The biggest part I miss about working at a newspaper is the daily grind.  I love getting out everyday and making pictures.  As a freelancer, this happens less often of course, but all the politickin’ made for (almost) daily work.  It was refreshing to get up in the morning and know I had to get the job done and make pictures that day.

Here is a selection of my favorite campaign photos from the second half of the South Carolina swing.  Stay tuned for the ‘behind the scenes’ photos.

As always thanks for looking and enjoy.

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

U.S. Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney signs autographs during a campaign stop at Larkin's Sawmill in Greenville, South Carolina January 20, 2012. REUTERS/Rainier Ehrhardt

U.S. Republican presidential candidate former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum speaks during a campaign stop at The Clock restaurant in Boiling Springs, South Carolina January 20, 2012. REUTERS/Rainier Ehrhardt

U.S. Republican presidential candidate former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (C) greets supporters during a campaign stop at The Clock restaurant in Boiling Springs, South Carolina January 20, 2012. REUTERS/Rainier Ehrhardt

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, left, gets a hug from his wife, Karen, after speaking during a South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally at the Citadel, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. Santorum says it's a "wide open race" for the GOP nomination, even after finishing a distant third in Saturday's primary. He'd hoped to build momentum from a late victory in the Iowa caucuses. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

An occupy protester throws glitter on Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum as he signs autographs after speaking at a South Carolina Republican presidential primary night rally at the Citadel, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Here are my favorite photos from all this politickin’ up til now.

Rick Perry in Pickens, S.C.

Newt Gingrich in Spartanburg, S.C.

Mitt Romney in Greenville, S.C.

Newt Gingrich in Spartanburg, S.C.

Mitt Romney in Greenville, S.C.

Rick Santorum in Greenville, S.C.

Rick Perry in Spartanburg, S.C.

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

So, we have Bill Haas hitting out of the water on 17 during a playoff with Hunter Mahan at the Tour Championship.

Followed by Jimmie Johnson getting out of his car at qualifying for the Talladega NASCAR race two weeks ago.  He’s in the news lately since his plane containing his boss, Rick Hendrick, crashed in Florida the other day.

Also, with political season gearing up, Michele Bachmann during a rally in Aiken, S.C. picked up by the AP and ZUMA.

Lastly, I include a sunset photo from Pretoria, South Africa, because lets face it, I’m a sucker for sunset photos but they rarely get published.

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

My wife accepted (and has since started at) a job in Greenville, S.C. as a graphic designer for a company that makes educational material for special education teachers and students.  Her parents live there and the area is, no offense Augustans, what the CSRA should be.

When I leave, I will be a freelancer full-time, something I haven’t been since 2006.  At the time, I didn’t have the experience or (more importantly) the connections I have now.  It was a certain struggle back then, but somehow it led to bigger and better things (the Chronicle job, among others).  As of today, I don’t plan on being a freelancer for the rest of my working life.  That may change with success and/or time.

Being a newspaper photographer was the best job in the world.  I use ‘was’ because it will never be the same.  In the past let’s say 50 years, the field of photojournalism has evolved, sometimes by leaps and bounds (think digital cameras), but mostly at a relatively normal pace compared to the fields around it, including other newsroom jobs.  But the current economic climate and newspapers’ inability to capitalize on the Internet, photojournalism is not evolving as normal – taking new technology and ways of working in stride and adapting. No,  in reality, it’s going through a revolution…and no one, I guarantee it, can foresee in what shape it will be in when it comes out the other side. The difference between when I arrived here almost exactly 5 years ago and now is, no joke, night and day.  I can’t imagine what it’s like for people who’ve been in the business 10 years or 20.  It’s not even the same job anymore.

I titled this post ‘part 1′ because I plan on covering many facets of my time at the newspaper – things I’ve learned, things I’ve loved, things I’ve kinda hated.  And I’ll finish with what lies ahead.

I can start with stating two facts.

1 – I’ll miss the daily grind of newspaper work.  Getting up in the morning and not knowing what you’ll be up against, who you’ll meet, what you’ll get to do.  That excitement of grabbing your assignments and going out to make a picture.

2- I’ll miss the people I work with.  That common bond we journalists share called cynicism.  And we have a unique sense of humor, especially the photo dept. (everyone wants to hang with the cool kids, admit it.)

