BeFrank

New Years Resolutions

2012-01-26T13:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, so maybe I am a little late in getting around to committing for 2012. It's my understanding that resolutions are for people who want to improve in some way.

That usually relates to getting rid of bad habits. Sure, I got tons of bad habits. I'm just not positive that I have any I'm ready to get rid of.

The plan is to eat better this year. No more donuts (or doughnuts either).

Stop laughing. Success is always in the attempt.

Make more time for actual writing on the blog.

As much as I like the Instagram app on my iPhone, I feel like it really has contributed to sucking the life out of my blog.

(Can "not posting" be considered a bad habit?)

Make the committment and focus on the two aspects of my life that I really have the greatest interest in pursuing.

Early in life, the fork in the road used to lead towards news or writing and news won that matchup by default (nobody was really interested in paying me to write).

Now it seems the road in the yellow woods is diverging and leading towards writing or still photography.

News (hopefully) will always pay the bills.

But it's not so much about having a job. It's more about having a job that I enjoy.

My only concern is that if I make something I enjoy my main job, would it become "work" and would I no longer be able to enjoy it?

Well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

In the meantime, I also fully resolve to stop using the annoying watermark and vignetting in my photos. I'm serious about that one.

I'm not sure how long that donut thing is going to last.

Say, Cheese!

2012-01-24T10:01:00.001-08:00

On Monday morning this week, I was greeted by the news that one of my photographs was selected to be a Daily Deviation on the Deviant Art web site.

That was insanely cool for me.

I can't show the picture here (NSFW, NSFW!), but these are shots from the same set.

Deviant Art is a web site where some pretty amazing artists from all over the world show their work.

I started submitting my shots to the site as a way of sharing my efforts in still photography.

Not really promoting myself, just saying my work is there if you were interested in seeing it.

Honestly, I'm not trying to "be" anything. Okay, we'll, I'm always trying to be a better photographer, but fame and/or fortune isn't a big motivating factor for me when it come to my still photography.

The way I look at it, I have a job in news that I love. I also enjoy photography and if I weren't working in news, I might be trying to make a go of it as a still photographer.

The idea of me as an artist is something I still wrestle with. I'm not entirely against it, I just find my enjoyment of photography to be inversely proportional to the amount of work involved.

That's just my way of saying, I don't want a second job. I think we can all agree, there's working hard at something you personally enjoy and there's working hard for someone else.

I can do that first thing all day long (every day).

That second thing? Having another boss? One job at a time is enough for me right now, thank you very much.

Having said all that, let me get back to what I was saying before about the Deviant Art site.

The photo submitted for their Daily Deviation had been on the site for about two weeks and had been viewed maybe four hundred times.

At the end of the day, the photo had over twelve thousand views.

Uh, whoa. That was mind blowing.

There's probably a bit more to be said, but I have to get ready for work. Hey, does anybody want to talk about the whole fine art (okay, nude) photography experience?

Next time.

Hey, I'm having a pretty great week so far. I hope I get a good assignment today and I hope it's something where I can shoot a couple of still shots I can share.

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Musical Fella

2012-01-21T23:08:00.001-08:00

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New Beer

2012-01-21T18:42:00.001-08:00

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Losing Great Ones

2012-01-20T10:56:00.001-08:00

The father of one of my friends from work passed away this week. The guy I work with is a man of character and I guess that's because of the way he was raised.

Now today Etta James has died.

I know the clock is ticking for everyone, but I can't help feeling that we're losing some great people here and that's bringing me down. I'm listening to Etta James music and trying not to dwell on it.

My resolve today will be that living is the best way to honor those who have passed on.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Chanera Ave,Hawthorne,United States

Chilly Art

2012-01-20T04:45:00.001-08:00

The huge amount of dry ice that was part of the art installation greeting visitors to the 2012 Art Los Angeles Contemporary show in Santa Monica was impressive.

Other crews were covering the arrest made in the case of the severed head found in the Hollywood Hills

I'm good.

I'd much rather meet a world class artist (Judy Chicago).

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Location:Chanera Ave,Hawthorne,United States

BlogPress?

2012-01-20T02:37:00.001-08:00

This is a test of the new blogging app. I just tossed $3.00 down the drain on it and I don't think we're going to come to anything close to a workable situation.

It's not a bad app. I just can't do the kind of things I'd like to do with the formatting.

I've been using an app called Blogsy for almost a year. It gets progressively worse with each update.

The search continues.

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Location:Chanera Ave,Hawthorne,United States

Much Ado About Nothing.

2012-01-17T16:37:00.001-08:00

I've spent the better part of the past few days indulging in the work of other photographers. That's two weekends in a row that I've managed to set aside some time to appreciate artistic endeavors.

I'm sure that's a good thing, but it still frustrates me a little. It's always in the back of my mind that I should be paying closer attention to my own work.

No matter how much I do, I always feel as if I should have done more.

This past week I did accomplish one thing which got me out of the comfy chair and made me feel as if I was at least making an honest attempt to stay out of my comfort zone.

I had to pick up my truck from the station (long story, not important) and instead of making it a two person drive, I voluntarily made use of some of that "public transportation" you sometimes hear about.

This was about 9pm, so it wasn't without some concern for my safety. That still goes towards the whole "getting out of the comfort zone" thing.

Sanity did prevail in that I decided not to take the big camera and documented the adventure with my much more concealable Nikon P9000.

There are lots of street photographers out there who can engage strangers and form connections with people that lead to honest heartfelt images.

Mostly (and I tweeted about this) I was just hoping to not get stabbed.

The people I photographed looked harmless.

There were people behind me who looked like baby killers. No, I do not have any pictures of them.

And just to clarify, no, they did not look like babies who might kill people.

Anyway, we all got on the train.

All I could think about were all the cool shots I've seen that people have taken while on public transportation.

To be fair, you never really see how many bodyguards are backing up the photographer.

Could be half a dozen bodyguards standing behind the person behind the lens.

That's what I'm going to believe.

I probably could have taken a shot of the street vendor at the Universal City station who walked up to me and started talking to me in Spanish.

Honest mistake on his part.

So, to recap my route, I traveled on the Green Line to Willowbrook Station. From there I took the Blue Line to the 7th Street Station in down town Los Angeles. That's where I caught the Red Line to North Hollywood and transferred to a bus for the last couple of miles left in my adventure.

The bus transfer is always kind of tricky for me, but I managed to arrive at the station a mere two and a half hours after my journey began.

Not exactly a grand adventure, but it felt good and gave me a chance to clear my mind. This was just after I'd gotten back from vacation, so it gave me a chance to get my head on straight before hitting the mean streets of LA news.

Riding the rails is a lot more fun when there's a nice meal or beer at the end of the line.

I'll do it again when I've got a few more guys with me. I mean, come on, who wants to be stabbed alone.

Photo l.a. GO!

