Observations – Marc Posner

September 1, 2024September 1, 2024

Found Film

This summer, I came across eight rolls of slide film in a box in my office at work. There was a particular photograph I was looking for from the early 1990s and one day it hit me that I might have brought it to the office to scan. For some reason, out of the blue, it hit me just where it was located. But, I had forgotten that there were other rolls of film that I had never really looked at or evaluated.

The images are from a trip to Boston that I had forgotten about, from the El Toro Air Show, a space shuttle landing, and more. I shared them over 10 days on Instagram.

Each of these photographs was captured on my Canon A-1 35 mm camera on slide film, primarily Kodak Ektachrome 100. I purchased the camera new in 1983 and began shooting film on it again earlier this year.

A man in his early 20s poses for a photo. He has dark hair, a beard, and a ponytail. — Incoming: In the past month, I’ve discovered 8 rolls of previously processed slide film — all shot when I was the approximate age I am in this (self?) portrait. Image drops include the El Toro Air Show, family, the Anaheim Arena, and more.

On Day 1 (August 10, 2024), I shared this image — the only one that I am not certain I took. It’s likely that one of two uncles shot this after I set up for the portrait (shared on Day 2), but I may have been working on with a tripod and took this on timer. At the time I posted this image, I didn’t even remember this trip to Boston specifically, initially confusing it with an earlier vacation. I still haven’t dated it precisely.

Music: “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder.

This song is the only one in the set that isn’t from the 1990s. Instead, it’s from my childhood and the chorus — “I wish those days could come back once more / Why did those days ever have to go?” — really resonated with my for this shot and for the discovery of the full set of images.

A woman in her 70s sits for a portrait. The Charles River is outside the window behind her. — Day 2: Let’s stay on the Charles River today for this portrait set with my grandmother. She is approximately 80 here (I still haven’t figured out precisely when I made these images). I had completely forgotten about these portraits, which were taken in my aunt and uncle’s condo in Boston. In late 1996, I saw her for the final time and asked her about her amazing life — but I’ve always regretted the poor quality of those photos. As a result, finding these images is even-more meaningful to me. The first frame is the only time I took a formal-style portrait of her, while the next two are included more so because they are how I remember her — especially the open-mouth smile, which is when you knew she was genuinely happy.

Day 2 (August 11, 2024) brought this portrait of my grandmother. The setting is the same as the portrait shared on the first day, but I do remember setting up to take this photo of here. This is why I was taking pictures this day. There are two other images that were part of the panel on the Instagram series, but I have elected just to share the main images in this blog posting.

For years, my grandmother worked at Lord & Taylors and I am pretty sure that is where her beautiful scarf is from. I honestly don’t remember her dressing up a lot, so I think she may have been convinced to be fancy for this portrait. Interestingly, there are only three or four shots of her, an indication of how we used to shoot film as opposed to hammering hundreds of shots on a digital camera.

Music: “You’ll Be in My Heart” by Phil Collins

I selected this song perhaps exclusively on the title. After I hit post on Day 1, I decided all the music needed to be from the 1990s to match the period, so the decade and popularity of the artist also factored in. My grandmother definitely was the matriarch of our family and someone I revered all of my life.

A C-130 aircraft as seen looking straight up. It is silhouetted against a grayish sky. Two paratroopers can be seen jumping from the plane and trailing behind the tail. — Day 3: This image is a find. By that, I mean that I didn’t know I had captured it. With film sometimes you just know you got the shot you wanted (more on that in a later photo) and other times you’ve attempted to capture a moment, but it doesn’t really stick in your mind’s eye so it’s just one of many shutter clicks. Here we have two paratroopers jumping from a C-130 Hercules at the 1993 Marines Corps Air Station El Toro Air Show. I knew the second I saw this that I liked it a lot. The interesting thing is that the second I saw this May 1993 image was holding a slide up to the lights in summer of 2024. It’s a find.

