Sunday, August 31, 2008
Update
The past couple of days have left me feeling exhausted, frustrated and just generally unhappy so I will spare the ramblings and instead share a few photos from the Boise State-Idaho State football game from last night. Enjoy.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Labor Day? More Like Labor Week
This past week has been one for the books. Monday, which is typically the care-free end of the week was absolutely crazy. The day started off as any other Monday; slow with a few random assignments, but it would end unlike any day to date. Around 5 p.m. Monday evening a storm started to roll in over the typically bright blue skies. You could actually see a plume of dust rolling in from the west, which made me a little nervous.
My nerves proved to be valid as the cloud of dust brought with it wind gusts around 60 mph. Around 7 p.m. a fire started in a field of sagebrush bordering a southwest Boise subdivision and by 7:15 p.m. the blaze had rushed up the hill catching seven high end homes on fire. The blaze would continue to rage for the next 45 minutes and once the fire had been contained 10 houses had been totally destroyed and another 9 had been seriously damaged.
I was instructed to rush to the scene well after the fire had been started, around 8:15 p.m. By the time I had arrived on the scene Boise Police had completely shut down the area, preventing me from getting anywhere near the fire. After running through random neighborhoods for roughly 20 minutes I decided I would head to the local church where some of the displaced homeowners had gathered.
I almost always hate having to follow through with my job in these situations because there is so much emotion. This time, like many others, I hid myself behind my camera and pretended like I wasn't there so that I could document the scene. This was the only photo I could bring myself to take.
The next day I was able to pick up a freelance assignment with the Associated Press, which turned out to be exactly what I needed. I drove down to Silver City, which is a true Idaho ghost town. I was instructed to meet a rural rancher who had received a satellite phone from the BLM in order to help alert land managers of wildfires near Silver City. It was an absolutely gorgeous day in some absolutely beautiful country.
Now, football season has begun to consume my life. Last night I shot a local prep football game, which was the first of many games to come I am sure. Tonight the Boise State Broncos are playing Idaho State in Boise so I will spend all night at Bronco Stadium. Here is a shot a friend of mine shot of a local photographer and I working the sideline at the prep game last night.
And yes, I am working all of Labor Day weekend. Ironic?
My nerves proved to be valid as the cloud of dust brought with it wind gusts around 60 mph. Around 7 p.m. a fire started in a field of sagebrush bordering a southwest Boise subdivision and by 7:15 p.m. the blaze had rushed up the hill catching seven high end homes on fire. The blaze would continue to rage for the next 45 minutes and once the fire had been contained 10 houses had been totally destroyed and another 9 had been seriously damaged.
I was instructed to rush to the scene well after the fire had been started, around 8:15 p.m. By the time I had arrived on the scene Boise Police had completely shut down the area, preventing me from getting anywhere near the fire. After running through random neighborhoods for roughly 20 minutes I decided I would head to the local church where some of the displaced homeowners had gathered.
I almost always hate having to follow through with my job in these situations because there is so much emotion. This time, like many others, I hid myself behind my camera and pretended like I wasn't there so that I could document the scene. This was the only photo I could bring myself to take.
The next day I was able to pick up a freelance assignment with the Associated Press, which turned out to be exactly what I needed. I drove down to Silver City, which is a true Idaho ghost town. I was instructed to meet a rural rancher who had received a satellite phone from the BLM in order to help alert land managers of wildfires near Silver City. It was an absolutely gorgeous day in some absolutely beautiful country.
Now, football season has begun to consume my life. Last night I shot a local prep football game, which was the first of many games to come I am sure. Tonight the Boise State Broncos are playing Idaho State in Boise so I will spend all night at Bronco Stadium. Here is a shot a friend of mine shot of a local photographer and I working the sideline at the prep game last night.
And yes, I am working all of Labor Day weekend. Ironic?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Take One... Take Two.. Take Three...
On Saturday evening I headed over to Nampa High School to shoot the cover for our upcoming High School Football preview tab. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I always get a kick out of doing athlete portraits and this particular session was no different.
I typically like to show up about an hour early so that I can have everything dialed in by the time the talent arrives. Last night I arrived at the stadium around 6:45pm, giving me plenty of time to figure out what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. From my experience, I have found that it is always best to give yourself the benefit of additional time in the event that some unforeseen issue arises - which it almost always does.
For this particular shoot I had to arrange three guys into the frame, which for some reason is almost always difficult. In order to light them all evenly I brought three monolights with one umbrella and one medium softbox. What I would come to realize was that none of the lights were able to sync up, forcing me to use only one portable light and of course the ambient evening sun.
After the lighting debacle I had to decide where I wanted these guys to stand, and without the help of a stand-in I decided to set the self timer and jump in the picture. Turned out it didn't really help me much but I figure anytime you can take a self portrait, you should.
Ultimately, I abandoned the complex plans I had conjured up for a much more simplified system, but as they say, simplicity is... Well I don't know what they say, but simplicity worked for me this time.
