Leave Nothing

This is a Nike Football commercial that I just saw on t.v., with the convenience of the web today, I found it on youtube, and thought i'd share. The music is from the soundtrack of "Last of the Mohicans", I absolutely loved that soundtrack. But the video in this commercial is great, it resembles a long sequence shot, but instead of continuing through one setting, the commercials moves in and out of different events from football games. I really enjoyed it, but anyways, here it is, I didn't plan on making this a long post. Just wanted to give you some quick thoughts, its back to watching college football and editing photos. By the way, Adobe Lightroom is a great program for editing. I got the trial the other day, just got it to work last night, it really makes the workflow of sorting and editing a lot easier. I think its going to lead to me being a lot more productive with my shots in the future. Heres the link to the commercial.

Merriman & Jackson: Leave Nothing

A Lesson Learned

Took some photos at the VCU field hockey game tonight, it started at 7, so the game started off well lit. The first half of the game was fine, I think I got a few good shots, first time photographing a field hockey game. Once you get the timing down, the game is about the same as soccer, the planes seem to change a lot faster though, more like lacrosse. After the first half, it got pretty difficult to photograph any of the game, Cary St. field has horrible lighting, the lights only allow you to shoot at 1/100 of a second, which seems like it'd be okay, but most of the photos turned out blurry. If you're zooming in, the f-stop and shutter speed go up as well. Even shooting at 1600 ISO, you have a lot of trouble producing the speeds you need. I was shooting with a 5.6 lens, wide open, but another photographer I had talked with was shooting a 3.5 sigma at 3200, and he was having trouble as well. All I can say is that paying for those huge lenses makes a big difference in low light, during the day (how i usually shoot), the lens works perfect, nothing to worry about. When light becomes a problem, you're pushing your ISO as high as possible and the lens doesn't respond as well as you'd like. I hate to make that discovery after I just bought this $1000 tamron lens, but I'm not worried about it, most of the schedule games are daytime, and I'll use what I've got. I can still get plenty of learning experience, make contacts, and shoot some good photos in the process. Until I graduate and start getting paid for my photographs, I'll make the best out of the equipment I have.

As it got darker, me and this other photographer noticed a member of the audience was using a flash on her camera, which is usually illegal in NCAA games. But after asking the referees, they didn't mind, so for the remainder of the game, we shot TTL flash, zoomed all the way out. It worked in some instances, at the point I concentrated on sideline, reactions and portraits. Action shots from the game were pretty much out of the question at that point. I did what I could though. I plan on sorting through my images tomorrow as I'm watching college football, and finally getting my desktop computer up and running. Once that computer is functioning, it should make my editing, workflow, and life run a lot smoother. I still haven't posted any soccer photos yet either. My plan was to post some photos and ask people to give me some suggestions on which photos they preferred. I need to narrow down the photos I want to use, so I can get into the editing process. Well, they should be up soon, but for now, I'm gonna relax and watch some baseball on t.v.

Artist Lecture: Ann Stroeber

As everyone else in the class, I attended the Ann Stroeber artist lecture, which I found to be very interesting. I think its great that VCU is bringing in these well-known, professional artists that we've been getting in the past. Ann Stroeber has done a lot of sound design in the movie industry including famous films at: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Dead Poet Society, lots of familiar films. I don't so much think that having big names really rates the quality of the artist or her lecture, but she did say a lot of interesting things about how the process goes about. I had no idea that all sound design was done in post-production, I thought at least the character voices were recorded at the time of film, but I guess I was wrong. Sound design seems to completely set the tone of the film and scene, so many textures and layers of sound can be added to make the imagery more believable. This I knew, but when she had given examples within The Elephant Man and Black Stallion, she gave insight to what sounds can come from where. Using the different microphones (frap and air), you can get completely different sounds and feelings. Makes me want to mess around with sound, possibly even add to some photographs of mine, see if I could successfully fit soundscapes to compliment the imagery. Having hear speak about the time and effort that goes into creating sounds for a movie really opened of my eyes to just how intensive the work is. I was glad I got to check out the lecture. Anytime you can hear from a professional artist working in the business, its always beneficial to figure out where you are, and what direction you need to go in order to get on the level as those individuals working in the field.

Peter Read Miller

I found a link that I wanted to post up real quick, it features tips and techniques for shooting football. Obviously, I won't be shooting too much football at VCU, but the things he says a really important to me. He makes some good points, as a pro photographer, but also makes me think more about the different aspects I could be focusing on when I shoot games. Since it was my first batch of soccer games to photograph, I did bounce back and forth between subjects because I was really anxious to try out my new lens. I think next time I need to keep his ideas in the back of my mind, maybe even have a small sketchpad with different subjects to concentrate on, thinks like: offense, defense, portraits, reactions, players not in game, coaches. Taking these considerations before I start shooting, I can better focus on a specific photo I want to get within the game, soccer players jumping for a header, player running past defense, goalie jumping for ball, etc. Plan my shots ahead of time, so I'm not shooting random players, or just following the ball. Anyways, this got longer than I expected. Here is the link.

Peter Read Miller















Just looking through his images, really inspires me to keep shooting and work towards my goal of being a sports photographer. Why not? Its a perfect mix of sports and art, you interpret the event with the manipulation of the camera. I can only imagine capturing college football for a job, the athleticism, sense of atmosphere. So many aspects make the photo below just incredible.

