The top photo was captured during a campus fun day of a student who volunteered for the dunking booth. This shot made my favorite list because I like the detail of the soaking wet shirt and the "action" of the image. Yes, it's "still" photography, but I can almost see the guy moving as he climbs out of the dunking tank.
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGSOne thing I love about my job as Communications Coordinator for San Jacinto College is that I get to take all sorts of photos in all sorts of settings, which can be very challenging, but also very rewarding.
Ever since I first picked up a 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera many years ago, I have been fascinated and enraptured by still photography. Sure, video is an amazing medium and still photography could never compete with video in regards to action. But still photography has certain advantages over video because photography "freezes" forever a certain moment in time or a certain emotion or a certain special occasion so that that
moment or th
at
emotion or that
occasion can be savored and cherished for many years to come.
In this photographic odyssey, I will share some of my personal favorite pix that I have taken since I came on board nearly 2 years ago at San Jac. Along the way, I will provide some background (and probably some technical info) about each photograph as a way of enhancing the pix. Sometimes, the story behind the capture of certain pix can be very interesting and informative. IF YOU WANT TO SEE A LA
RGER VIEW OF ANY IMAGE, SIMPLY CLICK ON IT. Then, either click the "back" arrow, or click the "close box" of the enlarged photo to return to the post.
CHEERSI got the two shots of the cheerleaders gathered in a circle by accident. As I was leaving a photo session in which I just took standard shots of the cheerleaders doing their crazy jumps and gyrations, I had an impulse to get them to gather around me while I laid down on the gym floor. After taking their pic from that perspective, I sort of liked it, so I said: "Now, let's try it the other way around. Ya'll lay down in a circle on the gym floor and I will take a photo from overhead." The results were sort of interesting and I think the pix sort of capture the close-knit comradery of the cheerleader group.
SUPER CHEFThe next photo features Donna Jones, who is the kitchen manager for San Jacinto College North's culinary arts program. She proudly displays a medal she won in a state-wi
de culinary contest. I like this particular photo because of the way the subject is so well lighted and isolated from the surrounding kitchen, which is dimly seen in the background. I achieved this effect by making adjustments with a Joe Demb flash diffuser so that the light from the SB600 Speedlight would be concentrated on the subject, and by increasing the camera's f-stop to achieve the desired depth of field. This is one main reason I stick with Nikon camera equipment -- because Nikon's Creative Lighting System is so versatile.
SHALL WE DANCE?I did not need a flash to capture the next image because I intentionally shot "available light" using our Marketing Department's Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 lens, along with a Nikon D80. The Tam lens is a gem because of the large aperture (which lets in lots of light and allows for a shallow depth of field and creamy out-of-focus area [aka bokeh]). I like the way the 4 dancers are all in syc and the angles of their arms and legs. I also like the vibrant colors and patterns of the dancers' outfits.
FLY GUYThe next photo made my "favorites" list mostly because of the warm, friendly smile of the guy in the photo. The event was the unveiling of some new state-of-the-art training airplanes for the College's pilot training program. To stage a photo, I snagged this guy because he's a recent San Jac grad who is now teaching in the College's program and asked him to hop up in the cockpit. At first, he just sat there, just waiting for me to take the photo. I knew that would be a ho-hum photo, so I asked him to give me a big smile. "While you're at it, why don't you wave to me like you're about to take off on a test flight." That made the guy loosen up a bit and he broke out in this truly great smile. Amazing how a simple hand wave and a big smile can turn a boring photo into something with some pizazz.
CUTE KIDSThe next photo shows a group of children gathered around Kathy Greenway, director of the childcare center at San Jacinto College North. Greenway won a prestigious award and I wanted to get a shot of her together with some of the little ones. You just never know what you might get when you gather a group of small kids for photos, but you know at least a few of them will probably be cute. Several of these kids are cute, but the little girl on the far left, to me, is especially adorable.
