On the other side

San Juan Island

2008-05-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

This is a harbor on the north end of the Island called Roche Harbor. A very cute, small little harbor. The picture below pretty much is the whole town. Back in the day, it was famous for its' lime production and the Hotel de Haro located on the right of this picture is a very historic building.

Now it's mostly a marina and small quaint resort town.

I wasn't a big bloody mary fan until I had this one. It was simply amazing! The perfect amount of spicy with nice, big olives and celery and little onions. Not to mention an amazing prawn. Very Tasty!

The end to an awesome day.

kayaking with orcas

2008-05-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Doesn't that sound awesome. I was talking to one of the copy editors I work with last week and she was telling me about her kayaking adventure. And heck, it sounded fun and I wanted to do it too.

Orcas are also known as Killer Whales. Needless to say, when I was chit-chatting with my mom on the phone about my upcoming trip she insisted I fill out a living will. She went from "make sure you have a living will" to "be sure to send me lots of pictures" in a matter of a few minutes. I wasn't that nervous, Killer whales don't really want to eat people, they received their "killer" status because they do sometimes eat other, smaller whales. But there was no need to worry, because we struck out and didn't see any whales at all. The pod that was swimming near the island decided to go the other direction, away from our kayak tour. What a bummer!

But it was still a fun day kayaking around and seeing the amazing sights. In the picture above, the land to the right is Victoria, BC and to the left, hazed out by the clouds you can barely make out the Olympic Mountains.

We did encounter other wildlife though, such as Harbor Seals and a few Bald Eagles.

This was our campsite. Pretty awesome falling asleep to frogs and crickets and waking up within steps of a very chilly lake.

very northwest

2008-05-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

A complete last minute trip, I decided to head to the San Juan Islands on my days off. One of my tennis partners is quite adventurous and came with me. I left on Friday afternoon and hopped a ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Our plan was camp that night and kayak all day Saturday. We waited about 3 hours in the ferry line, and was able to get a ride on one of the last ferries that night. Which turned out great because we were able to witness a wonderful sunset.

I've been wanting to try and take more advantage of living in the Pacific Northwest. One of our photographers, Alan Berner, is always asking me if I've been to various places around the state. My answer is always "No." We regularly have this conversation. Now at least I can cross off one of those places.

The picture below was from our first stop at Lopez Island, which is one of the San Juan Islands.

return of the storm

2008-05-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

The Storm is back! and with some new talent and new owners. Local, female owners. Gotta love it.

Our plan for the Storm special section was to photograph the 3 main players together. This was to take place the day before the cover was suppose to run.

So our photographer headed out early to set-up since we knew they wouldn't give us a lot of time. He got there early, set up and was able to catch the end of a photo shoot for internal video ads. You know, the kind they play on the jumbotron during time-outs. (See below picture with smoke)

We debated about what was a better picture. The one we originally planned on going with or the smoke shot. We decided to go with our original plan, mostly because our picture was a lot more in your face and carried more impact. I didn't like the far away feel of the smoke shot. Also, while this wasn't part of their shoot, our competition in town, the P-I, was using smoke too.
I like the way the package feels with the picture we used. It worked well with the story too.

cirque

2008-05-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Cirque du Soleil decided to set-up the big top and give performances for about 5 weeks in a park just east of Seattle. Pretty cool. Although, I've never seen it in person, I hear it's pretty amazing. The Cirque PR people sent us a bunch of press releases advancing the shows, everything from the tent raising to a dress rehearsal. But we weren't going to be able to photograph any live shows.

Back when I was working the dayside, I had been trying to come up with cool photo ideas for our staff to shoot. I thought trying to get access to their practice/warm-up tent before the show might be pretty cool.

I spent about 1.5 going back and forth with their PR people. And was able to secure a photographer to shoot the warm-ups

And luckily it turned out to be a pretty cool and the photographer was able to make some nice pictures from it.

I love it when things come together like that. It is a shame it doesn't happen more often though.

the mountain, revisited.

2008-05-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Playing around with my new camera, a Canon g9.

Mt. Rainier seen from Seward Park in Seattle.

nice work

2008-05-19T23:17:00.000-07:00

just thought I'd share some nice pictures from some recent pages.

I had nothing to do with these pages or pictures, but thought they were examples of good work.

my happy place

2008-05-19T23:14:00.001-07:00

Lame photo.

Beautiful, relaxing place.

Morristown, NY.

just horrible...

2008-05-19T23:11:00.000-07:00

...our team, not this photo.

I think this picture does a great job of showing the starting pitcher feeling the frustrations of losing the game.

What was even better is the great display. It makes you feel the pain and agony...

clearing the benches...

2008-05-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I love the drama of clearing the benches. It's one of the only exciting events that occur during baseball games. It doesn't hurt that it usually makes for better pictures too.

After the typical nonsense of hitting batters and then throwing people inside, Richie Sexson was apparently sick of it all and decided to charge the mound, throwing his helmut at the pitcher in the process.

What followed was the benches clearing. All very exciting stuff when your team is the worst team in baseball.

tourism

2008-05-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

The story was about Washington State's new philosophy on tourism. Apparently, most visitors that enter the state drive in and stay between 1-2 days. So, in an effort to boost tourism, the new campaign is focusing on 4 main areas. The Museum of Glass, the Museum of Flight, Mt. St. Helens and the wine country in the center and eastern parts of the state.

The assignment that came in wanted us to photograph the Seattle Space Needle and Pike Place Market. Both tourist places but aren't an accurate depiction of the new campaign.

Instead, I sent a photographer to the one focus point in our main coverage area, The Museum of Flight. Meanwhile, I looked up file pictures for the 3 other remaining places the story focuses on. By doing this, I was able to help create a compelling package that really enhances the story and is able to run as centerpiece, if needed.

The photographer did a great job of really making the Museum of Flight look interesting and made a picture that draws readers into the story. It gave the entire package a fresh, new look.

ideas are pumping...

2008-05-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

It's great when photographers come up with their own ideas for a story. Frankly, I don't think it happens enough. This was an idea that the photographer had brought to me a few weeks prior to the event. We talked about it, talked about what day we thought would be better, talked about getting a writer involved (which in the end didn't happen.) The communication was there.

The photographer was able to spend the day at this one event, and I think the pictures reflect the time commitment and the level of interest the photographer had. Luckily, we were able to give it good play on the local cover the next day too!

I think it is so important that photographer's help generate their own ideas and I don't necessarily mean long-term story projects. But projects that can be turned out in one day. As a former photographer it gives you the option of working on something you care about and want to do rather than be handed what could be a "lame" assignment. And as an editor, it can really help save the daily section on a particular day. It gives the editors more options---and editors LOVE options.

walking scenes

2008-04-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks, I've been moved off my regular sports night shift and have been working days as the Metro/A1 picture editor. The change in my routine has been great. It's given me a fresh perspective and provided me with a new challenge. It has also allowed for me to walk to work. I grew up in a pretty small town in central New York---we never locked our cars and only sometimes we would lock the house. While Seattle is relatively safe for a big city, I'm still a little nervous about walking the 8 blocks or so home from work late at night.

So, as the battery of my hybrid slowly drains from lack of use, I've been walking to and from work. It's been interesting. It's still pretty cold and crappy here in Seattle most days, but it's been good to explore the neighborhood a bit more. I live in an area of Seattle that is booming with construction and new businesses and shops go in all the time. In fact, Amazon.com is supposely moving into the neighborhood next year.

As a way to push myself, I've decided to photograph what I see along my walking to work journeys. Don't ask me what this is---some random shards of a picture that are implanted into the sidewalk. Very strange and very Seattle.

The Mountain

2008-04-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Even though I've lived in Seattle for almost 2 years now, it still impresses me when I see Mt. Rainier. We call it the mountain in Seattle ---and it really does deserve that name. It is truly amazing. I drive certain roads all the time and you'd never know that lurking behind the cloudy horizon is a huge volcano about 50 miles away. And when it's clear out, it's like BAM there it is and you wonder how it's possible that it is hidden the majority of the time.

Anyways, last weekend I was flying to Dallas and got stuck with a window seat. But I was pleasantly surprised to see the mountain so up-close and clear. The pilot must have been impressed too, because we practically did a circle around it. Luckily, I was able to take a few pictures.

making the gray, less gray.

2008-04-16T23:03:00.001-07:00

I want to thank everyone for responding and reading my previous post. One of the reasons I posted the issue was for us all to have good conservations and discussions. And I'm glad that has happened. I think the more we talk about the big issues facing our profession the more chance we have at making those gray issues disappear.

I really don't expect non-editorial photographers to understand the issues and standards we as photojournalists hold so dear. For our community to believe in us and to have any faith in what we do we need to be honest with our words and our pictures. So, these standards and ethics are of the utmost importance.

It matters little to me what path this photographer has now taken. This picture was shot for a newspaper, and is owned by that newspaper. I see no logical, ethical reason for it to be altered. Not for a contest (either CPOY or PDN). The picture should always keep the integrity in which it was shot.

