Multimedia shop keeps focus

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Bob Oldham
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  An airman peers through the lens of the weapon, anticipating the moment the target is in sight. The target steps off the plane. “Closer,” the airman murmurs as her eye shoots back and forth in the lens, checking the scene. Her finger squeezes gently. Click. She shoots, and another distinguished visitor here is recorded for historical documentation.

Such is the life of a military photographer whose work is the world’s official view of the base and its operations.

“Years from now, when people look back at Tallil, they will be (seeing it) through the lens of the photographers here,” said Tech. Sgt. Terry Montrose, the base’s multimedia manager deployed here from Kadena Air Base, Japan.

Four other airmen assigned to the 407th Expeditionary Communications Squadron’s support flight multimedia section are deployed here with Sergeant Montrose from Kadena. They are working to document the lives of airmen in a combat zone. From distinguished visitor photos to airmen on the job and anything in between, they have got it covered.

They also assist security forces, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations detachment and the base safety office by providing an alert photographer who documents vehicle accidents, crime scenes or other events where official photography is needed.

It is not easy work with all the different lighting situations, said Staff Sgt. Chenzira Mallory, a photographer.

“Going indoors, outdoors; I’ve got to hurry up and change my apertures,” she said. “If you don’t remember to do all that, then some of your pictures will be overexposed or underexposed, and the flash has a mind of its own some days.”

Throw in the added pressure of having essentially one shot to get it right, and the job can be filled with anxiety. Photos are shot digitally, so unlike with film, the storage media sometimes does not work as advertised, adding to a photographer’s worries.

Each airman in the shop is trained in one of three disciplines: photographer, graphic artist or videographer, but they have to know how to do each other’s job to deploy, said Sergeant Montrose.

While photographers take photographs, graphic artists create a wide array of graphics, including free-hand drawing, art, pastels, technical drawings, illustrations and desktop publishing. In addition, they provide logos, certificates, invitations and brochures.

On the video side, Senior Airman Ferdinand Gross works to document base activities and missions through motion pictures. He has taken video of Predator remotely piloted aircraft, tail numbers of planes assigned here and other mission-related duties.

Both photos and videos are accessioned by the Joint Combat Camera Center in the United States. If the photos or videos are cleared for public release and picked up for use, Sergeant Montrose’s people can see their work in nationwide newspapers, on television or on a military or civilian Web site.

“I feel honored when (media) considers one of my photos to be good enough to help with their story,” Sergeant Mallory said.