Gersh Photo Post | Max Gersh | Multimedia Photojournalist

Yesterday, I covered a debate among the  five Republicans running for U.S. Senate in Indiana. The candidates - Marlin Stutzman, Don Bates Jr., Richard Behney, Dan Coats and John Hostettler - are competing for Sen. Evan Bayh’s seat.

The debate was held at the Moose Lodge in New Castle, IN. Because of the relatively small venue, tickets to the event sold out almost immediately. It was a full house.

I had the difficult juggling act of shooting stills while simultaneously shooting video.

Audio at this event was less than desirable. I had a shotgun mic on my video camera but there was a lot of space between the debaters and myself. I also set my portable audio recorder up close to the debaters as a backup. That came in very handy. At one point, the audio on their mics went haywire. My portable unit picked up a lot less of the buzzing noise for some reason.

The debate was rather tame. The candidates agreed on many points, or only had slightly varying positions.

The one thing that stood out during the debate was when former U.S. Senator Dan Coats and former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler went back and forth on their differing opinions of the war in Iraq.

When I edit a video, I try to keep it short and to the point. This argument between Coats and Hostettler seemed to be a good key difference between the candidates.

I added some photographs to the video to offer more visually appealing imagery.

For those of you that enjoy the tech specs of all of this, I was using a Canon FS-100 camcorder with an Audio-Technica ATR55 Telemike attached. My secondary audio recorder was a M-Audio MicroTrack II.

Here are a few still images from the day.

State Sen. Marlin Stutzman, far right, speaks during the debate on Saturday, From left to right are Don Bates Jr., Richard Behney, Dan Coats and John Hostettler. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats speaks during the debate. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats speaks during the debate. Also pictured are (left to right) Don Bates Jr., Richard Behney, John Hostettler, Marlin Stutzman and Nate LaMar.Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats speaks during the debate. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler speaks during the debate. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

If there was one valuable thing about photography that I learned in college, it was the science behind lighting.  Understanding the inverse square law and how multiple lights can affect an image proved to be invaluable to me.

While I was at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I had an editor give me the idea of shooting a food set with multi-point lighting. The basic multi-point setup includes three lights. One each to the left and right and one from behind. The problem is I only have one light - my Canon 550EX Speedlight.

While I was realizing how impossible this was with my gear, my editor opened my eyes. Why not set the camera on a tripod and shoot a long exposure. During that time, I can walk around with my flash off of the camera and fire it manually multiple times from multiple angles.

Voila. Max’s quick and easy multi-point lighting was born.

The one problem with it is that it is very hard to replicate an image. You can never get the light exactly where it was before. This is one of those situations where you shoot a lot with a general idea and hope for the best.

The first time I attempted and accomplished this technique was exactly one year ago on location at a Brazilian restaurant in the Central West End of St. Louis called Coco Louco Brasil.

Monday February 16, 2009 Coco Louco Brasil Foreground: Espeto Misto - kabob with pricanah (brazilian steak), smoked sausage, shrimp, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, chicken wrapped in bacon, onions Background: Tostada de Camarão - shrimp sauteed in Bobo sauce served on toasted garlic bread. Max Gersh | Post-Dispatch ©2009

For that shot, the camera was set for a four second exposure at f/16 and ISO 100. If I remember accurately, I fired the flash three to four times.

Coincidentally, I used the same technique today.

I was given the last minute assignment to shoot a group of local high school wrestlers that have advanced to the state championships. I wanted to isolate them in the image. I turned off all of the lights in the room and fired the flash twice - once from each side.

New Castle wrestlers (left to right) Connor Mullins, Brenden Campbell, Alex Catron and Cody Fellers will compete Friday and possibly Saturday in the Indiana High School Athletic Association state championships. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

This time, the camera was set to a two second exposure at f/8 and ISO 400. I also was using the Gary Fong PowerSnoot on my flash.

With one light and forward thinking, any image is possible.

Cell phones are everywhere. Most people have one. Many people have more than one. It should come as no surprise to me for people to be using their phones in my pictures.

