Before you work in the news biz, you must first...understand it

   This is a Storify tutorial for the Intro to PJ class. It's an introduction to what news is.
   Before you, as photojournalism students, can represent this class and the Owens Outlook student online newspaper, you must first understand the role you will play as news gatherers.
   As with all of the Storify lessons, this tutorial is supplemental to other materials and presentations viewed in class.

One blog, two schools: Welcome Owens and Kent students!

Welcome to a new semester!

   This blog is dedicated to you, students in both the Intro to Photojournalism and Teaching Multimedia courses.

   I hope you all benefit from the posts in this blog throughout the semester, especially since both courses are so different, yet many of the skills you will learn are the same.

·      The Intro to PJ course is geared for Owens Community College (OCC) photography and PR majors who want to learn more about the journalism field. Lessons include law and ethics, caption writing and camera operations.
     Every student in this course will also be a staff member on the Owens Outlook student online newspaper. This allows them to learn photojournalism in a real-world environment.

·      The Teaching Multimedia course is a distance-learning course
     for Kent State graduate students that begins Aug. 25. 

     These students are mostly high school teachers from across the country who want to learn multimedia skills. Most of these teachers are advisers for their school’s student newspaper or yearbook. Lessons include how to operate a DSLR camera; how to shoot video; how to edit still photos and video with industry standard software (Final Cut Pro, Adobe Elements, Photoshop); and how to capture and edit audio using Audacity.

   The common element with both of these classes is storytelling. That’s why it makes perfect sense to offer tutorials for both classes on this single blog. This way all students will learn something different and unique from their own course.

   I am so excited to hit the Publish button to let the semester commence!

The back story of a visual storyteller: All about...me

This slideshow about me is a school class project done by my daughter Quinn in May 2014. We collaborated on this slideshow for her photography class at the Toledo School for the Arts. You know you've made it when you become a subject for a history homework assignment... LOL. I figured I'd share it now, since it's the beginning of the Fall semester and an easy way for me to introduce myself to new students: 

Lori kingpowerpoint from Lori King
(PS - No offense to wedding photographers! There is a real need for them, and they capture moments, too! Remember, this was put together by a 14-year-old) 

College graduation: A right of passage, academic closure

A BGSU graduate celebrates the end of commencement May 10. (Photo by Lori King/© Toledo Blade)

    College graduation.

    It's a right of passage I wish everyone in the world could experience!

    There's nothing like renting or buying that symbolic black gown, and wearing it down the aisle and across the stage to accept a diploma. Some wear formal wear under it. Others wear flip flops and shorts. One guy during the Bowling Green State University commencement walked across the stage bare foot!

    There's also nothing like securing that tassel to the right side of your head before the ceremony, and then flipping it to the other side near the end of it. Such a small thing really, but that little gesture for so many of the graduates means the end of adolescence, and the beginning of adulthood.

    There's no doubt a college graduation ceremony is a well-earned, shared experience of tears and cheers. It's also bittersweet because graduates are leaving a special place they loved for years, and sometimes hated. They are bidding farewell to friends they've made, and will inevitably lose.

    I was fortunate enough to have graduated from college twice. I received my Bachelor of Science degree in photojournalism from Kent State in 1991, and my Master's of Arts in journalism education, also from Kent, in 2012. Though quite a few people I know chose to not walk, I wouldn't have missed those moments of academic closure for the world!

    As I recently shot yet another graduation ceremony at BGSU for the Toledo Blade, I couldn't help but get teary-eyed and emotional myself as I witnessed the tears and grins on the faces of graduates and their families and friends. It was my pleasure to document that special moment in their lives.

    So, it's in this spirit that I congratulation all of the college graduates who just earned their degrees this weekend. I am proud of you all!

   To view the photo gallery from the BGSU graduation morning ceremony May 10 (and to see the barefoot dude), click here. 

Q&A #5: Tips from ONPA Photographer of the Year Katie Rausch: Edit tight, have clarity of purpose, get feedback

Vandercook Lake's senior Chad Marriott, is congratulated after his team's win of Thursday night's home game against East Jackson. The Jayhawks were able to overcome an early deficit to pull ahead and win a share of the Cascades Conference championship for the first time since their 1969-70 season. (Photos by Katie Rausch)

Surfers take advantage of high waves generated by a storm over Lake Michigan at Grand Haven State Park. Surfers who brave the Great Lakes often take to the water when the waves are higher during the winter months.  

