Slower pace

Life here in Missoula has slowed down after summer school wrapped and I've started enjoying summertime. It feels good to have had a successful summer class and there was so much I was able to learn.

I've attached a copy of my final project and I couldn't be happier with my first attempt at non-linear video editing. The process leading up to the final selected video was pretty intense because we only had five weeks to learn everything. This included many hours gathering video & interviews, researching, and editing it all together. Hope your enjoy the story I was able to assemble.

The best part of the class was working with our professor Kagan. He made the class not only informative but fun too. The real world knowledge we gathered will serve many of us well in our future careers in journalism. Gets me excited to begin the professional program in the fall.

The transition from school to vacation has been fabulous and it's great to unwind a little bit. I plan on enjoying my time off and I have a few plans. This weekend our friend Julie from New Hampshire is flying in for a visit. She plans on checking out the U for grad school and it will be fun showing off what western Montana has to offer. My folks are coming out for a visit in August for my birthday as well. Summer will end on a high note as Theresa, Dustin, and I will catch The John Mellencamp/Bob Dylan concert here in town.

Hope everyone's summer is going great and hopefully I'll be back with another update real soon.

Peace...Mark

Adventures in Television

Tuesday morning I wheeled myself into UM Disability Services (DSS) to start work on my first television production project. I met up with my professor Kagan to begin shooting the B roll footage for my final project.

My story deals with the expansion of DSS to better serve students with disabilities here at the University of Montana. The B roll portion of footage I shot last Tuesday will supplement the interviews I will shoot this coming week. I will lastly edit everything together into a cohesive story by using Final Cut Pro. If things go as planned, hopefully it will end up on my blog in a few weeks.

Kagan arrived shortly after I did and the work was set to begin. Before it was time to work though, I had to run through my mental checklist. Operating a television camera is somewhat complex and it requires following numerous procedures. You first have to get the tripod level before attaching the camera or all your footage will be crooked and unusable. Next you have to white balance the camera so your colors will look like they are supposed to. You need to white balance the camera each time the lighting or shooting environment changes. Now the camera iris must be set to let in the right amount of light for the conditions. It’s similar to an f-stop on a still camera so it wasn’t a huge deal to learn. The last thing left to do is focus the camera and adjust the audio levels.

I wanted to get a feel for what was going on around the DSS offices because I felt it was important
to the telling of my story. This involved shooting some of the office staff working, staff moving boxes to the newly expanded DSS area, and the front desk/lobby area. My professor offered me great advice as the shoot progressed and that helped my confidence grow. The biggest hurdle was using the viewfinder of the camera but my professor solved that by letting me use an auxiliary monitor. This allowed me to see the shot and then I could adjust the camera accordingly.

I’m not planning a future career in television but you just never know. My decision to take this class was based on my need to become a well rounded print journalist. There will be few journalism jobs for those of us who can’t write, gather audio, shoot video, and take still photographs. The goal for now is to enjoy the rest of this class and possibly look at taking a professional level television production class. After that anything is possible.

Peace…Mark

Final project

The ending of my photojournalism class marked the close of an intense challenge for me. I didn't know what to expect going in but at the least hoped to keep up and learn a few things. These things were acheived and I exceeded the expectations I laid out for myself. I will be posting more of my work from the semester but I'll start with my final project which I consider my best work.

The subject for my project was Missoula glass blower Casey Bergschutz. I covered the entire glass blowing process and also Bergschultz's life as a father of two adorable boys. My shoots went well and the toughest task was narrowing down over 500 images to the final 8-9 selections. I'm happy with the results and below are my favorites.

Enjoy...Mark

Idaho and Bare Naked Ladies

I set out last Tuesday (5/18) for a day trip to Clark Fork, Idaho with Theresa as my guide. We went to Clark Fork so Theresa could put plants on her parent’s graves and show me around the town she grew up in.

The weather for our trip was cloudy with on and off rain but we weren't going to let that damper the day. We travelled along Highway 200 and went through Plains and Thompson Falls before leaving Montana. Our stomachs were rumbling as we came into Plains and stopped at a great roadside stand. The lunch fare consisted of buffalo burgers and tacos with a chaser of huckleberry lemonade.

We made it into Clark Fork after three plus hours on the road and I received the grand tour. Theresa showed me the house she grew up in, her high school, where certain friends & relatives had lived and of course the local hang outs. It was a nice little town nestled in the Idaho Panhandle and I was very glad to have seen it.

Next on our agenda was a trip to the local cemetery where Theresa cleaned and planted her family's gravesites. It was weird that while we were at the cemetery a wild tom was calling for his mate. He was very intent on noisily reminding us of his presence. Theresa tried to get a picture of the rowdy pair but they were moving a bit too fast.

Before hitting the road back to Montana, we made a brief stop at Lake Pend Oreille. Lake Pend Oreille is massive at an area of 148 square miles and maybe on our next trip we can explore it a bit more. The highlight for me was watching a family of ducks out for a swim on the lake.

I had the bright idea of stopping outside of Clark Fork to dine at the Amber Bear Inn. The Inn was very well advertised but getting there was another thing. We saw the main sign for it along the highway and turned off. We went a short distance and made another turn. I started to worry when after several turns we hit gravel. At this point we were committed and decided to forge on. Well after what seemed like an eternity we came upon a large house in a mountain meadow.

Theresa went up to the door and proceeded to ring the bell. After a few minutes the proprietor finally emerged. She informed Theresa that they had just returned from a grocery run and she supposed she could cook us something. Well geez we wouldn’t want to inconvenience your fine establishment for a meal! She went on to explain they were open mostly for breakfast and lunch but dinner was more of a summer thing. Well don't ya think it would be good to put that on your billboard? She volunteered her husband to carry my very heavy power chair up the steps but we politely declined. Theresa told the gal she was worried about us finding our way back to the highway. Our hostess said we shouldn't have any problem and if we end up in the Diggers driveway we know we've gone too far. That would be fine except who the heck are the Diggers?

We finally made it to the highway and began our long trip home. Dinner had to wait and we ended up eating at the O.K. Cafe in St. Regis. The O.K. Café is good place to stop if you find yourself on I-90 in western Montana. We finally rolled into Missoula about 10:30 that night but it the trip was awesome. I surely won't forget about our trip to the Amber Bear Inn!


I've been a Bare Naked Ladies AKA BNL fan since my Dewey Apts. days back in Jamestown. Their blend of sophisticated pop lyrics and quirky humor drew me to the band. When Theresa said she had tickets I was so excited but a bit bummed because Steven Page was no longer fronting the band.

The concert was fabulous and BNL didn't miss a beat with Ed Robertson at the helm. They had an awesome light show and it was fun to see them engage with the audience. I thought they sounded quite good and they played many of my favorites including: The Old Apartment, Falling For The First Time, Pinch Me, You Run Away, Too Little Too Late, and It's All Been Done.

It was a memorable evening and I'd definitely go see them again if given the chance. Check out BNL if they come to your neck of the woods.

I promised some pictures on my final photojournalism project but I'll be back Thursday with that.

Peace...Mark

BNL Photo Credit: barenakedladies.com