2012-01-13T10:03:00.001-08:00

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Late Night Risks

2012-01-10T22:31:00.001-08:00

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The dilemma was that my truck was at the station and I needed to pick it up for Dellis to use to haul some educational crap (That's why I have a truck instead of a sports car). I could have had my lovely wife drop me off at the station.

Instead of doing the easy/smart thing, I decided to take the Metro train and do a little late night street photography.

Getting out of my comfort zone was the ultimate goal.

Mission accomplished.

. . .and I got my truck home.

Sky King

2012-01-08T17:12:00.001-08:00

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Sunday Chores

2012-01-08T17:11:00.001-08:00

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Shreveport, LA

2012-01-07T01:34:00.001-08:00

It wasn't a vacation.

My mother was experiencing some health issues that were not seeming to get better. In fact, quite the opposite. Her health seemed to be getting worse.

That's why I spent the better part of this week visiting my folks in Shreveport.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but everything does seem better now.

I'm not sure if it was anything that I did. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a combination of the care she was getting and just possibly the added boost to her spirits from my visit.

I did a lot of praying early this week, because I am so inclined.

After just a couple of days, there was a measurable level of improvement in my mother's condition. I was still a bit of a wreck, but at least there was cause for optimism.

There wasn't much time for me to relax and enjoy the regular activities that I look forward to when I visit.

Late in the week, I did push myself to take a drive by myself to try and snap a few shots to share.

I'm sure it's odd (to some) but even in uncertain times, I find myself unable to just sit and observe without feeling that urge capture my surroundings with my camera.

My folks wouldn't appreciate me posting photos of them from this week.

Well, my dad might not care, but my mother would have a fit.

I'm going to just leave that part of the trip alone.

I had about two hours to capture what I could. I also needed the time to clear my head.

There's a lot I'd have done different if I had a little more time. It was actually difficult for me to get warmed up.

It wasn't as much time as I needed (to get a good sense of where I was, let alone clear my head).

But the purpose of the trip wasn't to take pictures.

I was visiting my folks, because i thought they might need me and because that's what children do.

My thanks for the good thoughts and prayers sent our way from the people who knew about my trip. It was never my intent to exclude any family or friends, but it wasn't an easy trip to make.

I didn't want discussion.

I just wanted to do what I needed to do.

(Also, there's no significance to the b&w processing choice on some of the photos. I just felt like it.)

Bye-bye, Bayou.

2012-01-06T11:13:00.001-08:00

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Wait at the Gate

2012-01-06T09:28:00.001-08:00

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Rhinestone BeFrank!

2012-01-03T14:19:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure how I got tossed into the mix on this particular shoot, but seeing as it was an easy (no possibility of a live shot) HFR, I was extremely gung-ho to do it.

Glen Cambell lives!That's how my mind reacted to the news that Serene Branson would be interviewing him for a profile story set to air around Grammy Time.

I once worked with a girl who was buddies with Tanya Tucker. She and Glen Cambell were together in the early eighties. That must have been at a more tumultuous time in Glen Cambell's life. The girl I worked with never had much to say nice about him. Honestly, that actually cast a slight shadow over my interest in helping out on the interview.

It just goes to show you though, you should always keep an open mind. Glen Cambell and everybody around him were all just some of the nicest people.

We met and talked to his daughter and also his wife.

After the interview, Glen and his daughter sat down to play for the cameras.

Can she play? Let me tell you, the daughter played the heck out of that banjo. Their little impromptu duet was an awesome experience.

You never know how celebrities will behave towards the crew. After introductions had been made, Glen Cambell asked me how I was doing.

I told him, I was doing pretty good. A lot of people went to work that day and didn't get to meet Glen Cambell.

He smiled at that. I think the comment made him feel good. With his health issues, he's got some difficult times ahead. I'm glad I got a chance to meet him and talk to him at relatively good point in his life.

Sometimes the people we interview do turn out to be nice.

Shreveport Safe

2012-01-02T21:53:00.001-08:00

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Maybe Changing Plans.

2012-01-02T16:09:00.001-08:00

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Photowalk Houston!

2012-01-02T15:54:00.001-08:00

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Hmmm, Curiously Still in Houston.

2012-01-02T15:47:00.001-08:00

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Houston, We've Got a Problem.

2012-01-02T15:24:00.001-08:00

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Houston

2012-01-02T15:06:00.001-08:00

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Mmm, Lunch!

2012-01-02T15:03:00.001-08:00

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LA Bound

2012-01-02T10:50:00.001-08:00

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Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:38:00.001-08:00

It occurs to me that now would be a good time to make a New Years resolution about blogging.

I don't know, maybe something about posting more regularly.

This is the view from my bedroom window. That's the Metrorail station I use when I'm inspired to experience life outside of my normal vehicular habits.

I'm going to be taking a few days off this week and in no particular order of importance, I intend to use the time to catch up on some of my photography projects, write (like a motherf--), just generally get organized and maybe post an entry or two of some substance about my life in and outside of broadcast news.

My resolutions are usually less quantitative and generally just more about trying to be a little better. So I won't make any promises about posting every day (although I do admire people who do those 365 projects), but I will try to make your visits here to my corner of the Internet worthwhile.

The year feels like it's off to a pretty good start. Enjoy your day. I'll see you back here soon.

Across from Walt's Place

2011-12-29T12:50:00.003-08:00

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The story was about the large crowds and the park suspending ticket sales during peak hours.

Hollywood

2011-12-29T12:50:00.001-08:00

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Pretty (hic!) Smooth

2011-12-25T10:37:00.001-08:00

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Silent Night

2011-12-25T08:51:00.001-08:00

My best wishes for a happy holiday to all who take the time to follow along with my occasional rumblings.

Stay warm, enjoy the day and much love from me and mine.

Crunch.

2011-12-21T09:20:00.001-08:00

We were doing live shots in the snow about a week ago. Lots of things have happened since hen, but I'm so wrapped up in little activities like preparing for the holidays that my normal lateness is turning into "super holiday lateness".

We got saved from a fate of liveshots from the drafty cold bridge (just past Gorman) to cover a big big-rig accident on he 5 near the 14.

Something like seven trucks were involved. One truck jacknifed and six other truckers were gonna be late because of it.

Luckily nobody got hurt, but the trucks involved all suffered moderate to heavy damage.

The truck portion of the 5 was blocked, but "late" is a lot better than dead. This accident happened just a couple of miles for where several people died when a similar accident caused a fire.

That was one of the things I kept thinking about while I walked along the roadway in the rain.

We did a live shot for the 11pm newscast. I got to go home at the end of the night instead of getting snowed in at the Flying J truck stop. I got to walk along the freeway in the rain ( for some odd reason, I find this kind of fun).

Not a bad night. Worse for the folks involved in the crash, but not bad at all.

Merry Taco Everybody!

2011-12-20T18:03:00.001-08:00

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The Bitter Cold

2011-12-17T07:07:00.001-08:00

It might not seem like any part of Southern California, but the light snow we got in the higher elevations we got last week is the closest we come to a winter snow storm.

