On The Road
August, 2003
Hi and welcome to the August On The
Road issue. This month we take a look at a job that I really enjoyed
doing. A flashback to my past as a teenager, I spent my summers
working at summer camps. My sport while growing up was gymnastics
and this year I was asked to document the best summer gymnastics
camp in the USA. International Gymnastics Camp is host to 350
plus gymnasts from all over the United States and boasts an international
staff of Olympians and International competitors. This kind of
job is "on the fly" shooting at its best. There are
many situations and scenes important to the client for brochure
use and advertising. So let's get in the mood for summer fun.................
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Day1...Once athletes arrive and
get settled in to cabins it is time to meet the staff and
your fellow campers with some Team Building. The challenge
courses are great fun but difficult to shoot at 8:00pm. I
used a D1X with a New NIKON 12mm-24mm zoom and a Speeedlight
SB-80DX dialed down to -1.5 Set on Manual I used ISO400 1/5
second at f4. and a flash setting of Rear Curtain and panned
with the action to create motion yet freeze the subject. |
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Day2...In the gym (there are 5 total)
there is a maze of equipment and athletes. The elevated
vantage point shows the facility, athletes and staff during
class instructional time. I used Elinchrome 1000R strobes
to bounce light off the ceiling and shower the gym with
clean light and a fast shutter speed to capture the scene.
A NIKON D1X and 12mm-24mm zoom were used. The Pocket Wizzard
Multi-Max's were used to trigger the strobes wireless. I
exposed to allow some of the ambient light to be included
so as to have an even light throughout the gym. ISO400 100th/sec
shutter speed f4.
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Day3...Dance Class is essential to the gymnast
and a sanctuary away from the whirling bodies of the gym.
Natural daylight coming in through the windows provided a
soft light effect. NIKON D1X, a 70-200VR lens at ISO400, 125/sec
f2.8 |
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Day4...My client requested portraits
of the staff so I started with Sonny, the head Chef. All
the portraits would have to be done in the subjects environment.
For Sonny, this meant the dining hall. Camp schedule does
not allow for a lengthy session. This 1 minute portrait
was done simply with a NIKON D1X , the NEW 12mm-24mm zoom
and a Speedlight SB-80DX dialed down -2. I swiveled the
head to bounce light off the ceiling and wall to my left
and used the diffuser to soften the light. ISO400, 30/sec
, f5 and a color balance of Fluorescent with -2warmth was
set in the camera.
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Day5...There are many cross-training activities
at International Gymnastics Camp. Trapeze was a wonderful
activity and provided some terrific images. Too far for a
strobe to reach, I decided to expose for the sky and take
a generic shot of one of the Trapeze instructors as she finished
the days workout. NIKON D1X, 70-200VR lens, ISO200 1000/sec
f6.3. I could have used a portable strobe to reach the 90feet
to fill in the shadow on her face but athletes that fly through
the air are sometimes reluctant. I felt it best not to worry
my subject with lots of lighting. I think the results are
beautiful and natural and my subject was very comfortable
with the shoot. |
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Day6...No camp experience is complete
without marshmallows and so I headed down to the campfire
evening to capture the drama. NIKON D1X, 12-24mm, ISO400
at 160/sec f5. Fill flash dialed down to -2 with the diffuser
again helped illuminate my subjects while my manual exposure
was set for the trees in the background.
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Day7...Rock of Ages, the camp dance of course.
Here 350 plus athletes of all ages dance to the Electric Slide.
The dance gym becomes a disco by the end of the week. With
the joint jumping a tripod was out of the question so I braced
the camera to a doorjamb to steady the image. ISO500, 1/2sec
exposure at f4. Fill Flash with a Speedlight SB-80DX dialed
down to -1.5 to help freeze the dancers in the foreground
and let the rest of the room have some natural motion. I set
the color balance on Shade-3 to bring out the warmth in the
Disco Lights. |
One of the best things about sports
photography is the variety. One minute you are shooting a portrait
and the next minute you are shooting the action and then you are
shooting the environment. No this is not the Super Bowl or the
Masters but this is Sport. The lives and activities of athletes
at camp is a nice departure from the grim headlines that many
of our "Sports Heroes"( Kobi Bryant ) tend to create.
Future Olympians and National Champions attend this camp and I
for one want to extend my gratitude to the owners Bruno, Cheryl,
and Brent Klaus for their hospitality and invitation to come and
experience gymnastics camp at its best.
See you next month with On The Road. Adios,
Dave
May,
2008 (click here)
A Southwest Tour
April,
2008 (click here)
The Endless Winter
March,
2008 (click here)
PMA Show in Las Vegas!
