Photo Monkeys

A Cool Shot from the State Cross Country Championships.

2011-11-13T22:24:00.003-05:00

I really liked this image I captured at the Maryland state high school cross country championships Saturday.Through out the day I was not really happy with the shots I was getting of the races. For this race I decided to go down farther from the start of the race and get something different than the usual starting shot of the whole group running across the field towards me. I went down to the first turn.

I knew that they would still be somewhat grouped up, which was good, but also starting to thin out a bit. I laid down on my stomach, pre-focused where they would be and waited. While waiting I fired off a few test shots and nailed down my exposure. As I started to hear the thundering footsteps approach I began to think I might be a little too close to the rope separating me from the course. Was I going to get trampled by these skinny teens? Not that their size would make it hurt any less. Well it was too late to move, I would miss the shot. So I stood, or should I say, laid, my ground.

As they ran by I composed my shot and started shooting off some frames. I got a little trigger happy and after a few seconds my buffer filled to the point that I was only getting one shot per second. They finally ran past and I started to look at my images, going backwards with the newest ones first. I started to worry that none of the kids in the frames were from my area. While they make cool pictures, they are unusable for the paper. Then I see an Annapolis High jersey and it is in a frame that I really like. Jackpot. All I need now is for him to do well in the race and then I really have something.

He wound up finishing fifth in the state, not too bad. Would have been great if he was first, but I got a cool image and I was happy.

Check out the rest of the images in my slidshow here http://www.hometownannapolis.com/slideshow/1321125542CrossCountryStateChampionships

A Tale of Two Satellite Radios or Sirius Sucks.

2011-11-07T17:22:00.002-05:00

I bought my Sirius satellite radio five or six years ago so I could listen to Howard Stern and other music/news channels I liked without commercials. It was reasonably priced for what it was and I didn't mind paying a premium for the service. Whenever my wife was in my car, she commented on how she liked it and I got her one for Christmas. This was about three years ago.

Over the years I have put up with the price increases and new fees, like the Music Royalty Fee and Internet Radio Fee. The latter was included when I first signed up as part of my package. Now that I think about it, I even kept my service after they did not honor a $50 rebate I was due when I first got my radio. I supported them when they were fighting with the FCC to get approval for their merger with XM Radio. In hindsight, this was a big mistake. Heck, I even lost money owning Sirius stock.

As I grew older, my tastes have changed a bit. I have gotten tired of hearing Howard Stern complain about being rich, especially as I grow poorer in this recession. I think his show has sucked since before Artie Lange left. Now with all the time Howard gets off, it is constantly a rerun.

I really do enjoy the music channels, like the Grateful Dead one and some of the others. I also like being able to hear the news channels, like MSNBC and CNN, but I find I hardly ever have the radio on in my truck. I have been listening to more sports radio and local music on the over the air car radio. And it is free.

My wife Jennifer's subscription is due to renew in little over a month, on Dec. 14. The cost to renew would have been $110.00 plus tax. My subscription is paid through May 14, 2012. After thinking about it, I was going to cancel Jennifer's subscription and transfer mine to her radio, or so I thought.

My phone call to Sirius started off well enough with a customer service rep named "Gertrude." I explained that I was no longer using my radio. I wanted to transfer my service to my wife's radio, since hers was due for renewal next month and mine still had over seven months of service left. That is actually the condensed version, because it took "Gertrude" a while to get it.

After I finally think I made her understand what I wanted to do, she said there would be a $15 transfer fee. Not much in the grand scheme, but more than was acceptable to me, considering I spend over $300 a year for their product and all she was doing was a few keystrokes. I told her that I could just cancel Jennifer's radio and put mine in her car for no fee. I did not want to do this since my radio was older and Jennifer's worked better. She told me that was my choice and I said, "You know what? I am canceling all my services with Sirius." I could tell this was no skin off her nose and she transferred me to the cancelations department.

Next "Justin" came on the phone, and he sounded like a nice enough fellow and he wanted to make me happy, to try and keep me. I started explaining my situation again and for some reason it took him a while to get what I want to do. When I think he finally gets it, he told me that I can't transfer my subscription to Jennifer's radio. He said this like it is etched in stone in the radios themselves. He said that the radios' billing date can't be changed. I would have to cancel all the subscriptions and start a new one with Jennifer's December billing date if I wanted to keep her radio going. I believe this to be BS and just a way for them to get more money from customers.

I tried a hypothetical on him. I said, "Let's say I canceled Jennifer's radio and put it in the closet. Then two months from now, my radio broke and I pulled the other one from the closet and called you to get it on my subscription. Are you telling me that you could not do it and I would have to start a new subscription?" His answer was basically yes. Ridiculous!

I was starting to get angry. I repeated myself many times in trying to explain to them what I wanted and it did not seem like it should be that hard. At one point I think he was trying to tell me about a deal they had for a cheaper yearly subscription, but it would have required me canceling all my current ones, getting a refund for them and paying for a new one. At this point, I was not going for it. Maybe it would have been better, but I was too frustrated to listen and they did not seem to understand where I was coming from.

So now, after 40 minutes on the phone, I canceled Jennifer's radio, my Sirius Internet Radio and will be moving my old radio into Jennifer's car. Just what I did not want to do. It is no wonder why Sirius stock is trading at $1.70 a share and has not been over $3 since early 2008. They are an overpriced, poorly-run company with bad customer service. A simple thing like transferring a subscription from one radio to another, without fees or hassles should not be a big deal. Nickel and diming your customer is not the way to build loyalty. I have a feeling come May 2012, if the Mayan world ending prediction does not come true, it will be the end of our family's Sirius subscriptions.

The NYC Thirty Minute Photo Challenge.

2011-10-29T21:28:00.006-04:00

I attended the PDN PhotoPlus Expo in NYC Friday with fellow professional photographers Bill Horin, Alex Anton and Bill Banks. This was the second year I went with this group of photo friends, and it was suggested that we hit the show early and then spend some time in the afternoon doing something different.

I am not sure who came up with the idea - not me - but it was suggested that we have some sort of a photo challenge after the show. Not a contest, mind you, but just an exercise to get away from the paid shooting we do and get creative for creativity's sake. We would agree on a subject and that subject had to be incorporated into the images in some way. Not necessarily the main subject of the image, but in the frame in some way. The Empire State building was chosen by the group.

We would be allowed one lens, one body and a half-hour to complete our shooting. I had a tough time deciding what lens to bring. I debated between my 17-35-mm., 70-200-mm., and my newly-acquired 50-mm. I was going to go with the 70-200-mm., at first, and shoot tight, maybe some people portraits. After thinking about it, I went with the 50-mm., I think, mostly because I wanted to keep it light. I didn't want to be lugging around a heavy camera all day. Plus, the 50-mm. is the sharpest lens I own.

We split up and went our own ways. After taking some shots, I started to regret being locked into a fixed 50-mm. lens. Things were not fitting in my frame. This was going be harder than I had thought. I was going to have to actually think and plan my shots and look for ways to make shots that fit in my frame.

I walked around the building looking for things I thought would be cool. I thought that getting the building in a reflection would be an interesting shot, but I was not seeing it. If I did see a reflection, it was only a sliver of the building. While this would be in the spirit of the rules, I wanted the viewer to know what they were looking at when seeing the image. I needed something reflective that also had a curve to it and would mirror more of the building.

A car window would do the trick, but it would have to be in the right spot and should be something that says NYC. A taxi cab would be awesome. I started to look for one that had stopped at a light. Looking at the windshields, it just was not working. Then a NYC Transit bus came by and the reflection was almost perfect. I just had to work the angle so the reflection was in the right spot. This was not easy in the limited time the bus was stopped at the light, but I got a decent shot. I tried to work it some more with other buses, but they just didn't line up in the right spot in my time to shoot.

The light was really nice Friday. There were bright, blue skies and even the shadows had nice light. I saw plenty of flags around the building and thought that with the blue skies, Old Glory and the Empire State Building, how could you go wrong. I found one hanging on a building across the street and found a way to frame it and the building with my 50-mm. Nice, I got another decent shot.

All around the building there are a million tourist shops selling NYC bobbles and post cards. I thought it would be cool to get a Empire State Building postcard on the rack with a portion of the building in the background. Easier said than done. I found one that was in similar light, open shade. I worked the shot for a little bit, trying different f-stop, shutter speed, ISO combinations and found one that worked. While the real building is out of focus, the postcard is sharp and you get the idea of the building.

I wanted a shot that showed the throngs of people walking across the intersection with the building in the background. This was one of the shots that frustrated me because of my 50mm lens choice. If I had my 17-35mm lens, no problem - everything would fit. But it was not happening with the 50mm. I was holding the camera on the ground and pointing it up towards the building and getting zip. I finally gave up and moved on. When I was back at Bill Horin's going through my take, he said, "What is that one?" It was a woman staring at me in a sliver of the frame as another woman walked by me. She is looking at me like, "WTF is this guy doing, up skirt shots on a NYC street?" I was not. Bill liked it so we worked it up as one of my five.

I still wanted the shot that said busy, NYC street. I went to the entrance to the Observation Deck. I was thinking old school street photography, with the motion blur of people moving and went with a longer shutter speed. I held the camera down by my waist and was shooting from there. Checking my framing after I would fire off a few shots. I would then change my position as necessary. It's a combination of Hail Mary shooting, skill, and luck. Funny thing was after checking the images on my rear LCD, I was going to go with a different image. I had not noticed this one with the family waiting to enter the building. I now had my five.

When this idea for the photo challenge was originally proposed I was not that excited. The idea of shooting images on my day off was not that appealing to me. Plus, I was nervous about shooting with Bill and the other shooters. Yes, I still get nervous about certain shoots, especially ones where I am shooting the same subject as one of my mentors. Boy, was I wrong about not wanting to do this. It was an awesome experience. It got my creative juices flowing. There was great light, and I was happy with my shots. I am going to try and start shooting more for me from now on. I used to shoot just for me in the beginning and had lost my way. After NYC, I have found the path again.

Check out Bill Horin's ArtC blog at http://www.artcnow.com/blog/ for his insights on the day and images from Bill, Alex Anton and myself.

I'm on the Twitter.

2011-10-26T16:06:00.000-04:00

Follow me on Twitter at "@pwgphoto", no quotes. I will be posting about my adventures as a photojournalist. This will be more for quick hits of what I am doing and thoughts that make it out of my whacky head. So please follow me and spread the word.

DPCA Sports Talk - Sailing

2011-10-25T13:18:00.001-04:00

A clip from the Digital Photo Club of Annapolis presentation about shooting sailing. To really see the images at their best choose full screen and 1080 if your monitors can handle it.

DPCA Sports Talk - Football

2011-10-25T12:05:00.000-04:00

I had a great time speaking to the Digital Photo Club of Annapolis last night. I am making audio slide shows from the event and in this episode I discuss shooting football. I will write a more detailed blog post later, but for now take a look at this video.

Sports Photography Talk

2011-10-23T17:14:00.003-04:00

I will be giving a talk on sports photography to the Digital Photography Club of Annapolis at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis. The first part of the meeting will be a club photo presentation on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives that members have photographed. The public is welcome. This is my second time speaking to this club; my first talk was about photojournalism some years ago. I am glad to be returning and hope they enjoy it.

I have prepared a list of tips that I have picked up over the years. As with anything in photography, these are to be taken and used to create your own way of doing things. They are not gospel and the way I do things may not even be the correct way of doing things, just the way that has worked for me. We all are evolving constantly as shooters and the way I shot sports years ago is different than the way I shoot now. Hopefully it is better.

Here is the link, and it is also on the right hand side of the blog in the links section. Click here for the PDF and enjoy.

The Darkroom Dilemma.

2011-10-11T23:54:00.000-04:00

I took a bunch of stuff to a community yard sale the other day. Stuff that had just been taking up room in my basement. Some of it was brand-new in boxes. Some of it belonged to my dad, who passed away three years ago. Some of it I have lugged between three different residences and one photo studio over a 14-year period. Some of that stuff was my darkroom equipment.

I have not used any of this stuff since about 1999 at the latest. I got my first digital camera in 2000 and have not looked back. I may scan the occasional negative, but have not made a wet print since my friend Bill Horin moved out of his studio/darkroom back in the late 90's.

So that brings me to my dilemma. When I was gathering stuff the morning of the yard sale, I looked at the enlarger and said, "What the hell? I will give it a shot and bring it - you never know." It was actually pretty funny. People would come up and stare and then I would get, "What the heck is that thing?" I would explain that it was used to make photographic prints. They would just stare. Needless to say, it didn't sell. I loaded it back onto the truck and brought it back to the basement. Well, at first, I left it outside for a couple of days. If it got stolen, great, no worries. Or it a freak storm came by and wrecked it, it would make my decision easy - just trash it. Tonight, I brought it back into the basement.

Now that it is back in the basement, should I try to get $50 for everything on Craigslist? I would have no problem giving the stuff to someone who would get use out of it. Does a person like that still exist? I actually thought of turning the enlarger into a lamp, but it is too large for my current house. Maybe I could make it into an end table when my new basement woodshop is completed.

An Update To Yesterday's Promises - Kept Too Late.

2011-09-28T20:56:00.003-04:00

I finished the files for the reprints last night and had them printed today. That was the easy part. I now had to figure out how to get them to the family. Bryan's memorial is being held this Sunday at Lake Waterford Park and I am sure I could have given them the prints then, but I did not want to wait. One side of my brain was saying that giving them the pictures of their son, so soon after his passing my be painful to them. The other side of my brain was telling me that it might make the happy seeing the images and perhaps they would want to show them at the memorial. The latter side won.

I asked the Maryland Gazette writer, who wrote the obit story, if he had their contact number and he gave it to me. He told me that the family was very nice and that they had contacted him. He had written the original story about Bryan's graduation, after I told the Gazette about it in June. Now I had to work up the nerve to call.

I dialed the number from my desk in the photo office wondering who would answer and what would I say. Bryan's father answered and I said "Hello, my name is Paul Gillespie, and I was The Capital photographer who photographed Bryan at his graduation. I am sorry for your loss." He was very nice and I felt relieved. I told him that I had meant to get them the images, but just had not gotten around to it, and for that, I was sorry. He said that it was OK and that they enjoyed seeing them in the paper. I told him that I had made the prints and I would love to drop them off to them if possible. He sounded very happy to be getting the images and gave me their address.

After work I headed over to their home; again I was nervous of their reaction. I am sure this is a tough time for them. I pulled up to the house, went to the door and knocked. Bryan's mother, Dawn, answered, and I went inside. Bryan's dad and some other family were gathered in the dining room. I gave my condolences, and then I pulled out the 8x10's and started showing them to the family.

They loved them and were very happy I had brought them over. Bryan's dad, Bryan Sr., joked how much better they looked from the photos in the newspaper. I said, "Yeah, newsprint does not make for good pictures." A family member joked that the newspaper was meant to be thrown away.

Again, I thanked them for allowing me into their special day at graduation. We talked about how great it was that the Glen Burnie Volunteer Fire Department stepped up and brought Bryan to the graduation. I again apologized for not getting the images to them sooner. I still felt guilty that Bryan didn't get to see them, but as I sit here writing this, I realize that he did get to see the newspaper and online images, and I guess that is something. I hope he liked them.

They invited me to the memorial on Sunday, and I may go. As I said my goodbyes, Bryan's mom, Dawn, gave me a hug and that made me feel really good.

Promises - Kept Too Late.

2011-09-27T21:57:00.001-04:00

Bryan and his mother look at his new diploma.

Tonight, I am feeling sad and like a bit of a jerk. I made a promise to a family, and while I had always intended on keeping it, I procrastinated too long and now it is too late for one of those family members. Just two days ago I thought to myself, as the last two days of my staycation wound down, I have got to do those reprints for the Showalter family. I met Bryan Showalter and his family while shooting the Glen Burnie High School graduation last June and promised the family I would email them some pictures of Bryan.

Bryan was graduating that day, like hundreds of other kids, but what made him different was Bryan was fighting bone cancer and almost couldn't make it to his own graduation. If it were not for the help of the Glen Burnie Volunteer Fire Department bringing Bryan on a gurney in their ambulance, he would not have been able to attend. It was a very great thing for the department to do. I am not going to retell the story of me photographing Bryan and his family; that is not what this post is about. If you want, you can read it here in this post "Be kind, for everyone wemeet is fighting a hard battle."

This post is about keeping promises and the consequences of breaking them. Meeting Bryan changed me a little - just like every meaningful assignment I shoot, changes me a little, hopefully for the better. It made me think that I am lucky to be healthy, have a great wife, and a good job doing something that makes me happy, most of the time. I also thought about my mom, who is fighting her own cancers and has had her ups and downs the last few years. God has given us a gift of my mom's cancer being in remission. I really have nothing to complain about.

My vacation ended today. I went back to work. I didn't make the reprints. While I was sitting in the photo office, the editor of the Maryland Gazette, The Capital's sister paper, came in and told me he couldn't find the images of Bryan Showalter in the archive. As soon as he said Bryan's name, I knew. I said, "Did he pass away?" The editor said yes. My heart sank. I thought about how many times I said to myself, "I have got to get them their reprints," and then I would do something else. I should have kept my promise.

I prepped the reprints tonight, and instead of sending them in an email as I said I would, I am going out and getting 8x10's made tomorrow, seven total, and I will get them to the family somehow. I am thinking of going to the service and giving them to the Showalters, but I am not sure if that is proper. I am not sure if they need time to grieve before being presented with images of their son. I am not sure if this small, albeit late, gesture will do anything to ease their pain or my own guilt. I do know that from now on, I am going to try and keep even the smallest of promises.

Rest in peace, Bryan.

Paul W. Gillespie, Paparazzi to the D-List Stars.

2011-06-22T22:05:00.005-04:00

Kate and family walk City Dock.
Photo by Paul W Gillespie © The Capital newspaper

What do you get when you mix a woman who has eight kids and a TLC TV show, with a photographer who has no scheduled assignments and slow news day at The Capital newspaper? The answer is "Paul W. Gillespie, Paparazzi to the D-List Stars." After a wonderful start to my shift, filled with treats from The Capital Parking Lot Picnic, I figured I should go out and look for some weather art. I have to justify my pay somehow.

