Water Rescue - (attempt)

I spent most of this rain soaked, warning laced, former Tropical Storm Fay filled day, shooting consumer features on the outskirts of the metro area but when that was (not quite) done (but enough to call it a day) I was promtly dispatched to a swollen creek in Greensboro.



Buffalo Creek was up to the bottom of the bridge and rescue workers were in the water when I arrived. 15 minutes 'til the top of the 5, we were already on the air with a fresh tornado warning, one I was hoping I was headed to until I saw every rescue vehicle and dive team member for 20 miles hovering over the raging river.

I covered my camera and extened my sticks and joined them on the bridge peering into the water, looking for, well, I didn't know what.

As I moved off the bridge "for my safety" at the request of GPD I found that the grassy area just to the other side of the creek was a better view anyway.

You can see it up in that picture...dive team members were going under water SANS SCUBA and popping back up under the bridge in the dark air space between iron bridge beams.

With just 2 minutes until the station wanted a LIVE PHONER for the top of the 5 a Fire Department Spokesman gathered the media to give some information. 2 separate callers had seen someone near the bridge and they both thought that person had been swept away in the water. The divers at the bridge and personel downstream found nothing.

With that info fresh out of the mouth of the spokesman I stepped away from my camera as it continued to roll on the impromtu presser and gave the facts over the phone as the camera phone picture was up on the screen. My two cents and 4 questions later I was headed back with the video to air in the 6.

Just another day. (not that we have a former tropical storm stomping through here everyday)

Paris Hilton Politics TV Related...Doubtful

It's been a while, but I've been on Vacation....and then busy back at work. I'll have a few new pix before long but first....

Paris Hilton responds to John McCain's ad...with her own.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Tony Snow Loses Battle with Cancer

When I was the local pool Photog riding in a press van in the Presidential Motorcade in October 2006 I saw Tony Snow and thought, 'Cool, Tony Snow, now there's a man with his hand in the pocket of the world.'

I didn't know too much about him, not that he graduated from Davidson College in 1977, that he worked at a newspaper in the very town I work, (the same town we were in when I popped this picture) and that when I was just graduating from high school he was already playing presidential polictics with George Senior.



What I did know was that he would convey the information like no other press secretary, was a friend to the media like no other and loved his jobs, whatever he found himself doing.

At the time I took that picture, I didn't even know he had cancer...and today when I read he died, I didn't even know he hadn't beat it completely.

4th of July at High Rock Lake

It's become almost a tradition for me and my family now. We head down to High Rock Lake to see what I think is one of the best Fireworks shows in this part of North Carolina.



In the past 3 years it's been and even better view for us because while everyone pushes and shoves for the best spot to park on the Highway 8 bridge or along other surrounding roads, my friend and coworker Caron Myers has the best seat in the house, and we're always invited.



The view is great from the Deck or out in a boat...because of rain this year we stayed on shore.




Caron and her famous NASCAR husband Chocolate Myers started building their lakeside cabin about 3 or so summers ago. It's grown from a lake retreat into a full time home that you'd have to see to believe. (I didn't get any pictures...darn.)



But on this day, one of the best things is their proximity to where the fireworks are launched from....in the lot two doors over. To watch the fireworks you have to look almost straight up.



One drawback is falling debris. It's so close that if the wind is blowing just right or not at all pieces of unburned morter shells and still glowing ash will fall on you. Ask my wife, she took a chunk to the leg that drew blood!



I took all these pictures with Caron's digital Canon SLR on a tripod. See all of them on Flickr.

Motorcyle Mayhem

Between weeks on-call and taxiing my children to and fro I ride my motorcyle to get some down time...and lately to save gas. My 84 Honda gets 53 MPG while my 98 Expedition guzzles about 15 a mile so when I'm going somewhere by myself or with only one of the boys in tow, I opt for the open air ride.

And with gas prices through the roof it's no surprise that every dad (and some moms) across America are looking to Motorcycles and Scooters for some back pocket relief.

But with the upturn in 2 wheeled riders on the road statistics would also tell you there will be more of a chance for trouble. Mix in a few inexperienced riders and it's a recipe for a news story. And an Associated Press Article from South Carolina on June 13 laid out these same basics from recent motorcycle crash data in that state.

I just didn't know last Friday that this particular story was about to land right smack dab in my lap.

