Welcome!  I'd say that it is time that I got this blog rolling again. I have been far too lax about blogging in the last couple of years. I am hoping to post a minimum of once a month here to share images, ideas, and other stuff that just plain needs to get out of my head!

Saturday will be the first "Photo 101" workshop held at The Chieftain. I am really looking forward to making some new friends and doing my best to share what I know. (Whatever that is! Ha!)

So beginning with this post I want to make myself available to answer any photo questions you might have. Just post them here and I will do my best to get you an easy to understand answer.

God used a photo to change me

I can't believe that is has been almost a year since I last posted on this blog. For those of you who have taken the time to read my ramblings I apologize for my absence. Much has changed in the past 12 months. I won't bore you with the details, but I do want to share this story with you.























Last November I was out looking for a feature photo that would be used on one of our newspaper's section fronts. It was a fairly mild fall day. The sun was shining and I was driving around town looking for something of interest.

I had no idea that what I was about to find was going to be much more than just a subject of a photograph.

I was driving past the local low-income housing project when I spotted two kids playing in the leaves. I drove around the block and came back to where I had spotted them. They were moving the leaves with a rake and a snow shovel. They were dressed in t-shirts and jeans. I saw their mother sitting in a chair nearby keeping an eye on the youngsters. I approached her, identified myself and asked her if it would be okay for me photograph her children for the newspaper. She said it would be fine and then I told the kids (as I tell all children who see me taking their pictures) to just ignore me and go back to playing like they were before I got there. Kids are pretty good at that adults on the other hand, not so much.

I moved off to one side and used a telephoto lens (300mm) to photograph them playing. It wasn't a cold day, but it wasn't warm either. The two, brother and sister, didn't seem to mind. It was then that I noticed that they were running around outdoors in their socks. I had seen this kind of thing before and really never paid much attention to it. It was little more than a footnote this time as well.

I thanked the mother, waved goodbye to the kids and left. The photo didn't run the next day. It was published the day after that. When I saw the paper, the fact that the kids were in just socks really hit me. I knew that I needed to go back to see that family. I made a couple of 4x6 prints of the photos. The photo of the little boy was the one that got in the paper so I made sure to take one of his sister for the family as well. I grabbed a few extra copies of the paper and headed to the projects.

I went to the door of the family's apartment. The mother answered the door. I presented her with the papers and the photos. Then God took over. I said that I had noticed that her children were not wearing shoes when I had been there before. I asked her if I could buy her children shoes. I had never done anything like this before and I had photographed many people who were in greater need than these folks. I believe that God was talking to me. He may have been talking to me before, but now I was listening. The mom told me that they had shoes, but what they needed was pants, shirts, and a winter coat for a toddler that I didn't even know she had. I told her I would get the clothes if she'd let me buy them shoes too. She smiled and said "Sure."

I got all the necessary sizes and told the mom that I'd be back some time in the next couple of days. I headed directly to Payless Shoes. I bought two pair of shoes along with a dozen pairs of socks and never had more fun buying shoes in my life! Then I headed to the ARC to see what was available in second-hand clothes for these kids. I found several pairs of pants, shirts, and even the winter coat that the family was in need of. I could swear that I was walking on air.

All in all it took me about an hour to get the items that the family needed. I returned to the apartment. When mom answered the door I held out my hand holding a large bag of clothes and shoes. She took it, smiled and said "Thank you." It was at that point that I said something I had never heard myself say before. "Don't thank me, thank God." "This came from him, not me." It wasn't something that I had planned to say, it was just what came out. I knew at that moment that what I had been experiencing was the Holy Spirit working through me.

In that one afternoon I felt like I was able to accomplish more than the entire 21 years I had spent working as a photographer at the newspaper. I can tell you that if you asked me now if I would trade my entire career for that kind of an experience, I would tell you that I would in a heartbeat! I doubt I would have said that a year ago.

While walking back to my truck I realized that there was more work like this to be done and that there was no way I could bankroll it. So I prayed and thought about it. In the meantime God was working. I had done a freelance job some months before and if your image is selected for the cover there is a bonus fee that is paid to the photographer. I discovered my photo was selected for the cover. when I received the payment I went to work to use it to help more children in the projects.

God led me to design bracelets. They are like the ones that Lance Armstrong uses in his "Livestrong" campaign to battle cancer. The ones I designed say "I Believe" and John 3:16 on them and are red in color. I purchased 500 of them at .50/ea and have been selling them for $2/ea. The proceeds all going to help additional families in need.

