Undiscovered Photographers Exhibit

The Weinstein JCC had its opening reception for the Undiscovered Photographers Exhibit last Thursday night (April 17, 2008). I submitted 3 photos, and all are displayed. They will hang until mid-May.

Although I am happy to have my work being shown, the highlight of the event was the judged competition of all the exhibits' photographs. Scott Elmquist, the Style Weekly photographer and photo editor chose the top 3 photos, along with 4 honorable mentions. I believe there were something like 70+ photos included. My photo of Terry running on the Belle Isle footbridge was awarded 1st place!




Needless to say I was stunned. I felt a little embarrassed standing in front of the other photographers. I was glad I had submitted 3 very different subjects, but I felt that "Footbridge" was actually the best. It is a photo I planned well in advance. Terry and I went for a 12+ mile trail run that morning, and I had a backpack full of camera gear. I stopped in several places to take pictures of Terry, but the footbridge was the main purpose for the gear. I knew from countless solo runs what the shot would look like given the time of day and the weather.

Many people have shot the footbridge; most of them do it with a telephoto lens to get the rolling hill look. In fact, a Roadrunner catalog once used a photo of Thad Jones on the bridge for their cover. My idea, however, was to make Terry wait while I ran up to the road surface of the Lee Bridge, go out to the center where the bridge opens up and shoot straight down onto the footbridge. It was a Saturday or Sunday morning around 9am, so there wasn't much traffic, and there is about a 2-foot "shoulder" to the inside of the vehicle lane. I was much less concerned with getting hit by a car than I was dropping my camera 60 feet onto Terry's head.

Of note - I rarely "plan" photographs. The benefit to recruiting Terry for this was a) to make sure I got a usable shot and b) so I could print/use/sell the photo while having permission of the runner involved. Other than me shouting down the gap "go ahead!", none of the image was manufactured. I did make him do it twice, though.

Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K

Saturday found me rain-soaked and shooting the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K for the Sportsbackers. This year's event was the USATF Men's 10K National Championship. Bigger elite turnout, bigger prize money, and the biggest field to date. Over 24,000 finishers and a limit of 30,000 entrants. In fact, I heard that this has become the 4th largest 10K in the country.

And it rained all day. With this kind of massive event, I re-enlisted the help of Rick Barlow. He covered the course in the early stages, as well as the start of the "Dash for Cash" runner Billy Weldon. This 'lucky' guy had a 2.8 mile head start on the elites and had to stay in front until the finish line to get his $2500 prize. Not necessarily a daunting task, assuming you don't get overwhelmed by the fact that all eyes are on you. Billy, against my doubtful nature, prevailed with a substantial lead over the elites, and went home with a big check.

Due to the predicted (and delivered) all-day rain, I purchased AquaTech's Sport Shields for my cameras. I was quite pleased with the lower-end 2-layer version, but the higher-priced 3-layer for wide-angle lenses (including hot-shoe and strap attachment option) was kind of a nuisance. Not that the purpose of stopping rain wasn't achieved, but it was next to impossible to focus and/or zoom with the snug-fitting lens cover portion. And there is no way to adjust the flash compensation on the 580exII with the flash rain cover. It was also hard to accurately judge proper exposure through the vinyl window with condensation and rain drops. I suppose if you are stuck on a sideline in a downpour for 3 hours, adjustments aren't really necessary, but when the sun came out for a few minutes, I was stuck with dozens of over-exposed shots.

To sum up the day - it was quite a learning experience, and I have to thank the Sportsbackers for entrusting me with such a prestigious event (along with Dean Hoffmeyer of Richmond Times-Dispatch fame, who I'm sure didn't run around like a chicken without a head like I did). And I have to tip my hat to Rick, who has shown phenomenal improvement since the Duathlon; especially considering he has a real job and no background in photography. If I wasn't hyper-aware of who I photographed, I might think his shots were mine.

The Racing Season Returns

Just past dawn on Sunday, I found myself out at Camp Hilbert in Goochland County, VA. It was the first day of the 2008 Camp Hilbert Race Series. The series, organized by Mark Junkermann through his RunRideRace venture consists of 3 separate dates of trail runs and mountain bike races. The dates are spread across 4 months from early Spring to early Summer.