I was already at my son's baseball game Friday afternoon (yeah the 13th) and about 20minutes into the game I got the call to check out a motorcycle wreck in my county.

It turned out to be a fatal where a 16 year old driver of a car turned into the path of an oncoming montorcycle. The female was charged with Misdemeanor Death by Motor Vehicle.

To make matters worse...this was the 3rd Fatal Motorcycle wreck in 3 days within about 5 miles of each other.

I got all the appropriate video for our 10 o'clock Friday show and with the AP story fresh in mind I asked the State Trooper a slew of extra questions about the dangers of more motorcycles on the road.

Being a motorcyclist himself Seargent Ben Stalvey obliged my line of questioning and because other news dominated the weekend shows, motorcyle safety became my story for Monday. A few rider training experts later and I had an instant Motorcycle Safety story for new motorcyclists and people driving 4 wheeled cars as well.

It's certainly not my best award winning effort but I would hope it would get people thinking about how many more 2 wheeled vehicles are traveling the roads.

And of course it was nice to see in one of the local papers today a very similar story about motorcycle safety. Sometimes we do beat the papers to the punch on issue stories!

If you ride a motorcycle, BE SAFE. If you drive, Watch out for Motorcycles!

Lemonade Stand

It was one of those Thursday, you know a typical, week's almost over, I'll do whatever it takes to make it fly-by, kind of day. I took care of the Fresh Peaches with 20 shots and an interview at the Farmer's market in 30 minutes, a quick DayCare Fire from the day before was my next subject and to end the morning I began a search for a skyline shot of Greensboro that would clearly highlight the haze moving in from the Forest Fire 300 miles to the east.

My drive to the edge of downtown took pause when I saw the big yellow umbrella. The dopamine in my brain triggered at the sight of it....a lemonade stand!



7 year old Julia and 5 year old Peyton couldn't have been any more adorable or well spoken...Julia anyways, Peyton barely got a word in edgewise.

They had made $7 the day before and judging by the looks of things (CLICK HERE TO SEE STORY) who knows how much in the following days. Their dad's experience in sales was no match for their cuteness.

Wireless Live Shot The Technology Has Arrived

Finally the long promised Spint/Nextel Digital conversion has brought us a new toy. The long sought after digital microwave COFDM transmitter is on the air. Ever since our test of a loaner a couple of years back I've been itching for this thing.

So of course I had to test it. The event that we packaged was far over by 10 but the element of the police getting more patrols on the streets gave me a reason (a stretch I know) to use the new TX for a driving live shot.



The technology worked flawlessly. Now, I'll try to not overuse it or use it in ways that are farfetched or a stetch.

But hey, anything's better than a black hole liveshot, right?

Watch the shot HERE

(Oh Yeah, I know it's a bit on the unsafe side to have a distracted driver, but trust me we had safeguards in place and I was fully watching the road too ready to shout instructions regardless of a live shot.)

War Hits Home My Cousin Killed in Afghanistan

My Mom called yesterday with the bad news. My cousin Davy Weaver was killed in Afghanistan . He was my Dad's Brother's Son.

According to a newspaper account his Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device.



I don't think I'd seen Davy since our Papa's funeral several years ago but I always think back of some of the time, although limited, we spent together growing up. One of my fondest memories was being in his (first) wedding in 1992 (or 93?).

And even though my oldest son wasn't named after my cousin they shared the same name(different spelling) and that has always been cool to me. (Of course, I named my son 'Davey Alan' after 2 dead race car drivers)

In my job as a Television Photojournalist I've spent some time with families headed to war and I've sat with families that have received this same tragic news. I've even had to endure the 3 + cumulative years that my wife's sister's husband spent in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But in those situations you kind of feel immune to it all. It's too bad we're not.


Patsy Rabuck (left) displays the Boonie hat and unit flag of her son, Sgt. Davy Weaver, who was killed Sunday in Afghanistan. She is joined by Weaver’s sister, Cynthia Pierce.

I know this is a tough time for Davy's mom, my Aunt Patsy, his sister Cynthia and his dad Teddy. Please know my thoughts are with you!

God Bless you Davy!

I'll miss you bud!

