New Camera Goodness!

Well thanks to Jeff Snyder at Adorama Camera and NPS, I am the proud owner of a shiney, new, Nikon D700. And i didn't have to wait forever to get it, either. (Only problem with the whole affair was UPS, whom will deliver between the hours of 8 AM and 7 PM)

So above is my beloved lab Teddy, full frame shot at 6400 ISO on an Nikon 18-35/3.5-4.5 lens at 1/40th @ 3.5 on the monochrome setting using the red filter. (Gold star if you understood that.)

Tomorrow - Football practice. Next week - High ISO testing!

SEC Media Days Pt 2

Georgia head coach Mark Richt, center, is surrounded by cameras as he is lead to an interview by SEC staffer Marianne Clancy during the second day of the Southeastern Conference Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., on Thursday, July 24, 2008.

Like i said before, trying to get anything even remotely interesting at Media Days is a challenge. Trying to do so while you're supposed to be shooting video in another room is equally interesting. Basically you can focus on one thing or another.... or you can do what i ended up doing. Hitting record on the video camera and quietly slipping out of that room and going into another room. Of course this makes things a pain come editing time as well as you don't get to ask nifty questions.

Basically, i gave it my best under the circumstances.



Georgia head coach Mark Richt answers questions during the second day of the Southeastern Conference Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., on Thursday, July 24, 2008.



LSU's national championship ring is worn on head coach Les Miles' hand as he answers questions during the first day of the Southeastern Conference Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.



Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is swarmed by cameras as he walks to an interview room during the first day of the Southeastern Conference Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.



Florida head coach Urban Meyer holds up his fists as he illustrates a point during the first day of the Southeastern Conference Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, July 23, 2008.

SEC Media Days Pt 1: The Skater and the Gator

So I did three days at the SEC Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama. (If you ever go, i heartily recommend the cheeseburger but beware, decent beer costs $6 a bottle.) Getting interesting photos can be a challenge. Basically I'm looking for something beyond a talking head at a microphone, but since I'm shooting video for most of this, its something I'm going to be stuck with.

So i joined the hundreds of Florida fans to await the arrival of Heisman Award winner Tim Tebow. So who comes out of the elevator? Skateboarding guru Tony Hawk. (Full disclosure - I have owned a Tony Hawk video game.) I suppose Tony Hawk is to skateboarding what Tim Tebow is to Gator nation - something around godlike status.



Anyways, Tony Hawk stopped to sign an autograph or two while Tim Tebow ran past the crowds. I thought that was an interesting comparison.

Quick Catch-Up

Ken Young, chairman of the Barrow County Republican Party talks before candidates in the August 5th runoff election speak at a meeting of the Barrow County Republican Party at the Winder Womens' Club in Winderon Monday, July 21, 2008.

Wow. I havent updated this in like forever. Life has been hectic (saw Batman 3 times) and had to go to SEC Media Days. I like the one above because of the juxtaposition of the guys eye's and "Less Government." Makes me chuckle.

Here's some fast photos.



Sarah Reed, center, joins fellow UGA garduate Brooke Hilliard, right, and student Mallory Hansen, left, in an inflatable swimming pool as they wait in line for the opening of Chick-fil-a on Barnett Shoals Road in Athens on Wednesday, July 16, 2008. The first 100 people in line win a years worth of food from Chick-fil-a.

(Shouldn't everyone have an inflatable pool everywhere they go?)






Megan Tyrrell shows off her tattoo of "Batman" villians at Pain and Wonder in Athens on Tuesday, June 15, 2008. Tyrrell said it took three years to have the tattoo completed.

(Yeah, I've seen "Batman" 3 times. Well worth it.)

More Pre-Election Fun

Andrew Malcom, father of state senate canidate Tommy Malcom, waves to passersby as he sits atop a fire truck alongside S.R. 316 on Monday, July 14, 2008 to garner support for his son's campaign.

Where i come from, primary elections aren't that big a deal. Then again where i come from, one's party affiliation doesn't determine the November election.

Not such is the case of the area around here. Today is a "big-deal" to some folks.

Yesterday i had to go out and find people campaigning.... which is like a scavenger hunt only without the super-cool list. Made one nice photo and one very basic photo. Story was told, paper came out and volia.....



Jordan Daniel holds up a sign supporting her father's campaign for Oconee County Commissioner and waves to passersby alongside Malcolm Bridge Road in Watkinsville on Monday, July 14, 2008.

Quick Update....

I've shot a lot of stuff for advance lately so naturally i cant post it. But here's a tree.


... also....

Along this topic.

(Kids, Pay attention here and strap in.)

On Monday, a national magazine was in town to do some photo work. We knew about it, one of the assistants had called around looking for a white seemless background to borrow. (The paper didn't have one.) So 3 days later - yesterday - Mr. Assistant proceeds to do a blog-post about his experiences assisting as well as posting pictures of the shoot and also outing it as a cover shot.

This is the biggest no-no you can do as an assistant. As an assistant, you are there to work. Not brag about what you've done on the internet, but you are there to assist the photographer and perhaps put it on your resume, and maybe do a blog-post, assuming you check with him first. What you don't ever do is to let the cat out of the bag about WHAT'S GOING TO BE ON THE COVER in advance. That's almost a big guarantee of never assisting again. I know that I'd never use him again if he was my assistant.

I'm not going to humiliate him any further by outing him (beyond our photo dept. and a few close friends who also contract with said national publication) or say what publication it was. The guy in question took the posting down after a few hours, but not after someone had linked to it, which is how i found it in the first place.

