For the first post on my revised blog, let's start with the obvious question of "what's the deal with the new title of this blog?"
Over the years, I have had to photograph a variety of subject matter and events. I have photographed editorial jobs, commercial jobs, NFL football, college football, high school football, NBA basketball, college basketball, high school basketball, NHL hockey, World Cup skiing, the Winter X Games, Major League baseball, high school baseball, MLS soccer, high school soccer, PGA golf, high school volleyball, high school softball, high school track, rodeos, trail rides, traffic accidents, wildlife, weddings, black tie fundraisers, ground breakings, ribbon cuttings, concerts, craft fairs...you get the idea. Each of these situations often requires blending into the scene, thus the title "I am the Chameleon" and the obvious spoof on the Beatles "I am the Walrus."
Goo goo g'joob, or was it coo coo kachoo?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Rodeo
Unlike many of my photographer friends, colleagues and acquaintances, I am not in Beijing.
I've had a few people ask or comment about some rodeo photos I've been shooting for the paper lately, so I thought I would offer some insight into what I do to get those shots. I have to say that this may not be how every other rodeo shooter does it, but these are the techniques that work for me in the arenas I shoot at.
I have been shooting the rodeos in Grand County off and on over the past 18 years, but in the last five or six years I have shot most of the rodeos in Granby and Fraser each summer. The Granby rodeo series runs from Memorial Day weekend through the Fourth of July. Granby's Flying Heels Arena is big--so big that I shoot most events from inside the arena. Over the years I have had a few close calls with the livestock, but, knock on wood, nothing worse than having to scramble over the fence.
In July the rodeo action in Grand County moves from Granby to Fraser. The rodeo arena in Fraser isn't as big as the one in Granby, so I don't have to be inside the arena (except for mutton busting), which makes it easier not having to think about the traffic in the arena and avoiding getting run over by horses or bulls, so I can focus on shooting.
What the Fraser arena has in common with Granby is that both have terrible lighting. Of course the bull riding happens at the end of the rodeo, so in order to get usable shots I put up several small strobe units to supplement, or more accurately, take control of the lighting. It helps, but it's not perfect, because of the limited options I have for placement of the strobes as shown below:
For comparison, here is what the action looks like without any additional lighting. Keep in mind I did a fair amount of work on the image in Photoshop to get it look like this:
The best action tends to be right in front of the chutes, so that is where I have them aimed. Here are a couple examples of the results of shooting with the strobes:
(Please note: I've been trying to finish this post for a couple of weeks now, but for some reason I was having a terrible time getting the photos added to the post.)
I've had a few people ask or comment about some rodeo photos I've been shooting for the paper lately, so I thought I would offer some insight into what I do to get those shots. I have to say that this may not be how every other rodeo shooter does it, but these are the techniques that work for me in the arenas I shoot at.
I have been shooting the rodeos in Grand County off and on over the past 18 years, but in the last five or six years I have shot most of the rodeos in Granby and Fraser each summer. The Granby rodeo series runs from Memorial Day weekend through the Fourth of July. Granby's Flying Heels Arena is big--so big that I shoot most events from inside the arena. Over the years I have had a few close calls with the livestock, but, knock on wood, nothing worse than having to scramble over the fence.
In July the rodeo action in Grand County moves from Granby to Fraser. The rodeo arena in Fraser isn't as big as the one in Granby, so I don't have to be inside the arena (except for mutton busting), which makes it easier not having to think about the traffic in the arena and avoiding getting run over by horses or bulls, so I can focus on shooting.
What the Fraser arena has in common with Granby is that both have terrible lighting. Of course the bull riding happens at the end of the rodeo, so in order to get usable shots I put up several small strobe units to supplement, or more accurately, take control of the lighting. It helps, but it's not perfect, because of the limited options I have for placement of the strobes as shown below:
For comparison, here is what the action looks like without any additional lighting. Keep in mind I did a fair amount of work on the image in Photoshop to get it look like this:
The best action tends to be right in front of the chutes, so that is where I have them aimed. Here are a couple examples of the results of shooting with the strobes:
(Please note: I've been trying to finish this post for a couple of weeks now, but for some reason I was having a terrible time getting the photos added to the post.)
