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In South West Florida we are in the height of wild fire season... in-fact the entire state is, as well as being in the middle of one of the worst droughts in about a hundred years. One of the biggest problems is people tossing their cigarette butts out of car windows. Folks toss them with no concern for what may happen. At work we have done a number of stories on the danger of this. Even going so far as simulating how easy a cigarette butt can start a fire.

Anyways I was sitting at an intersection in our live truck with my reporter, and as I looked out the window a noticed a small area of grass smoldering in the median (it was about a square foot in size and mostly smoke). Being a journalist first... the first thing that came to mind was to get b-roll... as I said we are always doing stories on this. So I put the live truck in park (backing up traffic)... get out... and get a white balance so I can start shooting this "mini" brush fire... it's now about doubled in size. I yell to Camden... my reporter to call 911... No one else in traffic is doing a thing. I'm about to start rolling and I think to my self "maybe I better try to put this out"... since it's getting bigger by the second... I run back to the truck and put the camera away and head back to the fire. Traffic is now backing up since I'm parked in one of two turning lanes.

The first thing that I think of is stomping the fire out... I don't know if any of you have ever tried this...? Not a good idea. I burned the hairs on my leg and made the fire even bigger. It was now about two and a half feet in size, and some small sparks that I kicked up while trying to put out the fire are starting a second fire about a foot or so away from the first one.

Camden is now on the phone with 911 and laughing pretty hard at the situation. Some guy in traffic hands me a can of Pepsi-One and says "try this on the fire". I do and it does nothing... not even putting a dent in to the fire. It may be big on taste but it does little on a brush fire. Still no one in traffic is doing a thing.

Then... a light bulb goes off in my head... "The live truck has a fire extinguisher". I run back to the truck... grab the fire extinguisher... and try to figure out how to use it (I had never used one before this). I pull the pin... tossing it in the middle of the street... as if I were tossing a hand grenade.

I run to the fire and douse it with the powder that came out of the extinguisher... (Did any one know it had powder...? I always thought it had water...) The fire is now about four feet in circumference, and I used the entire contents of the extinguisher and didn't even put a dent in the fire. Plus I never even put it on the second one that was getting bigger as well.

Camden is off the phone with 911, and now calling the newsroom, laughing so hard she can barely tell them what's going on. There is still no sign of the fire department.

This guy in a dump truck yells to me and hands me his fire extinguisher. By this time I fell like a pro with the extinguisher. I grab it from him and head back to the fire. The fire is now around six or seven feet in size, and the flames are kind of big. And still no one but me is trying to do any thing The small fire that I help start had spread and meet the original fire. Traffic is really backed up since like I said, I'm blocking traffic.

I point the hose at the fire and try again. This time actually putting a dent in the fire and almost putting it out, I decide to move the truck and park it in a near by gas station and wait for the pro's to show up..

The fire department finally shows up and finishes putting the fire out. If this TV thing doesn't work out for me I can always be a fire fighter... But I think it will work out... been doing it eleven years and this was the first fire I put out.

Mike Levine
Photojournalist, WINK-TV
Collier Newsroom
editczar@hotmail.com

ONE OF THOSE DAYS...
From: Rick Portier WBRZ

You ever have one of those days? Check this out! 

The AE asks me if I would like to go on an out of town shoot -- some lumber company has started making a termite-proof wood. The shoot is three hours away. That means a day to shoot the story, and a day to edit. What a luxury. I jump on it! 

My reporter and I leave early the following a.m., and we decide to split the driving. (Actually I decide, and he bitches about it.) We top-off the tank on the way out of town, and leave our cares behind us. (Lens meat behind the wheel, and I'm catching 40 winks) Twenty winks later, the Jeep slows and pulls to the shoulder of the highway, blue lights flashing behind us -- 78 in a 55! Hey, at least I wasn't driving! 

We're off again undaunted by our rotten luck. Fifteen miles down the road, the Jeep slows again. I awake from my slumber only to find the mic holder at the rear of the truck with another officer. Ticket number 2? And we haven't been on the road 45 minutes! This time we get off with a warning! 

Speedy takes the wheel again, and slowly navigates his way to the lumber yard. Guess what...you ready for this?...It's a news conference. They are not treating the wood today! We shoot people sitting around, and some wood; then we are on our way. 

Now the desk calls. "Since you're all the way out there, let's make the trip worth something. Can you pick-up a holiday story at the museum while you are there?" Sure, not that we've set it up ahead of time or anything. We get to the museum, (it's about the size of our break-room) and the only lady who knows anything is at an appointment -- guess where. Back at home, three hours away. 

