My First 3 Months as a Photojournalist

Harveylevine

I’ve been a freelance photographer for three months. After retiring from the US Civil Service in January, I’ve been lucky enough to (finally!) do something I really want to do. In June a new local newspaper came to my mailbox. It contained mostly photographs of local people doing “fun” things. Best of all they invited readers to submit photographs for publication. I submitted this picture of a road being paved in my community.



After a few emails back and forth the newspaper, Next Door News, agreed to give me a trial as a freelancer. One of my first assignments was to shoot a horse show at a local stable. The picture below was part of my first paid assignment. I now cover between 10 and 15 assignments per month.



While on assignment photographing people who were stroling along at Great Falls, outside of Washington, DC, I saw three Kayaks descending the falls. I took this picture, which I later submitted to a “Summer Fun” photo contest in the Washington Post. It didn’t win first place (the only prize offered), but they did publish it on the first page of the “Weekend” section.



I don’t get paid very much, $40 per assignment, but the real reward for me has been the many interesting people I’ve met that I never would have had a chance to meet and talk to otherwise. There were several politicians, among them Jean Cryor, a representative to the Maryland House of Delegates:




I’ve met architects and many artists including this one:



and this one:




Yes, the artist is also a photographer. That’s a Nikon D200 she is holding up. I used my “Vermeer” treatment on this picture (to darken the distracting background). Of course, the version I submitted to the newspaper was straight, not “Photoshoped” The only processing I do on the shots I submit to the newspaper is to use Adobe Camera Raw to convert (and crop) the raw images and some resizing and mild sharpening.


Here is a shot of a former jazz singer:



I even had an opportunity to take a picture of a tranquil scene of the C&O canal along the Potomac River near Washington, DC:



But what the newspaper really wants are pictures of people (mostly kids) having fun or doing interesting things. Here is a sampling:













I can’t believe I’ve been so lucky. To me this is a dream job. True, I’d starve if I had to live off my earnings, but fortunately, the money is secondary.

Thanks for looking. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Harvey

Scott_Quier

This sounds like the dream retirement. When/if I get to retirement age, I would love to fall into a sweet deal like this. But, you definetly have the credentials for the job. These are some sweet images, especially the last few! Way to go.

urbanaries

These are great, the story is very wonderful indeed, and the pictures are too. I like the jazz singer portrait the best. Thanks for sharing.

lynne

Maestro

Very cool new job! Nice shots! I especially like the one of the former jazz singer, but I don't think it has anything to do with your obviously superior skills as a photographer.

Harveylevine

Scott, Lynne, and Maestro:
Thanks for your kind words. I've really been fortunate to have the opportunity to shoot so many interesting assignments. Some shots were easier than others. The former jazz singer was a natural model. She must have had a lot of experience posing. The only thing I needed to do was not mess it up by ponting the flash right in her face. Bouncing it off the ceiling worked well. Here's another one of her:



The kids were actually harder to shoot because they never seem to be still for even a moment. But if you get it right, the kid pictures are often some of the most intersting, as Scott pointed out.



Thanks again for your comments.
Harvey

photogmomma

Lucky you! What an awesome job to land - and it looks like they got a great deal with the shots you are giving them! Congratulations and wonderful photos!

Dee

You are getting paid more than I did
I worked part time at a local weekly newspaper that was delivered to all the homes in the area. I was the production/paste up person and set headlines on a "headline" machine... but since the owner knew I liked photography and the "feature" photographer resigned, I got that job too.

The feature writer would interview the people, then call me to set up an appointment to take a photo.

After taking the photos, hubby would develope the black and white film, and I'd make the prints.

I too, met many different people from politicians, police chiefs, ordinary citizens... and I even used my daughter Dara as a model for some of the assignments (like with Santa Claus).

It was a lot of fun, but I think I got $5.00 a photo! Talk about working for peanuts... This was nearly 40 years ago.

How much easier it is for you, with digital!

And... maybe with your byline you'll get calls for other photography work.

Your work is excellent, by the way....

Harveylevine

Dee wrote:

... and I even used my daughter Dara as a model for some of the assignments (like with Santa Claus).

It was a lot of fun, but I think I got $5.00 a photo! Talk about working for peanuts... This was nearly 40 years ago.

How much easier it is for you, with digital!

And... maybe with your byline you'll get calls for other photography work.

Your work is excellent, by the way....

Andi and Dee:
Thanks for your comments, I really appreciate them. I can't use my son as a model kid, since he's now 31. But I have been able to use my dog, Candide. Here she is "driving" an antique Morgan car.



Since the newspaper usually uses 2 to 3 pictures per assignment, I probably get about $15 per picture. That's probably the equivalent of $5 per picture 40 years ago.:ivar
Harvey

schmoo

I agree with Scott: I'm going to have to grade my retirement against the perfection of yours. A dream deal, indeed! Great work, and I definitely am seeing better photos here than I have in most local (or even state) papers I've read.