Tag Archives: Hans Koepsell

Day 21

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.

Day 20

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Today was a hard day, everyone has those days where you wonder if you are cut out for what you want to do and today was mine. I went to the funeral for Chuck Buck of Buck Knives and also to the Chocolate Affair, later I covered an the wrestling finals at NIC.

Day 19

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Woah, today was a really busy day for a change! Crazy busy in fact, but it was a good change, that morning meeting business is working out. Shawn said that he would rather have too much and not need it all than have too little and have to run file photos. I agree. My day started out with a feature portrait for the NIBJ of the KTEC (Kootenai Technical Education Campus) student of the month, this was about an hour earlier than I usually start, which was fine, and Emma got to come with me because we had to go straight to the location; she’s such a champ for putting up with me!

After the portrait, I was walking from the parking lot to the front doors of the Press and I heard a jackhammer next door at the construction site so I went over for a second and got a photo of him. When I got in, I was given another assignment to go follow up on a story that was written for the business section and take a few photos of the location putting up their sign, this is for a super uppity car wash going in off of US-95, that was pretty cool to see, it gave me a mild heart attack though when I got there because I thought I had missed it. I saw their electronic display was already up and I thought that was the sign Shawn was talking about; thank goodness I was wrong.

Next I was off to look for a few things, either a city cop pulling someone over, parking on the side of the road to radar, or a busy street. I first had lunch with Emma like I do every day but this time she came with me on a “ride along,” it was really nice having her with me! During lunch though, Shawn called and let me know of another assignment to check up on before 3pm, it was 1pm. There is some possibly changing legislature regarding the concealed carry laws in Idaho and he told me to see if I could schedule something with the sheriff’s office to get a photo… I called, they forwarded me to the lieutenant and he wasn’t there so I left a message (so did Shawn) and he never got back to us. I guess that happens sometimes though. So back to the traffic or the cop, I figured that the chances of me finding a cop pulling someone over were going to be pretty lean, so I got the busy street first and then figured we could look around for police.

Time got away from me and it ended up being time for a “sportrait” that I had scheduled for a feature regarding brothers on the same basketball team. That was tricky without lighting, we are awaiting the go-ahead to get some lighting for the press and it, i guess, has been a long time coming, regardless, it will be nice when it gets here.

I resolved that we’d just head back to the Press but in driving back I still wanted to keep my eyes out for police, amongst silent prayers that I would be able to find something, I spotted some police lights… a lot of police lights. Emma and I drove over to see what was going on and there were probably eight squad cars, police and sheriff, police boats (it was over at the marina), a fire truck and a crowd of people. I pulled up right behind Shawn’s car and I was glad that the situation was already being covered however I couldn’t resist taking a few photos of my own. Apparently some guy decided he didn’t want to live anymore and so he was trying to freeze himself to death in the lake, he had been there for over an hour; he had to have had some mental disorder or maybe he was on some crazy drug because he was raging and twitching, just freaking out. It was crazy to witness, but not long after I got there the police got him out. I hope he recovers.

Also, kind of big news, AP wanted a couple of the photos that I took for the LGBT weddings story that we did back on the 30th. Cool! They will be using them in a weekend story that they will be doing on the chapel. this hasn’t ever happened before so I’m not sure what to expect but I still think that it is pretty cool.

Day 18

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Today was another slow day, as you could probably tell by the amount of information in the post yesterday… it was probably the slowest. Shawn however came up with a really good idea, that I didn’t mention, to try and remedy the stand alone problem. Occasionally we are going to go into the archives and pick tomorrows date but an earlier year ie. 1975 and run a similar photo as what ran that day. I thought that was a great Idea! He also showed me the archives and I almost didn’t come back up… it was so cool!
Fast forward to about 10:45 this morning, we had a coordination meeting with the reporters to also attempt to solve the problem of not having art for the stories in time or frequently enough. This I thought was a very successful meeting because afterwards we received a a bunch of requests for this coming week, tomorrow especially so hopefully this keeps us busy!
After the meeting I went out and got a stand alone photo of a couple landscapers using a fire hose to clean up the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s loading area. Another slow day but hopefully soon to change.