===================
FROM THE HERALD GAZETTE, BARNESVILLE, GEORGIA.
====================

Sgt. Davy Nathaniel Weaver

Soldier pays ultimate price

By Walter Geiger

A Lamar County soldier was killed Sunday in Afghanistan when his Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device.

Sgt. Davy Nathaniel Weaver, 39, was a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army on his third mideast tour. He was a 1987 graduate of Lamar County High School.

An Army notification team arrived at the home of Weaver’s mother, Patsy Rabuck, on Highway 36 East, with the bad news Sunday. “His Humvee was hit about three weeks ago and he got bumps and bruises. I thought they were coming to tell me about that,” Rabuck said.

Instead, she got the news she dreaded most.

Weaver had done tours in Bosnia and Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan. “You never hear about Afghanistan. It is all Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. Davy told me Afghanistan was the worst place to be sent. It is all sand and there is no place to hide. He said his tour in Iraq was nothing compared to Afghanistan,” Rabuck said.

Funeral services are pending. “They were holding ceremonies over there. We should know some more today (Monday),” Rabuck said.

In addition to his mother, Weaver is survived by his wife, Susan, and a two-year-old daughter, Ella, who live near Fort Stewart in Hinesville. Two sons from a previous marriage, Bradley Ashton Weaver, 10, and Malachi Jon Weaver, 7, live in Auburn, Alabama.

Local VFW post commander Junior Hamrick said Weaver was the first Lamar soldier killed in the line of duty in the current Gulf war. “We will be taking care of his family,” Hamrick said.

A chickenque has already been scheduled for Memorial Day, May 26, at the post home at noon. Proceeds go to help military families. VFW ladies auxiliary members will also be selling Buddy poppies this weekend to raise funds.

For more information, contact Hamrick at 358-0311.

Rabuck said her son died doing what he loved.

“He signed up in the 11th grade and had been in the military ever since. He could have gotten out last year but he reenlisted. He said he wanted to serve his country. When he left last time he told me, ‘Mama, if I don’t make it back, I love you.” I told him to not even talk like that,” Rabuck said.

Now she is concerned about funeral expenses and the health of Weaver’s grandmother who collapsed when told of her grandson’s death and had to be hospitalized.

“It will be a financial hardship on us, that’s for sure,” the grieving mom concluded.

TV Lights and Fire Alarms

In one of those you should have been there moments...Melissa Painter and I were in the middle of shooting a well lit interview with 3 college girls in their dorm room of the sorority building at a prominent local university when this happened....(watch and then read the rest)



If you didn't figure that out...it was the fire alarm. Did I mention I had a hot, 650 Watt TV light set up in the room...and it was right next to the sprinkler head. What? That was the best place for it!

Anyway, we left our TV equipment in the room (turned the light off) and stood in the parking lot with the rest of the sisters, some freshly woken from an afternoon nap, others straight out of the shower.

We were pretty sure the hot halogen had set off the fire alarm, although I was skeptical because I figured the sprinkler would have popped if it was us. The girls reassured us this happens all the time in this building.

All we could do was wait for the fire department to give the all clear and when they did we headed back up to the room...where 3 firefighters and 1 campus cop were waiting in the hall.

My intrepid, ivestigative - Slash - consumer reporter spilled like a kids cup of coke at dinner. Every detail about how we had been shooting an interview and maybe the light was too near the sprinkler. The fire captain let her talk as she motioned toward the room we were in and when she stopped talking he said, and I quote, "That's funny because the alarm came from the room across the hall."

He was quite amused at the situation, I learned not to make her my accomplice the day I decide to join Clooney in Vegas.

Here's the Story that goes with that video.

Greensboro Tornado By the Numbers

14 hours, 13 live shots, 3 packages, 4 looklives, 2 phoners, 40 oz of Vault(drinks like a soda...) and one small pack of donuts later I'm back at home running on empty after being up 33 hours with no sleep.

And it's all just part of the job.



As the storms built around the Piedmont last night all I could do is sit at home and watch along with everyone else in TV Land as my station spent prime time in uninterupted, commercial free weather(gasm).(for 8 hours)

The thought going through my head....would this be the night I would get a late call to hit the road.

This thought happens often(OK Every storm:)).

In the winter it's Snow and Ice. In the Summer it's hurricanes. But in the Spring it's severe Thunderstorms and the possibility of Tornadoes.

