APAD 7: A lazy day

"Cars fly by University of Denver professor Lawrence Argent's sculpture "Ghost Trolly" in the East End Arts District in Aurora, Colo. March 30, 2008"

I did a lot of nothing today which was great. After yesterday's exhausting day I needed some time to recuperate. Sadly enough Mom didn't make blueberry pancakes but she did make her staple, Italian meat sauce, so I'll forgive her a little bit.

Although I felt like doing nothing the entire day I did manage to get out this evening to see what images I could find in old Aurora. The area I walked around in is a rejuvenated arts district so there was plenty of color to work with. I really liked a completely different image that was simple, graphic and full of color but there just wasn't quite enough happening in the photo to make it worthy of my single favorite image of the day.

I actually had an assignment for the University to shoot this sculpture when it was first installed last summer however the lights inside the sculpture weren't working. As a result the image from last summer didn't look nearly as good as the one from today.

I'm a week in to my 'photo-a-day" personal challenge to myself and I already feel like I'm seeing things in a different way. Anyway, I'm off to do some reading for my marketing exam tomorrow.

-JCE

APAD 6: 2,253=exhausted

"Newlyweds Destiney and Michael Allender share a moment together following an outdoor ceremony at the Heritage Eagle Bend Golf & Country Club in Aurora, Colo. Saturday, March 29, 2008."

What a day. I'm tired. After 2,253 frames on my feet for about eight hours I'm glad to be in my bed.

Destiney and Michael had a wonderful ceremony and I'm glad that the weather held up for their day. Shooting a wedding is always a little crazy because it means that I'm literally going non stop all day. I'm definitely not your average wedding photographer because I don't have an agenda, I'm not cocky and I know how to have fun so that the bride and groom will relax and enjoy their day. Stressed people don't make good pictures so the method to my madness allows me to get the images that I do.

I even broke out the sports photographer in me and set up a remote underneath the canopy to the side of where the bride and groom would be standing during the ceremony. Space was tight and somewhat limiting so the remote really helped me get an angle that I needed and otherwise wouldn't have been able to get. The remote didn't produce anything outstanding but was essential in providing another angle.

I had a chance to download my cards but I didn't do much else except pick a quick image for my daily assignment. No, it's not my favorite image but you wouldn't spend time searching through over 2,200 pictures at 3am either.

I'm definitely sleeping in and hopefully waking up to Mom's blueberry pancakes.

-JCE

APAD 5: Strobist style

"Green martini photo illustration shot Friday, March 28, 2008 in Aurora, Colo."

I'm an avid reader of several photo blogs of photographers whom I admire. Some I know personally and some I don't. The Strobist is one I check out on a daily basis. Former Baltimore Sun staffer turned professional blogger David Hobby has been a hit in the worldwide photo community and gets millions of hits a month. I've been reading his blog for about a year but for some reason I never really find the time try some of the things that he has been discussing lately. However, I have been dying to do some still life stuff and my image tonight is inspired by some of the topics discussed lately on the Strobist blog.

Can you figure out how I did it? I'll give you two hints. No, the liquid is not frozen and no I didn't photoshop it. Check out Strobist and see if helps you make an educated guess. If nothing else you'll learn something new, I promise.

Shooting a wedding tomorrow so I better get some sleep.

-JCE

APAD 4: Cold color

"An eclectic mix of address numbers hang lifeless on the exterior of an abandoned Mexican restaurant near the corner of Colorado Blvd. and E. Virgina Ave. in Glendale, Colo. Thursday, March 27, 2008."

Today was unexpectedly cold. I walked out of the house dressed for work in kakis and a polo with a sweatshirt on and I had a rude awakening. As my dad would say "the hawk is out."

Today was pretty uneventful compared to yesterday so I'll spare you the details. I did manage to go "cruisin," as we call it, with Mike for features and after walking around in the cold in boring Glendale for 45 minutes or so the above image is what I came up with. The rundown restaurant was painted with vibrance and struck me as something different especially on a cold day like today.

