A 200th AT f.8 AND BE THERE
In the many years that I have been a working press photographer, the most oft asked question has always been, "What is the best piece of advice that you can give a wanna be photojournalist to teach them what it takes?" The answer that I always got when I asked a seasoned veteran was, "A 200th at f.8 and be there!" (this applied to the old Compur shutters on the old Speed Graphics. A 200th of a second shutter speed has been supplanted by a 250th on modern cameras.) But, the important fact was that you had to be there. It didn't make much difference if you were the world's greatest living photographer. If you weren't there, you weren't going to make a photo. So, when people compliment me with, "Wow, that was a great news shot you had, yesterday," I always thank them, but deep down I know that I was in the right place at the right time. And, if I take any credit at all, it is for having the presence of mind to recognize a good photo and to press the button. But, mostly it's just plain luck. I realized that when I saw the front page of my paper on Dec. 22. A photo that I had made was prominently displayed. And my peers began to pay me compliments. That's the greatest tribute of all, believe me. And yet, it was really a matter of luck and "be there." The weekend before, a young, local Boy Scout had drowned while on a scout camping trip in the upstate Catskill Mountains. This tragedy made news in our paper as well as in the NY City metros. But, on Thursday, when the funeral took place, I was the only camera on site. I was told that the family had requested that we don't make pictures inside the church during the funeral mass, which was fine with me. They said that it would be fine if I made photos outside of the church. That was also fine with me. I had earlier assignments so I didn't get to the church until the mass had begun. I missed the arrival. No problem. The better photos occur when the mass is over. The parking lot of the church was filled to overflowing as was the church. But, the cops let me park right out in front and I was able to sit in my car, out of the cold, until my watch told me that the hour long mass was drawing to a close. I grabbed my camera and put on an 80 to 200mm zoom, since I intended to work from a distance at curbside. (On the digital Nikon D-1, this lens becomes at 120 to 300mm.) Just in case, I threw my 35 to 70mm lens (52 to 105mm) in my pocket. Then I stood at curbside and chatted with the police officers assigned to traffic duty on the narrow road in Centerport where the funeral mass took place. When the mass ended, a group of Boy Scouts
came out and formed an honor guard leading from the church doors to the
waiting hearse. Unfortunately, the double lines weren't straight but kind
of "S" shaped and a couple of adult scout leaders were standing right where
I had figured my shot would be. It would have been a simple matter to walk
the few feet and ask the men if they could move a few feet to the left
and give me a window. But, I don't do that anymore. If it's a news event,
I don't set anything up. So, I moved to a position where I thought that
I could get a decent angle when the casket and the family came out of the
church.
 The
casket was being wheeled out of the church. Unfortunately, the priests
and altar boys preceeded the casket and blocked my view. I didn't see the
family. It turned out that the mother had collapsed in grief, poor soul,
and they didn't leave the church until well after the coffin had been placed
in the hearse. In order to get the shot of the casket, I had to move forward
while switching from the long lens to the wide angle. That photo ran with
the story on page 7. I didn't know it at the time, but a couple of the
pallbearers were scouts who were with the deceased at the time, and attempted
to save him.
When I recognized that I had everything that I was going to get, I got back to my car, radioed the Photo Desk that I was done, and headed to the office. When I scanned my disc, one shot jumped off the screen and said, "Pick me! Pick me!" It was the shot that ran on Page One the next day. Why? What was so different about that shot that made it stand out from the rest. It certainly wasn't anything over which I had the least bit of control. What it was, was a 200th at f.8 and BE THERE. The third scout from the left had an expression on his face that said it all. If he had been dead pan, it wouldn't have been much of a picture. Would it? Dick Kraus
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