30-Frames

Knock, knock, knockin' on heavens door

2011-11-27T01:28:00.002-05:00

Last week I tweeted a simple sentence; "Some doors should be left un-knocked on." I'd say it's safe to say most of my 'followers' had no idea what I was talking about.
I haven't been doing this job all that long but already I've lost track of how many doors I've knocked on. Most of the time you're pounding the pavement in a neighborhood looking for reaction to some sort of "This never happens in [Name of town]" event. That however, is not always the case.
This one particular night we knocked on a door at the end of a long, dark, rural, driveway. The response we got was a shaky, scared voice of a woman. She simply said "Go away, I have a gun, this is private property." I knew the shaky hands belonging to the voice were gripping a handgun she had already used to shoot (at) someone. It's still unclear if she managed to hit the burglar but that didn't matter to me. What mattered was I knew the business end of that particular firearm was pointed at that door we had just knocked on, and if her hands were shaking as much as her voice, I didn't want to be anywhere near that door.
So why did we venture down the dark driveway prevent a woman from sleeping that night? Because we were asked too. More often than not the people making the decision on what you do for a story are sitting behind a desk a hundred miles away. At most they are looking at google maps(if you're lucky streetview) to get an idea of where you are. More often than not their looking the rundown telling them they're still four minutes under. So when your brain tells you it's a bad idea to knock on someones door, sometimes it's worth listening to. Hell, you're the one that's standing there in the night outside of the home where a woman tried to kill someone who came a knockin' in the dark.
So that's why I said it's sometimes better to leave a door un-knocked on.

Faces of Pro

2011-10-18T05:13:00.002-04:00

Sure we've got a big fancy camera which is our main work horse. But sometimes you need a little something extra. In comes the GoPro HD Hero. This little camera goes places we wouldn't dare bring our trusty fancy cams.
Need a shot of a 1,000lbs pumpkin being hollowed out from inside the giant gourd? Done.
Want a POV shot of someone paddling said behemoth squash out into a lake in front of 10,000 people?(Video coming soon) The GoPro can get you both of those shots before it even has breakfast, which usually consists of hours of my patience rendering the video in Edius...
Though this little miracle of a camera is very useful there are a few "flaws".
1) There is no viewfinder
2) The LCD screen that lets you know the camera is on, is on the front of the camera.
What does this all mean? Simple really.
When the operator of the GoPro inevitably turns the device on and hits record, the first shots are almost always the operators face. This hilarious quirk of the camera has lead to quite a few interesting, embarrassing, hilarious, or down right awkward shots of people staring at the camera.
So if you made it this far you may be asking yourself one thing and that is probably "Where is this going?"
Well, it's going here. I've created a new blog to post funny, awkward, embarrassing, awesome, scary.... basically any face that appears to either turn the camera on, or off, or stare at it in wonder. This will obviously be a boring project if it's just me so I'm looking to other people to submit their photos and I'll post them up(with or without credit).
In case you missed the link before the site is at www.goprofaces.blogspot.com

As Promised,

Gloves

2011-10-06T02:35:00.001-04:00

Autumn has come and with it comes an inevitable question in many photog circles. That question of course is "What gloves are best for fall/winter/Vermont Winter/ etc?"
Honestly, there isn't a solid answer to that question. I spent last year buying and returning pair after pair of gloves until I found one that worked for me. Then the temp dropped even more and that glove became damn near useless.

This is a general breakdown of gloves/mittens in relation to TEMPERATURE. I touch on rain/snow/etc a little bit but the main focus is on temp. I offer this advice as a photog who works outside in Vermont during the coldest days of the year. Last year I saw temps in the -20 range while holding a camera. That said, if you take this advice do so with a grain of salt. What works best for me, may not work at all for you.

Glove/ Mitten Combo aka "Glomitts":
More often than not I see photogs wearing Glomitts. Some people swear by them because of their ability to convert from a warm mitten into a finger-less glove. The lack of fingers provides the wearer with greater dexterity than if they wore traditional gloves. These gloves are often made of wool or a synthetic material that provide a range of temperature protection down into the sub-zero range.
The down side to these gloves is the built in flaw of no fingers. This leaves your digits exposed to all sorts of weather and temperatures which can cause you discomfort or physical harm. They also tend to be a bulkier glove due to the fold down mitten and that can get in the way of some minor tasks.
While some people swear by these gloves, I refuse to wear them. In the Northern USA you need your gloves to have fingers or you may actually loose them to frostbite.

Biking Gloves:
I tried a pair of cold weather road biking gloves last year. They provided amazing finger dexterity and as they were form fitting I was able to feel just about every switch and knob on my camera. They were slightly weather resistant and got me through a night shooting in heavy rain without too much discomfort. Alas these gloves failed me when it came to the temperature. As soon as the temps dipped into the 30's I dreaded putting the gloves on. The form fitting gloves left no room for air between your skin and the glove. When the exterior of the glove became cold, you had just minutes until your skin began to sting. I returned these gloves after a couple weeks use and got myself some new gloves.

EMS Work Gloves:
The only reason I'm putting this exact brand glove in here is because these are what I use 70% of the time. A thin leather palmed, synthetic back, insulated "work glove." These gloves offer terrific finger dexterity and the leather palm makes gripping gear a breeze. They are weather resistant, not proof, so if it's raining hard enough, you will get wet.
I found they are comfortable gloves in temperatures down to 0 degrees(f). I've used them in colder temps but they don't offer much warmth unless you are being very physically active below zero. The fit is snug but not tight so finding switches and buttons is fairly easy once you become used to the wear.

Ski Gloves:
When the temperature really takes a dive into the down right deadly cold, you need to make some sacrifices and that usually is in the dexterity department. Heavily insulated gloves should always be in your kit. I wear mine when I know I will be in the cold for a prolonged period of time or when the mercury drops below 5(ish). These gloves tend to be waterproof and windproof, if they're not don't buy them as they're junk. When it comes to cold temps, it's worth spending the money to get a pair of gloves you like and that come with a good reputation. At this point you aren't concerned about being able to easily find or even use switches or buttons. If you have to wear these gloves you're in the "I need to prevent my hands from falling off" type of weather so stay safe!

Heavy Mittens:
I'm not a fan of mittens for work purposes. In fact I don't think I've ever seen anyone wear mittens and operate a camera. Though they offer superior warmth and comfort they are pretty much useless if you need to use your fingers. You can try them for yourself but I plan on sticking to gloves for work. The only place I see these being useful is in the Arctic/Antarctic.

Mechanix Gloves:
Yes this is another brand but I'll use it to cover the general gamut of similar gloves. They are form fitting and come in different levels of insulation for various temperatures. I know a lot of people that swear by these gloves because of their excellent finger dexterity and comfort. They're a fairly inexpensive glove so they would probably be worth the investment as a main glove if you live in warmer climates.

These are the main gloves most people will choose from. I have two pairs of gloves(light and heavy insulation) in my bag all winter. You never know when you need a different pair of gloves. I recommend you do the same.
If none of these gloves appeal to you, you can look into the following;
Boating/Kayaking Gloves
Paintball gloves
Motorcycle Gloves
Shooting(firearm) Gloves
Diving gloves
Sports Gloves(Football etc.)

Whatever you decide to wear have a great winter, it'll be here soon.

History 101

2011-09-20T03:53:00.000-04:00

I'd like to share a small secret of mine, I'm somewhat of a history buff. I wasn't into history enough to pursue a career in the field though I did think about it. No, the date memorization never clicked in my mind and I found myself skipping ahead in class to read the next chapter before the end of the last. I was simply that kid who would rather chill out in the section of the library with the old books, or the books about old stuff instead of a music store(which are also now a part of history).

I don't know why exactly but history is something I've always enjoyed, maybe that's why I became a journalist. I always found history fun to learn about but it was always just that, history. As a journalist though I could witness events first hand and share them with my peers. Those events would then go on to become history and maybe, just maybe, I'd be a part of it. At the very least I would be able to say "Yeah, I was there for that."

Well tonight I can say "I was there for that." I was among 6 members of the media, a mother, a sister, and two close friends, as they watched Gary Ross, a Lieutenant in the US Navy finally marry his partner of 11 years, Dan Swezy.

At midnight the US' "Don't as Don't tell" policy was officially repealed. Gays are now legally allowed to serve openly in the military and if they chose, to get married... legally. That's exactly what Gary and Dan did. With thirty nine seconds until midnight the ceremony was nearly complete, the only thing left was for the couple to be pronounced married for everything to become official and legal. When a clock counting down on a computer using the official time from the Pentagon struck Zero, Gary became the first openly gay, married, officer in the United States military.

Alright, so I didn't witness the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Still, this is a pretty big event for a nation as politically polarized as ours and after the month we've had in Vermont, it's nice to see some good news.

Congrats to the newly weds.

Aftermath

2011-09-13T01:56:00.002-04:00

I was hoping to post daily after Irene hit us. That didn't happen. Apparently touring a thousand square miles of a disaster area across two states seems to eat up a lot of time. I'll try to catch up a bit now that things have calmed down.

The storm hit Sunday into Monday, by Tuesday most of the waters had receded. They left behind a wake of boulders, trees, and shattered lives. It struck very close to home for me. The town I live in was hit hard but thankfully the waters stopped just shy of my driveway. A coworker and fellow photog was not so lucky. Parts of his home were left with six feet of water in them. I spent that Wednesday helping him and his family clear out destroyed belongings and tear down flood damaged walls. It was a scene that played out all around the state.

Courtesy: Tammy Messier

Saturday I found myself searching Washington county for a story. The first few didn't pan out but eventually I found myself putting my news truck into park next to a recently gutted house surrounded by Cadets from Norwich University. A call for help had gone out in the small town of Northfield, home to Norwich, and it was answered within hours by hundreds of Cadets They're called "Rooks", the first year Cadets that are normally not allowed off campus for their entire first year. They aren't allowed internet access, TV, and are kept to a strict schedule for their first year of education. Yet here they were, miles from campus ripping out dry wall, removing refrigerators inundated with the fine silty mud left behind after a flood.

Courtesy: Tammy Messier

It was the same mud that sat two feet deep in the basement of this house until these young men and woman climbed a narrow wooden ladder to shovel it out one bucket at a time all the while singing at the top of their lungs. Those that heard them described the sound of the songs as "Merry." I unfortunately missed the singing but I was there to witness the work they had done in such a short amount of time. The owner of this home said the cadets had done an entire weeks worth of work in just hours. They went house to house for a week assisting those in need of an extra hand.

It wasn't just a small group of Military tracked University students helping. All around Vermont, New York, and New Hampshire people put on gloves and helped their neighbors, friends, and strangers. I spent more than a week covering similar stories and seeing the destruction left behind. Each time I saw the same thing, people helping people.

A small disclaimer; I didn't get to write or Edit this anchor PKG. I do claim responsibility for everything else.

24 hours in Rutland

2011-09-06T03:17:00.000-04:00

It started with one of the most spectacular sunsets I'd ever seen. The dark orange and blood red sky though beautiful was the mask of an executioner. The true face of the beast was hidden in these moments and I watched dozens of cars pull over on the side of the Interstate to snap a photo of the surreal scene. I was driving the live truck back to the station after a live shot outside a Red Cross emergency shelter that had just been set up. I knew better than to shrug off what was coming.

Never having worked through a hurricane I sought out wisdom from another photog I knew was heading to the coast to cover the same storm. It was simple yet accurate advice, some of it I had already prepared for, others not. Either way I felt prepared. I walked into the office on Sunday with 5 gallons of water, cans of soup, stove,(and spoon), granola bars, caffeine drinks, and snacks.
Some people thought I was going a bit overboard on my planning seeing how I wasn't scheduled to spend more than 12 hours at work that day.
I loaded up the live truck and set off with a meteorologist as my navigator. It's the last time I'll let one of them guide my way to a storm. Not two hours after leaving the station we ran into a road that had been shut down. What locals described as a trouble free small creek had decided to go crazy. It took down trees and started dragging them across the road before rising up to a power transformer sending the town into darkness . Knowing this was the first of many road closures we would face we detoured to get into the city of Rutland.

Credit: Nick Johnston

I was told the Cold river had started hitting houses just south of the city so we made our way to find the scene. The owners of this home said they normally are unable to see the river located 200 yards behind their home and that it took five minutes for the river to overflow its banks and completely surround their home. This was early in the storm and the river had not yet crested, this may be one of the last photos of this home still standing.