Friday, July 11, 2008
How I spent two hot days in Denver...
I spent the last two days in Denver shooting a benefit golf tournament for the National Sports Center for the Disabled. I have shot this event every year for the past 15 years or so--the last eight years the tournament has been held at The Sanctuary, an incredible private golf course south of Denver. They only host a handful of tournaments each year, so it's quite a privilege to get to see this amazing golf course.
PGA Tour player Jonathan Kaye was on hand the second day to schmooze with the players and did a clinic with some disabled children.
The event raised more than $500,000 for the NSCD.
PGA Tour player Jonathan Kaye was on hand the second day to schmooze with the players and did a clinic with some disabled children.
The event raised more than $500,000 for the NSCD.
Friday, June 27, 2008
It must be summer
Living where I do, it seems as though summer often has a difficult time finding us. Until a couple of weeks ago, even though the calendar said June, it still didn't seem like the temperatures were warming up very much. But all of a sudden it was as though someone finally flipped the switch and summer has arrived.
Another sign of summer in the mountains is all of the events on the weekends...rodeos, mountain bike races, music festivals, running races, town festivals, and on and on. Having lived in Grand County for more than 20 years, I have had the chance to attend many of these events, but I had never been to Hot Sulphur Days or Kremmling Days...until this year. I had a great time covering these small-town celebrations.
The Grand County Blues Society hosted its sixth Blues from the Top festival at the end of June in Winter Park at the revamped Hideaway Park. I've always felt like I have eclectic taste in music, but my experience with the blues has been limited--mostly the few blues shows the GCBS has put on during the past year. Having the opportunity to hear a variety of artists over the course of the two days of this year's BFTT was a memorable experience. I will say that if you ever have the chance to see Zac Harmon in person, make sure you do, otherwise you will miss an incredible performer. Zac had, what has to be, the unenviable task of opening Sunday's show at 11:00 a.m. All he did was blow everyone away with a performance full of energy and a pure love for what he was doing--it was better than a tall, double latte!
Here is blues harmonica player Jason Ricci silhouetted against a tent near the stage:
And because it's taking me so long to post this, I might as well include the Fourth of July. I traveled from one end of the county to the other covering the various events celebrating the holiday. I had three choices of fireworks displays to attend and I finally chose to go to Kremmling to see their "Fire Up the Cliffs" display, which I had never seen before. I spent quite of bit of time choosing a location to shoot from. I settled on shooting from a spot along U.S. Highway 40 just west of town where I could get a reflection of the cliffs and fireworks in a pond. I almost regretted my decision when I was immediately attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes, but luckily had a stash of repellent in the car. In the end it was all worth it. Here is the result:
I was able to shoot a second display the following night when Granby did their display following the final Flying Heels Rodeo of the season. Because the fireworks were set off immediately after the conclusion of the rodeo (around 9:30), I didn't have time to get set up and follow my normal timetable for shooting fireworks where I normally would make my first image about an hour prior to the start of the show, so that I have a frame with detail in the sky. But I was still happy with the result:
(Both fireworks photos were created from four different files and combined into one final image.)
Another sign of summer in the mountains is all of the events on the weekends...rodeos, mountain bike races, music festivals, running races, town festivals, and on and on. Having lived in Grand County for more than 20 years, I have had the chance to attend many of these events, but I had never been to Hot Sulphur Days or Kremmling Days...until this year. I had a great time covering these small-town celebrations.
The Grand County Blues Society hosted its sixth Blues from the Top festival at the end of June in Winter Park at the revamped Hideaway Park. I've always felt like I have eclectic taste in music, but my experience with the blues has been limited--mostly the few blues shows the GCBS has put on during the past year. Having the opportunity to hear a variety of artists over the course of the two days of this year's BFTT was a memorable experience. I will say that if you ever have the chance to see Zac Harmon in person, make sure you do, otherwise you will miss an incredible performer. Zac had, what has to be, the unenviable task of opening Sunday's show at 11:00 a.m. All he did was blow everyone away with a performance full of energy and a pure love for what he was doing--it was better than a tall, double latte!
