Mid-Maryland Photo Blog

Shooting Maryland Basketball

2012-01-17T10:01:00.003-05:00

Anyone that knows me well realizes that basketball is not one of my favorite sports to shoot but I am starting to shoot more basketball regularly. It has come my way more out of necessity, since the outdoor sports here are non-existent.

I have been learning more with every game, trying more wide open lenses, remotes on the floor at my feet and 400s from both in the stands and last night from the floor. As anyone that has ever held a camera, pro or not, you know how hard it is to shoot inside arenas so you are very limited with shutter speed and have to use high ISO. Unfortunately only the team photographers can use the in-house strobes so you to do with what ya got.

Anyway, have a game later this week and hope to improve with each shoot and maybe get the chance to use more remotes. This shot above was taken with my D3 and 24-70 at my feet, propped up with a pair of AA batteries (thanks Shawn Cullen from SI) and triggered with a Pocket Wizard and remote trigger on my 70-200 (thanks TJ). It is a tricky balance between finding the right spot to focus, keeping the camera in the same position and not having the majority of the photos with a referees arse in the photo.

The 400 proved to be really tricky from the end of the court. You have a really small window to get the shot at the other end of the court but what I found was that it was great for getting the emotion of the players on the bench and the coaches. At the Maryland women's games the stands are kind of open (crazy since they are 5th in the country) but I setup directly across from the coach and just shot her screaming and flailing arms around, all while wearing 4 inch heels. The last game I shot from high in the arena but I need to work on that and get better angles. The great part of the remotes situation, all the time I am walking around with the 400 I am still triggering the remote on the courtside position.

The game last night yields the most, quality images that I have been able to get in Comcast. Will keep head up and try to get better each shoot. The whole gallery from this shoot can be seen here.

Shooting Professional Golf

2011-10-05T10:35:00.000-04:00

Out of all of the sports that I have shot, golf is undoubtedly the most exhausting. Pro golfers walk at least 90 holes of golf in a week, 72 for the tourney and then at least 18 during practice rounds. Now we all know that the golfer has all of the talent and they may carry a bottle of water or an occasional club but the caddy has to schlep the huge tour bag miles and miles on the courses every week.

For a professional photographer, it is a very similar experience. Place a 400mm over your shoulder, another body with a 70-200 on it and then a third with a wide angle and do the same walking. Add to that a Think Tank waist bag with water, protein bars and you may as well be a caddy. Be prepared for a long week/weekend and sore feet and body on Monday.

Pre-Planning

Steve Stricker during the 2011 US Open

I can't stress enough how important pre-planning is for any shoot you do, especially when at a new venue. I have shot at Congressional Country Club three times now so the course layout is not new to me but if this were I would walk the course ahead of Thursday's opening round to look for opportunities for long shots, high shots, wide shots, and tight shots. Start looking for clean backgrounds. This is a recurring theme in all my posts but something I really focus on while shooting. Each hole offers it's own unique shots, some better than others. Find holes where you can get an uncluttered background in your tee shot. Advertising is everywhere and a big Viagra ad in the backswing is not usually a big seller.

Positions

Along with pre-planning comes positions. The choices over 18 holes are really endless. I always make sure I get at least one tee shot of as many of the golfers as I can, especially during the early rounds. The Tigers, the Phils, the Rorys, they all get coverage but some of the lesser known names in golf, they need lovin' too!

The standard shot in golf is the tee shot of any hole on the course with clean backgrounds (again). Frame a nice shot of the golfer and the golf club (all of it) and you are good to go. It is important to know the game of golf and how to anticipate the swing and follow through of the golfer. I align the golfer's head in the lower portion of my viewfinder and lock in the focus point there. That way once they finish their swing I will have their head and all of the club in the shot.

Phil Mickelson out of the sand at the 2011 US Open

It is very important to try to watch the golfer's reaction to the tee shot but more importantly, where the ball ends up. A shot in the fairway is kind of boring but a shot out of a bunker or deep in the rough, you need to get those. If I see where the tee shot went I can plan my next photo ahead of time. You need to get moving and stay ahead of the golfer because if they are playing without having to wait for the golfers in front of them, they will get to their ball, size it up and hit. They aren't waiting for you! I think the second (approach) shot to the green is very important to follow because if their ball ends up in a bunker it is time to really get moving. You have to get to the green with your gear, find the ball in the bunker and then get in position all the way on the opposite side of the green, all before the golfer and caddy reach it. Bunker shots are very popular shots and they get run all the time so it is important to get them when the opportunity arises. Get as low (or high) as you can so that you can just see the top of the golfer's head and then just sit. You really need to know the game, the golfer and anticipate. In the bunker, they cannot take a full practice swing so when they swing, it is the real deal. You have to be quick if you want to get the ball, the sand and their reaction as they climb out of the bunker.

Wide angles too! Look for good opportunities to use a 24-70 or your 70-200 with a shot of the green from the tee box. I sometimes like to find a shot from hundreds of yards away, shooting over the gallery and just getting the top of the player and their swing. Another idea, try to get in position on the tee box before the golfer arrives to hit their ball, get down low and do not move at all. You have to be invisible to them or they will make you move.

Don't Fire Early

Tiger's old caddy, Steve Williams, had a reputation of throwing cameras into the nearest lake and within the rules of golf, he was kind of justified. The rule is simple, do not fire off your shutter in the golfer's backswing. Simple huh? Well let me walk you through how I handle this. A golfer almost always does the exact same pre-shot routine. Get to know it. When he/she gets up on the tee, they are ours for the taking but as soon as they stand over the ball, it is quite time. I lock my focus on their eyes and hold until the club is through the swing and up over their head, then shoot. Anything else is trouble and you do not want the golfer blaming you for missing out on a $1.5 million purse, late on Sunday evening. If you are 150 yards away and you want the full swing, go for it, as long as you are sure they can't hear.

Make Friends

During this years US Open I shot almost every day, including practice rounds. Being there that much allowed me to start getting to know some of the officials, which came in handy later. One of the biggest hurdles for a professional photographer at a PGA event is not all of the people, the heat, the officials or sore feet, it is those volunteer, retired men and ladies called Marshals. They are those nice folks with very bright shirts that stand on the tee box and at the most in-opportun times, they raise a very bright green or orange stick above the head of the golfer, right into the frame of your photo. We have very few choices about where to shoot at a tee box, usually down on your knees, about 20 yards in front of the golfer. When the Marshal raises their arm to motion to the gallery to stop moving, there is nothing you can do at this point. Back to the friends thing. I had gotten to know Jim (official) and started to make small talk during the rounds early in the week. As it got busier and more crowded I used him to my advantage. On some holes when I was told where I could shoot from, I would ask him to politely ask the Marshal to stand to one side of the tee box, out of mine and other's frames. That worked well and he obliged.

Conclusion

In my opinion, you really have to enjoy and understand golf to have any fun shooting it. Get to know the sport, know the athletes, know the rookies, know the veterans. Most of all, drink lots and water and bring really confey shoes as it will be a long week.

Have Fun

Product Review - Garmin StreetPilot onDemand

2011-10-04T09:57:00.002-04:00

I have never been one that has taken the time to do product reviews but this is one that I find myself following the "don't leave home without it" mantra. The reason you never leave without it is that it is on your iPhone and who leaves with that?

