The knife wound

[Rad]

I’ve said it many times… No one will screw a photog faster than a phellow photog…

Saturday was a bad night for me. I won’t rehash or reprint the three page email I wrote in the wee hours of Sunday morning. But I will talk about the one point that keeps causing me pain. It all boils down to a phellow photog.

I was called in Saturday night for breaking news, grab a live truck and meet a reporter at the scene. I may be a 40-something photog, but I still get the rush and pay my dues this way.

The live shot location was difficult, lots of trees and overhead power lines, and some steep hills. The only place to park the truck was a long block away, with an uphill climb of at least 50 feet. It would take at least 2 cable reels to make it. Our trucks only carry two reels. I carry the first reel down the hill and start back to the truck, getting as close as I can. I grab the second reel only to find someone had twisted off the pig tail… It’s pretty obvious that they attached the reel to the truck and started pulling the cable. The pigtail is still in the floor of the truck all twisted.

In our shop, if you have a bad cable reel, all you have to do is take it off the truck, place it near the back door of the shop, and grab a good one sitting there… you really don’t even need to ‘fess up. But whoever broke this reel didn’t do that. And left me in a pickle.

The broken cable reel was the first domino to fall, setting off a chain of events that ended in the three page email.

It’s like a knife blade between the second and third rib, it’s a cold stab to the heart. In these times of doing more, these times when photogs carry the bulk of the heavy lifting in news, it just makes me cringe when one of us makes it hard on the others. We need to pull together, help the next guy, give each other a break.

Now I’m left wondering which one of my peers didn’t give a crap about their phellow photog.

 

[editor_dude]

Its not just a photog problem its socity in gereral. There is always that person that doesn't care about anyone but themself. They never see beyond there own nose and how there actions effect everyone else involved in the process. They break equipment and just put it back, then act all surprised when it turns up broken. They turn in work late and get all pisssy that it doesn't make air. I could go on and on. I feel your pain and have to deel with it quit often.

To those offenders out there you know who you are and so does everyone else.

 

[marstaton4]

It doesn't make sense to me either. If everyone just did their job no one would have to work near as hard. Some people seem to have a talent for making things hard on themselves and everyone else!

 

[Guy Critique]

It comes back to accountability, and karma.
That person will get theirs, in the meantime continue to do the right thing, in the long run good always triumphs over evil.

 

[Latin Lens]

That's a shame RAD....too many times I had experienced the same at my shop. Guys who can't or don't want to take personal responsibility. Its not like you're going to get fired over stuff like broken cables...its an accident it happens. But to not take the time or effort to help the collective team because they are lazy or selfish or whatever is a disgrace. Believe you me...I know who those guys are and should they need help guess who is not going to be there for them. It sucks to be that way but thats where I draw the line. Own up and you'll earn much respect from your peers and me.

 

[cameragod]

I feel your pain. When Princess Diana died I was sent to Scotland to pick up the edit van and drive it to Balmoral Castle to cover the Queen.
The list of idiocy I won't go into... but the thing that killed me was not single tape in the van. Not even in the camera. Possibly the biggest story in my life and just empty tape boxes, no tape.
I'm still, even today so angry with the moron who put me in that position. People that stupid should not work in news and I'd like to think in part, due to the fall out from that incident he didn't much longer.

 

[Michaelrosenblum]

Oh man! THEN what happened?

 

[cameragod]

I had to go begging for tape. Unfortunately we were Beta Sp and all our Scottish affiliates had just gone DVCPro. I got Lucky when a guy from C4 asked if he could use or edit van as his was still on the way. So I let him for three tapes.

 

[f11vid]

The insane part is,how does this guy know that HE won't draw that van the next day on a breaker? It takes just a minute to knot the cable and leave a note for engineering.