So, sometimes it’s helpful to take a step back and have a good laugh at something photo-related.

Go here for a really good laugh and then go out and make some good photos.

–Gordon King

The Washington state class 1B basketball tournament has started in Yakima. It’s the first of three four-day-long basketball tournaments to hit town. Photographing these tournaments is a hoot because of the intensity and emotion of the players, coaches and fans. Every game matters and it’s reflected in the level of play and emotions.

This is the first photo I shot of the tournaments – taken on the way into the SunDome for the first game between Bickleton High School and Lummi High School.

David Clinton shows his support for the Bickleton High School girls' basketball team at the Washington state class 1B basketball tournament which starts in Yakima Feb. 24, 2010. It has been 29 years since the team has made it to the state tournament. His daughter Katelynn plays on the team. Wednesday is the first day of the four-day tournament.

Of course we’re all excited about shooting state tournament basketball now. That excitement may have waned after three weeks of tournament, countless bad renditions of old rock tunes by school bands and days of gut-wrenching, over-cooked coffee from the 30-cup urn provided by the tournament (but hey – it’s free!).

The photo staff of the Herald-Republic will be shooting about six games a day (or more) on each day of the tournament. To see photo galleries of the tournament, go here or here.

–Gordon King

Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach/2008

It’s kind of spendy ($46.70 on Amazon) but well worth the money. Besides being the definitive textbook on photojournalism it’s a great photo book with outstanding photography to illustrate the text. I’d recommend this book to everyone who wants to learn more about photojournalism or simply refresh and perhaps expand their current knowledge about photojournalism. It’s thoroughly up to date with sections on multimedia.

This is the sixth edition of the book. I’ve still got the first edition  that was published in 1980. It’s pretty beat up with a tear in the dust jacket.

Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach/1980

Though some of the book is dated (photos are all in black and white and of course, there’s no mention of multimedia, digital cameras and computers) but many of the principles of photojournalism and photo editing were the same then as they are now.

This is the first book about photojournalism I ever purchased and so it’s always got a spot on my bookshelf.

–Gordon King

So it’s easy to become discouraged as newspapers lose their position in American society.

I came across this video a couple of weeks ago. It offers a different way for us to approach our job as photojournalists.

Celebrate What’s Right With The World

Lazarus! – The Resurrected | MySpace Video
The video gets a little syrupy at times but don’t lose the message in that sweetness.

And if you’ve lost your job or you’ve just finished a five-assignment day and have an overbearing editor looking over  your shoulder this video is not going to make things right. But it does, at least, offer another perspective on how to approach  life and work differently and how, perhaps to make it better.

–Gordon King

Attorney Richard Bartheld makes a point to the judge in a divorce case Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 in Yakima, Wash. as opposing attorney Daniel Lorello listens. Bartheld is one of the attorneys who has agreed to volunteer as a judge to help resolve the backlog of civil cases in Yakima County Superior Court.

There’s wall molding sticking out of the head of the older attorney. Also, a TV monitor is sticking out of his head and shoulders. You can’t really see the face of the younger attorney so you can’t tell if he’s showing any emotion. And, as if all that wasn’t enough, the photo is shot from eye level.

But there’s something very right about this photo and that’s that the photo was taken in a courtroom during legal proceedings.

We’re very lucky in Washington state to have outstanding access to courtrooms. In fact, it’s presumed we  have the right to be there. If a judge wants to exclude cameras from courtrooms he must state for the record why he (or she) is not allowing cameras in the courtroom.

But once in the courtroom we must follow certain guidelines to minimize the impact of our presence. It’s understood that still photographers will use the quietest camera possible and take a minimal amount of photos so as to cause the least amount of noise. Once the photographer has found a place to stand he doesn’t move from that spot. No shots of the jury. If you leave at some time other than during a break, do so quietly and don’t let the courtroom door slam behind you.

This is why the above photo has issues. I was planted in one spot and couldn’t move once proceedings began. I knew the attorney in the foreground would be speaking only to the judge (there were no jurors) and so I had to pick a spot where I could see as much of his face as possible even if the background was distracting and even if it meant I could see only the side of his face (I couldn’t shoot from behind the judge). These are small prices to pay for such great access to the courtrooms and we should never take our access for granted.

