Newsphotography:Exposed

Sun Strokes

2012-01-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

Oregon embraces fresh ideas and free thinkers. That's why it should come as no surprise that the state's second solar highway project - a continuation of the success of the nation's first solar array on highway right of way - will become the United State's largest!

The Baldock Solar Highway Project, a 1.75 megawatt direct current solar array consisting of 6,994, 250-watt panels, will generate up to 1.97 million kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable energy -- enough electricity to power 165 homes for a year! Situated on 7 acres of vacant state-owned rest area land, this project - like the first - partners Portland General Electric (PGE) with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) under the dedicated and skillful direction of ODOT's Project Manager Allison Hamilton. Moreover, it's an "all-Oregon" creation with local companies supplying all of the materials as well as designing, installing, operating, and maintaining the site.

Considering this was the second time I've had the good fortune to document a complete solar project from start to finish, my charge was to devise a new strategy -- so in addition to photographing all of the construction-related activities, I focused on the essence of this technology - the panels - trying to exploit the elements of design that they embody. I was looking for brush strokes, or more appropriately, Sun Strokes.

Line, shape, space, value, color, and texture: all of these elements were present in abundance and obvious to see on site . . . as long as you took the time to look for them. From the shape and texture of raindrops resting on a panel, to the reflection of the colorful crowd at the groundbreaking shining through, the solar panels offered a myriad of photographic options.

And with its park-like setting, ample foliage, and Willamette Valley location, the Baldock site provided some interesting photo opportunities too. Whether it was revealing the change of seasons or showcasing the iconic Mount Hood, the field of panels complimented the landscape and almost seemed to belong there!

To date, 26 states and 14 countries have contacted ODOT for information to develop their own solar highway projects and programs. The Baldock site will also include an interpretive display where the public can view the array and learn more about the process and advantages of solar energy, hopefully planting the idea for residents to consider using renewable energy to power their homes. ODOT's future holds the promise of over 120 miles of solar highway installations in Oregon one day and I look forward to seeing all of those panels in operation. But right now, the panel I really want to see is at the Baldock site . . . because it has my signature on it!

(Note: for more information about the first Solar Highway Demonstration Project, please see "#16 - Here Comes the Sun", in the January 2009 archive. To keep up to date with the entire program, please visit: www.oregonsolarhighway.com).

Dark Room

2011-12-30T16:37:00.000-08:00

The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera. - Dorothea Lange

If you step into a dark room on a bright day and poke a small hole in a window cover then look at the opposite wall, what do you see? There in full color and movement is the world outside the window -- upside down. This ancient discovery, first documented by the Chinese philosopher Mo-Ti during the 5th Century BC, changed the way the world would see.

The Camera Obscura, or Dark (Obscura) Room (Camera) in Latin, was the precursor to the modern-day photographic camera. It demonstrated light travels in a straight line and when some of the rays reflected from a bright subject pass through a small hole in thin material, they don't scatter but cross and reform as an upside down image on a flat surface held parallel to the hole. The image quality was improved with the addition of a convex lens into the aperture in the 16th Century, and the later addition of a mirror to reflect the image down onto a viewing surface made the Camera Obscura a valuable aid to artists and astronomers alike. By the beginning of the 19th Century, this device was ready to accept a sheet of light sensitive material and the rest is history.

On a recent trip to San Francisco I was amazed to find a real Camera Obscura still in operation there. The Giant Camera behind the Cliff House on Point Lobos was built in 1948 as part of the Playland at the Beach Amusement Area. Decorated to look like a giant 35mm camera with its lens pointing to the sky, the Camera Obscura designed by Floyd Jennings survived two attempts to destroy it, and was formally saved with its addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

The Giant Camera at the Cliff House uses a 10" mirror on the roof to reflect an image through 8" condensing lenses mounted in opposition to each other so they focus the outdoor scene 12 feet down at F8 to a parabolic screen anchored to the floor. The lens pans across a wonderful expanse of beach and coastline around Seal Rock and now makes 4 historical stops during a 6 minute, 360 degree rotation just like the original design for the attraction. Inside the darkness of the Giant Camera, the projected shoreline was bright and sharp on the viewing table and the experience was surreal . . . at least for a photographer!

So if you're ever near the Cliff House in San Francisco, I suggest you witness the Giant Camera. But be forewarned: the Camera Obscura is not for everyone. There are those that say,"What kind of fool would pay to go into a dark room to look at the projection of something they can see for real outside?". I guess they just don't get it.

The Charity Stripe

2011-11-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

Now that another NBA season appears poised to tip-off soon, I hope one lesson both the owners and players learned from their prolonged employment battle is this: don't expect anything for free . . . unless of course you're a photographer covering the game!

Not many sports offer shooters gifts - perfectly posed portraits of nearly every player nearly every game (they even stop the clock for them!) - the way basketball does. I'm not talking about game action shots either, as way too often photogs focus strictly on capturing them while ignoring the simple yet effective "sportraits" happening right in front of them . . . on the free throw line.

I can't recall how many times I've been ridiculed for taking these pictures too. "They happen every game." "They're too easy." "No sports magazine will buy them." These are just a few of the comments I've heard. My responses: yes, no, and are you nuts? Let's quickly examine each fallacy about the free throw line portrait.

I don't know about you, but I'm thankful free throw line photos happen every game, multiple times during the game, and for multiple players taking part in the game. Sometimes it takes a couple of chances to get the picture just right, as every player displays their own unique form and observing their motion first often helps in anticipating the moment to grab your shot . . . or at least what to expect next time.

If you've ever peered through a camera outfitted with a 300mm f/2.8 lens while sitting on the baseline and aiming it at a NBA star standing on the free throw line, then you'd know that player's bust nearly fills the entire frame and movements of even inches will render a photo fuzzy -- concentration and timing are critical. "They're too easy" . . . you tell me.

Finally, believe it or not, back a couple of decades ago when black and white stock basketball photography was in high demand by several sports publications, I made more money from free throw line portraits of players than any other type of roundball photo. In my opinion, that's easy to explain: the images were tight, sharp, clean, and active; or in other words, the ideal sports portrait. So tease me if you want, I'll continue to shoot the stars at The Charity Stripe because that benefits my favorite charitable cause . . . me!

Portfolio Update 2011

2011-10-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

Imagine this: on average, over 110,000 cars and trucks cross the Fremont Bridge each day. Multiply that by 365 and that's a lot of annual traffic! Now consider this: the Fremont opened in 1973 with the original upper deck shouldering that load for the last 38 years -- is it any wonder that it needed to be resurfaced?
Stretching 175 feet above the Willamette River, the Fremont Bridge is a vital link for Interstate 405 which encircles downtown Portland, OR. I-405 is a heavily traveled loop that helps to ease congestion in and around the city center so construction activities affecting it must be scheduled to minimize the impact to motorists while ensuring the safety of the public and work crew. The Fremont upper deck paving project required full closures for 3 weekends (from 11 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday) and one weekend of partial closure -- it wasn't your average paving project!
The Fremont Bridge has an epoxy asphalt concrete surface -- it's the only bridge in Oregon with this type of pavement. After the project is finished, the upper deck will consist of 3 layers: a 1/2-inch-thick steel deck plate, 2 1/2 -inches of epoxy asphalt concrete, and 1 1/2-inches of conventional hot mix asphalt concrete. In total, more than 3,000 tons of epoxy asphalt and hot mix materials will be placed at a rate of 50 to 75 tons per hour. It's a time consuming and time sensitive process - and a demanding and interesting assignment to document too - so that's why I decided to present this photo essay as my Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) Portfolio Update for 2011.

Before the paving process can begin, all the old road surface must be removed. Chipping, grinding, scraping, tearing . . . all techniques need to be used to clear the bridge deck to bare steel. The hardest part had to be cleaning the big bolt heads . . . and there were about 56,000 of them!

Next, the deck is polished and primed by shot-blasting, or the rapid-fire bombardment of tiny steel shot against the deck surface to clean and rough it so materials will better adhere to it. Then the first epoxy bond coat is sprayed on the deck to coat the steel and prime it for the first lift of epoxy asphalt.

Two lifts of epoxy asphalt concrete were applied, the semi-permanent 2 1/2-inch-layer and the 1 1/2-inch-pavement protection layer which can be more easily maintained. And so the project flowed, from shoulder to shoulder, grinding, blasting, spraying, paving, rolling, spraying, paving, and rolling.

In the bitter evening cold (it really was!) and the debilitating midday heat, during shifts that lasted all day (and I mean 24 hours!) with sporadic meals and spotty sleep, I gained a new appreciation for our roadways and the people it takes to maintain them. So hats off to Kerr Contractors and their crew and all the others for a job well done -- I enjoyed working with you!

Special Bonus Feature

My good friend and ODOT videographer John Kazmierski covered this job from a unique perspective: on top of the arch of the Fremont Bridge! You can see his amazing time lapse video of the entire Fremont Bridge Paving Project here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKAfBFTGDss

As Newsphotography:Exposed enters its 6th year of publication (I can't believe it's been 5 years already!), I want to thank you for your interest and support, but most of all, thanks for visiting!

Starry Night

2011-09-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

The stars are the jewels of the night and perchance surpass anything which day has to show. - Henry David Thoreau

Spellbound. That's how I spent most of my summer nights as a boy, lying on my back in our backyard staring up at the sky. It was pitch black, at least for a city kid, and on a clear evening the view was spectacular -- billions and billions of bright, twinkling stars! I'd be entertained for hours, my mind wandering with the freedom and peace I long for today. But it would all end too soon, my Mom's voice shattering the silence, calling me back inside our house. Recently I discovered a way to recapture that feeling and make a nice picture to boot -- Star Trail Photography.

As the Earth rotates around its axis every 24 hours, the star field we see in our night sky rotates around the polar axis in a complete circle -- this phenomenon provides the basis for star trail photography. With a digital camera, there are two techniques you can employ to shoot the stars: one long, single exposure, or a series of short exposures that are "stacked" together using special software; we will focus on a single exposure image. But regardless of the method you choose, star trail photos require the following equipment: a camera capable of "Bulb" mode and long exposure noise reduction; extra camera batteries; a locking cable release; and a sturdy tripod.

The next decision you'll need to make is the type of star trail photo you want to take -- a polar-aligned shot, which results in a circular star trail pattern around the North Star, Polaris; or a non-polar-aligned image which offers nice arcs but not complete circles. For the polar-aligned shot (top photo), you simply locate Polaris by aiming your camera north; pointing the camera in any other direction will yield only a pattern of arcs. Other important factors to consider are the weather forecast and the moon phase -- you are looking for a totally clear night and a last quarter or new moon phase. Excessive moonlight (and other light pollution) will overexpose the image and render it unusable. The final consideration is finding an interesting foreground object for the stars to frame; in my two examples, I used tents at camping trips and they were lit by waving a flashlight around inside of them for 30 seconds at the beginning of the exposure.

Once all the preparations are finished and the photo is composed, determining the exposure completes the process. Through experimentation I have found that an aperture reading of f/4 to f/5.6 at an ISO of 200 with a 30 minute exposure works well. Just set your camera to "Bulb", focus to infinity, turn the auto-focus and vibration reduction settings off, turn the long exposure noise reduction on, trip the shutter and enjoy the view for the next half-hour!

In my two examples, the top photo was a polar-aligned image taken during a new moon phase with an exposure of 30 minutes at f/5.6 at 200 ISO. The bottom photo was my first-ever attempt at star trail photography and was taken during the 1st quarter moon phase (note the abundance of light in the canyon and in the sky -- that's moonlight, the photo was taken at 10 p.m.!) with an exposure of 30 minutes at f/4 at 200 ISO.

For those that like to stay up late and commune with the night, star trail photography may be just what you've been looking for and the real beauty is you won't have to worry about your Mom, she'll be fast asleep before you even begin!

Looking at the stars always makes me dream, as simply as I dream over the black dots representing town and villages on a map. Why, I ask myself, shouldn't the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? - Vincent Van Gogh

Road Tested

2011-08-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one -- and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces. - Henry Ford

They were born in the USA in 1908 and flourished until 1927. They came equipped with a 20-horsepower, 4-cylinder engine which reached a top speed of about 45 miles per hour while delivering between 13 to 21 miles per gallon of gasoline. They were introduced with a price tag of $850 and 15,000,000 of them were built and sold. The Ford Model T was truly "The Universal Car" -- a low-cost, reliable vehicle that could be easily maintained and successfully travel the poor roads of its era. And 100 years later, thanks to the members of the Portland, Oregon Chapter of the Horseless Carriage Club of America (HCCA), the Model T is still proving it's road-worthy even today.

On a bright but chilly late July morning, about 90 HCCA members and their pre-1915 vehicles assembled for a club tour along the Historic Columbia River Highway and through the Oneonta Tunnel. The highway has special significance to this group as it was built in 1914 to take travelers along the scenic sights of the Columbia River Gorge and many auto enthusiasts believe this road was built specifically for their cars. In 1948, maintenance issues forced the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to close many sections of the highway, but the Oneonta Tunnel section was repaired and re-opened to pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles in 2009. On special occasions, like this one, the tunnel is opened to motorized traffic.

The Horseless Carriage Club of America is a non-profit corporation founded in 1965 by and for automobile antiquarians and is dedicated to the preservation of motor vehicles of ancient age and historic value. The prerequisite to membership in the club is the possession of a 1932 or older vintage car that is restored or in the process of restoration. The Portland Region HCCA group meets regularly and actively tours, hosting an annual multi-day event with members clad in period clothing.

For the enterprising newsphotographer, there were many ways to cover this assignment but I relied on one of my favorite techniques: Juxtaposition. I tried to exploit the irony between the historical vehicles and clothing with the technological advances of today and it was interesting to see club members recording the tour with digital camera and Ipads!

The Ford Model T is often referred to as "the car that changed the world". After all, it's responsible for the beginning of mass production -- in fact, by 1914 one Model T rolled off the assembly line every 93 minutes! But I'm even more amazed to think that after over a century of living, these vehicles are still running! Now that's what I call Road Tested.

#26 - The One That (Almost) Got Away

2011-07-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Even eminent chartered accountants are known, in their capacity as fishermen, blissfully to ignore differences between seven and ten inches, half a pound and two pounds, three fish and a dozen fish. - William Sherwood Fox

I've heard some fish stories over the years but this one I had to see to believe. It was spotted leaping from a lake near Hayward, Wisconsin, in 1976 -- a Muskellunge (aka "Musky") of mythical proportions: one-half a city block long, four and one-half stories tall, with a gaping mouth so large its open jaw could easily accommodate 20 people or more! It was, most certainly, a world record fish and I wanted to photograph it.

Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. - Author Unknown

My first encounter with the beast was almost a quarter century ago while I was living in Chicago and working for Agence France-Presse (AFP Photo). One fine fall weekend, I cruised to Northern Wisconsin in search of colorful trees and was amazed at what I discovered instead. For towering over the Hayward timberline, bearing teeth the size of railroad ties and striking a semi-angry pose was the giant musky! Unfortunately I only had one half hour and one roll of Tri-X film with which to document the creature (please see the May 2009 post, "Do you See What I See?", to view those images) and so I vowed someday I'd return to finish the job. For my third Summer Photo Project I did just that -- here's my picture story from the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Hayward, WI.

Fishing is a discipline in the equality of men -- for all men are equal before fish. - Herbert Hoover

The National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum is much more than a record-keeping organization. In addition to maintaining the Record Book, which lists all world record catches, the four building complex is a warehouse for all things angling including over 50,000 vintage and historical lures, rods, and reels; over 300 mounted fish; and about 1,000 vintage outboard motors featuring Evinrude's first production model from 1909. But the highlight of the Hall has to be the "Shrine to Anglers", the massive concrete, steel, and fiberglass hand-sculpted musky -- its innards are a museum and its jaw is an observation platform. The landmark is surrounded by a quarter-acre nature pond complete with catch and release bluegill fishing!

If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles. - Doug Larson

The original idea for the Hall of Fame came from Bob Kutz, of Hayward, WI, in 1960. After about a decade of failed fundraising attempts for the project, the Hall ironically enlisted the aid of the Jim Beam Whiskey Distillers and their 10 year offer to produce collector's fish decanters with a portion of the proceeds directly benefitting the project. The Hall would net about $300,000 over that period and the gates to the museum opened in 1976. Today, over 50,000 people visit the complex annually.

The two best times to fish is when it's rainin' and when it ain't. - Patrick F. MacManus

Just like my trip in 1987, this time was an adventure too. Back then, I arrived at the museum 30 minutes before it was going to close with only one roll of black and white film after a full weekend of color shooting. This year, I arrived the evening before my planned visit but to severe thunderstorms and more rain in the forecast for the next day. I budgeted only one day for this shoot so it couldn't be rescheduled or redone. I showed up the next morning anyway and was miraculously greeted by the only 2 hours of sunlight for the entire day! These are the images I was able to make before the rains came, making the remainder of June 21st (the first day of summer I might add) a washout! My goal was to spend an entire day documenting the Hall and it remains that way. Once again, the Musky wins but at least it's still The One That Almost Got Away.

My biggest worry is that my wife (when I'm dead) will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it. - Koos Brandt

Up Close and Personal, Part 2

2011-06-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

When you focus a lens, the barrel is geared to move the elements closer and further away from the sensor -- the further the glass is from the sensor, the closer the lens will focus -- but lenses have a finite amount of travel built into them, so there's a limit to how close you can go. By adding extra space between the lens and camera body, you can effectively focus closer while increasing the magnification of your subject . . . this is the essence of macro-photography.

Since true macro lenses are often pricey and offer limited versatility, extension tubes are the best alternative to begin experimenting with close-up photography. These hollow cylindrical spacers operate under the same principle as any lens normally would: they increase the distance of the glass from the sensor, allowing closer focus and more magnification. The only disadvantage of using extension tubes is that you lose the ability to focus at infinity -- by enabling the lens to focus more closely, you take away its ability to focus far away.

Extension tubes are available in varying lengths (e.g.; 12, 20, 36mm) and can be used individually or stacked together. Remember: the greater the extension, the greater the magnification and if the extension is equal to the lens focal length, you will see life-size magnification. If you only have a short extension tube, this formula tells you you'll get more magnification when using shorter focal length lenses. That's why it makes sense to invest in a set of longer extension tubes to use with your longer lenses because you'll have a narrower field of view and larger working distance between the lens and your subject.

Longer extension with a longer lens is the perfect combination for macro-photography of wildlife in nature. I like to work with my 18 - 105mm lens set at 105mm and a 36mm extension tube for extreme close-ups and a 12mm tube for a less dramatic effect. All of these images were created using those 2 lens/tube configurations, with the first (trout), third (golden stoneflies), and last (largemouth bass) photos taken with a 36mm tube, and photos two (golden stoneflies) and four (salmonfly) with a 12mm extension tube.

Under ideal conditions (i.e.; bright sunlight, no wind!), I attempt to shoot at a minimum aperture of F16 -- at ISO 200, this normally means a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second. Don't forget you lose 2 full stops of light when using extension tubes and the depth of field is incredibly minute to begin with, so a small lens opening is mandatory. Yes . . . slow shutter speeds, extremely shallow DOF, with breathing and moving subjects . . . that's the beauty and the challenge of photographing nature Up Close and Personal!

Up Close and Personal, Part 1

2011-05-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

Life-size. 1:1 magnification. In other words, when the image projected on the sensor is the actual size (or larger) of the subject being photographed, you're about to discover a whole new visual world -- the art of macro photography.

You wouldn't know it by the weather (at least here in Oregon!) but it's spring and that's the perfect time to journey outdoors to photograph the explosion of life around us. And there's no better way to do just that but Up Close and Personal! The least expensive and most effective method to get started is with extension tubes.

