Just returned home yesterday from the 2010 NPPA News workshop in Norman, OK where folks from all over the world came to find the tools, and place in a blurry future in the news industry. Some were still photogs, looking to make transition to video, some were broadcasters looking to enhance skills, and some were writers looking to find a new way. The common thread in all was that we’re all story tellers, be it video, by one photo at a time, or by a word, the power is in the story.

Set through numerous speakers from all over the world who are without a doubt the best in their field.  Four days of intense critique of our work, (for the ones that participated in the shoots) and editing throughout the night with strangers that quickly became friends. Every one had the bottom underlying quest, preparing for the future.

Found nuggets of wisdom all week in a place where creativity flows like wine.  Everyone lives on it for five days, substituting it for sleep, and food.

The last night was stress relief night at a karaoke bar in town, unwinding from the stress of the week.  Although theres not enough alcohol in Norman to make me get up and make a ass out of myself outside of the shower, I really enjoyed watching everyone else do it. That’s when I found the wisdom nugget of the week. Met a writer named Katherine, listened to her for a while about the scene in front of us, and how she would do her job by taking in the info from the scene, branding it into her mind, going to a quiet place and putting it into ink. She described it to me vividly, scene by scene, so much so that I didn’t need to see a picture of it to understand. I watched the scene in front of me, as Katherine was describing it, and realized that we all have a super camera in our head.  We can take notes from it, write it down, and give it back one frame at a time, or let it roll on video.

In the end I realized there is no future, only now, and it’s all about conveying a feeling to someone else through a medium, useing whatever tools you have to share the story, or the feeling, today.