–Gordon King

Sometimes, however, it’s more appropriate to say “using available dark” when there’s virtually no available light.

Such was the case when I went along on a survey of bats in Boulder Cave, northwest of Yakima. Bats there are hibernating this time of year making it much easier to count them as they hang on walls and in crevices in the rocky walls of the cave.

Headlamps and two flashlights provided the only light. I could have used a flash but (a) that would have completely altered the mood and character of the scene by introducing the strobe light and (b) the biologists preferred I not use the flash for fear it would disturb the bats. So, the flash stayed stowed in my camera backpack.

So, how do you make photos in near pitch-blackness? High ASA, wide apertures, slow shutter speeds, a steady hand and prayer were my answers to the challenge.

U.S. Forest Service district ranger Irene Davidson uses a flashlight and headlamp to look for hibernating bats in Boulder Cave near Clifdell Feb. 3, 2010. She and biologist Joan St. Hilaire eventually counted 75 bats in the cave as part of a biennial bat survey at the cave.

Vital stats: 1600 ASA, f2.8 for .4 seconds. I braced myself on a rock to steady the camera. It’s mostly sharp. Certainly sharp enough for publication in our newspaper and on our Web site. Or, as YH-R photographer Andy Sawyer calls it – “web sharp.”

Biologist Joan St. Hilaire takes notes during her survey of hibernating bats in Boulder Cave Feb. 3, 2010. Seventy-five bats were counted this year, a slight decline from the number of bats counted two years ago.

The stats here: 1/6th of a second at f2.8, 1600 ASA. This one’s sharper than the first one so something worked better. Maybe my morning caffeine had worn off or the prayer worked. Hard to say.

Lastly, I was finally able to get  a photo of a hibernating bat, a vital image for this story.

A hibernating Townsend Big-Eared Bat hangs from a wall in Boulder Cave Feb. 3, 2010. The bats are often difficult to spot as they blend in with the surrounding rock. A survey that day counted 75 bats, a slight decline from the last survey two years ago.

The light was provided by the biologist’s headlamp as she counted the two bats. Not much light, but enough light.

Shooting in these conditions was a little nerve-wracking because there was no “do-over” but it’s always fun to produce photos under challenging conditions. And it was really fun to hang out for a couple of hours in a cave counting bats.

–Gordon King

A youth accused of pointing a gun at police officers makes a preliminary appearance in Yakima County Juvenile Court Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. He has not yet been charged with a crime.

His face is turned so he’s not readily identifiable and he is not named in the cutline or the story about his pointing a gun (a toy gun as it turns out) at a police officer two days ago.

I was asked by a reader this morning why we didn’t name the youngster and why his face wasn’t shown in the photograph. “I saw his face in court on the TV news last night,” commented my friend.

A fair question. The answer to which challenges us as photographers.

It’s Herald-Republic policy to use a suspect’s name and photograph when they are charged with a crime, not at the time of the arrest. “This is in fairness to the person arrested. Publishing someone’s name (and photograph) in connection with a crime may signal to readers an impression of guilt. Until police and prosecutors have gathered enough evidence to warrant the filing of formal charges we usually steer clear of linking a suspect’s name (and photo) to a crime” reads the policy.

We do make exceptions to this policy. The prominence of the suspect or clarity of the situation may allow publication of names and photographs of faces before that person is charged with a crime. There is always a discussion among editors in these exceptional cases before publishing names and photographs which show faces.

But that makes it harder for us to photograph people as they’re being arrested. We have to shoot photos which show the subjects’ faces (in case it’s a really big deal and we name them before they’re formally charged) and we have to do photos of the subjects without showing faces.

Yakima police hold two men arrested Nov. 5, 2009 in connection with an early afternoon shooting at South Second Street and East Race Street. Two officers hold the men as they wait for an eyewitness to identify the suspects. Just after the shooting police believe the suspects drove east and abandoned their car near Washington Middle School and ran west to a house where the two suspects kicked in a door and tried to hide before being found by police. During their investigation police found the car as well as shoes, shirt and a handgun they are convinced belong to the suspects, said Yakima Police Capt. Rod Light. The victim was taken to the hospital with what appear to be non-life-threatening injuries, said Light.

