Here’s my specific entry, but I truly and whole heartedly recommend seeing some of the other photographers’ work being deconstructed. (each word is a link to a different post, by the way. Isn’t that super clever!?)

BOY! Doesn’t this post’s title sound cocky!?

All that means is Jen Rynda replaced me at the Patuxent Publishing Company when I quit last December. And In case you’re curious, she’s doing a great job.  She’s also putting a fresh new face on the Athletes of the Year photos — which, I suppose if I left a legacy at PPC, that would be it. …which was a legacy belonging to Fran Gardler before that. She’s pretty good at shooting sports, so, for some reason the powers that be assumed she’d be good at shooting the Athletes of the Year. I get the impression that expectation made her a bit nervous. So, she bribed me with a burrito last June to teach her how to use my old lighting kit (which was actually cannibalized by a few other staffers hahaha!). During our lesson, she made this cool, moody photo of me.

This This and This (specifically the flying lacrosse player) are some pretty cool examples of how she’s making the Athletes of the Year shoots her own.

So, earlier today (yeah! how’s that for a fast blog post turn around?) we met up for lunch and I started talking about lighting. ….y’know, one of those nerdy things photogs sometimes talk about. I mentioned using a Lastolite TriGrip Deflector silk to diffuse the harsh light  from Nikon my SB-900 in a photo I made of Melissa Golden eating pizza, and one thing led to another and BAM! — we’re talking about High Speed Sync/focal plane lighting. So, we went back to my place and I gave her a quick demo of what the new Pocket Wizard Flex system can do with a speedlight and D700 + 35mm f/1.8 at 100 ISO, 1/8000th of a second, at f/1.8 outdoors on an overcast, drizzly day.

Now, I’m not really a tech/gear blogger, so I’m not gonna go into a big technical explanation. There are a ton of blogs out there better at nerding out on gear. I learned about fp (focal plane) lighting from The Strobist, for example. So, if you have the time, do some digging.

All I’m gonna say about this shoot is that it took very little time to set up. 10 minutes, including set up, break down, and two location changes. I rarely takes me 10 minutes to set up the big lights.

I’m NOT gonna say the results are “just as good as using the big lights.” But they’re different than using the big lights. Obviously if I used two speedlights the light sculpting might be more impressive.

But, y’know… it’s my go to method for running and gunning a lit portrait. Below are a examples of how much light the SB-900 actually gave the shoot and what the set up looked like.no light (obviously).

Who needs a tripod when you have a bannister? …although, I wouldn’t mind getting one of Lastolite’s TriGrip Brackets, either.Indoors with the TriGrip. ISO 100, 1/8,000th, f/1.8 …the strobe was set to Manual at full (1/1) power and zoomed in to 24mm.

This is without the TriGrip at the same settings. …and yeah. Jen’s out of focus. That’s one of the problems you’ll run into when shooting at f/1.8. Aside from my focusing problem, I also think the lighting looks a little gross in comparison to the one above. Sure, the light is spread out, lighting the room a bit better, but the quality of light looks cheap. — in my opinion. There are just too many weird highlights and shadows. Oh. And I should say, I’m not sponsored by any of the companies I touted in the post. …but if Nikon, Pocket Wizard, and/or Lastolite wants to give me a call (gear, and money) I’m all ears (and eyes).

And just for reference, this is what the room looked like with the same exposure settings, sans flash.  dark, right?

Marriotts Ridge center midfielder Alex Price led the Mustangs to a 13-3-3 record and the girls soccer team’s first county championship.

Here’s the corresponding Howard County Time Article.

I couldn’t have asked for a better sky that day. …the temperature could’ve been better, though. If I remember correctly, it was hovering around 20-ish degrees, plus wind.

The Marriotts Ridge baseball field was going under some renovation, so rather than take Alex to the stadium (where all those gross white banners live in the background) I put her on top of the mound closest to the backstop.

…that way when she kicked the ball it didn’t go too far.

For all you gear heads out there, I used two Alien Bee 1600′s, both unmodified, at max power, powered by the vagabond II (love that thing) flanking her at the 9 o’clock and 4 o’clock position. I also used an sb-800, on the right, to light the ball.

Same Set up, sans the sb-800.

Yup! they still exist. Cobblers will fix your shoes.

Estefan Karan works at King’s Cobbler in Columbia, voted Best shoe repair for Howard Magazine 2010. Don’t ya just love the textures of all those machines?

You know how an amazing experience can make you think a photo is better than it actually is?

Well, the opposite can be true.

I’m not gonna go into too much detail, but due to language barriers and miscommunications, I left this shoot in a pretty bad mood.

In most respects, I should think this photo is pretty nice. The texture is pretty. The lighting is nice, yet unobtrusive, Estefan, looks like a charming old man — the kinda guy you want fixing your shoes. (And he is. He’s really good, and very fast.) I received a bunch of compliments on this shot (above) when it ran — and it ran big, too. But I couldn’t hear it.