Extension tubes are hollow metal or plastic spacers that simply increase the distance between your lens and the camera sensor which increases magnification. They're available in varying lengths (e.g., 12mm, 20mm, 36mm) and can be used individually or stacked together to further increase a len's magnification (i.e., the more extension, the greater the magnification). Extension tubes house no glass so there's no optical degradation and most are made with the electronic couplings required to maintain TTL functions between your body and lens. A handy formula to remember is if the extension is equal to the lens focal length, then you will get true life-size magnification.

In macro photography with extension tubes, the further the lens is moved from the sensor: the closer the focusing distance; the greater the magnification; and the greater the loss of light. Moving the aperture further from the sensor results in the inverse-square law of light falloff and a fainter image without exposure compensation (e.g., when shooting life-size, you lose 2 full stops of light!). Moreover, depth of field is miniscule, even stopped down at apertures like f16, so longer exposure times are necessary. (Note: specific techniques involving extension tubes in macro photography will be addressed in next month's post).

Considering the challenges macro photography presents to a beginner, I decided the Keizer Iris Festival with its rainbow of plants was the ideal place to take my Chemeketa Community College Nature Photography class for their first attempt at close-up work. Their assignment was to de-contextualize a flower - take it out of its context - or to investigate the art, pure form, and elements of design it displayed. These images were my examples for the class to review. Next month, we'll take a look at the animal kingdom . . . Up Close and Personal, too!

#25 - End of an Era

2011-04-28T21:27:00.001-07:00

The strobes are busy popping from ceilings in arenas all over the country these days, but that's not too surprising, the NBA Playoffs are here! And with every new post-season, I can't help but think back to a place where studio-quality color basketball photography (with slide film, no less!) was possible without any additional or fancy lighting.

The Milwaukee MECCA Arena had the best light in the NBA. Period. This tiny 10,000 seat venue opened in 1950 and was one of the first in the nation to accommodate broadcast television. It was home to the Milwaukee Bucks from 1968 to 1988, until they moved to the stylish 18,000 seat Bradley Center across the street. Both of these photos were taken May 6, 1988, during the Bucks' 105-99 game 4 first round playoff victory over the Atlanta Hawks -- it was the last time the Bucks ever played at the Arena.

Now back to the Arena's lighting . . . since the facility was designed for broadcast television, it had to be lit like a TV studio that's why you'll notice bright strips of lights running the length of the court in the top photo. The tungsten-balanced bulbs were aimed at a 45 degree angle to the hardwood and the audience/seating area remained dark, so the photos had a black background and great separation because usually the players were rim-lit. A color shot for publication back then meant loading transparency (or slide) film and the exposure with Kodak 160 ASA tungsten film (pushed 2 stops to 640 ASA) was 1/250th at f 2.8. The results were amazing!

May 6, 1988, was a significant date in the Badger State for another reason too. Supposedly, Wisconsin was the only place not represented in the book, A Day in the Life of America, so the State decided to produce their own version of the project. Hence, A Portrait of Everyday Life in Wisconsin, was born and documented on May 6th as well. This photo of Bucks' Larry Krystkowiak (42) battling the Hawks' Tree Rollins for a rebound was published in the book.

Shooting NBA basketball in color on slide film pushed 2 stops with available light and excellent results -- just another night at the office for me almost a quarter-century ago. So here's to the Milwaukee MECCA Arena, and the old schoolers out there - whether you took a jumpshot or a picture - but most of all, here's to the End of an Era.

#24 - Remembered

2011-03-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

The power of music is very remarkable . . . one sees Parkinsonian patients unable to walk, but able to dance perfectly well or patients almost unable to talk, who are able to sing perfectly well. - Dr. Oliver Sacks, at the Hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging

Music is the universal language. Few forms of communication cut through the clutter more effectively than a beautiful melody and rhythm. It's pure sensory stimulation and studies show music prompts positive responses due to the feelings of familiarity, predictability, and security that are associated with it. For most of us, music also means memories and now for some Alzheimer's patients, music can mean medicine too.

Music therapy is a powerful and non-threatening medium so unique outcomes are possible. In an adult day care setting, interventions can be designed to promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, enhance memory, and improve communication. And that's exactly what I witnessed (and photographed) during my one week three visit return this month to the Rosener House to continue working on my Alzheimer's photo-documentary project (see #22 - Forgotten).

Music therapy offers immediate and obvious responses. Even participants without a musical background can benefit from it. Research supports music therapy as a proven means for facilitating movement and overall physical rehabilitation, increasing motivation to engage in treatments, providing emotional support for participants and their families, and creating an outlet for expression of feelings. I agree. Once the music started at the center - whether it was recorded or live - everyone participated . . . singing, dancing, or simply listening.

Time flies while energy and happiness seem contagious during music therapy and for Alzheimer's patients, those are wonderful benefits. I'll bet some new memories are being made too.

When a couple danced together for the first time after five years of the husband's deterioration from Alzheimer's Disease, the wife said: "Thank you for helping us dance. It's the first time in three years that my husband held me in his arms." Tearfully, she said that she had missed him just holding her and that music therapy had made that possible.

(Note: Special thanks once again to Florence Marchick and the staff at the Rosener House Adult Day Center in Menlo Park, CA, for their continued support of my project. But most of all, thanks to my new friends - the participants - for the honor of meeting and photographing you.)

#23 - Return to Titletown

2011-02-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers were all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another. -Vince Lombardi

Shock and awe. Those are the words that best describe my reaction to the outcome of the spectacle I witnessed on TV February 6th. I shouldn't have been too surprised because this has happened many times before -- The Green Bay Packers are Champions of the National Football League!

For the 13th time in team history(most in the NFL), the Packers have brought the championship back to Green Bay. After their stunning 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Packers claimed their 4th Super Bowl win and combined with their 9 pre-Super Bowl crowns, it's no wonder this tiny Wisconsin city is called Titletown. But for over half of my lifetime, this was not the case.

1967. I was in kindergarten when the Packers won their second Super Bowl and it took nearly 30 years to recapture that glory. During that drought, I grew up to become a newsphotographer and began covering the Pack as a stringer for United Press International (UPI) in 1982. I roamed the Lambeau Field sidelines for a little more than a decade, one which will probably be remembered as the worst in the franchise's storied history. Heck, back then if the Packers struggled to an 8 and 8 record or beat the Bears at least once, the season was considered a huge success! I'll never forget the "Pack Sacks" -- modified paper grocery bags fans wore to conceal their identities at home games.

Green Bay lost and lost big. Their most glaring problem was the revolving door at the quarterback position -- after all, who recalls Randy Wright or Anthony Dilweg? Finally in the late 80's a glimmer of hope emerged for Packer Nation in Don Majkowski, aka Majik or the Majik Man. Having #7 behind center and super receiver Sterling Sharpe lining up beside him, the Pack consistently finished above .500 but the playoffs still eluded them. All that abruptly changed in 1992.

With new Head Coach Mike Holmgren still settling into his job, Majkowski suffered a serious leg injury on a late September afternoon and never returned to the line-up. I watched in amazement as an unknown, unproven back-up named Brett Favre stepped in and rallied the Packers to victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. I had the pleasure of photographing this phenom for only one more season, and the rest is really just modern football history!

Sadly I missed the opportunity to photograph the magical 1996 Super Bowl season and now the equally exciting 2010-11 campaign. But I'm still a die-hard fan and I do know this: both of those teams exemplified the qualities - loyalty, passion, teamwork - that a coaching legend demanded. So congratulations to Coach Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews, and the rest of the Green Bay Packers for capturing the Lombardi Trophy and let's not forget its long awaited Return to Titletown!

The Green Bay Packers never lost a football game. They just ran out of time. -Vince Lombardi

(Note: In the top photo -- why am I wearing an Oilers sweatshirt while covering a Packer game at Lambeau Field in 1986? Because I'd just moved back from Houston and jokingly posed for a photo to say hello to the photogs back there. I just needed to clarify my loyalty -- Go Pack Go!)

#22 - Forgotten

2011-01-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

There is nothing as lonely as fixing three meals a day for someone who can no longer talk to you. -a wife

Birthdays, vacations, a first love . . . fond memories. Addresses, names, a phone number . . . necessary ones. People with Alzheimer's lose both. Eventually, everything is Forgotten.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the irreversible, progressive death of brain cells that slowly destroys the memory and thinking skills of its victims. At first, individuals encounter minor lapses in memory and changes in personality leading to increasing trouble concentrating, organizing, and planning. Next, AD patients experience advanced identity loss and confusion and may be unable to learn new things, carry out tasks that involve multiple steps, or cope with new situations -- using a cell phone, getting dressed, or going out for dinner requires assistance now. By the final stage, Severe AD, individuals can no longer communicate and are totally dependent on others for their care, including eating and using the toilet. They can no longer smile, sit without support, or hold their heads up.

In 2010, it was estimated that 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer's Disease. In fact, 1 in 8 Americans over age 65 has AD and every 70 seconds someone in the United States develops it -- by mid-century that time will be every 33 seconds. Women are more likely to develop AD than men, and older African Americans are 2 times more likely to develop the disease than older whites. It's the seventh leading cause of death in our country and adds $172 billion in annual costs to our health care system. But there's another growing problem AD creates that's often overlooked.

People in the U.S. with AD required nearly 11 million unpaid caregivers. Since Alzheimer's patients live an average of 8 years after being diagnosed, 70 percent of them live at home so the majority of these caregivers are family members. Unfortunately, this subjects loved ones to high levels of stress and depression -- a recent study determined that the stress of providing home care to a family member with AD was so great that 72 percent of those caregivers experienced relief when the person died. 3 years ago my brother-in-law Robert was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and my sister Gail became his home caregiver . . . that's when all these statistics suddenly became relevant to me.

Robert, 61, was a highly successful Bay Area software engineer for 25 years until he became mysteriously unable to perform and lost his job in 2006. A year later he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and is currently at the moderate stage exhibiting memory loss and difficulty communicating and concentrating. His wife Gail learns providing his home care is a full time job so she must quit hers. They discover the Rosener House, an adult day service specifically designed for Alzheimer's patients offering music and other non-traditional therapies, and Robert begins to attend twice a week. My picture story, "Robert Visits Rosener," (excerpted here) chronicles a single visit there illustrating the diversity of the participants in the program and serves as the starting point for something very meaningful to me.

Recently I discovered the Alexia Foundation Photography Grant, a fully funded offer for a photographer to document a single subject for one year that fosters cultural understanding or world peace, and decided I needed to apply for it . . . and to record my family's story. If awarded the Alexia Grant, my goal is to create a greater worldwide awareness of Alzheimer's Disease by producing a photo essay illustrating the devastating effects, unseen costs, and reasons for hope in battling AD. I'd begin by documenting Robert's progressive struggle with advancing AD and the problems this creates for his family caregiver Gail. I'd cover the Rosener House and another center with a severe AD ward, investigating methods of therapy and care in comparison and contrast. I'd photograph a spectrum of Alzheimer's patients to prove the disease can strike anyone anytime. Finally I'd document the work at research centers where scientists are searching for a cure.

Alzheimer's patients lose everything, methodically and slowly, through no fault of their own. Their stories deserve to be recorded, shared, and understood . . . before they're Forgotten.

(Note: Special thanks to Florence Marchick and the staff at the Rosener House Adult Day Center in Menlo Park, CA for their assistance and cooperation in making this project possible. And this is only the beginning.)

Light Up My Life!

2010-12-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

Balance of light is the problem, not the amount. Balance between shadows and highlights determines where the emphasis goes in the picture . . . - Elliott Erwitt

Nothing lights up the lives of a young couple more than a newborn child. The same can be said for the proud grandfather too, so when my friend John Kazmierski asked me to photograph his daughter Katy's adorable son Jacob I knew the pictures had to be special.

As photographers we know everything we do begins with light. After all, that's what our craft is all about -- translated from the Latin, Photo means Light and Graph means To Write. We're trained in the studio to experiment with ratios and fiddle with multiple light schemes thinking this is it -- the more light you have, the better your results will be. Under most circumstances I completely agree but there are unique situations when less light can actually mean more.

Photographing children on location usually involves a cramped working space offering limited lighting options -- Jacob's shoot was no different. Setting up in a narrow vacant bedroom, its width prevented the placement of a second light but at least its depth provided some space for manuevering. One main light (an umbrella) is all I would use and it was positioned as far from Jacob as the walls would allow and set slightly left of center and pointed at mid-background on its lowest output. I'd shoot with a telephoto zoom lens at a low aperture and focus on tight portraits to maximize the light falling on Jacob's face. From John's report, I achieved success as Jacob, Katy, and father Chad Emmert all we're happy. Sometimes it doesn't take a lot to light up a life!

. . . success in photography, portraits especially, is dependent on being able to grasp those supreme instants which pass with the ticking of a clock, never to be duplicated - so light, balance - expression must be seen - felt as it were - in a flash, the mechanics and technique being so perfected in one as to be absolutely automatic. - Edward Weston

Note: Special thanks to friend Gary Zimmerman for painting and providing the gorgeous blue background for these portraits. Gary custom produces hand-painted photographic backgrounds and can create one to your personal color specifications. Inquiries for Gary Zimmerman Backgrounds can be directed here.

The Bland Side

2010-11-28T10:33:00.000-08:00

Football has been rousing emotions for hundreds of years in a variety of forms, all having in common the idea of moving a ball from one place to another with varying degrees of violence as the means of propulsion. - Heywood Hale Broun

I love covering football. On a crisp autumn afternoon, all I need to hear is the barking of play calls or the cracking of helmets and pads and if I'm standing on a sideline with a camera in my hand, I'm one happy photog! So when I discovered my good friend Kevin Beckstrom's son Ben played Saturdays for a local Boy's Club team, I jumped at the chance to shoot one of his games.

You see, normally when a newsphotographer is assigned to a contest their focus is pre-determined: either capture game action and features or gather stock images of individual players for file photos and story matchers. But when you volunteer your services, you're free to shoot whatever you want and I wanted to try something I've never had the opportunity to try before: to dedicate all my attention to only one player for an entire 4 quarters. Kevin said Ben played both sides of the ball -- he was an offensive and defensive lineman -- which made me think - how perfect - I'm about to record The Blind Side from both perspectives!

Very few athletes have the dedication or talent to be starters on the offense and defense of any team. So those that work both sides are usually designated as role or situational players meaning they only take the field for specific assignments or formations. Ben Beckstrom is such a lineman. And unfortunately today, there weren't many situations that required his presence.

The Bland Side -- that's the movie that should be made about situational lineman because most of their time is spent on the sideline . . . waiting and wishing their number is called. And although it's easy to become bored or disinterested during a particularly slow 2nd quarter, they must remain vigilant, alert and prepared to enter the game at any time. Situational lineman do the dirty work that doesn't appear on the final stats sheet and recognize that approval from their coach is the greatest praise they can receive. They are true team players.

I gained a new appreciation and respect for role players while following and photographing Ben along the sidelines during this game. After all, 3 or 4 players are usually credited with the success of a team when we know a victory requires the contributions of all 11. Today Ben's contribution seemed minimal but it mattered and his team won. Next week he may be called upon to do much more. Either way, Ben will be ready and will do his part. That's just how it is for players on The Bland Side and I believe all those guys deserve a big salute!

Special Note: Ben's Salem, OR, Boy's and Girl's Club team, The Chargers, defeated the Vikings earlier this month to be crowned champions of the Mt. Hood Bowl . . . and Ben was awarded with a game ball -- Way to Go!

You may also recognize the name of Ben's father, Kevin Beckstrom, for the amazing cartoons he's had posted here many times before. You can check out his fine work at: http://beckstrombuzz.blogspot.com/

Portfolio Update 2010

2010-10-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Another year has soared right by - which is only fitting I guess for an Aerial Photographer with the Oregon Department of Transportation - and I'm still amazed at the quality and quantity, not to mention the difficulty and diversity of work ODOT tackles every construction season. I say this because I document most of these projects, from groundbreaking to ribbon-cutting, enabling me to become intimately familiar with them. So as I do annually, here's a collection of my favorite images from the assignments I covered during the past 12 months:

A lone firefighter appears to be losing the battle with this flame-engulfed house when in reality his only task is to keep the fire from spreading to neighboring structures - it's meant to be burned to the ground - as part of a training and investigative exercise for the Forest Grove Fire and Rescue Unit.

Workers replacing the rail on Coos Bay's McCullough Bridge need not possess super-human strength, it only looks that way as the rail sections are "flown" in using a giant crane located beneath the bridge.

A massive circular re-bar cage waiting to be poured with concrete to become a column support, frames this worker as he passes through it at the Willamette River Bridge job site on Interstate 5 in Eugene.

To illustrate the hazards of working in confined spaces for the ODOT Safety Calendar, this attendant emerges from a shallow pit that's occasionally used to conduct truck inspections at a weigh station near Woodburn.

And finally, my best story of the year: while photographing the state's drawbridges for a poster to recognize them, I was disappointed to find a large brown blob ruining the left corner foreground of my shot of the South Slough Bridge in Charleston. But while pausing to consider my options, the blob suddenly moved and lifted its head -- it was a sealion! And after about a half hour wait with some gentle coaxing (I tossed seashells near it!), the creature crawled to shore and beached itself in the perfect position for my picture . . . and the drawbridge lifted at the same time too!

As Newsphotography:Exposed begins its 5th year of publication, I'll strive to offer images and information relevant to the photography courses I teach at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR, plus provide topics of interest to other newsphotographers as well. Thanks for visiting, I appreciate your continued interest and support!

#21 - Live like You ain't Afraid of Dyin'

2010-09-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

All the romance of trout fishing exists in the mind of the angler and is in no way shared by the fish. - Harold F. Blaisdell, The Philosophical Fisherman, 1969

We call it 5 Junipers Hole. It's a tiny oval-shaped pool at the end of a swift, shallow riffle that flows past a row of towering juniper trees about a 5 mile hike upstream from Page Springs Campground on the Donner und Blitzen River. It's a special spot . . . it's going to be my final resting place.
If there's a Heaven on Earth for me, it's the Blitzen River basin. Tucked away in a remote corner of Southeastern Oregon near Frenchglen, the Blitzen is a classic high desert freestone tailwater meandering through a narrow rugged canyon that's spotted with thick patches of fragrant sagebrush, thorny teasel, and bushy juniper trees. It's a natural, unspoiled paradise teeming with wildlife that features cold, clear waters supporting a healthy Redband Rainbow Trout population. In other words, it's a fly angler's dream come true!

So I couldn't wait until Labor Day Weekend for that's when my nephews, Michael (with long hair) and Adam Manke, agreed to meet me there for the first time. Pulling into Page Springs around dusk, I believe the boys were immediately impressed seeing 6 Whitetail Deer closely milling around our campsite. The natives turned out to be restless however, and took off with our tostada shells and a box of granola bars in the middle of the night, devouring the goods then quietly disappearing as quickly as the pair of shooting stars we saw streaking across the ebony sky over our campfire.

As the sun rose, the river level continued to fall, so the angling was going to be tough but the 5 mile hike in front of us seemed like it was going to be easy. Crossing fields, marshes, meadows, rocks, and river, Michael, Adam, and I strolled upstream over dry dirt, moist mud, tall grass, slick boulders, and pure water amazed at the diversity of insect life around us. There were butterflies, caterpillars, and dragonflies -- of all varieties, but most importantly there were grasshoppers and they were abundant and active and the first dry fly pattern out of our boxes too. Sadly as predicted though, the fishing was tough - only a half dozen 8 to 10 inchers, and a multitude of missed strikes - but later that evening, our barbequed chicken dinner was tender and delicious and the perfect meal to end the near-perfect day. (Note: the sauteed zucchini was excellent too, thanks Chef Michael!).

