If you have been following this journey for a while (and thanks!), you will know I came from a hobby/self motivated snapper and camera salesman/teacher of over three decades to being a school then newspaper photographer almost by mistake and that was in the face of COVID lockdowns.
The school thing was a revelation for a photographer with no real intention of doing it as a career, but not a real job and that really hit home when our island state, previously impervious to COVID, opened the flood gates again and we went into semi-lockdown for six months, effectively shutting me down also.
I grabbed an opportunity for some hours at the local paper, something I had never really desired, because to be honest, I had trialled it years before as a temp and knew it was not going to be a road to satisfaction, only a rare, stable photographic income stream.
This became a full time job quite quickly, but when I realised I did not want that single tracked future, it became a part time job again, but glacially slowly. I missed an opportunity to work for the school I started with again (by a mere three months!), but luckily found another through contacts made ironically at the paper.
I always stuggled with the papers needs. I can do it, but I do not enjoy it. The very quick turn around, little to no prep, minimal equipment, very unnatural posed images and often poor reproduction along with a the lack of support and clear feedback at the paper have made me question not only if I am doing it right, but also if I want to do it at all (photography that is).
Once, this would have been my dream job, but it is a shadow of its former self, as are most things these days.
Not me, but good skills to learn.
In complete contradiction to that, I have been the papers video champion, something that surprises me as I came to the paper with the least experience in this field, but seem to be the most adept at shooting video and stills at the same time and turning these around quickly*. I also pay the most attention to the details I feel are important like microphones, lighting etc.
According to Dailymotion, our video server, we are creeping up on 1,000,000 views since using this service, which for our paper is about one year. Thanks to shooting our sports podcast which accounts for about half these views, it seems I am responsible for about 90% of that, maybe more and certainly the bulk of our in-house content. The sad reality is also, I only work half the week and rarely shoot video on the weekends.
Unfortunately, even though I seem to be in a position to (re)invent this space, there is little to no scope to take it further, because just like stills with the paper, you get it done with what fits in a shoulder bag (G9 mk1, MKE-400 mic, 12-40 Oly with ND filter, a small LED and occasionally a small tripod).
I feel this is a crucial part of our offer as a news service now prioritising online content over print, but it seems locally anyway, I am a little ahead of my time.
The other three photographers and almost all the journalists are shooting little or no video and it seems to be going mostly unnoticed when it is supplied, even though nationally, we are ahead of most in ratio of videos to stories posted (about 80%, not the 100% expected by head office, but far better than most). Ours are also local content not generic national clips which is so important for a local paper.
At first this was a gear thing, my humble G9 Mk1’s adding a tripod like stabiliser, great OOC 10 bit/422, 1080p and good sound with my MKE-400, compared to the D750 and D500’s the others were issued, but they now have Z9’s, so no excuses.
Anyway.
I am leaving the paper soon, hoping to pick back up with a school (the first one) as a base and do some private work (fear + excitement = working for yourself). Not for profits are still in this picture and may even be able to actually hire me occasionally, saving them money and adding some to my soon to be reduced income, but I am still doing these for the love of it.
Good for everyone.
New year, new, happier life path.
*I shoot my video while the journalist conducts their interview, as I do many of my candid stills, then set up a staged shot at the end. My 1-2 minute clips are produced in under 30 minutes, often faster depending on content. This occasionally, but rarely fails.