Larry Downing is a Reuters senior staff photographer assigned to the White House. He shares that duty with three other staff photographers. He has lived in Washington since 1977 and has been assigned to cover the White House , including flying aboard Air Force One, since 1978. President Barack Obama is the sixth president Larry has photographed.

Only two identical aircraft exist in the world which both share the same high-level function. They mirror one another precisely except for the numeric identifier on the tail. One reads 28000, the other 29000.
They’re as sleek as they are majestic. Anticipation runs high when either travels and both are red carpet worthy. They are concealed around-the-clock in a protective cocoon while being constantly pampered at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

“Use of Deadly Force is Authorized” inside the security perimeter ringing around the outermost tips of their wings, and absolutely no one is allowed to enter without permission.

However, the moment the President of the United States, or POTUS, steps aboard, the aircraft immediately transforms from a mild-mannered Boeing 747 passenger jet into an aviation ambassador for the might of the United States, carrying one of the most powerful men in the world to any destination he chooses; all the while in complete luxury.

Welcome aboard Air Force One.

It’s America’s magic carpet and it floats freely through the clouds under a veil of secrecy while transporting essential elements of the White House inside a secure “bubble” to any corner of the world. Surprisingly, there’s an operating room with a doctor in case of a medical emergency and a protective armada of U.S. warplanes shadows its every movement.

Air Force One is the ultimate military jet transport with a simple, yet singular mission; to serve the needs of the President of the United States. Only the president, his family, invited guests, select White House staff, armed Secret Service agents and members of a small press pool are allowed as passengers during flight.

Even the president’s pets are treated as royalty. President George W. Bush used to ferry his dogs and cat back and forth on every trip to his central Texas ranch in Crawford. One of his dogs, Barney, gained a local following after the much publicized biting of a Reuters’ reporter at the White House.

Bush also liked to use a special mountain bike when riding, so it was necessary for an aide to load it onto the back of the aircraft for his use on arrival, just in case. An “Air Force One Travel Pool” always accompanies the president when he’s on the jet.

It’s the tightest and most prestigious of all White House press pools, just 13members total with rotating representatives from each of the disciplines of journalism. These “poolers” are present in all presidential motorcades, on all helicopter movements (but never aboard Marine One), and are housed overnight in the president’s 5-star hotel when his travels take him out of town or country. Reuters assigns a wire service correspondent and a news photographer to travel on board during all presidential travel.

Armed military police and trained dogs make sure no one goes near Air Force One without a complete security vetting process. All personnel assigned to the squadron have a top secret clearance and, in Air Force-speak, “a need to know” before working on the aircraft. All press and their equipment are thoroughly sniffed, scanned and searched before being issued an additional U.S. Secret Service credential which allows him or her to walk on the tarmac towards the jet. That pass is changed by a Secret Service agent on every travel segment of a trip.

Wearing different press credentials is a daily part of White House travel.

The “security sweep” at Andrews Air Force Base involves no less than ten different challenges to each member of the press pool at the beginning of travel. Starting with manifesting by the White House, security continues through elements of the U.S. Air Force, TSA, U.S. Secret Service (both Uniformed Division and Presidential Protective Division), explosive ordinance experts, bomb-sniffing dogs, and finally, Air Force One’s own armed bouncers, their exclusive security force.

Only then are you allowed to board the aircraft using the rear stairs. The front steps belong only the president. That tradition was lost somehow on Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich when he complained to the press of having to use the rear steps after flying as the president’s guest.

Air Force One offers much more than your father’s military transport ever could… Most veterans’ memories of military travel aren’t fond ones. Circumstances made military travel reminiscent of the migratory adventures discovered inside a John Steinbeck novel; tired vagabonds hitching rides inside the wooden boxcars of the steel freight trains while chasing their tumbleweed dreams across the flats of west Texas. GI’s have always been exposed to conditions like those dust bowl hobos of the early 1900’s.

Even by today’s standards military travel is less than glamorous.