February,
2008 (click here)
At the Ballet
January,
2008 (click here)
One Week of Work
December,
2007 (click here)
A Look Back at 2007
November,
2007 (click here)
Traveling
with the New Nikon D3
October,
2007 (click here)
High Country Journey
September,
2007 (click here)
Walking
On The Road
August,
2007 (click here)
Speedway
Thunder from PA
July, 2007
(click here)
"Arlington National
Cemetery"
June, 2007
(click here)
"Kentucky Derby Day"
May, 2007
(click here)
"Mexico Trek"
April,
2007 (click here)
"Egypt Trek"
March,
2007 (click here)
Transit Mix
"Images From the Air"
February,
2007 (click here)
Ice Climbing in Ouray
January,
2007 (click here)
2007 Year in Review
December,
2006 (click here)
People of Willoq, Peru
November,
2006 (click here)
Lexington, Kentucky TREK
October,
2006 (click here)
Training for the Mr USA Title
September,
2006 (click here)
"The International Golf Tournament"
August,
2006 (click here)
"Tour of Champions Documentary"
July,
2006 (click here)
"Northern California, the FBI and Clint
Eastwood ..."
June,
2006 (click here)
"The 2006 Kentucky Derby"
May,
2006 (click here)
"Off the Road Picture Sales"
April,
2006 (click here)
Ladies Olympic Figure Skating
March,
2006 (click here)
Torino Italy and the 2006 Winter Olympic Games
February,
2006 (click here)
"Hey Dave, are you going to the Winter Olympics in Torino
and What Equipment Do You Take?"
January,
2006 (click here)
The Holiday Tea with Tchaikovsky
presented by Colorado's Classical Youth Ballet
December,
2005 (click here)
Landscapes at Pebble Beach:
a look back at 2005
November,
2005 (click here)
Lightpainting Landscapes
NFL Football
October,
2005 (click here)
3 Day Photography Workshop
Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, North Carolina
September,
2005 (click here)
Michelle Kwan
August,
2005 (click here)
International Gymnastics Camp
July,
2005 (click here)
the Men's US Open Golf Championships
June,
2005 (click here)
The Kentucky Derby
May,
2005 (click here)
Nevada Photojournalism Day
April,
2005 (click here)
John Bolin's "The Thorn"
March,
2005 (click here)
Indoor Track and Field
UC Irvine's Paul Spittle and
the Sports Shooter Academy
with Nikon's new DX2
February,
2005 (click here)
Broncos Football:
Denver vs Indianapolis
the US Figure Skating Nationals
Portland, Oregon
College Basketball:
Colorado State vs Air Force
January,
2005 (click here)
Broncos Football:
Broncos VS. Dolphins
Assignment work:
Wrestling
December,
2004 (click here)
A look back at 2004
November,
2004 (click here)
Rich Clarkson's Photography at the Summit Workshop &
Moose Peterson's Digital Landscape Workshop Series
October,
2004 (click here)
Whitewater Kayaking
Gymnastics and more
September,
2004 (click here)
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games
Athens, Greece
August,
2004 (click here)
A look back at some wonderful Olympic moments
July,
2004 (click here)
USAFA Graduation flyover
US Olympic Training Center - Swimming and Gymnastics
June,
2004 (click here)
Last Month the Masters, this month The Kentucky Derby......I
love my job
May,
2004 (click here)
Masters at Augusta National
April,
2004 (click here)
The American Cup Gymnastics
NIKON COLLEGE WORKSHOP
March,
2004 (click here)
Indoor Track and Field
Women's Freestyle Wresting
Rhythmic Gymnastics Nationals
The Glass Flower Ceiling at the Belagio Hotel in Las Vegas
February,
2004 (click here)
College Basketball
Women's Waterpolo
Olympic swimmers on their way to Athens
January,
2004 (click here)
NFL Football
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finals
A look back at The Greenbay Professionals
December,
2003
Monday Night Football the Sports Shooter Workshop and Luau in
LA
November,
2003
Photography at the Summit workshop
October,
2003
Portraits to workshops to stock image sales
September,
2003
Lightpainting in Banf
The World Gymnastics Championships
August,
2003
International Gymnastics Camp
July,
2003
Thunderbirds
Gymnastics
The Sports Photography Workshop with Rich Clarkson
Velodrome Cycling, More
June, 2003
The 129th running of the Kentucky Derby
White water kayakers
The Champions on Ice tour
May,
2003 (click here)
PBR Rodeo
Chris Shivers and Little Yellow Jacket ride for $1 Million
April,
2003 (click here)
Nikon's featured speaker at PMA in Las Vegas
American Cup Gymnastics
USAFA Women's Basketball
USAFA Swimming
USAFA Boxing
NCAA Fencing Championships
March,
2003 (click here)
USOC's Titan Games
February,
2003 (click here)
Air Force Basketball
Pro Football Pre-Superball Stock Sales
Swimmers train at the Swim Flume at the USOC
Much more!
January,
2003 (click here)
Diving at the Air Force Academy
Denver Broncos VS. The Arizona Cardinals
Olympic Hopefuls Lenny Krayzelberg and Tom Molchow practice
at the USOC
