It started last week with journalist Nat Thayer, who was asked by The Atlantic website to repurpose a blog post for free. The original article, “25 Years of Slam Dunk Diplomacy: Rodman trip comes after 25 years of basketball diplomacy between U.S. and North Korea”  was posted on NKNews.org. After it was published, an editor from The Atlantic emailed Thayer to ask if he would be interested in adapting a version for their website – for free.

Thayer took to his blog and posted his correspondence with the editor.

“We unfortunately can’t pay you for it, but we do reach 13 million readers a month,” said the editor in her email to Thayer. “I understand if that’s not a workable arrangement for you, I just wanted to see if you were interested.”

To that Thayer responded: “I am a professional journalist who has made my living by writing for 25 years and am not in the habit of giving my services for free to for profit media outlets so they can make money by using my work and efforts by removing my ability to pay my bills and feed my children…Frankly, I will refrain from being insulted and am perplexed how one can expect to try to retain quality professional services without compensating for them.”

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This story was posted on Jan. 2, 2013.

Six new members of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame will be inducted into the organization at a ceremony April 27 at Indiana University in Bloomington.

The new members, honored for their distinguished careers in newspaper or broadcast journalism or journalism education, include:

• The late Joe Aaron, a longtime reporter and columnist for the Evansville Courier. Aaron joined the Courier in 1955 after working for newspapers in New Mexico, Montana and Virginia. He began writing a five-days-a-week column for the Courier in 1957, continuing until he died of a heart attack in 1986 at age 57. Aaron won a National Headliner Club Award for best local interest column, but the greatest tribute to his appeal might be that the Evansville Courier & Press continues republishing his columns in its Sunday editions 26 years after his death.

• Melissa Farlow, a native of Paoli, Ind., an award-winning photojournalist for National Geographic and several newspapers. She graduated from Indiana University in 1974, after which she became a photographer for the (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal. Her work chronicling riots over court-ordered school desegregation helped the Courier-Journal win the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. She later worked for the Pittsburgh Press before joining National Geographic, for which she has gone on assignments around the globe. She has also been an instructor with the Missouri Photo Workshop for more than 25 years.

• The late Jerry Lyst, who was The Indianapolis Star’s editorial page editor for nearly half his 45 years with the newspaper. Lyst grew up in Indianapolis and joined The Star as a police reporter in 1955 after attending Indiana University. He won numerous awards for his work as a Statehouse reporter, financial reporter, columnist and business editor before overseeing the opinion pages from 1979 until his retirement in 2000. His work during that time included a 1990 trip to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to explore the changes happening after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Lyst also was a past president of the Indianapolis Press Club and its foundation, and a member of the Indiana University School of Journalism alumni board. He died in 2009.

• The late Lowell Mellett, an Elwood native who was a newspaper executive in Washington before becoming a top aide to President Franklin Roosevelt. Mellett’s journalism career started at age 16 when the The Muncie Star sent him to cover the 1900 Democratic National Convention. He worked at several newspapers around the country and overseas during World War I before becoming editor of Collier’s Weekly and, later, editor of the Washington Daily News in the 1930s. He held several posts in the Roosevelt administration before leaving government in 1944 to start writing what became a nationally syndicated newspaper column that continued until his retirement in 1956. He died in 1960.

• Jack Ronald, the longtime publisher of Portland’s Commercial Review who has made numerous trips to former Soviet republics to advocate an independent and free press. Ronald has worked at the Commercial Review since 1974, first as city editor, then editor, before becoming its publisher in 1982. His influence has extended far beyond his small-town daily newspaper as he has joined journalism training trips to countries such as Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Myanmar. He’s been blacklisted in some of those countries because of that work.

• Paul Tash, a South Bend native who has been editor, CEO and chairman of the Tampa Bay Times and chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Poynter Institute. Tash joined what was then the St. Petersburg Times in 1978 and worked in several reporting and editing roles before rising to its top ranks. Under his leadership, the Times has become Florida’s largest newspaper and won several Pulitzer Prizes. One of those was awarded in 2009 to the newspaper’s PolitiFact.com initiative for fact-checking the statements and promises of politicians. That was the first time a primarily online effort was so honored.

