North Carolina Press Photographers Association an online resource for NC Photojournalism.

226
Members
Peter
Schumacher
NCPPA Vice President

Chief Photographer at the Burlington Times-News
Clips- August 26, 2008, 5:39 pm


Clips. Back in the day, a photographer would have to hunt down back issues, find the best printed one, cut and attach info about the photo and then mail in by the 9th. Oh yeah, did I mention the copy editor who butchers your crop? Blood pressure going up yet? It was a chore that took up an hour or more of your work day. Needless to say, it was a pain in the ass. I wonder how many nice frames were never judged because the photographer hadn’t the time. I imagine plenty. Today, with an archive system it takes a fraction of the time to complete a clip and upload to the NCPPA Web site. I don’t believe we (photographers) across this state are producing sub par images. I don’t believe we are lazy and complacent. So where am I going with this? Interest. That’s what I’m looking for. I’ve echoed all of the following statements,“Everybody’s shot that,” “f8 and be there” or my favorite “Who the hell were the judges?” When it came to clips, I was first in line to bitch. Don’t get me wrong, I still disagree with judges. A perfect example is my April spot news clip that took first. This was taken while I was falling down and the shutter happened to fire. Hopefully, you get the humor. I’ve shot much better spot news and never placed in the contest. Why? Because there were an abundance of clips pouring in from around the state. My point is, I don’t want to win with an average image. I want to compete against all of you. It’s what makes me better. Let’s face it, what’s better than seeing your fellow photographers at an event and throwing barbs at them about their clip winners. I know what’s better- getting a better shot (judge’s opinion) from the same event and placing higher than your fellow photographers. Ah competition, that’s what I’m talking about. If you’ve shot well during the month, send in your clips! If not, send them anyway and collect a couple of points. To those who “just don’t send in,” I take back the sentence above talking about not being lazy and complacent.


Peter Schumacher
Chief Photographer
Times-News
707 S. Main St.
Burlington, NC 27215
336-506-3048

peter_schumacher@link.freedom.com