Archive Page 2
Full moon rising, fire burning.
The photojournalism department sponsored a picnic for staff and students tonight out at a local park, Stephens Lake Park. The weather couldn’t have been better – we were originally forecast with 40% thunderstorms and ended up with a cloudless sky all night long.
It was nice to meet some of the other photo-j students, although it’s a little intimidating that there’s so many of them and so few of us new kids. I’m sure by the end of this semester, that feeling will dissipate.
The semester so far is going well. My brain hurts, but that’s to be expected. There’s a ton of information being crammed in there. Thankfully, as I explained to my adviser today, it’s all things I’m interested in, so it’s slowly finding places to sort out and settle into. Lots and lots of readings, and a ton of writing to match.
But every day, when I go to bed, I think about where I’ve been and where I am and where I’m heading, and I’m undoubtedly happy with my decision to come here for school. It was the right time, and it’s the right place. I miss DC terribly, but I know it – and many of my friends – will be waiting for me at the end.
Now to remember how to write academically and not just newsworthy.
:: think! ::
(Also, for you photo-nerds out there – check out the EXIF data on my file. I hand-held that baby at 1/5 of a second. The +.50 exposure was done in post to give it a little more detail.)
Filed under: grad school, photography, random thoughts | 1 Comment
Tags: classmates, grad school, i love this, photography, picnic
An article about the just-discovered death of DJ AM (as I found out about on Twitter and then did a Google news search on him) on NBC New York’s site brought this to my attention.
Looks like NBC New York is starting to rate their articles by mood and then update their logo with recent headlines.
Journalists and friends – what do we think of this? Is this a clever way to drive traffic to local news articles, or is this a sad testament to the downfall of local news stations? Or is it both?
I am undecided.
(However, the graphic designer in me loves the throwback font on the logo.)
Filed under: local news, pop culture | 2 Comments
Tags: journalism, local news, NBC New York, news, what do you think?
I love twitter.
From across the room:
Yes. We are ridiculous. But I love it.
(For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter’s format, read from the bottom up.)
Filed under: random thoughts | Leave a Comment
Tags: from across the room, random, Scott, twitter
Home sweet apartment
A few days off from writing were in order after finishing up that boot camp class. Wow, what an intense two weeks. I feel like I’ve learned a ridiculous amount about working in the newsroom . . . and sadly, I won’t be back there for some time. But that’s okay. There’s other adventures to be had in the meantime.
Another good reason for not writing in a few days – Scott has arrived!
I went to pick him up at the airport on Saturday, and it’s been crazy ever since. We’ve been getting settled into our apartment and traveling around town on bikes. (Okay, riding to class and back. But for me, that’s an adventure.) Cooking has not really commenced yet, but I hope to write about some of our creations soon. I’m getting tired of canned chili and lean cuisines for dinner.
(Another exaggeration – that chili is actually quite good. But I do hope to make some tasty dishes in our kitchen.)
I’ll be sure to take photos for a virtual tour once we finish getting everything ready and set where it belongs. Until then, here’s a photo of the housewarming cards from our respective parents, as hung on our corkboard / whiteboard panels next to the front door.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tags: apartment, housewarming, love, missouri, Scott, unpacking
After long wait, the tomato and pepper festival story is now online (and hopefully in the paper, too)! A photo of the hard copy will be updated here.
MU’s Bradford Research Center to host annual Tomato Festival
Why the title of this post, though?
Byebye shoes.
Note to self: do not go tromping around in a tomato patch after a few days of rain. You will get stuck in the mud, and you will destroy your shoes. (At least I didn’t kill my sneakers!)
Filed under: grad school | Leave a Comment
Tags: boot camp, grad school, Missourian, mud, sandals, they were being replaced eventually anyway, tomato festival
Quick update here, since Scott is busy putting together a chair. (Yes, he’s here. More to come on that later.)
In the last post, I mentioned some video and audio work. Posted today and linked here for everyone’s viewing pleasure is the multimedia piece Jarrad put together for the website. He did the editing and stills, and I shot the video. Yes, even the moment where the play comes directly at me. There’s nothing like watching two giant football players come flying at you while looking through a screen.
Jarrad did a great job in a short time period, and I’m super excited that I could be a part of this project. I can’t wait until I get to do it again!
Filed under: grad school, photography, sports | 1 Comment
Tags: missouri, grad school, grad, boot camp, football, video
I got to do one of my favorite things today.
I covered football.
My main goal was to write a story about the game, but make it more about the players than the actual game. It’s not always easy – a game recap is technical, but simple. Just pay attention to the action on the field, and you’re set. Getting an interesting story though, is not as easy. It takes interviewing people, watching the players on and off the field, listening in on coaches giving pep talks, and keeping an eye out for anything interesting that may cross your path.