As I create this post, my Day 3 (August 12, 2024) photograph continues to grow on my. I still don’t remember capturing it. When I held the slide up to the light, I didn’t initially notice the paratroopers and I was instantly intrigued by it — I love shadows, so the backlighting on this really resonates with me. When I realized the dots trailing the plane weren’t dust spots, I did a double take and then put this into the scan pile.

Music: “Free Fallin'” by Tom Petty

This is an iconic 1990s song, but the title of this one also is self explanatory.

Four white biplanes with red accents fly in formation with smoke trailing across a blue sky — Day 4: This group of biplanes — the Red Baron Squadron — performed aerobatics in their signature red and white Boeing Stearman biplanes to promote their grocery-chain owners and a brand of frozen pizza they sold in store. Like yesterday’s images, these are from the 1993 MCAS El Toro Air Show.

Day 4 (August 13, 2024) brought the Red Baron Pizza Squadron. I shot more frames of this demonstration team than any other flight that day at the 1993 El Toro Air Show with the exception of the Blue Angels (I’m still not certain that the Blue Angels photos I took were from this show as opposed to a later year or another location).

I’m pretty sure that I knew of the Red Barons before the show, but I remember swooning over them once they were in the air. For starters, the Stearman sounds amazing, the huge wing surface makes them nimble, and they look fantastic, especially against a blue sky.

In retrospect, this probably isn’t my favorite Red Baron image from the sequence I captured; but, since it was the lead image in the social media series, I’m remaining true to the postings I shared on Instagram.

Music: “This Used to Be My Playground” by Madonna

Madonna performed this song the the “League of Their Own” soundtrack. It resonated on a couple of levels — one is that I lived walking distance from the Marines Corps Air Station, El Toro. The second is that in a different life I might have been very happy to make a living photographing planes, rockets, and space shuttles.

Day 5: Today, we head inside Anaheim Arena, for its public debut. This photograph was taken on July 10, 1993 during filming of D2: The Mighty Ducks, which was the first event in the new arena, which later became the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and now Honda Center. An estimated crowd of 12,000 (LA Times) to 24,000 (D23 blog) served as extras in the film.

Day 5 (August 14, 2024) brought us into the Anaheim Arena, later the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and now Honda Center, as it opened to the public for the first time on July 10, 1993 for filming of D2 the Mighty Ducks sequel. I remember the excitement of attending an event inside the new building. I have absolutely no memory of bringing my camera. I took only three photos that day, none during filming.

I do remember sitting in this spot to watch the filming. Interestingly, the top left of the photo shows the section where I split season seats with friends. This building holds so many memories.

Music: “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by BTO

It’s a hockey song, it’s directly out of the period, and it’s on the movie’s sound track. If it were available, I would have shared this with “The Mighty Ducks of America” — the theme song — but, honestly, BTO was almost a no brainer selection. I was so excited to be there in July 1993, but I hadn’t seen anything yet.

Day 6: On Day 3 I mentioned that sometimes you know when you’ve got the shot. This (1992?) photo of Avalon Harbor is the first of two such images I’ll share as part of this project. It was taken on a spontaneous trip to Catalina with my college journalism professor — one that began with me returning a message she left on my answering machine. When I called back, she asked what I was doing that day and when I replied that I had no plans, she said “meet me at Fullerton Airport in an hour.” I don’t remember the date, but I’m certain about the words.

On Day 6 (August 15, 2024), I shared this photo, which is really what triggered my interest in finding the box and digging through it for the bag that contained the film.

I have thought about this flight with my professor and her husband many times throughout the years, and I have thought specifically about this image. I remember the shape of the harbor, the boats and their trails, the richness of the watering the redness of the roof (that didn’t translate to film as much as I saw it in my eye).

But, as my older son is exploring a career as a pilot, I really wanted to find these photos from Catalina. One day, it hit me exactly where they were. The other rolls of film were a complete surprise. This one, was just how I remembered.

Music: “Fly Away” by Lenny Kravitz

I’m probably more adventurous than I give myself credit for, but I’m certainly not the type of person who wakes up and is at the airport in an hour for a flight from Fullerton to Catalina. The song just kind of fit.

