Playing Tourist in DC

Every once in awhile, we all want to play tourist. I grew up around DC and there are so many photos that i always wanted to take, but never did. Now that I am 600 miles away, i can't exactly just up and do it anymore.... but when given the chance, i will force march myself around until i drop.

Rye Bar Colors

Just a quick photo of a band called "Lassier Funk"that had these really cool lights that made it easy to silhouette the subject.

I also made it the second photo of my unofficial music photo column. I cant get the nice designer (whom i like working with) to get that i want my text to run alongside the photo too. I want to spew forth some of my thoughts on photographing music and the scene here in Athens.

There were just cool colors and i walked 3 blocks to grab my camera and voila....

100 Degree Traffic Light

Traffic engineer Rodney Rogers works on a traffic light on Monday, July 26, 2010 in Athens, Ga. Temperatures are expected to rise into the upper 90s on Tuesday as highs have reached 99 degrees or higher every day since Friday.

As i step away from the music photography for a few (there will be something bigger on the horizon with that), it's been 100 degrees of late and by miracle of god, i found a weather feature earlier today.

I came in, nothing was on the books so i walked around downtown looking for people doing anything so i could try to make a photo of it. The key was to make it look HOT plus most people wont be out in 100 degree heat, so you have to go out and find people when you can.

The biggest thing I learned about shooting random features was from Scott Strazzante talking at NPPA about one day pulling over his truck along the side of the road to shoot a cold-weather picture. Shoot the pictures when you see them, don't wait for it to be there when you come back.

(Tech Specs: D700 1/1000 @ f/22 ISO 100, 155mm. WB Shade)

SkatePark Fun

I have no problem posting this photo on my blog. This or on my wall is the only place you'll ever see it. You'll never see it against that orange sunset ever in a contest or in the paper ANYWHERE.

Why? The sky wasn't really that way. I was trying for it that way. But it didnt turn out that way, it reality wasnt like this and it wasn't close. I fixed it in post to make an ART photo that I've always wanted, skater silhouetted against the sun at sunset.

So to be clear, this is a manipulated art photo. I like it a lot. Its ART, not sports photojournalism.

Cyclist Silhouette

Caroline Ward rides her bicycle near the intramural fields at the University of Georgia on Wed. Feb. 3, 2010 in Athens, Ga.

I was out feature hunting and this opportunity near the intramural fields presented itself.

I would have preferred it to be cleaner - no lens flare - but i love the textures in the photo of the wood chips. Took about 30 seconds for a cyclist to come by and volia, simple weather feature. Loving the width of the 14mm.

Choo-Choo

A train went over the trestle that i was driving under.

Me and my silhouettes.

Tech info - 30 MPH out the sunroof, 14mm @3.5

BMX fun

Kyle Kelsey, 20, does a flip on a BMX bike at the Athens Clarke skateboard and BMX park in Southeast Clarke Park on Wednesday, September 2, 2009 in Athens, Ga.

The local skate/bmx park is going to undergo renovations next week for a day. Somewhere the photo gods smiled on me, had an editor actually ask me to go out there AND miraculously had it for the exact same time a local professional BMX cyclist would be out there.

I thank the photo gods and am humbled by them.

Sunrise Lighthouse

After driving all night to Florida, I arrived at Ponce de Leon Inlet lighthouse to find a really pretty sunrise behind a really pretty lighthouse. The topography of the area prevented me from being able to really get what i wanted which was a super-tight long shot with the sun just peaking over the horizon. Instead, i just went wide and tried to get the gradient in the sky.





There were two other photographers that showed up to try and do the exact same thing i was.

Later we went to see the beach and stumbled on some surfers.

All-in-all, found a nice little picture or 2 and it ended up being totally worth the exhausting drive.

Barn Fire

An Athens Clarke firefighter is silhouetted by the flames from a barn in the 700 block of Double Bridges Road that caught fire on Sunday, July 5, 2009 in Athens, Ga. No one was hurt while the barn, several vehicles and an adjacent apartment were completely destroyed.

The last thing after spending 11 straight hours inside a car driving from Maryland was to grab my camera and go to a fire. But after hearing 3 or 4 engine companies go screaming down U.S. 78, it was time to figure out what was going on.

Thankfully i saw a passing command car and just followed them all the way to the scene which was a metal barn out by the Oglethorpe County line which was fully involved when everyone got there.

Of small irony, my first ever spot news I shot at the ripe old age of 12 was a barn on fire while on a boy scout trip. (On Tri-X and developed it myself)

So on this fire, i finally got my cliche' silhouetted firefighter against flames. Been looking for that shot but ACCFD does such a good job, i rarely get the opportunity. I made my photos, called the news desk and went home and collapsed.