Monday, January 30, 2012

Orange & Blue Revolution

I was asked to make some high impact portraits of student athletes to help cornerstone an upcoming Gettysburg College Orange & Blue club fundraising campaign, which will help fund the school's athletic teams & the very athletes I was to portray. The focus of the project was to communicate intense game-focus determination through intimate portraits, without an overbearing suggestion to a specific sport.

So I choose to approach it with a simple black background to highlight the subjects; and with the use of striking lighting, I attempted make a bold impression that would translate well into print publications for National distribution to their alumni.

It was an exciting opportunity to research & orchestrate a new creative production, travel with my mobile studio, & make images of athletes who I normally only catch on the field or court.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Off the Wall ...

01/14/12 - Erie, PA: I had a request from a good friend & colleague to make some maternity images of her, while in Erie covering some sports for her school. Now I usually stray from this type of work, but the stars were in allignment & we went for it. We did a lot of conventional shots & used some researched stock for ideas. This image began as a typical "pregnant woman peaking around the corner of a wall" shot. We did that, than I noticed that cool homemade wall art & the clean walls. So I did a 180° and put a umbrellad strobe behind her & camera left. I got the belly highlight I was going for, and I was pleasantly surprised with the light's reflection off the foreground wall. I've never made an image quite like this, & it may be one of my favorite personal portraits. And I really dig the wall art.

Friday, January 20, 2012

F&M Basketball

1/12/12 - Lancaster, PA: Here are some tops from an exciting weekday doubleheader last week where I ventured into the rafters for a POV that isn't recommended without life insurance. It's always a shot in the dark with a remote such as this, but luckily I got some good action and landed a few nearly identical frames from different angles.

Monday, January 16, 2012

My Martin Luther King Jr. Day

  I was in D.C. today and I'll be honest, it wasn't for any altruistic reason. I had a piece of gear that was broken & my favorite camera repair shop is in town … so with the combination of a government (thus traffic) holiday & free parking, it was a match made in heaven. With some midday time waiting for my repair, and I decided to jog the mall. It was a beautiful crisp day, and I was heartened to see many other people and their families enjoying it. I went out simply for some exercise & to wander through many monuments that I haven't seen for a while or even at all. Soon I found myself at the foot of The Lincoln Memorial. I didn't preconceive this adventure in this way. To be walking grounds where thousands of citizens have stood to rally for their rights. Who listened to Martin Luther King Jr's famous words echo through the District's Mall valley.
  I felt so fortunate to be in here, on our Nation's annual holiday to honor his work for the Civil Rights of minorities & the poor. It was a refreshing day well spent. I even got to meet some new people … pictured in the first image: Lynda Jone-Burns of Washington D.C., walks through the World War II Memorial with her family, & with an original copy of The Washington Post from Friday April 5, 1968.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Child escapes Swimmer

1/14/12 - Erie, PA: MaryEllen Spooner, competing in the breast stroke Saturday afternoon for her Behrend College Lions, attempted to swoon a child to the water in turn 3 of her 100 meter breast stroke. Luckily, the young child's Father stood close at hand & it was his reactions that saved the baby from the grasps of the undergrad & what would certainly have been a soggy demise.