Gersh Photo Post | Max Gersh | Multimedia Photojournalist

It has been many years since I’ve been able to take a real vacation. So after years of just talking about a road trip, a few of my good friends (Gavin Culbertson and Yuefeng Deng) and I decided to take off and head south.

I left Rockford and picked them up in St. Louis. From there, we made the first leg of the trip to Louisville, KY where we were able to mooch a free nights sleep and plenty of food from my family. Once well rested, we headed to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. After a quick tour, we got back in the car and kept moving. We needed to make it to Walland, TN by the end of the night.

You see, Walland was the base camp for much of our trip. One of my trip companions and good friends, Gavin Culbertson, has an uncle and aunt that lives there in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. Yes, another free place to stay. But more importantly, they were full of what I like to call mountain wisdom that can’t be found in books or on the internet. Who else do you trust to draw roads on maps when you’re driving into areas with no cell phone or GPS service?

The first day, we followed them in our car straight into the mountains. We were headed to Max Patch in North Carolina. With a few stops on the side of the road of course for photo ops.

Shadows on a road in the Smokey Mountains. ©2011 Max Gersh

Since all three of us are photographers either in profession or hobby, it didn’t take long before cameras were photographing cameras.

Gavin Culbertson at Max Patch in North Carolina with his Canon 1D Mark IV video rig. ©2011 Max Gersh

And since I had just stared learning how to play the banjo, it was only fitting that I bring it on the trip to the south. Gavin’s aunt just about melted the strings when she played it on top of Max Patch. I aspire to be as musically talented as she is some day.

Gavin's aunt smoking the strings on my banjo at Max Patch in North Carolina. ©2011 Max Gersh

It might have been the next day that we drove the Foothills Parkway to Look Rock. It is just one of those places that is incredibly scenic and you can’t help but linger around just … well, looking. As you go up a foot path, you come to what appears to be an old fire tower. Although the hike is short, it is uphill at a decent grade. It reminded me how out of shape I am!

A road seen from the tower at Look Rock. ©2011 Max Gersh

That wasn’t our only trip down the Foothills Parkway. A day or so later, we found out why the Smokey Mountains are named as such.

The Smokey Mountains as seen from the Foothills Parkway near Wallad, TN ©2011 Max Gersh

We continued to Townsend, TN where we did a hike to Abrams Falls. Again, found out I’m way out of shape.

Roots in the ground on the hike to Abrams Falls. ©2011 Max Gersh

Yuefeng Deng at Abrams Falls near Townsend, TN. ©2011 Max Gersh

The problem with driving around in this part of the country is that there is so much to see. It seemed we were stopping regularly to hop out and photograph a stream or small waterfall.

Near Bald River Falls ©2011 Max Gersh

When we finally left Walland, we starting heading west towards Nashville. Gavin had more family just west of Nashville in Clarksville, TN. But there would be no fun in a drive straight there. We stopped at Fall Creek Falls State Park to do some more hiking (still out of shape) and camp.

Water shoots out of the side of a rock wall at Fall Creek Falls State Park. ©2011 Max Gersh

Fall Creek Falls is the tallest waterfall west of the Rockies at 256 feet.

Fall Creek Falls is the tallest waterfall east of the Rockies at 256 feet. ©2011 Max Gersh

Of course we had to hike to the bottom.

From left, Gavin Culbertson, Max Gersh and Yuefeng Deng at Fall Creek Falls. ©2011 Max Gersh

After a nights rest in tents, we continued on with a slight detour to Rock Island State Park.

Rock Island State Park ©2011 Max Gersh

And yes. We tasted the water running down the rock face. Wonderful.

After making it to Clarksville, we were ready to get some food and a little bit of rest. But a little bird had to sit on a wire right in front of the moon. One more photo before dinner.

A cardinal sits on a power line outside of a home in Clarksville, TN. ©2011 Max Gersh

All in all, we drove 2,500 miles in one week. Well worth it. I only wish I had more time to explore.

I had the opportunity a few months back to cover the protests in Madison, Wis., at the state Capitol.  I was asked to write about my experience for the photojournalism website SportsShooter.com. You can read the article on SportsShooter by clicking here but I have added a few additional pictures to the post here.

It was about 8 p.m. on a Thursday night. I was covering a local event for my paper, The Rockford Register Star. That was when my phone rang and my editor asked me if I wanted to go to Wisconsin to cover the protests in Madison the next morning.

I’ve never been one to turn down an opportunity.

To put it lightly, I was excited about this assignment. In my market, it’s not every day that I get to cover national news. So I tried to plan ahead. I had never been to Madison. Where would I be able to park? Would I be able to get out of my parking spot at the end of the day? What if the protests turn into riots? Am I over-thinking this?