Why? Because I had such a bad experience during the shoot, I discounted how nice it actually is.

I think have whatever the photo equivalent is to body dimorphic disorder — at least with these photos.

I’m getting over it.

Writing this post has helped me separate the experience and the photo.

Flag-laden Simon Penning, age 19, from Guilford, MD, middle, joins other Preakness-goers and uses the cracks in between the the wheelchair accessible portable toilets to urinate. Infrequent rains, beer, and urine, made this particular part of the infield muddier and more pungent than other areas.

Blake Andrews recently made a really good and insightful (well, to me anyway) blog post about taking pictures of people peeing in public/public restrooms. So, I was inspired to bring out this oldie (but a goodie). This is probably the best photo I made from my 2007 journey into the Preakness infield.

As most guys know, there’s a “no talk. no eye contact” social more  when it comes to public restroom etiquette. Small talk is super small, and greetings are often morphed into throaty grunts or head-nods.

Yeah yeah yeah. there are exceptions, but guys and their …uh, stuff, is a touchy (no pun) subject. I can recount numerous times when I’ve been in a bathroom and I see something worth photographing — no. not like that! get your head outta the gutter — but the fear of (physical & violent) confrontation — IN THE BATHROOM OF ALL PLACES — makes me rethink whipping my camera out.

…fine. make that last phrase dirty. but that’s your one pass.

So, really, I’m just glad to know I’m not alone thinking that taking photos in bathrooms could be kinda awesome. Feel free to share yours in the comments section. And/Or email them to Blake. He’s looking to make a follow up if enough people show any interest. who knows… you might see mine in that list.

Why oh why do I love this picture?

Everything about this shoot makes me roll my eyes. First of all, I’m breaking one of my cardinal rules! I HATE HATE HATE making portraits of people holding books, or whatever it is the writer decides the story is also about. So, I don’t do it. If I can make a book or a photograph, or whatever the subject made into a detail photo, that’s what I’m gonna do. — especially with authors. It’ll probably help the layout, and add an extra “click” to the website. This woman, however, is a faux finisher. Rita Melnick’s is a featured artists in the resource book “Modelo by Design, Volume 2,” — which is what she’s holding — and that’s pretty much what the article was about. Ugh! This newspaper article reads like a website bio. I could talk at length about how this assignment isn’t really journalism, but I think y’all are smart enough to figure that out.

So, why in the world do I love this image? Well, on the one sense, Rita was super pleasant to deal with, and got what I was going for. She was up for anything. …and why wouldn’t she be? We’re giving her faux finishing business free advertising! But this image (not unlike the article) is just ridiculous, isn’t it? I could try to make a heady analogy about faux paint/fake news/faked enthusiasm blah blah blah.

…but the fact is, every time I look at it I chuckle.

I get something out of it.

And hopefully the readers do too.

when I see this I think… POLITICAL CENTAUR!

@lopossay

Scott McIntyre

The world is funny, isn’t it?

Or at lest that how it seems to me. …but then again, I’m the guy who laughs too much during movies.

This is the second installment of my Best Runts of 2010. The first is here.

Can I first start by saying I can’t stand lifestyle images. You know what I’m talking about — Beautiful people laughing for no reason. …maybe holding a glass of wine, or frolicking through a field of wheat. It’s cheap high-gloss stock. Sure, there’s a semblance of a story being told, but it’s trying too hard to be perfect and beautiful. …but it lacks substance. What ends up happening is none of that joy those beautiful people in the photo translates to the end user — the audience.

Me? I roll my eyes.

…well, I sometimes chuckle. but it’s usually because a miscreant blacked out one of the boring hot chick’s teeth. …you know the one. She’s about to eat some spaghetti.

Now that’s funny. …at least to me. Like I said in Runts part 1, I like to celebrate the imperfect in life.

And I’m starting to realize (and I’m kinda cringing while I write this) that Happy is Boring.

…at least in photography.

Sure, if some kid is opening a birthday present and he’s making the craziest face in the world — like OUT OF HIS MIND HAPPY — because he got the most bad-ass toy robot ever, then that’s good stuff. That’s an emotion we can enjoy through someone else’s experience. But laughing on the beach FOR NO REASON isn’t entertaining. Those are passive photo. It’s like the white bread of photography. no nutrition.

To be clear, there’s a difference between BEING happy and trying to make a picture of happy. People smiling for no reason is void of content, void of purpose, and void of personality. It’s the quirks and our imperfections we, as individuals, are loved for. And so, I look for those when I’m out making pictures. Ultimately, I want the audience to relate to the subjects and stories in my images. …and rather than show them pictures of people laughing, I’d rather them enjoy a chuckle or two. Enjoy!

My mom got married to a wonderful man, Rick, this summer. They have so much in common, such as not liking bubbly. You gotta give em’ props for trying, right? So, lets raise a glass and wish them well! She finally found a good fit for her.

