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Maui Wowie

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

The Hawaii football team warms up as seen through the bleachers during the Hawaii Warrior football's 2009 spring scrimmage, Saturday, April 11, 2009 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, Maui. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Greetings from Maui! I shot today’s Hawaii football scrimmage here at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, Maui. It was a fun time, shooting football in the middle of spring. The stadium definitely had character, and the vibe in the air from the fans who came to support Coach McMackin and the Warriors was a good one–very warm and generous. I got there about an hour before practice was scheduled to start, and immediately noticed the visual aesthetics of War Memorial–steel bleachers, a two-story pressbox, and uber-friendly staff. Of course, I’m here to photograph the sports action, but my mind was already beginning to simmer with ideas. One of them is my lead photo above. Warmups and drills were the pre-cursor to the actual scrimmage, so I shot a lot with my new angle finder from ground level. I knew that if there was going to be any rushing touchdowns later on, it’d be a great perspective. Here’s a shot of drills with the angle finder attached.

Running backs coach Brian Smith watches drills during the Hawaii Warrior football's 2009 spring scrimmage, Saturday, April 11, 2009 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, Maui. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

The scrimmage began, and let me tell you, I was kinda rusty! Amazing what two and a half months of not shooting football can do to your shooting ability! Thank you, auto-focus! I was concentrating on quarterbacks, and made this really intense frame of Steele Jantz.

Quarterback Steele Jantz eyes an open receiver during the Hawaii Warrior football's 2009 spring scrimmage, Saturday, April 11, 2009 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, Maui. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

The scrimmage went on, and the hour just flew by so quickly! I got some fairly decent frames of the action, despite my apparent rustiness.

Hawaii receiver Royce Pollard reaches for a pass during the Hawaii Warrior football's 2009 spring scrimmage, Saturday, April 11, 2009 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, Maui. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Hawaii running back Inoke Funaki plows over defender Rykin Enos enroute to a 22-yard touchdown run during the Hawaii Warrior football's 2009 spring scrimmage, Saturday, April 11, 2009 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, Maui. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Hawaii DB Kenny Estes makes an interception during the Hawaii Warrior football's 2009 spring scrimmage, Saturday, April 11, 2009 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, Maui. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Look for more photos in tomorrow’s edition of both our online edition and our print edition. Enjoy! When I get back, I’ll blog about what was in my bag and how I travel, for all the gearheads:)

Posted in sports | 4 Comments »

Great time at baseball today

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

Baseball is one of those sports where sometimes the action can be sparse at best. Luckily during today’s final game between Hawaii and Coastal Carolina, I managed to grab a couple of shots I was actually HAPPY with–meaning no play at second, no pitcher shot, and no shaking hands after a scoring a run. Haven’t done that in a loooooooooooooooooooonngg time. Enjoy!

Hawaii's Landon Hernandez misses the plate while being tagged by Coastal Carolina catcher Jose Iglesias in the bottom of the fourth inning of a college baseball game between the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and the Hawaii Rainbows, Saturday, March 28, 2009 at Les Murakami Stadium. Hawaii held on to win 4-3 and captured the series after a disappointing game one earlier in the week. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Hawaii thirdbaseman Vinnie Catricala breaks his sunglasses off a line drive double from Coastal Carolina's Taylor Motter in the top of the eight inning of a college baseball game between the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and the Hawaii Rainbows, Saturday, March 28, 2009 at Les Murakami Stadium. Hawaii held on to win 4-3 and captured the series after a disappointing game one earlier in the week. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

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Wide vs. Long on Jube

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

This past weekend I photographed the State Boys Basketball championship games. All the marbles for the two teams in the championship games means high emotion at the conclusion of the games. There’s always a dilemma on whether to shoot long (telephoto) or wide up close at the exact moment of winning/losing. Shoot long, and you isolate the action and emotion. Shoot wide, and you run the risk of totally missing the faces on a hugging moment because the subject could totally turn away from your camera. I thought I’d share with you these different perspectives from my edit. As always, I’m looking for the story of the game. Enjoy!

Kamehameha's Chaz Bajet reacts after winning the 2009 Hawaiian Airlines HHSAA Boys Division I State Basketball Championship game between the Kamehameha Warriors and the Kahuku Red Raiders, Saturday, March 7, 2009 at Blaisdell Center Arena. Kamehameha won 47-45. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). With a long shot such as this, you can work to get several different compositional elements to give the picture a story--in this case, celebration and dejection in one frame.