So we leave. I'm behind the wheel now. We drive about an hour, and the phone rings again. "Hey, one of the reporters here is working on a story and needs video from a town on your way back. stop and get it. Oh, and pick-up a bite if you can." No problem, we're out here anyway. We find the place and are promptly thrown out. 

Back on the road, the gas tank is gettin low. We pull into a gas station, fill-up, and find that the gas card is no longer in the vehicle. By this time we can only laugh. I pay for it with my credit card and get back on the road. The sun is beginning to set in the rear-view mirror, and it's a straight shot home. All is well with the world. Until... We're about 70 miles from home when the rear tire blows. It's getting dark. We're on a two-lane country highway. There's no shoulder, and I'm changing the tire (one of those donuts at that) while helmet-hair is "protecting the rear." 

Now we've got 70 miles to go on a tire only meant to be driven 60 miles, and no station credit card to stop and get a new tire. We cruise back home at the blistering pace of 45 mph. Birds are litteraly passing us up! (At least I can't get a ticket.) 

We get back to the gas station where we filled-up at the beginning of our voyage into news hell, and lo and behold, the woman who found our credit card was leaving. "But if you run, that's her backing out now." Finally something has gone right! She hands me the card, and I am convinced the last 10 miles to the station will go well! So we're back on the road for the final leg of our trip. Ten miles or less. What could happen in 10 miles? 

As we cross the final bridge to get home, a five gallon bucket flies from the back of the pick-up in front of us. I slam on the breaks as cars swerve around either side of us. You know that camera that we've got on the top of our tower.? It got great pictures of the traffic jam we caused!

That Bites...
From: John Key

I was covering a fire that was in the mountains north of my bureau, a live shot had been set up by another photog earlier in the day from a wealthy families house that was around 500 feet above the blazes. I arrived at the seen with my reporter to cut a pack on how some homes had been saved. As we pulled up to the location a large guard came running out from behind the house barking and snapping. I stopped my unit and as I did this the dog took a bite out of my driver front tire. I tried to pull forward some more to get away and he bit my tire again putting a whole in it. So we are trapped in the car with my tire quickly going down, then the other photog comes out of the live truck with a milk bone and of course the dog runs over to him and gets the milk bone. and so there I am with a flat tire and a story to edit. Needless to say I got my story done, and my tire changed all while this dog sat growling at me. And while we were trying to leave the dog almost didn't let us go it sat in the middle of the driveway growling, it moved only when my unit was almost on top of it. Man what a bad day that was.

My shift ended at 7pm. I was at home enjoying a quiet evening when all of a sudden at 11pm, my apartment complex was surrounded by a small army of police officers. A few minutes earlier, one of their own was shot in the face and they wanted to catch the 3 men that did this. So when they were searching the trash dumpsters, bushes and cars at gun point, I was capturing their movements with my camera. My heart was racing as I heard them surrounding the dumpster saying, "Come out of there or we WILL shoot." No one was hiding there, but they kept searching.

When all of this was going on, I kept thinking to myself, "Am I nuts to be in the middle of this??? If the bad guys start shooting, will I be in the line of fire?" My heart was racing, but I kept my head clear. 

I got some great video, but was my safety worth it. I guess moments like this is what every photographer lives for.

They're Just Big Lizards... 
From: Steve Aron, Photographer, Fox 53 Pittsburgh.

Have you ever had a weird dream at night based on stressful or annoying stuff that happens to you out in the field?  Not nightmares or anything, just mentally exhausting dreams.   Here's an actual dream I had last night:

As a TV news photographer, I'm having a particularly long news day, putting in lots of overtime covering a spot news story about several 100-foot high Godzilla-like lizards who emerged from the ocean and trampled the $#^! out of San Francisco and several other California cities.  Some new information comes out that marine biologists at U.C. Berkley have been studying the eggs of some of these creatures for about five years now, and know a lot about them.  When my station shows up at their campus to inquire about it and ask to do on-camera interviews, the researchers and grad students there start asking us stuff like, "Before you turn your camera on, what is you story angle going to be?  I mean, what exactly is the purpose of all this coverage?  What's the big deal?.."  We start bickering with non-media people all around us about how big the creature is, and how much damage it has done so far, and that people have been killed by this thing.  They're not impressed, and insist that the media is irresponsible to even think this "Godzilla" thing is newsworthy, and "the only time you guys ever show up at our campus is when something bad like this happens...."...etc.  Meanwhile, I'm getting more stressed out, thinking, "I don't have time to argue with these people, I have a live shot to set up and a package to edit and feed by 10 o'clock!!!!  Finally I got so irritated, I woke up to realize it was just a dream, and that in real life I'd had several of these <<why-are-you-covering-this?>> experiences earlier this week while shooting spot news.   I started laughing and grabbed a nearby pad and pen and said to myself, "I've got to write this one down!"