I am not saying that dodging and burning shouldn't be done. But I think this picture goes beyond "burning the edges down to take away from distracting features" that the photographer claims. Those "distractions" have been completely eliminated and brought to black by the burning---and that's what is in question.

Again, I'm not saying commercial photographers adhere to these guidelines. But this photograph is an editorial photograph. Photojournalists need to be more careful about what they are doing and how it affects the picture, the community, and their colleagues.

ethics and toning

2008-04-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

There is a very fine line with toning pictures. Software programs that most photographers use on a daily basis allow them to do some pretty crazy things. I went to journalism school right at the start of the digital age and essentially the end of using film on a daily basis. We mostly shot film, used a minilab to develop the film, and then scanned them into the computer and used a program like photoshop to slightly adjust the pictures.

There is also a gray area about what is ethical and what isn't. There are the biggies that are fundamental--like cloning someone/something in or out of your frame. But to me the big part of ethics has to do with intention and misleading. Statements like "If I can do it in a darkroom, it's okay" or "This is what the scene looked like to me" aren't good enough reasons. I've seen what used to be done in a darkroom ---and you can do some pretty drastic things.

This is why for me it comes down to the intent of the photographer, and whether or not it misleads the reader.

These two pictures were shot by a former intern at my paper. It recently ran in a national photo magazine. And while talking to one of our younger photographers about the toning and light in the photograph we happened to do an archive search and discovered the former intern shot the picture during his internship for the paper. (The picture also didn't credit the Seattle Times, which is a violation of the copyright---but that's a different post. For the record, I did receive proper permission from the true copyright holder to use the pictures on my blog.)

Above is how the picture ran in PDN magazine. We scanned it in directly from the magazine and did nothing else to it. If you think it looks weird and drastic, well, that is because it does. But if you want to see it for yourself, it ran in March's PDN magazine as part of the top 30 photographers under 30. It won a CPOY award in 2005 and was part of a portfolio that also placed that same year.

Above is how the picture was shot. This is how it looks in our archive and how it was published in our paper.

So, do I have a problem with this? I sure do. To me, it is misleading. The newly toned picture looks flashed or looks like it was shot outside during a night football game. Not inside a well-lit dome it was shot in. The background is blackened out. And frankly, this new dramatic lighting changes the entire mood of the picture. The reader walks away with a different feeling.

As I mentioned, we discovered the toning/copyright issue when talking to a younger photographer who was curious about limits and what is allowed and what isn't. If one of our photographers turned a photo like this in while shooting for us, there would be severe consequences. But yet photojournalists are doing it all over the world and being rewarded for their work. This photographer received national attention---both by placing in CPOY and then in PDN with this photograph. What message does this send to photographers that are doing good work that is honest and straight-up? And how do we help photographers think about what they are trying to say with a picture IN the camera and not afterwards using a computer?

I don't have all the answers. But newspapers are facing a difficult time and I feel it is important to have pictures that are honest and tell important stories---correctly. We owe the readers that much and frankly they should expect that level of integrity from us.

Part II - Happy Day

2008-04-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

Congrats to my friend, Pulitzer Prize winner Preston Gannaway!

This prestigious award couldn't have gone to a more deserving person! A hard-working, super talented, and overall fun person!

I'm also psyched for the Concord Monitor. The classic small town newspaper that has a strong commitment to great documentary journalism.

You can check out the amazing story by Preston at http://www.pulitzer.org/ or more of her work at www.prestongannaway.com

Part I - sad day.

2008-04-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

Sad news always comes first.

Today we got the news that there needs to be a "reduction of force" through-out our paper. 200 jobs total.

That breaks down to 45 newsroom jobs. - 15 of which are already frozen.

The breakdown is complicated, and I don't want to get into it---but it could impact photography. Two of our photographers could be laid-off. Both are great people and amazing photographers!

We don't really know yet.

Sad, scary times.

working dayside...

2008-04-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

So, I'm working the dayshift for the month of April. This essentially means that I'm off the sports gig and doing local and a1 instead. There are a few reasons behind my switch, but I don't think I need to get into all of them. But they are all good.

I've been having a lot of fun my first week. It's been a good change and I like being able to work with photographers more. Well, at least it seems that way.

Here is how some of the pages have turned out!

animals in cages

2008-04-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

So, here is the story, if you have been reading my blog at all, we did a story on this a few months back. The local county animal shelters have real problems. A study (a few months ago) reported that the animals aren't being cared for properly. So, this was running the day before the new study was going to come out reporting on the conditions. And the projection was looking up for the shelters.

First of all, I have a general issue with running pictures of animals in cages. Because I believe you are playing on people's emotions. For the most part, people love animals. If you ever check out MSNBC pictures of the week. The winners? if there is a cute animal picture part of the mix, it almost always wins.

So, running a cute animal looking all sad in a cage, through bars is playing on people's emotions. So, when I was doing the a1 handoff---this picture that ran lead---get's the "awwww" from different people.

Is that wrong? No, but I think it proves the point that you feel bad and sorry for the thing. I don't see how that helps tell the story at all.

So, I voice my opinion and felt like I was well-heard, but over-ruled. So, little sad doggy runs on the cover. We get swamped with phone calls from the public all wanting to save Fido from the evil animal shelter.

selection sunday

2008-04-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks before Selection Sunday, we were trying to conceptualize how we were going to illustrate the story and process that takes place. We knew we would have two teams that we cover regularly in the tournament, Washington State (WSU) and Gonzaga.

Our plan was to head over to eastern Washington to photograph WSU. This was the first time that WSU went to back to back NCAA tournaments, so it was a big deal. They have a young head coach, Tony Bennett, who has really has given the program a jolt. So, we had planned on photographing the coach with the 3 seniors. So, we lined up the shoot and hired a freelancer.

Well, the day of the shoot, the coach refused to be a part of the shoot. (we had a few hours notice) but it pretty much ruined our idea. So we did 180 and went with this illustration.

riders of the storm

2008-04-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

Ironically, I'm listening to the Doors right now. So maybe that is the inspiration behind the title. One of our photographers went riding in a storm plane. The plane and crew had flown into the heart of countless hurricanes.

I know, hurricanes and the pacific NW really don't mix. But the plane was here on the "off-season" to fly into a couple of our spring storms.

I think the flight was about 8 hours total. And on a nice, stormless day. --- This is how the story ran....

prep pages....

2008-04-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

Just a couple prep pages from the High School Tournament last month.....

alexia

2008-03-13T21:57:00.000-07:00

The Alexia Foundation for world peace is dedicated to helping professional and student photographers produce photographs that promote world peace and cultural understanding. That's the official slogan. But let me assure you, it is so much more than that.

When I was a student at Syracuse University, the competition was huge part of my experience. The open judging of the competitions were so inspirational and educational. So much so, that our fantastic teacher created a Chili Festival to accompany it. The Chili Festival was essentially a huge party to eat good food, have a beer, relax and have a chance to interact with the judges that came into town for the weekend.

The foundation is named after a student photographer at Syracuse that was studying at the university's London program for a semester in 1988. Alexia Tsairis and 34 other Syracuse University students were killed when a bomb exploded on Pan-Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Her parents created this foundation in her memory.

Over the years, it has grown to become a well known, highly respected competition. And rightly so. The prizes include grants for photographers to continue their work---and to help promote world peace and cultural understanding. Not many of today's competitions offer these incentives.

It had been a few years since I had been back to Syracuse University to witness the judging. Many of my fellow Syracuse alumni and I used to make the trek back every year despite the frigid February weather. But for the past 3 years or so, I had other commitments and wasn't able to attend.

This year, the university held a video workshop for students the day before. Two of my good friends were going back to help the students so I decided to tag along for the workshop---and then to watch the judging. First of all, hats off to my friends Mike and Seth, both of whom I was super impressed with and frankly proud to know.

The quality of photographers that enter this competition is mind-boggling. Looking at the pictures, I remembered what I loved about photography and why I entered this field to begin with. I sat at the judging for hours just soaking in all the inspiration and all the energy I could. It was so wonderful to see work that has impact, told story stories and made you feel emotion.

Not to diminish what newspapers are about or the work I do. But I think, especially working at a newspaper, it is so easy to lose sight of why we love photography. And how and why pictures move us and can leave an impact on our souls. We get so wrapped up in the daily grind, we don't focus on what really matters.

It was so good to feel that passion again.

Listening to the judges debate and discuss pictures was also pretty inspiring. There are so many ways to look at one specific image, it's important to hear the other sides. What makes and breaks a good image and the importance it has on the overall story.

Check the website to learn more.

http://www.alexiafoundation.org/

baseball...

2008-03-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

This ran when I was on vacation. Just really liked the picture and thought it looked cool.

And I'm all about pages looking cool.

fallen coach...

2008-03-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

Joyce Walker is a big name in Seattle sports. She was one of the top high school athletes in the state. She went on to become the third female Globetrotter. She became a local high school coach. She lead her team to a state championship title, both as a player and a coach.

Unfortunately along this path, she also became addicted to drugs. She recently checked into a local rehab facility. Following that stint, she also recently attended a basketball game at the school where she used to be the coach and a player.