I grab my camera bag and, since I have been on a video kick lately, the video camera bag and head for the door. I am stopped by an editor who asks, "What have you got going today?" "What have you got for me?" I reply. You know I am bored and looking for something to do if I am excited that an editor has a "tip."

He tells me that Kate Gosselin, formerly of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” and now just “Kate Plus 8” fame is eating lunch at Buddy's Crabs & Ribs downtown. I immediately get that sinking feeling in my stomach. I am not a hide-in-the-bushes, celebrity-stalking paparazzi. If I were, I would be making a lot more money, but that is beside the point.

I have seen TMZ and the other Hollywood shows, and the last thing I want to do is chase some reality show "celebrity" around town when she doesn't want to be photographed. Sure, I take pictures all the time of people who don't want to be photographed, but it is usually for a better reason than being able to have eight kids and get a TV show about it. But hey, I have time to kill and I am being paid, so I may as well go downtown and look for her. Besides what are the odds of me finding her?

They were actually pretty good. After having trouble finding parking, I finally break down and put the car in the parking garage, I figure she would be long gone. I go to Buddy's and, rather than wait outside hoping she would come out, I go in and ask the hostess if Kate Gosselin was eating there. She tells me I missed her by half an hour. As I am leaving, a server tells me they headed towards City Dock.

At City Dock, I am looking around, and across the water, I see a woman sitting on the ground next to a large camera bag. I figure she has to have something to do with the "circus" and go over to ask her. "Are you filming something around here," I ask. "Yes," she answered. “Is it Kate?" I ask. "Yes," she says. "Are you from TLC filming her show?" I ask. “Yes," she says again. I ask if Kate’s coming back, and she said Kate was and she was out on a boat at the time. When I tell her I’m from the local paper and would hang around, she says, "I don't think Kate would want you right around here when she gets back."

“Oh really,” I think, but I say I’d hang back, not wanting to get in anyone's way, that I just needed a few shots for the paper. She really couldn't do anything about me there since it was a public place, but why push the issue if I could get what I needed without causing a fuss.

So I am sitting there near the Alex Haley Memorial. People keep coming up and asking what I am waiting to film, since I had the big video camera and my still gear. Kate Gosselin, I reply, and every one of them says, “Oh yeah. We saw her walking around.” “Great, everyone and their mothers have seen her, and I will not be able to find her,” I think.

About 45 minutes pass, and I am having a pleasant afternoon soaking in the sun at City Dock when a large sailboat approaches. I figure it has to be her; I see a woman wearing a purple top, and I had been told that was what she was wearing. Now the real dilemma starts: Do I shoot stills or video? I will write another post on this topic, but I decide to go where our newspaper’s bread is buttered and shoot stills.

If I only had two more arms and hands and at least one more good eye. I am juggling between still camera and video camera, shooting shaky video and adequate stills, worried that she is not looking my way enough. I am also worried that I will not have enough good video to put something decent together.

She films a few more minutes of her show dockside and then takes off her microphone and start to talk with her family. At this point, her security guy comes up to me and asks who I was with. I answered the local paper, and he says ok and walked away. I am staying plenty far away, and he doesn’t seem to have a problem.

They make their way up Main Street, and I think I am done. I actually lose view of them for a while. So I am walking up Main Street and I see an older gentleman standing in front of a store. As I walk past, a photo of Kate - that fellow photographer Laura-Chase McGhee printed for me - fell out of my pocket right in front of the guy. I bend down to pick it up and say, "Oh, that is my ‘Stalkerazzi’ photo of Kate so I would recognize her" and I laugh. He asks whom I work for, and I say him The Capital, which he recognizes because he’s local.

He then tells me she was in the store The Black Dog. I asked if he knows her, and he says, “Yes, my wife is her aunt.” I feel a little weird about the "Stalkerazzi" comment, but he’s cool. He asks when it would be in the paper, and I tell him probably tomorrow. I then ask if he would give me the names of his family members, which he declines nicely.

A few minutes later they all came out, and I get another bad photo of her walking away from me. They head back down Main Street, probably to the big limo I see waiting in front of Armadillo’s. I crossed the street, staying far away, hoping to get just a little more good video. They cross the street right at the intersection where I’m filming, walking right towards me, when I hear her make some snarky remark to the guard, and he comes over to me. I say I was done anyway and to have a nice day.

No sir, I don't think I like being "Paul W. Gillespie, Paparazzi to the D-List Stars." If I have to put up with this kind of hassle, I want the "Stalkerazzi" money, at least.

Be sure to check out my video of Kate here on The Capital Online.

And also run out and buy a paper, preferably The Capital, because we can not cover the D-List stars if we don't have readers of the dead tree sort, they pay most of our bills.

Zack Arias

2011-06-18T00:53:00.001-04:00

I was surfing Youtube, watching a bunch of those Xtranormal self made, "if you can type it you can make a movie" videos. They were mostly about people, who just because they have a nice camera, call themselves photographers or worse professional photographers. They were pretty funny, but kind of repetitive.

I came across one called Zach Arias: Successful Commercial Photographer. The name sounded familiar, maybe from one of the photo websites or blogs I visit daily, so I watched it. It was OK, I think the best part is when the "Zach" character talks about how his career took off when his assistant bought him "The Money Hat," but it was clearly made by someone ripping on Zach.

This got me thinking, who is Zach Arias. Well a few more videos with his name were on the right hand side of the Youtube page, so I clicked on one that looked real. It was made for the Scott Kelby site and started off with Zach talking for a minute and a half about what he would be talking about. A rambling list of things, that he never really talks about.

I was starting to think what is the point of this video, just as I am sure you are starting to think, what is the point of this blog post. Well the point is Zach produced a well done piece that runs about 10 minutes and helps to put a lot of things in perspective for us as photographers. He talks about life, being bored with your work and how lucky we are to be doing what we do. Well he talks about all those things in his life, work and how lucky he is, but I think that it translates. So have a look and tell me what you think.

I still think I need "The Money Hat" though.

Here are some links to the other videos

Zach Arias: Successful Commercial Photographer

The Truth about Professional Photographers This one is the best so far of the spoofs on "pro photographers"

I'm a Photographer

ArtC featured Video

2011-06-07T22:21:00.000-04:00

Good friend and mentor Bill Horin has started a new arts organization in southern New Jersey called ArtC. His feature video this month is on sculpture Katherine Stanek. Bill's style in shooting both stills and video is something that has always inspired me. So please check out their site and the video.

"Be kind, for everyone we meet is fighting a hard battle."

2011-06-04T08:50:00.006-04:00

Bryan and his mother, Dawn, check out his
new diploma.

I am trying to slowly adapt a new attitude as I grow older. A kinder, gentler, more understanding Paul. I hate to do it, but to quote Maria Shriver, quoting Plato, "Be kind, for everyone we meet is fighting a hard battle." We all have problems in this world, but as a photojournalist, I have seen, and photographed, people who have had problems that make mine look insignificant and I really should not be complaining.

I was reminded of this tonight when I was shooting the Glen Burnie High School graduation. It was held in Upper Marlboro at The Show Place Arena, 36 miles away from the school. I was making my rounds, shooting the happy graduates, getting ready to march in the procession. They were primping, hi-fiving, texting and having a good time. This was not my reminder.

As I was waiting for the celebration to start I noticed some EMT's with a gurney, and it had a student on it, behind the curtain that separated the backstage area. I wondered if someone got injured before the ceremony, but they didn't seem to be giving the student any medical attention.

Always sweat talk the ladies, you never know when they can
help with info, and it is just nice.

In another backstage area I asked a couple of ladies who were Glen Burnie High School custodians, whom I had been chatting up earlier in the evening, what was the story with the kid on the gurney? They began to tell me that he was real sick and he almost couldn't make it to the event because his parents had no way to get him there, due to his medical condition and need to travel by wheelchair or gurney. They told me that volunteers from the Glen Burnie Volunteer Fire Company brought him there in their ambulance. I thought that it was great of them to do for the family, and I wanted to find out more and possibly photograph them as part of my graduation coverage.

I went about my shooting and kept them in the back of my mind. At one point I saw the boy, now in his wheelchair, peeking out from behind the curtain. I raised my camera and shot a few frames, and I think he caught me taking his picture. These were not that good due to me being far away at the time and not having a longer lens. I also feel a little guilty shooting people who are having a tough time, be it medical, victims of tragedy or other incidents. It is part of my job and something that I have gotten better at in my 15-plus-year career.

So the sneak attack was not going to work, and I don't like shooting that way either, so I figured I would take the direct approach. I went up to his parents, introduced myself and asked if I could photograph them, to which they agreed. I was still feeling guilty, but I also felt that I was doing them and our readers a service, telling part their son's big moment of graduating.

Bryan and his family wait backstage.

After making some images, I stopped and started talking to the parents, asking their son's name and age. They told me their son's name is Bryan Showalter Jr., that he was 17 years old. This is where it can start to get tough; I needed to know what was wrong with Bryan. Getting info like this from a subject can sometimes be a slow process of building trust. His mother, Dawn, started to tell me he had bone cancer, but she began to tear up after saying bone. I said that she didn't need continue, but she finished and told me he was diagnosed in 2008. I tried to comfort her by telling her of my mom's own fight with cancer and how she had it in remission, but I could tell that it was not helping.

At this point, Bryan made his way out into the field of graduates, sitting off to the side in his wheelchair. His family were still sitting behind the stage and could see him from the parted curtain. His sister was trying to photograph him with a small point and shoot camera and not having much luck. I stood next to her and made some shots with my camera and showed her and the rest of the family. I then said I would send them anything good I shot and got their email. This brought a smile to their faces and was the least I could do for them for letting me share their moment.

As I was shooting this family I couldn't help but fear some of the other photographers there would catch on to what I was shooting and start crowding in and also shooting the family. This fear was not based in my selfishness, but in what a pack of photographers could do in a situation like this, to a family just trying to deal with their son's illness and his big day. Luckily no one caught on.

When they started calling graduates names I went out front and waited for Bryan's to be called. I shot him rolling up the ramp to the stage, getting his diploma, showing it to his mom and then them heading back towards the ambulance. I gave them my card and told them that if there was anything I could ever do for them to just call. Then I left. I was happy that I could capture their son's big day.

As I meet and photograph these kinds of people, throughout the years, I am reminded of how lucky I am and that I should enjoy every day the best I can. Don't sweat the small stuff because most of the battles I am fighting are not that hard compared to some of the fights other people face daily.

Bryan gets his diploma.

Be sure to check out my slideshow here, and The Capital newspaper's Anne Arundel County high school graduation coverage on http://www.hometownannapolis.com/ and http://www.hometownglenburnie.com/

Evening High School Graduation | Slideshow (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital)

2011-06-03T01:34:00.002-04:00

I made a quick audio slide show Thursday evening at the Anne Arundel County Public Schools Evening High School graduation. I recorded the sound on the back of my Nikon D3 camera. While definitely not the best audio, the D3 will do in a pinch and I have used it on many of my favorite audio slide shows. I edited it in Audacity, a free sound editing program, that comes highly recommended, for being easy to use and free.

I own a Zoom H2 audio recorder, but have not been carrying it lately. I am going to change that after tonight. The stories these kids told of their path to high school graduation is the reason for making good audio slide shows, with good still pictures to go along with the sounds. I actually think that this kind of story is better with stills and sound as opposed to video. While I wish I would have shot more good still images and my audio was better, I think it came out half way decent for being done on the fly.

So please click on the link below and you will be whisked off to my audio slide show.

Evening High School Graduation Slideshow (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital)

A Memorial Day Thought.

2011-05-29T20:52:00.008-04:00

What does Memorial Day mean to you? A day to break out the barbecue and grill some meat with friends? To decorate the house and picnic table in flags and red, white and blue? An excuse to get away for a three-day weekend at the beach? Sure, all those things have become a part of Memorial Day, but they are not what should be our main concern.

According to www.usmemorialday.org, Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Congress officially designated the last Monday in May as Memorial Day in 1971.

I was reminded of the true meaning of Memorial Day, to me anyway, this past Saturday when I was shooting an assignment at a benefit concert for Operation Ward 57, a charity that provides help for the Amputee Ward at Walter Reed Medical Center. I was looking around the crowd for different shots and I saw an older gentleman, who, to me, looked like an old vet, stretched out on the ground watching the bands. I kept him in my mind as I moved around the crowd and thought the giant flag behind him would make a great background. I lined up the shot just as a song was being finished and he started applauding. I made a nice picture, but that was not what made my day.

As usual after I shoot a keeper, I walk up and introduce myself. "Hello, sir, my name is Paul Gillespie and I am a photographer with The Capital newspaper. I made a nice image of you, and I was wondering if I could get your name?" I also asked if he was a veteran. He told me his name was Michael Harmon and pulled his VA card out of his wallet to show me. He told me he was in the 101st Airborne division of the US Army, which his hat also verified, and that he was wounded in Vietnam. He also said that it was something he didn't like to talk about. I thanked him for his service to our country, and he said he really appreciated the sentiment.

Now this is normally when I usually get on to looking for my next shot, but I always enjoy meeting and talking to interesting people. That is one of the best parts of my job. So I asked him if had ever spent any time at Walter Reed. He said he had. He told me that he spent 1970-1972 in Walter Reed and on and off for various surgeries over the years. For someone who didn't want to talk, he sure started opening up and I was enjoying hearing his story.

He told me that he was shot in Vietnam, but did not go into where on his body. I could see he had trouble moving his leg, but then he started telling me about how he could not move his right arm for a long time after he was wounded, then I noticed his disfigured fingers. Next, he said, "Do you want to hear a story?" "Sure," I said. He started telling me about this Army doctor, who came into his room at Walter Reed and said, "How much use of that right arm would you like to regain?" He told him as much as possible, so the doctor said, "How about 95%," and gave him a ball and said to start squeezing. After many long months of working with the doctor, Sgt. Harmon had most of the use of his arm and hand back, something he would never forget.

Fast forward 10 years later and Sgt. Harmon was watching TV after President Reagan and Press Secretary James Brady were shot. He saw the same doctor was working with Brady. He wrote the doctor a letter only giving his first name and telling him that he was sure Brady was better off having him as his doctor working with him then he would have been with anyone else. A few months later, Sgt. Harmon received a letter from the doctor, asking him how his arm was and thanking him for his letter of encouragement.

At this point, Sgt. Harmon started to tear up a little and said he had Stage 4 cancer and he thought it was from the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam. After he recomposed himself, he told me how he was currently living with a former Navy sailor, who served his time on a ammo ship during the Vietnam war. This sailor, Sgt. Harmon said, put him on a pedestal, for being on the ground in Vietnam, to which Sgt. Harmon told him, "Get me off that pedestal; you are the crazy one for being on that floating bomb."

During this whole talk, I was calling him sir, he finally said, "My name is Michael." It is just a habit I am in to respect my elders and those who have served our country, I told him. It was tough. and a few more sirs came out of my mouth, but I started calling him Michael.

He also spoke of how the event was great and that he thought it was really something that it had been organized by a Canadian Army officer for the benefit of injured US troops. He said that it was something that the U.S. government should be taking care of without cutting corners. I agreed with him and again thanked him for his service. He said he asked his roommate if he wanted to come, but the roommate didn't have the ticket money. He said, "How could you not be able to scrounge up the money for something as important as helping wounded soldiers?"

Sgt. Harmon told me how he had lived in Crownsville with his brother, but jokingly said he was tired of living the fancy life, so he moved to Baltimore. Something told me that he hardly had lived the fancy life in his years on this Earth. For a guy who did not want to talk about his service, he made my day by allowing me to hear just a part of his story. I think I may have made his day just a little better also by taking the time to thank him and listen.

So what is Memorial Day really about? I know it is about honoring the fallen soldiers and their families, but why not also take the time to remember all those who served, not just on Memorial Day or Veterans Day, but everyday you may run into them. A thank you goes a long way.

Check out the rest of the images here.

Flash Babies.

2011-02-06T00:58:00.001-05:00

I was deep into a boys high school basketball game between the visiting Arundel Wildcats and the Meade Mustangs, halfway through the fourth period to be exact. I was using on camera flash to shoot the game. It is not the best flash setup for a game, but it works and I have been doing it, on and off, for the last 15 years. That is when I saw the guy running the clock call over the school's athletic director, Dave Lanham, who is a great guy and very helpful. Next thing I know the AD is walking over to me, saying someone at the scorers table complained about my flash. I said fine I won't use it anymore, as a matter of fact I won't use the camera anymore since I had enough shots.

I did ask him who in particular complained, since I have only had maybe five complaints in the last 15 years and it usually was the team losing, doing the protesting. He said he would find out...which will be another blog post.

When I started shooting the game, I was focusing on the Wildcats, I was told they were the favorite. I shot them for the first half of the game. I figured that I would shoot Meade when they came to my side for the second half. Arundel got off to a good start, but let the Mustangs take the lead right before the half.

After the half the Mustangs were coming towards my basket, my time to shoot them. I was happy, the Mustangs were leading and I was getting some nice shots of them, better than the shots I got of the Wildcats in the first half. Then the Wildcats started to come back and I started to think I needed to switch sides to get better Wildcats shots in case they won, so I switched sides midway through the third period.

So I start shooting the Wildcats again and they start playing better, I make some nice shots and I am confident that I have it covered either way. This is when I am asked to stop using the flash. OK. I sit there for the final 5 minutes and wait. The Arundel Wildcats win 80-74. So the team that won is the one that I have been shooting most of the game. I guess the flash could not have bothered them too badly. I have a feeling it was not the Wildcats who complained, but I will have do some investigating after the game to find out for sure...

To be continued in my next post...Flashgate or All The Coaches Men.

When One Photo Door Closes or Get Your Butt Out Of The Comfort Zone.

