The “V” Word

For the past two weeks, I’ve been shooting with a new camera. It’s always nice to get a new piece of equipment to update the old stuff that been used to the point of falling apart. And the technology is always better.

This time was a bit different, though. With the booming trend of online video, newspaper websites are trying to jump on the bandwagon. So shooting video is now part of my, um, arsenal. And it’s a bittersweet start to a new way of journalistic storytelling.

On Saturday, during coverage of the Rolex Cross County jumping event, I had a minute to talk to veteran Sports Illustrated photographer Bill Frakes. As we were both shooting the traditional digital stills, I mentioned that the next time he saw me at the Kentucky Derby, I’d be shooting video. The look on his face was one of disbelief. He honestly looked like someone had died. I’d gone to the dark side.

Now, Frakes is never one to shirk new technology, so I was a bit puzzled by his reaction. Every still photographer will argue the merits and the power of a single image. And Frakes is a perfectionist. He, like many of us, want our work to be held to a high standard no matter the medium. And he, like many of us, aren’t seeing a whole lot of good video coming out of newspaper websites around the country. I’m pretty sure that he figures that my work with a video camera won’t be nearly as good as my still photography. And I’m pretty sure that he’s right.

Fast forward (yikes, a did I just say that?) to Wednesday morning: I’m working on the backside of Churchill Downs (shooting video for Kentucky.com and heraldleaderphoto.com) and have a moment to talk to veteran Associated Press Photographer Ed Reinke. The first time I saw Ed this week, I was carrying the video camera and he just shook his head at me. It was kind of a "I’m sorry" and "I wondered when that might happen" kind of a look.

Wednesday morning, though, Ed was gracious enough to compliment a photo of mine he saw printed in the Herald-Leader Tuesday morning. Then I had to tell him the bad news (it’s all a matter of perspective, you know): The photo he loved so much was what we call a frame grab - an image taken from the video (see above photo). The look on his face was the same one I had seen on Bill Frakes’ face only days before. It was a look of disbelief, surprise, and kind of a sadness.

The ability to shoot photojournalism on video has opened up a whole new world for newspaper photographers. It is so, so, different than what many of us have been doing for years and years (nearly 20 for me). It’s hard to embrace. But it’s curiously challenging. It’s frustrating, but liberating, too (heck, I can shoot video AND stills at the SAME TIME???!!). Until now, the technology behind frame grabs has been so poor, that we’ve never considered using it this way. But with the new high-def mini digital video recorders, it’s sometimes possible now to use video frames in the paper and on the web and most people can’t tell the difference, including the professionals in the business.

The debate among photojournalists regarding the best use of video on websites (journalistically speaking) will continue indefinitely. That’s how we’ll get better. The technology will also continue to improve. And hopefully, the pendulum will swing away from the trend-induced, must-have frenzy that encourages mediocrity. My guess is that video will just become part of our tool kit and in a few years will be a normal part of our routine.

But for now, I’ll learn the new technology, learn the software, learn the new shooting and editing techniques and surely make a few mistakes along the way. I’ll do it because I have to, and I’ll do it because I want to. I won’t kid myself that online video will save our industry, (which, for the most part, is dreadfully shortsighted, under the thumb of Wall Street, and looking for anything and everything to stop declining readership).

And hopefully I won’t disappoint our readers, Bill Frakes, or Ed Reinke along the way.
______________________________

Now for the technical stuff for those of you who care:

All of the above photos by me are examples of the video frames. I’ve posted them at 1000 px wide, but the originals are about twice that size. They have not been sharpened, toned, or manipulated in any manner so you can judge for yourself the image quality.

My new video camera is a Canon XH-A1 HDMiniDV

I use a MacBookPro and Final Cut Pro for editing. I use Flash video encoding for the videos I’ve posted so far on heraldleaderphoto.com.

And here’s a shot of me at work on the backside at Churchill this week (photo by Bill Luster).

Strikes at the ball game

Handheld Canon EOS-1D Mark II, Lens (mm): 300
ISO: 1250, Aperture: 2.8, Shutter: 1/20
What’s a photographer to do during a Lexington Legends rain delay? How ’bout try his luck at catching a bolt of lightning over the Lexington skyline.

I use the word luck because there is an awful lot of that involved here. But it also took a little patience. I spent about 15 minutes on the balcony at Applebee’s Park with the Canon 1D Mark II and 300 f2.8 glued to my face waiting for lighting strikes to hit near or behind the Lexington skyline. I caught a couple of other flashes, but they didn’t line up nearly as nice as the one above.

