FIRE!!!

You probably didn't even have to be paying attention to the news to hear about the big fire downtown. Everyone could see the smoke. It was a monster. When it broke out, both Andrew and I had no idea. We were already downtown working 5 & 6pm live shots from AISD, just a few blocks away. It must have been the only place in town where smoke wasn't visible. It took a few minutes for someone to call us and let us know how big of a deal it was. Suddenly it's 5:40 and we are having to move both live trucks, re-establish a signal, run cables, and get live at the top of the 6. It sounds easy, but trust me, it's not. It's very stressful. Andrew had the "chase" truck and was able to break away quicker than me. I was in ENG 9. When I got to the scene, my generator wouldn't start. I didn't know where Andrew was, but the first familiar face I saw was KRBC's Tim Johnston. That made me the KRBC photographer. I was at the corner of 4th and Plum. Victor Sotelo and Andrew had found each other a block down the street (5th and Plum) on the other side of the fire, making them the KTAB team. (keep in mind Andrew and I work for both stations and the reporters only appear on one or the other). At that point there was no real plan; it just came together that way. It's now 5:50 and I have no electricity to raise the mast or transmit a signal. Tim is running back and forth between Andrew and me. I'm getting MANY phone calls from various people in the newsroom asking for my status. They requested I find an outlet to plug the truck into. At that point, I heard someone say in the background that it was going to be a 30 minute spectacular. Oh boy. It's almost 5:55 and I still have no working truck. There was NO electrical socket anywhere in sight, nor was there an open business nearby. I looked down the street (toward 3rd and Plum) and saw an open garage door at an electrician's shop. I pulled up and asked them for an outlet. We ran an extension cord inside. Then, like a madman, I raised the mast, powered the transmitter up and RAN down the street with an audio and video cable. I plugged into the camera just in time to get a confirmation on a usable signal, and then it was time to hit the air.

They came straight to us. Tim didn't know much. The fire department didn't have time to give us any information yet (nor was there any to give). He simply described what he was seeing. Every now and then he stepped out of the shot to see what was in my viewfinder. He did a great job ad-libbing. Every few minutes he tossed it back to the anchors and they would ad-lib over my live picture. Mark, the producer, was on the phone with me the whole time making the decision of what to do next. I never had time to give Tim an IFB (earpiece), so he did the whole show without being able to hear what the anchors were saying. At some point during the half hour, the roof and walls of the warehouse started collapsing. I'm sure you, the viewer, after watching, realize that makes for some pretty incredible live television. Actually being there is even more incredible. I've said it before and will say it over and over again-the camera never does it justice ("it" being anything I shoot, not just fires)

So what next? All the reporters raced to find different angles to the story. They did a good job of it. By about 7pm they had all gone back to the station to write and edit their stories. Andrew and I, meanwhile, decided to stay on scene because we had great positions to shoot from. When something this big happens, after a certain period of time, police and fire block off the area and don't allow close access. We were there early enough to be right across the street and didn't want to lose our positions. There was also the possibility of the situation getting worse, so it was a good idea for us to be there to capture it on video if it happened. This is the perfect example of how this business is a lot of hurry up and wait. Andrew and I had been working under extreme stress and chaos, and now we had 3 hours - from 7pm to our 10pm live shots- to do nothing but hold out positions for those upcoming shots. Then it was back to normal for us until the next big one......

Election night irony

On election night they sent me to Baird to get what we call MOS, which stands for Man-on-the-street. That's where we go to some random public place and ask random people their opinion on something. It's not easy to do because you have to approach complete strangers with a camera. The issue this time was the alcohol proposition on the ballot. I was supposed to get some opinions on both sides of the issue. Baird was voting on whether or not to allow alcohol sales in stores. Well, after 5pm it's extremely difficult to get any people on the street (or town square) because everything closes in small towns like Baird. The only other option is to knock on doors, and that's even more awkward. I tried a local Mexican restaurant. Everyone eating inside was from Clyde. So I looked for another place to go. There was nothing. I noticed a place (which shall remain anonymous) with the lights on and lots of cars out front, so I went in to ask if anyone would go on camera. As soon as I walked in I noticed some flyers on a table. I had walked into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting! I couldn't bring myself to tell them what I was inquiring about, so I just asked them where else in town I could go to ask locals about the election, not mentioning the issue. If I hadn't noticed the flyers or they hadn't placed them on the table, who knows how embarrassing the situation could have been. My thanks to the folks there for pointing me in the direction of a local steakhouse where I interviewed the cook (because there were no customers at the time).

becoming the news

driver rear side of car

driver seat

passenger rear side; trunk & back seat separated

front passenger door

Front of car

Last week I went on vacation and got a little more action than I bargained for. When a photographer is on vacation, he tries not to think about news (that's not easy to do). This time I became the news. While driving on a rather long road trip to Nebraska I got into a BAD accident. I'm lucky to be alive. Where did it happen? Abilene, Kansas. The town is much smaller than the one you all know and love. I was just 2 hours from my Grandparents' Nebraska town. It was cold, rainy and dark. I missed a stop sign at the intersection of two country two-lane highways. In that intersection, an SUV broadsided me on the passenger side just behind the front seat. The car is in two pieces; the trunk and back seat were separated. The only safe place in the car was the driver seat where I was. Luckily no one was with me. I escaped with cuts and bruises. The other driver got some stitches.

