There's Always One... Sometimes Two.

It's not very often that i get written about. I get shouted at a lot, talked about behind my back sure ... but written about? No. Until now. It would seem that in the good ol' US of A, there is a cameraman with every bit the same thoughts and feelings as me. Namely frustration, anger, the need of a stiff drink once in a while, and a niggly feeling that things should be just that little bit easier in our chosen job.

steely eyed and lantern jawed .... the rugged cameraman look admired worldwide.

Stewart Pittman is his name, and he travels his home range like a prowling cougar, coiled like a spring and ready to document the days news in his part of the TV world. And boy does he let us know what he thinks. As do i ... but Stewart relates his tales with a dry wit and savage verbiage that puts into sharp focus the job of us lens luggers.

He also drives the highways ready at a moments notice to flick the wheel and burn rubber to his next assignment with the skill of Bo and Luke Duke, at the request of his very own editorial Boss Hogg. And let me tell you, if he has a sister like Daisy Duke then i'm going to America for a cultural exchange visit.

It has been said that we look similar, separated at birth maybe, i can understand this. Sauve, sophisticated, Robert Redford good looks ... and a squinty left eye. Yep, that's us, even down to the unwillingness to get up close and personal with a razor blade. It is apparent that both of us have a very similar outlook on life, with it's deadlines, huffy reporters, and the sad inevitability of meeting PR people with zero journalistic ability or know how..... Such is life, wherever you may be rolling.

So, from here in the United Kingdom, it's toodlepip, tallyho, and mind the dog turd on the road in front of you. 

Paul Martin. http://www.media-attention.co.uk

The classic cameraman pose... what a show off.