A grizzled old man sys behind a desk, a stub of a cigar clenched between his teeth. He is going over the wires, the daily newspapers, his reporters daily assignment lists. His eyes deepen in his head. Its a slow news day! He bellows out into the newsroom, his voice echoes off the shoulder height dividers in which the desks and 'offices' of the reporters are contained, the voice meanders all the way across the room to the far side where all the lights are turned off and the windows are covered up to the photographer on duty. "I need a weather feature for A1!' Weather features used to be a staple in newspapers. It was a chance for photographers to go out and find a photograph, find some little slice of life moment or story of people going about their lives in whatever the weather was during the day. Not always 'news' - yet it did document the day, so it was, in a sense news. Of course extreme weather does become more news worthy. And today, not many editors are clenching cigars between their teeth, corporate structures and harassment lawsuits have made them slightly less grizzled and we're seldom ever sent out looking for weather features anymore. (though we're still on the other side of the room with the lights off and windows covered up!) This spring has been wet, very wet. So if I'm sent to cover a ball game and it gets called or delayed because of rain or lightning, it is news. I took this picture last week when the umpires called the game due to a flash of lightning spotted in the sky. The rule is they have to allow a certain amount of time to pass from the last strike noticed before they can allow the players back on the field. I liked this shot because it showed the umpire looking up and the athletic director checking his phone for a forecast. The funny thing was, I was on a limited schedule this particular day and when they did decide to start up again I had to go. And the real funny thing was, when lightning was spotted it wasn't raining, but when they began playing again it was raining pretty steady. I didn't mind having to leave early, but my action shots weren't what I would normally hope for. Meadville Tribune photograph by Richard Sayer.
Oh and yesterday's post, thanks for all the thoughts...yes it was that the girl's belly was showing and at least two people told me that I need to be more sensitive to the way I depict a young girl's body and that, according to the folks who came to me with this, that that is all the girl would see, she wouldn't see her determination or spirit. I'm listening....
Oh and yesterday's post, thanks for all the thoughts...yes it was that the girl's belly was showing and at least two people told me that I need to be more sensitive to the way I depict a young girl's body and that, according to the folks who came to me with this, that that is all the girl would see, she wouldn't see her determination or spirit. I'm listening....