Storm Chasing!

Many of you experienced some severe weather last Thursday. Of course, when that happens, we chase them. Just after the 6pm news that night, I was in engineering getting some equipment fixed. I walked through the KTAB studio on my way back to the newsroom. Bob Bartlett was talking to Sam about the approaching storms. He saw me and said, "Head toward Sweetwater". So I did. Abilene skies were still clear at the time, but by the time I got past Tye, they got dark-and fast. I wound up stopping in Trent. It's always a gamble deciding where to ride a storm out. You do not want to be in the middle of nowhere, not just because of safety, but because it's hard to shoot video. I stopped at the 7-11. Gas stations make an OK place to shoot storm video because you can use the cover of the building to block wind and rain. And at night, the lights help show heavy rain, hail and wind. I shot video just outside the front doors. It didn't take too long for the parking lot to fill up with cars. It was raining too hard to see anything, and people were looking for cover. The radar-indicated rotation disappeared before the storm hit Trent, but it was definitely windy. If I had to guess, sustained winds were probably around 40mph, with 60-70mph gusts. Rain came down sideways; you could tell there was still rotation in the storm (but not strong enough for a tornado). Pea-sized hail fell for a short time as well. Then it let up rather quickly. After doing a phoner (live shot over the phone; sound only; a phone interview) with Sam, I decided to head back to Abilene. On the way back another cell crossed over the interstate. I had to pull over. I couldn't tell what lane I was driving in. This was the definition of zero visibility. In this situation, it's hard to tell what is safer-pulling over and risking someone who is unable to see hit you-or keep driving and risk going off the road. It finally let up some. I got back just in time to bring all of you video of the storm. Luckily there wasn't any tornado damage in the immediate Big Country, but when there is I will probably be there bringing you the video.

about myself

OK-Here's a little on my background. I come to Abilene from Shreveport, LA. I was a photographer at KTAB's sister station there. I have been there for the last 5 years. I graduated from the University of North Texas in 2004. I've covered a lot of cool stuff. After only a year there Katrina hit. Then Rita. Between those two storms I spent 8 weeks on the road covering the aftermath. I spent a week in San Diego covering Marine recruits going through basic training. While I was there, the reporter and I interviewed Bob Dole, who happened to be signing books at the time. I have met countless celebrities at various events. Nascar races at Texas Motor Speedway are a melting pot for famous people; you never know who you are going to bump into. Sports trips are the best part of this job. I was on the field for the BCS National Championship game in January 2008 (LSU vs. Ohio State in New Orleans). Other bowl games I've attended include the '07 Sugar Bowl (LSU vs. Notre Dame) and the Chick-Fil-A- Bowl last season (LSU vs. Georgia Tech). I've also been to the New Orleans Bowl a few times, and the Independence Bowl many times because that game is in Shreveport.

Next up...a little on what I've been up to since moving to Abilene. Stay tuned!

Hello Big Country!

Hello Big Country! I am Danielle's replacement. My name is Marc Gustafson, but I'm known around the newsroom as Goose. Why? Well, no one can pronounce Gustafson. (It's "Gus-tuff-sun" like the guy in "Grumpy Old Men", by the way). I get a lot of "Goose-tuff-sun", "Gus-tuff-a-sun", and most commonly "Gustaf" or "Gustav". That's where Goose came from. In my old newsroom, the main anchor, 10PM producer and the sports guy were calling me Gustaf. One of them, I can't rememer which one, said "how about Goose?" one night. That was it. In less than 10 minutes it caught on, and ever since then I've been Goose.

Coming up...more about me and a little on how my Abilene experience has gone so far. But I don't want to tell everything now; stay tuned! (as we say in TV)

Letting It Go....

I've come to the decision, without any input from station management, to remove my previous posts discussing an incident with a Dyess security officer. We were both doing our jobs, and everything turned out the way it should. Though no "insults" were intended, some readers may have taken it that way.

I look forward to continuing my professional working relationship with all Dyess personnel in the future.

Maybe next time I'll blog about a Downtown Artwalk or something a little less controversial!

Best Friends Parting...