Tough situation. Nice pictures to work with though. Unfortunately, I was on vacation when a lot of this went down and it was suppose to run when I was on vacation. So, the pictures and the edits had already gone through 2 photo editors by the time it actually did run when I got back. So, while I was the final editor on the package, it was definitely a group effort. And I'm not so sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. It had gone through three editors at that point---and because of the confusion the photographer felt left out of all the edit discussions. I always try to include photographers in the edits that I make. So, while I was happy with how things ran, I didn't like that the photographer walked away with a bad experience. Not that I have to agree with the photographer's edits and opinions about everything---but I think it is important to respect their perspective on pictures and listen to their input. Just like I hope they respect the decisions I make regarding the edits.

Skiing

2008-02-28T22:23:00.000-08:00

I grew up skiing in the "mountains" of Central New York. Alright, I guess mountain is a bit of an stretch. But within a few hours drive is Whiteface in Lake Placid, NY - Two winter Olympics have been held there. So, while I'm no champion, I can hold my own.

One of the big ski mountains nearby opened a new chair lift this year which gives skiers access to some back country trails. Very exciting if you are a good skier. I'm talking double and triple black diamonds. (Okay, I admit, I didn't know those existed.)

This was the spread for our Northwest Weekend cover story. A freelancer shot theses pictures and I did the edit. Sorta fun. Although, just by looking at the pictures it seems that growing up skiing on ice is drastically different than skiing on the snow in the Northwest. It looks so fluffy.

portraits

2008-02-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

I was never really good at shooting powerful, well-lit portraits. But I appreciate the art of it all the same.

This was shot and ran in the paper last Sunday, while I was on vacation. So, while I had nothing to do with it---I liked it all the same and thought I would post it.

dog show

2008-02-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

Last summer, our features picture editor left the company and unfortunately we still haven't hired yet. Which means, we have been short-handed on the editing side for months. So, we have all been pitching in to edit feature stories.

This story fall into my lap at the last minute - literally. Ideally, it would have been great to sit down with the photographer, look through all the pictures and edit together. Realistically, this doesn't happen very frequently at the paper because of photographer's schedule and the sheer volume of work the picture editors have nowadays.

The photographer had put in a solid collection of about 6-8 pictures. I talked to the designer, I read the story and then I called the photographer and we had a good conversation about the direction of the story we wanted to tell. So, I gave the pictures to the designer---and this is how the page turned out. I wish we were able to get more space inside - and I wish the 3 small pictures inside that go with another story weren't there but I think the package turned out nice.

Most people think that because I am the "sports" picture editor, I don't like other sections - like local or features - but actually, just the opposite is true. I really like editing for those sections. For one, it provides a nice break from sports. And it also provides a whole new set of challenges for me. And I love a good challenge.

in the spotlight....

2008-02-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

This is a story about one of the top freshman basketball players in the country- Tony Wroten. It started out being about how such a talented young player handles the pressures of being the leader of the team and being such a hot player in the national spotlight.

As the story progressed, the amount of access we were promised diminished. So, with the limited access we ended up getting, our photographer kicked butt during an assignment and nailed about 7 super nice, different pictures that really added to the story and made the package so much stronger. It was a shame we couldn't use them all in the paper.

I love the main portrait. It has so much depth and feeling to it. I was worried that designers would see the "additional" space on the left of the picture and think it was Christmas morning. But luckily, there was nothing to worry about. The picture ran very nicely.

cutouts

2008-02-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

Whenever I get a call from a designer asking me to come back to sports because they want to show me something, I instantly take a deep breath. I wish I didn't and sometimes there is no reason for it. But I take it. I get that same feeling when I hear the word cutout. I see the value of cutouts and I do think sometimes, there are circumstances, where they work. But I also think that it is a fine, narrow road.

So, sports had asked me if we could do cutouts for the top of the page to illustrate different basketball stories we had. One on Dick Vitale's return and one on Bob Knight resigning.

Deep breath.

We talked about it. We talked about the pictures. We talked about the idea. We talked about the scale.

Deep breath.

A few hours later, I check the pages and see something we hadn't talked about. Vitale's shoulder and Knight's shoulder are totally overlapping and are into each other (not what you see here.)

I am all about trying new things and seeing how things work. I understand when designers are laying pages out, things change. What they might have "envisioned" doesn't turn out right in the reality of the situation. That's understandable. But what is hard for me, is that I feel when we talk about doing cutouts and other things to pictures, I am invoking a trust in designers. To do what we talked about and to still try and maintain the integrity of the picture.

When things change and page layouts turn out differently- I like to talk about and to be included in the discussion. Doesn't have to be a deep, intense discussion. Simple and to the point. Just so we can be sure that all elements of the equation are content with the situation - and all sides are being voiced. I think that is fair and reasonable.

After another conversation with sports, we decided to have shoulders not overlap and the gray line appeared.

And I took another deep breath.

it was a super, bowl...

2008-02-13T21:13:00.000-08:00

This was such a fun super bowl. lots of last minute drama---i love that.

There were pretty decent pictures out of the event too. You'd think with all those photographers there would HAVE to be a lot of amazing pictures, but that isn't always the case.

"The catch" was certainly the most memorable play during the game. But we loved the emotion of Eli and thought that it really summed up the intensity and emotion and spirit of the game. We decided to run the picture of "the catch" inside, big. Along with a picture of one of the five Brady sacks.

Unfortunately, we didn't have more space inside for the game, but I thought our pages looked clean, crisp and gave a good account of what happened.

grumpy old men..

2008-02-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

So, every year we do the whole Super Bowl coach comparison. Well, I guess we do it for other key match-ups during the season as well. But sometimes, it gets hard for it to look different and fresh and spicy.

The theme was that the coaches in this year’s game were both grumpy. My challenge was trying to find all similar pictures that show the coaches looking, yup, you got it, ----grumpy.

It was tough I tell you. Belichick only has a few emotions, and one sour expression. Coughlin was just as difficult, because he wasn’t well photographed through-out the year.

decisions, decisions...

2008-02-13T21:10:00.001-08:00

We do not always agree with decisions that are made. I’m sure sports doesn’t always agree with my picture selections and I don’t always agree with their story selections.

This is one of those days.

The Sonics, (yes I’m leaving out the super part), were going for a record 14 losses in a row. Tonight’s game was going to decide that, and our sports photographer was there, ready to photograph the action.

Well, some of our sports reporters caught wind of a potential trade the Mariners had going for Erik Bedard, a Baltimore pitcher. The trade victim? An up and coming Mariner prospect named Adam Jones, who so far had spent the majority of his time in the minors.

Is this a big deal? Sure, no question. Trading for a good pitcher, especially a much needed one in the Mariners rotation, is a key pickup.

However, looking at this page---and not knowing for sure if it was a done deal----I think you centerpiece the Sonics, with live staff pictures. And strip the newsy story on top of the centerpiece package. The baseball centerpiece is an old file picture. To me, this doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Ironically, 9 days later, the trade still isn’t official.

vacation

2008-02-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
- persian proverb

I wish I could stay on vacation forever......

the coyote

2008-02-04T21:56:00.000-08:00

Seattle is filled with parks. Seriously, I think it must have the most parks of any big city. And the parks are huge. Tons of hiking trails, beach walks, meadows, wildlife. They are seriously spectacular. I have been investigating the areas parks on my daily walks with Bad Dog.

So, one of the parks we visit regularly is called Discovery Park. It actually used to be Fort Lawton back in the day and there are still some government housing that is within the park. But mostly it is just beautiful landscape on a bluff overlooking the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

The navy is apparently up in arms about a coyote that is in the park. The coyote appears healthy and hasn't been a threat to human life. There are families that still live in the housing on the property and people are concerned.

Ironically, one of our photographers had taken some pictures in the park earlier in the week for another story. The photographer happened to see this coyote in question and photographed him. Well, when this story broke on Saturday, knowing there was going to be a huge debate about the coyote and we had a super picture of the animal. It was only natural to make it the centerpiece.

At this point and as far as I know, the coyote is still alive and kicking. And the navy has backed off trying to kill it.

fun day

2008-02-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

I love fun quirky pictures that make you smile. These are two from Mariner's fun day at Safeco Field. I love that the photographer captured some nice pictures that capture the spirit.

victory & ruins

2008-02-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

Recently, our paper ran a 4 part series titled Victory & Ruins. It was mostly about the 2001 UW Football team. They had a great season and ended up winning the Rose Bow that yearl. But at what cost? We highlighted the downfalls and cover-ups the team, the university and the community did in order for the team to have that success. It is pretty insightful reading.

A lot of people questioned why we did this story 7 years later. Since some of the information had been reported previously. However, a q&a with our executive editor I think answers most of those questions.

We have a strong focus on investigative reporting here at the paper. And that's great. I think we highlight important issues that our community is concerned about. Personally, I would have liked the stories to be a bit shorter and more focused on the exact point---which to me is more about at what cost do people care about winning sporting events. And I think that is an important question to ask in today's society.

NFC Championship

2008-02-04T21:39:00.000-08:00

This is what our page looked like after the NFC/AFC championship games.