SHARPI like the super sharp focus of the next photo of the guy approaching the soccer ball. This is perhaps the sharpest sports photo I've ever taken (and I've taken thousands of them) and here's something interesting about this shot -- I got it using a D70 (considered by many to be only a "consumer" grade digital SLR) coupled with a Tokina 100-300mm f/5.6-6.7 lens. The lens is a very inexpensive "budget" lens that cost me only $80 new. The zoom mechanism is the old-style push-pull kind, instead of the newer twist-style. It aint much for looks, but I have gotten some stunning action shots using this Tokina low-cost lens. Most of the shots I've captured with the lens are every bit as good in regards to sharpness, color, clarity, etc. as pix taken with Nikon or Canon lenses that cost nearly $2,000 each. The only way to appreciate the sharpness of the photo is to click on the smaller pic in order to view a larger version.
OMG !!!The next photo is all about the expressions. I staged the photo to go along with a press release about the Central Campus' theatrical production of "Rocky Horror Show." The show is rather racy for a college production due to the skimpy outfits worn by the cast members. The couple in this scene are supposed to be very "straight-laced" and conservative and this is their first impressions of a character who depicts a transvestite. I think all three characters really came across well with their expressions. I love to take theatrical pix. Most actors love to ham it up for a camera, which makes it easy to get great shots.
HANDS-ON LEARNINGThe next photo is also all about expressions. The guy in the center is a San Jac student who is helping two elementary school students in a hands-on science demonstration. I really like the expressions of all three people in the photo. They are all obviously having fun while doing something educational. To me, this photo clearly depicts literal "hands-on" education at it's very best.
JAMI really like the lighting in the next photo. This was one of the first photos I ever took using a Demb diffuser and it clearly demonstrates the magic of the device. A Demb diffuser accomplishes 3 things simultaneously -- it sends out indirect lighting by deflecting it from the "flip-it" device; it provides more indirect lighting that bounces off the ceiling; and it softens and evenly spreads out light through the diffuser shields. The result is almost always a photo with very evenly distributed light and proper exposure. The pic features North Campus music professor Carol Morgan jamming with student Stephen Forse, who went on to play trumpet with the Glenn Miller Band once he left San Jac.
SQUISHNo, the guy in the next photo is not getting smacked in the face by a brick. What resembles a brick is actually a soaking wet sponge. He's a student who volunteered to be a target in a sponge toss booth during "Student Involvement Day" at San Jacinto College North. What I like about this photo is the way the slower shutter speed allows the rapidly moving sponge to have a blur, which gives the impression of action. I also like the way I was able to capture the shot just when the sponge was about to make contact. Believe me, I had to take a bunch of shots to time it just right.
JAZZI really like 2 things about the next photo -- 1. the bokeh (out of focus area); 2. the simple way the photo "tells a story," which is at the heart of photojournalism (my favorite style of photography). I captured the image at a district-wide Christmas party held at the Central Campus. Musical entertainment was provided by a 4-piece jazz band and I took several pix of each performer as part of chronicling the events of the party. This particular close-up of the trumpet player was my favorite of the band photos, simply because the emphasis is on the very end of the horn (where the music emerges). It was not possible to get such a perspective by taking pix of the other musicians, which included a drummer, a bass player (upright bass), and a pianist.
SPLASHNow we come to a series of 6 related photos that feature San Jacinto College firefighter technology students participating in a rigorous training session. The object of the training was for cadets to attempt to bring under control an out-of-control spraying fire hose. This is a critical part of firefighter training, because a fire hose that gets away from a firefighter can quickly become a lethal weapon, whipping around the solid steel spray nozzle, which can do a lot of damage to people and property. In this exercise, the steel spray nozzle was removed from the fire hose as a safety precaution. I used a fisheye lens for some of the pix, which produced some interesting results. A cadet operating a firetruck equipped with a long extension ladder was nice enough to allow me to go high up in the air with him (in the basket of the ladder) to allow me to get some pretty cool aerial pix. I had a blast in the photo session, even though I got soaking wet.
WOO-HOO !!!The next photo demonstrates how trying something a little unorthodox can sometimes change a routine, hum-drum, boring photo into something that's at least a little more attention-getting. I was taking a pic of the North Campus speech & debate team to go with a press release about the many awards & trophies the team had won in recent tournaments. I shot a few of the traditional "Castro" photos of the group (line them up and shoot them). Then, just before taking one final shot, I had a sudden impulse to liven things up a bit. I told the group: "Let's do something a little different. I want each one of you to hoist your trophy and shake it and shout and really whoop it up and celebrate all your hard-earned victories." The students really got in the spirit and I really liked the resulting photo, especially the individual expressions of some of the students.
