SMU vs. Tulane football

photos © Mark M. Hancock and The Dallas Morning News

SMU wide receiver Darius Johnson (3) flies into the end zone for a touchdown against Tulane during a college football game at Ford Stadium at SMU in Dallas on Nov. 5, 2011.


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Southern Methodist University battles Tulane University during a college football game at Ford Stadium at SMU in Dallas.

Named in this slideshow are: Marquis Frazier, Taylor Thompson, Ryan Griffin, Zach Line, Austen Jacks, J.J. McDermott, Eric Jones, Aaron Davis, Darius Johnson, Ryan Travis, Der'rikk Thompson, Terrance Wilkerson, Jordan Sullen, Ja'Gared Davis, Orleans Darkwa, Margus Hunt, Taylor Reed, Cole Beasley, Trent Mackey, Robert Kelley and Chris Castro.

Texas vs. OU football

photos © Mark M. Hancock and The Dallas Morning News Oklahoma wide receiver Ryan Broyles (85) takes a hit from Texas cornerback Quandre Diggs (28) during a college football game in Dallas on Oct. 9, 2011. See a larger version of this slideshow. The University of Texas battles Oklahoma University in the Red River Rivalry during a college football game at the Cotton Bowl during The State Fair of Texas in Dallas. Named in this slideshow are:   Austin Dunlap, Peyton Wyatt, Bevo, Hayley Gurwitz, Tim Lucas, Ashlea Poirot, Gabe Ikard, Malcolm Brown, Tony Jefferson, Landry Jones, Fozzy Whittaker, Blake Gideon, Ryan Broyles, Kenny Stills, Adrian Phillips, Quandre Diggs, Case McCoy, Travis Lewis, Ronnell Lewis, David Ash, Mike Davis, Jaxon Shipley and Demontre Hurst.

SMU vs. UTEP football

photos © Mark M. Hancock and The Dallas Morning News UTEP wide reciever Mike Edwards (6) makes a reception in front of SMU defensive back Jay Scott (7) during a college football game at Ford Stadium in Dallas on Sept. 10, 2011. See a larger version of this slideshow. Southern Methodist University battles the University of Texas at El Paso during a college football game at Ford Stadium in Dallas. Named in this slideshow are:   Keenan Holman, Vernon Frazier, Cameron Smith, Mike Loftus, Mike Edwards, Jay Scott, J.J. McDermott, Donavon Kemp, Ja'Gared Davis, Cole Beasley, Kyle Padron, Derrick Morgan, Drew Thomas, Taylor Reed, Cameron Rogers, Zach Line, Josh Fely, Nick Lamaison, Taylor Thompson, Kenneth Acker, Joe Banyard and Jay Hall.

NCAA Regional Baseball Championship

photos © Mark M. Hancock and The Dallas Morning News Oral Roberts' senior Joey Winiecki (11) dodges the glove of Dallas Baptist's junior Joel Hutter (12) after stealing second base during the NCAA regional baseball championship game in Lupton Stadium at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth on June 5, 2011. See a larger version of this slideshow. Oral Roberts battles Dallas Baptist during the NCAA regional baseball championship game in Lupton Stadium at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. Named in this slideshow are:   Bob Keller, Will Lane, Duncan McAlpine, Chris Elder, Nick Baligod, Tyler Robbins, Jared Schlehuber, Mark Guest, Bennett Pickar, Kenny Hatcher, Cam Schiller, Brandon King, Joey Winiecki, Dan Heefner, Michael Smith and Joel Hutter.

SMU vs. Tulsa hoops

photos © Mark M. Hancock and The Dallas Morning News

Southern Methodist University's Paul McCoy (23) drives into Tulsa's defense during a college basketball game at Moody Coliseum in Dallas on Wednesday, Jan. 13,2009.


SMU's Derek Williams (3) leaps to the net past Tulsa's Donte Medder (13) during a college basketball game at Moody Coliseum.




Tulsa's Bishop Wheatley (12) tries to control both SMU's Justin Haynes (2) and Frank Otis (13) during a basketball game in Dallas.


SMU's Paul McCoy (23) works his way around Tulsa's Justin Hurtt (15) during a basketball game at Moody Coliseum.


SMU's Mouhammad Faye (1) slams into Tulsa's Jerome Jordan (23) during a college basketball game at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.



Please read, "SMU can't overcome early 16-0 disadvantage, falls to Tulsa" by Kate Hairopoulos / The Dallas Morning News

University of Dallas Ministry Conference

Cristian Barragan, a Capuchin monk from Our Lady of Lourdes, has a laugh with other attendees during the annual University of Dallas Ministry Conference at the Dallas Convention Center on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009.



photos © Mark M. Hancock for The Texas Catholic


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Faithful attend the annual University of Dallas Ministry Conference at the Dallas Convention Center on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. The event seeks to make the University's academic resources available to Catholic and wider communities through lectures, workshops and meetings. The conference is sponsored by both the Dallas and Fort Worth dioceses.

Named in this slideshow are (in order of appearance):   Mariachi Real Tecalitlan; Bishop Kevin J. Farrell, Dallas Diocese; Jonathan I. Lunine; Fr. Patrick J. Madden, Shreveport Diocese; Fr. Robert Hater; Bishop Kevin W. Vann, Fort Worth Diocese; John L. Allen, Jr., senior Vatican analyst for CNN; Augustine Jalomo of the Happy Hour band; Sr. Maria Thu Nguyen; deacon Joseph Nguyen; Sr. Emmanuela Le; Vanessa Llanas; Bailey Chandler; Bishop Alvaro Corrada del Rio, Tyler Diocese; Fr. Anthony Nguyen Van Quyet; Kenneth Louis; Richard Cheri; deacon Hugo Salina; Cristian Barragan; Mike Patin and Dr. Arturo Chavez.

Student PJ contest honors Jim Cox

Jim Cox was a TVPJ in Phoenix. He died in a mid-air collision of two news helicopters on July 27th, 2007. Since then, his family has established the James Alan Cox Foundation for Student Photographers.

The foundation provides five scholarships aspiring PJ students including $2,000 tuition assistance for college students and five high-end cameras for high-school students.

The foundation is accepting applications from now until the Oct. 15, 2009 deadline. There are still and video categories with strict limits. You can view the application and enter the competition at www.jamesalancoxfoundation.org.

Please only submit legitimate PJ work. Please prepare your submissions early because several criteria must be met to qualify.

Images of minors require model releases. Otherwise, the competition is open and reasonable. It's a legitimate PJ contest (not a rights grab) to honor a dedicated TVPJ.

Enough for now,

Tim Hussin interview - Part C

© Tim Hussin

Starting Over - Hold Onto Your Family - Russ Brown looks out the window of his new bedroom with his mom, Susan Brown, at his new apartment six days after the fire. "Life is so unpredictable," he said. "Who knows what's going to happen. So hold onto your family."

Please read Tim Hussin's biography, read parts A and B of this interview and see the images on his Web site.

What trends do you see happening with peers at other universities?

The year of not finding a job. (laughs)

I think the evolution of multimedia. I have a good number of friends at OU and Western that I've met along the way. It seems like they're really pushing multimedia in their curriculum. We are too, but I think we're a little behind, which is one of the things I've tried to help with while I've been back at school.

Universally, the main change in the curricula of photo schools is multimedia. OU and Western use to - may still have - film classes. I'm not sure if they got rid of those. I think they're weeding them out or making them electives. They're not mandatory anymore.

(Darkroom classes) are being replaced more with learning video, multimedia, editing audio.

Is there a push toward Renaissance Journalism?

Yea, that's another thing. All these things are part of that - learning one more thing. Learning video is part of that.

I think that's what made me competitive as well. You're getting all these people graduating photo schools that cannot only shoot photos, they can shoot video and audio, and some of them can maybe write well.

Yea, I think the push is having us do more things at the same time, which is good to know, but at the same time I think there's the danger of spreading us thin. Taking away something from each of it.

