Rocky Mountain (Sad) News

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About a year and a half ago, when I started networking to move on from The Palm Beach Post, the (Denver) Rocky Mountain News was one of the papers I got in touch with. When I watched this video about the paper's final days, I thought about all the newspapers in the country. I've heard that Hearst is considering closing the San Fransisco Chronicle, too. The Chronicle? The twelfth most read paper in the country?

You could plug a name of any number of newspapers into this video. I watch it and I see my newsroom. What used to be my newsroom. I wonder what it will be like when the rubble and dust and shrapnel of our economy clears. What papers will remain? What papers will come back? Will any of it return?

To me, newspapers are about connecting you with your community, letting you know what's going on, teaching you about others in your community, whether it be through an inspirational story or a tragic one. But, most important to me is something that will not come-up on blogs or websites. That's investigative journalism. Aside from the massive job losses and the community's loss of it's valiant daily informant, I think that's the worst part. The stories that make the reader mad or leave the reader thinking 'I don't want to read about this (scandal or that issue I didn't know about)!', the story that leaves the reader incensed to stand-up and do something. The story that enlightens us, holds a politician accountable for his or her actions, or calls out the local company for outsourcing.

I am not an economist, but I can't help but think, why is nothing being done to save our source of news? Where the hell are you going to read about what banks are being saved by the government or which car you may or may not be able to buy because the company is closing for good?

Not to mention, if the newspapers do rise from the ashes, it's going to be a hell of a rat race for all the journalists who lost their jobs and want so much to work at a newspaper again.

Watch it through the credits.

Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.

Food Photography

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Thanks to craigslist, I gave a second one-on-one photo lesson today with a woman who wanted to fine-tune her food photography. She writes a food blog and has been frustrated with her results. It was a really fun session, and I was especially pleased at the fact that Anna felt she had learned so much!

This is a quick pic I took with my camera. I only took two photos, actually. We really used her camera for the most part.

Introducing Jeremiah!

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This morning I came home at 3:30 from attending an at-home birth! Linda and her husband allowed me in their home to photograph the arrival of their son, Jeremiah, in return for copies of the pictures.

I am hoping to start photographing at-home births (I will stay with at-home births because most hospitals won't allow photographers in). It's a great way to document an important event for a client, and for me it's more of what I love to do - be a fly on the wall and document life. In this case, the arrival of one.

I received a call from the midwife's student at 5:20 on Christmas Eve morning and headed to Linda's home. About twenty long hours later, after many stops and starts, Jeremiah arrived after just fifteen minutes of pushing. Linda was incredible! Despite there being at least six people in her home at any given time throughout her labor, and despite the slow progression of her labor, she was impressively patient. I never heard her complain once. She never gave-up, either.

Here are a few pictures from the event. I intend to post more once I edit the shoot and clear them with Linda and her husband.

Breathing through the surges (aka contractions)

Meeting big brother.

Little man of the hour. Born on Christmas!

Light the Lights

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Caileigh Sweeney, 3, gets a good view of the holiday lights while sitting perched on the shoulders of her dad, Tim Sweeney, while waiting to meet Frosty during the Wakefield Center Neighborhood Association's annual Light the Lights event on the common in Wakefield. The WCNA unveiled their new LED lights on the tress which require one-fifth of the power required for the lights used in past years. The Sweeneys are from Wakefield.

Holiday Card Tips

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I designed a few mock-up holiday cards from some recent shoots I've been on. These aren't actually going to be used by the clients in this way (although the red one is very close to it's final version). I just think it's fun to do some layout from time to time.

1. Choose quality over quantity. Parents have a hard time with photos sometimes because they love their children and their children are adorable in every photo they see. It's easy to forget that when you make a card with nine photos on it, not only will they be small photos , they are not likely to have much variety to them. Six of them may be of your child making the same expression. In using so many pictures, you miss the opportunity to let the receiver of the card really get an idea of who your child is.

The red card is a good example of how good editing can give you some variety on a card, and teach the receiver of the card something about the person on the card.

2. Variety is good. I think that in most cases, one wonderful shot is the way to go with a card. People who receive the card can take it apart and put the photo on their wall or fridge! But, if you are going to use multiple images, it's nice to have one tight shot (top left), one medium shot (bottom left) and one wider (top right or bottom left).

3. The Perfect photo doesn't always mean the perfect smile. You don't always have to have an image of the child's face in all your photos and they shouldn't be the perfect little smile, in my opinion. The perfect photo shouldn't mean the perfect smile. Choose photos that show your child's character (like top right on the red card). Photograph them reading their favorite book or playing with their favorite toy. Seeing an image with some movement, like the one of Ava clapping (bottom right), is less stagnant. The one of Ava walking away is fun too, because it gives us a different perspective in addition to helping us learn something about the child. Ava loves her bunny and her lamby. We know that now. We have also learned she is now walking!


4. Headshots are our friends. Getting some nice headshot style photos is a great solution to the challenge of photographing a very active toddler and a newborn. Toddlers don't tend to like to sit still, and sitting a newborn up in a chair can sometimes seem very unnatural - after all, they can't sit up on their own yet. When mom Wendy decided she wanted a shot similar to another she liked (the baby lying down and the older child look down at the baby), we gave it a try. Although the baby's profile is really sweet, you can't really see faces. It's a very nice moment between the boys, however, which makes it work. Plus, it's something a bit different from the typical holiday card photo. You solve to issue of not seeing the kids' faces by adding nice, simple headshots. Now, we can see how the boys are growing!

Wendy and Her Family

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This past week-end, I was off to Marblehead to photograph Wendy along with her two little ones and her husband. It went well, especially considering the little ones were three and a newborn. A newborn is tough because, well, they're newborns. Three year olds are tricky because they have the kind of energy we all wish we had and it's tough for them to sit still. This three year old, Evan, did just fine!