PLAY BALLThe next baseball photo is another unplanned shot I got by "accident." I had been taking action shots of the North Campus baseball team to be used in a media guide and when I was finished and was about to leave the field, I happened to glance down to some equipment laying around in the dugout area. Something about this particular collection of fielder's glove, baseballs, and cap caught my attention and I quickly snapped a close-up. To me, the dirt smudges on the cap and the well-broken-in fielder's glove holding 3 baseballs sort of exemplify the uniqueness of baseball and the sport's rich traditions. Bettina, one of Marketing's very talented graphic artists, really liked the photo and it was used as a screened background image on the back cover of the 2008 media guide.
PICTURE PERFECTThe next photo was taken of North Campus President Dr. Charles Grant in his office. This one made my favorites list not because of anything special about the content, which is pretty basic and routine. What I like about the photo is the perfectly distributed lighting, the extremely sharp focus and the true-to-life color rendition. This photo was so "just right" when transferred from the camera that it required no post-processing, which is vary rare. The photo shows off how great the combination of a Nikon D80, a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens and a Demb diffuser work together to produce properly exposed, sharp pix with rich and accurate colors.
LOOKING AHEADThe next photo again demonstrates how trying something a little different can change a routine photo into something that at least portrays a message. I took the pic to go with a press release about a new educational consortium recently launched by Dr. Robert Vela and Dr. Sarah Janes, 2 very talented and dedicated educators at the North Campus. They started the project because they said they have a vision of a better educated North Channel community, which will help to improve the local economy. Rather than just take the typical "Castro" photo (line them up and shoot them), I decided to try something that would convey the idea of a vision for a brighter future. To do so, I placed a single flash high up on a light stand and fastened a "snoot" to the flash (which simply constricts the light so that it becomes a focused spotlight) and had the two subjects look up toward the light. They both really liked the photo and I think the result was at least an improvement over the typical photo of 2 people just standing side by side.
LADY MECHANICHere's another unplanned, spur-of-the-moment shot that I took on impulse. I needed some pix to go with an article I was putting together about Kim, a really sharp young lady who is excelling in San Jac's highly-regarded auto repair technology program. I staged some shots with her and an instructor using an electronic sensor to test parts of an auto engine. I liked the pix and told them we were finished and started walking out of the auto repair shop. On the way out I got to thinking that an electronic sensor may not be the best device to convey the idea of auto repair. So, I went and found Kim and asked her if we could stage a few more pix using some other sort of tool -- something more conventional and easily recognizable. We went to the tool room and she asked the tool room clerk for a wrench. "What sort of a wrench would you like," he asked. "Give us the largest wrench you have," I replied. He provided the big wrench you see Kim holding in the photo, which was the perfect prop. I staged her holding the wrench with her arms crossed, leaning against the hood of the car to suggest a "can-do" attitude. Kyle Smith (my Communications Coordinator teammate) used PhotoShop to apply a smudge of grease to her cheek.
REMOTE LIGHTSThe next photo is one of my first attempts at using multiple remote lighting. The people are medical imaging students going through mock procedures in one of the College's lab facilities. I got the shot using 2 remote lights -- one was a SB800 Speedlight placed close to the floor on a tripod and the other was a SB600 Speedlight that a volunteer student held above the subjects' heads. Anytime I get a person to hold a remote light, I ask him or her to be my VAL (Voice Activated Lightstand). I'm still experimenting with multiple remote lighting and I'm now working on the effects that can be produced with 3 remote flash units (I love Nikon's Creative Lighting System).
PRIDEThe next photo exemplifies the changing face of many Houston area neighborhoods. The attractive Latino young lady is very likely the first in her family to attend college and she is understandably very proud of earning her degree. I have an idea that her parents also very likely sacrificed a lot to help their daughter attend San Jac North and they have every right to be equally as proud. Statistics show that Latinos are by far the largest demographic group in the North Channel area.
NURSING GRADSThe next three photos showcase the North Campus' outstanding nursing program and the program's unique Nightingale Ceremony. During the ceremony, each nursing graduate gets to recite a short tribute of appreciation. Each female graduate also goes through a ritual in which a traditional nursing cap is pinned in place.
