Isaac Blancas – Photojournalist

I have been part of the NEWSCHANNEL 13 team for about a year and a half. When I first applied for the job, my knowledge of photojournalism was based on my studies of Speech Communication (Media) at CSU. The depth of my understanding included sound equipment, some technology, and the ability to put together videos with my Sony Handycam. I didn’t realize how little experience this actually was until coming to work here. I was thrown in the fire for several weeks with little knowledge, just attempting to hold a shot steady while tinkering with the camera gizmos. I had to learn an unbelievable number of different aspects of photography at an extremely fast pace. I loved everything about my job; the spot news, the fun events, the once in the lifetime experiences, the investigative work, the amazing stories of an everyday people and being able to have fun with visual effects and sound. It was my fascination with effects that directed my attention into what we call “Shooter’s Pieces” in the news business. In essence, it means I tell a story using only the sights and sounds I record on site. No narrative, no reporter, just me and my camera. After learning more and more from photographers, reporters and people in the newsroom, it came to my surprise that I had won 1st place at the Colorado Broadcasters Association awards with a shooter’s piece that I had done about the annual Coffin Races in Manitou. I still had to improve myself, so I decided to go to a TV seminar in Denver and a workshop in Oklahoma to learn from the best storytellers in the nation. Those experiences changed my shooting style forever. I learned how to tell stories in compelling, imaginative, and visually stimulating way. I will take the professionalism I learned and make myself the best I can be to make sure every story is a more interesting for our viewers.