In class last week I heard the first tip for successful news photography – arrive early and stay late. I learned the truth of this the hard way yesterday when my camera and I left the John Kerry Town Forum at UF’s University Auditorium just before the final question was fully answered and about five minutes before one Andrew Meyer took the mic.
The rest is national news. After Meyer heatedly asked questions of Kerry about why he didn’t contest the 2004 election or make moves to impeach Bush, four to six uniformed officers pulled Meyer away from the microphone and forced him toward the exit. Before he reached the doors, Meyer ended up on the floor under a pig pile of officers, one of whom eventually Tasered him.
One blogger had the images and scoop.
I’m left with 100 photos shot from various angles and elevations of Senator John Kerry gesticulating.
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September 19, 2007 at 10:19 am
Teaching Online Journalism » When a real news event happens
[...] this incident, because it’s not closely related to online journalism — but then I saw this blog post from a current student of mine, and I was reminded that there are always opportunities for learning [...]
October 2, 2007 at 11:28 pm
floraxu1220
Yes, I entirely agree with the ” arrive early, stay late” guideline. We never know what will happen until the last minute. As a new journalist last year, working for a newspaper in Shanghai, I couldn’t force the photojournalist to stay late with me during the interview, as he was more experienced than me. So I brought my camera with me everytime when I went out for an interview. Many dramatic things just happen at the end of the interview. Maybe as the interview goes, the interviewee will be more relaxed and more willing to open themselves to the reporter, they will have more emotions on their face. Though I knew nothing about photojournalism and the photos I took at that time might have techniqual flaws, my boss was more willing to use my photos if the photos were more emotionally involved.