Mother-in-Law

Being a reading teacher, my wife's mom is very involved with the Richmond Area Reading Council. And, since I bother her sometimes to watch Willem when I have a job, she asks me to photograph her meetings and special events. They aren't too demanding, and seldom take more than an hour, and it's good practice when I'm between jobs. As with a lot of my indoor work, the low-light conditions bug me, but I can get my people skills honed with the close-ups.

Back on the 20th, I made my way over to Broad Street and shot the Read Aloud Virgina's Santa Breakfast. It was really amazing to see just how much the kids loved getting books.

Junior Olympic XC

The morning immediately following the Nursing School's graduation, I was out at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville. It was 25 degrees. I forgot a jacket. Actually the jacket was more for the photography gig than my more immediate plan: to run the 5K course of the 2008 USATF Junior Olympic Cross-Country Championships. Backwards, of course, so I could see the angles that would look best with the kids running towards me.

There were 3 different courses: 3K, 4K, and 5K, so they were a little confusing at the 1K split. Once I figured that out, though, I had to plan how fast I could cover 3 positions and still beat them to the finish. One of the problems I have with the SportsBackers events (when Rick can't help me out) is covering both the 'look' and 'feel' of the race while also getting the winners crossing the line (for the press releases). A lot of the time I let the event photography company have the press release shot. My 'straight-on' finisher stuff has not worked out as interestingly as I would like anyway. I have some Neil Leifer - like ideas that I want to try out with remote cameras...

A lot of this event was back lit with bright sunlight, but I have been trying to learn shooting without the flash so much. I'm finding that I like the flash... it changes the look somewhat, but it also provides a unique look if you bump it up a little more than mere fill. The background looks richer if you under-expose the sky a stop or two. I managed to run much more than any of the kids (counting my course pre-run), and felt pretty wiped out at the end.

Back to the Siegel Center

Friday a week ago, I covered the VCU School of Nursing's December Graduation ceremony. Not too much different than the May event, so I was a little less nervous. One thing was better. Since the full graduation excercises were the following day (in the Siegel Center instead of the Coliseum, as in May), the lighting was noticeably brighter. Not great, but better than before.

I am really getting to the point now where I need a new camera. Low-light situations like these are really bringing me down. For web use, the photos look ok, but if large prints are ever needed, the grain in the darker areas will look awful. Of course, they all look awful to me anyway (graininess, not composition) because I'm my own worst critic. I usually end up shooting at ISO 1600 (the Rebel Xti's maximum) and only between 100-160th shutter speed. And I'm almost wide open at around 3.2 or 3.5. A tri-pod would be a hindrance, so I'm ready for something better.

With that in mind, I have been listening to Scott Bourne, Ron Brinkmann, and the gang at TWiP, hoping for one of them to tell me which Canon body is best suited to my needs. Most of them use Nikon predominately, though. So if I'm willing to buy another $3 grand in lenses, I will look at the D3, but in the meantime I need someone to point me in another direction.

The Trade Show Scene

For the last 3 years now, I have been providing photography services to the Virginia Society of Association Executives' (VSAE) Fall Marketplace. Rather than payment, I am given a booth (a $500 post, I think) to promote my business.

The Marketplace is for event planners to be persuaded to have their conferences at participating vendor's resorts (or use the catering, video, photo, etc. services).

The day starts with a handful of sessions put on by folks who have relevant information for the attendees, so I start shooting early. I have one thing to say about this kind of event - people eat. I say this because, as a photographer, this is a nightmare. Not only do they eat before and during the informational sessions, but many of the vendors are using food as enticement for potential clients.

When a photographer is omnipresent in a situation like this, there are two problems. #1 - no photo looks good with someone stuffing their face, no matter how attractive they are. #2 - everyone avoids you; and you are forced to use the long lens in a dim environment. Anyway, you end up with a lot more shots of vendors than attendees, which kind of negates the purpose of being there. Which is why, having done this quite a bit, I leave people with food in their hands alone. They appreciate it, and will be more willing to give you the shot you need later on. The only 2 times you should ever take shots of someone eating is when it is a prop for a food product, and when the bride and groom are eating their wedding cake. NO EXCEPTIONS!

