Summer On The Gunpowder.

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In light of the outrageously high temperatures in Baltimore over the past few months, The Sun has been running a weekly series of Summer related features. One of the many things I’ve learned from this internship is that videos focusing on extreme weather conditions pull in lots of page views.

The latest installment was this piece, a profile on a windsurfing instructor and his youth water sports camp. Hal Ashman has been teaching windsurfing, kayaking, sailing, and stand up paddleboarding to kids ever since he founded his Ultimate Watersports camp 25 years ago.

I went out to the banks of the Gunpowder River in Maryland to spend a day at the camp and collect footage for this piece. My “work” there called for shooting while standing barefoot in the river, riding around in a motorboat, and talking to kids all day.

It’s interesting to note the differences in the editing process depending on how tight the deadline is. I shot this two weeks before it was to be published, so I had more time to craft the piece. It went through many steps and changes, a luxury one doesn’t have when the video has to be finished as soon as possible.

It was a pleasure reporting with Mike Catalini, who wrote the article which will run tomorrow. I’m thankful for his graciousness and guidance, and I learned a lot from working alongside him. I also owe thanks to Kevin Richardson and Chris Assaf, the editing gurus, for their suggestions and fresh eyes.