So quick lesson here. When you are on assignments with other people as assisting them, those assignments are the photographers business and not yours. You don't need to ever talk about what you've done with them until after it is published.

I have a plan.

I have a plan. Its not the most formal of business plans, and I'm not going independent anytime soon.

But i have a plan. I intend to keep medical benefits. I intend to make ends meet. And i intend to take better pictures.

It begins and ends with that. Taking better pictures.

I need a New Website....

Ever have one of those days where you just realize that your marketing of yourself isn't even AA-Ball worthy?

I need a new website. I have some thoughts on beginning to make money and the first step (beyond upgrading my equipment to circa 2005-ish) is to get my name back out there in website form. Yea, i take good pictures, but theyre not presented well right now. I look worse then a college kid who doesn't know what D-76 is. I like what Neon Sky has done for people.

I went through hundreds of photos earlier and have a good beginnings of a website. Its been a good year. Kinda started back in August but really got going at the beginning of this year. I think i'm on a good run and i need to show stuff off if i ever want to break the $25,000/yr barrier.

I have to be able to market myself to new papers, potential clients and basically not look like a chump.

You have to spend money to make money and i can either sit around, waiting for the phone to never ring or i can put my foot forward and just go for it. Its not a case of going off and freelancing; rather the opposite. Its building a supplemental foundation that should be able to pay for itself (and hopefully pay off a credit card in the process).

So, new website and upgrading equipment is now at the top of the list of things to do.

Attack of the Debaters

Okay, I'm delving into political territory here. Had to photograph a debate the other night. I saw one crazy lady, two toy trains, one awful combover and tried my darndest to get get some decent photos out of the deal.




Pretty much, i tried to do whatever i could to frame or make otherwise good composition beyond the standard "guy and microphone" shot. I liked the one above where you could look in from the bar with the TV screen above. Naturally they didn't run it.





I'm not going to name this politician because he is still running and i don't want this to be influencing the outcome, but suffice to say that combover just doesn't work whatsoever. Its just ridiculously bad. I'm not trying to make fun of him but its just awful. So kids, when you run for political office - Don't do that with your hair. Actually, when you leave the house in the morning, don't do that with your hair.

Photocandy: Nikon D700

Generally i don't blog much about technically innovations. The sunny f/16s rule applies to all cameras just as much as the f/8 and be there rule does. Light doesn't discriminate any more than you being in the right spot discriminates.

That being said, Nikon announced today that it is introducing a pro-grade, mid-ranged full-frame-sensor, baby-D3 called a D700. Its $2000 less then the D3 and i am going to buy it when i can get my hands on one. While the D3 is the camera i've wanted of late, the D700 is the one i've been waiting for. Full frame sensor, great auto focus, low signal-to-noise at high iso, all for $3000.

I've gotten jealous of watching college kids walk around with a 24-70 and a Canon 5d and creating some amazing pictures that you just can't reproduce without a full-framed sensor and that focal range. I've got the lens (24-85/2.8-4), all ive been waiting for is the camera.

So much tech goodness that i want. Shame the paycheck says I'd be better off doing something else....

CWS Wrapup: No Joy in Mudville

Pitchers Dean Weaver, center, Nathan Moreau, left and Jason Leaver, right, look on in the top of the eigth inning as Fresno State beats Georgia 6-1 to win the College World Series national championship at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.


If you fall in love with baseball, the game will break your heart every time.
Its the nature of the game. To be good or great, you succeed 3 or 4 times at bat out of 10. The other 6 or 7 times you strike out, ground out or fly out. Sometimes the ball takes a funny hop and you get a hit, other times you line it sharply at the third baseman. There's always a winner, there's always a loser. Rarely will the team you cover be the one who wins it all.

(And other times a center fielder will lose a bat have it fly right at you, forcing you to duck and hide behind $13,000 dollars of camera equipment and pray to god it doesn't hit you, because you're 900 miles from home and that's gonna hurt.)



Fresno State's Steve Susdorf jumps onto the dogpile as Fresno State beats Georgia 6-1 to win the College World Series national championship at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.

Georgia did an admirable job this season. It was a dream come true to follow a team all season all the way to the College World Series. And i thank them for such a fun ride - i just wish it had a better ending for them.



Georgia first baseman Rich Poythress sits dejected in the dugout as Fresno State beats Georgia 6-1 to win the College World Series national championship at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.

Why does this game break your heart? Because you'll be down to your last at bat, be down by 5 runs. Get the first two runners on and there's this glimmer of hope that one last rally is going to happen, that its not over yet. (That the ESPN camera guys wont storm the field quite yet and get in everyone's shots.) The batter keeps fouling off pitches and then a sharp grounder ends up 4-6-3 for a double-play and then everyone knows the season is over. There's one out left and there's no way you can score 5 to tie.



Fresno State right fielder Steve Detwiler celebrates his home run in the top of the sixth inning as Fresno State beats Georgia 6-1 to win the College World Series national championship at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.

Being a Phillies fan for all my life, this game will always break your heart in the cruelest way possible. Doesn't make it any easier to watch.



Georgia players Stephen Dodson, Bryce Massanari, Nick Monthgomery, Trevor Holder, WIll Harvil and Lyle Allen watch as David Thoms (not pictured) hits into a double-play in the bottom of the ninth inning as Fresno State beats Georgia 6-1 to win the College World Series national championship at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.