Day 17

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I saw a real-life hashtag today!! Oh and there was some interesting construction too…

Day 16

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Today started in a way that I wasn’t expecting. We heard on the scanner about some sort of accident down on the reservation, police were going down a ravine by a bridge and we thought that would make a pretty good story so myself and a reporter went down to check it out. When we finally got out there we saw the police parked by the bridge and so we started walking down the middle portion of the bridge that separates north bound and south bound traffic. When we got a little way down I saw a few firemen and policemen down by the river, and then one of the tribal police officers told us to get back to the road. It appeared to be a suicide and we don’t report on those.

After getting back to the Press, Shawn went off to cover a couple stories and I drove around looking for stand alone photos. During my driving around I got a call asking me to look out for guys with food trucks and to get a photo if I could. It turned out that just before I got the call I passed a guy waving a sign for his food truck and so I went back up the street and got the photo I needed. I still hadn’t gotten a stand alone photo that I liked though, so I drove around a little more and I saw an older lady walking with a broken umbrella and I thought that would be perfect, I parked shot the photo and got her name so we could use it it was just the image I was hoping to get too! I took another image like it as well, just of a different person and when I got back to the press, she had emailed and revoked her permission for me to use her photo, that had never happened before… but she sounded like she was in a bad mood when I talked to her so maybe she was just having a bad day.

After I got the call from Shawn about the lady and her photo, I was asked by a reporter if I could take a photo for another In Person story, and that he would be there any minute. I was a little on the spot but I made due and it didn’t look too shabby. Over all, today was a good day.

Day 15

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At the end of the day yesterday Shawn asked me if I could cover basketball today and of course I said yes, I want to improve everyday so any chance I get to do so I’m going to take. Basketball games happen late and so since I was covering the game I also came in late which was nice; sleeping in doesn’t happen much but when it does it’s wonderful!

When I got to the Press however there was a lot noise next door from the construction guys so I went over to check it out. They had a huge gravel truck and the whole thing was on a remote control! I’m sure it’s not that new of a thing, but I’d never seen anything like that before, I felt myself having little kid envy wanting to drive the giant RC car! Sadly that didn’t happen. So I went about my business snapping photos. The worker in the blue hard hat came up to me afterwords and he asked me if I had to “develop” all those. I then told him that it was all digital so it was pretty easy. He then told me that his wife worked in circulation at the Press and that I should print one of him and give it to her so she could have it at her cubicle. I thought that was a pretty funny idea so I made her a draft print and delivered it.

Next, some hours later came the basketball game. This was the first round of the 5A district 1 Tournament and it was between Lake City and Post Falls High Schools. To be completely honest, basketball after the Fight for the Fish game just isn’t the same… no one dresses up, there is hardly any noise, there’s way less people. But it wasn’t so bad I guess. There were a lot of pretty good falls and I almost got hit by the ball and players a few times and that was pretty fun! Now, it time for another nice weekend.

Day 14

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Today got me started at a nice pace! I got a call from Tess around 9 am, she had an appointment at 10 in Rathdrum that she wasn’t going to be able to make because she was off to Bayview to get some photos of police investigating some found human remains. So this was one more photo assignment than yesterday! Emma came along too because I had to go straight there, it was nice to give her a little taste of what I get to do most days.

The assignment was for a story going in the North Idaho Business Journal on a company called Heater Craft. The company was commissioned by the USA Center of Military History Museum Division to build a bunch of aluminum storage cases to aid in the preservation of Revolutionary War era memorabilia, but they do a crazy amount of stuff there, it was really fun to go see.

I got back to the press around 11 and after Shawn got out of a meeting he came in and let me know that the construction guys next door were pouring concrete with a huge pump truck and he wanted me to grab some photos and a little video of that. Shooting the construction is fun especially since I am pretty much the only one who has done it so far; I feel like I get to have more of a connection to this assignment than the normal day to day. It’s nice.

Lastly I finished out my day with another check passer. Today was an answer to a prayer. I love staying busy because it gives me more of an opportunity to improve.

Day 13

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Today was probably one of the slowest days at the press. I went out to look for stand alone photos just to pass the time and there wasn’t anything to use for the paper. I got a shot of some guys from the parks and rec. office planning out the pruning of the trees around the city library. And that was pretty much it.