I watched the radar and listened, almost ready to hit the sack when a tornado hit the town of Advance and Clemmons and damage reports started to trickle in.

I didn't have to go there as my co-worker, Photojournalist Kenny "Bluedog" Cravens, lives in that area and I knew he had it covered.

But when I saw a radar image near Kernersville around 11:30 I got the gut feeling that I sometimes get. I said outloud to my wife, 'That's going to be bad".

5 minutes later the station called sending me to I-40 for two tractor trailers overturned.

What I heard on my scanner told me this was a big deal. Multiple reports of cars overturned. Buildings with walls collapsed. Airplanes pushed around the PTIA tarmac. A truck overturned with an entrapment...that turned out to be deadly.

I drove around West Greensboro all night getting as much video as I could and I even did a live report at 1AM with all the video I could squeeze on the air in 3 minutes.



But it wasn't until daybreak that the reality of what happened set in.



Large trees toppled like bowing pins.



Tall Pines snapped like toothpicks.



A 200 yard wide swath of woods mowed over like a patch of briers.



The pictures don't do it justice...it's impossible to show everything.



It's just a miracle that this is where the funnel cloud chose to touchdown. A few miles in any other direction would have been disaster for this area.


Here's my Liveshot...




(Our Coverage)

Bill Clinton meets Reidsville

I got the call early Sunday Morning that set in motion a one stop shoot that would last into very early Monday Morning.



By the time Sunday evening rolled around and I arrived at Reidsville High School for Bill Clinton's 8th or 9th stop on the middle North Carolina Campaign trail for Hillary, several hundred of the fine citizens of Reidsville had spent the better part of their day in line to squeeze into the small gym to see the 42nd president give his pitch to be first man.



Being the last stop of the day I didn't expect it to start on time. The schedule said 9-15PM...he didn't leave the previous stop until after 10...an hour drive for most...he arrived at 10-45PM.



For roughly 45 minutes with several pre-announcments of summary, Billary outlined Gas Tax, Hybrids on Steroids and Green Initiatives that could possibly create millions of non-outsourcable jobs.

He hyped Reidsville up on money savings efforts in the name of hiring Green-Consultants to retrofit the school with Green...Green...Green.

He talked to the gearheads in the crowd about 100 mile per gallon hybrids "On Steroids" that Hillary will give a $10,000 tax credit for if elected.

He talked about sticking it to the oil companies by launching an investigation into possible corruption causing the spike in gas prices.



Enough about that though. This is a TV Photog Blog by George. Check out the press row. No site of any competition. You know what I mean....mine is the only man camera. (not that I haven't used a baby cam in a pinch or a squeeze.)

The women running the two near small cameras were BackPack Journos from ABC and NBC. They travel with this part of Hillary's campaign... to every stop...and do a running web play by play for their respective employers website. When something interesting happens they get to escape the portals of the World Wide Web for a little time on broadcast TV.



I'm all for new media...and I have lots of ideas for the future of TV, News and the Internet, but while I was working (too hard probably) at getting good video of a former president, the B-J duo locked down their handycams on one medium-wide shot and buried their heads in their broadband equipped laptops and let their fingers to the talking. Of course it could have just been that it was the LAST STOP OF THE DAY, and they'd been to all of them.




That's said they're probably better than this guy....an old-school home-video enthusiast, or something. I think he's seen 'Up Close and Personal', 'The Chase' and 'Groundhog Day' one too many times.

Bill Clinton...Stop 8 Reidsville High School

Just got home from covering the last Bill Clinton speech of the day in Reidsville (that's an hour drive for me, one way).

He arrived an hour (or so) late and spoke for another hour (or so).

I took pictures...but that'll have to wait....It's 1AM.

Here's a pic from the last Bill Visit...

13 and Pregnant Inside Teen Pregnancy

Childbirth is a beautiful thing. I remember the days both of my children were born as clear as if it were yesterday. My boys are now 13 and 10 andi seems like they are growing up way too fast.



In the picture above is Felesha and her infant son Joshua. Felesha is 13 years old and was only 12 when she got pregnant. I met Felesha and her 14 year old boyfriend Damian (below) about a week before little Joshua was born but my kids have known Felesha and played on ball teams with Damian for years.