I have used both in car and portable navigation systems for several years and had good and bad experiences with all of them. The two in car systems that my wife and I have in our Mercedes Benz's are the WORST ever. She has a 2010 and mine a 2006. I am not going to get into a diatribe on this but they are useless, clunky and I only use if in an emergency and did not have my Garmin or StreetPilot. I have had three Garmin systems in the past and loved them all. Actually the first one I purchased was stolen out of my car a week before Christmas but returned later that day.

So why do I like this one? For one, you don't have to load your iPhone with 1.5 gigs of map data. I already have issues with my iPhone being full so don't need all of this extra data. I have no idea how it works and don't care, it just works. Two, it can find anything because it is linked in with Google Local search. If the business is in Google, it is on your phone. With other/older systems it relies on DVDs and updates, which are hard to keep up with and an overall pain. Three, it is truly portable. On a recent trip to California, I loaded up all of the locations that I knew I would be visiting and had them ready to go. I brought along a lighter/holder/charger thing and used it to hold my iPhone. This way I did not have to pay the rental company for their GPS system. Four, real time traffic with no extra fees.

Here are some of the features listed in the iTunes Store

Navigate in the car with voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions including street names 
Access real-time traffic updates and see the estimated traffic delay along your route 
View speed limits for most major roads 
Know the correct lane before it’s too late with lane guidance and photo
Real junction views 
Navigate while walking with routes that integrate public transportation into your itinerary 
See 3D buildings and landmarks for added awareness while navigating

Overall, I give this app a 4/5 and only a 4 because of the $29 annual fee. That being said, one rental car GPS rental for a few days would cover that fee so if you think that way, not too pricey. The only other thing that I noticed is that sometimes it would go crazy and get confused but within 30 seconds or so would get back on target. Also, to mount it in your car I purchased the TomTom (competitor) Car Kit and it works great while it charges.

You can purchase or read more about it on the iTunes store.

Your Digital Footprint

2011-09-30T13:33:00.002-04:00

Last week while attending Sports Shooter Academy in Irvine, CA, I rented a car and occasionally I would caddy other students to and from the events that we shot. During one of those drives I ended up with three college students in my Jeep and the conversation migrated to talking about online marketing, something that I have done for 12 years now.

From 1999 to 2009 I was lucky to be the Internet Strategist/Director for a $5.5 billion company in Baltimore. To put that in perspective, when I started there, these kids in my car were around 10 years old? Needless to say, I had over a decade of watching the Internet evolve and watched the rise in use of search engines and then social marketing. Even today, I still strive to keep up with these ever changing online marketing landscapes as well as who is where in social.

Today, I remembered the conversation in the car where I said to the students "make sure your digital footprint is everywhere". A few of them were silent and it made me kind of think about what I meant and that is why I am writing this blog post.

Digital Footprint?

OK, I will admit, I just made that up. What it means in a nutshell, get your photos, your products, whatever, out there and everywhere. It means start and maintain a blog. Start and maintain a photo/blog or gallery. It means start a Facebook page for your photos and brand. It means start a Google + page. It means start Tweeting. It means create relevant content for search engines. See where I am going now? There is no limit to your options other than time and priorities.

Search and Be Found

I will date myself a bit but back in 2001 I attended one of the first ever Search Engine Strategies conference in Boston, MA. I learned so much at the time and became the self anointed "search czar" at our company. I will never forget the meeting (in the fishbowl) I called with our marketing leadership across the company, when I presented my own version of Danny Sullivan's presentation. It seemed to me at that time that they all had a new spark in their eyes, something fun and cool to work on. Afterall, they all had just started using Google and it was only three then. I worked for years to show return on search spend and when I left in 2009, the company was spending millions per year on search initiatives. I guess all the hard work paid off.

Even today, I continue to watch how search has evolved. I don't track conversions and rankings like I used to but I still keep it in mind with everything I do. Every page on my site has a reason. Every photo page on my site is "link bait". A great example came two weeks ago when I got a call out of the blue from a WVU football online web site that was looking for a photographer to cover the WVU-MD game. When the negotiations were over I asked him how he found me and his answer was simple, Google.

My advice, do some research, Google "Search Engine Optimization" and start trying it out. You would be surprised how many little things you can do on your own. Think about what words people would use to find the services you have or want to offer. Put a page out there with those words in the page title, make it relevant and see how it goes. Search algorithms are based off of relevance (at the simplest level), hence why I do not ever appear in Google for "Maryland Wedding Photographer".

Social

During our car ride I would have thought that my college friends would have been able to school me a bit on social media but that was not the case. I think that colleges these days still have not figured out how to incorporate social media curriculums into their marketing programs. One, because they are still so new. Two because they change so fast and three, because some are still teaching the marketing that they learned when they were in college, 10 or more years ago.

So that means that these kids graduate from college and have to learn how to take the social mediums they have been playing in for the last few years and turn them into a valid marketing arm of their business. I am going to touch a little bit on each of the following:

Blog or Photo Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Web Site
Google +
LinkedIn
Photo Contests

Blog/Photo Blog

I have to admit, keeping up with a blog is tough and the return on investment (time) is hard to prove. However, it is a no brainer that it helps to improve your digital footprint. Keep in mind this blog you are reading as well as all of the others that I have written will end up in Google's index of pages. So maybe when a brand like Wilson is looking for a "professional tennis photographer" to freelance for them and they find my blog post about it, they will see my background with shooting tennis and contact me. Are you starting to see where I am going?

A blog is a great way to connect a human element to your brand. People like to connect with people. A good friend and photographer Patrick Smith does just that. He blogs about what he is doing, some on topic, some off topic. He includes photos as well and I must say he is an amazing photojournalist. Your photos are your resume, show them off everywhere and anywhere.

Facebook

In the short time Facebook has been around, I have seen so much change. From a marketing perspective it has opportunities for every brand, no matter what some marketing execs may say. As I write this post today, Facebook Pages are the best home for a photographer's brand. Create a page, promote it with friends, promote it with customers, promote it with potential customers, or promote it with photos. Use it to promote your web site, your blog and your photography skills.

Twitter

This is the hardest one for me to keep up with and they simplest to do, go figure? After all, you can only post 140 characters. Create a Twitter page for your brand, Tweet about your web site, what you are shooting this weekend, what you like, what photos you just posted on your photo gallery. You can use a great application like Tweet Deck and post to many of these mediums at one time.

A Screen Capture of my Web Site

Web Site

Do I really need to tell you to do this? You really need to start with this before you do all of these other distractions. You don't need to know HTML and can have something live in less than an hour. Think of your site like the "mother ship". Everything you do has to come back to it. After all, your web lead form and phone number is there! I would recommend using something with attractive, pre-built templates that you can customize. I know this may anger many of my nerdy friends that code and makes sites in their sleep but I pay $14 for hosting, site management and email and it just works. I would highly recommend companies like Photo Biz or Live Books to start.

Another one I admit I may be behind the eight ball with but what a great place to park your brand, again, for free. Get out there, create a page and make sure everyone knows what you do. Connect with college friends, connect with peers in the industry, just connect.

Google +

Some of you may not even know what Plus is and I am still watching to see where it is going. I was the same way when Twitter came out and when I realized how great it was, I was probably a year behind the curve. Google+ for business has not been released yet and they say it will be by the end of the year. Start a profile and link it to your name/brand and see what happens. Remember, all of this Google stuff all comes back to the Google index and that is where you ultimately need to be.

