Archive for the ‘Editorial Photography’ Category

Sometimes Beer does Mix with Portrait Photography

April 3, 2011

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to fly to Helena Montana and spend two days with the wildlife artist Josh Elliott.  While I am still working on the images from that 2 day shoot, I wanted to share some of the fun that we had.

It was about 7 degrees outside; and yes, that is cold.  I shared with Josh, that I needed to hire an assistant to help with the lighting for the outdoor portion of our shoot.  He told me not to worry about it as his friend, TJ Lynde and fellow artist, could help.  While I didn’t know TJ, I figured that this would be fun and why not.  Boy was I right.  It was more fun then I ever could have imagined.

As we were heading out  to the outer limites of town (which is not very far I must say), Josh pulled into the corner gas station and came out 5 minutes later with a 12 pack of cold brewskis.  I just laughed.  While I enjoy a good beer, it is certainly not a good idea for me to try and work, shoot and drink all at the same time.  But that didn’t mean they couldn’t do it.

Josh Elliott

Josh Elliott

Josh Elliott

Josh Elliott

Josh Elliott

Thanks TJ for your help.  Not only was it awesome, you were awesome.  I hope we get to do it again soon!

Josh Elliott

 

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Posted in Editorial Photography, Personal, Portrait | 2 Comments »

Bull Riding in San Antonio

August 17, 2010

I must have the luck of the Irish.  Last week was an insane week for me, not only was I supposed to fly to Washington DC to shoot a wedding (those will be posted soon), but I had to also fly over the country as well for some other ”projects”.  I literally was in 4 states in 3 days.  Since the week started  with me shooting in DC, I had my camera bag with me through the entire trip.

I did not plan on it, nor expect it, but I was invited in San Antonio to go to a Rodeo/Bull Riding event.  To be honest, I had never shot a rodeo before, but what better time to do it then on a spur of the moment (no pun intended) without a lot of thinking or planning.  Most of these were shot at 6,400 ISO @ 2.8 with a 70-200mm lens.  In looking back, I should have probably shot this at a higher ISO as the shadow detail is not exactly where I thought it would or should be.

One of the things that amazed me is how hard this event is to do; not shoot but to participate in.  From second 1, the bull is trying to throw the rider off his back;  I mean from the very first second.  There is no warm up: It is just GO!.  As you look at these, notice the bull’s eyes.  For me, they seem to have a clear intent do throw the rider off.   There were times that I was amazed and scared for the rider.

Enjoy!

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Posted in Editorial Photography | 17 Comments »

Hot Air Ballon Stories

July 23, 2010

There are times that a story comes together through images.  Many years ago, I thought it might be easy to build a story from just a few images.  But after years and years (and a lot of shooting), I have found that is just not the case.  Sometimes you can luck out and it may just happen;  But those times are rare. If you plan for it, know what might be coming, you can start to see the story unfold as you capture each image.

It was the morning of July 4th;  About 5:30am and I was in the mountains of Southern California.  Our job that day was to help set up and get ready a hot air ballon for campers to have the ride of their life in. We had to set the balloon up and get every kid, counselor and staffer up in a ballon ride by 8:30am.  Easier said then done: I learned that as the air heats up, it becomes harder and harder to have the ballon lift off the ground. Almost to the point of being impossible if it is really hot.  And trust me, it can get really hot in Southern California in the summer.  No matter where you are.

Each year at the beginning of summer, Pat Murphy from Reach for the Stars comes up to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times and gives over 100 campers the ride of their life.    While all of that sounds neat, what is even neater is what this ballon is all about.  Pat’s ballon in one of the only ballons in the US that was built so that children in wheelchairs can come on board and ride in their chair.  So every camper, regardless of how mobile they are can have the same ride as everyone else.  Beyond cool!  As you might guess, I have never set up a hot air ballon.  And I found that I was in for more than just a ballon ride.


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Posted in Editorial Photography | 7 Comments »

Sometimes, I just get these wild ideas…..

June 24, 2010

I had an assignment to shoot a local restaurant a few weeks ago.  The idea was to capture the look and feel of the environment:  People having fun, good food, good drinks etc.  As I was working through my pre-shots and what I wanted, I had a crazy idea.  What if I had two people in the street.  2 normal people, sitting (in the middle of the street) having a drink….on a green chair.  What if one of those people was in a robe……….with a pipe ……….and had a golf club near by.  I was not even remotely sure what the client would think, but I figured that you only live once, so why not try it.

