Why are we photographers?

There's nothing like listening to a photographer talk about his/her work. But what's even more impressive...is listening to a photographer who has overcome immense obstacles - and still feels the passion and desire to capture images to tell a story.


That is what freelance photojournalist John Trotter talked about during one of the sessions at SPJ Nationals today. (www.johntrotterphoto.com)


He started off his session by talking about how photojournalists only visualize themselves being endangered in war zones when out on the job. But then he described his ordinary day. While out shooting photos for a feature, he was nearly beaten to death and taken to the hospital. When he woke up about a week later - his brain was injured and he had to relearn everything: walk, talk, remember, and push the shutter button on a camera.


He would ask for his camera and not even remember asking for it. He began a photo project on others who were receiving treatment at a brain injury institution. It helped him relearn how to be a photographer. And he continues to this day - as a freelance photographer.


When the session was over I had to ask him - what drives you to be a photographer after going through such a tramatic event?

He said that taking photographs helped him to grieve, cope with the experience and move on. In some ways it's somewhat therapeutic. It made perfect sense to me. He also told me that although it took him a while to get back out in the world as a photojournalist, after spending a year photographing at the brain injury treatment center, at this point in his life - he isn't timid to be out on the streets taking photos.

He used a quote during his presentation: "Photography (the camera) relieves for us the burden of memory."

Enough said.

Dear Zachary

Today I sat in a session of a man by the name of Kurt Kuenne. He is a filmmaker and composer of fiction films but has recently released two documentaries.

When he started the session he gave us a brief background on what this particular documentary - Dear Zachary - was about. He then said that he wasn't sure why he was invited to speak at a journalism convention because he considers himself a fictioinal composer - nothing near a journalist. But as he started showing clips of his documentary film...I wanted to raise my hand and say this is exactly why you are being shown at a journalism convention. You did the research. You did the interviews - all over the world. You covered all aspects of the story. You captured the emotion.

CLICK HERE to view his web site.

It's quite complicating, but this is what the documentary entailed:

• Ever since Mr. Kuenne was a young child he had made films of him and his friends - in fictional scenes, at various places, etc.
• When his friend Andrew was murdered he decided he wanted to make a tribute to his friend because he had all this film footage, as Andrew had been in all of his films.
• Things started unraveling and the murderer ended up being Andrew's ex girlfriend...who fled to Canada after the murder.
• A couple of months later it became known that she was pregnant with Andrew's baby.
• Mr. Kuenne switched his tribute around a bit...to make this memoir specifically directed towards the baby who was named Zachary.
• Mr. Kuenne traveled around the world meeting up with all of Andrew's friends and family. He did extensive interviews with all of them.
• In the end he would end up in Canada where Zachary was living with his mother (the murderer, who was able to walk around free on bail in Canada.)
• A month after he left, there was a homicide/suicide - involving the murderer and the innocent 13 month old baby.
• The project turned from a tribute to a public awareness documentary.

The emotion that was captured in this documentary really pulled me in - and the access/information that was given kept me there.

My biggest question was this. Journalism is all about ethics. Avoid conflict of interest. BUT when you are directly involved with your subject and you want to tell the story so that it leaves a lasting affect on the general public - it's nearly impossible to remove yourself from the story. So what do you do? Thoughts?

Switching Gears

In the last week, I've gone through several drastic changes.

Hot and humid to cool and breezy. Free evenings to working every night. Intern to assistant photo editor. No class to class. And the list goes on, but ultimately I'm starting to get back into the swing of things here at the U of I.

The day after I got back to Iowa, we hit the ground running at the DI. We have so many changes this year that it was a bit overwhelming in the beginning but I think it's going to turn into an exciting year.

Here are just a few things we are focusing on as a staff:

- Spotlights - This is an every day portrait series that is somewhat of a spin off of the NY Times' One in Eight Million. So far it seems to be going well, the only problem is quality audio slideshows everyday might get a little gruesome for some of our photographers who are being stretched pretty thin. I love the idea though and so far it's been executed well. Here are this weeks:

- Intramurals - Although we've always covered all the Big Ten sports we are beginning to cover intramurals. This is a way of incorporating more of the students into the paper and expanding our coverage on who UI students are and what they are doing.

-Avoiding lecture photos at all costs. It's something we've struggled with in the past. Lecture rooms are just not visible. Therefore, we are attempting to use the information from what reporters tell us will happen at the meeting - and go from there, doing our own reporting and capturing a portrait of various people who may be largely involved in that particular meeting.

-And of course - slideshows, slideshows and more slideshows.

-Video is also going to be a big push for the photographers this semester. If not for anyone else, it's a big push I have for myself. We will see what comes out of that.

The biggest difference between working desk two nights a week, attending a lot of meetings, and editing other's photos - I find myself not shooting photos as much as I have in the past or even this summer as an intern down in Houston. It's difficult to find the time to go out and produce a well composed, thoughtout product when time is a factor. I've managed to work on it throughout this week and I will continue to work on time management as the semester progresses.

The most amazing thing that I've found so far since I've been back - is that I remember the little things that various photographers and Mr. Steve Gonzales told me while I was down in Houston. When I'm out shooting photos - I can hear their voices in my head and I do everything that I can to apply it. I also use their advice everyday as I look at other people's work - trying to give my fellow staffers some of the knowledge I've gained in the last month.

***

Click here to view yesterday's Daily Iowan issue and let me know what you think of the dominant photo on metro and the dom photo on 80 Hours.

When I shot the photo of the veteran for metro front I wanted to show this man as a veteran. But I also wanted to show him in a different view - something that not anyone would see. So I spent some time with him.

I met him a few hours before the photo shoot and then we talked on the phone a couple of times to arrange a time. It was good to establish this work relationship with him before I arrived to take photos. I learned this from Michael Paulsen. I was amazed at how much smoother things went.