Sure, it might pale in comparison to places where the snow actually covers the ground, but this is ours and it's still miserable for me to be standing around in it to do live shots.

The part of highway 5 near Gorman that routinely gets closed in snowy weather was once again the goto spot for me to bring a satellite truck and a bag packed with extra clothes (just in case I might be staying for a few days).

There were a couple of things I was happy about.

I was running the SAT truck and we weren't going to be hanging out on the bridge over the highway where the wind can pick up a man and send him flying to his death in front of oncoming traffic.

What? Just because it hasn't happened, doesn't mean it couldn't.

I mean, with the way my luck went that night, I wouldn't have been surprised.

My little SAT truck that could, died on me. Dish motor function malfunction and the only spot for a microwave shot from at area is the hated bridge.

Luckily we only did one live hit before the station pulled us for breaking news.

A big rig truck had caused a seven vehicle accident on the 5 near the 14.

Uh. . .wait, did I say, luckily?

Presser at the Edison Shooting

2011-12-16T21:23:00.001-08:00

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Un-Expected!

2011-12-15T15:54:00.001-08:00

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Just for Art

2011-12-13T17:17:00.001-08:00

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Tunnel Ax

2011-12-12T22:23:00.001-08:00

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Chipper Toy Drive

2011-12-08T21:02:00.001-08:00

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Well, Blow Me Down!

2011-12-07T08:18:00.001-08:00

I have never seen the kind of wind destruction in SoCal like we had in the last week.

Trees were tossed over like bowling pins all over the county.

I thought I'd really seen something impressive on the first night of the high winds.

A massive tree had been blown over in a Reseda neighborhood. Suzie Suh and I did live shots from the family's front yard for the late newscasts.

Maybe I was so impressed with the tree I'd found, but I had no idea the kind of damage that was being done everywhere else.

The next night I was with Juan Fernandez in Pasadena.

It was amazing. Trees were down and streets were blocked all over the place.

It was the kind of damage you would expect after a hurricane or tornando and added to that, our unusually warm fall weather just suddenly went back to regular old cold.

Brrrr.

I'm breaking out the thermals and doubling up on socks.

Yeah, and I'm also keeping an eye on the willow and eucalyptus trees at my house. If 100 year old trees are toppling, I'm betting my bunch are just waiting for a good breeze to do some damage.

Dull, but Newsworthy. La Canada Unified School Districts new young board member. I'll take the assignment. At least it's warm inside.

2011-12-06T18:58:00.001-08:00

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A Week to Remember

2011-12-05T10:24:00.001-08:00

I'm very grateful for the lack of greater violence during the eviction by LAPD of the Occupy LA protestors last week. It was an amazing news assignment.

Not one I would have chosen, but one that I'm glad to have been involved with. With a pregnant daughter on her last night in town, I would have been just as happy to skip the riot and been at home.

My total hours for the day clocked somewhere around twenty-three. Yeah, I know, ka-ching!

The only reason I wound up with so much overtime is that a lot of us were on the clock from early in the AM to cover the Conrad Murray sentencing.

If you were on that assignment, you got moved two blocks over from the criminal courts building to the LAPD headquarters directly across from the South lawn of City Hall.

Just a stone's throw from the middle of any potential mayhem.

Considering past protests (hi, Carl Stein), mayhem affecting me personally didn't seem far enough outside the realm of possibility.

I'd been running the satellite truck and didn't get pulled for any camera or ground crew assignment. It made me feel a little sidelined, but there's always that bittersweet feeling when you might be avoiding getting hit in the head with a baton or have crap (figuratively and literally) hurled at you.

I did manage to snap a couple of still shots from the middle of the OLA encampment.

Not my best shots, but I'd left the big camera at home in the hopes my new smaller camera would be a suitable replacement.

It wasn't.

Then again, I'm just glad I had any sort of still camera with me. Can't say I'd trust my memory to recall the smaller details of the night.

Things moved slowly for the most part. I was able to do some actual camera work from an overhead perch that I'm really better off saying less about.

My fellow Photogs probably still feel that I got off with an easy assignment compared to the crews who were live with handheld shots for several hours.

I think we were all potentially exposed to the dangers of the situation.

As grueling as things were for everyone that night. By the time the sun came up the next morning, we were probably all just thankful that it never got worse than it did.

I'm still recovering from the week, but as always, I'm looking forward to the next big thing.

Some Joy

2011-12-02T12:12:00.001-08:00

I've had many an adventure in the past few weeks. Stuff that even curled my toes a little (Occupy L.A., I'm looking at you). I've got a few minutes while waiting for my truck at the car wash, so here are some pictures that represent the most important assignment I've had in recent days.

I think I might have mentioned that my middle daughter and her husband are expecting their first child.

Early morning shifts, late nights and hella long days kept me pretty busy during her visit, but we were determined to set up "Studio Be" and get some shots of the very preggers Mrs. Francis.

I wish I had more time to say all of how I feel. There some events more important than others in life and this was one that will carry me through the darkest days of news.

I have to go, but I'm glad I got a chance to share a few shots. I'm pretty happy right now.

I hope it spreads a bit.

Tree Trouble

2011-12-01T16:37:00.003-08:00

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Tree Two: This looks familiar.

2011-12-01T16:37:00.001-08:00

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Occupy Something Else

2011-11-30T01:52:00.001-08:00

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Getting ready to un-occupy LA.

2011-11-29T23:00:00.001-08:00

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Un-Occupy Media Base Camp

2011-11-29T22:57:00.001-08:00

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The Chief Occupied

2011-11-29T22:47:00.001-08:00

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Really Last Day at Conrad Murray

2011-11-29T18:02:00.001-08:00

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Darth Camera

2011-11-26T07:31:00.001-08:00

Some people are looking at my purchase of a Nikon point and shoot camera like I've fallen to the dark side.

Yes, I bought a Nikon. No, I'm not planning to jump ship.It's fun for some photographers to compare their brands. Since I own a Canon camera many people think I'm a die hard Canon fanatic.

That's not the case.

There are good reasons to prefer one brand over the other in the Canon -vs- Nikon rivalry. The truth is, both companies create and sell great cameras.

For most people, the type of photography you shoot and your subjective taste in the "look" of the output should determine the brand to buy.

For me, there wasn't much to consider. Amazon had a great deal on the Nikon. They were likely closing them out to make room for the newer model.

It all came down to the cost.

I could have paid two or three times as much for a camera that had slightly better specs. I could also have done that out of loyalty to my "brand".

My favorite saying about photography is that it's not the arrow, it's the indian.

Go ahead and debate the merit of brands. Don't mind me, I'm just going to be over here shooting some pictures.

Good Morning Fire!