Last summer, while former first lady Laura Bush rode in comfort inside her luxury trailer strapped to the floor of a C-17 transport jet, White House staff, Secret Service and press members were left outside in the cold…literally. Frostbite awaits anyone who falls asleep on the steel floor of that particular aircraft without making sensible precautions. It’s a biting cold at 37,000 feet.

This picture was taken during that 2008 secret visit to Afghanistan after seven frigid hours of flight.

Guests on Air Force One are treated in comforting fashion. Service is reminiscent of the attention passengers received during the dawn of commercial airline travel. The seats are large and recline far enough back to sleep comfortably on long flights. No meals are pre-packaged or sealed in plastic bags and nothing is served from an airline cart; instead meals are cooked fresh by Air Force cooks in the jet’s large flight kitchen and then served on Air Force One’s own china. Full meals and desserts are cooked and created by hand in-flight. The press cabin also offers a large library of movies with comfortable headsets.

Before returning to Andrews Air Force Base the stewards pass out the most prized of all White House travel souvenirs…The Presidential M&M’s. They are exclusive to Air Force One and are limited edition. Each box has the Presidential Seal on its front and the autograph of the current president embossed below it. President Barack Obama’s M&M’s are eagerly anticipated and are due out in late March 2009.

Each passenger later receives a large flight certificate from the White House, signed by the presidential pilot, indicating that they flew as a “Guest of the President” aboard Air Force One. It resembles an undergraduate degree from an American university. Air Force One’s on-time record is perfect and no one has ever filed a claim for lost luggage. The aircraft commander prides himself on one simple fact… you can set your watch to his scheduled arrival time. He’s right!

Only once in recent history has Air Force One been delayed beyond the commander’s control. That incident occurred in the 1990’s when President Bill Clinton insisted on bringing a Beverly Hills stylist out to the readied aircraft before take-off while it sat on the airport’s tarmac in Los Angeles. He wanted to experience a $200 “Christophe” hair treatment. Commercial aircraft waited patiently to take off during the airport’s mandatory Air Force One ramp-freeze while Clinton received the cut.

The nickname “Hair Force One” grew out of that exclusive appointment.

News photographers are allowed to work “under the wing” for all arrivals and all departures of the president. (Photography from behind the main wing is discouraged. The trailing edge of the jet’s wing supports cutting-edge electronic gadgetry not found on commercial aircraft.)

Once aboard, the press pool is instructed to remain inside the designated press cabin at all times. No movement outside of the area is allowed without a White House staff escort and is monitored by the Secret Service agents sitting in the adjacent cabin. Photography is allowed only during “on camera” briefings inside that press cabin.

Air Force One is as much an official backdrop for news photography as is the White House. The exterior colors are visually hypnotic. Every angle is eye candy. First lady Jackie Kennedy chose it all when she resided at the White House.

One of my favorite pictures of President George W. Bush is his boarding the aircraft after a visit to New Orleans on a very hot, sweaty night following Hurricane Katrina. A simple picture…yet, it says a lot. It would be nothing without the majesty of the aircraft.

No news picture will ever top the one taken aboard by White House photographer Cecil Stoughton on the return flight from a bloody visit to Dallas in November 1963 shortly after President John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead. As LBJ was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States, the former first lady stood by his side with her dead husband’s blood still on her jacket. His body rode home quietly in the cabin of the plane. This picture is from the Johnson Presidential Library and is a huge part of White House history.

That aircraft was a Boeing 707 and its tail identifier was 26000. I flew on that exact Air Force One 15 years later. It would be more than a decade after that before the 707’s would be replaced with the new pair of 747’s. 26000 is now on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Ohio.

To fly aboard Air Force One is a continuing honor and even after 31 years of White House duty, the experience still gives me goose bumps. Every flight is monumental to me.

My first flight was with President Jimmy Carter when he flew to Denver to promote the use of solar energy in residential homes in 1978. Carter’s luck always seemed to sit under a dark cloud. He was handed an umbrella as soon as he stepped off Air Force One in Colorado to keep him dry. It poured rain during the event.

