Working the Wire

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AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

The National Spelling Bee is BACK for 2008, and since this is my second year covering it I decided to produce a behind the scenes slideshow on the Bee. It almost killed me doing this spot on the first day of the Bee (yesterday, Thursday 5.29) but it was totally worth it. The kids were adorable and so candid about why they love the Bee and spelling. I really enjoyed meeting them and photographing the stuff leading up to the competition, then rounding the slideshow out by adding some pictures and audio of the kids spelling.

Huge thanks to AP Photog extraordinaire, Pablo Monsivais, whose help with general coverage and member specials yesterday made my spot production of the piece possible.

Back for more photos today!

And yes, in case you were wondering, that was me in the numbnuts video. 

Due to almost losing the whole blog thanks to a not so easy upgrade this time (thanks a lot, WordPress), I have to repost December 2007-April 2008. Bear with me while I dig up the photos for each post.

Papal Choir Multimedia
April 3rd, 2008

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Latest multimedia, the Papal Mass Choir Slideshow, and a big thanks to AP’s Lauren McCullough for help with the production.

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Defiance
March 20th, 2008

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Day of protests here in DC on the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Got my first war wound! Was shoving the camera into my lip, causing it to bleed, really necessary policewoman? Ah well. At least it makes a good story for the grandkids.

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Guns in DC: Three Voices
March 16th, 2008

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

I’m happy to share this slideshow that I’ve been working hard on the last month. The Supreme Court is reviewing a case this week on a ban against handgun ownership in DC. The slideshow has three perspectives on guns in the nation’s capitol.

DC Gun Ban Slideshow Link

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Vigil
March 4th, 2008

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

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Best Of 2007
December 28th, 2007
Slideshow I’ve put together of the Best of 2007 for the AP’s Mid-Atlantic Buro (aka, my best of ‘07 since I’m the only staff shooter!)

Or, if you’d rather a smaller edit, my sportsshooter update is a Best Of as well.

Happy New Year!

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First Cover with the AP
December 20th, 2007

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Landed the first cover with the AP so far. Dec. 10, 2007 edition of New York Magazine. Huge ups to Matt Eich for sending me the only copy available (apparently) on Earth! Thank you!

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AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

In a banner two weeks for Mid-Atlantic multimedia, here is a second piece I’ve produced. This one was in collaboration with reporter Stephen Manning, and looks at the 25th Anniversary of the Vietnam Memorial and the things left behind.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Produced my fourth SoundSlides piece for the AP, titled Dropping Back In, about a GED student working to get his GED after being kicked out of two of the high schools in DC that are described as dropout factories, schools where a high percentage of students fail to graduate.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

I’ve updated my sportsshooter site with some recent work (Spring and Summer ‘07) from the AP. Enjoy!

In other news I have moved into my new apartment, first place on my own in a while, and it is fabulous. It will be more fabulous, of course, once I have a couch. Seriously though, it’s huge for DC and the cats and I think we’ve found a great place for the next phase, the end of a 5 year era. That, and that my new mattress rocks.

I have also passed my 9 month probation period at the AP. High fives all around.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Newest slideshow that I produced for the AP is up, it’s about Gabe Horchler, who wakes up in the morning, hops on his bicycle, and then rows to work down the Anacostia River. I tried out a new technique that’s available on the upgrade to SoundSlides. What do you think?

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Audio Slideshow I produced for the AP on African immigrants living in the DC metro area.

I produced the slideshow, recorded the audio, and of course shot the pictures, for this story that ran on the National wire. The story was titled “America’s Africans” and was written by David Crary, a wonderful writer and all around great guy who I really enjoyed working with.

Link to the written article here. The picture got great play in the Pretoria News, which is linked.

Also updated my sportsshooter page with the pictures from the above church, which was my favorite edit from the larger project.

I thought it was really funny that my picture of Oprah for the AP at Howard’s graduation was picked for a “make up the best caption” contest on Nightline. Too funny.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Nightline Caption Contest Link If you can’t see it click on Nightline, then “You Write the Caption!” in the most popular stories menu.

The voting for the caption is over but you can still get the gist.

ps – google news me to see where some of my news pictures for the AP have ran!

Thursday (4/26) I had the pleasure of speaking at my alma mater, the Rochester Institute of Technology, to a group of photojournalism students. Once I get it divided up I’ll post video of the speech for any students out there who missed it. It was neat to put the speech together, looking over photography done in various phases of my career so far. It was enjoyable to put together my thoughts on the profession and speak with students and I hope to have more chances to do so in the future.
I decided to speak about different career options in photojournalism. Mainly:
Newspaper
Freelance
Wire Service
and
Multimedia

I almost can’t believe it, I feel like I’m on a cloud, but I have won second place in the National Press Photographer’s Association, Best of Photojournalism 2007 contest. It’s for the story, Train to El Norte.
To have this project win, a project which I put so much of myself into and did freelance – with no support or backing whatsoever, leaves me feeling such pride. It never ran in any publication and I had a hard time after thinking about the value of a piece that the public at large would never see. It was especially hard knowing that the people who shared so much with me would not have their stories seen. I’m a journalist and the work I do is for people to look at, discuss, and learn from. So it went on my web site and was submitted to various publications with no effect. And yet in a surprise email from Chip Litherland (THANK YOU CHIP!) who helped me with the edit (as did John Loomis, thanks John!), I find out that not only I value the project, that I wasn’t crazy, that I placed second for not just a single taken from the story but for the story in its entirety.

And I am so, so happy. Beyond words really, despite how cheesy that sounds.

I know a contest alone shouldn’t be the measure of my worth as a photographer, that contests are subjective, as is photography herself. Yet the acknowledgement from my peers that this project is valid, is important, is strong, gives something back to me I almost lost in my year of solo, freelance work. A sense of community, of worth, but most importantly, of eyes looking on work that I put so much into, and that means even more to the people in those pictures, whose stories are finally seen.