My Helicopter Has Arrived!

Just a short little video of some of the sights and sounds of a recent fun-as-heck shoot for an upcoming St. Francis ad. Helicopters, radios and flour.... good recipe for good photos. 

Single Photo Assignment (kinda)

As a newspaper guy for more than a decade, coming back from an assignment with only one photo wasn't looked upon too kindly! But I am finding that more and more my clients are looking for one single stunning image. This week the Tulsa World called on me to do something that not just every photographer does. A 360 degree full panorama both for print and for the web. Above is the print version and here is the web version. 

When the editor there called me and asked me to do it, I knew there was only one moment that would really capture the iconic nature of Opening day at the new stellar Oneok Field in downtown Tulsa.

To over come the massive shade cast by the grandstands and not over expose downtown and the sky, I used a technique called HDR. I won't go into the technical aspect of the photo here, but I will say that the final image is well over 100mb and is the result of combining dozens of separate images taken using a special tripod head.

I thought the result was great and actually plan to have it printed full scale for sale in the Tulsa Mayfest Invitational Gallery.

Play with your food!

Did a fun little shoot a while back for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. They wanted some fresh fun images to use for marketing and advertising, but weren't happy with the stock selections out there. So we sat down for a day and shot their people (volunteers, staff and clients) in a clean simple style with lots of color and plenty of fun. On a side note... it's all fun and games until the intern drops a watermelon on the seamless! 

Sleeping Beauty (Dish)

I bought a 22" beauty dish with the thought of using it everyday for everything! HA! It really does throw some amazing light, but let's be real, hauling a 22" reflector around is not the easiest thing in the world to do. So I was pretty stoked when I got this little assignment for the Tulsa World. Me and the beauty dish were off... to photograph a real life beauty at the Tulsa Ballet.

Soo Youn Cho tore her ACL, typically a career ending injury, but she is back in the spotlight with the Tulsa Ballet's production of Sleeping Beauty. For more information on Soo Youn's story, watch for the upcoming article in the Tulsa World.

A little taste...

... I did not have the time (only a few hours) to do this story right, but while I was in South Louisiana I was invited to a Cochon de Lait at the home of Barry Jean Ancelet. I can't tell you how excited I was, but Felipe and I were both exhausted, so we called it a night just as the party got started. Here are a few photos from the evening. I can tell you that without a doubt this story is already on the books for next year.

Quick trip to Paducah

Well, after last weekend's woodcock trip to Louisiana, Brownie and I had healed up just enough to drive down to the family place near Paducah, Texas and give it another shot. We met my uncle and cousin and their young pointer Lilly and hunted on Saturday. We put up two coveys, one was a huge group of 40 or 50 birds that is always up at the top of the hill and the other was a small group of 8-10 that we found in a draw up north in pretty wild country. Lots of birds up there, lots of pigs and not a lot of shots to go along with them.

My cousin Matt and Brownie work the south pasture late in the day.

Brownie covered some serious ground in this new area that has just been cleared of mesquite and cedar this summer. A little work and this should be quail heaven. And it's secluded enough and surrounded by heavy cover that it might even keep the poachers away.

Brownie gets real serious about some birds. It's really interesting, you can tell the difference in a false point and the real thing if you can just get a glimpse of his face.

This dog..... good lord.... this dog... I don't even know what to say about this dog. They have given up on an e collar and just decided to go with the Garmin. I have never seen a dog get 300 yards away in 15 secs. Somehow she seems to do it. Great dog, good breeding... just maybe she needs to come equipped with a horse. Sweet as can be though. She's gonna be a great dog when she learns all the tricks.

Absolutely, hands down, the best time of day to be out in Texas. Just beautiful in the late afternoon.

