The Unethical Post

If you are a photojournalist, you have likely heard about the altered photo controversy out of Ohio last week. Basically, photographer Allan Detrich removed a pair of legs from the background of a photo, a huge sin in the photojournalism world. He doesn't deny the alteration (at least not anymore), but claims he was doing it for his personal files, and didn't mean for it to end up in the paper. Here is the photo and the correction the Toledo paper ran:

I'm actually pretty upset about the situation. It's not just about the gross lapse in journalistic ethics. It goes beyond that. What really got me going was the reaction some people had to the situation. There were tons of comments on various blogs and message boards condemning Detrich, but there were some that made me think that ethics, at least to the average reader, are already dead.

Here's a comment from bladevent.com, which has blogged heavily on the situation:
"I’m just curious as to why this is such a big deal. He removed a pair of legs from the photo. So what? Is it a big deal just because it was against the paper’s policy?"

But some of the worse were from Detrich's own blog, many from people who claimed to be photographers themselves:
"Your apology is unnecessary, and it is unfortunate that you feel compelled to offer it. You made a beautiful and sensitive picture in the highest tradition of photojournalism. You took out an extraneous and unrelated distraction, a distraction that any observer of that scene would have automatically edited from his memory of the event...The Blade owes you an apology. Please accept mine it its stead."

"Nothing you did to the image in any way altered its intent or meaning, which should IMHO, be the yardstick by which "alterations" to news photos should be judged."

In the highest tradition of photojournalism? The yardstick alterations should be judged? Have our industry's ethical standards become some arbitrary set of guidelines that have no meaning outside of the newsroom? It is just so endlessly discouraging.

So to offset the legs cloned out of Deitrich's photo, I have cloned legs into a photo I shot today, hopefully resetting photojournalism's delicate ethical equilibrium.


Yeah, that's about as ridiculous as some of those comments on Detrich's blog.

Meet The Press

I'm sometimes surprised by people who talk to the media in difficult situations. This girl's brother was just arrested in connection with a double murder. A reporter and I came knocking on her door within hours of the arrest, expecting no one to be home or no one to answer. She was obviously upset, but seemed unphased when I finally had the courage to pull up my camera and talk pictures of her talking to our reporter. Regardless of his guilt or innocence (which is yet to be determined), if I were in her situation I don't know if would be willing to talk to anybody about it, let alone the media.

Pressure Suit and Tie

I almost forgot about these.

I was tapped to shoot this guy for a law journal in Missouri last week. The story was about this lawyer representing a group of chicken farmers who are going bankrupt. Above he's standing in one of the empty, and very smelly, chicken houses. I shot it with three off-camera strobes, one just to the left of his face through an umbrella, and other two pointed back to light up and give a little depth to the chicken house.
The other two were shot outside the chicken house on the farm. They really just wanted one portrait, but I sent them a few photos to give them some options. Who knows what will end up running.
Freelance work is a mixed blessing to me. I like doing it, but I always feel the pressure to shoot something great. I guess it's because I'm shooting for someone that really doesn't know my work, and all I have is this one assignment to prove it wasn't a mistake to hire me.

Speaking of things I almost forgot about, who knew Aqualung put out another CD? My sister, apparently, who tipped me off about the release yesterday. But what you really may be wondering is who the hell is Aqualung? Good question.

I didn't know who he was either until about two years ago. My sister and I were heading to the Austin City Limits music festival, so to prepare we thoroughly went through the list of over 100 bands and musical acts. We scanned through their CDs in the store and sampled their music online to see which combination of bands we wanted to hear during the three day event. Aqualung was one of those acts that stood out to me.

Aqualung mastermind Matt Hales writes these sweeping choruses and compositions that are just fantastically desolate and depressingly beautiful. His new CD "Memory Man" is slightly more up beat than his first U.S. release, "Strange and Beautiful," but he's got me hooked all over again.

I'm still not sure what a pressure suit is, though. I wonder if it's anything like a power tie. Next time I see the lawyer I'll ask him.

Pressure Suit.mp3 by Aqualung
The Lake.mp3 by Aqualung

Jedi Post Master

When did George Lucas take over the US Postal Service? May the force be with your late car payment, I suppose.

Jugglology

I love the light and I hate the light in this photo. I love the back light because its cool, but I hate the front light because it casts shadows all over the wall. It probably would have been better with no lights at all, but it was super dark in the jugglefest gym. The side light, I thought, worked out a little better.

Final Four Assignment

I was kind of bored on my day off today, so I decided to put a quick entry together for the Strobist Final Four assignment. The assignment is basically to shoot a basketball on a neutral background using no more than two lights. You can see some of the other entries here, and see my set up for the shot here. Apparently since I have a new Flickr account, an administrator must review my photos before my entry will show up with in the strobist group. Becasue that review period could take up to 10 days, my photo may not post to the Strobist group before the Monday deadline. Boo.

