I have fell into the schedule of
interning Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, class Thursday and adventuring on the
weekends. It is monotonous but that’s not a bad thing at all its sort of nice
to have a steady schedule and know what to expect with the exception of Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday. My internship has really taken off, so far I have had 4
of my photos published in the Cape Argus and one article that I’ve written be
published as the lead story of the Business Report. It’s an exhilarating
experience, arriving every morning around 9 to the bustling newsroom, phones
ringing off their hooks, pens and papers flying. I greet all of the fellow
photographers and we check email, click around on Facebook, everyone waiting
longingly for the Editors meeting at 10 to get out. The head photo editor in
the morning is this interesting guy named Matt who must be at least 6 foot 7.
He walks out of the conference room from the meeting with his phone pressed to
his ear and looks towards the small group of photographers, about 5 or so, with
a smirk because he knows there is some good stuff today. He is the gatekeeper
to excitement at this job and as soon as the phone call ends he starts writing
out assignments on small slips of tan paper. “There’s a truck overturned on the
N2 highway, Cindy be there by 11 have the photo’s to me by 12” he says. “Willem
there’s an expo on these new electronic skateboard’s get after it.” “Ken
there’s a press briefing with the Minister of Health to discuss the State of
the Nation address changes to the health bill, he’s a very expressive speaker
get a good picture of him have it in by 1” and so on and so forth until each of
us has an assignment. We disperse like swatted flies all across Cape Town with
our assigned Reporter’s. Immersing deep into culture and trying to capture
photo’s to share that experience with thousands. We all help each other out
too, the other day I was shooting pictures of a worker’s union protest and it
was getting pretty rowdy, people running around chanting loudly, angrily,
outside of the parliament offices. I got a text message on my phone just saying
“mounted police on their way get ready” from an anonymous number and like
clockwork within 5 minutes 6 horse mounted police showed up and kept the
protesters from getting to rambunctious. I later found out it was one of the
other photographers who had texted me. It’s sort of like a team working
together to cover the happenings of the Western Cape as well as we can. We all
come back hours later with an incredible story and sunburn for the day, process
our photo’s, either drink some coffee or eat some samosas’ or smoke a
cigarette, whatever the routine we all sort of share in the experience and then
go home just to come back and do it again the next day. It is definitely the
coolest thing I have been a part of thus far and I am looking forward to
more.
This weekend is the Human Rights’
weekend and I am not sure what to expect. I am interested to meet the large
group of people around our age from different countries all over the continent
of Africa. I am also excited to take some good star pictures because there is apparently
very little light pollution. Until next time blogosphere.
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