2011-01-25T23:10:00.008-05:00

I shot the second inauguration of Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley last week. I had to go to the State House the day before for a press briefing and to mark my spot on the elevated press riser, which was on the right side of the main stage. Good thing I did because those who showed up the day of the inauguration had a tough time getting a good clear spot. It is a funny thing when I shoot an event from a crowded press riser. I get afraid to leave it, for fear I will miss a shot or not get my space back when I return.

This was the case for the inauguration. I arrived for the assignment hours before the start time, put my gear down in my spot and stood there waiting. As I waited, the riser started filling, those with spots took them, and those without, well, they started squeezing. The press riser was actually pretty large; the only problem was half of it was useless for still and video shooters. There was a huge tree in between half the riser and the stage.

I actually did leave the stage at one point before the event started to shoot the governor and his family take the walk from his home to the State House. To my surprise, my spot was still there. I did have some tripod "creep" (the act of a video guy's tripod slowly advancing into my spot) from a TV guy, but it was quickly moved out of my area.

So I am back in spot, the event starts and I am shooting the talking heads at the podium. These shots were OK, but they were nothing that got me too excited. O'Malley was the final speaker of the day. I knew from the press briefing that his speech would be about 15 minutes. After about five minutes of shooting from my spot, I felt that I had covered it from that point of view and dare I say it, left the riser. I wanted a shot from the front of the stage.

I see a couple of other shooters working form the front center section of the crowd seating and I started making my way over to that area. This is when an overzealous Department of General Services police officer stops me. I give the "you are not a nice person" look and ask why can't I go where the other shooters are, to which he does not answer. So I kneel there, crouched down in front of the guest, with some "you are not a nice person" words under my breath for about a minute. Then I think time is running out and I have to quit sulking and make a shot. This is when it hits me that I could go back a section, around the crowd sitting, and he would not see me.

This worked to my advantage. While I did not get to the area I wanted to go originally, as I was working towards that area I saw the governor, giving his speech, framed by a giant American flag in the background. It stopped me in my tracks. I kneeled down and started making pictures. I got some I really liked and was glad I left my comfort spot on the riser.

So the moral of this story is when one photo door closes, look around, because another could be opening. While I still think the DGS cop was a "not a nice person" for blocking me from doing my job, I am glad that it worked out for the best. Then again who knows what kind of shot I missed. Just kidding.

Anybody still follow this blog?

2011-01-24T11:58:00.002-05:00

I know I have severely let my readers down in the last couple of years, but all that is about to change. I promise. I have lots of cool stories to tell from my adventures as a photojournalist at a daily community newspaper and I hope to build my readership back up to what it was if not more. I am looking into upgrading my blog to a Wordpress site in the future to bring even more valuable content to my readers. I just have to figure out the particulars.

So to those of you left, thanks for sticking by a slacking blogger and spread the word when I start posting regularly again.

Festival Photographer

2010-06-26T18:42:00.006-04:00

Well, it has been a while since I have posted to the blog. I mostly post to my Facebook page now and will link to that later. Here is something I made yesterday after watching a clip of the movie War Photographer, featuring James Nachtwey. While I hope my video does not belittle what Mr. Nachtwey does, I hope to make light of what I regularly shoot at The Capital, that is shoot festivals.

We shoot many festivals at The Capital each year. Spring festivals, summer festivals, fall festivals, Irish festivals, Kunta Kinte festivals, oyster festivals, Oktoberfests, well you get the point. We shoot these year after year, and many are on the same street. It makes it tough to find new angles to shoot. Our chief photographer tries to put a positive light on it by saying, "Hey, the people are different," and he is right. Well, most of the time - Anne Arundel County is not that big.

Anyway, enjoy.

Here is a link to Mr. Nachtwey's original clip. Click Here. Maybe if people would watch the real War Photographer, they would think twice about starting wars. It is a great movie, very heavy, but great. I have a link to buy it at Amazon.com to the lower right.

Happy New Year - Goals for 2010

2010-01-03T19:21:00.006-05:00

Well, it is a New Year and with it comes the annual rite of New Year’s resolutions. Sure, I made the same personal ones I make every year. Eat better, lose weight, exercise, you know, the usual that we all make. I also make resolutions for my career and with the downsizing of the newspaper business that has taken place the last couple of years, I had better stick to these.

So here they are;
• Update this blog and my Facebook fan page, Paul W Gillespie Photography, at least once a week, if not more. This will be week one. Social networking will be a way to drive people to my services, and I need to build up my brand and get my name, Paul W Gillespie, out.
• Update my website, http://www.pwgphoto.com/ and possibly upgrade the design, perhaps with a Livebooks website or something similar. I need to get new images for people to see on a more regular basis.
• Update my printed portfolio, I bought a nice, new, leather cover and pages last year as part of my resolutions for 2009 and it is time to do something with them. The digital world is the future, but you still should have a nice book to show clients in person.
• Start working harder on my vision as a photographer. What do I want to shoot? How do I want to shoot it? This involves doing some test shoots on subjects I am interested in pursuing.
• Work on more personal projects/photo stories. I did some volunteer work, this past year, for a local HIV/AIDS charity and enjoyed it. These were family portraits, but perhaps there is a story there I can tell with my camera, that will help the charity and the people.
• Work on making more contacts in business that could use my services/vision. These include magazines, art directors, marketing companies or anyone that uses photography.

There are other everyday goals, like be better organized, keep the office clean and the like, but these listed above are the major ones for the year. They seem to be the major ones for every year, but I keep on trying.

So what are your goals/resolutions for the New Year? Do I even have anyone reading this blog anymore? Happy New Year.

How soon they forget.

2009-10-05T11:37:00.002-04:00

I received an e-mail from a business owner the other day that made me shake my head. I have reposted it here, but omitted his name to protect the ridiculous.

“Hey Paul, why not publish pictures of the new stores on Main Street, not just the ones that are closed????? Katie’s article and your pictures tend to chase away new business owners and shoppers, let’s try to be a bit more upbeat not DOOM and GLOOM”

The story was about the rash of businesses that were leaving Main Street in Annapolis. I was assigned to shoot a business owner who was closing up shop. While waiting for the assignment, I thought a cool slideshow idea for the paper’s web site would be to shoot all the empty stores on Main Street.

I made my shots, the story was the Sunday centerpiece, and life went on for me at The Capital. Then the comments started coming on our website. Some were about why shopping on Main Street was less than desirable; some defended shopping on Main Street. Some, like that e-mail, questioned why we would run this story.

Well, the answer is we try and tell both sides of the story. In nine years at The Cap, I personally have shot the new businesses moving in and moving out story many times over, even in the same store front.

This brings me to this blog post. My e-mailer must think pretty highly of my position at the paper if he thinks that I choose what we publish or even photograph. Sure, I have some say on how an assignment is photographed, but I usually work off an assignment sheet that tells me where to go and a general idea of what the story is about. Now if I had gone to Main Street and there were no empty stores or businesses moving out, I could not make it up, but they were there and I shot them.

But what made me shake my head was that the person who e-mailed me had a story and a photo in our paper a few short weeks ago about him and his new business that had just opened on Main Street.

And the Mobbie winner is...

2009-09-25T19:17:00.003-04:00

My photo blog Photo Monkeys has been nominated for a Mobbie award on the Baltimore Sun's website http://data.baltimoresun.com/mobbies/#Photography. I would like to thank the academy and say that it is a honor just to be nominated. I would also... like to thank whom ever nominated a small town guy's humble blog that has been rarely updated lately. I promise to do better. And if I beat out the likes of the awesome blogs like the Strobist himself I will have a Sexy Party.

Beware Ireel.com

2009-08-18T01:07:00.005-04:00

Update - Someone actually posted that this sounded like a fair deal to them and we were the ones who screwed up. I figured I would show the screen where it asks for the CC info. Now I know you should always read the fine print, but come on, they make it very hard to find. Nowhere on the sign-up page does it mention cancelling in 5 days and it says that you will only be charged if you upgrade or purchase. From their site "Signing up to iReel is FREE! Credit card information is only required to facilitate future purchases. No charges will be applied to your credit card for signing up as a regular member. Today's charge: $0.00" and "Never any hidden fees We make sure to provide our members with a detailed transaction history so that they know what they are paying for. Credit card information is required to facilitate future purchases only. No charges will appear on your credit card statement, unless you upgrade to Premium Membership or you make a purchase from iReel."

I have not posted in sometime and I am sorry, but these people pissed me off . I wanted to warn anyone who still reads this blog.

Do not sign up for an ireel.com free 5 day preview. The site is for watching movies and videos online. If you do not cancel in the 5 day period they start charging you 34.95 a month until you cancel. I found this out the hard way tonight when checking my bank account online. After 16 minutes and 3 people I got them to refund the money with threat of contacting the States Attorney General.

The Sad State of Newspaper Photojournalism

2009-07-02T12:12:00.006-04:00

Well the mighty misguided ax of management fell once again on our lowly photography department at The Capital newspaper. My wonderful colleague Colleen Dugan was called to the managing editor's office right as she was about to start her shift yesterday. At the same time our chief photographer/photo editor told fellow shooter Joshua McKerrow and myself that Colleen was being let go. The bean counters strike again.

This has been a tough year for our little photo department. We went from having a staff of six, one Photo Editor, four Capital Photographers and one Maryland Gazette Photographer, to a staff of three, a chief photog, who is basically strapped to a desk all day and can't go out and shoot, Joshua and myself. So the paper now, basically, has two full time shooters to cover an entire county and a seven day week. We are a 41,000 circulation paper, having just two shooters is ridiculous.

How this will be accomplished, at least so I am told, is that we will be shooting less mundane assignments, leaving them to reporters with point and shoot cameras. We have to train them in the basics of composition and what makes a good picture. I guess that is when they will be able to cut Josh and myself loose.

OK, so Josh and I will be doing the good stuff, I'll believe it when I see it. That does not tell me how we are going to cover a seven day work week and have someone available in both the morning and evenings. The way we think it will work now is one shooter will have Friday and Saturday off, leaving one shooter those days. We used to have four shooters on Friday and two on Saturday. The other shooter will be off Sunday and Monday. Sunday, always had only one shooter and there was two on Monday. There are a lot of gaps in this plan. I am not sure how they will fill them, I guess with reporters with cameras.

The people that run papers across the country are cutting them to the bone and then some to keep the paper profitable or god forbid from losing some money during a recession. We have lost staff like crazy in the last two years. Sure the web has a large part in the newspapers demise, but it also short sighted management. They must realize that cutting staff, pages, local news content and other things from our product, they are giving people a reason not to buy the paper. Why would someone pay more for less? We need to keep our staffs so we can be in the local area, gathering the local news, that our readers want. And you can't tell me that with all the cuts we can keep up the same level of coverage for very long. We are getting burned out and morale is shot.

This brings me to my point for this post. If you care about quality photojournalism in you local papers, and I am not just talking about The Capital, make your concerns known to the management. Write letters and make phone calls telling them the pictures are just as important as the words. Tell them that you don't want reporters shooting bad photos, just to have a photo with their story. Reporters that can shoot are few and far between and just like I don't want to write a bad story, they don't want to shoot bad photos. Finally, don't cancel that newspaper subscription just because you can get it for free on the web. Without the printed paper, we can't pay for the web.

Photo Monkey's - The Get Together?

2009-02-20T11:26:00.004-05:00

Plans are in the works for a Photo Monkeys Get Together in March. I am still working out the details. If anyone can suggest a topic or guest speaker please contact me. I am thinnking about possibly having it at Elle's Place in Millersville. They have a room that looks like it would be good for a group meeting and they have wings and beer. I have not contacted them yet so we will see. If not there we may have it at my house.

Anyone interested in possibly attending drop me an email.

Paul

Furlough Day?

2009-02-19T07:23:00.001-05:00

I spent three hours of my first nonpaid furlough day editing sound for an audio slideshow that probably will run Thursday. While I know that I am a sucker for doing Capital work at home on a nonpaid furlough day, I really wanted to get this slideshow done and done well.

The story is about a black church service I shot on Sunday. I made some really nice images and recorded some sound while I was at it. The audio is not mandatory for the paper, but I wanted to use it to tell more of the story. So that is why I did the editing today.

There just is not enough time to get this kind of thing done in a normal amount of lab time. It took me an extra hour Sunday just to get the images prepped. I told myself that I would use my furlough days to work on bettering my craft, whether it be working on a new portfolio, researching potential freelance clients, looking for other staff opportunities or in this case, editing audio for a slideshow. I figure that if I am learning sound editing as I go, it will make me a more versatile photojournalist.

I will post a link to the finished product once it runs in the paper and online. Stay tuned.

The Obama Quilt.

2009-02-12T22:22:00.004-05:00

You never know when a quick hit-and-run assignment can turn into a nice little story. I was assigned to shoot people sewing a quilt that had scenes from Barack Obama’s rise to power. It was scheduled at 3:15 p.m. for a community news assignment, meaning that it had no story to go with it and most likely would be one picture, used inside the paper, black and white.

I went into the job thinking it would rank just above a grip-and-grin assignment, but as soon as I walked in, I had a feeling it was going to be more. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful natural light coming in from the large windows. This got my creative blood heated up. I then saw that there was a large group of women sitting around a colorful quilt. Now my creative blood was boiling.

I started shooting and was told that if I wanted to I could go up into the loft for an aerial shot. I did, and it was a nice scene setter. I then started to make some nice shots of the people sewing and some tight shots of just hands and portions of the quilt.

During my time shooting I was listening to Dr. Joan Gaither, the woman who started the project. She was talking about the different sections of the quilt and what they meant. I made some shots of her speaking and then she told me about the journal that people wrote in who worked on the quilt. The journal would travel with the quilt and people wrote what the election of Obama meant to them and how they felt on election night.

The Internet department has been pushing us to work on more multimedia projects at work, and this was a good candidate for an audio slideshow. I asked Dr. Gaither if she would sit for a quick interview and she agreed. We found a quiet room and started recording. The Capital does not provide audio recorders for the photographers to keep with them, so I use the back of my camera and the built-in memo recorder. It is rather limiting since it is not made for interviewing people. The built-in microphone is less than perfect and I am limited to one minute of recording at a time, but I made it work. She talked a little about herself and her project and read a couple of journal entries.

I went back to the office and put together a nice audio slideshow. After the editors saw the shots and heard of the slideshow, they assigned a reporter to write a story. It ran on a Saturday as the lead story and got played nicely.

So have a look:

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/slideshow/1232032712TheObamastoryquilt

I also stitched the letter P for Paul in the quilt.

Photo Talk #3 - The Anne Arundel County Genealogical Society.

2009-02-07T21:36:00.003-05:00

This blog started a few years ago when I was preparing to give my first photography talk to a large group of people, the Digital Photography Club of Annapolis, and I was nervous. The day came, I gave my talk, and it went great, from what I was told. It was a little stream of consciousness, but still entertaining.

Then the following year, I was asked to speak to a local Boy Scout Troop. Again, I was a little nervous and not as prepared as I should have been. I even forgot the power cord to my digital projector. Nothing like 20 kids crowded around a 15-inch laptop, but again, it went well.

This brings me to this year and another group who asked me to speak to them about photography. Tina Simmons from the Anne Arundel County Genealogical Society emailed me last year and asked if I could give a talk to the club about using photography in their work researching genealogy. Sure, I love telling people what they are doing wrong and how they should be taking pictures - just ask some of my co-workers - but does it relate to genealogy?

I told her that I would do it if she wants me to and that I would get back to her soon with one of the dates she said she could use me. Then in typical Paul W. Gillespie style I forgot about it. That is until the week before the event, when she emailed me just to check in.

So now I was a little nervous and scrambling to think of what I was going to say. I decided that I would just wing it again and show the presentation that I used the last two times. I show 20 of my portfolio images and talk about the stories behind the images, taking questions when they come up. This gets a good reaction and many laughs since some of the stories are pretty colorful and funny. I then show about 20 images from a recent Army Navy Football Game and finish with a photo story about flying in a helicopter with the Maryland State Police Aviation Command (Medevac). I finish by answering any photography questions they may have.

It is funny about how nervous I get before the event, but once I get going it is hard to get me to shut up. The time seems to fly when I am talking about myself and how great I am, and the next thing you know we are running late and they have to pull me off with the big hook.

As a photojournalist, I get to do a lot of really cool things and I am glad that people seem to like to hear about it. It is a real ego trip to have a room full of 40 people, all there to hear you speak, looking at you like you have all the answers. I guess I can do this photojournalism/photographer thing well. After all, people keep asking me to speak.

Here is a link to the genealogy society’s website: http://www.aagensoc.org/

Write Congress To Stop The Orphan Works Bill.

2008-09-29T23:34:00.001-04:00

While Congress has a lot on its mind, having managed to screw up The Wall Street Rescue Plan, it has also been working on making it easier for people to steal our copyrights to photos we produce. The Orphan Works Bill says that if a person makes a good faith effort to find the owner of a copyrighted image and they cannot, then he or she can use it without fear of being hit with a large lawsuit.

Today, if a person steals a copyrighted image, which is registered with the US Copyright Office, then he or she can be sued for damages of $150,000 per copyright infringement. All images are automatically copyrighted the moment the shutter clicks, but you can only get the big bucks if it is registered.

I am no copyright expert, but there is plenty of info out there - just Google “Orphan Works”

Here is a link to send a letter to your local congressmen. http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11980321

It only takes a minute and you really don’t have to write much. The Senate has already voted to pass the bill and it is now in a conference committee, but it can't hurt to write your local Senator too.

Thanks
Paul

Still Going, Not!

2008-09-16T00:05:00.008-04:00

The score is 24-19. The winning point in the volleyball game I am shooting is about to be served. I take off my 70-200 and put on my wide angle lens for the celebration shot. The serve goes over the net, is returned and then back over for the score. Old Mill wins. The girls are jumping for joy. I press my shutter button for the awesome jubilation shot and then, NOTHING. My battery was dead.

This is just a friendly reminder to double check your battery before it is time for the money shot. Back in the film days, I would kill a roll of film with a few frames left so I would not miss something. You should check your battery and change it if you are even close to it running out. Don't let this happen to you.

And on the subject of batteries, remember to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors. Smoke detectors save lives, and that is "One to Grow On."

The Best Letter Ever.

