More Nursing...

In case you missed it, all of the final Nursing products and publications went live last Weekend. You can find a gallery from the event here. Since we also put full print publications online at the newspaper now, you can either find a paper from yesterday, or you can check out the full Salute to Nurses special section here. It's flash so if you're viewing this on your phone, you should look at this one.

In the middle of a couple other big projects right now too. More soon.

Salute to Nursing...

Not every photographer looks forward to doing the same event over and over again, year after year, but here at the Indystar I am fortunate enough to be a part of an event that is an incredible honor to be a part of. Each year the Indianapolis Star salutes Nurses throughout the state of Indiana. If I had to pick one profession that wasn't thanked enough, I would have to say Nursing is it.

(Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 160ISO, Canon 100mmF2.8 Macro, 1/40th@F4.5. Single Canon 580EX Speedlight on a stand shot through a 42" umbrella to camera right set to 1/4th power fired by pocket wizard. Single Canon 580EX SPeedlight on a stand directly behind Ken zoomed to 105mm at 1/16th power fired by pocket wizard.)

Nurses a lot of times work long hours, strange days, witness some grueling things, and yet excitedly get up every day to do it over and over again. Anybody can recognize the fact that a sick or injured person can be pretty grumpy, and Nurses deal with on a day to day basis. Some of which never get the thank you that they deserve. One nurse who was nominated is 84 years old, and has been a nurse for over 40 years. She now teaches patients how to deal with their orthopedic surgery recoveries.

(Canon EOS5D Mark II, 400ISO, Canon 70-200mmF2.8L IS@150mm, 1/60th@F3.5. Single Canon 580EX Speedlight to camera right on a stand shot through a 43" umbrella set to 1/16th power fired by pocket wizard)

Each year I am assigned the task of visiting each of these amazing Nurses and and taking photos of them for our special section, media for the event, their ads in the paper and the Nursing Quarterly magazine, and this year even taking a video of each of the nomonees. It was a busy couple weeks for sure, but the event was an epic success thanks to a lot of planning by my good friend Adrianne in our marketing department. She and I have a list of places to visit in our quest for world domination the best BBQ chicken pizza in town. We had to put our quest on pause while she worked on this event, but we'll be started up again soon on. She made a beautiful event, and all of the winners were honored as they should have been. The videos and photos shows up flawlessly on the projection screens at the event as well. Great Event.

(Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 800ISO, Canon 70-200mmF2.8L IS@80mm. 1/40th@F4)

I always get a kick out of seeing stuff I shot up on the big screen, just as much as I get a kick out of seeing it thumbnail sized inside any print publication. It never gets old, I love it. The photos up on that screen were all used for Johnson Memorials ads in the Nursing magazine I've spoken of in the past, as well as for the special section. There are also plans to use them in the future for ads that the hospital is running with us, which is great. I always like it when clients decide to reuse media that I created as sometimes its not a quick 10 minute process to create such media. I was at Johnson memorial shooting for 5 hours that day to make sure we got everything they wanted.

(Canon 5D Mark II, 250ISO, Canon 16-35mmF2.8L@26mm, 1/30th@F6.3. Canon 580EX Speedlight shot through a 43" umbrella to camera right set to 1/2 power fired by pocket wizard. Canon 580EX speedlight zoomed to 70mm set to 1/32nd power fired by pocket wizard back behind crowd right aimed at the wall to help separate the right side of the group from the wall.)

Over the last few years the event has grown almost out of control. Last year we had the luncheon in the Indiana Roof Ballroom. By the panoramic below, I think you'll agree; we've grown up a bit. More soon.

(Canon 1D Mark II, 1250ISO, Canon EF16-35mmF2.8L@16mm, 1/60th@F3.5. 13 images stitched together using Photoshop CS4's automerge function.)

Your own worst critic...

Ever watch Mystery Science Theatre 3000? Those guys are some tough movie critics if I ever saw any. No movie is safe from their judgmental eyes. I like to tell people that they are their own worst critics when it comes to either photos of themselves, or their photography in general. I am no different, and a good friend of mine made mention to me that it never seemed like I was happy with anything that I shot. EVER. I told him he had a good point, and reminded him of the previous statement. In fact however, last friday I had a shoot that I ended very happy with (except for maybe the travel time to shoot time ratio...)