If you have to shoot video and photos in the same amount of time, that normally someone would just shoot photos, you're going to miss certain things with each media.

So, I think there's a balance that you must find. Maybe it's just a matter of allowing more time to shoot video or take audio. Otherwise, people are just going to put up mediocre multimedia pieces online.

I think people can tell when something is not good journalism. Even if they don't know all the technical words - or whatever words we use to describe it - they'll click on whatever else they've got on their computer screen.

I think the push is into making us into Renaissance peoples.

Here, design is not mandatory. We have classes here. My degree will be in journalism. I have to take a capstone course, which is a course - for example in photo - it'd be the last course you take, which is Advanced Photo 2, which is a photo story class.

Along the way, you can take design. You can take HTML or Flash, which you're encouraged to do. It's a matter of if you have time for that or not.

In my courses, I've taken HTML. I've taken design. I've taken reporting. A little bit of everything, but the crux of it has been photo.

If you have - like me for example - I'm doing photo, and that's what I want to do. A lot of teachers are very open to me adapting projects. For example, adapting a Web page to be geared toward photography. Layout's geared toward photography. It's a pretty good program in that respect.

What do you wish you had learned in college?

I wish I had learned multimedia - video, editing with Final Cut. I wish I had learned multimedia, but at the same time I wish I had learned the bare-bones basics that you could get at schools like Western or OU. That'd be great if I had a film class.

I feel like they have a lot of classes that really push you like you have to go to an event and just shoot one frame, and that's it.

Here, I would have liked to learn multimedia and some more basic photography. But, you've got to give something up. In this case, I would give up the darkroom classes because the combination of HTML, video, photos and audio is where this is going in some respect.

There will always be a place for photos and the printed page, but this is what's making people - students particularly - more marketable to any sort of publication or Web site.

I don't think I have very good business skills. I just started off doing this, and it was very fun, enjoyable, and I figured out I could get paid for it. At that point, your work is good, and people are willing to pay for it, but you don't really know how much it's worth. For that reason, people tend to take advantage of you.

A Business of Photojournalism class or of journalism would be invaluable to have. Yea, that would be great. Right now, I'm still trying to figure it out. People are always asking me - other people that come to forums like A Photo A Day - they're always asking, "I have this gig, what should I charge for it?"

There's all sorts of things like in terms of the rights they have and how long they can use the photos and all these little pieces of that - that I have no idea about.

Do you think it's important to freelance while you're in college?

I think it helps. It can't hurt obviously. Trying out all that stuff in college is important: internships and freelancing, touching on all the professional pieces.

What does it take to be successful in this profession?

Hard work, passion, also it's important to have a vision that's unique from everybody else's - a vision that makes you stand out. It makes you different from everybody else.

I see a lot of photographers that all seem to have either a style or subject matter or something that - you think of child marriage, and you think of Stephanie Sinclair. Something to make you unique is important.

I will, hopefully, figure one of these things out. I think that's one of the most important things - to have a vision and to have a subject matter or approach that is unique from other people.

There's so many good photographers coming into the field and are still going to be coming into the field that you need something to set you apart.

What have you discovered about the profession that you did not expect?

That it's such a tight-knit group of people. It's a pretty small community. There are lots of things like photo workshops, like Eddie Adams or seminars and list serves and blogs that bring all these people together. I didn't know it would be very helpful.

You can feel like you're not lost in a huge, huge crowd of photographers. You feel it's somewhat manageable. You can somewhat wrap your mind around it in some way. I know there are a lot of people that don't participate in that sort of thing. There's a lot of shooters abroad that I'm not even tapped into. I feel like it's a smaller community than I expected.

During internships?

I always expect something new in an internship. It's been different everywhere I've gone. It's been similar, but the people have been different in different places.

I expected a lot of things. I expected it to be high-paced, but still kind of laid back at the same time. I expected the standard to be pretty high, but that has evolved as I have evolved. As I've gotten better, the standard has gotten better at the places I've interned.

My first internship was for credit here at The Gainesville Sun. I expected the standard to be high there. After I've gone through the rounds, I went to the Monroe Evening News, The Deseret Morning News and The Rocky Mountain News.

After coming back, I can look back on that and say, "Wow. This is actually manageable." Those expectations I initially had were not quite as true as I thought them to be. Now, I can go into a newsroom and have some sort of comfort and confidence that I'm able to produce good work as well.

Is it important to be technically proficient?

Yea. That sort of thing stands out - especially at a newspaper. You caption and tone your photo and send it along, but there's so many tiers of people that look at it before it goes into the paper, so they're going to catch anything - any little mistake that you make. Be it in the caption or toning - if you take the blacks all the way down - they're going to notice those sorts of things.

Technically, yea, that's important. That's very important. They will come out in the paper the next day if you screw up. People maybe will not trust you as much or whatever the case may be.

You can't sharpen an out-of-focus photo to make it work. Having that frame the best it can be is important. You've got to have sharp photos.

It's something that, at first, you aren't quite into that, but then it's something you just expect. You expect it to be exposed right, in focus. Beyond that, once you can figure out those things, you can concentrate on vision and content and the things that are really, really important - telling the story.

How important is competition in the industry?

It's important within the industry as far as making a name for yourself, and people seem to notice that. If you have a Pulitzer, people are going to know that. They're going to look at you a different way because of that.

But, at the same time, I don't think that needs to drive people. It does drive some people, but other people stay humble, and they keep focused on the reasons they're doing it, which - I hope - aren't totally contest-driven. It differs for everybody.

I think it's important to get you there probably, but I don't think it should consume people. I don't think it should consume the photographer to the point where they forget about why they’re doing this.

How's the job market look for you and your peer group in general?

On the surface, it looks pretty bad. At the same time, I think there are a lot of options that people might not be looking at, or might not be noticed yet. Of course, we're going through a lot of change now. People are getting laid off left and right, but for people going into the market - if you want to get a newspaper job, it might be tough.

You're not going to get a job at The New York Times right away. I don't think that should discourage people, unless that's all you want to do.

There are a lot of other options, be it freelance work or multimedia work. It's tough for people - like myself - coming out of school. I think they should know what's happening, but they don't need to be afraid of it. I think there's a certain excitement to how things are changing. I think that there are a lot of options that are opening up that people might not recognize yet.

Multimedia is the main thing. Specifically, I don't know, it's growing a bit. A lot of people are creating these collectives. These groups of photographers that are all have a similar approach or similar message, but are all very different. I think a lot of people are banding together to deal with the issues the economy is facing. I think we will find a way out of it, or find a way to do what we want to do.

Otherwise, I guess maybe we'll look for other things. But, I don't think I want to do that right away.

It's important to keep an open mind and to push yourself, to keep at it. If I, at some point, run out of money, and I had to sell my cameras and live on the street, maybe I'd reconsider. But right now, it's not happening.

It's important to have an open mind - a malleable mind - be open to change and be open to doing something different like shooting video.

Anything to add?

This is just a very exciting thing to be doing. It cannot only help people - teach people - but, it can also allow you to experience things that many people have never experienced, or to see things the way that other people have never seen things.

It's a way to connect to people. I think being allowed into someone's life for however long it is - for a couple of minutes or a month or a year - I think that is enough to make me keep doing it. That's something that's not easily achieved.

If I wasn't doing this, I don't know that I would be seeking out the life of other people. I'm able to use this like a medium to get me into places and experience things and - in turn - translate that into a form that other people can experience. I find it very exciting and somewhat noble, and I find it honorable to be that messenger - that person that does that.

For people who are just getting into this, for people who want to do this, I'd say to keep doing it.

Enough for now,

Tim Hussin interview - Part B

© Tim Hussin

A Wildfire's Approach - Residents watch as firefighters make a fire line to stop a wildfire on Green Mountain on Monday, August 4, 2008. The fire, said to be started by lightning, approached many neighborhoods in the area causing mandatory evacuations but did not cause any property damage.

Please read Tim Hussin's biography, read Part A of this interview and see the images on his Web site.