I remember flying with President George H.W. Bush to Somalia to lunch with U.S. military troops on a very quick visit. As we departed Mogadishu the temperature hovered right at 100 degrees. We took off, flew north to Moscow, and arrived before midnight. The temperature in Russia was 20 degrees below zero. 120 degrees difference in less than 12 hours.

I traveled with his son twice on secret missions to Iraq. On the second trip, after the Air Force issued armored vests to each member of the traveling press moments before touching down in Baghdad, we were instructed that President George W. Bush wanted us to leave them on the ground before we left Iraq. He wanted to be sure combat soldiers in harm’s way would have the newest body armor.

Another striking memory for me was President Bill Clinton’s visit to Vietnam after the U.S. elections in 2000. While Air Force One banked into its final turn towards Hanoi, I noticed dozens of brown bomb craters lining the green countryside on our approach. The closer we flew towards the runway, the more craters I counted. U.S. Air Force pilots are quite familiar with that flight pattern. American B-52 warplanes dropped thousands of bombs over the area during the Christmas Bombing of Hanoi in 1972; all during the peace negotiations to end the Vietnam War. The next morning Clinton stood in front of a large bust of Vietnam’s wartime hero, Ho Chi Minh.

An example of the ease of travel Air Force One enjoys was during the 2005 trip of President George W. Bush to Rome for the funeral of Pope John Paul II. After attending the somber Vatican funeral with two former U.S. President’s, Bush loaded his wife onto Air Force One and together they flew from Rome, Italy, to Waco, Texas. Imagine calling a travel agent and requesting that same non-stop service?

Air Force One earns its wings daily during the busy travel schedule of the last year of any president’s Administration. He schedules the entire year traveling to say goodbye to anyone who will join him for lunch.

I remember President Bill Clinton’s final journeys to India, Africa, Asia, Europe. Bush’s goodbye exodus was equally long. In 2008 White House travel took me to: Thailand, Korea, the Beijing Olympics, Israel (twice), the Palestinian Territory, Saudi Arabia (twice), Afghanistan (with the first lady), Slovenia, Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

My only complaint is that we DON’T get Air Force One frequent flyer miles…

For a portfolio of Larry’s work click here.

To be in the right place at the right moment - this is every photojournalist’s dream. To be on the scene to record the “decisive moment” with your camera.

Most photojournalists around the world consider Israel and the Palestinian Territories as ”heaven” for great stories providing great pictures. Well they are wrong.

For a long time this place has produced some of the most memorable news photos ever but at a high cost, and not just to the millions of Israelis and Palestinians who have suffered in their daily lives through the conflict of the past two decades or so. A number of photographers and camera operators lost their lives or been badly injured while trying to convey the story and a great number of others have psychological scars from being exposed to scenes of death and destruction over long periods of time. 

Yes, Israel and the Palestinian territories are full of great images, but how easy is to find them and record them? 

Well - the ’finding’ part is not too hard. Beepers are constantly beeping, SMS messages are constantly being sent keeping the large international press corps up to date on even the most obscure goings-on.  The Israeli Government Press Office, the Palestinian Authority, NGOs, the Israeli Defence Forces, settler groups, religious groups; all have very sophisticated media operations that fill your e-mail inbox, mobile phone and beeper with a constant stream of information.

The recording part is another story. It can seem as if everything is against you and everybody is trying to make your life difficult. Photographers here are  among the most competitive in the world … and they are many. Security is a nightmare. Much of the time the authorities from both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides make things very difficult, except of course when they want you to shoot the picture/story that they want to get across. And do not forget, you are always subject to flying rocks, bullets, rockets, hate, blood and tears … definitely not easy! 

On top of that - international agencies and newspapers take this story very seriously so they tend to send their best photographers here … and thats in addition to the incredible local talent already here.  I’m lucky that two of the most talented, dedicated and sensitive photographers in the region are on my team; Ronen Zvulun, who is based in Jerusalem, and Mohammed Salem, based in Gaza, are fine examples of how - after finding the story - recording it becomes an art in itself. Click on their names above to enjoy samples of their work.

