"You should have been here 45 minutes ago!"

While attending Syracuse University a professor opened my eyes to one of the most important aspects when covering news events.

Being in a classroom full of photographers the discussion most of the talk was of cameras, lenses, and angles, but it came down to one word, “curiosity.”

You should look beyond the actual event and look for a photo that’s more compelling with emotion.

Upon reading an article about an upcoming public funeral services for the first solder from our area to be killed in Iraq, I called the church, spoke to the event coordinator asking what ground rules were set up for press coverage during the mass.

She mention that a Rosary would be held about a hour before the mass and it might make for a more interesting photos because the casket would be draped with the United State Flag instead of a white cloth.

I like to get to events early so that I can scout out the area and find places that afford a nice clean background or where better pictures would be made from other than an area reserved for photographers.

Also, I wanted to be unobtrusive and show compassion for the mourning family, friends and particularly for the wife he left behind. By staying back far enough away, using a long lens, I was able to capture a photo that still had emotional impact and told the story.

Having arrived for the Rosary, before the other local papers
and the TV crews, I was able to capture a picture of

Michele Bunda as she touched the flag-draped coffin of her late husband Staff Sgt. Christopher Bunda during the Rosary before Mass at the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Bremerton.

After the Rosary, the flag was ceremoniously removed and folded by the Army’s honor guard and was replaced with plain white cloth. As I was standing there previewing the images in my camera, the local newspaper photographer, who had just showed up, approached and while showing him the scene that was just captured 10 minutes earlier. He said, “That’s the picture”,, looking at the photos on my camera, the one scene pictured of the widow touching the flag draped casket and asked when was this taken?

I told him all about my curiosity, the phone call and of being told to come earlier than the Mass.

Sure, equipment, knowledge, experience, sensitivity, thought, persistence and instinct all played part key parts in helping me to capture an image no other photographer did. But I like to think that “curiosity” of never having covered a Mass, led me to place a photo call that yielded one important piece of information about the Rosary, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been about to get a picture no body else recorded.

Let there be light

One of the most important ingredients in making a photo is the light. As a photographer, I’m always on the lookout as to how important the intensity, color and direction of light plays on a scene.

To me the direction of light is more than another tool is help enhance a scene as it can be added as one of the most important story telling elements. The way the light affects the photo is almost as important the scene itself.

Some of my favorite times of the day to photogaph are the early morning and early evenings when the sidelight creates long, casting shadows. I like shooting in the evenings, when the golden tone of the setting sun creates scenes with that “special magic” light. This is because the lighting created from the setting sun is not only more colorful, but the effects vary widely; peak effects may last a few seconds or half an hour or longer depending on the intensity of the setting sun.

I found out one day that the mural on the downtown library, where the paint was peeling and falling off, was going to be repainted by the original artists. Arriving early, taking pictures and talking to the artists, the scene looked somewhat two dimensional and lacking depth. I asked how long he was be painting and he mentioned that he’ll be at it until it gets dark.

Wanting to use the sidelight from the evening sun, I knew this would be the best lighting for capturing the mood, color and texture of the painted wall and creating a three dimensional view with the use of a dramatic shadow.

Putting your subject in their environment

I like to add visual story telling details when taking environmental personality portraits.  By including tools of the trade in the foreground and background says a lot about a person and what they might do for a living.  The reporter wanted to go to the city hall and produce a personality story on the new major.  Since I already did some prior research, I found out the mayor was a pilot and suggested that a good time for the assignment, would not during the week for a boring at the office photo, but go photograph him during an upcoming weekend fly-in at a nearby rural airport.

 You can imagine the reporter’s delight, when the editor agreed that the shooting the mayor on the tarmac with lined up new and vintage aircraft wing tip to wing tip would be an interesting twist to the story. So happened the mayor also pilots a 1941 Stearman Biplane.  Reporters, some reporters think their job is an 8-5 job, five days a week. Unfortunately for photographers, it's 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 While the reporter interviewed the mayor, I took various pictures, ranging from a medium telephoto to a wide angle of him walking around the plane. Now, if any of you know what it’s like working with a reporter, it’s rather a pain in the butt, trying to keep them from getting into every photograph.  But, to the reporter, most of which are visual impaired, to them the written word is all they care about and the photos are something to go along with their story.

 Afterwards, the reporter, said, “Well I got want I needed, you ready to go?” No, I was just getting started taking pictures and mentioned. “You know, it’s not the headline or first sentence to your story that grabs the readers attention, it’s the photograph.”

 The mayor mentioned that he was due to give a public performance in about half an hour and asked if I wanted to take some pictures of him as he flew touch and go landings above the airfield in the background, would most certainly give me the environmental details needed that would show our readership something about the mayor’s life.  When you go out and pictures of people doing interesting things, it’s a plus for the readership we serve.