2008-09-14T13:52:00.004-04:00

In a previous post I wrote about fellow photographer the late Steve Fears. "He had to cover a regular, somewhat mundane assignment, nothing award-winning, but the folks were so excited that he was there that they wrote a letter to the editor. In that letter, they ended with "Thank God for Steve Fears." He liked it so much that he cut out the letter from the paper, enlarged it and made it into a T-shirt." and "I am still waiting for my "Thank God for Paul W. Gillespie", but until then thanks for all the kind words I do get out there. They really make me feel like I am doing something worthwhile."

Well our Publisher and Executive Editor Tom Marquardt got a letter, that while lacking the "Thank God for Paul Gillespie," I think is pretty great. I am reprinting it here and I hope Tom does not mind.

"Dear Tom:

I imagine that you are used to hearing from the disgruntled Executive Director who,
upon reading an article in the Capital, is intent upon correcting some nuance of meaning
that is lost on everyone else. But I am writing to thank you and to acknowledge the
extraordinary work of Paul Gillespie. By now, many of our partners and friends have
seen the photo spread that appeared in Saturday's newspaper, and we are directing
them to the slideshow at HometownAnnapolis.com. I have thanked Paul for his
dedication to this project, which has taken months. I also wanted to let you know that
we are deeply moved by and profoundly grateful for this remarkable piece of work.

Over the past 20 years, residents of this community have contributed in every possible
way to build 100 decent, affordable houses for low income families. We celebrated that
milestone on the day that we presented Lorraine Williams with the keys to 204 Clay
Street—our 100th house. Paul's work captured the many aspects of this work with grace,
sensitivity, and real artistry. As such, his work, and The Capital's dedication of so much
space to that work, is a wonderful gift and a real thank you to the thousands of people
from this area who made this house and this milestone possible.

The photo spread and the slide show depict with absolute accuracy the warmth, the
enthusiasm, the dedication, and the reverence that are part of Arundel Habitat's work in
this region. His images lend truth to the saying that "one picture is worth a thousand
words"- I am not sure that we could ever capture in writing what Paul has shown so
clearly with his camera.

During the months of construction and at both the wall-raising in February and the
dedication in August Paul was also wonderful to work with: clear about the
photographs he wanted to arrange and respectful of Lorraine's privacy. My staff
enjoyed working with him throughout the project never imagining that the end result
would so capture the heart and soul of our work.

On behalf of our volunteers, our donors, our staff and board members, and our Habitat
families, I want to thank you for devoting so much space to our 100th house. And I want
to recognize the remarkable contribution that Paul Gillespie made to this community by
depicting, with fidelity and understanding, the work that has transformed so many
lives—the lives of our Habitat families and the lives of our many volunteers, supporters,
and friends.

I wish you and everyone at The Capital and the Maryland Gazette continuing success as
you inform, educate, and celebrate the people of this community.
With sincere thanks,

Daniel T. Ellis
Executive Director"

I am not sure if I can fit it all on a T-shirt though.

Saturdays With Bill the Goat.

2008-09-01T22:33:00.004-04:00

Here is an auido slide show from Saturday's Navy Football game in Annapolis, MD.

http://media.hometownannapolis.com/flash/2008/08/31fbb_navy/index.html

I am working on a more involved post on shooting Navy football but wanted to post this soon after the game actually happened. I am starting to enjoy the slide shows at work. They are a way to showcase more of my work that can not go in the paper due to space issues.

Enjoy.

Meeting Great People; Lorraine Williams/100th Habitat House

2008-08-24T19:02:00.004-04:00

Sometimes in my job, I have the opportunity to meet some great people. I had that opportunity this past year working on a long term project about the 100th house built by the Arundel Habitat for Humanity. We had been running a twice-monthly photo feature on two full pages of our paper every other Saturday. I heard about the 100th house and thought it would make a great long-term feature. I would follow it from the wall-raising ceremony until the homeowner Lorraine Williams took possession of the finished house.

I wrote of meeting some great people, and to tell the truth, all the people I met through this story were great people. Habitat has a few paid staffers, but for the most part it is made up of volunteers. These people give their time and hard work to those who need a helping hand to own a home of their own. Many are with church groups and most of the work is done on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Some have carpentry experience, but many don’t - they just want to help others.

There was Eric Knapp, the construction supervisor with Habitat for Humanity. He was the field general in charge of the actual construction. He showed the volunteers what to do and made things run as smoothly as possible. He had the honor of handing over the keys to Lorraine at the home’s dedication ceremony.

Some of the standout volunteers that I saw on my many trips to the house were Bill Lovelace, Warren Cook and Pastor Jim Stutler. I am sure I am leaving out many others, but I was only there a small portion of the time. All the volunteers deserve credit, and they are doing wonderful things for those in need.

Then there is Lorraine Williams, a three-year cancer survivor with a very deep religious belief. I don’t know of anyone more deserving of a home of her own than Lorraine. The first day I met her in February I told her of my mom’s own battle with cancer. Lorraine said she would pray for her, and I thought that was sweet but something people say while you are there. Six months later, when I met Lorraine at the title agency where she would sign her deed. One of the first things out of her mouth was “Hi Paul, how is your mother doing? I have been praying for her.” I was shocked that, first of all, she remembered my name because I had not seen her since the wall-raising. Second, I was surprised that she remembered about my mom and cared to ask. My mom’s cancer is in remission for now and she is told she is cancer free.

Lorraine is a great lady, and I wish her many wonderful years in her new home. She had to do 400 hours of volunteer work with Habitat to qualify for her home, and I am sure she will continue even after that. All the people with Habitat do a wonderful job and we should try and support that effort if we can.

Here is a link to my audio slide show on The Capital’s website http://media.hometownannapolis.com/flash/2008/08/23sshta/index.html

And here are some links to the local and international Habitat for Humanity sites

Anne Arundel Habitat for Humanity http://www.arundelhabitat.org/

Habitat for Humanity International http://www.habitat.org/

Wandering Reporter Syndrome

2008-08-09T23:19:00.001-04:00

This is a cautionary tale written to help out both the new reporter and the grizzled veteran. As journalists, we try to tell stories that capture the moment. Writers have the ability to use words that they can gather as they interview a subject, either in person or on the phone. They also can observe or listen to an event after the fact on some sort of recorded medium, like video or audio tape. But don’t say you were there if you were not.

The photographer, on the other hand, has to be there as the event happens to capture those moments that tell a story. We cannot recreate them after the fact if we miss the shot.

This brings me to the dreaded “Wandering Reporter Syndrome.” If you are on an assignment with a photographer and the event is happening live, not a pre-staged interview, please don’t walk up to the subject while they are doing what we are there to photograph them doing. Are we not both on the same team? How about you keep an eye on the photographer and see if he has what he needs to tell the story before you walk up to the subject and ruin the shot? That is unless you want to be in the only shot that shows the “moment” you are describing in your story.

WRS can happen to the best reporters. Keep an eye out for the signs. Do you see flashes of light? You may hear a clicking sound in your ears. Do you have an uncontrollable urge to walk up to someone and ruin the “moment?” If you feel these signs occurring don’t worry. Just stop what you are doing (i.e. walking towards the subject), take a deep breath and look for your photographer. He or she is there to help you. Most of the time WRS will pass in a matter of minutes and your photographer will give you the all clear. We can beat this together, or I can beat you alone. The choice is yours - just kidding.

NASCAR on water

2008-08-04T13:35:00.002-04:00

I have shot powerboat racing before, but I never had witnessed any kind of accident on the water - until this weekend. I was shooting “Thunder on the Narrows” at the Kent Island Yacht Club. The event is presented by the Kent Narrows Racing Association.

I had to get there two hours early so I could get good parking and the lay of the land. I arrived at 10 a.m. for a race that started at noon. It was a humid day with a chance of thunderstorms so I want the car close by in case I had to stow my gear quickly or if I was called off to another assignment.

I made many different shots in the hours before the race of the crews getting the boats ready, and then it was race time. I was shooting with my d3 and a 400mm lens. I would switch between using a 1.4 extender. I shot the nine heats of the qualifier round and at this point, I was really starting to sweat and be uncomfortable. I decided I would stay for a few more rounds since the finals were starting next. I shot the finals of the Jersey Skiff class of boats and then it was time for the Pro Stock class.

All day, I was having trouble with my camera. I would shoot a burst of images with the motor drive and the camera would slow down to a crawl after 13 images in the buffer. This cost me some nice shots. This really bit me in the Pro Stock class. I was shooting the boats as they came around the corner, the PS29 boat was bouncing along and then suddenly it flipped in the air right in my viewfinder. At that point, the camera was struggling to shoot and I was lucky to have caught the frame above. Who knows, maybe if I was ripping away, I would have missed the shot in between frames anyway, but it was very frustrating.

Now, I never like seeing people get hurt and luckily the driver was fine, but man it certainly makes for a dramatic image. I even bet the driver of the boat will be looking for a reprint. It’s like NASCAR on the water.

Check out the rest of the images at my paper's web site http://media.hometownannapolis.com/flash/2008/08/03sshta/index.html

Goofy photos people shoot of me

2008-07-13T22:35:00.013-04:00

My friend and fellow photographer John Strohsacker has a habit of shooting pictures of me looking funny at various Navy sporting events. In this one to the left, I thought I looked fine until I noticed my coffee-stained teeth after John busted my chops about it. While I do not smoke, I do love drinking coffee. Perhaps I will try some of those Crest White Strips.

The image below is also from John. After he sent me the one to the left I decided no more toothy smiles. In this one, the sun was in my eyes, making me squint. So I look like Popeye or Pauleye, The Sailor Man. Good old John has a way of bringing out my inner beauty.

Other people have also photographed me while I was doing my job. Sometimes they are professionals and other times they are just people who like to take pictures. I will usually recieve an envelope at work with my name on it and the snapshot enclosed.

So to all those who take my picture as I am working: Thank you for your interest. I don't usually get to see myself in pictures as I do my job and it is nice to have something to remember the day. Even John's funny images of me capture me when I was having fun doing something I love, shooting outdoor sports on a nice day. I will just have to whiten those teeth some more in Photoshop.

Photo Monkeys - The Lecture & BBQ

2008-07-10T12:06:00.003-04:00

Its time for my annual Photo Night/BBQ. For the past couple of years I have held at least one BBQ each summer. These are get together, I like to have, to gather friends, co workers and fellow photographers. I invite a photographer to give a short presentation on their specialty. We drink beer, eat food, play games and hopefully have a good time. We may actually learn something too, if we don't drink too much beer.

This year I have invited photographer Steve Jasiecki to speak to the group. Steve has been doing underwater photography for years and just recently completed a trip to The Galapagos Islands. He will be giving his presentation "The Galapagos Above and Below" to the group on July 27th. One of Steve's images is above.

I have sent out the 1st round of invites via evite.com. If you have attended one of my photo nights before and did not get an invite please email me. I may have misplaced your address. If you are a photographer I may have worked side by side with and would like to come, also drop me an email. Space is limited at my house so anyone else who may be interested in coming can email me too, but I may not be able to accommodate you.

Anyone still checking this blog out?

2008-07-10T11:57:00.003-04:00

As the title asks, is anyone still checking out my blog? I want to apologise for the lack of posts. I have started several, gotten half way done and then either lost interest in the topic or they became a jumbled mess of ideas. I have also been busy with both work and projects around the home. You know, once spring hits, the Honey Do List kicks in high gear.

So for now I will just post when I can. I will try and post more often, even if it is just a picture that I think is cool, like this one I shot a few months back at a track and field championship meet.

Beware of Big-headed Babies

2008-03-08T23:20:00.003-05:00

It seems that my little faux pas have been quite good for blog topics lately, so here is one more. With the move back to a full frame SLR like the D3, I have run into wide-angle distortion, a bad habit of mine which only popped up once in a while in my film days. In my film days it was not that bad because the widest lens I owned was a 24-mm and I only really had a problem if I was right up next to someone. Then his or her head would get a slightly alien look to it, depending on the angle from which I shot the person.

Today, I have a full frame D3 and a 17-35mm lens and this leads to even more alien heads and curved perspectives on interior room shots. It can also lead to things like hands, forearms and feet being greatly exaggerated.

I think the culmination of this happened this week when I had to make a shot of a daddy boot camp for new fathers. As usual, it was a rush job; that and the fact that I had to work with babies who simply would not follow direction (how dare they) led partially to my mistake. But I will take most of the blame. I had to make a portrait of the babies, their daddies and the instructor.

You can see from the slightly altered image above that the babies’ heads are a little big. I actually think that babies have big heads and that shot did not look that off, but others disagreed. The original shot I turned in (not shown) was made at 22-mm and looked OK to me, but others thought they had big heads. It certainly got some laughs in the newsroom. My wife says they look like Cabbage Patch Kids. The second shot, above, was made at 26mm.

My fellow photographer J Henson was kind enough to enhance the above image with Stewie Griffin’s head.

So this week’s lesson from Paul is to watch out for big-headed babies - they will get you in trouble every time. Just kidding. Watch out for wide-angle distortion, whether it is in people, landscapes, or interiors. Sometimes the distortion can look cool and is an effect I use on purpose, like the image below. But with a regular portrait of children, it can look weird.

Make Sure You See Everything In The Frame

2008-03-02T13:15:00.002-05:00

Last year, I wrote about watching your backgrounds. Now, I want to tell you to watch everything else in the frame. I made the mistake of not checking the little things, and that bit me in the butt a couple weeks ago. I had to make a head shot of a Baltimore businessman and did not have a lot of time to shoot this because of both my schedule and the subject’s.

I set up my lights and background, and then the subject came for the sitting. We exchanged greetings and got started. I shot a couple test frames, made a few changes then got started. I made 20 images; everything looked good and I thanked him. I packed my stuff and then went on my way.

When I started to edit, it hit me, the guy’s tie was not tight against his collar. This does not look very good. I am not happy, the client is not happy and I am going to have to re-shoot it. While it is not my fault that he did not tie his tie correctly, it is my fault that I did not catch it before wrapping the shoot.

I did retouch it in Photoshop and it looks pretty good, but it added extra time to the post processing.

So be sure to check not only your backgrounds, but the little things in the frame like a tie, an out-of-place hair or even a man’s pants zipper. It is a lot easier to catch before the end of the shoot than to fix later.

Gillespie's Museum of Photography

2008-02-16T22:57:00.003-05:00

As I was growing up, my grandma used to save everything. When she passed away, it took weeks for us to clean out her home. It was like going through a museum, only things were not kept in any kind of order, just piles of stuff in different rooms. Some rooms you could just barely get into. She had been in the home since before I was born and there was decades of stuff. I think some of her has rubbed off on me, at least when it comes to camera gear.

Looking through my house is like looking through a personal museum of my years as a photographer. Some stuff I will display, like my first film camera and my first digital camera. If you are wondering they are a Minolta Maxxum 7000, circa 1985, and a Kodak DCS 520, circa 1999. I have read the Minolta was the first real auto-focus camera. I bought it used for $175.00 in 1991 for my 21st birthday. The DCS 520 was a state of the art digital camera in 1999, and I basked in all of its 2 mega-pixel glory for a few years. I had to wait until 2000 to buy it because it was over $14,000 in 1999. I picked it up for a song at $7,100 the following year.

Eventually the Maxxum 7000 was replaced by a Maxxum 9000 and the DCS 520 was replaced by a Canon 10D, but both cameras served me well and have a place in my museum.

Some stuff, on the other hand, I just have not been able to bring myself to get rid of. As we work our way into the bowels of my museum, which many would call the basement, you come across a collection of pieces from the D.E. or Darkroom Era. There is my Besseler 23c Enlarger with color head. Boxes full of other old darkroom stuff like easels, trays and books on darkroom technique. Random tongs are packed away, hoping that this digital thing is just a fad.

Then there is the pelican case with my once cherished medium format Bronica ETRS camera system. This was my pride and joy when I thought that I was going to be a commercial photographer. Sure, it is not a Hasselblad, but it is a decent camera, cost me a lot of money and made some killer images on two trips to Europe. I also think it may have helped me land my first assisting job with my former mentor, who also used the same system. Alas, now it has been relegated to the basement museum.

Sure, I could have and should have sold this stuff on eBay years ago. I actually did sell a Jobo film processor in 2001 for almost what I paid for it, but those days are long over. It would now most likely cost more to ship it than I would get for selling it. And you never know, film might make a comeback.

What is in your photographic museum?

Thanks to Sandy Huberfeld.

2008-02-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

I wanted to publicly thank the Digital Photography Club of Annapolis for use of their images on The Capital's photo page this week. They looked great. I really want to thank Sandy Huberfeld for her work getting the images together and all the other hard work of getting the info for our captions. We were calling and emailing her for days. I even think she missed a class to help us. To top that off, she did not even get one of images printed in the paper. I am really sorry about that, but I had nothing to do with the image selection.

The photo page we do at the paper is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because as photographers we love when our work is used prominently in the paper. It is a curse because with our busy schedules it can be tough to work on photo stories for the page. It can also be tough to come up with new ideas every two weeks.

I had the idea to share the wealth with the local camera clubs and it worked out great. In a few months maybe the Arundel Camera Club will want to do a page. Who knows, maybe it is something we can do once a year, but don't worry Sandy, we will give you much more notice next time.

If you would like more info about the club their website is here http://www.digitalphotoclub .net

Waiting for the Governor.

2008-01-28T21:23:00.001-05:00

I want to thank the Maryland Governor's Photographer Mark Odell for showing my boss just how hard I worked at the governor's State of the State Address this year. He shot a picture of the press corps waiting for the governor to make his entrance into the House of Delegates chambers. As you can see, none of us is working too hard.

His email came with the subject line "Paul 'Working'" and the text was "Can you call it that???? " along with the photo attached.

All kidding aside, Mark is a great guy. It is actually his job that I took when he left The Capital to work in the governor's office almost six years ago. He makes it much easier for us press shooters when we have to cover the governor.

As for covering the "State of the State," it is like most anything we cover at the State House during session. You get there way too early. Jockey for a position in the tiny area they have assigned the press. Get yelled at and asked to move when "important" people come through our area to their seats. You know, the good times and glamorous life of a photographer.