2011-11-23T06:22:00.001-08:00

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Early Turkey Give-Away Coverage

2011-11-22T06:15:00.001-08:00

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Turner Hearing

2011-11-21T09:29:00.001-08:00

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Morning Wave: Hanging out at 94.7 with Kim Amidon and Paul Magers.

2011-11-21T07:52:00.001-08:00

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As Real As It Gets

2011-11-21T01:37:00.001-08:00

My day ended with an assignment to check out a bomb scare. Kind of sounds like a movie, but this and everything I do at work is pretty real.

Sometimes that's a bit difficult to remember. I've been really lucky in that the bad news I cover has usually happened to someone else.

Last Thursday I found myself in the dangerous later hours of the "Occupy Los Angeles" protest in the Bank of America plaza in downtown Los Angeles.

You can feel the tension when you're standing in the middle of a scene like that. It was a tense scene that lasted for hours. There I was with a tight grip on my camera.

Tight enough to feel pain in my hands that I didn't notice until later.

The day was overcast and grey. I was sweating and feeling a good deal of adrenaline pumping me up.

With so many cops around (and some of them were ones that know me), I probably should have felt safe.

Nope, not these days.

See, I'm friends with Carl Stein and a few other news people who were beaten by LAPD officers during the May Day demonstration a few years ago.

Heads rolled and things are supposed to be different now in the ranks of the LAPD.

It was still hard to shake the feeling that the cops likely wouldn't discriminate if things got out of hand.

Plus, the 99% were kind of split on how they felt about us also. Some were sympathetic and it seemed like they appreciated our being there.

Others were trying to pick verbal fights with us as well as with the cops.

A few of the more vocal protestors just seemed to be looking to cause trouble and didn't care about the cause as long as there was a good opportunity to be involved in some mayhem.

That's just the feeling I got while standing out there.

At one point just prior to the deadline that was given for the protestors to clear out of the area, I got to walk into the middle of their "camp" where a group of them had linked arms to stage their final act of defiance.

A couple of them spoke to us. It was heartfelt and sincere. They were people who have had enough and were willing to risk being pepper sprayed and/or go to jail for their beliefs.

I haven't been in the field shooting much lately. It felt like I was a little out of my element at first. I actually felt like I was rusty and that scared me more than anything.

It's not combat. I'm not in that kind of immediate danger, but I do need to keep my eyes open and I need to be on my toes. These things don't always end well and being a member of the media isn't the safety shield that it might have once been.

The cops did their job and slowly made their arrests and cleared the property. They weren't overly gentle with the protestors, but they didn't abuse their authority.

There have been times when I've been all kinds of brave when out covering the news. Knocking on doors and not knowing who or what is on the other side is just a figurative and literal truth of what I sometimes have to do.

This wasn't one of those times.

Like a trooper, I faced my fear and did my job, that's about all I had to do. In fact, the police, the protestors and everyone who had a part, played it well.

I walked away glad that nothing more exciting happened. That was a great ending to the day.

Cue the music. Roll the credits. Now all I have to worry about is if there's going to be a sequel.

OLA

2011-11-17T16:24:00.001-08:00

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Back in the Saddle

2011-11-15T09:29:00.001-08:00

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Almost Last Murray Monday.

2011-11-14T09:30:00.001-08:00

I'm playing catch up for the last couple of weeks, so here's what I hope will be my last Conrad Murray Monday.

The trial is over and I'm pretty worn out from the six weeks I worked on it. That's pretty short time compared to the guys who shared stories with me about the OJ trial.

I think every celebrity trial of our time is going to be compared to the OJ trial. I'm wondering if anyone is still around from the days of the Fatty Arbuckle or Errol Flynn trials?

I'm pretty sure those trials were also considered the trials of the century.

This didn't feel like the trial of the century, but it certainly felt like the hardest work I've done in recent memory.

I think maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much.

I'm no glutton for punishment, but it's rare that I feel like I'm working as hard as I can or that i'm on an assignment that I can really bite into.

The people I worked with were all top notch. Every day, we had to think about how we were going to get through that day.

We also had to be ready for surprises.

Equipment failures, rainy weather and vandalism were just some of the curve balls hurled at us.

Plus, we got a huge breaking news story to deal with during the trial. The day of the Seal Beach shooting I worked from 5:30am until 6pm the next day.

That's probably why I still feel like I'm recovering. I worked the SAT truck every day that court was in session.

A lot of those days were 14 hours long and none were less than 10 hours. In this economy, the overtime was appreciated, but it didn't make me a rich man.

No, just made it easier to pay the bills this month.

I'll be on my regular schedule today for the first time in almost two months. Just a nightside shift. I may have a reporter. I'll likely shoot and cut a package.

It feels kind of strange to be looking forward to a typical day.

Working in news, I think there really isn't any such thing as "a typical day".

All I can do is just go to work and try to be ready for anything.

Hit and Run Presser

2011-11-10T11:44:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

Water Main Broke (like me).

2011-11-08T11:27:00.001-08:00

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Funny, I'm still just watching it on TV.

2011-11-07T11:40:00.001-08:00

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Last Conrad Monday?

2011-11-07T05:56:00.001-08:00

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Captain (Conrad) Chaos

2011-11-03T17:18:00.001-07:00

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Conrad Rests

2011-11-01T17:10:00.001-07:00

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I bet they get great pictures from there.

2011-11-01T08:07:00.001-07:00

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JLOP -vs- Day of the Dead 2011!

2011-10-29T08:56:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure we should tempt fate, because there's plenty of signs in pop culture that we're heading towards a zombie apocalypse.

Sure, it could be vampires or some combination of the two, but right now I'm betting on the recently departed coming back to open up a can of rotting flesh whoop-ass.

Tempting fate is exactly what I felt like we were doing by cruising around after dark at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery last weekend.

Dia de Los Muertos was In full swing when we got there last weekend.

Faces were being painted churros were being eaten and I was in the thick of it with my camera.

I'm sure skeletal hands could have reached up from a shallow grave and grabbed a chunk of somebody.

It would not have surprised me.

Visually, this is an overwhelming event. Nearly every where you turn, there's something worth shooting.

My preference is usually to shoot with natural light, but I've found it difficult to capture the images I want without a little flash help.

Either way, it's still like shooting fish in a barrel.

It was my choice, but I would have liked to have a tripod with me, but I know how big the place is.

I wanted to cover more territory this year and the extra weight is always eventually a problem.

So, we walked more this year. Funny, but I don't really feel like I got all that many more shots out of covering the extra ground.

By the end of the night my feet were killing me.

Which I suppose is preferable to some anonymous reanimated corpse doing me in.

This week I think I'd like to go check out the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA.

As long as I'm exploring the more macabre aspects of my personal tastes, I might as well get the most out of the season.

You see, it's not that I'm embracing the undead and decomposed lifestyle. I'm Looking for weaknesses that I might be able to exploit in order to stay alive.

This is all mostly research.

My Brush With Lilo.

2011-10-29T07:26:00.001-07:00

One thing I like about working in news is the fact that I don't do the same thing every day.

