Shadow In Time

Monday. The start to another week of roaming for stories that would somehow make the cut to fill slots in another newscast. Yeah the ideas look good on paper, most everything does. But when things don't go as plan what do you do?

Call the desk? Tell them that we may need to go to plan B. Just one problem, plan B is falling by the waist side. (sigh)

Do we just sit and wait at this one? Maybe, just maybe things will fall our way. Someone will come out and give us something totally unexpected. Something that will catch everyone's attention leaving the producers salivating in the afternoon meeting that they will start a UFC Battle Royal to see who will have it in their show first. Sadly that's usually not the case.

Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and let the cards fall where they may. It's a nice day, not too warm perfect for this time of year in South LA. Why else would photojournalist extraordinaire Chris Sasser snap this cool picture. That plus it's also a short a week. Just pass the time somehow, did you know?

Where's The Love???

It’s no secret that people of HBO have delivered some of the best television in recent memory. Shows like The Sopranos, True Blood, and The Wire. Now the network is going to bring us a new series this summer called The Newsroom. A gritty drama about the behind the scenes issues of a popular cable news network. The problems of the main anchor losing his cool & becoming a viral video sensation. Producers constantly bickering with the talent on the direction of the show. And the managers who must somehow find balance to produce quality television while making a profit. Yes all this and more but I have one question,

WHERE ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHERS?????

After watching the trailer there was no mention of the hard working men and women who throw fancy cams with fuzzy mics on their shoulders. The ones who go beyond the call of duty to make the talent look good while trying to fit a lunch break in with dozens of live shots trusted upon them. Don’t get me wrong this has the makings of a great show but I employ the creators of this series to please bring in a strong group to accurately portray the photographer ranks. No doing live shots in the middle of a tornado. For that matter no doing live shots without a live truck. And for all that is good please let them hold the camera the correct way. And if you need someone to bring guidance to actors & actresses I do offer my services, did you know?

AH CRAP! LOOK OUT!!!!

It's Friday night. The lights are on. The cool air is all around you. It's time for high school football. The glitz, the glamor, the pageantry, and tradition of young players continuing their athletic careers for loyal fans & alumni. Not to mention get their highlights on the local football shows across the state. However there is something that no photographer, rookie or veteran wants to hear....

....CAMERA DOWN! CAMERA DOWN!

That's what usually happen when you have a player going full speed towards you while you are roaming along the sidelines. Yeah you have to keep your distance but it still happens. It's cool that you get mentioned on the highlights. But it's never a good feeling that you have to tell the engineers what happen. Think it's worse when they tell you the parts needed to fix the fancy cam are on back order.

Imperfect Refelection

One thing that photographers can do is find something to amuse ourselves with. Granted it's the evening and the producers want live shots on the levee of the river. But that doesn't mean we can't take time to capture the moment of a once in a lifetime occurrence. At least it gives us a chance to polish up on our lighting techniques with subject that will be back lit in a few minutes. Although there isn't much I can do with ol' Derron "X RAY TED" Daquano. If I had an HMI, then maybe. However, what would you expect we're photographers no one wants to see us in front of the camera. Maybe the Turdpolisher but that's the exception to the rule.

Photos From The President

How cool is it to go to the Nation's Capital stand outside the gates of the White House pull out your point and shoot camera to document the occasion. Let me ask this, how cool would it be to be able to go around the White House chillin with the most powerful person in the free world and take their picture? Got your attention? Good. That has been the case for the last 50 years when a select few were given the honor to photograph some of the most powerful, captivating, and intimate moments of the President & The First Family. And you thought a tv news photographer had to be on top of their game.

From the time when JFK was hard at work and a little visitor peeked out the front of the kneehole panel in the the desk.
To a trio of Commanders In Chief sharing a story in the Oval Office before the next historic event was to happen.

Images that are once in a lifetime. Rarely seen but can still captivate emotion while standing the test the test of time. I wouldn't mind meeting some of these guys capturing momentous chapters in the lives of leaders. I would simply ask, "How cool of a job do you have?"