I want to cover international conflicts

Nikon D3s, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 500, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000

Before you take a career jump to become a Conflict Correspondent let me give you some insights that come from many years of studying this for myself. First, I have never covered war.

I have many friends who have covered war and conflicts around the globe. I have sat in many presentations by them where they have shared some gruesome to insightful comments on these situations.

http://www.stanleylearystoryteller.com/WarBooks/index.html
These are some of the books that I have in my personal library on covering conflict. I have read all of them and met many of the authors. I recommend all these books and you can still find them on Amazon or eBay.

This doesn’t make me an expert, but it does make me more educated about some of the issues of covering war.

This is the latest book I have read on the subject by Lynsey Addario. It is a honest and very transparent biography of a war photographer. Click on the picture for link to the book.

The possibility of being kidnapped and hurt are very real. Daniel Pearl was a journalist for the Wall Street Journal with American and Israeli citizenship. He was kidnapped by Pakistani terrorists and later murdered in Pakistan on February 1, 2002.

from Committee to Protect Journalists

Every time I am teaching a new group of wannabe photographers I have someone wanting to pursue this path. If this is your calling then by all means pursue it, but don’t jump out of the plane without a parachute. That parachute should be some resources to help get you out in an emergency as well as people who are in touch with you regularly who can track you down if they lose communications with you. A contract with someone before you go is ideal.

Nikon D3s, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 400, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000

Here are my comments from a recent post on a Facebook group. The person had been in the military and was asking how to do work in hostile environments as a photographer.

My first post was to search for the Committee to Protect Journalists and The Dart Center for Journalism.

There were a few posts in between. I could sense this guy was ready to go, so I chimed in again.

Before risking your life I would highly suggest having portfolio reviewed by photo editors that see this kind of work regularly. You need to know before you go if you have a chance of being published based on your ability to capture story. Also will help with finding someone who is willing to consider your work. You need someone interested in your work to send it to before you go.

I thought that if you didn’t know how to find that kind of material you most likely were not going to be good in war trying to find information, but I didn’t say that instead I wrote this in response to their question on asking me to tell them who that might be.

VII agency, Magnum, Newsweek, Time, … most importantly I would not go without being on some contract. You also need a lot of street smarts and kinda know how to research who even uses war photography. Pretty simple. Pick up magazine/newspaper. In masthead are your contacts.

They thought they would just contact those sources and they would just use them right away on the field. I had to chime in again and say:

Most War Correspondents start at a paper. Often just a small paper.

Still not understanding I continued:

You start at a paper covering local not going straight to overseas. If you can’t tell stories locally you are not going to do so overseas. That is how you build a brand.

The military didn’t send you to battle without extensive training so why do you think you are just as prepared with camera? If your goal is conflict coverage then show you can win the war and not the battle. Take the steps to prove you have the visual storytelling skills. It is similar to showing you passed all the basic training skills necessary to be a soldier. Skipping this step, as all your posts appear to insinuate further demonstrates to me that you are not ready.

Patience with storytelling is very important. It appears you are in love with the experience and not why journalists cover conflict.

Storytellers/Journalists want to inform people with truth. They realize how extremely difficult this is. Not just a photo of what is in front of the camera but rather interpretation of the events so as to help inform accurately. You need to be a writer as well. You need to write informative and journalistic captions if not stories to accompany your photos.

James Nachtwey’s heart is so engaged and his head is using every skill it can to provide understanding.

My last comment that is the most important point I can make.

What can you provide that isn’t already being done? Unless you can truly talk about stories not being told I don’t think you have proven to any editor why they need to see your story.

Publications/Media Outlets have limited funds and need to support those who are already proving every day with their work. Its not fair to those who are producing right now and doing a great job for you to get any work, unless you have a portfolio of work that is superior.

Nikon D3s, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 450, ƒ/5.6, 1/2000

By the way our oldest son served in the Army and just recently got out as a Captain. I can tell you if you go into conflict many of your family will not rest while you are in conflict. I knew many spouses who had to stop working while their spouses served. They were hyper-vigilant waiting for safe return and scared that someone would be knocking at their door with sad news of their loved one dying in service to country.

