WTF: "Suddenly you become euphoric...Blank faces, calm as Hindu cows"

The other day I got my favorite basketball shot that I've ever taken. And I didn't even really notice it at first.

Sometimes with photos it takes time for them to really sink in. There is no hidden meaning or hunt for Waldo in the background. They just have something. I couldn't even put my finger on why I liked this one so much. I think it's a combination of multiple things working just right.

It's got cool light, the layers are really cool (players at different distances) and the color is nice. The color was the thing I didn't think of at first. It ran in black and white in the paper (BOO) so that was lost on most people.

Got a nice fight for the ball at a girls game.


Today there was a meeting of sorts at the local college because the state said they were not going to fund it...at all. So people are obviously a little pissed off, because Texas is supposed to be one of the few states that is in good shape.
The state rep for the area came and talked about it and then promised the state would fund it. He seemed like a pretty stand up guy, even said he has never made promises as a politician, but was very adamant about this.

The building the meeting was in, The Clarion, was amazing. I didn't take an overall of the structure, because I didn't think about it, but I will sometime and post it. Just a nice venue.


EXTRA stuff

I got a funny video with my phone as I was driving down the beach after an assignment the other day. As soon as I remember to bring the cable to hook my phone to the computer at work I'll share the video.

Driving on the beach is awesome. I assume you are supposed to go slow, but it's miles of open flat area. It's almost beyond my control when my foot slams down on the gas pedal. Way, way too much fun.


The morning bike rides are going quite well. My main problem lately has been mental. I'm dwelling on the amount of debt I have from school, a few (ultimately worthless) doctors and moving down here.

I'm plugging away at it, but it still worries me. But the last couple days, thanks to whatever endorphins are getting knocked loose in my brain I'm not worrying about it. I'm still planning to pay it all back, with loads of interest to be sure, but it isn't bothering me like it was.

Magic.

WTF: Late to bed, early to rise = tired photographer

So last week I had two early assignments on the beach. Poor me, huh? Well...kind of, because they were early. I don't do so well in the mornings, but I think I've figured it out. I've been trying to ride my bike more often, since there is the kind of weather down here where I can ride my bike in January. :D But usually that means riding after I get out of work, which is sometimes 10 or 11 pm.

Not the best time to ride, it's nice because it's cool. But you may get hassled by the man. Yep...I got pulled over on my bicycle. Kind of ridiculous. But whatever, the man ain't got shit on me!

Anyway...yesterday night as I was riding around I realized, if I force myself to wake up early and ride before I go to work, that may help me start the day on the right foot. I did today, and aside from being tired, it went very well. I might even ride a bit after work, we'll see.

So, last week:

There was a 5/10k run on the beach that started at 8am. Super crazy people running on sand, in the morning. It was a little chilly at first but then turned into a very nice day.


Sunrise over the gulf, nice. Very bright, but nice.

I shot the run, nothing too fantastic to share, sadly. The next event was a dune protection thing. They were tying tossed Christmas trees to fences along the dunes to help with sand retention.

Good recycling, I suppose.

The next event was a bit later in the day. MORE BOXING! Which I was excited about, but because of an early deadline I didn't get to shoot the whole event. I also got screwed, because I bought some rechargeable batteries that were expired or something, so about two minutes into the first fight my lights stopped working correctly. Super lame. Still got some good stuff though.


I like this one because I rarely get to use the phrase, "Upside your head!"


Overall it was fun. I like boxing a lot more now.

I've also been working to get photos of some of the area swimmers before district meets, which start soon.

I was trying to do some creative things with the portraits, like getting the kids to splash water, but most of it didn't work out, so I just have boring portraits of them standing there.

Except this one:

It worked out almost exactly like I had planned it. I had to stand around for almost an hour waiting for them to be done, but I'm pleased.

Also did action shots, those were all pretty standard. Not a lot you can do with swimming, unless you have underwater gear, which I do not. That would be fun as hell though.



I love stopping water in a photo. It always looks so cool.

Catching up on my Interwebs

It used to be the internet was something I had in abundance and, frankly, grew tired of, but still used like some kind of computer-network junkie.

But since I've moved to Texas I have yet to get the glorious internet hooked up at my house. I've still be washing myself in the pale glow of electronic entertainment, but it's been more old school. TV and video games. But only video games played by myself, like some homeless person...who has an Xbox 360.

No more Xbox Live to play games with friends over the internet, who were sometimes in the very next room. Yeah, I still used the stupid headset to talk to them too! Shut up!

I'm sure I'll have the internet again sometime, just not yet. One less bill.

But one fun thing that I'm currently engaged in, besides blogging, is catching up on some web comics I used to read.

Most of the ones I read are about video games/electronics, but there is a photography themed comic that is hilarious. But you kind of have to be a photographer (a.k.a. "smart") to understand it. ;)

I read Penny Arcade religiously, or more often, because it comes out THREE times a week. I make the effort to read that on my phone, because I have been reading it for so long that it is part of my routine and I feel agitated if I go without it for too long.

But now I'm catching up on some tasty VG Cats, because I haven't checked that site in forever. Sadly, I kind of forgot about it, but now it's a sheer joy because I can plow right through months worth of comics in some down time at work.

Another site I read is Ctrl Alt Delete. This one, I actually wait to read most of the time. Because the author does these long running story arcs about the main characters that I find dreadfully boring. The strips he does about particular games or whatever are usually really funny, but everything else is just like the peel that you have to get through to enjoy the sweet innards.