Last week I was running our satellite truck at an entirely different courthouse for an entirely different case.

With an entirely different crew? Okay, same crew.

Sure, the differences might be too subtle for the average person to see, but I'm a professional. Trust me.

My break from the Murray trial found me across town running my "Big Blue" satellite truck for the CBS Newspath coverage of the never ending Lindsay Lohan reality show.

I was explaining to someone recently that my ability to snap a picture or two while I'm at work has never been a problem as long as it never ever-ever-EVER takes my attention from doing my job.

Running the SAT truck before anything has actually happened sometimes makes it easy for me to step outside and stretch my legs.

That was the case at Lindsay's most recent (continuing?) brush with the justice system.

I've covered Lindsay before and I was pretty thrilled to see that conditions were perfect for me to maybe get a paparazzi style shot of Lindsay as she entered the court.

Most of the cameras and photogs were lined up to get their money shots. They were in position as Lindsay's SUV was driven up. I staked out a small spot at the end of the line. Not wanting to screw up anybody else's shot and fully prepared to get the heck out of the way to avoid being caught in anyone else's lens if at all possible.

It was a pretty amazing moment. I'm not sure I can describe how it went down and make it sound as cool as I think it was.

The SUV pulls up. A Sheriff's Deputy walks up and talks to the driver at the driver's door. I'm standing at the rear corner of the vehicle on the driver's side. The rear door on the driver's side opens and a guy steps out.

I'm thinking, hey, that ain't her (yes, my powers of observation are firing on all cylinders). It hits me. Oh, crap. She's going to get out on the other side. I can't believe my luck, because at that point I knew she'd likely have to walk around the tail end of the SUV.

RIGHT PAST ME!

I'm not all that impressed with tabloid fodder and celebrity train wrecks like Lindsay spend no time on my radar outside of work.

But this was cool.

I had a 70-200mm lens on my camera because I thought the only shot I would get was going to be from a distance.

She was so close, my 5D mkII had trouble locking focus, I managed to get these shots as she and her entourage zipped past me.

The shots were pretty good. I could be critical and talk about what I'd do different if the opportunity presents itself again.

I chuckled after I wrote that last bit.

Talking about the opportunity to photograph Lindsay Lohan, I wrote "if" the opportunity presents itself again.

We all probably know, that should be a "when".

More Model Work

2011-10-27T15:03:00.001-07:00

Have you been busy. I have. The Conrad Murray Trial has been filling my wallet, but sucking up most of my time. I'm not complaining, I'm happy to have a job that I enjoy and I'm really really thankful to be working (and getting overtime) in this tough economy.

Somehow, even though I generally work nights, for over the past couple of years I've managed to get one Friday night off nearly every month to attend the open house at the D.M. Gremlin Studios in Long Beach.

The studio owner (Hi, Wynnesome!), has been extremely gracious in providing a place where photographers, models and makeup artists with a wide range of skill levels can come in and share their knowledge and skills and just enjoy taking photos for no greater purpose than socializing and capturing images.

If you're wondering what this might have to do with broadcast news, I can tell you, not much. . .well, really, not anything. This is just a part of my life outside of news and I guess somebody needed to explain the pictures in this post.

It's something I do when I'm not covering what's going on in the world. Right now I am sitting in the satellite truck and just trying to stay awake during the down time between live shots.

I could post a couple more shots of the media circus outside of the courthouse, but that's really not going to become impressive until the last days of the trial.

So, if it's okay, I'll share a bit of what I do as a hobby.

Just try not to roll your eyes and point out how far my time and money investment is beyond the hobby level.

I know. People have started still photography careers with less.

At this stage of the game, I've given it a lot of thought and I'm content to keep things simple. Photography is something I enjoy. It's something I can practice at and get hopefully really good.

I probably would't turn it down, but in this money isn't going help.

Having something that I can do that I could make money from, but choose to not turn into a profit motivated enterprise feels pretty good. I make a decent living, so I'm lucky to have the option.

It might not be art yet, but it's a worthwhile aspiration.

I don't want a second job, so let's keep it simple-- and come to think of it, if you wanted to throw money at me, I can't promise anything, but I think I would turn it down.

My thanks to the models (Hourglass, Rebelflowers, Erik and GreenBirdGirl) for participating and really for helping me get better at something I enjoy doing.

Early Conrad Morning.

2011-10-27T09:52:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

Eight Dead

2011-10-24T17:07:00.001-07:00

My day started at 8:30am. I take home a microwave truck, so I was able to drive straight from my house in Hawthorne to downtown Los Angeles where I've been on my longest stretch ever of straight satellite truck duty covering the Conrad Murray trial.

I enjoy my job shooting news. Heck, I actually love what I do. Shooting and editing is what I consider to be my job, but I don't mind the SNG work. It's a different skill set from my usual day to day as a news photographer. The deadline pressure isn't on me when I run the truck. It's not exactly a break, but I do enjoy the change of pace.

Photo by Karen Brown

I'm usually the first to arrive at the courthouse-- well, at the SNG truck. I've been assigned to this trial for almost a month and I still haven't made it up to our 12th floor workspace.

We're mostly sending up live shots from across the street outside of the courthouse. The camera position is about 680' from the truck.

I know this because the cable reel we use to connect to the camera position is 680' long.

That's a block and a half to regular folk.

As tragic as the death of Michael Jackson was, it seemed like we put that assignment on hold. The day of the shooting down in Seal Beach out of nowhere became the top story of the day.

I'm not trying to compare tragedies, that's just the nature of breaking news.

I was instructed to pack up and move the SAT truck to the Seal Beach crime scene. It took me just over an hour to get there. I was surprised it didn't take longer, Seal Beach is not exactly close to downtown.

Once, there I popped the dish and established an uplink. There were a lot of folks from the area crowding in to get a look or to express their grief (and some rage).

We zipped through a few live shots and then the powers that be wanted to know how I was holding up. They needed me. This was about to get really interesting.

The late live shots would need an SNG operator. The early morning shows originating on the East coast would need an SNG operator. The Conrad Murray trial would need an SNG operator.

There was a time when I'd jump at the opportunity to work around the clock for some of that sweet overtime cash and also for the thrill of doing something that borders on the edge of sanity.

I'd already put in some pretty good overtime hours in the days and weeks prior.

Call me crazy, but I was actually just digging the idea of working around the clock.

It was tough and I admit by morning I was dragging.

McDonald's opened at 5am. It wasn't a healthy breakfast, but I went for the sugar rush with a mango smoothee.

As I write this, it all seems so trivial compared to the story we were covering.

When I think about it, the only way I was able to grab anything from McDonald's was because the coroner had at some point removed the bodies and the Seal Beach police had opened up the parking lot that had been closed off.

You can't help but feel the sadness. It fills the air with the sounds of sobbing, the shock and disbelief is visible in the body language of everyone at the scene.