If you have plans to have a family then you really need to read these books and hear how most everyone had no family life or ended up in divorce.

War will take a toll on you emotionally. You may come home physically in one piece but mentally a wreck.

If you still think you are called then do everything you can to be prepared. Also, if no one will send you this is a good sign that you don’t have what it takes. You have to demonstrate you can be a storyteller outside of conflict before anyone will trust you.

Using the ExpoDisc under Friday Night Lights Football

Roswell’s (1) Sheldon Evans rushes against Woodstock during the first quarter of play of the Roswell vs. Woodstock high school football game at Ray Manus Stadium on Friday, October 28, 2016, in Roswell, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/5.6, 1/1000]

Another Friday Night Lights game at Roswell High School’s Ray Manus Stadium. Roswell was up 49 – 0 by halftime, so I left early.

Woodstock’s (7) Corey Smith misses tackling Roswell’s (7) Malik Willis during the second quarter of play of the Roswell vs. Woodstock high school football game at Ray Manus Stadium on Friday, October 28, 2016, in Roswell, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/7.1, 1/800]

I am pleased with the dynamic range of the Nikon D5 for shooting at such a high ISO of 64000.

Roswell’s (1) Sheldon Evans shakes off a tackle by Woodstock’s (13) Austin Bennett during the second quarter of play of the Roswell vs. Woodstock high school football game at Ray Manus Stadium on Friday, October 28, 2016, in Roswell, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/5.6, 1/1250]

The files are suitable, from the highlights to the shadows with detail. The only place was in the shadows inside the helmets where no light shone.

Woodstock’s quarterback (6) Garrett Bass during the second quarter of play of Roswell vs. Woodstock high school football game at Ray Manus Stadium on Friday, October 28, 2016, in Roswell, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/5.6, 1/800]

Even in the end zone, when the quarterback looked up for his receiver, I got some great light inside the helmet.

Roswell’s (1) Sheldon Evans carries for a 98-yard touchdown run while (3) Christian Ford protects him from Woodstock’s (12) Grant Jacobs during the first quarter of play of the Roswell vs. Woodstock high school football game at Ray Manus Stadium on Friday, October 28, 2016, in Roswell, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/5.6, 1/1250]

I shot from the end zone, sitting on a small folding stool for all these photos. I was at the kneeling height, putting me about at the belt line of the players.

Once the sun went down, I took a custom white balance with the ExpoDisc.

The latest version of the ExpoDisc 2.0 comes with warming filters. They are slightly cyan in color and have different densities to let you pick how much you want to warm up your image. So without them, you get a pure 18% grey; by adding these, you warm up the photo.

You just put the warming gel in the front of the ExpoDisc and then take your reading. This way, you can keep consistent warming to all your photos.

So what should you do? I would advise always doing custom. If you shot it RAW, You can change it later using Adobe Lightroom.

To the left is the pull-down menu available in Adobe Lightroom if you shot it RAW. These are very similar to the presets on your camera.

Sometimes, the perfect custom white balance may not be your preference.

Presets in Nikon D5

Check your manual for your camera because this is for the Nikon D5. You can adjust using presets for white balance somewhere in your menu.

On my Nikon D5, in the menu for White Balance, you can choose up to five different presets for fluorescent. Also, there is a selection of sodium vapor and High temp. Mercury-vapor. I have found a significant problem trying this method; it isn’t easy to pick the right color because the monitor on the back of the camera isn’t that easy to see color in all situations.

Fluorescent lamps are manufactured to a chosen color by altering the mixture of phosphors inside the tube. Warm-white fluorescents have a color spectrum of 3000 K and are famous for residential lighting. Neutral-white fluorescents have a color spectrum of 3700 K. Cool-white fluorescents have a color spectrum of 4200 K and are renowned for office lighting. Daylight fluorescents have a color spectrum of 5000 K to 6500 K, bluish-white.

Note that on the Nikon D5, you also have a preset for those awful Mercury-vapor lights or the Sodium-vapor on the other end of the spectrum. Sometimes, I have found that I prefer one of the fluorescent settings under some of the newer mercury-vapor lights when using this system instead of the custom white balance.

