Greg Bryant Athlete of the Week

OK I'm back in the studio for this portrait session with Greg Bryant, a Lewis-Palmer High School hockey player.

I thought really hard about this and decided to go ahead and do the shoot at The Gazette.  Luckily the studio is filled with tons of props from previous assignments over the years.  I found a piece of plywood painted with black spray paint and propped it against a roll of white paper.

Next I attached a two dark orange gels to a studio light, aimed it at the white background and was able to create the burnt orange color of the schools colors.  The other, needless to say being black.

I then used a second light on a light stand and aimed the light at the back of Greg's head so that the light would slightly rim him and the hockey stick.  I dialed that light down to it's lowest setting.

Finally I positioned a box light to the left aiming it away so that the light wouldn't interfere with the background.

Right about then Greg and his father showed up and we commenced with the photo shoot.  After a few adjustments I found the setting on the Nikon D3 I was looking for.

I really like this image with it's color contrasts and dramatic lighting.  Greg was great and did a nice job of working with me and being himself. 

I played around a bit with the Nikon D3's settings and wound up shooting the photo on the lowest ISO setting at 250th shutter speed and anywhere between f11 and f18.

R.I.P. RMN

My co-worker Jerilee Bennett looks at the website of the Rocky Mountain News announcing their final edition.  She just came back from an assignment.  We both looked at the page in disbelief.

We knew this day was coming.  We didn't know when.  But we knew it was coming.

 It still took my breath away when I saw the headline.  Like the death of a good friend.  I know a lot of people at the Rocky Mountain News.  I've chewed a few mouthfuls of dirt with most of the staff photographers out on assignment from one end of this state to the other.  And the country from time to time.

Air Force football games, CU games.  Forest fires, Fort Carson memorials, breaking news.  The list goes on and on. These people are my colleagues but they are also my friends.

I will miss the friendly competition.  I will miss going out and having a few beers after a long day shooting the Denver Broncos on the road.  I will miss picking up this newspaper and not being able to see those incredible photographs.  I will miss the Rocky Mountain News.

This is sad, sad day for the state of Colorado. 

 

Here's to you my friends and colleagues.  Here's to you.

Tough Day at City Council

So I had to photograph a City Council meeting.  Usually a yawner but this one was a bit more lively than usual.  I was there for item No. 11, budget proposals.  In other words they were cutting public transportation, raising fees, consolidation but mainly the cuts to the bus service.

It was a painful day for all.  You could see the strain in the council members faces and the angst with the crowd.  

I stood at the front of the meeting where I could have an eye on the council members as well as the crowd.  I needed to be in a spot where I could see all faces all the time.  I was looking for a reaction image.

It's interesting aiming you camera in a room which is mostly silent and the camera is clicking away.  It's a bit disconcerting especially when getting glances back from people who obviously don't like being photographed.

A big sigh of relief, for better or worse, was felt at the end of the discussion and the vote.  But then reality set in.  The council was obviously upset as demonstrated by Margaret Radford as she leans back in her chair and Cynthia Barram who put her hand to her face with the realization she will not be able to use the public transportation system to get back and forth to college.  She's in a wheelchair and it will be more difficult for her than most.

These are tough times but I will reiterate.  We need photojournalists in our society to be there to document the rollercoaster that is life.  

I can only hope through my work someone will be able to help Cynthia.  It's why I do what I do.

Hanging at the Local DHS

I pull up in the parking lot of the local Department of Human Services on Spruce Street and I start to feel anxious.

I feel anxious because I am about to photograph a very sensitive situation.  

Regular folks experiencing a very tough time in their lives.  Many are here because they have no job.  They have no money.  They need help.  They need food stamps.

I am about to take photographs of people in a very personal time of their lives for a story we are doing about this recession from hell.  I have all of my camera gear and people begin to stare at me and show signs they are uncomfortable with my presence.  

I might as well be wearing a clown suit.

I immediately get to work and try my best to be respectful and polite without overdoing it and being condescending.  The first thing I do is try to make contact with a manager.  Immediately I get glares because people think I am cutting in front of them.  I reassure them I am not but I am beginning to feel a little pressure.

