I can't believe she did that

Being a photojournalist, my job is to capture life's moments. Those might be the good, the bad, the ugly and sometimes, the bizarre. While assigned to document Port Orchard's annual Fathom O' Fun's Frog jumping contest, one of the best shots of the day I took was the Queen planting a kiss on the winning frog. As she gently, but firmly held it in her hands, puckered up and planted one on tip of the frog's nose, I pressed the shutter button, that captured in one instant, a photo that she'll be remembered by for the rest of her life.

While looking at the images afterwards, I thought, “I can’t believe she did that, what a bizarre photograph.”

Sometimes, you just have to stop

While on my way home from shooting the West District 2 Big League (16-19 year olds) Championship baseball game in Silverdale I happened to crest a hill and lo and behold I saw the crescent moonset over the Olympic Mountains. Didn't take too much effort for me to think twice about stopping in a nearby parking lot. Pulling out the tripod, attach a shutter release to one of my MK II's with a 300mm f2.8 lens attached. I set the camera on manual, f-stop at f4.0, and used a variety of shutter speeds, ranging from 30th of second to one second exposures and capture this beautiful moment. Granted, it was a long week covering 20 baseball games in six days and I was wanting to get home. Even through I was hot, tired and hungry, I'm glad that I stopped, and took the time to capture this unique photo. I believe the end result was worthwhile. So enjoy the photo.

Having a gift of the gab doesn't hurt at all

I love taking personality portraits that go beyond just photographing a face that shows some interesting aspect of the subject’s character or personality.

My wife, Amy, has mentioned throughout the years that I can be embarrassing when out in public taking pictures. “How can you walk up to a perfect stranger, talk to them like you’ve known them for years and then get a picture?”

I don’t know, maybe I’m one of those photographers who have a special knack for setting my subjects at ease with a gift of the gab. But, mostly, it takes, experience, being very perceptive and extremely stubborn. When I want to make a picture of an interesting person, I don’t care how long it might take. Once, while trying to take a portrait of a carnival worker, he asked why I wanted to take a picture of him? “You have an interesting face”, I replied. Still, he refused, so I hung around talking, asking him about the life of a carnival worker, some of the towns he’s visited and how long he’s been a ride operator. Soon, kids started lining up to ride, as he started taking tickets, he asked, “You’re not gonna leave here until you take my picture are you? I smiled, and said, “I’ve got all day” and like I said, “you have an interesting face.”

“What the hell, take my picture!”, he snapped back, stuck the cigar in his mouth and glared at me.

My favorite technique is moving in with my 70-200mm lens for a close-up to ensure a strong center of interest and simple composition. One of the things I try to do is capture the subject’s character and emotional appeal.

In order to produce a good personality portrait, especially when dealing with those subjects who don’t want their pictures taken, a photographer must be part psychologist and part interviewer. To me, this shows the subject that you are interested in them, not as just a subject, but a human. Sooner or later, if they are busy, they’ll give in and allow a photo to be made. Besides, having that gift of the gab, doesn’t hurt at all either. Being a photojournalist, it’s our job to return with a
grabber shot…the one that tells the story or captures the character of someone.

"Just go out and shoot pretty pictures!"

While working at the Florida Times-Union, a former picture editor, Charles Kogod, offered me a bit of advice one slow news day. “Jim, just go out and shoot some pretty pictures!” Being a news photographer, I didn’t think that pretty pictorial or scenic could also go into the paper as a weather feature. Kogod knew what he was doing nurturing and developing photographers as The Director of Illustrations for National Geographic Books for many years. Now, he photographs, teaches and edits. http://www.charleskogod.com/

Sitting on the back deck, reading a book, I noticed a huge, white billowing cloud formation rising up from the easterly direction. Gabbing my cameras, our dog, Toshio, started to jump and dance around me as he’s always up for a good walk, We jumped in to the car and headed off to Manchester Dock to take pictures of the magnificent cloud over Seattle.

To this very day, almost 30 years later, I still take Charles’ advice to heart and go out to shoot pretty pictures. One this day, my instincts paid off and I was rewarded with an unusual weather feature.

“You should have been there 45 minutes ago”

While attending Syracuse University a professor opened my eyes to one of the most important aspects when covering news events.

Being in a classroom full of photographers the discussion most of the talk was of cameras, lenses, and angles, but it came down to one word, “curiosity.”