Photo Contests

I regrettably have never entered in a sports photo contest. I need to and maybe I am afraid of failure but what better way to get your name out there than to be in the top three of the Sports Shooter monthly clip contest? Take a look around, find some free and some paid sites that do monthly contests and enter them. Just like the lottery, you can't win if you don't play.

In Conclusion

The digital footprint....I hope this makes more sense now? There is no right or wrong but until you give this a shot and try a few of these that I have mentioned, you will never know and I can promise you it will help an aspiring sports photographer to get noticed. Good luck.

Boring Weekend Ahead?

2011-09-29T11:08:00.003-04:00

Well, I need to put it all into perspective. Three weekends ago, shot three high school football games at Navy Stadium. Two weekends ago I shot Colin's football game, a Maryland game and then the Redskins. Last weekend I was at the Sports Shooter Academy shooting. This weekend, not so much and I am kind of down with it all.

Colin plays on Saturday and of course I will shoot that but the rest of the weekend is.....empty. I will, of course, be headed to Baltimore for the much anticipated Ravens-Jets Sunday night game, as a fan. I can't wait for that tailgate and throwdown on national TV.

I guess from there I will just have to see what comes in.

Shooting Professional Tennis

2011-09-28T17:26:00.003-04:00

Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to shoot several professional tennis matches and have moved many photos for them over the wire. Like every sport (starting to beat the dead horse), the key to getting published and/or creating good images is to get out, get away from the court, move. I will say this in almost every post I have on shooting sports and tennis is not different.

Gael Monfils at Legg Mason Tennis Classic 2011

Any time I shoot pro sports I take a look around the venue for angles and unique opportunities. Look high, look low, look from afar, look from near. I will almost never go to the spot where other photographers have planted their butts. I will head there later in the event but not right at the beginning. Some of them are there just to get a quick shot to run in the evening paper and then leave, not me. The photo above was a Sports Illustrated Snapshot run two days after the event. It was unique to their editors because nobody else was high in the stands when Monfils dropped to the court. On a side note, if you ever have a chance to shoot Gael, jump on it. He is muscular, vocal and jumps all over the court, making great shots. I am sure that the photographers that were court-side got great shots of this too, but they all got the same shot and that speak for itself.

Positions

The standard positions at a pro tennis court are court-side. Some of the courts give photographers spots on one side of the court and some, on both sides. Some do not give you benches all the way down the length of the court, rather small "boxes" with seats to share. Don't get me wrong, the court-side seats offer a great view of the players but they can offer challenges as well. Many times you will have a ball boy/girl in your way so it makes it tough to shoot unobstructed. Also, you will have an official in your way at least half of the time as they are watching to see if the serves are in bounds. I typically try to sit about 10 feet to either side of the net and shoot to the opposite side. This all depends on how crowded it is and what lens you have with you (more on lenses later).

On some courts (not center court matches), you can stand at a corner end and shoot, getting some great shots of the player returning the volleys. You have to be as high on your monopod as you can get, making sure to shoot over the white stripe on the net.

Roger Federer at Swiss Indoors 2009

Get high! I cannot stress this enough. Grab your 400 and go as high in the stadium as you can. As you can see from the shot on the right, it was shot from the highest position available at St. Jacobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. I will shoot in these spots for as long as needed but usually just a few games and I have what I need. When shooting outdoors and at dusk, the shadows are unreal and make amazing photos.

Lenses

I am really pretty much a self-taught photographer but the little feedback I did ever get from the wire service I shoot for is this, "Shoot tight and crop tighter". With that mantra, yes, using a 400 mm courtside is normal for me. I have a 300 as well and it gives you a little more flexibility so if that is your longest glass, it will work too.

I like to anticipate what the player is going to do and when his swing is facing me, I click away, tight. This one may be a no-brainer but I have to say it in this post, don't try to follow the ball. Pick a player and stay on him/her. A 70-200 is the perfect reach for nice vertical shots of the player when sitting court-side. I do not typically carry anything wider with me when in the court-side spot unless it is the end of the final match and then it is used for the awards ceremony. Wider than that, heck yeah! Take the 14mm or fish eye to the top of a full stadium at dusk, awesome photo ops.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds are almost always a challenge in professional tennis. Not only are there ugly advertising banners surrounding the entire venue but I find the officials one of the most challenging of all backgrounds. I am very unlikely to submit a photo to the wire when the background has a bright red or blue shirt in it. I usually pick my spot and watch the player for a bit, pick out the exact place where the player offers me a great shot with a clean background. Then I follow him/her with my lens and snap away once he/she enters it. Tennis is fast and you think it is so anticipate, full the trigger early and follow though the shot. Sometimes the emotion, screams and jubilation is where the money shots come from.

Conclusion

In conclusion, have fun. Watch your horizons when you crop (my biggest pet peeve), pick clean background and crop tight.

Here is more from a collection from the finals at this year's 2011 Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

Pro Shooter Series....Take Two

2011-09-28T16:31:00.001-04:00

Take a look back at my post from October 2008 on "Pro Shooter Series". At the time I said I was going to do a series on shooting professional sports. Well, needless to say, I never typed a word. Starting tomorrow that is going to change. I have had opportunities to shoot so many more sports and have had success and failures.

My first post this week will be on shooting Tennis. Stay Tuned, I promise to come through this time.

John

SSA VIII, Recovering

2011-09-26T16:08:00.001-04:00

Boxers sparring at LeHabra Boxing Club

For the last five days I have been in Orange County, CA for "the coolest sports event of the year", the eighth edition of the Sports Shooter Academy. This intense, four day course is instructed by some of the best names in Sports Photography. Names like the founder, Robert Hanishiro, USA Today photographer, John McDonough, SI Staff Photographer, Rob Mar, Seattle Seahawks team photographer and cover designer for EA Sports games, Matt Brown, Southern California Photographer and Co-Founder, and many more SI assistants.

The impetus behind this event is that folks like Bert want to educate those with a passion for sports photography. He surrounds himself with photographers/instructors that have the same drive and they come together for the semi-annual event in Southern California.

Each day is setup with several tracks for one to follow. You can stay in the classroom and learn about issues like copyrights, working with SID's or shooting sports portraits. Or if you prefer you can head out on the street and choose the sport that you wish. This years included, water polo, boxing, beach and indoor volleyball, football, soccer, cross country running and surfing.

During each shoot instructors wander around and help students and participants with choosing angles, camera settings, choosing backgrounds and so many little things that play such a key roles in creating a good photograph.

Sports Illustrated Staffer John McDonough

After the shoot is when the magic begins. Each student convened on the Avalon Room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and ingested the thousands of photos that were shot during the day. Again, the instructors made themselves available for each photographer, sitting with them and offering assistance with choosing the right photos, making the right crops and choosing clean backgrounds. For those that look to take this to the next level, this is where they start to understand what editors are looking for. For someone like me that has never had formal training/education on sports or any photography for that matter, this really helped to bring it together.

Editing began around 7PM each evening and at the end of the editing time (usually 10:300-11), each photographer submitted their four best edited, captioned and cropped photos. The staff then put all the photos together for an end of the evening gallery, in which the faculty then chose the best photo of the day. This was a long and intense process as we had 48 shooters, all with three to four shots a piece. The work submitted for the end of the day galleries were amazing. It is so motivating to see the work of all of these people that have the same goal, nailing that perfect composition, one that tells a story.

