Baptism by fire.My first week at the Oil City Derrick and Franklin News-Herald was a mixture of frustration and energy with a whole lot of learning mixed in. The frustration is only in learning a new system, but by weeks end I developed a means that suits me, i discovered I could do things similar on a PC that i do on a Mac--just the key commands aren't an option for me at this time(I determined PC are geared for typists and Macs for the hunt and peck crowd!)
But one thing that is the same, photographic story telling and discovery are the same wherever you go. I had real news to cover and some seeking of stand alone pictures that may or may not end up as the centerpiece of the front page. The picture above I had really hoped would be on the front page. It was the first day of spring and I didn't really have any assignments. I met this man, Rowland Plowman out in front of his home having a smoke and letting his dogs do their thing. This just made my day. One thing I have always loved to do is just hang out with someone and see what sort of picture i can make.
Rowland laughed out loud when he told me the names of his dogs. Sugar Bear (foreground photo bomber) and Teddy Bear a recued elderly Pug who wasn't too keen on the photographic intrusion.
This picture wasn't my favorite of Rowland, but it was just hilarious to me when I saw this frame that to me it I wanted to see it big on page one and give the folks in Oil City and Franklin something to laugh about.
I think sometimes that is a pretty special thing we can do as visual documenters of our time and place.
But one thing that is the same, photographic story telling and discovery are the same wherever you go. I had real news to cover and some seeking of stand alone pictures that may or may not end up as the centerpiece of the front page. The picture above I had really hoped would be on the front page. It was the first day of spring and I didn't really have any assignments. I met this man, Rowland Plowman out in front of his home having a smoke and letting his dogs do their thing. This just made my day. One thing I have always loved to do is just hang out with someone and see what sort of picture i can make.
Rowland laughed out loud when he told me the names of his dogs. Sugar Bear (foreground photo bomber) and Teddy Bear a recued elderly Pug who wasn't too keen on the photographic intrusion.
This picture wasn't my favorite of Rowland, but it was just hilarious to me when I saw this frame that to me it I wanted to see it big on page one and give the folks in Oil City and Franklin something to laugh about.
I think sometimes that is a pretty special thing we can do as visual documenters of our time and place.
My first page one picture was this one. I was sent to Parker to see what the status of the flooding was down there. I was sick as a dog my first day and I wasn't at all thinking my game was on. The story that i found was the water was receding, the ice was still there, but it wasn't a tragedy, just an inconvenience and people were curious. I took pics of one group of folks as they looked at the ice and one little girl thought it was a playground of sorts. I wasn't happy with my frames at all, but thought this was at least telling that it isn't that bad anymore.
Tuesday was St. Patty's day and I really don't remember much about it other than i really just was about to throw the computer against the wall and quit. My photos were mediocre at best that day and i felt like the PC generation was going to win, I was also sicker than I was the day before, but I survived. Then Wed. hit. I had a couple assignments in the morning and early afternoon, but then got the call, Titusville was on fire. "Yep, I'm on the way!" I was still sick, but this was adrenaline time. Important documentation of a major event in a town's history. Something to take very seriously.
It was time to make pictures and find out the toll of the situation. I was impressed with my new employer at how they decided to blow up the front page and make this picture above huge. They get it I thought. They know that when you have it, when you have the story and the visuals, you put it out there with the same importance as the event itself. I was very proud of how they handled this event. They used several pictures, but not too many and gave importance to the event and the people involved in the event--the firefighters.
They also seemed to get the beautiful things photography can and still tell a story. This scene setter was my choice of the 'locator' photo because it was just beautiful light and gave indication of where it was.
This picture above got a little lost in the scuffle Wednesday, but someone on our website team found it and made it the featured photo of the day Thursday. I need to find out who this is because they get photography as well. this was one of those photos that you make that you love, but it might not tell enough of the story to make the cut in the next day's paper--plus it wouldn't reproduce as well in newsprint. But one thing that was happening at this fire was the wind was such a factor and putting water on the fire itself require understanding physics and anticipating the wind. It caused a great deal of water everywhere that even I had to be careful of and get my cameras dried off. This picture had a feeling to it that i think expressed what the situation was at the time.
We didn't just hit and split. Titusville is on the outskirts of the Oil City Franklin coverage areas, but this was a big story about this little place. So we needed to do follow up. I emailed and then called on my way in "Do you want me to go see what's happening this morning?" Without hesitation I was told to meet up with Curt and do a follow up of the aftermath and clean-up.
We went around and found stories. Introduced ourselves to folks directly affected and began asking questions and making photos. I am always about finding the essence of soul in a story and I again was proud of working with people trying to do the same. We didn't know what the story was, we just went and discovered it.
This picture above was our front page, I don't disagree with it, but in retrospect I wish i made this a better photo or we had gone with another. This to me was an almost picture--it has a lot, but lacks the true moment to take it to the next level. I still give kudos for it being used as lead art. it was a bold decision.
This portrait was perhaps my best frame of the day, but the story was about more than just one shop owner So i understand that it couldn't be the lead, though…again hindsight is 20/20 we probably could've written the cutline in such a way to make this the lead and still encompassed the whole impact to downtown, but i didn't come up with that notion on the spot either.
News would be easier if we weren't do ing it on the spot!
So after the first week at a new gig I am proud of my new colleagues and excited about my new place of exploration and story-telling. It'll be an adjustment for awhile, but if I concentrate on my work with the camera, I think I'll discover some new ways of telling new stories.
News would be easier if we weren't do ing it on the spot!
So after the first week at a new gig I am proud of my new colleagues and excited about my new place of exploration and story-telling. It'll be an adjustment for awhile, but if I concentrate on my work with the camera, I think I'll discover some new ways of telling new stories.