A Little News

Decatur firefighters work to control a blaze in a house at 1403 Vicksburg Circle SW Friday morning. The fire apparently started in the attached garage heavily damaging the structure. Jimmy Prickett pulls the overhead door out of the way so firefighters could more easily access the garage area. Daily photo by Gary Cosby Jr. 11/21/08

I covered a house fire Friday morning.  It was an unusual fire in that it happened in a really nice and fairly new home in one of Decatur’s newer neighborhoods.  There are always house fires in the older and poorer sections of town but it is pretty uncommon to have one in this neighborhood.  I can remember only one other near here and it was a really bad fire.  The fire department did a really nice job of containing the fire in the garage area and the homeowners plan to renovate and move back in.

I know it is not the politically correct thing to say but I like covering fires.  If you understand my background you will understand why.  I grew up around the fire service and spent a bit over six and a half wonderful years as a volunteer firefighter myself.  I have a deep appreciation for the fire service and no matter how far removed I get from those years of service I still feel a deep connection to firefighters.  My dad just retired after serving the city of Muscle Shoals, Alabama as fire marshall.  He was a volunteer firefighter when I was born and we even fought fire together during my years as a volunteer and those are still some of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.  So now you know why I like to cover fires.  I was born with firefighting in my blood and it will never truly go away.

So, to the point.  I used to just get worked up covering fires.  It was like a giant, visual smorgasbord of opportunity.  I would just bang away without much thought to anything like composition.  I just wanted to get some good stuff with flames or, lacking flames, some really good smoke.  I still look for those things but now I am more of a photographer and less of a firefighter.  I look for composition and moments and whenever possible, composition within moments.  That is what separates photojournalists from the guy standing there with his cell phone camera.  Yeah, he will come away with a picture and if he is insanely lucky it might even have a moment in it.  A photojournalist looks for composition, light and moment no matter what he is shooting and that includes spot news.

This fire had some excellent smoke opportunities and the light was direct sun but it was back lighting the house so the smoke was lit from behind which created some opportunities to create those compositions.  The point here is to not get so excited or so nervous that you forget to do your photojournalistic duty.  (I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this abused on the sidelines at football games.  I mean, really dudes, you can’t be a fan and a photojournalist so pick one!)  Look for moments.  Work composition and light and see if your photos don’t improve when you are shooting spot news.

Photos copyright Gary Cosby Jr., The Decatur Daily.  The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.