September 2007 Archives

A friend of mine just told me about a newly imposed rule the NFL is enforcing. Here, I've been arguing the silliness of the NFL requiring photographers to wear a bright orange vest with NFL, Canon and one other advertiser on the vest. This is something that in principal I totally disagree with, but in practice see why media is accepting the rule in order to shoot the games, and the logos aren't that big.

The new rule is the 45-second rule. This story by the Wall Street Journal, and this story by The Poynter Institute bring to light the rule. Paraphrasing, the NFL will allow any type of media, including TV and newspapers, to show a total of 45 seconds of online video per day from an NFL event shot on NFL property, not including an interview question by the reporter. With the growing popularity of the internet to distribute video, news organizations have embraced it as a means to show it's readers just who we are talking to and what they have to say.

Our newspapers here at SGVN don't have the immediate opportunity to cover the NFL, but I'm guessing that a limitation of 45 seconds of video would be terrible. We have shot a lot of video lately interviewing high school football players and coaches and I don't think there has been one video that was less than 1:30. We could edit to less than that, but substance is important. Does anybody think that an adequate NFL report can be done in 45 seconds. Maybe wall-to-wall coverage about Michael Vick and O.J. Simpson, with video shot off of NFL property, would suffice.

The Houston Chronicle satarized the 45-second rule. Check out this video.

Does anybody think that paparazzi and their style for pursuing and obtaining a photograph, typically a celebrity photograph, is the way all professional photographers operate?

I was watching one of the entertainment channels, possible E!, about the life of one of the best paparazzi photographers and agencies in Los Angeles and I got to thinking about how paparazzi have changed the business of photojournalism.

I think they were trying to get a photo of Angelina Jolie. The photographer, the name of which I don't recall, was in his car when he got word that she was in the area. He stepped on the gas and the chase began. He pushed the limits through the freeways and downtown streets of LA, all the while getting live feedback about her next turn and sightings. He zeroed in on her and got a photo of her candidly walking through a parking lot with one of her children. She was likely aware of the photographer's presence, but she didn't seem to let on. Then the photo was sent to the agency where it was put up to market.

As I hear stories from my staff about people denying photos in almost a celebrity-like denial, I wonder about the effect the paparazzi style has on public opinion about photographers and photojournalists.

I don't and won't deny a paparazzi from making a living. The mould they have cast for how they do their business is the shape they have to live with. But I'm concerned that the shape they have moulded is reaching beyond the limits of the celebrity chase. There are countless examples of photographers being treated without the common respect any person would expect. They are pushed around at funerals, police scenes, schools, sports, interviews, etc. in a way that makes it seem like all photographers are paparazzi who are thirsty to make a buck off of the photos they get. Could this be a reslult of paparazzi?

Hello vacationers!

We love the vacation photos. And believe me, we get a lot of them. At one time, an editor told me he had such a backlog that any new photo coming in that day wouldn't be published unitl 7 months later. It wouldn't be unusual for us to publish a vacation photo in August that was taken while on a skiing vacation in Colorado. That's a lot of photos.

I'm also sure that you've seen some really nice photos, and some photos that weren't so nice. Photos that work have any one or more of these qualities:

1. Sense of place: The vacation hotspot is frequently lost in photos. I've seen a lot of photos of people standing in front of a non-descript thing that don't identify anything. When it works, you get a sense of the beauty of where you are staying. Sometimes this works when you are standing with a point of reference, a statue, a street scene, a vista and so on.

2. Foreground/background: I've seen countless photos when there isn't a foreground in a photo, and all there is in a photo is the background. Let me explain. A happy couple carries their Star-News to a far away land and take a photo in front of a statue. To get the whole statue in the photo, they put the camera on a tripod and frame the whole thing. Then they stand right under the statue. The photo ends up being a distant photo of a statue with two tiny people holding a Star-News, but the newspaper is so small, it doesn't look like a newspaper, and the people are so small, they are unidentifiable.
Photos that work have both a foreground and a background. Something that separates the idea you want to introduce from the background. For example, try setting up a photo where the background is the icon of your vacation hotspot. Then set yourself in the foreground, either in the center of the frame, or off to the right or left. This will make it easier to read the photo, see where you are, and appreciate your efforts to take a great photo.

