Today was a pretty slow day. I went out and took some stand alone photos that we didn’t really need but I had to do something. And then at 4pm there was an appointment at the senior center in Post Falls where a little girl wanted to give back to the community. She got her whole class to color pictures of flowers and spring things to bring spring inside for the seniors and they were giving them out at that time. That was pretty much it for today.
Usually I start my day at 10am but today there was a feature story going on in Moscow at the University of Idaho campus so it was an early day, 8:15… oi. The story was about a fair going on at U of I called Invent Idaho. There were elementary, middle, and high school kids from all over the state competing against each other with their inventions, practical and not but all very very creative! That was pretty much all we had for the day, but later on I was asked to take a photo of a different hotel for that same NIBJ story because the reporter was only able to contact this particular hotel. And now, for an extended weekend!
This morning I had a long drive ahead of me for a fun photo opp at a Rathdrum elementary school. Mr. X a math magician did an assembly for students to bring the wonder back to math. Next there was a chance to go out and photograph a couple hotels in the area that have recently changed hands for a NIBJ story. Then, later on in the evening, Jeff, the reporter that was working on the fireplace regulations story, set up a tour for me to go to a wood stove manufacturer so I could get a better photo than just the wood pile! Thank goodness.
The first assignment of the day was actually pretty fun! Not that they aren’t usually, but I didn’t think I’d ever photograph a welding competition. This made for some fun photos, the shooting of those photos was pretty tricky though, I had to wear a welding hood so I couldn’t really see my camera and that meant I had to spray and pray. After sorting through the mass of photos I got a couple good shots. Next it was time for an update on the construction of Winton Elementary which is scheduled for completion at the end of this year. I feel like I’ve shot more construction photos lately than anything else… but that’s ok, the environment and the lines, dynamic lighting and unusual subject matter can be really fun some times. And then, there was basketball.
Oh, and I shot our vending machine.
Today was AWESOME! Prayers answered. It started out with Jeff, one of the reporters, telling me that the construction next door was a few months ahead of schedule. Shawn and I went promptly out to the site and took some photos and got some video. When we got back inside, he let me know that I could use Tess’ camera and her key and her parking spot, and lenses… wow. I was a tad overwhelmed but stoked! A 1Dx and a 24-70mm f/4 make for way sharper photos and better low light performance, and I’m all for that! So, like I said, today was off to a really good start, then I was off to a health awareness activity at Lakes Middle School. I then went to Cricket’s Restaurant to try and find someone with a dog, they were having a viewing party for the best in show dog show. That was on my way to basketball. It was Lakeland vs. Lake City tonight. The best part about the day though was that I felt like I had improved.
We got in new gear today! When I got to the press I got my workstation set up like normal, it was a slow start today. Shawn comes in and after he sets up his computer he says to me, “ok dude, are you ready?” Then he left… I was a little confused, but in a few seconds he came back with a massive box full of camera gear! I’m just the intern, so I don’t get to use it which is alright, but it was like working at the camera store again! Today we got in two more Canon 1Dx bodies, two small bags, two wireless intervelometers, a few UV filters, extra batteries, extra memory cards, and tomorrow we should be getting in two printers and paper to go with them. That was a fun start to my day.
I’m also beginning to see that sometimes it takes a little time for the reporters to get us the photo requests for their stories ahead of time, sometimes until things get going in the day stand-alone photos are the only option. Looking for stand alone photos today I found a couple of workers from the Coeur d’Alene Resort while they were taking down Christmas lights on Sherman Ave. (main street).
Later on, I was back to an elementary school to cover some after school activities that were going on in Hayden. I’m beginning to realize that the elementary school kids are some of my favorite people to photograph, they are just so good at having fun. On my way back from the school, Shawn called me up and let me know that they just heard about a four-car accident at an intersection in Hayden where I was still at and he wanted me to head over to get some photos of the accident. This was a first for me, thankfully only one person out of the four cars involved was transported to the hospital.
I started out today with the fourth and fifth-graders of Bryan Elementary. It was really fun! The school put on a Seahawks themed lunch for the kids and they were encouraged to wear their favorite sports team jersey and hat. We wanted to get some photos of the event in anticipation of the super bowl and show some Seahawks pride, and those kids were loving the chance to show their pride.
The next assignment that I had the chance to go to was for a story on an up and coming LGBT and alternative wedding chapel. This one was particularly difficult for me in particular because of my beliefs toward marriage. I believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that is the way it should be; just because the world’s standards are changing, doesn’t invalidate the things that God has said. I in no way shape or form feel like people of a different sexual orientation are less than human or should be treated as such, but my beliefs on the matter are with what God has said about the subject. I’ll leave it at that. As was my assignment however, I got the photos I needed for the story and we left. Feeling like a minority but proud to be so.
It seems like my mentor will never get well! Today I tagged along with the other press photographer on staff and we went to a few different places to get some shots.
First was another stand alone, Hayden Meadows Elementary School was having a special square dancing lesson for the fourth and fifth grade students. The school’s Parent Teacher Organization made the lessons possible through a grant giving the money necessary to purchase four lessons from the Coeurly Q Square Dance Club, two for each grade. The kids loved it! There was of course the awkward beginning where random kids are paired together and they have to hold each other’s hands… it was funny to watch how they handled it. Eventually though they all got the hang of it and they had so much fun.
Next we went to North Idaho College where the city of Coeur d’Alene was felling some fairly large trees that were messing up a large stretch of road. This art was for a story by one of our reporters. And finally, our Post Falls reporter was working on one of his pretty consistent stories about the city transit and he needed a photo for one of his follow up articles; so we drove to Post Falls in hopes of getting a city owned street during rush hour preferably with a pedestrian… well, we got the pedestrian but we were only able to get the start of the rush hour traffic before needing to head back to the news room. And that was day 4.