All that being said this is a great job. And remember - the camera adds 40 pounds.

It’s Got To Be The Shoes.

2008-01-19T23:32:00.000-05:00

This was a popular Nike commercial in the 1990s starring Michael Jordan and Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon. Blackmon asks Jordan what makes him so great and repeatedly asks him if it is the shoes. Jordan just replies, “No Mars.” This may be my new reply when someone says that my sports pictures are a lot better since we got our new Nikon D3’s at the paper.

Sure, the camera is awesome and the image quality of the pictures is a lot better, but the comments come from sports assignments that I have lit with strobes. These assignments, mostly basketball or wrestling, always looked good, even going back to my Kodak DCS520 days. The comment also diminishes the efforts of the operator, namely me. I am the one with the timing and that is very important since with strobes you basically only get one shot and then have to wait for the strobe to recycle. I am the one composing the shot. And I am the one who decided to use the strobes to begin with.

The comments only seem to come after an assignment that I have lit with strobes. Since we got our new cameras I have bounced back and forth between using strobes at games and shooting with available light. The awesome D3 gives great results even when the ISO is jacked up to ISO 4000. These shots are usable in the paper and actually look pretty good, but they lack the pop and sharpness of a well-lit shot.

I guess my point is, it is not the new chisel that the artist used to create the masterpiece that made it great - it was the talent and vision of the artist. I really appreciate the new camera and it does make it easier to shoot in tough conditions, but lets not forget the artist.

1990's Nike commercial.

Be Prepared

2008-01-10T12:27:00.000-05:00

Be prepared is the Boy Scouts’ motto, and it was Boy Scout Troop 783 to whom I gave a talk about photojournalism last night. The only problem - I was not prepared. I thought I was. I packed earlier in the day and thought I had everything I needed. But when I arrived at the church where the troop meets, I unpacked my digital projector and discovered I left the power cord at home. This was 20 minutes before the meeting was to start, which was not enough time to go home and get it. After I got over the initial shock of not being able to show my portfolio with my projector and big screen, I went on with the talk. I had to have all the kids huddle around my 15-inch laptop and we made do.

I want to thank Troop 783’s scouts and leaders for inviting me. This was my second time speaking to a group of people about my job, and I am staring to enjoy it a bit more. I tend to ramble and go off on tangents, as my wife tells me, but I am getting better. I am going to create a brief outline for future talks to keep me on track. I should have listened to her advice about just that and to be prepared.

A New Year, a New Set of Resolutions.

2007-12-28T23:31:00.000-05:00

Well, 2007 is quickly coming to an end. And with the New Year comes my yearly ritual of making New Year’s resolutions for both my personal life and my business. The personal ones are all the usual suspects - lose weight, eat better, work out, etc. The business ones are also mostly familiar - update my marketing materials (portfolio, website, mailers), get new clients, keep current ones happy, increase sales.

Many of the goals are the same year after year. Last year, I began creating a new portfolio. I got about 75% done and then got side-tracked with something else. This year, I will complete that task, although with a portfolio, you are never really done.

I also want to start doing test shoots with subjects that I want to direct my business towards. Creative people photography has always been an area I like to work in, and I would like to define my vision as a photographer more in that area. I am already a good creative people shooter - you have to be working for a newspaper. But I want to go after some higher paying clients in the corporate world, as well as magazine work. This will require going to the next level. Sports photography is also an area I enjoy and will continue to work in.

As a newspaper photographer, you have to be good at shooting many different subjects. The opposite seems to be true in the commercial end of the business. There, a niche approach seems to be the direction the business is moving. There are many photographers that only shoot one subject, like food or medical images. I have even heard of shooters who just shoot golf courses and they all make a good living. So I will have to define my niche for my freelance work and still be a great generalist for the paper.

Another goal for the year is to be better organized. I have begun remodeling my office. I want to create a more organized, pleasant and comfortable working environment to increase my efficiency behind the monitor and keyboard. Sometimes, I miss the good old days of dropping the film off at the lab and picking up my prints later. So it is time for a top to bottom cleaning, some fresh paint and rearranging of the furniture for the first couple of weeks of the New Year.

I also want to start giving more talks to local groups about my work as a photographer. I did a talk at the beginning of this year with a local camera club and really enjoyed it. I will be giving a talk to a group of Cub Scouts in January and look forward to showing them my work. Heck, if my work does not impress them, I will break out the massive 400-mm 2.8 lens we use at work and that always does the trick. Who knows - maybe teaching a paid seminar may be in the future.

These are a few of my goals for the year, and I will keep you Photo Monkeys updated on my progress. I want to wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

Paul

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

2007-12-22T18:36:00.000-05:00

I have been a newspaper photographer for more than a decade now, and that means that I have shot my fair share of Santa Claus pictures. It gets tougher and tougher to get excited about the coming of good old St Nick each year. It certainly has lost the luster it had when I was a kid. My brother and I, laying in our bunk beds, talking about what we hoped Santa would bring us. Would I get the new Star Wars Millennium Falcon or the Atari 2600 I asked for? I actually did get the Millennium Falcon, but had to wait a few Christmases for the Atari 2600.

Now, I find my self thinking how many times we can possibly cover Santa Claus in the days from Thanksgiving to Christmas. We even have a running total on the door to our photo office at the paper. Some years, we just cut out all the Santa pictures that run in the paper and hang them on the door.

I know I titled this Merry Christmas and I am sounding a bit "Bah Humbug." In all honesty, I love Christmas. Each year, I procrastinate with my shopping and tell myself that the holiday is no big deal, but then a few days before the big event I get that feeling, sort of like Dr Seuss' Grinch... "And what happened then...? Well...in Who-ville they say/That the Grinch's small heart/Grew three sizes that day!" That is when I hit the stores and start buying stuff for my friends and family. Not that Christmas is just about gifts. I also start to feel like I should do more for those less fortunate, this is something I have to work on more.

We have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas at The Capital. As I wrote before, we received new Nikon D3's and we are getting a new photographer. These two things alone are excellent. Then there is the fact that I am off from now until the day after Christmas. This means that I don't have to shoot last minute shoppers at the mall. Usually it will be Christmas Eve and I will be on the night shift when an editor will just realize that they need art of last minute shoppers. It does not matter that there is no time booked for this assignment or they have not cleared me to shoot in any of the stores, just squeeze it in.

I am starting to sound sour again, sorry. It is great seeing the excited looks on the kids faces as Santa arrives and the look of horror on some of their faces as their parents try and put them on Santa's lap. Sometimes it's not easy being Santa.

To all who read this blog, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I look foward to capturing some great images next year and I am sure I will have plenty of stories for you.

Paul

The Other Side Of The Photo Desk.

2007-12-20T09:15:00.001-05:00

Here is a cool blog I came across that gives you the perspective of an anonymous photo director at a national magazine. http://aphotoeditor.com/ It is nice to hear from the other side of the photo desk.

Another Good TV Show Gets The Ax.

2007-12-13T22:05:00.000-05:00

I usually try and keep this blog about photojournalism. I am going slightly off on a different path with this post about a great TV show that is being canceled. That show is Journeyman. Hey, at least the lead character is a newspaper reporter and his dad was a photojournalist.

The show is about a reporter named Dan Vasser, who suddenly starts traveling back in time to fix things in other people's lives. It is kind of like an updated Quantum Leap, except he travels back and forth from his own time period throughout the show. That twist makes it even more interesting because he has to explain where he has been or at least make excuses.

Another interesting twist is that he finds out that his old girlfriend, who he thought died in a plane crash, is also a time traveler and usually shows up to help him. She would be the girl on the left of the photograph above. The woman on his right is his wife.

I had to laugh during last Monday night's show. The publisher at the paper Dan works for was laying off 25% of the newsroom, including Dan. He just happened to go back in time and get some dirt on the publisher and save the people at his paper from getting the ax, himself included.

This is another case of network TV not giving a show enough time to develop an audience. Those who do start watching the show and like it get the rug pulled out from under them, just when they start to get attached. Now there are many other things out there that deserve our attention, but it is nice to be able to escape the realities of life every now and then and watch a good show.

If you have seen the show and liked it please sign the petition here. You can also check out http://savejourneyman.net/ for other ideas. Sorry for the off-topic post and thanks for reading.

Whoops.

2007-12-09T21:21:00.000-05:00

I had an assignment today to shoot pictures of a local author in Crownsville. She is releasing a new book she wrote and was having a book signing party at her home. OK, sounds easy enough. I checked my directions and headed to Crownsville. I got to the street and started to look for the house number. As I got closer, I see about 40 cars parked on the side of the street where cars don't usually park. Bingo, that's the party.

As I parked my truck, I saw people headed towards the house, got out and followed them. I entered and saw what had to be more than 100 people at this book signing party. I thought, "Boy, what a turnout." I started walking around, trying to find the author. I asked one party-goer and she did not know what I was talking about. I figured she came with someone and did not know the writer.

I made my way though some more people and felt a tap on my shoulder. Oh good, the author saw me with my Capital jacket on and my cameras around my neck and sent someone to get me. I turned around and two guys were looking at me. They ask, "Are you looking for the book signing party?" "Why, yes I am." "Well, that is at the house next door." Whoops.

I laughingly apologized for walking into their holiday party. They said no problem and jokingly said that there were a lot of people there that would not want their pictures taken. As they escorted me out of the lovely private home, one said, "You can cut through woods there if you want." I laughed again, apologized again and said thanks. Boy was I embarrassed. What were the odds of two large parties right next door to each other?

Then again, I did get a funny story to tell.

Christmas Comes Early For The Capital Photographers.

2007-12-05T19:23:00.000-05:00

Santa Claus was kind enough to drop off an early Christmas present to The Capital photographers today. We received our new Nikon D3 digital cameras. For over a year, our photo editor has been trying to get the management to buy us some replacements for our aging Nikon D2h camera bodies. We got these more than 4 years ago and they were starting to show signs of being worn out. Not to mention, the D2h's have poor high ISO performance.

He was looking at D200's as a lower cost option to try to get the upper management to agree to it, but the money just was not there. Then this summer, it was time for our annual begging to begin again.

It just so happens that the new D300 and D3 were announced at this time. Our PE was told to draw up a proposal and they would see what they could do. He gave them the prices of both the D300 and the D3. He also explained that our gear tends to get heavily used in all kinds of elements, and that the D3 would last longer and hold up better. Our Executive Editor talked to some other Executive Editors at other papers and they told him the same thing. We were approved for the D3's. Yeah.

So now I have my pristine new D3 sitting on my desk, waiting for me to read the manual, or at least find something interesting to shoot with it. I am a little nervous to use it; it looks so good, especially compared to my battle-worn D2h. I have shot more than 150,00o frames on my trusty D2h and it feels a little bit like cheating with this new, younger camera. Don't worry, I will get over it. I will get back to you with a user report after I have had a chance to put it through its paces.

P.S. I want to thank Jeff Snyder at Adorama and NPS for getting us out cameras so quickly. If we did not get them in hand by Dec. 17, we would have lost the money in our budget for this year, and it most likely would not have been offered next year. I also want to thank our Photo Editor Bob Gilbert for pushing for this and Chief Photographer J Henson for doing the leg work of getting the order in. Lastly, thanks to our Executive Editor Tom Marquardt for giving the final approval. We look forward to capturing some great images with these new toys. Man, I feel like I just won the Oscar. I think I hear the music playing me off stage.

A Sad Day at The Capital.

2007-11-17T23:17:00.000-05:00

The ugly head of the “Buy-Out Beast” has shown its face at The Capital this week. Actually, it popped up last month, but Friday was the last day for those who took the deal. It was a sad day in the newsroom. We lost five longtime employees, two in particular who I am really going to miss from our Community News department. Fran Jaques and Mary Felter were the Community News department; between the two of them there had to be more than 40 years of experience covering our area. They knew everyone and generated a lot of copy for our paper.

Fran covered the Food, Religion and Homes sections. She found, wrote and assigned photographers to shoot the “Home Of The Week” feature, as well as covered food features and the area religion scene. Mary Felter was the Community News Editor and covered the local social beat, including charity events. She also did the obits and many other things.

I am not sure how the paper is going to handle filling the space, both physically and in the paper, that these two ladies did. This certainly is a time of change at our paper and for Mary and Fran. They are of retirement age, and I am sure they will be fine. They both have kids and grandkids who will love the extra attention.

There were many tears and hugs going around on Friday as the two of them were packing the last of their stuff into boxes. I was able to say goodbye to Mary as she was leaving, but I had to go out on a Friday night football assignment before Fran left. So I went over to her desk and said my goodbyes. When I got back, both their desks, which were in the corner of the Community News department, were empty. It was a sad sight to see, and I felt that The Capital newspaper was a little emptier too.

Good luck, Mary and Fran.

P.S. We also lost a great joke, which has probably been told hundreds of times to the new people in the newsroom or at least the Photo Department. I remember in my first month at the paper J Henson asked me “Did you hear what happened to Fran?” My reply was “No,” then J said “Mary Felter.” Get it? (Mary Felt Her)

Do Good Things and Good Things Happen.

2007-11-14T00:31:00.000-05:00

While I may have a reputation as being a bit surly, sometimes, I do have my moments of niceness. A couple of weeks ago, I met a boy named Brian Murphy at a blood drive. The event was in his honor. His family and school arranged it because Brian has leukemia and they wanted to do something that may not only help Brian, but others as well.

After arriving at the school, I met Brian and saw he was wearing an Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning Jersey. He is a huge fan of the club and especially Manning. Brian is even going to get to meet him next year, thanks to the Make a Wish Foundation. This made me think back to 2001, when I shot the Colts playing the Ravens. I knew I had at least one shot of Manning my wife shot at the game (she came with me to help out and shot some of the game). So I offered to print it for Brian. His face lit up, and he ran to his mom to tell her.

A couple days later, I dug out my CD with the images I shot that day and hit the mother load of Manning images. I did not realize I had so many decent shots of him. Come to think of it I never gave Brian the shot my wife took. I printed five shots for him and also burned a CD with them on it, just in case the inkjet ones fade.

I delivered them myself and it was worth it. When he opened the package his face again lit up, and I have to tell you it felt good. He was so excited, not only did it make me feel good doing something nice for Brian, it reminded me of how cool my job was sometimes.

On The NIght Shift.

2007-11-10T14:02:00.000-05:00

I have been on the night shift for the last few weeks, and this means two things to me - bad lighting conditions at high school sporting events and cold weather. I consider myself a pretty good sports photographer and even have won some awards for it, but they were never from a night-time sporting event. Night sports are a whole different beast than the luxury of a day game, especially a slightly overcast day game. Now there are the exceptions of sports played in a well lit professional or college venues, but I am talking about high school sports played in cavernous gyms or on dark fields.

Since this is fall, the main sports are football, soccer, field hockey and volleyball. The first three played on dimly lit fields and volleyball is the bane of my existence. At least with football, soccer and field hockey, I can use a flash to light my shots. Although I hate on camera flashed sports photography, it is better than the alternative of high ISO, slow shutter speed, grainy and motion-blurred volleyball photography. We are not allowed to use flash for volleyball because the girls are too sensitive to it, although the basketball players, who have to get the ball in the small hoop, seem to have no problem with it.

The other biggest obstacle of fall sports is weather, and I have been in some nasty stuff shooting night sports. Just last night, I was shooting football in the cold and rain. As I have gotten older I have also gotten a little wiser - just a little, mind you. I now have rain gear for my physical body, although I need new rain boots and warmer clothes. When I started out and for many years of my career, I would just wing it with whatever I had on. This would lead to many a cold and wet night editing my images back at the office after the game. Now I have the proper gear to keep me dry.

I wish the same could be said for my gear, or should I say the paper’s gear. We have one Light Ware rain cape for our longer glass. It is older and does not allow for the use of flash. I usually have to resort to taping and rubber-banding my gear in either trash bags or grocery bags. Trying to get a decent shot a night is tough enough, but when you spend more time and thought worrying about your gear getting wet, it’s nearly impossible. I am trying to talk the powers that be into buying some AquaTech rain shields for us to share. They are pricey, costing about two hundred fifty bucks each, but considering our 400mm 2.8 lens cost $8,000 and a new D3 is $5,000, they seem cheap.

So I do whatever I have to do to get a picture. That’s my job and don’t get me wrong, I love it. It is just less gratifying during the fall because the shots are usually less than spectacular and I like hearing the ooohs and aaahs of a great sports shot.

Happy Anniversary.

2007-10-24T19:32:00.000-04:00

It was seven years ago yesterday, October 24, 2000, that I started at working for the twice-weekly Maryland Gazette, a Capital-Gazette Communications newspaper. Two years later I made the jump to the Gazette's sister paper The Capital, the daily paper, where I am currently. It has been a good seven years with both ups and downs.

I believe I have grown as a photographer over the last seven years. I am still working to get better at the craft and think I learn something new every day. It is a never-ending education and inspiration is everywhere. Just because I have been doing this professionally for 12 years does not mean that there is not more to learn.

I love the Anne Arundel County, Md. area. Baltimore to the north, Washington DC to the south, so much to see, do and shoot. I took the job at the Maryland Gazette so that I could be close to my then beautiful girlfriend, Jennifer, who is now my beautiful wife. She is also the editor of this blog, making me appear to be a better writer than I am. I was lucky to get a job that not only brought me closer to my now wife, but to an area I really enjoy.

Who knows what the next seven years will bring with the way the newspaper industry is changing. I can only hope that they will be as great as the last seven.

A Survivor's Memories

2007-10-22T10:25:00.000-04:00

I had the privilege of shooting a portrait of Dr Joseph Taler, a survivor of the Nazi invasion of Poland during World War II, on Tuesday. With help from the Polish Christian Underground, he changed his name to Joseph Skwarczynski and, with forged documents, worked for the railroad during the war. Meanwhile, he was hiding his father in a small apartment.

He lived his secret life until the Soviets forced the Nazis from eastern Poland. In 1950, he and his wife made their way to the United States.

