Photojournalist - Mark Hertzberg - Behind the Viewfinder

November 3, 1998

Monday morning...post-Gore:

There he is, Al Gore, descending the stairs from Air Force Two, waving to the tumultuous crowd of....three photographers.

We had to be at the airport at 2:45 for an expected 3:50 p.m. arrival. We were told to "stage" or go to what literally looked like a cattle pen on the edge of the tarmac at 3:35. I quietly moo-ed as we walked into our little fenced-in area (sorry, I didn't think to photograph it for you). Then it was time for the Secret Service sweep. A dog, with a crew cut that looked like that sported by the agent holding on to the leash, was told to "Seek" and sniffed our bags. For a moment I was afraid that a leg was being lifted, but my fear was groundless.

The light was fading fast on this grey Wisconsin day (for you techies, I ended up taking Fujicolor 800 somewhere in the galaxy past 3200...I just set the Wing-Lynch at 8.5 minutes and let it fly; shooting at 1/500 at f2.8). We were set to photograph Gore at the head of the stairs from across the runway when a political worker came up to us and said, "Come with me for closer pictures."

I should have been ecstatic, but was cursing to myself because that involved picking up and changing lenses on the fly with a heavy camera and lens and fully extended monopod dangling from my neck. I didn't impale myself...easier said than done...and we breathlessly ran until told to stop, and had about five seconds to set up. For a moment I thought I'd still be in the cattle pen trying to get my stuff together even by the time Gore left.

Vice-President Al Gore waves to...three waiting photographers...as he arrives in Racine aboard Air Force Two Sunday November 1, 1998 on his way from New York City to a campaign appearance with Congressional candidate Lydia Spottswood in Kenosha. Photo by Mark Hertzberg © 1998 Racine Journal Times

Bing-bing-bing...hope for the best. And here it is folks. I'd say it's proof positive for our readers that Gore was in Racine, but since there are no identifying local landmarks in the picture, you have to take my word for it.

This assignment points up one common aspect of our work...a very long lull, and then two very, very intense minutes; ones that you don't appreciate unless you've been through them. The end result is not a memorable picture, but it is one that needed to be shot and published for our readers.

Jim came up with a good set of photos at the union hall, but we agreed that they fell into the predictable pattern of all of these events, no matter who the visiting celebrity is:

a) Big name and local candidate raise hands together at the podium for five seconds

b) Big name is presented with a gift with local flavor and smiles as he/she shows it to the crowd

Vice-President Al Gore, left, campaigns with Lydia Spottswood, who is the Democratic candidate for the First Congressional District in Wisconsin, Sunday November 1, 1998, in Kenosha, Wis. Photo by Jim Slosiarek (c) 1998 Racine Journal Times

The gift photo: Vice-President Al Gore shows off the Green Bay Packers sweater he was given as he campaigns with Lydia Spottswood Sunday November 1, 1998, in Kenosha. The Packers-49ers bartball was broadcast to the hall, and Gore came during halftime. Photo by Jim Slosiarek (c) 1998 Racine Journal Times

optional c) Photographers are told to gather their gear and restage for photo of Big Name shaking hands.

There is never a chance to deviate without an official escort to shoot different pictures on your own in the crowd or near the podium.

Tonight we'll know how much political muscle came out of Gore's visit on behalf of Lydia Spottswood. It's a close race.

Tonight we'll also see if one advantage of community journalism, getting to know the subject better than if you were one of a horde of press covering them, works in our favor.

There are three major candidates whom we are covering, for us and for the AP. I've called ahead and asked if our photographers can have 15 minutes with the candidate as he/she sits with aides monitoring returns in some unknown place, as opposed to waiting in the banquet hall for the public appearances that you see on TV when you watch election returns. The two assembly candidates have said yes - one even gave me the hotel room number they'll be in across the street from the banquet hall - and the third, the folks with the candidate for U.S. Senate were, as expected, non-committal.

