Shattered

I guess I am just a little numb these days.  I get a lot of practice at it with all the news I have to cover.  In one week I went to a two-alarm structure fire, an armed robbery of a dry cleaner and this morning a head-on collision just east of city limits on 11th Street.

All the assignments start to feel the same.  I was pulling out of the Tracy Animal Shelter after shooting the pet of the week photo when the dispatch came across the scanner.  Head-on collision, one person trapped and one car on fire.  Just another assignment.  I called the office and headed to the crash.

It was bad one listening to the dispatches.  An air ambulance was called , one lane was blocked and a victim was in serious condition.  I pulled up short of the crash and walked across the east bound lanes of 11th Street near lovely Road to the crash.

A Ford Explorer truck heading east out of town crossed the double yellow line and drove into oncoming traffic in the westbound lanes.  The truck collided with a Ford Escort heading west into town.  The impact was devastating, twisting the Escort and trapping the driver.  Crews from a nearby auto repair shop put out a fire that started in the Escort.  The driver, a 25-year-old woman from tracy was still in twisted wreckage, critically injured.

I've been to many of these crashes.  It's a formula I run through my head with out even realizing.  Pictures of the wreckage, shots of the roadway, a close up of debris, maybe a shot of the traffic backed up on the roadway, the pictures all start to look the same.  if there is an air ambulance I have a shot of the victims wrapped in yellow being carried to the helicopter.

The pictures are so unfeeling.  They don't show any of the confusion, the sounds the shock or despair at the scene.  Maybe it's because of me.  The more you see of this the more you learn to block it.  You see it's a devastating crash, possibly a fatality and it doesn't seem to matter.  I still take the photos, everything looks the same to me.  Pictures of wreckage, pictures of victims.

I guess that means I'm a good journalist, I can push things that are horrible away from mind.  Really who would want to go see someone who is injured or dying in a car wreck?  That's not who I am.  It's my job and I do it well I guess and part of it is being unfeeling.  Race to a crash, watch someone die, back to work and go shoot a basketball game.  that's the job.  It just seems odd.  There should be more compassion but I don't know where to place it at on the job.

Do I feel bad about the crash?  yes but honestly I feel more angry that someone would drive so carelessly and subject someone to such a devastating crash with the possibility  of killing them.  Maybe I'm just a little bit jaded from the news coverage.  I tend to see why it should have never happened in the first place than sympathy for the injured.  Maybe it's just a way to keep that slide show of every horrible and bloody sight I've ever seen from playing over and over in my head late at night.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

An annular event

It only seems fitting.  In mid December of last year I shivered in the pre-dawn hours as I watched a lunar eclipse in the sky above a Lodi wetlands.  On Sunday I sweated in the afternoon soon as an annular eclipse crossed the Tracy sky.

The annular eclipse was the first one visible since 1994.  The eclipse's path stretched from Chine to the Southwestern United States.  the West Coast would see the moon inch across the sun starting shortly after 5:00 p,m, reaching maximum coverage at 6:32 p.m. and ending just after 7:30 p.m.  The annular eclipse doesn't cover the entire sphere of the sun, but often leaves a ring of fire, a thin edge of sun visible.  prediction on local media suggested the sun's coverage in our viewing location would be around 87%, a fair amount of coverage and the light would grow dim at maximum eclipse.

I have shot a couple of lunar eclipses but this would be my first solar eclipse.  And that was my one big problem.  This was my first attempt, I have no point of reference on how to safely photograph the sun.  I spent an hour or two reading up on the topic on different web sites and began to formulate a plan.

I decided I would go two cameras.  I debated between a short and a long lens but eventually settled on the work Eos 1D MK II one camera with a 300mm and my Eos 40D with a short 70-200mm zoom.  My next task was to think how to safely view the eclipse, what type of filter to put on the cameras.  In my best "MacGyver" moment I came up with a couple of good home brew solutions.

The primary camera with the 300mm lens would use a welders glass filter.  I had read that was the safest route, and since I always think safety first (waiting for the lighting bolt to strike me dead..) I went out to Orchard Supply Hardware and picked up a nifty welders helmet.  the darkened glass viewing pane is removable so I would simply gaffer tape it to the front of my lens.

The secondary camera was a different gamble.  Although I had read that it was considered not a good idea I opted for a Mylar filter made from a disposable emergency blanket, sometimes called a "space blanket".  Web posting had cautioned against the space blanket filter as it did not block UV radiation.  I went for three folds of the Mylar and lots of gaffer tape to keep it snugly tucked around the lens shade.

I was worried about the constant sunlight focused on the shutter from the telephoto lens on the primary camera.  it was mounted on my tripod so I used an old wide brim hat as a giant lens cap between exposures.  Alice shooting besides me used a Wing Stop brown paper bag to cover her camera between frames.

