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Instead of giving a wrap-up of the first three weeks of my job I thouoght I would just make a brief note as to one of the cool aspects of the job….halloween and kids.

You can’t really complain about a day at work when your photo assignment is to take pictures of little kids dressed in their halloween costumes while they are being read a story.  After the story was done I went to the front of the room and crouched down to snap a few images of the kids.  This action resulted in my getting mobbed by some of the wee ones as they noticed what I was doing.  An intense interest in me taking pictures AND being shown the pictures immediately after made me very popular real quick.  Of course I could only oblige by taking as many pictures as I could while pausing to show then on the screen.

A great way to start off the Friday and Halloween.

Because I’m still not too sure about what I can and cannot do with pictures I take of events I won’t put up any of the pictures from today.  I need to investigate that more to see where the line is drawn.  Not wanting to have another image-free post I went ahead and snapped an image of my shirt sleeve to show I am (as always) into the Halloween spirit by wearing my skull shirt.  This shirt, by the way, has gotten a lot of great comments from people here sweet!

Skull shirt

Respect not money.

One thing that is taking a lot of getting used to is not being looked at in the same light as I once was. You see, in my previous ‘life’ I was the only person doing what needed to be done. There was no staff or A/V co-workers at my location, just me. Because of that everyone, obviously, turned to me , I was the go-to guy. I had earned the respect of those I was supporting and they came to me not only for direct support but also for advice and help in planning their events. I became more of an event planner/av technician. Although I am at the same location I am no longer the go-to person but the guy that finds out about things last. I am still the same person but the hat I wear is different. This is something I have to get used to - re-earning everyone’s respect and trust.

But to give everyone here credit, the person I am now working with was in the same boat as myself. For the longest time he was the go-to guy for everything photo and video. He was the one running the show in the studio without any support. So when people call or email they do so directly to him and he flies in to save the day. I know and understand that this is how he has had to operate for a long time and so it all is second nature for him. Despite that there have been times where I have felt left out or not invited to assist because I was the ‘new kid in town.’ I’m sure nothing is meant by it and, again, this is something I have to get used to, re-earning the respect of everyone.

I have been a gadget nerd and a techno-weenie for a long time. I have also been shooting for a good amount of time to. I know how to take the pictures I want and I know how to use a studio. Granted this style of photography is more photojournalism and I don’t have a lot of experience doing that, but I know my way around a camera. So when I am being shown some of the basics a little twinge is elicited. Like I said before, I know this isn’t being done because the people don’t think I know how to do things, but it would be nice to feel like they perceive me to be an equal partner. I can understand the desire to approach a new employee this way. You work so hard to build up a reputation not just for yourself but also for the service, the last thing you want to happen is to have it all get blasted away by a new comer. So instead of having to rebuild the reputation for a service you just have to have the new kid build their reputation. But, this is the stuff that takes time to earn and build up to I suppose.

With all that said though, I am grateful to be in a position and and working with people that want to teach and help expand my skills both in photography for the department but also photo skills in general. The alternative would be a workplace where no one would want to share in their tricks and secrets. The rice-bowling of photography never made much sense to me.

So as the third week of my new employment is coming to a close I have much to look back on (to be written about tomorrow time willing) and some realization for within. A realization that just because my ‘new’ co-workers have worked with me for the past 6 years, the roles, just like my badge color, have changed. Everyone looks at me in a different way and expects something different from me than previously provided. In time I know that the baby-steps I am being given will fade away and a more equal team will emerge.

10-27  to Columbia, SC

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Well, my first work trip has been completed.  I headed out on Monday for events Tuesday morning so lets get started …

Going through the airport is a little more bulky as a photographer than a regular traveler I found.  Because the planes we were taking were small ones we didn’t want to check any baggage - general rule being don’t check you camera equipment (for obvious reasons) and you want to keep your laptop/additional carry-on bag handy for flight entertainment/work purpose - any remaining luggage (clothing bag) we were doing a gate check.  Basically we become sherpas throughout the airport in order to drop off our clothing bag at the gate (or just outside the plane on the tarmac in this case) so that it is waiting for us once we get off the plane instead of having to wait for the luggage processing.  This is not only extra convenient but also saves us time.

So there we were standing in the security line with three bags each and having to get prepped for the detectors.  With all the gear it isn’t a quick dump in the bins and off with the shoes as I was used to.  Because certain pieces of camera gear might look suspicious in the machines  - the Quantum batteries specifically - we have to dig those puppies out and put them in their own little plastic container.  No biggie but since I also had to plop the laptop out and slip off the shoes you can imagine how quickly this goes while surrounded by 100 of your fellow travelers trying to get through so.  I don’t know of any way to do this more efficient unless I just didn’t bring as much stuff, not that that is a viable solution.

No hiccups through security so we were greeted with an hour and a half wait for our flight.  Sure we could have left work later to time the wait at the airport to be minimized but I personally would rather have extra time at the gate instead of racing to catch the plane.  And besides I wouldn’t have had a chance to sample the spinach quesidilla which was quite enjoyable.

Our flight down to SC was pretty tame with no surprises.  We flew on a Canadair CL-65 for those of you who might be curious.  At 10,000 feet I slid out the PMP and listened to some Knocked Down Smilin’ and started to read “World War Z” by Max Brooks.  So far it is an interesting read.