Capturing Bangor Maine

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/13, 1/200

I shared earlier about doing travel photography and trying to capture a place and mood. Today I want to share my efforts here in our country’s Bangor, Maine area.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/9, 1/320

While Bangor is the biggest city in this area of Maine, people travel a great deal from Canada and go to the coast like Bar Harbor, which is only about 45 minutes away.

A person who lives in this part of Maine may be from a city nearby, but they all enjoy their state. They love to enjoy Maine’s oceans, parks, and other outdoor experiences.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/9, 1/500

The people of Maine love their water sports and fishing. The people of Maine also are very resilient. Mainers know one thing is always sure that winter is coming. They have a more pronounced Boston-like accent. It’s “Lobstah,” Not Lobster.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/1250

Maine people are hearty people. Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack in American folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors. One of the statues of Paul Bunyan is in downtown Bangor, Maine. He exemplifies the ruggedness of the people of Maine.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/10, 15 sec

I will leave you with my last shot of the day. Remember when you travel to do the images that immediately come to mind and then look for some unique things to toss into your coverage.

Working on capturing the mood and place for a community

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/320

I am working on a story that requires me to go to a few states and capture some of the cultures in those communities.

This week I am in Hyannis, Massachusetts. I cannot think of Hyannis without thinking about the Kennedy family. It is also a beach town and this is the closest I could find to bring me to what I think about when I think of this community.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/800

I tried to capture the beach in a way that said Cape Cod. Some of the lighthouses in this area are in private communities guarded by gates. I didn’t want to go all over the coast when the size I needed to concentrate on was Hyannis.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/4, 1/640

Just turning around is the ocean, but this could have been anywhere on the east coast. I was missing something that made me think of Hyannis in Cape Cod.

I am capturing not just moments but symbolism, and I needed a building that was classic to the architecture of Cape Cod.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/400

This is a typical home in Hyannis. What I mean are the color of the house and the cedar siding.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 100, ƒ/5, 1/320

I went to Main Street and captured some shops along the street. While this isn’t the peak of the summer when the place would be packed, I think I was catching some of the community.

Samsung 7S Edge, ISO 50, ƒ/1.7, 1/18816

While in Lansing, Michigan, I went to the local GM plant and shot this through the chain link fence on a bridge. I used my cell phone because my camera lenses were too big and captured the border. The lens on the Samsung 7S Edge was small enough to fit in the fence’s opening.

Some photos are not as dramatic but help establish what a community is about. Many people are employed here from the district.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 2200, ƒ/8, 1/100

The other thing about Lansing is it is the state capital of Michigan. I worked at getting a decent photo of the state capital to help talk about the community.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 1800, ƒ/8, 1/800

Sometimes detailed shots like this lamp around the capital can be beneficial in a package to tell a story.

All of these stills are part of a larger story where I will use motion and interviews to put the story together. My goal with the photos is to have some b-roll that I can use just like Ken Burns does in his films. I often find panning across a still image is much smoother than video sometimes can be, and I can get many more shots in than the time it takes to get a 20-second motion clip.

Here are some travel tips that I am using for each of my trips.

  • Google the City and look under images for your search
    • Make a list of possible locations
    • Research was to take some of those photos may be 
  • Schedule my interview early with the subject so I have time to go out and capture some of the images of the things the issue talks about in their comments.
  • Talk to people from the area
  • Talk to the front desk people at the hotel for their input. Sometimes they can give you unique insights.

Now many times the city skyline is quite famous. This is a photo you need if the community is known for its unique skyline. Here is a post I did about the St. Louis Skyline.

Nikon D4, AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 100, ƒ/8, 2.5 sec

Sometimes like with the famous skyline of Seattle, you get what I call a WOW photo. The key is to try and find a way to surprise your audience.

Nikon D4, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 12500, ƒ/5.6, 1/125

Sometimes it just gets close to an icon like the Auburn War Eagle.

Pushing the limits of sports photography with Rodeo

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/2.8, 1/2500

These barrel racers come out of the gate at full speed and take their horse through a clover-leaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. Keeping up with these animals was challenging.