Noah Rabinowitz stated, "This summer I remember Hussin talking about how much Preston Gannaway influenced him while he was interning at The Rocky. Why?"

I think he talks about that more than I do. She won the Pulitzer this year for Feature Photography and was just hired on The Rocky Mountain News staff. She got there a little before I did.

For me - and I think for Noah as well - she embodies that ability to be invisible. She captures these moments that are so genuine, so unique - even when she's not even spending too much time with a subject. She has this uncanny ability to do that.

Those that influence me, I don't really know that they're influencing me. I just see their work and appreciate it and go on with the daily grind shooting what I need to shoot. It must influence me in some way. How it does, I'm not really sure, but I know it does.

Working with her over the summer and seeing her daily work and how she produces wonderful image after wonderful image, it pushed me a lot during that summer to put my whole self into everything I shot to try to do that as well.

Do you "make" or "take" photos?

I like to think I "take" photos. I feel like I do my best when I capture things that are real moments that are actually happening without the presence of myself. Portraiture, illustration and things like that are not particularly my strengths.

I would say I'm more of a photographer who takes photos and tries to be in the right place at the right time and tries to capture whatever that subject is by capturing unique moments that happen.

Do you have a visual pet peeve?

I try not to. I try to be open to a lot of things. I don't particularly like clichés. There are a lot of clichés, like a kid on a swing, for example. Things that are easy to shoot for daily work, just to get something in the paper. That bugs me a little.

I know sometimes people have to do that, but more than that, I'm pretty open. I think there are some specific things - cutting off people's feet.

Some of your images have body parts entering the frame.

Yea. Some of them. There are some general things that you can go by. Like people say, "You have to learn the rules to break them." I'm not saying I know all the rules - I know a lot of them - but, you have to do it in a meaningful way.

Sometimes it isn't meaningful. I think a lot of things are becoming cliché like that - like cutting off body parts. I think, at the same time, it can add some aesthetics to an image that make it more complete or make it more visually interesting.

So, I'm open to using clichés, but at the same time I'm thoughtful when I do and the reasons that I do.

Most PJ's have a driving motivation. It underlies all their projects, stories and even single images. What's yours?

I might disagree. I think there are many reasons I do this. I think there probably is a overlying general motivation that I have and lots of parts to that.

With photojournalism, I have the ability to make a difference and reach a lot of people. I know that's possible.

It seems like it's the right thing to do. I think a lot of people - initially, before they're disenchanted with life - feel like they need to make a difference. They are happier with themselves and with their community if they feel like they're contributing something to that community.

I think that's the motivation for me, is to be able to contribute something to the community that I'm in - be a part of that community and not just stand on the side and take things for what they are, but find parts of that community that I think are important, and I think are good and could tell something to somebody else and present those to people within that community and elsewhere. Just say, "Hey, this is something you need to look at and consider, maybe take to heart."

I guess that's my motivation, but it's also a way for me to express myself. It's also a way for me to do something that's artistic and practical and meaningful - to not only me, but for other people. It also allows me to become a better person by experiencing more things, parts of people's lives that a lot of people wouldn't experience, unless it happened to themselves.

Maybe I feel that's the best way I can express myself. If I can't do it through my own words, maybe it's through my own eyes or through the words of other people.

Do you see your work as permanent?

No. It's always changing. The work I have done, it's going to be there. It's going to be representative of something that happened, but it's always evolving.

The daily effect you can have on people is important. You're creating this historical record, but you're also showing people something about that daily. You're showing them a viewpoint on that.

Do you want to influence behaviors of others?

No. That can be a result of what we do, but it's more about showing people a perspective that they might not have seen, or might make them wonder about what's important to them or what other people are going through.

What drives me? Maybe it's the thought that I can connect people to stuff that can bring their own lives into perspective.

What advice do you have for young photojournalists?

Right now - in this current time in photojournalism, because the market is very saturated with very talented, passionate photographers, who are really good at what they do - in order to do that and compete with that, you really have to make it a lifestyle more than a job.

In this case, you'd have to make it more than just going to class to go out there. You have to really want to do this to compete with that market. Really get into whatever you're doing.

It's important to think of it not only as a major, but as something that you will potentially do for the rest of your life. Something that - in order to do it for the rest of your life - you really need to put your whole self into it now and grow as quickly as possible. Reach out to people who you look up to.

How important was your education to your career and why?

It was important in getting me started. At UF we don't have a huge photo program. We only have two full-time professors and one visiting professor. So, it's a good launching pad for me to be introduced to the field. I did not know much about it before I came here.

What's made me grow most is internships. The majority of my growth has been through my own initiative - applying to internships repeatedly and getting turned down tons and tons of times but finally coming up with something and taking that opportunity to really push myself to take advantage of the opportunity and then come back here and work in class to do what I want to do - not just do the bare minimum, but do something meaningful to me and also reach out to my professors and treat that like a mentor relationship more than a teacher-student relationship.

The classes here are good, but there are schools like Ohio University and Western that are much bigger and better and more competitive. We don't really see it here. A lot of younger students don't see it here, but we're competing against that - we're competing with everybody in the nation. So, you really have to go the extra length to make it work.

Most of what I've learned has been achieved from internships.

How did you choose UF?

I'm from Florida. I'm from the Tampa area. It was free. I got scholarships, and we've got Bright Futures. It pays for tuition. Well, it's not entirely free. My parents had a Florida Prepaid Plan. Basically, they were putting money gradually ever since I was very young into an account for college. Florida has a couple of programs. Basically, I was able to get school for free.

So, that was - obviously - a motivating factor. My brother went here. I came here to study environmental science.

Growing up, I was always interested in taking photos. On family vacations, I was always the one with the camera. In high school, my sister gave me the camera that our grandfather gave her once he passed. That was when I first explored it a bit.

But, I had never taken it seriously until I got here. I started studying environmental science, and I got burned out on taking chemistry and biology and stuff I really wasn't interested in. So I thought about journalism.

I took an Intro to Journalism class, and it motivated me to explore it a bit further and eventually found that I was able to combine my interest in photography with something that was more practical. So, that's how I started. It took off from there.

I started shooting a bit for the school newspaper, and they hired me a little later. I just picked it up pretty quickly.

It's not like I popped out of the womb wanting to be a photojournalist. It kind of came to me and happened. I feel fortunate that I was able to find something that I truly love and that I'm somewhat good at.

When did you transition?

It was my second semester in college. I took a semester of environmental science - all kinds of science classes. The next semester, I took some of those classes as well, but I also took an Intro to Journalism class. That's where the professor - his name is Dr. William McKeen - he taught that class. He's very excited and very motivated. He makes you feel you can change the world and all these ideas.

I got motivated by him in that class. So I decided to take the next class, which is a writing class. Here, the photo program is part of the journalism program. It's not necessarily a four-year program. You have to take a couple of prerequisites before you can take the photo classes. One of those is a writing class.

You write a story a week in lab. I was taking photos on my own and trying to shoot for the school newspaper. Eventually that took off, and I ended up falling into the journalism photo classes and doing pretty well with this.

Please also see Part C of this interview.

Enough for now,

Tim Hussin interview - Part A

© Tim Hussin

Anarchy at the DNC - Pepper Wash - Amanda Hubbard of Denver has water poured over her eyes after she was pepper-sprayed by police.

Please read Tim Hussin's biography, and see the images on his Web site.

John MacDonald stated, "I actually think he's a ghost. His photos come off like he is invisible to his subject matter. Eerie and scary how good he is at this stage in his career. He's a PJ prodigy in my opinion. Good to see some strong recognition this early."

How do you get close to your subjects?

For one, I physically get close to my subjects. I tend to shoot more wide-angle photos. I really try to develop a rapport with the people I'm around when I'm shooting. It lends itself to being able to capture the more intimate moments that would seem like the photographer is invisible.

I've admired a lot of the shooters that are able to do that. Here and there I've come across them while interning at papers. I've always admired that ability to be invisible and have the ability to connect with the subjects to the point where you're able to show that intimacy to somebody else.

