Photos and story BY TONI DEFOREST
NNB Student Reporter
In 18 years at the Tampa Bay Times, John Pendygraft and his cameras have covered some of the biggest stories of the era – hurricane in New Orleans, tsunami in Asia, earthquake in Haiti, friction in the Middle East. But turmoil in the newspaper industry and deep budget cuts at the Times keep Pendygraft, 44, closer to home these days.
One day last month began with the light of his life, 3-year-old daughter Isadora. She doesn’t want to leave for school just yet. She would rather play with daddy and her imaginary lion. Eventually, both daughter and lion are loaded into the car for school.
“She squirts happy hormones into my brain,” Pendygraft says with a smile.
When he arrives at the office, he checks in with the boss, chats briefly with colleagues and reads his email. The morning’s assignment, he says, is a group of women in St. Pete Beach who are making a quilt.
The quilt is actually a 70-pound, pearl-covered tablecloth that hostess Maria Saraceno and a group of friends have been sewing since 2004. They consider the project a symbol of community and unity, and they hope to use it to raise college money for two financially challenged students.
As the women prepare for work, Pendygraft does, too, checking settings, lighting and focus. Does the shot work from here? Too close? Too far? Wrong angle? Too much light? He bounces around the room like the superhero Flash, quick and decisive, zeroing in on each shot.
Busy fingers put needle and thread through the round tablecloth as the women chat.
Pendygraft takes notes while chatting with Saraceno. Over the sound of many voices, she says the women gather several times a month and talk about politics, religion and current events while they work. “This table is like Switzerland – everything is neutral,” she says. Perhaps this is one reason they call their work “Spontaneous Civility.”
Accuracy is crucial in journalism, so Pendygraft photographs his notes in case he loses them. He’ll tell you this happened to him once.
The house is filled with colorful, intricate artistic creations by Saraceno, 64, who got a master’s in fine arts from the University of South Florida in Tampa in 2005. She likes to show her pieces, she says, but does not like to part with them.
Before he departs, Pendygraft stops to admire more of Saraceno’s work.
When he checks in with the office, Pendygraft gets another assignment: What’s happening on St. Pete Beach during spring break? He parks and walks the beach from the Dolphin Beach Resort to the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort. Along the way, he kicks off his shoes and wades into the surf to photograph a little ham of an angel. Next, he captures the glee of several boys who ride on Bucky the Shark. A ride costs $4. The record of the day – 60 seconds – went to Avery Tomlinson, 13, of Washington Township, N.J.
After leaving the beach, Pendygraft checks in with the office to let colleagues know his angle for the spring break story. During a lunch stop, he peruses the photos he took, makes his choice and writes a caption, and then transmits them to the paper.
Back at the office, Pendygraft begins scouting stories for tomorrow and the rest of the week. It’s an ongoing process, he says, but one he thoroughly enjoys.
Away from work, he says, he likes to run and swim but mostly just enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Letitia, and daughter. Between his family and his job, he says, “I am happier than I have a right to be.”
Where does he draw inspiration? One source is the famous photographer David Alan Harvey, who once photographed Pendygraft’s hometown of El Paso, Texas. Harvey famously said, “Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like” – words Pendygraft has taken to heart. “The message is the story,” he says.
NNB student reporter Mark Wolfenbarger contributed to this report.