The tale of two best friends here at KTAB/KRBC is coming to an end this week. Megan Dobbs and I are long-time buddies and never thought we'd have the opportunity to work side-by-side but Abilene made that dream come true... Sadly my circumstances are changing... I'm headed to Little Rock for a new position at one of our sister stations. It's a bitter sweet good-bye. I'm excited to be moving up but I'm sad to be leaving Abilene and the special relationship Megan and I had here at the station. Although it's hard to part, we are just happy to have had our time together in Abilene... But I couldn't leave without saying a sweet farewell and commemorating the years that we have stood by each other.

This is our story...

Danielle is Leaving!

My videography partner, Danielle Reeves, is leaving us. Her last day is Thursday, August 6.

Though she's only been with us for a short time, Danielle has had a tremendous impact on the KTAB/KRBC news department. She is a master editor, and can do things with Avid (our video editing software) that no one else can even comprehend. Her videography is awesome, and above all, her positive attitude rubs off on everyone!

Dani is moving to Little Rock, Arkansas, where she will be a Topical Producer for our sister station, KARK-TV, the NBC affiliate there. Their studio building is literally across the street from the state capital. I'm somewhat jealous, but I'm still needed (and happy) here.

Though we will find a physical replacement for Danielle, we will never replace her in our hearts. That's a very cheesy line, but true.

We'll miss you!

Save the animals!!

I had a very traumatic experience this morning that was quite the reality check.

Animal lovers... reader discresion is advised...

First, I'll say that I'm the proud mom of a healthy 2-and-a-half-year-old cat. Her name is Phyllis... I adopted Phyllis 2 years ago from an animal adoption agency. She was saved from the streets of Azel, Texas. I'm a lover of cats and dogs alike.

...Which leads me to my blog today... I had a quick shoot this morning to get video of some animals that were siezed and taken to the animal shelter. I went to the back and got a few shots and as I was on my way out a huge fluffy white dog caught the corner of my eye. I thought he was sleeping... When I looked closer, I realized there were several dogs... and cats... and a bunch of roosters... and there were NOT sleeping. These were all animals that had been euthenized... After realizing that all these animals were in fact dead I was rather traumatized. These were CUTE dogs... and they were all dead...

I immediately wanted to adopt a dozen dogs and cats to save them from their not to distant fate but unfortunately, I don't have the means...

So this is a call to action of sorts for all you casual animal lovers out there. There are heaps of dead animals at shelters in the big country because space is limited and their time is up. I think that if you are capable and somewhat willing, you should save some of these animals... and spare one photographer of a haunting image...

"Your horn works, now try your lights!"

My grandad used to always say that whenever someone honked their car horn. I always found it quite humorous.

However, in the t.v. news business, car horns are a major nuisance. For reasons that I've never quite understood, people like to honk their horns when they see a news crew along the side of the road. (This also applies to loud exhaust systems...."Let's rev our engine just because it's fun!")

I guess people think that honking lets them "connect" with us on a certain level, that they become part of the story. But what honking does, for the most part, is screw up a perfectly good sound bite, or even worse, a live shot. We could be interviewing a mother who lost her daughter in a drunk driving wreck at that spot, the tears are flowing, emotions are strong, and along comes some "person" and thinks "there's a news crew...let's honk!" Talk about ruining the moment. Or we could be doing a live shot, which, of course, is live, about the dangers of unsafe driving, alcohol, etc., and people driving by think that it's "cute" to honk. Ruins the shot.

I seriously doubt that the "honkers" are going to go home, turn on the news, and say, "hey, that was me honking!"

Overall, people in this part of the world are quite pleasant to be with. Just remember, the most courteous thing you could do is let us do our jobs, without worrying about somebody driving by and honking every 10 seconds. Maybe honkers expect us to turn around and wave with a smile. Usually, though, our work has just been rudely interrupted, so expect the cold shoulder.

Goodbye Analog!

The nation's conversion from analog to digital television broadcasting is just about complete. The federal government has mandated that all broadcasters turn off their analog transmitters forever by June 13. At KTAB/KRBC, we didn't want to wait that long, so on May 12, we joyfully shut off our ancient transmitters live during the 6pm newscasts.

Danielle was with Bob Bartlett and Chief Engineer Glen McCandless at KTAB's analog transmitter, which is housed in a concrete-block building at the base of our broadcast tower on Highway 36. Our tower is easy to spot...it's one of three "flashing," 700+ foot towers on the hill about 10 miles southeast of the airport; ours is closest to the highway, directly behind the Church of Christ. If you're wondering, the middle tower broadcasts the signals of the KEAN/KEYJ radio station group, and the 3rd tower broadcasts Fox affiliate KXVA, whose programming originates from their master control facility in San Angelo.