I have named the venture "Mission Possible". I have gotten a good deal of support from the church I attend, The First Church of God. I have also found that many folks are willing to give a couple of dollars to help make a difference in the lives of local kids. The money pays for basic clothing needs for children in the one housing project, nothing else.

I found an amazing woman who works at the Boys & Girls club in the neighborhood who helps us. She identifies need, contacts the family to see if they are interested and then she passes the information along to me. We are on our way to helping the fourth family and hoping to assist many more.


That one afternoon completely and totally changed my life. God moved in me and I will never be the same. I now know that I was put here to serve Him and those in need. I feel so used! And I absolutely love it!

This photograph was worth much more than 1,000 words.

Hobie for Canoe & Kayak Magazine

In November Canoe & Kayak Magazine assigned me to shoot a portrait of Ken "Hobie" Hoeve at his home in Gypsum, Colorado. Hoeve is the brand manager for Dagger Kayaks and also the weather man at the local television station in Avon, Colorado.

Hoeve is great to work with as he is very media savvy and willing to take direction during a photo shoot. When I arrived he was under the weather and yet willing to do whatever it took to get the photos that I needed for the assignment.

I made use of two SB-800s on lightstands with snoots for this assignment. I also used pocket wizards to trigger them from my Nikon D2Xs. The strobes worked like a charm and I was able to make some nice images of my subject without having to carry bulky studio strobes to the assignment.

Ken was gracious enough to loan me a small step ladder to make the photos since he is over 6ft tall and I on the other hand am vertically challenged. He also had a large number of kayaks at his home that we used to add color to the portrait on a gray fall day.

I would like to thank Ken's wife Brandy for the photo below which gives you an idea of what the set up was like. Thanks for showing my best side Brandy!

(Photo by Brandy Hoeve)

I'm back (stroke)

After a bit of a hiatus I have returned to the land of the blogger. From time to time I have a reality check and have to tend to other parts of my life. I am hoping that I will be posting more regularly from here on out, but as we all know "life happens".

As a former competitive swimmer I have always enjoyed shooting swim meets. It isn't an assignment that I usually have to fight for as the rest of the staff is happy to let me shoot all the swimming I want. LOL. Over the years,I have tried many different lighting set-ups, lenses, and camera angles to try to get interesting and unique swimming images. And of course when it comes down to it keeping it simple seems to payoff more often than not.

At a recent multi-school meet I decided that I would skip mounting heads on stands and lighting the entire pool. So I just went with an on-camera strobe and used the built-in bounce card. I was encouraged by the light I was getting while shooting test images in the warm-up period. So I figured I would go with it.

In swimming, once you get the lighting, the rest is timing. The photo I wanted to try would only allow me one shot and as luck was on my side, I managed to get the image I was hoping for. I guess crossing my fingers, holding my breath and saying a little prayer did the trick.

Next time I will have to cover my camera so that it doesn't get soaked too.

It's always something...

Fire on the Beech (Street)

For the most part, working during the holidays is pretty uneventful in the Pueblo Chieftain photo department. Each year the paper's editors find a way to fill much of the paper with an in depth series or extended project allowing many members of the staff to take vacation time between Christmas and New Years.

Since spot news doesn't seem to follow a schedule both the police reporter and members of the photo staff may find themselves in the middle of some pretty interesting and intense stories while other members of the staff are saying "Pass me another piece of fruit cake."

Wednesday was one of those days.


After doing spending some time in front of my work station I asked the paper's managing editor if there was anything else he needed me to do (even though I didn't do much to that point), he said no and I headed out the door after writing my cell number in the book so that if something were to happen my number would be easily located.

About 90 minutes after I left the newsroom I got a call from our weekend editor to tell me about a house fire. It was kind of hard to understand what she was saying as she was suffering from a cold. I did manage to catch the two cross streets and the word fire from her virus-laden utterings.

I, hung up, grabbed my coat, and told my kids I had to go to a fire. Any more, they just nod and say "Okay Dad, see you later." My boys aren't easily impressed any more. They have been to so many assignments with me that most of the time they are happier to stay home.

As I was heading across town I could see the column of thick black smoke rising from the burning home. When this happens it is easier to get to the fire without having to look for a particular address and it also tells me I am missing some really good flames.

