COVERAGE 360

IMAGE 1: The six selected images seen in Lightroom 4.

As I looked back through images from the FLIP assignment, I realized that I never really discussed the real reason I was sent to San Diego in the first place. The assignment was to cover the 50th anniversary ceremony. It included FLIP going to sea and flipping, which I previously wrote about.
So I thought I would give a few insights into how I covered the actual ceremony. The first thing I noted was that the ceremony was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. so the sun was going to be high in the sky. Not the best light, but it does give you the option to photograph from almost any direction without worrying about shooting directly into the sun. I also took time before the ceremony started to walk around and check out what angles I was going to shoot from and what, if anything, would be distracting in the background.

IMAGE 2: Wide shot with banner, presenter and model after audio speaker was moved.

While I would never alter an image to remove something distracting from the background, I will physically move something prior. In this case there was a speaker placed in front of the FLIP banner that was affixed to the brow. I previsualized IMAGE 2 above except that the speaker was right next to the platform. I explained the photograph I envisioned to the audio specialist and asked if he could move it to the left. I did not insist or interrupt him while he was busy setting up, but rather waited until he was almost complete. Don't try and move someones equipment without talking to them first. You can see the new location of the speaker in the lower right frame of IMAGE 1.

I talked to the keynote speaker about his speech prior and learned that I would have about five minutes to photograph him and I wanted to get as many views as possible. I made 56 images total and selected the six shown in IMAGE 1 above to submit. You can see I captured a variety of views from multiple angles. I used both a Nikon 70-200mm and a Nikon 14-24mm.

IMAGE 3: Scene setter photo taken from deck of R/V Melville.

The scene setter photo in IMAGE 3 was actually taken from the aft deck of the R/V Melville (seen in lower right frame of IMAGE 1) which was docked on the other side of the pier. I knew that would take at least two minutes of my time to go aboard and make my way aft in order to get off a few shots, but having scouted the location prior, I knew it would be a nice angle to capture the speaker, audience and ship in one frame.
In this case zooms helped me get some different views, but there is no substitute for using your two legs to move around. Work fast and be deliberate. The audience doesn't want to be distracted by a photographer running around.

PRODUCING

In my previous post I talked about pushing myself creatively and specifically pushing myself to create an image while covering the 50th anniversary of FLIP that hadn't been seen before.

That was lofty goal and in the end, I probably did not come away with that photo. That's not a bad thing because I did push myself and produced solid content that is still generating traffic. As of this post the video above has received 8,900 19, 400 (updated 7/26/12) views on the USNavyResearch YouTube page and a b-roll version of the same video has over 3,600 views on the usnavy YouTube page.

Something else I've talked about on this blog is previsualization, the idea of actually seeing your images before they are made, and in the same sense just knowing that you are pushing yourself creatively helps you before you even begin the assignment.

That thought process keeps you from just going through the paces, it helps you get there early and stay late. It means you might carry additional lenses or extra gear, because if given the chance, it means you have opportunities to create something different. It also means that you remember that you are not on vacation, but are working.

GoPro attached to railing aboard FLIP captured the transition from horizontal to vertical.

Arriving at the location early allowed me to place a GoPro camera aboard FLIP in order to get some point of view video. And in the end, while I didn't need the 300mm 2.8 lens I had lugged across the country, it was there if I needed it, and that was somehow reassuring. However, I did make a decision not to pack a video camera for this trip and challenge myself to shoot all video with the Nikon D3S. This is only the second time I relied solely on a DSLR for video needs and I'm getting more and more comfortable with the idea.

The title of this post is Producing. In the end that is what I get paid to do. But just producing is not enough in the long run. To go the distance means you have to not only produce, but do so time and time again. In the end I think pushing myself to think creatively means that I'm still having fun. And seeing results, translated into hits or views, of what I produced hopefully means others find the content compelling and interesting.

BEING PUSHED CREATIVELY

FLIP photograph from the ONR archives.

I'm preparing to leave for another assignment. Nothing very different about that except this is an opportunity I have been hoping for since I began working for the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

The research vessel FLIP, or Floating Instrument Platform, will be celebrating its 50th year of operation June 29th and I will be covering the ceremony, but more importantly, I will get a chance to photograph FLIP doing its thing at sea the next day. Now it probably won't be the most interesting thing I've photographed in the past eight years, or even the most technically challenging, however, I have always thought that FLIP was really cool.

I came close on two previous occasions to photograph this one-of-a-kind 355-foot research vessel, owned by ONR and administered and operated by the Marine Physical Laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, but both times plans changed or missions were scrubbed.

So when this opportunity arose, I made sure that I was included. One big decision needed to be made though. Would I ride aboard FLIP or with the VIPs aboard the tugboat Diana G. where I would get the best view of FLIP, well actually flipping? Tough decision, but only because I really wanted to be aboard FLIP. In the end it really seemed to be a no-brainer to ride aboard the viewing vessel if it was photos I needed.

