The Decisive Moment VI

About a year and a half ago, when I first heard of the Malverne-West Hempstead Patch (or any Patch for that matter), I e-mailed the editor, Tara Conry, who I had never met.

I wrote that I wanted to write and photograph for the site, but I shoot on film and print in a darkroom.  I wrote that I don't do spot news and I don't cover village board meetings.  I wrote that I wanted to write "profile pieces" about real people, especially volunteers, and anything entertainment related.  I also wrote that any pictures I shoot will take several days for me to submit.  I asked if this works for her.

Part of me was expecting never to hear from her.  (Most people in her position tend to ignore me for some reason.)  Another part of me was expecting her to write back and say, "Join the 21st century, Grandpa!"  But then another part of me... the smallest part... was expecting her to say yes.

She did.

Thus, began what has turned out to be a very pleasant experience for me.  Let's face it, artist types (writers and photographers - and I'm both) just love to be published.  We want others to find some sort of pleasure in what we do.

So each time I have a story with photos posted, I tell my friends via e-mail and Facebook.  It's quite a thrill each time, at least for me.

I always told myself that I'm not in this for awards.  All of that changed when Tara submitted three of my stories (as a series) to the Press Club of Long Island's annual Media Awards and I became a finalist in the Features/Lifestyles category.

I hate to admit this ... but I wanted to win.

I'm pleased to say I won second place last week.  (Another Patch writer took home first.)  Tara also won an award.  I guess not only did my idea work for Tara, it worked for the judges.

I found the awards dinner quite satisfying and I don't mean the meal.  I was surrounded by journalists of all caliber.  People from Newsday and News 12 represented the high-end journalists and there were bloggers of some sort on the other end of the spectrum and then those of us from Patch somewhere in the middle.  I feel very comfortable around this type.

Second place has given me an incentive to dial my stories up a notch.  I have my eyes pealed for subjects that will make even better stories.  If anyone knows of a subject that fits in to what I like, by all means write to me. 

For a complete list of Patch winners from all over Long Island (and another picture I'm in!) please visit .

Thank you for reading this.