snow, yes, snow seemed to be the predominant theme across the country the past week...so, here, we got a share of it - but crazily, i think dallas got as much as we here in SE michigan, so, all in all, we made out pretty easy on the weather scale of things...
ours came on tuesday, which meant that one of my 2 assignments - basketball - got cancelled...so i picked up the one about the availability of snowblowers - since we've had such a mild winter, snow-wise at least, places like Lowe's still have many in stock, and with the first really heavy snowfall arriving, they expect a rush of buyers - one of our reporters found just such a customer, who purchased one on his lunch hour and was picking it up after work - given the timing of the next assignment i had, we couldn't follow him home as he put it to use, so we decided to shoot him loading it up onto his truck instead...
the next assignment was a wedding - a local couple who apparently REALLY love gen. custer were getting married tuesday, 9feb, 6 pm, at the first presbyterian church - the same day, time and church in which custer was married - we weren't able to actually reach the couple (we learned of it thru a custer re-enactor guy - whole other story there), as i learned before heading out, so there was a chance that they could tell us to get lost....so, off we go to the church - get there about a half hour before the ceremony, and it's all locked up and no one's there, so we go to the parish hall door and knock and the minister answers - she's new there, and apparently has issues with media - she basically told us we couldn't set foot in her church, especially not with a camera, and no the wedding party wasn't there yet, and no, even if they want us to be there, it's still not okay.....so, we wait, out there in the blustering wind and cold and snow, and about the time the wedding is to start, the couple finally show up, and yeah, they'd love to have us there for a story - they'll talk to the rev....so, in they go, and out we stay, and after a couple minutes, a guy pops his head out and says the rev refuses to let us in....so, we stand there, and the editor isn't answering his phone, and the reporter says, well, i'm just gonna wait til they come out - should be a quick ceremony - grab them for a quote and maybe you can just snap something of them....yeah, that sounds really GREAT!!! so, after about 15 more minutes standing out in the not-so-friendly weather, we go to get warm in our cars, and we wait, and wait, and the light is going going gone, and i'm wondering what in the hell i'm gonna do with these people, and i happen to notice that the courthouse clocktower is framed up inbetween the ice and frost on my car window, and the street light is making this cool effect thru the frost, so i make this picture....
then the people come out, and they're freezing (bride is in heels and bare-legged in this weather, mind you), and they gotta get home for the party, so i fire off like 5 frames of them standing in front of the church before they hop in the car, and that was that, and i won't even waste your eyeballs posting that up here
knowing that the start of the snowstorm tuesday was extending overnight, and they'd want a fresh weather feature from that morning, and we had been told by the head editor that, you know, if you get something really cool, we're gonna run it, you know, huge, like 6 columns, so, you know, get something really cool, and oh yeah, we're running an hour early that day, so we need that by 9 am.....no pressure! i was a little worried, from past experience, that i wouldn't be able to get my car out of the drive, so after the wedding debacle, i went home and shovelled the 4 or 5 inches that had already accumulated before the next 5-7 inches gathered overnight - cos there is no way my car will ever budge thru a foot of the stuff....but, still, i emailed the editor to be prepared for me having to go on foot in search of the feature and send it from home - so, up early that morning - spent about a half hour unearthing my car from the overnight snowfall, and then, i just got in, crossed my fingers, gunned it and managed to power out! woo hoo!
but, it's just getting light out, and with so many people off work and school cancelled, many people weren't out super early, so, i drive, around and around, and i'd see someone, but shoot, they're almost finished with their walkway, so, keep driving, finally, i start to see more activity, pull over (and, figuring out where to do that on unplowed side roads during a snow emergency when i'm not supposed to park anywhere at all - quite the challenge - just to make things a little more interesting)
i spy a couple out shovelling, and they're just getting started, so i pull over, it's not the greatest, but i gotta bag something, cos now it's about 20 after 8, and i'm running out of time, and i got pretty much nothin...finally, i get to another street, and there are many more people out, a lot more to work with, and i pull up to the intersection, and i see these folks, and i notice the layer of them all shovelling and blowing this way and that, and i can see something coming together, but crap, what to do with the car - the moment's gonna be over by the time i get it parked, so i just start shooting thru the passenger window, cos it's really all starting to come together, and i have to shoot it now! i really liked how weird this one came out - the frost on the window made this weird foggy effect
but i felt like that was probably too strange for the paper, so i turned in the one of the neighbors each snowblowing, caught just as they passed each other heading opposite ways up and down their respective drives....i know it's not a really award winning image, but i liked how it kind of summed up the scene of the day and the activity, and how it caught them in passing....shot some more on that street, then high-tailed it back to the paper just in time for deadline.....whew!
was a little nervous as i sat there waiting to tone it, because i knew if it came in and it wasn't running 5 or 6 columns, then, i had pretty much blown it, but they went big, so i guess it all worked out for everyone in the end!
after deadline, it was back out for fresh features - cos everything i shot was for that day's paper, now we had to get something kickass for tomorrow.....had a really tough time finding anyone out there enjoying the snow - alot of just shovelling and snowblowing - and i really wanted to find something knock-out, but it just didn't come together for me, and i knew mr. bosch might hit the sledding hill, so i didn't want to go there....oh well, it is what it is, right? he totally kicked my ass, by the way - found this awesome pic of kids jumping and doing flips off their trampoline into a big snow mound....
the next day, things were a little back to normal, everyone less crazy over snow, and that night it was district wrestling tournament - got some stuff that i kinda dug
friday - just a headshot and then a portrait, nothing too exciting, and saturday it was down to the town of Ida for the annual Winterfest Snowball Tournament - i think this is the first year in a long time that they actually had snow on the ground for this thing, but i kind of forgot that essentially what it is is guys playing softball on the ball fields in the snow - still, potential for some cool stuff, and again, i REALLY wanted to knock it out of the park, but i also didn't want to shoot it like game action, and had i remembered, i would have brought the 300, cos i definitely needed it - wasn't getting the fun action moment i wanted - they guy sliding in all the snow, a cool moment, something that showed the spirit of the event....ended up going with this more scene-setting kind of thing - with all the snow and ice that was stuck on the handles of the bats - and then i kind of liked this woman bundled up against her boyfriend - cos after all, it is still only in the 20's, and if you aren't the one drinking beer and running around a ball field, it gets pretty frickin cold after a while....
on my way back to the car, i saw these kids having a snowball fight in the park by the ballfields....tried to work that, and it's not something i'm totally proud of, but i do like these 2 pix
okay, so, that's been the week - sorry to write so much, thanx again for looking!
by the way, there is something seriously wrong with people here - maybe i'm just missing it, but i haven't spied a single snowman or seen anyone out playing yet - i feel almost compelled to go build one...and if i actually do, i'll be sure to post up a shot
1 comment:
That courthouse clock tower is gorgeous!
Post a Comment