We left this home heading back to Rutland but immediately ran into a problem. We had become cut off. The road we were on was washed out in one direction and blocked by downed power lines in the direction we had just come from not five minutes prior. Directions from a local put us turning right at a tree, go until you see the red barn...etc. I maneuvered through low hanging branches and swaying power lines until we finally crossed over the Cold river back onto Rt 7.
Our next step was to cut a mini PKG for the 630 then find a spot to set up for a live hit. We needed damage or mayhem or the most shocking thing we could find. It took us two blocks to find what we were looking for. A small neighborhood was flooded and a woman was standing in water up to her shoulders trying to clear the drain pipes with a pool broom. Dozens of people stopped to watch this woman try in vein to slow the rising water. Needless to say her attempts failed and the water continued to rise. I sat there with the dish on my truck up, bird tuned in, and about to set up the camera when I saw the water suddenly start coming toward the truck. It took only minutes for the newly formed lake to cover the 30 feet to the back tires of my truck I had no choice but to scrap the shot and bug out.
Nick and I set off in search of more flooding or damage. Word was that Killington had been hit hard so we headed that way. Back through the labyrinth of a flooded Rutland a right onto rt 4 and up the mountain. We would be there in a half hour or less. Except we wouldn't. In fact no one would be driving to Killington for days. We ran into the first of what I learned were several total wash outs in a 2 mile stretch of the highway. This one was about 1/4 mile long and a few hundred yards wide. I watched as blacktop was ripped from the road and pulled down river. Not only did the sheer size of the damage stun us, it made us realize... We were stuck in Rutland. We spent the next few hours driving around shooting more video and trying to find a way out. We found many people including a couple that we kept running into had the same problem as us. We shared info on which roads we had tried, where new flooding had occurred, where we were going next, and around 930 that night we were 100% certain there was no way out of the city. We set up one last live shot for the 11 and when that was over set out to find someplace dry to spend the night.

We were thankful to find the last available hotel room in the city and not have to spend the night in a shelter or the damp live truck. We checked in around midnight and had all our gear and clothing spread out across the room less than thirty minutes later to help dry it out. I set up a computer and got to editing tons of video to feed back to the station for the morning shows. At three in the morning we each took a shower, drank some coffee, and loaded back into the truck. We checked out of the hotel leaving the beds completely untouched, we had four hours of morning show to do live shots for.

Leaving the hotel we had to decide to either head north on 7 or south on 7. We chose south and less than a mile, and one police escort down the wrong side of the highway later, found a gaping hole in the road. With no risk of getting into a traffic accident I set up shop in the road and began a long morning of work.
The live shots went off well for us and a few hours later we got word from a DMV officer that a road had been opened out of town. That was our cue to get out of dodge.

I'll leave this post with a few photos of the day. Expect a few more Irene related posts over the next few days as I'm still living with this storm. We're all still living with her, she found us as a beautiful place and left us a disaster zone yet there is so much good that has come from this storm.

Nick getting up close to a bad situation

A small building being washed away by a swollen river.

Road crew inspect the damage to Rt 4 in Mendon

The Clover Lane neighborhood in Rutland, was one of the first to experience flooding in the city.

Muddy, tired feet and a soggy, tired, Live truck.

Nick prepping for the last live shot in the middle of Rt 7 south of Rutland.

Irene

2011-08-29T20:15:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in a while, obviously I have reason to now. We up here in Vermont were hit very hard by Irene and the massive amount of flooding that came with her. I was in one of the hardest hit areas of the state and left stranded overnight by the flooding and destruction. I have many colleagues from other stations who faced similar situations in other parts of the state.
I will be posting about what I did/saw during the storm but as I haven't had a real mean in going on 48 hours, I need to take care of that first. All I ask is you please keep the state of Vermont in your mind. We're going to be needing a lot of help.

2 Thumbs up for 5 Days of War

2011-07-28T03:41:00.001-04:00

If I had more thumbs I'd put them up too.
I first caught the trailer for this film a few days ago. I posted a link on twitter and I watched as it spread like fire through the virtual Photog community.

Before this film the only slightly accurate portrayal of a news photog was Chris Elliot in Groundhog Day. Tonight I actually sat down and watched this film and I can safely say this is hands down the best portrayal of a news photojournalist in modern cinema. Throughout the movie I noticed many small things, there is a scene in which Sebastian(Richard Coyle) is sleeping in the basement of an old farm house. Fast forward to the morning and you can see Sebastian pulling a plastic shower cap off his lens, presumably to protect the lens from dust or dirt. Another scene has Sebastian finding and eating food in an abandoned shop while an army is trying to kill them(always eat when you get the chance!). The creators of this film took the time to think of small details such as these that help make the film that much more realistic.

Unfortunately in the course of a film they can't waste their time with recharging batteries, or explaining how tripods magically appeared for the hospital scene. Hell, I'm just glad they actually used tripods! Another thing that only our tiny nation will notice is the SAT truck used in the film. I'm not sure how they run SNG trucks in Georgia but I'm pretty sure, in fact I know from experience, that it takes a bit more than flipping a single switch to up link to a satellite. At least they didn't go live during any of the numerous chase scenes.

One of the most accurate parts of the film is also one that bothers me the most. It's the fact that everyone seems to think the reporter is the most important person, does all the work, and takes the most risks. He suffers more emotional trauma throughout the movie than Sebastian, presumably so we feel sad for him and actually care about him. This can all be summed up in one line that Sebastian says early on in the movie. "He tells me where to go, I just point the camera." Sebastian never once complains during the movie, he does just does what we all do, his job.

There are many other things which obviously are no where near reality. I won't tear them apart simply because I know they were created to add to the plot.

Stepping away from being a photog for a minute the movie was actually very good. The story and plot kept the viewers(my) attention right up to the end. If you are a war movie fan you will likely enjoy this film, just don't expect to see a lot of graphic images as that's not what this film is about. Part of the reason I enjoyed this movie so much was the never ending excitement/fear that the characters had to endure. I won't say it kept me on the edge of my seat, but my eyes were sore at the end from not having blinked in almost an hour. I wont be giving anything away by saying there is a little "love story" to this movie. You catch that vibe almost instantly. I'm never usually a fan of the addition of a love story to a war movie, this one was no exception, It could have gone without and still been a terrific watch.

Checkout Amanda Emilys blog for another take on the film. http://www.amandaemily.com/2011/07/27/verdict-on-five-days-of-war/

For all those that read through this review I leave you with some hope before you see the movie. Dutchman isn't in it much. But his one liners are pretty good.

Hurry up and wait!

2011-07-02T02:04:00.001-04:00

As we stood in the gas station staring at the shelf full of potato chips and pretzels our hardest choice of the day was, Sour cream and onion, or plain ruffles? Honestly both are good but what goes better with spinach dip? Rachel and I were pre-planning our camping trip for the afternoon. You see, she and I had drawn the straw that said "Sit in a live truck until something happens." Alright, we didn't actually draw any straws, someone just told us to go do it.
I grabbed a large bag of the sour cream and onion, paid for it an a few drinks, and we high tailed it down the block to a waiting live truck. It was One something o'clock and we were now waiting for the First Lady to arrive, at six-ish. That meant a whole lot of sitting around.
I started getting bored rather fast so I quickly found things to do. Thursday is normally my day off and other people use "my" gear so I checked my kit to see what need what. One battery was dead, one half way there. I scoured the live truck for the battery charger and got that going so I could have some juice when the moment came to hit record. I had made sure to grab some P2's before leaving so I wasn't worried about that. Eventually I ran out of busy work and resigned myself to a chair in the back of the truck.
Then we waited.
...
....
......
....
...
At this point Rachel tried to close the passenger door to the truck and found it was stuck open. A call to the engineers and an hour later the door was stuck closed with post it notes saying "DO. NOT. OPEN." We decided it would be a good time to grab some MOS interviews of people waiting to see Michelle.
Channel 5 eventually showed up and we all started waiting together.
At 5:30 we got word she was en-route to our location. 15 minutes later...

In 6 hours we had waited for less than one minute worth of video, done one live shot, ate a whole bag of chips as well as half a jar of dip. Still, It was a fun experience. I learned I need to invest in a small portable gas grill for burgers and dogs. A hammock might be a good idea as well.

Driver

2011-06-27T19:11:00.001-04:00

The true work of a news photog is often unseen. From the lighting of a liveshot to sitting at a city council meeting for 2 hours waiting for one agenda item... like I currently am doing. There are dozens of jobs that are unseen but that without there would be no news.
I'll often tell people that my job is 70% driving and I don't think that will change anytime soon. That said I consider myself a "professional" driver. As a "professional" driver you must be able to sit behind the wheel of any vehicle and know instantly how to drive it. Today was no different when Matt and I were given a golf cart to drive around in. I know its not a "real" vehicle but it gets the point across. From our daily driver news trucks, the live truck, all the way to a boat. We just gotta know.how to do it in order to get the job done.
Yes this post is just be a way of time traveling through the city council meeting I'm currently sitting in. Can you really blame me for trying to relive something as fun as a driving a golf cart on a beautiful day?

Why I was talking about Naked people on Saturday

2011-06-13T03:09:00.000-04:00

It started with an email "Kyle, I know you’re going to hate me and life…"

Let's pause there for a second. An email from my weekend producer titled "Saturday Assignments" should never start this way. Having just returned to the station ending my 12 hour shift I was in a fairly grumpy mood. I could have stopped there and said I never received the email. I could have stopped reading and done anything, instead like a moth to a flame I was hooked, I read the next line.

"but I am sending you to the naked bike ride…"

Naked bike ride...

Those three words burned into my retinas.

Okay. I've been asked to cover some pretty ridiculous things. Car washes, people walking in circles for hours, court. Never once have I been asked to go get video of naked people. I've seen these stories covered in the news papers. It's easy with stills, a simple black bar over the FCC branded "danger zones" or a cleverly framed photo of a passing by cyclist, even a simple slightly out of focus long shot. Video is a different ball game. It's like comparing the time wasting computer game minefield to actually running through a minefield.

That's what I felt like I was doing when I was surrounded by dozens of old men, and a handful of women, all of whom were naked. Did I tell you it was raining? Oh and it was cold, real, real cold. Just imagine what I was seeing.

Yet there I was in the rain watching as 30 some odd naked folk hopped on their bikes and began their ride around our states capitol. I ran after them for about a block and a half to the heart of the down town. There I set up and began my wait for them to loop back around and cause a stir.
To hoots, hollers, and cheers the bikers returned and made their way back to the secluded parking lot whence they came. I grabbed a quick interview, after they got dressed, and sloshed my way back to my truck. I sat there for a minute thinking about what just happened.
It wasn't the naked people that kept me pondering, at least not in the sense your probably thinking. The thought racing through my mind was "I just shot video of 30 naked people, now I have to make it TV friendly."
I wasn't looking forward to that editing session.

What just happened?

2011-06-11T03:36:00.000-04:00

Is this a ghostly aspiration rising from the depths of the evil back light hellbent on stealing the last remaining shattered remnants of a news photographers soul? Naw, It's Senator Leahy in a poorly exposed photo taken with my new Droid. I've spent many minutes, maybe hours following this man around over the past few years. Every time I get the chance to talk with him I am reminded of one thing. THIS.
When was the last time one of your Senators stood up to the Joker? That's what I thought, Never!
Gloating aside, I've peered through a viewfinder for hours with this man standing in that little screen. To me everything I shot today looked like this photo. I can't remember ever standing still, or focusing, or even hitting record. Yet after all was said and done I'd accomplished all the above and then some.
That got me thinking. Is there a such thing as a "photog trance?" Some higher level of brain function allowing rapid movement through a crowd and the ability to obtain proper shots? Something that allows you to ignore the sweat stinging your eyes, the glare of the evil secretary who you just pushed aside, and the pain of running backwards into a steel girder.
I'd like to think so. But I think the truth is more simple than that. I hadn't had any coffee and I probably just zoned out.

But how cool was the joker thing? I mean seriously. That's pretty cool.

The Unreported

2011-06-03T03:32:00.000-04:00

"Nat Pak it."
With those three words I was sent off to the Vermont Veterans Cemetery for a Memorial Day celebration. Flying solo isn't the worst. Neither is being asked to do a Nat Pak. I take pride in my work, more so when I can fill 1:20 of the show without the help of a reporter or anchors voice. Overall the ceremony was exactly what it was billed to be. The addition of the name of 22 year old Ian Muller, a Marine killed in Afghanistan last March. I remember the day we learned of his death. I was taken off a story about potholes and sent with Mitch to Danville to cover the local reaction.
At the ceremony the family asked the media to not shoot photos or video of them. They had asked the same when we learned of his death. I was fine with that, I'm not the type to rub salt in a wound. I went about my job and after the ceremony grabbed the Governor, General, Cemetery Director and a Veteran for some quick interviews. The crowd dwindled and I moved in for some close ups of the Memorial.
That's where the real story happened. None of it was recored and none of it was reported.
The mother of Ian Muller approached me and after making sure I wasn't recording began to talk to me. First she said my station had a reputation among the Gold Star families as being extremely respectful, and she also thanked me for respecting her families privacy request. Then she began to share stories of Ian, his future aspirations and his drive to become a Marine. How he had always taken the job of Point man on patrols as he was the only one in his unit without a kid.
We talked for quite a while until eventually, our conversation came to an end. I watched her as she stared at her sons name carved into a granite stone surrounded by roses and photos.
Even if I had been able to, there is no way to "report" that emotion I saw in her eyes.