We spent most of the evening going over images and preparing for the wedding that we are shooting on Saturday. We planned a few different things to work into the mix at the reception and I look forward to letting you know how it goes.

It's wayyyyy past my bedtime. Night!

-JCE

APAD 3: Sing your heart out

"University of Denver senior vocal performance major Morgan Jappe, right, performs an American tune during her senior recital Wednesday, March 26, 2008 in Hamilton Recital Hall at the Lamont School of Music."

I had a great day. It started off with a phone call from Rich Clarkson & Associates asking if I would help shoot the Colorado Rockies home opening weekend. I was so excited that I nearly ran over the curb when I got the voicemail on my way back to school. I've been dying to work with the amazing group of photographers at the firm for months and now I have my shot to prove myself and I can't wait for the opportunity. 

After I got out of class around 6ish I spent an hour or so walking around campus looking for random features that could suffice for my photo a day personal assignment. I made a few nice images and then headed back to the car to drive over to the music school for Morgan's senior vocal recital.

If you remember I shot some head shots of Morgan last month. Morgan and I work together in the Department of Athletics in Sports Marketing and I always want to support my friends in whatever they do so I made sure to mark this event was on my calendar weeks ago. Last year I was shooting the NCAA Gymnastics Championships in Salt Lake City when Morgan had her junior recital so I didn't want to miss her last big performance at DU. 

I knew she could sing and I've heard her sing the national anthem plenty of times but she absolutely blew me away tonight. On several occasions she gave me goosebumps. Not only did she perform some amazing and fun american songs but she also performed in German, French and Spanish...WOW.

As seniors we have all come a long way and one of the best thing about getting close to graduation is we all get to see the professional, gifted people that our friends have evolved into over the course of the last four years and Morgan's performance tonight was an excellent reminder of that.

That's it for now.

-JCE

A Photo A Day: Day 2

"A young boy chases after a kite Tuesday, March 25, 2008 in Central Park located in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver, Colo."

A few minutes after I posted yesterday I realized that I wasn't pushing myself hard enough. I want a job in photojournalism when I graduate and no one is going to hand it to me. If I want to be a journalist then I need to start acting and shooting like one. Therefore I made it my goal to produce at least one solid image each and every day until I graduate. I find my self looking at the images from the A PHOTO A DAY BLOG on a regular basis and thought it would be a great idea if I tried it myself. I'm hoping that this will open my eyes to see things different than I normally would. 

I will be posting my image here each day in hopes of getting some critique on my work and forcing me to post each and every day. I graduate in 72 days but until then check back to see what come across my lens every day.

-JCE

The beginning of the end

"Denver sophomore Ilija Gajic warms up prior to an NCAA Lacrosse matchup against Presbyterian Monday, March 24, 2008 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in Denver, Colo."

I'M BACK. After finals and a relaxing spring break here at home I'm back to my regular posting schedule. Ok I have to admit that the picture has nothing to do with the title of the post. Today marked the first day of spring quarter classes of my senior which means that I'm just over 10 weeks away from embarking a career in the real world. Although I don't know exactly where I will be or what I'll be doing I'll be glad to be done with school.

I've done pretty well throughout my academic career at DU and as a result I only have two marketing classes and an independent study (photography) that I need to graduate. Several of my classmates have three, four and even five classes that they need to graduate and I can not even begin to explain how frustrating that would be. Had I not dropped the one class (Financial Institutions and Markets) my sophomore year I could have graduated last quarter. That would have been really nice but I know that I'm going to enjoy my last 10 weeks as a college student.

The best thing about this quarter by far is my schedule. On Monday and Wednesdays I have Integrative Marketing Strategy from 4-6PM and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Methods of Marketing Research from 12-2PM. That means that I basically have a 4 day weekend. Each class day also provides me the opportunity to play golf either before or after class. You can say that for a Senior this is about as good as a schedule one could have. I tried to schedule my both classes on the same day so that I would only have to go to class two days a week but that just didn't work out, however I'm not complaining.