By the way, I picked up a couple of CDs today. One fantastic, the other OK. I may have overhyped the Mika CD, "Life in Cartoon Motion," a little prematurely. It was good, but somewhere between him singing about sucking on lollipops and how "big girls" are beautiful he lost me. It's still a fun album with some great moments, but not as great as I expected.

Andrew Bird's "Armchair Apocrypha", however, is so wonderful. I instantly liked his single, Heretics, but was afraid the rest of the CD would disappoint. Far from it. Andrew Bird is a musical genious, and I am loving this CD. This song is an early favorite:

Plasticities.mp3 by Andrew Bird

I Once Was Lost

A Little Bit More Mural

Press conferences are never really that exciting, and neither was this one, but I was loving this mural they had up in the lobby of the women's athletics building on campus. They announced a new head basketball coach today, and here he is just chatting with some people after the press conference in front of my favorite new wall.
Unfortunately during the actual press conference they put up this dull gray back drop. The whole thing was also set in a dark corner of the lobby with mixed lighting. Why PR people don't consult photographers I'll never understand.

OK, so I'm straight stealing a post idea. Lost Things Found, a music blog I often visit, recently featured the cool retro soul stylings of Jamie Lidell and I was quite intrigued. I'm not a big listener of R&B/Funk/Soul, but good music is good music. You may recognize one of these songs, which is featured on the latest Target commercial. These are off Lidell's 2005 CD "Multiply," and they are just phenomenal.

When I Come Back Around.mp3 by Jamie Lidell
A Little Bit More.mp3 by Jamie Lidell

Shock, Shock Me

I don't want to over hype this, but the greatest CD of the year comes out next week and it will change your life forever. Well, maybe not.

It's called "Life in Cartoon Motion," by London-based singer Mika, and I have been obsessed with two of his songs for the last week or so. They are so happy and fantastic and fun. I haven't heard the entire CD yet, but if these songs are any indication its bound to be brilliant.

Grace Kelly.mp3 by Mika
Love Today.mp3 by Mika

By the way, little kid + flowering tree = cool springy photo. It's basic math.

One And Done

I don't care what people say, I love marching bands.

So the first round of the Spokane regional of the NCAA Tournament got underway. It was good times. Great games all day, including the New Mexcio State/Texas game (above) and the Winthrop/Notre Dame game.

Well, it was great games all day until the last game, the Arkansas/USC game. Arkansas played well...for about 10 minutes. Then the Trojans started dominating and Arkansas couldn't keep up. Cue the sad photos:

Better luck next year, Arkansas.

Ready For The Madness

The madness doesn't start here until tomorrow, so today it was all practices and press conferences for teams at the Spokane site of the NCAA Tournament. I shot this as I was walking out of the stadium after a long day.

What made it a long day wasn't all work related. The sports reporters and I made a little excursion across the border to Idaho to check out some of the scenic areas and take a ride on what is billed as "The World's Largest Gondola." I'm not really into landscape photography, but the 20 minute ride to the top of Silver Mountain was pretty cool.

Going up (with sports reporter Alex Abrams)

Hanging out at the top (with a pair or random snowboarders)

And on the way down (with sports reporter Grant Hall)
The ride was pretty steep at parts. The only really scary part happened while we were heading down. The ride suddenly stopped and we just hung there over the steep mountain side for about 5 minutes. We were debating if we could survive the jump down when the ride started back up again.

The real action starts here tomorrow, and I'm so ready for the games to begin. It will be interesting to see how this team plays. I was shocked all last week by their run of wins in the SEC Tournament. Hopefully they will keep it up this weekend.

On The Road Again

A couple of quick shots from the Salt Lake City Airport, taken during the layover on the way to Spokane, Wash., for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. I actually really liked the SLC airport. Huge windows to gaze at the Rocky Mountains that seemed to surround the airport, and photos and art hung all over the walkways. I'm sure most passengers just rush by as they scurry between connections. Don't worry airport director Maureen Riley, I appreciate your efforts.

I feel like I didn't shoot enough non-sports photos in Atlanta for my blog last week. I hope to change that this week.

Atlanta Outtakes

A couple of random photos left over from my trip to the SEC Tournament in Atlanta.

The sports reporter and I took the MARTA subway/train thing a couple of times while in Atlanta. I think public transit areas are so ripe for people watching and photo opportunities. These were just a couple of quick shots from the hip as we were navigating our way back to the hotel. I wish I had time to take pictures around the city while I was there, especially along the MARTA. I could have spent all day in the train station just observing the different people and quietly trying to capture life on commute.


Here Florida basketball player Joakim Noah hams it up for the cameras while he waits for the live CBS interview after the game. It was kind of funny, but obviously I was on the wrong side. I don't know if you saw his interview, but I thought the he came off extremely cocky, almost arrogant. I guess when you are as good a player as he is, you can get away with that.