Pretty darn exciting, huh?

everyone is a picture editor

2008-02-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

Newspapers are filled with talented people. We have writers that report stories on a daily basis. We have designers that create the most striking pages. We have copy editors that catch the most tedious of errors. We have headline writers, with clever short words that instantly draw you into the story. We have photographers that do an amazing job of capturing life's moments through story telling images. We have big-time editors that make important decisions. And then we have the rest of us editors--that manage and trim the fat.

With all these specialized people that do excellent work in their expertise, why does everyone believe they are a picture editor?

It's one thing to have a discussion about concerns and conflict and controversial images. It's another thing to think that you can do the job better than the person actually hired to do that job.

The Saturday before Martin Luther King Day, there is a big parade. Our photographer does a great job capturing the event and nails a wonderful picture for our Local centerpiece. Done.

During Christmas week we had a horrible murder take place just outside of Seattle. A daughter and her boyfriend killed her parents, her brother, her sister-in law and their two kids. Just an awful story. A memorial service in the small town took place on this Saturday. At first, we weren't going to be able to photograph much of the service, but once the photographer arrived, the family changed their minds and gave us access to the service. There were framed pictures of each victim---and the photographer being on top of the matter with some smart shooting---shot a mug shot of each of the framed pictures. In addition, she also sent in a few pictures from the service.

So, one of the more compelling images was a nephew speaking about the victims during the service. I thought this picture would be good as a secondary on the cover, jumping to an inside picture. Well, the local editor that day wanted a picture from the side of the framed pictures of the parents that were killed small on the cover. Up until this point we hadn't obtained copies of any pictures of the parents. This is a good valid reason for running a picture, however, the picture in question, in my opinion wasn't compelling and not a strong picture. My suggestion was to run the nephew speaking on the cover, and jump to the picture shot inside....or if it was that important to see these victims, we could mug them on cover---and then jump to the better picture.

The local editor was having none of this. And finally said to me. "Well, I'm in charge of the section and this is what I want!" So, I respond "Well, I am the photo editor of the section, and I think we need to collaborate about it." So, she proceeds to tell me she is going to call my boss.

So, luckily, I have a cool boss that doesn't mind being called on weekends. He was able to access the pictures from home and see exactly what was going on and what was being discussed. And even better, he agreed with my decision.

I don't think word editors realize that this is the same as me printing out the reporter story, doing a bunch of red ink editing on it, and tossing it on the editor's desk.

It's unfortunate that there is this "ownership" amongst editors of their sections, and I'm not just talking about this one instance or at this specific paper. I've seen it elsewhere. I just don't understand why people can't trust and respect the decisions of people that are specifically hired for a certain job. It's okay to disagree. It's okay to talk about each other's opinions. Seeing other people's points of view makes us better at what we do. Not respecting each other's opinions makes us worse.

monday, monday

2008-02-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

So, this is from the paper of the AFC championship game. Our sports section. I think it would've worked a little better had the top player's reaction been a little bit stronger. I like the way they are similar though....it's a little different, and that can be good.

This was the front page of the paper. The Seahawks had lost the day before and arrived at team headquarters to clean out the lockers and such. I thought this was a nice picture made that depicted the scene.

Just a random local cover. Hey, when I get to break-up the sports gig once in a while, it's all good. This was from a british TV crew doing a documentary on the life of Ted Bundy and was filming in one of his old hangouts. I dig the moodiness of it.

the wire

2008-01-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

So call me out of the loop, but I just watched a partial episode of "The Wire" on HBO.

I seriously think it could be based on my newspaper. Or my publisher is writing the scripts for the show.

Scary.

sports vs. a1

2008-01-16T00:47:00.000-08:00

Is one section of the paper better than another section? Essentially, that is what this post comes down to. And when it comes down to making these decisions on a tight deadline, things always get a little dicey.

While technically the picture selection should come down to the picture editor, I believe it is important to work with each individual section so that we can do our best to make everyone happy. Sometimes this works, and other times it doesn't.

In this case it didn't. A1 wanted to run the same picture 2 columns that sports wanted to run on their cover 6 columns. The A1 editor's biggest claim was that more people would see it and that essentially that section was more important. My argument was that I don't think our best story-telling photo should run 2 columns when it could run 6 on the sports cover. Granted, I also had the photographer and the sports editors on my side as well.

So, after a struggle, we were able to get A1 a picture they were somewhat happy with and the much fought over photograph ran on the cover of sports.

These situations are always tough and I don't think anyone "wins." In the end, I think it is important to have good pictures tell the story-and sometimes the best picture ends up on A1 and sometimes it ends up somewhere else. The important thing is to keep up the communication and respect what each section is trying to accomplish.

Anyways---here are some of the other pages from the playoff game in Green Bay. Note on the page below, the two column sports picture that is in apparently a top, important, highly claimed spot on A1.

political bias

2008-01-16T00:11:00.000-08:00

This is always a touchy topic. Media's political bias. Of course, that is, if there is one. Personally, I'd like to think that most newspapers struggle with trying to keep a fair, unbalance view of stories. Any stories. That is, after all, one of our main goals. To tell news without an opinion.

The same is true with photographs. Photographs can be misleading, they can be inaccurate. And it is important to make sure that the pictures in the newspaper depict a fair and accurate of account of what happened. Not to judge, but to document.

I don't think we did this here. I think we had good intentions though. I don't think we were trying to intentionally trying to make Hillary look bad. After all the pictures I've seen of HIllary, she doesn't photograph all that well in excitable situations.

During the last primary season, i was working in New Hampshire and covered Howard Dean. Well, the big story up there was how he essentially freaked out after the Iowa caucus. Is it possible that Hillary had done the same thing?

I admit I haven't been paying close attention to the primaries up to this point. Sure, I've read stories in the paper when I must and I know who wins each state.

I was off this day, so I really didn't pay attention to any news. I don't know the answers. I didn't see what pictures were available, and I don't know what the big story was. My judgement here is from glancing at the paper when I was eating breakfast.. and is that fair? I don't know, but I tend to think that is what most of our readers do too.

But it's always interesting seeing readers responses to certain topics and how people always jumping to conclusions about things being one way or the other without knowing what really goes on.

never say never

2008-01-14T23:34:00.000-08:00

After my 21st (and my 22nd) birthday, I swore I'd never drink tequila or whiskey again. I ended up drinking too many three wise men shots. (If you haven't heard of it, please proceed to your nearest bar) All it really took was the smell of either to bring back the memory of those two nights...

So, why the story? Well, it's interesting how you change over time. And how you really should "never say never" again.

My whole family toasted my grandfather with whiskey shots at his funeral a few years back.

And I promised a good friend that we would drink tequila together. And surprisingly, it wasn't bad. And I actually could see how I could grow to like it in time. Imagine that huh?

I guess time heals all wounds---and friends give you the courage to do things that you never imagined possible.

Cheers!

playoffs

2008-01-14T23:22:00.000-08:00

So, the first round of the playoffs against the redskins, the seahawks won. These are what are pages looked like. Not bad. It was nice to have the color photo page from last season back. I really do think it gives us a chance to really explore the games and deliver it to readers on a different level.

And this is an official call out to my dear friends that came into town from Washington to shoot the game. You are punks for going to bed early every night and not hanging out. PUNKS!

preview to playoffs

2008-01-14T23:16:00.000-08:00

The first round of the NFL playoffs was here in Seattle against the Washington Redskins. So, we wanted to have some impact in the Saturday's paper for the day of the game, showing just how much spirit Seattle had for it's beloved team. The 12th man was in full effect.

So, for the cover, we dropped the banner and put a picture above for a huge teaser. It was something different.

And for sports, our photographer got into the locker room as jersey's were being put onto the pads. Terribly exciting? probably not, but it is a nice behind the scenes look into what goes on the night before the game. And clever of our photographer to get in and make some nice pictures.

dog park

2008-01-14T21:13:00.000-08:00

B-dog, prancing around the waters of Lake Washington.

can't win them all.

2008-01-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

This was the cover of sports the day after Christmas. I guess I am missing something. One of our writers had been working on a story about these 4 guys on the Seahawk practice squad that live together, share an old mini-van, and live almost a college/bachelor life style.

Our photographer went out and photographed them hanging out, etc.

So, the sports editor working that night was clear that she didn't think this should be the sports centerpiece. I tried fighting for the picture. I liked it. These football guys even had a Christmas tree up in the background. But it was a no-go. Which was too bad, it was a nice picture and a fun story that would have been a nice change of pace for the sports section. Instead we ran with a picture of the sonics (um, boring) and the nice picture that I had like was a mere secondary.

I guess you can't win them all.

random pages

2008-01-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Just some random Seahawk games from the end of the regular season.

mitchell report

2008-01-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

The Mitchell Report.

Not sure how it works at other big papers across the country, but for us we have picture editors that are broken down for different sections of the paper. So, we have a Metro picture editor, a Sunday/Special sections picture editor, me- the Sports picture editor and typically a Features picture editor (long story- don't ask).

Now there are times when stories that have started out in particular section get moved into another section and it becomes a gray area for us picture editors. If you have been reading my blog, the Gloria story was a good example of this.

