When you've won eight Emmy Awards, that pretty much proves you're tops in your field.

Still, Rio Ranchoan Carey Moots attributes his entry into the video world as "dumb luck."

You've no doubt seen his work on your own television, from his 20 years at KOB-TV to NBC's "Dateline" and network coverage of the "Runaway Bride" and Hurricane Katrina. Lately, he's been behind the lens of some NBDL games involving the Albuquerque Thunderbirds and aired on the NBA channel. Truth be told, more people in the Albuquerque area probably think of him as Mr. Sumiko Corley. He met Corley, then as a reporter at the local NBC affiliate.

Outside of New Mexico, though, people have come to know and trust the work of Moots, who has progressed well beyond his beginnings as a KOB-TV cameraman - to the realm of national and international video work.

None of it would have been possible had not his mother handed him a 35mm camera one day and suggested he start delving into photography.

Then a young teen, it just happened to be the day a neighbor's house on the other side of Sara Road caught fire.

That's the "dumb luck" part of his tale.

Moots shot up a roll of film on the blaze, and his mother hurried him across the river to the Albuquerque Journal. There, Moots recalled, "(Journal photographer) Ray Cary developed it in the darkroom. He said, 'Darn, these are good.' He pats me on the back and gave me some rolls of film and said, 'Keep it up, kid.'

"I was hooked."

Moots went on to be the chief photographer at Cibola High School (Class of 1979) for its yearbook and student newspaper before heading to Eastern New Mexico University, where he again stayed active in the student newspaper and yearbook.

More dumb luck: Moots discovered he was allergic to the fixer used in developing film (these were the days before digital photography) so he moved from still photography to video.

It worked. Upon graduation, it didn't take him long to find a job.

"I was at a banquet. Bruce Hebenstreit (of channel 13) tried talking to me, then Jerry Danziger (of channel 4) saw me and said, 'You don't want to work there.'" Moots was offered a job at KOB-TV and, shortly after receiving his diploma and driving back to Rio Rancho from Portales, he began what turned out to be a 20-year stint at KOB.

His first day on the job, he was driving to Belen to cover a train wreck, which included hazardous materials.

"It was exciting," he said. Although a lot of TV news involves mundane stories, such as ribbon-cuttings and mayoral news conferences, Moots found plenty of excitement, occasionally feeling his life was on the line.

He estimated he and/or his camera have been shot at, mainly in the South Valley, at least a dozen times, with one news car leaving one story with bullet holes. He also said he's got about 10,000 hours under his belt of flying in "Chopper 4," the station's news helicopter.

Five years later, Moots was elevated to chief photographer, and eventually, to director of news production. He remembered purchasing two flak jackets, one for a reporter and the other for the photographer.

He left KOB in 2000, despite the organization's attempts to keep his talented touch there longer.

"I had started free-lancing on a national basis about 10 years before," he said. He was making more money than he needed.

Something else he had done while at KOB was date Corley, who'd originally gone to Pepperdine on a music scholarship but used her minor, broadcast journalism, to enter the world of TV. Corley started at KOBF-TV in Farmington before moving to KOB-TV, its sister station. She was paired with Moots occasionally, and, after awhile, he thought about dating her, even though news directors frown upon that.

"Wow, she's pretty cute. I should ask her out," Moots said, recalling a conversation that went on in his head.

He dated Corley for about a year before anyone knew about it. The two eventually wed; they're approaching their 14th anniversary, and have three children.

Now working much closer to the couple's new home in Rio Rancho's new Milagro Ridge subdivision.

"My forte is what they call acquisition," he said. "Today, I just finished editing a commercial I sent off to L.A."

During his interview in his shop, located in the building that once was home to Alameda Printing, which his parents once ran, Moots' cell phone rings regularly.

One caller wants to discuss his idea about featuring a top-notch golf course in San Diego; Moots tells him helicopter photography is "high, high-dollar." Other calls are dismissed because Moots wants to conclude his interview, which reminds him to mention a new pilot he's working on for a network. It's called "Yard Sale Showdown."

It's the nature of the business. NBC and other clients are liable to call at any time of day or night, as it did in 2005, when Moots and Corley were about to move into their new home.

The phone rang, Moots had an assignment, and soon he was flying to Houston. There, he rented a car and headed to Louisiana, where he covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, living out of the rental car for two of the six weeks he was there.

"It was one of the most grueling things I did," he said. "I went through three soundmen," he said, including one that was stricken with a septic embolism and another who told him he didn't care what the job paid, he'd seen enough devastation and misery.

So, what is it about this one-time Cibola basketball player, a kid who had the initiative to take photos of a neighbors' burning home more than three decades ago, that makes NBC and other big-name clients think enough of him to call?

"They call and say, 'Can you just do that 'thing' you do?'" he said.

"I let people tell their story. I think my best work is when I work alone," he said. "Put a wireless mic on them, hear their passion."

It's just that simple, he said.

Like his fire photo, which earned him a byline, Moots said his success is due to "being in the right place at the right time."

Plus, he said, "being consistent" is a virtue, as is reliability: He never took a sick day while working at KOB-TV, although it had been his plan after he had two wisdom teeth removed, only to have the station call him and ask if he could go shoot a story.

He hasn't changed, and winning eight Emmys hasn't changed him.

"We won a national Emmy and Peabody award with that killer video shot on that Dateline Hip Replacement special. I love you man," said Mike Cozner, a Dateline producer. That comment, on Moots' Web page, is typical of remarks, including those of Jane Fonda and Shirley MacLaine.

Moots downplays his awards, although they're displayed in his shop. His family is still more important.

"NBC called me to go to Iraq for 90 days. The money was fantastic," he said. He turned the network down on that one.

It's been a good life. He has shot every president since Ronald Reagan through his lens, and even been complimented by President George H.W. Bush, who noted Moots hadn't interrupted a news conference even once to change tape or batteries; Bush gave him a presidential pen as a memento.

Besides that pen, which he gave to his dad, Dick Moots, Carey Moots has been around the world with his camera, to Australia and New Zealand, to Europe, shooting presidents, the pope, tragedy and drama.

Strangely, you've probably seen more of Moots' efforts on television that he has.

"I don't watch TV. We're not hooked up to cable or satellite," he said.