(Canon 5D Mark II, 250ISO, Canon 16-35mmF2.8L@30mm. Single Canon 580EX Speedlight set to 1/8th power shot through a 42" Umbrella to camera right fired by pocket wizard)

That's John. He is an honorable mention in the IndyStar's Salute to Nurses that I mentioned in the previous post. I drove 45 minutes to Anderson Indiana to take this photo of John, which required my simple go to lighting scheme. A single speedlight with a 42" umbrella. Simple, effective, I like it. The Hospital liked it too, and that's more important than what I think in the end, but I DID take 45 minutes to drive up there, so I wasn't about to be done shooting after 15 minutes. It turns out that this particular hospital in Anderson is on the top of the list for Computers in the rooms at patients bedsides. These computers give the nurses tons of information about about each patient immediately at their fingertips. Plus it lets them update their facebook, or watch movies while at work..... ok well maybe not, but I did actually ask... This is the shot I came up with.

(Canon 5D Mark II, 320ISO, Canon EF70-200mmISF2.8L@70mm. Canon 580EX Speedlight snooted set to 1/16th power shot into the computer monitor fired by pocket wizard, Single 580EX Speedlight set to 1/8th power snooted with a FotoRosa Snoot and zoomed to 105mm set to 1/16th power fired by pocket wizard aimed directly at the patients head.)

This shot took a few more minutes to set up, as we had to find a nurse to volunteer to be the patient. I also used two lights, both with snoots to selectively light parts of the image. At the end of the day, I shot in the hospital for about 1/2 the amount of time as the round trip travel time, but at the same time I was pleased with the two setups that I ended up with.

In the end my buddy Mike was right. There are still things I would change about these photos, and I am a believe that there is no such thing as "good enough". Despite that fact, I do like how these two shots turned out and can only hope that the more I shoot the luckier I get to where I'll like a lot more of them right out of the gate. I can tell you one thing though, my best photo has yet to be taken, but I'm looking for it. More Soon.

Back in Action...

It's been a while since I've made a post, which goes completely against what I was trying to go for. Unfortunately I don't have internet tubes at home currently which makes posting every week (or twice a week was was my recent goal) somewhat difficult. Either way, I still have been shooting, I still have been lighting, I still have been carrying entirely too much equipment around, and I have been mixing Jalapeno Cheetos and peanut butter on occasion just to spice things up a bit. During the slight off time though I have been asked to give a few presentations, I've been asked increasingly more lighting questions, and I've definitely been asking more people where I've parked my car.

(Canon 5D Mark II, 640ISO, Canon EF100MMF2.8Macro, 1/25th@F14. Single Canon 580EX through a 42" umbrella set to full power camera left fired by Pocket Wizard. Single Canon 580EX fired through another 42" umbrella set to half power to camera right fired y pocket wizard. White balance set to Cloudy Day to bring out more of the orange in the sunflower.)

Been asked to go back to the Photo Venture Camera club on April 1st to give a presentation about shooting Macro Photography. Great group, I've spoken there before except last time it was about Sports Photography centering in Roller Derby. Great group of people who are extra eager to learn anything they can about photography, and I look forward to speaking to them again. The shot above was shot on the nicest day of the year thus far, during last week. Unfortunately it was also shot artificially lit inside the garage of a florist...


(Nikon D3, 800ISO, Nikon 70-200mmF2.8VR@175mm, 1/250th@F4. Single Dynalight 400JR to camera abott 70 feet behind camera right bare bulb set to just under full power, Single Dynalight 400JR set to a little above half power about 70 feet behind camera left bare bulb. Both lights fired by Pocket Wizard Plus II's.)

Also been asked to go speak to a new photo group named the Indy MU Photo Club about Sports Photography prior to a club trip to the Roller Derby in April. They are also very interested in some on location lighting that I have done, which ties in nicely with a lot of work that I have done lately with the Salute to Nurses here in the Indiana Area. As I've mentioned before, working in hospitals can be extra tough as you have patient rights and identities to consider, as well as they are not the most expansive of venue's. See the photo below for an indicator on that, and keep your eyes peeled. LOTS more soon.

(Look for more information about this shoot coming up soon)

Keeper of the Outtakes....

That should be the title of the profession that I keep as opposed to Photographer. Every Photographer has outtakes, it's a fact of life. Pictures of people with their eyes closed, their fingers up their nose, a goofy face, and there's always the good photo that is immediately followed by the ubiquitous phrase; "That better not go anywhere!".


