Lightning only strikes once

"A firefly illuminates itself as the sunset fades over the Vulcan Lakes in Crystal Lake, Saturday, June 27, 2009. The nocturnal beetle, commonly found in warm regions and also known as a lightning bug, emits a blinking pattern of light under their abdomen to attract mates."

Sometimes I just get lucky and Saturday was one of those days.

On my way back to the office from an assignment I couldn't help but notice the gorgeous sunset that was filling up the sky. There was a weather pattern that had moved in and the clouds were bisecting the sun. I had to pull over an take a picture.

After snapping off a few frames, I saw a whole group of fireflies flickering out of the corner of my eye. We don't have the cool little bugs in Colorado so it was only the second ever time I had seen them. I couldn't help but stop what I was doing and just stare at them. I would equate my excitement to someone who lives in Florida getting the chance to see snow. I was like a kid in a candy store.

After quickly realizing that a 400mm was the wrong tool for the job I went back to my car to grab a wide angle. I laid on my stomach near a group of the bugs trying to get as close as I could while keeping them in focus. The task of getting one in focus while the firefly was emitting light proved much more challenging that I initially thought. The light was fading and while the sunset was a fantastic backdrop it really made manual focusing difficult.

The rain began to fall and before long I was pretty wet. At this point I decided to drive the two blocks back to the office and grab our 100mm macro and 5D to see if I could get something even better than what I already had. When I returned the rain had picked up so I put on my rain gear and went back to work. At this point, however, it was much too dark to focus on anything much less a little bug. I packed it up and went back to the office.

Scrolling through my take I was excited to see the frame above. While the bug itself is cool it is the deep red sunset that really makes the photo. I'm sure I got a few laughs from drivers as they watched me lay on the ground as the rain began to fall but this photo makes it all worth the effort.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Mad Bombers fireworks

Last week I decided to do an audio slideshow to go along with a centerpiece story that we were working on about what goes into setting up a fireworks display. I've seen plenty of fireworks shows so I was interested to get a behind the scenes look. This particular show wasn't as extravagant as most but the process was similar to the large scale shows that most of us see at the ballpark on the fourth of July.

The hardest obstacle to overcome was the heat, humidity and mosquitos. I probably spent more time swatting the pesky bugs away than I did actually shooting and gathering audio.

I'm still not where I want to be in terms of the quality of my multimedia projects. This one works but as far as I'm concerned it doesn't have that "X factor" that would take it to the next level. I'm open to, and encourage, your comments below.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Boys of summer

"Elgin starting pitcher Mike Kovach works the fifth inning against Crystal Lake at Trout Park in Elgin, Monday, June 22, 2009. The Crystal Lake Cardinals - a wood bat team - won, 12-1, in the Chicago Suburban Baseball League game."

Epic light. Epic access.

Those two things make me about as happy as one could be. I couldn't have asked for a better assignment and consequently it's easily one of my top three favorite assignments that I've had here at the Northwest Herald.

My assignment called for getting some "bat action" photos since the focus was on the novelty of the wood bat league that features college players who are home for the summer. Shooting batting is a dime-a-dozen so I knew that I could shoot a lot "for myself" and still get what I needed for the assignment. I was 45 minutes early to the game which was huge because it allowed me to interact with some of the players and get some shots that you don't typically get in any other situation. Rarely do I get to hang around the team as they are getting ready so I tried to make the best of it.

Since the assignment was on the wood-bat aspect of the game (college players play with aluminum bats) I made sure to get some shots to help tell that story. It was by far the hottest day of the year at around 90 degrees and when you add in the 80 percent humidity you can understand why I was sweating just shooting pictures.

The light made up for the uncomfortable heat, though. Combine that with a field sans advertising everywhere, I had a great place to make some images. I even went to great lengths to get some of my images, including lying completely on my stomach on the uncomfortable gravel to get a low angle of the batters. This garnered a response from Crystal Lake catcher Joe DiMaggio on his way to the plate to the tune of "Justin, they need to give you a raise buddy."

Amen.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Worth the wait

"A Great Blue Heron fishes for a snack on Lake Geneva in Lake Geneva, Wisc., Saturday, June 6, 2009."

Finding and capturing moments like this really make my job a treat.

I was sent up to the dairy state earlier this month to shoot a few assignments for a special travel section that we were working on. Apparently Lake Geneva is a hot vacation spot during the summer months. As my luck would have it I got sent up north on a cloudy and rainy day.

I had to shoot some of the local shopping hotspots but there weren't many people shopping. I had to stop by Grand Geneva Golf Resort but there wasn't anyone on the course. I was asked to document the nightlife but it was 8pm and thus nonexistent. I completed my assignments but I'm sure the editors wished that they would have sent me on another day.