I would shoot when I could see the rider’s face. Due to where you are standing with the camera, the horse and rider are facing away from you more than half of the time. Picking your moments was tough. If I were to do this again, I might even use remote cameras to give me more viewpoints.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/2.8, 1/2500]

The cowgirls are just as good with roping a calf. Breakaway roping is a variation of calf roping where a calf is roped but not thrown and tied. There is a split second where you can capture the moment where the calf is roped.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/2.8, 1/3200

A little side note here. The cowgirls outperformed the cowboys when it came to roping at this rodeo. The cowboys missed more than the cowgirls, which lets me know women are showing more and more today their athleticism in our culture.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/2.8, 1/2500

Team roping, known as heading and heeling, is a rodeo event that features a steer (typically a Corriente) and two mounted cowboy riders. The time of this event is just seconds. Times on the roping events are in the seconds. For the cowgirl breakaway, roping, the winner was 2.7 seconds.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/2.8, 1/2000

Bull Riding is the wildest and most dangerous event in rodeo. In the American tradition, the rider must stay atop the bucking bull for eight seconds to count as a qualified ride. The rider tightly fastens one hand to the bull with a long braided rope. It is a risky sport and has been called “the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.”

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 64000, ƒ/2.8, 1/2000

The bulls are rated and even more famous in many ways than the cowboys who ride them. This bull here had 27 consecutive buck-offs; now that is 28. A cowboy must stay on the bull 8 seconds for the ride to count. Then they get a score that considers the bull they are riding.

When a bull is determined unrideable every once in a while, the Professional Bull Riders Association has a million-dollar ride. At $125,000 per second, this bonus ride offers one of the largest payouts any athlete has ever received for the time they are required to compete. In comparison, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo received roughly 12 million dollars to play in 15 NFL games in 2013.  At 54,000 seconds per season, it took Romo 4,500 seconds to make $1 million.

Take Aways

As you can see, 2.5 sec is a short time to get your photo in the breakaway roping. You don’t have time to wait to frame your shot. You don’t have time to check your focus. You must have the gear that will allow you to focus on the event.

The combination of my Nikon D5 and the Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S was perfect for this event. The composition changes so quickly with these events that a fixed lens would have been too tight or too loose. The ability to zoom soon and get the essential parts of the event in the photo was possible because the 120-300mm range worked perfectly for the rodeo.

Why I bought the Nikon D5

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 45600, ƒ/2.8, 1/4000

When I reach for a camera to shoot an assignment, here are some variables that are important to consider:

  • Can it capture the scene?
    • Is the ISO high enough for the lighting conditions?
    • Is the shutter speed fast enough to freeze moments?
  • Do I have to think about which camera I have in my hand?
  • Are the controls the same as my other cameras?
  • Is the buffer big enough so I can shoot whenever I want?
  • Can I use high-speed shutter sync and shoot at any shutter speed with my flashes?
  • How does it feel in my hands?

This is not an exhaustive list, but some things made me upgrade to the Nikon D5.

The Nikon D5 is blisteringly fast and has accurate autofocus. The new AF system is nothing short of sensational. If you set the camera up correctly, the D5 doesn’t miss a beat. User error is far more likely to be the reason for a missed shot than the camera letting you down, even for the best of photographers. [My D5 Settings for Sports]

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 10000, ƒ/2.8, 1/1000–(3) Alienbees B1600, Pocketwizard TT5 w/ AC-9 on strobe, TT1 w/ AC-3 on the camera

I had anticipated needing strobes to shoot the volleyball game due to possible banding issues. I arrived earlier and set up three Alienbees B1600 strobes pointed to the ceiling. I wanted to shoot at a fast shutter speed of at least 1/1000, and to do this required me to use the PocketWizard TT5, AC-9, TT1 & AC-3 in combination to shoot above the sync speed of 1/250.

Here are the TT5 & AC-9 on the flash. I was not using the umbrellas.

This is the TT1 with the AC-3 that was on the camera.

The referee said no flash less than three shots into the game. There is no time to repeatedly talk to the school officials and coaches to fix this problem. So I just switched to the available light. The available light was a mixture of LED and tungsten lights.