What the Duck is the photography comic. It's about ducks that are photographers. Awesome.

Actually I guess they are all kind of niche comics, you have to know the subject to get the joke.

Except for the Perry Bible Fellowship, that is just a standard comic, in terms of audience, but it is ridiculously funny. Like, pee a little funny sometimes.

WTF: "You're gonna eat lightnin'; you're gonna crap thunder."

BOXING!

I've been obsessed with boxing for the last year or so. Boxing movies, games and actual fights. Not fighting myself, I'm not in any kind of shape to try that, but as a spectator I'm crazy about it.

I kind of shot boxing for the Sun once, but it was lame. Yesterday I went to a boxing gym in Freeport and shot some kids training because a tournament is coming up this weekend, which I also get to shoot.

The kids were cool, the owner was cool. It was cool in there...temperature wise, aesthetically it was a little rough.


Of course some kids were hamming it up a little. Like this guy.

Then I got a shot of him a fraction of a second before he ate a big hit.

And another.




I like this one a lot, but it bugs me you can't see any faces. Otherwise it would have been super sweet.

Can't wait to shoot the actual fights on Saturday. :D

WTF: Let there be Light!

As I explained to students in my photo classes, without light there is no photography. Any light is better than no light, but good light makes all the difference in how a photo looks.

Since I got here I have wanted to play around with the paper's pocket wizards (fancy equipment that lets you set off a flash by radio waves), but we were missing the cables. The order went through and they got here not too long ago.

Awesome. I've only really played with off camera flash a couple times, not counting a bunch of basketball games I shot for the Clare Sentinel. That was a mix of fun and frustration, because those strobes would go off whenever anyone in the gym took a picture. There were a few times someone would be taking pictures every five seconds, so it was messing up my shots and really pissing me off.

But now I have fancy toys all to myself, Holly doesn't use them. :D So I've been lighting almost everything. Mostly I shoot sports, because I'm on the night shift, and now is the time of basketball.

Yesterday I shot wrestling practice and basketball, today I shot a wrestling meet.

There are a few gyms around here you don't need to light, they are nice and bright. But there are some that are ridiculously dark.


In the bright gyms it's fun to use the light to provide a nice pop to the players. It just kind of accents the image, giving it a little pazazz.

Wrestling is a sport I've never used off camera flash to shoot, but now that I have I'm never going back. It's SO much better. For the majority of the time their faces are buried on the ground, so they are dark. But I set up my light on the mat to the side and kind of low, so it gave a nice dramatic effect. :D Plus it gets rid of all the gross coloring from the lights in the gym reflected off the mats. Fantastic.




The biggest thing I love about having the light to play with is it makes me think. Sometimes shooting becomes instinctual, especially if you have other crap on your mind, you just kind of go through the motions and hold the button down.

There is nothing wrong with snapping off a ton of pictures to get one good one, I do it frequently, but sometimes I get a tunnel vision and don't try anything else.

Yesterday when I shot wrestling practice I was using the light as a main light, because it was pretty dark in there, except for a garage door that was open. So I started playing around and used the light coming through the door as my main and the flash for some fancy backlighting.

Rim light, mofo!

At least in the sports shooting I feel like I'm operating at my normal level.

Got a note from the head honcho at the paper today when I came into work. Felt good.


I've never been comfortable shooting sports. Which kind of made me good at shooting it, because I kind of panicked and really wanted to do good. Now that I've won awards and all that I feel like a super bad ass and am not worried any more.

But using lights you have to choose your shot. You might be able to squeeze a couple shots in a row from the flash, but most of the time it's a one shot deal. Which makes it a lot harder.

So, now I'm nervous again. :D

WTF: Listen to me. We're the best, okay? The very best. "Yeah?" Well, maybe not the best, but we're pretty good

Okay. Back at this. It's a new year. Should the resolution be to blog more? Meh, perhaps.

I've been working, but I don't feel like I've been hitting my full potential. There have been some distractions, but even without them I am still missing something.

Actually, it was kind of an off year. I can't think of a shot that I am completely pleased with. It's frustrating. Both of the photo stories I put out in 2010 were good, and had some good still images. But those are about it for anything I like.

I kind of feel like I'm lost in the tall grass, I'm in the weeds looking for a way out.

This feeling was amplified in Mt. Pleasant, because I was familiar with the town, but here things are new and I'm a bit excited. Hopefully I hit my stride soon.

****

But here are a few recent images I mildly enjoy.




These are from an event. Las Posadas. Which means...something. Basically they re-enact the journey of Mary and Joseph looking for somewhere to stay. It is my opinion that it should be required by law to carry a candle when walking at night. It looks bad ass.

I've done a few assignments recently that involve the Brazoria County Cavalry. They are a group of motorcycle riders that support soldiers, police and firefighters and their families. It's pretty cool and everyone I've met in the group is nice.

They made boy whose father was killed in Afghanistan an honorary member. Gave him one of the groups vests and a new bicycle. :D




I've also been shooting a lot of road construction. They can do that all year down here, because its warm. :D But they also seem to do a good job, so they don't have to repair shit every year, they make new and better stuff.

But trying to make creative and interesting construction shots can be tough.

Got a sort of neat one. Better than average I guess.


I also shoot a lot of sports, because I'm on nights. But I've been playing with lights shooting basketball. Good fun.

This was the very first shot at one of the last games I shot. It felt good, I thought "I should just go home" haha.