So it was my first time back in a few days… and I’ve been loving the little break. My day started out with a stand alone nightmare! I went to a middle school activity where I took photo of a 3D printer demonstration. The nightmare was that in checking the names to see who could be published, almost none of them were able to be published! That was a new experience. Next I went to a staff vs. staff basketball game from a couple of the local middle schools; it was so funny.
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!
I got to feed squirrels out of my hand today! We did a story on some unlikely mascots that the county courthouse has had around the grounds for about 10 years. They feed them each day and give them water. It was really fun! These photos are in city park which is across the street from the courthouse, the guards will feed them over in the park and the squirrels will follow over to the courthouse eventually and they get quite a group sometimes.
That’s not how today started however, I first went to a middle school career day and got some photos of the kids for that. And the day ended with a high school robot demonstration. It was a good day!
Today was the first day that Shawn would be out of town in Boise for state basketball… I was the lone photographer. It started out with an interesting assignment though, Maureen got a call from a gentleman who just sold some of his property to a developer but on the property was an old stage coach station and an old post office, like 1800s old. So a reporter and I drove out to Hayden and got some info and photos, sadly both buildings would be torn down and so we were trying to document the area before that happened.
Next, the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center was filming a public service announcement about domestic violence that will go hand in hand with the ads that aired during the super bowl. The lighting was such a treat! And the last assignment for the day was a teen dental party in which teens can go and get dental screenings and sealants for free which would normally cost $400 a person. It was a good day today. Lots of prayers today and I was feeling it.
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.
I really have to stop saying that the day was a trial by fire because there seems to be more that can happen to throw me into the photojournalism world head first. Not only was my mentor still sick today but the other press photographer came in, set up her computer, and not two minutes later was packing up her computer again and left, complaining that she felt like she was going to throw up! I wasn’t expecting this when I woke up this morning… but the CDA Press is a daily paper and I was the only photographer they had left, I had to get the shots that they needed and so the silent prayers commenced!
The first assignment of the day was a special U.S. Navy sponsored marine building program for students called SeaPerch, in this case middle school. During the program they built PVC pipe underwater remote operated vehicles that the kids will be able to control and use for class. This was really cool to see!
My next assignment was going to be college basketball, but the sports guys didn’t need shots for the game, so I was off the hook for that one. But the final shoot was pretty important for the city of Post Falls, the citizen of the year award along with other community awards at the chamber of commerce annual banquet.
Tonight was a late night, but that happens sometimes at the newspaper. I just hope someone gets better soon!