For GREAT light.

Thanksgiving found me working the early shift–one I haven’t worked in quite some time.  I love the light when the sun has just come up.  It’s like Mother Nature reminding you how fortunate you are to be able to capture it with the black contraption in your hand called a camera.

A nearly picture-perfect sunrise with the island of Molokai visible on the horizon is juxtaposed by the silhouette of a bulldozer claw Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008 near Makapuu Point.

It was off to UH football practice for me, and the light was NICE!!!!!  Our eyes see differently from the camera.  This is what our eyes see:

Our eyes see differently from what our camera sees. This is a pocket of sunlight with the shadows of the UH dorms looming on either side. I bracketed a sequence, and this is "proper" exposure, showing highlights and detail in the shadows. Note that I brought up some of the shadow for the purpose of showing what our eyes really see in this situation.

Because of the bracketing, which, in case some of you who aren’t familiar with it, is shooting a sequence of shots both over and under exposing up to 2 whole stops, I chose to go with the underexposed highlight.  This results in dramatic chiaroscuro.

Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200 f2.8L IS at 158mm, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO 200, 1/5000 @ f2.8, Daylight whitebalance

Nice light is key.  Here in Hawaii, though, because of our location on the planet, we don’t have very long every day to get good light.  Usually about an hour in the morning and an hour at dusk.  One of my mentors, Frederic Larson of the San Francisco Chronicle, ingrained a saying into my head “Great moments in great light.”  That’s something to live by.  Here’s more football practice.  

Most people were thankful for family, good health, turkey, stuffing, and each other.  I was thankful for that, no question, but I was thankful for great light Thursday morning.

The New Mexico State Aggies, left, and the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine moments before the first serve.

This past Sunday I covered the women’s WAC Volleyball Tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center.  The final match between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine was going to be a very long albeit spirited battle between two teams vying for supremacy in the WAC.  Since Hawaii had lost the last time the two teams met, winning would mean a lot more to not just the team, but the scores of fans who came out to see the match.

As a journalist, no matter where we live or who we cover, we always have to tell the story.  In the case of this volleyball match, I had to juggle between covering the Wahine and the Aggies, as either side will tell a story.  I went into this game shooting the usual action from the baseline, the concourse, and the sidelines, but I was really after something different.  Emotion.  Feel.  Jubilation.  Dejection.  These were all items in the checklist in my head, and I attuned my vision to look for them.

Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200 f2.8L IS at 178mm, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO 1250, 1/640@f2.8, 4200K Whitebalance

The Rainbow Wahine react after claiming a commanding lead in the fourth game during the WAC women's volleyball championship match between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. Hawaii won in four games, claiming the 2008 WAC Championship title. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200 f2.8L IS at 200mm, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO 1250, 1/640@f2.8, 4200K Whitebalance

Once it became apparent that Hawaii was going to win, I had to make photographs of the Aggies’ frustration and dejection as well.  As the title of this post suggests–two sides.  That’s part of being a responsible photojournalist.

The New Mexico State bench watches the final points during the WAC women's volleyball championship match between the New Mexico State Aggies and the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200 f2.8L IS at 200mm, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO 1250, 1/640@f2.8, 4200K Whitebalance

During the matchpoint, I was faced with a split second dilemma on whether to shoot tight on a key player or keep loose and capture the arena’s reaction to the win.  I opted for the latter and was fortunate enough to be in the right spot so that all the compositional elements worked nicely, even the scoreboard with the final score!

Celebrating after match point. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200 f2.8L IS at 80mm, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO 1250, 1/640@f2.8, 4200K Whitebalance

Seconds seem to last minutes in situations like these, and I already had it in my mind that as soon as I made a decent photo of the winning moment, I had to rush over to New Mexico State’s side of the court to grab a reaction shot.