(Photo credits: (from top to bottom: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem, REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun, REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun, REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)

It’s 10 pm and there’s a cold wind blowing in the parking lot of a strip mall in Ciudad Juarez. This is our “base” of operations where two other photographers and I await news from a radio tuned to the police frequency. One of my colleagues reads a newspaper while the other describes to me his experiences covering the violence. His experiences are stories of terror.

Suddenly over the radio waves come the clear sounds of a “narcocorrido,” or Mexican folk music that glorifies the feats of drug bandits. One of the photographers jumps. “It’s going down,” he says. Baffled, I ask what he means. “The bandits interrupt the police frequency with that music as a signal that they’re about to deposit a package (victim’s remains).” It’s a sober warning and clear example of the power of narcos along much of Mexico’s northern border.

Forensic workers stand next to 11 of 16 slain bodies dumped in an abandoned lot in the border city of Tijuana September 29, 2008. Police found 16 bodies dumped in the seedy Mexican border city of Tijuana on Monday in what the state attorney general’s office said could be a revenge attack for the arrest of a local drug gang hit man. REUTERS/Stringer

Shadows come to life here. They move, threaten and make their presence felt. Silence is broken by the crack of bullets followed by sirens, the rumble of army and police patrols, sobbing, and finally more silence…It’s just another day on Mexico’s northern border. Two, three, ten…who counts them? The numbers make sense only to statisticians that keep tabs on the anonymous bodies that pile up in the city morgue.

Soldiers patrol a boulevard in the border city of Reynosa in the state of Tamaulipas December 8, 2007. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

What happens here is no different from what goes on in other places like Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Tijuana, Culiacan, Guerrero, Michoacan, and even Monterrey. It’s more of a feat to name places that do not suffer from narco-violence. Covering it is like covering a war. We have to deal with the threats of narcos and with the pressure put on us by the police and army. The military convoys, the dark uniforms of the federales (federal police), the checkpoints and the yellow tape that marks crime scenes are all part of the new landscape. My friends tell me that this is the new Colombia. I don’t doubt it one bit.

A federal police searches a group of passengers for drugs and weapons as others stand guard at a check point in the border city of Rio Bravo in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, Mexico January 10, 2008.  REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

The narco-culture has a long history in Mexico. The only thing new about it is the unprecedented level of violence. Residents of neighborhoods rich and poor receive undesirable visits in the form of hooded policemen investigating crime scenes, or assassins and soldiers in gunfights that often take innocent victims. Desperate parents listen to shots as they wait for their children to be evacuated from school.

A policeman carries a child away during a gun battle in Tijuana, in Mexico’s state of Baja California, January 17, 2008. A shootout on Thursday, after police agents moved in on a drug cartel group, left four people injured and forced the emergency evacuation of a school in Tijuana, according to the local media. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes

Friends of mine that live in cities like Tijuana almost never go out at night to drink or eat any more for fear of losing their lives in a shootout. And if a policeman appears in the same restaurant they will quickly ask for their food to take out, because so many policemen are publicly executed by narcos. The psychosis dominates daily life. Residents are hostages in their own homes, suspecting anything and anyone that is unfamiliar. The tourist areas dedicated to the permanent flow of Americans that cross the border to drink and dance are now all but deserted thanks to the U.S. government’s warnings. “Stay away from bloody Mexico.”

A woman reacts after arriving to a crime scene where a relative was gunned down in the border city of Ciudad Juarez August 22, 2008.  REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

Nobody knows for sure if the guy next to you is a narco soon to be executed or if he is the executioner. If you go to a dance hall and one of them wants your girl he will have her, by whatever means. It’s frightening to speak to police because you never know which side they work for. They take photos of us and arrest us for asking questions, as their way of finding out why we are there. Taxi drivers, gasoline pumpers and hotel employees are among the anonymous informants watching the movement of the police, the army and everyone else.

Forensic workers and soldiers carry the bodies of three soldiers found dead in the community of El Barro, some 20 km (14.9 miles) away from Monterrey, northern Mexico October 22, 2008. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

One night a taxi driver that didn’t know who I was began to describe in detail the assassination of soldiers that happened here last November. The driver was a “hawk,” an informant for the Gulf Cartel, and admitted it openly.

