When Learning was Fun...

Last week I had the opportunity to photograph elementary school candids for the first time. It was definitely a very different experience than wandering through a high school, or even a middle school for that matter. Children this age still seem to possess that magical combination of innocence and genuine curiosity that is often missing in the older kids.
I had a great time, and I can't wait to do it again on a day when I've had more than 2 hours of sleep!

Swimming: Ambient vs. Strobed...

Here are two swim meets I shot last week. One had to be shot ambient, the other I was allowed to use strobe.

1) Swim meet in DE. Coach refused to let me use strobes. I was running late due to traffic, so I didn't have time to argue. The light wasn't completely terrible at around 1/400th, f2.8 @ 6400iso. However, the was a VERY old pool, and the lights cycled terribly! As well as these new cameras are able to shoot in "available darkness," they can't compensate for cycling lights. These photos don't really give an accurate depiction of just how bad the lights cycled. I had to delete over half of my shots just because of the white balance alone.


2) Swim meet in VA. This was a relatively bright pool, but once again the lights cycled. There weren't nearly as bad as the DE swim meet, but it still made achieving an accurate, consistent ambient white balance impossible. Fortunately I got the OK to strobe the meet. I superclamped two speedlites to the 2nd floor railing on the left side of the pool. Set at 1/4 power, this gave me a setting of 1/250th, f3.5 @ 640iso. It also allowed me to introduce some direction to the light.

Like a Phoenix rising...

Class 3A HS Football Finals 12-05-09

Linganore 31, Huntingtown 14

Class 2A HS Football Finals 12-05-09

Eastern Tech 16, Queen Annes 8

Class 1A HS Football Finals 12-05-09

Catoctin 37, Joppatowne 12

Pinstripes and Pacifiers...

Fun weekend...

Senior Superlatives

Here are a few of my favorites from a recent senior superlatives shoot. Amazing what you can do with a school that actually gives you the support, and TIME, to break the mold...

You're Doing it Wrong...

Goucher College Swimming

I covered Goucher College Swimming at York College in PA. 5000iso without a second thought...gotta love the D3! Here are a few favorites...

Sneak Preview....

Here's a few quick images from the Class 1A finals, which was the the first of 3 football games I covered today. Many more to come once the editing begins...

Favorites So Far This Season...

Here's what I'll be submitting for the slideshow.