At this point, it was about 11:30 p.m. I decided to shoot off an e-mail to one of the photographers that I knew had been covering the protests for The Wisconsin State Journal. Within 10 minutes, I had a phone call from the extremely helpful Michael P. King (thanks again, Mike!). He was able to give me a sense of the scene and actually sent me a map with parking and traffic details, as well as instructions on how to find the press room through all of the chaos.

I was as prepared as I could be. All that was left was to get to sleep.

Fewer than five hours later, I was up and getting ready for the day. I had to meet a reporter at our office early so we could try to make it into Madison before the streets got too crazy.

As we pulled into Madison around 8:30 a.m., the Capitol grounds were relatively quiet. We found a parking garage within two blocks of the square. As we made our way down from the top level of the garage, the “full” light came on. We barely made it. You could see the lines of cars and people start to flow in.

Once we were inside of the Capitol, I felt like I was in a different world. I had no sense of direction. It was hard to make my own visual landmarks because the swarm of people looked so similar in all directions.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR People fill the state Capitol Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Madison, Wis., to protest Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR People line up with signs outside of the Assembly chamber Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., to protest Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR People fill the state Capitol Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Madison, Wis., to protest Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers. ©2011

After making it to the press room and getting credentialed to access both the Senate and Assembly chambers, I started to wander. I did what any of us would do. I looked for the unique, be it the overall scene or an individual person. However, when I made a picture of someone, I often had no way to get to them to get their name. Believe me. I tried. At one point, I tried to wedge myself into the center of activity, the bottom level underneath the rotunda. It wasn’t happening.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR People fill the State Capitol Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Madison, Wis., to protest Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers. ©2011

While wandering around, going level by level, I noticed a balcony at the top of the rotunda. I wanted up there. I went back to the press room to see if the nice lady that issued me my credential knew if there was a way up there. She said they were going to escort photographers up there at noon so be back before then. If you’re late, tough. So I kept an eye on my watch.

Then came the day’s curve ball. At about 11:45 a.m., the Rev. Jesse Jackson was marching around the square and was about to head into the Capitol. Before he made it in, I went back to the press room (about 11:55 a.m.). The group had left to the rotunda balcony to photograph Jackson from above. I was disappointed but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I went to a cut-across balcony that was blocked off for the press instead. It lined me up directly across from Jackson which allowed me to make some decent frames.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks to a crowd of people Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis. ©2011

After Jackson left, that nice lady in the press room found me (and a few other photogs that missed the balcony trip) and ran us up. And up. And up. There were a lot of stairs. As we got out on the balcony, a beam of light shot in through one of the windows and grazed right over the top of the protesters in the center. It made for a nice image.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR People fill the state Capitol Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Madison, Wis., to protest Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights for state workers. ©2011

I wandered around a bit more in and around the Capitol grounds. After making a few more pictures, I headed back to the crowded press room to transmit my photos back to my editor. There were so many journalists in there, at times I had to stand and hold my laptop with one arm and edit with the other. Once I finally had my images toned and captioned, I sat the laptop on top of the water cooler in the room because it was taking forever to FTP my images. As it turns out, 60,000 protesters using their cell phones to tweet, take photos and post to Facebook makes my Verizon air card extremely slow. I’d say it took more than half an hour to send 20 pictures.

At about 3 p.m., the reporter and I packed up and headed back to Illinois. It was a new experience for both of us. I was satisfied with the images I made but could see areas for improvement. I guess these will have to do until the next big story.

When I got the assignment to go make some pictures at a library in a nearby town of patrons, workers and the building itself, I thought that it would be a quick in-and-out assignment. Boy was I wrong.

When I got to the library in Pecatonica, Ill., the only people there were workers. I got to shooting right away, following around a reluctant employee. And then another reluctant employee.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Library aide Edie Matheson returns a book to a shelf Tuesday, March 1, 2011, in the children's section of the Pecatonica Library. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Library clerk Kay Kluth scans in a DVD Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at the front counter of the Pecatonica Library. ©2011

I was getting useable images. But if I settle for useable, I never make “WOW” images. While I was waiting for a customer, I kept thinking of how I could make a wonderful picture at a library.

That’s when I saw a man come in and get on one of the computers. Pardon the expression but I was on him like white on rice. I talked to him for a bit to get his story about why he was there. I mean, it is a library. There isn’t really any way to be discreet about taking photos in a building known for being quiet.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Luke Nevdal uses the internet Tuesday, March 1, 2011, on a computer at the Pecatonica Library. Nevdal's laptop is in for repair and he has been using the library's computers to access his e-mail. ©2011

Alright. Now I had some variety. I thought about calling it quits and heading back to the office but I still wasn’t overly satisfied with the pictures I had made.