The PKG is below if you would like to see it.

Hot

2011-06-03T02:45:00.000-04:00

It was hot. I'm sure someone with a degree requiring math classes could tell you exactly how hot. For me it was "Pants were a bad idea" hot. I made my way into the station carrying a cup of ice. It had recently been a cup full of iced coffee but in that heat a cold drink doesn't last long. Whoever invented iced coffee needs a Nobel prize, or at the very least a firm handshake. I couldn't imagine having to sip on something hot when the bottom of my shoes were melting and leaving puddles of overpriced rubber on the ground.
I was greeted with a blast of cool air as I entered the station. Hallelujah! For once the Air con was working properly. Tossing my cup 'o ice in the trash bin I said "hi" to a co-worker, as I walked down the hall to the newsroom. I wish I could tell you I was hoping for a simple day, but I wasn't. It was my Friday so I simply just wanted to have a decent end to a hectic week.
Placing my bag down at my desk I heard a sound that haunts my dreams. I wish I could describe to you the sound of a scanner. The horrible screeching as it laughs at you knowing it's about to ruin your day. The call finally comes across that a Tractor Trailer is laying on it's side, across the third busiest road in the state.
I wont lie, I looked around to see if someone else was going to go. I was reminded of Jurassic Park when Dr. Grant stood perfectly still so the T-Rex didn't ruin his night, only this time I was the T-Rex. With a heavy sigh I grabbed a set of keys and gear and set off to find the wreck.
It wasn't hard to miss, an eighty foot long object laying across all three lanes of traffic surrounded by flashing lights. The driver of the rig was nice enough to roll it right near a cross road. The detour provided a perfect shaded parking location. I sat in my news unit with the AC blasting trying to muster up the moxie to step out into the oven like heat. "I should have brought a hat." I muttered as I stepped out of the truck to grab my gear.
Standing on the pavement was damn near hell. I'm pretty sure at one point my shoes caught fire because my feet felt like they were burning. Out of nowhere a firefighter tossed me a bottle of water. He must have seen all the sweat puddling in my viewfinder. I drank it in a single gulp and sweat it back out within a minute.
Call me crazy, but I miss those Sub zero nights...

Puppymageddon

2011-05-24T03:04:00.000-04:00

This is a puppy

There's very few things that people love to see when they watch the news. Sadly a lot of what people do want to see is the bad side of life be it a house fire, car accident, or the latest sex scandal. I'm not a shrink so I can't say if it's the need to reinforce how well off they are, or if it's because people are drawn to train wrecks(my personal belief). Which ever reason it may be I don't really care. As long as people keep watching and thus allowing me to continue doing what I love, I'm happy.
Due to people wanting to see "train wrecks" I often have to cover breaking news. It's one of the down sides of the job but it's one I have come to find enjoyment in. No, I don't enjoy watching someones house burn to ash. Nor do I enjoy watching as someone is carted off the highway on a stretcher. It's the jokes with the fire fighters who are laying exhausted in the grass type moments that I enjoy.

There has been no shortage of disasters for us to cover this year. From record setting blizzards to historic thousand year flooding. There has been something for us to fill the space between commercials with every single night.
There is however one thing I can think of that people want to see more than mayhem, animals.

Petey

Puppies and Kittens specifically, elicit a response from people that I have yet to find an equal to. There is something about seeing these little guys and gals run around that makes people want to stop what they're doing and watch. Don't believe me? Well then have a look HERE. For months now that webcam has had thousands of viewers at a time watching puppies do nothing but be puppies. After 31+ million viewers I feel comfortable making this claim. When the idea of covering some dogs and cats who were recently rescued from Alabama after the deadly tornadoes was pitched, I was hooked.

Don't let their cuteness fool you. Trying to get a usable amount of video of puppies is a lot like trying to catch lightening in a jar. Most of the footage you get looks like the above photo of Petey. Sometimes it can get a bit frustrating especially if you're under a tight deadline. This is one of the few instances I will break my rule and put myself into the story. There are only so many puppies licking the lens shots you can put into a PKG so when they start taking an interest in you and try to eat your shoes, turn that lens towards yourself! The only warning I can offer is try to keep their paws of your camera or you might have to clean some puppy poo off the microphone.

Eat your Wheaties

2011-05-21T01:45:00.000-04:00

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That's what I was always told as a kid. I never knew why and no one ever cared enough to educate me on the facts behind this statement. For the longest time I always assumed it had to do with nutrition. I've now figured out the truth.

I'll be honest, I skipped breakfast today. As with most days I woke up late, showered, got dressed and ran out the door to work. I figured I would get sent on some simple story and have 5 minutes of spare time to swing by Dunkin's. Not today!

I ended up sitting around while Rachel made phone calls to all our local religious folks(Rapture story). One thing didn't lead to another so we left to go grab some MOS. I was happy to be heading out in the general direction of food. Then the phone rang. "Distressed boaters. Get to the lake!" Okay. Not the best directions. There's got to be 1,000 miles of shoreline on the lake. The phone rang again; "Never mind. Pull over and sit tight."

Score! I took the next exit off the interstate and put my foot down. I figured I could make it to Dunkin's Before they called back. Wrong again. Another ring of the phone and I reversed direction for an hour drive to Stowe for a structure fire.

I knew if I didn't get something to eat soon I wouldn't be a happy camper to be around. Then I remembered I always keep a spare granola bar in my bag. That's a lesson I learned long ago! Always have a snack in your bag. So a full 4 1/2 hours after waking up and close to 16 since my last meal, I finally had something to eat.

So why is breakfast the most important meal of the day? Because in this job you never know what's going to get struck by lightening and ruin your lunch plans. So eat something before you go to work. You'll be glad you did.

Hey Grads,

2011-05-17T04:20:00.001-04:00

Sunday marked two years since I graduated college. In that time I've thankfully come to find myself employed in the field I got a degree in. I like to think the lessons I learned in college helped, such as; Whiskey + Cider = Delicious, how to ration three days of ramen and pasta to last me two weeks, and even a few things related to why I was there(TV News).
While the lessons I learned in college have stuck with me and actually helped me(go figure!), it took getting my feet dirty with a camera slung over my shoulder to really learn anything. I wont go off and preach like I've memorized the 'togs bible, I haven't. For a man who writes frequently I'm not the most avid reader. But over the past few weeks I got to thinking. "What if I could offer just the tiniest bit of advice for those that are now in the shoes I once was?"
Well I put some thought into it and came up with an awesome speech. I imagined I was up on my wooden soapbox surrounded by people hanging onto my every word, as if I was someone who knew what the hell he was talking about. Then I realized I don't have a soapbox, do they even make those anymore? So alas, my dreams of offering advice were dashed. How can one reach the masses without a box to shout from? The internet you say? Well, it's not as photogenic(trust me I've done stories were all I had was internet b-roll) but it does allow me to reach people around the world. Alright I'll give it a shot.
Grads,
Specifically Lyndon Grads,
First off congrats. Now to business, those of you who were the photogs, you're a reporter. Reporters, you're now photogs. To simplify... you're all now journalists.
Simple enough ain't it?
Producers... I've got nothing...

This is a post about Boots

2011-05-16T02:59:00.002-04:00

As a photog I live behind the lens. If I do my job correctly nobody will ever notice I did anything at all. The same can be said for many things in life including shoes, or rather, boots.

A few years ago I walked into Eastern Mountain Sports in Peterborough, NH. This is a store I know very, very, well. I was in need of a new pair of backpacking boots and thought I knew what I wanted. I tried on the EMS brand boots that were on sale for about $60. After about 30 seconds I realized they sucked and tried on another pair that were about $100. Those boots were okay and I was pretty sure I was going to buy them. Then for shits and giggles I tried on the most recently released boots the store carried. They had a price tag of over $200 and though I knew I couldn't afford them. I wanted to see how much boot you got for that amount of money. It was a decision my wallet regretted instantly. It only took me about five seconds to fall in love with the most expensive pair of boots I've ever bought.
They came out of the box shiny and a very dark amber, almost black. Bright blue and black laces and heavy, thick Vibram soles glued you to any surface you dared step foot on.
These boots carried me from adventure to adventure.
It was this pair of boots I donned for a 10 day trip in the wilderness of Maine. Ten minutes into our trip we had to cross a flooded river and our boots were wet for the next 9 days. Still, soaking wet they carried me the fifty miles up mountains, through rivers, across mud pits, and over rocks to our final goal of the summit of Mt. Katahdin.

From Katahdin to Arizona, Utah, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Tennessee, Arkansas, Nevada, Virginia and many, many other states. They've stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon during my surprise birthday trip last spring. It was here I called my mom on her Birthday. A conversation that went somewhat along the lines of; "Happy birthday mom. I'm standing at the edge of the grand canyon, what are you doing?" "Hating you for not taking me!"

If I had to estimate I would say I've walked some five thousand miles in these boots. I honestly can't say if that is a true number but I would not be at all surprised if it were. Just in travel on planes, trains, and automobiles these boots have traveled around the world several times. Hell, they even hitched a ride in a Helicopter last fall.
I've got an eclectic collection of foot ware. From sandals to snow boots and slippers to Fancy pants shoes. With my wide selection of boots, shoes, and sandals you think I would take the time to select the right tool for the job.

Instead of wearing my snow boots it was these boots I donned to tramp through three and a half feet of freshly fallen snow to get to a tractor trailer that jack-knifed on an interstate taking out nine cars. It was with these boots that I rushed through a crowd in a church and found myself smack dab in the center of a photo with the Reverend Al Sharpton.
I could go on and on about all the good that has happened with these boots laced to my feet. They were with me for so many amazing events, so many life altering adventures it is hard to believe I hardly noticed them. They were doing their job exactly how they were supposed to and because of that I never missed a beat. When things work how they are supposed to, you never notice. It's not until the seams come loose and a lake enters via a fracture in their perfection that you take notice. It was in haste my cursing of my boots for letting my feet get wet the other day. I should have instead thanked them for their faithful unfaltering service over the past few years. If I can I will find a way to repair these boots. But for now they are resting in the relative safety of my home living how a prized possession should. When the time comes to replace these boots, I just hope I can find another pair that will give me the same amount of perfection that these once did.

My Merrell Perimeter Gore-Tex boots. ~2007-2011

Blocked

2011-05-08T02:25:00.000-04:00

I'm writing this simply to write. For the past two weeks I've been unable to put thoughts down "on paper." There has been so much going on I should have plenty to write about.
I could start off with the "big" news that has blessed this sweeps period, the death of Osama bin Laden. But really that night when I broke the news to the rest of my news room he had been killed, it was the least of our worries. There was a mouse running around the newsroom that day and finally right after Obama announced the death of the Ace of Spades, I cornered the mouse. Russ, our director, and I tried to scoop the critter into a plastic container but there was an accident. Russ snapped the poor guys neck but failed to kill it. He freaked and I had to scoop the mouse up and take him outside where with the help of a ten pound rock, I put it out of it's misery.
Then it flooded.

With the record amount of snow from this winter topped with a record amount of rain during the spring thaw, Lake Champlain rose to three feet above severe flood stage. It currently is sitting at about 9 feet above it's normal height. Hundreds of people have been evacuated in Burlington alone with more in New York and other communities surrounding the lake.

Post Live shot photo

The Adirondack region of New York, specifically Saranac Lake was also hit hard by flooding. That's why I found myself in the live truck with Matt making the 2.5 hour drive to go live for the 7 o'clock show. The only issue with that plan was my lack of having done a Sat shot in it's entirety by myself. Don't get me wrong, I'd done the training, practiced, read books, watched videos and felt very confident in myself. But it was going to be trial by fire for me.
Thankfully. It worked. I remembered everything and the rain even let up right in time to set up, do the shot, and break down.
There is even the other part of my life I could write about. You know, the part of me that writes. I'm writing a book but it's been hard going recently. I've past the point where I know how to advance the plot any further. It's not ready to be finished but I can't think of how to continue and get the rest of my ideas in before the conclusion. I've been writing this book now for over a year and a half and it has become a huge part of my life. I don't ever plan to make money off my book as it's something simply written for fun. I don't know how I plan to print it. I don't own a printer and I can't afford to pay to print off multiple copies of a book that's over 200 pages long.
I have to figure out how to Cover it. Hardback? Paperback? Wood? Leather? Brushed Titanium? That's something I never thought I would have a problem with. How do I cover my book? Hell just two years ago I doubt I'd have believed my future self if we had met and he told me I would become an "author." Yet here I find myself with that exact problem.
I plan on making copies of the book for a few close friends. If other people catch word of it and ask for a copy, I guess I'll make them one as well. That is a problem I do hope to have as it means it might pay off to be an author.
Well, for being unable to write something, I sure wrote... something. If you read this there is no way I can refund you the time spent doing so. I just needed to write.
-Kyle

Like glue on the brain

2011-04-26T02:34:00.000-04:00

Seldom is it that I have a story stuck in my mind for days on end. The last time I recall that happening was after I joined the air guard for a "private" helicopter flight. I was high on life for nearly two weeks after that experience. Sadly I haven't been soaring through the skies recently. I have however, been shooting some anchor paks for use this past weekend. Thats how I found myself in a tiny apartment with a man named Mason.

