How do you demonstrate professionalism on the job?

Recently, I had the great fortune to shoot video at the 98th annual Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company pony swim and auction. This year’s event was indeed the 98th edition of this Eastern Shore of Virginia tradition. Thousands of people make the trek across the single causeway connecting Chincoteague Island to the mainland for the week of the Swim, and all the events surrounding it.

On pony swim morning, I showed up at the dock owned by the Fire Company that juts out into the narrow channel between Assateague and Chincoteague Islands around 5am. I found myself the first person to arrive and walked the length of the dock to begin setting up my camera and gear. After visiting briefly with a couple of other folks from the fire company, a few other media types began to arrive. First was an audio crew that was setting up for the live stream coverage and PA system that would communicate with the huge crowd and stream the event for the giant LCD screen deployed at Memorial Park, just down the channel. The swim can be a notoriously difficult event to view, due to the fact that there is no one place where you can see the whole event up close other than on a boat out in the channel. The Coast Guard is on hand to keep the channel clear and keep ponies and propellors out of proximity of each other, so even out on a boat, you are viewing at a distance. Also, a full grown pony rides pretty low in the water while swimming, which means it can be hard to see them very well during the 4-and-a-half minute swim.

Anyway, the audio crew was under time pressure, and the one gentleman clearly in charge was rather abrupt with me and my choice of position for my camera. I wasn’t really offended, since I understood where he was coming from, the pressure he was under, and the early hour of the day. The rest of this crew was focused on the task at hand, and went about their business getting the live sound ready to go. Next to arrive was a crew from a public news station. Now, it was clear from the beginning that this group of 5 individuals had never attended the Swim, didn’t really know what was going to happen, and hadn’t a clue the timeline or events that were going to take place that morning (even though a quick internet search revealed a week’s timeline of events from the fire company).

Now, what I found really interesting was the interaction (or lack thereof) that this group had with those of us already on the dock. One of them looked at me and, after I said good morning, said, “freelancer?” I replied, yeah, more or less. Now, at this point, I was ready to spill the beans about all that goes on with the swim, the timeline involved, how I had heard one of the cowboys say, “ponies in the water at 1015” earlier in the morning… In other words, I could have easily filled in the blanks with most of the information that this crew didn’t seem to have in order to give them a better chance to write/video/photograph a compelling story. That never happened. Not once did any of them try to make small talk, ask questions, visit with the cowboys, or much anything else for that matter.

As a 50-plus professional that has spent a career (and indeed, lifetime) in the military and performing arts, I am still blown away by the lack of interest people show in others. Professional situations are such an easy place to make small talk. The knowledge to be gained from those around you is truly astounding. Sometimes, the most lasting and helpful lessons come from the least likely sources. The shared experience, profession, even instrument/camera/microphone (or other gear) that you are holding can be an easy gateway to introduction and learning. As for me, I learned a lot at this year’s pony swim. I can’t wait to share what I captured this year, and return next year with even more ideas about compelling ways to cover this historic and exciting event. Oh, and next time, I’m gonna ask even more questions myself!