Photojournalism is definitely not a 9-to-5 kind of job.
Sometimes you’ve got to start early or stay late to get the right photo.And to get an authentic photo.
My car tells me it's a chilly 42 degrees as I start my work day at 5:04 a.m. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)
We take our photographic ethics very seriously here at the Herald-Republic. We don’t stage our photos (such as asking subjects to pretend they’re doing a particular activity or to re-do something just for the sake of the camera. This is an all-too-common practice of TV people). It’s important our readers and viewers know our photos are real and authentic, not something staged for the sake of a photo. It’s an issue of credibility. Plus, the best photos come from honest, real actions.
Which means we take photos when they actually happen, not when we want them to happen.
Which is why I went to work at 5 a.m. That’s when school custodian Mitch Young fires up his school’s ancient boilers each morning.
Naches Primary School custodian Mitch Young starts up the school's 60-year-old boilers just after 5 a.m. Wednesday, Jan.25, 2012. The boilers, like many other parts of the school, are old and inefficient. The warren of heating pipes are all insulated with asbestos and they, and the old boilers, are part of the reason the school district is asking voters to approve a construction bond to replace the aging school. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)
I know this isn’t the most dramatic photo. But it does illustrate the story and, just as important, it’s an honest photo.
–Gordon King
Picture This | seattletimes.com blog
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