A Year in Photos-2009

So another year has ended and at the News-Sentinel we've had to go through all our photos and pic the best/our favorites from 2009. And as it truns out, this year was painfully boring when it came to local news. This summer is the slowest fire season we've had since I started working for the LNS and the year's biggest controversy was whether or not to continue praying at the city council meetings.

So with that I didn't have a whole lot to chooses from as far as "Best" photos of the year. But I still managed to get some photos I like. Whether or not they are good is debatable, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say.

So here are my favorite shots of the year in no particular order.

*Keep in mind these are shots for the News-Sentinel and not my favorite shots of my own personal work which i think is much stronger this year.

A quick update.

Since I haven't added anything new since Sept. I thought I'd give you guys the heads up on what's going on. And what's going on is nothing. Nada. Zilch. I have shot nothing interesting since Sept. and prospects in upcoming months aren't looking good either. It's just been a boring season here in Lodi.

If you have any ideas on some photo essays you'd like to see please share.

Have a good one and thanks for reading.

-Dan

The final peppers and a couple grapes.

I have the two last shots from the pepper harvest and a couple from a grape harvest I shot the other day. It was late in the morning when I got to the grape harvest so the sun was high and harsh. Hopefully I can make it to another grape harvest before the season is over. I'd like to get there a dawn for the best light.

I'm actually not happy with the grape shots, but I'm posting them anyway just to show something that did not turn out the way I wanted. Helps me to improve myself by looking at what I did wrong and figuring out how I can do it better.

Peppers:



Grapes:

That's all for now. And as always, go to the Wade Wire. It can be found in my links on the right side of the blog.

She's a Pepper

One Last shot.

I Had A Dream...

Seriously. I had a dream just this morning at about 8:20 a.m. Indulge me for a moment while I tell you my dream.

My boss and I were driving down a narrow country road trying to find a place to pull off to photograph a giant tornado.

When we finally found a place to pull off the tornado was gone. But in the field next to us were dozens of workers bent over harvesting. Others were unloading buckets into trailers. We decided this is what we were going to photograph instead.

*MEOW

*MEOW

*MEOW

That's my cat, Darby, waking me up from my dream.

Fast forward a couple hours and I'm leaving the Target plaza on 8 Mile Rd. and driving towards Davis Rd. And what do I see? A field of workers. Bent Over. Harvesting. Others are unloading buckets full of peppers into trailers behind tractors. I quickly drove home, grabbed my gear, and rushed back just a few minutes before they went to lunch. I only got off a few shots, but from those shots I got one I liked and that is all I ask for.


All of this is completely true. Seriously.

A little less depth of field and this would have been perfect. Maybe f/4 instead of f/8. Oh well. Grape harvest tomorrow or early next week with Van Ruiten. With the strawberry harvest from earlier this year my harvest project is coming along nicely.

-Dan

P.S. Go read the WadeWire. Link on the right side of my blog.

P.P.S. This is a reminder that you should always keep your gear handy at all times. I would have had soo much more time to shoot if I hadn't had to drive the 10 minutes home and 10 minutes back.

*UPDATE* I went back out this morning. Go a couple shots I like. Also met with the Bill Rogan of Van Ruiten Winery and I will be going out to a harvest tonight after work.

These are early edits. They will probably be worked on 2 or 3 more times.

Foreigner

No, I don't mean the interesting people from abroad that come here to make a new life for themselves. I mean the band that should have called it quits years ago.

They played at the annual Rock the Square fundraiser at Hutchins Street Square on Friday. It's a huge fundraiser for local charities. Each year they bring in a different band. Last year the Doobie Brothers put on a great show. The year before that was Kenny Loggins(I can't imagine any square being rocked by the singer of Rainbow Connection). This year it was the driving force behind songs such as Urgent and Dirty White Boys.

These guys had more cheese than a pizza. And the women were going nuts for it. Was it the booze they'd been drinking all night? I sure hope so because if acting like the lead singer is what I'll have to do to get a lady when I'm older I'm afraid I'll be single my whole life.

I was laughing most of the time I was there shooting.


That is all. Remember to check out the other blogs I link to, especially the Wade Wire.

-Dan

And Now For Something Completely Different

You won't see me doing this often; wedding photos(actually, you don't see me doing portraits in general as I don't like them much). Now this isn't an actual wedding. That's not for another week. These are just some shots i took while checking out the site for next week's wedding. Very simple setup on these. Two Sb-600s triggered by an Sb-900. My buddy Brian was holding a large diffuser off camera on most of the shots, blocking the sunlight and getting rid of that ugly dappled shade/sun combo.

Paul and Naomi were great subjects. I can't wait to do more of this and get more shots next Monday.

A lesson in lighting from Joe McNally

Pretty much anyone who takes photography seriously knows who Joe McNally is. He is an amazing photojournalist and portrait photographer. he does a lot of stuff for NatGeo. I was introduced to his work through my boss/buddy Brian and my portraits haven't been the same since.