I started off editing the Gloria piece, but I quickly lost it when it start running consistently on A1 and gaining popularity. In fact, almost all the sports stories that have gone to a different section I have had little to do with.

So you can imagine my surprise, when I go to work at 3pm and my boss informs me that the entire Mitchell report I get to handle. (the first meeting to talk about A1 is at 3:15) One of the most important aspects of working anywhere is communication. And luckily I am able to tell my boss how I feel about certain internal subjects and he will listen to what I have to say. And hopefully, we work something out that we both agree to.

So, this is how our A1 and our sports covers looked. We ran big names or surprises mug shots above Mitchell on A1. And on sports we ran a picture of Clemens with Pettitte with the mugs of the Mariner players that were named.

refs

2008-01-14T10:41:00.001-08:00

When basketball and football seasons overlap, it always makes for an interesting time. And usually means that we have some of our photographers shoot sports than typically don't. Not to say that they can't, but for whatever reason, they are not in the "mix" of normal sports shooters.

There was a University of Washington men's basketball game. It was a good game, came down to the final basket at the buzzer. Apparently there were a couple minutes at the end were the refs didn't know how to call it and they all gathered around the screen to figure out which team was the winner.

While the picture wasn't our centerpiece, it was a clever secondary at the top of the page. I like seeing different pictures being made from sporting events that give some depth and another look into the game.

it's a small world

2007-12-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

Random story time: So, I'm flying back to the east coast for Thanksgiving. And I'm on a very early flight with a connection in Ohio. This is Monday morning and the Seahawks were suppose to play the Sunday night football game the night before, but the NFL changed it to a day game a few weeks earlier. I was bummed because I had already booked my very early Monday flight and would've taken a red eye on the night before.

So, I'm tired. We are having weird plane issues so we are running behind schedule too. But I'm so tired, I am planning on sleeping and praying I make my connection so I can get home and chill out. Luckily, I sleep most of the trip (or close enough to that) and as we are making our descent i hear the flight attendant on the speaker system. "blah blah blah, and if anyone has a Seattle Times Sports section could you please pass it forward, the pictures in it features one of our passenger's son." Okay, so that wakes me up completely. After all, I picked all those pictures out! I wait until the flight attendant is finished and I go forward to talk with her. I give her my card and tell her to have the person contact me, and I'll help them out with a few papers, etc. She insists on bringing me back to meet the mom of the Seahawk's player, Patrick Kerney. A very nice lady, indeed. And we have since exchanged some emails.

Anyways, one of the more bizarre stories that has happen to me flying. And trust me, I have some good flying stories. But the best part is that I made my connection with only minutes to spare.

college special section

2007-12-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

I've been horrible about posting on my blog. I've been doing a lot of soul searching lately, and I've let my blog suffer some. So, there will be some quick posts so I can get back up to being current. For that, I apologize. At one point, I'm sure I had a lot to say about these.

This is from our much cut College Special Section. Not a lot of space inside, but at least we had good picture display.

more hawks...

2007-12-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

Here was an unusual day for us. Most of the story of the game was in non-action pictures for us. Personally, I like non-action pictures and I think you really need them to break up the action sometimes. This really worked for us because we had so many different moments that really told the story of the day.

solutions

2007-12-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

I used to think it was so easy. You take the best picture and run it big on the page. That's it? Well, there are a lot more pieces to the puzzle than just choosing the best image and getting it to run big. This was a good example. It was pretty obvious that the best, story-telling picture also was very unusual. The QB from the other team being pulled in different directions for the ultimate sack.

For the most part, I think our designers do a great job of getting our pictures to run big. And this day was no exception. The problem was, getting it to run big all the other elements on the page don't fit correctly. So, each of us threw out different options. Another picture out there? A different headline? a graphic element?

I felt, and I still do, that another picture would steal some of the impact away from the main shot. I was hoping for another solution. Unfortunately, the best solution for me, isn't always the best solution for others. There didn't seem to be any other way around it. So, trusting my co-workers back in sports, we did what we had to do to see that the best picture ran big and got the most attention.

kevin durant

2007-12-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

Kevin Durant, our #2 pick in the NBA draft, is by far the most exciting thing to happen to the Supersonics since I have been here. While the team is gearing up to leave the town, Durant has added a nice spark to get fans into the season.

We were not doing a NBA special section this year, so our plan was to run a series of NBA special stories in the regular sports section over the course of a few days. Kevin Durant was going to kick off this series on a Sunday.

Well, unfortunately, the stupid Boston Red Sox (yes, I can say that as I am a whole-hearted Yankee fan) decided to win the World Series on the same day. This meant that the cool, different look we had planned for the cover of sports to kick off the 4 day series went out the window. We needed to add a world series picture and story.

So, just imagine the Durant picture 5 columns, ---it would've looked spectacular. But alas, our newspaper is ever-changing and always adjusting to breaking news.

UW loss

2007-12-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

So, from the same UW game I left at half-time at to do my real job of editing from the office, the huskies blew a huge first half lead to lose the game. This was their many loss in a row to the utter disappointment of husky fans everywhere. I thought our photographers did a good job capturing the heaviness of the moment. Here is how the cover looked. It was nice to run a non-action, non-player picture on the cover for a change.

Ironically, both photographers at the game shot this guy from different angles and at a slightly different time. But this is the picture than won me over.

I think given the weight of the husky season up to this point, winning over the assistant sports editors was a fairly easy task.

seeing

2007-12-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

Frequently, I get asked if I miss shooting. And my answer is always the same - Yes, of course I do. I miss almost everything about it.I really believe that I see differently when I have a camera in my hand. Sounds corny but it is true.

Anyways, I went to a University of Washington game at the end of October. I've never been to Husky Stadium and felt I should check it out and to see what the photographers have to deal with as far as transmitting, shadows on the field, etc. It's always a bit uncomfortable for me when I go to sporting events nowadays. Honestly, I really want to shoot-- to be on the field, with my long lens, shooting the story of the game. But I don't do that anymore. While I had a camera on me, I stayed out of the way and just shot a few things for myself. The last thing I want is for our photographers to be uncomfortable or to question my goal in being there.

It was a good experience all the same. Here are some snaps from the day.

friday night lights

2007-11-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

I think high school sports are something that large papers tend to overlook in their sports sections. There almost always seems to be big sporting events happening on any given day around the country. Professional and College. But to me, highlighting high school sports is a huge necessity in today's crazy newspaper world.

I really believe that newspapers can dominate coverage on high schools. We have the ability to cover and report them like no other news organization. I also believe that our readers really care about high school sports. I know back home, many of the high school kids specifically bought the paper specifically for the sports section and reading the high school statistics. Frankly, I did the same thing in high school.

Overall, I think we do a good job with high school sports. But I also think we can branch out of the normal mode and really take it to another level. We don't always put high school football on the cover of Sports on Saturdays. But I love it when we do. And hopefully, we can do more of that.

sack

2007-11-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

I love it when the quarterback gets sacked- does that make me a bad person? It is one of my favorite plays in football. Although my favorite play in tennis is the service let---well, when it drops in for another serve. So, I guess those even out.

Defense was a big factor in this game, with Darryl Tapp logging four sacks. Qwest is well known for being a loud stadium which forces the other team into false starts. This was a factor of the game as well. Made for a different type picture for the paper. Which I love being able to run.

Anyways---here are a few pages.

QB or RB?

2007-11-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

It's always an interesting dilemma. Oregon, a huge team in the Pac-10 playing very well and just over the state border, was playing the Washington Huskies at home. The Huskies freshman QB has been very hyped all year. He has given the team a spark where people think anything is possible. The RB from Oregon is from the Seattle area. He is having a huge year---people are talking Heisman.

And we have two good pictures of each one. It might be hard to read the QB sack picture from this screen, but it is really unique and gripping. The RB picture shows the dominating nature, running through the line easily. So, what do you do? I don't think there is a right or wrong answer---at least I hope not.

I went with the QB as the cover lead---and the RB as the inside lead. Both were good, story telling pictures and both pictures ended up running 6 columns. But how did I make that choice? I guess it comes down to two things, since most other things in this situation were equal. I felt the QB sack picture was more unusual. He is about to get pounced from 3 different angles----with no help and no where to go. And you can read his eyes clearly---the look says it all.

the fans

2007-11-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

This page came together at the seriously, the last minute. Unlike last year, we just don't have the space (or money) to run color photo pages anymore. It is such a shame because I feel it adds a lot to the coverage. I feel this huge pressure all the time to try and match up the theme or the story with the pictures. This can frankly be a total drag. Sometimes there are great pictures---that maybe don't speak to the game itself but are very valuable and let the reader see something completely different. Our past photo pages gave us that extra freedom to run those pictures.

