Just a quick post about low light photography.
We had about 25 teenagers in our pool last night for our son’t birthday party.
It was getting dark, so I needed to adjust my camera settings to be able to make an acceptable exposure in the low light.
Boys will be boys and they decided to launch each other as far as they could from the shallow towards the deep end.
At first I was getting a lot of subject movement at 800 ISO. The boys weren’t going to move any slower and it was getting darker, so I decided to up my ISO to 1600 which gave me another stop of speed and I panned the camera with the subject as he moved across the frame from camera right to camera left.
My settings were as follows: f/stop 2.8 and shutter speed at 1/60 second and ISO at 1600.
The panning helps to freeze the subject since the shutter speed was still too slow to freeze him as he crossed my lens.
Try this technique the next time you find yourself with low light, an ISO that’s about maxed out and a subject that is moving.
Be inspired!

After 19 years, Shaq retires.
Early in my career, I photographed Shaq in a tournament and remembered seeing his shoes. They were other worldly, they were so large!
He was the largest person that I had ever seen in person. Not just because he was 7 feet tall, no, it was because he was also a large, large man and 7 feet tall.
I’d been next to basketball players before, but they were skinny tall.
Shaq was huge!
I was able to travel with the Lakers on their personal jet one time and got to rub shoulders for a few moments with the big guy.
In the first photo, the team was checking into their hotel in Seattle early in the morning.
The team’s trainer, Gary Vitti, is a normal sized guy and I remember thinking, “He looks like a toddler, next to him.”

I photographed one of his signature dunks on that trip and got to hang out with announcer, Chick Hearn, too.
It really was one of the highlights of my career. The plane was specially modified with every other row of seats removed.
The players sat in the front and the back, while media and visitors were relegated to the center.
Even the flight crew was giddy. Sending back huge amounts of food and asking for autographs on several basketballs that were produced mid-flight.
The 3 hour flight was too quick and soon we were on the ground in Seattle.
Chick was a gracious host, showing me the do’s and don’ts for visiting media. It was the only time I actually was able to speak with Chick and I’ll always remember how he took time out to talk to me. Some kid(at the time) who was in awe of his surroundings and trying to look and act like I knew what was going on.
It was quite a historic season to be with the team.
Del Harris was the coach and the were two rookie players on the team that season.
Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher!
Got to meet both of them and actually photographed Derek playing Playstation and doing business in his room.
Kobe was too media shy and turned down my request to photograph him in his room. I should have pushed harder, but the 17-year-old millionaire was adamant, “No photos.”
Shaq said that I could hang with him in San Antonio, but he had private business on this leg of the trip.
Unfortunately, I was only with the team for this trip. Another strike!
Still it was an unforgettable moment in my career and Shaq’s retirement brought back that memory.

Shaq was always pleasant, basically a big kid, having fun and making millions doing it.
At Christmas time, he would give thousands of dollars worth of toys to the kids in L.A., not for publicity, just to do it.
Was he perfect, not but he sure did make it fun for the fans and those of us who covered this game.
For all the memories, Thanks!
Be inspired!

Just a few tips about covering events like a community run/walk event.
Anyone that has been involved with community journalism knows about the dreaded 5K walk run for charity.
It seems that every weekend when I worked as a photojournalist, there was some sort of event where people were walking or running for some sort of charity.
And it was my job to make a great photo or photos.
Quickly, here’s a few tips that you can use at your next event that you end up at.
My first image is the end of the race. But that’s what people want to see.
• What happened!
Don’t forget to show that visually. I have the crowd and one of the cuter runners finishing the race and now the viewer knows basically what happened at this event. Don’t forget to show it!
* Think small not just big!
Look around for details that might explain what’s going on.
Here I made an image at the sign-up tent.
10K says it all, in one compact image.
There’s always something that tells the story, a program of events makes a nice detail. Or even a banner can make a great story-telling device.
The trick is to look around.
• Be ready!
I’ve always found the start to be a nice image to include.
Something is almost always guaranteed to go wrong. Too many people worried, running around and another group of folks, probably not even paying attention.
That’s a recipe for good photos!
Like in the next image. The man on the right had all morning to get to the right place for the start of the race. There’s even a sign that says, “Start,” but just before the starter yelled, “GO,” this guy realized he was in the wrong place!
Instead of going around, he decided to go in front of a couple hundred runners.
He wasn’t trampled, but it looked like he was going to be, and a good photo happened!
So, when most people aren’t ready and thinking, you should be, and you will capture a lot more interesting images.
That always makes me think of the Clint Eastwood movie, “Unforgiven.”
The main character, Clint, is recounting a gun battle where he faced a dozen or so me with guns and came out alive. He kept his head, when everyone else around him, lost theirs.
That’s the trick! Be prepared. Think about what could or might happen and be ready for it and you’ll find that you will be able to capture many more moments than you might miss.
Be inspired!