Another long shot, isolating the emotion. Kahuku's Red Raiders hold their second place trophy after the 2009 Hawaiian Airlines HHSAA Boys Division I State Basketball Championship game between the Kamehameha Warriors and the Kahuku Red Raiders, Saturday, March 7, 2009 at Blaisdell Center Arena. Kamehameha won 47-45. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

And wide:

The Kailua Surfriders pile on in celebration after winning the 2009 Hawaiian Airlines HHSAA Boys Division II State Basketball Championship game between the Castle Knights and the Kailua Surfriders, Saturday, March 7, 2009 at Blaisdell Center Arena. Kailua won, capturing the 2009 Division II Boys Basketball title. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

The Kamehameha Warriors raise the championship trophy after winning the 2009 Hawaiian Airlines HHSAA Boys Division I State Basketball Championship game between the Kamehameha Warriors and the Kahuku Red Raiders, Saturday, March 7, 2009 at Blaisdell Center Arena. Kamehameha won 47-45. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Kamehameha's best jube came right after the game clock expired, which is why shooting long landed my best shots from this particular game.

Sometimes going wide and rushing in there gets me absolutely nothing, too. It’s really a toss-up decision that I make right then and there. I always have to be ready.

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Lighting a sports portrait

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

Sometimes–actually, let me rephrase that–OFTEN times, we have to make a portrait of someone with the following set of challenges:

-the subject is short on time

-I’m short on time

-the meeting place usually has little to no conduciveness to creative backgrounds or scenery

-the meeting place is a poorly lit gymnasium

-the subject has other things on their mind than providing you with a good photograph

-the meeting place is a poorly lit gymnasium

and lastly

-the meeting place is a poorly lit gymnasium

For all of my sports portraits, I almost always use strobes to light my subject. It provides depth, dramatic contrast, and total control over the vision I have in my head. By strobes, I mean just the regular flashes that you can attach to the camera…

..the TRICK is getting those flashes OFF camera. For this portrait of Kaimuki pointguard David Taulung, I used just two Nikon SB-28 flashes fired with Pocket Wizard slaves to make him pop.

Using strobes off camera and even shooting INTO the camera provides for interesting effect and dramatic lighting, especially when juxtaposed with a peak action subject. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 24-70 2.8L at 50mm, Exposure mode: Manual, ISO 100, 1/250 @f7.1, 2-Nikon SB-28 flashes, far one set to 1/4 power, close one set to 1/2 power with an umbrella, fired with Pocket Wizards

Posted in portraits, sports | 1 Comment »

Boys Soccer

Sunday, February 15th, 2009

Spent Valentine’s Day shooting 5 hours of soccer, and was it exciting! The first game, the Division II Championship between Kapaa and Hawaii Prep Academy, had some decent action, but my favorite frame from that game came afterwards–another testament that not all sports photographs have to be of peak action. Emotion is equally if not more important.

Kapaa boys head coach Kevin Cram is doused with water by his players after winning the HHSAA Boys Division II State Soccer Championship game against Hawaii Prep Academy, 3-1, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park in Waipahu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 16-35f2.8 at 16mm, Manual exposure, ISO 1600, 1/250 @f4.5, 4200K whitebalance.

Sometimes getting doused along with the coach gets you interesting waterspots on the lens that add to make a more picturesque photo. That’s what happened above. So on to the second game, the Division I game between Iolani and Mililani. Again, I shot a lot of the game from above, as I mentioned in a previous post. It also made me turn into a popsicle by the end of the night!

This series of frames shows how much I use the motordrive. I rarely squeeze full automatic, and am very selective about shooting, despite being "digital" and not "wasting film." My philosophy is, the more shots on the card, the more you have to edit, and with this particular game running well past 9:30 pm--uh-uh. No way. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400 f2.8, manual exposure, ISO 2500, 1/800 @ f2.8, 4200K whitebalance.

I had even better luck than the day before from up in the stands, and came away with this cool frame.

Mililani goal keeper Preston Miyashiro blocks a goal attempt by Iolani's Jordon Lee during second-half action of the HHSAA Boys Division I State Soccer Championship game between the Iolani Raiders and the Mililani Trojans, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park in Waipahu. Iolani won 5-2. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400 f2.8, Manual exposure, ISO 2500, 1/800 @ 2.8, 4200K Whitebalance.

Because of the tightness of the focal length, I was just panning with Iolani’s Jordon Lee, and then out of no where, Mililani’s Preston Miyashiro jumps into the frame to grab the ball! Talk about surprise! If you notice, the goal keeper is slightly blurred, even at 1/800 of a second.