So. Off we go…

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

Of course, when I heard that a verdict had been reached and that it would be read at 2:15p.m. EST, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to add to that media attention.  So I hurried down to Nacho Mama’s with an idea.  I had just been there for lunch that day and remembered that the TV was on in the kitchen (you can see the cooks from over the bar).  When I got there, I still had about 15 minutes to spare so I shot a few frames of the cook with CNN tuned in on the tele.  It was something, but not exactly what I wanted.  The TV was too small and it was difficult to get something that would read easily.  So I had another idea.  I hurried across the Savannah River to North Augusta in hopes that the WalMart would have a wall of televisions set to CNN or Fox News.  But as I made my way to the back of the store I realised my error.  I remembered that most big box stores don’t have cable on their TVs on demo.  Instead they have a loop that plays extraordinary action sequences like sky diving or rock climbing to show off the 1080p or i or whatever it is.  I confirmed with the electronics manager. No cable.  Bummer.

So I rushed back to Nacho Mama’s, know that the potential for a decent frame was there, I just needed to hope for a decent close up of Anthony as she cried or smiled or whatever.  By the time I got there, the verdict had been read but they were replaying her reaction over and over.  I basically reshot the same picture but with a more interesting image on the tube to give it more context.

Guess this is my little way of saying I was there.  For better or for worse.

Cooks Mike Goings, left, and Erik Starlings prepare food while watching the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial in the kitchen at Nacho Mama's, Tuesday, July 5, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/The Augusta Chronicle, Rainier Ehrhardt)

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

One of our reporters is doing a story on people doing searches for their ancestors who fought in the Civil War (or War of Northern Aggression, as I’d soon find out from my subjects).  I arrived for the assignment and noticed what a quaint little neighborhood it was.  It was a pretty recent development and the house I was about to go into was a cozy, well kept home.

But when I walked in, it was 1865.  General Lee portraits everywhere, confederate flags, commemorative pistols and knives, you name it.  Before I shot the couple’s portrait, they gave me a quick tour of the hallway, where most of the important stuff was hung.

This caught my eye.

What. The. Hell.  Georgia football players rushing the field against General Sherman and his army on horseback?  I was speechless.

In fact, I’ll post what it says in small print on the picture…because it’s worth noting. Trust me.

“Whether or not the University of Georgia was playing football in the fall of 1864; or whether or not the Union General William Tucumseh Sherman had knowledge that those ferocious Bulldogs were engaged in such a sport; or whether or not anyone other than a Georgia Bulldog fan wishes to believe the following account of what happened, does not detract in the least from this fantasy of that historical event….

General Sherman’s original intentions were to march directly from Atlanta, Georgia to Columbia, South Carolina, (where he later appeared, pillaged, and burned the capitol of that great Southern State). However, after approaching Sanford Stadium at Athens, Georgia, he suddenly realized his terrible mistake.  Barely escaping with his life, he then wisely decided to take his army six hundred miles out of his way to Savannah by the sea.”

Amazing is all I got to say.

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

Avery Wilson competes in the junior category during the USA Cycling National Championships individual time trial at Lake Strom Thurmond, Thursday, June 23, 2011, near Clarks Hill, S.C.

Not too much to say about today other than I spent 5 hours on and off the Lake Strom Thurmond dam shooting pictures of hardcore road cyclists during individual time trials for the USA Cycling National Championships.  Then back to the office to edit photos for the newspaper, a photo gallery and a video.  One assignment = one full day.

The coolest part is the sound those carbon fibre wheels make when they pass by.  Whoosh whoosh whoosh.  It’s pretty nifty.  And I have a tan now too.

Tomorrow is the criterium.  If there’s a crash, I’ll post a blog don’t worry.

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

However, a few times a year I freelance for motorsport.com and Zuma Press at endurance sportscar races, most notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.  It’s always fun to return to my ‘roots’ so to speak and see old friends.  I’m back in my environment, I know what to do, and I’m comfortable.  Motorsports photography has everything: speed, obviously, but also people, colors, a need for a sense of timing.  At the end of the day, it’s a sporting event, and covering it does require a certain amount of photojournalism-ism.

So it’s obvious that as I’ve evolved as a pj, I’ve also evolved as a motorsports photog.  And when one of the Zuma editors asked me to shoot some behind the scenes/spectator stuff in order to give a variety other than sports photography, it added a new challenge to my coverage.

So as the race continued on and the sun started to get low on the horizon on Saturday evening, I took a few moments to leave track side and the paddock to join the spectators enjoying the fun.  It had been a long time since I’d been on the other side of the fence, looking at cars several yards away through reinforced fencing.  The view sucks, but the culture doesn’t.

I borrowed a 24mm 1.4 lens from Nikon France who were providing service for credentialed photographers on site.  This was the time to use the hell out of it.  The amazing thing about that lens, other than the insanely cool look that depth of field gives, is the incredibly rich colors and crispness it gives.  When it’s sharp it’s tack, and when the light’s flat, it’s contrasty beyond belief.  It’s the perfect photojournalism lens, period.  The lens’ biggest virtue is how it makes any boring scene look interesting because of the mood it sets.  There’s nothing like setting a mood with a photograph.

