NPAC photographers blog Day One - Edmonton Photographer
I’ve been asked to blog about my week on the News Photographers Association of Canada about a week in my life. Here is the first post. 
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), from Russia, flies in the air after taking a shot in front of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray (44) during first period NHL hockey action in Edmonton, Alberta on Saturday, December 19, 2009. (This photo was uploaded to my blog and forwarded to my FB account and twitter within probably 1.5 minutes after shooting. It was my twitterpic test case.) 2010 is the year of great photography. Content. Content. Content.
Oh, BTW, so was 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 ... And every previous year since the first exposure in 1814. I don’t think anyone has really ever disputed this. But I know that I ran out and spent thousands of dollars on a video kit and training because I wanted to believe that video would save my beloved newspapers. Well, it didn’t. Video is another facet that will help online readership but photography is still going strong. 
Edmonton Eskimos' Patrick Kabongo poses for a photo in his home in Edmonton, Alberta home on December 15, 2009. Kabongo was born in the Congo, but fled to Montreal as a child. Jimmy Jeong For the Globe and Mail.
Back to my first love. The art of slow cooking photography.
I’m a newbie freelancer. Sort of. I’ve been shooting for freelance clients about nine years now. But for most of those years I worked for an established photography company in town until I was recently down-sized. So it’s a fresh slate for me and I’m going to take this opportunity to really think about the process — both before and during my shoots. Back to the slow cooking of ideas and letting them marinate. I really think that this will help my growth as a photographer and hopefully attract new clients (our photos are never complete until viewed). So I’ve gone out and bought a note pad in case those rare great ideas pop up. When I see the work being done by professionals like Reuters’ photogs Andy Clark and Christinne Muschi, Kevin Van Paassen at the Globe, or Darryl Dyck out in BC, and the great photographers here in Edmonton I realised that something was missing in my work. These other photographers make the work seem so easy but there is so much thought behind their work. Which is why their images are so unique and memorable. Of course some of it is shit. But hey, we all have a bad day. :) 
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach looks out his window of his office at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton, Alberta on November 25, 2009. Jimmy Jeong For The Globe and Mail I find that since going independent, I’m actually taking more chances now with my photography. But to do so takes a lot more preparation to make sure I still get the shot required by the client. For the photo of the Premier of Alberta, I was to shoot a portrait during the half-hour scheduled for the interview. Which of course means I would get about 5 minutes. Instead, I called ahead to his press secretary and spent the day at the legislature to hopefully be able to photograph him during breaks throughout the day. I spent a lot of time at the press secretary’s office. But, during different periods in the day I got to meet the premier and his staff and they got comfortable with me. And I think this helped me get a shot I was really happy with. 
EDMONTON, AB - DECEMBER 28: Dustin Penner #27 of the Edmonton Oilers sails over Curtis Glencross #20 of the Calgary Flames in the second period during an NHL game on December 28, 2009 at Rexall Arena in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jimmy Jeong/NHLI via Getty Images) Slow Cooking But Quickly Served Before it Gets Cold
I’ve spent the day getting back to clients (always answer all your emails as quickly and politely as possible). But I’m also preparing for the hockey games this week which I’ll be shooting for CP. (I’m the second shooter here in town but the other photographer is on vacation.) Shooting for the wires means that a lot of the thought process has to go in to the preparation before the shoots. Today I’ll go make sure to download rosters into photo mechanic (code replacements) and read the stories to see if there are any players to watch. I used the preseason NHL games to get my timing back but also to work on color correction settings in Photoshop. The arena here is probably one of the darkest and dingiest in the league. During the games I’ll chimp constantly so that I can mark my edits in camera and then only open those locked photos. I’ll then put them through a set of 6 pre-programmed actions in Photoshop, edit captions in Photomechanic and away they go. Recently, I’ve been playing around with trying to upload photos as soon as I get the shot. This means having my laptop with me. Tomorrow I’ll talk more about the business side of freelancing.