I made the mistake of staying out past midnight on Saturday - a mistake made all the more painful due to the Daylight Savings Time change at 2 AM. I discovered that 3 and a half hours of sleep is not enough. 4 and a half is usually ok, though, as I've pulled that off several times.

Mark's races are so far the only "race photography" events I've done. I generally shy away from the "shoot-and-sell-prints" jobs. While there is a good living to be made in that arena, a photographer is limited to (usually) boring angles and telephoto stills of action. This is because you are dealing in volume. The more people you can shoot, the more likely you are to sell photos. However, from my experience as a runner/cyclist, I find that I almost never buy these photos. So what I bring to the table is a photograph that I would buy of myself. The only drawback to this approach is that sometimes you are unable (as a photographer) to get everyone. A long exposure of a cyclist can be worthless if you don't time the speed of the rider to match the shutter speed. While I might only get 60%-70% of the shots to look like I wanted, the folks who buy the photos have something worth framing.

The Camp Hilbert Races are great for this kind of shooting because of the multi-lap format of the races. I can wander the course finding more interesting spots while being confident that if I miss a few riders/runners at one spot, I will more than likely catch them somewhere else. And I also like to pick a different spot or two every time I go out there to keep people interested in looking at the photos. You aren't going to sell anything if you always set up in the same spot. I can get a lot of repeat customers by changing the setting of their photos.

Buffalo Sabres...

My home team. One of the highlights of my last post (Nostalgia Trip) was the bonus of being able to attend 2 Buffalo Sabres home games. I hadn't seen a Sabres home game in 26 years. In fact, if it hadn't been for Jenny H. mentioning it at the VSCPA Christmas party, I wouldn't have even seen a Sabres away game (vs. Washington Capitals). I bummed a ride with Jenny & Laurie in mid-December. Prior to that, the last NHL game I had seen in person was when Gretzky played for the Kings (vs. Washington Capitals at the Cap Center in Landover). December's D.C. trip has re-ignited a passion for the NHL...

So Friday, I attended the Bruins vs. Sabres game by myself. I sat down close to the glass and only brought my 16-35mm lens. I couldn't have gotten any good telephoto shots up that close. It was so much fun, I didn't really take that many pics. I talked to some locals about how long it had been since I had been there and they told me about how the Bills might be sold away from Buffalo.

Sunday night, before returning to Richmond on Monday, I took my dad to see the Panthers vs. Sabres. We were in the Club section; seats I was told by my neighbors on Friday were far better than down behind the glass. I agree with that now. We had our own bar/restaraunt, local bathroom, and waitstaff taking orders for food and drink during the game. Well worth the extra $15 a seat.

With these seats, I hauled both cameras in (I didn't feel like swapping lenses and missing the action). There was a short delay at the ticket taker. The 70-200mm looks like a 3rd arm. But soon I was inside - once they determined it didn't shoot video...

I went wild with the shutter. Having gotten the initial excitement of being there quelled by Friday's game, I didn't mind looking at the game through a viewfinder. But I only did it when the whistle blew or it looked like a scoring opportunity was afoot. What really helps a sports photographer is having actually played the sport you are shooting. You don't waste many shots with non-action.

Of course, if you are a sports fan, and have watched ESPN in the last 3 days, you know what happened on Sunday's game against the Panthers. Richard Zednik, #20 of Florida, got hit in the neck by Olli Jokinen's skate - narrowly avoiding a fatal injury. I was following the action through the lens to see if anyone would get a shot off when I saw sudden gush of blood. Stunned, I lowered the camera saying "Oh my god" over and over. I took several photos after I realized what happened, but initially I was frozen in horror. A wave of chills swept over me as Zednik skated to the bench. It was sickening knowing (having bashed my own head open) what that kind of blood loss meant. Everyone in the HSBC Arena was relieved to hear he had been stablized and was on the way to the hospital, but the continuation of the game was kind of numbing. I imagined what it must be like - do you just skate around and let the clock run out? I guess that's why they are professionals; they can still keep it together to do their job. But no one would have blamed them for calling it a night.