I guess that's the main thing. Being able to develop a relationship with the subject is important so they aren't constantly aware of you. Also, allowing yourself enough time to do this is very important.

If you spend enough time with a subject, eventually they'll forget you're there. That's when the pictures are made that really speak to the readers.

Do you plan to spend much time with your subjects?

Ideally I do. Most of my experience is with newspapers. You can't always spend a lot of time with subjects. I try to spend as much time as possible.

With projects, I've been able to spend more time with one family or one person to develop that intimacy.

With a lot of the assignments I've had - a lot of the singles in my portfolio - I haven't really had that much time. It's just a fleeting thing: a fire, a news assignment or whatever the case may be. In that case, I try not to make myself a huge presence in the places I go. I try to be low key. (I) take less camera gear or not being in someone's face constantly so I can blend in and capture these photos.

How does this work with wide-angle lenses?

You can't, but I try not to be so intrusive. I can be next to somebody, but not bother them - not let them know I'm constantly shooting their photo. Maybe it's a matter of not shooting a lot; maybe it's a matter of not trying to be so intrusive.

I do tend to shoot a lot. But, I'm conscious of how somebody is responding to me and how somebody is relating to me when I'm shooting them. I can feel whether it's going well or not going well. I try to make it the best possible situation for myself by being conscious of how a person feels all the time, and how they're reacting to me. In a lot of occasions, I - obviously - don't want them to react to me.

If they are reacting to me, I would step back for a second and give them time to get back into how they are reacting with their environment without me.

How long were you with the Brown family?

I spent about three weeks with them. I think the final frame might have been shot six days after the fire, but I spent more time with them. A couple of frames before were from after the fact.

Tell me about yourself.

I see myself as someone who still has a lot of growing to do. Most photographers, regardless of their talent level, I think everyone can constantly grow. I am in a spot where I have been fortunate enough to have a lot of reinforcement in what I am doing. I've had that to a point where I've been motivated to keep doing it and have been reassured that there is worth in what I'm doing, which is photojournalism story-telling.

I'm in a spot that's pretty exciting for me. I'm graduating in December. I'll be out on the market. It's exciting and kind of scary in the same respect because of how the market is right now.

I've had three internships at newspapers. Once I graduate, I'll take a break from that. I don't think I'm going to try to find a newspaper job - staff job - right away. I want to spend some more time doing documentary work, doing freelance work for magazines and Web sites and develop my multimedia storytelling as well. I've gotten into that a lot the past couple of internships.

I can really see the future in that. It does have a lot of potential and a lot of ability to advance our method of communicating stories to people.

I'm open to what is offered to me. But, as of now, I plan to work on more documentary projects. Although I haven't had the ability to really get into some serious projects, I think that's what I'm interested in pursuing for the next couple of years of my life. Just see where that can take me.

Have you looked at funding?

I've applied for a Fulbright Grant. I suppose that is the main issue. At the same time, I don't expect to live lavishly for the next couple of years. Now is the time when I don't have a family to support or a mortgage. I feel like now is the time I should take that opportunity to really dive into it. Take the little money I do have and put that toward what I really want to do with my life.

Right now, it's continuing telling stories that are meaningful to myself, and that I believe are meaningful to society. Telling stories that can connect people and can take people out of their comfort zone and show them something they've never seen before.

Domestic or international?

Both. Depending on what is offered to me, or what I can find. The Fulbright Grant, for example, I applied to one in Denmark. I'm interested in both.

The main thing for me is to concentrate on one thing that is important to me now and do that.

Right now, I have a lot of ideas, and I need to concentrate on something specific to do something that's powerful. I'm not sure what that is yet.

What is the purpose of your work?

I think the purpose of photojournalism is to connect people through sharing these stories. I think one of the things I see us doing is bringing people to a place that they've never been before and telling them something about it that's meaningful and can relate to their lives.

There are lots of ways to do that. One being the Web. We don't have the barriers of having to go through the newspaper or magazine to have our work seen. The Web has a lot of possibilities - most of which people are exploring. There's newspapers. There's also things like Media Storm that are really on the forefront of that multimedia revolution.

Submitting?

Not yet. I think that's a starting point to do a project like that - a serious documentary project with video and audio and music and put something together. Try to get it out there through the Web or even documentary filmmaking, which is another beast.

I think that's something I'm interested in pursuing. I don't know where the money is going to come for that.

Right now, I'm going to graduate. I tentatively have a gig at The Washington Post available to me and then the National Geographic thing, which is positive. It's what I have now.

I don't know. I could graduate and go straight to doing those things, or I could have a little bit of time to work on the stuff that I've been talking about.

But, I think a delivery system, sure, you could do it through newspapers, through Web sites like Media Storm, through many different nonprofits.

I've got a couple of things lined up, but after that - in the bigger scheme - I'm not sure. A lot of things are changing. I could also make some connections and talk to people in the not-so-distant future, who are getting into these things.

I'm not too worried.

Are you considering a masters degree?

No, not now. I feel like I'm done with school for now. I think that could be an option in the future. I'm ready to get out and do some work.

I have a lot of friends, who are (returning for masters degrees) too. (Ohio University) masters program - I have some friends that have gone from my program - University of Florida - right into there. I know that route too. It could be an option, but I feel like I need to explore and maybe go back after I've seen the options - if that seems like a good option for me.

Noah Rabinowitz asks, "Were you really drunk at the DNC?"

(Laughs) Is that from Noah? I didn't have time to drink at the DNC. I was up too much. I was drunk on not sleeping. And, by the way, Noah made up that name too.

Actually, we kind of came up with it together, but he's the only one that took it seriously for a second until I told him maybe we should change it to something else. We did a blog together. He was my roommate in Denver. He was interning at The Denver Post. I was at The Rocky Mountain News.

That was the name of a blog we came up with and put the alternative view of the DNC up, which got this semi-cult following for a little while.

Rabinowitz stated, "You are obviously pushing yourself not only as a still image maker but as a multimedia producer as well. What mixed media pieces have struck you as being especially effective recently? Why?"

Some of the best work I've seen is on Media Storm. It sets the standard in some ways. I think that works. It's been what I've looked at most as something I'd like to aspire to. I've a way to go, but I don't think it's impossible.

They pull together the audio, video, photos and graphics so it's seamless. I think that's something a lot of people struggle with is trying to connect these media to have them work together to tell a story.

I think there are some people, who are able to do that in a way that you don't flinch when it goes from stills to video or audio all mixed together to become one. I think that's what gives it it's power. Not only the beautiful image-making - the great seeing, the great photographer, the wonderful interviews and the music - but, how it's edited and put together to work as a cohesive piece.

Did you record audio separately or pull from video for the DNC piece?

All the audio was taken from the video. During the DNC, I was recording - I had a video camera and was shooting stills - so I shot a lot of video. At some points, if I needed just audio, I'd take the mic out of the camera bag and hit record and just shoot photos, but have the mic recording audio.

Please also see parts B and C of this interview.

Enough for now,

Tim Hussin - 2008 CPOY winner

Tim Hussin was born in Palm Harbor, Florida in 1985. He is currently a freelance photojournalist.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Photojournalism from the University of Florida. He has interned at The Rocky Mountain News, The Deseret Morning News, Monroe Evening News and The Gainesville Sun.

In 2008, he won the College Photographer of the Year and was a semi-finalist for the Hearst Journalism Awards. He has also won other awards from the CPOY, Hearst Journalism Awards Program, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), the Michigan Press Photographers Association (MPPA) and the Photo Imaging Education Association (PIEA). He is currently the 2008 NPPA student clip contest point leader.

He participated in a project about the sponge industry in the Bahamas as well as a Study Abroad project at an historic art house in Berlin, Germany. Recently, he covered the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo. and the separation of parents from children at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Eldorado, Texas.

Additional images can be seen on his blog, his Web site, and his Flickr stream.

Please read his interview parts A, B and C.


