Sand Creek Massacre dedication

Gazette photographer Kirk Speer covered the dedication of the new Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Eads, Colo., with reporter Scott Rappold Saturday, April 28. Speer shot some nice moments at the event. See the story and photos online at http://www.gazette.com or in Sunday's paper.

A powerful photograph, should it run?

The Arizona Daily Star ran this photo of cancer surviver Shawn Reuss last week on the day of the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Tucson. Reuss, who found out she was cancer-free just a couple days before the photo ran, was one of 800 breast cancer survivors who participated in the event. The photographer Mamta Popat said she didn't want to shoot a medical-type picture of Reuss, but one that was more like art. Reuss said she was comfortable with the photo idea, even though more than 200,000 people would see it. Readers responded to the photo. Some applauded Reuss' courage while others were upset that the paper would run such a "crude, degrading and insulting" photo. Photo editor Rick Wiley said he thought the photo was an appropriate one considering the day's event. The photo "showed Shawn's defiance in the face of cancer," he said. "Even though the cancer had taken part of her body, she made it through and she was going to live her life."
No question the photo's message is powerful, even disturbing. But the photo really makes me feel for breast cancer survivors and what they have gone through.
Would The Gazette run such a photo? I don't know. But either way, we would thoroughly discussed it in the newsroom before the decision was made.
By the way, the Arizona Daily Star didn't run photos of Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho with his weapons as we did in The Gazette.
Daily Star Managing Editor Teri Hayt said "This community is still recovering from the University of Arizona nurses' shooting" in 2002. A gunman killed three instructors before killing himself. Those photos (Cho with his guns) "did not help tell the story," Hayt said. "You knew what was in his head-we didn't need to show the posturing."
There is now easy answer. I think the Daily Star made the right choice for their readers and we at The Gazette did same for ours. Sometimes newspapers need to show the world as it is. Good and bad. But if a newspaper runs a disturbing photo, run it for the right reasons. If the message is important enough, the photo should run, but running a graphic or disturbing without a strong message isn't fair to our readers. Send me your thoughts on the subject.

Bounce the pop-up flash

Anyone who uses a SLR with a pop-up flash like a Nikon D70 will want to check out the Lightscoop by Ken Kobre. It reflects the light from the pop-up flash onto the ceiling or wall (if shooting vertical), creating a bounce light effect. No more red eye. It slides into the camera's hotshoe. Check it out at http://blog.lightscoop.com.
He's selling it online for $29.95.

Books about photojournalism

Two books to check out if you are interested in photojournalism are “Photojournalism, Fifth Edition: The Professionals’ Approach” by Kenneth Kobre and “Associated Press Guide to Photojournalism” by Brian Horton. Kobre’s book is one I read in my first photojournalism class at the University of Montana. I still pull it off the shelves now and then to read. The Associated Press book is one I just ordered and it’s getting high marks from members of SportShooter.com. Both books are available at http://www.amazon.com.

Nature Photography Day

Need an excuse to spend the day photographing wildlife? June 15th is North American Nature Photography Association's Nature Photography Day. The association suggests spending the day shooting the plants, animals and scenes around your home or visiting a gallery or museum in town.

For more information visit: http://www.nanpa.org.

Nice baseball action

Baseball can be one of the most frustrating sports to shoot because the action tends to be the same every game. Pictures of a runner sliding into second base to break up a double play or the catcher trying to tag a runner at home plate as he tries to score are seen everyday in sport pages across the United States. Gazette photographer Kevin Kreck captured a different shot today at the Air Academy/Doherty High School baseball game.

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer winners were announced this week. This is one of the big awards for journalism. The Gazette has won for feature writing and has placed in the final round for photography in years past.
Here is some of the work from photojournalists that won this year.


AP Photographer Oded Balilty won in the breaking news category for his work of a lone Jewish woman defying Israeli security forces as they remove illegal settlers in the West Bank.





Sacramento Bee photographer Renee C. Byer was awarded the Pulitzer in feature photography for the series "A Mother's Journey," her portrayal of a single mother and her young son as he loses his battle with cancer.






And Los Angeles Times photographer Rick Loomis along with reporters Ken Weiss and Usha Lee McFarling won for explanatory journalism for their reports on the world's distressed oceans.