As soon as she stepped onto the black paper her phone rang, thus causing this immediate reaction. We all had a good laugh about it, right as she said exactly what you'd guess: "That better not go anywhere!". Oops. Turns out I don't listen very well, as so many of the people I've photographed have mentioned in the past. But what's the fun in having some of these if nobody sees them? That's where things get really tough because there are lots of GOOD photos that people don't ever see either and for a photographer that's especially frustrating.


I shot that photo for the latest issue of the Indiana Nursing Quarterly Magazine. Unfortunately this shot wasn't chosen to be in the magazine. My assignment was to show these two administrators furthering their careers through teaching. The problem that I faced in this shoot was that there were no students.....

The shot was taken at the Sim Center in the Fairbanks hall at Methodist in Downtown Indianapolis. The Sim center is a full entire nursing floor in a hospital completely fake and replicated for students to learn in. They have dummies that they can give pulses, or even simulate having cardiac arrest. It's really a pretty cool place if you're a nurse; or learning to be a nurse. Speaking of nurses AND outtakes, here's a video that probably could have stayed in the land of outtakes. Either way what other jobs can you name where you have to pay a Stripper $20 to wear the head of a lion and dance around for a minute, and go sledding all in the same week? More Soon.

The last of the magazines....

I think at this point I am the last photographer at the Indianapolis Star Newspaper who shoots for magazine print. By that I mean the glossy paper magazine that you would find at your local Kroger, Marsh, Borders or wherever. Most of the magazines at the newspaper got axed a few months ago because readership was down, and they were a very high cost product to produce. Magazine paper isn't cheap apparently, which I guess should be evident because you can't quickly shoot for magazine. You need to take your time, shoot as low of an ISO as possible and by all means not waste the time of the people you are shooting; specially when these people should be saving lives.

(Canon EOS 1D Mark II, ISO 100, Canon 16-35mm F2.8L@16mm, 1/250th@F9. Single Canon 580EX Speedlight set to full power through a 60" umbrella to camera right set to Butt Kickin Full power triggered by Pocket Wizard for fill)

The last and only magazine that we produce is the Indiana Nursing Quarterly magazine. It is a free magazine that gets mailed directly to nurses every quarter, and from what I can tell the nurses that read it; dig it. Most of the photo nerds who read my blog know that I attempt to shoot at the lowest ISO possible all the time. For magazine that attempt has to double, because the glossy paper isn't very forgiving. It's like when you're a kid and you eat all the cookies in the cookie jar even though you were only supposed to have one.... Yea your parents don't like it very much. That paper will show the zit or 3rd eye just as much as it'll show the grain. Shooting at 100ISO outside is easy. All you need to do is give a little fill to pop the shadows on someones face. Shooting at such a low ISO at an indoor location is something that I love about photography. It's the challenge of the shoot; the hunt to wrangle the light photons into the places that they need to be, in the colors that they need to be! (insert evil laugh here). Sometimes you have good days, and sometimes you have bad days. It's just like playing a sport; some days you play well, and some days you just flat out suck...

The nice part about what I do at the paper is that I can stage things to look real. Lighting those things to look real gets quite a bit more difficult than you can imagine. Like i said before, 100ISO indoors isn't easy, and a lot of people have no idea how much light that actually takes to give you a reasonable depth of field. It can get somewhat stressful for sure, it's amazing that I don't freak out while shooting every edition of the nursing magazine.

(Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 250ISO, Canon 16-35mm F2.8L@16mm, 1/40th@F7.1. Single 580EX Speedlight set to camera right slightly above subjects set to 1/4th power triggered by pocket wizard. Single 580EX set to 1/8th power to camera right set on a counter shot into one of those light up walls that you view X-Ray's on triggered by pocket wizard)

I tend to try to shoot a lot of things with only two lights. Mostly because when I shoot for the newspaper I only have two lights... I guess necessity is the mother of invention after all. The Nikon flash system is about a billion times better than the canon system, but that's what radio poppers are for right? Radio poppers and a little patience as I never get it right on the first 203 tries....

This shot was no different. Originally I shot this using a single light, which was my standard 580EX with an umbrella to the right of the frame on 1/4th power. The shot was missing something though. In a hair brained effort I covered the screen of her computer and used it as a reflector with a 580EX speedlight set to 1/64th power. You an see the difference in the two shots here, and you will probably agree that it makes all the difference in the world:

The Final shot that I ended up with was this:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark II, ISO 200, Canon EF 100mm Macro, 1/60th@F5. Single 580EX to camera right slightly above set to 1/4th triggered by Pocket Wizard. Single 580EX set to 1/64th triggered by pocket wizard on the desk in front of the nurses pointed at the computer screen which I covered in white copy paper.)