My days of driving to a fire like I was driving the fire truck are behind me now, but I still get frustrated when I feel like I am hitting every red light all the way to the scene. This time was no different. Most of the time when covering fires there isn't much to shoot other than wet ashes when I get out of my truck. That was what I thought I would be shooting at this fire. I jumped out of my truck, grabbed my camera and bag and headed toward the fire.

I have been on scenes like this so many times over the years that most of the police and fire personnel leave me to my job. Many of them have seen me at fires and crime scenes before and those who haven't don't say much as I look right at home in these situations. (Usually if you walk in like you own the place, most people will think you do.) At this fire my access was good and I went to work.

The light was fading and the fire was being attacked by an aerial truck. I figured there would be no more flames. There were two fire fighters standing near the house with a hose. They had been spraying the fire but stopped when the aerial truck started to attack the fire. Then there was a bit of a pause and the flames popped back up, but the fire fighters in front of me weren't moving. I shot a few photos of them standing there with the flames dancing on the roof of the house. It was good flame, but no action. I crossed my fingers and waited. Then they picked up their hose and directed a spray of water into the window of the home as the flames on the roof made another appearance. I got my photo and then made my way back to my truck to head back to the newsroom.

While driving back I heard one of the firefighters on the radio say that they would probably be there a while as the roof of the home was insulated with straw.

I mused to myself that had the house not burned it may have been blown down by a wolf!

Cornered!

The playmakers are over for the fall season and I am back to doing regular daily assignments. While biding my time until the winter sports season ends and I get to do five more playmakers.

The other day I was sent to shoot some high school girls swimmers as part of their season preview. I shot the head shots I needed to do and then needed to a portrait of two of the girls. I thought I had the photo worked out in my head on the way to the school. But when I got there, one of the two girls was absent and wouldn’t be there for the photo as scheduled.

I had to come up with a photo of the one remaining girl that would carry the story as well as the page in the sports section that it would run on.

I knew I wanted to shoot her in the water, but at the same time I wanted the image to have a bit of a “different” look to it. I don’t know why I came up with the photo of Madison Krall in the corner of the pool, but I did.

The photo had a bit of a “playmaker” feel to it but I give all the credit to Madison. She is the reason that the photo works. Her “permasmile” as well as her hand placement really completed the image.

I count myself lucky as I managed to shoot the photo from the side of the pool and do two very important things. I kept my feet out of the frame and stayed dry. Woohoo!

Madison is the kind of subject that photographers dream of. She is was patient, and a a real joy to work with. Plus she did things on her own that helped. I look forward to getting to shoot her again.

Tennis playmaker

Last but certainly not least, Pueblo County High School’s Joey Patti is the playmaker for boys tennis in 2007.

I told Joey to wear his varsity uniform and bring his racquets and a can or two of balls to the studio. Joey was happy to honor my request even though he didn’t seem real sure of what kind of photo we were going to do.

Before he showed up I spent a little time getting things ready. I found a green gel that I could use to throw some color on the background. The school’s colors are green and gold so I figured the green gel would be the best color to go with.

I got the lights set up. Then I asked Joey for his racquet and one of the better looking tennis balls that he brought with him. Joey watched as I grabbed a couple of zip ties, zipped them together, and to the face of Joey’s racquet. In hindsight I think I would use some string or fishing line to do this the next time. It was just too much work to remove the zip tie from the image with the help of Photoshop.

After we got everything set I started to photograph Joey. When I use the SB-800s in the studio it is a bit more difficult because the strobes don’t have modeling lights. What we did was set up the camera on a tripod, then I would pre-focus on Joey and turn off the overhead lights to shoot the photo. I coached Joey with, “Don’t move, don’t move, don’t move, don’t move.” He did a great job and made my job easy.

Thanks Joey.

Volleyball playmaker

The girls volleyball playmaker for 2007 is Brittany Maab of Pueblo West High School.

I showed up at the school near the end of the school day. We couldn’t use the gym after school as basketball practice was going to be taking place in the gym at that time. The school’s athletic director was gracious enough to set it up so that the P.E. class would us an auxiliary gym so that I could photograph Brittany in the main gym.

Brittany, along with the help of one of the P.E. instructors put up the standards and the net for the photo. I brought all my cameras, flashes, light stands, remotes and yes a mini trampoline. At first Brittany was a bit apprehensive about jumping on the trampoline as earlier in her high school athletic career she had knee surgery on each of her knees to repair torn anterior cruciate ligaments.