The Color Temperature was 4700º kelvin with a +25 magenta shift to get a good skin tone. I used the ExpoDisc to get a custom white balance. [Earlier blog on ExpoDisc]

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 25600, ƒ/2.8, 1/4000

As you can see, shooting sports is essential to me. My clients need sports as well as classroom shots, for example.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 2200, ƒ/4, 1/100

According to DPReview.com, “Studio report: Nikon D5 has lowest base ISO dynamic range of any current FF Nikon DSLR.” Now, this is testing, more specifically, the high ISO range. If you want a low ISO dynamic range, buy the Nikon D810. As they concluded in their article, I can attest to this as a working pro, “For its intended audience, the D5’s high ISO imaging capabilities, advanced autofocus, and durability are likely to be much more important.”

In just a few hours, I was shooting from inside fluorescent lighting and outside with daylight and shade. I finished the time shooting under the mixed lighting of LED and tungsten and working without an assistant to keep the costs down for the client. The Nikon D5 allowed me to capture all this at such incredible quality.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 1800, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

I use my Nikon D5s for video shooting as well. Most of the time, it is for formal interviews. The cool thing is that D5’s entire ISO sensitivity span is available in a 4K video recording. So, I can also shoot at these incredibly high ISOs in the video if needed.

Missing a shot because you have different camera systems is what sometimes happens. You forget how to make a change because it is other on one camera than on another. The Nikon D5 camera has freed me up to concentrate on any subject in any light and look for the moments I want to capture.

Often, I find that while there might be enough light to make a photograph, the light isn’t the best quality. The Nikon D5 works excellently with their Speedlights and doesn’t limit me to just shooting with them. I can use other systems like the Alienbees and still shoot at any shutter speed.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 100, ƒ/5.6, 1/200

Here is the lighting diagram for the photo above.

The leading light is an Alienbees B1600 with a 20º grid to keep the light tight on them. I put enough light on the background to light it and then used a CTO gel over an Alienbees positioned behind the background with a 30º grid.

So, how is the resolution of the Nikon D5? Well, this 6′ x 9′ banner worked just great. You can walk up and look at the details in the poster.

My hand, just for reference 

Having the workhorse Nikon D5 in my bag is great because I feel ready for any situation.

Do you love your job? You Should!

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

Did I ever tell you how much I love my job? Every assignment is meeting new people, capturing their personalities, and hopefully introducing them to you.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 1800, ƒ/4, 1/100

I love meeting a teacher that looks like one of the NFL linemen showing the tender side of caring for children and wanting them to learn all they can.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 1250, ƒ/4, 1/100

With children, I get a chance to watch their personalities forming. Watching children work is one of my favorite things to see. You can picture them working their minds.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G,  ISO 900, ƒ/1.8, 1/100

Peaking in on them working is how I often feel when I am asked to photograph children for organizations. I see myself being the fly on the wall as they work and play. Here you can see the sensitive moment of the child tenderly placing her Lego block.

Nikon D5, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 6400, ƒ/10, 1/100

This little girl has to re-think the needle on her sewing machine. I am catching a child super focused and enjoying herself. Now to capture things like this, I believe my personal experiences come into play.

My grandmother sewed all of her clothes. I remember watching her work. Today my daughter is doing costume design for theater. Capturing a passion requires you first to understand it is a passion.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 1250, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

I also love to capture the group dynamics going on. I love this photo of the boys playing ball. I watched as each of them found their role while one of them was batting. They were learning how to play ball with the school’s baseball coach.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 2800, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

Now what is fun to watch is how patiently the coach is with all the kids and then taking the time with them individually, teaching them how to be their best. I could also see where the coach couldn’t teach everything they needed to know but took it one step at a time.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 45600, ƒ/2.8, 1/4000

The older kids were more coordinated in their sports. I captured this young girl spiking during their win over a rival school.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 110, ƒ/4, 1/100

I had my first opportunity to capture these young girls learning manners. Here they are learning how to introduce themselves. How to make eye contact, shake hands, greet with a smile, and have a good voice.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 1600, ƒ/11, 1/100

While shooting something, these two little boys asked me many questions. They wanted to interact with me, and hopefully, I captured their curiosity and eagerness to engage with others.