From the start of this event for me at water polo, I knew that I was up against some really good sports photographers. I could see them climbing for that special shot, rolling around in the dirt, standing up to their knees in a murky pond, hanging from a tree and so many I cannot describe. The enthusiasm was thick as the morning California fog. It felt good to be able to help some of the students with questions around remote setup, shooting football or soccer, since I had done this at a pro level.

A Santa Ana receiver catches a pass during the second quarter

We closed the event on Saturday afternoon with a match up between two community college level teams from the southern California area. The game was amazing as the teams traded the lead several times but ended up tying at the end of regulation. The game went to two overtimes and the intensity was unreal. Bert said this about the game "Rod, Matt, Wally and I all agreed that the Santa Ana College double OT win over Palomar College that ended the shooting schedule was THE best football game any of us have witnessed in our careers".

Special thanks to Bert for his tireless efforts to pull off eight of these great workshops, all while having a family and a great job. I hope to have the opportunity to do this again next year as I know that I will have the opportunity to learn more from this great staff.

Shooting Water Polo, a First

2011-09-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

So our choices for assignments today were water polo, tennis and boxing. This was the only day for shooting water polo and was a highly sought after event so I singed up early, along with about another 19 people.

We shot both the girls and the men and each had their own challenges. The girls were first and the difficulty here was now knowing where to shoot from, what the light/water combination will do to exposure and how fast this game really moves.

The AD here was very tentative of having 20 photographers standing around with 400-500 mm lenses so we had to tread very lightly about how we all aligned on the outskirts of the pool. We were given the end corners, the stands and an area a long distance from the pool to shoot from. There were two photographers that were brave enough to setup remote cameras and I was one of them. I just wanted to see if I could do it and get something from a different angle, from a second camera. The photos from the remote camera were not my favorites, actually not a single shot made the top 30. The point was to go through the setup and actually make it work, which I felt was a success.

For nobody that has ever witnessed a water polo match, it is brutal, however most of the brutality is under water. First of all, these athletes have to tread water for 8 minutes periods. Then they have to avoid losing ball control from a defender. Most importantly, they have to avoid being drowned by the opponents. They swim from end to end, fight off pushes, kicks and scratches (they even check fingernail length before the game).

The lighting does play with you during the match, at least for outdoor pools. At the same time, it also offers great opportunities as well. The splashing water offers challenges as you try to lock onto the subject, the swimmer, and then you lock onto a water droplet instead, totally losing the shot.

Shooting sports is what I love. I will always add the challenge of shooting new sports. The rest of this week offers several new sports and new challenges. It is so important to do research and really know the sport you are shooting. I did not do a great job preparing for this assignment but was able to do a decent job today.

For more photos from the water polo shoot, see them here.

Been a Few Weeks?

2011-09-22T13:24:00.001-04:00

OK, so I am sitting in Irvine, CA at a sports shooting conference and we are talking about keeping your blog up to date and then I looked at mine and 2008 was my last post. I guess it may be a good time to get it updated so stay tuned for some cool stuff, updated several times a week.

My next post will be about the goings on here in sunny California.

In the meantime, here is some news on the conference here, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sports-Shooter-Academy/218332281520720

Pro Shooter Series

2008-10-30T06:19:00.003-04:00

I have been enjoying my time as a "professional" sports photographer over the last 2 years and want to give back a little. I am going to start a series on my perspective on shooting various pro sports. I know, who cares? Everyone has the right to express their opinions, at least the last time I checked, and I think I may be able able to inspire others that may be starting in this field or maybe even give my insight to those that may be more tenured. Here is what I am going to cover:

-Professional Baseball
-PGA and LPGA Golf
-ATP and WTA Tennis
-Track and Field

Stay tuned, up first, Baseball

Shooting Weltklasse Zürich

2008-08-24T15:41:00.001-04:00

I have not posted since moving to Switzerland but we have finally got settled in and I am have all my good ready to go now. Since being here I have not spent much time shooting anything. In my second attempt to grab credentials to shoot professional sports in Europe, I got accepted. This one is bigger than the last European Skateboard Championships. I have now been credentialed for Weltklasse Zürich, which I had never heard of before this week while watching the Olympics. I heard the BBC sportscaster talking about "Zurich next week" and Googled it to find this event. What is it? Wikipedia defines it as the "one day Olympics". Basically all of the top track and field athletes from Bejing converge on Zurich and compete, revenge style. Since the inception of Weltklasse Zürich, they have seen 28 world records broken so it is not an event to be ignored. The stadium is new in 2007 and seats 30,000 people and is already sold out so grabbing track side seats should be great.

I am going to grab a late train to Zurich on Friday (events start at 1600) and will be shooting until late on Friday night. I will post some shots later.

D3/D300 Rant

2008-05-16T13:55:00.002-04:00

I just responded to a local photographer's post about his yearning for a D3 and sent him this email. I though it would make an interesting blog post. Enjoy

I am sure I am preaching the the choir regarding the power of the D3 but I wanted to reiterate how great it is. I started shooting sports as a frustrated Dad about 5 years ago and ended up spending what I thought was a fortune for a D70. Next came lenses, my first "biggy" as an used 80-200 from Service Photo. Then I started renting from them and finally upgraded to a 70-200, which probably was not worth the $$. Anyway the bug continued with me headed to purchasing two D200's over the next two years. I thought they were the all be it, "I will never need anything else". When the first posts about the D3 came out I was thinking that I would never spend that kind of money on a camera. Well, I did. I ditched both D200's and jumped-on the D300.

What does all of this mean, not much, just thought I would show you some of the stuff I have shot with both. I shoot the D3 with the 300 2.8 almost exclusively. The D300 is always my "utility" camera with a wide angle or usually the 70-200. To be honest I do not go the D300 much, not because it is not a good camera, just more because I love the D3/300 combo. Recently shooting a Orioles game I nailed a pretty good shot of the runner sliding into third but being in the third base photo well was too tight for the D3/300 combo. This was shot at 1600 ISO, something I could not have done with the D200 w/o a boatload of noise reduction at best.

At a recent lacrosse shoot the sun set quickly and I found myself going from harsh shadows to a crappy high school stadium and the D3 was amazing. This shot is at 5000 ISO, something I never thought would have been possible. A parent just purchased a 4x6 of this shot about an hour ago, also at 5000. I actually fin myself scared to push higher ISO's, which I know sounds completely odd but it is what it is. As the night went on I was finding myself at 6400 and got this one. I also agree with your comments about the D3 and using a teleconverter. I find myself with the 1.4x on the 300 now, almost all the time since I can push the ISO up and have the speed I need. I have to be honest, I do not see a huge difference in photos with DOF at f4 or f2.8. This shot and this shot were at f4 with the exact combination I was speaking about.

Anyway, just some more food for thought and something to add to your frustration. Everyone can sit back and say "I can have two D300's for the price of one D3" and that is true. Since you already have a D300, who needs two more?

Mid-Maryland makes "Shots of the Week"

2008-04-28T11:14:00.002-04:00

For the second time, Mid-Maryland Photo (aka John Middlebrook) made the Cal Sport Media "Shots of the Week". I am not sure how flattered I should be, maybe a slow week for them? Either way, their editors take the best shots of the week and highlight them for all to see, including Sports Illustrated, ESP, the Magazine, etc. This week they have three of mine highlighted from the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. It is cool to see your name in lights.

Next stop, double truck?

