Last weekend I had a little inspiration to write the first blog entry in a long while. It might be a rehash of something that gets discussed a million times here in the great white north but it gives me a chance to tell a story that is only funny after the fact. Maybe someone can learn from my mistakes.

My dad and I had ventured up to Price county for a long weekend to try to get at least one more deer in the waning weeks of bow season and to try our luck ice fishing.

We knew there was snow in the forecast for Sunday morning so we decided to get some of our stuff packed up the night before and were all set for the two to four inches of snow that were being predicted for Saturday night.

When I woke up Sunday morning about ten inches of the White Death were already on the ground and I was thinking through in my mind what exactly I would say to the Bush League meteorologist if he had been standing in front of me.

Without wasting any time, we packed the rest of our gear into the truck and at about 8:30AM we started down the long gravel driveway toward a long gravel road. I remember remarking how beautiful and quiet the scene was.

After carefully navigating the twists and turns of the backcountry driveway we came to an open area where the snow had drifted in such a way as to make it impossible to know where the road was.

About a third of the way into the clearing my dad found out where the road wasn’t. We were stuck.

Now, I may have never worked as any kind of automotive expert and I don’t have a PhD in physics but in my short 27 years, I would say that I have developed a keen understanding of human nature. From that I concluded two things: 1) Dad was going to floor it and spin the wheels digging us into an even less navigable rut and 2) I was best to just sit there and not give him any driving advice.

It is here that I will stop to make my first point: While packing up the truck, in the midst of placing it in the bed, I was talked out of bringing a shovel.

No matter how short the trip, no matter how little space there is, there is no reason to leave behind the sorts of things you would need to get unstuck and moving including…

Shovel
Kitty litter/ ice melt/ salt/ sand
A chain or heavy strap
Jumper cables
Blanket
First aid kit
Flashlight
Etc.

After making the realization that we were not going to get out with the current inventory of objects on hand we began the long walk back to the house to get anything and everything that we thought might help get us out.

We grabbed a chain, 2 shovels and a 400cc ATV and we were on our way back. While it made it a lot easier to get back to the truck I had serious doubts about the ability of an ATV to pull a 3/4 ton truck out of anything.

We got back to the truck and found it in the same condition we had left it in. I quickly got to work clearing away as much snow from behind and under the truck as possible. We hooked up the chain to the truck and ATV and using the combined power of the truck and ATV we managed to accomplish absolutely nothing.

We piled back on the ATV and went back to select another vehicle to use.

The next vehicle we tried was a used up Jeep Wrangler. Now, before I get any nasty responses from the many current and former Wrangler owners in the crowd, I must tell you that this thing was a used up hunk of junk years ago. Unable to get it started we opted for what should have been the first option: a 1/2 ton 4×4.

Try as we might, the 4×4 just didn’t have enough hutzpa to get the job done. At this point there was a brief discussion of giving up and spending Christmas in the middle of nowhere.

Instead of giving in to the temptation of hypothermia, starvation, and eventually death I took the 4×4 back to the shed and loaded it down with as much heavy junk as I could find to put in it.

Second point: If you have a vehicle with rear wheel drive, four wheel drive or all wheel drive… for the love of god, put some weight in it over the rear axel. The time you save will be your own.

Low and behold, with the extra weight in the back of the 4×4 more than did the trick and we were back on the road… for all of about 75 yards. It was at this point my mind wandered back to the Jack London short story, To Start a Fire, about the guy who slowly freezes to death due in equal parts to the cruelty of nature and his own stupidity. The frozen legs of my jeans stiffly swayed as I walked back to get another shovel to replace the two we had broken already.

Stuck again and in a deteriorating mood, I got back to the shed in an attempt to start the Jeep, which despite its decrepit condition, did have a plow attached to the front… It was time to work smart instead of working hard for a change. Perhaps getting the Jeep started and using the plow to clear our way was a required means to an end.

Well… it still wouldn’t start. I spent more precious time while the snow continued fall to charge the battery. After getting the battery back in it fired right up after about 20 minutes of carefully pumping the gas to keep it from dying. We were back in business. By this time there was nearly a foot of freshly fallen snow on the ground.

Third Point: Get a decent battery and even if you think you have a decent battery, have it checked out. I know the temptation to save 20 or 40 bucks buying a cheap battery is strong but the cost of missing one day of work or paying for a tow makes up for that difference immediately.

I plowed my way back to the stuck truck to find it in a marginally better position than I had left it. I used the plow blade to push it out and then followed close behind as we made our way to the road.