We might not acknowledge it, but then, we tend to just live with it because it's a part of our job.

I saw the sun rise over the crime scene. We did the remainder of the work booked for us and I packed up the truck.

It was 24 hours on the clock when I left Seal Beach.

I convinced the station to just let me keep working as long as I wasn't feeling sleepy. Diet coke and a 3 Musketeers helped keep me reasonably sharp.

Nothing unusual happened for the rest of that day. I guess my marathon shift was plenty strange enough by itself.

It was 4pm by the time I got back to the station. My time on the clock (maybe let's not call it my total waking hours) was 31.5 hours.

Know what? That's not even my record.

Of course, the last time we were snowed in and didn't have a choice.

Day of the DEAD!

2011-10-23T02:24:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

Untitled

2011-10-22T22:01:00.001-07:00

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Untitled

2011-10-22T22:00:00.001-07:00

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7:48am

2011-10-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

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7:12am

2011-10-21T07:14:00.001-07:00

Taken at Metro Green line - Crenshaw station

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Six Dead.

2011-10-12T16:28:00.001-07:00

UPDATE

Later that day we got the word that two fo the three victims who had been transported also died for a total of eight dead.

Sad.

As human beings, it never seems we're capable of reching the limit for our capacity to harm others.

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Stuck in the Truck

2011-10-12T14:57:00.001-07:00

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Breaker BeFrank

2011-10-12T14:55:00.001-07:00

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We Interrupt This Very Trying Trial

2011-10-12T14:04:00.001-07:00

Okay, this is my view of the Conrad Murray trial. I could get out of the truck more often and have a view of other TV trucks, but I don't know how much of an improvement that would be.

Instead of just showing pics of the crews and other TV people who are stuck down here at "Camp Conrad", let's take a look at some of the shots I snapped at the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk earlier this month.

Our walk took place on a Saturday morning in the Venice Beach and Venice canal part of town.

A beautiful and unique place to shoot. I hope people enjoy my pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Isn't there a saying that goes something like, "a short time to learn, but a lifetime to master."

I think they were talking about checkers or something, but I think it sort of applies to what I'm doing with my camera.

There might be a problem though, I didn't really get started with photography seriously until later in life. Unless I step up the learning pace, it's going to take me more than just one lifetime.

But then I just come back around to the fact that this isn't supposed to be anything more than something I do for fun.

I just have to remember to put on the brakes and not let taking pictures become an obsession.

The thing is, I just hate missing cool shots. . .

. . .and there's always something cool to shoot.

(sigh) Save yourselves, it's too late for me.

More Murray

2011-10-12T00:56:00.001-07:00

The pictures are from last week, but to be honest, not much has changed. Court was dark yesterday and I was home on the tail end of some lightweight bug that had been hanging with me since last week.

If I had $150,000.00 I guess I could find a doctor. . .okay, that's probably not in good taste. I'll blame my confinement to the SAT truck. It's easy to go a little stir crazy when you're locked down and pretty far removed from where all the main activity is taking place.

There's still some diehard protesters making noise in front of the courthouse and the camera positions are just across the street from the "Occupy ______" protesters.

It stays noisy most of the day, but there are some extended periods of calm in the Conrad Murray media circus.

The folks stationed at the front of the courthouse to get the daily Jackson family/Murray/lawyer entering and leaving shots have downtime that's interrupted every time someone turns on a camera.

That probably makes the crews set up for live shots across the street happy. They've commandeered a good portion of the sidewalk and any protesters would have to stand in traffic to disrupt a live shot.

We wouldn't want that now, would we?

Camp Conrad Week Two

2011-10-06T17:29:00.001-07:00

Well, I've almost survived the second week of the Conrad Murray trial. No small feat considering that getting up and driving to work before the sun comes up.

If you're wondering what my roll is in this drama, I'm running a satellite truck for CBS Newspath. That's a division of our company that provides live shots and custom tags for stories to our affiliated stations.

The news media has pretty much taken over three sides of the city block to the North of the courthouse building.

Our little slice of the pie is at the furthest corner away from where all the other stations are have their camera positions.

Well, we're there too. We just have a slightly longer cable run.

It's rather peaceful over here. The sometimes rowdy Michael Jackson fans don't bother walking around to where I am, but these are still long slow days for me. The good side of it? I hear I'm making a killing on the overtime.

Ka-Ching!

I hope I survive the hours and get the opportunity to spend some of it.

As far as still pictures go, I'm stuck standing by in the SAT truck for most of the day. Being a block away from where everything is actually happening makes it difficult to get any shots of the people involved.

It's a tough call, but missing out on the opportunity to snap a couple of stills is almost as bad as missing out on sleep.

That's kind of a double whammy this week.

Rainy Morning at Camp Conrad

2011-10-05T09:28:00.003-07:00

Taken at Conrad Murray Trial Press Camp

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LA Burning Man: Decompression

2011-10-04T09:46:00.001-07:00

I want to go to Burning Man. I've had it in mind for number of years, but it never seems like the timing is ever going to be right.

What's a Burning Man? Good question. I'll wait while you Google it (in fact, here's a link).

In a nutshell, Burning Man is a massive art and music festival / social experiment that happens once a year out in the middle of Nevada's Black Rock Desert.

There's probably a better way to describe it, but it's pretty amazing how massive this thing is.

The 2011 Burning Man event happened a couple of weeks ago.

An LA area group has been putting on sort of "mini-Burning Man" follow up event.

I guess for those who need just a little bit more Burning Man in their lives.

Of course, if you're like me, it's a great opportunity to get a taste for what the main event is like.

Now, I'm not saying I'll never go to the main event. It could happen.

Anyway, I thought this seemed to be a cool thing to shoot with my still camera.

I think I was right.

You really couldn't walk five feet without seeing something or someone worth photographing.

The LA decompression event was probably more family friendly than the main event, but I still kind of question if it was the best environment for toddlers (we also saw more than a few strollers).

Yeah, I'm getting little older and lots more curmudgeonly these days.

I like the fact that I can witness these type of events without feeling obligated to wear fuzzy platform boots, fishnet stockings or a thong (but some guys did).

Honestly though, I'm maybe a little disappointed that I forgot to bring my light up hula hoop.

Even without it, my lovely wife, Dellis and I had a great time capturing the event to share with friends our own age.

It's nice to live a life with at least a little adventure in it.

There are a lot of things I want to do, lots of places I'd like to go.

My bucket list changes and every few years I look at it, add some things and maybe cross out some of the things I no longer feel strongly about.

I have a feeling that Burning Man will still be on the list for at least a couple more years, but I'm just not sure I can do a week out in the desert.

I've gone through my closet and I just don't think I have anything appropriate to wear.

The Pre-Walk Walk

2011-10-03T16:17:00.001-07:00

Myself and a handful of my fellow JLOP members participated in the Scott Kelby Worlwide Photo Walks: Venice Beach, California.