So, for some reason we had some extra space and we were able to pull this off last minute. There are some little quirky things I am not thrilled with when it comes to the design of the page and some pictures---but I really like the main fan shot. Many of these pictures probably wouldn't have made it into the paper otherwise---doomed for a life online. But I am happy that we were able to do it.

inspiration

2007-11-03T21:10:00.000-07:00

"Not everybody can read a newspaper, magazine, or book. But everybody can read a photograph. The most powerful weapon in the world has been, and can be a photograph. Military weapons can only destroy. Cameras in the hands of photographers with hearts can capture love, hope, passion- cradle lives and make the world a better place. And it only takes one 500th of a second. Life goes on- we photograph it, but its even better with love...." ----Eddie Adams.

Where do you find Inspiration? I find it all around me. Usually in the most unexpected places. But for me, it can always be found when I am surrounded by people looking for the same thing.

I went to two workshops in the beginning of October, both in New York State. Both inspired me personally and professionally. And both inspired me in very different ways.

Both of these workshops aim at helping inexperience photographers grow. Learning from the people that went before them, they enhance their own vision and take it to a higher level.

I love attending workshops for this purpose. Coming back with a new insight into this field I love---and always, always coming back with some new dear friends.

What is the goal of newspapers?

2007-09-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve been asking myself this question for the past few days. Frankly I’m not sure I know anymore and that really scares me.

Thursday was Gloria’s funeral. In case you haven’t followed the story, A Prayer for Gloria has been an on-going series we have been doing focusing in on the trials and frustrations of an 11 year-old girl with cancer and her family. What started out as a one-day piece we have developed into a long series-updating our readers on her battle. In addition to the touching images by our photographer, it included an incredible online journal kept regularly by the reporter.

I was a little surprised when I learned on Wednesday evening that Gloria’s funeral, essentially the last piece of the puzzle, was not being pitched for A1. What made everything more surprising was that nothing else was pitched either. So, there were currently no stories for A1 heading into Thursday morning. Which to me says that the editors felt that this story was no longer good enough to even be considered for the front page.

If you knew some of the stories we pitched and ran on A1 my confusion might make more sense. We recently had a story (with pictures) on A1 about the change of ketchup bottles and how they now come in upside-down squeezable versions for better pouring. Seriously, that story ran on A1.

To me, the Gloria piece represented community journalism at its finest. We developed a story, made our readers care and got them involved with the story. Our reporter got hundreds of letters daily about the story. Other publications from across the country were picking it up. Even other local media in Seattle were reporting on her condition. Top editors in our own organization were saying how special this story was. Browsing Craigslist, you could find random posts referring to Gloria and well wishes for her and her family. The community was talking it about. We were engaging our readers. We were making a difference.

For a newspaper, what more can you want in a story?

Having put most of the Gloria stories on A1 it felt strange to me that the funeral wouldn’t be out there, especially knowing that it was not competing against anything else.

So, I brought my concerns to my Managing Editor. I respect his news judgment just as much as I respect his dedication to running good photography.

He too, believed that it shouldn’t be pitched for A1. I explained my side of things. I wasn’t asking that it run on a1---but to not even want to consider it made no sense to me. Something better---something newsy could come along and bump it---but with nothing even to offer at this point. We are saying the story is no longer worthy. I left our meeting questioning whether or not I had good judgment. But when I reflected the reasons behind his and the other top editors decision---they didn’t seem rational to me. They seemed based on a minority of people’s views on the story.

I’m left wondering, what is the goal of the newspaper? Sounds naïve of me, but I became a photojournalist because I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to help people see things from different perspectives and push peoples thoughts about culture, religion, and humanity.

We shouldn’t be consumed with offending one or two readers when a story resonates with hundreds more. I really think newspapers are becoming panicked and instead of continually focusing on putting out a good product---they are too worried about offending and losing one reader.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard confusing sentiments from top editors and in various meetings. Countless times I have heard phrases like “that’s not good for the A1 mix” or “that won’t sell papers.” There is even a single copy sales meeting that editors go to once a week.

There is a good reason why the editorial side of the newspaper should be kept different from the advertising/sales side. We should be putting stories in the paper that tell un-biased stories and that will engage our community in some fashion. What sells and what doesn't sell shouldn’t affect the content of the newspaper.

I am not a sales person---I am a journalist.

are you an imposter?

2007-09-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

I have been saying I was an imposter for some time....

...and now there is a quiz out there to prove it.

http://www.kalimunro.com/self-quiz_imposter.html

be proud, run big

2007-09-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Once again, in true Seahawk fashion, another game came down to the final minutes. A touchdown in the corner of the end zone gave us the lead at the near end of the game. Being a mid-day game, the light was cutting around the field. Which produced some great images, like the Shaun Alexander picture below running through the light. It also produced some nasty backlit situations, like the lead on the front page.

This was a situation were the final play was obviously important since it won the game, but if I had something super strong, I could probably have convinced sports into running that as the lead image. Problem was I had a bunch of great shots, but none that really spoke cover of sports potential.

The picture on the cover of sports---while telling in being the winning touchdown and has a nice in-your-face feel to it, has technical issues. It's horrible backlit---shot on an older camera and frankly isn't 100% sharp. (it was pushing being newspaper sharp.) You can see the receivers' face pretty well though, which was a good thing. So what to do in this situation? Run big and be proud!

When a copy editor came over to me and the other picture editor working the desk that night to compliment the great picture, we look at each other and realized that sometimes perhaps we are too hard on pictures and that non-photographer types can look past all the problems we had with the picture.

(below) Had the Seahawks lost this game----this picture would have been perfect 6 columns on the cover.----

ugly deadlines

2007-09-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

First of all----the main picture above me, I just love. Hard to tell from it so small---but the dudes eyes are locked onto the ball. Very nice. Its a shame it only ran so big on the first edition of the paper-----

Night deadlines can be nasty. Especially if they are on a Saturday night. I moved out to the west coast thinking that the deadlines would be so much easier and better---but that's not true. Our deadlines are actually earlier than most east coast papers (factoring in the time difference).

So, both the college football teams we cover were in southern California. One game was at 530pm the other at 715pm. We need color pictures for the first edition by 7pm. So, one game is already not happening (the UW game, which is more important to our paper.) So coupled with night shooting, nasty deadlines and transmitting issues from hell one of our photographers had---it wasnt a fun Saturday night for me.

Here are some of the pages. Directly below is the cover for the final edition.

tough choices

2007-09-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

I can't think of any situation where I would want to run a wire picture over a staff photographers picture. Although, sometimes I just don't see any way around it. After all, I work for a newspaper and our prime objective is to tell stories---that includes telling stories of the game.

So last weeks Seahawks game came down to the wire. Seahawks were driving the ball in the final minutes of a close game---looking as if they were going to score a touchdown. On a simple play that has been done thousands of times, the teams two superstars---Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander---goof up a hand-off and fumble the ball away. The other team scored. Game over.

This is no knock on the photographer. He is one of the best sports photographers I've been around and there would be no logical reason for our one photographer at this away game to have set up behind this play. It would have been an extreme low percentage shot---and could've missed us the winning the touchdown had he been out of place and things have done slightly different.

But sometimes, it is no ones fault and things just happen. The wire captured an image that summed it up. While our photographer was right on the play---it was backs of players. This picture of the fumble really did tell the story of the game.

Our photographer sent in a picture of Hasselbeck walking off the field, head down in disappointment. It wasn't the best dejection shot. Losing game 2 of the season doesn't mean that's the outlook on everything. So I am not sure the mood was quite accurate of the overall game story- especially when Alexander was smiling and laughing after the game.

It's not an easy decision to make. Our photographers work very hard shooting the best possible pictures from each game. I hate to have to run someone else's picture after we spend a lot of effort into getting what we have. With all honestly, I hope this is one decision that never gets any easier for me to make.

the miracle

2007-09-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

Gloria passed away last week. I've been amazed how many people were touched by her story. Columnist Jerry and photographer Steve have really done a remarkable job and have really drawn in the community to this little girl. It's been very humbling and incredibly moving to be a part of the experience.

Above, is how we ran the story the day after she died. Our photographer Steve photographed the parents in a hotel room where they were staying for the night. But we still wanted to focus on Gloria and how she lived and cared for so many other people. We never ran this picture in the segments.

And while this was Gloria's story, I can't help but to remember Emily. The 5-year old girl with cancer I photographed and whose story I told while working in New Hampshire. The stories are very similar. Emily came from a large, very religious family. I am not as good of a writer as Jerry and not as good a photographer as Steve - I know that Emily touched many lives as well. Most imporantly, she touched mine. No question, I am a better person because of her.

Below, is Emily during ballet class, exactly two weeks before she died. Enjoying life to the very end.

You can read the story of emily here: http://www.carrieniland.com/stories.html

more football pages

2007-09-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

More football pages-

glorious gloria

2007-09-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

So, this is another Gloria segment that ran in the paper. She is still in the hospital and its really touch and go. For me, being the editor on this story was a great retreat from the daily ins and outs of sports. But it was also the story greatly resemebled a story I worked on many years ago.