Though his apartment was probably the perfect size for a man and his dog, it was not perfect for shooting. To the right you can see Mason in his work space. He's a music producer, or as some say "DJ". He's damn good at it too. Unfortunately for a Photog wielding a 20 pound camera, his work space is not a friendly shooting environment. What you see in that photo is what I had. Roughly four feet by six, subtract the area of a man, divide that by two, then subtract the area of the light I had to set up to have any usable shots. Add a curious dog to that equation and you get the idea, it was tighter than tight.
I wasn't worried about having any sound, that was a given. Having enough shots for what I was told would be a long PKG, a little nervous. Scrap the wide shots, I had Close ups, Closer ups, and "Wheres my damn macro" shots.
One of the reasons this story is still in my head was how hard I had to work for it. I spent what seemed like hours holding my camera at arms length, above my head, and in many other 'strenuous to hold for a long time positions'. It was probably no more than a few minutes but I'm sticking to hours. Don't believe me? Check out my wicked Biceps.
The other reason it's stuck in my head, the music.

Now if you'll excuse me I have a sudden urge to go put on a bunch of glow stick jewelry and buy black lights.

Jokes on me

2011-04-13T03:17:00.002-04:00

I focused on the steeple of the church 300 yards away and set the exposure just a little lower than it should have been. I wanted to make those clouds stand out and the colors in the sky pop. Through the viewfinder I saw the police cruiser slowly coast by the bottom of my shot. My gut told me to look up and watch the officer drive by, so I did. I watched as he drove a few parking spaces past my truck and pulled into one of the dozens of empty spaces lining the street.
"Great, just what I need." I thought. I couldn't help it, I loath dealing with people on power trips. I watched out of the corner of my eye as the officer stepped out of his patrol car and made his way over to me. I hit record right as he signaled to me and asked...
"Do you have a permit to film here?"
A fire roared to life within me. "Not again" I thought as he stepped ever closer. Memories of fires hoses aimed my way and threats of being tazered crossed my mind. I could have said so many things; "I'm not using film" "Yes" or even "No." Instead I went with the tried and tested...
"I'm on public property I don't need a permit." How far did I wan't to take this fight for a shot of clouds? 'All the way' I quickly decided.
I must have looked pissed as the officer froze, his face instantly showing signs of defeat.
"Wow, you shot that one down. I thought it would be a lot funnier than that." He said sadly.
Now I was the one who was confused. Then it crossed my mind, he had been joking!
"I saw you shooting and just stopped by to see what's up. Get's boring in this small town."
We spent the next few minutes chatting about life, the universe, and Biomass Power plants (I promise it wasn't as exciting as it sounds!). Somewhere between me asking if he would write me a ticket if I rounded the rotary at 50mph(He said no), and him asking how I intended to get the story back to Burlington and onto the TV in under the 2 hours my TomTom said it would take to drive back(I said I had a teleporter), Rachel stepped in and said we had to go finish shooting the story.

We don't make the news, we wait for it.

2011-04-07T21:48:00.001-04:00

I often post stories that make my job look interesting. Compared to most jobs, it is. But for every helicopter ride, zip line, or castle made of ice, there are 5 school board meetings to stalk.
This video was shot by Paul Martin, a photog from across the pond, while he was waiting outside a courthouse. It shows perfectly what it's like to be a photog on a slow day.

The iFad

2011-03-26T02:56:00.003-04:00

The iPad2. It's "cool." I witnessed first hand the madness these caused when they were released, and the lines that they produced outside our local Apple store.
Okay, so the line wasn't outside. Okay, so the line wasn't really a line... still, it caused enough of a buzz that I was asked to grab a VO/SOT on my way back from the state house about it.
It's a nifty little thing. Cameras front and back(poor quality), touch screen, runs apps, doesn't run flash. It's missing a bunch of things it's competitors have, so Apple brands it as being "uber light weight." It's a lot like buying a Ferrari and being told it doesn't come with the seats or gas pedal... or the keys...or the engine. It looks pretty, has a lot of potential, but you need to buy the necessary things to get it running properly. Sitting next to the iPad2 was the "Dock", the wireless keyboard you can buy for it, the media card reader accessory, and the wall adapter so you can recharge it. Once you've paid for all that you're broke and then you realize you should have bought a laptop as thats what you now essentially have.
There's been talk of these making an impact on the TV news industry. To tell the truth I don't see that and I was staring the thing right in the eyes.
For one, there will be a new iThingy introduced every year making the previous years technology obsolete. The inability to invest in this device long term will be one of the deciding factors in it's ability to make an impact on an industry that needs consistency. While my Panasonic AG-HPX500 may cost 12 times as much as the iPad, it wont be obsolete next year. Nor will it be useless due to a cracked screen or dead battery within two years. That camera I'm holding is pushing 4 years old and it's rocking harder than Keith Richards did a century ago. It may only have one lens but that lens can zoom in on the tick on a dogs ass from 100 yards away, and it can do so in damn near complete darkness. Why would I need to do that? No clue. But at least you have the option, and you didn't even need to shell out another two hundred bucks to get it.

Lessons learned

2011-03-22T04:21:00.001-04:00

Today is my birthday. It is also the one year anniversary of me starting my job at Fox44. In that year I've learned many a things but I feel the most important of those is to have a laugh.
Whether you are a staffer for some national paper waiting on El Presidente to return to his private jet, or a lonely photog stuck on the side of the interstate as the clock strikes midnight and you suddenly turn a year older. You have to find a way to laugh.
Laughing breaks up the monotony, the stress, or the horror of any job... especially news.
You can see it in most professions where people deal with...there's no other way to put it... shit. Laughing is a way to get through the times when you would otherwise snap and punch that co-worker who's been begging for an ass kicking, right in the face.
So when I realized I had turned 25 on the side of an interstate in the gray space between markets, surrounded by people I did not know, I looked for a reason to laugh. I found my laugh in the form of a reporter(go figure) from WHDH. Unhappy he had to travel all the way north to Littleton, NH to cover a bus roll-over he looked for reasons to be happy. He found it in the form of a sign on the side of the highway that read "Canada 70", indicating we were 70 miles south of Canada. This seemed to really amuse him and that made me laugh. My bet is he's never been to Rouses Point, NY.

#3

2011-03-11T21:42:00.000-05:00

Our news room side door after "#3". The previous
night there was no snow.

If it snows in the south, the world ends. We all remember snowpocalypse and snowmagedeon. Two storms that left the country a little chilled and sore from shovelling. They shut down many states and the national guard was called in to.... well I'm not sure what they did, probably shovelled snow so other people didn't have to. Up here in the North country we deal with it. Mondays storm went without a name, maybe "#3", as it was the third largest snow storm for Vermont, ever.

"#3" dumped close to three feet of snow in some places in under 24 hours. It snowed so much the interstate got shut down at points because tractor traliers couldn't make it up mountain passes and blocked both lanes. Even the post office was unable to deliever mail despite their un-official motto, yet the news went on that night.

When bad weather hits people expect certain things to happen. Police, fire and ambulance to be ready and help those in need, and the news to cover it. Thats why I found myself stuck on the inetersate on my way to work snapping photos of the traffic jam.
Little did I know I'd be there again the following day.

Move it!

2011-03-03T18:30:00.000-05:00

So things have been going slow here. I've been slacking on updates but for good reason. For the last month or so I've been more stressed out than a person my age should be. Long story very very short; Caitlin and I were about to be homeless. We spent every second of our free time trying to find a home, visiting apartments, moving money around etc. With less than a day to spare we found a new apartment and had to do a huge crazy move. Now were settling down, getting things put away.
Its a quirky place and trains go through our back yard but its our first place living together so were happy.
I promise to get this thing going and keep it up on a regular basis.

Zipping back to my blog

2011-02-05T00:19:00.002-05:00

I've had a hell of a time the past week or so as I've been putting in a lot of OT. Racking up the overtime is sweet but leaves me with little time for myself and less for writing. I've wanted to sit down and write about my awesome time on a zipline. How I rode tandem with a guide at over 45mph down a thin cable with 0 control over the trip, all to get a higher quality tracking shot that I already had thanks to a GoPro.

Or I could tell you about placing all my trust into a harness and webbing as I leaned out over the edge of a platform 35 feet above the ground. My goal, to get the reaction of my fellow journalist Nicole as she swung out to rappel down off the course.

But Instead of telling you about all that I was sent off to shoot a house fire and hour and a half on the other side of the lake. "No biggy" you think as you look at the flames of a burning house.

"No one died, whats it matter?" you ask. Well it does matter. Not because this poor man lost his house and DirectTV Dish. But because hours earlier these same firefighters started fighting another fire. One in which an elderly man did die. These men fought that fire for hours and then as they were returning to the station to warm up, they got another call.

They did their duty and went to work. I caught them at hour 12. By now the temperature had dropped to 0 degrees but they kept working. They had to thaw their frozen pumpers and hoses before they could even start spraying the fire. Once they did, every droplet of water they sprayed that did not make it to the fire, froze on contact with whatever it touched first. More often than not the water froze to a fellow fire fighter. On this cold night they defeated the fire, but only after it claimed a home.

Maybe I should tell you about the skier who got lost before I had to go to that fire! No, that was only worthy of 20 seconds of airtime. I'm just glad she came out alive and well. I was frozen solid from the half hour I spent watching the rescuers.

On another night I ran a live shot so Rachel could explain why you should slow down when there is snow on the roads. Apparently people in the North Country don't know that little trick as two people were killed from driving to fast that day.

Nah, thats self explanitory, I'll move on.

If I could I would tell you why I sat a reporter and interviewee on a block of ice larger than a car. In hindsight it wasn't the smartest place for a sit down interview because, as I found out, ice melts and makes pants wet. But it was still a fun time wandering around the Ice Castle in Saranac Lake, a full 5 hour round trip from our station.

After arriving back and spending an hour editing I ran into a technical glitch. I had 9 minutes to tweak my audio and finish editing my Ice Castle PKG before it had to air. It would be close but I knew I could get it done with plenty of time to spare.... Until my monitor power cable shit the bed. Without time to troubleshoot the problem we rigged my PC with a tiny little back up(we stole it from someone else) monitor. This monitor couldn't handle the resolution I was previously running and I was barely able to finish the pkg. It was the first time I've had to edit a pkg looking down under my armpit to see what was happening but I did manage to get it done.

Yes, I made air.

That's why I havent been able to write lately.

Live hit

2011-01-25T23:27:00.000-05:00

Nothing pithy or insightful to see here. Just a simple Behind the scenes view of a live shot from outside our studio. This was recored with a GoPro HD mounted to a window on our office. In the video you will see Steve Glazier, our weekend Meteorologist, and myself(the creeper at the camera) fight through the -7 degree temps to show people how cold it is.

Enjoy, I had fun making it.

Get noticed

2011-01-24T22:58:00.000-05:00

A lot of people do a lot of things to try and get on TV. Some people do crazy things, some deadly things. Other's act like idiots on reality tv then try to write a book only to discover they failed elementary school. Then there is the tiny amount of people who are doing something and/or hilarous and don't even realize it.
This here "fool" was at a girl's basketball game. During a not so good rendition of some popular song he decided to break out into a river dance. I managed to capture a few seconds of him dancing before his friend's pointed him in my direction. Noticing a large camera lens pointed in his direction he stopped dancing and proceded to chant "Camera man." Pretty soon the entire Gym was chanting along with him and I realized I had suddenly and unwantedly become the center of attention at a high school girls BBall game. Good thing I was the only one with a camera.

It's chilly out, do something nice for yourself.

2011-01-23T23:16:00.000-05:00

I had a bad dream right before I woke up. It had to do with me walking into the station today and being sent right out to do MOS in the shopping area downtown. The question of the day; "Why on earth are you walking downtown when it is below zero?"
I woke up after that horrible dream and got ready and left for work. As soon as I sat down at my desk I was sent out, to do what? You guessed it, MOS on Church st aboout how damn cold it was.

As I lugged my gear out the door and proceeded to drive downtown I noticed a crazy sight. The lake was steaming like a hot bath. I headed straight down to the waterfront and promplty set myself up shooting senics and enjoying some frozen fresh air. The temperature difference of the water and air was somwhere around 40 degrees. Seeing how the water was still water and not ice, that put's the water surface temperature around 33 degrees and the air, a lot colder. I spent a few minutes of what was looking like a crazy start to a crazy day shooting some video I liked, and snapping a couple photos on my little point-n-shoot.

