My first pro photo shoot part 8

I uploaded the photos. One of them I liked, but it featured a girl with bangs hanging over her face. Frankly, I think out-of-regulations hair is hot, but bangs are a no-go in the military. It is not the Army's policy that soldiers show individuality.
"Maybe her hair is normally squared-away and just fell over her face for prayer," said Pfc. Cassinos.
"No no no," I said. "I've seen her around. Those are definately not prayer bangs."
We discussed.
Then we decided.
We'll run it. Those unsquared-away bangs tell a freaking story, so, uh, screw the rules!

My first pro photo shoot Part 7

“Here’s the list of shots I want,” said Pfc. Cassinos at the chapel.
It’s Ash Wednesday, and I’m the second cameraman.
I looked over the list.
“Shots of people praying. Shots of crowded church. Shots of people receiving the ash.”
The lighting in the church was awful. We turned our ISOs way up and our shutter speeds way down. The pictures get blurrier as our shutter speeds get lower.
“Don’t take pictures while people are praying. Don’t disrupt,” Captain Joyner said.
I tip-toed, I sneaked, I took extreme close-ups of people’s faces, I took pictures behind the alter, and I realized I don’t know when people are praying and when they are not.
Pfc. Cassinos was in the back with the other camera.
She said she’s uncomfortable taking pictures in a church.
I told her I’m uncomfortable too, but only because of all the people making angry faces at me.

My first pro photo shoot Part 6

Capt. Joyner spoke up.
“Pfc. Lawrence, this is called a softball. This is your easy mark.”
Yes. She said that in front of the interviewee.
I asked why soldiers drone, what being a chaplain in a warzone is like, and he talked about the theologians that came out of WWII and muskies in fish tanks.
The whole time, I was thinking “What’s the focus! Where am I going with this? Why didn’t I prepare better? Wait! What did he say? Quick, say something!”
The Chaplain seemed to goad me on.
“You know, I haven’t heard any hard questions from you today.”
Aww! and that question about whether soldiers get more religious in Iraq was so hard-hitting!
At the end of the interview, the Captain said something to me about a photo shoot later in the day.
I didn’t really hear her. I was in a sort of daze, drawing muskies.

My first pro photo shoot Part 5

Quick! What’s your best question! Is that what he said?
“Uh…I was wondering, I know this is a stupid question; it’s off the topic, but, why do animals feel pain?”
At this point Capt. Joyner looked at me with the strangest expression, like the way a mother looks after her kid asks for that extra piece of free candy.
“You see, I’ve heard all the arguments on human suffering, and I understand them, or I understand their intent, at least, but animals; they don’t have a soul, and pain – there’s no reason for them to have pain, because they have no souls to refine trhough pain, and they have no sentient thought, so I guess they can sin, but they get punished anyway…and umm…unm…”
Wait for it. Wait for it. There!
“and umm…sir, when soldiers ask you these questions, what do you tell them; how do you approach them?”
Haha! Wiggled out of that one.
“Well, the same way I’m going to go through this question with you,” the Chaplain said. And he did.

My first pro photo shoot Part 4

The Chaplain was very media savvy. He answered honestly too. When Pfc. Cassinos asked if soldiers get more religious in Iraq, I knew she wanted the Chaplain to say sound bite friendly cliché like ‘there’s no atheists in the foxhole’ or the like.
Instead, he said that when he was in Fallujah, about a third of the soliders got more religious, about a third jettison their faith, and about a third drone through by filling their lives with video games, movies and Facebook.
I found this a balanced and insightful observation, and one that is definitely not going in Pfc. Cassino’s story.
Things started to wind down, and then out of the blue the Chaplain looks to me.
“So young man, I haven’t heard much from you. What’s your best question?”
…
…
Crap.

My first pro photo shoot Part 3

“What’s the story about?” I asked Cassinos.
“The Archbishop is coming,” she said.
“Are you asking the questions?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
We finally found the Chaplain’s office, and after about ten minutes, the Chaplain.
He sat down and we three surrounded him.
“Do you want the door open? Because my office should really have the door open in case a soldier wants to talk to me,” said the Chaplain.
Pfc. Cassinos asked her questions, and I took notes on what she did, like the way she put the chaplain at ease, the way she made sure that the recorder worked, and the way the way she fixes her teeth into a permanent smile and juts her head out while tilting it side to side like a demented jack-in-the box.

My first pro photo shoot Part 2

I was soon called away to help Pfc. Cassinos with her story.
It was on the Archbishop of the Army coming to Fort Lewis. This is a huge deal, since 40% of the troops are Catholic.
Step one was to interview the Chaplain.
I had some questions ready when I met up with Capt. Joyner and Pfc. Cassinos in the chapel.
“Where’s the Chaplain?”
“In his office.”
“Where’s that?”
“I don’t know.”
We set off to find the Chaplain.

My first pro photo shoot Part 1

“I don’t want to insult you,” said the Colonel, “but you’re new. Everyone else in the unit has had experience on putting product out, so at first, at least, you’re going to have to shadow people on their stories.”
I was fine with this arrangement. I had helped Sgt. Roos out with his story on the deployment ceremony, so I figured that now I’d be like some sort of apprentice/intern.

As long as I don’t end up manning the copy machine all day.