This was the photo that ran in our paper and on our Web site. We did not do a follow story on this incident so we never used a photo which showed their faces.

I understand and respect our policy but at times, it’s frustrating. But we have to do our best to be fair.

And when the young man in the top photo is formally charged we will publish a photo which shows his face.

–Gordon King

An important “don’t” in daily photojournalism is “Don’t jump to conclusions” or “don’t judge a book by its cover.” It’s easy to do either when given what appears to be a less-than-exciting or less-than-visual photo request or one that you’ve done a hundred times before. Do so at your own peril. You  may miss out on a good (and perhaps) great photo.

The request came in a forwarded e-mail from one of the sports guys. A long-time athletic trainer at a local high school, now suffering from cancer and no longer able to work, was being honored at an assembly in the school gym. He would be given a plaque for all his years of service.

I’d never actually met Gary Hirst. Though we had shared plenty of sidelines over the years I only knew he was, umm…, taciturn. Never saw him really crack a smile. So I figured there wouldn’t be lots of emotion at the assembly and emotion is what we strive to capture in photos. But we needed a photo for our Local section so off I went to the school.

As people gathered for the assembly I sensed I had been wrong about this. Way wrong. This was more than a plaque-passing ceremony. There was to be a tribute video, other gifts and most significant, past co-workers coming to pay tribute to Gary. A former football coach flew up from Las Vegas just to speak at the assembly.

The assembly was a surprise to Gary (he’d been tricked into coming to the school on the pretense of discussing medical benefits) and from the time he was wheeled into the gym I knew I had been wrong and there were good photos to be had.

Gary Hirst gets a hug from Eisenhower High School cheerleader Tori Fisher as he's wheeled into an assembly at the school by his wife Becky Robins Jan. 29, 2010. Hirst, a long-time trainer at the school was honored at the assembly. He is suffering from cancer.

Gary was his usual self, showing little emotion, but the feelings were there as speaker after speaker paid homage to Gary. Hopefully my photos did justice to the event and the genuine emotion expressed by the speakers and felt by Gary.

Gary Hirst, a long-time athetic trainer at Eisenhower High School, was honored at an assembly at the school Jan. 29, 2010. Hirst is suffering from cancer.

Eisenhower High School student and standout athlete James Lopez visits with Gary Hirst, a long-time athletic trainer at the school, following an assembly Jan. 29, 2010. Hirst, who's suffering from cancer, was honored at the assembly in the school gym. Other students wait to greet Hirst as well.

Read the story and see the photo gallery.

So,  I’ll admit was wrong about the request. And I’ll try, in the future, to not judge a book by its cover.

And Gary, to you, please get well soon. I look forward to sharing a sideline with you again in the future.

–Gordon King

Go to Colin’s blog and scroll down several entries to find the list.

–Gordon King

I love these matches because the single overhead light provides very dramatic lighting that turns an ordinary photo into a compelling image simply because the lighting is so cool.

Selah High School v. Toppenish High School wrestling

Wrestling-wise, there’s not much going on here. You can’t see faces and the body language is pretty boring. But the single overhead light has transformed this otherwise ho-hum photo into an pretty interesting photo that’s more graphic than journalistic.

Taking a wider view, the overhead light can give you this:

Selah High School v. Toppenish High School wrestling Jan. 19, 2010.

As a bonus, the single bright light yields a near-black background, free of any distracting elements.

But there’s truth to that old saying “there’s no free lunch.” While the light is dramatic, there’s not much of it. So, you got to shoot at a high ASA and slow shutter speed. You get a lot of blurred, unuseable photos.

Besides being blurred, the faces are often too dark to be useable, even though I am shooting in RAW format.

This is the photo we ended up running in today’s paper. Sort of a “thrill of victory and agony of defeat” all in one photo.

Selah's Ryan Depaz, left, celebrates after pinning Toppenish's David Chavez in the 215-pound match Jan. 19, 2010.

So while the single overhead light presents technical problems, the dramatic nature of the light more than makes up for those problems. Like I said, a love-hate relationship.

–Gordon King