I will end here with another moment that just took me back to our oldest son. When Pokémon came out, our son Nelson was the age of Ash Ketchum. In 1997 when it first was on TV, our son was nine years old. These guys were earnest about Pokémon, as I remember our son Nelson.

I’ll leave you with a quote from the founder of Chick-fil-A, S. Truett Cathy said:

“Love what you do, and you’ll never work another day in your life.”

S. Truett Cathy

Flash On OR Flash Off

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 28800, ƒ/4, 1/250

To flash or not to flash that is the question? In the photo above this was done without a flash.

Nikon D5, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM, ISO 5000, ƒ/4, 1/100–(2) Alienbees B1600s, Pocketwizard TT1 w/ AC-3 and TT5 w/ AC-9

Now I have an Alienbees B1600 behind them and one in front. While technically, the one with flashes is better, I still am not satisfied with the flash. Due to restrictions on where I could put the flash, I could never get what I would call a natural look.

Nikon D5, Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art Lens, ISO 14400, ƒ/4, 1/250

The most significant difference between these two photos is where the minister stands. The lighting is designed to hit him on the face, not the front row people. So here, the available light is quite acceptable.

Nikon D5, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM, ISO 5000, ƒ/4, 1/100–(2) Alienbees B1600s, Pocketwizard TT1 w/ AC-3 and TT5 w/ AC-9

No question that here I was able to achieve the “natural light look” with the strobes. The significant difference between the two photos is the dynamic range appears more critical with the strobes.

Nikon D5, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM, ISO 5000, ƒ/4, 1/100–(2) Alienbees B1600s, Pocketwizard TT1 w/ AC-3 and TT5 w/ AC-9

While the photos where the lighting can be made to look natural look best with the flash, I find the flash is announcing that I am there shooting. This makes people look at me much more and limit the number of natural expressions.

Nikon D5, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM, ISO 14400, ƒ/2.8, 1/100

I love the moment here with the little girl during a chapel service. The reason for those wondering about the blue light is the stained glass window on the right of the frame.

Nikon D5, Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM, ISO 6400, ƒ/2.8, 1/100

As you can see from these photos, it isn’t always easy to choose to use flash or not. With today’s cameras having such high ISO capabilities, you can get more acceptable images without a flash than we could just a few years ago.

To flash or not is often up to the photographer and how it fits into their style of photography.

Capturing the times of our lives

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/80–Alienbees B1600, triggered with Pocketwizard TT1 and TT5 system [logo from Wikimedia Commons and modified]

This weekend was my daughter’s high school homecoming. This is her senior year when everything is the last time for her class. They commented on how they all stood around the first year and were afraid to dance at the party. Now, seniors didn’t care what others thought as they did as freshmen.

If you follow my blog, you know my daughter is involved in theater, and her friends are primarily other theatre geeks. They are not an exclusive group, so I said this was most of her friends, but the theatre kids love most people and are excited to have more people hang out doing life together.

Great Self Esteem = Great Photos

When a photographer’s subjects are confident and can relax and be themselves, you spend more time just capturing those moments versus spending so much time trying to pull them out of a person.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/80–Alienbees B1600, triggered with Pocketwizard TT1 and TT5 system

The photographer’s key role in making this happen is to create an atmosphere where the subjects feel like they are in control.

I try to convey this by asking many times throughout the photo shoot if there is anything else they would like. I suggest combinations of people and try to keep the excitement going, but I am always trying to say I am here for you.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/125–Alienbees B1600, triggered with Pocketwizard TT1 and TT5 system

I arrived early and started by picking a location. I set up my lights, and my wife helped by standing in as a subject so I could get the light set right on her face and balance it with the background and other light on her face.

For the better part of 15 minutes, I was troubleshooting. I had one lens that was not working with my flashes. I finally found the combination of working with my Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8 on the Nikon D5 that would work for me. This required me to move back and forth to get the close-up shots and then walk fifteen feet around to get the group shots.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/80–Alienbees B1600, triggered with Pocketwizard TT1 and TT5 system

By the way, I spent a good hour working with my cameras and all my lenses to test them with flashes.