When I arrived at his apartment we just talked for a little while. I got used to his personality, and let him get used to me. I would snap a few photos occasionally and we would continue our conversation. Then, as we spent more time, I began seeing more things. I would ask him to do this, do that and he was more than cooperative. When he was unsure of what I was doing - I would show him on the back of my camera - this is what I am doing, this is what I am trying to do. I learned this from Johnny Hanson. He always told me - the more time you have with a subject, the better off you are. Work it as long as you can. If they question you - show them what you are working on and more times than not they will think it looks cool and be completely okay with what you were doing.

I thought it paid off. Let me know what you think.

As far as the 80 Hours cake photo shoot went...

I was working desk on Tuesday night when a photo request was turned in to photograph a cake that one of the metro editors had made for 80 Hours front - our Arts insert. I got done working desk at 12:30 a.m. and headed to his house with two on-camera flashes and a camera.

I was there until about 1:45 in the morning working all the different angles...with the help of two metro editors and the editor-in-chief. We started with a fully frosted cake...then lit candles...then added sprinkles...then added lit candles...and this is how it came out.

The only reason it turned out the way it did, however, is because of the experience I received down in Houston. I spent one morning in the studio with James Nielsen who showed me the ropes to various lighting techniques. I spent an afternoon in the studio shadowing Melissa Phillip photographing cupcakes and other food items. I also spent an afternoon in the studio shooting various trinkets while Mayra Beltran watched and answered questions that I had. The three of them combined gave me all the knowledge I needed to photograph this cake. AND on top of that all the lighting techniques I learned from Michael Paulsen contributed to the shoot as well. I couldn't have provided the product that I did without even one of them.

On that note, it's the end of the week and I'm spending the weekend at the Society of Professional Journalists National Convention in Indianapolis to further my knowledge and bring back more information to my co-workers and peers.

More to come in the next few days...

Final Thoughts in Houston

I was reluctant to go to my last day at the Chronicle - for one reason and one reason only - I was not ready to leave.

I spent my last day on two photo assignments - one was a press conference put on by part of the Houston Police Department in regards to a lawsuit. The other was a snake exhibit at the Children's Museum of Houston.

Going into the two assignments I was really excited. Press conferences can sometimes be difficult because of what you have to work with. I remembered back to one of my first days at the Chronicle when Steve Gonzales was going through Melissa Phillip's photos of a press conference. The photo that made a lasting impression on Steve, was of one of the men involved in the press conference leaving the place it was held. With that in mind, I went into the photo shoot thinking - how can I show something different than people talking at microphones? I looked for various angles, different ways of showing the situation and then I stayed at the site until they all left.

When I headed out to the snake exhibit, I also had things in the back of my mind - How can I show this differently than if a mother was taking a photo of her child here.

When I was finished with the two, I edited down what I thought was decent and headed up to talk to Steve. It was my last opportunity to have Steve Gonzales go through my photos and give me some last words of advice.

And this is what I got:

What is the story and how are you trying to tell it? Can you tell in this photo what is going on in this situation? Cover yourself - get photos from all viewpoints, at all angles, BUT you have to come back with a photo that tells the story by itself.

Are you moving all over the place? Sometimes it is a matter of picking yourself up six inches (Smiley Pool) or getting over one inch - just to capture that moment, get that extra layer, or make that perfect composition.

Does this photo look like something my grandmother could shoot? Get on the ground, stand on a chair, do whatever it is that needs to be done to give viewers something different.

Wait for the moment. Don't be in a hurry. Slow down, take control of the situation, put yourself in a position to create a beautiful photograph, wait for the moment, and then adjust. And when that is all done in the right way - you will have a photo. Eventually, it will become second nature. (Apparently there is a movie called, Shooter, that shows a photographer in the middle of battle and he is moving around to compose - I'm going to have to check that out.)

Sometimes it's helpful to take a step back from the situation and think - what is it that I'm trying to do or say...then do it.

Sometimes that movement of just stepping back will make all the difference in the world. This applies to editing also. Give yourself fresh eyes on things and ideas.

After turning in my photos I walked with Johnny Hanson to get some coffee and he gave me some last words of advice. He told me that right now while I'm in college - it's important to spend time working on a picture story. Dig deep, work on all the things I learned here, incorporate video, and see what I come out with.

Well, that is exactly what I was planning to do as an independent study course this semester. We will see how it works out.

Johnny and I talked about why we are in this business and he gave me insight on why he is. He told me that you get to see and experience things that no one else does. Yes, being able to travel and all the glamour that goes with various assignments are amazing to be a part of, but more importantly, you have the chance to interact with a variety of different people when you otherwise wouldn't have. It gives a new perspective on the world around you and the people surrounding you.

I was inspired.

And I want to inspire others. Which is why I have tried to keep a blog of all these experiences I've been given and what I've learned from them.

There were two basic things I was told while I was here by more than one photographer also. Julio Cortez said the number one rule is - Have fun. And Michael Paulsen's number one rule is help everyone you encounter. The two of them discussed this - even if it's a 10 year old kid with a point and shoot who has a question on something - help him out. There's something to be said about people who take time out of their day, to help others succeed.

At the end of the day, there was chocolate cake to be eaten, and the room was filled with a number of great people I had met in the last few weeks. I was asked to give a brief speech. Unprepared, I said what I knew, and that was this:

I am amazed at what the photo staff of the Houston Chronicle has to offer to not only their readers but to everyone surrounding them. They speak to each other and their subjects with the utmost respect - offering advice without question or giving suggestions when asked.  They are always looking out for one another and are genuinely curious about what is going on in the newsroom.  On top of all that, they are all extremely talented in their own way and each one brings something different to the table creating a talented diversified staff.