I typically like to show up about an hour early so that I can have everything dialed in by the time the talent arrives. Last night I arrived at the stadium around 6:45pm, giving me plenty of time to figure out what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. From my experience, I have found that it is always best to give yourself the benefit of additional time in the event that some unforeseen issue arises - which it almost always does.
For this particular shoot I had to arrange three guys into the frame, which for some reason is almost always difficult. In order to light them all evenly I brought three monolights with one umbrella and one medium softbox. What I would come to realize was that none of the lights were able to sync up, forcing me to use only one portable light and of course the ambient evening sun.
After the lighting debacle I had to decide where I wanted these guys to stand, and without the help of a stand-in I decided to set the self timer and jump in the picture. Turned out it didn't really help me much but I figure anytime you can take a self portrait, you should.
Ultimately, I abandoned the complex plans I had conjured up for a much more simplified system, but as they say, simplicity is... Well I don't know what they say, but simplicity worked for me this time.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Another Busy Weekend
The rodeo season is officially over. Phew!
Saturday night was packed with action and as I expected, tons of stress. I did plenty of running around and ultimately ended up getting the shots I needed but it wasn't easy.
Sunday I spent three hours out at the Western Idaho Fair, which is essentially the Idaho State Fair. I was instructed to work on two packages, one for our community section and one for our news section. The community desk asked for a photo page and slideshow and the news desk wanted to do a feature on the unusual foods found at the fair. It's almost always fun going to the fair, especially when you get in free and are getting paid basically to people watch. Not too shabby.
Check out the slideshow here.
Saturday night was packed with action and as I expected, tons of stress. I did plenty of running around and ultimately ended up getting the shots I needed but it wasn't easy.
Sunday I spent three hours out at the Western Idaho Fair, which is essentially the Idaho State Fair. I was instructed to work on two packages, one for our community section and one for our news section. The community desk asked for a photo page and slideshow and the news desk wanted to do a feature on the unusual foods found at the fair. It's almost always fun going to the fair, especially when you get in free and are getting paid basically to people watch. Not too shabby.
Check out the slideshow here.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Under Pressure
This is it. The end of summer is near, however, I still have to survive one extremely taxing week before I can be rewarded with some much needed down time.
This week the Caldwell Night Rodeo rolled into town with the finals being held Saturday evening. I am more stressed out than usual because this particular rodeo takes place at night, forcing me to work much more quickly due to deadlines. It's a really stressful ordeal simply because everyone wants to see a photo of the champ spread across the front page but there is really no way to ensure that you are going to get that shot. As with most of assignments, the name of the game is calculating your odds and determining what position will give you the best chance to get the shot. Ultimately, the rider you need the most is the one you didn't get, making you want to pull out your hair - but that's life.
On Thursday evening I did get the one I was looking for. Check it out...
This week the Caldwell Night Rodeo rolled into town with the finals being held Saturday evening. I am more stressed out than usual because this particular rodeo takes place at night, forcing me to work much more quickly due to deadlines. It's a really stressful ordeal simply because everyone wants to see a photo of the champ spread across the front page but there is really no way to ensure that you are going to get that shot. As with most of assignments, the name of the game is calculating your odds and determining what position will give you the best chance to get the shot. Ultimately, the rider you need the most is the one you didn't get, making you want to pull out your hair - but that's life.
On Thursday evening I did get the one I was looking for. Check it out...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Horsin' Around
Horses are hugely popular throughout much of the Western U.S. and on Saturday I experienced two drastically different uses for them.
For my first assignment I went out to the Idaho Cup; an annual horse race that showcases horses from throughout the state. Horse racing is always a fun event to shoot because it has so many inherently visual elements. Jockeys in bright colored get-ups, juxtaposition of short jockeys and big horses, cowboy hats and of course the racing action itself.
The second event was distinctly different from the first and although in both the horses were racing around, the first assignment did not involve firearms - which I am convinced makes all assignments more interesting.
You see, the concept here involves guys and gals in late 19th early 20th century attire riding around on horse back and shooting balloons with pistols and rifles. I actually found myself sporting a pretty big grin as I watched these crazy folks maneuver around obstacles wielding large firearms. As a funny side note; the whole event was sponsored by the firearms manufacturer Colt and throughout the event the announcer made it a point to inform the audience that the gun which "won the west" was a Colt - The Peacemaker. Early American arrogance at it's best.
For my first assignment I went out to the Idaho Cup; an annual horse race that showcases horses from throughout the state. Horse racing is always a fun event to shoot because it has so many inherently visual elements. Jockeys in bright colored get-ups, juxtaposition of short jockeys and big horses, cowboy hats and of course the racing action itself.
The second event was distinctly different from the first and although in both the horses were racing around, the first assignment did not involve firearms - which I am convinced makes all assignments more interesting.