Day two brought cooler temperatures (still in the mid-80's), a few more clouds, less hoppers, and changes in our strategy and my nephew's outfits. Apparently my wading shoes were too small for Michael and too big for Adam so they happily switched to their sneakers, successfully avoiding another blister on the bottom of their feet or two. Unfortunately our change in tactics - indicator nymphing with my top secret caddis pattern - didn't fare as well although both Michael and Adam finally landed a fish. There was one minor tragedy too, involving Michael, a big snake, myself, and my camera. It's not what you think! I simply slipped on a rock attempting to turn too fast to photograph Michael with a 3 foot snake dangling from his hand ("Uncle Gary, look what I caught!" he shouted) and fell into the river on my clumsy butt, instantly filling my hip boots and my camera with clean, fresh Harney County water! I missed the picture then I lost my first digital SLR to boot! I tried CPR but it was too late. At least I salvaged the card and my entire photo essay up to the drowning, and after some sober reflection, I can't think of a more appropriate place now for the camera to have died.

Live like You ain't Afraid of Dyin' -- that was the message on the old pick-up truck's bumper I was forced to follow down the highway on my way to the Blitzen. Since then, it's become my mantra. So when I die, why do I want to be cremated and have my nephews spread my ashes at 5 Junipers Hole? Because there's no place on this planet where I feel more alive.

SPECIAL BONUS FEATURE!
Thanks to the miracle of modern multi-media technology and the skill of my friend Kevin Beckstrom at using it, we're pleased to present a Windows Movie of the entire photo essay -- you can view it by clicking this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h__6Laf4nfw

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but obtainable. A perpetual series of occasions for hope. - John Buchan

Thanks again to graphic artist friend Kevin Beckstrom for creating the video: 5 Junipers Hole. Please check out his daily updated, fine collection of cartoons and illustrations here:

http://beckstrombuzz.blogspot.com/

Special thanks to my nephews Michael and Adam Manke for camping, fishing, and sharing the Blitzen River experience with me. But most of all, thanks in advance for doing what you promised to do -- tight lines, Uncle Gary

#20 - Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs! Part 2

2010-08-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

"And she said, 'Let's put up a sign, let's put up a sign on the highway and, you know, try to encourage them to come into our business.' And he said, 'Well what should we advertise?' And she said, ' Let's advertise for the ice water. It's 110 degrees in the shade and we've got ice and we've got water and gosh maybe that'll get them in the door.' Well my grandfather thought that was a little corny but it just might work." - Ted Hustead, grandson of founder Ted Hustead, explaining the history of the Wall Drug signs

Free ice water. Actually a hand-painted wooden sign offering it to thirsty travelers -- that was the simple yet brilliant marketing strategy Ted and Dorothy Hustead used to turn a $3000 investment in a small town pharmacy and sundry outlet into a multi-million dollar retail entertainment business called the Wall Drug Store.

Founded in 1931 in the tiny western South Dakota town of Wall, the Wall Drug Store has developed into a 76,000 square foot tourist attraction that draws up to 20,000 people a day. Visitors from all over the world flock to the 22 store complex to shop for western items, Native American artifacts, fine art, decorative accessories, and gifts and collectibles. Guests are still treated to free ice water and coffee at 5 cents a cup . . . and to think this all began with just a carefully placed highway sign or two!

Wall Drug founder Ted Hustead was a marketing master. He realized a successful campaign focused on the 4 P's: the product, the price, the promotion, and the place or distribution channel. His product was ice water, the price was free, the promotion was roadside advertising, and the distribution channel - the place - was his drugstore. He was also savvy enough to recognize that if a few signs were effective right beside town, think of how valuable they'd be if he put them up in all the neighboring states too!

The Wall Drug sign collection numbered 280 at its peak, but in 1965, the Highway Beautification Act threatened the very heart of Hustead's enterprise. Outdoor advertising along the interstate was to be regulated and those billboards that were never awarded permits were to be removed. Wall Drug stood to lose 240 of its road signs under the act, but fortunately funds that were earmarked to compensate sign owners ran out in 1983 and the law was never enforced.

Photographing all the westbound Wall Drug signs on Interstate 90 proved to be a daunting task. Sunrise came early the morning of July 7, 2010, and I was greeted by a line of fast moving thunderstorms while departing from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the start of my journey. Luckily the showers were brief and soon I was experiencing classic midwestern summer weather: sunny, hot, and humid conditions. Unlike the eastbound leg of the shoot, the signs seemed to appear quickly and were more densely packed together, not allowing much time for reflection or study, just documentation. But the slogans were more interesting and so was the artwork, and I found myself daydreaming about my family's vacation here many years ago. My goal was to reach the Wall Drug Store before noon with all the signs safely filed on my camera's card (again, to avoid any backlit situations), but given the fact there were 96 of them out there, I settled for fill flashing the remaining few and a late lunch/early dinner at the 500 seat cafe. So that's my story and now there's only one question left to ask: Have You Dug Wall Drug?

(Note: Special thanks once again to Kevin Beckstrom, master cartoonist and my good friend, for his wonderful contribution to this month's post. Please check out more of his magnificent work at: http://beckstrombuzz.blogspot.com/)

#20 - Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs! Part 1

2010-07-29T19:22:00.000-07:00

Dad always insisted on painted wood. Painted wood isn't as fun to shoot as enameled metal. - Bill Hustead on his father (and founder) Ted's material preference for their Wall Drug highway signs

I learned a valuable lesson in effective advertising at a very early age. Staring out our Oldsmobile's big rear window watching the countryside fly by, I was with my family cruising westbound on Interstate 90 to South Dakota for our annual summer vacation. Motoring through Minnesota I saw the first one: Wall Drug Only 355 Miles. Curious about the sign, I asked my dad, "What's Wall Drug?". "I don't know," he said, "but they're not wasting any time advertising for it!". Little did we know . . .

The next sign was about 30 miles down the road - Since 1931, A South Dakota Must See, Wall Drug - and the further from home we traveled, the closer the signs were spaced. As Told by ABC Good Morning America, Wall Drug. Sheriff on Duty, Wall Drug. Save Energy, Stop at Wall Drug. Have You Dug Wall Drug? Mile after mile of mile after mile, the suspense kept building and so did our excitement. Do Lunch or Be Lunch, Wall Drug. Badlands Then Wall Drug. Great Hot Coffee 5 Cents, Wall Drug. 6 Foot Rabbit, Wall Drug. What? Finally my sisters and I couldn't stand it anymore and shouted in unison, "MOM AND DAD, CAN WE SEE WALL DRUG?".

Back then I never bothered to count all the signs, I only knew there were a lot of them and that that constant barrage of advertising worked like a series of magnets to attract my family to Wall Drug. Even now the power of those simple painted wooden signs amazes me, so that's why this year I decided to photograph all of them for my second Summer Photo Project.

Planning for the project was easy, it really only required two things: decent weather -- or at least good light, and the stamina (and time!) to stop, stand, stretch, and shoot every one of those crazy signs! I would cover all the eastbound I-90 signs on my way to Wisconsin (starting in Wyoming), and all of their westbound counterparts on my way back to Oregon (starting in Minnesota). For the eastbound shoot, I had to wait until after Noon to start working (so the signs weren't backlit), and the westbound signs mandated the opposite approach, rising and shining and shooting at 6:00 a.m. I'd need to wear a safety vest since I was working on federal highway and parking on the shoulder to access the right of way so I could study and create a unique shot of each sign . . . that was my goal.

June 18th was a gorgeous day -- breezy, dry, mild, and sunny -- and I happily snapped the first Wyoming sign (Silver Dollar Display, Wall Drug) shortly before 1:00 p.m. For the next 8 plus hours, I photographed 69 signs! Towards the end I felt like a mail carrier running a rural route -- crawling on the shoulder, emergency lights flashing, stopping frequently, and moving slowly! I captured the last eastbound sign in Wall, SD, just after 9:00 p.m. - in the darkness - the perfect ending for the first half of my journey. The westbound shoot was a bit more challenging and I'll detail that and the history of Wall Drug too, next time . . .

My suggestion for the next new sign: As posted on Newsphotography:Exposed, Wall Drug

#19 - Calling Elvis, Part 2

2010-06-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

I have no use for bodyguards, but I have very specific use for two highly trained certified public accountants. - Elvis Presley

He was on his way to the dinner show at Caeser's Palace in Lake Tahoe in 1973 when the lobby security cameras gave him away. After the show, he was greeted by 3 huge bodyguards insisting his presence was requested in the dressing room by the man who just left the stage. He nervously accepted the invitation unaware of the profound effect that chance meeting would have later in his life.

When Joe Mendonca met Elvis Presley, the first question the "King" asked was: "How have you been Jesse?". Apparently Presley was amazed at Mendonca's resemblance to his deceased twin brother but even more surprising was Mendonca's likeness to Presley himself. So naturally the two hit it off and soon Mendonca was astonished to find he was Presley's personal guest for the entire weekend at his Caeser's 25th floor suite!

Now over a quarter of a century later, in 2001 to be exact, the Mendonca/Presley connection has come to life again. That was the year Mendonca dressed and performed as Elvis for a church Christmas program, and the ultra-dedicated fan hasn't been able to stop impersonating the "King" ever since!

Mendonca has performed as Elvis over 50 times the past 9 years. This includes competing in 5 Tribute Artists Contests, the first one held in Memphis in 2002 where 106 performers gathered to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Presley's death. Mendonca finished in 26th place and was interviewed on CNN -- quite an accomplishment for a senior citizen singing in a skin-tight neon jumpsuit on national TV for the first time!

As one of only a handful of seniors performing on the Elvis Tribute Tour, Mendonca sees himself surrounded by younger and more agile bodies. This makes him feel great, excited, and nervous all at the same time when he's on stage. But once, at the Majestic Theater in Corvallis, OR, an appreciative fan threw her panties (or as Joe said, "Underwear.") on stage -- this just made him feel nervous.

Mendonca's favorite Elvis song to listen to is Give me a Mountain and his favorite to perform is My Way. His advice to future Elvis Tribute Artists: "Be yourself, practice a lot, watch a lot of Elvis videos, and take it from there." In other words, just do it your way!

(Note: This picture story was taken during Mendonca's latest competition, the 2010 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Regionals held at Chinook Winds Casino Resort, Lincoln City, OR, in April.)

I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to. - Elvis Presley

#19 - Calling Elvis, Part 1

2010-05-20T18:24:00.001-07:00

The first time that I appeared on stage, it scared me to death. I really didn't know what all the yelling was about. I didn't realize that my body was moving. It's a natural thing to me. So to the manager backstage I said, "What'd I do? What'd I do?". And he said, "Whatever it is, go back and do it again." - Elvis Presley

His natural hair color was blond but he dyed it black, once even using shoe polish to do it himself. He dressed in bejewelled jumpsuits that weighed more than 25 pounds and sometimes he'd sign autographs on fans' breasts -- first name on the left, last name on the right. In 1956 after his first television appearance, he created such a national stir that parents destroyed turntables and locked-up his albums. In 1965 he talked about entering a monastery, but fortunately for all of us that never happened.

Few performers have captivated audiences, mesmerized the public, or permeated pop culture like Elvis Presley, and his legacy continues to thrive even now decades after his untimely death in 1977. Ironically it's been estimated that there were about 170 Presley impersonators the year he died, some say there are over 250,000 today (and they're referred to as tribute artists)! Since 2007, an annual event called the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest has attracted some of the best in the business and much to my amazement a preliminary round of the competition was being held at nearby Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, OR, on Saturday, April 24, 2010 -- the same date as my Chemeketa Community College Portrait-Personality photo class field trip! So the stage was set, it was just a matter of securing access or credentials for all 5 of us to cover the event . . . and I did!

Kurt Brown Productions and Chinook Winds Casino Resort generously allowed the class complete and unrestricted access to photograph the show including the dressing area, backstage, sidestage, and directly in front of the performers -- it was wonderful! Now add to that a low white ceiling venue-wide and the ability to use bounce flash, and you can imagine we all were able to make some exceptional concert images! My goal was to produce a photo essay and a separate picture story from the event (Note: These images are part of that essay, the picture story is next month's post), and the class's assignment was to produce a single "best" photo for our follow-up critique -- I know they had a difficult time choosing just one shot!

The Oregon version of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest offered 17 performers that ran the spectrum in terms of age and ethnicity, height and weight, and performing style and song choice. All the artists sang one song and were scored by judges using a 10 point scale following these 4 categories: vocals, appearance, stage presence, and overall performance. Winners of the preliminary rounds will be invited to compete in the semis and finals during Elvis Week 2010, August 12 and 13, in Memphis, TN. Today's competition was pretty fierce and lasted over 2 hours and from the looks of the artists to the sounds of the audience, no one in the arena was disappointed.

And so on the year that would've been his 75th, once again we honor the man that loved fried peanut butter and sliced banana sandwiches made with a full stick of butter. Elvis always believed he would die in his 40's, sadly I don't think he needed a psychic to come to that conclusion. To be continued . . .

(Note: Special thanks to Heather Hatton of Chinook Winds Casino Resort and Kurt Brown of Kurt Brown Productions as well as all the Elvis tribute artists for making this photo project possible.)

Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine. - Elvis Presley

Covering the Bases

2010-04-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer. - Ted Williams

Like many enterprising PJ students before me, I spent a student loan check on something other than tuition. It was 1982 and a semester of study at the University of Wisconsin cost five hundred dollars so I figured I had at least a Grand to burn! I'd been struggling covering major league baseball with a 500mm f5.6 mirror lens -- the optical equivalent of a coffee can packed with a little glass and a few reflective filters -- and was constantly reminded that there were no excuses for not having the proper equipment. So I dropped my loan on a 300mm f2.8 and a set of extenders then promptly cut class to make a mad dash to the ballpark to test it out!

Looking back I believe that that long lens was the single most important equipment purchase I ever made, for without it, there's just no way I would've been able to capture the images or cover the events it allowed me to. But over the years I've learned to get by on less, a habit that became especially critical when I had to invest in a brand new digital system! While it's true that there is no substitute for fast and long glass in sports photography, you can still get the job done without it if you remain aware of your equipment's limitations and maximize the lenses you have.

To prove my point, I covered the Chemeketa vs. Clackamas Community College baseball game (the field trip for my photo class) with an 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens. Obviously the access and restrictions at Chemeketa are considerably less problematic than at a major league game, so this was the perfect opportunity to apply my theory.

The gameplan was simple: concentrate my efforts on the areas I tend to avoid when covering the game with an extreme telephoto lens like first base, third base, and the dugouts, and pay more attention to features and other non-action related photos. Ironically this particular game was devoid of action -- except for the rain delay, it was a pitcher's duel -- so the best images came from the infield anyway. The picture that told the story of this game was the winning pitcher and the coach and weather shots served to round it out, and they all were taken with that 18-135mm lens!

Yes, baseball can be effectively photographed without an obscenely long lens IF you always remember to completely fill the frame with the lens you're using, and except for second, to focus on Covering the Bases!

(Note: for a more detailed discussion of baseball coverage, please see First or Third? in the March 2009 Archive).

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical. -Yogi Berra

6 Revisited

2010-03-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

If photography is about anything it is the deep surprise of living in the ordinary world. By virtue of walking through the fields and streets of this planet, focusing on the small and the unexpected, conferring attention on the helter-skelter juxtapositions of time and space, the photographer reminds us that the actual world is full of surprise, which is precisely what most people, imprisoned in habit and devoted to the familiar, tend to forget. - John Rosenthal

The world is one great big photo opportunity. Anywhere you go and everywhere you look, beautiful images abound it's simply a matter of recognizing and recording them. In order to do this effectively, I believe it's worthwhile to periodically review the building blocks of all visual communication: the 6 Elements of Design.

Line, Shape, Space, Value, Color, and Texture -- these are the elements that combine to create the composition, hence the painting, or the sculpture, or any work of art. (Note: for a more informative discussion of the 6 Elements of Design, please see 6 and 15 in the November 2006 archive). As photographers we often become obsessed with capturing "The Moment" while carelessly overlooking all the details that collectively comprise an interesting photograph. If you feel you're in a creative rut and want to challenge the way you're "seeing" or refresh your point of view, try this simple exercise.

Choose any location outdoors. You have 15 minutes and 3 frames (exposures) to produce one solid picture featuring at least one dominant element of design. This activity was designed for Sean McGeeney's 3rd grade class at Hopkins Elementary School in Sherwood, Oregon, after I gave a presentation on the 6 Elements for their yearly art fair project. Using only the playground and adjacent courtyard as their photo sites, the students excelled -- their vision was amazing! I'm now incorporating this exercise into many of my own photo classes.

So, with some time on my hands during a recent fishing (not catching!) trip to the Crooked River, I decided to take the test. Focusing on an orange moss-covered boulder, I quickly discovered a Space of Value bursting with Colors, Lines, Shapes, and Textures offering an abundance of photographic possibilities. I only wished I had more time and maybe a few more frames . . . and I was a third grader again!

. . . a good photograph must have the element of good design: everything within the photograph has to be essential. It's never like a painting where you can have it perfect. It shouldn't be absolutely perfect. That would kill it. - Leonard Freed

(In Defense of) The Armpit Shot

2010-02-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious. - Charles Shackleford
They've been around ever since Naismith hung the peach basket and now that we're in the thick of another basketball season it's going to be difficult for fans to avoid them. Just flip to the front of your daily paper's sports section and there they'll be--plastered across the page in living color or glorious black and white with muscles bulging and mouths agape, the sports photog's blessing (on deadline) or curse (any other time it seems!)--The Armpit Shot.

Whether it was high school, college, or the NBA, I've covered a lot of basketball games and early in my career I was continually reminded to skip the armpit shots. They're the cliche'--roundball's answer to second base--that happen a million times a game. A good sports photo, I was told, had two faces and a ball; there was never any mention of the 'pits. But looking back, I wonder what I would've done only about a million times without them.

Like in 1987 at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, IN, when a Brazilian defender swatted the ball from the hands of an unsuspecting Virgin Islands' player, momentarily disguising his identity and providing the most interesting and published image from the tournament.

Sometimes four armpits can be better than two, just ask the Bucks' Lee Mayberry and Derek Strong (right) as they muscle the Bulls' Scottie Pippen out of bounds. But the Spurs' David Robinson probably won't buy that, he knows two is all it takes to hammer the rock home even if he's too bashful to show it.

And let's not forget about jubilation photos too--what players celebrate with their arms at their sides??? I tell my photo classes that basketball is a vertical sport--photographed and played up and down not back and forth--and like it or not, the player's arms operate the same way. So armpit shots by definition are totally unavoidable and really just a consequence of the game. Once you accept and embrace this simple fact you may never cover or watch a basketball game the same again.

When you're playing against a stacked deck, compete even harder. Show the world how much you'll fight for the winner's circle. If you do, someday the cellophane will crackle off a fresh pack, one that belongs to you, and the cards will be stacked in your favor. - Pat Riley

Building a Bailey Bridge

2010-01-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

When a culvert failed over Boulder Creek near Beaver, Oregon, it didn't take long for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Tillamook County Public Works to mobilize and address the problem. The solution? A Bailey Bridge.

A Bailey Bridge is a pre-fabricated truss style structure that is built on-site - one section at a time - and slid across a series of rollers spanning the crossing and then jacked down into place on top of the bearings on the other side. The job was completed in about a week and I was on hand from start to finish to photograph its progress and to produce a photo essay chronicling the entire construction process.

Photo essays, layouts, and picture stories allow photographers the opportunity to document and explore a single subject in depth. In Visual Impact in Print, Gerald Hurley and Angus McDougall explain: "If picture pages are to excel, the editor must graduate from single-picture thinking; editor and photographer together must plan assignments and think pictures; the photographer must be perceptive and must have time to probe. Pictures must be edited for variety and impact. And the page must "Read"."

Multiple picture packages are typically distinguished by the size and depth of the project. A Photo Essay is a set of 20 or more images collectively representing a unifying theme (e.g., Fly Fishing in Oregon), while a Photo Layout is a set of 10-20 images that represent an aspect of a unifying theme (e.g., Dry Fly Fishing in Oregon). Finally, a Picture Story is a set of 10 or fewer images that represent a specific subject that is drawn from an aspect of a unifying theme (e.g., Dry Fly Fishing for Rainbow Trout in Oregon). Note how each example is simply a further refinement or narrowing of focus in subject matter and scope.