A double exposed photograph showing a hockey game being played with the Blue Angles flying in formation layered with the image — Day 7: /The Crushing Mistake/ This mistake might well be why I’m only now evaluating these eight rolls of processed slide film after they sat inside a bag inside of a box for almost two decades. From the time I was a young kid, I loved the Blue Angels. I don’t remember a lot about this group of film, but I remember being crushed when I saw all my Blue Angels shots were destroyed by my mistake of running part of the roll through the camera twice. Perhaps it’s because I got to shoot the Blue Angels (up close) somewhat recently, but 2024 me finds this mistake somewhat cool since it combines two things I love to shoot: planes and hockey. 1993 Blue Angels and 1994-1995 San Diego Gulls vs. Las Vegas Thunder.

Day 7 (August 16, 2024) brought these accidental double exposures that, frankly, are growing on me. They were created at the 1993 El Toro Air Show and a 1994-1995 San Diego Gulls International Hockey League game versus the Las Vegas Thunder (date unknown) played during the NHL lockout.

The Gulls photos (there are multiple rolls of print film that I have seen many times over the years) taught me that hockey is an incredibly difficult sport to shoot. This was really the first time I attempted to photograph hockey after having shot a lot of football, baseball, and basketball in high school and college. Shooting hockey was humbling. This game featured some household names who were playing at the IHL level during the lockout.

One of those players was Dave Karpa. he would later coach my oldest in travel hockey. I’d like to believe that I have gone on to be a pretty credible hockey photographer. While that doesn’t show here, I do think that the Blue Angels shots would have been pretty good.

Music: “Come Out And Play (Keep ‘Em Separated” by The Offspring

Ha ha ha. The double meaning of this song, renown as a post-hockey-fight anthem, is a perfect fit. I should have kept these shoots separated (except they’re kind of cool now).

Space Shuttle Endeavour lands on its maiden voyage. It is seen from the side with the nose gear still in the air. — Day 8: This is Endeavour’s maiden landing. I had rented a 300 mm lens to shoot this landing, but as the training jets did test runs, I decided to go with the wider 200 mm. For years I’ve doubted my gut call that day, but I’m OK with the lens selection now. I can’t wait to see and photograph Endeavour again when its new home opens at the California Science Center.

Day 8’s (August 17, 2024) entry is probably the best film photography I have of a space shuttle landing. Discovery’s return-to-flight mission (STS-26) in October 1988 would be the other possibility, but I am not sure where those images are now, and I’m not sure I shot anything in color.

At any rate, this is the conclusion of Endeavour’s maiden voyage (STS-49). As noted in the information shared in the social posts, I made a gut call to use the wider lens for this landing and I’m happy with how that worked out. I have a similar shot of Atlantis landing on STS-117, which was the first time I used a digital camera to cover a landing.

Endeavour (as evidenced by an earlier post on this site) has become even more special since it resided here in Southern California. I am glad to have discovered this image and to add it to my Endeavour collection.

Music: “Fly” by Sugar Ray

“I just wanna fly” — this selection is political commentary. One of my favorite quotes is Admiral Grace Hopper’s “A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” The space shuttles were magnificent machines and I miss them.

A yellow, red, and orange hot air balloon floats across a blue sky — Day 9: Fun fact — today’s photo was shot one day after yesterday’s. On Saturday, May 16, 1992, I got up early to photograph Endeavour’s landing. I got home late and repeated the schedule the next day to shoot the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival, where I captured this image of Kodak’s hot air balloon.

Why I ever shot the Day 9 (August 18, 2024) entry is pretty beyond me. I mentioned above that I don’t consider myself adventurous. I am pretty sure that we received media credentials to the Temecula Balloon and Wine Festival, and that must have been the attraction.

I was know I was running on fumes having photographed Endeavour the day prior. But I had that rented lens and I wanted to put it to use (I’m not sure, since metadata didn’t exist on film, that I used it for this shot).

In addition to the balloons, which remained tethered because of the wind, bot America and Three Dog Night played during the day. I know I have photos of them somewhere, I am guessing black and white since they weren’t on this roll of slide film. During one of the band performances, I remember standing next to a Secret Service agent who worked in the Clinton White House. I’m glad I ventured out.