(photo courtesy of The Orange County Register)
Today you are in for a treat. A veteran photojournalist and past co-worker, Paul Rodriguez.
He has been a staff photographer at the Orange County Register for 26 years and before that was at the highly acclaimed photographer for the Claremont Courier for 3 1/2 years.
Paul is sharing his recent experience at a high school track meet. The photo, as you can see is stellar and I asked him to share about how he obtained it and the thought process that goes through a photojournalist’s mind on the job.
Enjoy as I turn it over to Paul:

“Shooting Track and Field is more difficult than it would seem, especially with the “photographers” and “videographers” that have seemingly multiplied in recent years– everyone is a “photojournalist” now. Anyway, one of my main concerns while covering the Orange County Track and Field Championships was trying to avoid getting these other photographers in my shot. Whereas I was shooting with a 400 mm from farther away, these other “shooters” were maybe 10 feet away from, say, the high jump bar. So it was very difficult trying to get a clean shot in between heads. Fortunately there was a hill at the end of the track where the high jump competition was taking place and I was able to get a little height to clear some of the foreground. So the position and the 400 mm lens set wide open at 2.8 allowed me to get a great shot with a clean background and foreground.”

It is a great shot with separation between the subject and the background and seemingly there’s no one else around. But now we know better that there’s almost a dozen other photographers all standing about 10 feet from the high bar itself.

Long lenses can be a real help in situations like this or when you want to really separate the subject from the background due to the “look” that a long lens gives when the aperture is opened all the way. This creates a very shallow depth of field and isolates your subject against the background that is thrown out of focus to a maximum degree.
What about composition?
Paul has placed the head of the high jumper a bit outside the right upper area of convergence and his hand near the lower right area. This placement causes the viewer to follow the torso, which is in the upper horizontal, towards the head and the hand for a very engaging visual image.
So, the next time you are shooting some sports or action type shots:
* Look to isolate your subject with either a long lens or a clean background (the best is both).
* Look for anything in your surroundings that might help. Paul used a small hill to elevate himself over the other photographers.
Think first. Then shoot.
Many Thanks to my friend Paul Rodriguez for joining me today. You can view his work in The Orange County Register and www.ocregister.com
Be inspired.

I recently devoted a couple of posts to a certain senior portrait subject.
Here’s a little equal time payback just for a certain sibling.
I dug this out of my files, from a few years ago when I was experimenting with the effect/style that famed photographer, David Hill, uses as his signature look.
I lit my subject with a couple of lights that were behind my subject and focused about 45 degrees towards her back. Another light filled the front side and with a few magic sliders in camera raw, voila, a highly saturated, and my apologies to the great David Hill.
There’s a plug in in LucisArts that can immediately reproduce this look or in Camera Raw or Lightroom, you pull your sliders in Recovery and Fill Light to 100%. Then adjust your Blacks to your liking and you will have the beginnings of the “look.”
Now David Hill also has signature lighting that he utilizes, but this is a start.
He normally employs two soft boxes about 90 degrees on each side as a start and fills with a dialed down front light.
Experiment and send me your attempts and I’ll try to show some of the best results in a few posts.
Be inspired!

The Angels have been my team since the time I was born.

I moved to Anaheim in 1966, when I was 5 and I’ve never wavered.

Never faltered, in my loyalty.

I was there in the lean years.

Finally, I was there when they beat the Giants!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to shoot any of those amazing games.

By the time my beloved Halos had become world champs, I was working the photo desk as an editor.

But, my reward was to fly in the helicopter during their victory parade!

The sea of red faithful was overwhelming and visually stunning as all of Anaheim turned out to honor the team.

The scary thing was the 16 other helicopters flying in circles trying to cover the event, too.

I’ve flown through billowing forest fires and even supposed invisible poison gas and that was the most sure that I’ve ever been that I would crash!

The best thing about this overview, is that there are two of my fellow Orange County Register photogs in this image, and they aren’t taking a photo.