   

Katie Rausch (Photo by Nick Dentamaro)

She has only been at the Toledo Blade since 2012, but already the Michigan State grad has made a name for herself.

   The Ohio News Photographers Association (ONPA) recently named Katie Rausch the Ohio News Photographer of the Year (POY) for 2013.

   This is a remarkable win, considering Katie, only 26, was up against powerhouses like The Plain Dealer and The Columbus Dispatch.

   Though Katie didn't place but once in the single categories, her well-rounded POY package showed she could shoot it all: sports, news, features and photo stories. As one of her prizes, Katie won a Canon 5D Mark III body, which retails around $3,000.

   It was rather fitting that she learned of her victory while attending The Image, Deconstructed workshop April 12 at the campus of The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Katie is always learning and striving to improve, which is why she is so deserving of this title.

   I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to share Katie’s inspirational words of advice and youthful wisdom. So, without further delay, meet Katie Rausch:

Q: How did you end up at the Toledo Blade?

A: First of all, I’d like to say thank you for your kind words and introduction.

I came to The Blade in July 2012 after spending six months living in my parents’ basement, trying to freelance locally. I was laid off from my full-time staff position with The Jackson Citizen-Patriot in Jackson, Mich. at the beginning of January 2012.

   In 2009 I graduated from Michigan State University and started my third and final internship in Jackson. I’d been interning with the paper for a semester when two positions opened up within the same month. They hired me just before New Years and I continued with the Cit Pat for the next two years. The paper was open to a lot of visual storytelling ideas, and the staff, my editor J. Scott Park and fellow photojournalist Nick Dentamaro, were fantastic to work with. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2012 we were told 71 out of the 100 people working in my building would be laid off together.

   It was a tough transition, and a great lesson about the importance of having a plan B. I will say, though, that in my six months away from full-time employment I was able to do a lot of soul searching. Having that time to really reflect on my life gave me a measure of clarity about the choices I had made. Specifically, my desire to work for newspapers was really solidified. In a way, I’m grateful I was able to get something productive out of such a difficult experience. I’ve always loved documenting the lives of the people around me visually, and I’ve loved working for newspapers from day one. My path here wasn’t exactly planned, but I am so thankful The Blade took a chance on me. It’s amazing to get up every day and go to a job I love.

Gale Hammett meets with her son at the Jackson County Jail.

Q: When you were putting your portfolio together for the ONPA, what was your thought processes on the images you selected?

A: Well, they always say, “Edit tight.” I felt that though I’d shot more than one longer piece over the course of 2013, I didn’t really have enough to put together two strong stories. It seems like every time I watched photo contest judging live, the weakest photograph or element of a portfolio pulls it down, so I made my selections with that in mind. I attempted to make each frame worthy of the one before and after. Apparently, the judges liked that approach to editing.

Q: As we all know, photography is so subjective. Winners and losers depend on the judges for any particular contest. What do you think the ONPA judges saw in your winning portfolio, which included a photo story of medical marijuana usage, and a portrait of a mother with her quadruplets?

A: Again, I think consistency is key. I really tried to make each picture count, and to exclude anything that didn’t fit or wasn’t as strong. There were single frames I really loved that I cut because they didn’t fit the flow or visual feel of the portfolio overall. My portfolio isn’t perfect by any means, but I do think it’s a good representation of where I am in my development as a shooter and what my abilities are now.

   I think it’s also noteworthy that with the exception of one single image, nothing else from my portfolio was recognized by the judges. In this case, I think that’s an endorsement of cohesion of style, purpose and content in a portfolio.  

Q: When you were attending the Image, Deconstructed workshop, what's the one thing that has stuck with you, even now?

A: The Image, Deconstructed was a really wonderful experience overall, so it’s difficult to choose one element that stood out. If I had to pick, I suppose I was really struck by the fact each one of the presenters emphasized clarity of purpose in one way or another. They each had a good gasp of their personal vision and went for it, even when doing that was hard or they were discouraged by outside forces. That common thread seemed present in the success of every one of the presenters, and it’s something I’ve given a lot of thought to since leaving the workshop.

   What is it that I’m trying to say with my work? What is it that I’m trying to accomplish? I imagine if I could answer those questions more fully I’d have a better path forward.

Q: Do you have any advice for photojournalists when it comes to submitting to contests?

