ERIN SUTHERLAND

It wasn’t March.

But it was beautiful out, and there definitely were marchers for this annual parade held as part of the True/False Film Festival.

And one of friends, because they are awesome.

I’m really bad at uploading and blogging images. It’s always been a problem, not just because I’m working some crazy hours this semester. Case in point – I have an entire set of photographs from my move to Missouri that I’ve had on my list to upload and write about, yet they still sit on my computer, waiting.

That was August. Eight and a half months ago.

Oops.

So without further delay, I present the very few images I actually liked from my two-day stint at the Missouri Grand Prix on February 12th and 14th. I’ve never photographed swimming before, and this was a doozy of an event to start with. But all in all, I learned a ton, took a few fun photographs, and can’t wait to give swimming a shot again this summer.

(This was an experiment using liveview to get the right angle and focus. Next time, I’ll spend a little longer in the lane to get that focus point perfect.)

I could really use one of these signs for my life this semester. It’s been non-stop since day one with emails and classes and meetings and photo shoots and editing . . . phew. Just thinking about all the things I’ve done so far makes me exhausted.

The funny thing? I’m loving every moment. I know it’ll be over so fast and I’ll look back and say, “Look what I did!”

Until then, I’ll be sure to catch up on my zzzz’s whenever possible.

Way too many days have passed since I’ve last updated. Hopefully I won’t let that happen again. There are so many awesome things going on, and lots of pictures to go along with them.

There’s also a ton of emails. My phone just buzzed again – it’s 11:43pm on a Friday night. Such is the semester.

Somehow, I’ve managed to take on work that is almost equivalent to taking three photo classes at once. Advanced Techniques is my official photo class, where we’ll be learning all about lighting and making technically better photos. (I’m SO super excited about this class, and I’m not just saying it because this blog will occasionally be taken over by class assignments.)

But then I’m working on an independent study surrounding the mayor’s race, which entails working as a photographer for the Missourian. Granted, it’s not full time like the staff class, but it’s still going to be a lot of work. After a particularly stressful day on Wednesday, I went to cover the first mayor candidate forum and remembered just why I’m here and why I love this job. Moments like this happen more and more often. I love each and every one.

Finally, I’m the Vox magazine photo editor for my assistantship this semester. So while I’m working in Advanced on lighting and photographing for the election coverage with the newspaper, I’m also up at the photo desk managing photo requests and editing shoots for the magazine. And fielding emails. Lots and lots of emails. And attending meetings. Lots and lots of meetings.

And while I’m sitting here astounded that the past week was only a week … I look back at all the work I’ve done so far and wouldn’t change a thing at all. Working long hours is so much more rewarding when I love what I do!

Let’s hope this feeling lasts the entire semester. I’m going to need it.

While this mess has since been cleaned up (mostly) and the paper handed in (I got an A-), it pretty well illustrates how my semester has been (and continues to be).

Right now I’m waiting for 162 RAW files to process to place into a time-lapse of contra dancing. I hope it works. I’ve never done a time-lapse before. I’ve also never done an audio slideshow this in-depth before. Sadly, I’ve done stories before, and this project isn’t really turning out to be one.

I don’t know why I’m getting so worried about this project. Maybe because I feel that a final project should be stellar. Or maybe because I’m just a perfectionist and can’t settle for handing in a “draft.” I took a look at a previous project some by some convergence students – which I didn’t want to see, but now I’m glad I did – and even in it’s baby stage, my project just looks better and sounds better. Maybe not better, per-se, but cleaner for sure. (Okay, I’m going to be honest. It’s way better.)

What I need is an editor. Thank goodness we have a work day tomorrow in class. I hope to get some feedback on the photos and perhaps some of the audio bits too. I’ve edited down a few nice chunks that I can play. Maybe I just need one more point of view about the dancing. Saturday’s it. Crunch time, last dance before the due date.

(I think I can, I think I can, I think I can … )

(one of my favorite photos from the second shoot.)

Last week seems like a blur.

One minute I was running around my apartment making sure I had A. enough clothes and B. all my photography equipment while trying to finish up a Fundamentals project, go to class, attend meetings and apply for next semester assistanships. [more on the Fundamentals project later.]

Then I found myself driving out to St. Louis, checking into the hotel, and starting coverage of the APMEconference via Twitter and through photos.

Whirlwind doesn’t even describe it. Not quite frantic, but definitely intense and fast-paced. From one session to the next, our team blanketed the convention with coverage for those members who could not make it this year. It’s a shame they didn’t – the sessions were fantastic.

Wednesday night, I was scheduled to cover the opening reception at the City Museum.

The place is incredibly beautiful – and massive. This is just the first floor area. There’s so much more. I can’t wait to go back.

There was a tank with turtles. Lots and lots of turtles. They got a lot of attention throughout the night.

A joke was made about being able to brag about attending a conference where they served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, in light of the current economic landscape of the news world. The really did serve little sandwiches.

No reception is complete without a silent auction. The best part was the live auction, when the caller was trying to get people to bid on a $6,000 vacation. See above photo caption for irony.

Then Wednesday, I photographed two other sessions, the Associated Press Report and the APPM’s Community Journalism and Innovation.

Members of the audience reacted to the playing of Julie Jacobson’s video and audio diary of the situation when she took the controversial photo of the injured Marine who later died.

The panelists watch a presentation on some of the AP’s most innovative and exciting storytelling work.

In the APPM session, attendees were asked to write out the core principles they believe in as journalists.

Yes, we even watched a segment of The Colbert Report to illustrate just how far the Commercial Appeal’s story on public records (gun licenses) went. The clip is at that link.

So yeah. It was a blast to cover, and fantastic to meet some inspiring people. Don’t listen to those naysayers out there. Journalism is NOT dead – it’s just changing.

And from what I saw at this conference, there’s a bright future ahead. We just need to make sure we can get there.