Is anyone else out there having funny dreams based on your news day?

"Artsy-fartsy" Photogs
February 9, 2000
From: Kevin Johnson, B Roll Online

One of my least favorite phrases that comes from a reporter is "we'll start with this, and then do some 'artsy-fartsy' thing, and..."

Calling what I do as "artsy-fartsy" irks me.  It says two things to me.  They don't understand quality news photography and how it can help tell a better story, or they just want us to save their dying story with flash.  I take it as an insult either way.

As pompous as it sounds, I think there is an art to what we do.  We are combining images in a way that conveys a message.  It is more artistic than finding ways to fit trite clichés like "going to the dogs" and "down the road" into a script (I'm sure a lot of reporters will fight me on this one). We are showing the audience the world as they have not seen it before.  We are the eyes for 100's of thousands of people.

Artistic shooting can benefit a story, if it is worked into the project.  It is not meant to be pretty wallpaper, or a way to get a reporter through a creative writers block.  The script and images should work together to tell the story.

A thread of the discussion board on MediaLine presented a reporter that was angry by a photog that was "too artsy."  I agree that there is a time when shooters go overboard.  The pictures should not over take the story. Going crazy with strange MTV type angles while shooting a press conference about abortion is a little much.  There is a time and a place for every style of shooting.

On the other hand, squelching the creative spirit of a eager shooter is inexcusable.  Too many shooters loose their creative juices too early.  If they are condemned for showing a little creativity, they will "dry up" much sooner.

I just got through watching " Look Up and Live". I found it very imformative. I would like to put my two cents on the table as well. Real quickly I would like to say that before I was a shooter, I was a an Electrician and a Fire Chief for Co. 13 in Tehama County in Northern CA. Something that our shop photogs were not aware of , is when covering fires that burn through the service drops from the pole to the house or business, it is VERY important to pay CLOSE attention to chain-link fences. When those lines drop accross the fence, the fence becomes energized. You may remember the Firefighter helicopter that crashed in the mouth of thr Kern canyon this last summer in CA. (it was on REAL TV)... I had to scream at on of the photogs from one of our competitors "DON'T TOUCH THE FENCE". He came with-in inches of being electrocuted because the chopper took out some power lines on the way down, and those lines dropped accross a chain-link fence. The photog had no clue. I find that allot of people in this business are not aware of their surroundings. I was wondering if this issue could be addressed in one of the articles in the next magazine ? Just my take on things. Thanks

Keep the Juices Flowing
From: Jeff Cochran, Memphis, TN

When I made the miracle jump from market 128 to market 40 (memphis), I thought every story would overflow with beautiful video possibilities and natsound everywhere. But I am sad to say lately, I get those stories with very little to shoot and no natsound.

Example: I just got back from my story of a post-op transsexual coping with whatever he/she copes with. Don't think wierd of my station, it was a tie-in to a Dateline story. It's sweeps, remember? Since she was post-op, she was stuck in her chair and couldn't walk around.  I pushed and pulled and panned and racked but it was not enough. Is it me, are my creative juices not flowing, is there something else I could have done? Please help me.

Cool It!
From: Rick Portier WBRZ-TV Baton Rouge, La

While you're on the subject of hurricane stories, I've got a winner. I was working in Mobile, Al in the summer of '97.   Hurricane Danny was supposed to pass thru Louisiana the night before.  On my way to work, I get a call from the station.  "Head down to Dauphin Island.  You and Watkins are covering the hurricane from there." I've the clothes on my back, a cooler with two ham and cheese sammiches, three camera bricks, and tape 'o plenty. I get to the island, meet my reporter and start feeding live shots. We feed live reports all morning.  By about 11:30 the rain is falling horizontally. We need to move to behind something to keep the mast up.

We find a building to shelter us from most of the wind.  The only problem is it's about 300 ft. from the beach.  I start running cable, and as the dish clears the building, the wind catches.  The wind was so strong, that it lifts the live truck off of the back jacks.