A: First of all, I think it’s immensely important to remember that contests aren’t everything. So many wonderful photographers do work that goes unrecognized by contests every day and it doesn’t make any of it less significant or well done. I have had years where the work I was most proud of didn’t even get a second glance from judges and years where I’ve been astounded by what won. So, as you mentioned before Lori, it is really subjective.

   I’d definitely encourage anyone looking to apply to a contest or job to seek extensive feedback from editors and peers. Often times a fresh set of eyes can really help reshape work for the better. I’ve found criticism, while sometimes painful, to be the one of my best teachers. While not all criticism is constructive, being open to seeing something differently can really help you grow. I know that’s been the case for me. 

   But I think the most important thing to remember in any situation is that you need to try. Contests aren’t everything, but they can help your career and it is, of course, lovely to receive acknowledgment. This year I felt like my tight edit would either be very well or very negatively received. I tend to apply rather ambitiously for contests, and would encourage any photographer to do so. That’s the point: you never know until you try. I think that’s a philosophy that’s applicable whether that’s taking on a daunting personal project, tackling a challenging assignment, or applying for a grant.

   On a final note, I want to say thank you again for your time and consideration, Lori. It’s been a pleasure working with you, and the rest of my fellow staffers at The Blade.

Katie in Bogota, Columbia. (Photo by Monica Weeks)

To view her website, go to katierausch.com.

B&W students collaborate on history of photography Ppt

This is the history of photography Powerpoint my B&W students collectively put together for their class project. Each student was required to submit at least two slides on their chosen topic, complete with source information, and then present their topic in front of the class. With 14 students, they were able to cram in a lot of topics!

Q&A #4: Former marine switches careers, then goes Air Force

Feature photos by Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune photojournalist Shane Hughes

Shane Hughes

    I first met Shane Hughes more than a year ago while we were both on the job.

   We were on assignment for our respective newspapers: I, the seasoned veteran for the Blade; and he, the newbie part-timer for the Bowling Green Sentinel Tribune.

   I don’t know the exact time or place, but I do remember we clicked immediately because we’re both military. There is a special camaraderie amongst us military types, maybe because we can relate to structured things like marching and shooting.

   Shane was not a photographer in the marines, but nonetheless he landed a job at the Sentinel after he got out.

   Over the past few years we’ve gotten together a few times. I met him once in a coffee shop to review his portfolio; and he came to my photojournalism class at Owens as a guest speaker.

   Shane, a BGSU visual communication technology student, is a young and energetic photojournalist who is devoted to mastering his craft of documenting life around him with a camera.

   He readily admits he’s green, but with that admission he’s wide open to learning from others. I firmly believe that the day you think you know everything is the day you stop improving. 

   It is this drive to learn that led him to the Northern Short Course in Rhode Island in March. He called the 3-day conference a ‘life changer,’ and I wanted to know why. So I’ve chosen Shane as my fourth recipient of the Q&A series:

   

Q:    You weren’t a photojournalist in the military, so what made you pursue this career when you got out, and how did you land a job at the Sentinel-Tribune?

A:   I deployed to Fallujah before I had even hit my six-month anniversary in the Marine Corps. I arrived in early summer 2006 and stayed until early 2007. I was serving with the Force Protection Security Team in December, during operations Dakota and Sledgehammer, when they sent a Marine photojournalist out to cover the operations. He spent about two weeks with us and during that time I got to know him a little during down time. He showed me some of the images he made of my friends, and that’s what sparked my first interest in photojournalism. It was at that moment I understood the potential of still images portraying powerful messages. They communicate with people in a way no other medium can.

   I decided  I was going to learn photography and pursue a career in photojournalism. Once I got out of the Marine Corps in September 2010 I started school at BGSU. I shadowed my current boss, JD Pooley, at the Sentinel-Tribune and a little over a year later the part-time photographer, Aaron Carpenter, left to take a teaching position. I applied for the job and landed it right away. I know it wasn’t my resume or my portfolio that landed me my current position. JD told me recently that the reason he hired me over other applicants was because I had job shadowed him earlier and he knew I was enthusiastic and eager to learn.

   As a side note, I don’t remember the name of the Marine photojournalist who was with us for those two weeks. I have a terrible memory. I honestly wouldn’t have remembered the operation names if it wasn’t for the award citation sitting on my desk. Although I have recently been trying to search DefenseImagery.mil to try and find those images he made and find him.

Q:   You recently attended the Northern Short Course. Can you explain what that conference is about, and what inspired you to attend?

