Gersh Photo Post | Max Gersh | Multimedia Photojournalist

I was in New Castle, Indiana working for The Courier-Times for about eight months before I was laid off from my full-time position and cut down to a part time job. I stayed on for two more months while I interviewed with other newspapers around the country.

My last day at The Courier-Times was this past Friday, December 10, 2010.

When I first got to New Castle, I didn’t think I would be sad whenever I left. I really didn’t expect to get laid off and still be sad about leaving. All I can say is that the town grew on me.

I made some wonderful friends and met some incredible people. It was my pleasure to tell the community’s story along side the others in the newsroom.

My final assignment there was a basketball game in the New Castle Chrysler High School Fieldhouse, the worlds largest high school gymnasium. It seats over 10,000 people. The lighting sucks but the atmosphere is awesome.

New Castle's Jordan Hahn puts up a shot against the Muncie South defense Friday night in the Fieldhouse. (C-T photo Max Gersh) ©2010

As I left the game at halftime, it began to really sink in. That was it. No more games in The Fieldhouse. No more night time bike rides on county roads surrounded by corn fields. No more warm embrace from the community that welcomed me.

I thought back about the great times I had there. Like the time I scared the crap out of one of the reporters last February as we tested my Subaru’s ability to pound through two foot (or deeper) snow drifts. I guess I tested it and she felt more like she was strapped to the front of a roller coaster. However you want to classify it, we made it to the assignment and it was awesome!

How about that time I was hanging out with one of the editors and an intern and someone called us at 2 A.M. to let us know there was a house on fire. That was some of the most unorthodox journalism I have ever participated in. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt with a picture of Mr. Clean on it. I didn’t have my camera gear with me (give me a break! It was 2 A.M.) so I used a point and shoot and my cellphone which was just about out of juice.

The situations were unique. What made them memorable was that I shared them with some great coworkers.

As I was out with friends after shooting the game, I kept getting texts about how the game had gone into overtime. And then double OT. Our sports editor was telling me how heated the coaches were getting and I just wanted to go back and shoot more. But I was done.

All in all, in my ten months at The Courier-Times, I shot 53,285 photos. Obviously, many of those were not ones that were printed. These also include photos I took for things outside of work.

Also, I drove 23,306 miles while there. This included numerous trips to St. Louis and Louisville. Toss in a few to Cincinnati, Branson and a few other random cities and you can start to see how I racked up so many miles.

I can’t roll back the number of photos taken or miles driven. Those large numbers will forever represent my time in New Castle.

As I close this chapter of my life, I do so with hope. On Monday, I start my new job at the Rockford Register Star in Rockford, Illinois. I have faith that while the newsroom wont be the same, I will quickly be able to call this place home.  I look forward to building friendships with my coworkers and a strong relationship with the community.

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.