It's been awhile...

Wow. I just looked at the date and realized that I haven't posted to this blog in quite some time. All I can say for myself is that I have been extremely busy. I know, who hasn't been busy? In my defense I was out of town covering State track, tennis and baseball championships. Those were some incredibly long weekends. Especially during the baseball championships. We had three local teams in the State finals ... all in one day. Adding the spot news assignment I did at 5:30 a.m. before leaving for baseball, I worked 21 hours that day. I then had an assignment the next morning at 9:00 a.m. Needless to say, sleep has been at a premium lately. I also completed a multimedia audio slideshow on one of the baseball teams that won its State title. You can view the slideshow at Fort Wayne.com Here






I have been practicing quite a bit with my lighting lately. I was inspired by the tenets of the Strobist blog to get out and make things happen with as little equipment as possible. Well, maybe as small as possible. I still carry at least three lights, two light stands and a floor plate around with me. Not to mention the other tools I use such as snoots, softboxes, umbrellas, radio remote triggers and whatever else I can fit into the back of my car.


Next week we have the Three Rivers Festival firing up, so things will continue to be hectic for me. As always thanks for checking out my photos and enduring my meandering thoughts.

Chad

Feel free to leave a comment if you see something you like ... or don't like.

Strobist: Google. Gotta Love 'Em.

Strobist: Google. Gotta Love 'Em.

Long, long weekend...

I spent the entire weekend in Bloomington and Indianapolis covering high school track and tennis state championships. It was a lot of work, but I made some pictures I like. I decided to shoot a set of strobes at the finish line because it had a very strong back light (thanks to del sol). I got some strange looks from people. But, I showed them the results and I bet I'll see more photographers trying it next year. I am really getting into putting together a small, lightweight lighting kit that will light most anything I would need for any assignment. In my quest for more information on this type of lighting I came across a wonderful new blog named "Strobist" that gives detailed information that is exactly in line with what I am trying to do.

After last weekend covering the Indy 500 and working 40 hours in three days this weekend, I am ready for a break. I don't have long though. I will be covering the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indy in a couple of weeks. Some great photographers will be there and I am looking forward to observing some of their techniques.

Check out my Sports Shooter member page for some other sports photos including a gallery from the Indianapolis Colts' playoff loss the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. I just learned last night that I was accepted to participate in the third Sports Shooter Academy in Orange County, California in November. The Academy is a 5-day sports photography workshop where I will be learning to improve my sports photography and location lighting techniques from top pros. I am excited to say the least. This is a big opportunity.

Thanks for looking.

The semester is over!

Finally, the spring semester is over. I have two weeks off and I plan to take full advantage of that time to get some projects done that I've put off for some time now. Well, I can't say I won't be somewhat busy. I'm shooting a wedding Saturday which will command a fair amount of time for post-processing. I also plan to go to Indy during that period for time trials and practice sessions at the race track.

These are a couple of pictures I like from a recent fashion shoot for a project I was working on. Again, my wife was a gracious model helping me out of a jam. As she knows, I am one of those "last-minute" guys, and she has been a big help.


















Thanks for looking.

Chad

More to come

I first must apologize for neglecting the blog. It is finals time and I have been trying to get my head above water for the last few weeks. I have three days of finals starting Monday, and after that I will be out of school for a whole two weeks before summer session starts up. That being said, I should have some free time for a day or two during that period to post my favorite Komet hockey photos from this season. Congratulations to the K's for making the playoffs even if it didn't turn out the way we would have liked.

By the way, I was at game four Thursday, as a paying fan, and I was extremely dissatisfied with the officiating, and the undisciplined play by some of the Komets. The penalty shot was a terrible call. It may have been within the rules to call, but it was just bad. I was more disappointed at the number of stupid penalties the K's took. The guys knew they had to win that game. They knew that to do it they needed to stay out of the box as much as possible. It should have been simple math, but this time 2+2=6 goals against. Three of those goals came from basically one series of play in the second period... the St. Pierre slash at 9:55 and penalty shot from the same play, then the Campbell double minor 30 seconds later giving Rockford nearly two minutes of 5 on 3 power play time. They only needed 6 seconds to bury the first goal and 1:02 for the next. So, in 1:38 we gave up three goals. Dissapointing to say the least. In any case, the K's deserve credit for playing tough through the season and giving the fans some great games to watch, especially at the end of the regular season.

Take care, and check back soon for the photos.

More Portraits

I am working on finishing the assignments that are left in my portrait class. Today, an IPFW theatre student needed some headshots done and we decided to shoot a few more photos. Breona was great to work with and a big help. Malina, another portrait class student, and I were able to get some nice photos. Feedback is always appreciated, so if anyone has any comments about the photos, feel free to leave a ccomment or send me an email.



Thanks again for looking.

