Perceptions at a tea party
UPDATE: I clarified some language here as I accidentally referred to the 2nd photo when I should have been referring to picture #1. It is now correct! -Mike
I spent last Saturday covering a tea party rally in Stafford. I expected that there would be a lot of signs and flag-waving as seen at every other tea party and I was not disappointed in that regard. I wanted to try and get an overall shot that didn’t misrepresent how many or how few people showed up. The reporter and I took an informal count and estimated 200-300 people. In order to get the overall I put a 14mm on the camera and held it above my head with a monopod and came up with these two frames. While it doesn’t show the entire crowd, many of whom were off to the side, at least it didn’t make it look like 10 people showed up.
Initially I preferred the first one; the guy was giving a speech called An Angry American, getting pretty worked up and gesturing a lot with his hands. We ended up running the second one, mostly because nearly every person I showed frame #1 to thought of a nazi salute. I wonder if that is because of their own feelings about this political movement or if it really does look like that? I was concerned that using the first picture would be considered unfair or at least editorializing if readers saw the same thing. The idea of objectivity (and that discussion is worth an entire post on its own!) is drilled into your head in the newspaper world but I wonder if I went too far in the other direction and sanitized what actually was going on there out of some kind of political correctness. Was I unnecessarily concerned about this? Am I overthinking this? Which one would you have published?
Recent Work: Plane crash
Firefighters hose down a house after an airplane crashed into it in Louisa, VA on March 4, 2010, killing the pilot. One person was in the home but survived. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Quick pic from the General Assembly
I’m sitting in the basement of the General Assembly building in Richmond, killing time between the opening session this afternoon and tonight’s last State of the Commonwealth speech by Governor Kaine. Below, a nice slice of life amid a morning of procedural matters.
Delegate Bobby Orrock introduces Speaker Bill Howell to his granddaughter Abigail Orrock at the Capitol in Richmond, Va on January 13, 2010. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Politicians
This picture is pretty dated considering Creigh Deeds lost his bid for governor of Virginia a couple weeks ago but I wanted to put it up here anyway. He was shaking hands at a high school football game and I like how he is isolated amid this group of people. He seemed a bit ill-at-ease with the public and he spent more time chatting up local pols and the political reporter than meeting and greeting. I didn’t have a chance to photograph his opponent, Bob McDonnell, as I had the good sense to take vacation over election day. On a national scale, people made a big deal about the GOP winning in Virginia. Personally, I think it had to do with the quality of candidates more than a referendum on the president and his policies.
The other night Rep. Rob Wittman came through town to hold a meeting at a VFW post to discuss veterans’ issues. The upside was that nobody unlocked the post so he held it on the steps. Challenging light, but definitely better than fluorescent tubes and a podium! As expected people spent a lot of time griping about, taxes, healthcare and the evil, left-wing media. And by evil, left-wing media, I mean my employer and by extension, me. It was a little scary when one guy started asking Wittman if he was going to hold congressional hearings investigating the infiltration in government of ‘avowed Marxists and Communists.’ What was scarier was that others agreed with him and nobody, including the congressman, tried to talk any kind of sense to the man. Every time I meet these people, the idea of becoming an ex-pat photog in some steamy tropical land is more and more appealing! It’s like the conversation is poisoned by an irrational anger that makes people unable to speak reasonably and respectfully to one another. As if the world was black & white and not shades of the Zone System! For the record, I’m all about zone V!
