Saturday, January 24, 2009

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Year in Review for March, 2008

Here are a few of my favorites from March of last year. Let's kick it off with a series of abstract patterns made by a streetlight shining through water drops on a window. I included an overall shot to show the streetlight, and I used a D3 and the 105 f2.8 macro to focus on the water drops.

It was a blustery March night with snow blowing and swirling and melting on the window. Here's the streetlight outside the building.



Here are a few of the patterns that were made by the water drops and the out of focus light.









The next images were made for the local YMCA for web site and other promotional materials. I needed a shot of people playing racquetball so I started shooting from the balcony overlooking the court. The images were ok, but lacked drama or impact. By moving downstairs I put the camera on the floor with a 14-24mm wide angle for a much more interesting shot.





Here are a couple more shots from the "Y" of an exercise class. Nikon D3 and available light...auto white balance and 5000 iso.





The last two photos are images I made for my church. Sometimes I'll shoot holiday services, kids programs or just shots of people enjoying each other after services. The church always has a need for photos like these and they're fun to shoot.





More to come.....

The Year in Review, February 2008

Here are a few of my favorite photos from last February. The College of St. Scholastica has been a very good client of mine for the last 25 years, and much of what I shot in February was for CSS. I was assigned to get a nice scenic shot of a fireworks display to celebrate an ethnic holiday. Tower Hall is the centerpiece of the college so I scouted several locations to find not only a good view of Tower but it had to lign up with where the fireworks would be launched. I started at the launch site and punched the location into a gps, then set out to find a good overlook that lined up with the gps location. The show was going to be brief, so I was set up well in advance then waited (freezing my butt on a bitter northern Minnesota night) for the display.



The next two portraits are professors at St. Scholastica. Both were shot during halftime of a basketball game that I was covering for the college so again I had to move fast. The first portrait was shot in a stairwell with a handheld SB800 with the diffusing dome in place, and a second SB800 with a snoot and a red gel aimed at the wall for a little interest. The second portrait was made with a SB800 and a Honl snoot for a main light (hand held) and another SB800 with a tungsten gel held by an assistant for a kicker.





The next two shots are from a cross country ski race. Both are of the same skier but with different looks because of lens choice. The first was shot with a 200-400 f4 telephoto, then as the skier got closer I used a 17-55 f2.8





The next photo is a light painting that I made for the cover of a brochure to advertise the "Empty Bowl" fundraiser to raise money for the food shelves. Artists threw ceremic bowls that were then sold at the fundraiser. To make this photo, an art director first set up the props. Then I placed the camera on a tripod and in total darkness used small different colored flashlights to paint light in certain parts of the image. It's a fun technique that gives a very unique and distinctive look to anything from tabletop setups to landscapes and portraits.



The ice caves are sandstone formations along the shore of Lake Superior that are a favorite destination for locals and tourists alike. When the ice conditions are safe for travel, you can walk out on the frozen lake and explore these fun formations. The first image was made with afternoon light, and the second was made at night and was another lightpainting. A friend and I walked about 3.5 miles out to the second location (which of course meant a 3.5 mile walk back) in very cold conditions carrying a camera, tripod, and some battery powered 2 million candlepower spot lights. Well, the light finally was right and we started shooting. It was so blasted cold, though, that the batteries in the lights only lasted for about 4 exposures before they went dead and we had to head back to the car.





The last two images are some fun sports photos...one of fans at a basketball game shot with a Nikon D3, available light, and auto white balance. The hockey player shot is my son Nate doing a hockey stop and spraying snow for an "old school" team photo.

Friday, January 23, 2009

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A Few Quick Portraits

The other day I worked with a local agency to make some portraits of youngsters that use the local neighborhood youth service. The plan was to move fairly quickly (as usual) and try to get as many photos that we could in as little time as we could. I used my Nikon SB's and pretty straight forward setups...a main light on a shoot through umbrella, one for a kicker and one in a grid for the background. All were triggered with a SB900 on camera...that way all adjustments for exposure could be made from the camera saving time. We shot the three main portraits, a few other setups and a bunch of candids in about two hours.

Friday, January 02, 2009

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The Year in Review, January 2008

Well, one of my resolutions is to try to be better at posting photos and keeping this little blog up to date. So many friends have been suggesting (bugging me) to update so here it goes. I figure a good way to handle this is to post some of my favorite photos that I've made during 2008.

This is the first photo I made in 2008. Definitely not in Pulitzer contention, but still a nice photo. It was a bitter January morning. I took the dog for a walk and as I often do, grabbed a camera. The one remaining leaf from fall caught my eye as it hung onto the snow covered branches.



Later in January, I shot an assignment for the Radisson Hotel in downtown Duluth. The assignment was to show some photogenic couples enjoying dinner and cocktails in the restaruant that is on the 15th floor of the hotel. The hotel is round and the restaruant rotates, making one complete revolution every hour. I rounded up two friends who brought two more friends to model. The plan was to shoot from sunset into twilight and catch that 10 minutes or so of twilight that matches up with the street lights and other lights. I used some Nikon speedlights with tungsten gels to give a warm, sunset feel and to try to match the feel of the light outside the restaruant.







To round out my January offering, I'm including a nice portrait of my son Nathan and his sweetheart Stephie. They're both seniors in high school, and the plan was to make a portrait of the couple before they went to their "Sweetheart Dance". Most parents take a snap or two with their point and shoots, but I had to do just a little bit more. I brought my wife Candy along and we scouted some locations, settling on an Inn on the shore of Lake Superior that had some nice heavy woodwork and some nice stonework.

I used a Quantum Q flash in a 2x3 foot softbox (which my wife held) for a main light, and an SB-800 with a tungsten gel for a kicker...both triggered with Pocket Wizards. A little more effort, but a lot nicer shot than direct flash with a point and shoot. Aren't they a cute couple!!



Stay tuned.....More to come.

Friday, November 14, 2008

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UMD-Wisconsin Hockey

Here are a few photos I made the other night from the UMD v Wisconsin hockey game. Using my Nikon D3 and a 200-400 f4 zoom I could park near the rafters at center ice and easily cover both goals. The high angle gives me a nice clean background and the ability to shoot at a high iso (4000) with hardly any noise allowed me to stop action with available light. The teams played to a 3-3 overtime tie.