Balloons of celebration and balloons of mourning.

Last week I shot lots of balloons - water balloons at a church carnival, and helium balloons released at a memorial park by families who had lost loved ones in the past year.

Carnival shots first.

This is sort of a mini-dunk-tank game, so instead of having a water tank, when the ball hits the target, water balloons pop onto the victim's head.










Then I photographed a balloon release ceremony at Conejo Mountain in Camarillo.








When I photograph mourning families, I always try to be very sensitive to their grief. Sometimes your job as a photojournalist is to get the 'grieving family' shot no matter what. You have to swallow your empathy and intrude on their private moment. But whenever possible, I try to make compassionate photographs and if a family member hides their face, turns away, etc, I prefer to respect their wishes. I'm very sensitive to the wish for privacy at events like this. But occasionally, I come across people who seem not to mind being photographed, but then snarl at me when I ask for their names. This was one of those.

I made a few very sweet frames of this mother and daughter, holding each other, looking at this photo, with their balloons. When I approached to ask their names and reason for attendance, the mother nearly pushed me away and snapped "No. NO! It's different when it's a child."

While I very much sympathize with her grief, I often wish I could explain to people in this situation that as she is attending a public event, I may use the photograph no matter what. If she gives me her name I can publish a beautiful photo with a sensitive caption that explains her reason for grieving, something that she can clip from the paper and keep with her memories of the loved one she lost. Something that might help the process.







This photo ended up running on the front page of the Camarillo Acorn. I only wish I could have spoken to the mother and added a sensitive, empathetic caption rather than just using a generic that talked about the event.

Anyway.

Let's end on a positive note. Here are a pair of shots from the Conejo Valley Days carnival.

Turmoil & blue skies.

Well, it's a sad day here at the Acorn. We lost three very talented people in the first layoffs in the history of the paper. I can only wish them all the best in the future.
Fortunately, the photo department is running a very tight ship and therefore we were spared from any cuts. It was so nerve-wracking to hear about the layoffs, knowing that the photo dept is usually the first place publishers look to cut. But we're at three photogs for five papers and it's already tight. Here's to hoping that this is the bottom for us and we'll pull out of this hole a stronger, leaner paper. I know as a department we're still learning so much. The three of us make an excellent team. I have no doubts that this year, all three of us will be award-winning photographers in the CNPA awards. We can only improve... I know this year's graduations and sports finals will be fantastic, now that I have the 20D and the MkIIN. Having both bodies will be a major plus, and on top of that I'll likely be buying a 70-200 4.0 with my tax return. I can't afford pocketwizards, but I'm going to give the $60 set of Cactus V2s a shot for off-camera lighting and I'm planning on attending some lighting workshops and becoming an active strobist poster as well. With the improved gear and some added education, I think my photos should improve a ton.
So it's stormy in the office here but in other news, we've had ridiculously hot weather lately and bright blue skies. When it's that nice I pull out the polarizing filter every chance I get and pop those clouds.

Here are a few shots from this week:

Moorpark High School varsity baseball player Landon Hunt.










And a roofing company in Moorpark generously donated a new roof to the Little League snack shack. I found a nice banner flapping in the wind for some color.

The Darkroom

One of the best parts of working in a wet darkoom, watching your image come up under the safe lights, prodding it with the tongs, is the collective that forms. In a place where everyone's images are set one on top of the other and you're looking at your neighbor's photograph as much as your own, you have the opportunity to talk about the process and critique. I love reading photo blogs because I get that same sense of seeing all the images as they come through the print dryer, still a little tacky. But the difference is that there is no conversation. No peering at a friend's negs through the loupe. There's no bulletin board to pin your finished images to, squeezed between everyone else's. You don't get any feedback on the process. You don't have as much discussion. 

Sure, there are comments to read, but it's not the same sort of unrehearsed, colloquial discussion. You can't say, well I like that shot, but this thing in the corner is distracting. It pulls your eye away and well, I just think - let me see that loupe again - yeah, I think this one is a much stronger image. 

So when I go through these blogs, sometimes I get a sense that there is no real community. Or, to be more precise, in this economy I get the sense that the community is also competition. If you can't make a photograph as good as the one on that blog,  you'll never succeed. There is so much more tension. And I feel like now that we're all holding our prints close to our chests, keeping them locked up in LCD screens and terabyte backup drives, you lose the intimacy of the print dryer. And the creative melting pot that comes with it. And the community. 

It can be immensely difficult to make interesting photographs every day without feeling the collective support and creativity of the community around you. That is sometimes the hardest part. 

Makes My Heart Ache...

Have a look.

Last One Out, Please Turn On The Light.

Lee Williams' darkroom really tugs at me - it looks so much like the little garage darkroom in which my father first taught me how to make photograms. I used my lego giraffe. Still have some of those.