Even though you're at work, it's nice ot do soemthing for yourself every now and then.

Watch out Pittsburgh

2011-01-22T20:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we here at Fox44 said our farewell to Brandon Hudson. Brandon is moving on in the business and will be starting his new morning reporter position at WPXI at the end of the month.
A laid back and great guy he's already missed in our news room. While some of us are saddened by his departure I'm sure everyone can agree with me in wishing him Good luck and Congrats on the new Gig.
And yes, we did run that OSG along with a Lebron style interview at the end of the show.

Reflecting

2011-01-21T23:01:00.001-05:00

The past week or so I've been stuck with PKG's filled with file vo instead of amazing B-roll I was able to produce myself. This meant I had very little opportunity to do something artsy or at the very least different.

Today I managed to find a way to make a bland interview interesting. I was out on an Anchor PKG with Lauren speaking to a M.D. about brain trauma. We were put into a small recovery room with dim lighting and not much space to shoot. I could have easily put the doc against a wall and just got it over with. Instead I chose to try shooting the interview through a mirror conveniently placed on the wall.

It worked out great. Gave me a little more depth of field that I wouldn't have had shooting straight at the Dr. The only down side to it was that everything was backwards. Not even the shows director noticed anything was weird until I mentioned the shot then people saw the writing was backwards on the Dr's name tag.

Overall a decent day. Still had to use a ton of file vo and some national video of Congresswoman Gifford. This weekend promises something good with temps dropping to -34* in certain areas of the market. I might just be crazy but I'm kind of hoping to do a live shot about the -30* temps. Guess I'll have to see what happens.

Resolute

2011-01-03T22:31:00.000-05:00

Those few who "frequent" my little slice of life here on the internet might have noticed a new addition to my site. A couple weeks ago I started my very own dictionary. I decided to create the dictionary so those that read my blog and are not in the news or TV business will have a reference to some of the terms we "in the know" use.
I'm hoping I can keep expanding until one day the small dictionary takes on a life of it's own. To help me do that I'd love to have input.
Not in the TV business and come across a term you don't know? Let me know! I'll add it in.
Have you been in the business since before the invention of the TV? Correct me if I'm wrong!
Maybe there is a term or saying you heard in a Movie related to TV news(Anchor Man, Live from Baghdad) and have been wondering what it meant. Let me know and I'll throw it in there.

One of my resolutions for the year was to write more and along with this blog my dictionary is a simple way to keep myself writing. Once I get my self a laptop or someway to keep working on my book as a side project I will continue to write that as well.

If you would like to email me for a new addition or help me with a correction please send an email to 30framesblog@gmail.com.

Night skiing and the Nocturnals

2010-12-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

I stepped out of my nice warm shower this morning and turned on my TV. I flipped it to CNN so I could have some mind numbing background noise as I made some breakfast and low and behold, they were talking about a derailed chairlift in Maine. Seeing how chairlifts don't run on rails they were wrong to start with but thats not the point. The point is that I knew I would likely be doing a story localizing this national story and telling Vermonters it's still safe to get on a chairlift.
Sure enough I got to work and was proved right when I was partnered with Rachel to go to a local Ski Resort. After a short drive we hopped onto a lift and got ourselves a simple story about something to do with why we were there.

Keeping with the reality of there never being a "normal" work day in news I was then sent to the Higher Ground Ballroom to meet with, and interview Grace Potter from the band Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. If you haven't heard of her or her band, check them out as with most things from Vermont, they're damn good. It's also nice to see a small town band not letting their fame get to their heads and keeping in touch with their roots as Grace and her band have done.

Holiday Cheers

2010-12-27T16:47:00.007-05:00

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, happy festivus, what ever you celebrate, I hope you had a great time doing so, as I know I did with 5 seperate Christmas celebrations in 3 states in less than 24 hours. It was worth it though. A couple things of note from my holidays; The Fox44 Christmas song which you should take a few minutes of your time to watch.I may sound bored in mine, but I assure you it was at the end of a shift and I was indeed bored and ambushed with a camera.
Also, a gift of note I received from my awesome girlfriend.
At first I was confused when I opened up the box containing a
lens for a Nikon DSLR as I don't own a camera to use this lens with. Then after closer inspection I realized it was a coffee mug! A near fully functional lens(zoom ring works and lifts the mug) converted into a coffee mug made for the perfect gift for this here photog. It's getting a lot of attention from my fellow photogs and even the engineers are coming over to play with it. That gal knows me well.

Morning Shift

2010-12-21T06:15:00.001-05:00

I was approached last week and asked if I could cover the morning photog shift. The hours are 3:30am until noon which would allow me to get out early enough on christmas eve to make it down to Massachussets for the holidays, so of course I said yes.
Yesterday was miserable as I got to work at noon on Sunday, left at 9:30pm and was back at 3:30am having not slept and worked right through until noon. Needless to say I was damn near a "zombie" by the end of my redicu-shift. This morning wasn't so bad. I was confused when my alarm went off at 2am as I'm usually digesting dinner around then but it was a simple switch to breakfast and I was out the door.
The drive to work at 3am is amazing. There's no traffic and all the traffic lights are turned off at that hour so no waiting!

It's not too bad a shiftl; Lot's of editing, coffee, setinging up the live truck mast cam for an interstate traffic shot, and then after the 3 hour morning show, a simple story.
It's weird being up this early, but at least when I get out of work there's still some sunshine left in the day. Still, I prefer my afternoon/evening weekend shift.

Want a gig in News?

2010-12-19T20:11:00.000-05:00

How about now? Still interested?

Signs of Winter

2010-12-17T11:08:00.000-05:00

There are many ways people figure out it's winter. I was holding out by telling myself it was still fall despite all the snow, until I saw this on my way back to the station from a house fire. I was 2 miles below Canada in the heart of some backwoods town at a stop sign, when out of no where came a snowmobile and car drag racing. Now, If I was on some back road I would understand, weird things happen on back roads, but we were in the center of town! I conceded at this point that winter was officially here.
If the large quantities of snow, drag racing snow machines and frost bitten fingers don't give it away, you can tell it's winter...

if during the afternoon, the reporter you are working with just so happens to be logging sot's and writing his script in the car with a headlamp. Sure it was close to dinner time, but during the summer this would normally have been the hottest part of the day. Instead I had to lend my headlamp so that I could safely make the hour drive back to the station from our states capital.
Guess It's time to prep for the longest season of the year...

Dream home

2010-12-12T19:48:00.000-05:00

I made a "mistake" on tuesday. I answered my phone at 8:30 in the morning. While that may not sound crazy to most people consider this; I went to bed at 4 am meaning 8:30 is the middle of the night for me. That call was from our daytime desk asking if I wanted to come in early for a day side shift to cover stories we otherwise couldn't get. She promised it would be worth it and as I am about to tell you about that day, I guess it was worth the lack of sleep.
I walked into the news room at 9:30 carrying my bagel and poured myself a cup of coffee. I sat down and while eating was handed my assignment for the morning. I was to go to Stowe and do an anchor package on the 2011 HGTV Dream Home Giveaway, today was media day. This meant I had to shoot around the HGTV production crew, and every other person who was there and in my way.
I did't know what to expect from the house or from who was going to be there. Turns out it was everyone from the builder and architect on up to the hosts of the show. There was also a large crew from HGTV with LED panels to light up the rooms during their interviews and even a guy whos only job was to mark the time code. I felt a little outnumbers as I was going solo for this shoot and even the other stations had a crew of 3. Needless to say I felt like I was at a disadvantage being a part of a one person crew however after I compared my pkg to that of WCAX(the top station in our market) I was beyond pleased with my work.
As for the house, it was awesome, expensive, and fit into the out of place over the top homes of Stowe. Too bad it'll probably go to some flatlander from New Jersey or Connecticut.
Enjoy

Roaming Live shot

2010-12-06T23:32:00.003-05:00

So I just went live via Skype...while driving.
I didn't have to voice anything or actually appear on cam but I had the webcam taped to the rear view aimed forward to see the road conditions. They used the live hits as a tease for our weather hits and frankly, it worked.

The video wasn't the highest quality but it got the point across that the roads were slick and dangerous.

Today is also the day we received our new Logo'd Jackets. They go good with our Logo'd hats. All I need now is some logo'd underwear.
These new jackets are Overmeyer Peregrine's. They retail at about $400 a pop so I was hoping they would be decent. I wore mine all day for the first big winter event of the year and I'll be leaving my personal jacket at home from now on. These thing's are awesome. Super comfortable, great fit, and I didn't even notice it was gusting up to 20mph with a windchill of 18 degrees.
Seriously though, some logo boxers would complete the look.

First Live shot(well, sorta)

2010-11-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

Today was a good day
Thats right, I had a good day at work and I work in News, weird huh? To make that statement more unusual, I owe my good day to a fire that burned down a ComfortInn two years ago this very day.
Today was the grand re-opening of a local favorite restaurant that was attached to said hotel and the desk thought it would make a lovely live shot.
Today was also the day Steve(Our semi-unofficial-sortof-nontitled because we dont have one but no one else wanted to do the work-chief photog) couldn't make it to work. That left Bob and I as the only photoJ's napping during the daily meeting. I was brought back to near consciousness when I heard talk of a live shot at a restaurant. Having just been trained on the ENG side of our ENG/SNG Dodge Sprinter I needed to actually get out and do a live shot without Steve there making sure I didn't fudge it.
Thats when I woke up.

"Can I do it?" I asked no one in general.

"The live shot?" questioned Mrs. Producer

"Yeah"

"Do you feel comfortable doing microwave?"

"Extremely"

"Okay"

And with that simple conversation I was off to Plattsburgh, NY with Rachel to do my first solo Live shot.

After parking the truck, shooting enough video for a VO/SOT and cutting the Story I began my set up. 10 minutes later I had the mast up, was tuned in, video was sending and I was sitting on my ass waiting for our live shot over an hour later.

Rachel wrote the script for our PKG for the 10pm newscast and I looked at maps and took this photo.

The liveshot was a success(not always the case in this truck). I had to wait on the actual setup inside the restaurant as there were people eating dinner and I didn't want to blind them with lights for an hour. But about 30 minutes before I had the interior lit, Rachel mic'd and a director in my ear saying we were on in 4.

That is why I had a good day. Hopefully they let me do this more and more.

A little bit of a lot

2010-11-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

Let's go over the past few weeks with a couple photos. Here's one of current Governor Jim Douglas(left) with candidate and Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie campaigning around the state. I was fortunate enough to follow them around for an afternoon and even got to hitch a ride on their awesome tour bus. Dubie, lost the election but he wasn't a poor sport about it. He knew he lost so he conceded with pride.

This here photo come courtesy of the Burlington Free Press. It was snapped at the Democratic Party "Party" at the Hilton. With the ammount of cameras in that room I'm not surprised to find myself in at least one of them. Here I was ducking, diving, and flat out pushing drunk people out of my way as I walked along with the newly re-elected Senator Patrick Leahy and his wife.

Some where in all the election mayhem I was allowed to do some other stories. This reflection of a firefighter was located in Essex Jct. The driver of a pickup truck had somehow lost control of his vehicle and struck a bridal shop smashing the window and a flower box causing serious damage to the truck.

I Can't forget friday night football! Every friday night I know I will be shooting a local high school game. This particular game gave me TWO close calls. In the first photo I am within just a few feet of getting tackeled. The player being tackled landed hard and almost smashed his helmet into my foot.
In this second photo I was set up at the goal line hoping I would catch an awesome shot of a TD pass. I almost got the shot... Instead I noticed the trajectory of the ball and the direction of the receiver. I moved just in time and the ball struck my thigh just to the left of a very sensitive area. The receiver was able to change direction and thankfully avoided hitting me.
The highlight of all this was finding Al's restruant. Best fries ever...

Nearing the end

2010-11-03T03:38:00.000-04:00

It's 3:40 in the morning. I've just pushed my last story of the day, well, my first of the day(this is bullshit).
I have one more to do before I can call it a night(morning) and then I still have to look forward to sitting in a below freezing car on my drive home. I am so glad tomorrow starts my weekend.
I'm really looking forward to my next paycheck.
Tune in for photo updates later.

Shumlin

2010-11-02T23:25:00.003-04:00

So Shumlin showed up right before our live shot. There was soo much noise we got drowned out and our last live shot was cut from the show. Now it's a waiting game with both gubernatorial candidates neck and neck. I wish I wasn't on the clock so I could partake in some of the bournon being handed out...

Arrival of the winners

2010-11-02T22:41:00.000-04:00

So far I've survived the arrival of both Sen. Leahy and Rep. Welch. It got pretty chaotic in this ball room for about an hour. I managed a "perp walk" style shot on the two winners while dodging not just other photogs, but hundreds of drunk or star shocked supporters. We got off another love shot and a live tease but a rep we were going to do a live interview with was a no show so our shot got scratched. We're now waiting for hte arrival of Peter Shumlin.

