Tool(s) of the trade

A few weeks ago I came across a press release from an Los Angeles-based Associated Press photographer who was having a showing of images he'd snapped outside of his day job.

The show was centered around a premise I thought was most unique and summed up in the exhibit's title: "Stripped. Bare. Branimir Kvartuc and his iPhone."

From the press release:

As a professional photographer working for such outlets as the Associated Press and the Jutarnji List, the national paper of Croatia, Branimir Kvartuc had the best equipment and access to be in the right position to tell a story.

With this show, he has Stripped his resources Bare. No Credentials. No Assignment. No professional camera. Kvartuc, armed with only an iPhone camera, managed to capture landscapes, worm his way into closed-to-the-public events and delve deeply into the emotions of individuals.

Take away the large camera that shoots 12 frames per second and a tie to familiar news outlet and you are left with a photographer attempting to record a poignant moment on a two megapixel cell phone camera that takes one photo every 12 seconds.

"I never liked taking photos when I was not working." Kvartuc said. "As a professional, I usually have a credential hanging from my neck and large,somewahat intimidating cameras and lenses. It becomes very easy for the person behind the camera to feel a certain authority, a comfort level with invading someone's personal space by pointing a camera at them."

For the "Stripped. Bare." show, Kvartuc was now the one who was inimidated. He often had to ask for permission to get close enough to capture something valuable. That meant he had to start a conversation, he had to earn their trust so he could get a disarming, authentic still.

Photos from Kvartuc's exhibit can be viewed here. His blog is here. If you were planning on being out in L.A. anytime soon, though, the exhibit already ran its course.

Our various gadgets are increasingly being consolidated into one device that combine their multiple functions. Phone, photos, voice recordings, even video right in the palm of the hand, in one unit. Granted, iPhones and some BlackBerries are pricey up front, in addition to their service plans. However, I think it would be a wise thing for newsrooms to swallow the initial expense to supply such equipment for their staff so they can get creative in how they gather and report the news that matters to its costumers.

I think an exhibit like Kvartuc's illustrates some of where the "new media" road is taking us. Do I think professional photographers with expensive, top-of-the-line equipment will go the way of the dinosaurs? I certainly hope not. But it shows off what a reporter equipped with some quality, relatively inexpensive gear and some basic photography know-how could — realistically — be expected to accomplish in addtion to his/her regular duties.

Drug trafficking

"What happened on June 18?" I asked my co-workers a few minutes ago.

"Huh?" That was Andrew.

"Did anything important happen in the middle of the month?" I repeated.

I happened to be looking at the site traffic report for the month and there was a rather significant spike in the number of unique visitors for June 18: a whopping total of 9,037. By comparison, the day before we received 3,607 unique visitors for the day (which is a rough average for us). I was drawing a blank on what could have possible caused such a stir.

We quickly turned to our computers and the search feature on the site and quickly deduced it was the initial story about the 384 pounds of marijuana seized in a bust in Wilton that must have been the main attraction.

Street value of nearly 400 pounds of pot? A 251 percent
increase in daily traffic for The Saratogian.

Sure enough, a look at the most popular pages for that day proved our hunch correct.

Once again, readers of The Saratogian show they're quite passionate about drugs in their community.

Monkeying around with HTML

I'm not a code monkey. In case there's any confusion about what I do here at The Saratogian, it's NOT to develop the Web site or all its assorted technical features from scratch.

That being said, I still get to monkey around with HTML now and then and, truth be told, it's one of the more fun aspects of the job. Back in the early days of my employment here, when we switched to a new site provider, then back to our old site provider (back to the old, but visually-revamped platform), I had to be more hands on with HTML if I wanted to insert a hyperlink, a "mail to:" link for an e-mail address or even to bold, italicize and underline. It was a great opportunity to learn/re-learn (and memorize) a few very basic HTML tags. Also somewhat time-consuming.

