Courtesy of: SnapKnot

My favorite spring sports photo

Spring's all wrapped up and in the books, giving me a chance to look back at photographs from my first two-and-a-half months as a PJ for the Ashland Times-Gazette (Ohio).

One in particular. My favorite photo comes from the track (err, the field) during the Ohio state championships down in Columbus at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. This one's a personal favorite for a few reasons, but first, the photo:



Discus. Yep, out of baseball and softball and tennis and all those fun spring sports, I've come to love a discus photo the best. Here's why:

1) I knew this discus thrower was going to be one of our top finishers, so I wanted to get something GREAT. The difficulty (and isn't it always like this?) is that I had another athlete competing 300 yards away in high jump. Simultaneously. So running from one spot to another in a pinch and still finding a great photo makes me happy. Lemonade with elusive lemons.

2) Finding something different. Discus is the worst for photography, especially when the longest lens at my disposal was a 300mm. The officials (for your own safety) weren't allowing you anywhere near the throwers. All the photographers were huddled well past the throwing area, shooting back into the throwing area. Giving them photos exactly like this one (from one of our competitors):

No way I was submitting a shot like that. No. Way. So I meandered to the side of the thrower's area, probably 15 or 20 feet from the near mesh. Found a cool angle, that -- if all went well -- would make for a cool photograph.  That leads to No. 3 ...

3) Settings. This was the finals, so I had three throws from Mariah to get it right. And I had all the other girls to fiddle with settings. But one problem. AF kept getting locked up on near mesh. It must've been just beyond the limit switch on my 70-200. So I had to do the unthinkable for a modern PJ ... I had to switch to manual focus.

And I had to do it at 2.8, so the near mesh wasn't too obtrusive (I didn't mind it at 2.8 ... I think it gives it a cool 3D frame.

Luckily, the discus throwers basically finished their throw from the same spot. I tried a few different methods (focusing on that spot on the ground, trying to manually focus on a another girl just after she threw) to nail down the focus, but I was still playing with fire.

So when Mariah finally threw (I think this was her second throw), my heart was probably beating as fast as hers was. I knew my exposure was right ... it all came down to the focus.  (OH! Also, I was shooting on silent because I had a feeling the normal shutter might catch the ear of the officials).

So Mariah threw, and I layed on that silent shutter (that's probably 3 frames per second, if that). And I hoped and I prayed. And I chimped -- yes, I chimped! And I got it! Focus was dead on. And even better, Mariah looked right into the sunlight for me, casting this beautiful glow on her face.

And again, I think the mesh on both sides gives it a cool atmospheric look. And it's different. And it was manually focused! And taking a step back, I think the pose is pretty heroic, giving it a cool nod to the Greek history of a throwing event like discus.

That's why this is my favorite photo of spring.

Building a more narrative portrait

OK. More portrait stuff. Track athlete of the year.

And I was trying to do something a little more narrative with this portrait. Get some information in this photograph.

But I always struggle with finding that balance. Between narrative and just complicated. It's like photographing a baseball pitcher. Sometimes you can get a cool shot shooting through the batter and umpire. And sometimes its just distracting, and you're better off getting a clean, tight frame without any obstruction.

So I took a 70-200, hiked up into the bleachers, and shot down onto the "Ashland" letters on the track, moving my subject here, there. Trying to fit it all in comfortably.

I didn't really like any in-camera. It felt complicated.

But I got back to my computer, and realized I could build a pretty cool frame using the near bleacher and the far grass. They complemented each other. Pretty cool color with the track. And the subject had a great natural expression.

So it's different. And it's by no means a scientific composition -- the subject is left of center, near border. But I like it more and more every time I look at it. Cool framing. Great subject. Good setting for a track athlete of year portrait (both a track, and the high school name).

I like it.

One day, two very different portraits

The daily newspaper grind for a photojournalist can be exhausting, but it can also give you the most interesting mix of assignments.

Today's workload called for two portraits: one of a high school high jumper headed to states, the other a World War II veteran who was on the beaches during D-Day.

Yeah, two different mindsets. But in both, I'm still trying to capture something real, something personal.

High jumper first. Gray, blah day. With little-to-no lighting equipment (just an old Nikon flash on the hotshoe), I was thinking a lot about good composition. Did a few run-arounds, got some decent shots. And just before packing it in, tried a simple composition. I think because she knew we were just about done, she was relaxed. And I finally caught that great, natural look. Hurrah! Love it. Again, doesn't exactly pop with just the on-camera flash. Gray sky is droll. But I love the look. And it tells a fun story. So I like it.