A:   The Northern Short Course is an annual photojournalism conference sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association. The conference is a series of workshops for photojournalists who want to improve their craft and make connections in the industry. Every day begins with an opening lecture by a guest speaker. After the opening lecture, attendees have the opportunity to choose one of three categories. This year the categories were photography, multimedia and business. After all the workshops are finished for the day there is a closing lecture. After the lecture we have the opportunity to have our portfolio reviewed by industry leaders, and then of course there is socialization time at the hotel bar for those who are of legal drinking age. The socialization usually goes on early into the next day. Overall, there is always something amazing happening and I did not get very much sleep while I was there. 

Q: A portfolio review is a beneficial (and sometimes terrifying) benefit of the NSC. How did your review go?

 A: I don’t necessarily agree that portfolio reviews are terrifying. They are and should be brutally honest, but that is not a bad thing and it isn’t something that should scare anyone. The portfolio reviews are there to help you learn how you can improve on your skills, and you can’t get better if you don’t seek the opinions of industry leaders and those who have more experience than you. I had my portfolio reviewed by six different people while I was at the conference and there was a surprising consensus, which is far better than six completely different opinions. My portfolio is full of images I shot for the Sentinel-Tribune. This means that all of my images are soft features and not the kind of images that will help me advance in my career.

   They all advised me to work on my own personal projects and to develop photo essays that develop a narrative: stories with a beginning, middle and end. Stories with unique and interesting characters, powerful settings, conflicts and resolutions. The reason these types of stories are important is that they show editors you can get access to a story, develop it, and build a bond with the subjects that allows them to be vulnerable in your presence. The most powerful images we see in this industry are those that come from those vulnerable moments where your subject has forgotten that you are there taking their picture, and you can’t get that moment unless you have the ability to build trust with your subject. That is what editors are looking for when they hire. They want a photojournalist who can do all these things and your portfolio has to show them that you possess those skills. You won’t build your portfolio off of daily newspaper assignments.

Q: You just enlisted in the 180^th Fighter Wing. What is your job and how will you be trained for it?

A: I am a photojournalist for them, and in August I will be leaving for Baltimore to train for roughly six months. I will be trained in photography and journalism. The Air National Guard wants their photojournalists to be able to go into any situation and tell the whole story. This means getting the images and writing the article that goes with those images.

Q: What advice can you give young, aspiring photojournalists in this modern age of job cuts and overpopulation of people with cameras?

A: It is strange that you ask that question because I was just talking about this with a friend recently. Don’t be afraid of the image saturation happening right now. All the images out there that are being taken by amateurs are usually not that great, and this helps the great images stand out. When people see images by amateurs that they think are great, they are often amazed when shown images by professionals.     

    The images that are flooding onto the Internet are just creating a lot of noise and it is your job as a photographer to be better and to do everything you can to make your images rise above the noise. You make your images rise above that noise by constantly striving to improve your skills, and constantly trying to make your images better. The second you are satisfied with your images, you have lost. I often can’t sleep at night because when I lay down I am still thinking about the images I created that day and how I could have made them better.

    As far as jobs go… persistence, persistence, persistence. If this is a career that you truly want to enter, then you have to be persistent. You absolutely can’t give up at the first sign of trouble. The industry is going to change; it already has. But the one thing that will not change is that there will always be a demand for the photojournalists who can tell the stories that make us stop and view the world around us in a new light.

Test replaced with team project on the history of photography

  Tests. I don’t like them, but who does?

  Yet tests are necessary because they force students to study material, and help gauge how students comprehend material.

   So, with that in mind, I recently decided to ditch a test for my Black & White 1 class, and replace it with research.

   The students took the traditional midterm test, which focused on camera controls. They also take five-question sponge quizzes once a week that earns them bonus points. Between the midterm and the sponge quizzes, I’m able to tell which students need extra help.

   This is where the compromise comes in: I’ve tossed out the final test (which is basically the same stuff I’ve been testing them on all semester) and replaced the points with a team project on the history of photography.

   There is no getting out of teaching history because this is academia, after all. As photography majors they must know the origins of their chosen art form.

   However, if I stood in front of the classroom and regurgitated facts about Daguerreotype and wet plates, they would probably hear “blah, blah, blah.” I’m not saying history is boring. I’m saying there might be a better way to engage them in otherwise dry material.

   This assignment involves the entire class working together to complete a single PowerPoint slideshow that highlights the history of photography. Each student was given a topic (an historical process or person), and they must submit at least two PowerPoint slides on their topic. The class will then work together to combine the slides into a single PowerPoint.

