Danielle Slota wipes away a tear during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the Newtown shooting victims at Green Lake Park on Saturday, December 15, 2012. Yesterday Adam Lanza killed his mother, a substitute teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, before heading to the school and killing 26 adults and children. Lanza shot himself afterwards, bringing the final death toll to 28 people. (AP photo/seattlepi.com/LINDSEY WASSON)

Yesterday I was tasked with photographing a small vigil of about 50 people at Green Lake Park for the victims of Friday's Newtown/Sandy Hook Elementary shootings. It was mostly silent and reflective, but every once in awhile people would break out in quiet song, with "We Shall Overcome" or "Silent Night." Later, attendees passed around a printed list of names of the victims, remembering them by having each person read a name and age aloud.

At one point about halfway through, the organizer thanked people for coming and made a few comments about what she thought the cause was. Others chimed in, disagreeing, offering other solutions. It was obvious that emotions were running high, and I was wondering how far the arguments would go. Quickly another woman stepped up and said: "I think I know why we're all here, and we're not here to argue. We're here to remember." Personally, there's been plenty of discussion back and forth on my newsfeed about the issues, so for right now, I'll just leave you with the photos.

A group of about 40-50 people gather on the basketball courts at Green Lake Park during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the Newtown shooting victims in Seattle on Saturday, December 15, 2012. (AP photo/Seattlepi.com/Lindsey Wasson)

Scout Elizabeth Noble, 7, and her brother Jack Noble, 9, crouch silently during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the Newtown shooting victims at Green Lake Park in Seattle on Saturday, December 15, 2012.(Lindsey Wasson/Seattlepi.com)

A man lets wax drip off of his candle and onto the ground during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the Newtown shooting victims at Green Lake Park in Seattle on Saturday, December 15, 2012. (Lindsey Wasson/Seattlepi.com)

A family holds candles during a vigil in remembrance of the Newtown shooting victims at Green Lake Park on Saturday, December 15, 2012. (AP photo/seattlepi.com/Lindsey Wasson)

People pass around a list of the victims, saying one name aloud each, during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the Newtown shooting victims at Green Lake Park in Seattle on Saturday, December 15, 2012. (Lindsey Wasson/Seattlepi.com)

People shield their candles from the wind and light rain during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the Newtown shooting victims at Green Lake Park in Seattle on Saturday, December 15, 2012. (Lindsey Wasson/Seattlepi.com)

Thanks for looking. Keeping the families in my thoughts.

So I haven’t updated in awhile, but I thought I’d attempt to get back into the swing of things by posting on a subject I know very little about: American football. One of the perks of my internship, however, is getting thrown into these new experiences. As football season began to start back up, I was asked to help out. While none of these are fantastic, I thought I’d share them & my thoughts. These images are from the Seahawks games vs. the Raiders (Aug. 30), Cowboys (Sept. 16) and Patriots (Oct. 14). A few of these weren’t in my final PI gallery edits, but I threw them in for fun.

I’ve been to exactly three football games in my life, and each one of those was spent on the sidelines. I’d like to think of myself as a fairly quick learner, but shooting football is tough for the uninitiated. I’m not sure I had even watched a full game on TV before shooting my first game.

So what’s it like? For those of you who’ve shot a game, you’ll likely know what I’m already going to say. Mostly there’s a lot of scooting around on your knees, jogging, and getting astroturf pellets everywhere. But the first game, I think, I mostly remember for its amount of sensory overload. The energy of the crowd, the actual game, and the fact that I had no clue what I was doing ended up being quite enough for my little brain.

What some people might not realize is that photographers have to commit about twice as much time as the fans: we get there a few hours early to photograph them, and stay a few afterwards as we edit & upload. There’s also a fair amount of running around with large lenses as the plays progress. Shooting football is not as sedentary as one might think. The speed of the game from the sidelines is also much faster than it might appear if you’re used to watching from high in the stands or on TV. While it’s very easy to tell what’s happening from multiple camera angles, it’s infinitely more difficult from a fixed position on the ground through one viewfinder.

When it rains, we also get the honor of looking and feeling a bit like a drowned rats (or at least I did). Of course, that may have had something to do with being caught unprepared…The upside, however, is that you get a free lunch and dinner out of it. Unfortunately, having been to the press box a few times, I now am aware that reporters get much fancier food.

Shooting a new sport was a reminder of the idea that most things are more difficult than they look. It’s a phrase I try to keep floating around in my brain: I’ve found it helps keep my ego in check and me from being too judgmental .

Often there are more factors involved than meets the eye. Even though photographers have giant, fancy cameras, there are a host of elements involved: some may even have nothing to do with taking an actual photo. Even small things like knowing how the press room works or where you can be on the sidelines is a part of it. You have to be able to anticipate action, know when to move and where to be, and, importantly how to crop.

This, of course, applies to photojournalism in general. When I was younger, I would look at The Seattle Times and think “that doesn’t seem so difficult.” Now I know better: photojournalism isn’t just knowing how to take good photos, it’s knowing how to do so in the strangest or most unpleasant of circumstances. It’s knowing how to use and read body language, how to interact with people effectively, and how to adjust and adapt. The list goes on.

I wouldn’t say I’m a great photojournalist by any means, but now I know what it takes. So every time I begin to judge something–it doesn’t matter what it is–I try to remind myself that chances are it’s more difficult than it looks.

If you’ve made it this far, again, thanks for looking. -L

This Labor Day weekend I participated in what felt like the Music Olympics (I haven’t been to Sasquatch yet). PI photographer Josh Trujillo and I spent Sunday and Monday running from stage to stage in an attempt to cover as many bands as possible, shooting some features in between. While there are good features to be had at any festival, our main focus was, of course, the music. With the exception of  Capitol Hill Block Party 2012, I haven’t done much concert shooting, so I appreciated the chance to improve.

If you’re not a photographer or much of a concert-goer, you might not think about the technical and logistical challenges we sometimes work with in the pit.Photographers typically get to shoot for a set of 2 or 3 songs, or 5-10 minutes, but it varies by band. If there are too many shooters, they send you in waves of 10-15. Naturally, you’ve got to deal with all the other photographers who often want the same shot you do. Ex.: Trying to photograph through a tall, large male photographer who has parked himself firmly in the exact spot you want to be doesn’t always work for someone somewhat vertically challenged. But I’m happy to report most of the photographers I was with weren’t giant space hogs. Mainstage pit access to many music events is becoming  harder to get, even for organizations like the PI, which meant that for Skrillex I had to deal with angry security personnel and rowdy fans vying for seats while I found somewhere to shoot. Mac Miller and Tony Bennett didn’t have quite as much draw (or security).

Technically, lit shows are more challenging, but much more fun (in my opinion). The Exhibition Hall and KeyArena provided our galleries with a lot of color and gave me many of my favorite photos from the weekend. However, other photographers bemoaned the loss of Memorial Stadium, the previous Mainstage, noting KeyArena dampened some of the “festival” atmosphere.  Skrillex, for example, presented a fair technical challenge, with his incessant strobes and unpredictably massive light changes.  Because of’ the chaotic and unpredictable nature of shows like his, you end up utilizing that motor drive a bit more than you should, which only means editing down becomes more like pulling teeth. Light shows like these are sort of  like visual crack. The weekend also cemented my suspicion that I have an unhealthy love for silhouettes.

As always, thanks for looking. I appreciate it!