Thank you Ulysses (and Bigfoot)

Jared-5

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I'd just like to mention that Ulysses had a positive influence on me lately. Thanks to a recent thread:

"What if someone were to ask you...?"

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2947447

Also of equal importance, he alerted me to the fact that "STANDARD" compression on the F707 is good enough for Bigfoot, and it's good enough for me:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2958152

The point of my rambling is this - On July 2nd, I began my month long test of "STANDARD" compression mode, thanks to Ulysses' helpful input.

On July 3rd, I smelled smoke and went out to take pictures of a fire. I was still in "STANDARD" compression, because (like a good boy) I switched over just like I said I would. It was close to 9pm, so I used ISO 400 (and a tripod, Shay). Thanks to the "STANDARD" mode, I was able to snap well over 150 shots on 2 128MB Memory Sticks. That Bigfoot is a whole lot smarter than people give him credit for!

I was thinking "Thanks Bigfoot, and thank you too Ulysses" as I left the scene with a ton of pictures. Then I allowed this new-found inspiration to take one more step... I quickly burned (no pun intended) the pictures to CD and headed off to the local newspaper. By this time it was 11:30pm and they were unavailable. I tried a couple of TV stations, and caught up with a news van pulling into the parking lot. I talked to the crew, and they gave me a number to call.

The worst part is, when the news guy asked me "Are you freelance?" I kinda hesitated, and said "More or less." Still don't have enough confidence in my abilities to stand up for myself, but maybe next time.

The newspaper posted a picture with their online article, but I wish I could have got to them with mine first.

Here are the pics I took:

http://www.pbase.com/jared/newsworthy

Critical comments would be great, as I love learning, and also would like to eliminate one picture from the gallery.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
On July 3rd, I smelled smoke and went out to take pictures of a
fire. I was still in "STANDARD" compression, because (like a good
boy) I switched over just like I said I would. It was close to
9pm, so I used ISO 400 (and a tripod, Shay). Thanks to the
"STANDARD" mode, I was able to snap well over 150 shots on 2 128MB
Memory Sticks. That Bigfoot is a whole lot smarter than people
give him credit for!

The newspaper posted a picture with their online article, but I
wish I could have got to them with mine first.

Here are the pics I took:

http://www.pbase.com/jared/newsworthy

Critical comments would be great, as I love learning, and also
would like to eliminate one picture from the gallery.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
On July 5th I saw another fire from the freeway and went to investigate (I'm really liking this). By the time I got there it had been mostly put out. I took a bunch of shots anyway.

I'm worried that someone might make a connection between the local fires, and the weirdo running around with a Sony & tripod at every fire scene!

I'm innocent I tell you! ;-)
--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
Jared your pictures are top-notch!!

Keep it up, and don't hesitate to "sell yourself". You KNOW your pictures are great, so push it with these guys!

Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to pay them a visit during business hours, just to introduce yourself, and tell them of your talents!! Sell....sell...sell..

Good luck,
Niikinut
I'd just like to mention that Ulysses had a positive influence on
me lately. Thanks to a recent thread:

"What if someone were to ask you...?"

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2947447

Also of equal importance, he alerted me to the fact that "STANDARD"
compression on the F707 is good enough for Bigfoot, and it's good
enough for me:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2958152

The point of my rambling is this - On July 2nd, I began my month
long test of "STANDARD" compression mode, thanks to Ulysses'
helpful input.

On July 3rd, I smelled smoke and went out to take pictures of a
fire. I was still in "STANDARD" compression, because (like a good
boy) I switched over just like I said I would. It was close to
9pm, so I used ISO 400 (and a tripod, Shay). Thanks to the
"STANDARD" mode, I was able to snap well over 150 shots on 2 128MB
Memory Sticks. That Bigfoot is a whole lot smarter than people
give him credit for!

I was thinking "Thanks Bigfoot, and thank you too Ulysses" as I
left the scene with a ton of pictures. Then I allowed this
new-found inspiration to take one more step... I quickly burned
(no pun intended) the pictures to CD and headed off to the local
newspaper. By this time it was 11:30pm and they were unavailable.
I tried a couple of TV stations, and caught up with a news van
pulling into the parking lot. I talked to the crew, and they gave
me a number to call.

The worst part is, when the news guy asked me "Are you freelance?"
I kinda hesitated, and said "More or less." Still don't have
enough confidence in my abilities to stand up for myself, but maybe
next time.

The newspaper posted a picture with their online article, but I
wish I could have got to them with mine first.

