive, much less then morning newspaper.
All-in-all, I feel that the show went really well. You need to be outgoing, detail-oriented and focused. I made a few mistakes in that alot of the children happened to be sporting "liberty foam hats" that were donated as a marketing ploy by a local business "Liberty Tax Service" --- Some of my better shots were ruined by having the "Liberty Tax Service" logo plastered across the shot. I should have been more attentive to the -whole- shot. Pay attention --- Watch for distruptive backgrounds and unless you limit your DOF, you might need to get other people's names who "show" up in the picture. Be careful and try to limit your mistakes.
So how did it end? One of my fireworks pics made the front page
here
Here is a 50K sampling of the original 4MB file. ;-)
Fireworks Shot
All-in-all, I am proud of my work and the assignment task went off without a hitch. Was I nervous? Definately --- By delivering good exposures, organized cutline info and quality burned CD (ONTIME) the paper was obviously pretty happy with my work. Well, more next time.... Special thanks to Mark Hancock for his amazing insight and experience that helped boast my confidence and come to terms with the expectations for this event. :D
Cheers,
Andy
PJ - Rookie Season - First crack at the bat.
Greetings!
Well, it is only proper to start this blog adventure with great thanks, highest respect notions and mega kudos out to Mark Hancock and his superb PhotoJournalism blog that got me started. His fabulous blog can be found
here. I initially read through Mark's entire current submissions then his entire archive --- simply amazing insight. I can only hope that through the wisdom & generosity of friends such as these that I can aspire to become a more accomplished PJ apprentice.
Well, my first official assignment was offered this weekend through my local newspaper
Hammond Daily Star in Hammond, LA. I had been inquiring (i.e. hounding, aggressively pursuing?) about performing some stringer work for the paper for the last six months or so. I have pretty solid photography experience and a full DSLR toolbag to play with so I figured I would give it a shot. I basically started out emailing the editors and then delivered a small initial portfolio of my work which in retrospect should have been more diversified in its content. I do enjoy nature, B&W and landscape photography but when the editors commented
"nice pics, but we don't really have a use for those types of shots"
-- I knew then that I had just sent in a little league benchwarmer to hit off of Greg Maddox. I felt like I lost a few pegs in the proverbial cribbage board. (Was there a proverb about a cribbage board?) :) I waited and happen to meet the lead PJ editor when she covered my daughter's All-Star Tournament on Father's Day weekend that I happened to be coaching. We chatted and hit it off almost instantly. Was I going to be allowed a second chance to step on deck?
The editor contacted me and told me that she would definately use my skills (I want to say talents but I don't know if she used that wording or not...haha) during the late summer and fall to cover as much local HS and college
Southeastern LA University sports and activities that I wanted. Not bad I thought, but I guess I wouldn't be handling any exclusives just yet.
My luck changed this week as the editor informed me that if I was available and wanted to cover this past weekend's "Hammond Light Up the Sky" festival and fireworks show, she would be grateful. Now, I knew that I had to deliver and that meant sending in the best player I had available at my disposal to crack off a real winner. Who was this masked crusader and diabolical heavy-hitter? Well, since I just gave Superman the day off, I had to take the reins and see where this dusty trail might lead.
PART II --- Judgement Day : First Assignment coming up next! :D
Cheers!
-Andy
