Sonya Paz

Week 8

Sonya Paz, Artist
February 23, 2010

I cheated this week. The image I took above was actually made last week on February 17th. I justify posting this week because I didn't finish the edits until the 23rd, so I think it's fair game for my image of the week this week. :).

This shoot was a blast. Nationally recognized artist, Sonya Paz is very active in the community of Campbell, CA where I sometimes show my work, and often spend my leisure time (such that it is). I was introduced to her work years back when I ran the inaugural San Jose Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon back in 2006, and purchased a signed poster to commemorate the event which she happened to design that year. I actually met Sonya when she was coordinating a community art-walk event that I took part in, and was impressed by her warmth, down to earth personality and passion for the local art community.

Sonya was kind enough to allow me to shoot her portrait last week, and we had a blast! We staged the shoot in the shop of a local merchant, Radio Daze, which has countless toys and vintage items, a virtual playground of creativity for our shoot! Upon seeing the three wise monkeys in the store, I immediately thought how fun it would be to use them. Sonya's wardrobe choice made it a perfect fit, and so we went with it! More shots from the session can be found on my website, but I found this image to be among my favorites. Maybe you will too!

Do Not Try This At Home

Week 7

Malaka

February 21, 2010

Today I watched up close as guys took 400lb motorcycles and threw them around like they were the old BMX style bicycle I had growing up. A buddy of mine stunt rides, and we connected, hoping to get some good pics of he and his fellow riders doing their thing. We did....

They scoped out an empty lot where they'd be able to ride and me shoot them without any trouble. One of the first images I got, the above photo let me know I was in for a show. It was both powerful and graceful, and a testament to the amount of skill it takes to stunt. I shot with my 24-70 2.8 pretty much the whole time. I was close enough to the action I didn't really need a longer lens, though I may try to have a longer one with me next time to give me a little more range.

I can't wait to go shoot them again. Today's weather was off and on rainy, leaving the guys doing "safe" stunts. Totally looking forward to seeing what happens when they have dry pavement and the confidence that comes along with it.

Until next time....

Mavericks

Week 6

Mavericks
February 13, 2010

Chased by a monster. Surfing insanity. Cheating death. These were some of the captions I thought of when I was looking through the images I took at the Mavericks Surf Competition this weekend at Pillar Point near Half Moon Bay. I'll start by saying that I was somewhat disappointed in the quality of images I got from the shoot. They are not the best quality technically, but I liked the way they give perspective to how massive and formidable the ocean is for these surfers. There are plenty of shots, the above included that give a pretty stark and humbling picture of what these 24 big wave surfers were up against that day. Dropping in on wave at Mavericks is like jumping off of a 3, even 4 story building. A moving building. One that's trying to eat you.

Now, I'm no surfer, but that seems pretty insane to do willingly. I'm glad they do, though, as we get quite the spectacle and inspiration as onlookers from the courage and skill that's required to even paddle out into such conditions, much less to attempt riding waves of this magnitude.

Big wave surfer Chris Bertish from South Africa won the contest admitting he was terrified, that he even considered not going back out at one point. The waves were HUGE. Even from a half mile away, you could get a sense of their scale by watching the water fall as the waves crested, and witnessing the explosion of energy as they crashed back into the sea.

From a photography stand-point, I learned a few things. Use some filters to cut through the haze of the morning fog and sea-spray perpetually in the air surrounding the waves. Get a bigger lens. Even with the 400mm rented Canon lens and 1.4x teleconverter to increase my reach, being 1/2 mile away didn't allow anything resembling a close up. Get on a boat. There are numerous operations that take boats out for spectators and photographers to be much closer to the action... although they cost you $350+ just to get on the vessel.

Even with all the challenges, I am glad I went to the event. Looking forward to the next 48-hour text message notice that Mavericks is on... hopefully again next year.

Saratoga Yellow

Week 5

Saratoga Yellow
February 6, 2010

Driving back from a client meeting, I was passing this field beside the Saratoga public library. It was almost sunset, and the color radiating off of these flowers was too tempting to pass up. I stopped my truck, parked and started shooting, wondering how long before I would be chased off of what appeared to be an orchard of some sort.... Luckily, I was able to shoot freely and without interruption as I walked along the perimeter of the orchard where these yellow flowers, (mustard flowers I believe) were in bloom and catching the most amazing light.

The potential clients I was meeting with are a friendly couple that are holding their wedding in a county park nestled in the mountains that overlook the small town of Saratoga. The redwood forest is beautiful here, and I was reminded again today that it has been way too long since I've strapped on a pack and walked into the woods for couple days of rest and solitude. I love being out in nature, and find the beauty I'm surrounded by soothing and cleansing. I find myself wanting to capture everything I see, and so frequently take a ridiculous number of pictures when I'm out hiking or camping.