November 3, 1998

Mark Hertzberg

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Mark Hertzberg

< hertz@wi.net >
Director of Photography
Journal Times
Racine, Wisconsin

Other journals by Mark Hertzberg

363	May 2000	Three short topics
361	April 27, 2000	It's a moment frozen forever
359	April 18, 2000	I'm glad I wasn't working
346	February 18, 2000	Fatal Fire
343	January 28, 2000	Suicide By Cop
340	December 28, 1999	Four Minute Justice
338	December 11, 1999	In 1/125th of a second
336	December 4, 1999	Day in Court
332	Is Photojournalism Dead?Mark Hertzberg	On the flip side, though, many newspapers that have made a 180-degree change have changed for the better rather than for the worse
325	October 10, 1999	Oh, the people you meet
324	September 29, 1999	It was an innocent question from a high school clerk
309	July 23, 1999	I didn't mind Jerome Vine spit at me twice
307	July 21, 1999	"What have you done? What have you dragged us into?"
303	July 17, 1999	If your mother says she loves you, check it out
292	June 23, 1999	You Never Know
283	May 17, 1999	Epilogue to May 4, 1999
276	May 4, 1999	David Raymond Segura, Sr. walked out of the Racine County Jail to the cheers and hugs of his family
272	April 25, 1999	Littleton. Burlington.
265	April 18, 1999	"I can't believe I'm being paid to have fun. "
261	April 15, 1999	It was the first time...
257	March 26, 1999	The Supreme Court isn't sure I should have been able to shoot one of the most dramatic pictures I've ever taken.
248	March 13, 1999	I got nauseous on the job today...
247	March 12, 1999	The prosecution's case
246	March 12, 1999	Sidebar: One of the most difficult issues for us to consider
239	March 1, 1999	That's your guy.
222	February 11, 1999	It's a lie to say that pictures never lie, as our readers and viewers know all too well.
215	February 4, 1999	Remember report cards?
213	February 1, 1999	I saw something horrifying and shocking this week
198	January 8, 1999	Damn, it's hard to cover news stories when you know the people involved in them, and when you have to put aside personal feelings to get the story.
192	December, 1998	This journal is a tribute to you, the reader
180	November 29, 1998	Abortion. That's the only word you have to mention in any conversation, and emotions are aroused , so imagine what it's like trying to make newsroom decisions about how to cover the issue. That's where we found ourselves Thursday morning at the Racine Journal Times.
178	November 22, 1998	We Interrupt This Broadcast
176	November 18, 1998	Our big story last week, indeed perhaps our biggest of the year, was a story about something that DIDN'T happen.
175	November 16, 1998	Did We Overact?
174	November 8, 1998	Wednesday was the day the yellow smiley face from that big chain of stores from Arkansas frowned at me.
171	November 3, 1998	Monday Morning, Post Gore
170	November 2, 1998	I'm so excited, I won't be able to sleep tonight
158	October 12, 1998	It was one of those days when an assignment was as much fun as opening birthday presents.
157	October 10, 1998	He's a cop...
150	September 21, 1998	A friend of mine calls it the ultimate form of channel surfing. .
146	September 11, 1998	...sometimes we can have a positive effect on people's lives even when some readers think we are raking them over the coals. .
138	August 28, 1998	Sometimes the last thing a photographer wants to see is a camera.
120	July 25, 1998	They say that in England you are innocent until proven guilty; in France you are guilty until proven innocent; and in America you are innocent until the next edition of the newspaper flies off the presses or the evening news comes on.
111	July 12, 1998	We joke that today's newspaper is tomorrow's fish wrap. But for many people, our work lives on beyond just that day's paper.
109	July 7, 1998	Delgado, who sat in his orange county jail jumpsuit, had tears streaming down his face as he listened to the charges being read the day after his nine-month old son died on a hot summer day, strapped in his car seat, in the backseat of Delgado's broiling Dodge Omni
101	June 23, 1998	We've never shown the readers this sunset view of the city before...if all goes well, it'll stretch across Wednesday morning's front page. Today is Monday, though, and they first have to get through Tuesday's newspaper.
100	June 22, 1998	Last week I had the tables turned on me
87	June 4, 1998	..none of those pictures would have been published without his help.
82	May 29, 1998	Today was one of those days in which you hit the lows and the highs.
78	May 26, 1998	You never know where a pair of dirty socks will take you
73	May 17, 1998	I no longer have to hide under semi-trailer trucks to shoot news pictures of major industries..
67	April 24, 1998	Stop the Presses
63	April 19, 1998	Sign of Discontent
43	March 24, 1998	Humphrey Bogart, move over.
42	March 23, 1998	In the end, only one photo was important...
32	February 27, 1998	My work has now been published in a new media...on a picket sign
28	February 24, 1998	Journalists usually love a good juicy story. I'm in the middle of covering one I hate. Part 3 February 23, 1998 Journalists usually love a good juicy story. I'm in the middle of covering one I hate. Part 2
22	February 20, 1998	Journalists usually love a good juicy story. I'm in the middle of covering one I hate. Part 1
13	February 4, 1998 (9:24 AM)	It was a situation where one has to shoot pictures first, and ask questions later Update: To Mark's February 4 posting
7	January 27, 1998	The viewfinder in our cameras is dark for the split second we shoot our photos...
5	January 23, 1998	Just what is news?
3	January 19, 1998	An 83-year-old reader called me this morning, in tears. .

Contributor since 1998