This was the kind of assignment I would have liked to have more time to shoot, if only to listen to Dr. Taler’s stories. But I had four assignments on that very hectic day. I got there at 2 p.m. as planned and check out his home for a possible location.

A small table in the living room would serve as the setting for his portrait. I had him sit at the table and show me his mementos from his life. He showed me pictures of his family and of him in his youth. The two books he wrote. Copies of many of the forged documents, emblazoned with the Nazi swastika, which helped save his life. All of these would help tell his story in my photograph.

As we were setting up, he showed me a picture in one of his books. It was of him and his friends as kids dressed as American Indians. He told me that they would play “Indians” as kids. Naturally, I had to ask, “Where are the cowboys? Didn’t you play cowboys and Indians?” He replied, “Cowboy outfits cost too much; all we needed was a feather to play Indians.” There they were, a group of kids, feathers sticking out their headbands, playing a game of “Indians.” All having fun, but little did they know what would be coming a few years later.

I shot a simple portrait. One off camera flash to the left, bounced off the ceiling. Available light was coming in from a big sliding glass door on the right. I was only there for about a half an hour, but in that time I again realized how lucky I am to have been born in the USA. How I should think about Dr. Taler next time I am complaining about one of lives little setbacks and compare them to the real tragedies in the world. I guess my little problems are not that bad.

If it sounds too good to be true...

2007-10-14T09:59:00.000-04:00

... it most likely is. I am talking about the deals you see on the Internet or in the photo magazines advertising camera gear at ridiculously low prices. I recently read a question on Sportsshooter.com asking about Broadway Photo selling the yet-to-be-released Nikon D300 for $1,399. The poster asks if this is too good to be true and the answer is YES!

B&H Photo has the camera listed at $1,799.95, and that is most likely the lowest price you are going to find it. Now I am not trying to shill for B&H, and you may find it a little cheaper at one of the many reputable dealers out there. My point is do your homework when making a camera gear purchase. I don't just mean find the cheapest price. Do some research on the dealers. Check resellerratings.com. Ask fellow shooters from whom they get their gear.

I hate to make generalizations, but if the dealer is located in Brooklyn, NY, be wary. Many of these stores are famous for selling an item like the D300 for a low price, but if you wanted the battery, instruction book, software or other accessories that should come with it, it will cost you an arm and a leg extra. They may also pressure you into buying some other overpriced accessory that could be had cheaper at a reliable store, like a $100.00 UV filter.

And forget about trying to return it if you have a problem. How do I know all this? Well, from reading the many horror stories about cheap prices gone wrong and from personal experience. About 10 years ago, I scratched my trusty Canon 24-mm 2.8, my favorite lens in the full framed, film days. I wanted to replace it but they were more than I could spend at the time, being a newly hired, under paid, staff shooter at a weekly paper. I decided to get a Sigma instead of the Canon and I would get it at one of the Brooklyn stores advertised in Shutterbug.

When I got the lens, it was of less quality than I was expecting. This was Sigma's fault, not the stores. When I tried to return it, it was a nightmare. They eventually took it back; I think I paid some ridiculous restocking fee, but I learned my lesson.

Just for kicks, a photographer named Don Wiss went around Brooklyn taking pictures of all the mailing addresses listed for the various photo stores there. It is pretty funny and kind of scary looking at some of the locations and it should be more than enough warning to shop at a well established retail photo dealer. Here is the link http://donwiss.com/pictures/BrooklynStores/

Some of the most reliable stores are B&H Photo, Samy's Camera, Robert's. To tell the truth it is hard for anyone to beat B&H's prices. If you ever get a chance to go to the NY store it is awesome. Every time I go in there, I'm like a kid going into a candy store.

That being said, it is very impersonal and there is something to be said for personal service. If you have a good photo retailer in you area that provides personal service, paying a little more for that service may be worth it.

P.S. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, the blog is back and I hope to update it more than I have the past few months. I do have lots of things to post about and will try and find the time to get them up here. That is if my lovely wife Jennifer will continue to edit it and make me look good.

Sorry for the delay in posts.

2007-09-01T13:30:00.000-04:00

To my loyal three or four readers out there, don't get too discouraged with my lack of posts. Things at the paper have been pretty busy the last couple of months. We had one photographer who decided that she wanted to pursue a freelance career in June and they did not replace her. We hear maybe October or November is the soonest they may hire someone and that is if they do hire someone. It goes without saying that we need the shooter.

Second we had a photographer at our sister paper, The Maryland Gazette, injured while off duty and he was out most of the summer. We had to fill in up there also. Then there is our vacation time that has to be used or we loose it on our anniversaries. So for many parts of this summer we had, at times, two shooters doing the work of five.

But hey today is the first day of my vacation. I am off for nine days, work two days and then I am off seven more. My mom is coming for a visit and of course I have the honey do list, but I should be able to find time for some blog posts. And I do have a lot to blog about.

So stay patient and stay tuned.

Thanks
Paul

Eating Bad Food On The Go.

2007-08-10T21:50:00.000-04:00

I have always liked fast food. Even growing up, my mom would hand my brother and me some money and tell us to go to McDonald's. My size 38 waist can attest to my love of the Double Quater Pounder with Cheese or Double Royal With Cheese, as Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction, would call it. That's also what the French call it.

As a photographer for a newspaper, I am always running around to different jobs and find it hard to eat healthful food. I must eat fast food at least three times a week, maybe more. I am sure that many photojournalists will tell the same story. Sure, it is just an excuse. I could pack a healthful lunch. How much time could it take? An extra 15 minutes before I go to work?

Now that my age is quickly approaching my waist size, I start to think, "This can't be good for me." I did watch "Super Size Me", but I just figured what happened to Morgan Spurlock could not possibly happen to me. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I would be a whole lot healthier if I did not eat it all these years. From this point on, I am going to cutback on the Mickey D's.

What was the point of this post? I am not sure. Was it a wake-up call for me and my fellow photojournalists out there? Or am I just trying to make an excuse to write off tonight's Double Royal with Cheese as a business expense for research on this artcle.

What do you eat when working? Do you pack a healthful meal or just grab some fast food?

Sometimes Your Emotions Get to You.

2007-07-28T20:46:00.000-04:00

I had, what I think is, a first yesterday. I started to tear up and get emotional as I was shooting an assignment. I had to go to the home of a woman named Lin, who has brain cancer. The story is about how she and her friends and family get together to have a good time several times a week. Yesterday was "Spa Day." They had professional make-up, hair and manicure people come to her house and give the women a fun day.

Lin has lost most of her hair and was wearing a ball cap. She had friends helping her get around. She was not having anything done to her at the time, but I kept my eye on her as I made images of her friends getting things done. This is when I got the first sign of my emotions coming to the top. I got a slight lump in my throat and then hint of a tear in my eye. As I was working, I would catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye and all I could see was my mom.

You see, my mom has been fighting lung cancer for the last 18 months. She has had chemotherapy and radiation, and the last treatment she had was the chemo pills. She has lost a lot of weight and most of her hair. The last time I saw her was September, and she looked much different than I remembered.

The great news is when she had her last x-ray or MRI - I am not sure which - last month, they could not find any signs of the lung cancer. She had it in two areas, and both were gone. Even the doctor said it was a miracle. When she told me I was very happy I had been praying for her to get better and my prayers came true.

The thing about it is, the whole time she has been sick, I have dealt with it by not really thinking about it most of the time. She lives in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, and I live in Maryland. There have been stretches of years between visits, sometimes. I think that the way I was thinking was that even if the worst happened, I would just think of her still being down there. I know that is not the best way of handling it, but it is how I coped.

Being a manly man, I wiped the tear and pushed the lump down and continued to work. Then it was Lin's turn to be photographed. She was getting a manicure and I made some shots of her, all the while her friends would be cracking jokes and making her smile.

After I was done shooting, I crouched down next to her and told her about my mom and how she had her miracle. Lin took my hand and said she was glad to hear about my mom's cancer remission. I told her that I would pray for her. She thanked me and I went out to my truck. This is when the real waterworks started and that lump turned into a mountain in my throat. I guess all the pent up emotions of my mom and the sadness that there are such things as cancer and people suffering hit me. Luckily I was alone at this point and grabbed a napkin, wiped my eyes, swallowed my mountain lump, took a swig of water and went on to my next assignment.

I have seen many things in my career that are heartbreaking. I have covered accidents, fires, homicides, soldiers' funerals. You name it and I have covered it. These were very sad things and I have felt sadness for the people, but this time it hit me close to home.

Thanks for reading this long post, and go hug a loved one today and don't take the time you have with them for granted. If you feel like helping in the fight against cancer, the American Cancer Society is a good place to start. There is also the American Lung Association for general lung health. As for me, I am going to try and find something I can do to help give back to those who helped my mom and all the others who need it.

Junior's First Ride (or Why I Love My Job.)

2007-07-13T21:02:00.001-04:00

As a photographer for a daily newspaper, my assignments run the gamut, from the mundane to the exciting. One job could be a grip-and-grin, the next, a raging fire. You never know when an assignment is going to produce an image that makes you glad to be a newspaper photographer. This image was one that made me feel good.

Every other week, we do a two-page photo story. This week will be one I worked on about the local carnivals. I shot two carnivals last week. The first was the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Firefighters Carnival. I invited my wife Jennifer along to keep me company and get some tasty carnival food. I love pit beef and funnel cakes.

Jennifer and I were walking around when she pointed out a father showing his son the controls of a kiddie ride that they were on. I said that she was right and that would make a good shot for the story, so I started to shoot them on the ride. The child did not look like he was having a good time. He was crying part of the time, but I kept on shooting. He was not crying in all of the shots and I picked one that did not look too bad.

After they got off the ride I introduced myself. I said I was from the paper and asked for their names and the child's age. When the father said eighteen months, I asked if it was his first time on a ride. The father said yes, it was his first ride.

When I got back to the office, the editors wanted one of my images for the next day's paper and I chose that one. I thought how cool it would be the next day when the family got up and opened the paper. They would see junior and his father, on the front page, on the boy's very first carnival ride. Odds are they would go out and buy several copies of that paper, perhaps a print, and save them for the rest of that child's life. They would send copies to family and friends for them to cherish.

I have shot plenty of children, doing plenty of things, in my 12-year career. Many of them better images than this. I am sure that parents have clipped many of my images of their children to save. I think that what makes this one extra special to me is the fact that this was his first carnival ride and I had the privilege of capturing that moment. To me that is the ultimate goal of being a photojournalist, to capture pure moments, such as this.

James Nachtwey, One Of My Inspirations.

2007-07-07T12:21:00.000-04:00

Photojournalist James Nachtwey is one of my favorite photographers to watch. If you have not seen "War Photographer", the movie that shows a slice of James Nachtwey's life, you should get it. They even mount a small video camera on James' camera so you can basically see what he sees when shooting. I have a link to it on the right side of my blog in the Recommended Reading & Viewing section.

The video above is from the TED conference. James gives a 20+ minute talk about photojournalism and is worth the time to watch. James' website is also a good place to visit.

Shooting Cal Ripken Jr.

2007-07-01T13:03:00.000-04:00

First let me apologize for the poor-quality photo. I was at a talk given by freelance photographer Jim Burger (left) and Baltimore Sun photographer Gene Sweeney Jr. (right) on Saturday about shooting images of Cal Ripken Jr. All I had was my cell phone camera, and the lighting was poor. Maybe it is time to invest in a decent point-and-shoot for walking around.

The talk was at the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards to celebrate the opening of the museum's newest display "Cal Ripken, Jr.: Focus on a Hall of Fame Career; Photographs by Jerry Wachter". Here is some info from the press release: "Beginning on June 25, come to Sports Legends Museum and see our newest exhibit paying tribute to Baltimore’s newest Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken, Jr. From his major league debut in 1981, to the historic 2131 game of 1995, to his final at-bat in 2001, “Cal Ripken, Jr: Focus on a Hall of Fame Career” is a photograph exhibit highlighting Cal Ripken’s 21 season career as documented by Orioles team photographer Jerry Wachter. The exhibit will feature more than 40 images as well as artifacts from both Ripken and Wachter’s career".

Jim and Gene talked for about an hour about Jerry, shooting Cal, the Orioles and news photography in general. There were more than 50 people there listening and asking questions. Jim and Gene were great with their answers. The stories of shooting Cal and the Orioles were very entertaining. They spoke about the old days of shooting in Memorial Stadium when photographers could practically roam free on the outskirts of the field. They were in play and had to keep on their toes for balls and players trying to make plays. All that changed with the move to Camden Yards. Now shooters are penned up in a few positions near the dugout and around the stands.

Jerry's images were huge in the gallery and printed well; many were blown up to at least 3 feet. If you have a chance to visit the museum and are into sports photography and sports memorabilia, especially Baltimore artifacts, then it is worth the trip. Admission is $10 per person, which I thought was a little steep if just to see the images of Cal Ripken, but I went for the talk and the Cal images, so it was worth it.

Good Luck Alison.

2007-06-26T11:12:00.000-04:00

Friday was a sad day for The Capital photo department. It was staff photographer Alison Harbaugh's last day working for the paper. No, she was not fired. She has decided to enter the world of the freelance photographer with her new venture Freckle Photography. She is going to be doing high-end candid children's photography.

We had a party Friday night at the Sly Fox in Annapolis, and she had a great turnout. The picture above is most of the photo staff (L to R) Alison Harbaugh, J Henson, Bob Gilbert and yours truly, Paul W Gillespie. In case you are wondering it was also Hawaiian Shirt Friday at the paper, but I was the only one who remembered. Josh McKerrow was on vacation so he is not pictured.

While it is sad to see our friend and colleague leave the paper, we are happy that we had the opportunity to work with her. She brightened all of our days with her great personality. We all wish her nothing but the best and hope her Freckle Photography is a great success.

Another sad note to Alison's departure is that we are not filling her spot on the photo staff until the fall, we are told. I only hope that come September, we get a new shooter. We have an intern filling her spot for the summer, but it will be impossible to keep up the amount of assignments we cover if the staff is permanently cut down from four to three people. Let alone do all the new stuff that they want, like video and the twice-a-month photo page, which is actually two pages.

Good luck Ali.

The Sun Sets On Another Year of Graduations

2007-06-10T17:05:00.000-04:00

I shot my final graduation of the year yesterday. That is barring any last minute schedule changes. I have to say that it could not have come sooner. The end of May and beginning of June tend to be a crazy time for me as a newspaper photographer. You have the all the high school sports playoffs/championships to shoot, and then it is right into graduation season.

This year, I kicked off the graduations shooting the United States Naval Academy graduation that I did my first audio stream about. If you have not heard it, please scroll down and listen. Then it was time for the high schools. I personally shot six. We have 12 public high schools in Anne Arundel County and one on Kent Island that we cover. Add to that the other 10 private and special education schools that I can think of, and it comes to 22 high schools, plus three college ceremonies.

Twenty-five commencements, all looking about the same, as far as, caps, gowns, parents, kids, speeches go. Sure the people are different and the school colors change somewhat, but trying to make unique images from each one is a challenge. I think that as a photo staff we did pretty well this year. I really liked the stuff I shot at the Arundel High School graduation I did on Friday. That is where the image above came from. It is one of the few high schools in the county to actually have their ceremony at the school and outdoors. This really helps with abundant light and the opportunity to try some different things.

So congrats to all the graduates and their families and to all the graduation shooters out there. See you in 11-1/2 months.

Chasing The Blimp.

2007-06-07T22:30:00.001-04:00

My first assignment yesterday was canceled, so I was sitting in the photo office at the paper working on the computer when an editor came in and said the Goodyear Blimp was flying around outside and asked if someone could get a shot of it. I leaped to my feet and thought to myself, "A breaking blimp story - that is just the shot in the arm my portfolio needs right now," and with that I was out the door.

All they really wanted was for me to pop my head out of the office and get a picture from our parking lot so that is where I started. After shooting some images in the parking lot I noticed that the blimp was fling in circles around Parole, just outside of downtown Annapolis, MD. Each circle was getting bigger and eventually it was heading downtown.

I jumped in the photo car and started heading downtown. Trying to keep an eye on the blimp, I knew that I wanted to get a shot of it with the Maryland State House in the shot but would it get close enough? I raced down Rowe Boulevard towards the State House, and when I got about three blocks away, I parked and jumped out of the car. I had a 300-millimeter lens on one camera and a 70-200 on the other. I tried to frame the shot as the blimp flew around the State House, but it was not the right angle, so it was back to the car.

I knew I would not have many more chances to get this shot. I drove to State Circle where the Capitol building is and parked illegally . I jumped out and lined up the shot with the 70-200 and fired off a few to check my exposure. Now if only the blimp would fly into the frame, I would be set. As if the captain of the blimp could see me, he dipped the nose of the zeppelin and headed straight for the dome. I fired off about 20 frames of the blimp before and after it passed by the dome and then it flew away. I nailed my shot and I was happy. What started out as a quick shot of a blimp from the parking lot turned into a nice image that ran on the front of my paper today.

Congratulations - A New Photography Foundation Is Born.

2007-05-30T20:28:00.000-04:00

I want to congratulate and spread the word of a new photography foundation started by my friend Bill Horin and some of his colleagues. The Visualize Photography Foundation is having its first major event next week with the presentation of $3000 in scholarships to local southern NJ high school student photographers at a photography exhibit they are hosting at the Atlantic City Airport. I look foreward to attending the event on June 5th at 5:30pm.

Here is a quote from their website on what they are about;

"Photography is a medium of power. It moves us, beyond the mechanics of light and color. It compels, persuades, documents and entertains. It changes us as it changes the world.
Founded in 2007 by working commercial photographers, the Visualize Photography Foundation was created as a resource for photographers and photography consumers, with the goal to advance the craft in all pursuits: professional, amateur, commercial and artistic...

The Foundation develops and encourages working photographers and students of photography through collaborative and educational programs including workshops, scholarships and web resources. "

If it wasn't for Bill I would not be the photographer I am today. He was kind enough to pass his knowledge along to me and now he and his colleagues are going to do the same for many more people interested in becoming better photographers.