On my way to a local dive bar I saw this heron on the side of the road and immediately pulled onto the soft shoulder for a closer look. On a hunch I brought along a 400mm and was really glad I did. I got into the passenger seat, cracked open the door and tied my eye to the bird. There was a stream filtering into the lake where the heron was so I knew it was after some dinner.

I sat uncomfortably with my back leaning against the dash of my trusty Accord for nearly 45 minutes. It was literally like watching paint dry. I had Coldplay jamming to keep me entertained and vowed to pack it up when the album was over. Then, if almost for dramatic effect, on the last song I noticed that it had found something. After walking in a clockwise two foot circle (I'm assuming for positioning), it coiled it's head like a snake and then snapped it into the water, pulling out a little fish. I held steady and ran the motor drive until the buffer in the camera ran out. I scrolled through the pictures and was pumped to see the above image.

Considering that my three assignments were lame this really made my day. To put a cherry on top my mom loves Great Blue Herons and will be really excited to see this image. I'm sure she'll put it on the refrigerator like I'm six again.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Cary Days

"Erik Empie, 19, of Algonquin sits up against a ride called Predator while waiting for friends to get off another ride during Cary Days at Lion's Park in Cary, Thursday, June 18, 2009."

Anyone who knows me knows that I despise shooting carnivals. I'm just not good at shooting them and I'll be the first to admit it. I don't know what it is, I seem to get over stimulated and can't concentrate on what I need to be doing.

Often I'll wander around for at least 30 minutes without shooting a frame. It's not because I'm not trying, it's because I just can't seem to "see" anything. This in turn frustrates me and I repeat the process a few times before my brain decides to turn on.

Thus was the case this evening at Cary Days. I only made one useable frame in the first 90 minutes or so I was there. Finally, after calling Lauren to let her know that I was going to be late to dinner because I was sucking so bad, I finally found something that I liked. I told Lauren that I was going to leave in 10 minutes so I figured that I could make one more lap before I had to go. 

Like a light switch I saw Erik sitting alone on the ground and slowly made my way over to him. I worked the situation, trying to be inconspicuous as possible, for maybe three minutes before he got up. For someone who is supposed to be having fun, Erik looks bored out of his mind. On the contrary the people riding the ride above him look like their having a blast.

I feel your pain Erik, I probably had the same look on my face for most of the evening...until you changed all that.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Wrong team

"O'Fallon right fielder Sonnie Rollins makes a diving catch in the fourth inning during the IHSA Class 4A State baseball third place game at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, Saturday, June 13, 2009. O'Fallon defeated Cary-Grove 3-2."

I had a marathon 12-hour day covering Cary-Grove in the third place game in Joliet and then driving back to the office to tone photos on the desk all night. It sure wasn't the ideal situation but it wasn't too bad since I carpooled again with writers Joe and Maureen and slept part of the way home. It seems as though we may be a bit of bad luck because once again our local team lost.

The sun was out and I had a whole overhead third position to myself outside the luxury suites so I didn't have much to complain about. For the second day in a row neither of my remotes produced anything but I did make a few average action frames with my handheld like the one above. The only problem was that it was of the wrong team, which happens to me way too often. This photo isn't good for our coverage but it's great for my blog.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

State baseball championships

I'm blogging from the backseat of the car as I ride home from the IHSA Class 4A State baseball semi-finals with writers Joe Stevenson and Maureen Lynch. It has been a long day down in Joliet, Ill., at Silver Cross Field the home of the Joliet Jackhammers, an independent sub-Class A minor league team. Unfortunately the local team that we're covering, Cary-Grove High School, lost to New Trier High School 3-2. Unlike our experience at the State basketball championships, this was a great game.

Cary-Grove brought their big bats and showed why they are one of the best hitting teams in the state. They hit the ball hard but sometimes they just hit it right at them. There was plenty of suspense as they had runners on first and third with two outs, full count, and a solid senior hitter at the plate. Matt Nelsen fought hard in the at-bat until he grounded out to third to end the game.

I was positioned in the third base photo well in hopes of getting some solid dejection following the loss but they took it pretty well and I didn't get any storytelling images that were strong enough to file.

I'm getting a little dizzy writing this so I'm going to cut it short. We'll be back to cover the third place game tomorrow at 4PM.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Denver wedding

I few weeks ago when I was in Denver I photographed Tasha and David's wedding as the second photographer with collegue Greg Harring. I have been shooting with Greg for the past two years and always have a great time working with him. He always seems to have great clients in cool locations so I never hesitate to take a gig with him.

The wedding schedule was a little unconventional and I only photographed from the pre-ceremony cocktail hour through the toasts at Space Gallery in Denver. The small gallery in the art district on Sante Fe was a cool place to hold the evening. The great ambient light and ubiquitous clean backgrounds were something that no photographer would ever complain about.