3. Exposure: This tip is for anybody taking pictures of people or things outside. The key to a well exposed photo is to pay attention to light and shadows. I see this all the time, and suggest when I see it, to turn on the flash/strobe, (pro's call them strobes). Using a flash outside is as important as it is using it inside. In fact, the light that comes out of a flash is daylight balanced and is ideal for usage outside. If your subject, family member, etc. is stanging with a newspaper and they are in the shade, turn on the flash on in your camera. You may have to "force" it on. A lot of cameras allow you to force the flash to stay on. Cameras default to Auto, however the Auto setting won't fire a strobe if it's bright outside. If your subject is in the shade, turn on the flash to even out the difference between the background and the foreground.
If the background is totally in the shade, and you are in bright sunlight, you can do much to light the background. Your flash is probably not detachable, and your background could be as big as a pyramid. This time, turn off your flash and try a couple things. Find a place where you are in the shade too and try and match the exposure. If you are using a digital camera, this is easy by using the preview window. If you can't match the exposure, wait for a time when the background is in better light, or just wing it. We see a lot of wing-it photos, so you won't be alone.

4. Humor: This is a tough thing. All a humorous photo needs to do is make someone smile. It's not easy. Professional photogaphers strive for humor in a photo. Sometimes this is accomplished by getting an ordinary setting to look or seem not-so ordinary. A goofy face. A surprise.

We thank you all for submitting your photos to us. Sometimes it's pretty crazy to think that a reader has taken our newspaper on vacation with them. I have some recent examples below, and my all-time favorite which was taken a few years back. Enjoy.

Good vacation photo with a clear foreground, background, and it's well exposed.

This photo could be better if there was a foreground. The subjects are standing with a sign that is to far away and it created too much separation from the photographer.

My all-time favorite. To go on what I'm guessing is a cruise and get everyone dressed up in their tuxes and dresses to pose for a photo with the Star-News. Priceless.

A long time, troubling misconception has been acted out for years against working photojournalists and I want to use this blog to address it. For far too long, and after countless attempts to work with and familiarize our law enforcement with California state law regarding this, the media has the right to cross a police line. My photographers have a card that has California State Law 409.5 printed on it. 409.5a of that law identifies a menace to the public health created by a calamity, such as a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, explosion, accident, or other disaster may close an area where the menace exists. 409.5c of that law states that any unauthorized person who willfully and knowingly enters a closed area and willingly remains after being notified to evacuate shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 409.5d clearly states "Nothing in this section shall prevent a duly authorized representative of any news service, newspaper, or radio or television station or network from entering the areas closed pursuant to this section". It is this part of the law, which is also part of California State Law 409.6, that gives the media, including photojournalists, the right to cross the lines. Here is the link to the law.

Examples of how this law is misunderstood occurs almost daily. For example, the day of the Gold Line crash, yellow police tape was stretched around the crash scene. 30-year veteran photographer Walt Mancini arrived at the scene and was prevented from crossing the crash scene line and kept in line with the public. Unless the photographer threatens an ongoing investigation, preventing entry would be understood. What isn't accounted for is the photographers are professionals who are credentialed as such by law enforcement. They aren't going to get in the way of any emergency personel who are there handing the scene. If you look at the photo below, you can see the yellow tape and the crash scene. Does it look like an investigation is taking place? It look like cleanup, and an effort is being made to restore the train to the tracks.

Jennifer McLain went to the scene of a shooting where 1 was killed and two were injured in Valinda yesterday. She shot video of the scene and was kept outside of a border of yellow tape to stay out of the way of an investigation. Journalist know where they can and can't go when covering a live news scene. We can't enter a private residence. We stay out they way of law enforcemen and the fire department. Do not touch, step on, interfere with evidence or the gathering of evidence. It's all common sense. What journaist do is gather information, either visually, or by notes. Being kept outside the police tape is not legal, and I make it an issue because it prevents a jounalist from quickly doing their entitled job of gathering news. The video below shows the limitations Jennifer faced when covering this story.

There will be a lot of examples to come, including related issues such as access to public school campuses and the public's perception of the working media. Stay tuned, and comments are more than welcome.

An anonymous reader corrected me about the president banning the photography of the coffins of war dead. It was actually the Department of Defense that created the policy. The president agreed with it. Check out this link.

Nikon enthusiasts of every stripe should take a look at Nikon's newest camera. This information released on August 22 goes through the specs of the next pro digital camera the D3. The also released a bunch of new lenses. More information here.

Do you think Nikon did this in time to save themselves from the professional bailout away from Nikon to Canon. It's a tough sell at $5,000. It better be great.

I'm sure the surprise you had when was one of either, "ooh, now's my chance to get my hands on one of those things" or "dammit, why did they have to cut the price this week when I bought it last week." My response was definitely the former. I think Apple made a mistake pricing the phone so high and have come to, I'm sure, a gut-renching decision to cut the price $200. Take advantage of what you can when you can...

Photo by Paul Sakuma/Associated Press

Another excellent photo, published in the Star-News. You will see a lot of great sports photos this season by Keith Birmingham. Take a look.

If you haven't seen the super photo shot by Walt Mancini today, take a look.

This photo ran on the cover of the Star-News today. Does anybody remember the policy a few years ago, put forth by our President, that forbade photographers from shooting photos of the caskets of fallen soldiers?