Here are the pics I took:

http://www.pbase.com/jared/newsworthy

Critical comments would be great, as I love learning, and also
would like to eliminate one picture from the gallery.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to pay them a visit during business hours,
just to introduce yourself, and tell them of your talents!!
Sell....sell...sell..

Good luck,
Niikinut
Here are the pics I took:

http://www.pbase.com/jared/newsworthy

--
Jared

DSC-F707
Thanks for the encouragement Niikinut. I really enjoyed what I was attempting to accomplish. As some have pointed out in other threads, people seem to "respect" you more if you go at it like you know what you're doing. The tripod certainly helps too, although I should try to pick up a better one soon.

The thing I that surprised me was that the professionals taking pictures at the scene were not using tripods. Of course they each had two Nikons around their necks, and it might not have been practical to deal with the tripod. Even so, if it were me, I'd just spring $12 for an extra quick release plate for the other camera so I could interchange them on the tripod.

I do plan on making connections in the media field. I hope to improve every chance I get to do this.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
The thing I that surprised me was that the professionals taking
pictures at the scene were not using tripods. Of course they each
had two Nikons around their necks, and it might not have been
practical to deal with the tripod. Even so, if it were me, I'd
just spring $12 for an extra quick release plate for the other
camera so I could interchange them on the tripod.
They were probably using very expensive SLRs (and perhaps not digital, or if digital, DSLR) and due to that and a few other things didn't need tripods.

One thing to keep in mind when chasing fires, if you see one and see a family or families very upset watching their business/residence burning now, it probably wouldn't be cool to setup your tripod right there and start snapping away like it was the coolest thing in the world and you were a kid in a candy store. These are peoples' lives going up in flames in front of you.

Not trying to put a damper, but always put yourself in their situation.

--
http://www.pbase.com/dco
 
Now that I have your attention. :-))

I was sitting last night at the computer just finishing up some work and about to veg for a bit. In the back of my mind, I could hear the distant sound of a fire alarm, but I was oblivious. Then after several minutes, I could smell what seemed like a BBQ going on, but no chicken or beef odor.

Next thing you know, I'm seeing flashing lights. So I look out the window, and there are THREE large fire trucks two doors away from me. By the time I got dressed and put on some socks and grabbed the camera and was about to go outside, they were starting to pull away. It apparently wasn't a real fire but some mistaken call or a small problem.

I was happy that everyone was okay, but I was a bit bummed at missing my photo opp.
I'd just like to mention that Ulysses had a positive influence on
me lately. Thanks to a recent thread:
--

Ulysses
 
The thing I that surprised me was that the professionals taking
pictures at the scene were not using tripods. Of course they each
had two Nikons around their necks, and it might not have been
practical to deal with the tripod. Even so, if it were me, I'd
just spring $12 for an extra quick release plate for the other
camera so I could interchange them on the tripod.
They were probably using very expensive SLRs (and perhaps not
digital, or if digital, DSLR) and due to that and a few other
things didn't need tripods.

One thing to keep in mind when chasing fires, if you see one and
see a family or families very upset watching their
business/residence burning now, it probably wouldn't be cool to
setup your tripod right there and start snapping away like it was
the coolest thing in the world and you were a kid in a candy store.
These are peoples' lives going up in flames in front of you.

Not trying to put a damper, but always put yourself in their
situation.

--
http://www.pbase.com/dco
I know exactly what you mean. While I'm certainly not a professional (one day though I hope) this is an area that interests me. I would not want to make light of someone's tragedy under any circumstances.

Here is an article that influenced me:

http://photos.msn.com/editorial/EditorialStart.aspx?article=SuperBowlGameShotOneInAThousand&section=FEATURES

Under the heading "What makes a good picture" the photographer talks about an assignment he had in Nicaragua after a hurricane. This could be seen as very controversial for some, but I was able to see the good in it.

Conveying tragedy to make others aware (and motivate them to help) is what happened in the article. One day I'd like to be able to come close to this level of communication with my photos as well.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
dco -

Excellent point to consider, about being consciencious of others.

It was probably one reason I was a little slow getting out of the house at what I thought was a fire a couple of doors away. I didn't want to seem TOO eager.

Still part of you wishes to have not missed that opportunity to capture it. I also used to be a journalist.
The thing I that surprised me was that the professionals taking
pictures at the scene were not using tripods. Of course they each
had two Nikons around their necks, and it might not have been
practical to deal with the tripod. Even so, if it were me, I'd
just spring $12 for an extra quick release plate for the other
camera so I could interchange them on the tripod.
They were probably using very expensive SLRs (and perhaps not
digital, or if digital, DSLR) and due to that and a few other
things didn't need tripods.

