Head of the Glass

I've said it before and I'll say it again: live shot viewers get robbed! All they see are attractive telecasters pretending to be alone. What they don't see is what happens just out of frame. Pantomime, feats of contortion, crowd control ... that and a whole lot more goes down on the far side of The Fourth Wall. But it's not like we're hot-doggin' back there. YOU string together a mobile studio in under ten minutes while someone counts backward in your ear and sleet ricochets up your nose. You can do it all right, but like lottery tickets, leg warmers and ladies' night, going LIVE(!) under duress reveals your true character. Me, I'm fine - until some infernal contraption inside the truck craps out and I devolve into a pissed-off pre-schooler. Hey, we all have our weaknesses. Mine just happens to involve an unhinged reaction to dying batteries and dirty weather.

Other photogs I know handle such snafus far better - utilizing grit, precision and just a wee bit of histrionics. What can I say - we're communicators! Just not the kind you're used to seeing on your TV set. That's a shame really, for with all that's going on behind the scenes, reporters often have the best seat in the house. Electronic meltdowns, emergency tapectomies, even the occasional pee-pee dance... yes, those known as 'talent' see it all. Don't believe me? The next time you're watching some pretty reporter prattle on from the middle of nowhere, get really close to the screen and peer deep into her eyes. Chances are you'll catch the reflection of a techie - a burly, surly shape wrestling with an epilpetic light stand, dozing at attention or fending off some who somehow showed up with a list of shout-outs. Of course, all photogs are not created equal. Some seethe, others putter. But the real pros take all that strife in stride...Take my pal Matt up there: he'd been standing in cold rain for the better part of an hour when I snapped this picture and still he radiates mirth and understanding. Of course, that IS the same look he gets just before he rips somebody's lips off...

And you'll never see it coming....