I was with Brittany Pelletz and engineer Carlos Valdez at KRBC's analog transmitter building. It's located on top of Cedar Gap Mountain, pretty much due south of Abilene along US Highway 83/84.

Though few people have ever actually seen it, this is a very historic building. KRBC was the very first t.v. station in the Big Country, signing on the air in 1953. However, the "station" building, at 4510 South 14th, wasn't completed until 1954. So for that first year, the lonely transmitter building, accessible only by a crude, twisting dirt road, was where everything happened. Harry Holt, Larry Fitzgerald, John "Stubby Baldwin" Turner, and other pioneers would climb the hill each day to bring live t.v. to the region.

KRBC's original General Electric transmitter served the station for 26 years (it continued to serve as a backup...it was last powered up several years ago). It was replaced in late 1979 , when a top-of-the-line Harris transmitter was installed. I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but the transmitter was installed about a month after KTAB went on the air with a very similar unit! The major difference was that KTAB's transmitter (like our new digital units) are water-cooled, much like a car's engine. KRBC's analog transmitter was air-cooled, which meant it was always nice and chilly inside the building!

In January, 2007, KRBC's 550-foot broadcast tower crashed to the ground during an ice storm. Luckily it fell away from the building, but we never had reason to build a new tower, since we were already constructing our digital facilities at the the KTAB tower. We continued to broadcast using our backup analog antenna, which was located on ground level next to the building. This resulted in a loss of coverage for much of the Big Country, but it just didn't make economic sense to spend millions on a new tower that we would only use for a couple of years....

Just feet from KTAB's old analog transmitter building sits a shiny new structure that houses both stations' top-of-the-line, multi-million-dollar Acrodyne-brand digital transmitters. KRBC's original analog facility on top of Cedar Gap Mountain is now owned by AEP, the electric company. AEP leased space on our collapsed tower for their communications needs, and they recently built a new, albeit much shorter, tower on the property. Soon we will abandon the facility, and a historic chapter in Abilene television will be closed; however, the new digital chapter is just beginning!

I've posted some random pictures from KRBC's old analog site, including Brittany getting ready for her analog-shutoff live shot! There's also a picture of AEP's new tower, and our ENG-9 live van, which struggled up the mountain.

Smoke and Mirrors

It's not often that us photogs "make it" into a shot or two. I always take note when I see a photographer in a shot on network television or something. I say a little cheer to myself for the guy who "made it" in hopes that it will one day be me. Just last night one of our reporters made it into a KTXS shot on accident and Scott, KTXS's Chief Photographer, made an appearance in a live shot of mine once in a flamboyant lime green T that proudly sported their logo... Whoops =/

Mirrors are a tricky way for us to find ourselves in the spotlight occasionally and this Biggest Loser shoot has found me dodging mirrors in a gym full of them! I'd rather not watch myself work out but it seems to be a popular part of getting fit.... Gyms are packed with mirrors. I thought I'd give a little behind the lens look at my battle with the mirrors on this week's Biggest Loser shoot.

Some shots made the air, some didn't...Take a look!

The Biggest Loser series

Kyna and I are deep in production of KRBC's "Abilene's Biggest Loser" series and it's been a truly moving experience. We began the series with a piece that introduced each of our contestants which allowed us to talk with these inspiring people about the years that have led to where they are now and what they are looking forward to in the future. Kyna and I have been fighting tears behind the camera in some of these. I thank these contestants for the honesty that they share with us and all of our viewers about years of hurt and anguish. Each of them have incredible stories and seeing them in the gym everyday and working hard for their respective goals has been quite an inspiring experience. We can already tell the impact that it's having on these individuals and their families. What is seen in the ten o'clock news is such a small glimpse into the battle they are waging.

In case you missed out on the first two, the links are below...

STAY TUNED! More to come soon!

Marilyn Hart's story...
http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=127872
Ashley Wetsel's story...
http://bigcountryhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=128432

The Weather Channel

What a rough week it was last week! 60 mile per hour winds and wildfires sparking across all of the big country. Shooting in the wind was pretty miserable... I even saw one of the KTXS photogs decked out in some goggles and a bandana covering his face! He looking really goofy but made everyone around him jealous with his protective wind gear! The fires had me running all about the big country! Through Thursday and Friday I made it to Lueders, Clyde, Eula, Cisco, Albany and Anson twice... Mostly in our extremely conspicuous live van that maxes out at about 75 MPH. It had it out for me. Bruises are still healing from where the live van door continually swung around hit me while I was getting my gear...