This brings up one of the most important lessons I ever learned while I was an intern at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. If you have the time, be patient with an assignment. You never know what you miss when you leave a place quickly.

So I stayed. I chatted with the employees. I poked around. I kept an eye on the front door.

That’s about when one of the library employees picked up a sheet of paper and went to the stacks looking for books. She was pulling books that were requested by other regional libraries. She was fulfilling the “pick list.” So I followed her.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Library clerk Kay Kluth searches for a book requested by another regional library Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at the Pecatonica Library. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Library clerk Kay Kluth searches for a book requested by another regional library Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at the Pecatonica Library. ©2011

These aren’t likely to win me a Pulitzer but they are a heck of a lot more visually appealing than the earlier shots.

My patience also paid off and allowed for another customer to come in.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Richard Lindquist looks for a book Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at the Pecatonica Library. ©2011

It’s not the best image but I like having variety to bring back to my editor.

The lesson is one I’ve told before and I’ll probably tell over and over again. If time allows, be patient. Don’t force images. Find the scene and wait for something to interact with it. It’s not always possible but when it happens, you’ll have no doubt that all of that time was well spent and not wasted.

Now that it is starting to warm up outside (a little bit), I decided it would be the perfect time to post photos from last month’s blizzard. After some banter back and forth between meteorologists, I think the storm total snowfall was 15.1″ making it the third largest snowfall total in Rockford’s recorded history. That’s a lot of snow.

I started my great snow hunt before the storm started. I went to the Rockford City Yard hoping to find snow plow preparation. However, the only action there was a maintenance man making repairs to the salt dome elevator - a lift that carries salt to the very top of the salt dome.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Randy Dimmel, a property maintenance repair man for the City of Rockford, makes repairs to a salt dome elevator Monday, Jan. 31, 2011,at the Rockford City Yard. ©2011

As the first flakes started to roll in, I went out to get some shots. I went up on a parking garage that is next to the river. I was hoping to get evening commuters coming across a snow-dusted bridge.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Evening commuters make their way west over the Jefferson Street Bridge Monday, Jan. 31, 2011, before the forecasted blizzard reaches Rockford. ©2011

Yes, that is a frozen over, mostly snow-covered river.

We had light snow for the next 24 hours or so. Slow accumulations. The heavy stuff kicked in the next night. I was off work that day so I didn’t have to fight the evening traffic in blinding snow.

The following day, by the time I went in to work, the snow had mostly stopped. However, the cleanup was just beginning.  I walked through what had to be two-to-three feet of snow on my driveway to get to my car in the garage. Ordinarily, I would have shoveled the snow to make a path for my car. But the snow shovels my landlord left in our garage were missing. So, I backed the Subaru as far back in the garage as I could and just went for it. I literally made it about an inch from getting to a snow-blown section of the driveway. I decided to shoot a little cellphone video of my attempt.

Once I finally made it out, I hit the street to look for others digging out. I started close to my house and found plenty in my neighborhood.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Ice clings to Jaxon Oshita's facial hair Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, while he uses a snow blower to clear his Camp Avenue sidewalk in Rockford. Oshita said this blizzard is one of the worst snow storms he has ever seen. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Buried cars line Guard Street Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in Rockford. ©2011

As I ventured a little farther out, the scene was the same. Everyone was digging out from the Snowpocolype/Snowmageddon/SnowMG/Blizzaster… I could go on.

I accidentally turned down a road that arguably has the steepest hill in all of Rockford. I could turn this post into an ad for Subaru but I’ll just say that I made it up and over. That is where I found a guy snowblowing his driveway.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Andrew Lippert uses a snow blower to clear his driveway Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, on Garrison Avenue in Rockford. ©2011

I decided to head farther north into more rural neighborhoods. I found a couple of kids building a snow fort with help from their mom. I decided to hang out with them for a while.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Max Caltagerone, 8, uses a shovel to widen a snow fort Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in front of his family's home on Ann's Acres in Rockford. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Mason Caltagerone, 4, places a flag on top of a snow fort Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in front of his family's home on Ann's Acres in Rockford. ©2011

The next day, the cleanup continued around town. I found a landscaping company using end loaders to clear out driveways in a townhouse complex.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Dave Stracka of the Cherry Valley Landscape Center uses a loader to clear out residential driveways Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011, on Trowbridge Lane in Rockford. ©2011

I’ve never seen so much snow in my life. I can honestly say that I got my fair share of the white stuff this season.