Now that we've switched to the current site platform, a lot of those functions are accomplished right from the content management system, which offers a rich-text-editor — akin to what you'd find in Word or other document software, or even on applications like Blogger, MySpace and Facebook — that circumvents the manual insertion of code. With a simple click or two I can bold, italicize, copy in a link, etc. Sometimes, though, I find (or create) a need to get my hands on keyboard to bang out a bit of HTML and, for whatever reason, it's always satisfying. Such was the case last week, when I got to try out a new tag and apply some oldies but goodies for what, I think, was an elegant solution.

If any young journalists or journalists-in-training are reading this: I HIGHLY recommend you learn some code. It's so easy nowadays, because it's all available online.

Back when I worked for the state, before I even entertained the thought of going to grad school to get a degree in journalism, I took a two-day training course on HTML offered to state employees (early 2004, I believe). It was very basic stuff, and at the end of day two we had all designed a lovely little Web page with a circa 1995, retro look. Still, it was enough to help me understand the basics of Web design better. It came in handy from time-to-time, particularly when I undertook a project during grad school, in which my partner and I looked at how various "J-schools" were adapting their curriculum to better prepare students working in the "new media" age.

Rather than write a report, we put our findings online, on a site we developed (though I can't claim to have done the brunt of that. My partner, who now works at the Utica Observer Dispatch, was the one that did the majority of the coding. Remember what I said about all the info necessary being available online? She learned basic Flash animation for an intro to the site).

All of that helped me in getting this job, and helped me understand what I needed to do/look for when I wanted to tweak some text, clean up some formatting, have a link open in a new browser or gerry-rig an AP feed on other pages of the site.

Anyhow, the new tag I tried (and have been using here and there since) is the page jump tag. It's the perfect solution for directing people to a schedule, ticket prices or pertinent information included at the end of an article online (the sort of stuff that we'd publish in print as an "If You Go" box or a small sidebar) that they might miss if they decide not to read the entire article. See recent examples in the cover story from the debut issue of The Scene and a preview of the upcoming Secret Gardens tour.

The elegant solution I referred to earlier was a sidebar that ran with that article from The Scene linked above. It's about a local cover band called Gravity, and one element of the package in print was a bio about each of the four band members. Rather than add the text at the bottom of the main article (as I did with the schedule), I opted to get creative and plug the bios into the caption. All it required was some basic HTML tags to bold and insert the appropriate breaks in the text. I was rather pleased with the results. It had never occurred to me to utilize the photo captions in such a way, but it worked perfectly.

In the last few months I've also been using captions to refer people to view more images in the appropriate online photo album, most extensively with sports stories. (See an example from today's coverage of the Saratoga Phillies doubleheader. The caption provides a hyperlink to the "Saratoga Phillies - 2009" album.) Conversely, I also insert hyperlinks to the corresponding article in each picture's caption in the online albums (when I have the time. This is still a bit inconsistent on my part).

I know none of this is technically jaw-dropping, particularly for the hardcore programmers out there. There's plenty more I could learn, and I'd like to be more proactive about studying up; Sometimes I put the effort in only when I find it necessary, though. But it's nuts-and-bolts kind of stuff that comes in really handy in my position. It's no secret that media is evolving, increasingly accessed through electronic means. It seems to me the vast majority of people today only care that their stuff works; they're not concerned with HOW it works. So a little technical know-how, no matter how minimal, could be enough of a leg-up in an increasingly competitive field. It applies to more than just HTML.

Quote of the day for June 23, 2009

From our reporter, Emily Donohue, on the news that the N.Y. Senate went into a recess from their special session today because the two factions were talking over each other (after the Dems temporarily locked the Republicans, press and others out earlier in the afternoon):

"Lock them all in that chamber and burn the place down so we can start over. I'll bring the marshmallows."

Sounds good.

Overflow in the drop box

When I get in each morning, I generally focus so much on the tasks at hand that I don't immediately go out for the competitors' newspapers in the drop box. As a result, sometimes those papers pile up inside. That was the case this morning (looks like no one got them over the weekend, and I was off yesterday).

It was also the case last Tuesday, June 16:

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."