I couldn’t blame her, but I also told her I would let her jump on the tramp a couple of times to see if she thought she could do it and if not, we’d just scrap it. She gave it a try and decided that it wasn’t going to be that hard on her knees and we went ahead and used it. I brought the tramp because typically high school volleyball players don’t have a vertical jump that gets their faces above the net and that was where I wanted her for the photo.

I placed the tramp to the side and Brittany would take a few quick strides and then jump onto it and raise her arms as the P.E. instructor would through a ball for her to block. After a couple of dozen runs, jumps tosses, and blocks I had enough to chose from and our time in the gym was over. I thanked Brittany for all of her efforts and headed back to the paper.

After a few days of looking through the images I made in the gym I decided that the photo just needed something more but I wasn’t sure what that was. I finally decided that I would do some post processing to see if I could spice things up a bit. I happened upon an idea to add several more balls to the photo and that seemed to do the trick. The only other thing I did was add a bit of motion to each ball so that the balls didn’t look like they were hanging from strings or something. I am not big on doing post processing and most of my work doesn’t allow it, but this time it seemed to work.

Can you tell which ball is the only one in the original frame? I'll never tell.

Cross country playmaker (boy)

Pueblo Central High School’s Dominique Rael is this year’s cross country playmaker on the boys side of things.

It is always an extra challenge when I have to shoot two photos of athletes in the same sport in the same season. It means that I have to come up with two unique images to illustrate the same sport. But the cool thing is that I love challenges. And while the athletes may be in the same sport, they most certainly aren’t the same person, so that is where I start.

As it turns out, Dominique was actually taking part in two different sports in the same season. Pueblo Central High School didn’t have enough athletes to field a soccer team and a cross country team at the same time so Dominique signed up for both.

I wanted to illustrate Dominique’s dual sport season even though he was selected as the playmaker for cross country I wanted to make soccer a part of the photo.

I asked him to meet me at a local soccer complex and to wear his varsity cross country uniform. Dominique showed up and was a great subject. I lucked-out as there were a group of guys having an informal soccer practice on one of the fields at the soccer complex.

We found a piece of ground near where the soccer players were practicing and I set things up. I asked him to take up a position with his back to the soccer field and to get into a hurler’s stretch and actually lean forward and really stretch. I think that this was more difficult than all those times I had Sarah run toward the camera for the girl’s cross country photo.

You see, I had to wait for there to be good soccer action going on in the background before I could get the photo I wanted. He needed to be stretching the entire time to make this work. It did work and we got the image I was hoping for. However, I am afraid that Dominique had a difficult time walking when we had finished and he went to stand up.

Hopefully by now the cramp has worked it’s way out of his hamstring and Dominique can walk with out that pesky limp.

Cross country playmaker (girl)

Cross country runner, Sarah Kettelkamp, of Pueblo Centennial High School is the playmaker for her sport this year.

I spent weeks researching this photo. Well, sort of. Most mornings during the warmer months I ride my mountain bike along the “Nature Trail” from my home to the dam in Lake Pueblo State Park. (About 15 miles round trip) During these rides I do a lot of looking for photo locations. I guess I can’t help it. Some people see dead people, I see photo backgrounds.

This was one of the first photos on my list. I had to get to it soon because the leaves were quickly falling from the trees and I wanted to have a bit of a golden background with a fall flavor to it.

Sarah was very patient with me while we were shooting the photo. I had found the location on my bike rides and decided we’d go to that section of trail for the back ground. The early afternoon sun worked great as a rim light as it fell through the trees and onto her head, shoulders and back.

I set up a couple of strobes on the trail and positioned myself. Then came the fun part, at least for me. I had looked at a lot of running photos to find the way I wanted to pose Sarah. I didn’t want her to run directly at the camera because that can end up with a photo where you can only see one leg. It happens when one leg is bent and can appear to be amputated at the knee.

I decided to have her run down the left side of the trail (her left) and then at a predetermined point she would cross the trail so that I could see both of her feet in the photograph. Sarah was very good at getting the stride I was looking for. There is a place in a runner’s stride when for a split second both of the runner's feet are off of the ground and it was what I was shooting for.

After about 30 times running down the trail through this spot I had plenty to chose from and Sarah had gotten a pretty good warm-up if she wanted to go for a run.

Glad I could help.

Gymnasics playmaker

Tera Sisson was selected as the playmaker for girls gymnastics. There is only one gymnastics team in town and it bears the name of Central High School, but is made up of girls from several different schools in the district. Tera is actually an honor student at Pueblo South High School.