My Last Week at the Chronicle

In my last three days as an intern for the Houston Chronicle, I tried to consume as much information as possible.

On Monday, I spent the first half of the day shooting photos at a hair salon that was giving free cuts, styles, coloring, etc. to kids in preparation of going back to school. I spent a couple of hours there by trying to work different angles, work with mirrors, and try to see things differently. One of the photos ran B1 the next day. I would call that a success.

As far as the assignment went, Steve said that he could tell I was thinking. When you come across a photo opportunity, you need to be in control of the situation and wait for the moment within the picture to happen. It's hard to be patient sometimes, especially on deadline, but in my time here - it has finally hit me that you have got to play the waiting/hunting game. The shot rarely comes to you. You find it, and then you wait for it to happen.

Although I learned from that assignment, as I did from all the others, what really made my day a success was a conversation I had with Steve Gonzales and Billy Smith at the end of the day.

We spent a lot of time talking about the future and how to get a job in this world. Steve simply told me that in this business you have got to get in, work hard, keep contact, and when the time is right - things will fall into place. He said there are journalism jobs out there but they aren't advertised like they used to be. If you keep the contacts you make, some day things will work out as long as your work continues to grow.

In our conversation (and picked up from other conversations) some lessons I learned are these:
You don't have to decide right now that this is what you are going to do for the rest of your life. You can do it for a while and find something else later in life. You can do something else and find photojournalism later in life. Sometimes people go back to school. The world is full of possibilities Billy told me. And Steve said to never let anybody tell you that you can't do something that you want. But you have to want it.

Investments should be made. As a photojournalist, you really need to be equipped to do a good job which requires a decent camera, a lap top, computer programs, light kit, etc. I've been told by several of the people I have interacted with here, that it's essential to have good equipment.

Work to make money or work to get experience? If the experience is more than something you've already gained - it's essential to work for the experience. BUT if you aren't getting any further ahead - work to make money to be able to support the necessary equipment to succeed in this business.

Freelance. Do it. The more you get your name out, the better. Talk to people - places you may want to end up in the future, places around your home, etc. Social networking holds a huge place in freelancing - so it's important to keep contacts. In order to freelance though, you need to have the adequate equipment.

Tuesday I spent the day shadowing Michael Paulsen. Michael is one of the most talented portrait photographers I've ever met. In the 4 weeks I spent in Houston, almost every photographer told me that if I had a chance to talk to Michael Paulsen about portraits - he was the guy. I got lucky enough, on my second to last day, to go on a Gloss shoot with him to a mansion. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to the lighting of a subject and the environment surrounding the subject.

He had scoped out the area the day before the shoot, so he had an idea of what he was working with. He had the shot in mind.

He brought six lights, reflectors, ropes, extension cords, a bucket - seriously anything in your car, you can find a use for it. we got the lighting set up, he went over some of the basics about setting the ISO and shutter speed and working the aperature - the rest is the lights. There's several different techniques with lighting using soft boxes, ring flashes, the modeling light, etc. etc. etc.

Build from the background forward. Once you have your setting put together, you add your subject - who in turn brings expression and gesture to the photograph. I remembered him telling me this in the beginning and then again every time I asked him to talk to me about portraits - but when you see it done...it clicks.

This particular shoot was a model in a party dress attempting to climb a wall covered in ivy. Obviously she wasn't going to literally climb the wall so his job was to make that portrayal.

The key to a successful portrait shoot:

-The photogrpaher needs to be in control of the situation, However, it can be a huge asset to have other eyes at the scene to give suggestions as well.

-Work different areas of the scene. Don't stay at eye level: stand on a bucket or a ladder, lie on the ground, do whatever it is that you need to do to see it from a different perspective.

-It's important to be semi-pushy if it helps you get the job done. By pushy I mean - relate to people, be persistent, tell them why, explain the importance of the situation but you have to bring a personal touch to that.

-See things. Pay attention to the details - otherwise they will haunt you forever.

-Look for the geometry around you and then use it to your advantage. Circles, curves, lines, etc.

-Layering is a huge importance in a photo. Years ago, my first photo editor, Ben Roberts, stressed this to me all the time. I started applying it but at the Chronicle it was emphasized even more - which means I clearly have work to do there. Steve has told me more than once - pay attention to the layering in your photo.
Michael Paulsen said if the eye can jump from point to point to point in a photograph, it is a success. If various points in a photo make your eye jump in a triangle formation - you're golden.

These lessons came from being on the photo shoot with him and observing him as he worked the area. Then I sat with him as he maticulously edited down his take.

Afterward, he asked if I was ready to shoot a portrait. He brought all of his lighting equipment back to my cousins' house so that I could apply everything that he had been doing all day - to them. So that's what we did. He had me do all the work and he was there for me to ask questions. 45 degree lighting provides the right shadows we want casted across people's faces, but you can even it out with a light placed on the other side - also at a 45 degree angle.

You don't have to have the most expensive lighting equipment. You can use on-camera flashes (off camera) and place a softbox through them or even stick a white sheet in front of it to give off that amount of light.

There's such an array of opportunities for photos when you use various types of lighting. You can pull the light closer or further away from the subject to light it how you want. You can also pull back enough so that you are lighting the environment, not just the subject in it.

When you look at all of this in a big picture it makes complete sense and almost feels like common sense. But for me, I needed to see it done, see the product, and then do it myself. I will forever be greatful for this opportunity that Michael Paulsen created for me.

Shooting at the Courthouse

Friday I spent my day at the court house for a jury case while Brett Coomer shot photos. I learned about the device photographers use to put their cameras in during court cases to muffle the sound...what a great invention.

The key to shooting in a courthouse, I learned, is complete silence. Try to be as invisible as possible. Obviously turn off your cell phone and try not to make any noises otherwise. You pretty much put yourself in one position and don't move, except to photograph the prosecutors, defendants, judge and the audience. The jury cannot be photographed.