Just standing around watching!

Enjoy this post and as the spring training starts up, all the fans everywhere have their hopes re-kindled once again.

The smell of freshly cut grass and the crack of the bat, makes us all young again.

Play ball and Be inspired.

Go Angels!

When my kids were little, they had no idea what I did for a living.

They knew that I was a photographer, but they were all under 10 years old, so the places and people that I was allowed to photograph were lost on them.

One of my favorite photo shoots that I ever went on was one of the last times that Magic Johnson & Michael Jordan played against each other.

It was a media frenzy and all the photographers present knew what we had to capture.

A great image with both Magic and Michael in the same frame!

The problem was that they just weren’t cooperating. Great images of Magic by himself and likewise Michael doing his thing, but all alone.

Finally, they locked up under the basket and a bonus, bad boy, Dennis Rodman, was looking on in the background.

I was really pleased with this image. It’s turned into a historic image of two of the greatest players to every play in the NBA and the addition of Dennis Rodman again, is a bonus. He may not be remembered as his star and antics fade.

When I made this image, I was photographing the Lakers and the Great Western Forum. Even the celebrities sitting courtside were behind my position on the floor. It was a great time in my photographic career. I was even able to travel with the team the year Kobe was a rookie and stand next to Shaq and see exactly how tall 7 feet is.

The preparation for this image was worth it, especially the reward of the final image. Rarely do we get the opportunity to see history and even rarer the opportunity to record it.

Be inspired!

Look at any sports photo.

Timing is everything.

Without it, there would never be any great moments.

The decisive moments that permeate our lives, would leave a huge void in all our lives.

Yes, timing is everything.

Let’s look at an example:

The tennis match.

If you have ever tried to photograph a tennis match, you find that timing is critical. It is very easy to miss everything. The ball is moving around at around 50 to 110 mph. If you wait until you see the ball, it’s already gone by the time you trip the shutter. This becomes a game of anticipation.

The veteran photographer knows that the shutter needs to be tripped almost the instant the ball enters the frame. Otherwise, the racket is swung and the ball is hit and is already heading back over the net.

In this example, the ball has just entered the frame and the subject is completely focused and ready to swing. If I had waited any longer, the ball would already be gone.

I love the intensity of this moment.

This subject also would scream as he struck the ball(that’s why his mouth is open). See how his arms are coiled and ready to strike? Try this for yourself and you’ll find that timing is the thing. A little practice and you will be a pro at it in no time.

Utilize this technique in all of your photography and you will be rewarded with better moments and a greater percentage of images that contain the perfect moment.

Remember timing is everything.

Be inspired!

I was honored to meet and photograph Coach Wooden back in t 2003 after the Angels won the World Series. He was a big baseball fan and had even thrown out the first pitch at one of the home games during the series. One of the writers at the Register set up a meeting with Mike Scioscia at Coach’s condo in LA. Meeting Coach Wooden was a dream assignment! At the time, I believe he was 93. His mind was sharp and he was a gracious host. I felt like I was about 12 years old getting to meet a legend!

The writer even brought his rabbi! So, the manager of the World Champion MLB team, a seasoned sports writer and his rabbi and a veteran photojournalist are all crammed into an Encino condominium all acting like a bunch of giddy school boys because we are in the presence of the JOHN WOODEN!

The walls are lined with every award known to mankind. There are little knick-knacks covering every open space in the living room. Things that have been accumulated from a very long and full life. Their are photos of his many grandchildren, too. There are no handlers are bodyguards, just the four of us.

He tells the reporter and Coach Scioscia about his love for baseball and how excited he is for the Angels. After about 30 minutes the interview ends and I begin setting up my lights for the photo session. I bring a basketball for Coach to use in the photo, so I asked him to sign it with really large lettering. He smiles and says, “You’re going to keep this right.?” I said, “You got me, Coach.” (I sent the ball to his biggest fan, my father-in-law, for safe keeping)

After the photo session, I realize that I am all alone with the Legend and it feels like I’m hanging out with my grandfather! He asks if I would like to see something and invites me into his office.

There are even more paintings and awards and baseballs crammed into his little office than you can imagine. He hands me his Pryamid of Success flyer and tells me that this is a blueprint for life. He tells me about his wife, Nell, and how he misses her.

A lifetime of achievements and all that really matters is his family. More wisdom from the Wizard of Westwood.
May he rest in peace!