What has been increasingly tough for me, is that other editors have been helping out with the editing of the story. Since football has begun I no longer have weekends off. So combined with being gone two regular workdays and my late shift, it has been tough for me to attend all the meetings necessary for the story. The other photo editors I work with are fantastic and while I know the story is in good hands, it is hard to let go of something you really love and believe in.

seahawks

2007-09-23T22:11:00.001-07:00

Our first home NFL game. A nice early game made for a rather easy, uneventful day. I like the energy that football has--and this game was mostly about the new people on the team and how they contributed to the win.

big first weekend

2007-09-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

Our first big college football weekend kicked off with both University of Washington and Washington State University playing in Seattle. Made for a fun crazy weekend. Our space whole for football has shrunk a bit since last year, but I'm happy that we are still running big pictures inside as well.

the big man

2007-09-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

The last special section. Well, we knew from the beginning that Walter Jones was going to be the main subject of our section. There is no theme to it. We wanted to focus on a nice clean picture that really spoke about the strength of the team and perhaps the best player ever for the Seahawks. I like the way the cover turned out. I think it works well with what we were trying to get across.

Up next? Sonics special section......

foundations

2007-09-17T21:11:00.001-07:00

This was a difficult story to illustrate. No question. An in-depth story about athletes and the foundations--some of them not currently in existence. And they were all over the country. This was story our writers started months ago and that we treid to piece along as the story developed. It ended up being a five day project. Luckily, a local major athlete was featured on each day-which made it simplier to have a lead image.

Our photographer did a really nice job with the portraits under difficult circumstances. Trying to get 5 big-time athletes is a feat in itself---but with limited time with some of them, like 3 minutes, he made them all look relatively the same, which helped the story carry over the five day period. It worked out nicely.

This is one that was tough. The story was suppose to run in the a section for all five days---but it jumped from the a1 cover to the sports cover half-way through. And then it became a secondary on the last day, which was unfortunate, especially since there was no significant breaking news that caused it.

more gloria

2007-09-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

These are a few pages of the on-going story we are doing on a little girl named Gloria. We have run 3 more installments in the past 5 weeks. So, while the pictures may look repetitive all at once they are really showing different levels of her health over that time period. She has been in the hospital now for a good portion of that time. Hospitals can be interesting places for the media. The hospital has been giving us roadblocks too, which has made photographing the story harder.

Our main photographer shooting the story also took a vacation, so we had another photographer fill in. It is always hard to jump into someone else's story, I think. But he did a fantastic job.

Hopefully, she will be getting out of the hospital soon and we will have a positive update.

drama on the field...

2007-09-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

The Mariners have been playing rather sporadically lately. They win a bunch and we think for sure they are going to the playoffs...then they lose a bunch and we think for sure they won't be going to the playoffs. (which is just fine for this Yankee fan.) Regardless, it makes it rather hard to plan for anything in October or to schedule.

During the first inning of this home game, our head coach gets the boot after getting into one heck of an argument with one of the umpires. It was an awesome spectacle.

I really like how this photo sums up the argument.

lunar eclipse

2007-09-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

I stayed up all night to watch the total lunar eclipse. It was a beautiful night and was able to watch it all from the roof of my building. No clouds in the sky--which for Seattle is a pretty big feat. The eclipse was very cool.

This is another picture from the eclipse. Its hard to see, but there are stars all around the moon. Very cool.

football begins

2007-09-01T13:24:00.001-07:00

Our prep special section cover. Our photographer did a great job under less than ideal circumstances. Hats off to him.

We didn't have a college special section this year. Instead, we folded it into our daily sports section. We kicked it off on a Sunday and tried to make it look more substantial than an average section front.

salmon run

2007-09-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

I feel so bad for the salmon swimming upstream as hard as they can. After making through the fishing area, this big fish made it to what he thought was upstream. Many of the rivers in the area have fish ladders to help the salmon. This fish didn't get the message about that and was fighting very hard to swim up this waterfall where he would never be able to get back into the river (due to some nice man-made grates at the top of the waterfall).

These salmon are determined creatures!

falls

2007-09-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

My mom was in town about a week ago and we were able to explore the city a little bit. We also got out of the city and headed into the mountains to relax. Here is Salish Lodge(top left) on Snoqualmie Falls.

commitment

2007-09-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sports was writing a story about a minor league ball player near Raleigh and wanted us to get a picture of him. Now, like every newspaper going through financial issues, we don't hire freelancers for every request that comes our way. So, I spoke to sports on numerous occasions about where the story was going to be played. They assured me it would run on the cover of the section each time. With no other pictures of this particular player available, and after going through all the channels, we decided to hire a freelancer in North Carolina.

The freelancer did a fantastic job. The pictures were all really great and could run anywhere we needed them.

Jump to the budget meeting and they wanted to put the story inside only, apparently the story wasn't worthy enough. But after some tough negotiating, and frankly the best pictures of the day, the story started on the cover and jumped inside. The most important point I took away from this was giving and taking. Sports gave a little bit for the best photo to run well---and there are many times when the situation is reversed. It all comes down to cooperation.

756

2007-09-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of controversy over Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's career home-run record. And personally feelings aside, it is still a major record in sports and breaking that deserves to be noted. And frankly, noted well.

Well, we had talked about how we would display the breaking home run for months. Seriously. Months and months. And the planned changed continually up until he actually broke it. This was the cover of our sports section.

One thing I did notice---with all the photographers at the game, the pictures were all mediocre.

friends

2007-09-01T12:34:00.001-07:00

I have some of the best good friends. They are so much fun to be around. I miss them. Anyways, this is one of my dearest friends, Julia, doing cartwheels on my parents dock during my trip back east in July. She has apparently been doing cartwheels in pictures all over the world since she was a kid.

I've been doing a lot of soul-searching recently, which is why my blog has suffered. I will try to better about it.

one, two, three....

2007-08-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

four...

five...

six...

On days like today, I have found the best way to stay calm is to count from one to ten before doing anything.

seven...

eight...

nine....

ten....

I can breathe now.

late night sports

2007-08-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

So, the same night as the bridge collapse the Mariners went into extra innings during their game with the LA Angels. It was the last night of the series and the Mariners have been creeping up on the first place Angels in the AL west division. Lots of energy from the first pitch and it turned out to be a great game with lots of good action and drama. This page was the cover of sports for the first two editions. A great action picture at the plate---Johjima held onto the ball to save a run from scoring.

When the game ended at 11:20pm----this was the picture we remade the cover with. The game winning hit---It's sorta unfortunate. It is a great picture, no doubt. But I think the other picture is a stronger. This picture, while the defining moment of the intense game, is not a picture that will sit with you--and looking back on it in a few weeks won't have the same energy. The first edition home plate picture will stand that test of time. It is important to remember, even when it comes to sports photography, the pictures still need to tell a story.

This is a beautiful picture. In fact I've hardly seen a picture like this from a game before. And I've shot a lot of baseball. A really cool shaft of light in the perfect place. This picture ran inside for all editions. Our super star sports photographer (aka Superstar---I feel like I can give him that nickname since he refers to me as PhotoDiva on his blog) did a good job of really seeing something different here and was able to use it to his advantage. It is super easy to be an editor on nights like tonight. The pictures just fall into place.

media overkill

2007-08-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am not sure when media overkill began. The first time I really recall it was from 9-11, although in that case at least it was more justified. And after that it has been in full effect with the major cable new stations. Spending hours at a time on car fires in some remote place in the US, or 24/7 coverage on major news story. However, even though it is a major news story does that really justifies all the time spent devoted to one particular subject. What is a major news story in one area of the country---can be just a news story to the rest of it.

So, the bridge collapse in Minnesota is another example of this. A bridge collapsing out of nowhere in the midst of rush-hour traffic is horrific. Whether it is over another road or a body of water, everyone in the country travels over a bridge at some point. And while it shouldn't matter if 3 people died or 30 people died---when it comes to the significance of a big news story, it sort of does matter.

I think our photo editor working on this section did a great job. (I was doing sports this night---see late night sports post). I thought our paper looked amazing. We had nice informative pictures that ran large--the design was clean and simple and each picture gave you more insight into the tragedy. However, my question doesn't have to do with the editing of the pictures----it has to do with the coverage. Is it really necessary to have a front page CP and 2 inside pages on a story that is most significant to people 2000 miles away? Is this the newspaper equivalent to having the same as cable news’ 24/7 non-stop coverage? And where is the point that we go too far and our local readers suffer?

Another bit of information I learned was to be very wary of reporting the numbers of deaths in headlines. Most papers printed 7 total the first night – (we printed 9, not sure where that number came from) and when I woke up the next morning, it had decreased to 4. ---Granted, with all the craziness of the situation –all the facts might not be getting out of the area. I think it is just important to remember to have conversations about displaying big numbers like that and how certain you are that they are correct.

still more

2007-08-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

So, this part of the Gloria package ran last week. Gloria had taken a bad turn and couldn't really walk (she is currently doing a little bit better.) Anyways---we had to make some last minute adjustments to the layout on the inside page. Originally the father gazing at the medicine bottles was above of the other picture and a bit smaller. We had them move it to below and made the picture a little bigger by dropping a pull quote. I think it made a really big difference and really gave the reader more impact with that picture. Next installment will run in a few days. I'll be sure to post it.

more gloria

2007-08-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

This is an installment of the Gloria package that ran while I was on vacation. I did help with some of the edit---but the photographer was shooting it until it ran. So I have to thank my fellow editors for helping this come together.

fight night

2007-07-29T00:49:00.000-07:00

I love photographing boxing. I just love it. I am not good at it---but I love it. So, tonight I photographed the WBC Super Welterweight Title fight. It was fun. If you see the fight on HBO- I'm the one in the pink shirt. :)

One thing I don't love was the awful shooting conditions. Seriously, trying to fit 5 photographers into 2 photo spots was frustrating. Especially when one of those guys refuses to rotate. But the rest of us did what we could with what we had.