“The Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame grows stronger and becomes more significant each year because of the caliber of the people chosen for the 2013 class,” said hall of fame president Ray Moscowitz. “The board of directors deserves a lot of credit for the time and effort it took in selecting these six outstanding people to join the ranks of the IJHF.”

The Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame was established by the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 1966 to recognize and honor Hoosier journalists who have significantly contributed to the profession.  It is housed at Indiana University’s School of Journalism.

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National Geographic magazine opened up it’s Instagram account to a number of us and was received enthusiastically as a “behind the scenes” way for photographers to communicate. Here are a couple of paragraphs from the BJP article. You can click on the link at the end to read more.

But one household name was quick to realise Instagram’s full potential. A few weeks after its launch, Instagram signed its first major brand partnership with National Geographic. When the deal was first announced, the goal was for National Geographic to share photo tips and offer photography challenges to its followers. But in recent months, it has become an integral part of the magazine’s operations – with professional photographers taking over NatGeo’s feed of images – reporting instantly from their travels and photo shoots. As a result, a number of renowned photographers have created their own accounts and are now building their own following of dedicated photography enthusiasts.

Read more: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/report/2202300/the-new-economics-of-photojournalism-the-rise-of-instagram#ixzz25S936lhG

The black stallion reared up to face the helicopter. Dust and brush pelted me as I braced, pointing my camera upward as it hovered, bearing down on me. Sun streaked into my lens. It looked near perfect…

Of course it looked near perfect.  It was a MOVIE—not an authentic life encounter with real wild horses and helicopters like I experienced when I was working on a story for National Geographic magazine on mustangs.

(And… no, that’s not me. She’s an actress (Mireille Enos) who plays Brad Pitt’s wife in an upcoming zombie movie, and she is the heroine in this film.)

Although there were long hours waiting to shoot pictures, there wasn’t the uncertainty I feel in real life wondering “if” it will happen but in this case “when” it would happen. There were a few parallels to my life, but I still am a bit mystified how I ended up on a Hollywood movie set. The manufactured scenes looked as realistic as the real-life Western roundups I witnessed with horses, helicopters and wranglers.

I can always tell it is the end of a semester when students are on deadline and write me with a list of questions for a class paper. They want to know where is the most exciting place I’ve ever been, what is my favorite picture and how they can become a “National Geographic photographer.” The Internet makes me accessible. Randy and I also get numerous requests to donate photographs to fundraise for worthy causes. Some get answered. Others don’t. When I am on the road for weeks at a time, emails like this can get lost in the shuffle.

I kept one such email request in the IN box, however, and read it months later. A woman making a film wanted to use some of my photographs—her subject was near and dear to my heart—wild horses.

We corresponded and spoke on the phone.  I heard her passion and engaged. One thing led to another and all of a sudden I found myself on a plane to LA to photograph on a movie set with some of the most impressive, talented people in Hollywood film.  I have to admit that part of what captured my attention is that Stephanie Martin co-wrote a script with her Wellesley classmate Jessica Walsh to point out the issues surrounding mustangs in the American West. She happened onto my web site and found some inspiration and formed a story where a magazine photographer has an encounter with a mustang named Phantom and ends up photographing a BLM round up of wild horses. No, it isn’t about me specifically–I wasn’t arrested (that would be EARLIER in my career) and I didn’t grow up in Nevada (Indiana), but I was intrigued that my life and my photographs of wild horses triggered a reaction from her, and something told me this would be an interesting experience.

Stephanie (on far left in above photo, next to me) who has made a career as a Cinematographer in features, shorts, documentaries and commercials, was accepted into an American Film Institute directing workshop for women. She is a sincere, strong-willed, persuasive and focused woman who was following her dream to direct—but little did I know that she is also married to one of THE MOST talented and admired cinematographers in the world (Robert Richardson—google him) who won Academy Awards for Hugo (last year), also for The Aviator and for JFK.  He’s worked with directors Martin Scorsese, John Sayles, Rob Reiner, Oliver Stone, Barry Levinson, Robert De Niro, Errol Morris, Robert Redford, and Quintin Tarantino and has an amazing eye for drama and light. Bob was going to shoot Stephie’s film.

So this short 12-15 minute film with a budget raised partly on Kickstarter was in reality a pretty big production of some of the most gifted assistant directors, editors, camera operators, producers, actors that anyone could assemble. They were all DONATING their time and talents to make a great little movie that might turn into a big-time full-length feature film. At any one time there were dozens of people on the set—but there were so many friends and co-workers behind the scenes—I am guessing there were 60-70 people involved in the one-week shoot.