Always arrive early and ask permission to be in the courtroom with your camera - and ask about any specific guidelines that that judge may or may not have.

When you need names, try to find them in an indirect manner. Hopefully the courts reporter is as good as Brian Rodgers who is definitely informative and helpful. If he doesn't know the answer, he helps you find it.

Aim for the reaction...especially during a verdict. There was none at this one - except in the audience. But usually when the verdict is read - the defendant has some sort of emotional reaction.

All about Video, Portfolio and Emotion

I spent quite a while away from my computer in the last few days so I hope I am able to reiterate everything I've learned on Thursday and Friday.

THURSDAY.
I started my Thursday off going to a health care Q&A event with Melissa Phillip. Instead of shooting still images though, I shot video for the first time since I've been down here. Then, when we went back to the office, Jeremy Carter helped me edit the video. This is how it turned out. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6571953.html

I learned some great things from this opportunity.

• If at all possible have your audio plugged in so you aren't recording it through the shotgun mic. Unfortunately, when we got there all the plug-ins had been taken so we were unable to hook it up that way. Jeremy Carter told me that if that ever happens again, it's always a good idea to put the wireless mic just a couple inches in front of the speakers and it'll pick up the sound a whole lot better than it does on the shotgun mic.


• Each shot in a video should be at least 8-10 seconds long. Get a tight shot, a medium shot and an overall shot. But hold each one for at least 8-10 seconds and let people and things move in and out of the frame. (Melissa Phillip, Jeremy Carter)


• You can get away with panning at times, but don't do it very often.


• Make sure to keep the video rolling at all times so that if a person is talking you don't cut them off at an awkward time. (Melissa Phillip)


• Keep the camera on a tripod if it's an ideal situation for one - the footage comes out much better that way. Sometimes hand-holding is the best scenario, and in that case keep the camera still. (Melissa Phillip)


• Move around. Just because it's video doesn't mean you have to sit in one spot. Shoot from behind, shoot from the side, shoot from the front - get all angles so that when you go into edit the video you have a multitude of options to work with.


• Sometimes you have to take still photos and do video. In that case, it's good to have the video set up on a tripod rolling, and then move about the room with your still camera. Then you can go back to the video and move it around the room. (Melissa Phillip)


• B-roll is always a good thing to have. Focus in on what people are doing so that there are plenty of cutouts for the person editing the video to use while the audio is trailing. (Melissa Phillip, Jeremy Carter)


• At an event where people are talking, make sure to get a good amount of time of the person speaking before grabbing b-roll in the audience so that viewers can identify with who is talking. (Jeremy Carter)
  

Those were some of the highlights. Melissa did a fantastic job of walking me through the whole process while we were at this event. When I saw Jeremy editing the video in an editing bay I wanted to go in and sit with him as he did to not only learn some of the ropes to editing but also to get feedback on what I had turned in.

We also had a staff meeting on Thursday where everyone chose their best photos from the past month and Steve put music with it all. It was good to see the best of the best. Then the three best videos produced by the photo staff were showcased and talked about why there were selected.

All in all, I learned a lot as I worked my way through Thursday, and that's not even where it ends.

I was pretty much stationed in the office with the other photogs and decided to jump around from person to person and see what everyone was working on.

I spent a little while talking to intern Evan White and he was showing me some of his work that he does - portraits, weddings, etc. Then we looked through various web sites and he talked to me about different photographers in the area.

Then I checked out Michael Paulsen's freelance portraits on a woman who witnessed her fiance's suicide. He edited them down and then had Photo Editor Billy Smith edit them down even more. Billy explained who he chose the one's he did, and Michael continued to narrow them down from there.

As Billy looked through the take, he was asking Michael how the shoot went - what he said to her, how she responded to him and how aggressive he was with posing her. It's actually pretty fascinating to listen to a photographer talk about how they go about photographing someone. He said that they started building their photographer/subject rapport the night before via text message and so in the morning they were semi-comfortable with one another. They started talking when she arrived. He asked her to go stand next to the grave first to see how their interaction went - and he photographed that. Then, he said that it wasn't quite working so he had her go put her hand on the grave and then he just let her be, working all the anlges. He said at times he would let her do her own thing, while other times he would direct her to look in one direction or another.

What I found extremely fascinating though was that he said she began to get emotional during the shoot, and when that happened - he put his camera down and gave her a moment. Then they went back to shooting.

Many photographers would disagree with this execution, but I find myself relating to it. As a photographer, at times it's difficult for me to expose someone else entirely. There's a time and a place for it. Sometimes emotion shows without the tears...and if you can get that, then you don't need to expose the tears. And that's exactly what he did.

Watching the editing process was pretty interesting though because sometimes one person will choose a certain photo for one reason, and someone else will choose a completely different photo. It's important to give your photo editors options so that they are happy with what you turn in or what they run.

While Michael was narrowing down his photos he helped me update my version of Photoshop and then we opened up my portfolio and edited that down. He explained to me why certain photos worked, and others didn't.

He not only talked to me about my portfolio - but also about editing down some photos to apply for various workshops. For workshops, he said, you want your work to show some sort of cohesiveness, whereas, a portfolio needs to show well-roundedness. He also said that still photos in a portfolio need to be able to explain themselves. Although you must include captions with your work, your photo should be able to tell the story itself.

James Nielsen walked into the room when we were going through my stuff, and he gave his opinion on cropping and portfolio work as well.

I actually had a number of conversations with Michael about photojournalism - why we do it, what you gain from it, what you learn from it, how you learn something new every time you go out, how you have to be confident in what you do, how you have to be agressive in getting the photo you need - but not putting people in a position where they feel uncomfortable, how networking works, how you get from one thing to the next, how you really have to love the job, how you will still question it, etc. etc. etc.