One thing to keep in mind when chasing fires, if you see one and
see a family or families very upset watching their
business/residence burning now, it probably wouldn't be cool to
setup your tripod right there and start snapping away like it was
the coolest thing in the world and you were a kid in a candy store.
These are peoples' lives going up in flames in front of you.

Not trying to put a damper, but always put yourself in their
situation.

--
http://www.pbase.com/dco
--

Ulysses
 
Now that I have your attention. :-))

I was sitting last night at the computer just finishing up some
work and about to veg for a bit. In the back of my mind, I could
hear the distant sound of a fire alarm, but I was oblivious. Then
after several minutes, I could smell what seemed like a BBQ going
on, but no chicken or beef odor.

Next thing you know, I'm seeing flashing lights. So I look out the
window, and there are THREE large fire trucks two doors away from
me. By the time I got dressed and put on some socks and grabbed the
camera and was about to go outside, they were starting to pull
away. It apparently wasn't a real fire but some mistaken call or a
small problem.

I was happy that everyone was okay, but I was a bit bummed at
missing my photo opp.

--

Ulysses
Just think, if you were Bigfoot, you wouldn't need to get dressed and put on socks. I'll bet he is the only one with a grip of UFO photos ("STANDARD" compression too) since he's never caught with his pants down!

--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
dco -

Excellent point to consider, about being consciencious of others.

It was probably one reason I was a little slow getting out of the
house at what I thought was a fire a couple of doors away. I didn't
want to seem TOO eager.

Still part of you wishes to have not missed that opportunity to
capture it. I also used to be a journalist.

--

Ulysses
How long did you do the journalist gig? I'm interested, for some reason it seems like something I might like to do for a living. Although I have a Wife and two children. If the computer industry doesn't pick up soon I may become a garbage man (solid waste engineer).

--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
Great job Jared
I'd just like to mention that Ulysses had a positive influence on
me lately. Thanks to a recent thread:

"What if someone were to ask you...?"

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2947447

Also of equal importance, he alerted me to the fact that "STANDARD"
compression on the F707 is good enough for Bigfoot, and it's good
enough for me:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2958152

The point of my rambling is this - On July 2nd, I began my month
long test of "STANDARD" compression mode, thanks to Ulysses'
helpful input.

On July 3rd, I smelled smoke and went out to take pictures of a
fire. I was still in "STANDARD" compression, because (like a good
boy) I switched over just like I said I would. It was close to
9pm, so I used ISO 400 (and a tripod, Shay). Thanks to the
"STANDARD" mode, I was able to snap well over 150 shots on 2 128MB
Memory Sticks. That Bigfoot is a whole lot smarter than people
give him credit for!

I was thinking "Thanks Bigfoot, and thank you too Ulysses" as I
left the scene with a ton of pictures. Then I allowed this
new-found inspiration to take one more step... I quickly burned
(no pun intended) the pictures to CD and headed off to the local
newspaper. By this time it was 11:30pm and they were unavailable.
I tried a couple of TV stations, and caught up with a news van
pulling into the parking lot. I talked to the crew, and they gave
me a number to call.

The worst part is, when the news guy asked me "Are you freelance?"
I kinda hesitated, and said "More or less." Still don't have
enough confidence in my abilities to stand up for myself, but maybe
next time.

The newspaper posted a picture with their online article, but I
wish I could have got to them with mine first.

Here are the pics I took:

http://www.pbase.com/jared/newsworthy

Critical comments would be great, as I love learning, and also
would like to eliminate one picture from the gallery.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
--
If you don't snap it, nobody will snap it for you ...
Kafrifelle (Yves P.) Owner of DSC-F707,
No BFS, No hassle but strong vignetting on left
VCL-MHG07A, HVL-F1000 and some close up lenses ...
http://www.pbase.com/kafrifelle
 
On July 3rd, I smelled smoke and went out to take pictures of a
fire. I was still in "STANDARD" compression, because (like a good
boy) I switched over just like I said I would. It was close to
9pm, so I used ISO 400 (and a tripod, Shay). Thanks to the
"STANDARD" mode, I was able to snap well over 150 shots on 2 128MB
Memory Sticks. That Bigfoot is a whole lot smarter than people
give him credit for!

The newspaper posted a picture with their online article, but I
wish I could have got to them with mine first.

