Strike 3

Keen blog readers will have no doubt wondered where the promised "On Assignment" post went this week. Heading up to South Carolina early last Saturday on assignment for The New York Times there was a lot the potential for a good one, and in a perverted way its fulfilled that ripe status, despite my never snapping a single frame in 4 days.

Say what? No pictures? What exactly is it that you do again? Yeah, we (my editor and I) ended up being shut out, shut down, and ultimately sent packing, twice. I flew up to Columbia to begin what was supposed to be a full-fledged photo essay for the Sunday Business section of the newspaper, a new effort that the Times is making to spice up the section and focus on something other than portraits of CEOs. We were interested in taking a look at the financial impact of campaigns on primary states, and I was to find and photograph the small business vendors who benefit from the whirlwind of politics sweeping through the state. Everyone agreed that it was a really interesting idea, but that was not enough. Access is the key.

It's a strange thing to dig and dig and dig, making contacts, call backs, e-mails, getting references, having friends drop a name, and editors make repeated pleas, and still to get no where, especially when you are dealing with organizations who are otherwise screaming for attention and coverage. Sometimes this can happen when working on a difficult story for an unknown or disrespected client. But this was for The New York Times, and love them or not, if you are running for something you probably want their attention.

The way that campaigns are run, with schedules being made and broken before breakfast each morning as the tide turns on a dime or newly important issue, makes it incredibly hard to cover the set-up or aftermath of events. All you can really do is keep with the pack and photograph the daily slate of town halls and meet and greets. Rush in with cameras a-blazin', get your snaps, run to the bathroom if you dare, and get back on the bus!! I was trying to stay away from the bus, away from the press corps, and ultimately away from the candidates. Just the vendors, folks. But alas, no.

If you sense a hint of regret present you are not mistaken... I don't like making money not doing my job. I worked hard to try to make the story happen and so did my photo editor, but it fell a part. I'd have much rather it didn't. If I'm going to sit on my ass, I'd rather do it in my own house instead of in a hotel 600 miles away. I did get a chance to hang out with my buddy Rich in Columbia, and had ample opportunity to get the new issue of Blueeyes Magazine on its way out the door. But the return flight home early on Tuesday morning was disappointing.

The silver lining in this cloudy week was that my editor, feeling regretful herself, has already given me a helluva second chance in the form of a week-long assignment down in Costa Rica coming up in early February. Trading Columbia for Costa Rica is basically like bringing in my tried and true Saturn for a tune-up and having it swapped out for a shiny new Audi instead. And I say that even with the vaccinations and malaria medication that I had to spend this week getting fixed up on.

So a toast to the ones that got away, and to the editors who are gracious enough to allow you a second chance at wrangling them to the ground.

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Comments (3)

A sweet end to the week for sure! What part of Costa Rica will you be in?

skip the vaccinations. I'm in Costa Rica now, and haven't had any problems. Another American friend of mine, Dan, has been here 9 months and never gotten more than a common cold. It's pretty great down here though. You'll enjoy it. I'd like to hear more about what you're going to do here.

A stunning silver lining indeed! Hey take the trade-off and run I suppose.
And the new Blueeyes looks great BTW. Love the Cosmin Bumbut portfolio.
Cheers!

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