One problem I made for myself was using the 300mm lens. I didn’t give myself any latitude for cropping. Lightning was everywhere but I took a gamble and stayed on the skyline. The image above is nearly full frame (probably 95% of the original frame).

Here are a couple of other strikes. The difference in color is accurate - the fast moving storm darkened the sky quickly. The image above was taken about 12 minutes after these below.

– David Stephenson

A “Simple” Handshake

Every year, about a month before the UK vs. U of L football game, a luncheon and golf outing for coaches, former players and media are held at the University Club golf course in Lexington. The lunch and press conference take place in a park-style shelter outdoors. I’m supposed to get a shot of University of Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks and University of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino “together”. Problem is, they’re almost never together. Upon their arrival, the media surrounds the coaches separately for interviews and then, at the luncheon, each coach comes up at different times, from opposite sides of the shelter, to a podium for Q&A. I really hate to rely on a posed photo, and lately, there are more and more media there (I counted nine tripods).
Luckily, before the luncheon began, both coaches appeared in a promotional video benefiting visually impaired children. After the video everyone relaxed. As the coaches spontaneously shook hands, someone walked through my frame. But just before they released the handshake, I got a clear shot, but it was a split second opportunity. (Then the coaches began to separate immediately. The published photo is next to last in this sequence.) Point is, sometimes the most “simple” request, and the most unassuming photo you see in the newspaper, might be the most challenging photo of the week to take. And these photos show why professionals rely on motor drive.

TECH INFO: 90mm (zoom); ISO 200; 1/200th/sec.; f.7 (programmed auto exposure); Nikon D2H.

Project Dateline

Black Gnat, Ky.

In response to a question from friend and fellow photojournalist Jonathan Adams:

“I like what you and Charles Bertram are doing with your Dateline projects, I’m just curious about the background on features.

Since I can’t see the paper in Wyoming how is the feature being played and also what is your search for the subjects and approach to the subject.

Keep them coming. It feels like what Newspaper photography should feel like. It’s time coverage of the other 85% of the population begins to get documented.

Jonathan”

Glad you like the Dateline slide shows. They’ve been a real pleasure to shoot. The play in the paper has been all over the board. The first one was a secondary strip across the top of the feature section. Another couple of them were on the front page, centerpiece. Others were centerpieced on the feature front. I’ll post some pdfs of the pages when I can dig them up.

Picnic, Ky.

Our approach to the subjects is almost always the same. Reporter Amy Wilson and meet up early (like 5am), drive, look for signs of any living person when we get there, and start asking questions. We’re usually heading back out of town in under three hours. Amy and I always remark at how willing people are to bring us into their homes and yards to talk about themselves and the place they live. What’s great about these stories is that anything and everything is fair game. This is a great example of why I love my job: I get to explore, meet great people, shoot photos, and get paid for it.

There are gobs of great place names in Kentucky, so there is never a problem finding one. We pretty much just base our decision on not much more than our mood at the time and what direction we haven’t been lately. We’ve also been getting some good recommendations from readers who are responding well to the stories and photos.

Charles Bertram and Dave Perry have also been shooting some of these. Next up, Poodledoo. Or maybe Number One.

Barefoot, Ky.

Chicken Bristle, Ky.

Man vs. Beast

This photo, taken in Rupp Arena June 30 at the Dodge Xtreme Bulls Ride Hart Tour, shows you how brave the rodeo bullfighters (and don’t call them rodeo “clowns”) can be in the ring with these fierce animals. The bullfighters’ main job is to get between a downed rider and the bull, so that the bull won’t hook or stomp the rider. But bullfighter Matt Baldwin also gave a love tap to this bull while the rider was still aboard! It looked like Baldwin was trying to get in position so that when the rider was either bucked off or dismounted after a successful ride, he’d be ready. I’d like to give you the rider’s name, but welcome to my world: the only cowboy NOT listed in the roster of competitors was this guy, number 45!
Also, this is one of the few sports that I found the Nikon D2’s “whatever is closest to the camera will be sharp” autofocus setting worked best. The bull can make a wicked sharp turn, and then an autofocus spot will move off the rider or bull in a hurry. Yes, sometimes a bullfigher can come in the edge of the frame and throw off the “closest to the camera” autofocus, but I found that it works generally well.

Tech info: Nikon D2, 1/500 sec., 80mm, f2.8, 800 ISO, Auto White Balance.

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