Tonight’s story, in my opinion, was pretty successful. I got some of the highlights of the action, plus an interesting angle – the team I was assigned to cover had a dismal 1-9 record last season, and actually did quite well at the jamboree tonight. The players were buzzing after the game, energized for the start of their season next week.
Preseason football jamboree energizes Rock Bridge
(My awesome editor wrote that headline. My original one was pretty blah.)
But the best part of the night is due in part to the fantastic photographer, Jarrad, assigned to the event. While he was off shooting photos, he had me working his Flip video recorder, trying to get some sound and video bites. My favorite clip of all was of a play that unfolded right in front of me, and then literally ended up where I had been standing. (Nothing like two 180lb+ guys hurtling at you while looking at a camera screen.) If I can get my hands on that, I’ll post it to the blog.
Then Jarrad needed to head up to the press box to get the video camera ready for some post-game interviews with players. Into my hands was thrust a D2Xs (I think?) with a 17-35mm lens, and I was told to see what I could get. I haven’t seen my take on a computer screen, but I may have gotten some neat shots of the players with awesome clouds and wide-angle goodness.
Once we got the interview area set up, he realized we needed extra audio, just in case the main camera didn’t pick that up. The Flip found its way back in my hands as I tried to capture alternative angle video and hopefully backup audio. We then crashed an interview being done my our other reporter, and I handheld the camera to record one of the coaches talking about the game. (The tripod was missing a plate for the camera. Oops.)
What a rush. What a learning experience. What fun!
I need to get in on more football action this fall. I don’t know how, but I must.
I really love covering football.
Filed under: grad school, photography, sports | 4 Comments
Tags: boot camp, football, Missourian, photography, story, video
A quickie: breaking news
I’m on the breaking news desk right now, and will be here until 3pm. So far, we only had a police media release come in. Fingers crossed it stays quiet until the end of my shift, as I’m going to be out all night at a football jamboree.
Here’s my take on the release story, as helped along by an awesome ACE (assistant city editor).
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/08/21/columbia-resident-victim-armed-robbery/
I dont’ know why I get so nervous about writing. I’m not as bad as I think.
Filed under: grad school, local news | Leave a Comment
Tags: boot camp, breaking news, Missourian, writing
Well, it *was* a good day.
I let the best get to me today, and I totally missed out on a good opportunity for a story tonight. I should have called earlier in the day to talk with a PR person, but I got sidetracked on another story I’m working on and it totally slipped my mind. By the time I called, it was too late.
The same event is happening tomorrow morning, so I have a chance to redeem myself. I just have to make sure to get a chance to call the right person in between orientation sessions. Our journalism school orientation is tomorrow, but thankfully only until 10:30am. The [tentative] plan is to head over to the event after the orientation’s over. I don’t know if I can miss the budget meeting, but we’ll see. I would really like to get it right the second time around.
This whole thing today really put me in a funk. I made poor decisions, and have now spent 95% of my evening sitting on my couch. Granted, I played my guitar for an hour – which is something I have not done in a long time – but still, I’ve been sitting in the same damn spot all night.
There’s no other chair to sit in yet. It’s in pieces in the spare bedroom. I don’t know how to put it together. Only Scott knows.
While I was sitting here earlier, I took a look over at his bike in the corner. Sadness came again, thankfully not quite as bad as when I hung up his shirts. We realized yesterday that we’re just barely making it through these two weeks. There’s no way we could have done this long distance for two years.
At least I know we made the right decision in this move together.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Tags: distance, fail., grad school, i miss you, Scott, story
Pigs are awesome.
Yesterday, my classmate Maggie and I went to the State Fair in Sedalia, MO in search of a story. We really lucked out sticking with the pig competition, and met two amazing Boone County high school kids. But we were even luckier than that – one had just won the Grand Champion title.
We did all the reporting, research, interviewing, brainstorming, and draft writing together. She wrote the majority of the words, and I worked on photos to submit. Together, we put together a small, but strong package that was published on the Missourian website today, and ran in the print edition, too. I think we made an awesome team.
*****
We saw this little piggy laying (lying? Where’s my AP Stylebook?) with his buddy, butt to butt, in their pen. Maggie noticed that his little tongue was sticking out and we had to get photos. I went ahead and submitted this to Cute Overload, too. They sure like animals with tongues!
Filed under: grad school, local news, photography | 3 Comments
Tags: boot camp, first time published!, grad school, Missourian, pigs, State Fair, story, teamwork
this is me
freelance photojournalist and graduate student at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism.
-
project365 :: year three
More Photos
