Monday Night Ride...

In the last blog I said I had some interesting stuff coming down the pipe, and I'm now here to prove that statement to be true. Despite the fact that I'm on vacation right now, as usual someone manages to find something to get me interested in bringing the camera with me. This trip was no different as apparently a good friend of mine bought brand new Ducati.

(Nikon D3s, 3200ISO, Nikon 28-70F2.8@28mm. 1/2500th@F9. 2 Nikon SB900's and a single Nikon SB800 superclamped toa light stand held by Andy, set to fire via SU-800 Commander unit attached to the camera via SC-28 off camera cable. All speedlights were set to fire at +1.7EV and were zoomed to 105mm)

Honestly that shot wasn't what I was intending to start out with, in fact it was a test shot for the action shot lower on this page. Simple lighting scheme, which was all hard light. 3 Nikon Speedlights all super-clamped to a light stand and held by my buddy Andy as illustrated here:


I set up the lights like that because Andy had a very very important job. Well a few important jobs maybe as his first job was to make sure the lights were pointed at Biker Mike, and to yank me out of the way if somehow I got in said way... Luckily, only once did the bike brush through my hair on the way past, which I suppose is par for the course that I play on when it comes to Photography. In case you're wondering, no that shot didn't make the cut. I'm sure Ducati would have loved that itw as almost just a frame of their logo and the riders left hand pumping the clutch, but this one seemed much cooler...

(Nikon D3s, 2500ISO, Nikon 28-70F2.8@28mm. 1/2000th@F9. 2 Nikon SB900's and a single Nikon SB800 superclamped to a light stand held by Andy, set to fire via SU-800 Commander unit attached to the camera via SC-28 off camera cable. All speedlights were set to fire at +1.7EV and were zoomed to 105mm)

That's one of the final shots there. Originally I wanted to have a much nicer bluer sky, with potentially a bit of a sun flair in the frame. This sky is what I got, and honestly I can't say I'm terribly upset about it. I feel as though it gives it a good bit of dramatic effect, especially since the sun was giving the clouds that orange burst while it started to set. Surprisingly we weren't out there for very long, I figured it would take quite a few more attempts at this, and really I'm very intrigued about doing it again having learned a few things on this attempt. Who knows, I may have to pull a Redo on this one. The action shots at least, the few portraits I shot I was relatively pleased with. More Soon.

(Nikon D3s, 200ISO, Nikon 85mmF1.4. 1/1250@F2. Single Nikon SB900 zoomed to 70mm attached to the end of a light stand held above Biker Mike by Andy, set to fire at iTTL +-0EV from a Nikon SU-800 Commander Unit from on camera.)

Kickin the tires. Lightin the fires...

So it's been longer than my normal pauses between blogs, and I swear it's not because I haven't wanted to. I've had the great fortune of being busy, busier than I can handle almost which any photographer can tell you; is a blessing. The blog isn't the only thing that's suffered in my absence though, the photo of the day that I do on my facebook page has been missing for about 5 days now. Good thing I wasn't going for a record there or anything.

Anyway, just got back from Philly where I was invited to shoot at the East Coast Extraveganza, which is a Roller Derby exhibition tournament to help teams change their standings right before the regional tournament selections are made. It was quite an event, and aside from shooting some random artsy stuff it helped me put some new equipment through the rigors it needed to get broken in.

(Nikon D3s, 2500ISO, Nikon 70-200VR2. 1/250th@F4 SB9000 Speedlight zoomed to 105mm to camera left set to 1/16th power superclamped to the lexan saftey glass around the hockey rink. Same setup on a second SB900 to the right side of the camera, except zoomed to 200mm. Both fired by Pocket Wizard.)