As a society, we are now used to seeing citizens take out their phones to snap pictures at the passing by celebrity or even from the upper deck at a sporting event. National Geographic even published a book on how to optimize your cell phone photography.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Fans embrace Will Smith as he exits the St. Louis Post-Dispatch building Wednesday afternoon. One fan in the lower section of this image can be seen photographing Smith with a cell phone. Max Gersh | Post-Dispatch ©2008

But is it always appropriate to be on your phone? Does it sometimes go beyond what social etiquette deems acceptable?

I want to say upfront that I pass no judgment on the people in these photos. I have no idea what is considered acceptable in their fields. These images just struck me as peculiar.

This first photo is from St. Louis on the Martin Luther King Bridge. There was a fatal car accident. I was shooting from the MetroLink station in Illinois just south of the bridge.

The police officer in the photo had already taken what I presume were the official photos of the scene with a DSLR. Then, it appeared as if he were taking shots of the wreckage with his cell phone.

Friday, December 5, 2008 A police officer holds up his cell phone at the scene on an early-morning fatal accident that blocked all traffic on the Martin Luther King bridge. Max Gersh | Post-Dispatch ©2008

Today while photographing a meeting of the New Castle/Henry County Economic Development Corp. (EDC), one of the panel members seemed to have trouble staying off of his phone.

Scott Hayes, right, a New Castle-Henry County Economic Development Corp. board member, talks on Monday about problems the EDC has with a proposal for an economic development alliance while County Commissioners Kim Cronk and Bill Cronk listen. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

These photos have no significant meaning other than the included cell phone usage caught me off  guard.

Again I want to stress that I pass no judgment on the people in these photos. I don’t know if there was something of the utmost importance that couldn’t wait. I just felt like sharing these images to see if anyone else had to think twice about the situation.

Like I said in my previous post, I enjoy the challenge that comes with newspaper photojournalism. There is something different to shoot every day and I am obligated to make it visually appealing.

Earlier this week, I was given the task to photograph two high school swimmers that made it to the state finals. The reporter was meeting them at the beginning of their swim practice. I think he was under the impression that I would come and take a standard environmental portrait.

I decided to try something a little different.

When I was thinking about an environmental portrait, I came to the conclusion that their environment was in the pool, not at the pool. I wanted to take an underwater portrait.

I can’t afford an underwater housing for my camera so I had to improvise. One 10-gallon aquarium later, I was ready to go.

I set the camera longways in the aquarium with a 24-70mm lens attached and set at 24mm. The camera was triggered by a Pocket Wizard which in turn fired my 550EX Speedlight flash.

Because I was uncertain how the water would scatter my light, I wanted to do my best to directionalize my flash. I attached a Gary Fong PowerSnoot which turned my flash into a high-powered spotlight.

After a little experimentation, I got a shot I was satisfied with.

New Castle swimmers Aimee Haddix, left, and Hannah Espiritu pose for an underwater photo at Parkview Pool. The two swimmers are competing in today's state final. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Is this perfect? Not by a long shot.

The biggest problem is just what I expected. The lighting. I feel that I probably needed at least one more light. It would also have been preferable to have those lights underwater somehow. That would require making a much more complex rig but might be something I try in the future.

The least of my worries was having my camera go underwater. The aquarium was so buoyant that it was actually a little difficult to keep submerged to the top of the lens. I had the writer that was with me apply a decent bit of pressure to keep it down.

I will consider this first attempt at an underwater portrait a success but I can’t wait to try again and put some new ideas to the test.

So that was one situation this week where I tried something a little different. The other is a little more practical.

The paper is doing a story on the St. Anne Catholic Church. A few years ago, an arsonist burned the church down. It has taken three years to rebuild. I was granted a sneak peak and I wanted to show everyone what the inside looked like.

It would have been easy enough to go up on the balcony and take a wide angle photo and squeeze as much in to the photograph as I could.

