One of the local powerhouse volleyball teams is Shenandoah High School. They have been destroying many teams all season long.
Last night, they were in the regional tournament against Muncie Burris who has had 92 consecutive tournament wins and 13 consecutive state championship victories. One tough opponent.
Shenandoah fought hard but ultimately lost to Muncie Burris in three straight sets. Here are a few shots from the night.
From left, Shenandoah's Kirstyn Pierce, Kenzie Cox and Adrianne Trennephol celebrate after a point Tuesday night in a regional match against Muncie Burris. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Shenandoah's Kirstyn Pierce bumps the ball Tuesday night in a regional match against Muncie Burris. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Makayla Roseberry of Shenandoah dives for the ball Tuesday night during the regional match against Muncie Burris. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
The girls from Muncie Burris were absolutely crushing their spikes. This one bounced off of the arm of Andi Hise, leaving an impression long enough for my camera to capture it.
Shenandoah's Andi Hise reacts after a spike hit her in the arm during a regional match against Muncie Burris. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
A day in the life of a photojournalist. Some days are slow. Many are non-stop. Assignments can be spontaneous and range in topics. That keeps the job interesting.
Yesterday was no exception. I went to the high school to get art for a story on College GO Week. There weren’t a lot of photogenic opportunities. I was told that teachers were invited to wear shirts from their colleges. I found a teacher that would let me sit in on his class for a little bit to get a few shots of him is his Purdue apparel.
Bill Wessler wears his Purdue shirt Thursday afternoon while teaching a government class at New Castle Chrysler High School during College GO Week. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Bill Wessler wears his Purdue shirt Thursday afternoon while teaching a government class at New Castle Chrysler High School during College GO Week. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Shortly after getting back in the office, a call came over the police scanner for a house fire in a neighboring town. I rushed down there since the dispatcher kept calling in more and more departments to help fight the blaze. As it turns out, this home predates the Civil War and was a stop in the Underground Railroad.
Firefighters finish extinguishing a house fire Thursday afternoon in Spiceland. The homeowners were downstairs when a neighbor alerted them of the fire which was visible in the upstairs windows. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
A firefighter communicates out of a second story window with crews on the ground Thursday afternoon while trying to locate hot spots in a home in Spiceland. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Joey Cunningham, assistant fire chief at the Spiceland Volunteer Fire Department, looks out a second story window Thursday afternoon after extinguishing a house fire in Spiceland. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Covering the fire made me late to a tennis match but I got there in time to get a few shots of the final matches.
New Castle's A.J. York volleys against an Anderson player Thursday afternoon during the No. 3 singles match. York lost in two sets, 6-3, 6-4. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
After that, I had to rush back to the office to make sure I got all of the photos edited and in the system before deadline.
Busy days are fun days as long as you have enough time to devote to each assignment.
Some assignments can be best visualized with an environmental portrait. I’ve had a few over the last month that really summed up what the story was about.
This first one is of a man named David Johnson. I met David at two in the morning at the scene of a fatal house fire. He lived in the neighboring building and rescued many people from the burning building. He expresses much guilt for not being able to save one woman who died in the fire. We did a followup story on David and I met him to shoot a portrait. I had him stand in front of the burnt building and took a few shots.
David Johnson stands in front of a home on 18th Street where an early morning fire on July 16 left one woman dead. Johnson lives in a neighboring building and tried to rescue as many people as possible when he saw the fire. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
The next portrait I did is of a woman named Lisa Archey. Lisa lives on a block where there are neglected and abandoned homes bringing down the neighborhood. She has a background in helping revitalize rough communities.
Lisa Archey stands in between two abandoned and neglected homes on August 25 along North 17th Street. Archey said that having homes like these on the block hurt the entire community. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Lisa Archey stands in between two abandoned and neglected homes on August 25 along North 17th Street. Archey said that having homes like these on the block hurt the entire community. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
The final portrait is of Bud Bush. Bud, on top of all of his community service, has built a website tracking the genealogy of much of the county. He recently became wheelchair bound and volunteers helped him by building a ramp at his house.
Bud Bush, who frequently participates in the Henry County Day of Caring, sits on his front porch Thursday afternoon next to a new ramp that was built for him by volunteers. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Bud Bush, who frequently participates in the Henry County Day of Caring, sits on his front porch Thursday afternoon next to a new ramp that was built for him by volunteers. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
For a photojournalist, a portrait needs to tell a story. I think these do the job.
For as long as I can remember, I have found volleyball to be a difficult sport to photograph. I can attribute this to a few factors.
- I am not very familiar with the sport. It can be confusing to follow plays as they develop.
- Most of the gyms I shoot in are absolute dungeons. In one local gym, I am pushing it to shoot 1/125th sec at f/2.8 and 3200 ISO. My camera struggles to follow focus in such poor lighting conditions.
- I don’t always have access to good vantage points to get clean shots.
However, with anything else, I have improved with practice. Last night, I shot a match between Knightstown and Shenandoah high schools. It helped that the gym was relatively new with much brighter lights than other local gyms. I was shooting 1/250th at f/2.8 and 1600 ISO. That exposure is much more reasonable on my 1D Mark II.
Here are the two we ran in the paper.
Knightstown's Hannah Jackson sets the ball Thursday in a home meet against Shenandoah. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
Shenandoah's Yardley Collett slams the ball past the block of Knightstown's Hannah Smith. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010
With the economy in such poor shape, it’s no surprise that we have been seeing layoffs nationwide in all industries. But few have been as hard hit as newspapers.
I was an intern at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when a round of layoffs swept the newsroom. No one knew what was happening. I walked in the building and was stopped with many others at the security desk. The guards had a list of names of people they weren’t supposed to let back in. Veteran journalists were held at the counter while I was let through.
On my elevator ride to the newsroom, I started to put the pieces together. I told my coworkers what I had seen. Others’ stories confirmed the rumors of a layoff.
It wasn’t long before you could sense the fear in the building. The company high-ups were going around cherry-picking people one by one. In a grim reaper fashion, they were tapped on the shoulder and escorted out. This went on for hours.
My internship was finite so I had no real fear of being terminated. But I was just as nervous as the other photographers that were huddled together in the photo well.
Just like cancer, no one ever thinks they will be the meat hitting the floor after the layoff axe comes sweeping through. Today, I learned that lesson the hard way.
High-ups from Paxton Media Group, the parent company of The Courier-Times, came to the office. My position was one of three that was eliminated. My last day is Oct. 3.
While the door in New Castle, IN may be closing, I am optimistic for the opportunities that may present themselves.
Wish me luck as I once again take those bold footsteps into the unknown.