I did shoot more than just the Naptown girls this trip, in fact I shot 6 bouts in total. I'd never shot so many bouts in a row before, but it was easier than I anticipated. It probably helped having a beer after the 4th one straight, but who knows. The girls are always a pleasure to travel with, and I'd never been to such a large derby event before. I mean, in terms of people Naptown puts on a LARGE event, but having 20 teams all in one spot? It was absolutely amazing. Philly is a beautiful city and I wish I would have been able to see more of it. Fortunately for me, there are a lot of beautiful towns and a few projects have popped up recently that allow met to see some more of them very soon.

(Nikon D3s, 800ISO, Nikon 70-200F2.8VR2 with the TC20eIII 2x teleconverter. 1/1000th@F9)

Someone once asked me how I can afford to purchase and own up to date camera gear, and my answer was simply this. I don't keep the old stuff. My D3 was going to net me more money now than tomorrow, or next week, so purchasing the new body is relatively inexpensive. Figure if you only spent a thousand dollars every other year to have the most up to date camera body, would you do it? Yea, my D3 was very sentimental to me as it was a major accomplishment in technology and in my career for being able to own one. The tens of thousands of shots that I put on it helped make my living, further my craft, or were shot for pure enjoyment. But by selling that D3, I made way for a new Nikon D3s at a fraction of the cost of purchasing it outright. My buddy Scott down at Roberts Distributors here in Indianapolis has me always on mind when it comes to deals that come in. I can't say I always take the deals he finds me, but when he finds me a deal I always go in to check it out. I buy almost all of my equipment from Roberts, as does Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and many more. If it's good enough for them, I suppose it'll do for me... In the end, is the D3s everything I had hoped for? Yes, and then some. It's a pretty amazing camera that feels like an old glove as it's identical to the D3 in almost every way except some very important ones. Those ways that it's not identical though? I've got some neat projects coming up for that, so stay tuned.

(Nikon D700 200ISO, Nikon 18-35F3.5-4.5@18mm. 1/400th@F22)

Unfortunately there's not much more than Derby photos that I can post from the last week or two as I don't want to scoop the publications or organizations that I've been shooting for. What the Naptown Roller Girls did was amazing in Philly though, and they deserve every bit of credit anyone wants to send them for their accomplishments. Very soon though I've got a lot of content coming down the pipe that I'm very excited to talk about. Lets just say I'll give you the following keywords to think about. Motorcycles, Beer, Music, Going Green, and Sunsets. Much Much more soon.


(Nikon D3s, 2500ISO, Nikon 70-200VR2. 1/250th@F4 SB9000 Speedlight zoomed to 105mm to camera left set to 1/16th power superclamped to the lexan saftey glass around the hockey rink. Same setup on a second SB900 to the right side of the camera, except zoomed to 200mm. Both fired by Pocket Wizard.)

From inside the paint...

Or as close as you can be to being inside the paint while still being a spectator anyway... One week a year I am assigned to shoot sports like I used to at Purdue. One week a year, I get to sit on the sidelines once again and attempt to provide all of the official imagery for the Indiana High School All-Stars basketball teams here in Indianapolis. It's essentially 6 basketball games that have to be shot in as high of quality, and resolution as possible for glossy commercial reproduction. That can be no easy task when shooting in a high school gym, as my good friend Michael Guio learned last week while accompanying me to the Rushville Indiana exhibition game.

(Canon 1D Mark II, 500ISO, Canon EF300mmF2.8IS, 1/200th@F4. Two Dynalight Uni400JR heads set to half power aimed down at the top of the key of the basket I'm sitting under set to 1/2 power fired by pocket wizards)

Anyone who knows me just a little knows that I prefer to shoot my Nikon equipment when it comes to shooting sports. It's what I've shot the most sports on, and I know what it's capable of when shooting things like basketball, soccer, swimming, tennis, football, roller derby or anything else that moves. This year though I decided to do as the newspaper asks and shoot using their equipment. The main reason for this is that if I get hit by a basketball player and break the lens right off of my camera I'M the one paying to fix it, not them because they provide me gear that I wasn't using. Makes sense sort of, except I feel like I'd have done a better job with my own gear. Otherwise though, I didn't think I did too bad for someone who shoots basketball one week a year.

