On fleek, 2015 portfolio of favorites

​I'd love to say I was on fleek, the best i can say is through everything I felt, saw, challenged myself to do and changed about myself in 2015, my work was a driving force for my getting through it even if i wasn't feeling on top of everything.
It hasn't been a fun year. Folks that know me know I'm a happy guy and really enjoy life. Certain things in the past year have challenged my happiness and I'm not sure I've managed to handle it the best way I could've. Most of its personal, but I mention it because I think in the work we do, our personal lives influence how we go about things and as a result how the work ends up the way it does. 

In March I left a job that I loved very much, a tough decision to make for sure. I did this for several reasons, but most importantly I think is that a challenge in ones life is something we need seek from time to time. Complacency and routine are comfortable, but not condusive to desiring more.

I am a community photographer and an artist. My community grew to include new surroundings and navigating new people and ideas. This is always a good thing for an artist hungry to grow, to experience new things, and as a journalist to open the mind again because everything must be learned anew. I had the added challenge of replacing a well loved and respected photographer who had been at the paper for nearly 20 years. 

I felt the best way to approach my new job was to just make it my own, not become a replacement. I would introduce myself as the 'new Jerry,' but I was hoping that the expectations were not going to be that I was going to try to fill Jerry's shoes, but begin to add my visual voice to the history of the area. I felt I had navigated my way to doing that in Crawford County over the years and felt it would just be time I'd have to spend here.

Its been a little difficult with the commute from Meadville and hours spent alone on the road.  I am not a part of the community as Jerry was because I leave it everyday and am 30 plus miles away.This hasn't added to my ability to be happy for sure.

The first image above was made while out looking for a weather feature in Franklin this summer. I had just gotten  a copy of The Americans by Robert Frank and was thinking about that book a lot while driving around. This was a prevailing thought for me this year as I tried to redefine how I was making photographs.

My fascination with Frank's work led me to think about pulling back a little more, photograph the space, not just the main subject, allow the space to be as much the subject.
This is hard for me from years of training myself to get tighter, clean up the composition and just try to draw into the bare essentials.
So photographing a couple brothers working the carnival circuit this summer on break from setting up at the Rocky Grove fair I just hung out as if I were smoking cigarettes with them(I wasn't--i choke trying to inhale!)

The lessons looking at Frank and reading from other photographer's comments about their own work online is something I keep hammering into my natural working process. Award winning photographer Brian Plonka mentioned how he wished he had taken a step back in a lot of his photographs that won very respectable awards. Even his award winners he saw something he should've done to make them better.

A picture like this above from the Oil Heritage Festival parade would've gotten a severe crop from me years earlier, but now I'm beginning to see the space and allowing for that air and breath to be a part of the reading of the image. And if the image has the necessary elements and the composition doesn't distract you from the reading then why change it. Allow what you see to be and let the moment stand on its own.

I also rethought the portrait this year. Mostly in my personal street photography, but also in telling stories for the paper. Most of the portraits for the paper come from within candid moments like this one with this young Cranberry girl battling a crippling disease as she plays in her backyard on a good day.

Or this gentleman at a Memorial Day event at a senior center.

Or this woman at a Veteran's Day event at the same senior center a few months later.

Or a man enjoying a free thanksgiving meal on a warm day in the park in Oil City. A man who once traveled the world helping others who is here in Oil City getting by however he can and accepting help like a nice warm meal.

Or even an Elvis impersonator waiting to perform at the Indian Festival in Tionesta. One of the greatest parts of the job is being sent to an event and get photographs that get a feel of the people and place and time. I also drew on Frank a lot this year when covering these events. Not just going for the tell tale obvious, but search again for that story within the story, something perhaps not expected by our readers the next day in hopes they are challenged by their surroundings as well as being informed.

One of the things I do bring with me from my years of experience is in my way of seeing and recording the life I see from my own perspective; I do try to challenge myself and our readers to see the world from a different point of view. This is a visual way to subtly wake us up. It leads to awkward moments for me making the pictures at times. I often have to explain myself a little so people understand what I'm trying to do. Usually once people see the results they understand but I do get looks when i put my camera on the floor and edge it up only inches away from people's feet to get my photograph.

