There are things a person remembers clearly, even if it was was 40 years ago. In my case it was 1975; I was a 5th grader with a big desire to learn all about photography. On a particular night, during a home basketball game at Miami school, I saw him walk in wearing his leather jacket with camera case under his arm. I barely knew him but had heard a lot about him; and in my opinion this guy had the greatest job on earth- newsman C.A. Moore.
At the time, he didn't know me well either- I remember following him around the gymnasium, like a puppy, being careful not to trip him but somehow extract as much information as I could about his trade. He was using a nice SLR camera, a Minolta I recall, which was the envy of any budding photographer. I knew there was no way he'd ever let me touch it, let alone actually take a picture with it and I respected that. After all, it was an expensive rig.
But over the course of the evening, C.A. thought different. Before I knew it, he handed me this wonderful instrument and advised me to try to get a layup shot. I was in shock but wasn't going to pass on the opportunity to use a quality camera like the Minolta. So, over the next few minutes I snapped what I thought was going to be the greatest of sports pictures this county had ever seen.
A few days went by and I called to find out how my pictures turned out. I remember he was gentle with his words. "Well, looking at your best picture, I gotta say your stop motion was perfect. Player was in perfect focus with the background a little blurry. That's good. Your exposure was really good too. Contrast was spot on." he paused "Only thing wrong is you cut his head off". He giggled a little, which actually made me feel better about my waste of his film. He then assured me "It comes with practice and you'll get it. Don't worry".
And as time went on, I did get practice. He invited me to hang with him at other sporting events and shoot more pics. He also had me join him in the newspaper darkroom where I learned all about developing and printing crisp, clean photos worthy of the front page of our local paper.
Over the next few months, he urged me to purchase a darkroom kit from the Wards catalog so I could develop my own film. I took some of my pics for 'show and tell' at school. I don't remember if the other kids were impressed with my abilities or not, but I was sure proud- and couldn't have done it without C.A. helping me along.
Thanks C.A. for your influence and some of my very best childhood experiences.
From here looking back, I can't think of a moment where he wasn't on top of our local news. Fires, accidents, political engagements, sports, you name it... C.A. was there.
In my opinion, C.A. Moore is the best definition of the word 'dedication' there is. You know there had to be times he didn't feel good or maybe didn't want to jump out of his warm bed on a cold winter's night to get fire pictures. But he did and never apparently missed a beat in the process.
As time goes on, we'll expect him to be there just like always. Then we'll realize a huge void has been left that really can't be filled with the same caliber of professionalism that C.A. Moore brought to our community.
As much as I want this to be an uplifting write, it simply can't be. His loss is of a very personal note, as I'm sure it is for many.
So long, C.A. you are sadly missed. But know your spirit lives on through us.
Doug Mager
Founder, Bates County Live
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