Here are the pics I took:

http://www.pbase.com/jared/newsworthy

Critical comments would be great, as I love learning, and also
would like to eliminate one picture from the gallery.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
--
If you don't snap it, nobody will snap it for you ...
Kafrifelle (Yves P.) Owner of DSC-F707,
No BFS, No hassle but strong vignetting on left
VCL-MHG07A, HVL-F1000 and some close up lenses ...
http://www.pbase.com/kafrifelle
Thanks Yves. I'm still learning quite a bit. Also, I shot in "BURST" mode, so out of 151 pictures these were the best I found.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
I know exactly what you mean. While I'm certainly not a
professional (one day though I hope) this is an area that interests
me. I would not want to make light of someone's tragedy under any
circumstances.
Conveying tragedy to make others aware (and motivate them to help)
is what happened in the article. One day I'd like to be able to
come close to this level of communication with my photos as well.
Good point. I guess it's that whole distance thing. When your behind the camera, you don't see everything that's going on around you, what people are doing/feeling etc. Your very much detached from everything. As long as you can tell the story (if you will) without becoming a part of the story (in that your picture taking upsets somebody) then there isn't a problem.

If your out of the way, unobtrusive, etc. there shouldn't be a problem; you don't want to be like those idiotic reporters that get up in somebody's face with a camera or microphone after they've just lost their family or their house and ask them "you've lost everything, how do you feel?"

Or to sum it up bluntly, I think i can safely say, none of us here in the forums wants to profit from others' tragedies.

--
http://www.pbase.com/dco
 
Not a photo journalist. A writer.

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....
dco -

Excellent point to consider, about being consciencious of others.

It was probably one reason I was a little slow getting out of the
house at what I thought was a fire a couple of doors away. I didn't
want to seem TOO eager.

Still part of you wishes to have not missed that opportunity to
capture it. I also used to be a journalist.

--

Ulysses
How long did you do the journalist gig? I'm interested, for some
reason it seems like something I might like to do for a living.
Although I have a Wife and two children. If the computer industry
doesn't pick up soon I may become a garbage man (solid waste
engineer).

--
Jared

DSC-F707
--

Ulysses
 
Cool, umm, what camera did you use? ;-p

Seriously, what type of stuff did you do? Did you enjoy it?
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....
dco -

Excellent point to consider, about being consciencious of others.

It was probably one reason I was a little slow getting out of the
house at what I thought was a fire a couple of doors away. I didn't
want to seem TOO eager.

Still part of you wishes to have not missed that opportunity to
capture it. I also used to be a journalist.

--

Ulysses
How long did you do the journalist gig? I'm interested, for some
reason it seems like something I might like to do for a living.
Although I have a Wife and two children. If the computer industry
doesn't pick up soon I may become a garbage man (solid waste
engineer).

--
Jared

DSC-F707
--

Ulysses
--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
Cool, umm, what camera did you use? ;-p
Seriously, what type of stuff did you do? Did you enjoy it?
I did a little of this, and a little of that. ;-)

I still enjoy writing (do plenty of it here and have contributed articles elsewhere), but I enjoy shooting a lot more.

--

Ulysses
 
Another fire tonight! Very large.

I'll try to post some shots soon.
I'd just like to mention that Ulysses had a positive influence on
me lately. Thanks to a recent thread:

"What if someone were to ask you...?"

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2947447

Also of equal importance, he alerted me to the fact that "STANDARD"
compression on the F707 is good enough for Bigfoot, and it's good
enough for me:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=2958152

The point of my rambling is this - On July 2nd, I began my month
long test of "STANDARD" compression mode, thanks to Ulysses'
helpful input.

On July 3rd, I smelled smoke and went out to take pictures of a
fire. I was still in "STANDARD" compression, because (like a good
boy) I switched over just like I said I would. It was close to
9pm, so I used ISO 400 (and a tripod, Shay). Thanks to the
"STANDARD" mode, I was able to snap well over 150 shots on 2 128MB
Memory Sticks. That Bigfoot is a whole lot smarter than people
give him credit for!

I was thinking "Thanks Bigfoot, and thank you too Ulysses" as I
left the scene with a ton of pictures. Then I allowed this
new-found inspiration to take one more step... I quickly burned
(no pun intended) the pictures to CD and headed off to the local
newspaper. By this time it was 11:30pm and they were unavailable.
I tried a couple of TV stations, and caught up with a news van
pulling into the parking lot. I talked to the crew, and they gave
me a number to call.

The worst part is, when the news guy asked me "Are you freelance?"
I kinda hesitated, and said "More or less." Still don't have
enough confidence in my abilities to stand up for myself, but maybe
next time.

The newspaper posted a picture with their online article, but I
wish I could have got to them with mine first.

Here are the pics I took:

http://www.pbase.com/jared/newsworthy

Critical comments would be great, as I love learning, and also
would like to eliminate one picture from the gallery.

