Blog Guy, please continue answering questions about photojournalism. I was wondering, what do photographers do when people they cover are out of sight?
Good question! They shoot pictures of each other trying to shoot pictures, like these guys trailing President-elect Barack Obama. These are always popular shots.
But why are they trying so hard?
I gather there’s a serious shortage of Obama photos, despite the fact that we’ve taken roughly 720 million pictures of him this month alone. See, there is always a chance he’s changed his appearance. You know, a mullet haircut, a tattoo, a handlebar mustache, some of those plastic hillbilly teeth…
You spend millions of dollars just waiting for Barack Obama in plastic hillbilly teeth?
Hey, pal, back off! When YOU’RE the shooter who gets those hillbilly teeth in your zoom lens, you’ll understand what it’s all about!
Mark Hancock transitioned from being a staff photojournalist for for The Dallas Morning News (1996 – 2004) and The Beaumont Enterprise (2005 – 2008) to freelancing in Dallas. His work is distributed by Zuma and his blog shows he continues to work the the Dallas Morning News shooting a variety of news and sports.
Type photojournalism into Google and Mark’s blog comes up just after the Wikipedia entry. Not bad for an old Texas boy. His subjects range from Texas religion, that is, the lastest in football action, to how-tos on photojournalism. An update to his original Nov. 22, 2005 entry is a simple guide to reading his blog. The “Get stringer gigs” reminds me of an old ratty printout I have of “The Stringer Bible” by Kurt Muchler, a former stringer in Columbus, Ohio.
His latest venture is the soft launch of a non-profit publishing project hoping to “recover the media’s institutional knowledge resulting from an unprecedented loss of jobs.” Promising to assist freelancers and working journalists, Mark is creating a social group of photographers, editors, artists, and business people to build a network that fulfills the needs of creator, distributor, and reader. Take the time and read through his descriptions and expectations at Pro Freelancers Wanted.
A frequent contributor to the Black Star Rising blog, Mark’s most recent piece is helpful for people just beginning freelance careers or hoping to expand from semi-pro to full time work.
He recently took on work as an associate editor of books at Squadron Signal Publications, a publisher of military oriented books especially prized by modelers. Perhaps some of this new knowledge and work will enhance the chances for success of his non-profit adventure.
Robert Benson, a San Diego photographer trying to explain himself, has designed, built, and applied for a patent for a device that allows wireless firing of a camera as much as 25 miles away using off the shelf portable radios.
If he can get by the hurdles of perhaps violating FCC regs by using the radios for more than voice communication and the patent approval, Benson may have the perfect remote solution for both camera and strobes.
