THE NEWS CHASER:
News and event photographers are a unique breed. You bear witness, you see the events that others see later. Well sometimes... You have to be objective and stand clear of the emotion, you have to be above it, you need the instincts of the hunter and the brazenness of a party crasher and good legs, you will be standing and walking and running a lot.
Rarely do you pick the assignments, you are chosen, some fun, some great and some so against anything you believe in.
SIZE MATTERS
It is believed the bigger the paper, the more interesting the jobs. It's called access and communication with sources. Smaller papers in small neighborhoods seem to scale the excitement to the level of that area and some of the topics never seem to make the big screen unless something goes horribly wrong. There is no question, disaster sells papers, even in this modern age of the screen and the cell phone and the iPods. Many of the great shots are simply because you were there, you got there, or you were lucky enough to be "pre positioned by close association with a snitch".
Political chasing is work, tedious, waiting for the moment, not getting in the way of handlers and press boobies. Pictures tell you a lot. Especially if the question is not the one there is a prepared answer for or the answer is not a good one. Boom mikes miss little and careful answers are a must. Thus, the word 'mis-quote and the word mis-spoke" are very commonly used. Here is the Florida Governor Charlie Crist after the St. Petersburg Republican Debate - Rally - Protest - Kumbaya Marathon surrounded trying to get to his car.
Usually the protection (see earpiece) runs blocking, but Charlie is not shy while getting the questions from one of our local town reporters whose specialty is a cross between investigative reporting and Tampa Bay public affairs.
Reporter and friend, John Sipos does an excellent job of getting the truth out. Almost a lost art with the creative writing skills of some pseudo media outlets pretending to be news.
ONE FOR THE BIRDS
I remember covering the downtown one day with two newbie's. It was, during a city celebration that pertained to all the ethnicities we had living in our town.
A celebration of the St. Petersburg SPIFF's association. St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society brings it on every year with the parades and dances, exhibitions, arts crafts and FOOD. Great FOOD and that always catches my attention. Incredible diversity, and tremendous exposure to other ethnicities.
With it ending in a great eat-off containing live entertainment and every ethnic food available.
It was worth attending just for the food alone. I liked that idea since I got to eat too, swapping shots for ribs, baklava and jerk chicken. Love that jerk flavor and a cold one. It's also a great chance for me as I write a food blog and hack away in the kitchen as a hobby.
But it was otherwise predictable since it occurs year after year. Nothing unusual, and I was looking for something. I was dreaming of being in Daytona at the 500, or at Lakeland for the Sun and Fun Fly-in. The things you do that make the job interesting. Since I love fast cars and faster airplanes I write a lot of what I like. Especially when I can turn a NASCAR shot into a painting in my house.
Today was not going to be that day. Very hot for November and doldrums were getting to me. Since it was on the waterfront, I grabbed my two sidekicks, swung over to and near the water ski exhibition.
Ok, the only real action shooting other than beer crashes in the parking lots. All was normal till the pull boat swung wide and slips thru a flock of Sea Gulls waiting for their turn on the smorgasbord. Some didn't make it and some were crippled floundering with obvious injuries.
Now I'm no fan of gulls since I live near the water and they are noisy and like our NAFTA agreement tend to dump on us whenever they want, especially after you washed your car.
BUT animals, any animals in pain, those rescues are another story and I challenged the boat driver to go back and bring in the injured birds. He told me where to go. I politely asked him again only this time two of the interns were cranking away. And so was my blood pressure, my old Radio Shack tape player was going.
CONFRONTATION
He used a few explicative's and "no one stops his show" and so forth. WRONG ANSWER DUDE. Something about three guys with cameras and a loud mouthed idiot draws a crowd. I asked one more time, explained I had his comments, I had the pictures and I had the crowd chanting "save the birds". I also knew I had the story though negative on this one if I pressed it. Instead he had a change of heart and agreed the show could wait a minute or two and that he really was an animal lover. (BS)
I handed my gear to the new guys and two of us got in the boat, I grabbed the dead bird, put him/her in a box and then the fun began. Grabbing a "wounded sea gull or two is work for experts like myself, but no one told the birds I was there to help them. We got the two survivors after much nipping and biting, of ME, not exactly the greeting I expected and when back on shore, the crowd applauded the effort and I made the jerk look like a hero instead of the jerk he was.
Wrapping the day and needing to get aid for the bird, we took the birds to the Seabird Sanctuary on the beach and thinking we would just drop them off, I figured I would head back to my hacienda. Nope, Dr. Heath, aka the Godfather of Bird Medicine and Treatment performed a wing-and-dectomy and I photo'd the whole operation on the first one; the other really was too far gone and died.
Though the gull will be an amputee, it will live at the Sanctuary and procreate and be fed, otherwise having a normal Sea Gull life. I named him Jonathan... I think they named him Jonathan 21,326, oh, that was before the web... I had the story… and a tetanus shot later that day to play safe upon the advise of the Dr. Heath.