And then the Navy vet. This one was a lot less movement. I joined reporter for the interview, got to listen to some incredible stories. This guy was a cook on an LST vessel that was at D-Day, Iwo Jima, Okinawa ... all over the place!

So we were all sitting outside on his tiny porch, and I was just keeping an eye out for anything. As he kept talking, I noticed he would frequently look out to his backyard, and this really lovely side-light fell on the far side/edge of his face. And it blew out pretty coolly with the white wall behind him.

So I twiddled with the f-stop a bit (I wanted something pretty shallow), and came up with this. Full disclosure: politely manuevered the photo he was holding to face me. He didn't even seem to care.

Anyway. Love this photo. Nice shallow DOF gives it a dreamy quality. Bright and simple. Tricked around with the contrast + curves to find a decent middle ground for the exposure on his face.

Making lemonade

Busy day earlier. Involved writing and photography and driving about 80 miles. Good to stay busy, I suppose.

Crappy weather though. No sun. Occasional hail. Frequent rainstorms.

So I started my day at a conference championship track meet. It runs slowly, is paused by the weather several times, and by the time I have to leave for another assignment -- nothing exciting.

Listen, I love shooting track. Especially when you have a chance to really buckle down and focus on the event. Know the schedule and locations. Figure out the lane assignments. Who's going to win. Who's probably going to win. Prefocusing. Remote cameras. Prostrate shooting. Throwing on the wide angle. The whole shabang.

Getting to dedicate 4 hours to a track meet is awesome.

Having to zip through a couple events quickly (all field, track stuff hadn't even started) and leave is miserable. Field stuff is always happening simultaneously, and you're always going to miss something.

So I left with a bad taste in my mouth (and bad weather in the air). Ran to do one assignment. Ran to do another assignment.

And I had an urge to get back to track. I was pretty sure it would still be going on, and I just wanted to do it for myself. Deal with the weather. Deal with the crappy schedule. Take lemons. Make lemonade.

I hustle back to the track just in time for the last event: 4x400 relay, boys and girls. Fun event. Usually a close one. Handoffs. Quick.

I throw on the 300mm and shoot the girls. It's a runaway race. Nothing fun. No sun.

Now boys. Last heat of the day. Last race.

Bang goes the starting pistol. Catch a decent sequence on the first handoff. And all of a sudden...

Rain. Spot shower. Starts coming down at a pretty good clip. The official near me throws a quick smile my way, as if to say: "Last race ... no way were stopping now."

I shoot him back a grin. Then I remember that I've got equipment in my hands that's worth about the same as a small car.

I do the under-the-sweatshirt move back to my camera bag (#domke), where I pull out a trash bag (#hefty). Tear a small hole. Throw it over the 300. Over the body. But still not quickly enough to catch the second handoff.

I get settled again. Third handoff goes to the anchor leg, but nothing exciting. The rain continues to pick up.

And around the final turn, it's a pretty close one. And one of the runners is from a local team (hurrah!). I pick up the focus on the local kid, wait till he starts to fill up the frame, then lay on the shutter. Hard. Just like both these kids, running hard to finish this meet.

And you know what. I think I got a good one. I think I made some lemonade.

Finding Americana

It takes something special to track down an Americana photo. I think it's a lot of luck. It's persistently driving around, looking for nothing in particular. It's showing up at events here and there hoping for something.

 I had the chance to cover a fallen law enforcement officers service today in Ashland. Somber event, for sure. Touching, too. Wasn't sure what I was going to get for photos.

 Anyway, I was looking at the memorial garden just outside the Sheriff's Annex, where the event was being held. There was an elderly man walking alongside me, looking at the plaques of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. We started speaking. "I knew this fella," he said, pointing to a plaque. "He died in a shootout right up here on 250." We spoke a bit longer before heading into the event. I always love getting those perspectives before one of these events, especially being new to town (5 weeks now!).

 The ceremony started with the bagpipes, the National Anthem. The Pledge of Allegiance. And I took a quick glance back among the people in attendance (about 100), and I saw my elderly friend. His hand on his heart. A real unique, sad look on his face. And there was an overhead light a few feet ahead of him, bathing him in this soft glow.

 I knew it was a good shot. One of those you can already see in print. And the photo was a little noisy (the room was a dungeon), but still striking. And it meant something to me, having spoken to him beforehand. It was a shot I might not have gotten if I hadn't talked with him before.

 So I filed the photo along with a few others, finished up some other work things, and got to thinking as I was driving home.

 It's Americana.

 It's the Pledge of Allegiance. It's an old man from a small town (a former township trustee, too), going to a local fallen law enforcement service with his brother-in-law.