And sometimes we challenge by points of focus, a camera trick to make a photograph and not document as if reality (i.e..our eyes adjust focus and our brain doesn't really see the way a camera does.)  But sometime this sense of keying your focus can give a feel and concentrate on a detail or two to bring us to a part of the story we want to emphasize. I consider this as much a portrait as the other photographs I made of this man sitting on a bench in Clarion, perhaps more so.

Or leaving somethings to let the reader fill in. Sometimes lack of detail can give us a sense of a feeling or moment more than using a flash to fill in everything.

Or you challenge readers to understand something they might not want to see. This Titusville woman is trying to get her life back together but is hampered by an illness called Lymphadema that makes it hard for to get around and when she does the stares she gets from people are disheartening to her. Surgery could help, but it's expensive and not covered by insurance because it is currently deemed a cosmetic procedure.
Often people just don't know and therefore don't know how to act. Some handle this better than others obviously, but its a good job of journalists to at least try to inform.

I think most newspaper photographers will admit that they really don't like to cover accidents and fires. There is a sense of charged energy and an even bigger sense of understanding the importance of covering tragedies in order to not turn a blind eye and in hopes that people will look and understand something from our coverage that help them lead a safer life or take precautions.
​A very well respected photojournalist who I have watched her work for years, Mary Beth Meehan said she got out of the newspaper business because she just didn't like covering the news. Her ideas centered around issues and who people are. I really think about that a lot. I respected what she said and why.

It is our job to document for history as well as give a broader understanding to the events in our lives. Someone in need is benefitted by our taking note and the public is served by our giving them information they might not have otherwise known about and to do with what they wish. I firmly believe it is important that we have strong local newspapers with trained writers and photographers giving the community a rounded look at their lives.

Sometimes that look is understanding the confusing world of government decisions and how local politicians lobby for help to help their constituency. And to show them and the difficulties of bureaucracy.

Or how there are groups out there dedicating so much of their time and energy to be sure folks are honored properly for their service to country. That purpose of community and state and country are understood.

Or that there are still kids out there full of hope and promise that we shouldn't disregard in our busy adult lives. There are programs that need people and money to keep going and its important the newspaper is there to show this and the importance of such programs.
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Or that the heart of family too needs to be acknowledged and put out there in its reality and not just the saccharined magazine advertisements we're bombarded with in picture frames and ads for all sorts of things retailers want us to buy. Or even in just documenting those few stories we come across showing a family in the best light. Sometimes good family life is unremarkable, except that when it is a good family life there is nothing unremarkable in that.
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And we have to let people know about the progress of municipal projects so they can be better prepared for their daily routines.  These are usually not exciting stories nor are they exciting visual stories, but we need to show the importance of the story to our readers and as a photographer I need to take it seriously and work to make a strong photograph.

Or what is going on in City Hall and what citizens can do to make their voices heard and affect change. This too is often difficult to make exciting unless people are outraged and flamboyantly showing their outrage. But even when calm heads are in place I feel its important to look for those little things that show concern or frustration if its part of the story. This usually requires a lot of time and patience in a meeting(and sometimes being a bit of a nuiscense getting into the proper positions.

And we cover rites of passage. This is important not for individual glory, but to acknowledge that we are still going and growing. And that there milestones we should continually take note of and applaud. And there are friends and family that care deeply. That's important to document.

In covering rights of passages I am always amazed about varied everyone's thoughts are on it. Some dread the future and some can't wait, Some hate to see the past go and others can't wait to move on. I see this in expression and sometimes body language and try to capture as much of it as I can, though I know the local paper really wants the happy story to be showcased in these situations.

Finding happiness isn't difficult, but finding it displayed uniquely sometimes is. One thing i try to tell young photographers and students is to recognize when something is happening and react to it the best you can. You might not be in the best position or have the best lens on, but make a picture, don't miss the moment. If you're lucky it'll work out anyway and if not, well you tried.