An Amazing Feet?

2008-04-27T11:27:00.002-04:00

Attending the Penn Relays this week was a first for me and I have never seen anything run with such professionalism and organization. They had record crowds and perfect weather over the three day event. Almost 22,000 athletes attend and each day they had over 35,000 attendees in the stands the cheer on the high school and college athletes.

I took almost 5000 images in two days that I was in attendance and the editing and captioning the images for the ire has been taxing to say the least. I think I have spend as much time with my edits than I have doing the actual shooting. I MUST work on my post event processing process. Each time I do a photo shoot for the wire I get more efficient but I have a ways to go.

Here is a link to what I have published to Cal Sport so far and I still have to publish to Image of Sport.

Oh, the Irony

2008-04-20T19:42:00.003-04:00

In June of 2006, the Baltimore Ravens had made the best trade in their history, or so they thought. The Titans agreed to trade Steve McNair and the deal was done afetr he passed his physical. That night he was ushered to Baltimore to throw out the first ball at the Baltimore Orioles game in Camden Yards. Afterwards he attanded a silent auction party thrown by Ray Lewis at Martin's West in Baltimore. I attended that event and befor Steve left I was fortunate to get my picture with him.

Almost two years later on April 18, 2008 McNair decided to walk away from the game and he and the Ravens made the announcement to the world. On April 18th the Orioles asked him to return to thank him and to ask him to throw out the final ball, one last time. I happened to be shooting the Orioles game that night for Cal Sport and when I made my way into the inside photo well I realized that Steve was sitting right there. At that point I put the two together and realized the irony of the first and last and spoke to him a few minutes, thanking him for his time in Baltimore. Oh, the irony.

My Favorite Time of the Year

2008-04-13T10:03:00.004-04:00

No, it is not Christmas, Summer or Holiday. It is outdoor track season! The air was brisk and the sky changed colors all day long but nonetheless, it was a great day of shooting outdoor track. The Don Boyer Invitational is named after my high school track and cross country coach, Don Boyer. Coach Boyer has been on the job for 43 years and to this day can recite back the times of the thousands of kids he has coached during his tenure. This meet brought 17 teams together from all over Maryland.

I continue to be amazed by the performance of the D3 and it's range and speed options with such high ISO's. During this meet, it literally became pitch black with storm clouds and I had to reach ISO levels of 1600 in order to get the correct shutter speed for such of fast sport. No problem.

I just got approval for the Penn Relays next week in Philadelphia and I will need the shutter speed as the event goes into the laste night under the stadium lights.

Building a Tear Sheet.....

2008-04-01T23:25:00.002-04:00

.....One day at a time. Today, two images from a photo shoot I did several weeks ago appeared on a monthly magazine for the Seventh Day Adventists. The day of this shoot was interesting, it was supposed to start at 4Pm and the "model" did not arrive until 5:45PM. After he arrived and got out of his work clothes and into his uniform, we realized that he brought along rain clouds as well. We literally had about 10 minutes before the skies opened up and I went running to cover with camera and all equipment in tow

They were happy with the images I provided but I wish I had more time and another model or two, could have been a little more creative. You can see the "Visitor" magazine online here.

Back in the Saddle

2008-03-30T09:52:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I went out with good friend and fellow photographer, Brent Ferree, and shot my first outdoor track and field of 2008. Every early spring I chomp at the chance at getting outside and working the 300 mm lens again. This day was a chilly spring day and the day started at 37 degrees and maybe reach 50 by the early afternoon.

Shot around 1000 images and posted about 180 online so please enjoy.

Oh what the day job brings.....

2008-01-15T18:26:00.000-05:00

The day job, the one that pays the bills, I direct the online strategy of the second largest temporary staffing company in the U.S. With that role, we sometimes have some fun and with this latest site rollout, we really did. I convinced the powers that be to let us create our own stock photography by conducting a photo shoot within our corporate walls. It was rather difficult to coordinate schedules and the 'models' we gathered were very accommodating to our needs. The company is filled with young men and ladies and to say we had plenty to pick from was an understatement.

I hired a friend and photographer, Mark Cozzoli, to handle the photo shoot. A few of my employees took care of schedules, picking the subjects, what shots we wanted to capture and even down to a makeup artist they found on Craig's List. Each model we had completed a model release, giving us full rights to the images. When you look at the prices of rights managed images on any stock photo site, you know the price to maintain individuality is rather expensive. We did the whole thing for a few grand and what you will see on the completed site is phenomenal. We agreed that all he had to do is shoot, we get full rights to the shots and he walks away with no post processing work at all.

It is a good feeling know the people that represent your products and services online and off are folks you know. Take a peak at the site here.

To Portfolio or to Not?

2008-01-05T12:02:00.000-05:00

I just finished putting a final touch on my online portfolio and posted it today. I looked back at what I had sent U.S. Presswire and WireImage last year and it was pretty funny. I think it says a lot about me, professionaly, when my work improves so much from year to year. It helps I have been fortunate enough to work with good companies that help me have the access to capture these shots. Before I send these out to media outlets I have the ability to quickly edit them and add what I have recently shot and remove those that may not make the cut. The resume of a photographer is rather simple, look at his or her work. It is different than so many other verticals and so unique to what we do since it it is nobody's work but your own (hopefully).

Fell from Different Tree

2007-12-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

...or whatever that saying is. I cannot understand this industry sometimes. In the corporate world I come from when you have an issue with someone or need to talk about something, you do that. You contact them, sit down and chat, at a minimum. From what I see in the photography industry, people do not hold those standards, they just plain ignore you. I realize people are busy but when professionals reach out to other professionals I feel they owe you a return email. I will admit I have my share of un-returned emails but at a professional level I always try and return them. I run websites for a 5 billion dollar company with millions of visitors and I do my best to be sure that all emails are addressed by someone. Maybe I can change the industry, one email at a time!

A GPS (and life) Lesson!

2007-12-21T00:07:00.000-05:00

Today started out as a normal vacation day for me. I had tons of errands, dropped almost a grand on new tires for my car and was late for an appointment at the Mac store for one of my many one hour "one on ones". I pulled into the local mall parking lot and traversed isle after isle looking for a spot and finally found one after about what seemed like an eternity. I grabbed my MacBook and rushed in so I would not be late to my first appointment (like they were waiting for me).

The 65 minutes with the Mac expert went well and was truly one on one. Afterward I had to sneak next door for a last minute gift for my wife and then back to the car to drop off the laptop and bags. I weaved in and out of cars on the way to mine and when I got there I felt time stand still. My window was gone and the majority of the glass and debris was inside and on my seat. Next thing in my mind was the obvious, "someone broke in and grabbed my GPS off the dashboard". That was the easy pill to swallow. Next was a gasp when I thought about the hundreds of dollars of gifts in the trunk and my D3 sitting there in my Tamrac bag. I had a feeling this loser was only after one thing in the bright daylight and I was right, he only took the GPS.

I called 911 since I had no way of finding mall security and they said they would send someone out to investigate. After what felt like an eternity a nice police officer pulled up and said "we caught him". He was driving around with his child in tow and using a slingshot to break into car after car, in front of Macy's and Nordstrom’s. Long story short, he did get caught by someone that witnessed a break in and got his tag and had an entire carload of goodies stolen from unsuspecting shoppers.

