Back in the day when newsprint was cheap, reporters were plentiful and editors were overworked, photographers were relied upon to drum up the daily display image for section fronts. We would scour the streets for “enterprise,” stand-alone feature photos of daily life many folk would see but rarely notice.
Some days were better than others and what ended up in the newspaper was more an indicator of the day’s desperation factor for something to anchor the page rather than a boffo photograph. Still, I enjoyed the challenge.
Eight or ten years ago word came down from on high that “wild art” would no longer anchor our section fronts. In subsequent years, as newsprint costs skyrocketed and the news hole became a turf battle, stand-alone features and those who shot them were persona non grata, so to speak.
Wayne Morgan with Oakland Avenue Craftsmen stains the concrete caps uner the lamps on the newly restored Minisa bridge on 13th street near North High. The new concrete caps under the six lamps were replaced last year during restoration and a stain made from mineral spirits and area roadside materials was used to mimic the natural aging of the original 75-year old concrete.
So what do we do when we see something that could have some reader interest while we dash back and forth between assignments? Most of the time we shrug it off, thinking it’s not worth the effort if the image will never see daylight.
Today I’m committing to the blogosphere that when I see a stand-alone feature, I’ll stop, shoot it and get some info so you can see it here on our blog. The images may not be prize winners, but by golly, it’s an interesting world out there and it’s my job and my pleasure to show you what I notice.
Sending photos and video from Tiller shooting scene
We’ve had a few blog posts lately about how the nature of our jobs have changed. The shooting death of Dr. George Tiller on Sunday exemplified that change more than anything.
The only aspect of our coverage that resembled how we’ve covered news in the past was our response. We quickly had three members of our photo staff at Reformation Lutheran Church. Fernando Salazar walked the perimeter taking still photos. Jaime Oppenheimer shot video and stills across the street from the church’s entrance. Mike Hutmacher shot both at Tiller’s clinic. I backed Jaime up, shot video of a police briefing and spent most of the day under a tree sending all of that information back to the newsroom and directly to Kansas.com.
Photo by Travis Heying
Perhaps the biggest difference though, was how we used social media to inform the public about what was happening at the scene.
The Wichita Eagle’s Ron Sylvester has pioneered the use of Twitter as a reporting tool, using it to send live “tweets” from trials that he’s covered. Over the course of the day on Sunday, people who use twitter were able to get up-to-the-minute information from the scene by following our account, @EaglePhotos. Here are a few examples:
@EaglePhotos: Police looking for a 90′s era light blue Ford Taurus with Kansas tags. Registered in Merriam, Ks.
@EaglePhotos: 225-BAB is the tag on the vehicle police are looking for. Kansas tags.
@EaglePhotos: http://twitpic.com/6cqug - Friend of Dr. George Tiller places flowers outside of Reformation Lutheran Church. #tiller