It is good for me to shoot once and while. I always remember why I got into photo editing on nights like tonight. Not that I did terrible, but I always rediscover how talented most photographers I know are--and how they inspire me to be a better editor.

i love sushi

2007-07-27T01:56:00.000-07:00

So, one of the best parts of my vacation was the fact that northern NY is pretty rural. No cable, weak cell phone service, no internet (well, no high-speed, isn't that the same thing?)- so for me it was disconnecting from everything that I do. And it felt great. The nearest small town is about 20 miles away.

This was the big sushi place.

I love sushi and all----but not this much.

true love

2007-07-27T01:34:00.000-07:00

On my trip back east, I visited a famous castle in the Thousand Islands- Boldt Castle. A few months ago, I saw a TV show about America's most famous castles and this castle located on Heart Island was one of them.

At the turn of the century, a very rich Mr. Boldt set out to build a castle in honor of his beloved wife, Louise. We are talking a huge 120-room castle from stone. Not including the other structures that were being built on the island---a playhouse, a tower house, a boathouse, powerhouse, etc. No expense was spared. A theme throughout the castle was love---and the symbol was hearts. Everywhere.

However, in 1904- Boldt's wife suddenly died and he stopped all construction on the castle and never wanted to return. For 73 years the castle was abandoned - where vandals and the harsh winters took its told on the island. In 1977 the Thousand Island Bridge Authority, who has invested millions of dollars to renovate the structures, bought the island. However, since the upper floors of the castle were never finished----they remain that way. It is daunting to see the lower levels looking so magnificent and the upper floors so barren.

Graffiti covers most of the walls. It is clear the castle was used for massive parties over the years. But throughout it all, love is still relevant. Most of the graffiti are sentiments of love. And it makes you wonder if Mr. Boldt would like the fact that his castle became a place where many people found true love of their own. Being the romantic I am---I like to think so...

I'm back

2007-07-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

Everytime I look at this picture, I instantly feel more relaxed. I guess that is what vacation is all about.

This picture was taken from my parent's house on the St. Lawerence River. It is called The Thousand Islands (yes, like the dressing) because of the thousands of islands that liter the seaway. The river divides the US and Canada. So --that is what you see across the water---Brockville, Canada. I spent most of my days kayaking around islands, doing puzzles, telling jokes, sharing memories, burning marshmellows, and enjoying good times with friends and family. And doing a bad job of taking pictures of my trip.

Sorry I have been slacking on my posts recently. I'm sure my two readers out there have been heartbroken. :)

Anyways, after a couple weeks back in NY and the remainder of my time spent working and going to photography workshops/seminars- I am back.

parading the day

2007-06-27T00:56:00.001-07:00

So, I went to the gay pride parade in downtown Seattle on Sunday. I have to admit, I've never been a big fan of parades. I blame that on my only blog reader---my mom. Sorry, it's true. Anyways, I discovered a lot about my shooting on Sunday. I think that is mostly true because I wasn't shooting for any purpose other than to have fun. I had no agenda. Just wanted to make pictures.

I realized that I liked watching the scene unfold. I noticed I spent too much time focusing on one particular scene and not really investigating other things. I came back and looked at my take and realized all the things I did wrong. And then I wondered--does this new insight now make me a better photographer or a better editor?

has becoming digital destroyed our respect?

2007-06-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

Hear me out. It seems that every person I know at various papers throughout the country are having the same problem. Photography is losing respect in the newsroom. Sure, there are other issues going on as well---but I think a big part of the problem starts with respect. Reporters are getting video equipment and camera phones. Camera phones? Generally speaking, reporters do a better job with the writing for the paper and the photographers do a better job with the visuals. When did that change? Papers are becoming so obsessed with timeliness they are sacrificing quality. Do we really think a reporter can take a better picture now with a smaller, less technically and worse quality camera? Or when an executive editor in a budget meeting suggest he can shoot the a1 centerpiece?

A wise photographer once told me that the over reliance on technology was why the real storytellers and good image-makers were disappearing and why there were so many button pushers appearing. The high quality cameras on the market now have made it a lot easier for regular people to become photographers. These new breeds of “photographers” go around offering their work for free because they do it as a hobby. It's not their passion. It is not their livelihood.

I became a photographer at the end of the film era and the beginning of the digital era. I learned how to shoot on slide and negative film. I learned how to print in a darkroom. I mixed chemicals. I made dodging tools with wire, cardboard and tape. Things have changed- now everyone has these tools on their computer. And they use them.

Digital has brought some good changes to our industry and has helped advanced it. We are at a greater level than ever before. But it is hard to appreciate all the good when, in my opinion, we have lost something greater. Respect. Everyone out there is a "photographer" now. And everyone thinks they can do your job better than you. Some photographers will always be at the top, above the rest---no matter what happens. But what happens to the rest of us? What happens when the level of respect goes even lower and the people that truly are passionate about photography merge into the rest of the button pushers?

More importantly, how do we gain the respect back before it completely disappears?

Sour signings

2007-06-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

This story is about the Mariners and the worst players they signed, considering all the factors, including how much money they spent to get them. Essentially, the lemons.

The story was suppose to run last month- but for what ever reason it has been holding. Our lead sports designer had talked to us about how they wanted to illustrate it and was part of the photo shoot with the photographer. In situations like this, I think it is good to collaborate with all the parties to make sure the end result is satisfactory with everyone. So, it was all good and the pictures turned out nicely.

I guess this is what lead to some frustrations on my part---when last minute the designer working on the page wanted to try some fancy headline treatment ---sort of weaving the headline into the glove. So, we had an interesting conversation about the whole thing and talked it out---and this was the compromise, and result. I just don't think we need to "dress up" or "spice up" every photo, every illustration. Sometimes - clean, simple to the point is the better approach.

sisters are complicated...

2007-06-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

Another segment of the Gloria story ran on Saturday. Again, a great job by the Jerry the columnist and our photographer. It isn't easy getting these packages ready so quickly. Our last piece was 2 weeks ago. It also isn't easy having a photographer and columnist enter your life for an undisclosed amount of time that wants to spend as much time with you as possible. The family has been pretty good so far, considering they have so many things going on at once. But you must wonder, will we exhaust them by running these stories so close together? Will our journalists get burnt out as well? And what about our readers? Sure, some of them are following with intense interest---but you wonder how many of them don't?

The other part of this story that was difficult was the columnist says how close the 3 sisters are even though they have the typical sister issues. However, every time our photographer has been there the sisters haven't all been together. So, we had lots of dicussions about how to play the pictures. At one point we were going to run seperate pictures of all three girls on the cover. But after talking to the photographer in depth about it, we both felt like that would be stereotyping the girls into specific categories. (the oldest teenager, the middle sick child and the younger free sister). It also felt like we were forcing the issue. This is how it ended up running. I feel as though it is a bit more natural pairing. My only wish is that the secondary pictures inside ran a little bigger.

golf

2007-06-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

I love this photo. Phil had a rough time at the US Open this year and this picture sorta sums up that he played poorly enough to not make the cut. Yeah, so he has a little wrist injury. :)

Golf was one of my favorite sports to shoot. I am not that good of a player - alright, I stink. But I enjoy it all the same. And I find it shooting it beautiful and challenging. It isn't easy to find something unique to shoot so I always like seeing different pictures from tournaments.

On the other side

San Juan Island

kayaking with orcas

very northwest

return of the storm

cirque

the mountain, revisited.

nice work

my happy place

just horrible...

clearing the benches...

tourism

ideas are pumping...

walking scenes

The Mountain

making the gray, less gray.

ethics and toning

Part II - Happy Day

Part I - sad day.

working dayside...

animals in cages

selection sunday

riders of the storm

prep pages....

alexia

baseball...

fallen coach...

Skiing

portraits

dog show

in the spotlight....

cutouts

it was a super, bowl...

grumpy old men..

decisions, decisions...

vacation

the coyote

fun day

victory & ruins

NFC Championship

everyone is a picture editor

monday, monday

the wire

sports vs. a1

political bias

never say never

playoffs

preview to playoffs

dog park

top stories of the year

can't win them all.

random pages

mitchell report

refs

it's a small world

college special section

more hawks...

solutions

kevin durant

UW loss

seeing

friday night lights

sack

QB or RB?

the fans

inspiration

What is the goal of newspapers?

are you an imposter?

be proud, run big

ugly deadlines

tough choices

the miracle

more football pages

glorious gloria

seahawks

big first weekend

the big man

foundations

more gloria

drama on the field...