Veteran photojournalist embraces Soundslides, new technology

Tennessee land swallowed by the coal ash spill. Photo by Carlan Tapp.

Carlan Tapp watched news reports from his home in New Mexico as residents’ properties were swallowed in a title wave of toxic waste. In December 2008, an entire section of Tennessee’s countryside transformed from green to gray. Coal ash swallowed the city of Kingston.

The event morphed into the largest coal ash disaster in U.S. history – a result of a failure at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant. As residents fled, coal ash claimed their homes amid hundreds of acres of land. Tapp, meanwhile, dug further into story to investigate the spill’s human toll.

It wasn’t long before he got to work, traveling across the country in an effort to record how an environmental spill becomes a nightmare for those in its path. A photographer by trade, Tapp took shots of buried homes. He also recorded the voices of local residents to track their personal struggles.

For the last two years, Tapp has stayed on this environmental business story of Tennessee’s coal ash spill. He’s followed the narrative from Kingston’s countryside into Alabama’s Perry County, the new dumping ground for millions of tons of coal ash waste. The result of his work is a series of Soundslides, pictures and audio that tell the story behind this massive spill.

Photos alone could have done the job, but Carlan decided long ago that he would embrace new technology as a way to give his stories even more depth. Earlier in his career, he operated the first commercial digital photography studio in the Pacific Northwest and about five years ago he started recording audio to create Soundslides – pictures that include voices.

A man stands on his Tennessee land, which was devastated by the coal ash spill. Photo by Carlan Tapp

“I started to hear a few stories and thought, ‘I need to record these,’ so I started doing it,” Tapp said. “As a still photographer, it is one more things to throw into the mix. I’ve always done that. I like to throw myself into the next place. I’m always looking for a different way of seeing, a different way of showing my work.”

In the midst of ever-changing technology, Carlan’s Soundslides have allowed him to stay true to his craft and advance his storytelling. Below are his tips for journalists wanting to use Soundslides as a narrative tool.

Equipment should not be a roadblock between your subjects and the story.

“I use really simple equipment. My cameras are not big and intrusive. They are small and simple, which allows me to work in a way that’s not intrusive. I use a high-quality recorder, but it’s a small Sony and I record in a raw format. It’s really low key. I’ll say to the person, ‘this story is so good would you mind if I recorded it?’ I have never been turned down. Even with people I’ve know for a half-hour. As the makers of the story, we have to break down barriers that we put in front of ourselves. When we erase that and we connect with our subjects, that’s when the story really starts to flow. The simplification of equipment breaks down the barrier between you and your subject”

Don’t get overwhelmed by the concept of a new technique.

“Remember to keep it simple. Remember the core of the work, that you are a storyteller. At the end of the day that’s really important so it doesn’t become an element between you and the work. Quite often our concepts exceeds our execution, our ability to execute at the time. We stop dead in the water because we think we can’t do it. I’m not saying don’t set high expectations for your work, but to take little baby steps. Shoot a story about your wife or your mother. Take on simple things. To me if I can simplify it to get the work out, that’s what I’m trying to do. Journalists should try a little piece of the technology at first. Get a feeling for what works and what doesn’t.”

Ready to incorporate Soundslides into your beat. Here’s some equipment you’ll need to get going:

• A camera. It doesn’t have to be as fancy as something a professional photographer would carry. Many low-end cameras, sometimes even those built into your cell phone, will have enough megapixels to do the job. Start with a simple device and upgrade as you enhance your skills.
• A quality digital recorder. Tapp uses the Sony PCM-D50.
• An external microphone.
• Software. Tapp uses Soundslides, which retails for less than $100. Also, you’ll need a photo editing program such as Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom and audio software like Audacity, which is a free cross-platform sound editor.

To see more of this photojournalist’s work, visit his Carlan Tapp.