For those unfamiliar with Joe's work he is the master of using small hot shoe flashes to create elaborate portraits. He does everything from simple one flash and a reflector photos to massive 12, 13, even 20 flash portraits. He goes all out.

Today I went out to my favorite place in the world(yes, more favorite than Disneyland even) to make a portrait of my cousin. A few years ago I took a snapshot of him smoking what would be one of his very last pipes and I got quite a few people offering to buy it. So I thought he'd be the perfect subject for a portrait in my favorite place.

I really just wanted to recreate one of Joe's shots that he took of a fisherman in a workshop. Instead of a workshop I have an old barn full of old, dirty things. And instead of a fisherman I have a retired carpenter. This wasn't a planned shoot. I just showed up. So my cousin is just wearing what he had on. He normally wears overalls, which is what I was hoping for, but no luck today. Oh well.


And instead of a long-winded description of the shoot, I just drew it out(another thing Mr. McNally does).

The sketch still leaves some room for explanation though. I took the shot at about 2 pm so the whole barn was in shadow. I had to light the whole thing. I forgot to put in the sketch that I stopped the camera down by a stop and a half from aperture priority. The auto exposure was adjusting for the dark background and over exposing the whole scene. The Sb-600 with the gold reflector was to light the junk in the back. I used the window to diffuse the the fill/Sb-900(gel'd with a CTO for the warm glow).

I think the shot turned out pretty well. Exactly what I was hoping for actually. I just wish the clothes were a little more fitting to the environment.

The girl with Cystic Fibrosis

I had to photograph a lady the other day(during an interview with the reporter) who is trying to raise money for the trip to Stanford foe a double lung transplant due to having Cystic Fibrosis. It was an interesting shoot because the topic of illness is normally a sad one but she was all kinds of bubbly and cheerful. It was also a hard house to shoot in. It was weakly lit, most of the time I had to shoot while facing open windows, and the walls were painted an off color, dishing out color-casts.

Because of the condition her lungs are in she has to be connect to oxygen at all times. So when I shot I really wanted accentuate the tube that was in her nose and draped over her body.

I also needed to convey with photos both the somber nature of the situation she was in and the perky attitude she had. Not easy with bland, flat light. So I used some flash to supplement the ambient light. Bright highlights and dark shadows for the more serious moments(first photo) and even, bright light for her constant giggling(last photo) and a more cheerful feel.

Because of her attachment to oxygen tanks, she rarely leaves the house, so I had to include her environment in the shots. Being stuck in a house makes her like a prisoner, so I used the supports in the divider wall to mimic a jail cell. She wants to be a fashion designer, so I tried to get the mannequin in as often as I could as well.


The end result is far from perfect, but I'm happy with the way they came out considering what I had to work with.

People trying to overcome medical adversity always make for great photo assignments.

-Dan

The Matador and the Bulge...er...Bull

It's been a long time since I've posted here. Mostly due to the graduation season being hectic and tiring. I haven't gotten a chance to go shoot anything on my own time and news has been mostly lacking in excitement. But the other night i got to shoot a bullfight. Something I had never experienced before. I had no idea what to expect. I was hoping for excitement and I was not disappointed.

When the first bull came out of the entrance hall and immediately turned and smashed a hole in the wall that was suppose to separate guys like me from one-ton of angry mammal I knew it would not be boring. And the excitement just kept coming.

The Horseman and the matadors did exactly what you'd expect them to do; dodge a bull and jab it with non-lethal spears. Pretty standard. But then cam the Forcados. Their job is the pega de cara or pega de caras, "face catch" in English. I think you see where this is going.

After a fight is over about twenty of these guys line up in a straight line and let the bull charge and ram them while they hang on and try to slow it down.

Nuts.

Anyway, it was pretty cool and I'd love to go to more.

For today's photos I've stuck with just one of the Matadors, Victor Blasquez. He was the top guy of the four matadors at the show.

This is during the opening ceremony.

And on to the fight.

Don't stare directly into it. I think you know what I'm talking about.

Remember those Fordacdos I mentioned? Yeah, their job sucks. *Photo in color for full green elf hat action

I hope you enjoy the photos.

-Dan

Migrant workers at home.

Today was a nice day off from work. And how did I spend it? By "working." Anyone who lives here in the golden state knows that farming is a huge part of our state's identity. And for tenss of thousands of people it is a way of life. On East Harney Ln. outside of Lodi is a fairly large immigrant housing project. So tonight I decided to head out there and see if I could document some of the people living there.

Once I got there I immediately approached the first person I saw. Francisco Martinez. He spoke very little English. Just enough to get a basic idea before finding someone else to translate for us. His neighbor was a big help. So once she explained to him what I wanted he welcomed me into his home.

