The word came down to the troops.

Get good images of the whistle, both for high definition tv and still photos.

Bob Sadler, one of the ace high definition tv photographers at Capitol Broadcasting, the company that conceived the vision of a restored American Tobacco Historic District, was assigned the task of capturing the new brass factory whistle for HDTV.

He contacted me about my experience doing still photographs of this significant feature of the American Tobacco campus. We agreed to meet at the power plant on Thursday morning, February, 19, 2004, to jointly tackle this task. The brass whistle is mounted high on the roof of the power plant.

In typical factory fashion, the whistle was not standing alone in the right light for a dramatic photograph. When the whistle was mounted, it was mounted for functional purposes. Its view was impaired by metal support structures, not great for photographic esthetics.

After lugging a monstrous tripod, a heavy bag of still camera equipment and the HDTV camera up more flights of stairs than either Bob or I can remember, we decided that a set re-arrangment was necessary for this photography assignment.

We called on the ever dependable construction superintendent, Steven "Pee-Wee" Ludlum, to remove some of the obstructions for a clear view of the brass whistle. After approval from General Superintendent, Dave Coomer, Pee-Wee, with wrenches in hand, cleared the way for a view of the whistle.

That was not enough.

Pee-Wee, not capable of changing the direction of the sun's rays, left Bob and me both stymied. Pee-Wee then offered the use of one of the sky lifts, a crane and bucket that would lift us 80 feet in the air.

Long story shortened, Bob said, "We would have to pay five dollars at the State Fair for a ride like this."

Strapped in safety harnesses, the two of us loaded the bucket of the sky lift, operated by veteran Gideon Lecrest, with all our equipment - as some would say - everything but the kitchen sink. We made the trip skyward and photographed the brass factory whistle against both a blue sky and against a backdrop of the 200 foot tall smokestack.

Recent rains and snows, creating a mud pie in front of the power plant, prohibited the sky lift from getting as close as we desired, but we stretched the limits of our lenses to get the job done.

What's the point of all this?

Capitol Broadcasting and all associated with this intense effort to restore this Historic District - have motivated every worker, from construction superintendent and crane operator to photographer to share in the enthusiasm for what is taking place here.

As has been said before, Downtown Durham and all of North Carolina will benefit from these intense efforts.