   Not only will this require them to research their own topics, it gets them to work together as a team. Because this is their final, they are totally responsible for helping each other learn how to use PowerPoint, download photos, source their material, and organize the slides into a coherent story.

George Eastman

The following are the topics they are researching:

·      What does the word photography mean?

·      Joseph Nicephore Niepce

·      Daguerreotype

·      Camera Obscura

·      Pinhole cameras

·      George Eastman

·      Timeline of photography

·      Light sensitive chemicals

·      Eadweard Muybridge

·      Calotype process

·      Wet plate and Dry plate

·      Edward Weston

·      Reflex mirror

·      Sir John Herschel

   It was a joy watching them get to work after I gave them their assignment sheet. And I’m confident we'll all have fun viewing their team project.  
   If you have another topic you think should be added next time, let me know! 
(George Eastman image from www.lomography.com)

The Owens Outlook to be taken off maintenance mode April 1

Screen grab of the countdown to the launch date of the Owens Outlook online newspaper:  http://www.owensoutlook.com/

   Mark your calendars!

   April 1 is the launch date for the debut of the new and improved Owens Outlook student online newspaper! 

   The website, currently in mainetenace mode, is going live that day, and the student staff is very excited, nervous and terrified, but definitely ready and able to once again report the news for the Owens Community College community.

   Unfortunately, not too many people on campus know Owens even has an online newspaper, or that The Outlook website was shut down for most of this semester. It's a sad fact that ever since the print edition ceased several years ago, the online edition eventually faded away to black.

   Shutting down the website early in the semester wasn't an easy decision for editor-in-chief Josh Widanka to make, but I still think it was the right one. He decided that his staff needed to be trained as scholastic journalists before representing the student newspaper. We also hired a new company, School Newspapers Online (SNO), to host our website.

   Why such extreme measures? Because Owens canned its journalism program about the same time the printed paper was put to rest. By cutting that class, most of the student Outlook staff didn't have any idea of what it takes to be responsible scholastic journalists. 

   To help solve that problem, I designed an 8-week News Academy training regime that ends March 27. During the 2-hour weekly training sessions, they learned the following skills, much of it from guest trainers from the Toledo Blade:

• What news is, and how to cover a beat
• Writing (how to interview subjects, take notes and craft stories)
• Photography (how to use Photo Mechanic, upload photos and write captions)
• Law and ethics
• Copyrighting 
• Social media

   In the beginning of the semester, during our very first meeting, I referred to The Outlook as a fail lab, meaning they will most assuredly make lots of mistakes during their on-the-job training. It's impossible to expect them to learn everything they need to know about journalism in 16 hours, but my philosophy as an adviser is not that they be punished for their mistakes, but that they be rewarded for learning from them. 

   I have confidence their mistakes will lesson as their own confidence grows! After all, a student newspaper is the perfect workplace to hone their writing, communication and critical thinking skills, which better prepares them for whatever profession they choose when they graduate.

   Nope, this is no April Fool's joke. April 1 is the day Owens gets their student newspaper back!

A big giant THANKS to the following Toledo Blade employees who donated their time and expertise during the News Academy training sessions this semester:

Alex Mester, animal welfare reporter; Dave Hackenberg, sports columnist; Don Emmons, sports reporter; copy editors Heather Denniss and Shannon Kolkedy; Perrysburg beat reporter Matt Thompson; photojournalist Katie Rausch; webmaster Nabil Shaheen and education reporter Nolan_Rosenkrans.

Q&A #3 Toledo Blade photographer and diver Andy Morrison: Shooting ship wrecks in the depth of the Great Lakes

The Eber Ward sits in 140 feet of water on the Lake Michigan side of the Straits of Mackinac. The ship is a highlight of the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve.

Andy Morrison shoots a self portrait as he swims with the fishes at Gilboa, Ohio.

Andy Morrison

      There's an understood theory amongst photojournalists that we all need personal photo stories/projects/hobbies to help keep us motivated.

    Some choose long-story documentaries, while others like Instagram.

    Whatever it is, our own personal photo projects help us escape from the drudgery of daily assignments. Our own projects also allows us to control our content; allows us to follow our hearts; inspires us to shoot topics that interests us all the time.

    For this month's Q&A, I spotlighted Toledo Blade photojournalist Andy Morrison, who is gaining quite an impressive reputation for shooting ship wrecks in the Great Lakes.