--
Jared

DSC-F707
--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
I tried my hand at photojournalism for a few years. I was really keen about it too. It seemed like such a glamorous job; always chasing ambulances etc.

But it can be a lot of stress. It is one thing to happen to catch a fire and shoot some pictures, but if it is your job, you better not screw up. And you better get a shot with flames coming out of the building with a well-exposed fire fighter in the forground. Something that jumps off the page. Especially if another photojournalist ("pj" for short) from another paper gets a good shot of the same fire.

What I found myself doing a lot of the time was watching the action. I often didn't even realize I was doing it. It takes a lot of discipline to keep that camera up at all times ready for anything.

BTW, that is the reason for not using a tripod. A pj needs to be close, but not get in the fire dept.'s way. So that means they shoot at least 400 ISO film and wouldn't hesitate to push it a stop or two to get fast shutter speeds.

If I was the photo editor I would pick 1848 or 1862. They both tell the story in one shot. They have a burning building and fire crews in the same shot. I don't want to be overly critical but, my advice is to try and get more people in the shots. I found that the hardest part myself. You feel like you are invading their privacy. And like it or not, the photojournalism that wins awards is very often the shots of people in some kind of tragedy.

You have some nice work here (the biggest thing is being there; it is almost a cliche to say "f/8 and be there," but it is so true).
 
Thanks for the input, very much appreciated. I'd like to hear more about the types of things you did and encountered.

Also, do you have any suggestions on how a nobody like me can "get my foot in the door" with local media? I know I don't have anything spectacular yet, but if I keep at it, maybe one day...
I tried my hand at photojournalism for a few years. I was really
keen about it too. It seemed like such a glamorous job; always
chasing ambulances etc.

But it can be a lot of stress. It is one thing to happen to catch a
fire and shoot some pictures, but if it is your job, you better not
screw up. And you better get a shot with flames coming out of the
building with a well-exposed fire fighter in the forground.
Something that jumps off the page. Especially if another
photojournalist ("pj" for short) from another paper gets a good
shot of the same fire.

What I found myself doing a lot of the time was watching the
action. I often didn't even realize I was doing it. It takes a lot
of discipline to keep that camera up at all times ready for
anything.

BTW, that is the reason for not using a tripod. A pj needs to be
close, but not get in the fire dept.'s way. So that means they
shoot at least 400 ISO film and wouldn't hesitate to push it a stop
or two to get fast shutter speeds.

If I was the photo editor I would pick 1848 or 1862. They both tell
the story in one shot. They have a burning building and fire crews
in the same shot. I don't want to be overly critical but, my advice
is to try and get more people in the shots. I found that the
hardest part myself. You feel like you are invading their privacy.
And like it or not, the photojournalism that wins awards is very
often the shots of people in some kind of tragedy.

You have some nice work here (the biggest thing is being there; it
is almost a cliche to say "f/8 and be there," but it is so true).
--
Jared

DSC-F707
 
Hmm. I started by volunteering at my University's student newspaper, and then I was hooked. I got a job at a weekly in a small city (town?) near Winnipeg. It was all fun and challenging, and I am glad I did it. However, because it was a small weekly, I was the only photographer. That meant I was shooting the mayor presenting a cheque to someone at 9 AM and working all day until I was shooting the baseball team at 9 PM. So, my social life had to pay a price for photojournalism. Most assignments were quite straight forward. Like taking a picture of a local businessman who is opening the first McDonald's restaurant in town at the proposed site. The editor also wanted me to take one "slice of life" shot every week for the inside front page. That was harder than it sounded. I was always looking for kids playing in puddles or maybe fire crews outside washing their fire trucks.

As for you getting your foot in the door... I would say that is easier than it sounds. If you are keen about it, and persistent you will get there. Like I said just being there is half of it. Maybe invest in a police scanner, so you can hear the calls when the other media do. That at least levels the playing field a bit. Go and bug the photo editor at the paper you want to work at. You may be surprized. During the summer they may need someone to fill in the odd time, or they may have six other people wanting to do the same as you, you never know. But even if they say no, keep at it. If they see your face enough, they will at least get to know who to call when they do need someone.

Oh, and something I did when I was just starting was get to know the full time photojournalists at the paper. Try to go on a ride along with one or more of them. You will learn more by watching them work than anything else you could do.
Thanks for the input, very much appreciated. I'd like to hear more
about the types of things you did and encountered.

Also, do you have any suggestions on how a nobody like me can "get
my foot in the door" with local media? I know I don't have
anything spectacular yet, but if I keep at it, maybe one day...
 

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