Here is blues harmonica player Jason Ricci silhouetted against a tent near the stage:
And because it's taking me so long to post this, I might as well include the Fourth of July. I traveled from one end of the county to the other covering the various events celebrating the holiday. I had three choices of fireworks displays to attend and I finally chose to go to Kremmling to see their "Fire Up the Cliffs" display, which I had never seen before. I spent quite of bit of time choosing a location to shoot from. I settled on shooting from a spot along U.S. Highway 40 just west of town where I could get a reflection of the cliffs and fireworks in a pond. I almost regretted my decision when I was immediately attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes, but luckily had a stash of repellent in the car. In the end it was all worth it. Here is the result:
I was able to shoot a second display the following night when Granby did their display following the final Flying Heels Rodeo of the season. Because the fireworks were set off immediately after the conclusion of the rodeo (around 9:30), I didn't have time to get set up and follow my normal timetable for shooting fireworks where I normally would make my first image about an hour prior to the start of the show, so that I have a frame with detail in the sky. But I was still happy with the result:
(Both fireworks photos were created from four different files and combined into one final image.)
Monday, June 2, 2008
Does this mean I'm getting old?
It was a special time last weekend as my daughter Emily graduated from high school. She was also one of the valedictorians, which made it all the more special. I am very proud of her!
On a closing note, I was shooting some end of school year festivities at a local elementary school yesterday and came across these flags that were being passed out to the parents. I thought it was quite funny/ironic/sad. If it doesn't show up well and you can't read it, it says "Made in China."
On a closing note, I was shooting some end of school year festivities at a local elementary school yesterday and came across these flags that were being passed out to the parents. I thought it was quite funny/ironic/sad. If it doesn't show up well and you can't read it, it says "Made in China."
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The End is in Sight
The last two weeks of the girls' soccer season always fly by. We come back from spring break, there is usually a game or two to make up from postponements earlier in the season, so those are crammed in with our regularly scheduled games, plus practice on any open days. Throw in the fact I also have to work my regular job and we are at the end of April before you know it.
The end of this season is especially bittersweet, because not only will we be saying good bye to a great bunch of seniors, but also to one of whom is my daughter, Emily. When it comes down to it, Emily is the reason I got into coaching soccer in the first place 10 1/2 years ago. When she was seven, she came home from soccer practice and said they were going to need another coach for her age group, because there were so many kids. I went to the next practice and thought to myself, "this could be fun." Then, as they say, the rest is history. The other thing that will be hard about saying good bye to these seniors is that they were freshmen when I started coaching at the high school, so we have been together all four years that I have been with the program. Their commitment and desire was a key factor to our success this season.
The girls actually finished out the season with some strong performances against the top teams in our league. These teams will likely be contending for the state title this year and the way the girls performed shows how much our program has improved this year. We finished with our best record ever, scored more goals than we ever have before, allowed fewer goals than ever, and had a great time doing it! We will have our end of season banquet next week, where there will be plenty of laughter and tears. Thanks girls!
The end of this season is especially bittersweet, because not only will we be saying good bye to a great bunch of seniors, but also to one of whom is my daughter, Emily. When it comes down to it, Emily is the reason I got into coaching soccer in the first place 10 1/2 years ago. When she was seven, she came home from soccer practice and said they were going to need another coach for her age group, because there were so many kids. I went to the next practice and thought to myself, "this could be fun." Then, as they say, the rest is history. The other thing that will be hard about saying good bye to these seniors is that they were freshmen when I started coaching at the high school, so we have been together all four years that I have been with the program. Their commitment and desire was a key factor to our success this season.
The girls actually finished out the season with some strong performances against the top teams in our league. These teams will likely be contending for the state title this year and the way the girls performed shows how much our program has improved this year. We finished with our best record ever, scored more goals than we ever have before, allowed fewer goals than ever, and had a great time doing it! We will have our end of season banquet next week, where there will be plenty of laughter and tears. Thanks girls!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Countdown to spring break
(I should have posted this a couple of weeks ago, but got caught up with work, coaching soccer and thinking about my pending trip to Florida for spring break.)
I have to get my taxes done!
Sometimes this job can be an emotional roller coaster. Take yesterday (Tuesday, April 1) for example...
