The Art of Hanging Out

Photojournalists need sharp eyes and speedy reflexes, but patience and a comfy folding chair can come in handy too. So says Chicago AP intern Russel Daniels, who was sent to photograph Antonin Rezko, an prominent Illinois businessman recently convicted of corruption.

"I patiently waited two full workdays while sitting in a black canvas foldup chair to get word of the 20-minute advance media warning from a federal judge that the jury had come back with a verdict," Russel writes. "As I waited, I read, and reread the Tribune and the Sun-Times, ate peanut butter-and-honey sandwiches, and became gratefully exposed to the colorful array of Chicago's major print and broadcast journalists."

When the 20-minute warning came, Russel called his editor, who dispatched veteran AP photographer Charles Rex Arbogast, in a cab, to join the gaggle of photographers vying capture Rezko's every move as he entered the federal court building for the verdict.

"My photos didn't even get uploaded let alone sent out on the wire," Russel says. "Hands down Charles' photos were superior. That night, Charles' court exterior photos ran all over the Internet, and in every major newspaper I picked up in the newsroom the next day."

Russel learned a lot in those two days, and he's eager to pass it on to those likely to find themselves on similar stakeouts. "Bring some aspirin," he writes, "to ease the discomfort from the lack of lower back support in fold up chairs."

PS -- That's Russel's shot of photogs hanging out in the lobby of Chicago's federal court building.