And sometimes a news event is a happy one like a candidate for mayor realizing he just one the election after counting all the write in ballots during a tight race. A lot of sitting and waiting around and a lot of taking some more boring than other photos, but if it happens and you're there, you can make a picture that is important to tell the story a little better than just the words can convey.

One of my favorite parts of the job are the chance encounters with folks I otherwise would never meet. One chance encounter recently allowed us deeper coverage of a news story. I had met Shyenn and Braden in the park in Franklin moments after they filed for a marriage license.After a long conversation with them I asked that they let me know when they set the date. They were very young i thought and it might be fun to just follow them a little while in their lives. I then photographed their wedding in front of justice of the peace and soon after that I had heard about a young woman who was hit by a car crossing the road. Turned out to be Shyenn and my contact with her and Braden allowed us to chat with them and get a deeper story than just from and accident report. This photo was taken the following day after she was released from the hospital and was back home. Since then Braden has joined the military and they are expecting their first child.

Earlier in the year I had taken a similar picture (in the way he is draped over the top) of a son surprising his mother by being at a memorial event in honor of his dad and her husband. I often tell classes when i lecture on photojournalism that the ears are equally important, and sometimes more important than the eyes when telling a visual story. Listening and asking questions allows us to be prepared to capture moments like these.

One thing that is important to work on as a community photographer is getting to know the people you cover. Sports teams allow you a chance to get to know some individuals as you cover them week after week. I got to know that the Franklin QB was a pretty spiritual guy who gave thanks and asked for help from God. So seeing him on the sidelines of a game his team was behind and struggling, I knew it wasn't out of self pity or despair that he put helmet to hand as he kneeled on the sideline, he was in prayer. I felt honored to capture this moment and witness this part of this young man's preparation.

On the other end of the spectrum is meeting people for the first time and being intrigued enough to introduce myself and ask some questions. This man was just throwing a football to no one and then chasing it and throwing it again and again. I asked him why and learned it was just a way for him to spend some time by himself and work out a shoulder injury at the same time. I had a nice conversation and learned about dedication as he did this 3-4 times a week and didn't bother him that he wasn't playing catch with someone else. It was just him with his task.

Sometimes the job is frustrating and I haven't really discussed why I choose certain pictures over others as favorites. A favorite can be more about how i felt or what i got out of the assignment. Seldom does it have to do with how great the image actually is. Many people will like other pictures I've taken far more than these. But to me these mean something to me or showed me something about myself or others that were unexpected. I was given an assignment that I thought was very poorly planned out and was sort of approaching with a nasty taste in my mouth. But I went and decided to hang out for as long as I possibly could to see what I could get and as in all things, patience is a virtue worth taking note of. As i made pictures at a restaurant i wasn't happy with what I was getting but managed to just pay attention at the right moment in time to get a picture that happened in a second of time and was gone and probably wouldn't happen again. I learned that i need to check my attitude at the door and approach even a poorly thought out assignment with open mind and eyes and wait for that little moment that you can latch on to and that tells the story. This is a story about the changing of ownership at a restaurant that normally would be handled with head shots or posed portraits, but we wanted to centerpiece the story because its a local establishment with a long history. I was able to get both owners, the new and the out going in one picture engaged in a real moment with out any staging or portrait set up.

I have also noticed in my long commute a certain loneliness that I have seldom ever experienced, but sometimes this leads to seeing something and perhaps taking the time to break up that loneliness with doing something to distract. I noticed this hawk on a telephone line and decided to get out and make a picture. Usually this leads to scaring off the hawk, but this day the hawk was hungrier than scared of me and he wasn't deterred from hunting. I made several pictures and got closer to a hawk then i ever had before and just kept watch of him. I made this unexpected frame as wells  the other more close up pictures and this was my favorite for sure. (Another frame can be seen in the loose edit at the link at the bottom of this blog)

Some stories you're just honored to be a part of like the story of Seth who had his arm severed in a wood cutting accident. I was assigned to cover a massive community effort to help Seth's family get enough firewood to heat their home all winter and then follow up when Seth came home and began rehab on his re-attached arm. I hope we're able to follow up as he progresses and hopefully regains use of his arm and hand. This was my favorite picture of him after he returned. Our paper has done a wonderful job keeping track of his progress thanks to the tender heart of Curt Hanna who has written all the stories.