A couple of us, because we don't have any good sense, decided to get up before dawn and try to catch some sunrise shots.

The morning air had just a slight chill and I honestly expected a gray overcast morning.

We'd been having those.

The morning bloomed in a much better than expected show of yellows and orange set against a deep blue sky. Mercury vapor street lights and the other odd hue from beachfront buildings complemented nature just fine.

I had a long day ahead of me, so I didn't need a hundred pictures. I just needed a dozen or so to pick from and hopefully a few that might capture the moment.

I'm happy with what I got. Enough pictures to show what life looks like before most people are awake on a weekend morning. Some might see other things, but I know what I witnessed.

The peace and serenity of the dawn as the world slowly pulled its' s--t together.

Sunset Over My Weekend

2011-10-02T18:37:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

Obama at the House of Blues: One Night Only!

2011-10-01T11:54:00.001-07:00

It wasn't too big of a deal that I never got to see Barrack Obama in person when he was in Los Angeles recently. I have some shots of him, Air Force One and also Marine One from a previous trip.

It would have been cool to get some new shots of him, but I'm okay.

I got some cool shots that kind of make up for missing the President.

You probably heard about the traffic problems that crop up when the President is on our roads. Smart people avoid the gridlock in the areas where he's going to appear.

Not us. We head straight for it.

That becomes a problem when the streets are closed and street parking is prohibited anywhere near where El Presidente is going to be.

We took a huge chance and pulled into the lot behind the Comedy Store. No managers were around yet, but we felt like it was likely they'd be sympathetic and allow us to stay.

They were cool.

I was getting out of my van and Pauley Shore was just walking by. Seriously.

Looking back, it was probably more unusual that we were there. I bet he's there all the time.

Plenty of people showed up in the hope of seeing the Obaminator.

Most were normal and just had a message they were trying to get across.

Some, well, I'm not really sure what they were doing.

I know why we were there.

I know why the SWAT team, secret service and other law enforcement personnel were there.

Still the coolest thing of all was seeing a dad bring his young son out to experience it firsthand.

That was cool. See, you never know what might spark a young imagination.

I mean, who knows?

That kid could be a future headliner at the House of Blues.

Sure, he could also be the President, but given the option, who wants to deal with a stressful commute?

Outside Conrad Murray

2011-09-30T08:57:00.001-07:00

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Presser or Not?

2011-09-30T08:05:00.001-07:00

I fought traffic.

The presser was cancelled.

I could have just tweeted this.

See, not every day is filled with action and adventure. Although it is kind of cool to visit LAPD Headquarters.

I'm still working my way through the archives.

Bad Luck Criminals

2011-09-30T07:37:00.001-07:00

It's another early morning start to a longish day at the Conrad Murray trial. I'm on the bird and waiting for the CBS Newspath reporter or photographer to feed tracks, a stand-up or any early morning b-roll.

While I'm waiting, here's some shots from an assignment from a while back (yup, still clearing out the archives).

It's been a while, so I'll try to get the facts straight.

So, what it was, you had some guys pulling off some bold daylight robberies. They were just coming up on (likely) random people and robbing them in the street.

This was all happening in North Hollywood and it was so random, it was likely to be difficult to catch these bad guys.

Unless the police got really really lucky.

So, these robbers are in the middle of a robbery and a couple of Glendale plainclothes detectives (following leads on an unrelated case) witness what's happening.

They engaged the suspects and captured them. I remember there was some gun fire, but only the robbers were hurt (and nobody was killed).

I guess if they thought about how the whole random thing was working in their favor, they must not have considered that random and unlikely doesn't mean that something might never happen.

Picking a spot where cops who aren't even looking for you, catch you right in the middle of jacking somebody?

Come on, I mean, what are the odds?

JLOP -vs- Hollywood Boulevard (again) (again)

2011-09-29T16:48:00.001-07:00

As I sit here between satellite shots at the Conrad Murray trial, I'm feeling a little isolated from the activity in front of and inside the courthouse.

"Stuck in the truck" has been my mantra for the last three days and I've got one more day (this week).

Fortunately, I've got plenty of wired gadgety goodies to keep me occupied and no shortage of photos that are begging to be posted.

I've lost count of how many after midnight photo meet ups I've participated in with my fellow Justice League of Photography peeps.

It's getting to the point where we'll have to find a worse area to hang out around. We're so comfortable in Hollywood that it kind of defeats the purpose of trying to get out of our comfort zone.

It's just difficult to resist. The colors and textures and personality surrounds you. The ability to captures shots in one of the most iconic cities in the world makes it seem like we're just taking it for granted if we don't go out to shoot every now and then.

I know there are photographers in places most people have never heard of looking at the shots we get and wondering how we can get, well, bored.

Maybe bored isn't the right word for it, but sometimes you kind of like being challenged.

Sometimes you want to do more than shooting fish in a barrel.

This last time, I think the only unexpected thing that happened was the work being done on the "Red Alley" we used to enjoy.

That's not a huge change from what we're used to. Just a minor inconvenience (and I was a little sad), but it was quickly back to business as usual.

And really, when it comes down to it, part of the whole point to taking pictures (for me) is to capture a moment in time.

I'm not sure how many shots of people falling down I need to have in my archives, but you never know what future generations will be able to learn from us.

(sigh)

You See That Too, Right?

2011-09-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

My first thought was that "Pigzilla" had returned to finish destroying Los Angeles.

That's kind of how my mind works (even more when I'm running on very little sleep).

It was probably obvious to everyone else that the giant pig sitting on top of the Capitol Records building in Hollywood was more likely a promotion for some sort of Pink Floyd related event.

Rock on, piggies.

Crazy Tired

2011-09-28T13:27:00.001-07:00

I haven't even gotten to the Obama / House of Blues photos yet and now I'm spending the better part of my day running satellite shots for CBS Newspath.

That's actually a big "plus" for me. I like running the SAT truck.

Just not so much when I'm running on no sleep.

I ended my shift about 10:30pm on Monday, but with the drive home, snacking when I got there and spending some quality time with my computer, I didn't get to bed until almost 1:00am.

Call time Tuesday morning was 6:00am.

Our SAT truck was parked about a block North of the courthouse. As bad as I felt for me over the day I was facing, I felt worse for the photog who had to set everyone up and cover the overnight

I wish I had a better picture that shows the block long cable run from the truck to the camera position.

If anyone asks, tell them how much I'm really not a fan of long cable runs.

Even with my gripe about lack of sleep, this day was a prime example of why I think my job is so cool.

With my own eyes, I get to see things for myself. The trial of the man accused of killing one of the most popular entertainers in history makes this a historical event in itself.

I'm looking at it from a block away through bleary eyes, but there are a lot of people who might be inclined to swap places with me.

HOB - President Obama Visit

2011-09-26T14:35:00.003-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

Fallen Camelot

2011-09-22T09:23:00.001-07:00

There are some really brave photographers out there who probably would have jumped right in and started exploring.