Although I retained all the informaiton he gave me, it's difficult to account for it all.

Two in One

Yesterday was a pretty smooth sailing kind of a day...if there are days like that in the journalism world.

I started off the morning at an event where the Emergency Aid Coalition was giving away back packs and school supplies to their clients who were low income families. It was inspiring to see the excitement in these young children's faces...just receiving these back packs.

From a photo stand point, however, there were some bumps in the road that I had to wind around.

The first was that I was not allowed to take photos of anyone until there was a photo release signed by the parent. This type of rule is frustrating because you miss some incredible moments - and believe me, I watched as beautiful photographs unfolded in front of me but I felt like I was unable to capture it because of the rule. Later on yesterday I talked to Johnny Hanson who told me - yes, you need to keep in mind the whole photo release rule...but he said - if there's a moment, just shoot it. You can always go back and ask them if you can use the photo and get their name, but you can never regain the moment.


The second road block was that because they had to sign a release, the families new when they were being photographed. This resulted in ALOT of poses. If I brought the camera to my face, they would stiffin up and smile, or adjust themselves to look poised. To overcome this sometimes I would pull the camera away and then sneak it up again really fast before they would look at me again. Or I would stand there and patiently wait for them to look away - taking a photo or two of them posed so that they knew I got that -and then I'd wait to see what else I could get.


Before going to this event Steve told me to visualize what I was going to see, shoot it like a picture story and get all the elements. He also said that it was important to follow a family from the very start to the very end...sometimes your best photo could be the kids loading up into the car. Sometimes it's not. But you never know if you don't try.

I headed back to the office feeling fairly confident with what I had to show of the event. There were several things I had wished I would have done, but you get that with every assignment and that's how you learn and grow. You can never push yourself too much. Two of the photos showed up in today's online gallery at chron.com.


Although that's where my photo assignments ended, that's not where my day ended.


While I was sitting in the photo room with Johnny Hanson we started talking about an array of things.

One thing he talked to me about was the One in 8 Million photo essays that The NY Times does. I explained to him that we will be doing them at the DI in the fall and asked if he had any tips on how we should execute, etc.

This is what he said:

• Quality is key with these so try and spend time with these people. If you read the Q&A on the photographer who does the 1 in 8 Million - he spends about two to three different days with them - a few hours each day. This is time. And time is what it takes to do things well.


• I explained to him that we are going to attempt to do it everyday. He discouraged this for quality reasons but said if you have to, assign a different photographer for each day of the week and just have them work on it all week (on top of other daily assignments) and see if they can execute quality in that way.


• He said that if you can limit the slideshows to just twice a week and have better quality do it. That way, he said, you could put a little teaser on the page and say check back tomorrow or keep up every Monday and Wednesday for such and such.

It was really insightful and I'll be keeping all of these things in mind when I head back to Iowa. He also mentioned the reason you do the slideshows is to really tell a story - so make sure that that's how it's done.

Johnny Hanson also talked to me about feeling uncomfortable in certain situations and how we as journalists have to sometimes confront people on the worst day of their life. Sympothesize with them and show them you are human and they will respond better.

He also talked about when shooting portraits, sometimes it's helpful to sit with your camera in your lap and talk to the person. Be a journalist - ask questions. Sometimes when a person talks about their story - they show the emotion you need to make a good photograph. Or they show off their personality which can in turn give you a good photograph. We're not just photographers, we're photojournalists. Johnny also said that sometimes it's helpful to say something like, I'm still listening but I'm going to get some photos of you while you talk about this.

On Tuesday I also briefly talked to James Nielsen in the studio. He was doing food shoots and had all kinds of studio lights set up and I came in at the tail end of the shoot, but saw a bit of the interaction he had with the designer and what was going on in the studio.

I also chatted with Jeremy Carter who does all kind of producing and editing of video. He's really into cinema and is preparing to produce some shows, reality TV, films, etc. He's done all kinds of things and has a great background story. He's really pumped about what he does and it was extremely inspiring.

WEDNESDAY

It's interesting when sometimes you think you're doing what you should be doing. And when it's all said and done there is either a million other ways you can do that one thing or the way you execute it just doesn't work out.

Today was one of those interesting days. I started off in Kingwood at an elementary school shooting a drawing camp. I felt like I was covering all angles - I had several details, over all shots and worked on switching up lenses and getting various angles and tight shots of the kids and instructor who were there. I felt good about it.

On my way back to the office I got a call from my boss who needed me to head out to a spot news story - a car accident that happened on Hwy 290 (I have no idea where this highway is). I start heading in what direction I think I should be heading in, and I hear Mayra's voice in the back of my head saying you lose time by guessing, sometimes you just have to stop and figure out exactly where you are going. So I stopped, I looked at my map, a man tapped on my window and I asked him for directions and I took off. It was fast. And as I was driving I called Mayra because on Monday she had said to give her a call if I was ever in a bind. I described where I was and where I needed to go and she told me exactly how to get there. I was amazed. I really don't think anyone can fathom how much I appreciated the gesture. I had been overwhelmed by the uncertainty and her calm matter-of-fact information put me at ease.

The next step was: getting the shot.

After whipping around to the eastbound side of the highway I found the accident which looked pretty bad and I patiently waited to get through the traffic before I could pull over, park my car, LOCK IT, and head over to the scene. There were about three officers there when I got there. Emergency vehicles had already left and so I photographed the smashed Excursion against a pole. The man had been transported to the hospital and had been in and out of consciousness - they didn't know if he was going to survive.

There was no reporter on the scene so I needed to get information on what happened. It just so happens that the first person I went to ask what happened to - ended up being the father of the girl who had been driving the other car (she was okay). He pointed me into her direction and I asked her some questions and then I headed over to an officer.