The DHS staff then allowed me to get behind the counter and photograph them at work helping people.  Soon I gained the trust of the staff and eventually some of the people looking for help.

 It wasn't long before I met Keri Johnson and Andrew Shellito who were both out of work and getting help.  They allowed me to photograph the process of obtaining assistance and were very polite to me, something I very much appreciated because many others weren't.   And I don't blame them at all.  The last thing I would want is someone hanging out at DHS taking photos of me trying to get food stamps.   

The image of Keri and Andrew was what we lead with on the front page of the paper.  They were great about the whole thing and I wish them the best of luck.

Point A to Point B to Point C to Point D to Point.............

I looked at my speedometer today and realized I put on nearly 100 miles on my car over the last 30 hours or so zipping around Colorado Springs photographing this and that.

Question. 

"What is your day like?"  I get asked that question or something similar at least once a week.  My response is usually "I never know what I'll be doing from day to day."

It's true. 

 Unless I get a phone call from an editor in advance or an assignment down the road I really have no clue what is in store for me from day to day. 

Example.

Yesterday I photographed a morning softball game followed by a a bridal fair in downtown Colorado Springs.  I then rushed to make my way to the airport for another return from Iraq homecoming.  Luckily that one was called off.  After that I photographed our high school athlete of the week.

On Monday it was a phone call from my editor Dave Turner who sent me on a house fire run minutes before I was going to make it to work to check my schedule for the day.  A 180 degree turnaround from that emotional scene and I was on my way to photograph a burger joint for a restaurant review.  An hour before that it was a school board meeting that, thankfully, was canceled.  And then back to the office to edit and listen to the police scanner and wait for the next potential disaster.

Do you get the picture?  I'm all over the place.  And this is what makes being a photojournalist a very interesting profession.  

I heard an old joke once, probably told a hundred times, by an grumpy old photojournalist once who shall remain nameless.  

He said,  "If you ever hear a photographer bitching it's because he doesn't want you to know how great of a job he really has."

That's the truth, brother.

Conner Stevens Athlete of the Week Photo Shoot

I didn't want to shoot Conner in the studio today.  I was looking for something different.  The last three athletes of the week have been photographed in the studio and it was starting to feel stagnant.  At the same time it's more challenging to shoot these kids on a Sunday because, well, it's Sunday and it doesn't always work out because of their plans. 

Before we switched to Sunday for Monday's paper we had been arranging the photo shoot on Monday for Tuesday's paper.  That made it easier because you could catch the athletes at their school.  Now it can be a scramble and it's harder to arrange to meet at the school because it's closed on Sunday's.

So we've been having them come down to the paper to do the shoot in the studio.

Today I wandered the building for about 30 minutes and then I decided to head to the bowels of the newspaper and take a look around down there.  I loved it.  I decided to do the shoot in the basement dock area where the printing press is and stacks of one and half ton paper rolls by the dozens sit.

The dock is loud, spooky, hot and smells like ink.  But it was different and I think it could look pretty good.  At least more original that the studio. 

After a few electrical problems we got under way.  I used two lights and attached a green gel to one, complimenting his schools color.  I just let Conner Stevens be himself and we made some good images that I think reflected the Pine Creek wrestler's personality.

R.I.P. Meredith Murray

I never met you Meredith but you have put a smile on many present and, I'm sure, future generations of Doherty High School theater students.  Meredith's father generously donated all of the costumes she created as a a Hollywood designer to Doherty, her alma mater. She graduated from the school in 1993. She died of an accidental overdose of antidpressants just 35 days after her mother passed away from cancer in May of 2008.  

A tragic story. 

 Meredith designed costumes and wardrobes that have appeared in numerous television shows and movies including "7th Heaven" and movies such as "He's Just Not That Into You," and "Fast Food Nation."

I was able to snap this little gem for a front page story of these Doherty students who were trying on the costumes for a rehearsal at the school.  They were so excited to have all those options.  It was nice to see.  I'm sure somewhere Meredith Murray is thrilled and happy to see all those happy faces.  I hope her family knows how much these kids appreciate what her father did for them.