Enough for now,

Best PJ colleges and recruits 08

In 2005, 2006 and 2007 we tried to ascertain which colleges are best for PJ students. My answer is always the same:   The university doesn't make the best PJs. The best PJs make the most of their time at university.

This fact was proven when the College Photographers of the Year Casey Templeton and Rick Gershon were both lone wolves from their universities. Tim Hussin, the 2008 College Photographer of the Year, is also a lone wolf from the University of Florida.

We now have four years of data to show us benefit-for-investment trends at different universities. Let's use the information we have and draw a few conclusions.

When looking at the winners list, let's ignore who won gold, silver, bronze and honorable mention. Instead, we'll look at how many individuals from different universities got any awards. Of these winners, we'll eliminate the universities with only one winner (no matter how many awards were won) and eliminate the redundancies.

Again, what remains is a solid guess at the quality of the PJ education at different universities. If nothing else, it shows a consistent ability to teach students to shoot and select quality images for competition.

Here's the breakdown by number of individual students who won any awards at this year's CPOY:

2008 top award winning schools

13 (+1) - Ohio University
11 (+3) - Western Kentucky University
06 (+2) - San Francisco State University
05 (-2)- University of Missouri
04 (-2) - Brooks
04 (=) - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
03 (+1) - Syracuse University
02 (new) - Loyalist College
02 (new) - Southern Illinois University

Western Kentucky gained the most ground this year and picked up three. San Francisco State increased awards by a third. Ohio held the lead and increased its total by one. Syracuse also picked up one. The University of North Carolina was stable while the University of Missouri and Brooks both lost two.

Loyalist College and Southern Illinois University are new on the leader board this year while the University of Nebraska vanished.

As stated before, universities with strong programs draw strong students. These students are frequently as demanding on one another as they are on themselves. The top two PJ universities continue to impress. Both have remained at the top of the leader board for the last four years. This means their students are producing consistently high-quality work from year to year.

Meanwhile, one driven PJ can still take all the marbles without cohorts. Tim Hussin took the portfolio win. He also accumulated the most overall wins. What makes him so dangerous to other collegiate PJs is he accomplished this with still images and mixed media. Hussin's skills match what's happening on the pro side of this biz.

He won awards in Spot News, Feature, Domestic Picture Story, Still Image Audio Story, Video/Mixed Media Photo Story and Portfolio.

Unlike last year's multimedia dominance by Ohio and UNC, awards were won by many schools. Ohio University, University of Florida, University of Missouri, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Western Kentucky University all earned awards. This means these universities, have a grip on industry demands.

Best recruits
The College Photographer Of the Year is the shooter with the best portfolio. This system is similar to the Pictures Of the Year (POYi) awards. Meanwhile, the NPPA regional photographer of the year is determined by points. This point system shows consistent commitment to excellence and competition throughout the year.

Since it's not possible to give the same points because the NPPA student competitions are held quarterly (incidentally, Hussin is currently leading in those points as well by 150 points), we can use a different scoring system. We'll assess the following points:
6 - CPOY (Gold 4 + 2)
5 - CPOY runner up (Silver 3 + 2)
4 - Gold
3 - Silver
2 - Bronze
1 - Award of Excellence

Since we have four years of data now, we can crunch some numbers. Editors who get resume packages from these folks should take a serious look-see at the packages. These numbers indicate a consistent ability to perform at a high level in multiple categories over time.

Top 10 individuals from 2005 - 2008

20 - Matt Eich - Ohio University
20 - Andrew Henderson - Western Kentucky University
20 - Yoon Byun - Ohio University (Boston Globe)
18 - Tim Hussin - University of Florida
18 - Jenn Ackerman - Ohio University
18 - Tim Gruber - Ohio University
17 - Dominic Nahr - Ryerson University
16 - Travis Dove - Ohio University
16 - Carl Kiilsgaard - Western Kentucky University
16 - Daryl Peveto - Brooks Institute of Photography

The 2008 top three draft picks are:

18 - Tim Hussin - University of Florida
12 - Jenn Ackerman - Ohio University
9 - Andrew Burton - Syracuse University

The cumulative draft picks are:

20 - Matt Eich - Ohio University
18 (tie) - Tim Hussin - University of Florida
18 (tie) - Jenn Ackerman - Ohio University
18 (tie) - Tim Gruber - Ohio University

The folks still in college will drive up their numbers in the next few years. Those who graduated three years ago may not have done as well on this list as they would have if I had the whole data set. Nonetheless, the top 10 above are all strong recruits for newspapers and magazines. Of these, we again see Ohio continues to be the top school.

Enough for now,
 

The PJ quiz

Questions are linked to previous posts on this blog with appropriate answers. New questions are added daily during 2008.

Categories
A. Basic
B. Composition
C. How to...
D. Get a job
E. Business
F. Sports
G. Lighting
H. Writing
I. General PJ
J. Multimedia
K. Legal / Ethics
L. Applied PJ
M. AP pop quizes

Basic
Back to top

1. What's the difference between a photographer and a photojournalist?
2. What is the most common type of camera used by newspaper PJs? Why?
3. What three camera variables can adjust exposure values?
4. What are the three minimum requirements of most successful photographs?
5. What's an ISO?
6. What is the average start-up costs for a beginning PJ?
7. What's the minimum shutter speed a PJ should use with an 80~200mm zoom lens?
8. What determines an image's sharpness?
(This question has a general and a specific answer.)
9. What happened to the delivery speed of PJ work during the last 10 years?
10. From a PJ's position, what angle and direction should a shadow lay for most assignments?
11. What does a PJ see through the viewfinder when s/he squeezes the shutter release button?
12. What does a tripod prevent?
13. What's depth of field?
14. What's the most important part of a camera system?
15. What is a stringer?
16. What are four of the eight major fields of photography?
17. Which type of light meter reading is most accurate?
18. What is composition?
19. Who is responsible for the actions of a photographer?
20. What is one of the easiest and cheapest pieces of equipment to improve image quality?
21. What functions does a flash card wallet perform?
22. What does the golden ratio determine?
23. What is a cutline?
24. Which university is currently considered the best for photojournalists? Why?
25. What is a clean image?
26. What is the dynamic range?
27. What causes red eye?
28. What is a photograph's skeletal structure?
29. How do PJs define tangents?
30. What is a critique?
31. Where is the plane of focus located?

Composition
Back to top
32. What is composition?
33. What does it mean to shoot "full frame"?
34. Of the four dimensions, which two can't be captured with a still photograph?
35. What compositional device holds an image together on a printed page?

How to...
Back to top
61. What should PJs do before dramatic weather changes?

Get a job
Back to top
92. Are elected officials or PJs subjected to the most thorough background checks?

Business
Back to top
122. In what two ways does "A penny saved is a penny earned" affect a PJ's business?
123. Why should business cards be thermographically printed?

Sports
Back to top
153. What should be the first shots taken at any sporting event?

Lighting
Back to top
183. What are the Kelvin-degree color temperatures of daylight and tungsten light?

Writing
Back to top
214.

General PJ
Back to top
244. Why is photography considered the most powerful form of communication?
245. What sells newspapers?
246. Before charging off to breaking news, what should a PJ do?
247.When it comes to PJ, what is the primary concern of a publisher or assignment editor?

Multimedia
Back to top
275. What is the difference between a "photo clump" and a photo story?

Legal / Ethics
Back to top
305. Who is considered "press" or "media" in America?
306. The U.S. government can close a U.S. newspaper only if it does what?
307. How does the Fairness Doctrine and Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1937 apply to a PJ's coverage of elections?

Applied PJ
Back to top
336. Why would PJs make more than one portrait of a single subject?

Deadline pop quizzes
Back to top

Where in the AP Stylebook can a journalist find the guidelines to write the following?

1. The name of military educational institutions and its students?
2. The title of a clergy member?
3. The type of gun used in news stories?
4. The name, personal pronouns and capitalization for dogs?
5. The correct way to write the ranks of all soldiers, sailors and airmen?

