Victory in Europe Day

I'm at the World War 2 Memorial. Today is V-E Day and I'm here to cover the ceremony and flyover of WWII planes. When there's this much civilian press you have to arrive early for a good spot. 

My day started at 0400 and ends at who knows.

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

Shooting a Martian

Sliders are really easy to use and give the video that pro look.

 Photos by Lois Slaughter (my mama)

COLONIZING MARS:  I recently traveled to Suffolk, Va. to do a video story on Lieutenant Commander Oscar Mathews.  He's one of the remaining 100 candidates for the Mars One project and is one of only two servicemembers still in the running.  Mars One wants to start a human colony on the Red Planet...and it's a one-way trip for the astronauts/colonists.  HARD CORE.

Check out the Mars 100 video!

Mathews is getting really close to becoming an official Mars One astronaut.  This is a years-long process and it began with over 200,000 interested applicants.

Mathews was getting his Deep Sea Fisher ready to travel from Suffolk to his new duty station in Maryland.  In a confined shooting space my GoPro is perfect.

I use a carbon fiber pole and powered stabilizer to turn the GoPro into my main camera.  With this setup it no longer needs to be attached to mounts but can be carried around for super smooth shots.

During your time as an MC you'll probably be faced with a decision many camera operators face.  Should you get involved in a scene or continue to stay separated and shoot?

"Should I help this boat not crash into the dock

 or should I capture it on video?"

This was the second time I've visited Mathews and his girlfriend Mina.  I showed them the rough outline of what I have so far to keep them involved in the process.  I don't always do this but I knew after the first shoot that they were excited about the video.

For interviews and any shots needing the best sound I use the Nikon D800 with the Sony wireless microphone.

Lois Slaughter

My assistant was allowed to touch the Nikon briefly.

Were you this motivated as a kid?

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Shannon is the writer of the group and asks the questions, making my job much easier.

I just finished shooting an event at the Ritz Carlton just outside the Pentagon.  It was run by the nonprofit Operation Homefront and was a celebration for the Military Child of the Year.  Each branch awards the honor to one child and let me tell you, they all deserved it.  Check out their bios below and realize that, like me, you didn't do half this much as a kid.

The event itself was one of the best I've shot in a while.  This was because three things happened that need to happen on a shoot.

1. ORGANIZATION:  The planners emailed us ahead of time with an hour-by-hour schedule telling our DoD team where we needed to be at what time. They also had a planned media availability which gave us access to the kids for interviews.

2. PLACEMENT:  Sometimes I show up to these events and have a terrible shooting position.  This place had a nice riser for the camera folks to stand on so we could shoot over the crowd while the awards happened on stage.

3. HELPFULNESS:  You'd think this would be automatic considering these groups request, and benefit from, our coverage.  It doesn't always happen though.  Our point of contact asked us several times if there was anything we needed.

It's the little things, you know?  Thanks to our photographer, EJ Hersom, for the photo!

Read the bios here.

MC perspective: Teachers get to play too!

MC 2 Don White

WARNING!  This is going to be another one of those posts that makes you want our job!

MC2 White is a photography instructor for the Basic Mass Communication Specialist Course at the Defense Information School.  He spends most of his time grading, not producing.  Every once in while he gets to pick up a camera and do some shooting.

NAVY LEAP FROGS

WHITE: I was fortunate enough to be offered a ride along with the Leap Frogs when they came to Baltimore to perform a jump during the Orioles/Yankees series. It was a great experience, just being able to get back out and shoot again. Especially the photos I was able to take from the back of the C-130. 

Preparing to fly.

 I love aerial photography, so I jump at any opportunity to fly.

Preparing to jump.

Being an instructor, you always want to show the students your work. However, after a few months, it becomes old. 

 "You need fresh material to let them know you still have it."

I like to take jobs outside of DINFOS to help keep my imagery fresh for my students.

SAFE!

 
I AM YOUR EYES: Thanks MC2! 

If you're not familiar with them, check out the Leap Frogs here. 

"The United States Navy Parachute Team, commonly known as the Leap Frogs, is the parachute demonstration team of the United States Navy. It consists of an all volunteer team of active-duty personnel drawn from Naval Special Warfare (NSW), including Navy SEALs, Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) and support personnel."

They better not be talking to Yankees fans.