Goodbye, Rocky.

This morning I nearly broke down in tears as an NPR reporter announced that today the Rocky Mountain News will publish its final edition - 149 years, 311 days since its first one.
This was one of the few smaller papers left that published in the tradition of truthful, honest journalism, asking the hard questions and taking the important photographs. The publication was characterized by sharp, smart, thoughtful stories. I counted it as one of the top ten papers in the nation. A newsroom full of staff who wouldn't just run the articles that advertisers wanted to see. Staff who believed in hard-hitting journalism, not fluff and not PR. Photographs run large, full of emotion and light. I was always inspired by their photos, always, always.
This is devastating news, friends. I'm shocked and disgusted that the Scripps corporation didn't do more to preserve a top-notch paper and a staff of breathtaking quality. The paper was for sale for one month before it was shut down. What a disgrace.
My hat is off to the photographers, editors, writers, and countless other behind-the-scenes staff, who suddenly find themselves out on the street in cold and dark economic times. Best of luck, friends. You can read their final edition stories at the Rocky Mountain News website.

The Very Good and the Very Bad

...of sports photography.

Lately I've been using that basketball ceiling bounce trick an awful lot, and it's beat out my other methods - the Canon infrared wireless system, on-camera flash, and going commando - so far. Last week I tried using two 580s, one on-camera master and one as the slave, and that was a disaster. The slave fired a full second after the master, and only fired at all when I was within 10 feet! Useless, totally useless.

However, bounce flash has worked quite well. I turned out some really nice images in the past two weeks. We're just getting into CIF basketball games, my very favorites. The bleachers are full, the crowd is passionate, access is restricted so you don't get people running into your gear or in front of the lens. The players are brilliant, great action, and tons of emotion. And the best part - all players are wearing the right jerseys (usually with numbers on both front AND back!) and coaches always bring a roster! Those two factors make my life so much easier.

The downside of this season is that I'm also shooting a lot of soccer. Night soccer, on dimly lit fields. The play ranges far and wide, so there is absolutely no way to light it except on-camera. Action is hit and miss, the referees are uptight, the stadium lights create hotspots and every field has black holes, devoid of even the puniest photons. It wouldn't be so bad if I had a 70-200, a 400, anything with sharper glass than my cheapo 70-300. I end up follow focusing so much because the autofocus is sketchy. Even so, the glass isn't sharp anymore and I end up with fuzzy images that need a lot of post-processing. Which I hate.

But editing those basketball photos is a real dream, and that almost makes up for slogging through hundreds of fuzzy, noisy soccer shots. The latest basketball game fit onto just one card and editing took less than a half hour! The images needed almost nothing, just a bit of sharpening and color balance (just barely). Here are a few from a game last week:

Sleep well, and dream of Pocket Wizards...

Kudos to you if you caught that Princess Bride reference. Greatest movie ever.

Peeewww!

Today the local fire department set off a controlled burn at the Reagan Library to reduce the surrounding brush for the upcoming fire season. Nothing like a fire to make you stink all day. I might just do some swimming at the YMCA today (I haven't exercised in so long...) to reduce the stench!

This is a preview for shots that will be in this week's paper - it's a photo I wouldn't put in for publication because it doesn't show the action, but it's one of those shots I have a soft spot for - super wide and visually nice with good color and contrast.

Having shot a few assignments with the MkII now, I am extremely impressed with the ergonomics of the camera. I barely feel the weight. It's superbly balanced and everything is in the right place. I'm still bothered by the two-handed operation for setting aperture, iso, etc, especially for the upper LCD screen, but I can learn to live with it. But I just love that shutter - so quick and the sound is gorgeous. I'm a sucker for a pretty shutter. I only wish it was as quiet and pretty as my old Yashica TLR!

New Kit

The Mark IIN arrived yesterday and I spent a large portion of last night learning the features - mainly deciphering the button symbols, but I'm definitely impressed. 

The construction is much sturdier and while the camera is large, it's not bulky or awkward. Very comfortable. Grips are in the right place. That big prism is a dream. Shutter button feels sturdier and more durable. I love that the eyepiece keeps my face farther off the LCD - on cold nights I won't be worried about condensation on those menu buttons anymore. 

With the extra weight I'll be using the monopod much more often, and the two-handed menu operation is a little bothersome - but the increased speed and tough construction are spectacular. I was expecting the shutter to be quieter, but instead it's louder - won't be any better for shooting funerals or concerts. The good news is that the sound is much beefier. I can see why it's rated for 200,000 cycles. 

Should be a perfect workhorse. 

The Hard Part

The hard part is not winning the awards, although don't get me wrong that is definitely A hard part. The hard part is making an interesting photo every time you lift the camera to your eye.