Enough for now,

Ask Travis Dove a question

Travis Dove, this year's College Photographer of the Year, has agreed to an interview. This is your opportunity to look at his work and ask pertinent questions. Please see his biography.

Please leave questions in the comments section of this post or E-Mail them to me before Sunday for inclusion in the interview. Please include your name, city and blog address for inclusion with the questions.
 

Best PJ colleges and recruits 07

In 2005 and 2006 we tried to ascertain which colleges are best for PJ students. My answer is always the same:   The university doesn't make the best PJs. The best PJs make the most of their time at university.

For two years, this fact was proven when the College Photographers of the Year (Casey Templeton and Rick Gershon) were both lone wolves from their universities.

Last year's winner, Matt Eich, is from Ohio, the consistently top-rated (cumulative) university. Travis Dove, this year's winner, is also from Ohio University.

We now have three years of data to show us benefit-for-investment trends at different universities. Let's use the information we have and draw a few conclusions.

When looking at the winners list, let's ignore who won gold, silver, bronze and honorable mention. Instead, we'll look at how many individuals from different universities got any awards. Of these winners, we'll eliminate the universities with only one winner (no matter how many awards were won) and eliminate the redundancies.

Again, what remains is a solid guess at the quality of the PJ education at different universities. If nothing else, it shows a consistent ability to teach students to shoot and select quality images for competition.

There were additional multi-media categories introduced this year, so there are more awards to win and more data for our use.

Here's the breakdown by number of individual students who won any awards at this year's CPOY:

12 - Ohio University
08 - Western Kentucky University
07 - University of Missouri
06 - Brooks Institute of Photography
04 - San Francisco State University
04 - UNC Chapel Hill
02 - University of Nebraska
02 - Syracuse University

Although there are more awards this year, Ohio slipped by one. Western Kentucky gained one. Missouri gained two. Brooks slipped by one. San Francisco State doubled their wins. UNC Chapel Hill returned to the leader board; however, half of their wins are group entries. Nebraska held steady with two and Syracuse made it onto the leader board.

As stated before, universities with strong programs draw strong students. These students are frequently as demanding on one another as they are on themselves. The top four PJ universities continue to impress. All four have remained at the top of the leader board for the last three years. This means their students are producing consistently high-quality work from year to year.

Meanwhile, one driven PJ can still take all the marbles without cohorts. For instance, Dominic Nahr of Ryerson University kicked some major rump. Not only did he win CPOY Runner-up, he also took a Gold, Silver, two Bronzes and an Award of Excellence. Get down you funky Canadian.

With the introduction of multi-media categories this year, CPOY is positioning itself to match what's happening on the pro side of this biz. Other than a Gold to Jeff Giraldo of Western Kentucky University, Ohio and UNC swept the awards. This means these two universities, or at least their students, have a grip on industry demands.

Best recruits
The College Photographer Of the Year is the shooter with the best portfolio. This system is similar to the Pictures Of the Year (POYi) awards. Meanwhile, the NPPA regional photographer of the year is determined by points. This point system shows consistent commitment to excellence and competition throughout the year.

Since it's not possible to give the same points because the NPPA student competitions are held quarterly, we can use a different scoring system. We'll assess the following points:
6 - CPOY (Gold 4 + 2)
5 - CPOY runner up (Silver 3 + 2)
4 - Gold
3 - Silver
2 - Bronze
1 - Award of Excellence

Since we have three years of data now, we can crunch some numbers. Editors who get resume packages from these folks should take a serious look-see at the packages. These numbers indicate a consistent ability to perform at a high level in multiple categories over time.

20 - Andrew Henderson - Western Kentucky University
20 - Yoon Byun - Ohio University (Boston Globe)
18 - Matt Eich - Ohio University
18 - Dominic Nahr - Ryerson University
16 - Travis Dove - Ohio University
14 - Benjamin Reed - University of Missouri
14 - Tim Gruber - Ohio University
12 - Chris Detrick - U. of Missouri (Salt Lake Tribune)
11 - Casey Templeton - James Madison University
11 - Matt Mallams - Brooks Institute of Photography

This year's top three draft picks are:

16 - Travis Dove - Ohio University
14 - Dominic Nahr - Ryerson University
12 - Tim Gruber - Ohio University

I expect the folks who are still in college will drive up their numbers in the next few years. The folks who graduated two years ago may not have done as well as they would have if I had the whole data set. Nonetheless, the top 10 above are all strong recruits for newspapers and magazines. Of these, we again see Ohio as the top school.

Enough for now,

Please see the 2008 update.
 

CPOY deadline this Friday

In case anyone needs a reminder, the CPOY deadline is this Friday.

October 05, 2007
College Photographer of the Year deadline
Contact: Rita Reed, CPOY director
Lee Hills Hall, University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia MO 65211
Phone: 573.884.2188
E-mail: info@cpoy.org
Web: www.cpoy.org
The competition is open to undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in any college or university worldwide for at least one semester within the last year.
Student PJs who have worked more than two years as a pro (including internships) are ineligible.
This competition is completely digital now. Only online entries are accepted. College advisors are contacted via e-mail to verify eligibility.
Please read the interviews with previous award winners for help and/or inspiration.
Annual.
 

High school research paper answers

Last time I answered collegiate questions. This time, I answered an e-mail from a junior high student. These questions fill in some gaps for the Frequently Asked Questions section. The posts listed there should provide all the answers for almost any research paper. Students can use the information as direct quotes because I'd just copy and paste the answers. :-)

What was your first job as a photojournalist?

After I graduated from college, I had no job. I didn't know how to get a PJ job or stringer gigs. I had been Editor of an independent student newspaper. Before that, I was a news editor, PJ and reporter.

I could write, shoot, edit, layout pages, operate a process camera (for a printing press) and I had a few photo and writing awards. I could process B&W film in my car. I also had my own fully-operational, archival B&W lab at home. However, I didn't know anything about the biz.

So, I pulled out the phonebook and started calling every newspaper, magazine, wire service and book publisher within seven counties of Dallas. I combed through the classified ads and NPPA job bank.

I simply wanted work as a PJ. I wouldn't settle for less.

I was lucky with one of the first calls. The Richardson News happened to have a reporter whose son was also a photographer from my university. She hooked me up with the Editor.

I showed my prints and collegiate clips and got my first freelance assignment to shoot the cover of a weekend guide (even small papers had them then). I got paid $25 for the shoot and $5 for each image they ran. They also reimbursed my film.

It eventually turned into a full-time job five months later, but those were some mighty lean five months. I worked any camera job I could find. One gig paid a whopping $10 per published shot plus expenses (printed in my own darkroom on deadline).

However, I refused to give up. With each new client, my work was seen by other publishers. I also kept knocking on doors. By October, I had enough clients to drop the low-paying gigs. The higher-paying gigs kept me busy enough to continue shooting.

By November, I was earning enough to survive, but I worked 20-hour days each day of the week. So, a low-paying staff job with insurance and a chance at any days off looked like heaven.

Aside from the likes/dislikes test you described on your blog, what was the most important influence on your decision to become a photographer?

The test was it.

I had a good job as a corporate collector for General Electric Capital at the time. I was earning more money in 1990 without a degree than I do now. So, it didn't matter which degree I got.

If you haven't guessed, I like competition. That's what hooked me with journalism. It's fiercely competitive. Even in college, my classmates were trying to be better than other colleges and professionals. So, I was hooked.

What was your first major accomplishment as a photographer?

As mentioned above, not starving to death. :-)

The first really significant (pro) event was the Moore, Okla. tornado. The town was completely flattened by the biggest tornado in recorded history. Although it was my day off, I covered it because I wanted to let our readers know how to best help those affected.

I borrowed a dependable car and spent the day shooting and talking to folks. Access was difficult. I talked to anyone who would give me time. I drove back the same night, caught two hours sleep and pulled together two pages of stories, sidebars and photos.

Our community stepped up and sent the items the residents requested. Instead of blankets and old clothes, a semi-trailer full of tools, lumber, chainsaws, work gloves, generators and medicine (including tetanus shots) was collected and sent to Moore. I could tell my work paid off and people were going to get what they actually needed to start rebuilding.