I've taken a lot of thought into attending one of these lecture/workshops taught be Peter Read Miller, or one offered by Sports Shooter Academy, both have highly respects individuals teaching the events. I just really want to run with it, give it everything I can. If I dont' make it, I'll at least know I gave it my best. I honestly think that this could be my niche though, I love the idea of photographing sports because its utilizing your technical skills with a camera, but you also get the excitement and unpredictability of sports. Being able to capture these events, the atmosphere, audience, its a perfect marriage. Not to mention I love the outdoors. I've invested a lot of time so far this semester, keeping on top of my classes, especially this one and "pro practice", I'm really just trying to learn the business end (to look out for myself in the future), and follow my dreams. Someone has to photograph the amazing images of locations and events that most only view through media, such as television. Why can't I be the one to bring the images to them?

Same Ol'

Song that inspired today:
Colouring Lesson - Nothing New

Hence, the song of the day, nothing was overly exciting today. I really just wanted to write to give updates on the latest for my work. I think my meeting with Paul went well the other day, really it was just getting on the same page with everyone. He didn't seem to have any complaints about my work, really with sports, theres only one thing you can do: shoot, and shoot more. The more events you photograph, the more chance you have of getting great images. He wants me to narrow down the images out of my last event (soccer games), next step after that is just editing. I haven't started that process yet, been busy with keeping up with other classes, so that is on the agenda for tomorrow after the mandatory artist lecture. One, narrow down images, and two, start the editing process.

Stretch's class tonight went well also, the content for the class seems boring to most people, but honestly, i'm really into it. Copyrights and knowing the rights of you and your images is vital if you're going to work in the field, which I fully intend on doing. He's also trying to help me out getting me into contact with working sports photographers (part of the class). I'm working on getting into contact with Walter Iooss Jr., basically he's the MAN! Hopefully, I can get into contact with him for my interview to present to class. His work really inspires me, and being able to contact someone that you really admire gives you a big boost in motivation and confidence. Being able to speak with him and find out where he's coming from really brings them down to your level, we all started out on the bottom, and keeping that in mind really helps. Stretch has also given me help with trying to get into contact with Scott Brown, who is a sports photographer working in the area. Its always nice to speak with working artists in the area, local always helps because theres always the option of meeting them in person.

I'm really happy with the way classes are going right now, seems that I've really stepped up this semester, so far at least. Being my senior year, my time has really been geared towards my work, grades, and finally GRADUATING! My photography is a great motivator, so is my future. I really think that keeping myself on track with sporting events and knowing I have work to do helps big time. Having the responsibility of showing up to events and having a sober mind to work, can't show up to work hungover, especially with artwork, really need a clear mind to keep focused. Keeps me home during the evenings. I usually am a social guy, also not afraid of some beers on the weekdays, but lately I've taken a lot more incentive to keep with my photography. I haven't been drinking as much, knowing that I have work to do, which is great, because I have abused substances in the past, drinking specifically. This should be a good year.

Good Saturday

Saturday was an exciting day for sports. It was opening day for college football, which I was extremely excited about. Most of the top ranked teams pulled out wins as they should, seems that opening day is usually scheduled as an easy win, especially at home. Most games went according to plan, except for the Michigan vs. Appalachian State at The Big House. Offensively the teams were
back and forth, it seemed that Michigan's defensive wasn't playing up to their expectations. In the end the game came down to a blocked field goal which ran out the clock, final score of 34-32 Appalachian State, a division I-AA team. I loved every season of it, I've never been a huge Michigan fan, they have talent, but after living with my roommate last year, who thought they were the greatest, I don't so much care for them now.

Another big moment in sports last night, rookie pitcher Clay Buchholz for the Boston Red Sox pitches a no-hitter. A very rare event even with veteran pitchers, occurs in his second start as a major leaguer. Buchholz was aquired through the draft as compensation for the trade of Pedro Martinez. Seems the Red Sox managers made a great choice in giving more depths to their bullpens before October.

Attended 2 soccer games at Sports Backers Stadium today, shot for about 5 hours, getting sunburned (forgot sunscreen). First game was Adelphi vs. Virginia Tech which led to the Hokies coming out on top with a score of 5-1. It was an ugly offensive onslaught, along with a mass amount of yellow cards issued throughout the day. The second game was VCU vs. Albany, as the Rams came out on top with their second win this weekend with the finals scores of 4-0. Tying the national powerhouse Maryland, I'd say that VCU Men's soccer is off to a good start this season, hoping amounting to another visit to the NCAA tournament.

I will have photos posted up tomorrow, got home a little late, and don't feel like messing with photos while I'm worn out from the sun. I think I got some good shots, one of my favorites was a trip in the box, which led to a penalty for VCU, scoring their first day of the day. I got some other shots as well, but it was my first time photographing soccer, I think I learned more about where I need to stand to get better shots, need to work on the timing a little more as well. It would be really nice to get a second Nikon digital body, I had trouble when the action would get in close when I was standing along the sidelines or behind the goal. At the second half, I switched to my 50-300 lens (i think thats what it is?), which gave me a more success when I was trying to get photos of shots on goal, a player going around a defender. I think the more I shoot, the more I will get down the timing, you really have to get a rhythm for the game. I watch it and played it some, but sitting behind a lens and being able to zoom in and out, it makes it a little awkward at first. Overall, I'm excited about the season, and my future work in sports photography. VCU plays UNC in Richmond in a few weeks, UNC were National Champions a few years back, so this is going to be a great game, and an opportunity to get photos at a big match, maybe even get a crowd out there this time. For now, I'm going to download my photos from today and get them ready for my one-on-one meeting, pretty interested in getting some feedback. I think I just need a few more times out to get a feel, but great shots are just a matter of time, you don't happen on every play. Looking at photographers helps me out, giving me ideas for composition, how to frame. Thats about all I have to say for tonight.