Postal service to the rescue.

So too, two days later on Thursday, after I forgot to get the papers on Wednesday. Two days' worth of the competition is an easier load than four, though. There they are, stacked neatly atop the drop box.


And what's that inside the green receptacle? A discarded carton of smokes, naturally. Also a notice for a Saratoga County Pamona Grange meeting. That already happened. Oh, and a segment of a twig.


At the bottom of today's jumble of newsprint and protective plastic bags? A discarded wrapper from a Willy Wonka Nerd Rope candy (Bite it! Roll it! Twist it! Pull it!). And that same piece of twig.

Nerds rope? Apparently not named after
my attempts to climb the rope in
high school gym class.

Missing the point?

I generally don't respond to comments left under articles, even when they really rile me up. But I feel compelled to weigh in on two of the comments left under the article "Drug dealer next door?"

First, Horatio: C'mon, man. What do you think we're going to do when a story like this comes in, kick around the following dialogue: "Well, you know, some people out there, like that anonymous blogger, think pot should be legal and won't think this is a news story. Let's not cover this as a sign of solidarity for all our readers who support legalizing marijauna. Besides, Mr. Canori must have been a good guy because he mowed his lawn and didn't disturb his neighbors — most of whom probably make their means WITHOUT breaking the law so flagrantly — with that loud rock 'n' roll music and bottle rockets the kids like so much."

You raise valid points, and the cost to taxpayers is certainly worth looking into, but this bust was going to cost taxpayers whether it happened in Wilton, NY, Walton, NY or even Wasilla, Alaska. As to whether the suspects in the case were doing anything else illegal: I suspect further investigation will turn that up, and we'll be sure to report it. But we're not the judicial branch of the government and aren't here to offer verdicts.

If you feel so strongly about it (which you seemingly do) I suggest you stop wasting your time banging out specious tirades at the hometown news Web site and apply it toward petitioning the government to change the laws (if you haven't already). Because until such time as carting around over 200 pounds of marijuana IS perfectly legal, we're going to report on a bust like this.

Law enforcement was doing their job, we're doing ours. Once again, another invitation: If you want to come out of the shadows and lend your expertise, you know where the office is located.

Second, CM: Drugs finance terrorism in places other than Afghanistan. A lot of ink and server space has been devoted to stories in recent months about the growing influence of Mexican drug cartels deep inside America. Don't think Mexican drug cartels equate terror? Talk to some of the citizens of that nation.

If you think the legalization of marijuana would help stem that type of violence, you could be right. Again, take it up with the appropriate law-making bodies (if you haven't already).

Rant over. Thanks for obliging. On to sillier things later today(?): Another edition of "Inside the Saratogian drop box."

Album alterations

Made a few quick alterations to some of the sports photo albums.

First, the catchall album vaguely titled "Sports" has been nixed. That album was created when we first set up the galleries and were still getting a feel for how we'd file everything. It ultimately became a repository for Skidmore College sports pics and community sporting events (things like charity 5K races and such).

So in its place we have two new albums: "Skidmore Sports - Spring 2009" and "Community Sports - 2009."

Go ahead, give 'em a look-see.

On moose and blog contests

Today has felt hectic.

First we had the loose moose wandering around the Saratoga Race Course. We fielded a lot of phone calls from people who wanted to make sure we were aware of our cervid visitor. Reporter Paul Post was on the scene by the time I got in this morning, and later called in to dictate a few paragraphs for the Web. I was also trying to round up a photographer to go get some shots (chief photographer Rick Gargiulo is off this week).

Before noon, we had one person that had submitted a photo of the moose, taken yesterday in her back yard. We had a number of people try to submit photos for Tuesday's print edition, but we can't use them all. If you've got your own photos of the moose, I invite you to upload them and share them with all our readers. Click here to contribute a photo.

This is actually the second time in as many years I've come across an errant moose. I covered one out in Fonda in early October 2007 when I worked at The Recorder.