New Mexico State's Krystal Torres, right, and Erin Birmingham sit dejected on the bench after the WAC women's volleyball championship match. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200 f2.8L IS at 195mm, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO 1250, 1/640 @ f2.8, 4200K Whitebalance

Myself, UH Media Relations guru Jay Metzger, and Honolulu Advertiser photographer Andrew Shimabuku all agreed prior to the last point played that we shoot long for about 5 seconds (5 “Mississippi”) before rushing in for the wide angle jube.  It actually worked out well that way, as I was able to grab the shot above instead of rushing midcourt towards Hawaii’s celebration.

But I couldn’t stay away from that…no no, not me.

Hawaii's Stephanie Brandt, middle, and Elizabeth Kaaihue share a laugh after winning the match. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 16-35 f2.8L at 16mm, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO 1000, 1/500 @ f3.5, 4200K Whitebalance

Because of my going back and forth between Hawaii’s and New Mexico’s sides of the court, I ended up getting stuck on the opposite side of the rest of the media circus that had gathered to shoot the Wahine.  SHUCKS!  STUCK!  I had to lay low for a few seconds.  It ended up playing in my favor though, because I was able to get this shot of Aneli raising up the trophy the second after she received it:

Hawaii floor captain Aneli Cubi-Otineru raises the WAC Championship trophy. Notice where every other member of the media is on the far left of the frame. I was probably the most photographed photographer that night, but not on purpose, needless to say

Of course there was also the ceremonious mugging for the camera, and the shaka shot that follows.  I’ve never been one to photograph gratuitous “mugging.”  Yet we have to for the books, per se.  I ended up filing this one instead of the token shot, just to return the favor to my fellow media shooters.

Smile, everyone's backs of their heads, you're on camera!!

 That’s my take on Sunday’s volleyball match, surely one of the more exciting ones this season.  (It was exciting….and no I’m NOT calling YOU Shirley!)  

And I’ll leave you with this shot.  Because of all the constant searching for jube, dejection, and emotion, sometimes you end up with the out-of-the-ordinary action shot simply because you aren’t after it:

Hawaii's Stephanie Brandt, left, and Aneli Cubi-Otineru dive for a ball in the fourth game. Shot while I was lurking near the sideline waiting for my jube shot.

In my few years of covering basketball for the Star-Bulletin, I’ve always found it to be a bit of a challenge as far as what focal length of lens to use.  Basketball is a very static sport that seesaws from one end of the court to the other, causing a bit of a juggling episode between two cameras with different lenses.   In previous years, I’d normally use just a 70-200 zoom, then use a 50mm prime or 24-70 zoom for the closer stuff.  The past three games I’ve photographed this season, I’ve used a 300mm lens for all downcourt action and an 85 1.2 for the closer stuff, and I think I’ve found the winning combination of focal lengths.  The 300 mm is quite challenging in that it is tight as a tick (see my post on the 800mm lens in football for more on tight), but when everything and everyone aligns right in the frame, it makes for some very neat and different images.  Here’s one from last night’s late nailbiter against Idaho State:

.Hawaii's Roderick Flemings, left, and Idaho State's Austin Kilpatrick eye a loose ball during the first half. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 300f2.8L, Exposure mode: Manual, 1/800@2.8, ISO 2000, 4100K Whitebalance

Now here’s one that I wish went MY way instead of going the other way.  Just the luck of the draw sometimes.

Idaho State's Matt Stucki loses the ball while jumping over Hawaii's Adhar Mayen in the final seconds of the first half. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 85f1.2L, Exposure mode: Manual, 1/1000@1.2, ISO 400, 4100K Whitebalance.

Here’s another shot with the 85mm, showing just a fabulous background blur and really isolating the players and action:

The 85mm is tricky, because just a hair off, and your shot is out of focus (OOF as we affectionately call it)

Well, I’m killing time waiting for a late night men’s college basketball game between Hawaii and Idaho State so I figured I’d share some images from last night’s game.  Hoops is in full swing, and I like it!!  Enjoy…

Senator Daniel Inouye takes in the scene and the history-making moment at Pearl Ultralounge.