(Canon EOS1D Mark IIn, 100ISO, Canon EF 70-200F2.8IS@70mm, 1/250th@F4. Lit using the in house Pacers lights at Conseco fired via pocket wizard.)

Despite the fact that the days are incredibly long during this week, I do look forward to them every year. I wasn't feeling very well during Conseco series, but I pulled through. Shooting sports spoils me quite a bit though, as watching any sport any other way than on the field or court, is just not good enough. Photographers sit closer than the coaches in some cases. It's also a nice treat to shoot along side of some of the people that I've always looked up to as sports shooters since that's their job all the time. People like Matt Kryger, Tom Campbell from Purdue, Mike Conroy and AJ Mast. I have a great deal of respect for these guys becuae they've shot better sports images with their eyes closed than I'd even be able to stage on my own.

(Canon EOS1D Mark II, 400ISO, CanonEF300mmF2.8IS, 1/250th@F4. Two Dynalight UNI400JR;s about 20 feet above the court in the stands aimed at the top of the key of the basket that I'm sitting under set to 1/2 power fired by pocket wizards.)

The thing I Like about shooting sports, is the same thing that I like about shooting jewelery; it's tough. You either get something or you don't. In sports you can't dwell on it though, you just have to keep shooting in sports. I've actually been known to put tape over the back LCD on my camera so I don't spend more time looking at the images than shooting them. Yea sometimes it's nice to be able to eliminated out of focus images, or images without the ball in them but like I said earlier; you either got it or you didn't in sports.

(Canon EOS1D Mark IIn, 100ISO, Canon EF 70-200F2.8IS@153mm, 1/250th@F4. Lit using the in house Pacers lights at Conseco fired via pocket wizard.)

The one down side to this assignment is also the greatest part. My assignment isn't one player, it's the Indiana team. That means the Introductions, the Awards winners, and game action from every player. It's not just about number 1, number 8 or any other individual. Yes I absolutely need photos of Mr. and Miss. Basketball, but ALL the team is important. It's nice because I can shoot anything I like. It's not as nice because I have to make sure anything I shoot is sharp and lit. It's an incredibly stressful week, but I'm already looking forward to next year. Check out all the photos for download by the teams and families here. More Soon.

(Canon EOS1D Mark IIn, 800ISO, CanonEF70-200F2.8IS@70mm, 1/125th@F4)

Purdue Grand Prix...

Every now and then I am offered an opportunity to go and shoot something to give back to the photographic community, as well as to the University that I received my education at. I say received as though they offered me that education freely, where as though in reality I paid (and am still paying) quite a bit for it. When in contact with a Student organization I used to be involved with, my shooting of the 53rd annual Purdue Grand Prix race came up, to which I couldn't refuse. I had already planned on going up to Lafayette that weekend to see some very good friends from a galaxy far far away (Utah, Pennsylvania and the like) so I thought, why not. They would be partaking in their own festivities that day so it seemed like a great opportunity.

(Nikon D3, 500ISO, Nikon 70-200mmF2.8VR@190mm, 1/1600th@F2.8)

That was a relatively common scene in the Pitts on Saturday at the Race as it looked pretty gloomy outside. Ok maybe that's not what she was contemplating, for all I know she could have been contemplating her decision to eat Taco Bell for lunch or the decision to paint her fingernails red on such a doom and gloom stormy day. Little did I know at the time, but this young lady was standing next to the car that would win it all in the end. It just goes to show you that sometimes you are in the right place at the right time. For me, I just happened to notice this young lady, and decided to make the picture. This was a great opportunity for me to shoot and make some very journalistic black and white photos, which isn't part of my normal routine.