At least I thought it was a no-brainer. In a staff meeting this week I was briefing the upcoming assignment when a co-workier asked if there weren't already a million photos of FLIP from the perspective that I would be shooting from. That really made me think and the more I thought about it the more it troubled me because she was right. What would be different about my photos? Could I have done something really creative and different if I had made the decision to ride aboard FLIP?

Too late to change my decision, which brings me to the title of this post. It will be my personal challenge to bring back something different that nobody has seen from a vantage point that many have shot from. I'll get all the standard "beauty shots," but I will really be looking around the edges to get something very different. My goal will be to return from this assignment and show that even if hundreds have photographed something before, I can produce something just a little different.

PHOTOS LEFT UNPUBLISHED

Typically you cover an assignment, edit and caption photos, then when all is done, transmit your photos for publication. For me that typically means between three to five photos with the expectation that one to three will be published.
Sometimes these assignments are multiple day events so you have to think how your coverage will vary each day in order to keep things fresh. And then sometimes these assignments not only span multiple days, but they are assignments you have covered over multiple years.
This years Fleet Week in New York was just such an assignment, one that I've photographed probably 18 times, both in uniform and out, and for the last eight years for the Office of Naval Research.
On the first day as exhibitors are setting up and the participating ships begin to arrive I try to make a photo that sets the scene. Not only behind the scenes coverage for ONR, but also a standard Navy shot showing the parade of ships. Last year I was successful on both counts, so this year I spent lots of time and clicks covering the set up of our exhibit. This mostly consisted of Sailors moving boxes, forklifts unloading crates and like. It was dark and not very exciting, so I pulled out the flash and played with rear curtain sync, slow shutter speeds, etc., and did manage to get one frame that was marginal at best. It was published.

Last year while walking to Pier 86, home of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, to cover our exhibit set up, the USS New York passed by during the parade of ships. I took a few frames and later that evening, almost as an afterthought, decided to caption and transmit that photo. It was published.
So this year after documenting our exhibit set up I decided I would photograph the parade of ships, which this year included 17 tall ships from numerous countries. For the most part it was pretty standard photographs from the end of Pier 92 and at times felt more like shooting a lineup, then actually doing something creative.
As the ships started to tie up, I was once again on Pier 86 when the Colombian tall ship Gloria was pulling in, I was struck by the sailors aloft in multiple colored shirts. I instantly thought that this was a different picture, a picture that would represent Fleet Week in a different way.
So that night as I prepared my photos, it was with high expectations that the photo above would be published. It was different, well composed, spoke to the uniqueness of this year's Fleet Week.
I'll never know why that photo was never published and two others were, one mediocre shot from my experimentation and another of the USS Wasp, but that is what keeps me shooting.

PHOTOGRAPHIC PREVISUALIZATION

The space shuttle Discovery photographed with a 600mm lens from National Harbor, Md.

Recently I've been thinking more and more about the idea of previsualization, or previsualizing a certain photograph prior to an assignment. I never thought much about this before, however, prior to the last five or six assignments I've had a pretty clear idea of what it was I wanted to capture and then actually did capture that.

Maybe it's because I've photographed the same event year after year, so I pretty much know what to expect and then I just place myself in the right location and wait for the action to unfold. And recently photographing the shuttle Discovery as it flew over Washington, D.C., I was able to get pretty much the exact photo I had in mind. There wasn't any pressure since I was not on assignment to get this particular photo, so all I had to do was put myself in the right position, with the right equipment, to capture the previsualized photo as events presented themselves.

In this case I was assigned to photograph the Sea Air Space Exposition at the National Harbor, something I've done the previous three years, so I knew there were parking garages that would probably give me a good vantage point looking over the Potomac River. When it all came together I quietly thought to myself that this is exactly what I wanted, exactly as I had previsualized.

This photograph did catch me a bit off guard when it came from behind me and passed almost directly over my head.

Perhaps I've always done this. What I think is different now is that even though I have a pretty good idea of what photographs I want, I don't get discouraged if it's not happening as I envisioned. Even though I previsualize, I don't lock myself into what I thought was going to happen, so if things really start to go south, I don't come back with nothing. That is both frustrating and challenging at the same time.

So now previsualization has become part of my overall preparation, normally while going about all my other pre-assignment routines like packing gear and making travel arrangements. It's all about focusing on one assignment at a time.

Ansel Adams used previsualization as it related to the Zone System, the notion that if you study a scene and really analyze the tones, the photograph will come out as you expect. It was a turning point in his career. Of course I'm not shooting with an 8x10 view camera, or even comparing myself to Adams, but if previsualizing a photograph was good enough for him, then I believe I'll continue the practice it myself.