A view of the new St. Anne Catholic Church from the balcony. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

Even in this image shot at 24mm, there is so much of the church that is unseen.

I went out to my car and got my tripod. From the back row of pews, I started panning and tilting, taking incremental photos - 24 total.

I took those 24 separate photos and stitched them into a panorama that covered more than 180 degrees laterally.

The interior of the new St. Anne Catholic Church is seen in this photo illustration showing approximately a 180-degree view. The image was composed from 24 separate photos. (C-T photo illustration Max Gersh) ©2010

This photo will be running six columns across the page on today’s paper.

In an effort to maintain journalistic credibility, I do list this image as a photo illustration. Since this isn’t a capture of one moment in time, it has to be that way. Otherwise I risk compromising my ethics by misrepresenting a scene.

Part of my job as a photojournalist is to show you something you might not ordinarily see. That might be changing angles or getting somewhere you can’t. I think both of these images do that.

Let’s hope I don’t run out of fresh ideas. Any suggestions for what to try next?

For those of you that don’t already know, I am a week in to my new job. I am the new Chief Photographer and Photo Editor at The Courier-Times in New Castle, IN.

The Courier-Times

The job comes with perks.

My personal parking spot at The Courier-Times

I love the challenge of making an interesting photo, no matter the situation. That is something I had to do my first day on the job.

The town is building a Mr. Fuel gas station right off the interstate. I guess I should say they will be building one. Right now, it is just an empty field.  I decided it was best to show the location and leave the empty field in the background.

The southwest corner of the Interstate 70 and Ind. 3 will be the home to a new Mr. Fuel station. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

As we were winding down for the day and getting ready to send the paper off to the press, news breaks. A man robbed CVS Pharmacy.

Narcotics officers come down from the roof of Greenstreet Elementary School on Monday night after recieving a robbery report from CVS Pharmacy. A man allegedly threw a bag of narcotics on the school's roof. The bag is being carried away by an officer in the foreground of this photo. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Here is how it played the next day.

The next morning, I drove to Tri Elementary School to cover a science fair.

Tri Elementary students walk through the gym and look and their classmates science fair projects. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

I then shot a portrait of a kid who is donating almost 50 pairs of his shoes to Haiti.

For something a little different the next day, I photographed a hearse pulling out of a funeral home. The man being cremated was a well know member of the community that road a Harley. So it was only fitting to take him to the grave the same way.

Charlie Williams is led to his grave by a Harley Davidson motorcycle pulling his hearse. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

That night, we kept an eye on the window waiting for the impending snow storm. The next morning, we started getting pounded by snow, accumulating something like ten inches in the next 24 hours.

Driving conditions on Memorial Dr. (Ind. 3) during a snow storm. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Blowing snow caked onto a street sign near memorial park in New Castle, IN. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Snow nearly hides a tree from sight in Memorial Park. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Hay bails and tires sit stacked and snow-covered at the bottom of a popular sled hill in Memorial Park. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Snow covered roads in New Castle, IN, a few days after a snow storm. This road is directly in front of The Courier-Times office. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

Thank god I bought a Subaru!

This morning I had my first sporting event. Almost all of the games for the weekend were canceled because many of the counties were in a level 3 snow emergency. That means if you travel on the roads and it is not an emergency, you can be ticketed or arrested.

The regional bowling tournament was postponed a day so I shot that briefly this morning. When there isn’t a good vantage point to shoot from in front, it is difficult to make a nice bowling shot. I focused on the coach and team while a teammate was bowling.

Trojans head coach Ronald Ragan (right) watches over his team during the first round of bowling Sunday morning at Rose Bowl for the Indiana High School Bowling Club Regional Tournament. The tournament was scheduled for Saturday but heavy snow in the area left many counties under a snow emergency. (C-T photo Max Gersh)

So what’s next?

Unfortunately, I can’t predict spot news. But I do know my area is set to get another 4-8 inches of snow on Tuesday. I have a feeling more snow photos are in my future.

I love being a photojournalist. I have something different to do every day. It never gets old and it never will.