On The Road
"Olympians, Weather and Workshops"
September, 2008
Hi and welcome to this edition of On The Road.
I have photographed more and taught more than any other summer
of my career. I purchased the NEW Nikon D700 and several of the
NEW Nikon SB900 Speedlights. I am still putting these new additions
to my camera bag through projects in the field before writing
down my thoughts for all of you to read, but, let me say that
I am very, VERY impressed with both products. My work has kept
me away from the sanctuary atmosphere of my home and seclusion
of my office for well over 6 months with very little time off.
As a result, pulling images and writing my monthly articles has
been a challenge for these past several editions. This month's
Workshop at the Ranch article features the Long Island Photo Workshop
and is a very in-depth study about lighting portraits on location.
I hope you all get the time to read it and hopefully glean a few
things that might help your portraiture. Well, here are a few
images I liked from my travels while recently on the road.
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Image
#1 USA Boxing ... Even
though I declined multiple offers to cover the Summer Olympic
Games in Beijing, I still kept my hand in a few Olympic
preview assignments just before the USA teams left for China.
I have worked for USA Boxing on and off for all of my professional
photography career and was pleased to be involved in their
official USA Olympic Boxing Team promotional campaign. Originally
the request was to photograph the Olympians in color and
then a separate department would convert the images to Black
& White. The client liked the color images and decided
to use them as they were shot, but I still had B&W on
my mind so I made some conversions from the photo shoot
for myself using my Black and White conversion formula (see
Workshop at the Ranch October 2007). For this image I used
2 of my 1100 watt/sec battery powered Elinchrom Ranger packs
and strobe heads each with a large softbox just out of the
edges of the frame next to the boxer. Nikon D3, ISO200,
1/250 at f11, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 6250K, Two Elinchrom
Rangers each with a Large Chimera Softbox, Elincrom Skyport
wireless system to trigger the strobes, Bogen Lightstands,
Lexar 8G Flash Card.
|
Image
#2 Deontay Wilder
... The job involved photographing each member of the
Olympic Team in ten different lighting scenarios. I was
given 30 minutes per boxer to photograph them in each
of the 10 stations I had set up around the USOTC's boxing
gym. I had to work fast and efficiently to get each athlete's
picture in each of the 10 stations. Deontay embracing
the speed bag was one of my favorites and made a nice
B&W conversion. This is a basic Cross Light set-up
using two Rangers, one with a large Chimera softbox just
out of the left side of the frame, and one with a 10 degree
Grid positioned just off Deontay's left shoulder and aimed
at his ear. Nikon D3, Nikon D3, ISO100, 1/250 at f13,
Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 6250K, Two Elinchrom Rangers as
previously described, Bogen Lightstands, Elinchrom Skyports
to trigger the strobes, Lexar 8G Flash Card. Coincidentally,
Deontay won the Olympic Bronze medal in the Heavy Weight
division in Beijing.
|
Image
#3 Red Storm ... For
the first time in 12 consecutive Olympiads I did not cover
the Olympic Games. A career of Olympic coverage that began
in the summer of 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympics, covered
each summer and winter games over the past 24 years, concluded
for me in Torino, Italy at the 2006 Winter Olympics. I still
love to photograph sports and I have absolutely no intention
of leaving sports photography. The still small voice that
resonates deep in my spirit that has motivated, guided,
and encouraged me to move in certain directions during my
life has once again challenged me to move forward into new
sports and new photographic challenges. This single image
of a massive storm cell building over Colorado Springs is
what I photographed during the televised showing of the
closing ceremonies from the 2008 Summer Olympic Games from
Beijing, China. As the curtain went down on the greatest
Olympic Games ever I left my wife Susan sitting on the couch
for a moment, walked outside onto the deck of our home,
gave thanks to God for all He has done in my life ... and
then I made a different picture. Nikon D3, ISO200, 2 seconds
at f 5.6, Nikon 14-24mm lens, WB 8330K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber
Tripod with Gitzo Ball Head and Kirk "L" Bracket,