I believe I have a lens that was just repaired. That is the problem. I now know for sure what the problem is that I was having such a problem with when I was setting up for these photos.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/125–Alienbees B1600, triggered with Pocketwizard TT1 and TT5 system

Once I had the lights in place, I didn’t change them. I moved closer and further back and occasionally twisted the models to the left or right to get a different look. In the closeup of my daughter, I just turned her until the strobe off to the back was directly behind her.

Here is the setup for you.

I was so thankful to be photographing my daughter and her theatre friends. They exuded so much more confidence than they did just four years ago.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/125–Alienbees B1600, triggered with Pocketwizard TT1 and TT5 system

What I think is so exciting about taking these photos this weekend is I feel like I captured the traits in these kids who are now young adults. Just before next year, they enter the workforce or go off to college to live their own lives.

I am so proud of who my daughter has become and the friends she has made in her time in school.

Nikon D5, Nikon 85mm ƒ/1.8G, ISO 200, ƒ/5.6, 1/80–Alienbees B1600, triggered with Pocketwizard TT1 and TT5 system

In the TV show Friends, we watched these six people do life together for over ten years. They dated each other and had to break up with each other. The reason so many of us returned to watch the show was we loved it when no matter what happened, they worked hard to keep their friendships intact.

What I love about photography over text is its power to capture emotions. To capture emotions, you need to be prepared. The camera must be set correctly. You must have considered the lighting for the photograph. You have been thinking about and taking into account the background. Will you make it razor sharp or blurry and out of focus?

But even more important than knowing your gear is to know your subject. You cannot capture that which you have no knowledge of or understanding.

For me, to do great photography that is compelling requires the photographer to be involved in their subject’s lives long enough that they let you in to see them for who they are.

I had watched these kids from when they were young and had them in my home many times, allowing them to get to know me and me.

While my relationship is different than my daughter has with her friends, there is a relationship. I think that is key to understanding your role as a photographer. I am not trying to be their friends that hang out every day. I want to be like a parent, the safe space where they can hang out and be themselves.

Guest With Camera vs the Guy With Camera

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.5, 1/60

My favorite role at a wedding is that of the guest. GWC in the photo world is often referring to the Guy With a Camera.

My favorite camera to use for these situations is my Fuji X-E2. It is small, and everyone doesn’t think of me as the “official photographer.”


This is my travel kit. As a guest, I carry this in a small bag and, most of the time, shoot everything with the FUJINON XF 18-55mm.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/4, 1/200

Now when you are a guest, the odds are you have a personal relationship with the Bride and Groom. The bride’s daughter is on the left, and my daughter is on the far right. I feel the smiles are different with family and friends than with a professional photographer.

This is why everyone should take a few photos at a wedding and share them with the couple. Just don’t get in the way of the professionals. They will get almost all the main images. It would help if you got things like I have done here, photos around the main action of the bride and groom.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 1250, ƒ/4, 1/200

There was a quick moment when the maid of honor gave her flowers to her boyfriend to hold for her. I thought this was a fun moment that most wedding photographers wouldn’t necessarily capture.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 400, ƒ/4, 1/320

Because we are friends, some conversations brought laughter to the family that, unless you are family and friends, are more challenging to capture as the professional who is back a couple of feet peeking in versus being in the conversation as here.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4, 1/60

What I love to give to people is my gift of photography. I think, for the most part, this makes for one of the most intimate gifts you can give to someone.

Google Analytics can mislead you if you let it

Georgia Bulldog’s Freshman Running Back #35 Brian Herrien scored his first collegiate touchdown. In contrast, UNC’s Safety #15 Donnie Miles could not stop him during tonight’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, September 3, 2016, at the Georgia Dome. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 45600, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

In the photo here, I am sharing the touchdown. The image without words communicates. The text adds more meaning. However, how will you measure it in your meetings with your team?


Now I am sitting in a meeting where they look at the analytics of how their audience is responding to their communications work every week. Most of those in the profession are doing something similar. Most use things like Google Analytics to evaluate and measure their communication effectiveness.