Much to my surprise the county road crews had made it all the way out to our secluded location and the gravel road at the end of the driveway was relatively clear. I used the plow one more time to nudge the truck on to the road and we were back in business again.

My dad made it about 1/4 mile up the road and, in an attempt to pull over for a county work truck, made friends with the ditch for the third time.

After getting out twice already we were getting really good at it and in no time were free again. After his third strike, I opted to take the wheel and began the slow crawl home.

All told, what is usually a five hour drive took about 13 1/2 due to bad road conditions and getting stuck.

I hope someone can learn something from my tale of woe. And if anyone else has any winter driving tips please feel free to add them.

Best wishes to the WNPA membership for a happy new year and a safe winter driving season.

-Nathan

Posted by Nathan Pier as Survival Afield at 3:44 PM EST

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Now that the elections are under our collective belt, I wanted to chime in and ask our membership if there was anything about the 2007 POY that they felt needed improvement. After some soul searching and a simple analysis of the current software and hardware I am somewhat worried that our current OS9 based system and my poor tired powerbook might be reaching the end of their useful life.

With this in mind, I would like to strike up a conversation regarding any and all changes the leadership and membership might be interested in seeing in the hopes that good intentions are given time to develop into an even better contest next year.

Some of you may have also caught wind that I am changing jobs again for, what is it now…, the fifth time since 2004. It is my intention to, at this time, make an ironclad commitment to running the contest for another year. However, I am interested in finding someone who would like to learn the ropes and be my wing-man or wing-woman. Any interested party can contact me at ndpier@gmail.com

Until next time,

Nathan Pier

Posted by Nathan Pier as Survival Afield at 8:24 AM EDT

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As the WNPA POY contest looms on the horizon I thought it was only appropriate to chime in with some tips and tricks for first-timers on how to keep your sanity during and after the judging.

I know how it is, the photo, or even worse, the story that you had attached all of your hopes for recognition to gets the heave-ho from the judges. Instead of immediately expressing your disgust in the direct and less than dignified form of a moan, groan or expletive, remember that judging is a highly subjective process.

Just because someone stomps on your “baby” it doesn’t mean that they hold any contempt of feel any disrespect for you or your work in general. If you’re mad about the results, take it out on the 2007 POY contest… you have 9 months left to make your winning images.

With that said, I do understand that after judging has ended many photographers will have cause to celebrate or drown their sorrows… please do so responsibly. Besides, if you overdo it, you are going to miss out on some of the fantastic door prizes. Mr. Powers has secured a wide variety of great prizes and arriving late for the morning or afternoon sessions will result in missing your chance at some great gear.

Since everyone is going to have to fill their stomach with some sort of sustenance during the convention, I have also compiled the following list of restaurant type places that I enjoy eating at when in the downtown Milwaukee area:

The King and I (Thai cuisine *vegetarian options)
830 Old World 3rd St
http://www.kingandirestaurant.com/

Buck Bradley’s (great burgers, sandwiches, fish fry)
1019 Old World 3rd St
http://www.buckbradleys.com/

The Historic Turner Restaurant (American and German cuisine)
1034 N 4th St
http://www.historicturner.com/

Alterra at The Lake (great coffee, tea, quick breakfast or lunch *vegetarian options)
1701 N Lincoln Memorial Dr
http://alterracoffee.com/about.html

The Old German Beer Hall (Brats, Fish fry)
1009 Old Word 3rd St
http://oldgermanbeerhall.com/

Posted by Nathan Pier as Survival Afield at 11:15 AM EDT

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Let me start out by saying that I am tremendously grateful to everyone who got his or her files in on time. While many of you demonstrated excellent procrastination skills the deadline was honored.

While I am handing out kudos, I have survived processing the files into their contest format and am pleased to report that the degree of accuracy to which the files were prepared in both student and pro classes was the best it has been in my history of contest involvement.

The FTP submission was also a resounding success and will certainly return next year for anyone who was wondering. Apart from a few minor hiccups for one student and one pro (one of which was my fault) it seemed to go smoothly.

Now that most of the heavy lifting I had to do is done I would like to remind everyone that judging is open to the any interested students or professionals (no matter if they entered or not) and will be held at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 333 W State St. Milwaukee, WI 53202.

Student judging will be on Thursday March 29 at 1 PM. As a former student I realize that this means setting the alarm clock early but the knowledge gained from seeing your images judged will be beneficial to you in your quest for photographic greatness.

I am looking for a few additional working or retired pros to judge the student contest. If you are interested, please let me know.