Do you have a most memorable photograph? What was it/why?

There were a few times when I was crying or laughing too hard to press the shutter release. A few images have won awards. Those are memorable because they allowed my work some recognition.

The ones I tend to think are my best are those which create some domino effect to get help for deserving people in need.

I don't have one image that meets all three criteria. So, I'd say this image is memorable because it got help flowing to Hurricane Katrina victims. This image (1st image ) is memorable because it's become the face of Hurricane Rita. Texans rolled up their sleeves and got to work rebuilding after the hurricane. They were damaged, but determined.

What do you feel is the most rewarding aspect of your job/are you happy with your decision to become a photojournalist?

Obviously, I like to help people. Sometimes we help after unexpected disasters. Sometimes we simply let readers know what's happening around town so their dates don't become disasters. :-)

I'm satisfied with my decision to be a PJ. The personal cost has been high, but I'd pay the price again. I have no regrets.

Could you describe a normal day as a PJ?

I've been at all three levels of this biz. Each has its own stresses and chaos. I feel most comfortable in my current job because there's an editorial cushion (other shooters and wire photos). Meanwhile, it's the top daily newspaper in its circulation class in one of the most competitive states.

I'm the mid-shift (11 a.m. to 8 p.m.). This means I might cover a morning or night shift for other shooters if needed. For this example, we'll say this is regularly-scheduled shift:

8:30 a.m.
Wake up, get coffee.

8:30 - 10 a.m.
Answer urgent e-mails. Get more coffee. Check the newspaper's Web site and possibly browse other local and national news to have an idea what's happening and develop some back-up plans if news is slow. Get more coffee.

10 - 11 a.m.
Prepare for work, commute to work.

11 a.m.
Care to guess what I do first at work?

Yup, get more coffee. Pick up assignments. Handle any immediate-need paperwork issues at the office. Check my work e-mail and finalize any plans for the day's shoots. Often, assignments are "pending" based upon some other action. These must be resolved to either be dropped or assigned.

Then, the day becomes unpredictable. If everyone behaves themselves, I'll have two or three assignments. I shoot them, turn them out, do my archive work and go home.

If someone happens to kill someone else or something explodes, the day becomes a little more stressful. Other days are completely dead, and I must find images.

This is when the morning time on the Net helps. If I know what's happening, I can find a local angle for national stories. I also keep a second blog of upcoming and regularly-scheduled events to get ideas for instant filler images.

Lately, I've been too busy to update my other blog. Consequently, my options are severely limited. Hopefully I'll get a chance to update it soon.

If something goes crazy, I must shoot it and immediately turn it out (tone, caption, transmit) for the Web and Page 1 layout. If it's a quiet day, I can shoot all my assignments and turn them out before the 9:30 deadline.

If I'm close to the deadline or travel is distant, I'll transmit from location. If I have time, I'll do it in the office.

On any given day, I can be up to 400 miles away from the office. If I'm going more than this distance, I'll typically have at least one day's warning, Then, I have the option to stay overnight in the other location.

Once I've finished my day, I come home and talk with my wife - if she's still awake. If not, I'll get some food (I eat once each day). Then - you guessed it - get coffee and check my e-mails.

If I make it home by 10 p.m., I watch "The Daily Show." After Jon Stewart, I'll prepare the night's blog entry and have some mind candy (play solitaire or Dynomite) for about 30 minutes. Then, I work on longer blog entries, answer complicated e-mails, update my other blog (locate and include future events), surf other sites for inspiration and info, research story ideas and try to learn something new each day.

When I can't see the computer clearly or the sun rises, I'll crash for a few hours and start all over again. I'm older now, so I try to sleep at least four hours each night. When I was younger, I tried to sleep at least two hours. In college, I would go from Sunday to Wednesday morning without sleep each week. I'd sleep two hours on Thursday and Friday. I'd crash hard on the weekends.

I do freelance assignments as well. I schedule them for my days off, take vacation days or try to work both into work days. I work on art and stock photo projects on days off.

Has digital photography altered/changed your photography style?

Not really. I tend to shoot with less depth-of-field because I never know if there's trash on the CCD. I like to shoot at f/16, but it's not worth risking the consequence if I don't need to do so.

Do you believe that photography can be considered a form of art?

Yes. Although the same tools are used, the end results and the underlying businesses aren't the same. When I'm a PJ, I wear my PJ hat and shoot PJ images. When I'm an "artist," I shoot differently.

This doesn't mean they aren't one-in-the-same. It only means I prefer to create extremely complex images as my "art." I've won art competitions with my news images, and I've won news competitions (illustration) with my art.

Do you travel a lot?

Not at my first job. Since then, I've averaged around 200 miles of travel per day for the last seven years. Many days, I only go 30 or 50 miles. Other days I could go 800 miles round trip for a shoot.

A few times each year I'll need to stay in another city. But, I love my wife dearly, and I'd like to see her every few days if I can. Some shooters can literally be in foreign countries every day of the year if that's their desire (and shooting/logistical ability).

How long have you been interested in photography?

When I was in the Army, I learned how valuable images were to me. Soldiers can't keep much. So, we keep small items. I valued photos I'd get from home. These kept me up-to-date with changes.

I'd send them point-and-shoot prints of my life as well.

However, I never had a decent camera until after I decided to become a PJ. I didn't know what I needed when I started down this road. I signed up for a class, read the syllabus and went to a pawn shop to get the most for the least. I was lucky and found what I needed to get started.

What advice would you give a high school student who is interested in pursuing photography, PJ specifically, as a career?

Smile a lot and learn to love light.

I'm saying this because the advice below is not as happy.

This is a really cool job, but it comes with a heavy burden. Many PJs have one or more ex-spouses. Many lose all their friends. Many have financial problems their entire career. Some die.

Don't settle for anything less than the best from yourself. Research your competition and become better than them. This is a highly competitive field. If you aren't ready for this reality, you're not going to make it. There's no lack of talented, dedicated, unemployed PJs. They want any job just as much as a new college grad. However, they have pro experience and pro awards on their resume.

When I was in college, the Internet was new. It didn't have the information or capacity it has now. This availability of information is both good and bad. Now (the good), students can use it as a learning tool to get an edge over their competition. However (the bad), your competition is using it too.

Don't waste your time. Use your time wisely to learn everything you can about your craft and the world around you. Then, help your peers learn.

If you give your peers all your knowledge, you must continue to learn and grow to become better. When you need info, ask your peers. This process forces innovation and creativity to remain competitive and valid in today's marketplace.

Become a professional now. As soon as you have mastered focus, exposure and timing, you should start earning money with your images. Otherwise, the learning curve is steep and dangerous. It's easy to starve to death. It's hard to learn this business and avoid starvation.

Reinvest your profits into your equipment to get higher paying gigs and be more marketable. Get the gigs, and buy a decent camera, lenses and laptop. This makes you mobile, agile and marketable.

With the current market trends, learn as much as you can about video and sound. It's very likely most daily newspapers won't be using still cameras within five years. However, get the skills now with the still camera because it can still put food in the fridge.

Shoot, compete and select your internships wisely. Aim high and don't look down. If you're completely comfortable with the level of work you're accomplishing, you're not pushing yourself hard enough.

Take the ethical high ground. You may get beaten by a cheater, but I'd rather lose to a cheater than win through deception.

Above all, be flexible and look for opportunities. There are no "normal" days.

There are a lot of set-backs in this profession. Each time something goes wrong, look for "the best" in it. Understand and try to live the "pony parable." If you look for the ponies, you'll find them. Good luck with your search.

Enough for now,

Consider PJ's future

During April and early May each year I typically get a barrage of research paper requests. Most students want answers to the same 20 questions all teachers require. Occasionally, I'll get thought-provoking questions. I thought others might also benefit from the answers.

Tonight's answers went to a Harvard University senior.

How has technology changed the industry most significantly in the past 10 years?