I had found a web site that listed exposures with shutter/speed f-stop and ISO combinations.  I used that as a starting point and fired off a few taste frames to dial in the right exposure.  the primary camera through the welders glass was set at ISO 125 and the best exposures were at 1/5000 at f/9.0.  the Mylar filter seemed more dense and the exposure dropped to 1/100 at f/6.3 at ISO 640.  As the sun near maximum I bracketed my exposures to make sure I held a good separation between the sun and moon.

Overall I was pleased with my results.  I think I like the pictures shot with the Mylar filter better than the welding mask.  The color tone came out blue but an auto color correct gave a nice neutral color.  it was easier to focus the camera viewing through the Mylar and the images they produced took less time to process.

The welding mask filtered images were tinged green and color corrected to a yellow which seems, I don't know- more sunnier looking.  I did get an annoying double image on the shots which I attribute to a reflection off the welding mask.  Still they have a different feel and are a nice compliment.

Some my first solar eclipse is over and I can take a deep breath and wait for the next celestial event.  Astronomy web sites are all abuzz over a transit of Venus next month and depending on the viewing conditions I may have to break out my MacGyver gear and have another go at some solar sights.

Night fire

I pulled up to this two-alarm fire shortly after 10:00 pm Thursday evening and I new I had arrived at a hot one.  Flames reached about 25 feet into the air as a mobile home and a house burned off Kavanagh Avenue.

I heard the parade of sirens and switched on my scanner in time to hear the call of a working structure fire.  I grabbed by gear and ran to my car.  Pulling onto Grant Line I had to stop for Banta's Engine 92 to race by.  At the end eight engine companies and the truck would fight the fire that lit the sky with an orange glow.

Walking up the street to the fire I could see the flames roll up into the night sky from the roof as fire crews raced to fight the flames.  The home were burning at the end of a long driveway and I just didn't feel safe enough due to the amount of open flame and cramped quarters.  From the road I could see the crews illuminated by the glow from the fire and the flames progress across the roof.

A fire scene at night is a dizzying affair through the lens.  In all the action you try to balance exposure of the flame against the dark backgrounds, using flash seems to dull the look of the flames.  I shot a few test frames then tried to grab as many shots of the fire's progress as the crews worked to get a handle on the spread of the flames.  Strobe lights reflect of the viewfinder glass making focusing a chore and the available light photos take on a ghastly red tinge from the emergency lights.

Walking in the darkness punctuated by the brilliant flash of red lights I tried to find a vantage point to get a good look at the action down the alley.  Smoke billowed out and the fire and lights cast red and yellow hues as it drifted into the sky.

Crews put the fire out in about an hour and then the buildings are bathed in a stark white light from portable work lights.  Deep shadows emerge as the flames no longer illuminate the cracks and crevices of the scene.  Walking back to my car I chimped my shoot and was amazed how bright the flames were washing out detail in some areas of the pictures.

Thankfully no one was injured in the fire or fighting it and I had another late night adrenaline rush.  Like I say, it always a party in Tracy.

Feel the heat

Tracy High junior Jonah Wesely threw his third no-hitter of the year yesterday during their first round playoff game at University of the Pacific's field in Stockton.

Up on the scoreboard a radar gun displayed his pitch speed.  91 Miles per hour.  Damn!

That is throwing the heat in the high school ranks for sure.

Wilderness walk

I was looking for a challenging hike this weekend and I found just the right trail on Saturday as I solo hiked the Las Trampas Regional Wilderness outside San Ramon.

My hiking book described the trail as strenuous so I knew I was in for a workout.  The hike would take me on a 6 1/2 mile hike across the ridges of the park.  I would start on the Elderberry Trail and climb up along the Rocky Ridge View Trail.  The hike then descends down the Devil's Hole Trail before another climb back up the Sycamore Trail to rejoin the Rocky Ridge View Trail to head back down to the staging area.  I had my work cut out for me on this hike.

The trail is steep in most places, varying from wide fire trail to grassy overgrown single track to a treacherous footing rock bed.  This trail is not for the beginner although the navigation for the most part is easy.  the signage could have been clearer, I missed one turn and had to retrace my steps with the map but for the most part is easy to follow.

All the hard work climbing up and down the trail is rewarded with spectacular views of ridge lines and valleys swathed in green. The summer like heat has yet to brown the hills and I hiked across the lush knee high grass that grew in the sparsely traveled trails.

There is some shade cover but I wished for more as few breezes cooled the sun baked trail as wound my way up and down the hills.  The hike took just over 3 hours and climbed almost 2,300 feet in the various trails.  This hike has the feel of a Mount Diablo climb and was easily the toughest hike so far this year.  I am thinking of a real workout sometime in the next few months taking a summit climb on Mount Diablo via Eagle Peak Trail.  This hike in the Las Trampas Wilderness put the hook in me to try this tough hike for sure.

It was a good day in the wilderness on a new new trail with stunning views.  I will have to enjoy the greenery while it is here as summer months are approaching and hotter days on the trail are ahead.