Recent Daily Work
A week or two ago I was sent up to Colonial Beach, the so-called Playground of the Potomac, to get a picture to illustrate a story about some proposed beach ordinances that on face-value, appeared to eliminate fun and/or shenanigans at the beach. Locals the reporter and I spoke to suggested it was directed specifically Latino people. I suppose the bottom line is why would you do anything to drive tourists away, especially these days when a place like CB could benefit from those who would ordinarily be going to the Outer Banks or Delmarva. Anyway, here’s the photo I came up with:
Pedro Marquez, of Manassas, gathers up his fishing poles after fishing along the Potomac River in Colonial Beach, Va. on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. Several ordinances have been proposed that would restrict certain activities including fishing from the beach. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
I’ve said before that I like shooting sports and some days a bad game is still better than some of the dross that passes for journalism but I think I need to draw the line at high school volleyball. I think part of this stems from my lack of interest in this sport and part of it is the awful high school venues – bad light, cluttered backgrounds. All that aside, in an effort to clean up the ugly backgrounds, I went up into the bleachers to shoot down on the action and came up with this:
Colonial Forge's Erin Godshall (#12) and Morgan Hymes (#15) collide as they both attempt to return a shot against Mountain View on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Despite my dislike of volleyball, here is a series called The Season by my friend Scott at the Chicago Tribune about a high school volleyball team. Proof that sports is about so much more than just game action. Good stuff!
Covering Local Government
Last night I was sent to cover a meeting of the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors as they held a public hearing and vote on whether or not to join the Virginia Railway Express. It started at 6:30 and my deadline was 10pm. I figured that was plenty of time. I wasn’t expecting to make a particularly great picture but the decision to join has been argued back and forth for nearly two decades. A fair number of people turned out to support and oppose the county joining. Arguments included everything from opposition to a new 2% gas tax, to the morality of joining or not joining, that supporting VRE is just another example of socialism, that it would improve the quality of life, that it would bring revenue to the county and somebody even floated the idea that VRE is unconstitutional. The public comment portion wrapped right around 9pm and I was excited – plenty of time to get the vote in and beat my deadline. I’d be home in no time.
I should have started out by saying that I do not regularly cover local government meetings and I now have a new respect for my colleagues on those beats. After the public comment had ended, the supervisors started talking. And talking. And then another one would talk – no wonder this process has been going on for years.
9:30 rolled around, still talking.
9:45, more talk.
9:50, now I’m getting nervous.
9:55, and I am trying my best to employ a jedi mind trick on the chairman, “This is the time to vote. Vote now. Do it!” Alas, it didn’t work.
9:58, I’m sending text messages to the office saying the vote will happen any minute if only these guys will stop listening to themselves talk. The crowd was kind of keyed up and I wanted a reaction picture so I held off on sending anything.
A couple of minutes after 10, they vote to join VRE but with the provision that the date be moved to February 2010, after any new supervisors take their seats, essentially opening the door to another vote and the possibility of NOT joining. Read reporter Dan Telvock’s story here. The reaction picture I was hoping for didn’t happen and the pictures I moved could have been sent a hour earlier. So, 4 hours and 3 mediocre pictures later I stood in the parking lot, transmitted pictures and contemplated punching myself in the face.
Some recent work
I haven’t had many positive things to say and I’m trying to minimize my griping about the newspaper business. I guess I should address that soon though as it has a bearing on my work. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from recent assignments including the Redskins/Ravens preseason game, a balloon festival, the start of high school football practice, the area’s sole remaining cannery and a portrait of a young man heading to college.
Samantha Schuldt, 10, of Fredericksburg, holds onto line attached to a 1/4-scale balloon while pilots waiting for fog to dissipate at the Annual Balloon Festival at The Flying Circus Aerodrome in Bealeton, Va. on Saturday, August 15, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Children stand inside of Richmond resident Bubba Winslow's balloon at the Annual Balloon Festival at The Flying Circus Aerodrome in Bealeton, Va. on Saturday, August 15, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Washington Redskins punter Hunter Smith punts the ball from deep in Redskins territory. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis fumbles the ball in the second quarter of the first preseason game in Baltimore, Md. on August 13, 2009. Davis recovered the ball on the play. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Caroline County High School graduate Marcel Anderson is heading to Norfolk State to start college on Saturday. photographed at his Doswell home on August 12, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Andrew Lucas, a football player at Fredericksburg Christian School, take a water break during the first day of practice on August 10, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
John Brown pulls a basket of tomatoes from a steamer at the Caroline County Cannery near Bowling Green on August 6, 2009. The Cannery nearly closed but will remain opne for at least another year. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Deep In The Weeds
A few days after I returned from Key West, my boss Dave went on vacation for just about two weeks, leaving me in charge. I was kind of looking forward to it as I figured the dead of summer would be a nice time to ease into the management chair. It turned out that juggling my assignment load along with the duties of managing a department led not only to a few long days but also a much better appreciation for what a department manager does. The short explanation is that it pretty much sucks.