But regardless of which picture package you plan to pursue, remember all photo stories share a few common elements. The classic formula calls for a good variety of horizontal and vertical images where one particular photo dominates the layout and a wide angle scene-setter, telephoto portrait, and a tight, macro or detail shot round out the story.

This picture story was derived from a photo essay of 100 images and edited to show the construction process as clearly and simply as possible. Successful and succinct communication, that's the goal of any picture story so don't be afraid to experiment, observe, and reflect while you record -- build your story like you're Building a Bailey Bridge!

(Note: Once again, special thanks to ODOT PIO Kevin Beckstrom for his encouragement and support and not to mention superb picture editing skills! You can see his blog and wonderful collection of cartoons here: http://beckstrombuzz.blogspot.com/)

Tackling Terrorism

2009-12-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

Terrorism is the tactic of demanding the impossible, and demanding it at gunpoint.
- Christopher Hitchens, Terrorism: Notes Toward a Definition

The passengers remained motionless and eerily quiet until the SWAT team burst into the bus. "Freeze! Put your hands on your head!", the commander ordered, his gun drawn and pointed directly at me. "Really?" I asked, nervously awaiting his response. He shook his head no so I continued snapping pictures amazed at the scene unfolding before me.

So what would happen if a terrorist hijacked a city bus and took all the passengers hostage? This was the situation facing the Marion County Sheriff's Office SWAT team as they demonstrated how to safely restore order after experiencing just such an attack. The presentation was part of the Public Transit Conference held in Seaside, OR, this year, and as the sole photographer there I was invited inside the bus to photograph the drama (and I was able to bounce a flash too!).

In our scenario, a lone gunman seizes control of a public bus and uses the passengers as ransom for his demands. Once the SWAT team arrives on the scene, their first priority is to establish communication with the terrorist and attempt to negotiate with them. If these efforts fail or if the threat of violence escalates, the suspect is "taken out", usually by a sniper's bullet. At that point, the SWAT team surrounds the vehicle, forces entry into it, unloads all the passengers, and sweeps the area for explosives or weapons. All the passengers remain in custody until it's determined they weren't involved in the crime -- usually terrorists don't work alone.

Considering the gravity of the situation and everything that needed to be done, the SWAT team members responded efficiently, effectively, precisely, and professionally. In fact my only complaint is that the whole experience raced by too fast, as there were many meaningful moments to record and I had a back row seat to do it from!

Fighting terrorism is like being a goalkeeper. You can make a hundred brilliant saves but the only shot that people remember is the one that gets past you.

- Paul Wilkinson, London Daily Telegraph

Riding The Storm Out

2009-11-27T09:56:00.000-08:00

The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does. - Phil Woosnam, Welsh soccer player and manager

It's called Oregon sunshine and we see a lot of it here starting in November. Saturday the seventh was no exception. Forty degrees, gusty West winds, and plenty of . . . rain! Not drizzle, not mist, not even showers -- just a steady, soaking, stinking downpour! Normally this wouldn't matter, I'd just hide indoors, but today was different, shelter and warmth would have to wait.

Soccer is played despite the weather and newsphotographers must endure the same conditions as the players. Circling this date on the calendar weeks earlier, I had a hunch it might be wet but it was the weekend for my sports photography class field trip so we didn't have a choice. Ironically we were covering "The Storm".

The Chemeketa Community College men's soccer team, The Storm, has been in existance for only two seasons but they have fought their way to the NorthWest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Championships both years (finishing second in 2008, and third this year). Today's game was the regular season finale and The Storm splashed to a 9-1 victory over Pierce College and my Focus on Photography Series sports workshop class was there to record the match.

In the class I stress that you take what the game gives you. This time we were forced to work at 1600 ASA with shutter speeds ranging from 1/250th to 1/320th of a second mainly because most of us were using f4.5 lenses . . . with our cameras covered in plastic bags, no less! But that's no excuse for losing sight of why you're there.

Sports photography has four objectives--the decisive moment, peak action, jubilation, or dejection--and four deciding factors--timing, focus, composition, and knowledge(of the sport and its players)--and these points must remain the focus. Moreover, I remind the students to keep an eye out for detail images (e.g., a mud covered face, soggy shoes, etc.) as these are the photos that really tell the story.

Shooting sports in inclement weather can be challenging and uncomfortable, but great moments are there for the taking . . . it's just a matter of Riding The Storm Out!

(Note: Chemeketa Community College Winter 2010 term information and enrollment procedures for my courses -- The Focus on Photography Series and Newsphotography:Exposed -- can be found in the Community Education catalog available for download here: http://www.chemeketa.edu/catalog/schedule/index.html)

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. -Pele'

Portfolio Update 2009

2009-10-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

What a year! With our country's new administration came the introduction of the stimulus program and things for the photo/video crew at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) have been crazy ever since! From bridge repairs to paving projects and bike/pedestrian improvements to light rail extensions, ODOT has been one of the nation's leaders in putting people back to work. As one of ODOT's aerial photographers, my workload has increased as well but the construction season offered many opportunities for documenting interesting projects (a select few will be highlighted here soon). On a more personal level, the most significant event occurred early in the year and it's eloquently described below by ODOT Public Affairs Specialist Sally Ridenour for Inside ODOT:

When your work is recognized and praised by the best in the industry, that’s saying something. People are saying a lot about the work of ODOT Photographer Gary Weber.

Weber, a six-year employee in the Photo-Video Services Unit, received two awards in the 2009 American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials "Faces of Transportation" photography contest. He won first place in the "Celebrating Achievements" category and first place in the "Connecting Communities" category.

The AASHTO contest, held annually, recognizes achievements in transportation related photography that represents the positive effects of transportation on individuals and/or communities. Karen Jones-Jackley, communications manager with Major Projects Branch, nominated Weber’s photos from the OTIA III Elk Creek Tunnel Bridge project on Oregon 38 near Elkton for the contest. Entries were received from almost every state and Weber won two of the six categories.

The "Celebrating Achievements" photo, a picture of a worker raising the American flag at the opening of the Elk Creek Tunnel Bridge, was praised for "its striking simplicity and strong theme." The "Connecting Communities" photo, showing ODOT contractor Slayden Construction’s Larry Gesher accepting an award from a young Elkton resident, was honored for its "strong sense of community."

Contest judge Allen Appel, a nationally recognized photographer and author, gave Weber’s photos high marks for composition and subject matter.

As a former photojournalist, Weber likes to approach his work like he’s covering a news story.

"The project itself was very interesting to cover," said Weber. "It lent itself to great photos."

In a congratulatory note to Weber, Director Matt Garrett praised Weber’s consistent quality work on behalf of the agency.

"Your work reflects your commitment to providing a glimpse of the real people and places that make ODOT stand out among other transportation agencies," Garrett said.

In his spare time, Weber teaches photography classes and often tells his students, "You’re only as good as your last picture." Well, judging from these awards, Weber must be pretty good!

As my photo blog enters its fourth year of publication, I'll continue to post stories and topics that are relevant to contemporary newsphotographers as well as articles and examples to supplement the courses (Newsphotography:Exposed and the Focus on Photography Series) I teach at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR. Thanks as always for your interest!

P.S. Special thanks to ODOT Public Information Officers Kevin Beckstrom and Sally Ridenour for all their help and support!

Home Waters

2009-09-28T21:57:00.000-07:00

There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home. - Roderick Haig-Brown

As another glorious fishing season (and summer!) abruptly comes to a close, I find myself dreaming of Home Waters and what these words really mean. To the average fly angler, it's the lake, ocean, pond, creek, river, or stream closest to where you live. Others say it's the spot you fish the most or simply love the best. For me, it's something completely different.

You see, my goal of owning riverfront property is on the back burner, again, and there's really no place nearby that I fish. Besides I seem to frequent all my favorite holes equally, so where would this leave me? And then there's the old adage - Match the Hatch - but in order to do that, you have to catch it first so that's why you'll find me on specific waters at specific times. This season my odyssey began in late May on the Deschutes River at Warm Springs, Oregon.

Just like clockwork every Memorial Day the Deschutes warms to 52 degrees and suddenly the magic happens! The river explodes with life, featuring the annual appearance of the giant Salmonfly, and for the next few weeks, up until Father's Day, the wary redside rainbow trout let their guard down to gorge on these tasty insects. Unfortunately we had a cold, wet late spring this year killing the hatch early, leaving me to wonder what might have been as I stared at the lonely canyon through my rain-covered windshield.

Once the summer finally arrived, it was time for my vacation and the journey back to my birthplace of Wisconsin to toss glittery girdle bugs from a belly boat at the bucket-mouth bass that dwell in the warm water environs, like Golden Lake, that abound there. For a couple of weeks this kind of fishing was fine, but soon I longed for the Pacific Northwest and the tug of a true trout at the end of my line.

It's July and the soft warm breeze and the break of sunshine in the white puffy clouds above my campsite remind me of only one thing:

now's the time to be lost in the lily pads, casting long, sleek bright blue dry flies at the leaping, land-locked Atlantic Salmon of Hosmer Lake near Bend, Oregon.

With the snow-capped mountains as a backdrop and the abundance of damselfly adults fluttering around the channels, it's easy to lose track of time and become oblivious to the

not so obvious creatures you're sharing all this natural wonder and spectacular angling with.

When the dandelions fade to seed and the days slowly begin to shorten, August turns to September and . . .

summer's last hurrah and hatch peaks on the Donner und Blitzen River near Frenchglen, Oregon. No, it's not the bountiful dragonfly but the elusive grasshopper - the bug signaling the onset of autumn - that takes centerstage here right now.

This year, the river level was low and the fishing poor, but even after hiking ten miles through the narrow and winding canyon, I can honestly say I'm richer for the experience. So I hope you understand now that regardless of the proximity, loyality, or frequency a certain fishing hole might offer, this is how I define Home Waters: it's any place where your mind is free to wander and you can't imagine your life without . . . just like home.

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

- Henry David Thoreau

(Photo Note: I strive to shoot a picture story of every fishing trip I take so that at the end of the season I'll have a photo essay or layout chronicling the entire year. The 2009 season offered fewer angling opportunities than most, (I worked a lot of overtime this summer!), but regardless of that, these images represent part of that yearly essay. Picture stories, essays, and layouts will be discussed more in detail here at a later date.)

#18 - The Bridges of Madison County, Part 2

2009-08-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

When the cloud of dust off the winding gravel road finally started to settle, I stared straight ahead through my dirty windshield and witnessed an amazing sight: two young lovers sharing an innocent kiss safe within the shelter of the Hogback Covered Bridge. Were they stealing a scene from the film? Perhaps, although this particular site wasn't featured in The Bridges of Madison County and besides that really didn't matter now because I just missed The Defining Moment of my photo essay! By the time I scrambled from my truck and lifted my camera, the image was gone, the couple was leaving, and all I could do was capture their final brief conversation.

Strolling inside the deserted bridge I marveled at the craftsmanship and detail of its woodwork, and paused to imagine all the effort and time that went into its construction. Back outside, I tried to picture the Hogback during the different seasons and I wondered how many citizens casually crossed it back when this bridge was still a part of a viable route.

But all of my positive energy and thoughts quickly vanished when the vision of the missed "perfect shot" reappeared in my mind. Maybe I'll get a second chance? There's still one covered bridge left to shoot and it's less than 10 miles of bad road away.

Rumbling past the barns, the clotheslines, the hogs, and the silos, I began to feel somewhat strange and the damp, rich, thick air only served to remind me of all these things once more. Just as the heat and the light became practically overpowering, I reached my destination, the Holliwell Covered Bridge.

The Holliwell, at 122 feet, is Madison County's longest remaining covered bridge and was featured in the book and movie. Not a soul was in sight as I passed through it, once again admiring its blend of form and function but while still dwelling on the Hogback photo op I botched earlier. Seeking some relief from the weather and a different perspective to work from, I hiked downstream and that's when it happened: after sliding down a steep muddy bank and nearly plunging into the Middle River just to get my picture, all the sights, smells, and sounds coalesced and I realized it wasn't moments I was missing, it was Iowa! The same state I lived in and loathed over a quarter century ago, I suddenly longed for today. Maybe it's the people, the places, or simply the times I took for granted, regret, and salute right now. Knowing how Robert Kincaid must feel helps me to understand that bridges can lead to rediscovery and time can lead to reconcilliation.

The old dreams

were good dreams,

They didn't work out but,

I'm glad I had them. - Clint Eastwood as Robert Kincaid in The Bridges of Madison County

P.S. This one's for you, Pal.

#18 - The Bridges of Madison County, Part 1

2009-07-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

I don't think obsessions have reasons, that's why they're obsessions. - Clint Eastwood as Robert Kincaid in The Bridges of Madison County

96 degrees, 90 percent humidity, blazing sunshine, light winds -- a classic summer afternoon in rural Iowa. Hardly ideal conditions for cruising the cornfield-covered countryside in a pick-up truck without air conditioning, but then I was fulfilling a dream (an obsession really) to find and photograph something very special: The Bridges of Madison County.

Popularized by the Robert James Waller novel and the 1995 movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County still exist - mostly in their original locations - near Winterset, Iowa. 19 covered bridges were built in Madison County in the late 19th century, but only 6 remain today. They were originally covered to help protect the large flooring timbers of the deck which were much more expensive to replace than the lumber used for the sides and roof. All of these bridges are aesthetically appealing, architecturally sound, and historically accurate, but that's not why they're meaningful to me.

In the story, when National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid (Eastwood) stops at Francesca Johnson's (Streep) farmhouse to ask for directions to the Roseman Bridge, little did they know that simple wooden structure linking roads would eventually link their hearts too. It's where they spent their first afternoon, where Francesca left the note inviting Robert to dinner, and in the end, it was the only place where they could finally be together. Clearly the Roseman was a metaphor for their love, and being a lover of the story, clearly it was the best spot to begin my photo essay project. Something surprising happened along the way, but more on that later . . . to be continued.

Note: This post marks the first installment of my annual Summer Photo Project, an essay or layout taken during my summer vacation of a person, place, or thing that had some significance in my life. Here's to my favorite season, here's to an endless summer . . .

Semper Fi

2009-06-28T18:00:00.001-07:00

Photoshop is not a verb. It is a noun. It is the means to an end, not the end itself. -Vincent Versace

Semper Fi -- "Always Faithful" -- that's the motto of the United States Marine Corps. Newsphotographers should adopt it too.

The monitor and mouse have replaced the easel and enlarger in today's technology dominated world leading to serious ethical questions involving image processing. As journalists we believe the guiding principle of our profession is accuracy; therefore, we believe it is wrong to alter the content of a photograph in any way that deceives the public -- this excerpt from the National Press Photographers Association's (NPPA) Digital Manipulation Code of Ethics outlines the boundaries all professionals should follow. Considering two recent incidents, it's obvious this code is still being ignored.

During a tour of Portland's KGW Channel 8 studios while covering the Oregon Department of Transportation's (ODOT) Work Zone Awareness Month event, I noticed my image alongside weatherman Dave Salesky's in a small TV monitor as we stood against a chroma key background with the weather map so I snapped a quick shot. Amazingly, very few believed the photo was real -- it had to be a composite most everyone thought! The use of Photoshop in the news industry has become so pervasive now that the public assumes most images have been digitally altered or at the very least they challenge the credibility of anything slightly unusual that they might see. But the controversy runs much deeper than that.

Even routine adjustments like color correction can offer the opportunity for abuse. "The colors almost look like they have been sprayed onto the pictures," remarked Peter Dejong after he and the panel of judges for the Danish version of the NPPA's Pictures of the Year Competition disqualified Klavs Bo Christensen's photos from Haiti for image manipulation that they deemed went too far. A rule change allows judges to request a photographer's RAW files if there's any doubt about the images, and a side-by-side comparison of the pictures reportedly invoked the judge's anger. Christensen disagreed with the decision. "In my opinion, a RAW file . . . has nothing to do with reality and I do not think you can judge the finished images and the use of Photoshop by looking at the RAW file," he said. (Note: The contest entry is the top photo, the RAW file is the bottom photo).

Public contempt and distrust -- just a few of the consequences unethical digital manipulation bring. So how do newsphotographers help change that? Semper Fi. By being faithful to the subject, the moment, the content, and the aesthetics . . . always.

There are 3 key things for good photography: the camera, lighting, and . . . Photoshop. - Tyra Banks

Do You See What I See?

2009-05-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

But photography is not all seeing in the sense that the eyes see. Our vision, a binocular one, is in a continuous state of flux, while the camera captures and fixes forever (unless the damn prints fade!) a single, isolated condition of the moment. Besides, we use lenses of various focal lengths to purposely exaggerate actual seeing . . .
- Edward Weston

Previsualization is the art of pure seeing. Just like a painter staring at a blank canvas, a photographer formulates an image in the mind first and then relies upon the lenses to bring that vision to fruition. Not all of these ideas will pan out however, but I still insist in all my classes that the students learn to form a mental picture (approximately, of course) of every focal length before they even begin to peer through the lens to snap their photograph.

Back in the old days with film and single focal length lenses, previsualization was imperative because knowing what a wide, normal, or telephoto lens would cover and create saved effort, energy, and time. It's easy to imagine how many moments might be missed fumbling through a camera bag or while locking and unlocking an improper lens choice.

But with digital technology and the proliferation of zoom lens availability and use, I'm often asked about the application and relevance of previsualization today. Sure, zoom lenses afford multiple focal length previews at the turn of a barrel, but I still believe it's worthwhile to understand the characteristics, and hence the end results, when using a full range of varying focal length lenses.

Even a simple comparison/contrast of wide, normal, and telephoto lenses shows the divergent effects they produce:

Wide Angle - Foreground expands, background diminishes; depth of field increases dramatically and inherently; subject size reduces and lines converge.
Normal - Foreground/background neutral, normally parallel to the horizon; depth of field mainly determined by aperture setting; subject size neutral and lines are typically perpendicular and parallel.
Telephoto - Foreground contracts, background compresses and objects enlarge; depth of field decreases dramatically, even stopped down; subject size expands and lines remain perpendicular and parallel.

A camera doesn't function like the human eye and lenses offer a distorted view of reality. But through practice and a mastery of previsualization, soon you'll "see" your image before you even trip the shutter and what you see will be what you wanted.

Understanding

2009-04-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Now suddenly I look around,
And everything looks new,
I don't know why, but I think I'm startin' to learn,
They call it understanding,
A willingness to grow,
I'm finally understanding,
There's so much I can know. - Bob Seger, from Understanding

Na tievfefce senw-topho sah a lacer gessmae. Say what? Just like jumbled words in a sentence, confusing or unnecessary elements in a news-photograph can cause communication breakdowns. Clarity is the essence of photojournalism, or at least it should be, with the ultimate goal of quickly and simply disseminating information. Ideally, just one look is all it should take.

While there are no perfect tests for judging a journalistic image, John Whiting came close when he said, "A good picture makes you stop, look, and think." The best pictures, he believes, evoke an emotional response.

All newsphotographers should consider these Three Pragmatic Tests for Judging Photo Merit:

#1 - Message: Does the photo make a clear statement? Does the photo meet the ethical standards of responsible journalism?
#2 - Aesthetics: Is the photo's composition well-organized and aesthetically appealing? Does the composition facilitate the message?
#3 - Technique: Do the camera and printing techniques enhance the photo's message? Is the photo of press publication quality?

An effective news-photo has a clear message -- a critical statement that bears repeating . . . and Understanding.

#17 - First or Third?

2009-03-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

When I came up to bat with three men on and two outs in the ninth, I looked in the other team's dugout and they were already in street clothes. - Bob Uecker

The crack of a bat, a peanut shell, and a Bob Uecker one liner on the radio -- three unmistakable sounds that signal it's spring in Milwaukee, WI. Forget for a minute that you can still see your breath and the snow bank-rimmed outfield looks more like a hockey rink than a baseball diamond -- it's opening day and time once again to ponder the two great questions of the season: was Bob Uecker the worst player in the history of the major leagues and now its premiere radio announcer, and which photo position offers shooters the best vantage point during a game -- the first base or third base side of the field?

