Photo shoot with Nila

I had a great time today photographing an up and coming model by the name of Nila. You can check her out on Model Mayhem here.

Nila was a joy to work with and I would highly recommend her for any modeling job you have in mind. She was on time and very eager to try different concepts. Her go with the flow attitude really complemented my shooting style well.

Some background on these photos. The day was overcast and I shot all these with available light through an 85mm 1.8 lens. For you camera technophiles out there the ISOs were very high at times (several shots were taken at 1600).

Overall I was pleased with the outcome. I was trying to go outside my comfort zone a bit and push my creativity...

I thought this to be a very nice and natural photo of Nila

I like this photo for its richness in color




A little bit of the washed out look...

You got to love the personality in this one

I was able to catch a nice expression in this one. I love this look...




Tricked out




I liked the light falling against this wall.

Thanks again Nila for being such a good sport and waiting patiently for me to get the proofs to you.

Jesus Bowl 08

A tradition that started some 8 years ago has been carried on yet another year. I am dubbing this event the Jesus bowl because it is an annual tackle football game that is played every year on Christmas morning. I figured since the games played on Thanksgiving are called Turkey Bowls (see my post on that below) this would respectively be called the Jesus Bowl.

The game this year went off without a hitch. Mother Nature threatened to shut us down earlier in the week with forecasts of bad weather. The weather, however, turned out to be the best we had in years.

This year we had fourteen players (that is including myself) which is not too bad of a turnout. Our player count has ranged anywhere from about 10 to as much as 20+. As long as I have this blog going I figured I would start documenting this momentous event. It will be cool to see the different faces that come and go through the upcoming years.

As far as myself - I wouldn't miss this event for nothing - as long as I can put one foot in front of the other. I am a firm believer in staying active. I believe it will keep you young in the long-run. The majority of the people that come out and play are at least 10 years younger than me and the founding players yet we old guys continue to hold our own.

Well that's all for this post. Check out the photos below of this year's participants...

Note: Anyone is welcome for ’09 we will be there same time (10:30am) – same place

Burbank High School
Florin Road
Sacramento Ca

The group photo




Individual players. I picked a nice shaded spot behind a cargo container that had some cool lettering on it to enhance the background a bit...

My sons (although they didn't play they came out and froze with the rest of us) get a photo spot for being good sports...

My youngest son got hit in the head with the ball right before this shot was taken, that is why he has the sad face (he was ok though)

And that's a wrap. See yal next year!!

Photography practice with my son

I love the fact that I have a son that is so willing to help me advance my photography skills. It is such a blessing to have him around. When we are done shooting I always thank him. I want him to know that I really appreciate what he is doing for me and not that he has to do it just because I am his Dad and can make him. When I thank him his eyes tell me that he appreciates it as well and there is a mutual respect and bond that form. Ok…Ok let me get off that sensitive kick. My eyes are starting to water. I just love my sons so much.

We went to my practice ground which is a large open field a few minutes away from my house. To add to the usefulness of this place there are train tracks that run right through the middle of it. The kicker is you can see for a good mile or so down the tracks giving you plenty of time to clear out if you had a shot set up on the tracks.

I know the train tracks are kind of cliché but I get a lot of good stuff from this place. Today with the light casting as it was I wanted to get some real dramatic photos with the theme of a little boy alone in a man’s world. My son plays the serious roll very good (I guess he gets that from me) and because he’s only 8, all my themes have to be of this nature for my practice. I have to say that these came out just as I wanted them. What do you think?

My favorite shot




A look down the tracks...

And a walk...

I love the light in these

And finally a shot with the wide angle lens

Cody Yates

Today was a fun day of shooting. I got the wonderful opportunity to shoot the very talented and very fit Cody Yates. Cody is a certified personal trainer that specializes in training boxers (though that is not the extent of his clients). His trainees range from big time corporate execs to plain old photographer Joes like me.

Since it was raining today, I am glad I got a chance to do some indoor shooting using off-camera flash. I do a lot of natural light shooting, but you can't forget about controlled light photography, the skill comes in handy in many different situations were good natural light is not available. All these shots were taken with a canon 5d and either one or two off camera flashes. I am very pleased with what I got. My goal was to walk away with some very clean and dramatic photos portraying a boxer/trainer in his workout environment.

If you are looking for a personal trainer go ahead and give Cody a call. He is a very cool and down to earth guy with a dedication to and passion for fitness.