Music: “Joyride” by Roxette

I know, I just said that both America and Three Dog Night played at the event. But, but I wasn’t breaking up the ’90s music on the second-to-last day of the series. The balloons just reminded my of a fun ride, so this Roxette tune seemed to work for me.

Photograph showing the exterior of the cockpit of an F-117 Nighthawk stealth airplane. The frame is black with stark lines and angles. The side window has an orange hue and the front window has a purple hue. — Day 10: I didn’t need a screen on my camera to know I got this shot. Without seeing the result, I could close my eyes and picture the sharp angles and the purple and yellow of the F-117 Nighthawk cockpit windows. It’s this feeling I hinted at in the Day 3 post. I believe that image and this one contrast in a manner that illustrates the magic of film photography — serendipity on Day 3 and execution on Day 10 — along with the waiting and the anticipation of seeing the results.

Day 10 (August 19, 2024) brought the series to an end. I certainly have more photos I could share, but this one is an image I’ve wanted to print for years. I can only assume that in 1996, when I finally developed these images, that I simply didn’t have a budget that facilitated an enlargement.

One reason this image resonates with me is that I enjoy industrial images. Two space shuttle close ups (one of Atlantis’ main engines and the other of Endeavour’s main engines) are among my favorite images. This one joins that group.

When I close my eyes, I could see this image, even without ever having seen it.

Since I started shooting the Canon A-1 again this year, I sometimes instinctively look down at the back of the camera to see if I got the shot. I’m met with a torn-off cardboard box top with the film speed and type, but no other information.

But this shot, even in 1993, I didn’t need a display on my camera to know. I knew.

Music: “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC

If the United States Air Force made a promo video, I imagine this plane screaming by at 680 mph and Thunderstruck playing as the under bed, so it seemed an obvious selection for me.

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Larger images, higher resolution

a composite of all the images on this page

Enjoy viewing these images (and a few others) at a larger size and resolution in this gallery: https://marcposner.smugmug.com/Legacy-Film.

June 21, 2023June 23, 2023

Endeavour in Los Angeles

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing the three main engines looking upward at the rudder.

I finally photographed Space Shuttle Endeavour on Monday, June 19, 2023, at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA. Endeavour arrived in Los Angeles more than a decade ago, on September 21, 2012, and I really thought I’d be first in line to see the retired shuttle when the exhibit opened. Of course, I also thought I would take arrival day off and photograph the shuttle and carrier 747 landing at LAX. Instead, I went on the roof of my campus building and watched it fly by. Suffice to say, this visit has been a long time coming.

Space Shuttle Endeavour flying atop a NASA 747. A military jet is visible in the background. — Space Shuttle Endeavour flys atop a 747 as part of its delivery celebration on September 12, 2012. This photograph was taken at Cypress College in Orange County.

At the California Science Center, the orbiter is currently displayed in a horizontal position, as it has been since the exhibit opened in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion on October 30, 2012. However, you’ll only be able to see it this way through (roughly) November of this year. In the coming years, the shuttle will be mated with an external tank and boosters to complete the full Space Transportation System and it will be displayed in a new pavilion in the launch configuration.

Because of this coming change, I felt an urgency to see Endeavour now since the opportunity to photograph the current set up will disappear forever. I spent quite a bit of time photographing Enterprise when it was still at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Udder-Hazy annex and Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center. So, in planning the trip to Los Angeles, I knew Endeavour would be an exclusive focus, rather than taking in the rest of the museum. Though she lacks my passion for space and aviation, my mom joined me and even took the photo of me that’s at the bottom of this page (thankfully, this was shot on my camera since I haven’t seen her other images yet, which is how you know she was along more for the visit than the spacecraft).

A front view of the Space Shuttle Atlantis with its cargo bay doors open and the robotic arm extended, as displayed at the Kennedy Space Center. — Atlantis on display at Kennedy Space Center. Taken December 2018.