Question one has a simple answer: statistically speaking, few players have posted more marginal career numbers than Uecker, and even though he jokes about it, the records don't lie -- he was the King of the Pines! But on the other hand, growing up listening to Brewers baseball on AM 620 WTMJ, I can say without a doubt that his smooth delivery, unparalleled knowledge of the game, and razor sharp wit make Uecker the most enjoyable commentator on the airwaves. Sure my opinion may be subjective, it's probably even biased, but the same can be said about the selection of a photo position too.

After covering countless innings of baseball from virtually every spot on the field, I've concluded the first base and third base sides work equally well -- but for completely different reasons. Great action and feature shots occur diamond-wide, it all comes down to what you're trying to capture and often how much time you have to do it.

The third base side is for gamblers -- shooters after a unique perspective typically without any deadline pressure to worry about. It presents the cleanest view of plays at home plate, and even though they happen less frequently during games, choose this spot if a collision, missed tag, or winning run is what you're after. I've also discovered the dugout seems more accessible from third base too, and tight portraits and other types of feature photos abound there.

If you absolutely need any kind of action photo, especially in a hurry, select the first base side as it offers the most photo opportunities and hence the highest rate of success. Not only is a play at second base almost guaranteed (see the Archives for April 2007 and "#2-Stealing 2nd"), you can cover every player around the infield as well as watch the batter's box for hitters slugging homers or striking out.

Milwaukee County Stadium may be gone now, taking the UPI darkroom along with it, but Bob Uecker remains on the radio and I'm certain the new Miller Park press room still resonates with the same old baseball photog's debate: after lunch, where should I be -- First or Third?

I knew when my career was over. In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture. -Bob Uecker

The Vanishing Vertical?

2009-02-28T15:37:00.000-08:00

All sizes of negatives and printing papers are arbitrary, and determined by the manufacturer. The real shape is the circular image by the lens. I have to compose within that circle. It is easy to compose a horizontal or vertical image within a circle. I do not allow the proportions of the paper to dictate my composition. I change the proportions if they do not fit my idea of what the picture should be. - Philippe Halsman

Back in college I realized an experimental film making course quickly sealed my career path. You see, during a class editing session when it became painfully clear that my accidental vertically shot footage didn't qualify as art, all the professor could mutter was "still photographer". Since then I've never made another movie but I still continue to enjoy, and almost prefer, using my camera with a vertical orientation.

Now let's flash forward a couple of decades to the electronic age and a disturbing trend I've been noticing more of lately -- the proliferation of the horizontal image. Perhaps it's an adjustment forced by the computer monitor's landscape proportions where all digital photos are edited and viewed and verticals can't be seen full-screen without scrolling up and down. Maybe it's a sign of the times, reflecting the shift from printed newspapers to on-line versions where space is a premium. Maybe it's just compositional apathy or laziness. But whatever the reason, the days of big, deep vertical photographs seem to be disappearing.

Even I've fallen into this trap. After a recent flight to cover winter flooding in Portland, Oregon, I discovered the majority of my shots were horizontal. But I also determined that the verticals, though fewer, were much more dramatic. Looking back this makes perfect sense, considering horizontal lines are synonymous with tranquility while vertical lines exude strength.

The lesson learned here is simple: make the effort to turn your camera and look beyond the obvious -- the newspaper may be slowly vanishing but that doesn't mean the vertical photo has to fade away too!

#16 - Here Comes the Sun

2009-01-25T22:40:00.000-08:00

"Considering the challenges we face (with global warming), I realized I had to do more than just unplug my hot tub." - Allison Hamilton, Project Director of the ODOT/PGE Solar Highway Demonstration Project

Move over Arizona, California, Florida, and Hawaii, there's a new state for sun worshippers. Forget that there's an average of 222 cloudy and 151 rainy days a year in Portland, the nation's first Solar Highway Demonstration Project had to be built somewhere and I'm proud to say it's right here in Oregon! Thanks to the bold efforts of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) under the superb direction of Allison Hamilton, and Portland General Electric (PGE), the 594 panel, 104 Kilowatt Solar Photovoltaic System went into operation December 19, 2008, after a mere 4 month construction and installation period.

The Solar Highway will yield about 112 Kilowatt Hours (Kwh) of electricity annually, equivalent to 28% of the nearly 400,000 Kwh used annually for lighting the interchange where it was placed. Solar electricity generation produces zero global warming emissions, and it's estimated the energy manufactured by this project will displace nearly 43 metric tons of the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from combustion based electricity generation.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has instructed all state agencies to secure 100 percent of their electricity from renewable sources, and ODOT responded with a project built and designed using all Oregon businesses, products, and workers, including fabricated frames from Ben Quach, of QB Welding.

I was assigned to document this project from groundbreaking to operation--or over the course of late summer, fall, and early winter--and in 10 separate trips came back with a 100 image photo essay. Here are 20 of my favorite selections:

So why has Oregon become the nation's leader in solar technology? It's not because we're in the dark! On the contrary, according to the Renewable Energy Atlas of the West, the Beaver State has a 68 million megawatt-hour solar generation potential and could generate its annual energy use of 48 million megawatt-hours with partial development of these resources. Moreover, Solar Oregon reports that "Germany is installing more new solar energy systems per capita than any other country, yet its capital, Berlin, receives less sun than the cloudiest location in Oregon, near Astoria."

The goals of the ODOT Solar Highway Program are clear: to complement, not compromise, the transportation system; to supply electricity needed to operate the system; to fulfill mandates to develop clean, renewable and secure energy resources at costs no greater than purchasing electricity from the grid; to add value to existing right-of-way assets; and to build a foundation for solar highways throughout Oregon and the nation. Still a disbeliever? In this little corner of the world it's all right . . . Here Comes the Sun.

More information on the Oregon Solar Highway Demonstration Project can be found here:

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/OIPP/inn_solarhighway.shtml

#15 - "Where's the Beef?"

2008-12-29T01:33:00.000-08:00

"I like photographers -- you don't ask questions." - President Ronald Reagan, to the White House News Photographers Association

Now that the latest Presidential election has mercifully come to an end, taking all the hoopla, promises, and rhetoric along with it, I believe Walter Mondale summarized the whole process best: "Where's the Beef?". No, he wasn't criticizing the lunch spread at the formal introduction of his running mate, Geraldine Ferraro, nor was he pitching burgers for Wendy's (the originator of the phrase), he was simply challenging Ronald Reagan's economic policies during their 1984 debate. Since then, our leaders, problems, and times have changed dramatically, yet all the campaign platforms seem to remain the same. Yes, Mondale's quip still rings true today, but that's not to say all these countless photo ops completely lack meaningful moments. After covering two of the races in the 80's, here are a few of my favorite memories:

When the national media mob descended upon Mondale's hometown of Elmore, Minnesota, to document his historic selection of Geraldine Ferraro as our first female Vice Presidential candidate, I scrambled to secure a spot at the welcoming picnic behind the rope in front of the buffet table thinking that's where the two would go first. Sure enough I was right, but just as they arrived on the scene so did the press--an unruly pack, elbowing and pushing their way forward trying to gain a better vantage point in a very limited space. Suddenly I was surrounded by a sea of angry photogs, my legs pinned to the buffet, with one hand on my camera and the other on the table to balance myself. The candidates paused for an instant before us, then quickly faded into the background ahead of the rope they use to keep us away. Snapping my shot, I felt fortunate to be up front with a 20mm lens despite the fact that the table was nearly flipped over and I would've been the first one to land on top of it! The Secret Service made sure something like that wouldn't happen however, so I just brushed the potato salad from my sleeve and whistled my way back to the darkroom knowing I had a UPI Exclusive.

No matter where he appeared, former President Ronald Reagan had the uncanny ability to transform mundane political events into memorable news-worthy ones with perfectly orchestrated moments like this image captured at a simple New Orleans' fundraiser.

Covering the 1984 Iowa Caucuses provided my sweetest experience as a photojournalist. Singer Carole King was in Des Moines to perform for the Iowa Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign and to endorse Senator Gary Hart, and I was her chaperon for the trip! From mid-morning to early evening, we wandered around town, laughing and visiting and greeting and photographing, until her benefit concert began that night. And what a superb performance it was, a fitting conclusion to a day with too few minutes.

Speaking of fleeting time, that's something best characterized by the candor, pacing, and pitch of any message delivered by the Reverand Jesse Jackson, whom I consider the best orator and media handler/manipulator of our time. He's purely a pleasure to witness in person.

When Senator Bob Dole decided to announce a Presidential run from his hometown of Russell, Kansas, on November 9, 1987, I'm almost certain he never considered that: the nearest airport was half the state or 3 hours drive away; my luggage and my darkroom would mistakingly arrive on separate flights several hours apart; my motel room in Russell needed to be booked in person before 5:00 p.m. and I'd arrive in Topeka at 1:00 p.m.; the airport baggage claim closed at 10:00 p.m. and I'd rescue my darkroom at 9:00 p.m.; the rally started at 8:00 a.m. and I'd go to bed at 3:00 a.m.; the morning would be bitterly cold and extremely windy; and there wouldn't be a single picture until supporters released the balloons in front of the stage. It took nearly a 36 exposure roll of film, motor-driven continuously, and a great measure of timing (and luck!), but I managed to file this one frame that dominated newspaper play the next day. But my celebration was short-lived, someone stole my transmitter after the return flight to Chicago!

A new Administration waits in the wings and excitement abounds nationwide. There is much talk about change and reform, but what normally happens is this: politicians love to add and then cut pork, but rarely do we hear or see anything about "the Beef".

Note: Special thanks to friend and ODOT co-worker Kevin Beckstrom, cartoonist and graphic artist extraordinare, for his contribution to this month's post. More of his fine work can be found here: http://beckstrombuzz.blogspot.com/

Yes, We Can

2008-11-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

Newsphotography teaches you to think fast. - Weegee

On the historic evening of November 4, 2008, as our Nation elected the first African-American President Barack Obama, his chant of "Yes, We Can" had special meaning for the members of my Chemeketa Community College Newsphotography Class. You see, for the last 4 weeks they had gone through "Photo Boot Camp" (as one person described it), and now they had the opportunity to put all the theories into practice as they covered the Marion County Democrats Election Night Gala in Salem, Oregon, for our class field trip.

The Grand Ballroom was the site for this general news assignment and the initial turn-out at 6:00 p.m. of about 100 voters far exceeded my wildest expectations. After a brief informational gathering and pep talk, the class was cut loose to gather images documenting the story of the night, while I jotted down notes to determine whether their approaches compared or contrasted to mine. As the evening unfolded, the crowd steadily increased until at 8:00 p.m., when projections proclaimed Obama the winner, over 300 screaming supporters packed the hall. The job ended at 9:20 p.m. with the class covering the event for just over 3 hours and the resulting photographs were wonderful!

For Jennifer Pino, keying on audience anticipation eventually led to a mass hysterical celebration and this nice trio of images.

Anati Neiffer focused on diversity, of all kinds, and captured an intimate moment between younger voters as the winner was declared.

Symbolism best described the essence of Dean Schmidt's
photos, whether it was near the buffet table or on the faces and in the gestures of the jubliant supporters.

After Obama's victory speech, I snapped a quick group shot of Anati (left), Dean, and Jennifer, and now after reviewing their work, I realize that with the proper attitude, motivation, and preparation, a basic newsphotography class will effectively cover any assignment. Yes, We Can.

. . . To be a photographer, one must photograph. No amount of book learning, no checklist of seminars attended, can substitute for the simple act of making pictures. Experience is the best teacher of all. And for that, there are no guarantees that one will become an artist. Only the journey matters . . . - Harry Callahan

Newsphotography:Exposed is now enrolling interested photogs at Chemeketa Community College for Winter Term -- more information can be found here:

http://www.chemek.cc.or.us/catalog/schedule/winter09.pdf

Portfolio Update 2008

2008-10-28T09:04:00.001-07:00

Get a great portfolio, keep it up to date, and never let it gather dust. - Neil Turner

Another year has flown by and once again it's time for my annual portfolio update. As Aerial Photographer for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), a recurring theme dominated the types of assignments I covered: alternatives.

An alternative form of energy and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski stole the spotlight at the site dedication for the nation's first Solar Highway Demonstration Project in Portland. This configuration of over 250 solar panels is expected to capture enough electricity to power all the highway lights and signs in the vicinity of the experiment.

Alternative methods of construction highlighted two major ODOT bridge projects in 2008--at Spencer Creek on the Oregon coast and at Sauvie Island on the Willamette River. The aerial photo shows the 6 separate segments that were hauled in and lifted into place and then "chemically" bonded (using the internal rebar and a process called cad welding) to form the 3 arch spans that will support the deck. Conversely, the Sauvie Island arch was fully constructed off site and transported down river using a barge and tug boats and then carefully fitted into place between its approaches. In both instances, logistical concerns as well as cost and time effectiveness considerations necessitated these unique procedures.

Alternative modes of transportation have become fashionable if not compulsory in this era of energy conservation. With a booming population of cyclists and a recent spike in bike/truck accidents, ODOT instituted a No-Zone advertising campaign to help curb more such incidents in the future. The Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) tram shuttles passengers from the main campus/hospital down a steep grade across the Portland skyline to a satellite campus saving commuters a traveling distance of several miles.

As my blog enters its third year of publication, an exciting change has occurred: my photojournalism course, Newsphotography:Exposed, is now being offered at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR. More information can be found here:

http://www.chemek.cc.or.us/catalog/schedule/index.html

As always, thanks for your interest and support--your comments and questions are encouraged and welcome!

Spend as much time looking at other people's work as you do fretting about your own. -Neil Turner

#14 - Go Big Red!

2008-09-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

Varsity! Varsity!

U-rah-rah! Wisconsin,

Praise to thee we sing!

Praise to thee, our Alma Mater,

U-rah-rah! Wisconsin!

- Varsity, University of Wisconsin Anthem

My Dad loved the Badgers. More importantly, he loved the University of Wisconsin. So every year he'd buy season football tickets to support the school he couldn't afford to attend but hoped his children might someday. And each September, as far back as I can remember, just as the leaves began to glow, one of my sisters or I would accompany him on the 90 mile journey west from Milwaukee to help cheer for his favorite team.

Football Saturdays in Madison were always cause for a celebration. Even during my childhood when the Badgers struggled to achieve a .500 record (considered by most as a "winning season"), Camp Randall Stadium remained sold-out and a spectacle for the senses to savor. From the sweet smell of bratwurst sizzling on an open fire from thousands of tailgater's barbecues, to the sea of frenzied red and white clad fans filing to their seats in rhythm to the raucous sounds of the UW Marching Band or the screaming stereo of a fraternity house across the street, these afternoons were experiences I'll never forget.

Later, when I realized newsphotography was my calling and I enrolled to study journalism at the UW, I managed to garner my first set of photo passes and witnessed Badger football from a whole new perspective. Roaming the sidelines of a Big 10 game was quite a coup considering this was my first opportunity to cover football (something I finally appreciated later in my career after shooting countless high school games by "candlelight"!). The atmosphere and intensity, not to mention the daylight starting time, of these contests seemed to guarantee photographic success and I took full advantage of the season to build a decent portfolio of pictures. But my fondest memory of covering Football Saturdays took place in the press room during the pre-game media luncheon: I loved that the menu always included a "Featured Dairy Product of the Week". I guess since Wisconsin is known as the "Dairy State" and Madison is its Capital, the university felt obliged to do this, but whatever the reason, I remember enjoying some wonderful home-made ice cream and snacking on packages of tasty string cheese down on the field -- it really was a treat!

So on this Oregon September Saturday afternoon, as the leaves begin to glow and the nation's college football scores trickle in over the radio, my mind drifts back to Madison and Camp Randall Stadium and a pair of bench-style seats near the south endzone and a proud would-be Wisconsin grad belting out Varsity during a third quarter break in the game. I smile because I know somewhere my Dad's smiling too.

Note: at press time of this post, The University of Wisconsin Badgers were ranked in the Top 10 on all the college football polls! Way to go Wisconsin! Go Big Red!

Solar Power

2008-08-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Going green. Clean, renewable, sustainable. Today's energy buzzwords, tomorrow's energy imperatives. All these concepts hit home with me recently after covering the dedication of Oregon's (and the Nation's!) first Solar Highway Demonstration Project. Naturally this led to the purchase of a solar-powered headlamp (6 hours of sunlight and it shines all night long!), which indirectly led to a bad case of sunburn from the camping/fishing trip I needed to take to test the lamp! But suddenly the notion of capturing energy from light seemed to make sense, so I wondered about photography - which is "Writing with Light" - and its connection to solar power. Simply put, I decided this: one (photography) can't have too much of the other (light), but if it does, the result is a photographic original -- the Solarization.

A fairly major tool of art photography in the 1930's, it's widely believed this process was discovered accidentally -- an unwitting photog flicks the overhead white light switch on midway through the darkroom printing process and the rest is history. Black and white solarization prints are characterized by the Sabatier Effect (named for its inventor) -- an overall darkened look with distinctive black shadow-like lines around subjects while bright images display a fuzzy, crystal-like white glow. Due to variations in light source intensity and timing plus strength of developing fluid, no two solarizations are exactly alike. To take the technique a step further, a Posterization uses a solarization print as a negative and produces a super-high contrast image, such as the second and third panels of this triptych of former NBA star Dennis Rodman.

Here's how those posterizations were made: starting with a flipped negative in the carrier (you're making a negative so the image needs to be printed backwards), expose the paper normally but process it in nearly-exhausted Dektol developer. Midway through the process, quickly turn the overhead white lights on for a few seconds to overexpose the print, then turn the lights back off and complete the development process as usual. Take the dried solarization print and lay it face down on the emulsion side of another sheet of paper, place them under a sheet of glass and make an extra-long exposure (experimentation is required!) and then process this "new" print normally.

Black and white solarization and posterization prints can transform an ordinary portrait into an expressive statement. You'll spend some time and burn some paper, but it's a great way to get you back in the darkroom and exercise your creative impulses. Of course, all this can be done with a couple of mouse clicks now, but in the recent past, photographic solarizations really were Solar Powered!

#13 - Statehouse Daze

2008-07-29T18:51:00.000-07:00

"A Place to Grow". - Iowa Tourism Slogan, from the mid-1980's

In January 1983, my dream came true. After only a couple years of diligent stringing, I earned my first full-time staff photography job. During the interview, the division manager said the position would be somewhere in the "Central Plains States", strangely reluctant to divulge its actual location, but it could have been in Siberia for all I cared -- I was a Newspictures Bureau Manager for United Press International now, and that's all that mattered to me! So I stuffed most of my possessions into my red Dodge Omni hatchback, aimed it West, and changed my life forever. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of my favorite appointment, I journeyed back to the Heartland and this special place of my career roots -- Des Moines, Iowa.

Living and working in Iowa's Capital required some adjustments. Suddenly, the farm market report and crazy pesticide ads became the hot topics of conversation, giant pork tenderloin sandwiches became a major part of my diet (note: I highly recommend Porky's Diner in Des Moines -- they serve a full menu page complete with over a dozen variations of this tasty treat!), and the State Legislature became the focus of my daily news-photo report. Whether it was in session or not, the lawmakers and the "Statehouse" (as it was called in Iowa) dominated our bureau's attention and time.

As someone unfamiliar with the process, regularly covering the Statehouse beat offered many challenges. For starters, the building and working conditions were a newsphotographer's nightmare. Darker than a cave with limited shooting positions and an "all quiet" rule enforced at all times, making photos here meant working the balcony (my personal favorite choice) or the floor with fast and long glass (I relied on a 300mm F2.8 lens almost exclusively) with the motor drive turned off -- only single framing was allowed to avoid any unnecessary noise. Plus, consider this: most legislative activities and actions are difficult, if not impossible, to visually represent -- sure, there are debates and discussions but try story-matching the new gas tax bill! So I quickly discovered Statehouse duty involved lots of waiting, watching, and wondering . . . sometimes when the session will end!