My role was to photograph images that the heroine photographer shoots in the film (Mireille Enos, TV show “The Killing” who also stars with Brad Pitt in “World War Z” is shown above)…to coach her to be a believable photographer (she was a natural)…and to photograph behind the scenes (much fun but a delicate dance). Bob let me set up a camera anywhere around him—under him—over his shoulder, beside him—of course just not in front of him. He was aware of everything going on around him all the time. Not a particularly willing subject, he tolerated me making photographs of him. I think he understood this was Stephanie’s moment and he wanted it to work.

Stephanie trusted that Bob and the second cameraman Baz Iodine and their friend Erich Joiner from Tool were going to make fabulous imagery. So she conferred with them before scenes were set up, but then she turned her attention to acting and the dialogue and other important decisions. She sat in front of a monitor located near the cameras viewing every angle in real time.

Stephanie with script below and Bob on the crane above waiting for good light and a sweeping overall scene.

Erich Joiner (of Tool is center in above photo) worked Camera B and supported his friends on this endeavor. Always nearby was the First Assistant Director Bettina Godi, (Assistant director on The Italian Job, shown on the right), a tiny woman who was larger than life and she directed her orders like a drill sergeant. I have so much admiration for that woman. First Assistant Director is not a job for everyone. When it was time to work, her small stature became larger than life, and her kind face turned serious and orders in her thick Italian accent got everyone’s attention. She had a direct manner that commanded respect. Her goal was to stay on schedule. Which was NOT easy. She kept track of trailers full of horses and the cowboys that rode them; a horse trainer and a black beauty stallion that came with a double; wardrobe, hair and make up people who not only worked on the actors but applied mud and blood on the horses; a helicopter pilot; camera and sound operators and their support; actors and actresses;producers (amazing behind the scenes problem solvers Tara Tucker and Jessica Walsh and I can’t forget Justin Dalzell);  script readers; and a host of volunteer personal assistants that were for the most part untrained. There were comedic scenes when you felt like you were all going to war–everyone had a mission but sometimes when communication lapsed we were running around in circles. Mass confusion. But suddenly, because everyone was working together, it all made sense.

Bob was very focused. If you wore a headset, you heard soft-spoken banter interjecting light humor during long waits for good light. Such talented people are understandably perfectionists. Bob loves backlight. The worst moment came one morning when there was beautiful light. We were waiting in the meadow for the horses. Because of a mix up, they did not arrive.  The light quickly became harsh. I won’t go into the details–all I will say is this NEVER happened again. The next morning everyone was there an hour or more BEFORE the sun was up.

The whole experience was oddly surreal because although it was all so familiar (the subject of horses, photography and the patience it takes to wait for good imagery) and yet so foreign (Hollywood movie making and things like a trained, lay-down, horse that plays dead).

I never admit to actually having fun when I am working, but this was a blast. Just watching a visionary like Bob Richardson plan his shots—seeing his crew (fresh off of filming Tarantino’s movie Django Unchained) set up cameras, dollies—watching the ballet of different people with specific missions working together—putting up a jute fence, erecting a corral, rehearsing horses running and helicopters chasing them—quiet dialogue filmed inside a truck with the nuance of emotion on the actors face (Barbara Tarbuck who played Becks could look into the sky and bring tears to her eyes on command). There was so much to take in that it was overwhelming. Yes, there were hours and hours of tedium, standing around in hot sun waiting for an army of people to assemble and reassemble around a specific scene—but then the magic began and in a few takes was done.

A spirited, charming, wisp of a woman was subtle and believable as Mills.

Richardson, Iodine and Joiner with cameras and crew waiting for Phantom and the helicopter.

