And large shapes out of their usual context of high and far away can be very interesting.

I don’t want to say that I pressured a colleague of mine into doing something that she didn’t want to do. That would be wrong. But, read the quote below and judge for yourself.

“I thought it was a great idea when you asked me on the phone, but now that I am here, well….”

This was said by York Daily Record journalist Sonya Paclob as she looked up at the ladder truck extended up about fifty feet holding a ceremonial flag.

You see, Sonya and I were covering the funeral for Rodney Miller, the beloved Loganville fire chief who was killed while on duty directing traffic.

Sonya was doing video for the story and I was taking photographs. When I found out that the procession for Miller, was going to be miles long and include trucks from around the state, I thought it would make a great angle to be in the ladder truck up top and get them as they pass underneath.

There were a couple of problems with my theory.
First, I needed permission.
That wasn’t much of a problem, as the firefighters from New Freedom and York Township were extremely reasonable and helpful in allowing us to do this.
Second, I had already done a similar shot like this months ago for a different firefighter funeral and was looking not to take the same shot.
Lastly, I didn’t know if Sonya would do it.
Like her quote said earlier, it sounded like a great idea when we talked on the phone, but when she was standing next to the truck looking up how high she needed to climb, well….

I’m not saying I pressured her to do it.
I’m not saying I threatened to make fun of her for a long time and made all kinds of chicken noises in the process.
I not saying any of these things.

But what I am saying, is that I am proud of Sonya.
She took the necessary safety precautions and overcame her fear. Here are a few of the photos showing off her climbing prowess:

Sonya gets hooked up for her climb

Sonya begins her ascent.

Although she realized pretty fast that there was nothing to be afraid of, Sonya realized, after about an hour up there, that she was hungry and thirsty. So another lesson was learned of preparedness for journalist Sonya and it all paid off. Here is the video she ended up with:

So when the day was over, three things were accomplished for Sonya:
She got some wonderful shots.
She produced a excellent video.
She overcame a fear in the process.

And I didn’t have to make one chicken noise.

Lauren Mooney painted her face Boston Strong outside of Cathedral of the Holy Cross Wednesday, April 17. She along with her family wanted to show their support and lift spirits.

On my sixth day on the job, I was sent out to cover the Boston Bombing.

I’m new to the world of journalism. When breaking news happens, you’re immediately dispatched. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, you have to go. It so happens, I was six-half hours away.

I covered the Kennard-Dale High School lacrosse game Monday afternoon. After the game ended around 6:30 p.m., I got a call from my editor Cathy Hirko, “I have an opportunity for you,” she said. “We want to send you to Boston… now.”

The Boston Marathon is a tradition to the Bostonians and the running world. The family event was interrupted by two pressure cooker bombs that exploded at the finish line. It killed three people and injuring at least 170 others.

I couldn’t say no to my editor. It was my second week on the job. I accepted the challenge and drove through the night. I passed six toll booths and arrived in Boston at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. My home for the next three days was at a hotel with Digital First Media, aka Thunderdome.

Tuesday morning was beautiful, but the aftermath of the chaos still lingered. I traveled with reporter Jennifer Swift from New Haven Register. Everywhere we went we had numerous bag searches by police. Military police told us to drop our bags on the hotel floor. They told us to step away from our equipment while bomb sniffing dogs circled around our gear.

The whole time I was there, the bombers were on the loose. They were not caught or identified at the time during my stay. The closer I got to the sight of the bombing, the bigger the crowd. I was on alert the whole time and my adrenaline pumped to the max.

Military Police with bomb sniffing dogs at the doors of a press conference in a hotel Tuesday, April 16 in Boston.

All my equipment; camera, video camera, laptop, and lens felt light. I walked from one place to another with everything I brought with me. The reporter and I traveled from the bombing sight to the hospital. It was 15 minutes walk, but the adrenaline kept me from feeling sluggish or tired.

I cut the amount of gear I carried as the days went by. The most powerful tool to me is my mobile phone. I was a mobile journalist. I tweeted and used an app called Tout to document my experiences throughout the day. The smaller the equipment, the less of an awareness I brought on myself. I was able to weave in and out of big news media outlets with their big camera set-ups.

The most rewarding experience about covering the Boston bombing is the spirit of Bostonians. I wanted to focus on the good stories that came out of the tragedy. I covered two women on their lunch break who wanted to just give free hugs. Another group rallied together to protect the church service on Friday from Westboro Baptist Church, and a woman who painted her face Boston Strong.

Would I do this again? Yes, I would. We have to remind ourselves that news is not always about sad stories. I was there to report about the bad and the good.

Digital First Media Thunderdome team Chris Hopkins, Bianca Prieto, Mimi Schiffman, Sarah Favot, and Jim McClure work inside a hotel room Thursday, April 18 in Boston.

I am a journalist, but also a human. I cried and I hugged. I did get my free hug, and it was the best hug from someone who wanted to do a good deed to the people of Boston.

While checking out my freshly tilled garden plot yesterday, I saw what looked like a wad of old roots or possibly worms. When I picked it up, though, I realized it was a set of old keys. The keys are fascinating in themselves but the questions they raised in my mind had me even more intrigued.

Rusty keys found in an Emigsville yard. Image edited using Snapseed app. DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS — EILEEN JOYCE

Did someone lose these keys? Did they spend hours looking for them all over the place? Were they just trash that got tossed away when their usefulness faded? I have a similar key that unlocks some of the doors in my house. Were these keys related to that one in some way?

