Portraits
After the Fall
Call me a homer (which I’m not) but I like Kim English. He may not be the best player on the court this season, but he plays like he loves the game, and he isn’t afraid to sacrifice his body.
Missouri guard Kim English grimaces after being knocked to the court during the second half of the Tigers’ 86-71 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship Mar. 10, 2011 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Red Carpet Mug Shots
A few days ago, Parker tossed an idea my way about the Tribune’s upcoming Oscar preview section. Usually, we have a panel of local film buffs who make their picks and discuss the films a little. Along with that, we have mug shots of the panelists. This year, we opted for more of a stylized approach with our four subjects, and the folks at the Missouri Theater were kind enough to open up the space for two hours so we could shoot the portraits.
I used Parker’s makeshift ringflash, which actually worked out really well. And, it was way more fun than just shooting mug shots.
Martha
It’s always nice when you go on an assignment to take a portrait, and end up finding something a little more interesting. This morning, I went to photograph Martha Smock, the daughter of campus minister Jed Smock (better known as Brother Jed to all you Mizzou folk) and made a few frames while she interviewed with the reporter for a story this weekend. Afterwards, she headed into the kitchen where her sister was cooking lunch and her niece was playing on the floor. I tagged along.
Martha Smock, 19, listens to her younger sister, Priscilla, 16, as her niece, Iris Hughey, 2, plays in her family’s kitchen Dec. 16, 2010 at her southwest Columbia home. Martha has been traveling with her father, Jed Smock, as he ministers on college campuses across the country since August 19th, and the two plan to travel more this coming year; first to Florida, then west across the Sun Belt toward Arizona.
When Stars Align
A few weeks ago, the Trib’s photo editor, Gerik, told me that I was going to shoot the cover photo for the Basketball preview section the paper does each season. You might remember Parker Eshelman’s shot of Aldon Smith for the football section, so I knew this portrait had to be just as bangin’. After a media day snafu (I found out about media day the day of, and didn’t have enough time to plan) I set up another time to meet with the two players for the image, junior forward Laurence Bowers and freshman guard Phil Pressey.
This year’s concept was “when stars align,” speaking to the ability of Missouri coach Mike Anderson’s ability to produce quality teams with three-star recruits such as Bowers and using that success to recruit five-star recruits such as Pressey.
Parker and I tossed around a few ideas, toying with the idea of poking holes in a black seamless, then lighting it from behind, creating a “star” effect. One night, while laying in bed, I had this idea in my head and couldn’t sleep, so I sketched it out.
Ultimately, we decided that putting lights behind a seamless would be too difficult because we had no way to suspend the seamless in front of the lights. Instead, I used cinefoil to create small snoots to put on the front of two white lightnings, which acted as the “stars.” It was a pretty simple setup: Two “stars” (white lightnings), two side lights (SB-800s) and one key (an SB-900 with softbox attached to a boom). All the lights, except for the White Lightnings, were triggered with PocketWizards.
But, being me, I had to test my idea in the Tribune photo studio before doing it for real.
Then it was time for a field test.
Pretty simple, eh? And if you’re wondering, here are the tech specs:
Key light: Nikon SB-900, Manual, full power at ISO 400, f/16.
Side lights: Nikon SB-800, Manual, 1/2 power, ISO 400, f/16.
“Stars”: Two White Lightnings, full power. Also, these have an optical slave, so they were triggered when the other lights fired.
Shot on a Nikon D3 at f/16, 1/200, ISO 400 with a Nikkor AF-D 50mm.
Also, a huge thanks to Parker for helping me with the lighting scheme, testing it out, helping pose the players and telling me that my first attempt was so bad that I needed to do it again.
This Little Bird
I am no wildlife photographer.
But, when I got a lead on a little story, I thought it might make a good Our Town. So I went to check out this little bird, a Killdeer, that had set up a nest in a parking lot.
I went back three times, laid in the grass, got dirt all over me, sweated, stank and looked like a complete fool to the cars passing by. So what. I got close — real close — to this little animal. Saw the eggs in its nest, then had it squeak at me to say, “hey, buddy, you need to back up a bit.” And I certainly gained a new respect for photographers who sit in blinds all day waiting for five seconds of animal action.
So, here’s an outtake of my new friend. The eggs should hatch soon; maybe I’ll take a family portrait.
A female Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) stands near its nest June 29, 2010 in the parking lot of P.E.T. Project, 1908 Heriford. A P.E.T. volunteer discovered the nest while coming into work one morning and alerted Mel West, the Project’s director. West then placed an orange parking cone and a bowl of water near the nest so the animal would have something to drink and motorists would be alerted to the bird’s presence.
Rock-a-bye
Fast lens + clean background + newborn grandson = photo
The Longest Wait
Shayli McKen didn’t bother holding back her tears. It had been nearly one year since her husband, Army Spc. Chad McKen, deployed with the 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery of the Wyoming National Guard to Iraq, and she was mere seconds away from seeing him again.
His was the last of three aircraft to arrive, and Shayli inched closer to the tarmac as the plane rolled into the Natrona County Airport near Casper. The plane’s hatch opened and the crowd of about 500 gathered around started to cheer. Soldiers embraced their wives, mothers, sons and daughters all around Shayli as she intently looked for Chad.
She saw him, smiled and her eyes began to well with tears.
Her long wait was finally over.
The Best of My 2009
This year hasn’t been too shabby for me.
I edited and published a book. I got my masters degree from Missouri. I placed in CPOY.
I got drunk at Mardi Gras.
Here’s a look back, from Spain to California and all the places in between. If I learned anything this year, it’s never stop looking and don’t give up, because you never know when a basketball coach will start dancing on a table in the locker room.
Goodbye, 2009, and bring it on, 2010.