Things I do for my job

It sure is a good thing OSHA doesn't check in with field crews gathering news. Dangling a camera from the side of a car, over the side of a building, in a dark damp mold filled basement, to riding the bucket of a tractor. This job has it's share of danger.

Tractor Ride

Video shot by my reporter standing safely on the solid ground. :-)

Letter from Procter & Gamble Exec to Obama

Letter from Procter & Gamble Exec to Obama

Please read, even if you are an Obama fan. It is legitimate, written by respected, Lou Prichett, formerly of Proctor and Gamble. Lou Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends- an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way

America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history. _______________________________________________________
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America' crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IT’S TRUE - CHECK: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp


This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it. Big surprise! Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over 500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing. It's happening right now.

It's no wonder I've ended up where I have. It seems even in my early days I was in to photography. Who knew I'd be shooting news?!

What a whirlwind of experiences it's been so far. Fires, car crashes, Virginia Tech, crazy weather, and the occasional happy ending.

The journey of life has only begun to start making sense.

Stories to fill time

It seems that hard news is, well, hard to come by these days. I am still trying to figure out how people riding on mopeds in the winter chill is an option.
You may be thinking, mopeds in the winter, ice, snow, dangerous travel conditions... you would be right but this was only a sunny lightly breezy day, with the highs in the 40's.
It seems the goal of the story was simply; what's it like and how do they handle the chill. Or even more simply; ha ha, you have no license and thus no warm transportation!
It was just one of those days...

Obama in the house

Obama made a stop in Lynchburg yesterday and caused quite a stir for our quiet town.

Hard times at the court house

Desperate times call for desperate measures. What started as a wreckless driving case in traffic court is now going on two hours of litigation.
A quick tip, video ipods make things somewhat easier.

City work session

Want an adventurous life in tv make sure you can handle extreme boredom! Nothing slows a day down like local politician's talking money.

Don't toss that butt!

Looking for a story can be tedious but some times they come to you. Like the apartment fire that left 6 homeless over the weekend. 
You would think that mulch in front of your home would be the last place someone would toss their cigarette butt. Yet that is where this one landed. Dry mulch and fire tend not to mix well.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

I’m not one to be impressed with TV or movie stars, but I will claim to have bumped into them at one point or another. Such is the case with Ty Pennington and his Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew.
Last December, the ABC series made an appearance in Farmville to help out a National Guard family. The station decided to do some extensive coverage and I was sent to spend the week documenting the behind the scene events.
Along with the trusty mic stand, we followed the invasion of Hollywood in this small rural community. From bone chilling arctic temperatures to mild spring like days, we watched as this group of volunteers constructed a new home in four and a half days.
This was a chance for me to try and show my true talent and capture the events that viewers wouldn’t normally see, and while it my not win me any awards I think the end result was eye opening.

Let it Snow

What do you get when you add 2 inches of white fluffy snow, thousands of "smart" people and an automobiles? Well if you were like me, you got an early morning phone call directing you to start capturing the mayhem.

The snow was expected, yet when it is forecast by the weather guessers, they often miss by a long shot. Sending people into panic, clearing grocery storeshelves and stockpiling the basics. This was nothing new for us, except, they were right on the mark with today's meteorological event. Even though people had everything they needed right at home to wait out the snow, they still felt it necessary to venture out.

Thus, I spent my day capturing the vehicles that littered our roadways. The same ones that also help to remind others that they could be next if not careful. The stories are very similar, driving to fast or using the brakes when when they shouldn't have. People may laugh at the media for going into "team coverage" the day before and day of but they are also the ones that don't heed the warnings to stay off the roads.