Live shot 1

2010-11-02T19:19:00.008-04:00

Success. After some mic issues during set up our first Skype live hit went off smooth as ice.

We've actually had a lot of people from the other stations coming up and checking out our set up.

I had to rig up the webcam on one of the tripods from my light kit. Nothing a little electrical tape cant solve.

I even had enough time to run for some BBQ from Fatty's. I saw they had corndogs so I had to get one.

Election night

2010-11-02T18:38:00.000-04:00

So tonight is election night.
so far I have set up a skype live shot at the Docratic Watch party. We go live at 7 for our first of three hits. I'll try to keep updating as it's kind of boring here.

The fall of autumn

2010-10-16T21:07:00.002-04:00

He's known around the world for traveling to locations of severe and often deadly weather. He drinks hurricanes instead of coffee and eats blizzards for lunch. I'm speaking of a fellow Lyndon State College alumn, Jim Cantore. He's pictured here during a stand up atop Stowe, a local ski resort, yesterday afternoon.
This snow came via a large Nor' Easter that hit most of New England and dumped massive amounts of rain and in higher elevations, several inches of snow.
For those of you who don't know what a Nor' Easter is, it's basicaly a frozen hurricane. High winds, snow, freezing rain, low temps you get the idea.
I didn't get to build a snow man yesterday(Cantore did). Instead I was handed the task of shooting storm damage video followed by a high school football game.
I still have not figured out why the schools didn't cancel the games. 50+mph gusts of freezing wind packing torential rain and an air temp of about 45(if that) degrees. If I've ever heard of hypothermic weather, thats it.
Nevertheless, while Cantore was doing live hits in a gentle winter wonderland I was asking a Fire deptartment Captain why they had to evacuate a building that a tree decided to fall through. Topping the wonderful night off was the football game. The team facing the north end of the field learned not to throw the ball as the wind blew it back behind the QB. I also saw a punt that never returned to earth! As far as I know that damn ball is still heading south.
Still, I wouldn't trade that day for one sitting in an office. I just wish the sports guys hadnt taken the credit for standing in the rain for the video I shot.

Am I homeless? or doing MOS

2010-10-11T22:33:00.000-04:00

Today I was sent out with Mitch to do some MOS(man on the street interviews) about the Canadian thanksgiving being today. Of course that meant we had to target Canadians.
It might sound easy, but hunting down canadians in Vermont(and getting them to talk) is actually quite hard. We had to settle for a woman from france who currently lived in Canada and sounded french canadian, or maybe she sounded french...
While on our hunt I saw more homeless people asking for money than I have in quite some time. I realized that doing MOS is actually a lot like being a homeless person asking for money; you are usually targeting one type of person, most people you talk to shrug you off or make up excuses, and in the end you feel happy having scored just 10 cents of some average joes thoughts.

More on the Helicopter situation

2010-09-29T13:55:00.000-04:00

Still riding the awesomeness of flying in a helicopter. I took a bunch of unused video from that day and threw it together into a 2 part video for my own memories. If you would like to watch the video they total a combined 9ish minutes of flying and some ground shots.

Loving my job

2010-09-25T23:32:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I covered my first Presidential visit. It may not have been Obama but the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, is still a big deal. The fact that he came to Vermont is an even bigger deal which is exactly why I found myself standing on the tarmac of BTV with other members of the press from both Vermont, and Senegal, along with a couple Generals, the Governor and various other people.
As we had to arrive quite a bit early so that the Secret Service could check out gear and make sure we were not there to do bad things, I had a lot of time to look around the hangar at various Helicopters. I struck up a conversation with our National Guard contact, Lt. Col. Goodrow and he told me of a natural disaster training exercise happening across the state the following weekend(this one). After a few minutes of small talk I asked out of curiosity to see what would happen, and because I had high hopes, if I could hop in on a helicopter flight happening this weekend. I was given an "I'll look into it" response.
Fast forward to last night(friday) and the station receives a call from Goodrow. It just so happens that he "found" 2 available seats on different helicopters for a flight saturday morning if I was still interested. Like he had to actually ask if I wanted to go!

Major General Dubie on the left, our pilot on the right. Nicole's helicopter in the far distance.

Flying over Jericho

Nicole in her OH-58 Kiowa

We also got a free ride in a HMMWV around the camp in Jericho. Nicole had to borrow my hat due to "excessive" wind.

My pilot. Can't say thanks enough!

The back of his helmet made me laugh the entire flight.

So today I finally accomplished a life long goal. Not only did I get to fly in a helicopter but I also was able to shoot video from it. During this trip I hinted at another flight to Col. Goodrow. Apparently they have a couple F-16's with a rear seat for passengers...

Enjoying the Drive

2010-09-04T21:38:00.000-04:00

For those of us in the TV industry who are not stuck behind a desk there is a lot of driving involved. We drive to work, then we drive off to cover news, then we drive back to the station, then we drive home. I have spent an entire 8 hour shift behind the wheel on top of having to actually do some real work.
Some people hate driving or even being in a car for any amount of time. I am not one of those people, I love driving; pavement, dirt, snow, water, uphill, downhill, off road, fast or slow, anywhere, anyplace, anyway I can, I'll drive.
While watching James May drive to work I noticed that he spoke of having a section of road on his drive to work where he thouroughly enjoys the drive. For that small section of road it's no longer just a daily commute, but something that brings a smile to your face. I instantly thought of a section of road on my commute to work where I smile, put the pedal to the floor and "fly". For me it is the on ramp from RT7 SB to the start of I-189 where the down hill turn turns from 1 lane to 2. At this point of my drive I am always stuck behind some shmo, so when the lanes split and they are still hugging the turn I blow by them in the passing lane before they notice there is another on ramp merger and get left as well.
Just as in James May's video I too hate when people interfere with my drive. If someone has the gaul to block my entrance on the Interstate my cummute will have been ruined.
I know it is not the most important thing to allow someone. I know that this overall has very little impact on my day(other than my mood). But the idea of having a small section of familiar road that brings a smile to my face makes my drive to work not only feel quicker, but it's damn fun. And after driving as much as I do having that little bit of fun makes the rest of the drive worth it.

Churro

2010-08-30T22:27:00.001-04:00

Those of you who have read a few of my recent Facebook status reports will have noticed a small trend. Now that the Champlain Valley Fair is happening (largest in the state) it has been popping up in our news casts every night. That means that someone has to go there and get the video. Twice now that job has fallen on the shoulders of yours truely. Each time I have gone to the fair I was in a different location but still had the same mission. I have been trying to find a Churro.
As a child I often had Churros at Fairs, carnivals, zoos, school, everywhere. I realized when the CVF started this past saturday that I had not had one in a long time. Since then I have been searching for a churro stand.
Tonight was another failure, our live shot went off without a hitch but I still left the fair without satisfying my churro desires.
I am hopeful for the future. I need to quench this thirst for that sugary fried food goodness. Maybe tomorrow?

Hippies and tigers.

2010-08-28T20:24:00.002-04:00

After covering a hippy fest... woops I meant EcoFest 2010... with their bicycle powered carousels, all solar powered concert, and dreadlocks I had to cover the Champlain Valley Fair. I went from covering hippies and business men who were taking advantage of said hippies(it's all good though as the over priced out doors clothing was organic) to red necks and high schoolers.

The best part of the fair is by far the tigers and lion. I waited patiently by their cages for them to get free and give me a real news story, but no luck. I walked out with a simple Vo/Sot of smiling faces and screaming teens for the first day of the fair.

I remember when going to a fair used to mean getting concussions in those stupid vomit inducing spinny rides and eating churros, I should have had a churro. Now I chat up the PR people and pray a Tiger grabs a carny by the head and drags it to the top of the ferris wheel for a little afternoon snack.

I don't really wish for the death of a carny by tiger, though the image I have in my head does make me chuckle.

Dayzed

2010-08-16T21:27:00.000-04:00

I'm back, sort of.
I spent the past week on vacation in Maine. My family(aunts, uncles, cousins the whole deal) rented a house on a lake in Bryant Pond as an 80th birthday gift for my Grandma.
It was a week of relaxation, swimming, kayaking, sitting around a fire and strong whiskey and ciders.
My normal vacations are filled with large quantities of travel; 2,000 mile flights followed by 3,000 miles of driving in a week. This was a nice change of pace.
Coming back to work Sunday was a pain in the ass. Nothing but VO's until an apartment building burned down in New York that left 7 families without a roof over their head and took a few pets.
Welcome back to reality, at least tomorrow is my end of my three day work week.

It finally happened

2010-08-01T23:01:00.002-04:00

After being diverted from shooting a Nat Pak and sent to Ticonderoga, NY to shoot the scene of a cliff jump drowning I made my way to NY.
After a 2 hours drive I made it to the state park that housed the campgrounds the drowning happened at. I spoke with the rangers at the gate and was told I couldn't go to the scene. Fine. How about hang around the front gate? No. Why not? It's state land and you cant....
Needless to say I recorded everything they said from that point on. This is the raw footage.

After speaking with the state trooper I waited for an additional hour. No documents were ever provided and they left me alone.

A previous life

2010-07-22T02:56:00.001-04:00

I've come a long way in the past 10 years as I'm sure many people have. 10 years ago I started high school, then I went to college and spent a lot of money to get a 5x8 piece of fancy discolored paper with words on it. I started my "first" job(though I've had many) and now I'm living in Vermont...again.

I could stop there having summed up the past decade but that wouldn't do it justice. I look back 10 years and I see the massive personal change from some tall lanky teen who didn't have a clue, to a bearded man who will rush a house fire or wade through a swamp to get a shot the photog from the other station is to scared to get(or maybe they just don't want to get their shoes all muddy).

10 years ago I was a dishwasher at an upscale restaurant. I quit and found a job working at an outdoor education facility on the weekends. It was the perfect high school job that didn't interrupt my life. I kept it until I went to college. Then when I ran out of money by the end of my freshman year I decided to go back. I worked off and on for Sargent center for roughly 7 years helping people from the age of 4 up to the age of 90 have fun. It took me until my last year to finally realize why I kept returning to that job, I wanted to have fun.
Working there allowed me to hang from wires 60 feet in the air with nothing but the ground below me. It allowed me to canoe down the Connecticut river Tom Sawyer style with 5 canoes tied together. I hiked for 9 days often through knee to waist deep water and mud on the last fifty miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, with a grand summit of Mt. Katahdin that would have made Ansel Adams wet his pants. If I could repeat any week of my life, that would be a top 3 pick despite being one of the most physically grueling weeks of my life.

Then there are the friendships which I hope last a life time(preferably a long one). Friends from around the world and from close by. From those I've sat up with at night watching the moon from our rocky campsite, on our very own island we kayaked too miles into the ocean, to the friends I've made playing Lantern stalking while a thunderstorm rolled in. We all shared an experience every day, every summer, and sometimes more. When I described it to people who haven't lived our lives, most become jealous, or maybe just envied that I had the nerve to work a job that paid little but was yet so rewarding.

I've always said I don't like thinking about the future that if you try to plan every step you have no wiggle room to grow as you will be stuck living your plan from the past. I'm glad I never planned a damn thing or else I would have never done the things I did. I'm glad I can now respond to the old question "If your friends jumped off a cliff would you?" Yes I would. In fact, they would probably be the ones jumping after me.

In the grand scheme of things I know 10 years isn't all that long. I'm just looking forward to the next 10 as they offer up new challenges and stories for me to tell.

Hit and run

2010-07-18T23:11:00.000-04:00

Both literally and metaphorically of course.

Some douche in Moriah, NY hit someone out for a morning walk so hard that he snapped the poor guys head off. I of course was lucky enough to find it in the local paper while sitting in the station after being reassured that there was not a single story I would go out on for the day. So smart me, I opened my mouth and mentioned it to my producer(sometimes I'm dumb). Next thing I know I'm an hour and half away on a ferry looking at the old fort at crown point. I then make my way to the road where this incident happened and was able to find an obvious mark on the road.

This is the spot where a headless corpse laid this morning. I was actually quite surprised by how clean the area was. They must have blasted the scene with a fire hose cause I didn't find a single drop of blood. You would think that someone who got hit by a car doing 50+ would have left a few drops here or there.

After spraying the scene it was back on the ferry to Vermont where I saw some people taking in the beautiful sunset via parachute. About that time my phone started annoying me. "Turn around, there's a fire in crown point."

I scarred some cows on the side of the road with an amazing U-turn that you only see in movies and lucky me, wasn't caught on tape so I can't be proven wrong.

After a couple chuckles from the ferry crew and the view of smoke rising above the town across the lake I made it to NY. I then spent the next 40 minutes trying to find a road without a sign, that wasn't in my GPS, Google maps, Mapquest, or on a map.

It's long been my belief that if you find 5 fire departments sitting on your lawn having a whole cow BBQ and a couple guys shooting a hose through a hole they made in your roof, that you are having a bad day. I can only hope that no one was injured in this blaze and that they are able to recoup their losses.