In a normal retelling of our arrival I would say we picked up the car, hit the hotel and settled in.  But, things didn’t turn out so cut and dry.  We didn’t have any problem picking up the car and we even secured a GPS for our trip - sure we had directions printed but why not be extra cautious.  Everything packed into the car we plugged in the address to the hotel and were on our way.   Funny thing about the GPS, it didn’t really get us where we wanted to go.  Instead of the ending point being the hotel like we stupidly wanted to go we instead ended up on a dead-end road at the tail end of a private airport, nowhere close to our intended target, funtimes.  I, of course, had to make the joke that this is how great (read: bad) horror movies are started.  But no, we didn’t end up in a travelers slaughterhouse but turned the car around and found the hotel with a combination of the GPS and the printed directions we had with us.  Funny thing, for the rest of the locations we needed to hit the GPS didn’t fail us.

Once at the hotel I was happy to see that the previously quoted price I was given wasn’t the government rate.  I’m glad we asked abut that otherwise I would have been out an additional $70.  Sure work would have reimbursed me for it but that is still initial out-of-pocket I would prefer not to be.  Having the option of a king bed or two doubles I went with the king - why not.

After a couple meetings and brief downtime everyone met up to grab some dinner.  Someone was told about some good barbecue and off we went.  While Hudson’s Smokehouse wasn’t bad food, it wasn’t what I had gotten used to thanks to Eastern NC.  The pulled pork was moist and tasted good but it was missing that little extra something that you find with Eastern style.  But, the price wasn’t bad and it looked like a popular place for the locals.  We all thought we were going to burst with all the drink refills that were brought to our table.

Oh, and getting to the restaurant was a little adventure too.  This outing the printed directions came straight from the fail-boat.  The helpful ladies behind the counter at the hotel printed google map directions for the wrong road, so three u-turns and aided by GPS (of the BlackBerry flavor) we finally found the place.  Surprisingly the return trip to the hotel was much faster.

After a phone call home it was time to paint the town red - well, not red but it was time to check out a bar, see what the local scene was like.  One of the ladies at the counter in the lobby suggested a place called The Flying Saucer.  With directions committed to memory out the door we went and little did we know, yet another, brief, adventure awaited.  Were this the continuation of the afternoon’s horror movie then the dead squirrel we saw on the sidewalk would have been an ominous sign.  It wasn’t run over, or squished on any manner, just laying there taking a looooong - so very long - nap.  Further down the sidewalk a legless man in a wheelchair was rolling toward us - again, were this a movie I would have expected fog to be emerging behind him.  Taking our necessary turn at the corner we thought things had gotten weird enough, nope there was one more treat for us.  There we were two guys walking down a dark street in an unfamiliar town senses now heightened.  Hidden in one of the darkened store stoops was a noise that sounded like a radio. the volume wasn’t loud but it had the crackle and static that is recognizable.  We were no longer in the south but had taken a wrong turn and were now in the Twilight Zone.  I’m not ashamed to say that our pace not only quickened at that point but we were laughing a bit at the ridiculousness of everything.  But, we finally made our way to the entrance of The Flying Saucer and were instantly transported back into society.  Talk about selection!  There was a wall of nothing but taps, even their root beer was a few steps above A&W.  We didn’t spend too long there since we had an early and long day ahead of us.  And just like the return trip from dinner our passage back to the hotel was eventless.

The next day

We arrived to the event location and walked the paces.  As the event time approached more and more people with cameras (still and video) were showing up.  There were far more people there to cover the event then expected.  That made things a bit tight body-wise so no easing into this for me.  I was going to have to fight for my space and pictures.  But I think everything was a success.  We traveled to a couple places before our work as photographers was done and we could head to the airport.

There we were high in the air on our way home in a CRJ100/200 (that is what the card said, I don’t know which one - 100 or 200 - we were in to be honest).  But just because we were no longer in SC didn’t mean that the horror/adventure movie had ended, oh no.  Because of the wind DC was experiencing Dulles only had one runway that would be used for landing.  This meant delays across the board so we were in a holding pattern just past Richmond.   And the delays kept coming.  After a while the Captain cam back on the system to tell us that because of the combination of our holding and another plane needing to do an emergency landing we were running out of fuel and had to head back to Richmond to fill up.  Weeee.  After being on the ground for over an hour we finally refueled and were heading back to the friendly skies.  We were in the air for maybe 15 minutes before we were told to prepare for landing, short and sweet.  However, the wind was still having fun and our landing was not typical.  As we approached the runway you could feel the plane shifting from side to side.  This wasn’t the typical feeling you get when the pilot is adjusting but gusts toying with us.  As we were just going tires down the wind decided to have just a tad more fun with us.  You could feel, and see, one side of the plane touch down and then lift as the other side went down, back and forth a few times - we were rocking down the runway.  I have to give major credit to the pilots for being able to deliver us safely in those conditions.  Fun times never end do they!

A ’short’ $60 cab ride later and I was home again.  Whew.

So that is my first peg on the map. And yes I realize I suck for not including a picture from the travels. Hopefully next time I will be able to deliver.

Hello and welcome to my job/travel journal.

I wanted a location where I could talk about my experiences being a newly minted professional photographer for the Government.  Up to now I have been a contractor providing media services (event management and support).  I was providing those services off and on for the last 19 years (since High School) and was feeling a change was in need.  An opportunity opened up in the agency I was working for so I lunged at it and here we are.

I want to use this space to talk not only about the travels that I will be doing for the Department as a photographer, but also about my experiences not only as a paid photographer but as a a person on the opposite side of the contractor-govie landscape.

I hope to the things bouncing around in my head are as interesting to others as they are to me.