A front view of the Space Shuttle Enterprise as displayed at the Smithsonian. — Atlantis on display at Kennedy Space Center. Taken December 2018.

Endeavour’s current display position provided some less-obstructed access than with Enterprise or Atlantis. Knowing that the display configuration will change, with Endeavour I focused on some of my favorite elements of the orbiter: the nose, the cockpit windows, the access hatch, the nameplate, the engines, and the wings — especially the delta shape and the leading edges.

One final note before moving on to the images themselves, preparation is an important part of any photographic outing. In addition to my experiences with Enterprise and Atlantis, and the landings I covered, I also reviewed several sites. These include the California Science Center’s Endeavour LA section, Alejandro Pérez’s blog, and Jonathan Ward’s Bringing Columbia Home site. The shuttles are museum pieces now only because of the loss of human life aboard Columbia and Challenger and it was important to me that the astronauts’ memories were present with me on this trip.

A graphic with the word "Endeavour" using a top view of the delta-shaped shuttle orbiter as the letter A. The white lettering is set against a black backdrop. Behind it is a photograph of a sunrise from space, which appears as a thin, blue arc with a trace of gold and a gold starburst in the middle.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing the full right side of the orbiter.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing the full left side of the orbiter.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing part of the right side of the orbiter. Visible is the Endeavour nameplate.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing a closeup of the right side of the orbiter's nose. Visible are the reaction control system jets.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing part of the left side of the orbiter. Visible is the crew hatch and a yellow arrow with the word rescue inside it.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing part of the left side of the orbiter. Visible is part of the crew hatch and a yellow arrow with the word rescue inside it.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing part of the left side of the orbiter. Visible is the leading edge of the left wing, the US flag, the left OMS pod and parts of the rudder and cargo bay doors.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing part of the left side of the orbiter. Visible is the US flag and part of the words United States, along with a portion of the cargo bay and a hint of the wing's leading edge, and a hint of the OMS pod.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing part of the right side of the orbiter. Visible is the the leading edge of the right wing, the US flag and part of the cargo bay side wall.

Photograph of space shuttle Endeavour showing the underside of the orbiter's left wing.

Photo shows a man in a NASA t-shirt standing in front of the shuttle orbiter Endeavour on display at the California Science Center. — Me and Endeavour (as photographed by my mom). I covered Endeavour’s first landing on May 16, 1992, as it landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California to end STS-49. Unfortunately, I don’t have any scanned images of that landing, so I’ll need to hunt through my physical archives.

View Slideshow

U.S. Flag and United States & Wing Leading Edge

February 19, 2022February 20, 2022

Valley Jr. Warriors

hockey players on the bench smiling for the camera

On the weekend of February 12-13, 2022, I was finally able to see my oldest play a meaningful game of hockey. As I mentioned in my previously most-recent gallery introduction, the D1 Capo Coyotes lost their Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League playoff game on February 19, 2020. At the time, the team was a little more than a month away from participating in the USA Hockey National Championships.

I did not know then that the ADHSHL playoff loss would be my older son’s last high school game. He and I (and even my younger son) have gotten in some beer-league games in the time since the pandemic interrupted his playing career.

All that said, I never expected that it would be two years between meaningful games. For several months, he’s been telling me: “Dad, the boys want some pictures.”

Well boys, here are some pictures:

portrait-style image of an ice hockey player participating in a game. — Finally!

February 22, 2020

2020 ADHSHL Championships

hockey players celebrate winning a championship game

The Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League championship games were played on Saturday, February 22, 2020 (the 40th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” Olympics game, by the way), at Great Park Ice. I attended and photographed the D3 game in hopes that the Capistrano Coyotes would prevail after our D1 team was eliminated on Wednesday. It was not to be, as Servite took that contest, 2-0.

Shooting the D1 championship presented a bit of an emotional challenge. After winning back-to-back D2 championships and being elevated to D1 this season, Capo fell short of making the final. It was tough seeing my oldest on his knees after the game and the disappointment remains highly present.

