Okay, I'm sorry it's been so long since my last posting. I promise this isn't a trend. The good news is I have a bajillion (not a real word) new photos to post. I'm telling you, these past few weeks were filled with good photo opportunities. The first bunch of photos is from my sweet SCP-8400. They're just everyday news pics. I can't tell you what each one is from because my memory isn't stellar. Then I'm posting some of the photos I took from the opening of the MGM Grand in Detroit on Tuesday. Tony and I got to go up for the day and record the events. There was a press conference at 11am where the president of MGM Mirage, the president of the MGM Grand Detroit, and the mayor of Detroit all spoke. Then we got a media-only tour of the whole facility. Let me tell you, it was an amazing place. Halfway through the tour we had a chance to do a one-on-one interview with none other than Wolfgang Puck. He was there for the grand opening of his restaurant in the casino. He was such a nice guy and he actually cooked food for Tony and I to eat! Yes, Wolfgang Puck made food and we ate it with him. Probably the only time I'll ever say that in my life. Then after we edited our stories and did our live shots for the 5pm and 6pm, we attended the VIP private party. It was a "black tie affair" as it said on the invite. Yep, our names were on the list. Sweet. It was so fun. We got to walk around the whole casino and eat samples of food from each of the new restaurants. Tony and I agreed that it was the best food we'd ever eaten in our lives. Ever. We even ran into an old work buddy, Katrina Hancock! Kid Rock was hanging out in one of the new clubs. He didn't see us but I'm sure he would've run right over to chat if he had. I mean, who wouldn't want to chat with two cool guys like Tony and me? His loss. Then we went outside around 9:30pmish to get video of the official "lighting of the garden" where they lit up the outside and shot fireworks to commemorate the opening. All in all it was a great time. Then on Thursday we attended the Toledo Press Club 2007 Touchstone Awards at The Toledo Club. Why you ask? Because Tony and I were nominated for our website, Tony & Todd's Roadside Attractions. We did not win, but we had a good time. We sat with Lee and Diane right in front and got to eat some great food. It definitely has been a great few weeks. I got to wear a suit twice in one week. Enjoy the pics and don't forget to check out the TnT site too. We shot a few more since my last posting here.
-T
Misc SCP-8400 pics
MGM Grand Detroit Opening Pics
Toledo Press Club Touchstone Awards Pics
Here is the whole interview with Wolfgang Puck from the MGM Grand Detroit Opening.
STANDBY="Loading Windows Media Player components..." TYPE="application/x-oleobject">
Since 2004, my job as a photojournalist with 13ABC has allowed me to take part in events that made an impact on Toledo history.
In October 2005, Sashem Brey and I were the first news team on the scene of a Neo-Nazi rally that erupted into a riot which made national headlines. It was an experience to remember; we were exposed to large amounts of tear gas and were eventually forced to run to our Jeep for safety.
In February of 2006, I was the only Toledo photojournalist with on-the-field credentials for SuperBowl XL at Ford Field. I spent the entire week prior attending news conferences in Detroit, featuring stars like Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones – and conducting interviews with personalities like ESPN’s Chris Berman and Tom Arnold of FOX Sports.
In February 2007, Bill Hormann and I spent hours reporting live from the intersection where Toledo Police Detective Keith Dressel was shot and killed. As the search for a shooter reached its 8th hour, Bill and I saw the prime suspect being led out of the same house we had just interviewed someone in just 30 minutes before!
In March of 2007, Kristian Brown and I won a 2006 Telly Award for our story “Hip Hop Math”, which featured young Toledo students learning the art of math using some of the most popular current music.
A little background on myself: I graduated from The University of Toledo in 2001 with a BA in Communications. While attending college, I joined WTVG as a part-time engineer, and after graduation, moved into the news department as a video editor. I now work full-time as a photojournalist, and was the first cameraman in Toledo to operate a smaller, more mobile live truck, capable of executing live shots within minutes of breaking news.
Thanks for checking out my blog, and feel free to contact me at todd.gaertner@abc.com with any comments or questions! Thanks for watching 13ABC!