Here are a few of my favorites from the evening.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

f/8 and be there

"A firefighter works to estinguish a fire aboard a District 47 and 155 school bus on Waterford Cut near Sandalwood Lane in Crystal Lake, Thursday, June 4, 2009. No one was aboard the bus when it caught fire outside of the driver's home during her break."

I once read on Seattle photographer Rod Mar's Blog that the mantra for shooting spot news is "f/8 and be there." For all you non photo nerds reading this that roughly translates to "be there, get the shot and make sure its sharp." That mantra was the key to these pictures.

I left home about a half an hour early today to head into work because I had to pick up some long glass before driving to a baseball game that was over an hour away in Dekalb. I wasn't 30 seconds away from home when I spotted the black smoke billowing into the sky. I called the office to find out if they had heard anything on the scanner and when they said that they didn't I flipped a u-turn in the middle of traffic and headed into the neighborhood. When I drove up on the scene a few seconds later I could see the flames from about a block away. I quickly pulled over, grabbed my gear as fast as I could and began to sprint towards the scene. When I saw that it was a school bus I was a little rattled and scared for the possibility of what could have happened. However, I didn't notice any groups of children standing around so I figured that everyone was ok. 

I snapped a few frames with my 70-200 from a distance and then moved closer. There was only one truck on the scene and just one lonely fire fighter working to extinguish the flame so I decided that I wouldn't be getting in the way if I tried to get something with a wide angle from up close. By now most of the flames were dying down and the fire fighter moved around to the door to put out what was left inside the front of the cab. I saw this as my window for opportunity to get really close. I moved to within 10 feet or so and worked the situation as best I could before backing off.

Most of the time getting sold spot news pictures like this are pure luck. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Alicia & Rick

Last Thursday I had the chance to fly back home to photograph Alicia & Rick's Denver wedding. I met Alicia about two years ago through a family friend when I did some work for them. They were both a pleasure to work with and allowed both myself and assistant/second photographer, Michael Sasser, great access to get some really memorable images. 

The couple got ready at Denver's Magnolia Hotel and then took a quick limo ride over to Mile High Station for the ceremony and reception. Mile High Station is the former Midwest Steel and Ironworks building that is full of rustic character. The lighting, however, was not ideal which forced  Mike and I to pull out our complete skill set. With the help of a remote camera and a few well placed strobes we were still able to get some solid images while retaining the look and feel of the venue. This was a perfect example of how my experience shooting in all types of situations as a newspaper photographer helped me produce some great photographs despite the conditions.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Sushi night: The movie

Doing video is one thing and doing video on a Canon 5D Mark II is a completely different experience. I got my hands on the new camera Monday evening and had trouble putting it down. Former Northwest Herald staffer turned freelancer Justin Runquist brought one of his two (sheish) 5D Mark II's for me to play with during sushi night with the photo staff. Travis' girlfriend Jackie also attended. I was having so much fun that I almost forgot to eat, almost being the operative word.

Over the course of about an hour I shot 6 GB of raw footage in 1080 HD using a 16-35mm, 24-70mm, and 85mm f/1.8. I had no plans or an agenda and just shot on the fly. I didn't even know that Justin was going to bring the camera until about two hours before dinner. Having only shot video a handful of times and never with this camera it was somewhat of a learning experience. I didn't have a tripod, which turned out to be the biggest challenges of all. Compared to the Sony HD video cameras that I have used before, this camera is really light which makes it difficult to hold steady. A tripod would have been great but I imagine that I would get some rather interesting looks trying to use one in the middle of the restaurant.

I downloaded the cards on Monday night but didn't really do much with the footage until Travis invited me over tonight to grill out and edit the movie on his new Apple 30-inch Cinema Display. It is unreal to work on a screen that big. I'm writing this post on my 15.4-inch laptop back at my place and it's not the same, not even close.

After making an awesome dinner and throwing back a few Blue Moons we got to work. Using Final Cut Express made things really easy. After I narrowed down the useable clips Travis took over to make the cuts as we worked together to build the story line on the fly. Start to finish I think it took us around an hour and a half to put it all together.

I had a blast working on this small project, which has completely changed my feeling towards video. If I could shoot with one of these all the time I would definitely do video more often. I'm hoping that Canon puts video into their next flagship 1D series camera as I'm anticipating that will be my next big purchase.

I can't wait to play with a 5D Mark II again soon.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com

Pot o' Gold

Before heading off to sushi with the rest of the photo staff, Lauren and I were doing some archiving in the office when one of the editors came back to inform us of this stunning rainbow. Naturally we both looked at each other, grabbed our cameras and headed towards the parking lot. As you can imagine we weren't disappointed when we walked outside and saw this great creation of mother nature.

-JCE

www.jcedmonds.com