So, all that to say that my favorite image from an auto race contains no cars, no drivers, or racing personalities.  Not even an inch of track or tire barrier.  Instead, it’s a scene you could find at any county fair, or amusement park.  It’s more photojournalist than straight sports photographer.  Maybe I’ve evolved past that.  Maybe.

Or maybe it’s just the lens.

June 11, 2011 - Le Mans, France. A fan watches as a couple enjoy a carnival ride during the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race.

And another just cuz.  It’s a photo blog afterall.

June 10, 2011 - Le Mans, France Audi Sport driver Tom Kristensen, center, of Denmark, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers' parade.

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

I spend more than my fair share of time in courtrooms waiting to get a sub-par picture of a shackled suspect as they are whisked by me.  To pass the time, I often pay attention to the court reporter.

They are almost always women.  They have intense eyes as they pay attention with more fervor to what’s being said than I ever did on any math test.  But at the same time, the rest of her body usually seems to be doing something else, as if she’s painting her toenails under the desk.  And finally, they talk into that weird contraption.

What the hell are they saying into that thing?  Is it some kind of shorthand speak that only the computer recognises?  Is it a standardised language?  How different is it from what the lawyer in the cheap suit is actually saying?  How detailed is it really? Every word? Mostly the gist? Sometimes the back and forth gets pretty darn fast.

All these questions are thrust upon me every time I have to shoot an assignment in a courtroom.

On one recent trip (to the sparkling new courthouse so I was excited), one of the cases before the one I had to shoot related to an assistant band teacher, HIV positive mind you, who was accused of have sex with one of his students.  Now this was just the bond hearing, but a lot of gruesome details were brought up by the young prosecutor that this poor court reporter had to transcribe in detail.  While most of the court was shaking their heads softly and some were mumbling words of astonishment, this lady was hard at work, never flinching.  Clearly she had heard this type of story a million times before. Fellatio, sodomy – somehow the use of clinical, sterile words in context makes it worse.

Which begs the question, at what point does it get normal?  This was a question I routinely asked when I used to do a feature on local dirty jobs called Grime Pays.  At what point do you forget you’re waist deep in raw sewage?  Or when do you stop noticing the smell in your clothes after a day of picking up roadkill?  The answer was almost always very quickly.  Partly because your senses get dulled from routine exposure, and partly because the mind is quite a powerful thing.  If it’s thrust into a particularly unpleasant situation, it will turn things off in order to survive, or at least in this case to make life relatively bearable while spraying down used port-o-potties.

At any rate, here’s a picture of that particular court reporter hard at work.  Looking at the photo now, it kind of seems like a lonely job.  Just you, your short-term memory and the mic thing.

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

I’ve experienced five Masters now.  In many ways they’ve all been different, but they’ve also been the same.  After five years, your ‘fresh’ eyes have all but disappeared.  You know what works and what doesn’t and you’re subconsciously editing yourself in order to save time and (most often) energy.  My theory is that your second Masters is your best.  You’re still fresh and excited from your first time, but now you’re more familiar with your surroundings so you’re not hindered by logistics so to speak.

At any rate, here they are!  How about in chronological order so we don’t play favorites.

Thanks for looking as always,

-RAE

www.rainier-ehrhardt.com

Patrons walk across an expanse of grass during Monday's practice round for the Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Monday, April 4, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Martin Kaymer zips up his jacket as he walks on No. 13 during Tuesday's practice round at the Augusta National, Tuesday, April 5, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Honorary starters Jand Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer with chairman Billy Payne after teeing off on the first tee to open Thursday's first round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National, Thursday, April 7, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Tiger Woods reacts to missing a birdie putt on No. 10 during Thursday's first round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National, Thursday, April 7, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Charl Schwartzel walks along sixteen during Saturday's third round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National, Saturday, April 9, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Rory McIlroy on 18 during Saturday's third round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National, Saturday, April 9, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Tiger Woods eagle on number 8 during Sunday's final round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National, Sunday, April 10, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Charl Schwartzel, right, and K.J. Choi after Schwartzel's eagle on number 3 during Sunday's final round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National, Sunday, April 10, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Charl Schwartzel, of South Africa, reacts after making birdie on No. 16 during Sunday's final round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National, Sunday, April 10, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Charl Schwartzel, of South Africa, reacts after making birdie on No. 18 to win during Sunday's final round of the Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National, Sunday, April 10, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

Tiger Woods walks along the water on No. 16 during Sunday's final round for the Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 10, 2011, in Augusta, Ga. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff