links 12-04-2007

• flickr say’s Happy חנוכה

Catwalk Photo

I went back to the catwalk and got some nice images of Gold Company in their sneak preview show.

Privileged to Photograph

The past year or so I have had the honor to be in some pretty amazing places. Two summers ago I decided to make the investment into a digital SLR camera, the kind I always had camera envy for. With my new piece of equipment I applied to be a staff photographer for the Western Herald and as part of the job I have the opportunity to get into places I normally would not be admitted.

Covering events on campus I have a different perspective of the university that most don’t see. I use the medium to tell the story of the institution. Bringing to sight what others may pass by or don’t have the access to experience themselves.

With that I take the approach of finding a striking image that brings a reader to the page. This is often hard to find because the events happen often in the same locations with the same bad lighting. This week I covered the president’s state of the university. In a medium sized auditorium with high ceilings and only stage lighting. This would be fine to produce an average image from the house with just a bit of fill flash.

To bad it could not have been more striking. After the event I walked into the cat walk. Had I been there the whole time I would have had a unique angle with plenty of light to play with. It was too late but I’ll remember the location for next time.

To the right are two trustee members talking after the event taken from the catwalk above with only ambient light.

לשנה טובה

• Well wishes from flickr

links 07-28-2007

• photographers life during the Tour de France

Published in the Sierra Magazine

Last summer I volunteered to photograph the Green Cruise for the Sierra Club and they used one of my photos in their national publication of the Sierra Magazine. It is in the July/August issue on pg. 75.

Check it out, you can find the magazine in most bookstores like Borders or Barnes and Noble.

Dedication of the Richmond Center for Visual Arts

Dedication of the Richmond Center for Visual Arts Flickr Set

Restricted to Photograph

This past Tuesday the WMU College Republican brought John Ashcroft to speak on campus. I went for the paper to take photos, but when I arrived there where signs up prohibiting cameras in the auditorium. Not only that when you where in the auditorium the walls where lined with security, it was an eerie feeling to say the least.

It would have been nice for the paper to run shot of the filled auditorium or of Ashcroft on location, but instead they where limited to run a stock head shot. I guess this all makes sense Ashcroft wants to control his image, so what better way then to provide what that image will be.

Weekend in Chicago

I have been pretty lucky, over break I went on a practically free trip to Israel and then over this past weekend another free trip to Chicago. This time the trip to Chicago was with the university. I sit on the Presidents Student Advisory Committee and the president wanted to do something nice for us. So he found a donor to pay for the trip and about 40 of us got to go to Chicago with the president this past weekend.

We saw two shows, went to a few art museums and ate at some nice restaurants. One of the best parts was that we had some time to do whatever we wished. So I feel like I finally got a sense of Chicago. I have been many times before but only with band trips and family vacations. This meant that I was either trapped in a car or a bus and I never really get a sense for a city until I walk around it on foot for a while.

After seeing Chicago again and being in NYC about a month ago it makes me think more about what kind of place I would like to live in the future. I can appreciate a lot about what a big city has to offer. Mostly the convenience and tons of culture all around.

I suppose only time will tell but I feel very fortunate to of had these recent opportunities to travel and hope they never stop coming.

Photography

Taking photos has really become a joy in my life. I seem to be getting more and more opportunities to practice this too. I recently was approached to allow the use of one of my photos at the top of a survey the Almuni Association was creating. This is an old photo but the designer found it on flickr. There is no compensation but I do get all the bragging rights I could possibly come up with.

This is just a rough layout. Click on the image to see full size.