Occasionally, I get to go into the field for work. I was literally in the field, with muddy shoes to show for it, for this story about University of California sustainable agriculture programs.
I’m still more accustomed to using a pen and notebook for reporting and not having to worry about microphones, background noise and sound quality. Even so, it was quite fun working on this story and audio slideshow about the student farms at UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz.
The story focuses on the evolution of the farms into sustainable agriculture education and research programs that are the most innovative in the country.
My colleague Ernie Granillo took the photos for the slideshow, and I ran around the UC Davis Student Farm with a digital audio recorder.
Logistically, it was easier to focus on the audio and let Ernie handle the images, with some coordination in photographing interview subjects. I’ve done some past audio slideshows where I’ve taken the photos and recorded audio. Obviously, it’s more difficult going solo, and I think the quality of the finished product didn’t turn out as well as the student farm slideshow.
I know there’s lots of reporters and photographers out there pulling double-duty on projects such as this. There’s no magic button to make this stuff happen. It’s short-sided to think because newspapers and other media are increasingly utilizing the Internet that you don’t still need people to make the magic happen.