On a side note, if anyone else manages to drive from Ticonderoga, NY to Burlington, VT in ~ 1 hour. Let me know, we should start a club.

Holy mileage

2010-07-10T23:11:00.000-04:00

Well I just had one of them days. Get in at 2 leave by 2:30 to speak with our only congressman at ~3:30 in Waterbury as hes throwing a killer party to launch his campaign. Had to shoot it quick as I had to be in Mooers, NY(80 miles away) by 6 and I still had to edit the Welch VO/SOT back at the station.
Some crazy driving and one hell of a packed ferry ride across the lake got me to Mooers just in time to get the job done(still classified).
As I was sitting back down in the drivers seat got a call that some kids had been nearly electrocuted/drowned in a marina back in Burlington. I was to spray the scene and then meet up with the chief at his house in Essex at 8:30.... Some how, I managed to get to his place 15 minutes late after shooting video at the scene.
Now, It's time for lunch.... Maybe I'll skip it and have dinner seeing how it is 11 at night.

No more multitasking

2010-07-06T20:42:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I set out to shoot an anchor pack for the 10pm news. The story behind the story is that a bunch of people are getting hurt texting. Vermont recently made texting while driving illegal, which most people can agree with. But now some states with the backing of over concerned parents and doctors are looking to make it a crime to text while walking.

It sounds stupid, but apparently some people who live through their crackberrys or iPhones have been walking into the street not realized there was a car coming. When I was doing the story I got the same reaction from most people "You're joking", except one construction worker taking a break told me he had spent the previous day watching people nearly fall into a hole he had just dug. He said they would text and walk until they hit the warning cone he put in front of it. Then in surprise they would jump at the shock of there being something other than their phones in front of them.

While this story is both laughable and serious, it did make a bunch of people angry at the thought of having their multitasking freedoms restricted.

That being said, if you cant take that phone from your face long enough to not die, then good riddance.

Epiphany

2010-06-26T21:05:00.002-04:00

Today I was out covering a strawberry festival with no strawberry's in sight. There was however a petting zoo with a slightly large animal that hid from the crowd. He stayed away from people until I walked up to his pen and he decided to come over and check out my fancy camera, I decided to give him a scratch on the head.

While petting this two ton behemoth I realized just how much I love this job. I expected to be doing a story on little berries being eaten by old folks and small kids. And in the end, I had made friends with very large Bull. Theres something about petting a bull that makes you appreciate the small things.

Scams

2010-06-25T22:27:00.000-04:00

There are many sad stories in the news every night. A death, fire, accident, they are all sad for their own reasons. today I went to what was supposed to be the home of a recently retired couple. They had worked in the medical field, the husband as a paramedic and wife as an ER nurse, for their entire lives. Their dream was to one day own a home in the Adirondacks of upstate New York.

A while back they began to realize this dream when they hired a contractor to build their new home. It was to be a 8,000 sq. ft. $635,000(to build) home in a small town, on top of a small hill. They spent their life savings they had earned working 12 hours shifts for decades on this home and one day found out the man they trusted with their money, and their future, had stolen their money to pay off his own debts.

Now I know steal from someone is stealing, but it seems worse that these two life long public servants who planned to teach CPR and First Aid for free from their new home, had this happen to them. Driving by the thieves home I got the sense he didn't really need the cash. But I guess some people just can't help themselves.

Fortunately for this couple they were moving to a small town where nothing stays a secret. Mr. Thief will be heading to court to face the felonies before him. Hope he gets a hell of a long sentence and these poor people get their money back.

I'm in a Ben and Jerrys! ?

2010-06-22T21:12:00.001-04:00

At least I was early today. We caught word that Ben and Jerrys decided they would throw a little friendly competition for all their franchised stores throughout the country. The challenge? Make a YouTube video that involves at least one Ben and Jerrys product. Whoever gets the most views by the end of the month wins $5 grand. The cool thing is that only $2500 goes to the store, the other $2500 goes to a charity of that stores choice. The flag ship store here in Burlington decided that if they won they would give their money to the Michelle's Earth Foundation. They plan to win the contest with this video, an adaptation of The Lonely Islands "I'm on a Boat".

I hope for the sake of of being a Vermont store, they'll win. Also it would be awesome if they could help out the Michelle's Earth Foundation.

It's also pretty awesome that a company would put up this competition for their employees. Can't wait to see who wins.

Goin' International

2010-06-08T22:12:00.000-04:00

While I chose to work in a small market(93) I get opportunities to do things even people in larger markets do not. Why just yesterday I found myself running back to my apartment and fetching my Passport. The reporter I was with(Rachel) and I found ourselves working a story about a border station closing in a small farming town in northern Vermont. We wanted to get both sides of the story so we made the trek into the foreign nation of Canada.
As soon as we crossed the border we remembered one very important thing. The people of the Province of Quebec speak French. This wasn't a gradual change in the language barrier, it was as sudden as a kick to the groin. We did however find a few people who spoke English and thankfully they were nice farm folk.
It's not every day I get to go to Canada for a story, but seeing how about 1/4 of our viewing area is in that country to our north, I expect to go again. Next time I want some French food.

Imagining the Truth

2010-06-04T22:18:00.008-04:00

I like to believe I'm not the only photog out there who finds himself imagining his story before he gets there.
On memorial day, the day New England was covered in Canadian smoke, I was sent to shoot some new file footage of a fallen soldiers memorial in Colchester. I thought it would be a quick in and out shoot so I foolishly left my personal equipment bag at my desk, grabbed my gear and water and drove off to get the most amazing video of a bronze figure I could.
I shot low. I shot high. I shot a veteran looking at the memorial and then loaded up my gear and started the 5 minute drive back to the station. I made it as far as the main gate and waved adios to the guards when my phone buzzed.
It was my producer
I answered thinking she was going to be peeved with me for not keeping her up to date on my really important B-roll hunt. Instead the first words out of her mouth are "Get to Barre, theres a fire."
Alright I'm thinking, a story I could live with for the day.
I'm told the fire is at the corner of Main and Elm before she hangs up. I reach for my Kit which is where I keep my GPS unit and realize I had left it back at the office. Thinking quick I find a Vermont state map and to make a long story short, find out the corner of Main and Elm is a right turn off the interstate.
My mind is racing, thoughts of this being a small trailer on fire or a false alarm keep crossing my mind while at the same time I keep picturing a 5 story brick building the size of a city block burning to the ground. I of course hope for the latter.
I get a call which helps solidify my wishes when a colleague says his contacts in with the Barre FD told him it was a "good one".
Turning off the interstate I see the smoke pouring into the sky and smile crawls slowly across my face. On Main st. a young cop directing traffic tells me to go right, I tell him I'm going straight to get to the fire, he freezes not knowing what to do before finally waving me by him. I raced from my truck with the acrid burning sent of smoke filling my lungs hell bent to fill as much space on my P2's as possible with flame.
My wishes are realized when I see the size of the building involved in the fire. A full three story stone building in the heart of Barre completely involved. I hit record and roll. Ducking police tape, dodging fire engines, and running into the growing crowd of onlookers I quickly fill my cards with video. By the time my job is done 4 hours later I'm sweating, my lungs burn from the smoke filled with toxins, I reek of god knows what and I've crushed the hopes of many little children hoping to be on TV.

Face time

2010-05-13T15:28:00.002-04:00

I somehow managed to get the amazing oppertunity to see and do things most people only see on TV. Thats because I'm one of those guys who carrys a heavy camera around and shoots the video you see playing on your TV.
One things I've learned in my time as a photog is that if I am going to point a camera at people and put them on TV, I have to be ready for same to happen to me. As was the case a few days ago when I shot an Anchor pack about a small time hotdog stand.
The guy who owned and ran the stand was hilarious and I loved doing the shoot. Then it came time to find somone to eat a hotdog on camera. This may have been easier to do if we had been there at lunch time instead of 4 in the afternoon. That is when I was conspired against; the Hotdog man made me a free dog, and Greg(anchor/reporter) took the camera from me and had me eat it while he recorded the entire event.
Not only was I put on the opposite side of the lens, but I was forced to eat on TV. Something I don't think you can pay most people to do. I will say though, that was one hell of a hot dog and well worth the money(I tipped full price)

And as for putting a stand up in a nats heavy piece, I was not happy about that but I guess some people need their face time...

Beaver will Rule us All

2010-05-04T23:34:00.002-04:00

If you had been in the small village of Adamant, Vt Monday night you would have been in a flood. The small village of just a few hundred people suffered major road damage when a beaver damn holding back a very large pond(dozen of acres in size) gave way. The town center was under about 3 feet of rushing water. Thankfully nobody was hurt or suffered any property losses.
Fast forward to this afternoon in the town of Thetford, 40 minutes north of the previous nights flood, and you will find a town trying their hardest to defend a family of beaver who caused a road to collapse. The town select board wants to kill the family to prevent them from damming up the stream below the road, the town people don't.
I spent the day talking to the beavers neighbors(all of whom were affected by the road collapse) and they were all telling the select board to leave the beavers alone! They told me of how they spent their evenings watching the beavers add to their enormous dam(it was at least 1,000ft long). This family of beaver had been there for an estimated 10-15 years and only recently had they caused a slight nuisance.
So in closing, the beaver are taking over and trying to destroy all Vermonters way of life.

Be a Hero

2010-05-02T21:10:00.004-04:00

I think all young boys at one time or another have dreamed about being a Hero. I know It was one of the most recurring thoughts/dreams I had as a child and to this day I still hope for that moment I get to do something stupid that causes people to celebrate a moment of my life.
Until that moment I am more than content watching other people be the hero's. Today I had the opportunity to watch and speak with some local volunteer fire fighters, police, and emergency rescue personnel, as they wrapped up day two of their fast water rescue training.
This sort of challenging training makes me wish I had these peoples job. Not only does it look extremely fun, but I also love being challenged and pushing myself to the edge. However, I also know I never want to be one of the people who have to use this training, more often than not, to collect a body from the water than to rescue a living person.
So to you few who choose to risk your own limbs and sometimes lives, I give you a tip of the hat and a big old Thank you for choosing to do the job you do.

HORSE AROUND!

2010-05-01T21:46:00.005-04:00

So I jinxed myself with my one of my posts. I stated how the day had been simple and wished something exciting would happen. Moments after publishing my post(and minutes before the end of my shift) the police scanners went crazy. Some drunk 19yo punk kid felt the need to jack a car, get loaded, rob a gas station for booze and fuel then lead the staties on a 50 mile chase at night. He did all this without even turning his headlights on.
Anyhow, I was dispatched to go find the chase and if I could, get video of the cops throwing this kids ass in a cruiser. The chase went down I-89 hitting speeds of over 100mph, so I knew I couldn't catch up to them before something actually happened. The chase ended when the cops deployed 4 sets of spike strips and blew out all the guys tires. He crossed the median and was launched head first into a Jeep driven by a woman with her kids in the back. Thankfully everyone survived though the woman is in a wheelchair until she heals.
As much as I hoped this was the end of my night, It was not. The fool then ran on foot into the mountains trying to escape.
Call in the Border Patrol's new Helicopter!
As soon as the Helicopter showed up on the scene with its FLIR it took the search crews all but a minute to find the guy who had made it 2 miles and to the top of a mountain.
Thinking it was all over I was then told by my producer to Find the Helicopter and the people bringing the suspect from the woods. I ended up on a back road that would make any horror movie fan shake before getting called back to the station.
Finally! I could go home and get some sleep. Until I hit the first exit on the interstate, where some teenager decided to speed and somehow managed to NOT miss a bridge.

Everyone in the car lived. Thankfully no one died that night causing me to believe the Grim Reaper was taking a Nap.
I also learned not to Jinx myself.

Goin' Green in VT

2010-05-01T21:04:00.006-04:00

40 years ago some people decided to dedicate their day to picking up trash around the state of Vermont. Today was the anniversary of that day and the 40th annual "Green Up Day".
Some people take Green Up a little too seriously. Others show up at the state house lawns for the free Ben and Jerry's Ice cream. Then you have me, I showed up at the small, if you call it one, festival, simply because there were people there. It's all I did today, a quick little shoot and a small sound bite from the fearless leader of the Green up Group

Then it rained. Sure it was a slow day, but hell, I got free ice cream out of it. They even gave me an extra scoop because I had to carry around a camera. As I sat there eating my amazing ice cream I thought how awesome it would be if it was a requirement to give any news photog you see free ice cream.

Quit horsing around

2010-04-23T20:09:00.004-04:00

I had yet another busy "Monday" on this fantastic friday. During our meeting before everyone gets sent out there were so many prospects for fun shoots. I could have been sent on a package story of a women with MS who is applying for a service monkey! I could have gone out and done so many interesting things, instead I am asked to go shoot some B-roll of horses for someone elses story. As much as I love going out and actually doing things, I don't like doing someone elses work for any reason.

