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July 18,1998 THE DAY THE RABBIT DIED by Dick Kraus Newsday moved to a new plant about 20 years ago. It is a modern structure with a lot of amenities. That includes a spacious photo studio with a plethora of electronic lighting equipment. This wasn't always the case, however. Back in the old building, the studio was a corner of the Photo Department, tucked away behind a ratty old couch that we used to lounge in while waiting for our film to dry. There was a grundgy wall that was our backdrop and a tilting artists table that was used for table top set-ups. Our lights consisted of one very strange and very, very large deep bowled reflector on a stand that used some obscure high wattage incandescent bulb. There were two small spot lights on stands, and a couple of Howell high intensity quartz light floods. One day, just before Easter, I was assigned to shoot a photo of a very expensive chocolate Easter Bunny. I managed to find a roll of neutral gray paper for a background. We were all black and white in those days. I carefully removed the cellophane wrap from this large, costly chocolate rabbit and set it in the center of my table top. I started setting up the lights, starting with the big bowl light. I wanted to have that strong light as a side light, with a spot just next to it for a rim light, to get the details in this exquisitely molded creation. Then I took one of the Howell floods to soften the shadows. I took an exposure reading and then went behind the camera to focus and compose my shot. When everything was set, I looked through the viewfinder just before pressing the shutter button. Wait a minute! Something looked different. The chocolate had taken on a strange texture. I quickly pressed the shutter button, milliseconds before the damned rabbit collapsed into a mass of melted brown goo. The rabbit died, but at least no one was pregnant. Dick Kraus Newsday Staff Photographer
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Dick
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Contributor
since 1998
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Behind
the Viewfinder - A Year in the Life of Photojournalism |