A simple phone call to a journalist or a newsroom turns into orders about what they can and cannot publish. Assassins converted into editors return to the crime scene to “peruse” photographers’ pictures and decide what they want published. Sometimes we get a direct threat to leave the area. “There’s nothing for you here, a——-. Leave now or you will be next.” And then there are the fake checkpoints where the details give them away – sneakers instead of boots, AK-47 instead of R-15 (the AK-47 is the narco weapon of choice). This is the Old West, except that the victims are counted in the thousands.

Mexican soldiers inspect a vehicle at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Tijuana January 6, 2007.  REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

It’s difficult to write a level-headed account of what is happening here. I find it especially hard for me because apart from having experienced it personally, my colleagues suffer it daily. Impunity is rampant, and we’re all victims.

The widow of slain state prison guard Rodolfo Garcia holds his photograph after a memorial service outside the state government building in the border city of Tijuana April 20, 2007. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

By many accounts this is just the beginning, with the worst yet to come. Meanwhile the state of the economy, ignorance and poverty continue to fuel the fire of this war that seems all but lost for now. All we photographers can do is remain on alert knowing that at any time a few more lives will be snatched in the endless dance of life and death. How many more? Only time will tell.

Forensic workers look at the slain body of police commander Mario Sanchez after being executed by unidentified gunmen in San Nicolas de los Garza, Monterrey May 19, 2007. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

Another Oscar week has come and gone, and Reuters News Pictures was there on the red carpet covering the biggest night in Hollywood. Staff Photographer Mario Anzuoni talks about how he approaches the mayhem on the busiest red carpet in the world, and shares his coverage plan, with Sam Mircovich, Editor in Charge, Global Entertainment Pictures

Sam Mircovich – Mario, Lets start with your work history, and how you got into shooting entertainment.

Mario Anzuoni – I started as a contract photographer for “Il Mattino”, in Naples Italy, where I covered hard news and features. Part of my daily beat was to cover mob killings, and I remember one time I arrived at a crime scene where the mother showed up before the police. She just pulled up a chair over her son’s body and started praying over her son. It was a touching photo.  Another time I snuck into one of the biggest cemeteries in Naples on a tip that it was poorly maintained, and I found open coffins and exposed remains, because of the neglect. I was purely a news photographer and had never covered entertainment before.

SM – That’s quite a leap, from hard news coverage to entertainment, how did it happen?

MA – Well, I applied to become a staff photographer in Los Angeles for one of the biggest Italian photo agencies, La Presse. I got the job the same day I applied and was on my way to California. When I arrived in Los Angeles, I discovered I was the only person in the bureau, and I had to quickly develop managerial skills and set up their office. I had to learn how to credential and develop contacts, basically start from scratch. It was quite a challenge. I worked for them for three years.

SM – And then you got hired by the Splash Agency, notorious for their paparazzi work. How did that sit with you?

Mario on the red carpet by Steve Granitz

MA – I had never done pap work, and it has never appealed to me. Of course there is a place for that in general entertainment coverage, but by that time I was comfortable with event photography and felt I was doing a good job in that area. They agreed with my desire to remain in that field, and I got hired the same day I applied.

SM – That is rare, they obviously recognized your talent

MA – Well, that is a nice thing to say, I think maybe it was because of the relationships I had built with publicists and their trust in me. The New York Post allowed me to credential myself for events, which added legitimacy. My outtakes were then syndicated by Splash.

SM - And then you arrived at Reuters based on a recommendation by senior staff photographer Robert Galbraith.

MA – Yes, in 2005, when I interviewed with you and Gary Hershorn during Oscar week. I had known Bob at entertainment events he had covered and he put the good word in for me. It was the next logical step for my career.

SM – So let’s talk about your approach for covering the Oscars last weekend. It is a crazy night, and the red carpet is crammed with photographers from competing agencies. What is your mindset when you shoot the carpet?

