The thing I love most about news photography is the daily challenges that it puts on your mind and body. Physically challenging due to the amount of time that you spend on your feet, and the amount of equipment that you carry, up to 50 pounds of camera gear running the sidelines, or some other sporting event.

Trying to keep with athletes who are fit and in shape can be challenging since I am not an athlete by any stretch of the imagination.  The  psychological challenges as well can be very intense, and sometimes more challenging.  Although most of the work is done from a creative standpoint, sometimes with heavy  schedules, and the intensity of breaking news events, that  can last for several hours can weigh on the mind and make it hard to focus by the end of the day.

The thing about this in the beginning, was the fear of the  unknown event, its kind of a fear and excitement all in one.  The fear comes in when having to produce the shot that is cool or very storytelling moment.  With each event you become more confident that your results will be acceptable or outstanding.  So with the repetition behind the camera your confidence grows with each shoot.

I have used a camera over the years as a pacifier for my psychological shortcomings. Looking thru the lens often negates all other thoughts of the rest of the world, the daily routine, the activities, paying the bills, picking up the kids is kind of like a lens addiction if you will.

Probably one of the most  fearful thoughts that I have overcome would be my water phobia which has been instilled as a kid of 8 after which I almost drowned in a pool. The lure of underwater photography struck me after seeing a dive magazine and all the beautiful stuff under water.  I decided to try scuba diving and as it turns out long time friend and co worker Skip Nichols decided to try as well who plays a large roll in this, as my longtime dive buddy.  The course starts out in Bridgeport, Texas  instructed by Randy Joy (resident Wise County IT man, motorcycle man, dive man) Now I tell you, if it had not been the lure of wanting to see the beauty of the ocean, and  Randy’s patience, that first time I was at the bottom the 8 foot pool would have been my last.  So after 2 weeks of the learning it was time to check out at the lake.  Cold weather comes in to compound my fears making our lake checkout totally miserable.  More than once I asked myself what was I thinking???  But again with Skips support and the draw of the visuals of the ocean, I endured.

Next step was the Cozumel trip the first time in ocean water.  Still remenber like it was yesterday going across the ocean on a boat with 13 other divers on our first evening in Cozumel and getting ready for our first dive.  As the shore got further away the fear  began to rise again, just that little nagging voice that says what are you doing here?  Fast forward, myself and 13 other divers hit the water for the first evening dive.  Skip and I being the last two divers to start the descent, besides the dive master.  We were a couple hundred yards behind the rest of the divers, and as soon as my head went below the surface that first visual is burnt on my  mind’s eye forever, and that power eliminated the fear and the dive began.  The visual was divers strung out  cross the ocean in different descent levels ranging from 10 feet, to 60, The 5 o’clock sun coming in at a 45 degree angle and the bubbles of the divers rising at different angles.  It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and I was hooked.  Not having a camera at the time, so that I could work on my techniques and skills, I played a game in my mind when would the fear creep back in.  The game was called “How would I shoot that?”  I would run a series of apertures, f stops, shutter speeds, ISO settings, and flash levels until the panic was gone.  It worked.  That was the only dive on that trip that I did not take my camera down.  So from then on I had my pacifier with me and all was good.  I continued to dive regularly for 3 years with Skip and my son Cody .

Through repetition and familiarity I eventually would dive freely without the camera, simply to enjoy the pure  beauty that lay under the big blue.

There are many fear busting tools tangible and intangible, so I say use what works for you, that tool that excites you into saying I am scared, but I am doing it any ways.

I often think about that time in my life,  and how great a learning and growing experience it was, which I apply to my daily life every time I am in a situaion that I don’t feel comfortable with.

For more diving photos.