The police called my two hours later and said if I could “identify my GPS system” that I could have it back and he would be charged with the first of many. I was there in 45 minutes and put my four digit code in and confirmed it was mine. Bottom line, even when you are in a hurry, hide those GPS systems and NEVER leave anything of higher value in sight, even for a few minutes.

Today I had a bit of a reality check. Sure I was violated and had my $600 GPS stolen and returned but it put life in perspective for me. My 3 year old nephew is in Hopkins with brain cancer and going through chemo every two weeks and fighting for his life everyday and I am pissing and moaning about a toy. Today, tomorrow and through the holidays please remember what is important to you and never forget it. To all of you on this forum, have a great and safe holiday and hide those “toys”

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/2286/1220071544iv1.jpg

Here is the article about the thief.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-md.ho.arrest22dec22,0,4060055.story

I made Cal Sports "Shots of the Week"

2007-12-04T12:14:00.000-05:00

I do not shoot for Cal Sport Media as much as I would like but I did shoot the Army-Navy game last weekend in Baltimore. Each week they highlight what the tag their "shots of the week" and two of my "editorial" shots were selected. I need to improve my action work and have those get highlighted more. Maybe someone will pickup some of these this week, who knows.

John's work published in the SI family!

2007-11-30T14:24:00.000-05:00

After many months of work with CalSport Media, I finally had one of my images posted on Golf.com. They are a network partner of Sports Illustrated so it is cool to have the exposure,e ven if they did not display my name. Oh well, looks good on resume and I will keep plugging away.

OMG, I made it into DMOZ

2007-11-24T15:06:00.000-05:00

DMOZ, a free Internet Directory, looks as if they approved my request for a listing recently. I must have submitted it over a year ago and anyone in the search marketing world will tell you that the site was dead and impossible to get new listings into. DMOZ offers an amazing level of credibility and getting your site listed within it will bring higher rankings.

New Photographic Subject?

2007-10-14T21:32:00.000-04:00

Well, we decided a "buffer" dog would be a good thing for our family since our 13 year old golden is getting older, not younger. The sun and the moon aligned and we got a great, 16 week old golden girl from a breeder in Baltimore County. She is beautiful and everyone is getting along so far. Check out some of her shots from day one.

How Viral is the Internet Really?

2007-10-12T10:30:00.000-04:00

I shoot Linganore High School fall athletics regularly and it amazes me how the word gets around once I place galleries online. Last Friday I posted a gallery from the Middetown High Varsity football team and as of this posting their have been over 40,000 thumb-sized images viewed. I know they have a link to my site from the Boosters site and the Linganore Football site but they are buried there.

Lansdcape and Non-Sports Photography?

2007-10-11T15:06:00.000-04:00

My sister is the CEO of two small art galleries, one in Hagerstown, MD and the other just recently opened in Gettysburg, PA and she has a proposal for me. They have space available for "rent" at Benjamin Art Gallery and they would like to try selling framed photography in the gallery. Basically I think they are looking for landscapes, abstracts, travel and other non sports art. I threw together a quick gallery for them to review, nothing fancy, and they are interested in more. I am not sure I want to spend the full rent but maybe worth a try. Here is the gallery I put together. Let me know what you think of them and this idea.

John, Where Art Thou?

2007-10-08T22:21:00.000-04:00

I have been as busy shooting sports than I ever have over the last few weeks. Between business travel and my wife, someone has been gone most of September. On top of that I am trying to cover Linganore sports and my responsibilities with the yearbook photos for Walkersville. Either way, I need to blog more often.

This past week I had the opportunity to shoot a senior PGA Tour event and took three days to do so. I must say these guys are so real. I know that sounds cliche but they are not fake, enjoy the crowds and are just overall nice guys. One thing that stands out is Tom Watson walking down the 17th hole of the final round and he literally took the time to speak and/or acknowledge every fan along the ropes. I spent the time trying to get interesting shots of scenes that I think could "sell". This wire service work is tough and almost cut throat. So many outlets get everything from the AP, Wire Image and a few other big boys so I always stay away from them on the course and look to get unique photos.

Oh well, the Fall sports are winding down a bit and the winter always sucks and the 300 never leaves the case. Hopefully I 'll continue to get some wire work and then continue to grab prep sports as I can.

Ravens Fans on SI

2007-10-03T23:09:00.000-04:00

I always, almost daily, read the Sports Illustrated photo galleries to learn and enjoy the good work of the folks that get selected to display their work there. This week I viewed a gallery of the Syracuse Girls Lacrosse team and their "cribs". On the fourth of fifth picture in the gallery I see the girls are from Maryland and are highlighted in their Ravens jerseys, watching a Sunday game. GO RAVENS!!

It is officially a Ritual

2007-08-26T22:46:00.000-04:00

I have shot a total of around 6 games for MLB this year and it has been exciting and enlightening as well. After speaking to others, watching their moves and figuring out my own, I think I actually have it down to a ritual at this point. This is what I do at every Orioles game:

1) I head to the main gate and get my credentials. The gents there tag my bags (for what I do not know) and I head up to the second level, "level 2". Once there we have a decent room where the wiFi works.

2) I unpack all of my sh!t (stuff) and get settled, I like to make sure the wireless works and that I have all of my pre-loaded templates loaded and ready to go. I get my laptop setup and ready to go and then I grab the "Game Day" and press documentations (if any).

3) Once the game starts I usually head to a standing area in the seats within the stadium. The photo "wells" are always packed and photographers literally mark their spots with pee, kind of nasty. There are four wells in Cambden Yards, Inside and outside left (opposing team) and inside and outside right (Orioles). I usually head down there after everyone gets tired of being there and then they start to move around.

4) I move around all over the stadium, looking for all opportunities. The other bit of advice, I stay away from the AP Photographer. Basically, they shoot what I shoot and the chances that I will get picked up are slim since they have so many more syndications and a more established brand.

5) Around the fourth inning or so I head back up to the media room to download my cards and transmit a few to the wire. Basically the first folks that transmit good and news worthy shots can and may get picked up. I usually try for 5-10 shots and then go back down to the field. Unfortunately I do not have this part down to a science yet and will sometimes miss a good 2 innings while I crop and caption everything.

6) After the game is over its home and cropping and captioning again. All in all it take can a bit but it is completely worth it in the long run. How often do you get the chance to be on the filed at a professional sports event?

That is it for now. I will let you know when I get better at this stuff.

Another day, Another NO $$

2007-08-26T22:42:00.000-04:00

I shot another gig today for Cal Sport Media and the game went rather well. I spoke to few of my co photographers and they had little (8 to 10) shots to transmit but I ended up transmiting 20 during the game and another 50 afterward. Either way, I had a good day and that proves it, we are just humans and have bad days like others.

Oops, forgot Red Sox Pics

2007-08-22T19:44:00.000-04:00

I forgot to link these puppies up. Here are links to the Red Sox/Orioles pics I took. Oh, it is my 40th birthday today, oh yeah!

Shooting the Red Sox and Orioles Tonight!

2007-08-10T10:58:00.000-04:00

Been waiting all year to see the Red Sox come into to Baltimore. They are here tonight in a sold out stadium so other than the threat of rain and it should be a great game. To top it off, Dice-K is pitching against Erik Bedard, two of the best pitchers in the AL. Look for pics later tonight.

Tennis Anyone?