What was nice about today was the reminder that I don't have to be a couple miles away from the nearest road and out of cel-phone coverage in order to witness and capture simple, but striking beauty that we can enjoy and is abundantly available to us, but that we frequently take for granted.

Practice Makes Perfect

Week 4

Practice makes Perfect
January 25, 2010

Week 4's image is from a shoot I did for my friend, your friend... and you're kid's favorite place to shoot hoops... Bald Eagle Camps. Well, my friend actually started and runs the camp, but if I were 12, BEC would be my friend too:).

Shooting this Monday night clinic was a welcome challenge. Low light, all indoor, and lots of movement. Fortunately I still had a zoom lens on loan from Borrowlenses.com that made the job a bit easier. With a big aperature of 2.8, this 70mm-200mm lens let in a lot of light, and still let me keep the shutter speed fast enough to catch most of the action. I had to shoot at a high ISO, so some of the shots came out a bit grainy, but all in all, the pics turned out alright. My buddy was happy, and got the shots he needed for his camp, so I'm happy.

As I was shooting the clinic, I thought about how much these kids loved what they were doing. They wanted to learn, they were eager to get better, and were willing to work for it. Of course it was fun too, and that didn't hurt on the motivation side of things, but it was great to see these kids try again and again, knowing they wouldn't make that basket every time, knowing there was always going to be someone else on the court better than they were, knowing that inevitably they were going to embarrass themselves somehow. Yet still they kept dribbling, kept shooting, kept running up and down the court, and trying to apply the things that Coach told them would make them better. If only we'd all apply that way of thinking in our jobs, in our relationships, in our schools and communities.... perhaps we'd be a little better at what we do, be more respectful of others' efforts and contributions, and worry a little less about the challenges in our lives.

Ok, so you may notice that I just finished talking about how there was a ton of movement, but the picture I just posted is as still as you can get. Well, even though most of the images were action shots, I got this one at a moment when the kids were standing and listening to Coach give direction and instruction. I like the perspective, and decided to further separate the ball-player from the background with some grayscaling. I'm not usually a huge fan of a lot of manipulation, but what can I say... I felt like it.

Hope you like the pic, see you next week!

dg

What's Up?

Week 3

What's Up?
January 23, 2010

This week's pic is from a shoot today with a buddy of mine's son. A Junior this year, Sam was willing to be a good sport and let me shoot him for pics I can use in the "Student" section of my website (coming soon...). The kid's a rock-star, and a ton a fun to shoot with (as you can see)!

One of my favorites from the session, in this photo Sam showed his considerable "ups" when I asked him to jump in the air. I didn't think he'd go out of frame... kinda looks like he's levitating! I didn't do much to this photo, a little contrast enhancement, and some local exposure adjustment did the trick.

Hope you like it, folks!

dg

Old School

Week 2

Old School
January 15, 2010

So as I was thinking about this week's installment to the 52Photos project, I debated using some cool portraits I took this week. I thought about going out for some landscape shots. I even thought of shooting some everyday objects and trying to get creative with them. No doubt you'll see all of these in the next 50 weeks, but when my eyes fell on this can of developer sitting on my desk, I was inspired. You see, I will never use this developer. I have no idea how old it is, but my bet is that it's my elder by at least a decade. I got it along with a bunch of other supplies with some darkroom equipment given to me by an old-timer looking to part with his darkroom set and wanting to give it to a student. (I was taking a photography class at the local community college at the time, so naturally, was happy to be the beneficiary of such a generous offer!)

So looking at this can now being used as a bookend, I began to think about how far photography has come since this dusty guy was born off of an assembly line in Rochester, NY. (At least that's where the can is stamped it's from. He's not much for conversation to tell me differently, so I'm going with Rochester). Yes, of course film processing has remained relatively unchanged since then, but I'm talking about the field as a whole. I mean, it's crazy how technology has forged ahead, allowing virtual darkrooms on laptops around the world to process images in minutes that would have taken hours just 20 years ago.... Photographers are a dime a dozen now, from the vacation-amateur to the full on professional, mainly because of how easy it is pick up a point and shoot, and with just a few fundamentals in your tool-belt, take some great pictures to show your friends what a great eye you have. Not that I'm complaining... that's essentially how I got started, so I say more power to anyone willing to try! In fact, why don't you grab that point-and-shoot in your desk drawer at home and go out this week for some photography fun:).

Have a great week, everyone, and happy shooting!

dg