 I like to get my subjects involved in making the picture better.  Try to get them involved in such a way that they are assisting you instead of you forcing a set up on the subject.

 My style is to surround the subject in their environment with things that might make them different from other people.  To me, the mayor’s vintage aircraft was a symbol that made him something special and then having him also fly it, put him in a setting that provided a greater identification for the readers.

I can't believe she did that

Being a photojournalist, our job is to capture life's moments. Those might be the good, the bad, the ugly and sometimes, the bizarre. While assigned to document Port Orchard's annual Fathom O' Fun's Frog jumping contest, one of the best shots of the day I took was the Queen planting a kiss on the winning frog. As she gently, but firmly held it in her hands, puckered up and planted one on tip of the frog's nose, I pressed the shutter button, that captured in one instant, a photo that she'll be remembered by for the rest of her life.

Sometimes, you just have to stop

While on my way home from shooting the West District 2 Big League (16-19 year olds) Championship baseball game in Silverdale I happened to crest a hill and lo and behold I saw the crescent moonset over the Olympic Mountains. Didn't take too much effort for me to think twice about stopping in a nearby parking lot. Pulling out the tripod, attach a shutter release to one of my MK II's with a 300mm f2.8 lens attached. I set the camera on manual, f-stop at f4.0, and used a variety of shutter speeds, ranging from 30th of second to one second exposures and capture this beautiful moment. Granted, it was a long week covering 20 baseball games in six days and I was wanting to get home. Even through I was hot, tired and hungry, I'm glad that I stopped, and took the time to capture this unique photo. I believe the end result was worthwhile. So enjoy the photo.

“Help me Mr. Wizard!”

Have you ever been stuck in an embarrassing situation where you just wish that Scotty could beam you up out of there or get a little help from Mr. Wizard?

While driving around looking for a feature picture on a slow news day a police call came across the scanner concerning a man perched up in a tree with a rifle near an elementary school. There’s nothing like the possibility of getting a spot news photograph that get’s one adrenalin flowing. Arriving near the address, I was stopped a deputy, whose car was blocking access to the scene. After a few minutes, he told me it was not a guy armed with a rifle, but someone up in a tree with a rope around his neck threatening to jump. Still, because of the nature of the situation, the officer explained that I was not allowed near the scene, but if I wanted to back up and drive down his neighbor’s driveway, I could possibility get some good shots from that location.

Sounding like a plan, I backed up, pulled over at the entrance, grabbed a camera with a 300mm lens attached and quietly positioned myself behind some bushes that offered a protective view from the police and a front row seat to the developing situation.

About thirty or so feet off the ground, standing on a tree branch, was this guy with a yellow rope around his neck and drinking coffee from one of those “Big Gulp” containers. Apparently he was pretty despondent over the fact his wife had recently left him and he was in the process of being talked out of ending his life by a suicide prevention officer.

A few minutes later, he happened to look over at my direction, and from his birds’ eye view spotted me. Yelling at the top of his lungs, “Hey photographer, do you really want a good picture, get ready!” Knowing my cover was blown and peering through the bush I could see deputies looking my way. Having already gotten a few good pictures, should I stay or leave? Just to make matters worse, I next heard from a half dressed woman leaning out of the upstairs bedroom window asking me what I was doing in her yard? When her husband appeared and asked, “what in the hell are doing with a camera outside our bedroom, as the situation was starting to get way out of hand only thing I thought of saying was, “I’m from the newspaper and your neighbor, Raymond, is up in a tree with a rope around his neck. “

Now taking the attention away from me they both left the driveway widow and as I quickly retreated to my car, I heard the balcony door open with the husband yelling at his neighbor, “Raymond, what in the hell are you doing up in that tree?”

Remembering a childhood cartoon, I thought, "There's no place like home"and wanted to desperately call on Tooter the Turtle’s friend, Mr. Wizard and request a transfer to anywhere and quickly. As I got into the car I’d cry out for Mr. Wizard to rescue me; and with the words "Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome, Time for this one to come home" I safely departed the area and safely arrived back at the newspaper a few minutes later without any police cruisers in hot pursuit.

Things children do at events

One thing I’ve found out during my many years of covering events that involve children is that their attention spans are not always the longest. While assigned to cover the opening ceremonies of little league, I focused on this group of bored T-ball players waiting the festivities to get underway.

Everything, that could go wrong, did, which was fortunate for me as the series of photos I captured just got better and better as time passed. The coaches ushered the ball players onto the field and while they stood at attention waiting for the National Anthem, the PA system wouldn’t work. As the minutes slowly elapsed, each of the young players, who, reached the limitation of their individual levels of “paying attention”, gave up and just decided to occupy their time as they saw fit. The pictures, I came away with certainly did have that Norman Rockwell Americana feel to them.