2007-08-06T10:10:00.001-04:00

I spent two days at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C. this weekend and for the most part it was fun. Shooting from courtside was cool but I enjoyed moving around the rest of the arena as well. I got some of the smaller games of the women and some of the lesser known men players.

On the final day I went to cover Andy Roddick and wild card finalist, John Isner. I have to say I learn a lesson with every event I do. I was walking through the hallway on the way to center court and I walked past Roddick, standing there looking at the results posted on the wall. I went by him and realized what a great photo op it would be to grab this shot. I turned around and went back and asked him "Mr. Roddick would you mind if I grab a profile shot of you here?" and he said "Would you please leave me alone while I prepare for the tournament, thanks?". I felt like a heal but my job is to capture the essence of these events and I could not have staged that shot any better. Oh well.

I did sense that he was not a very personable dude after watching his expressionless face after he won. Either way, another sport under my belt and I plan on plucking away on every sport I can get my hands on.

My Latest Shooting Venture

2007-07-28T09:51:00.000-04:00

I just got an email from Cal Sport that I am credentialed all week for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Now what? Time to start reading best angles, best lenses, best lighting, best parking. Stay tuned throughout the week to see how things go.

Is There Anything I Will Not Shoot?

2007-07-21T19:47:00.000-04:00

A good friend and photographer, Lori Anderson of Unforgettable Photography, emailed me today and said she was taking her camera out to the Maryland Horse Trials in Adamstown, MD so I decided to tag along. Not knowing ANYTHING about horse events I kind of had to walk around the perimeter until I could find an official that could explain the rules. They were simple, don't get run over by a horse! So Colin and I moved around what is called the "Cross Country" course, basically a long route of trees, jumps and water. It was really kind of cool and there were plenty of great photo ops throughout the course. The horses and the youngsters that are brave enough to control them are amazing. I think I may go back again tomorrow for a few hours as they are jumping higher tomorrow. See how the day went.

Protege Hits Me with Left Jab

2007-07-18T20:36:00.000-04:00

My buddy and Nikon protege over at iSportsphoto has decided to throw his hat in the Press Box online photo contest and won this week. I entered in week one and was the winner and now he and I are going head to head. The winner gets $1000 cash and $1000 in digital camera stuff so this will play out very interestingly!

Big Changes Coming to NFL?

2007-07-16T20:27:00.000-04:00

There have been big doins in the world I live in within the professional sports photography world and the lanscape is looking bleaker, at first glance. An article was posted in the Wall Street Journal this week called "Sports Leagues Impose More Rules on Photos" and it has all my friends up in arms. Basically the NFL has mandated that everyone photographing from the sidelines must where red vests (some stadiums already required this) with both Canon and Rebok logos on them. Those of us that shoot Nikon are not big fans of this and the majority of them say they will cover the names with black gaffers tape. Obviously, both of these brands are big sponsors of the NFL but still? The NPPA has chimed in now as well. I am sure we have not heard the end of this conversation and if you have lots of spare time on your hands you can see all of the posts by my fellow SportsShooters.

How much do you use your camera, really?

2007-07-10T16:39:00.000-04:00

I have known for some time now that you can use certain programs to tell you how many times your shutter has open and closed (how many pictures you have taken) but never actually did it myself. Well today I did and I was actually nervous since I did not want to find out that either one of my D200s could be nearing the end of life. My first D200 has 46,725 actuations and my second had 9135. That is almost 57,000 pictures in 19 months but even crazier I came up with an average of 73 pictures a day. That is wild!

Another Day, Another Round

2007-07-06T23:57:00.000-04:00

Well, today was my second day at PGA Tour golf and I thought it went better than day one. First of all, I knew more about the "rules". Second, I was able to become a little more creative. After seeing some of my peers and their work it opened my eyes to some of what I was missing. Anyway, Tiger advanced, Phil did not. Oh well, maybe next time. See all of my shots here, I have to go to bed.

PS It is supposed to be almost 100 on Sunday, can't wait!

First Stab at PGA Tour

2007-07-04T20:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I took my first stab at a PGA Tour event, although it was only the Pro-Am. I had "inside the ropes" credentials, which was helpful since the crowds were huge and chasing George H.W. Bush and Tiger Woods. It was challenging although the biggest challenge was the gallery, either getting in the way or making it take forever to get from hole to hole. I learned a lot and will be shooting the second round of the AT&T National on Friday and the final round on Sunday. Stay tuned for more pictures.

Shooting my first professional golf tourney

2007-06-27T22:34:00.000-04:00

OK, I love golf, I love sports photography. Now I have credentials around my neck and I am ready to go. This has to be easy? I need to some research soon and kind of plan my days while trying to cover as much of the course I can while I am there. Oh yeah, shooting the AT&T National at Congressional next week. Tiger will be there and so will Phil. And another celeb, "President George H.W. Bush To Hit Ceremonial First Shot at AT&T National Hosted by Tiger Woods". I will let you know how it goes.

RUSH still lives

2007-06-24T11:08:00.000-04:00

I took my 10 year old son to his first concert last night, the 30+ year old band, RUSH. I attended their last tour 5 years ago and they were as good as they were last night. 54 year old lead singer, Geddy Lee , can somehow still hit those notes. Drummer and song writer Neil Peart was surrounded by drums all night and did a fantastic 15 minute solo. Alex Lifeson, who has not aged a bit since I last saw him still looks like he loves his job and was great as well. The light show was the highlight of the concert and was one of, if not the best I have ever seen. They played a great South Park skit before going into Tom Sawyer. Over the years and with the changes of technology, the video camera covered the band better than ever and there was not a bad seat in the house. They had three huge digital screens behind the band and two 3 story screens on each side of the stage. It is great to see these bands we grew up with jamming like they did 30 years ago.

Dad wins competition with Son

2007-06-06T10:26:00.000-04:00

I entered a local contest with a Baltimore based sports newspaper and the picture won photo of the week for last week’s edition. The paper, Baltimore Press Box Online, has a weekly competition where folks can enter shots of actions sports and the shot I took of Adam in mid-air during the long jump at the Walkersville Invitational won. We are now eligable to win $1000 or $1000 in camera equipment.

Everyone Loves Gear Shots

2007-04-18T11:40:00.000-04:00

I have never taken the time to empty out my Pelican case and display all of my "wares" but I took the plunge today. It is both fun and scary when you look at everything in one picture. I will probably archive this as well for insurance reasons. Enjoy.

An Eerie Coincidence

2007-04-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

Just a week ago I blogged about "Web 2.0" and what it means and who would have known what six days later would bring us. I am riveted to the TV, I cannot get enough of the news. This massacre in Virginia Tech is so senseless and I cannot understand how one becomes so sick. When I wrote last week about the local tragedy in Frederick and how the kids around here used MySpace as their way of expressing themselves, I never would have imagined what the students of Virginia Tech and the world would be doing within social networking sites. The news from this tragedy travelled there faster than within the press. I don't know what to make of it, good or bad, but it is truly amazing how our worlds and the Internet changes. Names of students that could not be reached were showing up on these sites before anywhere else. Condolences from friends and strangers all over the world were starting to appear. The press has really jumped on this phenomena and are writing article after article about it.

This tragedy is just that. It will, however, be interesting to see how the online may change for the better or maybe even for the worse from the events that transpired.

