uncommons

Post-Dispatch Newsroom, St. Louis, Missouri. Photo by Erik M. Lunsford

Routine is something photojournalists do not have often.  Assignments change daily, as do the locations we work in and the people we meet.  I’m working an early morning spot news rotation, but two days last week I joined an overnight police ride-along. Hours that normally start at 6:30 am ended again at 6:30 the following morning. It’s exciting, if not tiring; yet always rewarding. We’re adapted to constant change, and that change often is the fuel that keeps us moving.

A sacrifice of this ongoing adventure seems to be the time we often don’t have to revisit subjects or stories that deserve the extra time and attention. It’s almost as if we have to constantly shuffle stories, assignments, and people to meet our daily deadlines. You hate to be formulaic and objective about it, but you have to be in order to manage. It’s practically throwing away perfectly good stories because of time, and once we’ve wrapped up an assignment it’s time to move on.

I think about all the requests people have made to me to come back and spend more time, and all the times I’ve left them high and dry just because I couldn’t feasibly make it back. It’s frustrating, and I always hope those who asked have come to understand that it’s not I. It’s just the life of a photojournalist. How about those print requests people asked for after an in-depth assignment? Well, I am good with those so if you do not have yours yet, please be patient.  I’m getting to it, just right after this next assignment.

So, do you ever go back and see the people you have photographed before? I realize there is a difference between a daily feature and a long-term story, but in that context, do you revisit them?  A few weeks ago I photographed at a nursing home for a story on volunteer ombudsmen. A resident whom I photographed, Norma Jean Friend, enjoyed my company and asked for my return. I promised her that I would return. The other day I drove by the same nursing home on my way to another assignment. I thought about Norma, and I wonder if she’s still waiting for me. Her routine hardly changes there — my mere presence dramatically altered her afternoon. For me, it was a wonderful time, yet just another daily assignment juggled among others.

I will be back Ms. Friend, please be patient.