A highlight is the closing lamp-lighting ceremony. The nursing program director lights a small lamp and then "passes the light of compassion" by using the flame in her lamp to light the lamp of one nurse, who then lights the lamp of a nearby nurse, and so on until all of the nurses stand in a line illuminated by the flames shining from their collective lamps.
I was able to get these pix shooting available light by using my Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 lens and shooting at high ISOs (which accounts for the digital "noise" visible in the pix).
SOFTBALL ACTIONThe next 4 photos showcase San Jac South's ladies softball team in action.
I concentrated more on getting shots of the pitcher because they play fast-pitch softball and the pitcher is by far the most important position in the game.
I like the concentration and fierce determination that shows in the expression of the pitcher. The non-pitching photo shows a San Jac player sneaking back into second base after she barely missed getting tagged out.
Got these pix with my highly under-rated $80 Tokina 100-300mm zoom lens.
One thing I've learned about shooting ladies fast-pitch softball -- you can get some pretty decent action shots, but it usually requires some patience. At the college level, the pitchers are generally very good, which means there may not be very many chances during a typical game to get any shots of baserunners because base hits are usually few and far between. The photo I got of the San Jac player at second base was one of the few decent shots I got of a baserunner.
BRINGING SCIENCE TO LIFEThe next larger photo features 3 San Jac students and one elementary school student collaborating on a science lab demonstration during an innovative project sponsored by the Central Campus' science department. During the science fair, elementary students from many area schools visit Central's science classrooms and labs, conducting contests and learning from San Jac students, who conduct hands-on science experiments in which the children get to participate.
BASEBALL ACTIONThe next two photos feature two of my favorite shots of the North Campus baseball team in action. I included the shot of the guy sliding into home plate simply because I really like pix of baseball players sliding into any base. This shot in particular appeals to me because I was able to snap the shutter at the exact moment the player slapped home plate (which is no easy thing to do). I included the shot of the other player because of the clarity of the photo and because it so clearly captures something so common in baseball -- a player catching a pop-up fly ball. He's the pitcher, running to get the pop-up, but so is the catcher, so the pitcher is hollering: "I GOT IT" to wave off the catcher and avoid a collision. Look carefully at him and you can almost hear him shouting "I GOT IT."
HOT WORKThe next photo features a Central Campus welding technology student working with a cutting torch. I like the guy's focus and expression of concentration. I also particularly like the starburst effect caused by the flame striking the steel plate.
ON STAGELet's conclude this little project (which turned out to be not-so-little) with three photos that showcase the outstanding theater department at San Jacinto College Central. The photo of the three guys is a shot I staged during a rehearsal for their production of "Inherit the Wind." This photo session was my very first attempt at setting up a "portable studio" by using two remote flash units set up on tripods. The primary light was provided by a SB600 Speedlight with a LumniQuest
Sof
tbox attached. A secondary "fill" light came from another SB600 Speedlight firing through a Gary Fong Internal Dome diffuser placed on a tripod at a littler farther distance from the subjects. The other 2 photos feature live photos taken during Central's phenomenal performance of "Sound of Music." Both of the shots were taken available light (without any flash) using my Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens. The VR stands for Vibration Reduction and it's a very handy feature to have when shooting in low light settings because it allows you to get some fairly decent shots at slow shutter speeds (down to 1/8), provided the subjects are not moving very much.
If you'd like to see a "bare bones" photo gallery of this entire set of SJC pix (no text), here's the link ...
Favorite SJC Pix
Wet & Wild
The final photo for this blog post features Dr. Robert Vela, San Jacinto College North's Dean of Student Development. I consider Dr. Vela an outstanding educator, an all-around great guy, and an exemplary role model for Hispanics. I include this image in my "favorites" collection because I like the lighting, color and composition. For lighting, I relied on ambient lighting, along with one wireless remote SB600 Speedlight firing through a white translucent umbrella, mounted on a portable lightstand and placed slightly to the left and in front of the subject. The camera is a Nikon D80. The lens is a Tamron 28-75 mm f/2.8, shooting at 50mm, with a shutter speed of 60 and an f/stop of 5.6. I applied some vignette effect in Photo Shop to achieve a slight fading of the background in order to isolate and "spotlight" the subject.