When I brought the photos back, Steve was happy with the one and told me that I did a good job of covering myself and I came back with the shot I needed. Relief.

However, as he thumbed through the drawing photos, I knew he wasn't seeing what he wanted. And when I really think about it - I did miss some key moments that I should have captured.

What I learned from that assignment is to execute on moments I encounter. When drawn into a subject - stick with them until you get the perfect moment inside the perfect composition. Get all angles, get details, get the over all, but you got to have the moment.

Steve told me that my next assignment needs to be focused on the moment. Yes, get all the technical stuff down. But really look for that moment and show that you see what you are acting like you see.

He explained to me that photographers are photographers because they see things differently than a normal person. Don't give me the shot that these people pay admission for - show me something different. Show me the other side of the room. Show me how you zero in with a telephoto lens on someone's eyes with their hand being raised. Stick with it until you get the shot.

After turning in those photos, there was a fire called onto the scanner and he had me run on that. It turned out to be nothing but I met up with Karen Warren there and we decided to jump in the car and chase lightning. Although we were too late for the lightning show (it had started pouring) we drove through downtown with our windows down and photographed people out the car window running through the rain with these high winds during rush hour traffic. It was quite entertaining. And it was the end of my day.

This is the way we learn

Today was a great learning experience. I was sent on two different spot news stories - and learned big lessons at them both. I got a lot of insight from Mr. Gonzales as well as Mayra Beltran, Julio Cortez, Nick de la Torre, Johnny Hanson and Melissa Phillip.

Important things I learned today:

• Although spot news can be overwhelming, you have to take a step back and breathe. You're there to compose a photo, so you need to relax and focus on what you are seeing. (Steve)
• In spot news - get what's going on in front of you, but pay attention to what's going on in your peripheral vision. Be ready to catch the reactions of the people around you, on top of the action that's going on. (Mayra)
• Look for different vantage points. If you can get up high, get up high. If you need to cross some barriers, cross the barriers. Pay attention to what you are doing though. It's always good to ask - but sometimes it's easier to just act like you know exactly what you're doing and do what it is you need to get done. Do not trespass though - ask for permission if you need to stand on someone's roof or get into someone's business. (Mayra)
• In certain situations you stumble upon people whom may be upset after losing someone, something, or have the possibility - you still have to get their name. Talk to them like a human being though, you don't just walk up to them and ask for their name - tell them you are sorry to bother them at such a terrible time, ask them how they are doing, and work your way up to their name. If it's impossible to get to the person - ask the people around...but don't take one person's word for it - verify it. (Mayra)
• On heading to spot news - it's better to figure out where you're going before you set out. It's more important that you get there. Although sometimes it seems like it takes up time to stop to take a look around, or make sure you are heading in the right direction - in the end, it might actually save you time because you may see something that you hadn't before. (Mayra)
• If you are standing on public property, you are entitled to be there. I've heard this a million times, but at one of the spot news locations I was at today, I was told I needed to stand an entire block away from where the action was at. Because it was an authority figure who was talking to me, I backed down. But if it's public property - which it was, and it's not blocked off by police tape - and it wasn't - then I have every right to be there. (Mayra, Nick, Julio)
• Today Steve told me (and he's told me before) the best advice he's ever been given was to shoot every assignment like a photo story. Shoot your beginning, middle and end - an overall shot, a detail, a reaction - capturing emotion, emotion, emotion.
• Visualize the event before you get there. How are you going to shoot this? Think about what you think you might see and although you may get there and it might be completely different than what you expect, it's important to go into an assignment with an idea of what you want to bring back. (Steve)
• Capture the emotion, the reaction. (Mayra, Melissa, Nick)
• Come up with a great story idea - and execute it. Do research on it, have statistics to back it up and make sure it's visually appealing for a photo story - then sell it. (Johnny)
• As a college student, it can be very effective to focus on a different aspect of photography each semester. One semester you can focus on light - and you shoot an assignment like you would, but you really concentrate on all the elements of light. The next semester you might focus on really capturing those moments. The next semester you might focus on keeping your background clean. That way you aren't taking all the different elements of photojournalism and trying to pack it all in. By the time you spend as much time as you do on each specific thing - you can put it all together in the end. Plus, by focusing on each of these aspects separately - you will have 10 outstanding photos at the end of your college career. (Johnny)
• It's better to have 10 outstanding photos that blow an editor away, than 25 average photos. (Johnny)
• Concentrate on the technical aspects of your camera and photography when you are at home - that way when you go to shoot an assignment, you aren't messing with those aspects - you're just composing. (Steve)
• Practice makes perfect. Use assignments as your "game" - use home as practicing. (Steve)
• When using flash - just use it as a kiss of light...don't pop it out too much - there's only one sun. (Steve)
• One technique that can be effective in a dark room or place is popping a flash with a slow shutter speed. Use the rear end setting though so that the motion falls behind the focused subject. (Steve)
• As far as access goes - research your subjects and the places they are in. Learn who is in charge of what and talk around - usually knowing someone will help you get to where you need to be. (Johnny)

Although parts of the day were a bit rough, at the end of the day - I looked back on everything I learned. At the end of the day, Mayra Beltran walked into the photo room and as she sat down to work - I bugged her with my questions. For each thing that went wrong, I formulated a question and it was amazing to me that she took the time out of her work time to teach me. She gave me various scenarios and how she would deal with them, she told me stories about her own experiences - both good and bad, she talked to me about approaching people and dealing with the appearance barrier that we deal with at times, and really - the list goes on.

I continue to be amazed at the effort these photographers, photo editors and the photo director put forth to help me and my fellow interns learn. I believe that they truly do care about what I take away from this internship. It's really inspiring to have people out there looking out for those of us who are up and coming into the real world. I only hope that when I venture back to the DI newsroom - I am able to provide my staffers with the insight that I've gained in these last couple of weeks.