End of the day back at the trucks... Lilly even showed back up eventually ;)

The long road back to town. This is really beautiful country... and despite what folks say, I think I would be willing to drive an hour to get to a steakhouse in order to live there. ;)

Cracklins and Double Guns

Well, after getting an open invitation for five years I finally took my friend Felipe up on a woodcock hunt in South Louisiana. Brownie and I loaded up and made the 11 hour drive down on Friday, hunted Saturday and Sunday and then made the drive home today. It was really an unbelievable, although long, weekend.

Saturday we had a bit of bad weather and some really heavy cover, but Sunday was just more fun that a man should be allowed to have. It took Brownie (my English Setter) to catch onto what exactly Felipe's GSPs were so excited about, but he finished the day really strong with two rock solid points and held the birds till we got there to flush.

If only our marksmanship had been better. I have heard all the jokes about the difficulty of shooting woodcock.... but good gosh... I did some really horrible shooting! Good thing I am a bit better with the camera.

The land down there is beautiful and after the winter we have had in Tulsa is was good to see at least a little bit of green in the woods. We hunted some WMAs and also the Catherine sugar cane plantation (Felipe's wife is a stockholder and direct descendent of the original owners)

I learned a ton on the trip thanks to Felipe and his crackerjack German Shorthair Pointers Gypsy and Roscoe. Although I expected the trip to be a one time deal, I will be putting it on my calendar every year for the forseeable future, as well as seeking out some possible places locally to find woodcock next year.

Big Fun at ORU

Well I finally got my lights and remotes set just like I want them at ORU and the results are turning out to be fantastic. Now if the team can just get healthy and back on track it will really be a great season. If you are here in Tulsa, come out and watch the guys and gals hustle.

On Bread... and the wonders of self-employment

It's been nearly a year now since I was thrust headlong into the world of self-employment. At first I went reluctantly, but soon I realized all that the world had to offer someone with the talent and drive to work for themselves. It really is an amazing thing.

Today, I woke slow and early. I stood at the back door, drank my coffee and watched as the first real chill of late fall lifted from the yard. The blood red leaves of the japanese maple slowly floated to the ground one by one, signifying the end of the fall show. Then I cleaned up from a lighting test the night before and decided to make bread.

I got out all the vital ingredients, laid them out on the counter, rechecked the scrawling notes on the recipe card and then started. In silence I measured, mixed and kneaded and when the bread was put to rest, I sat back and began to start my work day.

Of course it's not a fairytale world. There are times I wonder when the next job is coming, and here in a few weeks I'll really start sweating the tax bill. And I'll do my fair share of work today. I have grading to do, and a class to teach tonight. Later this week I have to reset lights for the ORU basketball season and then I have two games to photograph. And there will be weeks like the U.S. Amateur Championship when I will work seven 12 hour or longer days.

But no man in a downtown high rise apartment, nor a midtown mansion will hold my fate in his hands. I will lose clients and I will gain them, but I will always be in control. There is always a job to be found and always a new client that needs work. So the rough times are never behind us, but for now I sit on the front porch as the sweet smell of fresh bread and self-reliance wafts out the front door and seeps lazily down the empty street I call home.

Recipe for bread below. Figure out the self-reliance on your own.

1 package of yeast
3 cups of lukewarm water
1 tablespoon of salt
1/4 cup of rye flour
1/4 cup of wheat flour
3 cups of regular flour

Dissolve the salt and yeast into the water. mix all ingredients except 1 cup of flour into the water (use a mixer if you have it) turn the dough out on a floured board and knead in the last cup of flour. Divide the dough into two loafs. Let rise (covered in a greased bowl) for an hour or until doubled. Shape into round loafs and place on top of sprinkled cornmeal on a baking sheet, sprinkle liberally with flour. With a serrated bread knife cut a cross or hash into the top of the crust. Place a cup of water in a pan on the bottom rack. Bread goes on the center rack. Bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes.

Old School/New School

Playing again with a process to digitally capture images from an old 4x5 field camera. Interesting so far. The look of the 4x5 wide open is just beautiful, especially photographing people. Where/when will I use it? Who knows....