I have a pretty fantastic job. I get to go out every day and experience something new. Sometimes it's not that great. Sometimes I am stuck at a meeting for three hours trying to stay awake and make my video somewhat interesting. Those are not necessarily fun days. But for every boring days there comes a day once in a while that is so awesome I have to remind myself it's real life. Basically I'm pretty lucky. I have tried to document these days through photos to Facebook or writing them in my journal but I think the best way to do it is on here. My goal is to write to you dear reader(s) about my favorite story of the week. Not about how I shot it or how I edited it but about the experience behind the camera, what I was feeling and thinking as I stood in the center of a situation.
Now normally I would be able to boil my week down and find one story that stands out but this week there were two stories that really stood out for completely different reasons. The first, is an emotional journey that every journalist and photographer has experienced I think, the other is just a fun story that I would have never experienced in Utah, my previous home.
To Lose a Son
When you think of the media, what comes to mind? Amazing artists? Kind hearted investigators? Probably not. To many people they think of the media as emotionless robots who knock on your door and demand interviews about things you don't want to talk about. They get in your face with a camera, waiting for a soundbite that will lead the newscast. Well if this is what you think, you are wrong. We are human, just like you. We feel loss and pain and we are very aware of the grief someone goes through when something bad happens. Our goal is not to exploit but to help memorialize a victim and bring wrongdoers to justice, to show what is wrong with the world so that someone will see it and get out of their abusive situation or say something when they see it in another person's life. This week, I participated in a story about homicide. Without going into details I'll say that this person was taken from his family too soon. We had the opportunity to speak with the family and interview the victim's father. As we walked into their home we were greeted with warm smiles which quickly turned to tears as we asked how they were holding up. The family was very kind and we took our time, not wanting to rush them into an interview. I saw how this death affected every part of their life. They weren't sleeping, they had mail stacked up, as hard as the death in itself was, it was only the beginning of what they had to deal with. As we eventually sat down and began to talk with the father he shared memories of his son's life. He talked about his death and how it was affecting the family. Then he said something that was the final straw for me. He said he was going to try to live his life more like his son did, because he looked up to him. He wasn't the only one with tears in his eyes in that moment. It was very clear to me in that moment how much this victim was loved and how hard his passing was on them. As someone who loves her family very much, I think that was the best way he could ever memorialize his son. It was a beautiful moment and I was grateful to share in the emotion of the moment. I believe that we are too often afraid to cry or show emotion. I cry all the time! When a friend leaves, when a moment hits me in a movie, when I feel heartbroken, or scared, or like in this case empathetic. To share in human emotion is a blessing. I was grateful for the experience I had with this family. The next time you look at the media please try to remember that we feel the same as you, if we are knocking on your door understand the reason we are there for a reason, not for the drama, but to help tell a story that we feel is worth telling.
Up to my ankles
My least favorite thing about Charleston is the bugs. Roaches the size of my big toe (shiver) I just can't deal. But my second least favorite thing is definitely the flooding. My first year here there were several rain storms. Downtown Charleston is crowded enough. Add in a few inches of rain at high tide and you are in a very sticky situation. Add in afternoon traffic and you will hide in a hole until the world is back to normal. Welcome to Wednesday afternoon. The rain started around noon and wasn't going to stop anytime soon, so my reporter and I decided to make the most of it. We grabbed the gopro and a couple of rain jackets and headed into the unknown. I had some sturdy rain boots and two layers of rain gear for the camera. I was not afraid of the elements. Have you ever stood in the middle of a straight downpour without trying to avoid it? It's amazing! I've seen people do it and always thought they were crazy. Suddenly it was my whole goal. The point of my day was to capture this storm. And capture I did. I put the GoPro on the bottom of the car, right next to the tires, even in the flood water as cars sprayed water everywhere. I stood in the flood waiting for cars to drive by. For three hours I WANTED it to rain. My passion for the story showed as I brought it back to the station and threw it together for the news. I'm sick now. Sore throat, most likely a cold I picked up from the storm. But was it worth it? Heck yeah!