I was welcomed by his parents right away. They were incredibly nice despite our inability to communicate. They even treated me to dinner. It was horrible tasting, but I smiled, had seconds, and said thank you.

I was stunned by their home. It was so bare. So plain.

Not much happened while I was there. Berta, the mother, spent 3 hours cooking, Juan, the father, watched television, Marco, the brother, slept, and Francisco went out and played soccer. Not too terribly different from the typical American family(that is except for the soccer bit).

Francisco Martinez watches a small television in his minimally furnished living room.

Francisco Martinez stretches before going out to play soccer with other residents of the migrant worker camp.

Berta Martinaz serves dinner after 3 hours of preparation.
Brothers Marco, left, and Francisco Martinez rest in their shared room in the early evening.
Berta Martinez prepares a mole sauce was her husband, Juan, watches television nearby.
Berta Martinez tastes a small dollop of mole sauce on her hand while preparing dinner for her family.
Francisco Martinez looks through photos a relative sent to the family in the mail.
Crucifixes hang from a nail near the door of the small Martinez house. Small religious trinkets are all that decorate the bare walls of the small home.

That's it for now. I still have some photos to go through. I always find another one to use.

-Dan

Just a couple more shots from the strawberry farm. The lady there loved the photos so much she asked me to take some more of her. They really aren't as good, but I was running out of angles to shoot from. They were basically doing the same thing over and over.

This week in photos

This weeks "This week in photos" consists entirely of photos taken today. This week flew by. I don't feel like I've worked at all. Nevertheless, this is Friday night which means I must have worked at some point.

Anyway, today I finally got to photograph a harvest. I've had trouble with getting this done because it seems nobody is willing to let me in their fields. I promised I wouldn't report them to immigration services but even that didn't work! *Please note I didn't actually say that.

It took some smooth talking but I finally got a guy to let me in his field.




And the last shot came from the SJAA swim meet at Bear Creek High School this morning. I know, sports shots should be in color. But I've said it once and I'll say it again; B&W is better.

Well, that's not normally true in sports, but it is true in this case.


And that's this week in photos. Remember to check out the blogs and websites I have link on the right side of this page.

-Dan

Bolinas, Ca with the Intrepid Soul

Yesterday I went to a beautiful and apparently little known beach in Bolinas. It was a nice little staycation with my pals Brian and Natalie of the Intrepid Soul and Natalie's friend Laura. It was a great day of laughs, surfing for Brian, lazing about for the rest of us, and working on our sunburns.

We left Lodi around 9 am on our long journey to the coast. Brian was obviously excited to be getting some surfing in.

Nat was quite happy to have her picture taken. Laura not so much.

We had to pull off the road for a bit for some fresh air and a beautiful view of the coast.

This guy ran out in front of us. Luckily we weren't going any faster because he was just a few feet in front of the Jeep.

As soon as we got there Brian was in the water.

This guy took a liking to Nat when she was holding Brian's camera.

This is an old guy with a kite if you couldn't figure that out.
FEET!

Random fun.

And a giant dog.

The kite guy without his kite. Something must have been interesting on the side of the hill he's looking at.

Me looking all kinds of sexy...kinda.


Our uninvited guest.
I'll be honest. I have no idea what's going on here.

Natalie was gathering pieces for some kind of Frankenstein crab until I destroyed it with a rock.

Hand-slapping fun.

Natalie taking care of her man.

COOKIES!

Newtons.



Working on my epic sunburn.

Bizarre wood man thing on the beach.


Natalie doing an impression of the coolest person she knows; me. Her coolness failed in comparison though.

Natalie building a rock monument.

And this is why I'm always behind the camera.


So the trip was tons of fun. Weather was gorgeous. Go read the Intrepid Soul in a few days to see a better written version of the trip.

This Week in Photos

If you looked at my schedule this week you'd immediately notice how unexciting it was. But it never ceases to amaze me that good photos can from from seemingly boring events. This is is this week in photos.

This is a 12 year old with a type of lymphoma. His family's winery held a fundraiser for him today out at Vino Piazza. He was having a beanbag war with his brother and a few friends in a corridor. I ducked down behind a shelf to avoid a beanbag pelting and snapped a few shots; one while he rested between battles and one during a lull in the battle. Super high ISO. Very noisy. Heavy shadow on one side and bright highlights from the open end of the corridor on the other. I love the way it turned out though. There's something about shadowed faces with rimlight around the body that always gets me.


He walked a little further down and the light hit him from the front. Great light.


This guy was sorting food for the food giveaways at the Salvation Army. I personally like this one more in b&w because the tones are as good as they get. But apparently people tend to thing b&w is "lying."

And this youngin' is cleaning glass at Washington School for Comcast Cares Day. I cut her torso in half and showed more of the windows to accentuate how small she was and how far she had to reach to get to the windows. And the light is awesome.
It's occurred to me that I like to shoot the right sides of people. Hmmm...

Go visit my friends' blogs!

-Dan