Cody’s Ringside Fitness
1770 36th St. (Studio)
916.868.7746
cypersonaltraining@yahoo.com

here are some of my favorite shots I got with Cody

This look is killer




In the element

Now it was time to warm up to get some sweat going for added drama

A little shadow boxing...

A few minutes - well in Cody's case - several minutes on the heavy bag...






And now we are ready for the finale




I want to give a big thank you to Cody for letting me come into his gym and reek havoc with my camera equipment.

Mundy's 21st Birthday

I had the pleasure of hanging out with some old friends (no pun intended) this evening in the celebration of Mundy's birthday. No - Mundy is not actually 21 and I am not going to be the one to tell her real age. Your best guest will be wrong, but good enough nonetheless.

I have known Mundy for several years now. I met her through my long long long long time friend Jessica C. Jessica and I go way back. We have been friends since before cell phones, Starbucks and the Internet. I'm talking way back when people still used aluminum foil and wire hangers to increase reception for the latest episode of Dynasty or Dallas (these shows were the Seinfeld and Friends of their day). And yes, people did have to get up to change the channel on occassion - who'd a thought...

It is always fun to hang out with friends you've known for a long time, something funny is always bound to happen. The theme of this birthday and what turned out to be the joke of the night was "bringing Mundy into the 21st century." what do I mean by this you ask? Well take a look at the pics below and be amazed...

Here's the birthday girl...please pay close attention to what's in her hands

My friend Jessica. I love to catch her making some awkward gesture - it is my photographic duty...




Free treats for the birthday girl




The colors at La Rosa restaurant were very rich and vivid - I love it!

Ok, drum roll please...




It is amazing how small these things have gotten over the years




The best present of the night (IMO)

To download the pics from Mundy's birthday check out this slide show here

Kenyon Page

I found myself today taking pics downtown with the talented Kenyon Page. Being a model and actress, Kenyon needs to keep her portfolio current with her latest and greatest look. You never know when that big break will come so you should always be prepared with all your marketing material current.

I suggested we go downtown primarily because I shoot there a lot and know several places where I can get great pics depending on the type of weather. We started out at the capitol, a good central meeting point, and worked our way east ending up at a beautiful art wall near 23rd and K.

My favorite pic of the day. I love how pure and natural this photo turned out. and the hair is rock'n...

A cool shot on the top of a parking structure

My favorite red brick wall. This wall just makes pictures pop!




The last shooting spot of the day. This art wall is a great enhancement to photos.




We went to The Weatherstone Coffee house after so I could give Kenyon a quick preview of the pics




They have a wide range of gourmet coffees. Don't ask me if they are any good because I don't drink coffee...

The sign of a good day

As I parked my truck this morning I noticed a white Dove sitting on the chained linked fence just ahead of me. I thought this was a rather strange sight to see in such an urban area and took it to be a sign of a good day.

Being that I am always armed with my camera I decided to start the day off with some pictures of this marvelous sight. I didn’t think I would get a good photo contemplating the bird flying away just as I moved in for the shot. To my surprise the bird stayed there perched on that fence as solid as a man in his recliner on Super Bowl Sunday.

I was very excited to be able to snap of a couple of good pictures to share.

As I inched closer the dove continued to stay calm - there was a moment when I felt like we were old friends.

I waited for the light rail train to come to add interest to the background...

Art Show at The Coffee Garden

This evening I attended an art show at a local coffee house close to midtown. I had been to this coffee house one time previously and really enjoyed the atmosphere. When I got word of an art show being hosted there and one of my family members being a featured artist - I thought, what a perfect opportunity to take pictures and chat with family and other fellow artists.

Now I know some folks don't consider photography to be an art (believe it or not), but I consider the way I take pictures and my passion for such definitely to be artistic.

Any way enough with the pleasantries - lets get on with the show. Here are some photos I grabbed. The lighting was terrible (from a photographers perspective - it was otherwise very nice) which made for a good challenge. I am always taking advantage of opportunities like this to sharpen my skills. I figure the more crappy lighting situations I manage to pull decent pictures off in the better photographer I will be in the long-run.

Just in case you want to check out this location, her is the info:

The Coffee Garden
2904 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95818
916-457-5507

This little tree caught my attention as I walked in. It was something about the way it was shining in the light (stay away from the light...) - I just couldn't help myself...




Live music was playing and it really added to the mood. It was very soothing




There was all types of art being displayed, from paintings to hand-made jewelry






The customer service is always great here (well at least the two times I've been)




Oh, and the goodies!