Certainly, journalists will cover the same event numerous times in a career. Here at the Press Democrat we've all covered the Sonoma County Fair dozens of times, The Russian River Jazz Festival, city council meetings etc. I had a good run at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am for many years [...]
My favorites from 2001, By Kent Porter / The Press Democrat 2/14/2001: Dairy cattle bask Tuesday on the lush winter hillsides of Sonoma County's pasture land off of Burnside Road, east of Bloomfield, as Mount St. Helena shows off its accumulation of snowfall from [...]
Beside wind this past week, the weather has been pretty darn idyllic. Why else do we live in Sonoma County? However, writing about nice weather is very difficult. "It's gonna be nice." That's what all the forecasters are saying. With the lack of inclement goings on, I pulled some [...]
I am drawn to weather mayhem like a moth is attracted to a 60 watt light bulb. Give me a storm with bad roads and impossible odds and I will try my best to get an image that illustrates the story of the day. I have to admit though, I [...]
I've gotten tons of email on the lightning pictures I shot on September 12 near the Hawkeye Ranch above Geyserville. Most were complimentary, while one person said she was "sure it was judgement day" and another thought that I was crazy like a loon to be out in lightning. I'm [...]
How many frames in a photojournalists life? Millions. Literally.
I’ve lost count since I started shooting photos at eight years-old with a Polaroid Land Camera (which I still own). It’s a way of life this photojournalism thing which is endlessly fascinating. The trip along the way, now in my 31st year professionally and the last 25 with the Press Democrat, has been an adventure in life. What it has to offer, ranging from implausible beauty to the utterly cruel things life randomly pitches out have shaped and molded who I am. That means I get to witness history. Pretty cool, eh? This journey has included photographing lots of inanimate objects which can be terribly boring. I’ve also borne the brunt of people unhappy to see a photographer show up to document less than pleasant circumstances. Then there’s the weather, which wreaks havoc on the human race daily. So I document the clouds. My advice for anyone having a bad day is to go outside and take a picture of those clouds once in awhile. It will do wonders for the interior beast. Unless you are using a metal tripod in an electrical storm.
-Kent Porter