Heading into last week, I had no idea I would end it knowing what ‘plarning’ is, hear a interview with a well respected movie star and humanitarian, and meet a 85 year-old woman who survived ovarian cancer 46 years ago.
Add in I didn’t shoot a single sporting event and it made for a very unique week, but one that was very rewarding.
For the record, plarning is where you weave plastic into thread to use for several different things including: bedding, rope, etc. I had an assignment earlier in the week where the Kingwood Key Club plarned and sent the resulting balls of plastic thread to Zimbabwe.
If that wasn’t enough of an interesting day, I was emailed a late evening assignment for Thursday to shoot a lecture George Clooney was invited to give in downtown Houston. The resulting interview was very interesting and West Group Digital Editor Charlotte Aguilar did a wonderful job pulling everything together.
When we got inside the Wortham Center, I was told photographers had about 30 seconds to shoot when George Clooney was introduced, then we could shoot the Question and Answer section at the end.
We had to work fast and I was able to come away with what I felt were some strong shots in that short window.
My favorite shot is actually the first shot I took – oddly enough. When they announced Clooney, they cut out all the light for a few seconds, causing audience and media members to wonder what was going on.
All of the sudden, a spotlight hit the back of the stage which was abstracted by the chairs and ferns sitting in the middle of the stage and blocking many photographers’ view. Putting two and two together, I was able to lean over enough to get a clean shot past the chair, fern and media members as Clooney smiled and walked out on stage. The contrast of light and his expression really made the image to me.
Later we went down for the Q and A session, but we were given about a question to shoot before we were hustled back to the top of the theater. Again, we had to work quickly and I came away with a few decent frames, including one where Clooney is reflected in a big video screen, complemented nicely with a section of yellow light from the ceiling.
It was a fun event to cover and I’m thankful I was given the opportunity to shoot it.
If that wasn’t busy enough, I covered The Mourning After, a program where a simulated drunk driving accident is staged to show students the dangers of drunk driving, at Cleveland High School. It can be a powerful event if students take it seriously, but unfortunately I saw too many students on their cell phones, talking and generally not interested. Hopefully some student took the message to heart.
I finished up the week with Relay for Life at Cleveland High School. I had never attended the event before, but I heard some very positive things about it. Having experienced the event first hand now, I would encourage everyone to participate in some way. It was uplifting to see cancer survivors make that first lap together with friends, family and community members cheering them on. It was a great end to my week.
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