After sleeping in, :), I caught up on my daily dose of Sports Center only to find out that Tiger didn't make the comeback I had hoped he would. His winning streak, 5, 6 or 7 tournaments in a row depending on who you ask, came to an end. However I have faith that he will return to form on greens that he loves at The Masters in two weeks time.

The first day of classes are merely a formality mostly consisting of Professors providing their credentials as well as the course syllabus and today was no different. It was nice to see the familiar faces of 3 of the group members that I worked with in Innovation Strategies last quarter. Our group worked really hard and we all got along great. This class will have a group project, no surprise there in the life of a DCB student, and we're all planning on working together again. Since this course is the Marketing capstone (final class) the group project is a simulation game where our group is given $7 million to sell PC's. 

The catch is that we will be playing against all the other teams in the class and our grade depends on where we rank in comparison to the other teams. That doesn't mean that if we finish last in the game that we will fail and thus not graduate however it does mean that if we want to get an A in the class then we better finish in the top two spots. From what I've heard the game gets pretty intense among teams and almost ruthless at times. I'm looking forward to the challenge because you will not find a more competitive person on the planet than me, well...maybe Tiger but I haven't met him (yet) so I couldn't tell you.

After class I was deciding between driving to Colorado Springs to watch the gymnastics girls compete against Air Force or staying on campus to shoot men's lacrosse battle Presbyterian. Both Air Force and Presbyterian are awful so it was really between which blowout I wanted to see. I didn't really want to spend the gas money ($3.09/gal today) to drive to the Springs and my brother plays soccer for Presbyterian, which is in South Carolina by the way, so I decided to shoot lacrosse since I hadn't shot anything in nearly a week. Denver won in blowout fashion 19-5. It was a night game so since the light was terrible (1600ISO, 1/500 @ f/2.8 which was still underexposed) I only shot the first half, moved a few images to the SID Celya for the website and packed it up. I stopped by a friends house for a few minutes and then drove home. I made a quick Italian chicken pasta salad and have been hanging out up to now.

Class tomorrow is another late start, 12pm, but I'm going to get some sleep. Hopefully I've caught everyone up but if you're dying to know more, like some people I know (Sarah), shoot me an email. Night.

-JCE

Water Polo: NC-17

"Arizona State's Lauren Hayes sprints for the ball at the beginning of the second quarter against UC Irvine Saturday, March 8, 2008 at the Anteater Aquatic Center."

I have simply been too busy to post over the last two days to post. Our shooting schedule has been jam packed and I got a total of about 7 hours of sleep the last two nights.

Sine I last posted I had one of the most fun/difficult/awkward experiences of my life. Saturday morning I was one of six participants to get in the pool to shoot water polo. The build up to actually getting in the water was insane. I was remarkably calm for how excited I was. I was the last person to get my camera set-up in the underwater housing and I made it in the pool only seconds before the start of the match.

The first two quarters I was just trying not to look like an idiot. Attempting to tread water, breathe, hold up 7 pounds of camera equipment, focus on the subject and push the shutter all at the same time was definitely at the top of the list as one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. 

After getting my bearings I started to make a few nice images. However the real shocker came when I edited my take later that evening. I had a 5 frame sequence of one of the UC Irvine players performing a "wardrobe malfunction" on an ASU player. It's amazing what happens under the water. The girls grabbed, pulled at, kicked, poked and scratched each other for position.

After my whirlwind experience in the water we made sandwiches out of the trunk our car, shot men's tennis for an hour or so and then made our way to Fullerton for baseball that night. I didn't get a chance to use some of the loaner gear that Canon USA brought to the workshop so I was definitely, as we say in the industry, "under glassed" for baseball. Brandon did let me use his 300 for most of the night while he shot with the Mark III and 600 f4. The ability to shoot pretty clean images at 6400 ISO was a huge plus. He did let me use the 600 and Mark III for an inning or so and I made a few nice images.