Check it out

Some of my Street Olympics photos made it into the "Editors Top Choices."

Click here for the full gallery.

Drivin' Solo

Today I headed out to Reliant Center in downtown Houston by myself to shoot the 23rd annual Street Olympics. There's a summer program that engages thousands of kids in the Harris County area in sports activities and then at the end of the program - they have this olympics where the finalists - 2,800 kids, compete against each other.

I was there from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. and tried to work all the various angles and see things from a different perspective.

The most difficult thing I ran into was getting the kids' names at this kind of event. It was really difficult because they were all wearing the same shirt and they were running from here to there. One minute I'd be shooting pictures, the next minute the kid would be gone. I struggled with it a lot, but in the end I thought I did a pretty good job of getting names. I had made it a priority because of what had happened earlier this week with one of my photos that they couldn't run because the guy wouldn't give me a name. Again I say - names, names, names.

It turned out to be a good day though. Nine of my photos were selected to enter the system. Hopefully one will turn up in the paper, and a gallery would be nice too! We will see tomorrow :)

The rest of the weekend I will be relaxing - probably playing Barbies, possibly swimming, changing diapers, feeding bottles, and the list goes on. Living the dream down here, living the dream.

STUDIO Thursday

The highlight of my day today was finding out that two of my photos ended up on espn.com, mlb.com, yahoosports.com, chron.com and a few other sites. It was great news for me. The links are:

http://www.chron.com/sports/photogallery/Astros_host_Giants.html

http://scores.espn.go.com/mlb/photos?photoId=2293911&gameId=290805118

http://houston.astros.mlb.com/components/game/year_2009/month_08/day_05/gid_2009_08_05_sfnmlb_houmlb_1/av/fgallery.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/hou

http://www.sfchron.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2009/08/05/SP14194C08.DTL&o=1

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_13001208

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/2009/08/06/Giants-Astros-Baseball_3.html

Moving on to what I learned today

I spent the day in the studio with Mayra Beltran in the studio today. Although I've been shadowing in there lately, I haven't done any of the work. Today Mayra sat back and had me set stuff up and shoot the photos while she graciously answered questions, gave me tips, etc. It was a great experience for me.

We shot photos of cleaning products and then a shadow box for two illustrations that two different designers were doing. She also let me do some shots of her to practice on people, all of which were deleted by her request. It was really good practice for me though.

I learned how to set up the lights, how to take them down, the correct exposures and settings for shooting objects, where to place things, etc. The list goes on, and on, and on. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't been given the opportunity to work with Mayra today though, she was very helpful in making suggestions as I shot products and her to practice in the studio.

I actually had a really good time hanging out with Mayra. She is super nice, and again another amazing photographer that I'm having the opportunity to interact with down here. I met her for the first time today and we got along really well.

I'm hoping to hang out with her some more while I'm down here and learn some of her tricks and trades.

I talked to Johnny Hanson today also. I was asking him about shooting photos of people or things when there's not a whole lot going on. He said you shoot until you make a photo out of it. You look for different angles you look for different view points. And you don't stop until you get the shot. My next question was what if you only have a very short amount of time? His answer was simply - buy time. Tell the person you almost have the right shot. Show them what you are doing. Tell them that if you can have a few more minutes you can do more with the photo. Work it, and get what you can. But really look he said - because if you don't look, you won't see. In the five minute conversation I had with him, I gained a lot.

It was a good day. I came home to the house full of cousins, which I love. Megan and Jesus headed off to Megan's going away party and I stayed home to put the girls to bed. I got lots of hugs and kisses and read them stories. There's nothing like the innocence of children.

Wednesday

A quick view....

Today I was pretty much on my own for most of the day.

My first assignment was to photograph a woman golfer who they are writing a feature on. I was at the golf course at 9 a.m. I was handed a golf cart and hauled my stuff around for about an hour and 45 minutes.

It was a difficult assignment to shoot because I was only following the one woman and I only had one chance to get a photo each time she putted or hit the ball. I managed to get three decent photos out of it though, and handed those in. The story doesn't run until August 12, so we will see a photo is included or not.

When I went to leave the golf course I was dripping in sweat. The high today was supposed to reach 109. I'm not sure if it did, but at 10 a.m. this morning - it was hot. There's nothing else to it.

I changed my clothes and headed back to downtown Houston where I met up with Julio Cortez again and we headed to the Astros game this afternoon. They played the San Fransisco Giants again. And got brutally beat, again. But it was still such a great experience for me to be able to practice taking photos of an MLB game and get into the groove of shooting sports.

I was lucky enough to be able to use a 400 2.8 lens. And along with that, Mr. Michael Paulsen let me use his mono pod - which I'm more than convinced I'd be sitting in the hospital with a broken back if he hadn't let me use it.

Julio showed me more ropes today, we reviewed everything he taught me last night and it was just another great experience for me.

I wasn't exactly satisfied with everything I pulled out of the game. I did get a key moment when Kaz Matsui stole second base though. I later learned it was his 400th time stealing second base. Julio didn't get a good view on it, the woman from the AP didn't get a shot of it...I didn't have a shot of him sliding into second...but I did have him running as he was stealing second. Needless to say, my photo went to the AP.

Six of my photos were sent back to the desk this afternoon. I'll be curious to see if any of them end up running. I looked at Julio's take and he had some great shots.

Sometimes it's difficult to shoot things like baseball but the more you practice the better you get at it and I'm hoping I have at least one or two more chances to shoot another game, just so I can keep building upon what I've already gained.

Tomorrow is another 9 a.m. start. We'll see what the paper brings in the morning.

Astros Photos:
http://www.chron.com/sports/photogallery/Astros_host_Giants.html#17759590

Tuesday

My first 14 hour day.