Chad

Birthday Party Fun

My nephew (pictured) was one of ten people my son invited to his 10th birthday party last weekend. When my son told me he wanted all of his cousins to sleep over, I was less than excited. Usually mayhem ensues when all of the kids get together. But this time around, it wasn't that bad. We started off playing laser tag and arcade games then came home for birthday cake and pizza. After the festivities, my son popped the Madagascar dvd in and everyone was quiet until they fell asleep. The next morning, my wife woke up and made a huge breakfast for everyone. She even let me sleep in. She's too nice.

I decided after breakfast to shoot some photos of all of the kids. I thought it might be a good time to get some portrait assignments worked out while I had a captive set of models. Besides, they are all a bunch of characters and they love to have their pictures made. I decided to try out the "shot from below" technique I have seen a couple of shooters do, and it worked out well. I constructed the aparatus for a couple of portrait assignments for work, and I thought it might be good to practice with the kids first.

I shot this photo of my nephew, the biggest character of the group. Then I got all of the kids together in a photo. I had fun, the kids had fun, and my son had a great birthday. So, it was a good weekend.

My glass is definitely half-full

I pulled into my garage around midnight tonight after driving for the last 12-plus hours to get home from a photojournalism conference in South Carolina. It normally wouldn't have taken quite so long, but Cheryl and I decided to drive through the Smokie Mountain National Park on the way home because we love the scenery. New colors were starting to emerge and the weather was quite nice today. Unfortunately, I underestimated the amount of traffic that would be in the Gatlinburgh, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville area as I thought, surely, traffic would be light on a Monday. I won't make that mistake a third time.


The National Press Photographers Association held the Southern Short Course in news photography over the weekend in Spartanburg, SC. It was a weekend filled with guest speakers, breakout instruction sessions and meeting new people. I had a great time and saw some wonderful, inspiring work by some of the best photojournalists in the world. I also received some great feedback on my portfolio. I was lucky enough to win a Nikon Coolpix S4 digital camera after winning first place in the Nikon Shootout. The Shootout is a contest where Nikon Reps hand out 25 digital point-and-shoot cameras. The photographers are given 45 minutes to go shoot an assignment based on a theme. At the end of the 45 minutes, the cameras were to be returned with only one photograph on the memory card. The theme of the assignment was "Spring Forward." My winning picture is shown here

Events like this one and the SportsShooter.com Luau/upcoming shindig not only teach and refine techniques, but they are great for recharging the batteries in terms of creativity and devotion to the craft. I have some ideas for new work that I am excited about and look forward to get started. I also plan to start working on my new website very soon. When I get the new site registered, I will post a link to it.

As always, thanks for checking out my work and reading my rants.

Chad

Link to Purchase Prints

Anyone interested in purchasing prints of photographs I have taken may follow the recently installed "Purchase Prints" link on the right side of the page. The link will take you to an online storefront where I have a portfolio for viewing purposes only and a gallery of photos for sale. I am unable to sell photos that I make while working for The News-Sentinel, but I do have a collection of stock images that I will be adding to regularly. Some of the galleries listed right now include art of various subjects including wildlife, nature, landscape, still life, lightpaintings and sports.

I am available to shoot portraits, formal studio and environmental on location, weddings, corporate outings and sporting events. I provide professional quality images at competitive prices. To discuss your photographic needs, send me an email or leave a comment.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Chad

Finally getting my head above water.

It's been a few weeks since my last post, and rest assured, I haven't been slacking. I spent four out of the last five weekends in Indianapolis covering high school state championships for team and individual wrestling, girls and boys swimming and diving and girls basketball. I'll be on my way back to Indy this weekend to cover the girls gymnastics championship, and if Harding's boys basketball team makes it out of the semi-state this weekend, I'll be on my way to the state finals again the following weekend. Aside from all of that, I managed to squeeze in a Komets game and shoot some local news events as well last weekend.

Last week during spring break, I decided to get some things done around the house. I installed the shelving system that my wife got for my office closet. During the process, I found some old negatives from the Komets' early 90's seasons. I looked through the pile of old stuff and there happened to be a couple of shots of two members of the "Ice Patrol" doing what they did best. One frame is of Killer Kaminski mixing it up, and the other is of Stve Fletcher delivering a monster body check in the corner. Now, these photos are not the best I've taken, but keep in mind, I was 19 years old shooting for a newspaper in Columbia City with antique equipment.


A little hard to see, but this photo is of the Killer in action. I loved going to games that year. That was my kind of hockey.
















I'm a fairly big guy, and I could deliver a pretty good hit on the ice when I played hockey. But I'm certain I would've tried to get out of Fletch's way if I saw him coming at me. Fletch was one big, tough dude, and although he didn't score much, he had quite a slapshot.

I plan to update the site with new photos from recent Komet games as well as some of the state championship images. Check back occasionally to see what's up. As always, I appreciate your time spent on this blog and any feedback you might have, so, leave a comment or send me an email message.

Thanks for looking!
Chad