The workshop came to the end Sunday morning with additional editing/critiquing, brunch and the awards presentation. I didn't produce any of the outstanding winning images but Mike, Brandon and myself won the teamwork award. The award was new and created because of the work that each of us put in to help each other make images. We pooled our gear, set up remotes and shared shooting positions all for, what we called, "team Colorado." The faculty even caught us using walkie talkies to set up our remotes and make sure they were done correctly. They loved the approach that we took during the workshop and created an award to commend our efforts. We each received Sports Shooter T-shirts for the award.

I talked to a few of the faculty members before they left, gave one of the staff members Crysta Chatam a quote for the news story and did a video interview with staff member Jordan Murph for the website. I'm looking forward to getting my 5 minutes of fame. Just Kidding.

After some lunch at CPK the boys and myself drove down to Newport Beach and walked around for a few hours people watching and taking a few pictures. Our evening has been pretty relaxing mainly consisting of finishing up some homework, packing and watching "Angels In The Outfield" or as Mike called it, "the cheesiest movie ever."

We have have to leave for the airport at 6am so I'm going to get in the bed but make sure to check out some of my IMAGES FROM SPORTS SHOOTER ACADEMY V.

SSA V Day 2

"UCLA junior infielder Amanda Kamekona warms up prior to the start of the start of the Bruins game against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame Friday, March 7, 2008 during the Long Beach State Invitational held at Mayfair Park in Lakewood, Cali."

I'm falling asleep as I write so I'll keep this short. I don't feel as though I had as good of a day shooting as I did yesterday. My stuff from Thursday wasn't amazing but there was a lot of solid images. Today not so much.

I started the day off with a portrait session at the Orange County Register which actually went pretty well. Mike and myself came up with a pretty unique idea a got a chance to try it after all the other participants had left. I just like the image above a little better for some reason but I'll be sure to post the portrait with my favorites from the week on Sunday or Monday.

After picking up Brandon from the hotel we went to the Long Beach State Invitational to shoot NCAA Women's softball for a few hours. I almost have a few really nice shots but they just didn't quite work out.

We finished up with Men's Volleyball featuring the 2007 NCAA champion UC Irvine Anteaters against the UCLA Bruins. The light was terrible but I did what I could with it.

Tomorrow morning will (hopefully) be the highlight of the trip when I get to shoot water polo UNDERWATER. I've been looking forward to this unique opportunity since I found out a few weeks ago. We also have Track & Field, possibly tennis and a baseball game tomorrow night. I'll let you know how it goes.

-JE

Off to a piercing start

"Long Beach State student Eric Kam draws his bow during Archery Club practice Thursday, March 6, 2008 on campus. Using a specially designed bow, Eric fires his arrow at a rate of over 310 feet per second." 

Yesterday's opening activities at the Sports Shooter Academy here in Irvine, California were great but the real fun began today. I was great to break out the gear and actually see what you're made of. The day did start off to a sour start when we found out that Canon forgot the ship the amazing amount of gear to the workshop and it wouldn't arrive until Friday morning. This was kind of annoying considering that I woke up at 7:15am to make sure I was one of the first ones to check out some gear. I'm really looking forward to checking out a 400 2.8 or maybe even something longer. Being a student means that I don't always get to play with the big toys...if you want to call a $6,500 lens a "toy."

Anyway, the day started off with Donald Miralle's portrait lighting class. Don brought in two professional volleyball players from the AVP and had two different studio set-ups. This ended up being more of a free-for-all than a class. Everyone had the opportunity to take a few shots with the athletes which was great but at the same time it was complete chaos with 25 photographers. I made a few "ok" images but nothing amazing.

After making some sandwiches and packing up all our gear Mike, Brandon and myself headed to Long Beach State University for beach volleyball. Unfortunately one of the four AVP players had to cancel at the last minute so the three women worked some drills for the thirty or so photographers there. I was frustrated trying to find something unique. Everyone was bound to get the same images and I definitely didn't want to submit any of the same images for the morning slideshow. I noticed that eh Long Beach Archery Club was practicing about 400 yards from where volleyball was taking place so I decided to grab some of my gear and head over there. 

The club President, Raymond Macias, was really nice and let me do just about whatever I wanted. The shot from above is a result of some of my creativity. The best part was that not a single one of the 30 other photographers followed me so I am anxious to get everyone's reactions tomorrow morning at the slideshow.