Finally, the light bulb came on for me when I realized that everyone was evaluating their work mainly based on our analytics. Well, that isn’t the light bulb moment.

What was the moment realizing that Google Analytics, YouTube, or Vimeo analytics don’t measure still images?

However, we know that research shows that people respond better to visual communications, and specifically, they react first to a still image over all the other forms of communication. We cannot get that feedback through present analytics.

Here is one of the latest research projects about how people view images.

EYETRACKING PHOTOJOURNALISM: NEW RESEARCH EXPLORES WHAT MAKES A PHOTOGRAPH MEMORABLE, SHAREABLE, AND WORTH PUBLISHING

Funded by the National Press Photographers Association, this study follows a long line of research, looking at how people consume news content.

“You can tell which ones are done by people who know what they are doing,” said a 21-year-old male participant, “whether it’s the focus, or the angle or the lighting, being allowed to be up close — all that stuff.”

The sad thing I realized while sitting in that meeting was that this latest NPPA study was not new but had been done in the past in some other way but gave us similar results. The problem I faced in this meeting was that we couldn’t get the same data each week. There is no way to know without using eye-tracking technology to give us then the analytics we so desperately need in this meeting.

Each week we only see what Google analytics is telling us, which is what stories are getting clicked on, and it does not help us know how to engage the audience by use of visuals. Since we can get analytics on video, a high volume of videos is being produced compared to still photos because they can see engagement scores.

If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It.

A Forbes magazine article debunks this statement and says, “The important stuff can’t be measured.”

I think communications professionals today suffer the same syndrome as the people in the scriptures of the Bible. They often lack faith because they want something measurable.

Scripture also teaches us that …

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

– Hebrews 11:1

Because we have the research that shows us how people prefer to get the information we need to do what we know works rather than wanting to rely only on that which we can measure each week.

Wells Fargo executives instructed their employees to “Do what it takes to make money,” even if it leads to some fraud.

Taking care of the customer and doing what is right requires one to have faith in something that isn’t always measurable in the short term.

A successful business always serves its customers and makes their lives better. In so doing this, the company will become successful.

The businesses that fail are those who turn the focus from serving their customer to serving themselves over the customers.

The critical thing to take away is that you can’t just look at data from a macro level and think it tells you a story. Digging deeper into your analytics is the only way to see the actual situation, and always want to make decisions with the correct information. Realize that some of the most important things impacting your customer are not always measurable.

Covering #1 Team in Georgia & #8 Nationally under Friday Night Lights

Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 102400, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

Friday Night Lights in Georgia were shining not so brightly on Roswell playing Milton. I maxed out my ISO at 102400 most of the night.

Here are more photos just from that night and two other games.

Roswell High School is presently ranked #1 in Georgia and #8 Nationally by USA Today.

While I could have lowered my shutter speed from 1/4000 to 1/2000 or even 1/1000, I enjoy having super sharp images due to freezing the motion.

The Nikon D5 is helping me capture those moments even if I need an ISO 102400 to capture those fleeting moments in sports.

Roswell High School’s #5 Jayden Comma WR Rushes for a touchdown against Central Gwinnett during the first quarter action on Friday night, September 2, 2016. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 51200, ƒ/5.6, 1/3200]

Now earlier in the year the sunlight was still a factor in the game, but going forward you are relying on the stadium lights.

Roswell’s quarterback #7 Malik Willis is tackled by Coilquitt’s #60 defensive tackle Brian Merritt during the first quarter of play of Roswell vs. Colquitt high school football game at Ray Manus Stadium on Friday, September 9, 2016, in Roswell, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 36000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

I have been a Nikon shooter since the very beginning of my professional career. Nikon has met the challenges and provided me with the best camera you could own throughout my job at the time that I owned that camera.

Today I can compete because my gear frees me up to get the moment. This is why you buy great camera gear to remain and be genuinely competitive. Your client deserves the best images you can deliver.

Roswell’s #15 Xavier Mckinney turns the corner on Milton’s defense during the first half of play of the Roswell vs. Milton high school football game at Milton on Friday, September 30, 2016, in Roswell, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma TC-2001 2x, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, ISO 102400, ƒ/5.6, 1/2500]