Howard County Times girls soccer player of the year, Marriotts Ridge senior center midfielder Alex Price.

This was a big year for me. …2010 is my last year as a newspaper staffer.

In this post I’m showcasing the images that I think would easily be considered my “best” images from 2010. These are the images that will most likely help get me work in the future. They’re important for that reason — they’re hopefully testaments to my skill as a portrait and documentary photographer. I think when you look at these photos you’ll probably notice they rely pretty heavily on one visual aspect or another: DRAMATIC LIGHTING, VISUAL HUMOR, SIMPLE BEAUTY, OR SUBTLETY. Some are quirkier than others, but these are the images everyone will like.

I like them.

I like them a lot. But, I can’t help but think, that they’re all relatively safe images, too. There’s nothing daring about them. Personally, I love the “off moments” in life — and in pictures.

So, I’ve given this post a weirdo sibling. In that post I highlight the best images of what I affectionately call my “RUNTS.” They’re the ones that not everyone likes or gets. They’re the ones that fall short, when coupled with my “GOOD” work. Usually, they’re the “outs” when I get advice on an edit.

Having said that I’m extremely proud of THESE images — in this post. I don’t want you to think I’m discounting them. Like I said, I think they’re good.

2011 will be an interesting year. I’m on my own. hooray!!! …but I have to maintain and buy my own gear. Getting work is up to me. But I’m excited about that. Marketing is fun. I’ll finally get to work on projects I’m interested in, and I won’t get into fights with editors. “No” doesn’t cary as much gravity anymore. In my new life, editors are clients, not my bosses. I’m no longer an employee and that feels great! When the photos I like don’t run, it’s won’t feel personal or politically motivated anymore. …besides, I have a blog. So, they’ll be seen. AND I CAN RESELL THEM!!!

I don’t regret being a staffer. The Patuxent Publishing Company is one of the best photo papers around. And it was an amazing bootcamp. …but it was better when I started there. We had a bigger staff, more leadership support, more money, more space. Heck! We ran photo essays weekly — sometimes 2-3! But times have changed — DRASTICALLY for newspapers. …and for me.

So. lets celebrate this new beginning with my best photos from 2010. Thanks so much for looking.

Wilde Lake senior linebacker E.J. Gilman, the 2010 football Defensive Player of the Year, helped lead the Wildecats to a State Championship.

Dinosaurs seemingly try to escape the Ice Age at the Old Pro Golf course on the 6800 block of Coastal Highway in Ocean City in the off season Sunday, January 31, 2010.

Branches protrude form the frozen waters of Lake Kittamaqundi during the preliminary snowfall Friday, February 5, 2010.

Dr. Barbara Feinstein, of the Cat and Dog Hospital of Columbia, plays the part of patient while concerned Greyhound “Dr.” Moosh takes her pulse for the Best Veterinarian of Howard 2010 issue shoot Tuesday, September 28, 2010.

Oakland Mills’ coach Jon Browne calls junior Kerry Bethea, senior Greg Wittington, and senior Joe Kiely, the “Big Three.”  The trio are photographed in the Oakland Mills gym Wednesday, November 24, 2010.

Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill attends a Conference of Bishops addressing the increased demand for exorcisms at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott in the Harbor East area of Baltimore City Friday, November 12, 2010.

Chris Coons, Democratic candidate for Delaware’s Senate seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden, poses for a portrait at the New Castle Library Thursday, October 7, 2010.

Centennial senior Sam Brostrom is the volleyball player of the year. She is photographed at Centennial High School Wednesday, December 8, 2010.

Corinne Zahlis at Historic Savage Mill Sunday, October 17, 2010.

Owings Mills tackle Donovan Smith, 6’5″, 280 lbs, has been offered 22 scholarships to play football in college. He is photographed at Owings Mills High School’s football stadium Wednesday, September 1, 2010.

Maia Krapcho, from Columbia, first learned baking at vo-tech school. While she has since moved on to a different career, she finds cake-baking to be a creative outlet. She is photographed in her home kitchen Monday, September 20, 2010.

Here’s the Howard County Times’ Go! story.

She makes crazy cakes — for fun! Like, for her husband’s dad’s birthday, she made a Scrabble cake! I saw a picture. It was awesome! The problem I had was illustrating her whimsical cake-making ability without a cake! Turns out, the assigning editor (a word person) told Maia not to make a cake for the shoot. He was worried it might cross some ethical photo line. And if it weren’t for a portrait I’d commend him. But it seems that in our little photo department’s fervor to explain photo ethics to the writers, we seemed to have confused some of them. So, I show up to the shoot, and there’s no cake. — well, there’s an ugly practice cake — but we can’t use that! So, we bang our heads for a while, trying to think up ideas. She was like, I could draw a mustache with icing. BRILLIANT!!! See. it helps to listen to your subjects. I asked her to send photos of her cakes to the editor and I made it my mission to showcase her personality. And trust me, this is all Maia.