I've just always tried to find that fine line between bravery and stupidity and tried to keep to the brave side.

No, I don't always succeed, but I try.

I'm on vacation this week and I'm using that time to catch up on a few projects, take a break from my daily grind and recharge my creative batteries.

One of the projects that I wanted to move forward on was a photo essay of the old Malibu Castle property off the 405 freeway in Lawndale.

This property used to be a thriving entertainment center with a massive arcade, miniature golf courses, water park and batting cages.

The property sits vacant now. Most of the main structures are gone. What's left sits mainly on the trash and graffiti covered former miniature golf course.

These days, the miniature golf course is a homeless camp. This was as far as I dared go alone.

I wandered around the perimeter, but even though there were plenty of holes in the fence, the urban jungle isn't the kind of place you should venture into if you don't really know what you're doing.

I'm not ashamed to admit, I didn't know what I was doing.

It was a nice tentative first step outside of my comfort zone. I saw a few homeless camp sites and I stumbled across a guy in a truck working on the security fence around the property.

He told me I'd have to check with the property owner before I could shoot pictures. He then jumped into his truck and sped away.

I was scratching my head and it took me a minute before I realized he wasn't really fixing the fence. Nope, I'm pretty sure he was stealing parts of the fence.

So, that incident made me realize how out of my depth I was. That might have been a dangerous situation and I wouldn't have seen it as dangerous until it was too late.

I'm pretty sure in the back of his truck he had a piece of steel pipe in just my skull size

That's a good lesson to learn. See, it's experiences like this that make you smarter and I really hope I learn enough to keep from getting myself beaten up and my gear stolen from me.

Because I'm pretty sure I haven't learned enough to keep me from going back.

Good Fire? Bad Fire?

2011-09-21T09:11:00.001-07:00

There's no such thing as a good fire. Property damage and the potential for pain and suffering make it very difficult to see any fire as being "good".

That being said, the fire a couple of weeks ago in Agua Dulce was pretty "good".

See, this is the delicate objective balance I try to maintain in my attitude towards the stories I cover.
I'd never wish for something bad to happen. I've seen my share of tragic events and wouldn't miss that part of my job.

But bad things are a part of life and they will happen whether I'm there to cover them or not.

So, as I drove up the 14 Freeway towards Agua Dulce, I was feeling a little conflicted, but mostly upbeat.

It was the early afternoon on a hot summer day. The fire was still burning. I had plenty of water and I had stopped at In & Out to grab a couple of burgers. That would see me through the live shots that might happen through our 11pm newscasts.

I was assigned to take a hand off of one of our satellite trucks. It was being driven to the fire by another crew. We might be able to get live by microwave from some spots, but it was still likely that we'd need to go satellite from some areas.

Without really looking for them I stumbled across one of the dayside crews out covering the story.

They'd managed to find a good spot to go live (by microwave) and were doing hits for the early afternoon shows.

I've been in worse heat (hey, I've worked in Bakersfield), but the day was still hot enough to be dangerous.

We managed to get interviews with residents and had a front row seat to the action.

It's never a good idea to set up for live shots too close to the path of wildfire, so it was more of a front row balcony seat.

We were a safe distance away, but had a good view of firemen working on the ground and aerial units attacking from the sky.

So, it was a good fire in that we had good coverage of the story as it happened. We got good visuals for the live shots and I had plenty of time between shooting and editing to snap a few still shots.

The firemen got a handle on it quickly. I've seen what happens when they don't. This one was contained and the only concern by evening was the possibility of hot spots flaring up.

With the fire out for the most part, the night crew had fewer options for their live shots and would have to rely on visuals from the daytime crews.

But, with no injuries or property damage, it's difficult to not look at this fire as being "good". At some point, I guess this fire stopped being "good", but our coverage continued because people still needed to be informed about the events of the day.

A "bad" fire includes a loss of life or property. This wasn't what you would call a "bad" fire and I'm actually thankful it wasn't a "bad" fire.

Hey, you know, I guess a bad fire would also be one that's out before I get a chance to shoot it.

We Come In Peace!

2011-09-14T21:19:00.003-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

Scott and the kid

2011-09-14T15:00:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

Metro Memorial

2011-09-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

KTLA Jumper

2011-09-12T19:38:00.001-07:00

This was a couple weeks ago, but I'm determined to post about stuff even if it's late.

It was late in my shift and I have to admit, the thought of going home was feeling pretty good to me.

The call came in. Of course I was the only photographer available. It seems a guy has climbed the KTLA sign tower and won't come down.

Now I'm feeling kind of GRRRR, because I probably don't get to get off work on time, but hey, at least this is something you don't get every day.

Traffic was a mess. The police had closed off Sunset Boulevard between Bronson and Wilton. I know Bronson was closed, because that's where I landed. I'm guessing about Wilton. I couldn't see that far down the street, but Sunset was absolutely shut down and that was unfortunate.

I also couldn't see much of the tower or the guy who had climbed it.

Did it matter? Of course, It didn't. As I was grabbing my gear out of the news van, I could hear our helicopter informing our desk that the police had the guy in custody and was stuffing him into a patrol car.

Swell.

I'm thinking I can call it a night at this point, but the desk would now like me to see if I can get a shot of the guy hooked up in the back of the police car.

Unless they decided to drive right past me, that was so not going to happen. Street traffic was still gridlocked and I was nowhere near the action.

Okay, go over to the Hollywood Station and see if anyone will give a statement.

(sigh) Sure.

The hope of getting off work on time is now just a distant memory. No problem though. I don't mind going over to the LAPD Hollywood Division Station. It's actually still kind of cool to see it.

It was described in detail by Joseph Wambaugh in his Hollywood Station trilogy. I read the first book in the series, but it didn't really hook me in like his earlier work.

I waded into the traffic and drove past a few Hollywood landmarks (Cinerama Dome, Columbia Square, Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles) before I got to the station. In the lobby a woman and her young adult daughter were reporting a stolen car. I waited. When they were done, I walked up with my camera. The officer at the front desk seemed as surprised as I was that I was looking for sound on KTLA story.

She told me to wait, she'd see if anyone was available.

While I waited in the lobby, a guy carrying half a dozen pizzas came in. They were left over from a local community watch meeting. A patrol officer came out and helped him carry them into the back.

I would not have turned down a slice.

A detective came out who was handling the case and I shot a quick statement from him in front of the station.

Sometimes there's a twist or a nugget of information that wouldn't be known. Not this time. Not the Detective's fault. Just very little information beyond the obvious.

A guy jumped the fence at KTLA and climbed up their station sign tower.

Link in, ship it, take quick still shot from the dark side of the CNN building, drop the mast and go home.

Not every day is an adventure, but it still beats a lot of things I could be doing.

Live Wayans Walking!

2011-09-09T14:43:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous

Criminally Minded

2011-09-06T18:41:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from beFrank's posterous