Needless to say, the mast came down and we tried to get off of the island.   By now the sheriff has closed the only bridge off of the island. Sometime earlier during our live shots, my rain suit got caught on the live truck and ripped all the way down the leg.

I'm wet.  I'm hungry.  I'm stuck.  But it gets better.

We find a shop-and-rob store to hide the truck behind and get a cold drink and some chips.  Then we start reporting via cell phone while driving looking for video.

As darkness sets in, the eye wall hits and sits on us for 24 hours. 

We hide behind our now closed convenience store.

Now I really gotta go. (only number 1 now.)  If I open the door, the wind will take it right off.  I can open the window; but, being tragically white, I can't make it outside of the truck.

I've still got about 4oz. of Coke in that cold drink I bought earlier.  Can't dump that, I may need it later.

Remember that cooler with the sammiches in it?  Let's just say it came in REAL handy. 

What do they say, "any port in a storm."

Any way, 24 hrs later, the eyewall passes; we pop up the mast and get the first live pictures from the ravaged island. 

Two days they open the bridge off of the island, and I get home to get a much needed bath. And a new cooler. 

Video-cutting of TV film "Maya" on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of M.Plisettskay at the order of ORT. I completed the function of the director of video-cutting. 1995

Video-cutting of TV film "The Stalin's film" at the order of NTV. Own worked out & produced the discovery clips of commercial spot for the 11 channel. Worked on the off-line and on-line video editing of documentary "The Third And Last Day" (co-production by "Alexander-Film-Atelier" (Russia) & "Yleisradio n Finnish Broadcasting Company"). The on-line editing has been done at the "Radio & TV Center Yleisradio" (Helsinki).

My phone: (812) 465-30-39.

I just had to send this in. I am a photog in Amarillo Texas. I was in the B-Roll web site this evening when my pager started singing. I called the station to see what was up, and was told they needed me ASAP!, for spot news. Not that unusual except I was not on call, had no gear, and had my three small children. (my wife and I work opposite shifts) So what did I do? I threw coats on my kids, raced to the station hauled my kids to the newsroom, sat them down and introduced them to the sports anchor(who was 15 minutes away from the ten)grabbed my gear and was off. I made it to the story which was a big house fire. I parked ran to the scene hooked up with my reporter and we were off. I finished the shoot and headed back to the station. I put my gear away and walked back into the newsroom and what did I see? The sports guy introducing my kids, by name, to the reporter I was with on the shoot! This just proves my theory. Being a photog is not just a job but a way of life. Being in the news business is also about teamwork with everyone at the station.

Hello,

My name is Geoff Camp. I'm a Corporal in the Marines and I've been stationed at American Forces Network, Okinawa for about two and a half years. First of all, great website! It's very informative, and I enjoy reading opinions and tips from my counterparts in civilian news photography.

Anyway, I'm writing regarding "A Rough Day working with Mr. Beautiful" by  Rose Rinn. I've only been working in broadcasting since I've been here at AFN Okinawa, so I don't have any civilian experience. But I thought the comments by Rose were interesting. At our station here, and most military broadcasters in general, we are all photojournalists. We don't have the luxury of a reporter/photographer-editor team. Here we do it all.

Although it can be really tough at times (we have daily deadlines as well) It can also be rewarding. I'm pushed daily to improve my technical skills with the betacam and editing equipment, as well as all my journalistic and public relations skills. In my opinion, being a good journalist is often more challenging than being a solid photographer. I can say that because I do both on a daily basis. Granted, we aren't covering five-alarm fires and political scandals. The majority of our work is feature type packages. However, doing the "digging" on these stories and finding the impact for our military viewers (some 60,000 on Okinawa) is much harder than a "point-and-shoot" type story.

I'm not trying to say Rose Rinn's opinion is wrong, because like I said, I'm relatively new at this, and I've never worked the civilian side. But I think she may be a little critical of "Mr. Beautiful" I'm curious as to whether she's ever had to do the researching/shooting/writing/editing thing by herself, and all in one day. Although I do it all (because I have to) and I can't devote all my time to any one aspect, I feel I do well. I'm confident in my shooting and storytelling, and I've been told by other broadcasters at our station and elsewhere that my stories our some of our station's best. I'm always trying to improve my creativity with the camera, and anyone who's seen my work would not call me a "monkey-shooter". My whole point is that I don't look at it as a liability, and I'm sure other news stations won't either when I seek employment. Thanks!