There is enormous pressure to keep everybody within their allotted hours and still put together the jigsaw puzzle that is our photogs’ schedules and the assignment load. Toss in the assignment requests that didn’t make it back to photo and are now last minute ‘emergencies’, strange requests from various people, reprint orders, along with the two daily budget meetings and it can make for long days. Especially since I still need to perform my staff photographer duties along with playing photo editor.
In some ways it was good to see that part of the newsroom process. In others it was bad because when I did shoot assignments, I often only had 30 minutes instead of the hour or two I normally would have preferred. I had more than a few discussions about why reporters just can’t go out and take a picture, that its more than pushing a button, why ‘good enough’ is precisely the reason the industry is in trouble and I got a little better at saying ‘no.’ That is probably my biggest weakness – I didn’t say no enough. I wanted the paper to look good, I wanted there to be lots of good, storytelling pictures in it and so I tried to be accommodating. That ideal butts up against the very real barriers of time and money, both of which management is now primarily preoccupied. It is sad that journalism takes a backseat but that’s the way it is, I guess.
The upside is that I gained a better appreciation for my job as a photographer and what I like and dislike about newspaper photojournalism. Either way, as of Monday I get to be a photographer again and do what I do best. Here are a few pictures from the last couple weeks that didn’t suck too bad:
Jad Abielmona, 4, (left) and Mazen Abielmona ride the smaller of the two Ferris wheels at the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair during a preview on Thursday, July 23, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Brianna Kline, 6, of Spotsylvania rides the merry-go-round at the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair on Thursday, July 23, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Michael Covington rehearses his Michael Jackson routine at the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair on Friday, July 24, 2009. Covington was slated to perform during an intermission of the Miss Fredericksburg Pageant. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Colleen Johnson, owner of Fantasy Face Painting at her Ruther Glen home on July 27, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Fredericksburg native Keller Williams performs at Celebrate Virginia Live on Friday, July 31, 2009 in Fredericksburg, Va. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Cpl. McGhee’s memorial and funeral
On Monday friends, family and fellow Rangers gathered at Massaponax High School to remember Cpl. Ryan McGhee who was killed in Iraq on May 13. Through a variety of spoken testimonials and slideshows, those left behind told a story about a young man who had likely experienced the spectrum of what humanity has to offer. At the age of 21 and already a veteran of three trips to Afghanistan, Iraq was his fourth deployment. Undoubtedly he saw the worst of what people can do to each other and at home he left behind a loving family and his high school sweetheart. From what their friends and family said, they shared an incredible love story. One of the videos highlighted his football career at Massaponax and was a montage of still images and video of him playing. It was a little weird in that a lot of the still pictures were photos I had taken that season. It was a little strange to see them projected at a memorial service when you think about the spirit in which they were taken – of a vibrant teenage life pursuing sports. After the service, the crowd moved down to the football field for a candlelight vigil. It was still pretty bright out so the candles didn’t have much effect but the sentiment was still there.
Masasponax football coach Eric Ludden speaks at a memorial service honoring Cpl. Ryan Casey McGhee in the auditorium of Massaponax High School in Spotsylvania, VA on Monday, June 1, 2009. McGhee, an Army Ranger in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment from Ft. Benning, Ga. was killed in action in Iraq on May 13, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Ashleigh Mitchell of Spotsylvania hugs her father Christopher Mitchell after he spoke about his daughter's fiance, Cpl. Ryan Casey McGhee.
Mourners gather around the McGhee family on the football field at Massaponax High School.