(Nikon D3, 220ISO, Nikon 70-200mmF2.8VR@200mm, 1/1250@F2.8)

No lights, no tripods, no products, no models or wild complex setups involving bedsheets. I was out on the track running and gunning to look for the angle that would give me a shot setting me apart from the rest of the mass of photographers out there. This crash occurred early in the race, at about lap 7 I believe. I was terribly blocked from seeing what was going on in regards to the driver and that's not to mention the fact that I was far too far away. I guess it just goes to show that sometimes the real photo isn't what's right in front of you. I was intrigued by Purdue Pete taking a knee for one of his downed students.

(Nikon D3, 200ISO, Nikon 70-300F4.5-5.6VRII@300mm, 1/250th@F5.6)

It was a lot of fun being out on the track, which to someones lack of better judgment let me dangerously close too. Don't underestimate the term dangerously close either, I definitely ran across the track during part of the race at an opening so I could get into the middle. I didn't use the bridge to cross, I was foot to pavement on the actual track. Obviously the people putting on this event weren't given the proper information allowing me to be on the property, as frogger is my game of choice...

All of the drivers were in search of one thing though, and that was the trophy for the Win. It turns out that Justin Penix was the Pole sitter that day as well, who for a while as I recall was bumped back a few spots. In the end he pulled through though, and good for him. I wanted to do something a little different with the shot of the winner, and that's where the Overcast crappy day came into play as crappy cloudy days can make much more epic photos of triumphant people whom you want to represent very dramatially.

(Nikon D700, 200ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@18mm, 1/400th@F10, Nikon SB-900 set to iTTL +1EV zoomed to 200mm attached to the camera via SC-28 Off camera cable aimed at Justin using my left hand at arms length)

So I couldn't go the whole day without doing something with my Strobe. I was happy with the shot, so what? I did play with a lot of black and white though, and I encourage you to check out the rest of the shots here. I enjoyed the day, and the rain held out for the race, which was amazing. Everyone was sure we were going to get soaked, including me. Glad we didn't as I've found that water and cameras don't always get along.

I feel as though the day was a success on many accounts. I saw some very dear friends, I shot some photos that I like from the race (I shot lots lots more that I didn't like though too), I also ran into a reader of the blog whom I'd never met before. One of the shooters at the track is a reader, and I'd like to say thanks again to everyone that does suffer through my horrible grammatical and spelling travesties for the sake of looking at the pictures. It does mean a lot that you are here, and It was incredibly awesome, and humbling to find out that there are people out there whom I don't know that read this. So thanks again, and without a doubt; More Soon.

Picking Fav's...

As I mentioned in the last blog post Roller Derby Season is Among us. As part of that the ladies moved into a new venue where a whole new realm of photo taking possibilities are available. You can view their most recent bout in my photos located
here.



On Flickr I belong to a Roller Derby photo group, and one of the forum questions asked users to post their favorite derby shots that they have ever taken. After looking through the other posts people had made, I decided to participate in this post, and these are the shots that I came up with as the top 5 Roller Derby Photos that I have ever taken. (Presented in no particular Order) (this is the original post on flickr)



The shot above was taken in Minneapolis Minnesota during the North Star bout almost 1 year ago now. I took the shot from 90 feet above the track on catwalks inside the dome of the arena. According to the other team nobody had ever gone up there for bout action before, and the hits to the photos proved it. At the time this photoset was taken, it had more hits to it than any other derby bout I had photographed.


This photo is of a skater named Sweet C. I took this photo back when I had the D2x during season 1. Anybody who knows Cameras knows that the D2x was an Awesome camera, and the Mecca of resolution at that time in camera history. Anybody also knows that this camera had more noise than a broken antenna eared TV that used vacuum tubes powered by a hamster in a wheel. My solution to some of this problem was the use of flash pans in up close action. In this photo Sweet C is celebrating victory by giving High 5's to her fans. The motion blur creates a dynamic to the frame that I feel can easily get lost in sports, while keeping her face sharp and identifiable with the flash gives it personality; as well as the intense feeling of the win.