For a lot of these shots I was lying prone in the street shooting; prone in the MIDDLE of the street shooting.  I had no way to tell if a car was coming by; I could not see, could not hear, nothing.  There was enough nearby traffic that if a car didn’t see me, I would have been toast. I would never have heard it coming.  Thankfully that did not happen.  Most people stopped and more than a few times, people were staring at us trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

It was hard to keep a straight face for some of these!  This was a lot of fun.

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Posted in Editorial Photography, People | 7 Comments »

A Pure Day

May 26, 2010

The idea was for people to be able to feel the freshness and the excitement of the restaurant through images.   Many times, restaurant shots are just plain and boring; shots of an empty room with no people; static food sitting on a bland table.  Blah!  These folks wanted you to be a part of the action and crave the food that would be in front of you.

So what do we do?  Show up at 5:30am to start working with the prep-cooks:

See how food is prepared:

Set up and getting ready for the action:

Can you say awesome fish tacos:

Would you like a drink with that?

As the night ends……

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Posted in Editorial Photography, Food | 13 Comments »

Cinco de Mayo in Motion

May 7, 2010

This week I was asked to shoot a restaurant for Cinco de Mayo.  They wanted images that showed people in motion with the hustle and bustle of the day; while highlighting their establishment.   Because of the amount of people (and the last minute nature of the shoot); I was unable to get releases from people.  To be honest, I am not even sure I should have tried there were so many people there.

This is a 30 second shot @ f22.  It was getting dark fast and this was one of my last shots of the night.  Of course I had a tripod and you can only image how much fun that was with all of these people milling around. I love how the lights in the distance flair up and sparkle.  And yes, I played with the TV for my client.  Why not!

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Posted in Editorial Photography | 11 Comments »

Rock Gym Shots

April 14, 2010

A local Rock Climbing Gym asked me and the great Megan Case to shoot the gym for a new website they are putting together.  To be honest, this ended beng a lot harder then I thought and I think we are going to have to go back.  While I got a few good shots, most of them are not what I would want to show the public.  I decided that I needed to do my lights a bit differently and shoot at different angles.  While the lighting was OK, the angles just were all off.  Live and learn as they say.

But as I said, I got a few and here they are:

Yes, she is climbing upside down.

I am litterly hanging over the edge to get these next two shots.  One of the guys was hanging onto my belt as I leaned over (way over) the edge.

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Posted in Editorial Photography, Portrait | 6 Comments »

It Is Not About The Subject Matter Of The Photograph, It Is About The Subject!

October 16, 2009

Last night I attended a local political debate in the wonderful city of Milton Georgia.  I had promised some people that I would get some photographs of the event and the interaction of folks attending.  So off with my camera I went.  After I took the promised shots, I started looking around and thinking about  David duChemin and his book “Within the Frame”.  David talks about vision and what is really going on in the photograph; not just what is in front of you, but what the scene is trying to convey. He forces you to think what people need to see to understand the subject of the image, not just see the subject matter.

As I thought about this, I realized that this event had multiple themes depending on your viewpoint.  It could be about the candidates and their positions; it could be about the city of Milton and the politics around it; or, as I ultimately felt, this forum was about the people of Milton and their ability to elect people that represented their views.  As I thought about this, I wondered what I could do to create that image that I saw in my mind.  I took this shot and that shot, but I really didn’t think I was getting it.  Until I looked outwards and saw it;  I was in the wrong position the entire time.  The shot was not of the faces of the candidates, but it was of their backs (out of focus) and the crowd looking at them.    Take a look below and let me know if you agree (or disagree).

PS: As the event was starting to come to a close, I was speaking to a local reporter, Jason Wright, for the Milton Herald .  He asked what I was shooting and I showed him a few shots that I had taken.  I pointed out the one that I felt really convened the evening.  Surprisingly, he asked if they could use it for their next edition.  This morning I sent the image over to them and I just heard that they are going to run with it.  Kind of a nice feeling to start the day.

Milton Forum

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Posted in Editorial Photography, Milton GA | 17 Comments »