The past few days I've been shooting nothing but VO/SOTs which is cool and all, Excpet I miss shooting packages. One of these days I'll get to go on an awesome story, until then I'll keep horsing around as it's all I am being allowed to do.

Best "Surprise" Birthday present?

2010-04-07T17:43:00.002-04:00

So I am on my first ever paid vacation(after only two weeks on the job, awesome!). So far so good, it's sunny and 80 degrees on April 7th when it should be freezing, snowing, and miserable. I've returned to my 'rents place where I am meeting up with my awesome Girlfriend who is giving me an amazing birthday present.
All I know about this present is that it involves a tent, camping gear, plane tickets, rental car, and waking up at 2am to catch said plane. I have no idea where I am actually going and if my Gal has her way, I wont until I'm sitting on the plane and the captain spills the beans when he tells us the local time.
I've packed my little point and shoot and my DVD cam so you can expect the required photos and even some video once I return.
My fingers are crossed that I'm going to either Australia or Mars, but seeing how the trip is only a few days long, I'm guessing it's someplace in the USA.
Enjoy your weekend, I know I will.

Break In

2010-03-28T18:42:00.002-04:00

About 3 weeks ago I was hired for my first "Adult" job. I am now a photojournalist at WFFF Fox44 in Colchester, VT.
Awesome.
So I spent a week trying to find an apartment to move into on short notice. I managed to find a pretty nice studio in South Burlington where my next door neighbor is the weather girl at the 44. She is also a friend of mine from college so things are awesomer.
I then got sick, had a birthday, and moved, all on the same day. It sucked but turned out alright as I managed to survive the day.
After resting up that night I went to work for the first time on the following day.
My first 3 days of training consisted of sitting in a Live truck doing nothing for 4-6 hours with some knocking on doors of empty houses thrown in.
So far, nothing crazy has happened but thats alright with me. I don't mind things being slow for my first week of work.
I'll be able to update this regularly once I get internet at my apartment. Until then adios.

Crops

2010-03-02T11:23:00.003-05:00

Ah crops! With spring less than 20 days away winter is finally packing its bags. It got the hint it was a bad roommate this year and is going to probably trash the place on the way out but c'est le vie.
With spring comes many things. Animals will now have their babies, excluding bears who have already had theirs and trained them to be garbage stealing ninjas. Vermont cow farms will once again start to smell like, well, cows. And the farmers will begin to plant their crops.
This year however there is a new crop, Orphans! According to Time magazines March 8, 2010 issue which teases a story about Haiti's many new orphans as "Coping with a New Crop Of Orphans" on its cover. We now have to figure out what to do with this surplus amount of parent less children. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying we need to trade these children like commodities. After all most good commodities give back. With kids you have to pick up after them, feed them, cloth them, bathe them. It really is just a full time job taking care of them.
Some people have already come up with simple solutions which thankfully have dealt with at least a few dozen of these parent less children. Criminals have actually found commodities in the commodities. Organ theft from small children in Haiti skyrocketed following the earthquake. What better way to use a fresh young child? Their livers have not yet been pickled by alcohol nor their Lungs singed with the acrid smoke of cigarettes. Their eyes(provided they were not damaged by rubble) are young and without cataracts. Their bones strong and filled with marrow. These black market items will surely help that Drug lord, Business man, or politician who doesn't mind spending a few extra dollars to keep their procedure on the down low.
If the organ business is a little too gross for you, just sell the whole body! sex slavery is a very profitable business. Force the children into slavery, don't give them any of the money you sell them for. It's 100% profit!
Not willing to be a slave driver? Want to help those who need children? It's a noble cause indeed! Simple thought says every child in Haiti is an orphan now that all the grown ups are dead. Just go down there and "rescue" a few of them. Offer them food and water, clean clothes and toys. They will love you for your help. Then take them back to your home country and put them up for adoption. It's not about the money, it's about helping the needy. You must however, be willing to ignore the children as they tell you their parents have just gone to get some water after a long day of rebuilding their home. Or that they are actually just in the street playing with friends and will be late for the nice dinner their mother cooked them.
Merriam-Webster defines a crop as " a plant or animal or plant or animal product that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence."
Are we really at the point in our civilization, where it is okay for someone to call the tens of thousands of orphan's who lost their parents in one of the worst natural disasters in the history of our species, a crop?
If we are at that point then would someone please tell me? I'll book the next flight to mars and restart humanity. Feel free to come with me if you feel the same way.

Good ole' Ma and Pa

2010-03-01T14:35:00.003-05:00

I was reading my friend Pauls, blog, specifically his post about his recent search for the all elusive doughnut, when I myself had a craving for a doughnut. To be exact I wanted a coffee roll, partly because Paul wanted one and partly because I had seen the coffee rolls at a little new coffee shop and thought they looked delicious. I set out to find this coffee role in as few steps as possible. In Pauls blog he likened his search for a dougnut in in the Albany, NY area to Han solo's infamous Kessel run(he did it in 11.5 parsecs and again even faster). For me this search was a lot simpler.
Paul had chosen to take the fast food route so many of us do these days. He went to Dunkin Donuts who apparently no longer server dougnuts in the state of New York. My own guess as to why they do that? Lobbyists in NY probably described how dughnuts cause high colesterol which leads to heart desease. Heart desease being the leading cause of Death in the USA scared all the government folk in the states capitol. and seeing how NY made it really hard to get guns and kill people, it only makes sense that it should be even harder to get a Doughnut.
Now without getting into state politics I digress.
I feel everyone takes it too fast in life. We all want fast cars, fast internet, quick boiling stoves, and fast food. Nobody takes the time to stop, look around and enjoy the small things, have a conversation with the people nearby, or enjoy the aromatic sent of a small town coffee shop. Yes, they do still exist. Infact I went to one today. Bostonian Dreams is a recently opened coffee shop in Windsor, VT. You can go in, order a coffee and pastry and enjoy a converstaion with fellow patrons. Or if you are a Red Sox fan, enjoy the collection of autographed bats, posters, photos, and other memorabilia they have for sale in this small shop.
I myself struck up a conversation with the owner of the shop. She is a nice happy woman, and of all things our conversation about her daughter going to UVM turned into one about snakes. She told me stories of her expierence with snakes and how she was scared of them, I told her mine about running across rattler's in the south west and finding my brothers four foot long boa curled up at my feet after it escaped from it's cage.
Sure, it wasn't the most intelligent conversation. We didn't talk about the stock market, or a new law that was recently passed by the local town board. But the fact that I spent fifteen minutes sipping amazing coffee while haveing a nice conversation with the woman who poured it for me, brightened my morning. It was nice to not be in a rush and enjoy the smell of a small town coffee shop.
The best part of it all, I succeded where Paul failed. I got my coffee roll and it was amazing.

The .raw Taste.

2010-02-22T18:28:00.004-05:00

A few months ago a friend of mine showed me some work he had done with HDR photography. Ever amazed by new shiny things I became captivated and set out trying to find a way to take some of my own HDR shots.
Things finally came to a head when another friend from a different part of my life asked me if I could take some photos of her and her equestrian team(shes the assistant coach). Knowing they couldn't afford to actually hire someone pro I said I would od my best to track down a camera and help them, or I would find somone who would do it for free. After talking with my brother he agreed to lend me his Cannon Rebel DSLR. It's a few years old but I realized after a little tinkering with the settings that it would still take HDR shots. So I set it up, placed it in the computer desk I was sitting at and depressed the shutter button.

My first HDR photo was of my dog sitting on his bed looking out our window. It was then I had an idea on how to fix my car, which proved to be a bad idea, but then I saw this sight and had to grab the camera.

I was angry I missed a sunny gap in the clouds but thought the shot came out well.
Now that I have found this new addiction of mine I need to keep feeding it. That means buying a camera of my own which of course means I need to find myself a job which leaves an entirely different taste in my mouth.

The difficulty

2009-10-17T01:50:00.002-04:00

Tonight I walked my dogs. I had an interesting experience while while walking them. I was the entertainment of the evening for one luck fisher. I wrote a little something about the experience in a note on Facebook. One of my friends made a comment saying she enjoyed reading the note which made me realize it has been too long since I have posted here.
I have had to put off my ambitions to join the field of television photography and get a part time job near my parents. The reason? Money. This summer I had saved up what I believe was enough to move to someplace when I received my first job. Unfortunately the state requires vehicles to be in "working" condition. I spent all but about $30 of my savings on my car to keep it on the road. I have been living on that $30 for roughly two months while finding a job. Recently I found employment at the local EMS distribution center and store. I am still waiting to start that job, my first day is the 26th. Have a day of orientation then two days of training. After nearly two months of being unemployed I can not wait to have to get up early and go someplace to do something. Hopefully I am able to save up enough cash to afford moving expenses to my future location.
Here is that little something I wrote.

So you are walking your dog. It's night, its autumn, no moon, and its very cold. The feeling of something watching you is present. You turn your head just a little and catch a glare across the field. You're brain says go inside and get warm in a safe place. You're not smart section of your brain says go find out what that is. As you get closer the eyes start to shift left and right. They blink occasionally but not often. Your dog smells it now and goes from being curious to defensive. As you near the eyes fix on you as an object of interest. When you are close enough to see its pupils dilate you finally realize that you are just feet away from a creature that could easily kill your dog and cause you severe injuries then just walk away as if it didn't happen at all.

That's how awesome my night was.

A Passing

2009-08-30T21:23:00.006-04:00

By now almost everyone in the nation has heard about the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy. I found out about his passing at about 7 in the morning half way into the two hour drive to Boston.
I spent the day with leading a GPS program for Boston University's common ground program. After the program I waited around Faneuil Hall for the late Senators Motorcade. Not much I could say about the event would explain what it was like to actually be there with the six thousand plus people who were there to pay their respects. So instead of writing I will let a few photos talk for me.

And I'm Back!

2009-08-19T12:08:00.002-04:00

After 10 weeks of grueling and tiring work as a Trip leader for a summer camp I have returned. I have Paddled a lake with swells 4 feet high, I have gone island hoping in a kayak in Jonesport, ME. I have scaled to the top of Mt. Katahdin. And I have loved it all.
There isn't much out there that I love doing to the point where I will do it for free and on my own time and as a job. Leading wilderness trips is probably that one thing that I will do all the above. I spent 9 Days hiking the Appalachian trail in Maine and for 8 of those I was wearing boots filled with water(day 9 I wore my sandals "Why didn't I think of this earlier?!") while tramping through waist deep ice cold rivers and mud up to my "Danger zone" as a select few of friends would call it.
Then after all that grueling backpacking we made it to the summit and I was as happy as I could be having not showered in over a week.

Now comes the hard part, I have to find a job doing other things... Wish me luck.

A "spring" Dip

2009-05-06T14:20:00.009-04:00

Such a beautiful Vermont day. The sun was shining, the women were tanning, and the religious were handing out the New Testament. It also only rained half an inch!

While covering the most awesome Spring Dip scholastic fundraiser hosted by some department of Lyndon State college Paul, John and I decided to have a little extra fun on the side. As a result awesomeness ensued when a couple guys with them really fancy cameras and a microphone get bored.

Sad start to Turkey season

2009-05-01T18:33:00.004-04:00

Today was the official start to Turkey season in Vermont. Within minutes of the seasons opening a 911 call went out from the town of Wheelock. A 17 year old boy and his father had gone hunting in the early hours of the morning when the accident happened. The boy and his father had separated to hunt different sections of their yard. The boy decided to find his father who mistook his son for a Turkey. After firing a single shot gun blast into the chest of his own son Kevin Kadamus tried to save his son Jake's life.
Unfortunately the efforts of a Game warden, firemen, and other first responders using CPR failed. Jake died at the scene of the accident.
The Local high school, Lyndon Institute, closed down for the day and its flags were lowered to half mast after news of Jake's death spread to school officials.
A horrible tragedy such as this will effect this small community for months to come. I for one am glad I was not asked to cover this story.

Mike Descoteaux

2009-04-27T22:30:00.003-04:00

Last December I met a man while doing a story on World Aids Day. I was smart enough at the time to ask for his contact info knowing he had a story to tell. This is a very brief look at that story.

2009 St Johnsbury Maple Festival

2009-04-27T21:57:00.001-04:00

What do you get when you send a photographer to a maple festival without a reporter? How about a complete nat sound piece.

This is the first St Johnsbury maple festival in 22 years.

2008 official start to Maple Season

2009-04-27T21:42:00.004-04:00

On Monday March 24, 2008 Brandon Wholey and I covered the offical start to Vermont's Maple season

In attendance were many students from Craftsbury Academy, Sterling College, local towns people, and Governor Jim Douglas.

After getting what we needed for this story Brandon and I were invited to one of the most delicious lunches we have ever had to eat. The people of Craftsbury and Sterling College were extremely nice and welcoming people and overall I had a great time covering this story.