That said, he was at a crossroads in his hockey pursuit when he joined the San Diego Jr. Gulls back in his Bantam years. The boys and the families were (and still are) amazing. They welcomed us warmly and they invited JP to stay over quite a bit to help ease the travel up and down the 5 Freeway. Four of those boys are members of the Pacific Ridge Firebirds. So I stayed to photograph their pursuit of a championship (we beat them last year in the D2 final). I was thrilled for their opportunity to celebrate a championship. The header image here shows two of his closest teammates from the Gulls.

FivePoint Arena is very photographer friendly, and I love shooting in there. The sight lines are as good as they get in minor hockey, so I feel like I get nice clean shots.

My images below, however, are not super clean. These are essentially dumped from the storage media so that everyone involved — players, families, the teams, and the league — can enjoy them as soon as possible. As always, I am happy to clean them up for anyone who wants an image to print.

Photographs can be viewed here:

photo of hockey players with the ADHSHL Schulman Cup — Kento (#58), Clayton (#12), Patrick (#31), and Ethan (#67) are teammates and friends from the Jr. Gulls seasons.

February 8, 2020February 19, 2022

2020 ADHSHL All Star Game

The 2020 Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League All Star Games were held on Thursday, February 6, 2020 in FivePoint Arena at Great Park Ice in Irvine. Photos by Marc S. Posner/Courtesy Capistrano Coyotes.

On Thursday night (February 6, 2020), I had the privilege of photographing the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League All Star Game at the Rinks Great Park Ice in Irvine. I shot both the Varsity and Senior games, but unfortunately missed the Junior Varsity contest, which had a start time before I was off of work.

PHOTO GALLERIES

The Ducks — who were involved in the event with with their game-day entertainment and production teams — and the ADHSHL provided an all-access opportunity, which meant shooting from the player bench and penalty box part of the time.

The huge take away from my vantage point is how much fun the players had participating in the game with current and former teammates playing on both their own and opposing teams. As you’ll note in the featured images, goal celebrations sometimes included members of both squads.

The photos in the gallery above are limited in size and I haven’t edited them yet (this kind of volume would take me a few days to edit and post, and I don’t want to delay sharing them any longer than it took to import, convert, and upload.

My usual offer to players and parents stands: let me know what photo(s) you want and I will get you a cleaned-up, printable version.

July 7, 2019June 21, 2023

Use Revolutionary War Airports to Fly Out of Speaking Stumbles

President Trump caused quite the Twitter kerfuffle on Independence Day when he talked about Revolutionary War troops wresting control of the airports from the British. The flub apparently arose from a TelePrompTer malfunction caused by rain in the nation’s capitol.

Aside from the prominence of the error (and the comedic aspect, which trended on Twitter as #RevolutionaryWarAirportStories on the 4th of July, if you care to see more), it’s relatively small picture in terms of the impact. Still, no matter the cause nor your political perspective, there is a valuable public-speaking take away.

Remarks by President Trump on Independence Day, 2019. Read the full speech.

Most of us will never speak to an audience as large as the one assembled on the National Mall. We may, however, appear in a situation in which the stakes are even higher, at least on a personal level. Consider presentations you’ve made to civic groups, elected councils and boards, or even a hiring committee.

The outcome certainly holds potential to be life altering. Likewise, the possibility of getting lost in your words or tripped up by technology is a realistic one.

If it can happen to the President of the United States — with every resource of the federal government available — it most certainly can happen to me and you. It definitely has happened to me.

So, what to do?

The answer is in proper preparation. Specifically, you must know your brand story, know your presentation message, know your audience.

Know your brand story

Your brand story ties together those things that are fundamental, core to your (or your organization’s) being. The three things I articulate about my institution are: 1) we are invested in our students’ success; 2) we are a premier institution of higher education; and 3) as a California Community College, we are the best value. In any situation, I can default to these — and, since they’re core to our identity, I should be able to pivot there easily if I get lost in my presentation and need a guidepost to lean on. This works on a personal level as well. If you look at my online presences, I articulate that I am: 1) a recovering journalist; 2) a storyteller; and 3) spokesman at Cypress College. The point here is to know both yourself and your organization well enough that it’s second nature to articulate these core story elements.

