Dear Friends,

After gathering your clips for nearly two years I am passing on the rumpled manila envelopes to the WNPA’s newest volunteer.
Please thank Cory Dellenbach at the Shawano Leader for taking on this task. I was a little underwhelmed by the response (one) to this job opening
so I’d like to thank Cory for sacking up and going to work for all of us. Starting with the January 2008 clips, please send them to

Cory Dellenbach
WNPA Clip Chairman
Shawano Leader
1464 E. Green Bay Street
Shawano, Wisconsin 54166

Thanks again to the many volunteers who work over and above their busy work and family schedules to make the WNPA what it is.
Volunteers make this thing work, so thank you.

John Maniaci

Posted by jmaniaci as Webmaster's Column, President's Column, Clip Contest Update at 3:39 PM EST

7 Comments »

My name is Kris, and I’m a work-a-holic.

(Oh, that’s terrible, you say.)

I’m not proud of it. I’ve battled being a work-a-holic my entire life. When I chose a career in photojournalism, I knew I was feeding my bad habit. News is a monster with a huge appetite. It’s demanding and unpredictable. I love every minute of it.

Is it REALLY that much of a problem?

(Yes, that’s a problem, you say.)

I want to live a balanced life, but I always seem to tip the scale. First, I’ll stay late on assignments to get the shot I want. Then, I’ll shoot on a day off to for a special project. Add to that the hours that I like to spend researching stories, and before I know it, I’m spending way more time with my cameras than I do with my husband.

(Her husband must be a really patient guy, you say.)

I’ve tried to figure out why I do it. I guess in part because I feel it’s expected of me—you are only as good as your last photo. And I’m not complaining. I never thought this was an 8-5 career. I’m there to cover the news no matter how inconvenient. I’m just like any other photographer, right?

(Right, you say.)

I might not love the inconvenience of a 2 a.m. phone call to cover spot news, but there is something about it that keeps me going. Adrenalin, creativity, enthusiasm, or the thrill of seeing the world first-hand.

Those are all very good reasons, but the bottom line is, we can get more wrapped up in documenting other people’s lives than we do spending time in our own worlds.

(Maybe she has a point, you say.)

That’s my real dilemma. Although I love my work, I know that my work-a-holic habits have inconvenienced the people that I love most–

–the friends I call at the last minute and can’t join for beers because of spot news.

–the family that I can’t see at Thanksgiving because I’m covering a meal for the homeless.

–my husband who gives me “the look” but never gets mad when I say I want to run in to the office for a little bit on my day off.

Those are the people that my work-a-holic habits affect. Those are the people that I need to stay balanced for.

(Geez. I’ve done those things before, you say.)

So, I’m still working all this out. Still, after 8 years, trying to figure out how to keep a balance between life and work. When I asked my husband what his opinions were on my working habits, he just smiled and shook his head. “You are always right on the edge,” he says. “But quite often you tip more one way, than the other.”

He means I tip towards work, and he’s right. He worries when I do that.

And I really want to make sure that after all those hours of work, there is still a person/place to come home to. So we’ve started having more conversations about when I’m going off the deep end. We haven’t come to any big revelations about what is the “right” balance. I’m not sure there is any concrete work-to-family ratio table we can refer to. But the conversations about the subject have helped us figure out what feels right for our lives.

So, what about you?

(My life is pretty balanced, you say.)

Maybe you aren’t like me at all. But if you want the real truth, ask your husband/wife/significant other if THEY think your life is balanced. Their answers might surprise you. The conversation will be good for you.

Because they are in this field too, aren’t they? They just aren’t having all the fun that we are.

Posted by kwentzgraff as President's Column at 11:02 AM EDT

2 Comments »

Friends and Colleages,

It’s an honor to be a new member of the WNPA board. As a 7-year member of this organization, I hope to be able to contribute in a positive and tangible way, serving you all to be the best of my ability. One thing I haven’t been good at is getting this column up and running. You all know how busy things can get, but that’s no excuse! I’ll be chatting away at you more often from here on out.

I don’t know about you, but each year following a convention, I come away motivated and ready to tackle another year of making photos. This year’s convention was well planned and perfectly executed. If you haven’t already thanked the people who worked hard to put on the event, take a few moments and let them know how much you appreciated their hard work.

Conventions also get the little hamster wheels in my head turning. But being on the WNPA board has a whole new realm of things running through my mind.

I wonder, what in addition to the great conventions (which are an important service to provide and obviously appreciated by the membership) what else could WNPA do to support its membership?

It’s hard to come up with anything!

The association has made huge strides in communicating to the membership the past few years, through the magic of Scott Anderson’s great website design. WNPA members can easily view a wide variety of work, keep abreast of news in the photography world, and find interesting things to keep you digging on the site for hours.

But I know our state has a wealth of talent, an abundance of dedication and more importantly, a group of passionate photographers who are striving to improve their craft. I don’t know about you, but I’d sure like to have more time to talk to those people then just a few short conversations at the conventions.

Again, Scott Anderson to the rescue. (What would we do without this guy??)

Starting September, we will add a live chatroom to the WNPA website. On the first Wednesday of each month, this coming September 6, you can join in on a live chat with photographers from the across the state. Once a month we will have topical chats, hosted by a variety of photographers and editors.

Give it a try! On the 6th I will host an open chat from 6-7 p.m., about what WNPA members find important, upcoming topics they would like to see on the chat, suggestions for the convention, or anything else you want to discuss!

Watch the website for a calendar of times and dates of chats. Please feel free to make suggestions about who and what you would like to see featured.

The chat room can also be used at any time, just by signing in so drop in and see who’s around.

Sincerely,

Kristyna Wentz-Graff
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Posted by Mark Hoffman as President's Column at 2:40 PM EDT

No Comments »

Happy New Year!

With the new year comes new ideas. One of the ideas is updating the monthly clip contest.

The process of submitting clips electronically versus the traditional tearsheet.

Digital images could level the playing field for all those one/two column photos. Also, the ease of clicking instead of clipping would save time and paper.

On the other hand, the monthly clip contest has long been the traditional tearsheets. Making decisions on what to enter by how it ran in print is part of editing clips.

Is this something anyone wants to look at trying for a couple of months or should the tearsheets fall where they may?

What do you think?

Michelle Stocker
WNPA President

Posted by Michelle Stocker as President's Column at 5:01 PM EST

15 Comments »