Bountiful v Viewmont
; 8.31.2007
Jesse at the farm
Soldier Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championship
Real Salt Lake v Kansas City Wizards
The Funeral Question
Someone commented on my previous post, asking good questions. Here’s what they asked:
What I’d like to know is how do you deal with camera noise at a funeral? What do you consider a respectful distance? And have you ever had issues with family at funeral, i.e. asking you to leave or not photograph? How do you deal with such a situation?
Each case is so different. Here are some thoughts…
In most cases, if I’m sent to a funeral, the family is expecting media coverage because it’s usually a big story in the community. The people who work for the funeral home are often good go-betweens for us, to find out what the family’s wishes are with regards to media. In most Mormon funerals, we will photograph the pallbearers carrying the casket from the church and then the graveside service.
Access runs the gamut from full access to none. When the family asks that we not be there, a judgment call has to be made. If it’s a big story with a lot of public interest (like the Trolley Square shooting), we will probably photograph from a long way off so that the family has their solitude. This is always a hard decision to make, but my presence has never caused any confrontation.
The thing to remember about confrontations is that if you get into one, no matter where you are, it’s too late to win. By the time someone is telling you to stop taking photographs, they’re usually not going to change their mind and you have find a way to get around them.
Respectful difference also varies. With a long lens, I don’t have to be close. For this funeral, the mourners gathered around the family, so we were closer than I would have liked. You just have to pay attention to the vibe you’re getting and minimize your impact on the family. I’ve been close and I’ve been far depending on how comfortable they are.
As for camera noise, a couple of things. I use a long lens (at least a 400mm) so that there’s a distance between me and the mourners. And I always set my camera to single shot. I don’t think the sound of the shutter is as distracting as the context.
For example, say a widow bursts into tears and all of a sudden you hear a camera start firing off 8 frames per second. That doesn’t seem right. It’s like a pack of wolves pouncing on a defenseless rabbit.
But if all through the service you’ve heard occasional single shots fired off, you won’t notice when a couple of single shots are taken during an emotional moment. How you conduct yourself, in every way, sends a message.
Most often, it’s the people around the family who are the most defensive. They’re looking out for their loved ones, and that’s commendable behavior. But we are there to tell a story of love and loss. I’ve never been there to exploit the situation.
When my brother-in-law died tragically five years ago, I brought my camera bag to the funeral. As they wheeled his flag-draped casket out of the church, my extended family broke down, faces covered with tears. I felt the pull of my camera but didn’t dare bring it out in the middle of such a sensitive moment.
Through tears, my wife said, “Trent, what are you doing? Get your camera out. We need you to document this moment.”
Crandall Canyon Mine – Gary Jensen Funeral MM
I put together a slideshow from Gary Jensen’s funeral. The audio track I edited from the service is very simple (you have to keep things simple when you’re working 17-hour days). From an hour of material, I only used a hymn and a quote from Jensen’s son Robert, recorded at the service.
There were a lot of great things said by the friends and family. My notes were riddled with stars, noting the quotes I wanted to use. But in editing, nothing was more powerful than Robert’s statement, which he made as he and his brother and sisters made tributes to their father. It’s better heard than written. When you hear his voice, you realize he’s speaking right from the heart.
For the record, here’s what he said:
“Whether it be through his belief in his faith, whether it be a mine rescue, whether it be just in the community, the Jaycees, the little league wrestling, the little league programs the he did for the kids, the programs he started that affected so many in the valley that I’m surprised by or just the words when you’re in the mine and you have a problem and he’s there to lend you a hand to help you, my father lived for the people and he died for the people, and he will be remembered by all of us as one who lived that principle that every man, regardless of who you are, every woman regardless of who you are, every child deserves to be respected, deserves to be loved, and deserves to be appreciated.
He died in tragedy but he’ll be remembered as a blessing to everyone of our lives. and I swear this, I believe it, and I look upon you guys and I see it. I thank you so much for the family for all the support you’ve done. And I say this in the name of my Savior, amen.”
Here’s the link to the multimedia: http://166.70.44.68/multimedia/gibbsfuneral/index.html
Sinking the Putt
; 8.25.2007
Support for the Miners
; 8.24.2007 praying hands
Bob Murray Piñata
; 8.24.2007
Crandall Canyon Coal Mine Tragedy – Media Camp
For the past two weeks, as the tragedy of the Crandall Canyon mine story continued, I’ve been thinking about this post. Originally intended to be a look at life among the media stationed at the command post, I lost enthusiasm for the humorous approach as the news got grimmer and grimmer. So here are my rough notes from two weeks ago during my first stint sleeping in the car and photographing at all hours, straight from the notebook…
parked on the highway
sleep in car from 2-7am…only wake up in the night, like 57 times
sometime in the night a van pulls in front of me, lights, doors slamming
guy’s car alarm goes off
at 424 I wake up and see all the TV lights on. it’s 624 eastern standard, so all the networks are doing their morning shows…the phone doesn’t ring so I go back to sleep; the reporter is pulling the all-nighter and has my #. I’m like a fireman…she’ll call if anything happens.
in the morning when I do wake up it’s like journalist summer camp out there. clusters of early risers with fleece jackets and coffee. there are four packs of donuts that someone has donated. They sit in the sun all day until someone goes for it in the late afternoon.
wi-fi provided by sheriff
verizon brought in a cel tower so I have phone and internet
free food- salvation army
my car is junk food heaven…2 boxes of pop tarts, chips ahoy cookies, gatorade, cake donuts, water, muffins, a 3lb box of Cheez Its, and some Hershey chocolate bars that I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to keep from melting. it’s just stuff to keep my energy, and most of it goes uneaten.
Friday am press conference – 15 tripods. big story.
murray’s outfit
gusts of wind from a landing news chopper shreds support banners at the family HQ
people fighting over pool arrangements
with nothing but free time between press conferences, it seems like a class distinction breaks out between the people who sleep in their cars at the command post and those who head back to their hotel rooms in Price
the gossip crowd
AP reporter overheard this morning: “What’s today? Friday?”