Even when I know the story isn't being told in a certain situation I'll still try to make a picture. This particular story involved an old train depot building and we conducted the interview inside another building and not near the depot. I knew I was going to have to make a picture with the depot but decided to try to make a portrait of the main interviewee in the meantime. The lighting was rough, but I am finding as i get older that to be better lighting sometimes is  "good lighting"  and if I want my pictures to look different than they have before, then i have to see different and experiment.  So I made this portrait and was unexpectedly pleased that i did.

As I was looking at Frank's book The Americans I particularly noted how many of the pictures depicted "everyman" and not specific individual characters! This was a real revelation for me as i really wanted to understand how to make images that weren't just about a specific time and place, but spoke to a culture and of longer lasting attitudes than just our trendy times. In my years in Meadville I covered a lot of religious events and services. Some seemed very authentic and the participants deeply involved in the meaning of what they were doing. But in Franklin for Cross Walk i saw this in a different way. The same care and meaning, but the participants seemed to live this walk. A couple individuals I photographed really took the idea of hauling the cross as a deeply felt personal pilgrimage. This gave me new eyes as I covered the entire walk. And I enjoyed the children wanting to carry the cross even though they likely didn't know the meaning in the same way, they just have a lot of energy.

Another fun but also very frustrating part of the job is the 'weather feature.' A picture that depicts the weather of the day usually assigned when there is a change in the weather or we're doing an up-date on the totals, i.e. snowfall, rain, record heat etc... The winter of 2015 was a brutally cold one and when I started at the paper in March it was clinging on, but also starting to break. Sunny and warm days found me outside looking for people doing things to take advantage of the sun they weren't used to seeing. My problem was I was working early in the day when most folks are at work so finding someone was often difficult. I was also unfamiliar with the area so i spent more time being lost and ending up on dead end roads. One dead end road found me passing by a young woman outside sunbathing with her dog. So I stopped and introduced myself and just asked if she minded if I hung out on the beautiful day and just see if a good picture happens. We chatted for about 1/2 hour and sometimes just sat quietly with eyes closed and face upwards towards the sun. Her pup was in and out of the shady spots and i made pictures when finally they just ignored me and had a nice moment between themselves. Patience and editors that give me the time.

Sometimes I find it important just to make a picture for myself. This was from a meeting in a hot cafeteria with the lights off to see a projection screen. A shaft of light came in and I just like the look on this one child's face as the light hit . It really didn't fit the story, but i had to make the picture anyway.

Perhaps one of my most favorite things to witness and document this past year was a cat who drove its owners motorized chair. The owner did keep an eye incase the kitty was about to run into someone, but the cat on command would control the chair as they made their way around Applefest.

In my 17 years at The Meadville Tribune I would cover some event that Santa was at at least a dozen times each year. The Derrick and News-Herald either covers less or Venango County has fewer events than Crawford County has with Santa involved. I only covered a couple and one was a surprise for a young man who had a wish to see his father at Christmas time and he was surprised when Santa revealed himself as his dad at his elementary school.

And the other time was at the Oil City old time christmas celebration where the classic afraid of St. Nick happened right before my lens. My favorite part was the dejected body language of Santa.


I narrowed down my photographs from this year as my favorites. Tomorrow I could pick some different ones to add in, but for now I think these showed what I was trying to do with my photography and story telling growth and I hope to learn even more in the new year. Thanks for looking and if you had it in ya, for reading! 

If you want to see more check out the blog after this one for the loose edit of about 170 pictures taken since March 16 when I started at the Derrick and News-Herald.

Here is a link: http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/daily-pictures/2015-has-been-a-year-loose-edit

And if you're interested in other pictures I've taken please check out the rest of this blog which sadly I didn't maintain very well for awhile, but hope to again in the new year.

There are slideshows from 2014 and many other images and thoughts about community and what i try to do as a photographer. 

​Thank you for looking!