For those of us that are close enough to the South Jersey shore, Visualize is having a series of workshops that might be worth the trip this summer. A link here at Visualize Workshops will tell you the info. I may be attending Bill's lighting workshop on July 23rd.

So congratulations and I hope the foundation grows to help educate photographers for many years to come.

Photo Monkeys The Podcast #1 - USNA Graduation

2007-05-29T11:57:00.000-04:00

Well after some months of starting and stopping work on recording my inaugural podcast, which was to be about podcasting, I scrapped it and started fresh with one about the graduation I shot at the United States Naval Academy last Friday. I actually finished this one and have a link to it here at USNA Graduation.

This is actually not a podcast since I have not figured out how to set up the RSS feed so it can be downloaded, but you can listen to it online. I guess it is streaming audio. If anyone can explain how to make it an actual podcast using Blogger please drop me an email.

Take a listen and tell me what you think in the comments section.

Watch your back...

2007-05-22T10:45:00.000-04:00

Your background that is. I was shooting a state championship baseball playoff game a couple of weeks ago. I was in the third base dugout facing towards first base. While I was framing my shot of first base, waiting for the action, I noticed a bright blue object in the background of my photo. What was this distracting blue obelisk intruding on my perfectly framed picture? A Porta-pot. Well I did not want that in my shot.

The simple solution was to move to the other side of the dugout. The distracting element was gone and I now had a clean background. So this is a little reminder to not only look at your main subject when shooting, but be mindful of your backgrounds also. This not only goes for sports, where I always want the cleanest background I can get, but for any type of photography. Nothing worse than a telephone pole coming out of someones head.

Crazy day = great shots.

2007-05-04T10:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, April 24th 2007. I was working the night shift 3-11pm. I show up at work to get my assignments about 2:30pm and see that I have four jobs that day. The 3pm assignment was a new business story about a interior designer who had just opened a new showroom in Annapolis.

I then had a 4pm assignment at the Anne Arundel County Courthouse. There was not much info on this one, just that a women was being sentenced at 3pm for maiming a father and son while driving on drugs. There was supposed to be a press conference afterwards with the victims giving statements and that is what we wanted to shoot. The problem was that the time was not nailed down and we were not sure if it would be the victims speaking or just the prosecutor. I had another assignment at 5pm and did not have time blocked out to be able to wait.

As I said the 5pm was lacrosse at a school about half and hour away. To top that off I had a 7pm at another high school that was holding an in prompt to memorial service for a student that had passed away that weekend.

So that is the plan right? Wrong. Just as I am about to leave for my first job an editor comes back to the photo department and says that there is another memorial for the kid who passed away going on right now at Truxton Park and they want that covered instead of the 7pm one. Well I already have a 3pm assignment and nobody is cancelling it and that is not my call, I go where I am told.

While at the 3pm job I get a call from a writer saying that she is not even sure if the 4pm will be worth while since the victims might not show up. I call my photo editor to tell him that I could do the Truxton memorial if someone gives me the OK to cancel the 4pm courthouse. He calls me back and says cancel the courthouse and go to the park. Great, I go to the park and meet the writer covering that assignment. Only problem is there is no memorial service.

I high tail it back to the courthouse and make it in time for the press conference. OK, now I have to get to the lacrosse game. I head north, fighting rush hour traffic, something no one seems to consider when assigning jobs at 5pm, and get to the game a little after the start. Only problem is that in the confusion of leaving for my assignments earlier I forgot to grab the pool 300 mm lens, all I have is my 70-200. I guess it will be like the days before we had a 300, but boy it sure does spoil you when you have one.

I shoot for about a quarter of the game and then I nailed the shot at the top of this post. I was thrilled when I saw it while chimping the back of my camera. With that one and a couple of other decent shots I had I could go to the next assignment.

The memorial was supposed to start at 7pm, guess what, wrong again. The writer made a phone call and found out that it was starting at 8pm. Great, what am I going to do for an hour and a half. I went and had a delicious Subway Chicken Teriyaki Sandwich. I wonder if I can get them as a sponsor? Of course when I get back and the memorial is starting the sun is going down. All my beautiful light, gone. It would be high ISO and flash now.

In the end everything turned out great. The next days paper was basically the Paul W. Gillespie edition. I had photos on every section cover I think. I got lots of props for the hard work and great images I turned in, but in the newspaper business it was time to do it all over again. I actually had one editor say, jokingly, "but what have you done for me lately."

Quick Tips - Keeping track of used cards.

2007-05-04T09:51:00.000-04:00

Keeping track of used CF cards does not have to be confusing, thanks to this simple tip I picked up a few years ago on Sportsshooter.com. When keeping your cards in a card wallet or case simply put the used ones in backwards. This way you will know which have been used for that shoot and need to be processed later. It may sound like a no duh and many of you may already know this, but when I heard this a few years ago I was amazed that I did not know of it sooner.

The Digital Photography Club of Annapolis.

2007-04-26T11:56:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of popping in on The Digital Photography Club of Annapolis meeting Monday night at Maryland Hall. Earlier in the year I gave a talk to them and they are a great bunch of talented photographers. On my two visits, they always prod me to talk about my job at the paper and each time I tell them that I am not the best public speaker, yet somehow, once I get started, it is hard to shut me up.

I have added a link to their website and look forward to stopping by again in the future. Maybe once the 24 and Heroes TV seasons are over and I have Monday nights off.

LA Times Staff Cuts.

2007-04-21T22:06:00.000-04:00

According to a story on the Los Angeles Times website, they are going to cut 150 staffers or 5 percent of its workforce. This will affect about 70 newsroom staffers. Some fellow photographers will most surely be affected. This comes at a crucial time for our industry, and I think it is a mistake on the Tribune's (the L.A. Times' parent company) part.

The print news business is changing at a very fast rate. It is moving from the printed newspaper, which had a limited newshole, to the World Wide Web, with its unlimited amount of space for sharing the stories of our fellow man. Blogs, multimedia slide shows and video are just a few of the new products hitting the web on our newspapers' web sites. The news beast is growing and it feasts on content. I know from experience that there are many days when it is a struggle just to get enough copy to fill a paper with limited space. Alas, weather/wild art.

Who is supposed to get this content if owners just keep cutting budgets and staffs? No wonder circulation is dropping. Staffs are being cut to shreds, our equipment is not being replaced and stories are not being covered. People are getting their news elsewhere. This in turn is causing advertisers to pull their accounts and forcing greater cuts to satisfy the bean counters and Wall Street types that own most of today's papers. I am lucky to work for a paper that is mostly family-owned and does not have the Wall Street pressure. Don't get me wrong, we still have no budget, but at least we are not cutting jobs.

What is the solution? As I see it, increase the budget, add jobs and tell the bean counters to give us some time to turn this ship around. The only way a newspaper can compete with the big media companies and 24-hour cable news outlets is tell a different story, a local story. This takes photographers and writers in the community telling local stories. Why would the average reader want to read wire stories that are a day old in the paper when they can get that from TV, practically in real time?

To create in-depth local content, photos, videos, stories and blogs takes manpower and proper equipment. You don't get that by cutting budgets and telling those who are left to do more. We are only humans and can only do so much in a given time period. If you have six assignments in one day, odds are none of them is going to be quality, or worth our readers' time.

Well I am done this rant for now. Good luck to those that will be looking for a job soon, hopefully I will not be one of them.

Fire Company 40

2007-04-10T17:19:00.000-04:00

Engine man Mike Sosnoski washes engine 401 as the sun sets over the house.

I had the honor of doing a ride-a-long with Anne Arundel County's West Annapolis Volunteer Fire Company Station 40 last Thursday for a photo page that ran on Saturday. I was able to document the firefighters for six hours from 1 to 7 pm. I wish that we had been given the assignment sooner because it would have been good to spend more time on it. My fellow Capital shooter Josh McKerrow covered the morning shift and we shared the photo page. Reporter Scott Daugherty wrote the accompanying article.

Captain John Lane on the mic answers a call in engine 402.

The firefighters do a very important job, and I was glad to be on this assignment. People rarely think about firefighters or police officers until they need one. I arrived at the station at 1 p.m. and some of the guys were just sitting down to eat lunch. I was not there two minutes when a call came in. I barely had time to set my gear down. I was not even sure what I would be doing as far as the ride-a-long when Captain John Lane said "Are you coming?"

"I guess so." I jumped on the engine. Lunch would have to wait.

The engine was screaming down Route 2 south with the siren whaling. It was exciting. What little boy has not imagined himself as a firefighter? Riding on the back of the truck, sirens blaring, cars moving out of the way - it was a childhood fantasy come true. These are the assignments that make me think my job the best. I am lucky to do it.

The first call was a medical emergency. Every call I went on that day would be of a medical nature. While I am glad that there were no fires for the community's sake, it makes for a less-than-exciting photo page when your story is about firefighters. A majority of the call were actually from doctors' offices to transport people that the doctors felt should be in the hospital emergency room. Three calls were actually from the Sajak Pavilion, which is a medical facility across the street from the hospital.

Another part of the day was checking access at local businesses, like the mall, in case of a fire. Speaking of the mall, we had a call to the food court for someone passed out drunk in the men's room.

As a newspaper photographer, I am just one part of the process of putting out the paper. Once I shoot the assignment and turn in my photos, they are out of my control. Sometimes this leads to me being disappointed with the final product. This was one of those times. Out of the four images here, only the top one ran in the paper.

Part of this may have been my own fault. I turned in 16 shots. I should learn to only turn in what I really would like to run. I lay the rest of the blame on the page designer. We put a lot of work into these photo pages, and I wish they would work with us more on the page layout.

This is something I may try and work on with the layout desk and editors. If we work together, I think that we all could be happier and turn out a better product. Maybe it is a paternal feeling I have, as a photographer, for my images, but I take it personally when they don't get the play I think they deserve.

But hey, that is what this blog is for.

Thanks again to the firefighters in Fire Company 40 for the opportunity to tell their story.

Happy Easter and Passover.

2007-04-08T14:12:00.000-04:00

I wanted to wish all of the Photo Monkeys readers a Happy Easter. To our Jewish readers, Happy Passover. I am working on a new post and will update shortly. If anyone has any requests for a topic, just email me and I will do my best to write about it. I am still working on my 1st podcast so stay tuned.

Paul

Shooting in the buff.

2007-04-01T17:36:00.000-04:00

A recent post on Sportsshooter.com about photographing a nudist college professor has reminded me of a funny assignment I had last year at a nudist resort. It was for the Lifestyle section of my paper, and I had to get images that would both tell the story and still be able to run in a family publication. I had never been to a nudist resort before. I have been to both beaches and lakes where some people went nude, but never a whole compound of nakedness.

I met the reporter at the main office to begin our day. To my surprise, she had brought her cousin to the assignment. I can think of plenty of assignments a family member may want to tag along on, but this is not one of them. Let's face it, most of the people that go to places like this, just like in life, are not exactly models. Let me just say that I don't think that the cousin came just because it was a nudist resort - more like the cousin was in town and did not have anywhere else to go.

We were taken around by some of the resort's management, who, of course, were all naked. They asked if I would be joining them in the festivities, but I said that I would pass. After I got over the fact that I was at a place where everyone was nude, I could concentrate on making usable images. I'll admit it - I was a bit embarrassed at first.

This is not the kind of assignment where you shoot first and ask names later. I had to ask if I could shoot the pictures and then let them get back to what they were doing before I got there. Some people said no thanks, but others could not have cared less. The key was going to be making images that had other objects blocking the no-no areas, like at the end of original Austin Powers movie. Also the strategic use of cropping came into play.

This assignment was shot last May before the busy summer season, and the resort was not that crowded. I found enough folks to make the images I needed, and it was actually kind of good it was not busy. If I had a lot of naked people running around it would have made it tougher to keep out the parts that could not be published.

After all my hard work, maybe hard is not the right word to use in the post. After all my work, they only ran the shot of the guy reading the paper and one I did not post here, of a couple in the pool, next to the side, blocking their bodies. I guess my shots were still a little too risky, but hey that is what my blog is for, right?

I think one of the best perks of working for a newspaper, as a photographer, is all the interesting people and things I get to meet and do. This was a unique experience.

I can only imagine the sunburns these people get.

You, too, can be Jimmy Olsen.

2007-03-26T18:22:00.000-04:00

Well, this professional photographer thing may work out after all. I don't want to toot my own horn, but the editors of the Daily Planet told me, "Well done. Outstanding work. More of that and you'll go places." That and my front page photo of The Man of Steel himself in the Daily Planet ought to look pretty good in my portfolio.

I tried out for a staff position at the Daily Bugle, but all that no good editor J Jonah Jamison would offer me was a freelance gig, and it was a bad deal at that. We all know what we say to bad deals, don't we? No thanks. Besides the Big Blue Boy Scout, Superman, is way better to photograph in my opinion, and there is no better paper to work for than the Daily Planet.

All kidding aside, try out the Stop The Press Superman Game. It can be addictive. My best score so far is 149.

If anyone asks, just say you are practicing your eye hand coordination to get better at your job.

It is nice to be recognized.

2007-03-24T20:21:00.000-04:00

I always enjoy when people at an event I am covering or just happen to bump into on the street recognize my name and tell me how much they like my images. I want to thank Jack Teal for stopping me today at the Maryland Department of Agriculture's Open House and telling me how much he enjoyed my work at the paper. I did a presentation at his camera club, the Digital Photography Club of Annapolis, in February, and he said since then he has been looking closer at the bylines under the photos. Did you ever notice how big the writer's credit is compared to the photographer's?

Positive recognition is always an ego boost. Sure, the paycheck is nice and I could not live without it, but hearing "Good job" from people, whether my boss, a coworker or especially regular readers is great. On that note, I want to again pass along congratulations to my fellow Capital shooter Josh McKerrow. He has one or more award(s) in the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Editorial Contest this year. We do not know how many or what for until the awards presentation next month. Good work, Josh.

Hey, you know what is just as good, if not even better, than telling me in person? A letter to the editor telling them how great I am. That reminds me of a funny story about a friend of mine and Capital photographer, the late Steve Fears. He had to cover a regular, somewhat mundane assignment, nothing award-winning, but the folks were so excited that he was there that they wrote a letter to the editor. In that letter, they ended with "Thank God for Steve Fears." He liked it so much that he cut out the letter from the paper, enlarged it and made it into a T-shirt.

I am still waiting for my "Thank God for Paul W. Gillespie", but until then thanks for all the kind words I do get out there. They really make me feel like I am doing something worthwhile.

Photoshop CS 2 Creativity Seminar in Washington, D.C.

2007-03-20T09:52:00.000-04:00

I attended the Photoshop CS 2 Creativity Seminar in Washington, D.C. yesterday. It was presented by the NAPP, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, at the Washington Convention Center. The workshop was a sellout with more than 1,100 people attending. Graphic artist Bert Monroy was the presenter, and his work is remarkable. He creates images in Photoshop that look like real photographs, but are entirely produced in the program. You can check out his work and get some tips from him at his website.

This was an all-day event broken down into five sessions. The first was "Layers: Beyond the Obvious". The second session was "Channels: More Than Meets The Eye" (reminds me of the Transformers cartoon when I was a kid). The third session, "Master Class: Brush and Pen Techniques," was after an hour lunch break. The fourth session was "Pen Tools & Filters: Unleashing Your Creativity." The day finished up with the fifth session, "Filter Magic: Creating Realism from Scratch."

I am not going to break down the individual sessions any more than that. In future posts, I will pass along some of the tips I learned from the day. I did learn a few, but this particular seminar seemed geared more towards the graphic artist or illustrator. It may be hard to imagine, but we photographers are not the only ones who use Photoshop. As a photographer, If I had to do it again I may skip this one, but the NAPP has many different seminars one could attend. This one, "Photoshop CS 2 Power Tour," on April 11 in Richmond, VA. may be more geared to the photographer.

The passing of Bob from Camera Stop.

2007-03-19T22:26:00.000-04:00

I went to a Photoshop seminar in Washington, D.C. today with my friend, Bill. On the car ride home, we started talking about all the old photographers from my hometown area in New Jersey. I asked him if he had seen Bob from Camera Stop and was saddened to hear that he had died two weeks ago from cancer.

When I first started to get into photography in 1991, the full-service local camera store was on its way out. Many sold all their inventory and became one-hour photo-lab-type businesses. Some closed altogether. Camera Stop was still going in the local mall. It had all the paper and chemicals you needed for the darkroom, many different models of cameras and a bald, ball-busting older man with a white goatee named Bob. Now Bob's ball-busting was the good, kind-hearted kind of kidding, like calling Bill a dinosaur in his nasally, rough voice because he was a little slow to embrace a newer film or camera or making fun of me for asking newbie questions. It was all in good fun and he had no cruel intentions.

Bob was also a good friend to struggling photographers, giving both others and me what would be considered great discounts on supplies like film, paper and chemicals. You think the sponsors of Sportsshooter give good discounts? They could not even come close to the "Friend of Bob" discount. Sure, he only worked there, but he knew that we brought in a lot of business in both our sales and the word of mouth we would spread.

The times were changing in the late '90s. Digital was coming of age. The need for film and darkroom supplies was going the way of the dodo. Camera Stop eventually moved from the local mall to a strip mall down the road. It was making the transition to selling high-end audio/video gear and eventually transitioning itself out of business.

Bill occasionally would give a talk or judge a contest for the local camera club to which Bob belonged. The last time I actually saw Bob was when his camera club came to Bill's studio for a demo on shooting models. At the time, I was renting a studio from Bill, and we split the group in two with two models. It was a funny feeling I had, going from the newbie shooter to the person co-hosting Bob's camera club for a studio lighting demo, but it also gave me a sense of pride.

You will be missed, Bob. May you rest in peace.

Ahh, time off is a good thing.

2007-03-15T12:17:00.000-04:00

It has been a week since my last blog entry. I am sure the two of you out there who read this blog have been wondering what has happened. Due to our rotating schedules at the paper, we get a four-day weekend about every other month. I added a few vacation days to that and - voila - seven days off. I really needed the time off. I was getting burned out and needed to recharge.