Lightning Trigger, Lexar 8G Flash Card. The Lightning Trigger
is a device made by Stepping Stone Products www.lightningtrigger.com
and attaches to the camera remote terminal. With my camera
held motionless on the tripod the Lightning Trigger detects
the flash of lightning and triggers the camera's shutter.
This picture captures both the illumination of the Colorado
Springs city lights reflecting off the low clouds as a storm
cell rolls in over the Rocky Mountains.
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Image #4 Wolf Pack
... The American PHOTO Mentor Series (a.k.a. Trek) is one
of my favorite workshop series to teach. We always go interesting
places and make interesting pictures. Before I left for
the Mentor Series New Jersey Trek I must admit it gave me
cause to raise an eyebrow. New Jersey? ... well, it is called
the garden state. I was pleasantly surprised with all that
we saw and photographed. From beautiful gardens to wild
life and even some Lightpainting. Our class was terrific
and learned a lot. Here is one of my images from the Lakota
Wolf Preserve in Columbia, NJ. The dark overcast and rainy
conditions arrived at the same time we did, but that didn't
stop us from making some beautiful images of these magnificent
animals. Nikon D3, ISO1000, 1/250 at f4, Nikon 24-70mm lens,
WB 3450K, One SB900 Speedlight with warming gel, i-TTL,
Remote mode with a power output of -3.0 and ZOOMED to 200mm,
Nikon SU800 Commander, Lexar 8G Flash Card. Paul, one of
the Treks students, was kind enough to walk about 25 feet
to my right and aim the SB900 Speedlight at the young pup
and mother which added just enough light and warmth to draw
attention to the two wolves.
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Image
#5 Lady of the Garden
... During our 3 day workshop I emphasized and reemphasized
the importance and purpose of lighting. The previous picture
of the wolf pack is a good example of using one off camera
flash to add just a shaft of light on the subject in order
to grab the viewers attention and hold their interest. The
class learned from my repetitive mantra that "if you
want a picture to look interesting, only light part of it"
and made some great pictures of their own. Well, we also
applied this theory to our visit to the Duke Farms in Hillsborough,
NJ when we Lightpainted several of the statues in the old
stone barn area. Nikon D3, ISO400, 30 seconds at f6.3, Nikon
24-70mm lens, WB 3570K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod and Ball
Head with Kirk "L" Bracket, Stylus Streamlight
to Lightpaint the statue and one Brinkmann Q Beam to Lightpaint
the garden greenery and stone wall, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
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Well, that was shorter and sweeter than usual,
but there is a reason, I'm leaving to go on the road immediately
following this writing to work on several photo shoots using the
NEW Nikon D700 and NEW SB900 Speedlights (review articles to come
in the near future.) When these jobs are complete I'll be heading
up to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to join Rich Clarkson's faculty for
back-to-back workshops (Adventure Photography Workshop with Corey
Rich, Keith Ladzinski, myself and others: September 20-25 ...
and then Photography at the Summit Jodi Cobb, Jay Maisel, Tom
Mangelsen, Mary Anne Golan, myself and others: September 28- October
3 (www.richclarkson.com
...come join us in Jackson Hole.)
See you next time On The Road.
Adios, Dave
WORKSHOPS and PRESENTATION Schedule
March 5-7, 2010 ... Southwestern Photojournalism Conference (SWPJC) Ft. Worth, Tx. www.swpjc.org
April 28,- May 4, 2010 ... American PHOTO Mentor Series Trek to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon www.mentorseries.com
June 27- July 2 ... Sports Photography Workshop, Colorado Springs, Co. www.sportsphotographyworkshop.com
August 1-5 ... Long Island Photo Workshop, Long Island, NY. www.liphotoworkshop.com
September 9-12 ... American PHOTO Mentor Series Trek to Tetons, Wyoming www.mentorseries.com
October 3-8 ... Photography at the Summit, Jackson Hole, Wy. www.photographyatthesummit.com
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December,
2008 (click here)
Memory Lane

November,
2008 (click here
Gone Fishing

October,
2008 (click here)
National Geographic Adventure Photography Workshop
September,
2008 (click here)
Olympians, Weather and Workshops
August,
2008 (click here)
Camp Life

July,
2008 (click here)
Lightpainting the Southwest

June,
2008
The Kentucky Derby

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