Second, I spent most of today compiling entries for the Associated Press' 2008-2009 News Contest. There is a new "blogging" category this year, so I spent a good chunk of my day today printing out and collating entries from both the Saratoga City Desk blog and, yes, this humble little nook in the 'Net.

All that collating (printing out the individual posts, and putting together synopses for each one, including background on each post) drained me for some reason. I mean, I feel totally wiped. Maybe it's just because it's Monday.

Let's do 'The Time Warp' in the drop box

"Rocky Horror." Gotta say: Not a fan. Though I will admit, I bet I could pull off the Dr. Frank-N-Furter role with aplomb.

Anyhow, this second edition of "Inside the Saratogian Drop Box" is two weeks overdue. The morning of Friday, May 29 was a little wet (not unlike much of today). As I approached the drop box, I saw a soggy newspaper perched atop it.

Nothing unusual there; I just figured one of the competitors' issues for that day didn't make it in. But when I flipped it over, I was quite surprised to see it was a copy of The Saratogian. More strange is that it was an issue I don't remember ever having seen (I have a near photographic memory. Seriously. I diagnosed it myself).

No wonder I couldn't recollect this front page: It was from over three years ago! Well before my time here at the newspaper (which, for the record, is early December 2007. Wow, how time flies).

I have no idea where this paper came from. I'm assuming time-travellers have infiltrated our society, but there could be more mundane explanations. I seem to recall Andrew saying he'd seen that copy floating around our Circulation department earlier that morning. Perhaps someone requested this particular back issue and then abandoned it shortly after leaving the building?

Sounds reasonable. Just in case, be cognizant of any ripples in the timeline...

Get your sketch on with SketchUp

Just a quick update today, on something I think seems quite neat.

The Guggenheim Museum is sponsoring a contest to design a 100-square foot structure that would be capable of providing shelter and workspace anywhere in the world. Contestants will use a Google offering I never knew existed but which I just may need to go home and play around with: SketchUp. It allows users to build 3-D structural models - conceptual or of actual structures. You can even build a 3-D model of your city. All these things can be uploaded to Google Earth.

In recent years I haven't had much opportunity to flex my (limited) artistic ability. I dabble in doodles and sketches now, but drew a lot more as a kid. Growing up, that hobby and a healthy fondness for video games (that were rapidly moving from 2-D to 3-D game play) led to a passive interest in 3-D modeling. In fact, we even had some architectural design software for our computer; alas, though, it didn't run well on our archaic system (which is why the passive interest never became an active one).

So I'm really interested in trying SketchUp. It could be fun to design some futuristic structure, or the perfect defensive outpost in a world overrun by zombies. One of the things that appealed to me about Second Life (which I've still never tried) was the ability to create your own section of the world and the things that populate it: buildings, vehicles and the like. SketchUp seems like a way to satisfy the design-urge without getting sucked into the social element of something like SL.

Additional details about the shelter design contest can be found at the official SketchUp blog and at the Guggenheim's site. Maybe I'll enter. Let me know if you do, too.

By the numbers - May 2009

One thing I like to do is keep track of our site analytics: page views, unique vistors and such. I especially like to track the numbers of our staff blogs.

So I thought I'd start a new, monthly feature here at TiW and show off our numbers. In order of most visitors to least for the month of May, 2009 (number is total page views):

1) Andrew Bernstein's Saratoga City Desk: 5,206
2) Barb Lombardo's Fresh Ink: 1,450
3) TiW: 578
4) Mareesa Nicosia's In the Biz: 395
5) Saratogian Sports' Extra Points: 137

A point to note: Mareesa probably would have trumped my numbers and then some for the month, except her blog only went live on May 25.

To illustrate that point, here's the numbers for June up until now, as I write:

1) City Desk: 627
2) In the Biz: 215
3) Fresh Ink: 158
4) TiW: 47
5) Extra Points: 14

In an effort to spur some friendly competition, I told her I'd buy her lunch if she beat Andrew's numbers within a month. As you can see, no one is in danger of having to buy me lunch anytime soon.