American Cranes and Transport II

I was pleased to learn earlier this month that one of my images made the cover of American Cranes and Transport and resulted in a cover story of the project. A second image was used in the body of the story.

While the image was straight forward using the Df and 18-35,extensive reflections caused from shooting from within the terminal where challenging to remove. Attending Moose Peterson’s Click to Click Workshop in NYC the week after I shot the image opened my eyes to a few techniques that I was able to use separately and in combination.

So after spending over a year with Moose working through his Master of Light Program, why would I spend a weekend at a workshop? Its real simple. I have never, ever, ever attended a Moose Peterson event that I didn’t pick up something that helped move my photography forward. Each Moose Peterson workshop or event is distinct, constantly updated and full of information that can take you to the next level.

Master of Light Program featured in Volume 17.1 of the BT Journal

I had the extremely good fortune to have spent a good deal of 2013 working through the Master of Light Program under the close one-on-one tutelage of its creator, Moose Peterson. What started as a desire to get it right in camera (Moose’s mantra) quickly spread to a wonderful personal exploration with the camera and telling the story, all the time guided patiently (very patiently) by Moose. Sitting here today on the “other side” of that experience and looking back on it, the profound effect it has had on my approach to image making is pretty staggering and hard to explain without taking up way too much of your time. But,suffice it to say, more than I would have ever imagined when I applied for the Program and was accepted.

Moose has been a critical factor in my development as a photographer and story teller and for that I am extremely grateful. That such a talented individual that is in such demand within the industry spends such a significant portion of his time sharing and working with other photographers really tells the story. If you want to get better in this field, this is someone you need to follow. Trust me on that.

So MLP is completed but its not the end. Just the beginning.

Moose features our MLP work in Volume 17.1 of his publication, the BT Journal, which just came out and is available for the IPAD through the App Store on ITunes.

Fun at the Beach

Was over on the coast of Georgia and spent a few hours shooting at the beach one morning. Had the 600mm with a 1.4 Tele and the D4 on the Wimberley/Gitzo combination. Also went to Dx in the Image Area function to get even closer as tidal flows divided the beach into disjointed sections often separating me further from the subject. The birds were plentiful from sandpipers to semipalmated plovers to terns, gulls, brown pelicans and the occasional heron, to name a few. Was a great time for practice and just watching the behaviors as they went about poking, diving, digging etc. Still new to this area of image making, but I find there is always something that comes along if you are patient enough. Here are a few from the morning, all right out of the camera with no further adjustments other than creating the JPEG in PS CC:

American Cranes & Transport

Was very pleased that American Cranes & Transport chose one of my images for the cover of their April issue as well as featured my images from CONEXPO in a two page spread as well as in their Recap article.
The largest construction equipment show in North America, CONEXPO is very challenging to shoot given (a) the difficulty in isolating specific pieces of equipment from adjoining pieces of equipment that can often be larger and distracting, (b) the significant shadows thrown by neighboring pieces of equipment onto other pieces of equipment that may be the subject and (c) the set-up of the equipment vis a vis the sun and time of day. I usually spend the first day just walking the show (which takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Center over about 41 football fields of outdoor and indoor space) to make mental notes of which equipment is best shot in the morning or afternoon based on how the equipment has been set up. Then you hope for blue sky, some clouds, humans to provide scale and you are off to the races…

Why Another Workshop

I was at an event where Moose Peterson was asked, “Hey Moose, if you had a $1,000, which lens would you buy? (he always gets the equipment questions….)”. Not hesitating, Moose replied “I’d take a workshop”.

Workshops have been an integral part of my journey in photography. I can’t think of any workshop I’ve attended where I wasn’t able to make a list of things I learned or techniques that I was able to revisit or explore. In the recent K&M Adventure to the Moab region of Utah, I had the great pleasure of shooting with a number of outstanding photographers that I have come to know over several years. We all seem to show up on the same trips. Kevin Dobler and Moose Peterson set the tone for the trip from the time we set out. Very giving of their knowledge and experience, a fluid agenda that adjusts as weather conditions, light, clouds make themselves apparent as the trip progresses. So from ghost towns to arches to star trails to light painting, we shot our way through four days of Moab. Another great time.

Even leaving Key West on the fast ferry, the sunset didn’t disappoint

The fast ferry to Ft. Meyers left Key West at sunset. The sunset didn’t disappoint. Hand holding technique was key on the open stern of the ferry as the wind was buffeting the 80-400 so strongly that I had to shift my lens hand to push the lens into the wind while firing off bursts at high speed. A lot will be out of focus, but this strategy will usually provide a frame or two that are sharp within the burst…