ENDLESS COMMUNITY ACTIVITY
Then there's the public relations stuff, the endless stories of what's going on about town. I get that too..... from the boring community parades that showcase the girls twirling team; the latest mix-up at the tax collectors office; to the constant barrage of politicians getting in hot water; the clergy misadventures in abuse; and affairs between teachers and students. Sooner or later we get a biggie but much of the chasing is routine and certainly will not put you in contention for the next Pulitzer Prize.
In the old days we had scanners conveniently tuned into the police frequencies and the supplier of these crystals was no other than Radio Shack. They also used to publish a book that had all the police and municipal frequencies for the United States. When portable phones came about, we had these ten pound boxes in our cars hooked to a dispatcher. One Blackberry or Iphone does it all now.
PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR TOMMY FRANKS
(The Times Forum) Tampa Florida - These are photos of the private pre-ceremony party which took place before the Change of the CENTCOM Command was changed over. Retiring General Tommy Franks who led the war to liberate Afghanistan from the Taliban and Iraq from Saddam Hussein turned over the Regimental Colors to General John Abizaid. Tommy Franks then retired after receiving the award from Donald Rumsfeld.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who was the ranking official at the ceremony spoke of the importance of these two warriors in the battle against terrorism. Who knew at this time there were three years of door to door fighting and 4000 American Troops Killed in Action awaiting us.
Poor after planning and a lack of good intelligence left us in an unfavorable position in the world, economically, strategically, politically and with ramifications and debt our children will have to absorb.
In attendance were friends of the General, from left to right Mr. Neal McCoy, Mrs. Franks, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Newton and various local dignitaries.
Neal McCoy Wayne Newton donate many unselfish hours to the USO and entertaining our troops overseas along with many of the stars that appeared at the Freedom Concert.
PHOTOGRAPHERS NOTES:
COLOR SHIFTS: &^%$#(*&@# St. Murphy Lawes provided the lighting streaming in through the windows at sundown but once again enough yellow to make a lot of tough shooting even with a balance as the glass (enormous plate glass windows) were slightly tinted also. Hail Mary shooting. Actually this is the restaurant at the Forum in Tampa, home of the Tampa bay Lightning and not usually used for this kind of venue. So once again you don't know what you got till you get there and then you work it out. Look in the glass at the back near the flag and there is still yellow after we made two pulls. Went beyond the algorithms
of the white balance.
CENTCOM MEMORIAL FOUNDATION FUNDRAISER
September 1, 2003 Hyatt Hotel, Gen. Tommy and Mrs. Franks are bordered by Dolly and Alan Jacobson.
Tampa, Florida- Guest Speaker Gen. Tommy Franks (USA Ret.) - A guest appearance and speech by the architect of the "March to Baghdad", the fast assault on the regime of Saddam Hussein and his gang of thugs.
This was followed months later by the "Mission Accomplished " statement by the President which officially started the Grand Ten Year War of Insurgency which continues on today. General Franks returned to his home state after retirement serving his country above and beyond the call of duty. Today he makes frequent appearances on the speaking circuit.
Things move quick, 24 hours after this shot of Gen Petraeus and myself was taken he was redirected to Afganistan. Less than a year later he's back to run the CIA.
Many of the Generals who retired in the past five years have served the Central Command (CENTCOM) with the latest field commander being General Petraeus appearing about every five months in front of Congress.
St. Petersburg Times Forum (The Times Forum - TAMPA -June 11th, 2003) Photograper: Al Jacobson
An incredible evening, a musical “Thank You” to our servicemen and their families at the St. Pete Times Forum. The concert was attended by over 13,000 service members, retires and their families. Among those Country music’s best were: • Charlie Daniels • Lee Greenwood • Jo Dee Messina • Darryl Worley
• Chris Cagle • Rebecca Lynn Howard • Ashley Gearing • And a surprise solo by General Tommy Franks who brought the house down.
But the real stars were in the audience...The concert, which was free to all attendees, drew over 13,000 people, and was attended by Gen. Tommy Franks. Gov. Jeb Bush and Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio who served as the Honorary Chairs of the event.
Left: Gen. Tommy Franks and Mrs. Franks.
The concerts goal was to recognize all members of the military and was being held in Tampa, because it's the home of the U.S. Central Command, Special Operations Command and MacDill Air Force Base. The concert is part of the Department of Defense’s “Operation Tribute to Freedom,” a sustained and widespread program of activities in appreciation of our men and women in uniform and the families that support them.
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THE COALITION DINNER:
13 JUL2003
Al La Carte Pavilion, TAMPA Florida
Sponsored by Pepin Distributing, Outback Steakhouse, Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay
Over 40 countries participating.
The food was incredible. Provided by OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE Catering. Pepin Distributing handled the libation and the entertainment was provided by Busch Gardens. To preserve the fun of the evening and let all attending have a great time, we limited the amount of photography.
The Outback Steakhouse Corporation was honored by the Army for their participation in "Operation OUTBACK", One, Two and Three. Over 12,000 meals delivered to our troops in Afghanistan to give our soldiers a taste of home. A truly remarkable, unselfish gift by an outstanding American Corporation. In addition other companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Pepin Distributors deserve merit for what they do for our troops. Coalition dinners and other events hosted by these great friends of the Military go unnoticed in the press, it's not about recognition... it's about giving.
