The Healthy Red Meat

My farm story is something I was really excited about and was very happy I had the opportunity to do it. The farm I chose was Pohl Bison in Clare, MI. I remember I was on an assignment for CM-Life over the summer and drove by the farm and saw a bunch of bison which was so unusual and knew right then that's what I wanted to do my story on.

Jim Pohl co-owner of Pohl’s Bison, 7308 N. Whiteville in Clare,walks past his garage with the skulls of Bison hanging above him. Jim and his wife Krista hope to one day retire on the Bison farm.

Krista Pohl co-owner of Pohl’s Bison, 7308 N. Whiteville in Clare, drives in her cart to go feed the Bison hey cubes. "There not farm cows, there still a wild animal" Pohl said.

Jim and Krista Pohl are the owners of the farm and were very nice people and I was very happy they were willing to let me tell their story. I was very excited in my first day because its the first time I was able to see a bison up close and personal.

Krista Pohl of co-owner of Pohl's Bison, 7308 N. Whiteville in Clare, sits in her cart watching the Bison. Pohl say's bison meat is healthier than other red meats, containing less fat and cholesterol.

When I first got out there and we stopped in the cart I jumped out immediately to take some photos which was a big no no. Mrs. Pohl told me to get back in quickly because the bison are very unpredictable. There not a nice farm cow, there still a wild animal. She told me her husband was actually chased out twice by the bison.

A bison stands in the field of Pohl's Bison, 7308 N. Whiteville in Clare. Male bison are typically between 950 and 1250 pounds when they are ready for butchering, and can stand six feet tall. Pohl Bison sell's everything bison from hamburger patties, jerky, even the tongue.

Jim Pohl co-owner of Pohl's Bison, 7308 N. Whiteville in Clare, brings a hose to fill up the water tanks for the bison to drink. The water tanks take about 20 minutes to fill up.

I was shown around in the shop and I couldn't believe all the different product that can come from a bison. Jerky, burgers, steak, even the tongue is sold. None of the bison is wasted the skulls are sold off as well after the long process of cleaning it up is complete. The Pohl's even enjoy the bison themselves.

A bison skull hangs in the living room of Jim and Krista Pohl. The hole in the skull is where the bison was shot in order to processed for meat. When there meat supply begins to run low the Pohl's put down a bison in order to restock their supply.

Krista Pohl co-owner of Pohl’s Bison, 7308 N. Whiteville in Clare, sits at the table after cleaning the kitchen, eating bison stew.

Jim and Krista Pohl of Pohl's Bison stand in their backyard and gaze at the bison heard in the distant. Krista and Jim Pohl own Pohl Bison, 7308 N. Whiteville in Clare. It's the second bison farm Jim and Krista have owned and they hope one day to retire on it.

It was definitely a good experience there and I'm glad I started off this class on what I think is a successful photo story and am looking forward to my future assignments.

JRN 422: Job Shadow

For my job shadow I had the opportunity to work with J. Scott Park of the Jackson Citizen Patriot.  I was very excited and blessed being able to work for such a well recognized newspaper that has such a strong focus on photography.  The assignment I shadowed him on was the game of the week in the Jackson area which was Homer High School versus rival Concord High School. 

 

 It was an exciting game with many penalties and maybe even more injuries.  Homer won the contest 28-27 due to a blocked extra point and a quick touchdown tight after.  It was my first time shooting high school football and I was really excited to be able to do it.  I loved even more that it was a small town game because atmospheres like that are rare to come buy.  Everyone in the town was probably there that night and the price of admission was well worth it.  Luckily for me I got in for free.   Homer running back Chaz Hopkins stands at midfield awaiting the coin toss before Friday's game against rival Concord at Homer High School. Homer won the game 28-27. It was voted the game of the week in the Jackson area. Concord quarterback Jesse Brigham gets chased down by Homer's Chaz Hopkins Friday night in Jackson's game of the week. Homer won 28-27. Homer player Nick Hollenbaugh is tended to after taking a hard hit in the second quarter at Homer High School on Friday evening. He was taken to the hospital from the game. Homer won the game 28-27. A Homer football player is carried of the field during Friday nights football game at Homer High School. Homer won the game 28-27 in the Jackson game of the week. 

 

Jackson Citizen Patriot chief photographer J. Scott Park kneels down taking photos during the Homer versus Concord high school football game of the week in Jackson area.  He has worked at the Jackson Citizen Patriot for 15 years both as a photo editor and staff photographer.

 

My time there though short was most definitely a good experience.  Getting to be around someone who has already been through the experiences I'm about to go through and seeing that he hasn't gone crazy was a great relief.  This industry is nuts and knowing he has had a great job and at a great paper for almost 20 years showed that its possible to make it and not bounce around from job to job for my entire life hoping to land somewhere.

 

Being able to shadow a professional was great but unfortunately I wasn't around him a lot throughout the experience and with it being a Friday it was a slow day in Jackson.  So I can't say the experience changed me but I can say it got me thinking more of what I want for my future in photography.  Being there was awesome but it showed me that a photography job at a daily newspaper isn't something I personally want for my future.  I see it as maybe a starting off point and a place to help me grow and learn and help achieve my future goals. 

 

 As stated earlier the injuries in that game was the real story and the one above was the worst of them all.  The silence and emotions around was something no classroom can teach you about it's something you have to go out and experience while on the job.  Actually seeing that ambulance and cart come out was pretty intense.  I kept thinking "this kid might never walk again, and I saw it happen!" But thankfully I found out later that he was going to be okay.

I know with me, maybe not others, it's learn by doing and watching.  I am not a technical person or an audio learner I prefer to watch someone do it or just do it myself.  While on the job shadow that's exactly what I did.  I watched Scott take his photos and saw later how they turned out and by doing this I learned the specific angles he was at to get the shots I liked and lenses he had to do it with.  I'm not saying if someone told me how I wouldn't know how, I'm just saying I like to watch others do it.

 

So my time in Jackson was a memorable one, what I took away most from it was knowing its really important to do as much as you can before you settle down as a full time phoJo.  Internships, job shadows, photo stories, do it all and then do some more.  There's always more to learn and more ways to get better.

First Time For Everything

I had the opportunity today to take photo of volleyball for the first time ever. It was CMU v. Oakland and the Chippewas won 3 sets to 1. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. It was a very fast paced game and was not easy keeping track of the ball. Thankfully serving was predictable and I got a pretty cool shot of it. Hope to be able to take photo of volleyball more and improve my skills.