However... This weekend I realized that it's sometimes worth it. I had the chance to ride along with the Texas Forest Service on Friday. They took me as deep as they could into the thousands of acres of fires that plagued Albany and Eastland. I shot as much as I could in the little time I had and rushed back to get it on the news that night. On Saturday, I was checking out the forecast on the weather channel and as they began talking about Texas conditions, up pops MY video! I was the only news photographer whose video of the Texas wildfires was available to the weather channel apparently. I know that my video gets picked up occasionally for national news but I've certainly never seen it happen before. It was thrilling. I saw it again on Sunday! Same video on the weather channel.

Exciting stuff for a newby in the news photoging business.


Oh and here's a random picture of us girls in KTAB's newsroom

The Dream Team

We are certainly a couple of nerds... We find joy in pans, zooms and off tripod action. Although the two of us are very different, Andrew and I are kindred spirits of the photog variety. We love what we do. Andrew's past news experience has taken him to what we call "the show" while mine has been a more uniquely amateur road but with our hearts following a similar love we find ourselves here- Abilene, TX KTAB/KRBC. Being the only 2 news photographers for 2 entire stations we often find ourselves pulling off minor miracles to get the job done. The rush is what drives us and the occasional exhaustion and bitterness that define all that is amazing about this thing that we love. We had the rare chance to chat this week. In discussion we realized our dynamic may be one of our station's best in recent years. Being only two, our weaknesses are atoned in the strengths of one another.

Proud of our geekiness and modestly honest about shortcomings, we are a special little team.

As such, we are happy to welcome a new member to our overly sentimental photographer contingent. A new camera joined the team this month. She brought with her a new wide angle lens, light and wireless mic system. She was initiated today. A faulty tripod sent her on a frightful dive. She weathered the fall with only flesh wounds but the fresh scars make her quite official. She lacks only a name. We have tossed several around the news room and finally settled on a gender but we have yet to choose a name. We are open for ideas. It has to be tough and ugly to make the cut... Agnus is a strong competitor at this point but post your ideas and we will throw them in the pool.

The Female Photog

Being a news photographer is a lot of fun. We end up in some neat places shooting things we don't quite understand sometimes... occasionally it's not too challenging like when we are shooting public events or simple thing but sometimes we end up in below freezing temperatures, blazing wildfires and at tragic accidents. This job is not necessarily designed for a woman... Every other photographer in this market is a man. My assignments editor and I share this one thing in common. Before her position at our station she was a photographer for KRBC. We are not a common breed in film and television. I ran into a NBA network photographer recently and asked how often he runs into a female photographer... he replied that we are about as common as a female cab driver in New York City- it just doesn't happen very often. There are obvious reasons for this position being better filled by a man. HOWEVER, with my love for the job I often find myself in situations that no man could ever satisfy.

For instance... When breaking news happens and we rush to the scene and find ourselves doing a live shot 30 minutes later. Katherine Lane is on the scene with me and doesn't have her make up and is looking rather... windswept. No worries! The female photog has powder, lipstick, bobby pins and hairspray! It was a magical moment!

Or... when we were on assignment in Austin at the state capitol building and the mic clip for our lapel mic has gone missing. Don't fear! The female photog whips a hair clip out of her hair and neatly clips the mic out of sight. Again Katherine was grateful.

More recently... Brittany Pelletz and I were on a shoot at a gym. We needed shots of her doing her daily work out. I shot like I normally might of but I was brainstorming some very cool ideas for a few shots that would require me to get, well... in a rather questionable position that no man could reasonably put himself in. We got the shots! It looked great!

I love what I do but I'm certain that some people don't quite understand my presence on scenes. My validation is my camera and always will be. There are ups and downs but the female photogs, as rare as they may be, are held to another standard. Cheers to us ladies and the men we work with!

Fire and Ice

The last few weeks have proven to me that mother nature can steal the spotlight at a moments notice sometimes. One week we are covering grass fires that span thousands of acres and the next we are doing live shots in 14 degree weather with all of Abilene iced over. Everyday is a gamble in Texas when it comes to the weather.

I love the opportunity to do live shots - I can be more creative and it's normally the type of news that is much more pressing. At the grass fires in Hawley we set up and did live cut ins into the national programming all afternoon. Homes were being evacuated as the fire took barns and houses in the Big Country. Fires were still smoldering behind us and literally yards from where we stood for the shots the charred ground was still hot from the blaze. If you kicked the ash a cloud of hot embers would fly up from the ground as if it was still burning under there. It was an eerie thing to shoot.

THEN... a week later the entire KRBC/KTAB news team was out for what seemed like 3 days straight for the Abilene ice storm. One KTAB reporter, Katherine Lane and I had a 2 night "sleep over" because the drive home for her was too dangerous to traverse. With only what she had on her back she had to unexpectedly stay and report 3 days in the Abilene area. From the moment the weather hit we were live until late that night (for 3 days). Andrew started the day with live shots for the daybreak news and we were cutting in with updates from the newsroom all day, then going live for the 5, 6 and 10 o'clocks. We were broken down and back at the station by 11 and all heading home for a few hours of sleep and what seemed like the greatest shower of my life before we were out on the road again reporting the school closures and road conditions at 5AM.