MA – There are many approaches to the red carpet coverage, but the only one that fits for me is to bring a documentary style to the event and, as you tell everyone before it starts, be aware of the entire scene, not just what happens in front of you. I can honestly say that I never felt I was able to be as creative before I came to Reuters.

SM – Why is that?

MA – Each photographer there knows they need the bread and butter photo, the full length showing the beautiful dresses, and head shots. And the majority of photographers there do that and only that. They are so focused on it they miss many beautiful pictures that happen 10 feet to their left or right. You can’t dismiss that approach, because many are very successful at it and they get a lot of play in the magazines. But I never really felt I need to shoot what the magazines think they want; my goal is to shoot pictures that tell the story and are creative.

SM – The Oscars are the most elaborate and expensive fashion show of the year, though some would not admit it, so there is truth to getting the easy picture.

MA – Right, and my position on the red carpet was the deadline position, the first group of photographers, so of course I know we need the bread and butter picture. But I don’t need 40 images of a star standing in front of me; just a dozen or so. That freedom allows me to look around for other opportunities while everyone else is snapping away.

SM – How do you let your creativity shine through in such a frenzy?

MA – I think the key is to not panic and not to shoot in a panic. Cover your basic picture and observe. The last hour of the Oscars red carpet is very intense; you can feel the electricity in the air. You are at the epicentre of a celebrity earthquake and you can easily get swallowed up in the event if you are not centered and allowing creativity to flow.

SM – I must say that the deadline position this year was very clean.

MA – Yes, the Academy put up a backdrop with their branding on it and it made a huge difference. The red carpet is so crowded; it was nice to not have to worry about people walking into the background, causing distractions. It was a huge improvement, very well staged, very tasteful. The Academy should be commended for recognizing that the first picture is important and the changes reflected it.

SM – Let’s talk about your lens choices. You had two cameras, one with a 24-70 zoom, and one with a 80-200 telephoto zoom.

MA – I actually used four cameras.

SM – That’s interesting because when you sent me two cards at the end of the night the messenger said you had one extra camera. You are so busted! The reader should know that we have 2 cameras in each position wired to a fiber network, so the images zip right out of the camera and into our editing stations. I did not expect any cards from you that evening.

MA – We discussed it, don’t you remember?

SM – No, but it was a busy week for me and I could have forgotten. I am getting old you know. So I am glad you trusted your instincts.

MA – The third camera had an 85mm f1.2 on it and then I had an extra wide angle, 16mm. I used that to show the huge crowd on the carpet and whenever a celebrity came close enough to me.

SM – A lot of photographers make that mistake when using a wide angle, by not placing their subject in the foreground. If you don’t the picture looks too general view and the viewer has to search for the photographer intent.

MA – Well, sometimes that IS the photographer’s intent, but not mine. It goes back to the documentary approach. I had some images of Brad and Angelina being interviewed by a local TV personality. I actually had to lean behind the photographer next to me, Steve Granitz, to get the shot, and he was cool about it.

SM- They weren’t annoyed with you?

MA – I wanted to show the entire scene and make a good picture of them. Brad is an amateur photographer and saw I was shooting without a flash, so I was trying to be the fly on the wall, and they were not bothered. In the end photographers called to them and Angelina turned my way.

SM – The other thing that is striking is the exposure and light. It is dramatic in that the shadows hold little detail and the TV lights are exposed just right. It really makes the photo stand out.

MA – The color temperature setting in the camera is very important and 90% of the time I am setting it manually. But in this case, the automatic color temperature setting was closest to reality. It was a mixed light source, with gloomy skies and hot lights and strobes from other photographers. It really helped that it was overcast, which gave a nice base exposure with even lighting.

SM – I wanted to touch briefly on the telephoto work, and getting a clean image. You had one picture of Josh Brolin blowing a kiss, and numerous clean head shots and moments.

MA – I had already shot the basics on Josh and Diane Lane and was just waiting for something to happen. Anticipating the moment is a basic part of photojournalism, and this is one example. This shot wouldn’t have worked as well as a wide angle, and I made a deliberate effort to shoot a tight photo of him doing something, anything out of the ordinary. If he had not done this, I still would have several nice head shots, but using the right lens and being ready will pay off if you have the patience.