You should look beyond the actual event and look for a photo that’s more compelling with emotion.

Upon reading an article about an upcoming public funeral services for the first solder from our area to be killed in Iraq, I called the church, spoke to the event coordinator asking what ground rules were set up for press coverage during the mass.

She mention that a Rosary would be held about a hour before the mass and it might make for a more interesting photos because the casket would be draped with the United State Flag instead of a white cloth.

I like to get to events early so that I can scout out the area and find places that afford a nice clean background or where better pictures would be made from other than an area reserved for photographers.

Also, I wanted to be unobtrusive and show compassion for the mourning family, friends and particularly for the wife he left behind. By staying back far enough away, using a long lens, I was able to capture a photo that still had emotional impact and told the story.

Having arrived for the Rosary, before the other local papers
and the TV crews, I was able to capture a picture of

Michele Bunda as she touched the flag-draped coffin of her late husband Staff Sgt. Christopher Bunda during the Rosary before Mass at the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Bremerton.

After the Rosary, the flag was ceremoniously removed and folded by the Army’s honor guard and was replaced with plain white cloth. As I was standing there previewing the images in my camera, the local newspaper photographer, who had just showed up, approached and while showing him the scene that was just captured 10 minutes earlier. He said, “That’s the picture”,, looking at the photos on my camera, the one scene pictured of the widow touching the flag draped casket and asked when was this taken?

I told him all about my curiosity, the phone call and of being told to come earlier than the Mass.

Sure, equipment, knowledge, experience, sensitivity, thought, persistence and instinct all played part key parts in helping me to capture an image no other photographer did. But I like to think that “curiosity” of never having covered a Mass, led me to place a photo call that yielded one important piece of information about the Rosary, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been about to get a picture no body else recorded.

“Help me Mr. Wizard!”

“Help me Mr. Wizard!”

Have you ever been stuck in an embarrassing situation where you just wish that Scotty could beam you up out of there or get a little help from Mr. Wizard?

While driving around looking for a feature picture on a slow news day a police call came across the scanner concerning a man perched up in a tree with a rifle near an elementary school. There’s nothing like the possibility of getting a sport news photograph that get’s one adrenalin flowing. Arriving near the address, I was stopped a deputy, whose car was blocking access to the scene. After a few minutes, he told me it was not a guy armed with a rifle, but someone up in a tree with a rope around his neck threatening to jump. Still, because of the nature of the situation, the officer explained that I was not allowed near the scene, but if I wanted to back up and drive down his neighbor’s driveway, I could possibility get some good shots from that location.

Sounding like a plan, I backed up, pulled over at the entrance, grabbed a camera with a 300mm lens attached and quietly positioned myself behind some bushes that offered a protective view from the police and a front row seat to the developing situation.

About thirty or so feet off the ground, standing on a tree branch, was this guy with a yellow rope around his neck and drinking coffee from one of those “Big Gulp” containers. Apparently he was pretty despondent over the fact his wife had recently left him and he was in the process of being talked out of ending his life by a suicide prevention officer.

A few minutes later, he happened to look over at my direction, and from his birds’ eye view spotted me. Yelling at the top of his lungs, “Hey photographer, do you really want a good picture, get ready!” Knowing my cover was blown and peering through the bush I could see deputies looking my way. Having already gotten a few good pictures, should I stay or leave? Just to make matters worse, I next heard from a half dressed woman leaning out of the upstairs bedroom window asking me what I was doing in her yard? When her husband appeared and asked, “what in the hell are doing with a camera outside our bedroom, as the situation was starting to get way out of hand only thing I thought of saying was, “I’m from the newspaper and your neighbor, Raymond, is up in a tree with a rope around his neck. “

Now taking the attention away from me they both left the driveway widow and as I quickly retreated to my car, I heard the balcony door open with the husband yelling at his neighbor, “Raymond, what in the hell are you doing up in that tree?”

Remembering a childhood cartoon, I thought, "There's no place like home" and wanted to desperately call on Tooter the Turtle’s friend, Mr. Wizard and request a transfer to anywhere and quickly. As I got into the car I’d cry out for Mr. Wizard to rescue me; and with the words "Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome, Time for this one to come home" I safely departed the area and safely arrived back at the newspaper a few minutes later without any police cruisers in hot pursuit.