But despite the obstacles and the odds, documenting the Statehouse can have its moments. I'll never forget the outspoken legislator fearlessly flashing her sign perfectly expressing all of the chamber's sentiments; or the weary, wounded Senate page struggling to stay awake during a late night session; not to mention, the enthusiasm and joy for the Governor and his wife after the birth of their newest family member; and finally, the hope, promise, and personal property buried with the Capitol Centennial Celebration time capsule (hidden in 1984, to be unearthed in 2084).

Walking these same steps today over a quarter century later seemed vaguely familiar but surprisingly foreign. Even the site of the time capsule felt wrong, as if it had been magically transported to a different spot. But listening and looking inside its chambers and halls, I can still hear the rhetoric, the voices, the excitement, and I can still see the power, the faces, the yawns. Maybe I'm hallucinating, maybe reminiscing, or maybe I'm just reliving my Statehouse Daze.

#12 - I Feel the Earth Move

2008-06-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

"I feel the earth move under my feet,
I feel the sky tumbling down,
I feel my heart start to trembling,
whenever you're around . . . " - Carole King, Tapestry, 1971

Feeling, trembling, tumbling -- to Carole King, these are signs you're simply falling in love. But while spinning Tapestry on the turntable the other day, I realized she eerily described another strange sensation, something occurring with alarming frequency lately. They can happen anytime, anywhere -- China to Mexico, Reno or San Francisco -- no one or nowhere is protected or safe from them. They last only seconds, but their effects are devastating. They rock the world . . . earthquakes!

My first experience covering an earthquake was in 1985 while living in Houston, Texas. Answering the phone the evening of September 19th, I had no idea an 8.1 magnitude event had hit Mexico City earlier in the day and that I'd be packing my gear and passport to document its destruction. With a population of 18 million and the damage concentrated in a 25 square mile area of the city, an estimated 10,000 people were killed, 50,000 were injured, 250,000 lost their homes, 800 buildings crumbled, and property losses amounted to more than $5 billion. Moreover, communications between the Mexican Capitol and the outside world were interrupted for countless days -- this proved to be the primary reason for my first flight over the border.

Transmitting news-photos from the scene was impossible since all telephone lines in Mexico City were severed. So upon touching the ground, I scrambled to gather all of my agency's processed and edited film to catch a quick return flight back to Houston then print and file the images sooner than our competition. This gamble paid off, we scored big, and my reward was a trip back to the chaos.

Photographing an earthquake days after the tremors stop can be challenging. The immediacy is gone, the victims have been rescued, the clean-up begins -- all that's really left is the rubble. The key is to focus on the basic human hardships that remain: something as simple but serious as a resident's struggle to extract his car from a sunken and tilted parking structure. These kinds of images clearly and graphically illustrate that dilemma.

It may be a stretch to compare love to an earthquake, but take it from me, Carole King details one sure thing about the latter -- you'll feel the earth move under your feet!

#11 - Shooting Stars

2008-05-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, at the Harvard Square theatre, I saw my rock'n'roll past flash before my eyes. And I saw something else: I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time. - Jon Landau, Rolling Stone magazine (1974)

The arena goes black. Shadowy figures take the stage. The crowd roars. The world explodes in a kaleidoscope of blinding light and thundering sound. 2 hours of nirvana begin . . . for everyone but the newsphotographers. We have only minutes.

Early in my career, performers gave us the whole show to photograph. A few years later, 3 songs was it. Today, who knows?

The night begins with waiting. A handful of photogs assemble somewhere close to the stage. We need to be on time, the artists do not. For example, at a recent Portland show, Springsteen began 70 minutes late -- why? Finally event security herds us to the front of the stage, blocking the view of people who paid good money to be there. "I won't be long," I promise, "I'll do my best to stay out of your way." For the next 10 to 30 minutes, I try.

Prince's first number lasted 3 minutes, Springsteen's lasted 10. One song down, two to go. Prince's first 3 songs gave us 12 minutes to get our shots, with Springsteen it was 30.

No two acts are the same, in duration or style. So come prepared to fire at every opportunity, and to scan the entire stage. Sometimes a 24mm works best, sometimes a 300.

Whether they're late, inconsistent, or even stellar, all that matters when covering a concert is walking away with the shot. I guess that's the price you pay . . . for shooting stars.

If they had told me I was the janitor and would have to mop up and clean the toilets after the show in order to play, I probably would have done it. - Bruce Springsteen

#10 - Pitcher Perfect

2008-04-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

It helps if the hitter thinks you're a little crazy. - Nolan Ryan

Imagine this: a rancher scribbles a chalk batter's box on an old barn wall then proudly watches his son hurl a hardball straight through the red timber planks like a rock piercing wet tissue paper. Just another far-fetched TV commercial? Not this time -- at least not for me, or anyone else who's ever seen Nolan Ryan pitch.

With a laser-like fastball -- clocked at 100 mph even at age 40 -- but a penchant for erratic pitch location, Ryan still holds several major league baseball records and I had the privilege of documenting two of them.

On July 11, 1985, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Ryan fanned New York Mets batter Danny Heep in the 6th inning of the Astros' 4-3 win to become the first pitcher to record 4000 strikeouts (note: Ryan amassed over 5000 K's in his career, a mark that stands today). Unfortunately, the photo opportunities at this significant event were slim -- only the obligatory shot of Ryan pitching and a tip of the hat to the adoring crowd after the feat. Later I vowed to look beyond these obvious images if I ever had the chance to photograph any sports milestones again.

As fate would have it, I was covering the Milwaukee Brewers 5 years later when the Texas Rangers came to town and Ryan was attempting to become the 20th pitcher in MLB history to win 300 games. Shadowing the hurler for 9 long innings of inactivity the night before his historic start, I was able to capture him in an anxious pose on the dugout steps, setting the stage for the drama ahead.

The next evening, July 31, 1990, as most of the media was sitting down to dinner in the press room, I staked out the Rangers' batting practice session and recorded a UPI exclusive -- Ryan tossing a football to loosen up -- and as it turned out, this photo garnered the majority of play for the a.m. newspaper cycle because the action and jubilation pix from the game were filed past most deadlines.

Reflecting on these two contests I've recognized there's always a story within the story and the "expected" images don't necessarily depict an event the best way. Moreover, remember this: he may have been called dull, humble, or even wild at times, but he was never predictable. Nolan Ryan was just pitcher perfect.

Every hitter likes fastballs just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's how you feel when Nolan Ryan's throwing balls by you. - Reggie Jackson

#9 - Centers of Attention

2008-03-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up. -Red Auerbach

Hardwood, paint, post -- the vocabulary of March. Spring yardwork, perhaps? Maybe . . . but add madness, playoffs, and roundball to the mix and you'll uncover the true meaning of the month: basketball!

For most of the nation, the NCAA Tournament takes center court, but as a former NBA photographer, I equate March with a long season's end and the stretch run to the never ending playoffs.

Before Y2K it seems, successful playoff teams all had dominant centers - some had two - Ewing, Robinson, and the Twin Towers of Olajuwon and Sampson, to name a few. It didn't matter if they were covered man to man or in a zone defensive scheme, these players drew the lion's share of attention.

Saavy sports photographers always focused on them too, filling their viewfinders with the Big Men on both ends of the floor. Whether it was from the opposite baseline, overhead from the arena's catwalk, at halfcourt, or near the bench, I'd love to isolate the "Five's" in my camera with a long lens (naturally!).

But it's been over ten years since I last photographed an NBA contest, and I'm left to wonder where have all these pivotal "men in the middle" gone? Historically, NBA regular season games score poor TV ratings, and recently even the playoffs and finals are failing to attract viewers too. I guess without these Centers of Attention, is it any surprise March means Madness to basketball fans now.

If the NBA were on channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love was on channel 4, I'd watch the frogs even if they were coming in fuzzy. -Bobby Knight

Get A Grip

2008-02-27T21:58:00.000-08:00

Unbelievable. Back when I was Newspictures Bureau Manager for United Press International (UPI) in Des Moines, Iowa, I recall covering something so popular it might outdraw Springsteen, The Stones, and U-2 all on a single stage. Tens of thousands of rabid fans would pack Veteran's Memorial Coliseum to cheer, jeer, and show their support for the state's premiere social event--the boy's high school wrestling tournament.

Throw a newsphotographer into this madness, and the assignment was no reason to celebrate. Unlike the big three of athletics, wrestling coverage offers no formula. There's no court, diamond, or field, just a circle--with no beginning and no end. These arbitrary photo positions can make success a crapshoot.

Overcoming this challenge requires a mixture of patience, planning, and pure luck. For starters, always select a spot with the cleanest possible background and use the longest possible lens (I prefer a 300mm F2.8, even from the ring's edge). Pace your shooting to maximize times when at least one wrestler is clearly visible, and time your bursts or sequences for action pointed directly at the camera. Wait. Six minutes is longer than you think.

When it comes to wrestling, both grapplers and photographers face the same struggle . . . to get a grip.

A Sense of Place

2008-01-30T21:48:00.000-08:00

People and places. If you break it all down, that's really what our lives are all about. And by visually blending the two elements together, the art that results is a photojournalistic original: the Environmental Portrait. The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) defines a portrait as a picture that captures a unique aspect of the subject's character and personality and/or environment. I believe the environmental portrait embodies all of these qualities.

Whether it's by accident, choice, or default, the selection and use of an environment distinguishes this type of portraiture. But effectively conveying this sense of place is determined by a host of situational factors. For example: how large is the environment, how much of it does the viewer need to see, and should it accentuate or dominate the image? Two key ingredients to think about include: the message--should it be direct or indirect, ambiguous or concrete; and the mood--should it be active or passive and concealing or revealing?

When I was assigned to create environmental portraits of several Hispanic residents for a series highlighting ethnic differences and similarities, I became convinced that a (very--20mm) wide angle lens can make any environment work.

Sometimes environmental portraits simply fall into place, like the canine corps officer and his trusty companion. I only needed to follow them for a short distance through the caverns of their training facility when the subjects stepped right into the perfect spot.

Other times, these images require a lot more effort. Photographing a career holding college student single mother with her family of four in their modest but immaculate apartment demanded a thorough search of the location and then careful placement of the subjects.

The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your camera between the skin of a person and his shirt. - Henri Cartier-Bresson

Weather or Not

2007-12-30T23:16:00.000-08:00

I like people for their weaknesses and faults. I get on well with ordinary people. We talk. We start with the weather, and little by little we get to the important things. When I photograph them it is not as if I were examining them with a magnifying glass, like a cold and scientific observer. It's very brotherly. And it's better, isn't it, to shed some light on those people who are never in the limelight. - Robert Doisneau

"There's nothing like the feeling of the open road when you're out cruising for weather features." I once heard a wily veteran offer this ridiculous yet truthful statement in an old film darkroom early in my career and it's never left me. Even though most photogs would rather cover ribbon cuttings or even shoot mugshots than hunt for enterprise photos it seems, cruising for weather is a compulsory part of our jobs, but that doesn't mean we should dread it.

Enterprise, features, weather, or wild art -- even though the terms may vary, the definition for this news-photo classification remains the same -- a 'found situation' that features strong human interest elements, a fresh view of an everyday situation, or a lively focus on the lighter side of life. A related and similar type of photograph -- the Pictorial -- can also fall into this category, however its emphasis is on composition that exploits the aesthetic or graphic qualities of the subject. Now consider this: everyday great feature photo moments occur everywhere!

But back to the open road . . . Finding these 'found' situations can be challenging and it requires some effort -- there's just no substitute for the hours and miles you'll have to invest. However, there are a few tricks that can help simplify the search.

On the way to your next assignment or even while you're out walking about your town, keep a purposeful eye open for potential feature environments and mentally file them away for the future. Just because a perfect location didn't work today, it may pay off tomorrow under colder, hotter, or wetter conditions. Once you've identified a group of settings, make it a point to pass by them - frequently - under varying conditions. And don't avoid the cliche' or popular spots (e.g., beaches, parks, etc.), under the right circumstances, these places can be assignment savers. Often times though successful feature trips are simply a matter of pure dumb luck -- right place, right time (and prepared!). Take these four examples:

A late winter Lake Michigan ice storm was illustrated beautifully on the shores of a Milwaukee beach (one that I continually cruised past); relief from the heat was a struggle like this youngster's battle with the bubbler (or drinking fountain, for those not from Milwaukee!) at a crowded city park; walking to the Capitol to cover the Iowa State Legislature, this reflection feature/pictorial simply popped up; and don't forget the animals when times are tough!

So what are you waiting for? The Open Road awaits! (Note: this post is for Matthew Ginn).

#8 - Color Blind

2007-11-26T21:29:00.000-08:00

Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected. - Robert Frank

Old school newsphotographers are color blind. They cut their journalistic teeth in a time when most published images were black and white even though the stories they covered seldom seemed that way. But in 1982, all the rules began to change.

When USA Today debuted on newsstands--with a plethora of full color charts, graphics, and pictures--the photojournalistic world was never the same again. Suddenly, all wire service photographs needed to be taken using color negative film (despite the fact most were transmitted in black and white), as publications worldwide demanded more visual options attempting to emulate the growing popularity and success of our "nation's newspaper".

For the contemporary digital photographer, this "new" system presents no problems as most, if not all, work is performed in color from the start anyway. But for the traditional film photographer, two major obstacles resulted: first, a completely separate darkroom unit needed to be packed and set-up, plus effective color film photography often required the use of auxiliary lighting systems which added to the baggage burden as well as infringed on the spontaneity of the very moments all newsphotographers strived to capture.

But most importantly, photographers faced an ethical dilemma while working in color: did this medium enhance, simplify, or support the visual message/story; or did it alter, beautify, or disguise it? Purists often condemn color for color's sake, and a great illustration of this argument comes from the following assignment . . .

When a Holocaust monument in Skokie, IL, was vandalized the night before its dedication, the focus of the story immediately shifted from general to spot news, and I arrived at the scene prepared for the worst. Surprisingly, the ceremony continued without fail, the crowd of supporters ironically strengthened by the hateful set-back. Covering the event with color negative film, I filed a black and white image (which garnered a great deal of newspaper play) and much to my amazement, the alternative color print I had prepared never received a single request! In my opinion, and in this particular instance, the black and white photo articulated the story best although I'm sure this statement could generate a great deal of debate.

Whether your preference in photojournalistic photography is color or black and white, clearly this judgment seems highly subjective in nature. However, I'm just thankful I began my career back when all newsphotographers were color blind.

To see in color is a delight for the eye but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul. - Andri Cauldwell

Portfolio Update 2007

2007-10-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Just like its creator, the photographic portfolio is a work in progress. It develops and evolves, reflecting the growth and maturing style or vision of a working photographer. To mark the one year anniversary of my photo blog, I offer an update of images from my present staff position as Aerial Photographer with the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The diversity of assignments I cover is broad but not surprising considering that transportation issues impact nearly every facet of our lives, from communication and environmental matters to public safety and sustainability concerns.

In the future, I will continue to discuss and display my past and present work, as well as explore and expose topics of interest to contemporary photographers. I look forward to another year, thanks for visiting my blog, and your comments and questions are always welcome!

Photographic success is not just about getting the equipment. And you can't market yourself without a portfolio. If you love photography enough, the equipment will come, the portfolio will result and if you enjoy the process, success will follow. -Bruno Schreck

#7 - Rolaids Moments

2007-09-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. - Vince Lombardi

Most baby boomers growing up in Wisconsin knew Autumn's arrival by sound rather than sight. Forget about the pretty colored leaves, it was the blaring Sunday broadcast from thousands of transistor radios heard around the state of Green Bay Packers' football that signaled the real start of the new season. As a result, even now, in this age of high-definition and on-demand sports television, I still prefer listening to audio coverage of the games.

One of my favorite features from the radio broadcasts is the Rolaids Moment, or the turning point of the game, the one play that sends the coach begging for an antacid. For the newsphotographer this instant can be gold, as one clear and simple image will convey the outcome of the contest.

When covering sporting events, keep an eye on the head coach -- you never know when a Rolaids Moment might occur and your work for the game will be complete.

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. - Vince Lombardi

#6 - The Challenge to Endeavour

2007-09-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Every shuttle mission's been successful. -Christa McAuliffe

11:38 a.m., January 28, 1986. 73 seconds later, history was made--an indelible memory most Americans will never forget. Now flash forward 21 years to 6:36 p.m., August 8, 2007. Moments later, history was made again--but how many of us were even aware of it?

When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off killing its entire crew, including first Teacher in Space (TIS) Christa McAuliffe, the reports of this disaster were instantaneous and unrelenting, and the barrage of coverage continued for months, even years to come. On the other hand, another teacher has sacrificed and studied for the past 7861 days (since the accident) to become a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, and now back-up TIS and first Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan can proclaim a notable accomplishment: she delivered the first two lesson plans from outer space! But aside from the academic and scientific communities, it's safe to say her feat is probably news to us all. Unfortunately, it seems to me and particularly with this story, tragedy was more significant (and hence more "newsworthy") than triumph.

In the mid-80's, I was assigned to manage all news-photo coverage from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, so the shuttle program was always special to me. However, with the frequency and prosperity of the missions back then, I hate to admit that the launches became almost routine. And despite the added bonus of a "civilian" passenger, the Challenger flight was really no different. But while documenting and observing the interviews and training, process of elimination, and ultimate selection of the first two Teacher in Space candidates, I began to feel a more personal connection to the program. Even now, I fondly recall Christa McAuliffe flapping her arms with a startled Barbara Morgan at her side, declaring she was "ready to fly".

Nonetheless, the morning of the Challenger flight still remained a mundane event in my household. With my stereo tuned to a Houston news-radio channel, I was shaving in my bathroom when the fateful moment occurred. When I finally realized the shocking magnitude of this incident, I understood my days at the Johnson Space Center would never be the same. From the tributes at the center's entrance to the sullen memorial service, the Space Shuttle program had suffered a set-back that would take countless years to recover from.

Remarkably, in 2007 it has. But ask yourself this: in the history of space flight exploration, which name will be more memorable--Christa McAuliffe or Barbara Morgan?

Education and exploration are really very much the same. It's all about discovering, it's all about experimenting, and it's all about taking what you discover and what you experiment with, and what you learn, and sharing that with others. -Barbara Morgan

Perspective

2007-08-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

Our eye must constantly measure, evaluate. We alter our perspective by a slight bending of the knees; we convey the chance meeting of lines by a simple shifting of our heads a thousandth of an inch . . . we compose almost at the same time we press the shutter, and in placing the camera closer or farther from the subject, we shape the details - taming or being tamed by them. -Henri Cartier-Bresson

Perspective is an ambiguous word. Simply glace at any dictionary and you’ll find at least three different definitions for this term. But as far as photography and the 15 elements of composition are concerned, it has really only one true meaning: perspective deals with how the sizes of different objects at different distances appear to the photographer, or more importantly, the viewer, and determine the sensations of volume, space, and depth of an image. In other words, it's the way real three-dimensional objects are perceived in a two-dimensional plane, thus allowing the photographer the luxury of manipulating the space and distance by either expanding or compressing these factors controlling the sense of scale and relative importance of subjects within a picture.

Perspective is not a function of lens focal length, but rather, a function of the distance of objects from the lens. The human eye judges distance by the way elements within a scene diminish in size, and the angle at which lines and planes converge–this is called linear perspective. When the focal length of a lens is changed but the lens-to-subject distance remains unchanged, there is a change in the image size of the objects, but no change in perspective. On the other hand, when the lens-to-subject distance and lens focal length are both changed, the relationship between objects is altered and the perspective is changed, and this creates the illusion of depth or shallowness and serves to accentuate specific features of an image.