I was out with Priscilla Luong and Tim Johnston doing lives from the bridge at I-20 and Arnold Blvd. It was at most 14 degrees at our location before the sun came up and not much above that after. We would dart back in forth from the news van trying to warm up between shoots. Unfortunately during one of those darts one of us hit the automatic locks and suddenly... we were locked out of the news van... Haha! It was unreal. Our temperature reading on out satellite clock said only "LO" refusing to report a temp while we were locked out of the van for an hour. That was an awkward call to make... I had to notify the assignments editor that we had a little situation and among the chaos going on at the station and everyone reporting on something they had to find time to come rescue us. Andrew got there as fast as he could with a spare key. We jogged in place... did jumping jacks... and a variety of other things that we thought would either make us feel warmer or get some strange looks from the folks driving by...which we did. I'll treasure the memory. It was a crazy few days. Cold weather will take it out of you!

It's COLD out there!

January is traditionally the coldest month of the year in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, and the Big Country is no exception. But below freezing temperatures are one thing....throw in precipitation, and we've got a mess!

So far this month, we've had two winter weather "events." The first one, on Monday, Jan. 5th, was somewhat limited in scope. A round of freezing rain moved through the area, causing chaos on bridges and overpasses during the morning commute. Of course, KTAB/KRBC was there, live, telling all of you to stay home....and not to get out on the nasty roads like we were. But by afternoon, temps were above freezing and everything was back to normal. (If you'll recall from my earlier blog, our own News Unit 11, a very nice Chevy Trailblazer, was a casualty of the ice on I-20. 11's still in the body shop, but the reporter is back at work!)

This week's "Deep Freeze," however, was the kind of winter weather event we only experience about once every year or two, on average. From 5pm Monday, until noon on Wednesday, the temperature was below freezing....and near continuous freezing rain/drizzle/fog coated everything with a slick sheet of ice, only to be covered by up to 1/2 inch of sleet on Tuesday evening.

I'm VERY proud of the efforts our entire staff put forth to bring our viewers the absolute best coverage possible. This includes all of the 100+ employees of KTAB/KRBC. In addition to the 30+ News Department employees, there are dozens of people behind the scenes in the Production, Operations, Engineering, Sales, Promotions, Business, and Traffic departments.



Anyway, back to the very cold weather! Here is a picture, taken by KRBC reporter Brittany Pelletz, of me and KTAB reporter Victor Sotelo standing behind one of our live trucks, ENG-2 (Victor is faking a frown because it's so cold). It's Wednesday morning, Jan. 28, and the three of us were doing live shots from the Olive Garden parking lot at Southwest Drive and Clack St. We had been there since 5am, informing everyone of the treacherous road conditions. Suddenly, around 8am or so, as Britt and I were sitting in the van with the heater at full blast (it was about 13 degrees outside), the generator died, and everything went silent. It turns out the generator overheated; this unit, putting out 12,000 watts of electricity, is powerful enough to power an entire house, is mounted in the rear of the van (most live broadcast trucks use on-board generator systems to provide power for all of the equipment). Since this generator was just recently installed, our engineers haven't yet finished installing the ventilation system...so, to keep the thing cool, at least one of the back doors of the van has to stay open. I guess a gust of wind closed both doors....the generator's engine overheated, and we were out of service! Luckily, since it was 13 degrees outside, it wasn't long before the generator cooled back down, and we were once again ready for live shots!

And as you can see in the picture, the roads were totally covered with nasty frozen stuff. Our live vans weigh up to 5 tons, and are very top-heavy. So what's the best way to drive on frozen roads???? VERY SLOWLY! However, there were still the large number of morons in their pickup trucks who think they're better than everyone else, and have little regard for laws, safety, and common sense.....

High Speed Chase!

Breaking news is always what makes our work worthwhile. It puts our skills to the test and allows us to be the best that we are. Last night I got my first high speed chase. It was a dangerous event that spanned all of 2 and a half hours through the highways and back roads of Abilene. We had Andrew or Chief photog, Tyler Edwards with KRBC Megan Dobbs with KTAB, and myself all out on the streets following the chase as it ran through the city. At times cops were flying past all of us. It was a difficult situation to stay safe while still trying to stay on top of what was playing out. The chase began just after the 6 o'clock news ended and the guy finally surrendered just before nine. Megan and Tyler ran back to the station to start writing and get info on the web as Andrew followed the chase as it went high speed out of town. I came back to edit and flew from the station to set up a live shot for the 10pm show. We were running out of time to set up so I had to just pull over in a large median on I-20. This was most definitely not the safest option but with time running out before the show we had to do what we had to do. Megan and Tyler showed up for the live shot as I was running about setting up lights, audio and video gear and getting everything connected to the station. Meanwhile, Andrew was in Eastland where the guy finally gave up. He got close ups of him detained in the cop car and some impressive video of the scene where it all ended. He rushed back toward Abilene and realizing he couldn't get back to the station in time for the shows with the video he had, he stopped in Clyde and set up a live feed to the station so we had the video on for the 10 show on KTAB. We did our live shots and broke everything down but what a crazy night.