Nostalgia Trip

My dad and I took 4 days last weekend and went back to Niagara Falls, NY. When I was 8 years old, we lived in a little town called Lewiston on the Niagara River. This was the first time I had been back since we left in the Spring of 1981.

We couldn't get anyone to go with us, and in fact we had talked about going last February. Our family thought we were crazy to go at this time of year, but this is the time that makes that part of the country what it is. Besides, in the summer, the Falls look nice, but it's crowded as can be. And the river smells funny when it's hot. I took a bunch of photos, but was limited when it came to the Falls due to inclement weather. It was 17 degrees the first day with snow showers, and 5 degrees the next day with 40mph wind gusts. I could only get 2 or 3 shots in those conditions before the lenses were coated with precipitation.

In addition to visiting the Falls, we went back to our apartment on Seneca Drive in Lewiston, Lake Ontario at Fort Niagara, and the home of the Wheatfield Blades - where I played little-league hockey. The shots in the hockey rink are of kids roughly the same age I was when I played there...

On the return trip, I stopped off in Monroeville, PA, to visit the Monroeville Mall - where George Romero filmed "Dawn of the Dead" in 1977-78. The escalators and elevator were memorable sets from the movie, although the elevator probably isn't really the same one from back in the 70s. Check out the slideshow.

Crazy Week Ensues...

This is Stress Week! I just wrapped a product shoot of seafood at Shores & Ruark. With 5-year old Willem in tow, I had to give him a spare camera to keep him occupied. 4 hours is rough when you are on a pier with your son in the winter. Thanks to Rick for keeping an eye on the boy, and Karen (of Shores & Ruark) the food designer, who put up with Willem's photo shoot of product preparation.

But that was the easy part! This weekend is the 2nd Annual Trail Travail. An underground Trail run with a field of 30 runners, several volunteers, and anyone else who catches wind and shows up. I designed T-Shirts for this year's event, and that has made a serious dent in the Backlight bank account. But they look great - thanks in no small part to 360 Graphics right here in Richmond.

In addition to fatherly duties, I am purchasing supplies, arranging volunteers, and marking the course for Saturday's run. It's a 25K* - not quite 15 miles, but it's off-road so we can't be sure...

Mission Accomplished...Almost

I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

I managed to slog my way through the Swinging Bridge 35K yesterday morning. That's right - 35K. I know I signed up for the 50K, but I didn't make the cut-off to continue on. I blame the volunteers for not letting me go on. Just kidding. I shuffled in to the start/finish at a whopping 5:43. Last year I managed a 4:03.

I had a hunch I wouldn't be able to go on physically before the race started. With a month and a half of ankle injury, I haven't been able to train more than once or twice a week. This was my longest continuous run (I managed 35K roughly during Mark Junkermann's 24 Hours of Momentum, but that was broken up with dinner and sleeping) since last year's Bel Monte 50K - with or without my gear. Anyway, the ankle was sore from the first step onto the trail and stayed that way through 21 miles of mud, 30 degree creek crossings and leaf-covered roots. Not to mention numerous fallen log crossings as difficult as an Army Basic Training Obstacle Course. But that's why it's a fun race.

It was definitely a good race to photograph. Although there aren't any stunning landscape photo ops, the out-and-back format allows for plenty of participant photos. Of course you could set up at the creek crossings and more visually interesting places and wait, but then you wouldn't be me. In fact, even if you didn't want to join the race and still wanted to get to these good sites, you would probably have to put in 2 or 3 miles. I did luck out however, and got two of the faster guys coming across together. I wish I had camera in hand when the group of 4 took off their shoes to cross the deepest creek. In fact, they did this both out and back. They looked like they were stopping for a relaxing picnic. Testament to my sluggish running speed, the first four runners were on me before I could unpack the camera. I figured I had another mile before I saw anyone. Sorry guys; slow down next time! Check out the photo slideshow.

My only disappointment was that it was supposed to snow and I saw nary a flake. One of these days...