Richard Adkins
News Photographer

“No man is an island…” according to a sermon by the seventeenth-century English author John Donne. (OK, I’ll admit I had to look up that reference.) But News Photographers often come close. We generally work alone, shooting, framing and crafting our stories from the perspective of just one lens. One camera on your shoulder, no back-up, no second chances. So every now and then it’s nice to join a crew and be part of a multi-camera production.


(Bundled up and cold! A very cool breeze was blowing down the street.)

Last weekend I had the honor of shouldering “Camera 3” in a six-camera live telecast of the Raleigh Christmas parade. Multi-camera production work is a different skill set from single camera ENG work. The same principals of good framing still apply, but you’ve got to remember your framing must be part of the framing with other cameras. If the camera on-air before me has a wide shot, then the director is going to ask me for a tight shot… in other words, you’ve got to work with the team.

We had a pretty good crew behind the cameras…. Camera 1 was shooting the talent on the platform; Camera 2 was a steady cam on the parade route. I was under camera three, the only hand-held camera of the bunch. Camera 4 was on a tripod street level, camera 5 in a bucket over the road and camera 6 up high on a building. (The helicopter was up for part of the parade, actually making for a seven-camera production.)


(Before the parade started, I got a stem broken off one the poinsettias and mounted it to the back of the camera.)

Shooting the parade requires walking backwards for nearly a block beside, in front of, and along with every float, band and twirling group that comes along. I’d walk backwards two feet in front of a flutist, tuba player or clown. At the end of the block, I’d take off running forwards to catch the next act. I didn’t walk the entire parade route, but I’m sure I covered at least that distance without ever leaving the block.


(I'm almost in this picture!)

The telecast was just over two hours long… it was a lot of fun, but Santa was never so welcomed as when I could that camera off my shoulder. Hey! Wanna see the parade? Click here for the entire telecast. Enjoy. I’m heading back to my island for a while.