Big Sky Ranch (setting for Little House on the Prairie) provided vistas and valleys for filming Wild Horses. Located in Simi Valley, it was an hour’s drive from LA where I stayed with a wonderful woman and her husband (Sara Nichols and Frank Arentowicz). They opened their doors and the hearts to me for a week as I tiptoed out in the early morning darkness and returned in the evening (also dark) a dusty, wind-blown, exhausted mess. One night I walked into a neighborhood dinner party they hosted with Norman Lloyd, a 98-year old actor, producer, director who knew and worked with Alfred Hitchcock and Charlie Chaplin. Another night Muyambi, was there for Bicycles Against Poverty preparing to bike across the country for children  in Uganda. Maria Cozzi, a screenwriter and executive producer brought me home after treating me to her favorite little restaurants in the neighborhood. A few hours of sleep later (very few), it began again. A driver, Philip Martin, picked me up and on our way to the location we talked about many things including his role in assisting me. (The only direct order I gave is to NOT let me get out of the car and leave anything.) It’s always like a marriage with an assistant—in a good situation, you communicate without words. Assistants are supposed to anticipate your every need. After taking me to location in his Mother’s car sometimes an hour before sunrise, Philip had to stand around all day in the hot sun and watch me try to make pictures. Sounds glamorous, eh?

Mills, the magazine photographer heroine, (Mireille Enos) in the meadow in early morning in her Ralph Lauren leather jacket.

These are some of the images I made for the movie that are supposed to be her photographs.

It was a light-hearted atmosphere on the set at times with Bob and Stephanie.

Stephanie is an experienced rider. Here she climbs aboard Tuff who is”Phantom” in the movie. They are under the watchful eye of Rex Peterson who trained horses for Black Beauty, The Horse Whisperer, Hidalgo, the Black Stallion and many others. (Phantom was supposed to be white-like the real Phantom I photographed that lives at Wild Horse Sanctuary-but all the white horses were already on a set for The Lone Ranger.)

OK—the bad parts?  Two young people who were part of the production crew flipped over in a jeep and when you see the vehicle, you can’t believe they didn’t die.  They both hardly had a scratch—well it was a bit more serious, but honestly…

Oh, and a horse died.

JUST KIDDING!

It’s a prop borrowed from Django Unchained (the Tarantino movie Richardson and his crew completed filming a few days before this shoot).

Christopher Cappozziello, an American photographer was awarded the Lammehuber Award for his sensitive, yet unblinking look into a very personal story about his twin brother who has cerebral palsy. In The Distance Between Us, the unpleasant realities are interpreted through the eyes of this young photographer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Indian photographer Bharat Choudhary explored Islamaphobia by photographing Muslim life in the United States and England for his Master’s project at the University of Missouri. The Silence of Others received an Honorable Mention, but the work spoke to me while viewing his images at one of the 60 exhibits. The photographs had a unique style but were equally powerful for their content.

The FREELENS Award went to a Peter van Agtmael for an essay he assembled on the theme of war mixing his experiences photographing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan with childhood fascination of war. The Yale grad is represented by Magnum and his short career is packed with honors that would be overwhelming to receive in a lifetime.

Festival awards also went to Polish photographer Tomasz Lazar for a project on ongoing changes in our society from the influence of culture and technology. Sebastian Liste, a Spanish photographer captured friendship, love, and conflicts in Brazil. Dutch photographer Llvy Njiokiktjien’s Africkaner Blood, a multi-media story won the top prize. Chernobyl Workers were American Maisie Crow’s focus in multi-media. Remi Ochlik, a 29-year old French photographer who lost his life in February while photographing in Syria was honored with the HAZ Award for pictures of Arab Spring.

Thanks to the work by Rolf Nobel, founder of the festival, and photojournalist and professor at The University of Hanover, this third event was co-sponsored with FREELENS, a German photojournalists association. There were speakers, panels, photo exhibits as well as multi-media shows entered by photographers.

Hearing stories behind the photographs and getting a sense of the photographers personality always adds deeper understanding work. Craig Walker, Darcy Padilla, Munem Wasif, Rena Effendi, Stuart Franklin, Joakim Eskildsen, Anja Niedringhaus lectured throughout the week.

And then there are friends that made the trip more meaningful.  Jakob Michael Berr, Jana Asenbrennerova, Uwe Martin and Frauke Huber. Gerd Ludwig stopped between his travels. Having time with Ruth Eichhorn of GEO was awesome.

Beyond the honored exhibitors, I was intrigued by the photographers I met through portfolio reviews and casual conversations to discuss ongoing work.  The commitment to documentary projects was evident. Vision and skills were at various levels and stages, but there was an infectious enthusiasm that I found refreshing. The festival was unique and had a multi-cultural influence that truly celebrated upcoming photographers.