That shot was taken in North Carolina inside of one of the coolest Roller Derby Venue's I've seen to date. It was an ex hockey arena, that had these cool windows all around the outside. During warmup sometimes I like to take the opportunity to try new and slightly more lucrative photos of the Derby Girls which most often end in my butt being nailed by one of them in a turn like this. Nobody ever gets to see the girls this up close and personal during the bouts, and this seemed like a pretty solid way to so up close and personal what exactly these girls do.


This photo is of one of our jammers. Her name is Katya Lookin, and she's a great inspiration to quite a few girls on the team. That is of course when she's not looking angry enough to be in your derby eating your children. Last year I wanted to do HDR style photos for the programs and so I shot a few of these to pitch to the Art Director. In the end we didn't use them for anything, but the girl who is pictured here loves this photo, and so do I. It shows all the hotness, as well as the fierce undertones that derby has to offer.



Last but most certainly not least is this photograph for the 2009 NRG Calendar of Cereal Killer. This shot was done in Red Rocket Michelle's bathroom with 6 2 gallon bags of Fruit Loop equivilent cereal. Nikki Sutton did the style and the makeup, and good ol' CK just laughed it up for us. It was an awesome time, and a helluva cleanup after-wards. Michelle said her bathroom smelled like milk and cereal for at least two days after that. We only used about a quart of milk too, the rest of it was water which was hilighted by the use of the single 400 watt strobe inside of the tiny bathroom.

So there you have it; the 5 derby shots I have taken that are my favorites. There are plenty of other ones that I've taken and there are plenty of others that I have yet to take which I'm sure can top these. These by far are not the best roller derby photos out there either, in fact; If it was the 5 photos that others have takenin question, than this is a whole other ball game because there are tons of talented photographers out there covering roller debry all over the Country. Tom Klubens, Dr. X, Greg the Mayor, Red Rocket, Bob Scheer, Polina Osherov, and many many more just here in Indianapolis, and all are worth checking out. Roller derby has been a valued experience for me thus far, and has taught me a lot about myself and the way I shoot sports. I only hope that everyone who likes to take photos can find something they are as passionate about. More soon.

Not Long Now......

(Nikon D3, 250ISO, Nikon 70-200mmF2.8VR@130mm. 1/30th@F7.1. Dynalight 400JR to camera right fired by pocket wizard at 1/4th power though a 60" umbrella. Single Dynalight 400JR to camera left shot through a 24"x24" softbox at 1/8 power fired by pocket wizard.)

Anybody who knows me knows how involved that I am with the Roller Derby team, the Naptown Roller Girls, or the Naptown Tornado sirens if you will. I love roller derby, and quite thankfully it was what helped me make my transition to living in Indianapolis. When I first moved here, I knew not a soul except for maybe a friend or two from college. My then, work acquaintance Michelle Pemberton (Red Rocket to some of you) found out that I used to shoot sports at Purdue and asked me to come check out her roller derby team. Sure enough, I did and I'm now the stain on the back of the bad penny that nobody accepts as current but nobody is evil enough to throw away.

Now 4 seasons later, I have helped produce almost 3 calendars for the team, as well as had photos from bout action published in numerous magazines, books, and other various media outlets. The Roller Derby has afforded me many travels, many friends, and many late nights working on photos for what has ended up to be not for the girls on the team; but for me. I have a lot of portfolio work from the team and for that I am forever grateful. A lot of it comes from the calendar that we put out every year, which will be ready for the Bout in December. While I can't show you the shots from the calendar yet, I think it's only fitting to give you a little something to amp you up before the first bout of Season for tomorrow evening. So what kinds of things might you find in Roller Derby Season 4?


(Nikon D3, 400ISO, Nikon 50mmF1.4AF-S. 1/80th@F1.4)

I made a deal with the devil and can't tell you what you'll find. Yea so I suck. I've been called worse by better so I'm not worried. What I can tell you is that I'm pleased with how things shaped up. Like putting play doh through one of the little spaghetti machines and getting that perfect pasta. Dig it, but don't get all bloodied up over it.