    I've always been impressed with his nature photography, but it's his diving photography that really fascinates me... maybe because diving into the depths of pitch black water scares the hell out of me!

    He recently had a Toledo Blade magazine page dedicated to a recent ice dive in Lake Erie. This photo page, published March 2, prompted me to ask Andy the following questions:

Q: How and when did you get into underwater photography?

A: I was certified to dive in 2000, and wanted a hobby away from my daily job as a photojournalist. I quickly realized I needed a camera to show friends all the cool things I was seeing underwater. Diving helped me discover I'm not comfortable being without a camera no matter where I am. I had my first story published in 2006 and have been a regular contributor to diving magazines since. I mostly work with a writing partner but have written some of my own stories.

Q: What led you to specialize in ship wreck photography around the Great Lakes?

Divers explore the Dunderberg, 155' deep in Lake Huron near Harbor Beach, MI.

A: Location was a big factor initially. It's easier and cheaper to dive the Great Lakes than the Galapagos Islands. So I started diving here, and just fell in love with the beauty and history of shipwrecks and Great Lakes maritime history in general. We have world class shipwrecks in beautiful locations. I'd rather be diving in 40 degree water in Canada's Bruce Peninsula or Michigan's Upper Peninsula than 80 degree water anywhere else in the world. I'm a sucker for fresh water, shipwrecks and birch trees, I guess.

Q: Is there a different shooting philosophy to underwater storytelling compared to top side (above water) photography?

A: Yes and no. I'm still trying to tell a story, but it's often much harder to tell. I can't shoot reactively as much as I do topside. The water makes all of my movements in slow motion. At 200 feet I may only have 15 to 20 minutes to explore and get my shots, whereas at 30 feet I could have more than an hour. Either way, my time is limited by my air supply and decompression factors. So there is much more planning involved with my dive buddy. But generally I try to shoot overalls, portraits and details like I do for any assignment.

Q: Have you ever been injured or nearly harmed on a dive?

A: I suffered a decompression-related illness after a dive in Lake Huron once that required three treatments in a re-compression chamber in Detroit. I did a total of 17 1/2 hours in the chamber over the course of three days. It's something I hope I never have to do again. We traced the cause to an overexertion post-dive from moving my gear from the boat, so I'm pretty careful now what I do after I dive.

Q: What kind of equipment do you use?

A: I use Canon DSLR cameras in a Subal housing with multiple Ikelite strobes and various other items for shooting. As a technical rated diver, meaning I sometimes do mixed-gas diving with required decompression, my gear is suited for that. My standard life support is a drysuit, double 95 cubic inch tanks, Dive Rite backplate and wing for buoyancy and Poseidon regulators to deliver my breathing gas. It's an expensive hobby, no doubt.

Q: What advice do you have for people who want to get into this underwater niche?

Andy and his camera equipment in Key Largo, Fla. (Photo by Tim Grollimund)

A: Learn to be a proficient diver first. Shooting in a fluid environment where humans don't belong takes above average dive skills. Staying alive is priority No. 1. Anyone can fall off a boat and sink to the bottom. Coming home is the hard part. So get good training before taking a camera underwater. Then practice in your local quarries with the camera to be comfortable with the housing and managing the task loading that underwater photography requires. There are different skill sets required for an underwater photographer. It's best to find a mentor if possible. I have many diving mentors who have helped me over the years.

Q: I've seen some of your diving photos, and I have to admit that the darkness, silence and claustrophobic conditions were terrifying. How do you handle it?

A: It all goes back to training. I train in the conditions I dive in so I get used to it. And I don't dive in conditions where I'm not relatively comfortable with the situation. I've had scary moments but I always revert back to my mantra - "if I'm breathing I'm okay." Our water is dark and cold compared to tropical locations, so Great Lakes divers tend to be comfortable diving anywhere in the world. The reverse is not always true. If you go to Mexico, for example, and boat captains learn you are a Great Lakes diver, they realize you probably know what you are doing.

    I tend to be a bit claustrophobic, but usually in large crowds where the nois,e as much as anything else, makes me want to bug out. The silence underwater is my favorite part. It's just me and the sound of my breathing. It's very Zen-like and relaxing. It's the quietest place on earth and I crave that silence. In fact, I hear from a lot of divers who claim to be claustrophobic that they don't feel that way underwater.

View Andy's website at http://www.andymorrisonphotography.com/

Andy shuttling gear back to shore on an ice diving trip on Lake Erie near Colchester, Ontario. (Photo by Rich Synowiec)