Early on Tuesday Rusty and I drove to Arlington for his funeral. I had never covered a funeral at Arlington before and aside from the expected traffic, we ran into a few minor problems. It was a combination of me confusing where I needed to be at what time and getting the runaround from some of the Arlington people. It was a bummer that we got there early but by the time the confusion was worked out, we were very nearly late. In the end, though, all that is irrelevant as Rusty and I were able to witness the ceremony, do our jobs and make our way back to the Burg. The reporter from the Post remarked that he has covered something like 70 funerals and hadn’t seen too many that drew a crowd like Cpl. McGhee’s.
A caisson carries the remains of Cpl Ryan Casey McGhee to his gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery.
Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, fold the flag covering Cpl. Ryan McGhee's casket during his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA on Tuesday, June 2, 2009. McGhee, an Army Ranger in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment from Ft. Benning, Ga. was killed in action in Iraq on May 13, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Steven McGhee is comforted by his wife Kristie McGhee during the funeral for his son Army Cpl. Ryan Casey McGhee at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, June 2, 2009. McGhee, an Army Ranger in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment from Ft. Benning, Ga. was killed in action in Iraq on May 13, 2009. Joining Mr. McGhee, from left, is Casey's fiance Ashleigh Mitchell, Casey's mother Sherrie Battle-McGhee and brother Zachary McGhee. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Memorial Day at Culpeper National Cemetery
Lacy Sanford, a member of the honor guard of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2524, stands at attention during a Memorial Day ceremony at Culpeper National Cemetery on May 25, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Bonnie Deaton (left) and her daughter Martha Miller, both from Barboursville, Va, walk among the headstones at Culpeper National Cemetery before a Memorial Day ceremony on May 25, 2009. Deaton's husband James E. Deaton, a veteran of World War II and Korea is buried at the cemetery. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Here are a couple frames from this morning’s ceremony at Culpeper National Cemetery. I met a woman who was visiting her husband’s grave. He was a veteran of World War II and served in the Navy. They had seven children together and were married for 53 years. I was on my way to my car when I saw her across the cemetery, bending over the gravestone and I hastily shot a frame. It would be fair to say I was almost in the right place at almost the right time. Instead, I knew that I had a picture, just not the picture. But I went over to get her name since invariably the picture you don’t have the caption for is the one the editors want.
As it turned out, I spent 15 minutes talking to her about her life with her husband; how he was a man of love and of God, a family man and how she still has tough days knowing he won’t come in the door, even 8 years after his death. She told me how after dinner one night he sat down in his favorite chair in the living room and had a heart attack, dying in the home they had built in the fifties. I wish I had made a picture half as beautiful as the story she told me but it was not to be. In the time we talked I shot a single frame. Nothing special I guess. I wasn’t too concerned though because I felt like I walked away for the better after hearing her story.
Blanche Grant of Rectortown bends over the grave of her husband Robert M Grant, Sr, a World War II veteran. Grant said she visits the cemetery on both Memorial Day and Veterans Day. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Corporal Ryan McGhee
The dignified transfer of the remains of Cpl. Ryan C. McGhee of Spotsylvania takes place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on May 14, 2009. McGhee, a U.S. Army Ranger in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga. was killed in Iraq on May 13, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Military reporter Rusty Dennen and I traveled to Dover Air Force Base to witness the dignified transfer of the remains of Cpl. Ryan McGhee, an area resident and Army Ranger. Cpl. McGhee, a graduate of Massaponax, served three tours in Afghanistan and had recently deployed to Iraq.
A stiff wind blew across the tarmac and dark clouds scudded across the sky as the carry team transferred the case containing Cpl. McGhee’s remains from the 747 to the waiting van. Though the Associated Press covers every dignified transfer and despite the process lasting only a few minutes, we felt it was essential to travel the fours hours from Fredericksburg to record the transfer of one of Fredericksburg’s own.