Know your message

Your key message or messages are the specific takeaways you want your audience to have at any given presentation. Of course, any well-crafted presentation will tie back to your brand story as discussed above. However, speaking opportunities typically have specific sub-messages that must be communicated. For instance, the city council might want to hear about the status of construction projects on campus. Clearly, I’m going to articulate that we’re constructing new buildings because we’re invested in our students’ success and because we are premier. I’m going to articulate that new buildings help make us a great value. But, I will also need to articulate why we selected these projects, who they will serve, and what our remaining financial needs are.

Know your audience

Who is attending your presentation and what is their shared belief or purpose? While it goes without saying that this is critical information, it may be less obvious about to use the information to get back on track. One example is to bridge with something like this: “I’m mindful that we all share a passion for education and the opportunity it brings to students to change their lives. This common belief is what brought us together today.”

At this point you can drop in a quick anecdote related to one of your key take away points.

There are a number of student stories that I can tell by heart — and I can tell them either in depth or with brevity. If the projector bulb has died, I’m likely in a situation where I’ll have to conclude without getting my multimedia presentation back at all. This will necessitate a longer ad lib. If I’ve lost my place, sharing a short anecdote from memory should give me enough time to overcome my senior moment.

So, if I’m talking to a service group who shares an interest in helping those in need, I might share Selina’s story like this:

“This seems like the perfect time for me to tell you about Selina Jaimes Davila, who has experienced booth food and housing insecurity during her studies.” The amount of detail I share would depend on if I am changing course or simply getting back onto my original path.

A variant of this is telling the story of someone in the audience or simply pausing to acknowledge or thank them. Like this:

“While I’m thinking about how invaluable community support is to the success of our students, I really want to pause and thank Walter. I don’t know if everyone here knows that he’s an alumnus of the college, but I’m certain we’re all aware of his generosity. Walt, for your decades of service on our Foundation board: thank you!”

Exiting a story is a graceful time for a reset and, in most cases, this is when the audiences will be forgiving if you need to shuffle notecards or turn pages at that juncture of a presentation.

The next time you’re asked to present, try adding your ad lib anecdote into your preparation routine. It’s easy to tell these types of stories as an aside while PowerPoint restarts or even an escape route that provides a strong finish if you’re never quite able to recover your words.

June 30, 2019June 30, 2019

Don’t Want to Thank People; Thank Them

My wife took a pretty bad spill the other day while walking the dog. Thankfully, her doctors, nurses, and surgeon were better than Humpty Dumpty’s and she’s on the mend. But this blog isn’t about her, her broken wrist, or life with a partner who’s out of commission. It’s about wanting to thank our neighbor who helped her out after she had fallen and couldn’t get up.

More specifically, it’s about actually thanking our neighbor.

Dan (that’s our neighbor) called the paramedics, called me, and — I’m pretty sure — was late for work as a result of tending to my fallen spouse. I suspect that presented with the same circumstances he’d do the same again. But, it’s nice to know that people still go out of their way to help others.

As I finished the dog’s walk that morning before leaving to meet my wife at the hospital, I passed Dan’s house and I began mentally composing a thank you card.

“Dan,
Karen and I want to thank you …”

I stopped this line of thought and scolded myself: “Don’t want to thank Dan; thank Dan.”

Wanting to thank Dan is the type of passive writing that weakens our ability to communicate with each other. I tend to do it most frequently when I’m rushing and on autopilot. Frankly, it happens more than I care to admit (and I’m certain more than I notice) in casual work correspondence.

The real problem is that it introduces an unintended air of insincerity to what is meant as genuine gratitude.

While sitting at at the hospital with my wife, I re-composed the thank you card to Dan.

Dan,
Karen and I deeply appreciate your help and expertise this morning …

The change in language made my sentiments heartfelt and the expression of appreciation concrete. By using active language, I communicated to Dan precisely what I was thankful for:

His assistance;
His expertise; and
The sacrifice he made by arriving to work later than intended.