Here are two examples for illustration: in the first photo, a wide angle lens(20mm)and overhead view(from a tall ladder)were used to condense the distance and enlarge the mural above the deli employee to emphasize the pictorial components of this "modern" supermarket in Houston, Texas. In the second image, a telephoto lens(200mm)utilizing selective focus and controlled depth of field accents the hatted visitor yet draws the viewer into the prominent but subdued background of the Mount Rushmore Monument.

Every successful photographer draws upon their own unique perspective when conceptualizing their work, and they understand that perspective is really a function, not of focal length, but of how they use that focal length.

#5 - He's OK

2007-07-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

Now very often events are set up for photographers . . . because if it hasn't been photographed it doesn't really exist. -Elliott Erwitt

Whether it's deliberate or inadvertent, planned or spontaneous, illegal or legal, immigration in any form remains a highly contentious topic in our country. The recent May Day protests and struggle for passage of an immigration bill on Capitol Hill reminded me of a story I covered years ago that seemed to offer all of these elements plus some lessons for the news media(and myself)as well.

An accurate(or even honest)account of Ukrainian sailor Miroslav Medvid's saga may never be known. U.S. officials believed he attempted to defect, while Russian spokesmen maintained his actions were purely accidental. But regardless of his intentions, Medvid's behaviors and the facts surrounding his case are indisputable: on a late summer evening in 1985, he jumped from the deck of the massive Russian grain ship Marshal Konev and plunged into the dark waters of the port of New Orleans where he was quickly intercepted by Immigration and Naturalization Service(INS)officials. After being briefly interrogated and despite his apparent desire to remain in the U.S., Medvid was forcibly escorted back to the ship where he managed to violently bang his head against some rocks in protest and leap from the ship's gang plank a second time in a last ditch effort for political freedom. When news of his exploits reached Washington, the State Department intervened and insisted that Medvid be allowed a personal interview in a neutral location. This meeting occurred three days after the attempted "defection" and sources close to the story insist that the Russians pulled a "fast one", substituting another sailor in place of the beleagured Medvid who claimed he "slipped" from the deck of the ship and that the Russian system was superior(note: the physical appearance of the individuals also differed, and the interviewee showed no signs of the self-inflicted wounds that were documented and witnessed by U.S. officials).

From a photojournalistic standpoint, this was a difficult story to document. Medvid was isolated from any media contact, and access to the ship was non-existent. When I was dispatched from Houston, TX, to cover the story after the State Department interview, all I could do was stake-out the port and the ship and hope for something significant to break. On the second day of the watch, it did--a Russian official and the ship's captain appeared, after most of the media had gone and in a blatant propaganda move, to announce Medvid was "OK" and the Marshal Konev was departing port back to its homeland. As the only still photographer on the scene, I relished the newspaper "play" I'd receive, but I also questioned the validity of the information I was reporting.

Looking back on this assignment, I learned two valuable lessons: first, never leave the scene before your competition does; and second, remain skeptical of any staged photo opportunities because the truth can be easily manipulated.

Whatever happened to Miroslav Medvid?

Reflection and Texture

2007-06-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

I have often photographed when I am not in tune with nature but the photographs look as if I had been. So I conclude that something in nature says, 'Come and take my photograph.' So I do, regardless of how I feel. -Minor White

I'm a career photographer who loves to fly fish. A few years ago, I realized the most creative and personal way to express my passion for this sport was through my work, and so, the photo essay/book project, Fly Fishing Oregon in Black and White, was born.

My idea was simple: to document a full season of Oregon fly fishing using 100 black and white full-frame photographs. The challenge came in creating an enlightening and thought-provoking collection of images from essentially a singular subject--but that is where the 15 Elements of Composition offered invaluable assistance.

During preliminary planning, I identified two techniques that fit the project perfectly: Reflection and Texture. These elements presented applications for both the artificial and natural components of the story, plus contributed information and provided diversity among the photographs.

For reflection, I chose two dissimilar subjects: an anxious angler rigging up caught in my pick-up truck's rear view mirror, and a bank of clouds and jagged treeline shimmering in a lake's rippled surface. Texture was displayed in a Ponderosa pine tree's jigsaw puzzle-like bark, and in the glow of water droplets resting on my polished fly reel.

When employed appropriately and for the proper effect, reflection and texture open photographic boundaries and extend visual opportunities limited only by the imagination.

Am I a reflection of my film or is my film a reflection of me? -Kevin Russo

#4 - Denial then Disaster

2007-06-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Trouble in the air is very rare. It is hitting the ground that causes it. -Amelia Earhart, 20 Hrs 40 Mins, 1928

Over twenty years ago, a Delta Airlines jumbo jet approached the Dallas-Fort Worth airport with a typical summer thunderstorm in its path. The crew seemed unconcerned until their final descent when suddenly the storm intensified. As they fought against a powerful unknown force, the L-1011 dropped from the sky and slammed down far short of the runway. The jet smashed a car on a highway, bounced across a field, and rammed an airport storage tank until it finally came to rest. One hundred and thirty-seven people were killed in that August 2, 1985, crash which proved to be one of the most important in aeronautic history as it forced the aviation world to recognize a violent weather phenomenon whose existence had been denied for years.

A "Microburst", named by meteorologists who struggled for years to alert aviators of its potential danger, is a shaft of cold air that plunges to the ground during thunderstorms and fans out in all directions and is generally considered the main cause of the crash of Delta flight 191. During such an event, a low-flying plane first experiences a strong headwind, then a downdraft, then a strong tailwind, robbing it of lift and causing it to sink rapidly. Because of this catastrophe, the Federal Aviation Administration has mandated pilot survival manuever training and has spent millions of dollars on sophisticated doppler radar and sensors to detect microbursts and it's almost certain that thousands of passengers are alive today who never knew of this possible risk.

From a news coverage standpoint, the DFW air disaster presented many logistical problems. For starters, the crash occurred almost at dusk, and working out of the Houston, Texas, bureau at the time, I couldn't arrive to the scene until nightfall. Ironically, the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport was still completely operational, and I remember eerily spotting the wreckage from above shortly before landing there. In spite of the blazing floodlights and investigations that carried on throughout the darkness, no acceptable images of the "aircraft" could be made until first daylight, so I was resigned to sleeping on the runway until then using my camera bag as a pillow.

At dawn, I was overcome by a photojournalistic revelation: since the wreckage was situated near a maze of runways and the arriving flights were circling all around, I utilized a long lens(a 300mm for background compression as opposed to a shorter lens as most photogs were using)and waited for the exact replica of aircraft to pass overhead and was able to capture a before/after photograph of this Delta airliner. The following day, this image grabbed the lion's share of play in international/national publications.

Looking back on this assignment and all the other airline tragedies that have followed, I've realized that denial brings disaster, and disaster unfortunately brings action.

Juxtaposition

2007-05-18T00:09:00.000-07:00

Dark or light, feminine or masculine, north or south, and night or day. According to Chinese philosophy, there are two opposing but complementary forces or principles found in all non-static objects and processes in the universe--the Yin and Yang. This ever-changing combination of negative and positive results in a state of balance which keeps the world spinning and creates Chi--the life-giving force. For the enterprising photographer, this worldly dichotomy can be viewed from another perspective and translated into a compositional element to enhance the effectiveness of any image.

Juxtaposition, or the visual equivalent of the Yin-Yang concept, allows photographers the opportunity to communicate a disparate situation instantly or inject humor/irony into a dull/mundane moment. From the combinations of the dejected baseball pitcher and jubilant homering baserunner, to the frost-bitten snow shoveler and bikini-clad sunbathers on a background billboard, this tried and true method remains steadfastly powerful. However, on some occasions, a more subtle approach to juxtaposition can be equally rewarding such as this example of a "cat and mouse" for an information systems help-desk pamphlet.

But whatever the case, remember this: all forces in nature can be seen as having Yin and Yang states, and it's imperative for the photographer, through Juxtaposition, to clearly delineate those differences.

#3 - Falling Down

2007-04-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

From point A to point B: our economy and society relies on efficient and safe transportation networks. But when this freedom of movement is impeded, the result is chaos and often a major news story--particularly if the problem occurs in a vast metropolitan area and on the same stretch of roadway, twice. The recent gas tanker explosion and fiery destruction of the Bay Area's Interstate 80 brought to mind the first catastrophe this freeway had endured and an equally challenging assignment I had to cover: the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and the collapse of an elevated segment on the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Bridge.

When the main tremors struck, I was seated in the first base field box at Candlestick Park photographing the Giants/Athletics World Series match-up. Like a rowboat rolling over a sequence of small wakes, the sensation of the experience paled in comparison to the enormity of damage it inflicted on the region. However, once the initial excitement and momentary hoopla waned and the news-radio reports started flooding in, everyone in that ballpark realized the magnitude of this event but no one could predict its impact on all of our lives for the months and even years ahead. But for me, and practically every wire service photographer in Northern California, the immediate future was certain--48 sleepless hours of earthquake devastation coverage awaited us.

On the second day of this assignment, the collapse of a Bay Bridge section and the resulting commuter nightmare it caused became the focus of the story and arrangements were made for aerial photos of this hotspot. Considering the cost of a charter helicopter and the tightly restricted airspace around the area, I prepared for any eventuality packing a 600mm lens plus a 1.4 and 2X extender. (Note: as a point of reference, most aerial photography is done at an altitude of 1000 feet where a 70 to 105mm lens, depending on the subject, is more than sufficient). Long story short, my preparations paid off for as we hovered over the site and I struggled to identify it(through the haze and distance we were allowed to fly-over), the ultra-long glass and accessories became a necessity and this transmitted photo was taken with nearly an 800mm focal length lens!

The lesson here is simple: when bridges are falling down and aerial photos are the first or only option, prepare for the worst and your results will be the best.

#2 - Stealing 2nd

2007-04-15T01:04:00.000-07:00

"Holy Cow!" -Harry Caray, late Chicago Cubs broadcaster

Casually mention the words "second base" to any sports photographer covering a ball game under a tight deadline and they're bound to smile. For even though it's considered a cliche' shot(much like the "armpit" in basketball), that frequent but timely 6-4-3 double play with the leaping second baseman and sliding baserunner is an ace-in-the-hole and often the only game action photo an early deadline will allow.

In honor of a new season, I offer my favorite second base photo and an account from two decades ago of perhaps the strangest play I ever witnessed while documenting any sporting event.

With its afternoon schedule, cozy atmosphere, and historical ambience, Chicago's Wrigley Field was a sports photographer's dream venue. My assignment on this sunny and warm June workday was the Cubs versus the Astros, and sipping on a soft drink perched in a third base field box chair, I gazed at the batter's box as Houston's Billy Hatcher slapped a single into the outfield. Then suddenly, like a shot from a starter's pistol, he took off for second base--stretching and streaking, gaining momentum with every stride. Hastily I pointed my 400mm lens towards the runner and zone-focused in on the base just as infielder Paul Noce dashed over to snare the catcher's throw. I can't recall actually "seeing" what happened next, as my camera mirror was flickering in a rapid fire sequence of film frames, but I can remember Hatcher soaring over the dirt before lunging for the bag. When the dust settled, Noce was tagging Hatcher, Hatcher was clutching second base, and the base itself was resting near the outfield!

The game was halted immediately for infield repairs and a tirade by Cub's manager Gene Michael who insisted the baserunner was out. After a lengthy conference, the umpire and all officials agreed that Hatcher safely stole second base because it never left his grasp regardless of its location(some 5-10 feet from where it really belonged)and even though Noce was applying a tag(but after the play had ended).

Without the luxury of a television instant replay(or a digital camera's preview feature), I left the stadium confused and uncertain about what I would find on my film. But after souping it, I smiled from ear to ear for the decisive moment was recorded and a photo that truly embodied Stealing 2nd was captured!

#1 - Final Rendezvous

2007-04-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

(Note: like most newsphotographers(I'm guessing), I saved the credentials and press passes from significant assignments, and over the years, I've managed to accumulate quite a collection of them. Not long ago, I sorted through this large box of "memories" and decided to highlight some of the historic events and people that impacted my career and in essence, all of our lives. This post is the first installment of the series.)

It was a fitting tribute of celebration and closure for a horrific national disaster. It could never happen today, and will probably never happen again, considering contemporary security measures and logistical concerns, not to mention the financial issues for matters like crowd and even litter control. But on this very evening, 21 years ago, I stood in amazement on the top of a parking structure near the banks of Buffalo Bayou recording and watching as one man's dream brought the Houston, Texas skyline to life.

French New Age artist Jean Michel Jarre composed and orchestrated this multi-media musical wonder, which incorporated skyscrapers as giant projection screens with laser lights and fireworks erupting from their rooftops and tower speakers that seemed to rival the buildings in size. The free hour long concert attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators and was intended as a reception to salute the mission and crew of the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger flight(which exploded shortly after lift-off on January 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board). While probably most remembered for the death of the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe, the mission was to feature another first: astronaut Ron McNair, an accomplished musician, was scheduled to play and record the first musical piece(a saxophone solo)in space which would have been mixed into a track on Michel Jarre's final album release. But as a result of the NASA tragedy, the Houston Rendezvous became a commemorative event dedicated to the memory of McNair and the crew of the Challenger shuttle.

From a news coverage and photographic standpoint, I clearly recall two details from this assignment: first, the abundance and intensity of light and the flawless execution of the concert; and second, the enormity of the crowd and the resulting traffic I was forced to battle to meet my filing deadline. After scouting ideal locations and vantage points a week in advance, I(and several other newsphotogs)chose the rooftop of a parking structure about one mile away from the mainstage/skyline. Arriving several hours before the show, we set-up tripods for timed exposures and waited for nightfall. When the concert began, we were all shocked at its luminosity(not to mention sound quality)and reveled in the thought of our finished prints. (I dare say even spectators that hand-held cameras had acceptable results--it was that bright!). But when the show ended, the problems began. Since seating was free and consisted of any elevated/flat or private/public space within a two mile radius of the downtown area, every highway and street was flooded with departing traffic and I had an early PM filing deadline to meet. It seems dreamlike(and legal!)now, but I recall jumping a few curbs and driving on some lawns, and eventually I managed to transmit my photo on time.

In an age where photographing skyscrapers is practically forbidden and concert tickets sell for hundreds of dollars, it's sad to think that a production like this really is a Final Rendezvous.

From a Cubist's Perspective

2007-03-29T01:04:00.000-07:00

In every photographer there was a painter, a true artist, awaiting expression. -Pablo Picasso

About one hundred years ago, two visionary painters launched a movement and style that would revolutionize the world of art even today. They collaboratively experimented with a system which sought to totally flatten space, defy the physical laws of gravity and nature, and delight in confusing the spectator at every possible turn. Both Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque introduced Cubism, but my recent visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the exhibit, "Picasso and American Art", provided the inspiration for this post--so it's Picasso's legacy and work we will discuss and focus on.

Picasso's early Cubist paintings featured an ambiguous sense of space by utilizing geometric shapes to flatten and simplify form and extremely bright colors to express structure rather than emotion. A few years later, "Analytical Cubism" evolved, and Picasso abandoned color for monochromatic tones and he deconstructed objects and rearranged them on the canvas intersecting and interpenetrating one another to depict different viewpoints simultaneously. Traditionally, artists tended to represent one specific viewpoint at one specific moment in time; Picasso felt this was too limiting and wished to portray an object from several angles and at multiple moments in time. This new development led me to ponder Cubism and its application to photography.

Considering the attributes and effects a Cubist work is striving to communicate, I believe a multiple exposure on a single frame of film fulfills most of these qualities. Aside from the flattened sense of space(after all, photography is predicated on illustrating three dimensions on a two dimensional plane), a multiple exposure captures various moments in time with intersecting and overlapping planes. An early example of unintended Cubism in my career is this triple exposure of Tanya Tucker in concert(note: this photo required 108 separate exposures on a 36 exposure roll of film--only one frame proved to be publishable.)

Later on, I realized the most effective way to represent a successful day of angling on the Crooked River(for my photo essay/book project, Fly Fishing Oregon in Black and White), was by using a double exposure of river run and trout. Since then, thanks to my SFMOMA visit, Picasso's visual lessons have inspired me, and now I vow to return with a new body of work from a Cubist's perspective.

Selection and Control

2007-03-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

What use is having a great depth of field, if there is not an adequate depth of feeling? -W. Eugene Smith

We all yearn for selection and struggle for control in our lives. Fortunately, as photographers, we're in command of both of these variables when creating our work. Selective Focus and Controlled Depth of Field are treated separately in the list of the 15 Elements of Composition, but in theory and in practice I view them as complimentary techniques.

An image begins with an idea and ultimately ends by conveying a message--in between, a few decisions and some mechanical processes combine to produce the finished product. Aside from the prevailing(or manufactured)lighting conditions and the choice of a lens focal length, selecting the focus and controlling the depth of field will determine the intent and therefore the success of a photograph.

The focus of an image(i.e., focal point)first attracts the viewer's eye while its supporting details(either enhanced or limited by depth of field)lead them through the rest of the picture. So in essence, the interpretation of any work is consciously selected and controlled by the photographer, not the viewer.

For example, when striving to accentuate or isolate a singular subject from a descriptive background, try focusing on the main element while incorporating a shallow, but discernable, level of depth of field to add detail yet separation to the image. Consider these three illustrations:

Photo #1: Focusing on the "Mickey Mantle" autographed baseball minimizes the player in a N.Y. Yankee's uniform in the background, suggesting he was simply a fantasy baseball camp member.

Photo #2: Focusing on the pair of rare stamps in the foreground, magnifies their importance while still identifying their owner.

Photo #3: Focusing and concentrating on a single video cover with an identifiable but non-distracting background, accentuates its importance as a rental favorite.

Selection and Control--photographers really do own the best of both worlds.

You can't depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus. -Mark Twain

Precisionism or Photography?

2007-03-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

The world of art revolves all around us--in a full circle it seems--and often its historical influences remain unnoticed or unrecognized in our creative minds and even in our photographic work. This belief became apparent to me after a recent visit to San Francisco's M.H. de Young Art Museum and a tour of Charles Sheeler's exhibit, Across Media.

Sheeler is considered the archetype of the 1920's Precisionist movement in art: a painting style characterized by exact, hard, flat, big, industrial, and photographic-like subjects. He avoided figures in favor of near abstract geometric shapes, and believed in the "unseen soul" of the inanimate object. His fascination with American industrialization and the progression of modern architecture became an obsession and his work mirrors the displacement of the natural world by the industrial world.

But nevertheless, Sheeler always managed to find some sense of beauty and dignity in this struggle, and for me, that's the essence of his legacy. In the past, I've photographed shadows cast on a series of oil storage tanks and replicating features on the exterior of an exclusive apartment complex oblivious to Precisionist principles--but that won't happen again.

For Sheeler, the subject was the style--photography fed into painting and vice versa--but industrialization was always the underlying theme. Today, in a society increasingly dependant and dominated by technology(particularly in the visual media field), I wonder is Precisionism actually photography, or is Photography really precisionism?

Silhouette

2007-02-18T02:49:00.000-08:00

sil-hou-ette(SIL oo ET)n. 1. a profile drawing or portrait having its outline filled in with uniform color, commonly black. 2. the outline of a solid figure.

Easily the most recognizable of the 15 compositional elements, silhouette is a wonderful technique to accentuate subject lines and shapes, create drama and establish mood, or to target a specific focal point in a photograph.

A silhouette is formed when a subject is intensely backlit, however strong side-lighting or subjects obscured in shadow with openly lit backgrounds can produce the same result. Naturally, proper exposure of the highlight area is critical to ensure this inherently contrasty effect.

Here are three variations of silhouettes from my photo essay/book project--Fly Fishing Oregon in Black and White:

Example 1 - Exposing for the tying lamp bulb emphasizes the hair of this rabbit strip trout fly.

Example 2 - Exposing for the sky and clouds intensifies the arc of this taut fly rod.