And the Tampa Bay Community knows how to give. It goes without saying that Tampa Bay loves the Military and that the Military loves Tampa Bay. Mentioned and toasted at the reception, Tampa Bay truly deserves the recognition it deserves for it's support of the troops, their families and allied personnel.Companies such as The Outback Steakhouse and others have led the way.
Gen. Abizaid- Paul Avery President Outback
PHOTOGRAPHERS NOTES: Darkest room I ever shot in with streaming red and blue searchlights. You get there and then you work it out. I made half the shots Black and White, the paper didn't care and the food and facility was top notch. Nice part was all casual attire. Due to the nature of the participants roles we limited the shooting.
JEB BUSH'S READING PROGRAM
Governor Jeb Bush Launches Reading Program:
(TAMPA - 14 Sept 2006) Governor Jeb Bush today launched Read Together, Florida, the annual one state-one book reading promotion initiative. This year's program features The Zero Game by Florida-based author Brad Meltzer. Floridians are encouraged to read the book during the month of October which will include community events at libraries, bookstores and Starbucks locations, an online crossword puzzle game, an essay contest for high school students and a grand prize, drawing for a trip to Washington, DC, with the author.
The promotion is part of the Governor's Family Literacy Initiative, managed by the nonprofit Volunteer Florida Foundation. "Reading transforms lives. It is the key to opening up the doors of opportunity and achieving success," said Governor Bush. "Since 1999, we have strived to make reading a family value through our family literacy initiative. Read Together, Florida is an expansion of that great idea, and I encourage all families to participate in this year's event by reading The Zero Game.'"
He should start with his brother, The President, Zero is close to GWB's popularity. Nice title for his memoirs. I'm not a Bush fan. Today's announcement took place at the West Tampa Library in Tampa, a historic library where cigar factory lectors once chose the day's reading selection to be read aloud to workers.
Read Together, Florida is the state's annual promotion to enhance the love of reading by encouraging entire communities to read together.
Photographers Notes: This one was a gas. Indoor-outdoor in a difficult venue because when you stuff sixty to eighty people into an area that normally holds twenty things get tight. And that didn't include the bodyguards and three different police departments. The funny part was with all the protection for the Governor and brother of the President the new library is in a "difficult area" and like the bad part of town, while we were looking for a parking spot, we were approached by some dubious but charming dealers. "You want some stuff?" With ten video guys and reporters in front of us and a tangle of booms, mikes and cable,, I went vertical on a low back wall, grabbed the longer glass and stayed out of the foray of mikes and booms and questions., caught an opening between two shoulder units and grabbed the shot.
The Ground Breaking and Dedication and Ceremony of The New Facility
The vision for the next five years and beyond is to create a non-profit learning center for students of all ages to learn from hands-on environmental activities that motivate them to continue to support the renewal and restoration of our coastal ecosystems for future generations.
The marine center and educational facility on Tampa Bay will serve as program headquarters and provide opportunities for students to "dig in" and "get dirty" as they apply classroom principles in real life scientific projects that carry out the bay renewal and habitat restoration work of Tampa Bay Watch.
Tampa Bay Watch has set the goal for our capital campaign at $4.5 million. We have secured our program headquarters location at Cunningham Key near Ft. De Soto Park in St. Petersburg and begun construction on an office facility. This fantastic location will give students and Tampa Bay residents the opportunity to experience the bay first-hand and to encourage them to protect it for future generations. To date we have raised, $1.2 million, but in order achieve our goals we need to raise additional funds to accomplish our mission.
Tampa Bay Watch, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit stewardship program dedicated exclusively to the charitable and scientific purpose of protecting and restoring the marine and wetland environments of the Tampa Bay estuary, the largest open water estuary in the State of Florida. By expanding community involvement in hands-on restoration and protection projects around the bay, we strive to counteract the huge loss of wetland habitat over the past 100 years. Tampa Bay Watch trains and organizes citizen volunteers, students, at-risk youth, and civic organizations to participate in environmental projects while heightening community awareness of the fragile nature and importance of the environment.
Please see their website: http://www.tampabaywatch.org/
PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTES
Al Jacobson gets captured by no other than Tom Bailey photographer while conversing with Congressman Bill Young (R). Al made it clear by saying "he has known Congressman Young for almost 30 years or as long as he has been in Congress. "Congressman Young has done a great job for the State and especially the Tampa Bay region". Maybe Al should be running for office. His reply was right on. The established Congressman has represented Tampa bay well.
AUTHOR and PHOTOGRAPHER:Al Jacobson, photographs and writes in the Tampa Bay area on a myriad of subjects. He is from NY and occasionally speaks English, preferring Brooklyn based meta-phonetic syllabication (aka Street English).
His high school English teacher, once commented to his parents, "He should try learning a foreign language like English... in a foreign country". He retorted, "Shakespeare doth not a genius make, for he spake in terms reminiscent of a flake". She threw him out of the class.