The most obvious change is speed of delivery. Ten years ago, speed equated to horsepower in our cars and ability to avoid police. Then, speed was a matter of minutes.

Now, images are delivered via wireless broadband and FM signals at rates unimaginable 15 years ago. We can literally plop down on a mountaintop and deliver images within seconds to any location on the globe. Speed is now measured in fractions of seconds.

This is caused by two marketplace forces:   cable TV news and the Internet.

Previously, newspapers needed an entirely new product each day. Now, we need a partially new product at least each 15 minutes. Ten seconds would be better, but (thankfully) we're not there yet.

The pressure to immediately deliver news came from television and specifically cable networks such as CNN. Because they were able to deliver headline information throughout the day, the audience changed its demands.

This trend initially impacted broadcast TVPJs. Now, still PJs and VJs must deliver "on the fly" as well.

Newspaper readers still depended on newspapers to thoughtfully and methodically examine news and acquire original, authoritative content. Ironically, television outlets also depended on this process for their news. "Breaking news" has to initially come from somewhere.

Traditionally, newspapers broke the information on the wires and TV news broadcasters read the information in a stuffy studio. In the last 25 years, TV outlets have evolved into fast reaction forces to provide information for the 24-hour news broadcast networks. This also allows them to relocate and capture news as it happens.

Advertisers don't particularly care about how thoughtful or meaningful information is. They must get their message to the most people with the least effort and expense. While print media remains the most powerful advertising avenue. Cable television provides a large (semi-captive) audience and relatively low expenses per viewer.

Simultaneously, Internet throughput speeds have soared to amazing rates. The original ability to move a business document across the country at 9,000 bits per second made businesses more agile and reduced costs.

Soon, throughput will be measured in hundreds of gigabytes per second. This allows broadband delivery of high-quality audio and video at faster-than-real-time speeds.

The Internet allowed advertisers to capture a specific audience for little to no expense. This seriously damaged newspaper classified advertising. As time has been compressed from minutes to fractions of a second, classified advertising was reduced from thousands of dollars to fractions of a penny for advertisers.

Essentially, newspapers were forced to speed their delivery cycle by television while having their financial legs removed by online forces such as E-bay, Amazon and thousands of similar Web sites.

Most newspapers have reacted appropriately although slowly. To compete for advertising income against both television and online sources, newspapers have invested in online technologies. Although display advertising has been reluctant to move online, YouTube and other online audio-visual outlets are currently in the process of changing the marketplace again.

Years of financial warfare has taken its toll on the newspaper industry. Many inefficient and overburdened newspapers have failed and fallen in the last 25 years. However, news acquisition as a profession continues to attract some of the brightest and most inquisitive young minds. Intellectual resources have traditionally been the newspaper industry's strongest asset.

Now, newspapers are positioned to deliver high-definition news and advertising via video over the Internet at speeds and quality surpassing real-time television. Meanwhile they remain the primary authoritative voice for local and regional information and analysis.

Organizations with newspaper assets that have vision and tenacity are prepared and possess the technology to take back some of what has been lost over the last 25 years. However, the product itself no longer resembles its original format.

A modern journalist is individually prepared to deliver meaningful audio and video of breaking news in real-time as well as thoughtful analysis on slower-moving issues. The information determines the method of delivery (written, audio or visual).

Predictable income, traditional access and legal protections are persistent problems for individual journalists. This is good for the newspaper industry. They can provide these three assets to qualified journalists who aren't prepared to "go it alone."

Obviously, media organizations must compete for these highly-qualified, multi-media journalists.

Through the Internet, these Renaissance journalists are developing a personal audience beyond the scope of the larger media outlet. If organizations don't equip and reward these specialists appropriately, they'll lose the resources and an individual journalist's audience. Moreover, these journalists have the potential to become powerful competitors in the same market.

If this trend continues, audience share could be measured as an aggregate of the individual Renaissance journalists and their individual audiences within an organization. Fifteen or 20 such Renaissance journalists could join forces to provide legal protection, combined authority (for access), predictable income and insurance for the unit.

They could take with them their core audiences and have the ability to successfully compete directly against the organizations they feel did not support them appropriately in the past. Meanwhile, the business model for such organizations is far more profitable than traditional print media.

As PF Bentley recently warned publishers and editors, "The videographers are your future income and the only hope you have to save the "paper." I'd take very good care of them."

Can anyone be a photojournalist given these new technologies?

I won't discourage anyone from trying.

A photojournalist is a degreed professional. We tell accurate, meaningful stories with our vision. This isn't something a 4-year-old with a point-and-shoot can accomplish. Just as a butter knife doesn't make a surgeon, the recording device doesn't make a pro PJ.

It takes years of training to understand the legal, ethical and financial requirements of this job. This also requires the trust and loyalty of our readers/viewers. If anything, it's becoming more difficult to acquire such volumes of information while simultaneously delivering solid news content.

A PJ's week is packed with physically and mentally demanding news assignments, research, professional education as well as the day-to-day business requirements (meetings, paperwork, e-mails and phone calls). Many also shoot freelance assignments while seeking additional advanced degrees.

Endurance, dedication and tenacity are required skills.

If this question is meant to imply "any monkey can do it," I disagree.

Have these changes forced photojournalists to become better business people, more savvy self-promoters?

Luckily, I work for a huge, privately-owned corporation. This means real profit - rather than whimsical share prices - determine how many employees keep jobs.

Otherwise, PJs have no choice but to embrace solid business practices. The luxury of corporate security evaporated decades ago. The greed of some individuals within the publicly-traded side of the industry has lead to an industry where individual workers are seen as variables within a money-generating structure. In other words, many PJs are viewed as expendable.

This has forced PJs to diversify to such a level that we acquire our own audiences independently of any corporate structure. Instead of relaxing and recuperating after a demanding day, we seek additional freelance clients and outlets for our work.

Many PJs work on advanced degrees while exploring alternative routes for our work (editorial, art, commercial, stock, etc.). PJs must have multiple survival and exit strategies because we simply can't trust the marketplace dynamics and those who have little regard for the long-term ramifications of their short-term, greed-motivated actions.

PJs are in this business for our readers and our readers only. We do what it takes to get stories to readers while ensuring our own survival. After being treated as replaceable variables by corporations, many PJs now view these same corporations as variables rather than retirement communities.

As mentioned above. Renaissance journalists are emerging. These journalists must step away from their artistic inclinations and understand the marketplace realities or choose another industry.

Where do you see the industry in 10 years?

Basically, I see individual journalists using multiple means to deliver information to an individual audience and to the larger general audience through media interconnectivity.

Advertisers, needing to get their message to potential clients, will learn to patronize highly-qualified individual Renaissance journalists capable of creating loyal audiences.

Groups of Renaissance journalists will join forces to initially ensure survival, cut bureaucratic expenses and eventually provide a secure environment to deliver meaningful information while nurturing younger journalists capable of achieving this level of discipline and endurance.

A large part of this vision relies on interaction between journalists and their individual audiences as well as their direction of specialization. Audiences will interact directly with journalists. This two-way flow of information gets information and access to these journalists.

This trend should also expand into the larger, traditional media outlets, who will employ those not willing or capable of venturing into these independent ventures. However, these journalists will eventually realize their own value and demand adequate compensation.

The actual delivery method within 10 years is unknown. I personally thought biodegradable CDs would replace print newspapers by now. I didn't expect podcasts to exist. So I certainly didn't expect A/V podcasts 10 years ago. It's a better option than I originally considered because the entire circulation department is eliminated from the news equation while increasing journalist's contact time with viewers.

Circulation and printing departments remain at traditional newspapers as part of the overall business structure, but these departments become less dependent on the newsroom and must create new sources of revenue to survive. This is healthy for the industry.

While the current trend is toward "live" and "it'll do," I think a measured, refined approach is the hallmark of quality journalism. Information overload has increased the value of those who are able to sift through the mud and find the true diamonds. Audiences and advertisers will follow journalists with the ability to consistently deliver a quality product.

Enough for now,