SM – Also you have a nice picture of Sean and Robin Penn holding hands and smiling. I think them holding hands really makes the photo and he seems to be enjoying himself.

MA – It’s funny, because Sean Penn smiles but people don’t often see it. This was shot looking down toward the tent where they enter, and they weren’t really in position yet to make the head to toe photo. Again, watching the entire scene pays off. I am really happy with that photo.

SM – So lets change gears and talk briefly on where event photography is going. There are the agency photographers that shoot the bread and butter, and then a handful of photographers trying to do something different. Clearly, magazines use both but the majority are the full length dresses. Is there room on the red carpet for both types of photographers, or will one have to change to suit the tastes of the clients.

MA – Remember that we are no longer just considering the magazine/newspaper user as the end client. Web sites such as MSNBC run slide shows each week filled with more spontaneous and artistic celebrity images. So yes, there is room for both types of photographer. I don’t curtail my style to any one client, and my job is not done because I fulfilled their expectations. My job is to shoot captivating images and to have as much fun as possible.

Models, tall models, skinny models, Russian models, French models…sounds exotic? Yeah, not so much. Covering fashion week in New York sounds like a pretty glamorous assignment but it could hardly be further from it.

Shooting fashion week has more in common with running a marathon than it does running a sprint. There are 8 days, some 75 shows in the tents, dozens more off site, plus preparation photos. We shoot the models backstage and the designers getting ready, we shoot the front row celebrities arriving and we shoot the show from the pit.

The pit could also be called the pit of despair. Imagine taking 200 photographers with all their requisite gear, cameras, laptops, ladders, monopods, boxes and cases, putting them in a space that realistically 50 photographers could work comfortably in. Throw in 14 hour days, little regard for hygiene and an open bar in the evening and you have a recipe for a sociological experiment gone awry.

I personally shot dozens of shows and filed hundreds of photos. The images after a few days begin to homogenize and making something different becomes a real challenge. As a photographer I am always trying to redefine my visual narrative and create interesting dynamic photos.

Enter my newest toy, the Sony DSC-T77. It is advertised at Sony’s thinnest camera and with a Zeiss lens it makes pretty impressive photos. Add to that the huge screen and the fact that it is totally silent, has an awesome macro mode, live screen for shooting off the hip, shoots in black and white with a wide exposure latitude and you have a powerful documentary tool.

It is a strange thing when a photographer pulls up a big camera with a fast lens, it tends to put people in a defensive mode, they know you are professional and think you might have some ulterior motive for taking the photograph. Pull out a little camera and they think you are just taking pictures, the subjects are much more at ease and working with the little camera is more fun. Kind of like Jim Young using his Holga, you are never quite sure exactly what you are going to get.

Photographers have always looked around them at what is available to them to best do the job. Many photographers like Young bring Holgas with them or a Leica or Contax G2. They use these tools to create a different kind of image, one that is different than their bread and butter cameras, their Canon Mark III or 5d Mark IIs with their L lenses.

I will be experimenting with this camera more and more (I am really enjoying taking pictures on the subway system here in New York as I ride back and forth to Brooklyn and taking photos out of taxi windows).

Ok, back to the marathon.

Click here for a slideshow of images.

Going for an assignment where you’re sure of a good picture can cause more stress than you imagine.

The annual mid-winter Pingsi sky lantern event in Taiwan, one of the most colorful festivals in the world, is an event where most photographers would say, “Yeah, I can shoot that easily and make a nice picture.” The mass release of balloon-like lanterns usually occurs on the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, celebrated by ethnic Chinese around the world.

You look at similar shots in the Reuters archives and wonder whether your pictures this year can match them.

Arriving at the rainy village of Pingsi (it rains at least 200 days a year, according to the locals) at around noon, I was mildly outraged to find that more than 100 tripods and stepladders had been set up near where the lanterns were to be released. The event was scheduled for 6 pm, (which means the more than 100 amateur photographers who came on their own were way more serious than a wire photographer like me). The only consolation was that I was hours earlier than competing wire services and got a good spot on the media platform.