Example 3 - Exposing for the canyon background, with the subject in shadow from the opposite canyon wall, directs the viewer's eye to the netted trout.

If the medium is the message, and minimalism is the goal, try a silhouette--then you'll discover less truly is more.

The Stock Market

2007-01-27T01:24:00.000-08:00

Up until the time it "crashed" in the mid-1990's, I was a major player in the stock market. The commodity I traded wasn't corn, pork bellies, or soy beans, but black and white sports photographs--and they were in constant demand. With at least a dozen magazines publishing on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, an enterprising photographer could make a decent living covering the circuit of major league baseball, basketball, and football focusing on the superstars of the games while not neglecting to capture the rookies and up-and-coming players too. But as printing technology evolved and the preference for color photography increased, the need for these black and white images diminished as well. But regardless of the format or medium that is in vogue today, the characteristics of successful stock sports photographs remains the same.

I believe an effective stock sports photo exhibits three main qualities: it's Ultra-tight, Tack-sharp, and Super-clean. Even though compelling sports action shots command these same elements, stock photos are meant to accomplish a completely different task--they are "sportraits", or singular images highlighting a specific individual engaged in their environment and position. Snapping this type of picture requires isolating the subject with the longest possible lens, the fastest shutter speed with the most shallow depth of field, and the least distracting background conceivable. So by definition, first-rate sports stock photos are simple--to read, to recognize, and to understand--but this simplicity can be deceiving.

An on-going debate remains among sports photographers about the legitimacy of shooting stock images. Some purists maintain the essence of sports photography is freezing a specific moment that embodies the competitive spirit of an event, and that stock images somehow diminish that goal. Having been on both sides of this dispute, I can say this: you can't judge a photo simply by its appearance.

While sports action photography necessitates superior knowledge of the game and the players involved, sports stock photography demands an intuitive familiarity with specific individuals and their behaviors and the subtle nuances that personify their style of play. Both types of pictures present unique challenges for any photographer, and remember--often the most basic "looking" photograph requires the greatest amount of effort.

Framing

2007-01-20T00:55:00.000-08:00

I think about photographs as being full or empty. You picture something in the frame and it's got lots of accounting going on in it--stones and buildings and trees and air--but that's not what fills up a frame. You fill up the frame with feelings, energy, discovery, and risk, and leave room enough for someone else to get in there. -Joel Meyerowitz

Framing is a compositional element that is best applied figuratively rather than literally. Although it was once considered avant-garde for a subject to place an actual picture frame around their face, I think this technique has run its course.

In reality, photographers use framing to direct the viewer's attention or focus to the primary subject of a picture. Frames serve a double purpose of creating a more aesthetically pleasing image as well as emphasizing or separating the subject from the rest of the photo. Moreover, they add depth and can be used to obscure undesirable elements from the foreground or background.

Ideally, an element used as a frame should not draw attention to itself, but should relate to the overall theme of the photograph. In these two examples, the frames--though disparate--fulfill these necessary requirements: a cross country runner is surrounded and framed by the environment of his event; and a young girl is entranced and framed by the dolls at a craft show she desperately longs to possess. In both cases, despite the variances of focal length and subject matter, the frames augment the photographs and do not detract from them.

Framing offers photographers a world of possibilities--but remember to save the "real" picture frames for the finished product!

Panning

2007-01-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

The difference in "seeing" between the eye and the lens should make it obvious that a photographer who merely points his camera at an appealing subject and expects to get an appealing picture in return may be headed for a disappointment.
- Andreas Feininger

Ask anyone who owns a camera and they'll probably tell you photography is all about capturing, freezing, or isolating moments. But often simply "stopping" an instant is not the most effective way to portray it. One alternative requires some experimentation and practice, but once mastered, this compositional element can produce some amazing results.

If you're photographing a moving subject and wish to accentuate or focus on its motion and speed, or you're trapped in a low-light situation where using fast shutter speeds aren't an option, the technique to apply is Panning. The basic idea behind this approach is to track your camera along in time with a moving subject resulting in an image with a sharp(or relatively sharp)main subject but a blurred background. Panning seems to work best with subjects moving along a relatively straight trajectory allowing you to predict where they'll be moving to. Also keep in mind these considerations:

Depending upon the light and speed of your subject, shutter speed selection will range from 1/60th to 1/8th of a second. 1/30th seems to be a good starting point, but don't be afraid to experiment with faster/slower speeds.
Position yourself in a place free from obstructions and consider the background of your shot, avoiding distracting colors, elements, or shapes.
Remain parallel to the path of your subject and track it smoothly as it approaches. Once you've released the shutter, continue to track or follow through with the motion of the subject even after the shot is complete--this will ensure the motion blur is smooth from start to finish.

Another variation to use while panning is incorporating a flash(with a subject in close proximity)as it will further freeze the main subject while imparting the background motion you're after. In this example image, I was assigned to cover a timed shopping event where contestants raced to complete their grocery lists with the hope of winning a free shopping spree. Panning was the perfect device to stress the frenetic pace of the shoppers, and utilizing direct fill flash and a 1/15th shutter speed offered the recipe for success.

It commands patience and practice, and can be equally frustrating and fun, but once it's conquered, Panning is a powerful photographic technique.

The Decisive Moment

2007-01-07T23:54:00.000-08:00

Inside movement there is one moment in which the elements are in balance. Photography must seize the importance of this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it.
-Henri Cartier-Bresson

In life, all moments matter, but in photography, one moment matters most. At the risk of sounding trite, newsphotography is all about capturing this "moment". And while it's an understatement to say that the decisive moment is a key principle of the 15 elements of composition, this visual "instant" should remain easy to identify or define.

Decisive moments in photography are universal and can happen anywhere at any time with any type of subject matter(e.g., features, news, sports, etc.). Henri Cartier-Bresson described them as: "the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression." Simply put, a decisive moment consists of both aesthetic as well as informative elements.

I believe an effective news-photo requires three key components: content, organization, and presentation, and all of these features combine to create a decisive moment. And when it comes to pursuing or recognizing these moments, there is no substitute for knowledge--of your subject.

In this basketball example, thanks to past experience, I knew exactly what to expect and how to freeze this decisive moment on film. With the score tied and only seconds left in the game, when the Chicago Bulls called a time out, I anticipated their next move. Sprinting from the opposite end of the court, I switched to a wide angle lens and composed my picture including the scoreboard, well aware that the ball and outcome would be in Michael Jordan's hands. When his teammates cleared the floor and he drove the lane, it was simply a matter of squeezing off a few frames to document the final shot--or in this case, foul--which led to the free-throws and a Bulls' victory.

Before venturing out or while you're on a photo shoot, take a moment to familiarize yourself or recall/reflect on any significant details about your subject--knowledge can be invaluable, while decisive moments are irreplaceable.

1984

2007-01-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

As we usher in a new year, it's only human nature that our thoughts drift to the past yet speculate about the future. I was eerily reminded of this recently after glancing at novelist George Orwell's 1949 masterwork, 1984.

Barely in my twenties and UPI's Iowa and Nebraska Newspictures Bureau Manager, in 1984, I recall generally pleasant times symbolized by our nation's first female Vice Presidential candidate and a renewed interest in our space program, not to mention my first hot air balloon ride and some awfully hot weather! To me, Orwell's vision of a depressing totalitarian society was simply preposterous.

But twenty-three years worth of sobering reflection later, now I seriously wonder if Orwell possessed psychic powers after all. Just contemplate these "predictions" from his book and consider their accuracy or relevancy today(courtesy of www.newspeakdictionary.com):

1984: Newspeak
Today: Politically correct speech

1984: Telescreens in every room. The programming runs 24 hours a day and the proles have no way of turning their screens off.
Today: Televisions in every room. The programming runs 24 hours a day and the proles rarely turn their screens off.

1984: Lotteries with very few(if any)winners, held just to collect income for the state and to give hope to the masses.
Today: Lotteries with very few(if any)winners, held just to collect income for the state and to give hope to the masses.

1984: Ministry of Peace
Today: Department of Defense

1984: People are steered away from consuming rare goods such as chocolate, steak, sugar, coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol by rationing.
Today: People are steered away from consuming rare goods such as chocolate, steak, sugar, coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol by warnings that declare these items are bad for your health.

1984: There is always war. If peace is made with one country, war is claimed on another nation to keep the military machine rolling.
Today: There is always war. If peace is made with one country, war is claimed(or threatened)on another nation to keep the military machine rolling.

1984: Songs are created by machines. This is done to make sure nobody can take credit for songs, or write songs not in line with Ingsoc.
Today: Songs are created by synthesizers. Nobody can realistically take credit for their own songs because most are re-mixes or a collage of dubs from other people's music.

In 2007, that's some food for thought!

An Analog Log, Part II

2006-12-26T02:32:00.000-08:00

In the digital age with today's technology, all a newsphotographer needs to cover an assignment and file images from a remote location in a matter of minutes(possibly even seconds!)is a digital camera, laptop computer, and a telephone. To offer some perspective on how significant these advancements are from the past, and to clarify and expand upon last week's post, let's revisit the Iowa Boys State High School Baseball Tournament one year later . . .

7/27/84, Marshalltown, IA (UPI): Another baseball season has ended, new teams have emerged to compete for the title, but the assignment's location and logistics remain the same. In addition to your camera equipment and supplies(i.e., Kodak 35mm Tri-X film and Ilford 8x10" Multigrade RC photo paper), these are the necessities to cover the job from your temporary "photo bureau"(i.e., motel room):

A Darkroom: Without exception, the bathroom--as it offered two mandatory requirements: a source of water and a light-tight space. If the sink was located outside of it, water could be used from the bathtub or carried by buckets into the room. If the space wasn't light-tight, black plastic sheeting was duct-taped over the leaks.

A Darkroom Kit: A traveling case was typically no more than 20"x30"x10" deep in size, and bear in mind, all of your film and paper processing equipment and supplies needed to fit inside of it! The kit included:
Chemicals - Liquid or powder concentrates were the first choice for ease of handling and packing, and they could be mixed to quantity on location. For quick one day shoots, pre-mixed individual plastic bottles were packed, but in any event, a wire photog needed to carry film developer(Kodak D-76 or HC-110, or Acufine), fixer/hypo(the same concentration was used for film and paper), paper developer(Kodak Dektol), and Kodak Photo-Flo for film.
Film Processing - All of the following components: a 4 reel developing tank, 4 35mm film reels, a darkroom graduate, thermometer, a timer, a hair-dryer(used for film and paper), and a lupe magnifier, paper punch, and scissors for editing.
Paper Processing - These items comprised the bulk of the kit: a portable enlarger(I chose a Unicolor 35mm with a Nikon 50mm/F 2.8 lens, as its column and baseboard were under 30" long to fit inside the case although this reinforced the need to shoot everything full frame!), a spare enlarger bulb(they burned out at the worst possible times!), an enlarging timer(however, frequently I just timed exposures in my head--1000-1, 1000-2, etc.), a set of Ilford Multigrade filters, an 8x10" UPI speed easel, a dodging tool, an attachable safelight, 3 8x10" processing trays, towels for a print squeegee and the hair dryer for print drying were already included, and finally a spotting kit for minor print imperfections.

Journalistic Tools: Once the film was edited and a high-quality print produced, the culmination of the assignment was delivering(as quickly as possible, I might add!)a fully captioned and publishable image to your network of clients. A small, manual typewriter and letter-sized adhesive labeling provided the caption and other pertinent information, and the UPI domestic transmitter did the rest. Simply put, with a print attached to its revolving drum, a light sensor scanned tonal values creating sound impulses that were decoded by a receiving printer on the opposite end which produced a facsimile print of the original image. This was done by hardwiring the transmitter to a telephone(normally through the receiver using alligator clips on the inside prongs of the mouthpiece)and for an 8x10" print, the transmission process lasted about 8 minutes. A color photograph(or project, as it was called)required 3 separate scans(for the magenta, cyan, and yellow printers)and lasted nearly half an hour--but that's another story. Needless to say, an inordinate amount of time was spent using the telephone lines to deliver images across the network(taking into account poor reception quality or power surges that resulted in defects, hits, or other circumstances that rendered photos unusable), and a wire service's long distance usage certainly accounted for some serious coin in the telephone industry!

But, when everything went off as envisioned or planned, there was no singular greater feeling(for a UPI photographer at that time)than witnessing the fruits of your labor as a stack of published clips from dual wire service newspapers--that is truly how it was!

An Analog Log

2006-12-19T00:19:00.000-08:00

This is how it was . . .

7/30/83, Marshalltown, IA (UPI): The Iowa Boys State High School Baseball Tournament--After securing a nearby cheap motel room which served as a makeshift photo lab(the tiny bathroom outfitted with a portable Unicolor enlarger resting on the sink, three printing trays in the tub with a safelight hanging from the shower curtain rod, and a film processing tank filled with Kodak HC-110 developer at the ready)and photo editing/transmission center(the telephone dismantled and alligator-clipped mouthpiece wired to accommodate the UPI domestic transmitter), I was fully equipped and totally prepared to cover this crucial statewide event. Armed with a Nikon FM camera, auto winder, and 300mm/F 4.5 lens--locked and loaded with Tri-X film--I was the archetype of a sports photographer for that time.

Positioning myself along the first base line in the 100 degree heat, I had the opportunity to strike sports photography gold. When an errant throw from left field stretched a single into a double scoring a run, the catcher was forced to dive for but miss the cut-off relay, and I follow-focused/squeezed off three sequential frames sensing I had captured something remarkable. Rushing back to the darkroom, I waited in eager anticipation to view the film I had just shot. After it cleared in the hypo, I knew this photo had "legs". Quickly knocking out a print(which from exposed film to finished product took less than 30 minutes, thanks to resin-coated photo paper and the utilitarian hair dryer for both film and paper), I offered this photo to the statewide split(meaning it would be transmitted to only Iowa and Nebraska clients), but after the regional editors in Chicago were able to see it, they recommended it for the entire Central/West region--something normally unheard of for state-specific stories. Later I learned this "inconsequential" Iowa boys baseball photo had been published in several client newspapers throughout the Central and Western United States--much to my amazement!

We've come a long ways since then, but our past still defines who we are today. To all the former Unipressers of the world, I salute and thank you for the memories!

Triptych

2006-12-10T23:51:00.000-08:00

An ancient form that has since influenced many contemporary painters and photographers, it arose from early Christian art and was the standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Derived from the Greek(tri meaning "three" and ptychee meaning "fold"), the triptych is a work of art divided into three sections with the whole intended to be greater than the sum of its parts.

Recently I had the opportunity to work a five month stretch in a cleanroom environment for the semiconductor industry, and from day one, I was amazed at the precautions and safeguards that were instituted simply to set foot in the production area or "fab" as it was called. Besides having fresh-air circulated and fully ventilated ceilings and floors, workers were expected to dress in cover-alls that concealed and protected the wafers from any form of human contamination. Essentially this meant that from head to toe, not a single body part was left uncovered.

Eventually I approached the management and asked if I could photographically document an entire workday(12 hours--we worked a compressed shift)and was granted unprecedented access heretofore unknown in the semiconductor industry(note: additional photos will be displayed/discussed in future posts). The first images I wanted to capture were of the workers, and considering all of the measures they had to take simply to perform their jobs, I felt that a triptych(or disjointed collection of three separate individuals and their uniforms from top to bottom)demonstrated this circumstance the best.

When searching for a structure to enhance or reveal multiple images as one, don't overlook the triptych--after all, history will be in your favor.

Dominant Foreground, Contributing Background

2006-12-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

With its macro capability yet panoramic and sweeping perspective, the wide angle lens(in this case, the 20mm, my personal favorite)is the perfect choice for utilizing the compositional technique of dominant foreground, contributing background.

The essence of this device can be summarized in two words: content and context. The main subject, or content, must dominate the image(notably the foreground)with the background contributing a contextual, complimentary, or supporting element to the photograph.

While working on my essay of 100 black and white photographs capsulizing a season of Oregon fly fishing, I needed a picture depicting the first full box of flies I ever tied and a suitable environment that provided it with a contextual meaning--I discovered the perfect balance on the banks of Fall River near Bend, OR. Considering the inherent depth of field it offered, a wide angle lens presented the best of both worlds for this shot. This is not to say that a telephoto lens can't be used to employ this technique(with the correct application they can be quite effective), however I believe a wide/medium wide angle lens was created specifically to facilitate this type of photography.

If your creative intent is to accentuate or isolate a singular subject in an explanatory framework, then this is the method you should rely on.

Powerpoint: The Rule of Thirds

2006-12-02T00:26:00.000-08:00

Whether it's applied consciously, or as I believe in most cases unconsciously or even accidentally, the rule of thirds is the most basic or fundamental compositional technique that photographers can employ to create more energy, interest, or tension in their images. I say this because most photographs, especially newspictures, are conceived in a matter of seconds which doesn't allow the photographer the luxury of planning, reflection, or time--everything is done instinctually and purposefully, without regard to any "rules". Perhaps a definition of this creative device will support my argument.

The rule states that an image(or your viewfinder)can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, with this grid forming four points from the intersections of these lines--commonly referred to as the powerpoints--which in turn can be used as targets to align features in the photograph. Moreover, the rule of thirds can be adapted by positioning subjects either parallel or perpendicular to the guiding lines--sighting the horizon with the top or bottom lines for example, or allowing linear or spatial features to flow from section to section across the image with respect to the vertical lines. In any event, most people would agree this technique offers much more impact than simply centering a subject.

Moments are fleeting and often there's only time to react and capture something that feels and looks "right". So whether it's in theory or in practice, a conscious decision or an unconscious one, the rule of thirds, its nine section grid, and the power of the four powerpoints should always be in the forefront of your photographic imagination.

The Agony and The Ecstasy

2006-11-18T00:29:00.000-08:00

A sports image works when people don't have to read the caption.
-Bernard Brault

The world of sports serves as a microcosm of our society. At any age or any level, sporting events reveal the spectrum of human behaviors and emotions. There are heroes and villains, costly mistakes and lucky breaks, minutes of euphoria and hours of despair--and ultimately, winners and losers. It's this dichotomy that's of particular significance to the newsphotographer.

Early in my wire service career, the importance of capturing meaningful sports jubilation or dejection photos was hammered home. After all, it was our mission to provide client publications with images that clearly and definitively represented the outcome of games, and simply put, there is no better way to do that than with these types of pictures. With one compelling jubilation or dejection photo, readers know in an instant the outcome of their home team's game and clarity of that magnitude in the news business isn't easy to express.

For example, in this photo, fans would recognize the dejected player as the kicker and would immediately realize that the game was in his hands and the outcome is obvious--he missed the game winning kick and the Packers lost--all of this information is readily apparent in his expression and posture, nothing more needs to be communicated.

I believe sporting events offer photographers some of the purest moments of human emotion, and it's between the lines and the agony and the ecstasy where these images are found.

Introducing Disorder

2006-11-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

A Ming vase can be well-designed and well-made and is beautiful for that reason alone. I don't think this can be true for photography. Unless there is something a little incomplete and a little strange, it will simply look like a copy of something pretty. We won't take an interest in it. -John Loengard

When thousands of agitated Wisconsin tavern owners converged on the State Capitol steps to protest the raising of the legal drinking age from 19 to 21, the media was out in force too, hoping to capture or depict the anger and frustration these people felt and the controversy this topic generated as well. While most of the photogs at this event were satisfied to shoot wide angle pictures--surmising that perspective realistically conveyed the size of the crowd--I chose a different view utilizing one of the compositional techniques discussed in a previous post: introducing disorder.

Even though this topic generated some confusion and debate in one of my photo classes, I stand by this definition for the term: introducing disorder relies on a generally chaotic scene with a clear focal point and a discernable and simple message. By employing a telephoto lens(in this case, a 180mm)and concentrating(or compressing)a selected section of the crowd, I believe this photo was able to accomplish those goals.

The essence of photojournalism is story-telling -- cleanly and quickly -- and sometimes there is beauty and truth in chaos.