I believe obsession can be just a severe case of attention to detail. But that doesn’t make it more enjoyable. The recent, hopefully-noticeable absence of posts here was due to my eleven days traveling through Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia. It was the most grueling trip in my company’s history and right up there with the marathons I pulled during 9/11, the first Gulf War, a couple of World Series and other big stories during my TV news days.
I shot everything from spinal implants to motorcycles to utility-scale solar inverters. Because some of this stuff is really tiny (see pic), it can be a real strain on the eyes. Good thing I have focus-assist on my Panasonic HD camera. It’s perfect for the tight closeups of small objects I have to get. I also got to shoot from the back of a pickup truck driving through the backwoods of Virginia. Sounds dangerous but it sure beats getting stuck in traffic in South Boston. I also shot one of the largest solar farms in the country north of Columbus, Ohio.
I usually like traveling for business because I see the world on someone else’s dime. But it’s tough to take in the local attractions when you’re doing the work of three people yourself: photographer, logistics coordinator, and producer. It’s nerve-wracking because I have to think of everything constantly which means I’m not concentrating on anything ever. Equipment must work, flights cannot be missed, traffic must not be bad. Oh, and don’t forget to eat something. Because one of the clients I worked for on this trip is new, there’s also the get-acquainted part. Not so easy when you’re setting up a camera, booking your next hotel, and negotiating with the insurance company over a fender bender on your rental car at the same time.
Despite the aggravations and a week and a half of obsessing, fretting, worrying, over-planning, and under-sleeping, both I and the most important thing- the raw material for at least ten videos- survived. This despite the TSA at Logan Airport in Boston running the scanner line backwards and sending some of my fragile electronic gear, including my 500 GB portable hard drive which holds EVERYTHING I shoot on the road, crashing to the floor. The nightmares about that are beginning to subside. A big shout-out to Seagate. Your stuff saved my career.
It ended up being a great trip and the most lucrative of my company’s history. I also learned that a little obsession goes a long way. But a lot of obsession causes you to go nowhere.