Latest Dreary April Photos

2007-04-15T21:30:00.000-04:00

Everyone on the east coast is over this weather. I have been to three track meets this year and at each one the runners had to wear sweat pants up until the gun was fired because it was too cold to just wear shorts. I have been just futzing around trying to find some great outdoor events to shoot but it has either been too cold, rainy or windy beyond anything you'd expect to see in April. I went to Adam's practice Saturday and slid over to the TJ softball and baseball fields and got some great shots with the 300. Did I tell you, best lens ever invented?

Web 2.0, what the hell is that?

2007-04-10T22:24:00.000-04:00

You will here people talk about this whole "change" on the net called "Web 2.0" and anyone that you talk to in the industry will give you a different answer. There are 495 million pages in Google's index regarding the search phrase, "What is Web 2.0". So what the hell is it? It is simple, start reading all of those pages! Well, I have my own thoughts on what it is. Since the Internet was created by Al Gore it has evolved time and time again but in the last few years it really has seen dramatic changes. Anyone can be the Internet now. It is about expression. It is about normal people. It is about the blog world. It is now about you and everyone you know not about me because I know how to program or shoot a picture. It is about everyday people telling everyone what they think, 24x7 and from anything from their first computer to a cell phone. I have a few samples of my ideas of Web 2.0.

Late last year our community was devastated by the loss of a brother and sister that were headed to visit their father in northern VA. He was 16 or 17 and I believe his sister was 13 and he swerved off a busy highway and down an embankment. Both were killed instantly and the school and community were in shock. I watched as an outsider and was amazed what MySpace did and how these kids and even relatives reached out and expressed themselves for all to see. The older teen's MySpace page has seen over 650 posts since he last posted 2 days before he died. I peaked at it again the other day and saw the boys Aunt post an entry stating "this is your Aunt and I cannot believe I am posting to MySpace but I somehow feel I am connecting with you and your sister". That my friend is Web 2.0! A normal Joe having the ability to tell a story, how they feel and in their own words.

2.0, it is about the consumers being in control. There are millions of product review web sites on the Internet and the majority are not from big business and marketers. They are consumers, satisfied or not, speaking about the products they use and buy. It is about the Southwest Airlines commercials filmed by customers, it is about consumers of Dove beauty products, designing their own ads in their showers at home. Remember the theme here, consumers are in charge, not the advertisers.

Enough of my rant and that is my two cents. I will keep watch for all of us and I will let you know when I see the "Web 3.0" revolution headed our way and my money is on Barack O'bama leading that bus.

Major City Tours with an iPod

2007-04-09T18:34:00.000-04:00

This Easter weekend I had relatives in town and my nieces had never been to DC so I was officially tagged as their tour guide. I rented a 15 passenger van and created an itinerary of the items they wanted to see. Before we left I Googled "DC Tours" and found a great product titled Audio Steps. This is an ingenious MP3 system that you download for $12 and then you can add the audio files to your iPod or any MP3 player. It comes with maps and corresponding stops along the route. I purchased the DC tour and it covered everything from as far east as the Supreme Court and Capital to far west at the Lincoln Memorial. It was made for walking but it was so well done and easy to click through that everyone used the maps I printed and followed along. Next time you have family in town or just want to know more about what you are seeing givie it a try.

Bring GPS on your next flight

2007-04-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

I just got back from a two day trip to Minneapolis and tried a cool experiment on the plane ride there and back. I have always been fascinated about where I was in the US while traveling at 35,000 feet but I just had to make educated guesses.
Since I was planning on getting a rental car I took my Garmin GPS along for the ride. Once the pilot gave the all clear I attached it to the window and within 30 seconds I was connected to a satellite. It was cool knowing exactly where you are along the trip and seeing that the plane was going 490mph (we topped out at 590mph), pretty wild.

I did not have to ask anyone on board whether or not I could use the unit and I did some research before I left to see what the rules were. Anyway I plan on taking it on every flight I can from here forward. Call me a geek, a loser, whatever.

B&H Rules

2007-03-31T19:28:00.000-04:00

Nothing more to say! I ordered a Nikon 18-200 (the most sought after lens in the Nikon world) right after their site came back online from the Sabbath and less than 24 hours later it has shipped. I always order 3-5 day UPS and it usually gets to Maryland by the second day at the latest. This is why I buy almost everything from them, keep it up!

Shooting Indoor Sports/Printing Onsite

2007-03-25T10:52:00.000-04:00

I was "fortunate" enough to get a gig shooting the Maryland State Boys Gymnastics Championship two weeks ago but I have mixed emotions about these gigs. First of all, I did enjoy it. I love capturing the emotions of these young men and watching their parents screaming with joy when they do well. I solicited the help of my friend and mentor, Mark Cozzoli, for this event. We started at 7:00am on Saturday and the event got us home around 11:30pm. We had a viewing station at this event but trying to cover 200+ gymnasts, taking orders and managing the browsing parents is difficult at best with just two people. On Sunday we started at 8:30 and the shooting was to begin at 9:30am but the schedule was wrong and it actually did not start until 11am. Either way we had to leave at 1:30 on the nose as my wife had to leave for a flight to Europe at 2:30 and we had to get home. We cleared about $270 for the entire weekend and subtracting the $100 in supplies, $40 in gas, $20 for food I cleared a whopping $7.27 per hour. Ouch!

This is my second attempt at an indoor sport and trying to print or take orders onsite and the first was just as bad. The advertising was great for this event so that is no excuse. You must invest in people and quality viewing stations to make money at this unless you just enjoy "doing it for fun". I do and thank God for the day job but I will probably stay away from these types of gigs and shoot events and upload later like I have been doing in the past.

Dave Fraser Relays - Middletown, MD

2007-03-22T18:39:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, shooting outdoor track is one of my favorite sports of all. It is like shooting 10 events in one. You have the emotion of running to beat the opponent, straining to get over the pole vault pole, trying to reach farthest in the long jump, giving it all you have to get over that last hurdle and least another 5 or 6 events. I love going back to my Alma Matter and shooting at Middletown High School anytime I can and the next event I will shoot will be to commemorate my coach (who is still coaching) on Boyer.

Can You Find Me?

2007-03-15T18:13:00.000-04:00

My day job has me running web sites for some of the largest staffing companies in the world so it is nice to be able to bring my knowledge over to my "fun" job. When I post SmugMug pictures of events I shoot I always have search engines in mind. What does this mean to you? Well, here is a list of things I do, at a minimum:

1) Unique Page Titles - Be sure that your page title is unique to the event you covered. If it says "New Document" in the top of the browser nobody is ever going to find you or what you shot.

2) Descriptions - Always do your best to describe the event you shoot the best you can. Add the name of event, date, venue and anything else that you think someone may enter into a search engine looking for pictures or information.

3) Google, Yahoo and MSN Site Maps - this is your silver bullet and every web site should have them .Think of it as bait on a hook when you go fishing. It tells Google and others that you have a clue and that you have content that you would like indexed. Just Google how to set them up and you should be able to figure it out, as long as you have access to publish to your own web site. The data you can get from these is tremendous as well.

I continually shoot events and post them on SmugMug for orders and on my own site for links and I always see tremendous traffic and I do not always advertise a thing. It all comes from just basic SEO and I would recommend that all of us do it.

Aerotek Raises Money for Special Olympics

2007-01-29T17:48:00.000-05:00

The company I work for participates as a major sponsor in the Maryland Special Olympics Polar Bear Plunge every year and I have the pleasure of photographing the event. Each year several employees from corporate and from around the east coast come and help this great cause.