Ferry Test
I got up obscenely early this morning to ride aboard a ferry as part of a test run to see how ferry service would work. I and transportation reporter Kelly Hannon got on board the Providence III in Occoquan and went up to several locations in and around DC. Since it was just a test the only people aboard were local politicians and planners and a few reporters, meaning that pictures were few and far between. I did take a moment near the Wilson Bridge to play with the iPhone and the TiltShift app. Right now we’re between ft belvoir and Indian head. Hopefully we will get back soon…
South Carolina Confederate Memorial
- Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans from Virginia and South Carolina erected a memorial to honor Confederate soldiers from South Carolina at the Bloody Angle in the Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield on April 10, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
*I corrected this to read Spotsy Courthouse. I originally identified it as the Wilderness*
A few weeks ago I was assigned to cover the installation of a new monument at the Spotsylvania Courthouse battlefield. The pictures were OK – guys with a crane, big slabs of marble – but they weren’t very interesting. Unless, I suppose, you are really into the Civil War War of Northern Aggression (full disclosure- I am a Yankee who had a relative from New York fight with the Irish Brigade and I have returned to lay claim to my portion of the plantation!).
All joking aside, I find the history of the war interesting and in fact photographed a great-great-grandson of U.S. Grant the other day. When you move here, it is tough not to be even marginally interested as the places you read about in history books – Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, Manassas – are all here or at least very close by. I admit to not fully ‘getting’ the whole reenactor thing but far be it from me to judge another man’s hobby. Granted it includes camping out and firing cannon so it can’t be all bad! But I digress…
The installation pictures were lackluster so I decided to return as the sun began to set so I could shoot a nice still life of the monument. Turns out the Park Service has nothing to do with the purchasing and installing of monuments; it is done by private groups. The Park provides guidelines towards what is appropriate and ensures the information on the monument is correct.
Anyway, the sun was getting a bit orange but I wanted a little more dramatic picture so I set a flash off to the left to illuminate the flag as well as add a bit of dimension to the monument. I set another to the right with a warming gel on it to add to the sun’s effect. Finally I set the white balance on my camera to ‘shade’ as that has a warmer tone to it as well. In the end, the flash to the right added very little to the image aside from a little fill on the bottom right corner. As soon as I get to the office, I’ll add another photo showing the set-up and what it looked like from another angle. I must say that after spending an hour puttering around shooting a relatively easy picture was the most fun I had in a while. I guess it had to do with the problem-solving nature of the image and I didn’t have to deal with anybody who was self-concious in front of the camera. Plus it was one of the first really nice days and I was on a serene battlefield that at one time was the site of some of the most horrific fighting of the war. It even gave this Yankee reason to pause and reflect on why people continue to remember the war.
Tax Day Tea Party in Fredericksburg
Don Giles of Fredericksburg carries a sign during a Tax Day Tea Party at which people protested what they see as excessive taxation and government spending outside the Fredericksburg Post Office on April 15, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
I was assigned to cover a tax day tea party in the Burg yesterday. At first I wanted to do portraits of some of the people and record some audio of them explaining why they showed up. When I arrived, I found a lot more people than originally expected. They were packed into a fairly small area so I bagged my original idea and just tried to get the flavor of the scene. Sadly there were no counter-protesters so it was difficult to find much more than sign pictures. Anyway, here’s a little slideshow I put together in Final Cut Pro, which I am quickly warming up to. Now I just need to improve my video skills…
Anyway, I’ve been quiet lately and need to post a backlog of pictures and news so look for that soon.
Foreclosures in Spotsylvania County
I spent part of yesterday following a Spotsylvania County sheriff’s deputy as he cleared houses that had been foreclosed upon and the new owner, usually a bank, was taking possession. Of the three places we visited, the bank representative never showed and the other two were empty. He said that often times the tenants are long gone. I’m no Anthony Suau – he produced a great essay on the financial crisis – but I think it is a good first step on one of my portions of the paper’s Stimulus package called Bringing it Home. I plan on going back out next week but in the meantime need to shoot this season’s All-Area sportraits first!