I got to the office and was promptly notified that there had been a serious car accident with a fatality and the rumor was that the victim was the principal of one of the local elementary schools. I got to the scene around an hour after the accident, but the cars involved were still there and the amount of damage was incredible. By this time it was confirmed that the victim was indeed the principal of Fraser Valley Elementary School, so I headed to the school to see what I could find.
This is the second staff member the local school district has lost this school year in an auto accident. In the fall, a teacher at the high school was killed on her way to work, so this was all too familiar and very depressing.
On the flip side, I spent the evening with one of the candidates for mayor here in Granby. When I walked into the bar she and her supporters were gathered at, her supporters immediately thought she had won because I was there. I had to assure them that I was only there, because their candidate had a good chance to win, not that I had any information on the results. It turned into a long night and eventually the candidate, her family and a small group of supporters went to her home to wait on word from town hall. When she finally received official word at 11:35 p.m., despite it being a long day for me, I was glad I had stuck it out and was happy with the image I got.
Turning to the world of soccer, our girls had an amazing game on Monday, March 31, defeating Bishop Machebeuf 7-6. Our girls were down 5-2 at one point and staged an amazing rally in the second half to comeback for the win. In past years, it would be easy for the team to lose hope, but not this year. They never gave up and ended up beating a team they had never beat before. The win also put us at the top of our league, temporarily, which was an added bonus.
The following Thursday, we had another home game scheduled, but our home field is still covered with snow, so the game was moved to Denver. All of the snow we received over the winter and spring, along with the fact that we just haven't had much warm, sunny weather to melt that snow, is making it look more and more like we aren't going to be having any home games this season. We played St. Mary's Academy, a team that has given us fits the past few years. We had trouble getting our offense on track, but our defense held its own giving up just one goal in a 1-0 loss to a team that had beaten us 8-0 and 7-0 in the past two years. It is encouraging to see how much more competitive we are this season.
This brings us to spring break. I'm heading to Florida with my son to visit my parents. Some warm weather and the beach will be a welcome break from the winter weather here in Colorado.
I have to get my taxes done!
Sometimes this job can be an emotional roller coaster. Take yesterday (Tuesday, April 1) for example...
I got to the office and was promptly notified that there had been a serious car accident with a fatality and the rumor was that the victim was the principal of one of the local elementary schools. I got to the scene around an hour after the accident, but the cars involved were still there and the amount of damage was incredible. By this time it was confirmed that the victim was indeed the principal of Fraser Valley Elementary School, so I headed to the school to see what I could find.
This is the second staff member the local school district has lost this school year in an auto accident. In the fall, a teacher at the high school was killed on her way to work, so this was all too familiar and very depressing.
On the flip side, I spent the evening with one of the candidates for mayor here in Granby. When I walked into the bar she and her supporters were gathered at, her supporters immediately thought she had won because I was there. I had to assure them that I was only there, because their candidate had a good chance to win, not that I had any information on the results. It turned into a long night and eventually the candidate, her family and a small group of supporters went to her home to wait on word from town hall. When she finally received official word at 11:35 p.m., despite it being a long day for me, I was glad I had stuck it out and was happy with the image I got.
Turning to the world of soccer, our girls had an amazing game on Monday, March 31, defeating Bishop Machebeuf 7-6. Our girls were down 5-2 at one point and staged an amazing rally in the second half to comeback for the win. In past years, it would be easy for the team to lose hope, but not this year. They never gave up and ended up beating a team they had never beat before. The win also put us at the top of our league, temporarily, which was an added bonus.
The following Thursday, we had another home game scheduled, but our home field is still covered with snow, so the game was moved to Denver. All of the snow we received over the winter and spring, along with the fact that we just haven't had much warm, sunny weather to melt that snow, is making it look more and more like we aren't going to be having any home games this season. We played St. Mary's Academy, a team that has given us fits the past few years. We had trouble getting our offense on track, but our defense held its own giving up just one goal in a 1-0 loss to a team that had beaten us 8-0 and 7-0 in the past two years. It is encouraging to see how much more competitive we are this season.
This brings us to spring break. I'm heading to Florida with my son to visit my parents. Some warm weather and the beach will be a welcome break from the winter weather here in Colorado.
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