I started off the morning shadowing Melissa Phillip in the studio. She had two different food photo shoots. She explained how she shoots food stuff. The food was set up on a studio table and a soft box was put on each side of the table to light the equalize the light on the table with no shadows. She then added a light to go over top of the food to give it some extra lighting. She explained the different angles and worked with a designer on one of the shoots to make sure it was what she needed. Food photography is a whole different world of photography.

After the studio stuff, I headed to an intern luncheon. There were five other interns from different departments all over the newspaper. We had lunch and listened to Dan Cunningham talk about sports reporting and writing, enterprise writing and how to drive people to the page.

The rest of the afternoon I spent walking around to several photogs: James Nielsen, Melissa Phillip, Johnny Hanson and Michael Paulsen.

Michael talked portraits with me. I asked him to show me his portraits because everyone tells me he's the best here. And he is. His subjects are set up in the perfect spot. He uses a soft box to light the people perfectly - not too drastic to make it look fake, but just enough to make them pop. What he does, is truly amazing. I'm still hoping that before I leave I am able to go with him on a portrait shoot to watch his actions.

I talked to James about the project he is working on.

I talked to Melissa about how her photos turned out from the shoot. We also talked about various ways of approaching people at events and on the street. She gave me insight about people who don't want there photo taken. If they don't want their photo taken and they don't want to give you their name - let them be. She was telling me that it's not worth it to try and talk people into it because more times than not, they change their mind and editors will get a call in the morning. Melissa also printed off the caption guidelines for me.

She talked to me about feature ideas and how it's best to find an event going on, that way you don't have to drive around all day looking for something interesting that hasn't been shown before.

Johnny helped me with the photo mechanic coding. I am really excited to take this information back to the DI. It will be a huge asset in our upcoming sports coverage. He's always checking in with me to make sure I'm aware of everything I need to know.

Towards the end of the afternoon Julio Cortez came by and picked me up and we went to the Astros game. He showed me all the ropes of that - where you can shoot, when you can move, the most important things to shoot, the press room, the photo work room, how to set up a remote, how to insert codes in photo mechanic for team rosters, and the list goes on.

I've always wondered how photographers get their photos up so fast after a game. Now I know. You have everything all set up before the game starts. As you go, you tag on the camera. Julio downloads photos after each inning, finishes the captions and sends them. It's an amazing process.

In a way it was surreal being in the photog box during the game, but on another side - that's just what we do. We have front row access to it all because it's our job to show the people something different, something new, something they missed.

We went to the work room when the game was finished and I sent four photos back to the Chronicle desk.

Wednesday morning when I was getting ready to head back to work, Kathleen knocks on my door to tell me that one of my photos was on the front page of the sports section. They ran a one column photo, but hey, a photo on the front page of the sports section - is a photo on the front page of a sports section. It's even better when your byline is right there.

On top of it all my photo was intertwined with my cousin Jose de Jesus Ortiz's story. He's the beat writer for the Astros and is truly amazing at what he does. I was very proud to see my name and his name less than inches printed apart from one ajnother on the front page of the sports section in a prestigious metropolitan newspaper like the Houston Chronicle.

Week 2 Begins

Monday
After a rather relaxing weekend of fun with the girls, I was ready to head to downtown Houston this morning.

I started my day off shadowing Melissa Phillip. The first thing I learned from her is "Prepare for the worst, Hope for the best." We went into the assignment thinking that it was going to be controlled by PR and a complete portrait nightmare. But it ended up working out perfectly.


The PR woman was great and gave Melissa all the freedom she needed and wanted. The story was about a man who had a heart attack and practically died on the operating table and came back. He was a very bubbly man and very appreciative to the team who saved his life. They were reunited in front of us for the very first time. Instead of being a portrait - it turned into an emotional interaction, which is exactly what we as photojournalists live for.


After shooting the assignment, I was able to see what Melissa pulled off from it. She was really able to capture the emotions the people conveyed for us.


Melissa talked to me about portraiture and how she prefers to be the "fly on the wall" and take photos at events. I feel the same way so it was refreshing to know that it's okay to have that mentality - but it's also important to try and work at set-up portraits as well.


Once again, Michael Paulsen's portraits were brought up. I am really eager to hopefully meet up with him this week when he has a portrait shoot so I can see how he sets things up and his way of thinking.


Once we got back to the office, I was sent out to the Houston Community College Central Campus to take photos of a student who is the first in his family to go to college. It was a portrait of him on campus and I was able to turn in a photo that my editor approved of.


After that I went out looking for a feature that conveyed hot weather. I found a group of construction workers preparing to lay cement. Although they were open to the idea of me taking photos of them, they refused to give names. My editor selected a photo from the take to put into the newspaper, but once I told him that the men refused to give me names - they nixed the photo all together. Names, names, names.

I wasn't a complete failure at my search for a feature though. While driving around downtown Houston, I saw two men walking in matching outfits with backpacks. It was around 100 degrees out, so I was quite curious as to what exactly they were up to. I found a parking place and searched the area until I found them - eating lunch in a park.

I started talking to them and learned they were from Hungary, and are on a quest to walk around the world. World Walk Peace Tour is what they call it. In six years they hope to walk 25,000 miles. They've been doing it for two years and have already traveled around 6,300 miles. Great story. I shot photos of them and grabbed their number. I was really excited and wanted to do a more in-depth story on them and go back with video, but the city editors didn't want to do a story, so they just ran one of the photos I shot. - It was my first photo in the paper. I was excited.

Steve looked at my take and told me different ways I could have shotten all of the photos. He gave me more insight on portraits - put the subject in the foreground close to you, make sure the person is the focus of the photograph, layer the background, pay attention to the graphics going around, give the viewer something that people don't see, etc.

It was great insight and hopefully the next time I go out and shoot another portrait, it will be that much more improved.