So I picked up a CD yesterday, kind of on a whim. That usually results in a fantastic discovery or an amazing let down. This kind of fell somewhere in between. It's called "Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!" from the band Hellogoodbye. Apparently they have a top 40 hit that I hadn't heard before. Good thing too, because the single, "Here (In Your Arms)," isn't all that great. The CD isn't bad, but it's kind of all over the place. One song sounds like a remixed dance track, another is a light, mall punk anthem. Then there's that ballady acoustic song thrown in for good measure. Overall, though, its fun and an easy listen. Here are a couple of my favorites so far:

Homewrecker.mp3 by Hellogoodbye
Oh, It's Love.mp3 by Hellogoodbye

Championship Bound

What is going on with this team?

Apparently coach Stan Heath's prayers have been answered. After today's semi-final round win, the Arkansas Razorbacks are heading to the championship round of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament tomorrow. Now the team will likely get an NCAA Tournament bid regardless of the outcome, thus saving Heath's job and ensuring I get maximum mileage out of my trip to Atlanta.

So unlike today (sorry Mississippi State), tomorrow everybody wins. How did that happen?

Fantastically Random (or, A Beyond Useless Post)

Rather than just regurgitate the fantastically average photos I shot from the Arkansas vs. Vanderbilt game (they won, another day in Atlanta, yeah!), here are some photos from the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament that will never see print.

Even if my newspaper did want photos from the Kentucky vs. Mississippi State game (they don't), these photos would still never run. Kentucky (the blue team) lost and Mississippi State won, making these photos beyond useless. I still like them though.



Keeping with the theme, here are a couple of extremely random songs that have made their way onto my play list. They are very much on the fringe of what I normally listen to. The Sigur Ros is not only random, but the Icelandic band's song is in another language. Once you get over the initial, "what the hell is this" shock, it's actually quite fantastic and beautiful. I'm still on the fence about the Dntel (yes, it's suppose to sound like that in the beginning). Dntel (aka Scott Tamborello) makes up half of a group I like called The Postal Service, so this song from his new album gets a pass. Finally, the Ms. John Soda song is an old favorite. For some reason it has resurfaced and become the theme song for my trip to Atlanta. In fact, I made all but one of these images while listening to this song on a continuous loop. Enjoy.

Seaglopur.mp3 by Sigor Ros
Dumb Luck.mp3 by Dntel
A Nod On Hold.mp3 by Ms. John Soda

March Madness

The first round of play got underway today in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, held in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

I fully expected this to be a "one and done" situation since the Razorbacks have had a less than successful season, but Arkansas actually won their game against South Carolina (82-52). This means that not only do I get stay in Atlanta another day, but I will likely miss the indoor track meet back in Fayetteville.

No one was more excited about this win then me.

Well, except maybe Charles Thomas and Patrick Beverley.


The first half of the game was kind of boring. Both teams played pretty poorly in the beginning, but there were pockets of action here and there. In the end Arkansas dominated the second half and everyone came away happy.

Well, except South Carolina I suppose.

On The Bubble

Arkansas may not be at the very bottom of the SEC, but head coach Stan Heath is feeling the pressure. The Razorbacks' post-season chances, and Heath's job, are on the line heading into the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament in Atlanta.
Meanwhile, I'm praying the Razorbacks can win at least one game in the SEC Tournament. If not, that means I'm headed back to Arkansas early. I've never been to an SEC tournament where Arkansas has made it past the first round, so recent history isn't in their favor.

Dandy in Vandy

I had the chance to shoot the Arkansas at Vanderbilt game yesterday, and this was my favorite shot. It didn't run in the paper today, but I understand why. Arkansas won the game and the players are finally on a hot streak after a pretty dismal season, so a photo that makes Arkansas look like they are out of control or doing a poor job doesn't work. It's just dandy for the blog, though.

Speaking of doing a poor job, its been a while since I've posted some music. I'm sure almost no one cares, but I'm excited about these song and think they are worth sharing. Give them a listen:

Thank God It's Fatal
The newest CD from artist Andrew Bird comes out later this month. The wild whistling, violin playing singer is responsible for what is probably one of my favorite songs (Mysterious Production of Eggs' "Sovay"). His new song is lush and infectious, and I can't wait for his new CD to come out.

Heretics.mp3 by Andrew Bird

Shining Bright
Conor Oberst fronts the sometimes rotating line up of performers for the group Bright Eyes. This coming week they release the CD single "Four Winds." I've heard a few of the six songs on the disc, but this one remains my favorite.

Tourist Trap.mp3 by Bright Eyes

Jenny Was A Friend of Mine
Scottish singer/songwriter Paulo Nutini was recommended to me by a friend at work. I don't know much about him, but he's got a great voice. The CD is extremely polished (almost too clean and perfect in production) for a first album. Definitely worth a listen.

Jenny Don't be Hasty by Paolo Nutini