I then moved down to field level as the time was winding down to get ready for jube and to capture some different action.

Mililani's Duke Batungbacal, left, and Iolani's Reid Sakamoto go for the header during second-half action of the HHSAA Boys Division I State Soccer Championship game between the Iolani Raiders and the Mililani Trojans, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park in Waipahu. Iolani won 5-2. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400f2.8, Manual exposure, ISO 2500, 1/800 @ 2.8, 4200K Whitebalance.

Mililani's Corey Nakagawa, top, and Iolani's Trevor Farm collide during second-half action of the HHSAA Boys Division I State Soccer Championship game between the Iolani Raiders and the Mililani Trojans, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park in Waipahu. Iolani won 5-2. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400f2.8, Manual exposure, ISO 2500, 1/1000 @ f2.8, 4200K whitebalance.

It had become apparent that Iolani’s Nick Goo was the spotlight of the game, having scored two key goals, so as the game clock wound down, I tracked him with the 400 mm lens and came up with a different jube photo.

Iolani's Nick Goo raises a finger in celebration after winning the HHSAA Boys Division I State Soccer Championship game between the Iolani Raiders and the Mililani Trojans, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park in Waipahu. Iolani won 5-2. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Using long telephoto lenses like the 400 and even 300 mm wide open lends for some spectacular blur effect with subjects in the fore or background. That’s what I did for the frame above, since Iolani’s color is red, I thought it’d be a nice, different approach, and a way to tell Goo’s story of the game.

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Vantage Point

Friday, February 13th, 2009

When shooting field sports such as football and soccer, being on the field level isn’t always the best angle, and by saying “best,” it’s purely subjective. I’m always looking for something different, and shooting from the high angle up in the stands, as many of you have read in my previous post from UH football can remember, provided me with some interesting stuff from the Boys State Soccer Semi’s today. All of these frames were shot with a Canon EOS 1D Mark III and a 400f2.8 set to 400 ISO, daylight whitebalance, manual exposure, 1/2000 @ f2.8.

Kapolei's Adrian Yunson, top, heads the ball over Iolani's Jordon Lee during the HHSAA Boys State Soccer Semifinal game between the Iolani Raiders and the Kapolei Hurricanes, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex in Waipahu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Iolani goalkeeper Chris Otani leaps to thwart a Kapolei attack during the HHSAA Boys State Soccer Semifinal game between the Iolani Raiders and the Kapolei Hurricanes, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex in Waipahu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Being higher up also enabled me to capture both jubilation and dejection in a single frame:

Iolani's Keith Lum (2) is congratulated by team mates after his goal as Kapolei's Micah Uehara, right, walks dejected during the HHSAA Boys State Soccer Semifinal game between the Iolani Raiders and the Kapolei Hurricanes, Friday, Feb. 13, 2009 at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex in Waipahu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Tomorrow, more soccer!

Posted in sports | 3 Comments »

So long Pro Bowl, so long football!!

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

HI EVERYONE!! Sorry for the delay in updating, but there’s been A LOT going on here at our paper, and I want to give you folks quality updates, not quantity. That will change though:)

I have had the privilege of shooting my fair share of the NFL’s Pro Bowl as a staffer here at the Star-Bulletin, but the gravity of the fact that it won’t be returning here was evident from ONE picture that I took from among the few hundred frames I shot of the pre-game, game, and post-game events. Here it is, and as I always stress whenever I talk about photojournalism–Tell the story.

The San Francisco 49ers mascot holds up a sign during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark II, EF 16-35 2.8L at 16 mm, Manual exposure, ISO 200, 1/2000 @ f 5.0, daylight whitebalance.

To me, that held more tangible information to our readers than say, any of the action shots during the game. I was also thrilled to hear a dazzling National Anthem rendition by American Idol boy David Archuleta.

But, I’m not going to stop there!! Oh no, not me!! I also managed to get the game-winning touchdown by the Arizona Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald, who was also the MVP, as all of you already knew.

The NFC'a Larry Fitzgerald leaps to haul in a touchdown over the AFC's Cortland Finnegan during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF70-200 f2.8 IS at 120mm, Manual Exposure, ISO 200, 1/3200 sec @ f2.8, daylight whitebalance

The NFC's Larry Fitzgerald leaps to haul in a touchdown over the AFC's Cortland Finnegan during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF70-200 f2.8 IS at 120mm, Manual Exposure, ISO 200, 1/3200 sec @ f2.8, daylight whitebalance

Snagging the game winning touchdown gives such an exhilarating feeling inside, but it’s such a gamble, such a roll of the dice. I had a hunch that Eli Manning was going to go to Fitzgerald again, especially after his first-half touchdown, so I went with that side of the endzone and struck it lucky.

