Expecting the unexpected...

I spent Father's Day photographing Deanna, Matt and Presley in a beautiful setting in Pasadena. I used speed lights with soft boxes and umbrellas for a completely mobile rig. The goal was to leverage the available light and create a mix of standard portraits and some more dramatic images. I also snuck in a few images of Jessica since she was with us. The lead image was shot in an outdoor stairwell with light shining through a window. Deanna and Matt stood directly in the beam of light which was the basis for the exposure. I shot an SB-800 on camera to drop the background out to black and converted it to B&W in post.

Ladies and Gentleman...

The Rolling Stones! I was in Vegas last Saturday (May 11th) and had the opportunity to see the Stones at the MGM Grand. Thanks to the Bellagio c/o Mr. Miller for the transportation and accommodations. We sat 10th row center. Oh yeah, all shot with an iPhone...

More from the 2013 Mt. SAC Relays

WALNUT, Calif. - Below is the newspaper article that ran. Also, continued coverage of the steeple chase, long jump and track and field events.

Oregon sprinter English Gardner after winning the 100m dash

The 55th Running

WALNUT, Calif. - This month I spent three days covering the 55th running of the Mt. SAC Relays. This is the largest Track and Field meet in the world. It was nice to see Carmelita Jeter out running for the first time in a few years.

Carmelita Jeter - 4x400m Relay

100m Dash

Allyson Felix

Natasha Hastings with her new hair style

ShowStoppers! 2013

This year Jessica's show choir is much improved. Firstly, they have nice dresses and also they have grown in size to 46. The larger group gives them so much more overall volume. The following video was shot earlier this month at a competition in Cypress. The quality of the small video isn't the best, but it gets the point across. If anyone is interested in seeing the HD version, please email me and I'll send you a Dropbox link to download it.

Bridging the Gap

As the 35mm camera world continues to chase Medium Format megapixels, in certain areas they are still worlds apart. Sure you can pack more pixels on the same size sensor, but the results are not comparable. Other than image sensor differences, the other problem is that the high quality medium format lenses cannot be adapted to a smaller sensor.

Enter the Rhino Cam...This is a device that adapts my Hasselblad lenses to a Sony NEX digital body. The concept is that the camera sensor moves/slides while the lens stays stationary. This equates to every frame being shot in the sweet spot of the lens, thus minimal loss of sharpness and quality at the edges and corners. Also, minimal distortion!

For panoramic shots you shoot six frames in landscape orientation and stitch them together. There is also a 645 format in which you shoot eight frames in portrait orientation. Below is the final image after stitching them in Photoshop. It is somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 megapixels.

The next two are crops from the far left and right sides of the image. 

Left side

Right side

The image was shot with a Sony NEX 5R, Hasselblad 50mm FLE at f/8, ISO 100. BTW, I'm still not ready to hangup my film cameras! Stay tuned, more film shots to come...

Cynder-ella

LONG BEACH, Calif. - I was beginning to feel like a stepchild, but I finally had the chance to get out and see the band Cynder. They are local boys from Huntington Beach and Clark is a family friend that plays guitar for the band. Every time I see him he plays me new songs he's written from his phone. Earlier this month they played at a local restaurant/bar and I had the chance to get out with the cameras.

Here's the bio from their website:

"The music of Cynder is a great blend of rock meshed with colorful riffs, topped with amped, melodic vocals. The result is a mixture of deep moods and emotions ranging from aggressive to peaceful, from cynical to melancholy. The band is fronted by Scot Chronister (former frontman for Allergic). Lyrically, Cynder is about the serious and simple moments in life. No issue is left unsung and the band brings heart, precision, and passion to the table for the perfect mix. The music is palatable and radio-friendly, and the infectious guitar-work of Clark and Jerry mixed with the unmistakable driving beat of JBH and Nick's rhythmic stylings give this 5-piece a unique sound of their own".

The following images were captured with the Nikon D3 with the 24mm and 85mm primes at ISO 2500.

Clark - guitar

Jerry - guitar

Scot - vocals

Brett - bass

Nick - drums

Texans vs. Cowboys

Coach Cross asked me to come out and photograph his flag football team earlier this month. The league is called Friday Night Lights in Huntington Beach and it's huge! We could barely park the car. The Cowboys beat them on this night, but they played with a lot of heart and I suspect they will get some games in the left column before the season is over. Here's some selections from the game.