A very melodic Artwalk!

Danielle's last blog talked about how we did live shots from January's Artwalk with Randy Turner. Well, between the 5pm and 6pm shows, music filled the streets of downtown. I looked across the street from where we were set up, and in front of the Cockerell Building there was a 12-year-old girl playing the flute, all by herself.

She seemed to be the biggest hit all night, as people gathered around her, requesting songs, and throwing money into her flute case!

Once I had a chance, I grabbed my news camera and went over there....she was playing for a couple of teenage girls, who were amazed with her talents!

This is a perfect example of how, as journalists, we're always on the lookout for a "human interest" story. Unfortunately, a short video of a girl playing the flute doesn't fit in with the format of a t.v. newscast, but it's perfect for a blog! So, without further ado, I present a short video of this wonderful girl playing the flute:

Live Shots

Live shots (meaning when we go live with a reporter or one of our on-camera personalities from a location outside of the studio) are one of my favorite things to do. We are able to get out in the community and it allows us to be a little more creative and really show our capabilities as a news team. However, there is a lot involved in setting up and executing a live shot - I've had some pretty strange things happen during live shots...

Tonight for example... I was live downtown at the art walk with Randy doing weather for KRBC. We went live for weather during the 5 and 6 shows which means we cut in several times for different shots. The 5 o'clock went just fine - Randy is the greatest at live shots! He never misses a beat. During the six o'clock show we had a little "technical difficulty" attack us. We had a problem receiving a cue to let us know that we were coming up and whoops there were were on the air! Randy was in mid-conversation with one of the ladies he was about to interview and thank goodness he's so great at what he does! He just jumped straight into it but it wasn't without some adjustments and a bit of confusion with me trying to convey in sign language what our producer was telling me in my ear. We got through it with a few hiccups. Andrew was there to document the whole event in photos so I'm sure we'll be seeing that addition to our blog soon. That is just one glimpse at what is actually happening when you see us fumble a few things on air.

Tonight also reminded me of another live shot that took place at that very street corner just a month or so ago...
Maria and I were live downtown and Andrew was live with Dan Edwards near our location. When we do a live shot there is a lot of running of cables - video, audio, power cables and then some. We try to be organized about it but sometimes we have to run the cables across sidewalks, pathways or just in some awkward way have it reach from the live truck to where we are at. So in this case I had run my cables across a sidewalk. Maria and I finished our live shot at 5 and had to wait around for the 6 o'clock live shot so we went over to check out Dan's live weather. To open up one of his segments Dan actually interviewed a bulldog... haha - leave it to Dan to interview an animal. Well... after Dan's live shot was over, Andrew held down the fort at the live vans while Maria and I went to get the team hot dogs and hot chocolate. When I returned I find out that the bulldog that had just had its five minutes of fame had promptly turned around and number two-ed on squarely on my cables... Andrew made the owner clean it up before I got back but I still had to touch those cables when we finished... Yuck. Above is a photo of the culprit and another photo of Maria and I doing our thing that night.

"Getting the story no matter what the cost!"

As Danielle mentioned in one of her previous posts, in order to cover the news, we have to go places and see things that "normal" people wouldn't. On Monday morning, Jan. 5, as we're telling people to stay off the icy streets, we had our entire news department out on those same icy roads, getting video of wrecks and doing multiple live shots.

Unfortunately, we're not immune to Mother Nature. One of our newest news vehicles, a very nice Chevy Trailblazer which we affectionately call "Unit 11," became an "ice victim" on Interstate 20 while responding to a car wreck. Thankfully, the reporter who was driving wasn't hurt; but Unit 11 is now spending a few weeks in the body shop....

The Photogs

I know I can speak for Andrew as well when I say that we both love our job very much. It's not hard to suddenly become a news junkie when you love your job like we do. Working at a news station has been a great change for me. Before two months ago I worked independently doing videography and post production freelance in Dallas. I love the production and post-production (meaning editing, mixing and special effects) part of film and television. I have for a long time. I love coming to work everyday and exercising my capabilities as a photographer/videographer. Everyday I have to stretch myself to learn something new or be able to do something faster, more efficiently. I love it. I love learning.