But, man oh man, was it HOT out there!!! Between halves, I felt like blacking out while editing in the dugout with my comrades. We didn’t have the usual locker room to edit from. Here’s our work station:

From top, Reuters' Hugh Gentry, AP shooters Marco Garcia, and Ronen Zilberman file their images in the dugout. I had to take my red vest off, at right, just because it was just sooo hot.

Here’s some other action shots from the Pro Bowl. The athleticism with which these athletes play is unbelievable, and a pleasure to photograph. Enjoy!

The NFC's Brandon Marshall eludes the tackle of the AFC's Antoine Winfield during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400 f2.8L IS, Manual Exposure, ISO 160, 1/3200 @ f2.8, Daylight whitebalance

The AFC's Brandon Marshall eludes the tackle of the NFC's Antoine Winfield during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400 f2.8L IS, Manual Exposure, ISO 160, 1/3200 @ f2.8, Daylight whitebalance

The NFC's Jon Beason, middle, and Patrick Willis, left, break up a pass intended for the AFC's Tony Gonzales during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400 f2.8L IS, Manual Exposure, ISO 160, 1/4000 @ f2.8, Daylight whitebalance

The AFC's Marshawn Lynch cuts through the defense on a rush during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400 2.8L IS, Manual exposure, ISO 160, 1/4000 @ f2.8, daylight whitebalance.

The AFC's Peyton Manning looks for an open receiver during first-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200 f2.8L IS at 200mm, Manual exposure, ISO 200, 1/4000 @ f2.8, daylight whitebalance, shot at ground level while on my stomach.

The NFC's Anquan Boldin eludes the tackle of the AFC's Darrelle Revis during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400 f2.8L IS, Manual Exposure, ISO 160, 1/4000 @ 2.8, daylight whitebalance.

The NFC's Larry Fitzgerald, left, celebrates with team mate Adrian Peterson after Fitzgerald's third quarter touchdown during second-half action of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl football game Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400f2.8L IS, manual exposure, ISO 160, 1/4000 @f2.8, daylight whitebalance.

Posted in sports | 1 Comment »

Dive

Saturday, December 20th, 2008

Sixteen-year-old Trey George practices at Central Oahu Regional Park's Aquatic Complex, Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. George has returned to the pool only 18 months after having open heart surgery and will compete in the High School State Swimming Competition on the weekend of December 19, 2008. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

I had the pleasure of photographing a literally heart-warming athlete named Trey George and his story of returning to competitive swimming just under two years after having open heart surgery.

Swimming is always a very fun sport to photograph in that there are so many different perspectives to do it from. Above and under water, low angles, high angles–you name it.

From the journalistic point of view, though, I felt a shot showing the scar on his chest would best tell the story, and his coach told me that he’d be practicing some dives into the pool. Luckily I had my Pocketwizards and magic arm in my trunk (along with some other stuff, which I will blog about later), and so I fastened a remote rig onto the bottom of the diving board with a wide angle lens and a Canon ST-E2 wireless transmitter to trigger a flash also. It took just two dives for me to get the shot I wanted. Here it is:

Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 16-35 f2.8L at 16 mm, Exposure mode: Manual, 1/250 sec @ f10, ISO 800, Cloudy Whitebalance. Lit with 1 Canon 580 EX speedlite set to manual at 1/4 power. Camera triggered with a PocketWizard Plus II Transceiver.

Posted in news, sports | 1 Comment »

I’m Baaaaack!!

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

And brought the rain with me from Seattle apparently!

Been a hectic week, here’s a shot from Aloha Stadium Friday night:

Needless to say, the rain soaked through my Aquatech cover!

There’s more from this week I’ll share with you. Hoops, spot news, and a remote shot. Stay tuned!

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Giving Thanks…

Friday, November 28th, 2008

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.

Posted in chiaroscuro, sports, wild art | 3 Comments »

Archive for the ‘sports’ Category

Maui Wowie

Great time at baseball today

Wide vs. Long on Jube

Lighting a sports portrait

Boys Soccer

Vantage Point

So long Pro Bowl, so long football!!

Dive

I’m Baaaaack!!

Giving Thanks…

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