Pro judging will be on Friday March 30 at 9 AM. I, again, encourage anyone who is interested, especially students, to attend pro judging. Call it an educated guess or maybe superstition but I think we are going to have a first time POY winner this year in pro and the points race to become Photographer of the Year is almost certain to go down to the wire.

The strength of the images in both student and pro is outstanding and a testament of the level of talent we have in Wisconsin. Thanks to all who entered, your hard work is makes our great contest possible.

Nathan Pier

WNPA POY Contest Chair

Posted by Nathan Pier as Survival Afield, 2007 Convention at 11:38 AM EST

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Survival Afield
By Nathan Pier

I’m not talking about a beer commercial from the 80’s.

There always seems to be that one certain item that is invaluable to have with you while on assignment… that magical item that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to do your job without and, unfortunately, the item some of us seem all to often to forget.

For me it is always the pen. I don’t know how many pens I have in my bags, in the car or at the office but I do know that about 80% of them are dried out, broken or in some other way useless.

It occurred to me that some of us in the WNPA ranks and a frighteningly high percentage of photojournalism students are out on the streets without some of the basics: pens, mini notebooks, spare batteries, a watch, cell phone, emergency cash, flashlight, gaffer’s tape and/or electrical tape, extra memory cards, ID card, gum, medication, etc

At a recent white supremacist rally and counterdemonstration in Madison I was awestruck to hear a number of questions and comments related to ill preparedness.

Two of my favorite overheard phrases in Madison on Saturday August 27th, 2006:

• “Can I borrow a compact flash card?”
• “I didn’t think it was supposed to rain”

Let’s examine:

“Can I borrow a compact flash card?”

Short answer: No

Long Answer: I will preface this by saying that I was once guilty of this myself. Along with that, I will thank Michelle Stocker for saying no to me. I will go on to say give me a break.

As a jaded shooter of 25 years of age, not experience, I personally recall in fall of 2002 paying $135 each for two 256MB cards. Today, with that same dollar amount it is possible to get a several gigs worth of storage. If you don’t go to the track meet without your running shoes and you don’t bake a cake without flour or sugar than for the love of god, don’t show up to an assignment without something to put your pictures on. Reverse the roles: I wouldn’t expect a stranger, or even your best friend, to lend you a card in the heat of the moment.

“I didn’t think it was going to rain”

Unless you have a deep personal relationship with whoever owns the nearest doomsday type weather machine it might be a good idea to prepare for some of the contingencies of Wisconsin weather. That doesn’t mean that you have to own the latest and most expensive raincoat for your camera (or your own body).

All it means is that it would be handy to have a working knowledge of tape, rubber bands and plastic bags and any other material that might come in handy for fashioning an on the go rain cover for your gear. It also means that if you don’t carry it on your person, you need to know where to find them when you find yourself in a pinch.

I am not suggesting that we all load down our shoulder bags, fanny packs, backpacks, or even, heaven forbid, photo vests with ten tons of useless junk. I don’t want to be responsible for or associated with any bad backs or hernias.

What I am suggesting is that we all experiment with being little more pragmatic about what we will need, and maybe what we don’t, to do a job that has a seemingly endless number of twists and turns.

I would be interested to hear everyone’s items that they won’t be without on assignment… Let’s hear it!

Survival Afield is a weblog dedicated to the survival and overall well-being of shooters of any stripe and is authored by photojournalist Nathan Pier.

Posted by Nathan Pier as Survival Afield at 10:58 PM EDT

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It was about two years ago when I got my full fledged credentials as a fixer.

During a Badger men’s basketball game a student who had traveled hundreds of miles to cover it ran into a problem. Her camera body was shooting blank black frames about 99% of the time and she had no idea what to do. No one had an extra body for her to use.

Before she could give up on being able to shoot the game I offered my assistance.

With little hesitation I grabbed her camera, took the lens off and inspected it briefly remembering the wisdom on repairs of this nature handed down from Al Hoch during my internship at The Janesville Gazette.

I reached into my pocket, produced my apartment key, jammed it into the lens mount of her camera and bent the aperature lever back to spec.

The look on her face while I undertook this courtside repair was a priceless combination of shock and horror. The body was school property and she was clearly not qualified to authorize a repair, especially one of this nature.

The end result was that her camera worked for the entire game without a single additional blank frame.

It is in the spirit of this and other instances of snatching photojournalistic victory from the hands of defeat that I launch the Survivial Afield Category.

It is my hope that this portion of the blog can be a forum to discuss the less than everyday problems with equipment that we all face from the simple fix to an undertaking that would make MacGyver envious.

Posted by Nathan Pier as Survival Afield at 5:05 PM EST

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