I was pleased with the shot over all. There would have been one or two other things that I may have tried differently after the fact, but these ladies save lives and I didn't want to take up too terribly much of their time; especially with my Laffy Taffy Jokes... As a special request from a couple of different people I am also attaching a diagram of the light setup for that shot. Hope you enjoy my badly rendered rendition of the event as my drawing skills match that of a second grader who's eaten too much glue. In other news, It looks like I may be getting a new Camera at the Star......More soon...

Dark week....

Anyone who has ever worked in corporate America knows there is a risk of losing their job for any reason at all. To combat this risk, people formed Unions, which then protected employees as a group. In today's day in age, unions are becoming a thing of the past though, and unfortunately they can not protect people the way that they used to. Thursday July 9th 2009 was a dark day for Gannett, and the Indianapolis Star. The Indianapolis Star had to let go of 37 people who had done nothing wrong, except been deemed to hold a position that was no longer necessary by "higher powers". All of those employees will be dearly missed. One of the hardest parts is continueing to do your job as it happens; continually wondering if that dreaded call will come to your desk. To my friends who are no longer with the Star, or Gannett. The best of luck, my heart goes to you. The sun has set on your time with the Star, but not on your time over all. We're all here for you.

(Canon 1D Mark II Canon EF 16-35mmF2.8@16mm F6.3 320ISO)

Reading what was posted above, you can imagine it's been a very tense week. The shot above was shot on the "Black Thursday" mentioned above. It is for an Ad for Z's Oyster Bar near 82nd Street in Indianapolis. They wanted to illustrate the water, and the porch in one shot. This was my solution. I have a feeling they will be happy with the set of shots I provided considering the shots they had already were shot at noon on a Sunday....For the non photographer readers; yes lots of light is good, but the brightest light possible coming from directly overhead? bad...

The rest of the week I had some Nursing shoots to keep my mind off of the Thursday that all of us at the Star knew was coming. I went into St. Vincent's hospital on Tuesday to shoot inside of the Surgery Ward. It was one of those moments where you wonder how you got to where you are at, because I had to go through preventative measures in order to be back there. They must have seen me eat or something because I had to wear this white body suit, blue booties and a hairnet. If I'd have had a box of Junior mints with me, the scene would have been complete.

(Above Photo by Joe Soria)

(Canon 1D Mark II Canon EF 16-35mmF2.8@16mm F5 1/80th 200ISO)

It just so happened that Joe was wearing a white suit just like mine while he was in the Surgery Ward assisting me. Had him hold an 580EX pointed directly at himself. Instant bounce card. Best Voice Activated Light Stand ever....

Really in the end I guess it has been a productive week. Many know that I'm a gearhead and I've got a great new gadget that I'm hoping to play more with by my next post. It's made by Delkin and it's the Fat Gecko camera mount. Basically it's two large suction cups that attaches a camera to any smooth surface. Does it work? Hells yea it works! Attempt 1 proved to be effective enough, but I'm still looking at other applications for the device. I'm really looking forward to mounting lights to it, in awkward spaces. Whoa baby.

(Above Photo by Brad Clampitt)
That setup stuck to Brad's trunk helped me to grab this:

(Nikon D700 Nikkor 18-35mm@F8 ISO 1600 1/3sec)

The guy on the Bike is my buddy Tom. He's a good shooter here in town, and he's another one of the Staff shooters for the Roller Derby. He also happens to be about as off his rocker as I am; always willing to try something a little new and different. One time he and I convinced two ladies working in a Subway that we were fraternal twins despite the 13 year age difference....

Whew, so yea I've been busy this week and it's not over yet. Tomorrow I'm helping out a friend who is shooting a wedding I was attending already. How many times in your life can you say you went to and helped shoot a wedding for someone named Strawberry Jam? Seriously. Awesome. Then on Sunday is the first month out of the 2010 Roller Derby Calendar, and the launch of Episode 2 of the "One Woman One Million" webseries I've been working on which is why I'm up right now at 5am. Sometimes video just takes that little bit of extra time. That and I went out and shot a little bit on the canal. Brad's been hankerin to do that for his girlfriend Melanie in Canada, and tonight seemed like nice enough night. SO yea, busy week, I'm exhausted. More Soon.

(Sony A700 ISO 200 F9 20sec, Sigma 16mm Fisheye)