Part of my recharging was a little trip to Atlantic City, NJ. I had a comp'ed room at the Hilton, but I more than paid for it with my losses at the nickel slots. Thank God for my understanding wife. They did have a nice spa, where I enjoyed the hot tub, steam room and pool with some very wrinkled old men, who really should not have been walking around naked.

Another part of my time off was trying to dive into audio recording. Soon, drum roll please, I will be adding an audio podcast to Photo Monkeys. Not sure how often yet, but I am working on the inaugural broadcast now. If you have any suggestions for future podcasts, email me.

I have also been doing some of the work around the old homestead that needs to be done with spring coming, lawn and garden stuff mostly. I think I am going to need a vacation from my vacation.

What does this have to do with photography? Not much, but sometimes you have to take a break from the camera and do other things to keep from burning out on your fiery passion of image making. While I wish I had another week to sit around, or to get some more housework done, I also look forward to getting back behind the lens. That will probably last about a week.

Ever have one of those days?

2007-03-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

I had to cover a state championship girls semifinal high school basketball game tonight at a state university campus in the next county. I was excited to shoot this one because the gym, while being dark, has a nice railing to clamp my lights onto around the balcony. So I got there and talked my way into the parking lot close to the gym. After that, I set up my lights and started shooting. A couple of minutes into the first quarter, I set my other camera body on the bleacher next to me. Two seconds later, the camera hit the floor with my 35-70 2.8 and flash attached. Either the thumping from the band in the bleachers or the kid leading the band accidentally hit the camera and it hit the floor. I saw it on the floor and it looked fine at first. Then I picked it up and saw the lens was busted in half. Great.

The flash was not working either because the battery door was loose. It seems to work fine now. The camera also seems OK. But the lens doesn't.

OK, so I broke some gear. I still had to shoot the game. One school was from our coverage area, so they were the main subject. Unfortunately, the team was getting their butts kicked. It was something like 20-1 in the first 5 minutes, so the action on my side was non-existent. It went that way pretty much the entire game, although they started getting close towards the end. The final score was 55-41. I got a few shots for the paper, but nothing great.

I loaded my gear and started walking to the car, only to find a parking ticket. I figured that since I was allowed into the closed parking lot by the campus cops, it was a media/VIP lot and I did not need to feed the meters. I was wrong, not that I had a pocket full of quarters anyway.

Oh joy, I get to go back there tomorrow for another game. I will have quarters this time.

Let's here your stories in the comment section.

Look professional.

2007-03-06T10:44:00.000-05:00

Sure, we all have done it: shot a job for a client, making sure we acted as professional as possible on the shoot, only to deliver the end product in an unprofessional way - whether it be a CD of images with the title hand-written with a Sharpie Marker or an envelope with our chicken-scratch writing on it. That is a no-no. As professionals, we must produce a professional-looking product from start to finish.

The relatively low cost of ink jet printers has made producing professional-looking products a no brainer. I have an older Epson R200 ink jet printer that has the ability to print on CDs or DVDs. I used to do the Sharpie thing, and I cringe now when I look at what I used to give the client. Now, every job that is delivered to the client gets a CD or DVD with a printed label on it. When I say printed, I mean right on the CD, not a sticky label. The last thing you need is for a client to ruin his or her CD drive when your label decides to peel off while spinning in the drive.

There are also the newer DVD/CD drives with Light-Scribe technology. I am not too familiar with them, but they burn an image right on the DVD or CD. I have read that they tend to be slow at producing the image, but if the end result looks good, it may be worth it.

After the DVD or CD is complete, it goes into a paper envelope or jewel case. That goes into a twin pocket folder with contact sheets, if ordered, and a printed invoice. I use Quick Books for invoicing. As for envelopes and packages, I use either printed Avery labels or I will print right on the envelope with my ink jet printer.

The client gets a professional-looking package and you get a client who thinks you are on the ball. Then he or she won't mind paying the kind of fees we deserve.

Fighting Corruption. Image Corruption that is.

2007-03-03T10:45:00.000-05:00

I was getting my lab work at the office done last night when my wife called. "Bill called and he said he needs you to call him as soon as you can," she said. "He is having some technical problem and wants to know if you can help." Bill is a photographer friend who gave me my big break into the photo world by hiring me as his assistant 13 years ago.

I called him, and he said that he shot a big job the other night and now when he put his card in the reader, it was not showing any images. He told me there was another shooter at the event who was having camera problems. He pulled his card from his camera and let her try it with her card in it. He did not shut the camera off before pulling out his card, and we suspect that caused a file on the card to become corrupted and screwed his whole take from the night. Lesson #1: Shut the camera off before pulling your cards out. It may not get you every time, but odds are it will get you.

I told him that we had this happen to a few of our shooters at the paper and we used a program by Lexar called Image Rescue 2. He told me it was a SanDisk card so I looked at their site and found a program called Rescue Pro. I will not recommend it because when he tried it, it found the images but they were all corrupted, according to the program. Next, I suggested a program called PhotoRescue. This program worked like a charm. It got back all his images except the two that were corrupted causing the error. Lesson #2: If the first program does not work, try another one. Many of these programs let you try and recover the files first without paying for them, then if it works you buy it to do the final recovery.

If he could not have recovered these images, he would not only not be able to get paid for the job, he would have had to either try and get the people together again for a re-shoot or he would have lost a well-paying, steady client. Now, you do not have to run out and buy a image recovery program; most are downloadable on the Internet. If you don't know which one is right for you until you try them, at least know they are out there and where to find them. I would recommend the Lexar Image Rescue 2 and the PhotoRescue as good places to start.

Common Cents

2007-02-24T17:49:00.000-05:00

If you are a staff photographer or a freelancer and you are not reading Mark Loundy's Common Cents column monthly, you should be. Loundy is a long time photographer's rights and better business practices advocate. He has many years of experience and knowledge of issues that affect photographers. He kindly shares his knowledge to help educate us on the ways of the business world in both his Common Cents column and on many Internet photography forums.

His latest column talks about having the "warm and cozy" feeling of a staff job, taking freelance gigs on the side for low rates because it is only "fun money". Then you have the cold harsh reality of losing your job due to staff cuts. All of a sudden, that "fun money" is not enough to pay your bills. You try and raise your rates, but your clients balk and you can't pay the rent.

His point is learn to do business the right way. Figure out your "Cost of Doing Business," use contracts, charge a fair rate, and learn about licensing your images to clients. These are all things that will help you make an actual living from being a photographer if you ever lose your "warm and cozy" staff job. Now I am no saint or expert about the photo business, but I am also trying to learn how to do things the right way, and I hope you do too.

A good place to learn is the NPPA Independent Photographer's Toolkit.

Trying something different.

2007-02-22T23:15:00.000-05:00

I had a fun assignment a couple of weeks ago for a story on the upcoming Chinese New Year. This was for the food page and it was about Dim Sum. I went to a local restaurant called the Sputnik Cafe. It was owned by the fun couple you see to the left and they were up for anything. She even offered to throw on a bikini, half jokingly, of course. We talked about what would look cool and I decided that I wanted the big sputnik satellite in the shot. I also thought about how the giant orb looked like the one of the famous statue of Atlas holds above his head.

They loved the idea and I went about setting up my Dynalite Uni Jrs. For this shot I used one strobe in a 4' soft box on the right and a second strobe in an umbrella behind and to the left for a hair and rim light. The position of his hands and my camera had to be just right to make it look like he was holding the orb. I think I came close but I am not quite there.

I did a second set of images to cover my butt in case the editors did not like the Atlas shot. And, of course, they must not have because they ran the regular shot on the right. What do you think? Which one looks better?

Covering an accident after being in an accident.

2007-02-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

Top shots is with the flash; Bottom is slow shutter speed.

Well, I was headed home from work the other night, and traffic slowed to a stop on the major highway. I stopped and was waiting for traffic to start again when I heard a screech of someone's brakes. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw headlights sliding towards me. He stopped just in time, whew. Then I hear a second screech. Another car smashed into the one behind me, sending him into mine. Great.

We all got out and checked to see if every one is OK. We were. So then the police came and they had us move to the side of the road. He got our info, and we all waited in our cars. All of a sudden, the double blammo of cars smashing into one another as I look to the roadway. The traffic had slowed again and a big yellow work truck was hit by a red Chevy four door. Then a Ford crashed into the back of that one.

The cop got out of his car and proceeded to try and rescue the guy in the red car, who was trapped and unconscious. He broke out his window and checked on him, then waited for the fire department. This whole time I am wondering if I should shoot some pictures. I was still a bit shaken from my accident and did not want to piss off the cop who was filling out my paperwork.

I decided to shoot a few and try and keep it on the down low. I fired off a few flashes, but every time I have done this in the past, I would draw attention to myself. I shut off the flash and switched switched to a really slow shutter speed. It was 1/8th of a second at 800 ISO, wide open at 2.8. To pull this off I was resting the camera either on the bed rail of my truck or my open window frame.

I was also limited in where I could move. I basically had to stay near my vehicle. The restrictions on movement and the camera settings limited my coverage, but I did get something for the paper.

What would you have done? Would you risk making the cops angry and possibility of arrest? It is a tough call. If I was not in an accident myself and just shooting for the paper I may have been more bold.

This should settle the old PC vs Mac debate.

2007-02-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

This little video should settle, once and for all, the age-old debate of which is better, PC or Mac. In the end it shows us that they are both great for looking at "Hard Core Po'nographies." Just kidding. When I saw this, I laughed my butt off.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qHO8l-Bd1O4

I actually use both on a regular basis and really don't care which system I use. For my home and business, I am currently PC. For years at work, we used Macs, but went PC last year. I almost bought a MacBook Pro laptop this year, but went with an HP because of software issues and the HP had a better warranty.

The drama is back.

2007-02-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

I am back at one of my favorite freelance clients, The Washington College Drama Department, to photograph another semester of productions. Last night kicked off the semester with "My Name is Rachel Corrie," a play about a peace activist name Rachel Corrie who was killed in 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer that was trying to knock down a Palestinian home. I always enjoy shooting the productions; these kids can really act, even if the light is usually challenging.

You see the college has just begun remodeling Tawes Theater, where the Drama Department usually stages its plays. It will be closed for two years while they completely redo it. Shooting plays in Tawes or plays in general is a challenge in itself because of the constant changing of the lighting, but at least it was on a stage with decent stage lighting most of the time. I always had shot them with available light, and they looked pretty good considering it was usually high ISO stuff, shot at a very slow shutter speed, wide open at 2.8. Last semester, the kids were doing plays all around campus and could not make full use of the lights like they could in a theater. This forced me to start using flash.

Last semester, it was mostly on camera, bouncing it when I could. Not ideal, but it worked. This year, they are doing some of the plays in a smaller theater on campus. It has some lights, but is still kind of dark. So last night, I decided to bring some big guns, my Dyna-Lite Uni Jr 400's - man, they are great lights. I was excited to be able to shoot at a decent ISO like 400. I even could shoot at ISO 200 if I wanted to use full power. It was nice to use a good f-stop and shutter speed.

I got there nice and early to set up. Just when I started to unpack the lights it hit me - I forgot that when these lights run off AC power, they beep every time they flash. I usually run these off of batteries when shooting sports and they do not beep. I did not bring the batteries and thought I was screwed. I asked the director and the actors, and to their credit, they said it would not bother them.

In the end, the shots turned out great. I shot at 400 ISO, F4.5 with a shutter speed of 125th and it was great. I will bring my batteries next time, so no beeps.

BTW, I shoot dress rehearsals, so as not to disturb an actual performance. I could never get away with this at a live show. Heck, I tried shooting a live show one-time with stage light and my Nikon d2h was so loud that every time I hit the shutter, everyone looked at me and I was asked to leave at intermission. Ah, the theater.

Is there anybody out there?

2007-02-15T19:36:00.000-05:00

Man, I like Pink Floyd, but that is not what this is about.

Well the blog is a couple of weeks old and I like doing it. I have been thinking of things to talk about and look forward to in the future. There are a couple things I am wondering about. One, is anyone even reading this? I know it is new and I have not gotten the site out there yet, but I want to know if you are out there. Post a comment. Just say hi I read this. Second, is there anything you would like me to talk about? I am going to post a link to shoot me an email and I will try and post the questions and answers in the blog.

So if you are here keep reading, start commenting and tell your photo friends if you think the site is worthy.

Thanks
Paul

The things I'll try for a different shot. Part 1.

2007-02-13T21:02:00.000-05:00

Being a photojournalist at a newspaper for more than one year means that you most likely will have to shoot the same event over and over again every year. Whether it be a planned, manmade event like the Polar Bear Plunge or one created by Mother Nature, like snow. As a creative individual, you try and come up with something new each time out, but some things you just can't get away from, like sledding when it snows. Sure I don't shoot it everytime it snows, but it does get its fair share of coverage.

I was out looking for some shots after a snow storm a few years ago and went to one of the local sledding hills I had stored in the feature bank in my head. Kids sledding is always a crowd favorite, but it tends to be shot quite often. I always try and do something a little different. It may be getting down low to the ground for a crazy angle or as in this case riding a sled down the hill, next to the little girl and shooting at a slower shutter speed, to get some motion blur, but keep her in focus. Hey, with my catlike reflexes, I don't need to hold onto the sled.

So just because you have to shoot the same subject does not mean you have to shoot it the same way. Look for something different.

P.S. Thanks to the photographer who sent along this image. I don't remember his name, but it is pretty funny when people take pictures of us taking pictures.

Part 2 coming soon.

So that's how a Canon lens is made.

2007-02-11T18:32:00.000-05:00

I came across a very cool website today that shows what goes into making a 500 mm Canon lens. http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/tech/l_plant/index2.html. So now we know why some of the better Canon lenses cost as much as a decent used car.

The extra effort pays off.

2007-02-10T17:43:00.000-05:00

In an effort to improve my Food & Dining images at the paper, I have rededicated myself to bring my Dyna-Lite Uni Jr 400 Mono lights and a large softbox on my restaurant jobs when time permits. I think that the effort is paying off. I shot these images for our Entertainment Guide for the Valentine's issue at the Wild Orchid restaurant.

It is a lot of extra work lugging the lights, when I could have just used on camera flash, but I think that the results are worth it. Not only does the paper get great photos, but I get portfolio pieces to help me get freelance work in the food & dining industry, an area I am hoping to expand my business into.

For all you "How did you shoot it folks," I used a 4' softbox on the left side and an umbrella on the right side. I used a real slow shutter speed to capture the flames in the fireplace.

I did a really neat job at the Sputnik Cafe yesterday, but I have to wait until the images run in the paper before posting. Keep your eyes open. I should have them up next week.

Great photography program on PBS.

2007-02-07T19:40:00.000-05:00

Keep an eye out for "At Close Range with National Geographic" on PBS this week. It chronicles the adventures of National Geographic Photographer Joel Sartore from shooting in exotic locales to editing the hundreds of rolls of film back at Nat Geo's headquarters in DC. I watched it last night, and it really inspired me to step it up a notch in my shooting. His images, mostly taken in the golden light of sunrise or sunset, really popped and made me think that I have to try and shoot more in the golden hours. Since I am not a morning guy, that will have to be the golden hours just around sunset. I guess for a really special job I can get out before sunrise. ;)

A fine night was had by all.

2007-02-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

I want to thank club member Mark Goldberg for sending along this image of me.

I want to thank the Digital Photography Club of Annapolis for hosting my photo presentation. I really enjoyed myself and after getting over my initial nervousness, I found it easy to talk about my images and myself. Everyone had lots of great questions, and it is always nice to hear the oohs and aahs when an image comes on the screen that people really like. The time flew by and it seemed that I could have gone on for hours. I think, due to the fact that it was my first time, I brought everything but the kitchen sink to show the club. I probably could have done three presentations with all the gear I brought.

Thanks again to the club and I look forward to talking to you again.

Countdown to my first presentation.

2007-02-05T14:41:00.000-05:00

It is 2:45 pm and I am counting down the time until I give my very first photo presentation and talk to a large group. I am speaking to the Digital Photography Club of Annapolis tonight at 7pm at its new location in the Maryland Hall for Creative Arts, room 308. They asked me to do this a couple months ago, but due to scheduling conflicts I was not available until tonight.

I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to think of what to talk about and find images to show the club. I rounded up three groups of images to show. One is shots from my portfolio and other images I like. The second is shots from this years Army Navy Football Game in Philadelphia. The third is shots I did a couple of years ago when I did a ride a long with the Maryland State Police Medevac.

I am going to talk about what it is like to be a photojournalist at a daily paper with real community flavor, the process of getting images for the paper, my history as a photographer in both the digital and prehistoric film days. I also will display the gear I use, answer questions and give a brief lighting demo, if time permits.

I hope it goes well.

Why don't you get some weather art.

2007-02-03T23:20:00.000-05:00

Well, it was a rainy day and I had no assignments, not a good combo for the news photographer who likes to stay dry. So it was time to cruise for a weather shot. Downtown Annapolis is always a fan favorite, so I headed off to West Street. Luna Blu is a restaurant on West Street with a distinctive blue paint color. I thought it would make a great backdrop, so I hid under an awning across the street to keep dry and waited. I saw a women in red walking towards me, but she was on my side of the street. Oh well, I started to shoot some pictures of her anyway. To my luck she crossed over to the other side and right past the blue building I was hoping for. Whamo! C1 cover shot for the next day's paper and a new portfolio piece.

This building has been blue as long as I have worked in Annapolis. I always thought it would make a cool picture, so I stored it in my mental image bank for the right moment or rainy day if you will. That rainy day finally came and I lucked out with a woman in a bright red dress to play off the blue and yellow building. So always take note, either mentally or write it down, of what could be a cool shot even if the timing is not right at that moment. Some day it may all come together.

A new blog for a new day.

2007-02-03T22:25:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Photo Monkeys, a site for photojournalists and photographers to learn and share info on our craft. I am Paul W Gillespie, a photojournalist at The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, MD. I have been a photojournalist for the past ten years and a professional photographer for over twelve years.

I am going to post to this blog photos, "Assignment Stories", photo tips & techniques that both my colleagues and I use to capture the news.

Thanks