The team practices in a local gym that supplies gymnasts with every piece of gymnastics equipment available. That is great for the athletes, but can make for a rather cluttered background due to limited space in the gym.

Taking this all into consideration I had determined ahead of time that I wanted to shoot a photo where there was a cloud of chalk in the air. I hadn’t really figured out how I was going to do this prior to going to the gym to make the photo.

I decided that the best piece of equipment for the chalk would be on the uneven bars. Tera was very helpful in making things work for the photo. Originally I had her leaping to the low bar and grabbing it. I thought it might make for a chalk cloud , but it produced little or no cloud so we had to come up with something else.

We eventually decided on having her jump up and slap the lower bar which was achieving the desired effect. What really made the photo was when Tera filled her hands with chalk before turning them over and slapping the bar. Sure it was over the top, but that was what I was hoping for.

Now if I can just get this taste of chalk out of my mouth...

Soccer playmaker

Matt Karn of Pueblo Centennial High School was chosen as the playmaker for boys soccer.

I have seen many amazing action portraits of soccer players. Now I had a chance to try something a little different myself.

A couple hours before Matt showed up at The Chieftain I was across the street at the glass store trying to buy a piece of glass that would support a 170-pound high school athlete. The response I got from the folks at the glass company was, “You want to do what with the glass?” I am not real sure that they understood what I was going to do with the Plexiglas even after I explained it to them.

They did find a piece of Plexiglas form me. I got it, headed back across the street to the paper and proceeded to try to figure out what to do next. Originally I was going to shoot the photo on the school’s practice field, but it was an extremely windy day so that was out of the question.

I walked around our building and managed to find a corner of the parking lot that was shielded from the wind by the building. It also offered me a chance to plug an extension cord in to an outlet in the building for the one Elinchrom strobe I would be using.

I kidnapped four chairs from our lunchroom to rest the Plexiglas on. I then set up the light and crawled under the Plexiglas with my camera and wide-angled lens. Matt was tentative at first, but after he realized that the Plexiglas would support his weight he was fine.

I discovered that the chairs that the Plexiglas was resting on were about 6 inches too short to get the photo I was trying to get. I basically had to frame the photo and then place the camera on the ground to squeeze him in to the frame.

You can picture me laying in the parking lot under glass with a high school soccer player standing on glass suspended on chairs above me as I squirmed around with my camera and my boss was listening to my direction and trying to aim the light and softbox diffuser the direction I needed it. It was quite a site!

All in all I would say it was worth the effort and the stains to my clothes from laying in the parking lot. And mother nature did a pretty amazing job on the sky too!

Football playmaker

The football playmaker for the 2007 season is Mike Bechina (BA-KEEN-A) of Pueblo Centennial High School.

Mike was very open to the ideas that I had for his portrait. The sportswriter who selected informed me that Mike is not only a football player and a 4.0 student, but he also plays guitar in a band that specializes in classic rock and roll music. The light bulb above my head instantly lit up.

I have been looking for an excuse to do a portrait of someone in mid-flight doing what I call the “Eddie Van Halen Jump” for a long time. This was my chance. To aid Mike in doing the jump I went to a local sporting goods store and purchased a mini trampoline.

The idea was to get Mike to jump on the tramp and do the jump while wearing his varsity football uniform and holding his guitar. I set things up in the studio at the paper and used Nikon speedlights instead of the big studio strobes that are on a track system in the studio. I did this because the speedlights allow me the ability have more precise control of the light.

I used four speedlights. I used snoots on three of them to prevent too much light spill. The set up was tight as our studio isn’t all that big. I was against the back wall of the studio and Mike was nearly out-jumping the background. All in all it went well and with a little coaching on the body position I needed from him we were able to get the above photo.

I think that by the time we were finished, Mike was really starting to get into the rock’n roll mentality. I think it shows in the photo. Rock on Mike!

Softball playmaker

Amber Pacheco of Pueblo Central High School was chosen as the playmaker for softball. I had decided that I wanted to do a photo of the Wildcat shortstop sliding head first into second base.

I wanted the photo to give the illusion of her sliding into the bag and yet still show off one of her trademark ear-to-ear grins.

I was able to get Amber’s coach to provide us with a helmet that didn’t have the required football-style facial protection. That way I could get an unobstructed view of her face.