On another note... We hope to be putting some faces with names so we'll work on taking some photos and videos of what we do and some behind the scene stuff of the personalities that you know and love already. But for starters, here are a couple of photos from a shoot about a month ago. Andrew and I were both out live downtown for the Christmas parade with Maria Oliver and live with Dan Edwards and because of the crowd we were blocked in until the event was over so we made the most of it and got on top of the news van for a nice view of the parade.

Photos by Dean Carter.

This is me... and ...Severe Weather Day

I'm Danielle Reeves - news photographer here at KTAB/KRBC - one of the members of the news team who's role is often invisible and when done right should be invisible. I'm from the Dallas area - went to college in east Texas - I enjoy good music, fine wine, art and news. As a news team we all live and breath what we do. As photographers we are often close to the action - first on the scene and last to leave. This lifestyle fits me well. I like change and no day is the same for us.

Like today for example...

My day began at 5:40 this morning when I got a call from my assignments editor - Abilene roads were icing over and there were accidents all over the city. Andrew (our Chief Photog) and I were up before the sun with live trucks in different parts of the city with the rest of the news team shortly behind us. It's interesting sometimes how it's our duty to deliver the news that may help protect others, but we still have to be out there in it. This morning I found myself on a bridge that was completely iced over. A 12 car accident had taken place minutes before on this particular bridge and in order to get to where I needed to be for the live shot I had to get across it. We love what we do and the purpose behind it. We are held to a very high standard as a team of journalists and as such it's not difficult to do things I might otherwise think ridiculous. We cross icey bridges, set up on the side of highways and sometimes shoot Santa Clauses' arrival at the mall. It's a very intense game and I love the ups and downs. Today's severe weather live shots, extended broadcast and subsequent hectic news-day are what make it all worth while.

Until next time.

Welcome to Behind the Lens

Welcome to "Behind the Lens!" This is my first blog, ever, so bear with me.

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Andrew Carlson, and I'm the Chief News Videographer for Nexstar Abilene, aka KTAB/KRBC.

Second, let me describe my title. To the general public, I'm one of the "cameramen" at news scenes or events. However, the term "cameraman" is quite outdated and annoying; the word is never used within our industry. Within the t.v. news biz, our official title is photographer..."photog" for short. I've chosen the newer title of Videographer, however, because when I tell almost anyone I'm a photographer, they automatically assume I take still photographs, even though I work in t.v. news, which just confuses people even further....

As Chief Videographer, one of my primary duties is the oversight of the entire news video product that you see on the local news. I train our videojournalists on the proper use of the cameras, and the specific techniques of shooting t.v. news.

Most of our videographers are actually the reporters themselves; in the business we call them "one-man-bands." Basically, the reporters usually work solo, shooting, writing, and editing their stories all by themselves; in fact, Danielle, who also joins me on "Behind the Lens," is our only other dedicated videographer. One-man-bands are the hot new trend in t.v. news in both small and large markets. Traditional news crews consist of two people: the photographer and the reporter (and in the largest markets or at the network level, a third person running audio). And at the larger station, there were/are sometimes editors whose sole job was/is to edit the news stories. Thanks to new media sources such as the internet, blogs, etc., local t.v. news isn't the cash cow it used to be. So managers have decided to do away with the more specialized positions, thus creating the one-man-band....why pay two or three people to shoot and edit and report when you can train just one to do all three? Add in the fact that broadcast-quality cameras are now a fraction of the size and cost that they were 15 years ago, and voila...you have a station like KTAB/KRBC!

I'll be adding many more pictures and videos of "behind the scenes" stuff, to help ya'll get a glimpse of "real life" inside the small-market t.v. news biz. But for now, here's a quick video of a guy dancing.

Why am I posting this? Because the world is full of weird, crazy, funny, sad, outrageous, heartwarming, and tragic events, and people of every imaginable background. They're everywhere, if you just look for them. And in the news business, it's our job to find them and tell their story.

Anyway, here's the story behind this clip: KRBC reporter Brittany Pelletz and I were working on a story about the City of Abilene's plans to install red light cameras at certain intersections. Just before noon on New Years Eve, we were at the intersection of S. 1st and Sayles shooting a "standup," the part of the story, usually in the middle, where you see the reporter on-camera. Just behind us, stopped for the red light, were some jerks in a pickup truck that kept revving their engine every time we tried to record (they were doing it just to mess with us....). So, while I was waiting for the light to turn green (and the jerks in the truck to leave us alone), I saw this guy across the street joyously dancing by himself. I don't know why he was there, but he seemed to be enjoying himself, and the passing motorists seemed to enjoy his "performance." So, I just started rolling.....you can hear Brittany talking about the guys in the truck as they're revving the engine; she didn't even realize I was shooting this guy!

Enjoy!