Dissecting the Day

As a young photographer I remember looking up to the guys working at the big papers and imagining how exciting their jobs must be. I was right, the big paper job is much more exciting than the little paper job. But not like you’d imagine in some photojournalism fantasy, where we’re shooting black and white contest-winning documentary essays of the poor and afflicted for weeks on end. The job is mostly quick-hit bread and butter assignments, peppered with those occasional exciting assignments that you dreaming of.

My assignments Wednesday were nothing to dream of. The day was a perfect example of what the job really is— Three assignments that took me all over, on a timeframe that forced me to find a usable, if not great, photograph quickly. Here’s the day, approximated from memory.

- Show up at work to pick up lighting kit for my first assignment, a portrait of a high school quarterback in Logan.
- Start driving north.
- Quick lunch at Bajio in Centerville.
- Arrive in Logan.
- Scout the location.
- Twenty minute skateboard session at the Logan Skate Park (basically my lunch break).

- Photograph QB Jeff Manning throwing passes in practice drills (16 minutes of photography).
- Portrait of QB Jeff Manning with strobe kit (2 minutes of photography). This portrait session was made during the team’s five minute water break, forcing Manning to forgo any thirst-quenching.
- Drive south.
- Gas for the car, chocolate for me.

- Photograph northbound commute traffic on I-15 from 6th North overpass (10 minutes of photography).
- Edit and send traffic photos from my car.
- Drive south.
- Arrive in Copperton for last assignment.

- Photograph Apollo Pazell addressing the town council (This happened fast. Just one minute of photography).
- Edit and send Pazell photos from car.
- Arrive home with 15 minutes left on shift.
- Realize I haven’t edited the quarterback photos.
- Edit and send quarterback photos.
- Off duty with three minutes to spare.

Total miles driven: 236
Total shift time: 8.5 hours
Total time spent photographing: 29 minutes
Total time spent in the car: Don’t want to think about it.

So there you go. One day in August working for the big paper. That’s often how the job is. Three assignments that, while not thrilling, are important. You get what you can and you move on to the next. The real magic of the job is that tomorrow’s another day. Everything resets and you never know where or what your next shoot will be.