I’ll probably never know the answer, but asking the questions let me slip back in time momentarily. Thinking of someone long ago possibly frustrated by something as annoying (and universal) as losing a set of keys made the past feel not quite as distant as before. Who knows what else my garden plot will turn up?

Shooting victim” Shelly Witta acts out in pain during the mock shooting drill at York Hospital on Saturday, April 20, 2013

This woman looks like she’s in pain, right?

Well, looks can be deceiving.

And so can photographs.

I was out covering a “disaster drill” at York Hospital where volunteers, who portrayed victims, are brought in to a triage area and treated for gunshot wounds.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for the staff to practice their skills in a controlled environment and a fantastic opportunity for the media to get in close and document this environment we would normally not be allowed in.

The volunteers are asked to play their roles as victims who are in pain as realistic as they can. Wounds and blood are put on them with makeup and many come in cringing in pain and sometimes even screaming.

I always need to be careful when taking photos in these environments. It’s easy to get in nice and close and photograph great emotion, graphic content and an intense scene where people are trying to save lives.

The problem is, it’s not real.

To show a photo like the one here would confuse some people. They may think it’s a real situation and this woman is in real pain. What I try to do in these situations is try to get photos that show off a more behind the scenes look. People not intense, maybe even showing humor.

Below are some other photos I submitted for the story:

Army medics, Angie Gilbert, left, and Amanda Cleveland, right, joke with “shooting victim” Tim Varnell as the duo care for him during a mock shooting drill at York Hospital on Saturday, April 20, 2013.

Dr. Matt Stephens calls out orders during a mock shooting drill at York Hospital on Saturday, April 20, 2013.

Army medic Angie Gilbert, left, who has spent two tours in Iraq, was so impressed with the makeup of “shooting victim” Mike Evans, she took photos after the mock shooting drill at York Hospital on Saturday, April 20, 2013.

A “victim” is brought into York Hospital during a mock shooting drill on April 20, 2013.

Like many photojournalists today, I’ve adopted Instagram as one of the many tools I use daily in my job and personal life. I’ve even tried using Instagram when covering sports before, but usually only for a single shot while taking a break from my “real camera.”

Last night for the opening game of the York Revolution’s season in the Atlantic League, I decided to do my best Brad Mangin impersonation and go all-in with my iPhone and Instagram. I got to Sovereign Bank Stadium a few hours before first pitch and walked around the concourse probably half a dozen times. Because of the limitations of the iPhone’s camera, it is still almost impossible to shoot action photos. Instead, I tried to focus on details and little vignettes of the game.

Overall, I took 126 iPhone photos, about 30 of which I actually processed through Instagram. To keep a consistent feel, all used the “Earlybird” filter.

Tidying Up: Stadium workers clean off seats and the grounds crew brushes up the field before the gates open on Opening Day.

On Air: TV Satellite trucks line up outside and a wireless microphone sits on a thermometer to record the game time temperature.

Fully Stocked: Boxes of programs and ice-cold beers await the hands of fans arriving to the ballpark.

Play Time: Little leaguers toss a ball in the grass behind the outfield fence and play in the moon bounce.

National Anthem: The Spring Garden Band provides accompaniment as a group of scout leaders salute the flag.

Ballpark Arrivals: An early comer, Freed Strickler had Section 20 all to himself. DownTown had the skies to himself as the mascot parachuted onto the field.

Brooks Robinson: The Human Vacuum Cleaner stands with Revolution manager Mark Mason after Robinson’s No. 5 jersey was formally retired; A fan shows of a ball signed by the former Baltimore Orioles third baseman.

Batters Up: Bats rest in their places in the Revolution dugout, as players line up to take the field for the first time.

Play Ball: Bunting waves in the wind as the scoreboard operator watches the first inning of action.

Cannonball Charlie: Jason Kreiger makes black powder rounds before the game, ahead of the ceremonial first inning discharge into the evening light.

That’s what happened when reporter Rebecca and I went to Chick-fil-A one rainy night.

It wasn’t any night.

It was the night before the restaurant’s grand opening, which meant hundreds of people were camping out in the parking lot for a chance to win coupons for free sandwiches.

Then it rained, and the restaurant opened its doors to allow people inside. Liability issue.

Rebecca and I showed up to see how everyone was faring amidst the downpour, and we saw that the restaurant was packed with soggy people.

…Soggy people who were strumming a guitar and singing worship songs.

I knew I had to make video. My editor was pretty happy when I got back to the office.

]]> http://www.yorkblog.com/look/2013/04/18/reporting-from-boston/feed/ 0 http://www.yorkblog.com/look/2013/04/10/holocaust-memorials-are-timeless/ http://www.yorkblog.com/look/2013/04/10/holocaust-memorials-are-timeless/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:38:49 +0000 Paul Kuehnel http://www.yorkblog.com/look/?p=3692 YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS - PAUL KUEHNEL A group of children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors gather to remember loved ones. All you have to do is ask how they are connected and stories will flow with clarity 70 years after the end of WWII.]]> A group of children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors gather to remember loved ones. All you have to do is ask how they are connected and stories will flow with clarity 70 years after the end of WWII.

Jack Kay, left, lights a candle with a group of children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors Sunday April 7, 2013 at Temple Beth Israel during A seder for Remembering the Shoah, A New Seder for Our Time (Holocaust remembrance Seder) YORK DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS – PAUL KUEHNEL