It's almost 3am and I'm going to get up early to check out some gear so I'm going to jump in the bed and hope that I can drown out Brandon's snoring with my iPod. Here are a few more of my favorites from the day.

-JE

Off to a piercing start

Sports Shooter Academy Day 1

WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA!!!

I was exhausted last night so instead of posting I went straight to bed after the 2007 SS Contest judging.

Let me tell you that I couldn't have been more excited to get on the plane headed for sunny 70 degree weather yesterday morning. When we left for the airport it was snowing in Denver. The plane ride was smooth and I spent the time working on an advertisement for my marketing Innovation Strategies. 

Mike, Brandon and myself picked up our rental car and then headed to meet Brandon's cousin for lunch. Although she didn't join us we had a fantastic Sushi lunch at a nearby outside mall. We're definitely in California as we have seen more Mercedes and blondes than imaginable. 

The SSA activities kicked off with early bird sessions for remotes and digital workflow. I was astonished by the number of people who attended the event considering the official start to the workshop didn't begin until 7:30pm. Although I'm very familiar with doing remotes and establishing and using a digital workflow I still learned a lot. It was great to hear some of the personal stories that everyone had to offer.

After the early bird classes we made a trip to Costco and the grocery store to pick up some food. We stopped to grab some dinner and then hustled to get checked into the hotel before the beginning of the workshop. The anticipation was brutal but it was well worth the wait. All the other students/professionals are eager to absorb as much information as possible and I can tell that it is going to be a fantastic event. At check-in we received our credential as well as a free gift from Think Tank Photo. 

The real chaos came when everyone signed up for their schedule for the week. It was a first come, first serve deal so everyone was nervous that they wouldn't get what they want. Luckily for my buddies and myself we all split up across the room to the various sign up sheets and signed each other up for all our events.

My schedule is as follows:

Thurs:

Donald Miralle's portrait class

Beach Volleyball

Men's Basketball UC Davis @ UC Irvine

Fri:

Michael Goulding portrait class at the OC Register

Softball

Men's Volleyball

Sat:

Donald Miralle's underwater photo class

Water Polo (I'm shooing this underwater!!!!!!!!!!!)

Track & Field

Baseball

My first class of the week is about to get going to I'm going to run up to the room and grab my gear but I'll be sure to post some images tonight. Wish me luck!

A foot short

"Denver gymnast Liz Meals leaves a footprint of chalk on the floor just prior to competing on the floor exercise in Hamilton Gymnasium Sunday, March 2, 2008 in Denver, Colo. Despite a team best score of the year, the Pioneers were edged out by the Auburn Tigers 196.600-196.575"

After a gorgeous day that reached 74 degrees in Denver on Saturday I woke up to a few inches of snow blanketing the ground. It's Denver so what can you expect. I have to say that I was not pleased to have to put a heavy coat on when I was in a t-shirt yesterday. I leave for California on Wednesday with a five day forecast of all 70+ degree weather and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Today was the first time I've really shot anything worthwhile in over a week. I've been so slammed with school work that I haven't had much time to eat and sleep, let alone make pictures.

I tried to shoot from some different positions today to push myself to make different images as a preparation for Sports Shooter Academy. I didn't have a great day but I do like the image that I made above. Sometimes I get so focused on the action at gymnastics that I forget to look for different things like the foot print.

After the meet I was in the Business school for a good 5 hours working on yet another group presentation. It really amazes me what people (my group members) can't do even after four years in a business school. I swear that my amazing partner in crime, Danielle, and myself have saved many classmates grades putting together team papers and projects. I've had at least one class with Danielle every quarter since returning from Rome in 2006. This quarter I have two classes with her and we are in the same group in both classes, THANK GOD. Unfortunately for myself Danielle is graduating at the end of this quarter and moving in with her boyfriend in New York City. Who knows what I'm going to do without her spring quarter.

Anyways I better get back to writing my part of the case study that is due tomorrow but I'll be sure to update everyone before I head to Cali.