(Nikon D3x, 100ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-F4.5@28mm. 1/50th@F10. 750w lights set to 1/4 each to each side of the camera shot through 42" umbrellas. 6 400 watt lights around the perimiter of the scene set to 1/2th power hard light.)


Don't expect to see Hellvua like this in the final product. You can dream though, because she got a lot more bloodied up before the end of that day. Little did anyone know, but blood isn't easy to wash off......


(Photo by Tom Klubens)
(Nikon D700, ISO 800, Nikon 70-200mmF2.8VR@70mm. 1/640th@F4.5)


Eventually after a while the rumor is that all the blood came clean without too much of a disaster. Dr. X still has his bloody socks from the even though as he showed me last week at a shoot. For those of you that don't know who Dr. X is, I've got a photo of him right here....


(Nikon D3, 200ISO, Nikon 18-35mmF3.5-4.5@26mm. 1/50th@F14. Dynalight 400JR set to full power to camera right hard light fired by pocket wizard, Dynalight 400JR set to half power to camera left both fired by pocket wizards. This shot was during a light test to fire two SB-800 speedlights with orange gels underneith the awning. They didn't fire on this shot.)


Take from these shots what you will. Every single one of them was from a shoot featured in the 2010 Naptown Tornado Sirens Calendar. Some have more information in them than others, and some I'm not sure will tell you much at all. I just like causing trouble I suppose which seems to be the theme of the week for me. One thing I can tell you for sure; and that is the fact that we were sponsored again this year. Good luck tomorrow ladies, you know I'll be there as usual hoping that maybe I'll be able to get lucky, and fire that shutter at the right moment just a few more times....More soon.


(Nikon D3, 800ISO, Nikon 50mm F1.4AF-S. 1/30th@F1.4)

Basketball, Weddings, Overtime, Derby, Conflicts and Birthdays.......

So Wow. This has been a heck of a week. For work I drove almost 800 miles this week shooting Restaurants, Basketball, and Fire chiefs. Roller Derby, Police officers, and Course Guide covers. It's been a crazy week that culminated on Saturday with 2 Weddings, two All Star Basketball Games, a Roller Derby Double header, and a Birthday. (Happy Birthday Dawnya, wherever it is you've ended up).

Obviously I couldn't do all of those things on Saturday so It turned into a game of, what trumps what. Honestly it's good to have choices on what you want to do, but when you want to do everything it comes down to what you HAVE to do.

In the end I HAD to shoot the All Star Basketball Games in Conseco. I don't shoot basketball except for 1 week a year, and this was it. I love shooting sports, I used to shoot them at Purdue, but it just wasn't in the cards for me to continue doing sports on a regular basis.


I did end up making it to the second half of the second game at the Roller Derby, but that's only 30 minutes of Derby out of 120 total bout minutes. As this was the last bout of the home season, I was sort of disappointed that I couldn't be there for the girls. I did manage to get a few shots though, which you can find here.



Congrats to my friends Greg and Allison who got married last weekend in Michigan. I'm sorry I had to miss the wedding, but work obviously got in the way here more than once. Congratulations to John and Tina who got married as well; whose wedding I was unable to shoot because of all of the fore mentioned conflicts as well.

Otherwise this week has been particularly stressful because the basketball was a priority, but it was along with what normally takes me 40ish hours a week to accomplish anyway. I shot the cover for next semesters IUPUI course guide, a couple of dining guide inserts, as well as the Greenwood Fire Chief for the upcoming Honor our Hero's section at the paper. I wish I could have come up with a more dynamic image for the Fire Chief, but the weather wasn't very nice and there wasn't a whole lot of room in the foyer in the Fire Station so this is what I ended up with.


Over all I am looking forward to a bit slower of a week this week. I've still got a Cat I need to find a home for, that isn't happy I was gone for 80 hours last week; but that's why I didn't have a pet to start with. Despite the slightly less busy week, hopefully next week I'll have something interesting to write about. More soon.