Featuring Today

I worked a lot today. One of my three Tues-Thurs classes was even canceled so I had more opportunity to work. I keep pounding the thought into my head, 'feature, feature, feature!' Gone are the days when I would walk about or drive somewhere without at least one camera on my shoulder/in my front seat. If I walk to class, I have a camera. If I drive to Moe's to have a burrito, I have a camera. If I walk down 3 flights of stairs to check the mail, I have a camera. Fortunately, today the camera wielding proved delightfully fruitful.
I parked my car in the mostly vacant SIU Arena/Abe Martin Field lots with all intentions of walking towards the baseball field and instead turned towards a spirited group of SIU marching saluki color guard members, otherwise known as the Saluki Silks. I was able to get a few images like this one of captain Jaci McDole leading the squad in various routines. Happy with the fruits, I turned towards my original destination, Abe Martin Field.

While trekking across a deserted driving range towards the practicing baseball team, of one of whom I needed a photo, I found myself pointing my 70-200 (with a 2x) at a furry animal crawling across the grass. It was some kind of groundhog! or wombat! or kangaroo! One of those! I got just close enough to scare it into a drainage pipe near the road but still got a cute shot of its face poking out one end of the pipe.

Moving on to baseball practice, I was happy with my feature photos but was somewhat worried that Aaron Roberts, the outfielder whom I was there to photograph, would again not be at practice today. I had been to the field yesterday, a much sunnier day, to get a few shots, but he had gone home before I had arrived. Today I approached the batting cage and asked the player swinging at balls on tees if he could tell me which player was Aaron and he holds his hands up as if to say 'you're looking at him, dumbass.' Of course, he has no idea who I am or that the Daily Egyptian is even doing any kind of story about him, but still has no problem letting me take a few of him hitting off the tee. I was happy to find him in the batting cage instead of the outfield, because I was able to take the quality-hindering teleconverter off my 70-200 and get a shot of him swinging at good old 2.8.

I returned to the DE newsroom to edit my shoots for the day, only to find that both the assignments I had needed to work on had both been pushed to a later date and did not need to be put in today. Still, I edited and chatted with the photo room full of photographers and graphics people and even went in on some Hot 'n' Readys from Little Caesar's with editor Ryan Rendleman and Graphics guru Michelle. It was then that the Managing Editor came in and asked which one of us would like to go to this conference kind of thing tonight and get shots of someone speaking. After lots of silence and looking around, I volunteered.

Turns out, it's the Smart Women Smart Money symposium at City Hall. Turns out, theres hundred of people there. Turns out, the Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (at right) was coming to speak about financial stuff and something. The event's huge. There's a big catered meal, there's local vendors selling things, there's a live band playing called Loose Gravel, and a whole slew of speakers there to talk about money and women handling their money, all introduced by some annoying 'I'm from TV' ABC anchor lady who looks 'pretty' and tells lame jokes.

So I met the State Treasurer wearing my 'I'm Effing Awesome" T-Shirt and shorts almost dragging on the floor because every pocket's filled with camera equipment. He still shook my hand and talked to me about things though. Probably the most exciting part of my trip was when I talked to this older lady from a company she started called EcoQuest Healthy Living Technologies. She showed me cool water purifying keg things, air purifiers that you could hang around your neck, and this extremely bright lamp thing that simulates sunlight and supposedly gives you a daily dose if you sit in front of it for 30 minutes a day. It's meant to prevent S.A.D., the depression people get from not having enough sunlight.
It was kinda funny when the treasurer first arrived because this one lady was taking forever to finish talking and Martha Rohlfing from the treasurer office was holding up her 'time to close' card for probably 10 minutes waiting for the lady to finish. I was sure to get a shot of her, I found the moment amusing. Another member of the treasurer's office, obviously the designated photographer, with a Canon Digital Rebel, was snapping pop-up flash photos all over the place and somewhat inspired me to get out my own Digital Rebel, to turn away from the heavier pro bodies for a day and try working with it. So tomorrow, I've decided, I'm going to shoot with nothing but my 2.5 fps Digital Rebel and manual focus 50mm 1.4 lens and see what kind of images I can come up with. I'll probably let you know how it goes and maybe post a shot on here if I like it enough.


That was today. Busy. Lots of shooting, lots of editing and newsrooming. Newsrooming. That could be a new verb that means working in the newsroom and usually involves stressful situations finding information and putting things where they're supposed to be, all by deadline.
I like it. Not so much the newsrooming itself, just the word.

That's all.

TB