Even if most readers can’t identify the difference between the passive card and the active one, they will experience the difference in the way they feel about the sincere expression you’ve shared with them.

To quote the great writer Maya Angelou:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

August 12, 2018August 12, 2018

Photos: JCC Maccabi Hockey Tournament

I was privileged to serve as a photographer for the JCC Maccabi hockey tournament. The Orange County community hosted the annual JCC Maccabi Games and ArtFest for 2018 in conjunction with Long Beach. More than 2,500 teen athletes and artists from around the globe participated.

The games bring the community together in competition, but just as much in community.

One of my favorite moments from the tournament came on Day 2. The teams from Greater Washington and Toronto Blue played to a 4-4 draw — and then they used the “handshake line” to hug. It was a sublime hockey game as DC got out to a 3-0 lead, but Toronto responded with four straight tallies, including two in the final 5-minutes. DC tied the game with a the extra attacker on in the final minute of play. However, the post-game tradition topped it all

Good stuff.

More photos are on the JCC Flickr page (note not all the photos there are mine, though most are).

I’ll be linking to an expanded set of photos as I select and edit in more detail than my immediate first pass through the images linked above.

August 10, 2018August 12, 2018

Spin Zone: Join Me in JOUR 140 — Public Relations at Cypress College

I am scheduled to teach JOUR 140 — Public Relations at Cypress College this fall. A few more students will put us over the top, so now is a GREAT time to enroll.

Since it’s an evening class, it should be ideal for a small-business owner. We will conduct project-based assignments, so they’ll be directly applicable.

Here is some detail about the course and what we’ll cover:

JOUR 140 C – Public Relations
Cypress College – Fall 2018
CRN: 14174

Wednesday, 7-10:05 p.m.

Students will study and practice the techniques and responsibilities of industrial, governmental, and civic public relations, with special attention to publicity writing and public relations campaign development.

Date	Lecture/In-Class
Week 1 Aug. 22, 2018	Brand Image — The big picture of Public Relations (the umbrella of integrated communication management)
Week 2 Aug. 29, 2018	Communication Management — Roles and Functions
Week 3 Sept. 5, 2018	Media: Thinking Like a Reporter (5Ws & the H; deadlines; news cycle; news outlets)
Week 4 Sept. 12, 2018	Public Opinion and Damage Control
Week 5 Sept. 19, 2018	History, Theory, Persuasion
Week 6 Sept. 26, 2018	Publics I: Stakeholders; Internal vs. External Communication; Employee Communication
Week 7 Oct. 3, 2018	Publics II: Community Relations and Public Affairs
Week 8 Oct. 10, 2018	Publics III: Consumers & Marketing
Week 9 Oct. 17, 2018	Midterm
Week 10 Oct. 24, 2018	RACE: Research; Action Planning; Communication; Evaluation
Week 11 Oct. 31, 2018	Storytelling
Week 12 Nov. 7, 2018	Earned Media and Own Media
Week 13 Nov. 14, 2018	Social and New Media
Week 14 Nov. 21, 2018	Law and Ethics
Week 15 Nov. 28, 2018	Putting it All Together: Integrated Communications; Clients; Career Opportunities
Week 16 Dec. 5, 2018	Final exam

June 29, 2017July 15, 2017

Dr. Simpson Lauded on Final Day as Cypress College President

Emotions were evident on Thursday as Dr. Bob Simpson completed a 30-year career serving students. A steady stream of visitors to the President’s Office offered their well wishes to Dr. Simpson, who spent a decade at Cypress College — and the past 5 years as president.

Published: @Cypress Online June 29, 2017.

Among the highlights was the presentation of a joint resolution of the California State Legislature. The resolution recognizes his service in higher education. It is signed by Senator Josh Newman, of the 29th Senatorial District, and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, of the 65th Assembly District — two advocates for the college. The resolution was presented to Dr. Simpson on Thursday morning by Christopher Aguilara, of the Hon. Quirk-Silva’s office, and Kaelin Locker, of Hon. Newman’s office. Continue reading “Dr. Simpson Lauded on Final Day as Cypress College President”