Every photojournalist has to photograph politicians at some point. It is one of the few things we newspaper folk can actually count on.  It doesn’t matter where you live and work. One day you can be out shooting a high school basketball game and the next you can be photographing the President meeting with the mayor of Small Town U.S.A. I’ve photographed my fair share of politicians over the past few months.

While I was in between full-time jobs, one of the newspapers I interviewed with was The Courier/Daily Comet in Houma, La. While there, they sent me on an assignment to photograph Ken Salazar, the secretary of the interior. This was deep in oil country right on the Gulf coast.

One thing that I find with almost any public or press event involving a politician is that a flag is displayed in the background. This instance was no different. A massive flag was hanging from a couple of cranes. Sometimes it is nice to use the flag as a background. Sometimes it is too cliché. For this shot, I decided to incorporate it.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar speaks to reporters at Gulf Island Fabrication in Houma, La., Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. (AP Photo/The Daily Comet, Max Gersh) ©2010

Not all political things are obviously political things. I know that sounds a little goofy but sometimes things that have the facade of a business venture serve more as a political tool.

Last month, Dr. Lu Guanqiu, founder and chairman of Wanxiang (a solar panel manufacturing company) traveled with Chinese President Hu Jintao to the United States. Among his other stops, he visited Rockford, the site of one of their American facilities.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Dr. Lu Guanqiu, founder and chairman of Wanxiang, (from right) and Pin Ni, president of Wanxiang America Corporation, look at Sunil Puri's business card Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, at Giovanni's Restaurant and Convention Center in Rockford. ©2011

Shortly after the tragic event in Tuscon, Ariz., Rep. Don Manzullo and Sen. Mark Kirk held a town hall meeting in Rockford. The security was clearly escalated.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Rep. Don Manzullo speaks Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011, at a town hall meeting at the Rock Valley College Stenstrom Center in Rockford. ©2011

People still came out in force to fill the room.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR People line up to ask Sen. Mark Kirk and Rep. Don Manzullo questions Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011, at a town hall meeting at the Rock Valley College Stenstrom Center in Rockford. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Sen. Mark Kirk (left) and Rep. Don Manzullo answer questions from the media Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011, after a town hall meeting at the Rock Valley College Stenstrom Center in Rockford. ©2011

Another interesting political assignment I had recently was photographing Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in Sterling, Ill. Gingrich was in town to participate in a centennial celebration for Ronald Reagan.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich talks to the press Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, at Sterling High School in Sterling. Gingrich was in town to participate in the Ronald Reagan centennial celebration. ©2011

Sometimes it’s hard to find a unique photo at these political events. I try to keep an eye on the periphery. I was able to catch this brief moment of Callista Gingrich taking a photo of her husband, Newt, during a press conference.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Callista Gingrich (right) takes a photo of her husband, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, while Alicia Melvin watches. Gingrich was in town to participate in the Ronald Reagan centennial celebration. ©2011

Later that night, there was a big gala event where many area politicians showed up. Again, plenty of U.S. flags.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR State Rep. Jerry Mitchell makes opening remarks Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, before a gala dinner in honor of President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday at Deer Valley Golf Club in Deer Grove. ©2011

The photographic gem of the night involved a few politicians out of character, leaning in to blow out some candles on a cake.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Former Speakers of the House Newt Gingrich (left) and Dennis Hastert and State Rep. Jerry Mitchell blow out the candles on a cake Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, for President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday celebration at Deer Valley Golf Club in Deer Grove. ©2011

While all of these events have been unique in their own right, none have been as unique as photographing President Barak Obama.  That is a whole day affair.

I was sent with a reporter to Manitowoc, Wis., to cover President Obama the day after he delivered his State of the Union speech. Incorporating the commute, security and required waiting around, I pulled an 11 hour shift at work that included only about 20 minutes of actual photography.

Without fail, the facility that Obama was speaking at managed to place a few large U.S. flags in the background.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR People gather at Orion Energy Systems Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2010, to see President Barack Obama speak at the Manitowoc, Wis. facility. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR President Barack Obama speaks to a crowd Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, inside of Orion Energy Systems in Manitowoc, Wis. ©2011

Part of the challenge of photographing the President is simply working around a massive amount of press people in a very short time frame. I like to move around a lot to get a wide variety of angles and looks.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR President Barack Obama points to a man wearing a Chicago Bears hat Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, inside of Orion Energy Systems in Manitowoc, Wis. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR President Barack Obama speaks to a crowd Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, inside of Orion Energy Systems in Manitowoc, Wis. ©2011

At the end of the day, every politician I photograph is just a subject in my frame. I think many photojournalists would agree that when behind the camera, there is no such thing a celebrity shock. It is just another subject for another assignment.