24 Hours of Momentum

One of the many events put on by Mark Junkermann's RunRideRace is (for the 2nd year now) the early October "24 Hours of Momentum". This is a running solo and relay race on the trails of the Boy Scout Camps in Goochland County, VA. This year's event added a 12 hour version as well, bringing in many more participants.

I coaxed the family out to enjoy the camping and be a part of my 'team.' Last year in addition to photographing the participants, I also signed up as a solo runner. I covered about 30 miles in the 24 hours. So this year we were a team of 3 (Willem being the youngest entrant at 5 years). The camping was fun and the food was good. If I could change anything, it would be to hold it somewhere other than a Boy Scout Camp. They have too many rules about where to park, etc. (I live inside the Town & Country - batteries charging and laptop running. So I sleep in there too).

Steph managed 2 laps of the 5 mile trail loop, and much to my surprise - it being her first time trail-running - she really enjoyed it. Willem was determined to do a whole lap like mommy, so I took him with me on my final turn with the camera gear. He made it the whole 5 miles without being picked up (I had 10 pounds of gear already) or complaining other than "how far have we gone?"

Some teams managed a colossal amount of mileage, but no soloists came anywhere close to breaking the inaugural running's 2 who broke 100.

The Blue Ridge Relay

I can't believe how far behind I've fallen. Not only that, but why wouldn't I have wanted to talk about the Blue Ridge Relay???

2 years ago, Gene Byard and I took on the roles of documentary filmmakers to cover this same event (still in post-production, I'm afraid...). Only the movie centered around Christopher Calfee's attempt to cover the mountainous 208 miles solo; and without sleep. As a matter of fact, his plant was to cover 400 miles - a return trip of the same course. But I can talk about that if the movie ever gets finished.

This year I was recruited to be on a team of 12 to run. I brought both my still camera(s) and my video camera (hoping to show a different side of Calfee's experience. Being a participant - meaning I had to run 3 legs totalling 23 miles - limited how involved the documenting could be.

I will make a long story short and let you look at the photos. I did have fun, not getting overly obsessed with the photography. And I got lost on the 4am leg. Which painfully but happily bumped my mileage up to an even Marathon. It slowed the team's finish time by about 45 minutes though. I felt bad about that. One last mention: Dennis and the SWEET bus. We had an awesome time...

Addicted to a Podcast

I have been listening daily (I'm way behind on discovering the world of podcasts, so I have dozens of archived shows to catch up on) to the most interesting thing available to photographers: TWiP

Even though I almost never do the kinds of photography that they often talk about (nature, panoramas, etc.), I learn half a dozen things in every show that I write down and follow up on. I will post links to all the most interesting sites they talk about from now on...

Ruby's Run

For the second year now, I walked the 4 blocks up the hill to the Carillon (WWII Memorial) in Byrd Park to take pictures of the children's races that make up "Ruby's Run". This year, I convinced Willem (my almost-6-year-old) to participate. As it turned out, there were a couple of kids he knew also running, so I didn't really have to monitor him beyond being able to see where he was.

The races were pretty low-key and haphazardly put together, but the kids all seemed to enjoy themselves. Other than raising money ahead of time, there is only a $5 fee - and the kids get a T-shirt and medal for running.

I feel like this year's photos were much better than last, but having Willem run kept me from taking quite as many shots as I would have usually managed. My only regret was that last year - it seemed - the fall colors were much more vibrant.

Kindergarten Stocking Sewing

Once again I have gone months without a post. I guess I just think about this too much. Either that or I'm lazy. Probably the latter.

But in my defense, I am a stay-at-home-dad first and foremost. And when it's time to start Kindergarten, there is a lot more on my plate than I'm used to. Certainly a ton of volunteering and school-related activities.

It gets difficult to take photos of the kids when you actually have to immerse yourself in their activities. I did manage to snap a few yesterday, though. They were all sewing stockings for Santa to fill, and once Willem had the hang of it, I moved around the room a little.