Damian and Felesha made a mistake in the name of having a good time and probably a little arrogance (read - unsafe sex) about life but they have a strong family behind them and they are learning how to be parents while still just barely teenagers.



I was there with my TV Camera when Felesha had the baby and I visited her after she had settled into mommyhood at home.

They seem to be doing well and the baby is a cute, happy little thing.

The 2 part series on Teen Pregnancy can be seen HERE(PART 1) and HERE(PART 2)

Pissed About Piss WHAT!

See that unnatural looking glob on my viewfinder above the word SONY in the above picture...THAT'S DOG PISS!

You know, the old mantra of any TV Photog is don't walk away from your camera with it on the tripod. I should know...I've crashed a camera from atop a tripod..and I was standing right next to it....The old mantra didn't help me this time.



You see I caught live shot duty last week for the annual rabies clinic in the station parking lot. While setting up for the shot I left the camera on the ground under the tripod while I ran back and forth to the truck.



More than 600 dogs, cats and their owners wrapped around the sidewalk to our parking and with that many animals waiting their turn, sure, accidents are going to happen.

As I was doing my first live shot I noticed an unusually strong stench and I thought to myself the the dogs were really foul today. But after the first live shot an older gentleman gave me the bad news.



He saw a dog lift his leg over my camera that was safely on the ground (and plenty dang far from the line of dogs, cats and owners) and piss on it.

It was only a short dribble as the man told it, mostly onto my viewfinder but enought on my rycote windscreen to justify a trip to the drycleaner (still to come).



I can't help but wonder who in their right mind would let their dog PEE on a $30,000 TV Camera? And also if the dog thought my windscreen was some kind of subserviant feline?

As Lenslinger would say...SHEESH!!!

Gas Prices A Visual Look Back

Remember when this was high?

(May 27, 2005)


And then...just 3 months later...

(August 31, 2005)


...just 2 days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans...

(September 1, 2005)


And prices haven't looked back...

With gas price projections at $4 per gallon by Memorial Day I'm hating the idea of driving very far for my summer vacation with the kids packed into the 15 MPG Expedition.

NAB 08 - Video 4 Kevin Johnson Interview

Kevin Johnson built a website on a whim in 1996 to share pictures with his family.

What it became is certainly a tribute to his chosen profession as a Television Photojournalist. B-Roll.net is a place where TV Photogs all over the world hang out in their down time and share tips, tricks and overall (as Lenslinger might say) tomfoolery.

This is the first of two videos that make up about a 12 minute interview by Stewart "Lenslinger" Pittman with B-Roll.net creator Kevin Johnson.

(Part 2 will be here as soon as it uploads)



PART 2....

NAB 08 - Video 3 People and Their Peds

Sure, the N in NAB stands for National, but people travel from all over the world to come to NAB in Las Vegas and check out the latest greatest in TV gadgetry.

And the sheer amount of new stuff on the floor demands a sizable amount of space putting these peeps and their peds through the paces.

NAB 08 - Travel Tech In Flight GPS

Have you ever done this?



My trip to Las Vegas last week is the first time I've flown since I've had my GPS and I was eager to see how it would work from the confines of the sardine tube in the sky.

The answer is GREAT. Other than taking a bit longer to lock onto the satelites it easily tracked the speed, altitude and location of the aircraft.



I was even able to attach the GPS to the window of the plane so I could have it in front of me for the entire flight.



It was neat to follow the map and be able to identify the cities, towns and even bodies of water we were passing over. If you noticed the power cord coming from the unit, that's because I attached it to my laptop to power it for the duration.



The only downside is the restrictions on using electronic devices below 10,000 feet. (It would have been cool to see the GPS track us right down to the runway!)

NAB 08 - VIDEO 2 As Seen on TV

In TV lights provide the illumination that make the pictures look pretty and what would a good script be without a way to read it live on TV. In Video from Vegas number 2, Lenslinger and Turdpolisher take a (not really close or in-depth) look at fancy new L.E.D lights for cameras, a big light that rivals the sun, a soft box that can backlight the paranoid, a frezzi that can't add intelligence and they even take a stab at the Gettysburg Address.




(SAME VIDEO UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE)

NAB 08 - VIDEO 1 Welcome to NAB...TV Photog Style

As Promised here's some video. One of several to come. This is just an introductory look...a teaser if you will...at some of the things we saw at NAB 08.