Got a lot to write about: Jazz in the NBA playoffs, NCAA Gymnastics National Championships, FLDS exile Wendell Musser and more. In the meantime, here’s a photo of Carlos Boozer dunking the ball in the Jazz victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 4, Saturday night.
The greatest thing happened at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics National Championships last night. No, it wasn’t the University of Utah taking second place nationally, although that was pretty cool. Something else happened. I just happened to be “backstage” when the Utes huddled up before the competition.
I couldn’t believe my luck, being the only photographer there to photograph this behind-the-scenes moment. I leaned right in with a wide-angle lens as they did some pre-game talk, and then they began to do a cheer.
I was expecting their traditional “Who Rocks the House” cheer, but this was a different cheer. And the girls went all out, jumping and screaming the words as loud as they could. I can’t remember the whole thing. As best as I can put it together, the cheer started out with, “Horses’ ass,” followed by a string of very creative sailor talk. After that came something that starts with SH and rhymes with city and then the cheer ended with, “We’re the girls from Salt Lake City!”
This ribald cheer delivered by a group of petite young women was definitely the highlight of my year so far. For me, it will be one of those memories that makes you laugh at random moments causing the people around you to ask what’s so funny. If I was ever held hostage by terrorists I would play this cheer over and over in my head just to stay positive. It’s why America is great. I wish I had a recording of it.
Things got even funnier.
After they were done, a producer from CBS Sports walked up with a cameraman and asked the girls if they could do their cheer again for the camera. He obviously hadn’t heard it. The girls tried to explain that it wasn’t exactly broadcast material. They then went into their regular, G-rated cheer. Too bad it was CBS filming instead of HBO.
I guess it’s common for TV to have people re-enact reality. If I’d have missed the real moment, it would have stayed missed. I’m only interested in documenting reality. Write that down, students, and hold me to it.
This post first appeared here.
Covering the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics National Championships, I left my camera unattended near a couple of college students for just a few moments. Only later when editing did I discover a few frames that I certainly didn’t take.
Good joke, guys. For anyone wanting to investigate the suspects: Him and Him.
This post first appeared here.
From Kid Robot:
From Argentina, where suave desserts and happy pills keep company with nauseous oil barrels and 3-D lightning bolts, street art and design collective DOMA firmly plants one foot in reality and the other in psycho-tropics. Acid Sweeties, their first mini figure series, is an absurd medley of happy colors and bright characters.
15 vibrant (and somewhat socially enigmatic) residents inhabit a wide eyed universe where toy oddities come out of the woodwork, brightly colored antics are the norm, and a token nod to making sense is about all your going to get.
Here.
This is a piece I wrote for the SportsShooter newsletter. I don’t know how the idea evolved, since the thought of quoting Manowar in the newsletter is simply, well…
Here’s the article:
Issue #100 of the SportsShooter newsletter is here. Unbelievable, isn’t it? Looking back, it’s amazing to see what grew out of Issue #1, a set of nine short “articles” all written by Mr. Hanashiro. Through selfless dedication and technical wizardry, SportsShooter has changed the photographic landscape and built up an amazing community of photographers who swap ideas and images daily. The positive impact of this photographic community cannot be overstated.
Congratulations on Issue #100, Big Kahuna.
In thinking about what to write about for #100 the ideas kept flying around my head, just out of reach. So I turned on some tunes for inspiration. Finally a song came on that really made me think. This song coalesced all of my thoughts and the course of the article was clear. That song was “The Gods Made Heavy Metal” by the legendary heavy metal act Manowar. You know the words, right? Sing along with me:
The Gods made heavy metal,
and they saw that it was good.
They said to play it louder than hell,
we promised that we would!
Okay, I’m just kidding. It wasn’t Manowar that got me thinking. The song that really got me was Fugazi’s “Bad Mouth.” It simply says:
You can’t be what you were.
So you better start being just what you are.
The photographic and media industries are going through momentous changes. Everyone will be affected. And it’s going to be a bumpy ride before things settle down (if they ever do). That Fugazi song says it all: “You can’t be what you were.” If you want to survive the Internet revolution you have to make yourself a valued commodity. You have to stand out from the horde of photographers you are competing with.
Since everyone seems to be posting the same types of photographs, taken with the same cameras and the same three or four lenses as everybody else, ask yourself how you are going to stand out. I think the answer is to realize who you are and put your unique combination of skills to use. Rate yourself on the following skills typical to photography:
Creativity. Do you see things differently than others, bringing a fresh look to old stories?
Shooting Style. Do you have one? And do you work on keeping it fresh?
Timing. Are you especially good at capturing the decisive moment?
Personal Background. Where are you from and how does your life experience influence your vision? Can you tell a story that no one else can tell?
Knowledge. On what subjects are you an expert? And are you using that knowledge?
Awareness. Do you have a keen sense of what is happening in front of you, how people are reacting to you and how it fits into the story you’re telling?
Accuracy. Are you telling the truth, visually as well as keeping events in their proper context?
Personality. Does your personality show up in your photography? Should you let it show more?
Lighting. How are your lighting skills, both on location and in a studio setting?
Equipment. Are you using the right equipment to get what you’re after? Are there better tools for your current project?
Workflow. Do you have a regular, well thought-out, and most importantly, a time-effective workflow? Is it as fast as it could be?
Technique. Are you getting the most out of your equipment? Do you really know what you’re doing when you juggle exposure, white balance, JPEG and RAW files?
Technology. Do you keep current with the quickly moving technology of our field? And do you incorporate the latest knowledge, as far as your budget allows?
Editing. Are you using your head, thinking through the choices you make when editing?
Storytelling. How strong are your storytelling skills? If they are strong, are you using them enough?
Gambling. Are you taking enough risks?
As the media world continues to shift in response to a number of market forces, I encourage you to take stock of yourself. In which of these skills are you strong, and in which ones are you weak.
After you think about it, start playing to your strengths. And at the same time, build up your weaknesses.
And prepare for people to continue to proclaim gloom and doom for the industry. Maybe I discarded that Manowar song too early. We could easily adapt the second verse to the rough times in the professional photography world:
When losers say it’s over with,
you know that it’s a lie.
The Gods made heavy metal,
and it’s never gonna die.
Since the posts come up in reverse chronological order, I’m posting this correctly ordered list. It’s always best to start at the beginning.
10.2.1986: Twenty Years Ago Today
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists at In The Venue, which will always be Brick’s to me. Great music, even at 1/15th (above) and 1/30th of a second (below). I set my white balance to daylight so that the color and mood wouldn’t be filtered out.
This post first appeared here.