I had Amber lay down on the ground with her hands stretched out to the bag as if she were sliding into it. I also asked her to lift her feet to give it more of an actual slide feel.

Then the fun began. My boss, and Amber’s coach began throwing hand-fulls of dirt at Amber’s legs and feet as I was shooting the photos to add the look of her in motion. Amber was covered in dirt when we finished but she was still smiling.

What a great sport she was!

Golf playmaker

Zane Covey of Pueblo West High School was selected as the golf playmaker. I had him meet me at Liberty Point about 45 minutes before the sun set. (Liberty Point is a very scenic outcropping above Lake Pueblo State Park.)

I had visualized a photo of him where the majority of him was in silhouette and I only lit his face. I had originally thought about going out on to the point to shoot the photo, but after I arrived I decided that the parking lot would work just fine. And be a better place to set up my light stand.

Before the sun started to set I shot a few images of Zane with strong backlight. It helped me figure out how I wanted Zane to pose. Then as the light was changing I set up one SB-800 (speedlight flash) on a light stand with a snoot to direct the light to Zane's face.

The sun began to set and I had just a few minutes to make the image I wanted with the best possible light. Zane was great to work with and I credit the success of the image to him and to the fact that my 10 year-old son (who I brought as an assistant) didn’t hit anyone with the rocks he was tossing off of the point. (By the way, he promises not to do that again.)

Fall Playmakers...

At the end of each high school sports season the sports writers at The Pueblo Chieftain select one athlete from each of the sports as the “Playmaker” to represent that sport.
The playmakers are defined by the writers as the student athletes who left a lasting impression on those of us who chronicled their efforts. These athletes may or may not be the best in their sport; they do, however, represent the reasons why we love sport so much. -The Pueblo Chieftain

I have been lucky enough to have the task of creating portraits of each of the playmaker athletes assigned to me. I have come to enjoy the process of creating these images.

First off, I do some research. I spend time looking at as many photos of each sport as possible. I find inspiration in images created by other photographers who have worked to illustrate similar subjects.

I then try to come up with an idea that will help me to visually expose each athlete’s personality in the most dynamic way possible. There is no real form to my creative process. I just kind of toss everything into the pot, turn up the heat, stir it a few times and see what turns out. Sometimes things go as planned and that is fine.

Sometimes I throw away the recipe in the middle of the shoot and just wing it. That can be fine too. And sometimes it just depends on how the planets line up or on what I had for breakfast, or which socks I am wearing...

(In subsequent posts I will share each of the images with some background on the photo shoots.)

Signs of the times.

I can't believe that it is basketball season already.I am still shooting high school football playoffs which, for me, is the best time of year for shooting high school football. I am very fond of day games as opposed to the Friday night lights games.

But before the football ends, the college basketball season begins. Last night I was at the first games for both the CSU-Pueblo men's and women's basketball teams. The teams are playing at the Colorado State Fair Events Center while their home arena is being renovated. This is a good thing as the paper has strobes mounted in each arena allowing for well-lit images.

There wasn't much out of the ordinary in either game. But something else caught my attention. In the seats during the game I saw three signs being held up as a fourth person stepped out of the stands to take a picture.The fans were there to see CSU-Pueblo forward Sarah Staggs from Glendale, Arizona and they weren't shy about it.

Each time she got into the game or did something positive while on the floor, a cheer would come from the section of sign-holders. I shot the photo without really reading what was written on the signs. I went back and looked at them when I had a free moment during a timeout. The sentiments were such that it brought a smile to my face and made me think.

The game on the court was the job-at-hand for the team, but in the bigger scheme of things, the outcome of the game didn't really matter nearly as much as the people who would come a great distance to see it because of their attachment to just one player.

And while an athletic scholarship may get you through college, it is your friends and family that help get you through life.

I'd say that no matter what the final score is, Sarah Staggs is a winning a much more important game...Life. (And not the Milton Bradley version...LOL)

Gettin' in the swing of things...

One of the terrific things about my job is that from time to time I get to bring one, or both of my sons with me when I shoot something. About half of the time it is because I want to the rest of the time it is out of necessity that I have the boys in tow.

They are my entertainment, junior navigators, art directors, and feature photo spotters. My boys have become a tuned to what I do and what I am looking for when we go looking for a feature photo (enterprise photo). If it were up to them I would be shooting skateboarding every day. Fortunately I am the one at the controls of my truck and get to decide where we are headed.

