My wife and I participated in the Women’s March on Sunday, January 21 in Pittsburgh. It was an unseasonably warm day in mid January and the perfect day for a march. The turnout was impressive. We could hear the crowd from blocks away as we approached. I was excited to march and support the cause as well as capture some images. We started at the City-County building on Grant St and marched down Grant, turned left onto Fifth Ave, and then left again into Market Square. I sort of feel that the images speak for themselves and don’t require any caption, so without further delay, here are some of my favorites from the day.
On the set of Pittsburgh Today Live with Heather Abraham
What a week it has been! Aside from the incredible weather that we’ve had in Pittsburgh and all of the unique capture opportunities that’s presented, I was asked mid-week if I would be interested in appearing on a well respected Pittsburgh morning show, Pittsburgh Today Live, on Friday morning. I was surprised, to say the least! Even with the short notice, I couldn’t pass up this wonderful opportunity. I accepted, passed along my info, and prepared to be “on the television”.
I was asked to provide some of my favorite images of Pittsburgh, a few wedding shots that used the city as a background, and if I had any, images of me photographing in “extreme situations”. Apparently, the info that I “go to extremes” to get some of my shots was passed along to the producer. (Thanks, Nate!) I pulled together some of my recent favorites, got a few shots from my fellow Photogs Derek Dibrell, Dan Thompson, and Kevin Crivelli that supported the above claim.
Friday morning came and as I drove into the KDKA studio I admit to being a bit nervous. I exited the Ft. Pitt Tunnel to see thick fog right on the river. My immediate thought was if I could grab a few shots before I had to go on. The struggle to fight that urge was absolutely real. I made the right decision and headed into the studio. I met the producer, Jill, and went over what the host, Heather Abraham, and I would chat about. I also got to meet two other guests appearing with me, Linda and Rich of North Hills Genealogists. Talking with them calmed my nerves tremendously. (Thanks to both of you for that!) When the tech came to walk me onto the set, I took a deep breath and reminded myself to “just talk about what you know.. what you love about photography”.
The set was amazing. It was several setups (couches, an an anchor desk, and two stools in front of a video wall), surrounded by cameras on remotely operated armatures that moved with instructions from the booth. I was directed to sit on one of the stools wile the previous segment wrapped up. I watched a camera disengage from shooting the couch area and move over to aim at me. Thought of the Terminator franchise popped into my head. Once the previous segment ended, Heather came over and introduced herself and we chatted for a minute or so while they were in commercial. We received the countdown to return from commercial and then I was on live television.
It was a wonderful experience and I’m immensely grateful for all of the support that friends and family have shown, humbled by the whole opportunity, and driven to continue on this path that I’ve chosen! Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments and congratulations!