You see, the concept here involves guys and gals in late 19th early 20th century attire riding around on horse back and shooting balloons with pistols and rifles. I actually found myself sporting a pretty big grin as I watched these crazy folks maneuver around obstacles wielding large firearms. As a funny side note; the whole event was sponsored by the firearms manufacturer Colt and throughout the event the announcer made it a point to inform the audience that the gun which "won the west" was a Colt - The Peacemaker. Early American arrogance at it's best.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
My 08.08.08
802. That was the total number of frames I shot on Friday. Needless to say, I kept pretty busy.
My day started a couple hours earlier than normal Friday when a desk editor called to inform me that Brandi Swindell, a "Christian Rights Activist" from Boise made her return to the Gem State after being detained by Chinese officials early last week for protesting the Chinese government in Tiananmen Square - a big no no. 148 Frames.
Then it was on to the Vans Warped Tour for what I thought would be a couple quick photos for our entertainment publication. Two hours, three bottles of water and 559 frames later I was on my way back to the office smelling far more offensive.
After about an hour of editing I was ready to head home and call it a day. I left the office and got in my car when unexpectedly I received a call from a reporter informing me that there was a multiple vehicle, multiple injury accident in semi-rural Canyon County. As it turned out, one vehicle ran a stop sign and was struck head on by a vehicle, which was traveling in the opposite direction at about 60 miles/hour. Two were taken to the hospital and one was pronounced dead at the scene.
Just proof that in this line of work you can see the best day of someone's life and the worst for another all in a matter of hours. 95 more frames makes 802.
My day started a couple hours earlier than normal Friday when a desk editor called to inform me that Brandi Swindell, a "Christian Rights Activist" from Boise made her return to the Gem State after being detained by Chinese officials early last week for protesting the Chinese government in Tiananmen Square - a big no no. 148 Frames.
Then it was on to the Vans Warped Tour for what I thought would be a couple quick photos for our entertainment publication. Two hours, three bottles of water and 559 frames later I was on my way back to the office smelling far more offensive.
After about an hour of editing I was ready to head home and call it a day. I left the office and got in my car when unexpectedly I received a call from a reporter informing me that there was a multiple vehicle, multiple injury accident in semi-rural Canyon County. As it turned out, one vehicle ran a stop sign and was struck head on by a vehicle, which was traveling in the opposite direction at about 60 miles/hour. Two were taken to the hospital and one was pronounced dead at the scene.
Just proof that in this line of work you can see the best day of someone's life and the worst for another all in a matter of hours. 95 more frames makes 802.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Are you ready for some football?!?
With air temperatures continuing to hover around 95 it may not feel like it, but fall is just around the corner. How do I know this? Simple.
Monday was the first day of practice for the Boise State Bronco football team.
Although I don't like to admit it, football is a pretty big deal in Boise. Every game day you can count on encountering a gridlock of motorists and pedestrians making the pilgrimage to Bronco Stadium and unfortunately for me I'm often caught right in the middle of it.
I am now in for another six months of non stop Bronco Blue & Orange which I am sure will have its moments (most notably a Sept. 20 match up against the University of Oregon at Autzen, which I may get to shoot).
Monday was the first day of practice for the Boise State Bronco football team.
Although I don't like to admit it, football is a pretty big deal in Boise. Every game day you can count on encountering a gridlock of motorists and pedestrians making the pilgrimage to Bronco Stadium and unfortunately for me I'm often caught right in the middle of it.
I am now in for another six months of non stop Bronco Blue & Orange which I am sure will have its moments (most notably a Sept. 20 match up against the University of Oregon at Autzen, which I may get to shoot).
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Enjoy the Scenery
So unfortunately over the past couple of days I haven't had much work I've been eager to brag about so in this post I will share a tidbit from my weekend. On Tuesday evening I made the 130 mile trek from Boise up to Stanley, Idaho for a couple days of camping, reading and mountain biking in the Sawtooth Mountains. It was wonderful.
I was able to check out the scenery at the gorgeous Redfish Lake...
...and spend some quality time in the saddle...
The trail I rode cut through an area that was burned in a fire last season and consequently tons of beautiful wildflowers are now in bloom. All in all it was a fun and relaxing weekend. Oh, and I had a face to face run in with a badger. Fun stuff...
On Saturday I covered the Crime Prevention Fair in Nampa, which is held in association with the National Night Out program. I made a slideshow from the event and if you would like to check it out you could do so...
Here
I was able to check out the scenery at the gorgeous Redfish Lake...
...and spend some quality time in the saddle...
The trail I rode cut through an area that was burned in a fire last season and consequently tons of beautiful wildflowers are now in bloom. All in all it was a fun and relaxing weekend. Oh, and I had a face to face run in with a badger. Fun stuff...
On Saturday I covered the Crime Prevention Fair in Nampa, which is held in association with the National Night Out program. I made a slideshow from the event and if you would like to check it out you could do so...
Here
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