lights, camera, action

i think the theme of this post should be about the visual challenge - alongside the usual dose of prep sports this week, my "assignments" all fall into the category of covering something visually that isn't inherently visual....

let's just begin with the RV Show from last weekend - these things are always so tough - people walking up and down aisles looking at mobile homes and campers, carrying the plastic bags filled with promotional materials they collect along the way - i tried making something out of the reflections, shooting through the windows, waiting inside to see if i could catch a moment as people toured thru the vehicles....i felt like a magician fresh out of ideas, pulling all my old tricks out of my tan dompke bag, and feeling pretty uninspired - having a hard time calling up that "roll with it, clear your head and let the picture come to you" mantra that serves so well in situations like these....just as i was about to give up and just go with what i had, i saw this group heading toward a large mobile home - they had a slew of kids with them, and i'd seen the kids playing inside one of the other homes, but couldn't get in there in time to work with it before they were off and on to the next model.....so, i got in there, and the kids ran into a back bedroom and immediately set up camp in the closet....well, okay, i'll take that, the composition is a little off, but i still liked the moment as their mom spied them inside the closet (reflected in the mirror of the closet door)....

monday morning, a former teacher who is now a professor teaching English in Tokyo came to visit a group of 4th graders....their teacher was actually this guy's student back in the day, and he has been corresponding with her and her class throughout the year....so, being in town, he came for an in-person visit, bringing along with him sheets of paper with their names written in Japanese and lucky coins, and for the most part it was a power point map kind of presentation...this isn't what i turned in for the paper, just an aside moment that i liked...

then, later that night, sports....

and the next night, more sports - the challenge here being cheerleaders - aargh! do they really have to line up right under the basket, forcing me to shoot from the side, which is exactly where the ref will stand just at the peak moment of action....cheerleaders - BOO!!!!!

next day, went out to shoot a future Sunday piece on a program called "Bridges Out of Poverty," which is a 15 or 20 week program that uses a nationally distributed workbook curriculum that aims to help teach people how to break the cycle of poverty and get their lives back on track - so, basically, 3 women sitting around the large conference table and going through their workbook and talking - of course, each with the pop or water bottle plopped directly in front of them and the large platter of bagels and donuts in the middle....so, there's the challenge, and again, i feel like i resorted to some of the old visual tricks - i was hoping for a moment, but as to making it visually interesting and getting that extra layer in there, i noticed that one of the women was reflected in the screen of the facilitator's laptop...so, there goes that old visual cliche again, but, i think it works okay and helps to make the moment a bit more interesting, and i liked the close-up of the woman who's kind of the focal peg of the story, so i think as a package it's not an inappropriate use of the reflection

and then the ice jam - this happens every winter, and every winter, whether it's actually creating a problem or not, we shoot it - thought we were actually going to blow it off this time round, but then one day, there it was written up on the board with my initial stuck alongside it....so, off to the river to find the glutted slabs of ice....it was at a point in the river that is pretty plain - not a lot to work in there visually/compositionally.....you do what you can

friday morning began with a portrait of a man that bought a long-abandoned old factory and has rehabbed it into a warehouse...brought along a light - we've been really trying to do more with lighting portraits and kind of upping the ante in that respect - my co-worker far more than me, and with much better success i think - but, i'm trying to step it up....i was glad we were able to get in to the building - it sounded like he may have wanted/indicated doing a portrait standing outside the building (or god forbid, as we were joking, "by the sign") - at least all the lines of the shelving gave some visual elements to work with - had a heck of a time getting the white balance right - no setting seemed to work, especially once i threw the flash in there - i think the lighting works a little better (more like i wanted) in the second version, though i didn't like the composition as much....this guy was really patient and easy to shoot - before moving back to the area, he was actually a commercial fotog and foto instructor at Brooks Inst. in CA - which right away always makes me feel a little intimidated - just shooting another fotografer - and knowing, the kind of work he did and taught, he probably worked a lot more with lighting portraits than me, so i didn't want to look like a complete dope...but, i suppose, for what it is, i'm pretty content with the outcome...

later, shot an event for the opening of a new educational facility for people to get their GED's...after all the muckety-mucks got done speaking, they did the ribbon cutting and then everyone filed into the building for the tour - it's really just 2 rooms - one two long tables of computers, the other just an open room with some GED books and round tables - people stood around the open room eating cookies and drinking coffee and talking....happened to catch this moment after the ribbon cutting, where the center's coordinator got a congratulatory hug from a friend who works at another social service agency (actually, she was the woman who teaches the poverty class i shot 2 days prior) - if i stay here long enough, i won't even need my notepad anymore - i'll just know everyone i think!

so, that's been the challenge week for me, and now i have a few days off, and i can catch up and clean and paint and work on jewelry - prom season will be here in no time, and i am determined to make something out of it this time round!

hey,

thanx for looking,

really