Now that the elections are over, and the public has had time to simmer down about who is to lead our country next, I thought I’d share some of my election photos that didn’t run in our newspaper on that history-making night.  Emotions were strong everywhere I went, from Obama’s Hawaii campaign headquarters to the Pearl Ultralounge Democratic reception, hopes were high for the Hawaii-born president-elect.  

It was actually refreshing for me to cover more of the presidential side of the election rather than the local/mayoral race which I did during the Primaries.  What was challenging was trying to make a picture of people watching the television, and I spent down time between shots pondering how I was going to make a storytelling image later that evening at Pearl Ultralounge.

The scene at Pearl was much like a Barfly assignment–if you are familiar with my colleague Jason Genegabus’ column.  Drinks, pupus, music, merry people.  It was when the polls closed that I was able to make some great jube photos.

When it was apparent that Obama was to be the next president, the reactions from the packed house were just through the roof.  Everyone cheered.  Many screamed.  All were elated, including this gentleman:

Needless to say, Barack Obama’s speech left many–including myself–just chickenskinned and overcome with emotion.  That was the hardest part of the whole evening.  The feelings of that moment were captured in these two photos:

Hearing that speech and trying to capture the essence of that moment with my camera was perhaps one of the toughest things I have ever had to do–not because I was listening to the speech, or because of the sheer magnitude of emotion–but because with these few frames, and that amazing man speaking in front of 250,000 at Grant Park, Ill. and addressing the whole world, I came to the realization that our nation could finally believe in itself again.  That’s heavy.

Hello everyone! Let me outta here!

There he is, all grand 0.5 inches of him!  Initially, I was photographing this little guy, who we’ll affectionately name Kermit, from the jar he was dwelling in after one of our graphic artists captured him.  But I could not get Kermit to cooperate with the camera…you know how feisty celebrity talent is.  

Kermit refuses to show me his good side

So, after consulting with various colleagues, I decided to pop open the jar to let him out so I could photograph him in a clear plastic case on the white table.

Bad Idea.

After I released the lid, Kermit proceeded to spring upwards onto my shoulder, and BOING…down towards the ground where the backgrounds and gels were.  I swear I heard his ribbit laughter as I exclaimed “NOOOO!!!!” and dropped on my knees to try and apprehend the fugitive frog.  He jumped into a stack of contest papers and into the dark recesses of the studio’s corner.

After a fruitless search of 10 minutes with a flashlight, I broke the news to our graphic artist, Bryant, who had caught the frog.  Immediately, the WHOLE newsroom started breaking out in laughter.  ”What!? He escaped?! BAHAHHAAHA!!!” Even our news editors were laughing at me–I don’t know if it was because of the gravity of the situation, the heavy sweat that I had started to break into, or the fact that something the size of a quarter eluded me so easily.

So with 4 people to assist, including the great Mike Rovner, we set out on froggie search in the corner.  Bryant spotted him first, lurking underneath the bottom shelving where old issues of the paper are stored.  Using the same jar, we cornered and coaxed him into the jar.  It was a sight to be seen, fortunately I have NO photographic evidence of this silly fiasco of 4 men cornering and apprehending a frog the size of a thimble.

WE GOT HIM!

We then emptied Kermit onto the white table and stuck a CD spindle cover over him and a quarter in there as well for scale.  I could now photograph this nemesis frog at my will, but not before talking trash to him about how he couldn’t escape now, and I pwned you, blah blah blah….yes it was that intense.

This little guy had some attitude

"Let me OUTTA HERE!!!"

Trying to pull the "I'm cute" look...not gonna work, there, Kermit!

After photographing him, and all was done, we put Kermit back into his jar.  I had to photograph him from every angle to determine whether or not he was a coqui frog.  After reviewing the images, many were torn over what type of frog Kermit was–a coqui or another similar frog, the greenhouse frog.  I didn’t stay long enough to find out, as I had burned about an hour chasing and photographing this little guy.

Yeah, that's right, I'm pointing at YOU!