That day I understood the real meaning of the Singlish word “Gabra”. Pronounced “GA-brah”, it means in a state of confusion or chaos, confused, frightened, shocked; i.e. panic.

First off, it was one of those 200 days of rain as aptly predicted by the locals and I was carrying two Canon MKIIn cameras and a Canon 450D mounted on a tripod for a slow shutter shot. As I waited in the rain trying to cover the cameras with a Columbia windbreaker in vain, crowds were gathering to release the lanterns. The thing happens faster than it looks in pictures.

The big red things were up in the sky within five seconds.

Anyway my plan was simple: find the most distinct silhouette and compose my frames around it.

Exposure generally changes according to the color of the lanterns, but I was on a slow 1/30 shutter, aperture 2.8 and ISO 800 most of the time. After two rounds of lantern releases, I was gabra-fied. I did not have the “money” shot and could not find my competitors. In fact, most of the locals had already gone filing and I was one of the few left on the platform.

“Your event is bursting with scenery and easy to shoot”, I hear a phantom photo editor telling me, “so why are the pictures so horrible?”

I stayed in the rain for one more round of lantern releases before filing the photos. The following round I was lucky enough to get a man who was photographing a lantern as it went up resulting in a distinct silhouette on the bottom left of the frame. I snapped a few frames and decided to file quickly to beat the Asian deadlines.

I guess my anxiousness paid off in a way. I would not have waited for that shot if I had treated it like a routine assignment where I just go and snap some all right frames and file early.

All in a day’s work on a rainy day. Let’s not get started on return traffic after the assignment.

Sports Pictures Editor Greg Bos has chosen an unusual picture from the Biathlon World Championships in Pyeongchang. Over to Greg:

I like the sense of tension, anticipation and fatigue in this picture. South Korean staff photographer Lee Jae-won captured the moment with great expressions on the faces of the two Slovenian athletes participating in a biathlon relay race.

Original caption: Janez Maric of Slovenia (R) tags teammate Klemen Bauer during the mixed relay race at the IBU Biathlon World Championships in Pyeongchang, east of Seoul February 19, 2009. REUTERS/Lee Jae-won (SOUTH KOREA)

For the previous day’s picture, click here

Split seconds count in sports photography. Reuters Sports Pictures editor Greg Bos thinks London-based photographer Eddie Keogh captured the moment perfectly when former Arsenal captain William Gallas went head over heels to the ground during an FA Cup match.

CAPTION: Arsenal’s William Gallas (top) challenges Cardiff City’s Jay Bothroyd during their FA Cup fourth round replay soccer match at the Emirates Stadium in London February 16, 2009. REUTERS/ Eddie Keogh (BRITAIN)

Original caption: Austria’s Martin Koch soars through the air during his second round jump at the ski jumping World Championships in Oberstdorf, February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Michael Dalder  

Click here for the previous day’s picture 

We’re back with another picture of the day, and this time Sports Pictures Editor Greg Bos has chosen a frame from the Copa Libertadores, South American soccer’s version of the Champions League. Greg writes:

I like this picture because of its colour and shape - a simple, but eye-catching, illustration of football fans in Argentina sandwiched between two giant colourful flags.

ORIGINAL CAPTION: Fans of San Lorenzo de Almagro display giant flags as they cheer their team during their Copa Libertadores soccer match against San Luis in Buenos Aires, February 11, 2009. Marcos Brindicci/REUTERS/(ARGENTINA)

Click here for the previous day’s picture or for a blast of nostalgia check out a few of the pix of the day from the Beijing Olympics.

http://blogs.reuters.com/china/2008/08/15/beijing-games-picture-of-the-day-11/

http://blogs.reuters.com/china/2008/08/10/beijing-games-picture-of-the-day-6/

http://blogs.reuters.com/china/2008/08/21/beijing-games-picture-of-the-day-16/