Day 12

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Today was a late start for me at the press due to some errands I had to run in the morning, but when I finally got there I was given an assignment to go back to Hayden and shoot some photos of a kids tennis workshop given by former French Open winner Luke Jensen. That was a lot of fun but also a little challenging. There weren’t too many kids and the few that there were, were all over the place and so it took a little bit for me to get my bearings so I could get some shots of them interacting with Jensen and good layering of the kids. Eventually I got it, however I need to get better at anticipating the shots I want…I guess that comes with experience.

Day 11

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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.

Day 10

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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.

Day 9

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Much like yesterday, today had a slow start. There were no photo assignments until late and so we went out to look again for stand-alones and Seahawks fans, none of which I found… however I did get the idea to ask a few hair cutting places if they had given any hair “tattoos” for Seahawks fans. I didn’t get anything right away but there was a salon in Post Falls that did one a few days ago and she will be sending us a photo.

The first thing we did was to hook up the video equipment and go over to the construction site next door and take some more photos but introduce video this time. We’re slowly building a pretty good collection of photos for that feature.

After a little time went by, one of the reporters hurries over to our cubicle and tells us in an excited voice, he just heard over the scanner that someone was walking around City Park with an assault rifle. Shawn sent Tess and I to check it out making sure we kept our distance, Mike (the boss) even wanted to come and make sure everyone would be ok. Turns out we didn’t find who was described, but we did find the person that might have been mistaken as one carrying an assault rifle. She, by that time was looking innocently through a spotting scope on her tripod, down the beach at some seagulls. We figured that’s probably what was mistaken at a distance for the weapon.

When we got back to the press, Shawn asked if I was ready for some wrestling, I of course said sure! So he sent me off to photograph the match between Coeur d’Alene and Lake City High Schools. This was the first time that I had photographed wrestling and it was pretty fun! It hurt the knees just like basketball, but it is a little slower so it’s easier to compose and plan out shots, at least in theory. And that was my day, again, filled with prayer and learning; this is a great experience.

Day 8

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Today was so slow, there weren’t any photo requests until later in the day, so my mentor and I split up and went looking for stand alone photos. There was one request that came in for people showing their Seahawks pride, so on our search for stand alones we also looked for that. After a few hours there was nothing to be found… on the bright side though, my wife Emma came with me to Coeur d’Alene today to do some work remotely for her job and we were able to eat lunch together and that was awesome!

later on, we were notified on the police scanner about a pipe bomb found in a motel, and since I was the only one in the office they sent me to go check it out. It was pretty much a non-event… about the size of a sparkler bomb, but we ran the story because it was something. I got a photo of some missionaries taking advantage of the situation, it made me smile to see that.

Day 7

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You know, one of the best things about doing my internship as a photojournalist is that I get to go out each day and take photos of all sorts of things, I love it! Today the first assignment was pretty simple, today is a foggy day, go out and find people doing things in the fog. The editor was doing a story about the abnormally warm weather in contrast with the East Coast currently, they wanted a shot of the fog and also the sun later in the day. So that’s what I did, and it was really fun! I love walking around in the fog so that made it all the better.

Later, the basketball team from North Idaho College was going to the Boys and Girls Club to play with the kids, and so we went to that and got some shots of the kids interacting with the team; it was like a war-zone in there.

Today was also a big answer to an on-going prayer. Each day I have been praying to see an improvement in my photography, to be a little better than the day before. That’s what this internship is all about for me, sure it’s to learn the details of how a paper works and how to be a photojournalist for a daily paper, but it is also to bring my technique and my skill up to the next level. Today I took a shot of a couple yogi’s enjoying the foggy morning and I thought it was good, but didn’t really pay too much attention to it. Fast forward to around 4pm, Mike (the boss) was in the photojournalist’s cubicle and he spied the photo on my screen. It caught his eye and he was very vocal about how much he liked it, and that spread like fire. My mentor Shawn also was really vocal about it, saying how blown away he was and then a few more people came in to check it out and congratulate me on the shot! I was shocked. It felt really good to have all those people like my photo but most of all it was wonderful to have my mentor notice my improvement. God hears and answers prayers.