A week or two ago I had my youngest, Barry, with me when I was hunting the elusive enterprise photo. We did a quick look in all the normal places and then I thought we'd give a few of the smaller parks a quick look. It is nice to change-up the scenery when we go looking for photos and sometimes the smaller parks get passed over for the larger more popular parks.

We started our tour of parks and with each one we passed Barry asked if we could stop and he could play for a while. I told him that eventually if I was able to find a photo he may get the chance to play in one of the parks. He said that was okay and continued to ask if he could play at each park we passed. (He is 10 and nothing if not persistant.)

Finally I passed by a park where I saw some activity that caught my attention. I parked and Barry asked (as expected) if he could get out and play. I told him that he could but he would have to wait in the truck first while I got my photo.He wasn't happy about waiting in the truck, but reluctantly he did as I asked. However, I did have to endure a barrage of "why" questions while I was getting my cameras out. If you have kids you know what I am talking about, the child asks why and you answer and their response to your answer is another "why?". Ugh... And it can go on forever, or at least until I tell Barry, because that is what "I" said.

So I dashed off leaving him at the truck (but still in full view of where I was) to shoot some teenagers on a set of swings. They spun around, slammed into each other and did what teenagers do before heading off. I got my photo and the caption information I needed then turned to my waiting son and waved him over to the playground equipment.

Then we spent the next 15-20 minutes laughing and giggling on the playground before we headed back to the newsroom, but if you tell my boss I will deny it.

Reflecting on enterprise photos...

A good portion of my job consists of enterprise photography. For those of you who don't know what that is, here is a detailed description. I drive around town looking for something interesting to photograph.

And on some days it can be the toughest thing I do. Over the years I have come up with a process to guarantee a good enterprise photo. I cross my fingers and pray. Okay, so it doesn't work EVERY time, but it is the best thing I have been able to come up with after 20 years of searching for the ultimate enterprise photo.

Some days I find what I am looking for in the first 5 minutes of looking. Other times I may drive 50-60 miles before I find a good subject (and sometimes my prey eludes me completely) I have found that one of the true challenges in finding an enterprise photo is being able to see familiar subjects in a unique way.
On one recent afternoon I was out on the hunt for an enterprise image when I stopped by the local skatepark. The park has been the subject of dozens of enterprise photos. So I needed to try to find a way to look at skateboarding that was different from all the other times I had photographed local riders. Luckily it had rained the day before and left a bit of a pond in the middle of the skatepark.

The riders were complaining about the water, but I was lovin' it. As I walked around the park, I watched several skateboarders lose control of their boards causing them to roll through pond. And it is a good thing that my camera isn't set up to record an audio track because the things that came out of some of these kids mouths would make a sailor cringe!

After looking at the pond from several different angles I finally came up with one that worked. It required that I squat down to get the photo. This was a sketchy move for me as every time I do something like this I risk not being able to stand back up! Nothing like being the age-ed photographer surrounded by skateboarding teenagers who wonder what the hell you are doing...LOL.

I did manage to get one or two images in focus without having to call fire rescue to help me up. Maybe next time I will rent an airplane and shoot an aerial shot. Anyone have a parachute I can borrow?

Using his head

When local professional sports teams make it to the big game people try to come up with unique ways to show their support for the team. I remember the guy who painted the huge Bronco head in the middle of his street the last time the Denver Broncos were in the Super Bowl. And there were the crazy haircuts, the face painting along with all the flags and jerseys.

But before yesterday I hadn't seen a temporary tattoo emblazoned on a man's shaved head with dry-erase markers. I have no dout that it had been done before and that fans have done and will do many crazier things to show their loyalty to their favorite team. What made this one interesting was that the big fan wasn't the guy with the art on his head. It was the woman who put it there.

"I was just sitting there waiting for my coffee to cool off when she did it." he said. Personally I would say that musta been one smokin' hot cup of coffee!I thought about how I would shoot a portrait of a guy with a baseball logo on his head as I drove over to the hospital where the subject works. I figured I would shoot the photo using a mirror.

That way I would be able to show the logo on the back of his head and his face at the same time. I wanted the portrait's lighting to look as natural as possible so I placed one sb-800 on a lightstand, pointed it at the ceiling of the nearest bathroom where I had him sit and look at his reflection in the mirror over the sink.

I have to say (and I said it to him) that it almost looked like he was sitting at one of those visitor windows at the county jail. I wonder if there is a law against being assaulted with dry-erase markers.