A good time had by all!
Thank you all for one of the most well-attended conventions in recent memory!
I really enjoyed seeing and talking to every attendee that I could. A final headcount was not recorded, but with 43 people officially registered online, other board members suggested that there were about 50 people who came and went over the course of the entire event!
After registration and a standup continental breakfast social, Kim Barth, outgoing Board of Trustees Chairperson and treasurer of 28 years, opened the event with a brief speech followed by a call for new board member nominations. Note: Please be on the lookout for a call to vote soon via a link in the president’s newsletter as well as on the website.
Concurrently, an ongoing slideshow of memories and small curation of historical memorabilia was viewable in a separate room while former Toledo Blade staff photographer and former Buckeye Visualist podcaster Lori King along with co-interviewer Sue Morrow, interviewed attendees. (Look for a link to those recordings soon!)
Opening the presenter portion, Dale Omori, former staff photographer at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, showed a small portfolio of some of his most poignant still photographs followed by reflections on transitioning to combining moving pictures and video at the paper. He concluded with powerful, moving, and whimsical videos produced as the owner of his own production company, Omori Media LLC. Thank you, Dale.
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Up next was a presentation by former AP staff photographer, Amy Sancetta, who had me in stitches all the while trying to pick my jaw up off the floor. Amy successfully delivered a master’s class in the nuances of wire photography, all the while providing wry insights to her background that could have been a wildly successful stand-up comedy routine for photojournalists.
Particularly moving and unexpected was Amy’s telling of her coverage on 9/11 and how by sheer luck., she almost certainly escaped death by being positioned on the opposite side of where the first tower fell, leaving a lot of us in tears. Thank you, Amy.
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For the third and keynote presentation, we were blessed with the extraordinarily thoughtful insights delivered by Katie Rausch, AME of visuals at the (Minneapolis) Minnesota Star Tribune. When talking to speakers in preparation for these conventions, I often leave an open-ended mandate, because that person has been already carefully selected for their unparalleled qualifications. I know Dale and Amy, but had never met Katie – relying instead on Jeremy Wadsworth’s recommendation.
Katie’s wildly successful presentation left us with more questions than time allowed for all the answers, because many of us were presented with an extraordinary porthole window view into the inner-workings of a newsroom most recently awarded with a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage on a topic that day in and day out challenges most Americans: gun violence.
Not only did we receive a schooling on the critically important topic of operational security in the field when covering times of conflict, but she also took us there with some of the background of the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of some of the decision making when members of her visuals team are called upon to risk so much to bring her community – and really, the world – such riveting documentation of conflict.
What’s more, my own preconceived notions about the still relatively new concept of informed consent were also challenged. I really appreciate how the more radical and controversial concept of always having to ask for permission to take a photo was tempered by each moment being situational and backed by core NPPA and SPJ ethical guidelines. Thank you Katie for making the trip and bringing us such candor about some very challenging subject matter.
The group then broke for a dinner service reset, returning for a nice meal followed by the presentation of awards for the 75th Annual Still & Multimedia Contest, results of which are viewable here. But before awards were handed out, Karl Kuntz and Craig Holman presented Eric Albrecht with the Robert S. Carson Memorial Award – considered ONPA’s highest honor.
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“The award is presented for outstanding contribution to photojournalism in Ohio. Recipients are not required to be members of ONPA. The award was created in memory of the late Robert S. Carson, of Akron, an ONPA founder and camera repair extraordinaire whose desire to help news photographers was second to none. Carson kept photographers’ cameras operating in top order, contributed heavily to ONPA financially, and was always available to help his clients. While camera repair was his business, he was first a photographer.”
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Finally, around 15 attendees wrapped up the evening with some much-needed social time in the hospitality suite where more memories were shared and even more connections were made.
What makes the annual convention so important is that it brings photojournalists of all levels – from students to lifers – together in a timne where we can sometimes go for long periods without running into a fellow photographer.
Our 76th will be marked by a new era for the organization with a nod to the continued needs and respect for tradition. Please stay tuned and in touch for updates.
Thank you.
– Andrew