January 28, 2008 - U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner spoke alongside Governor Linda Lingle at a press conference establishing the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 (at 10mm), Manual, 1/200 sec at f/3.5, ISO 1600, Tungsten white balance

Every so often, the governor holds press conferences in her office at the state capitol. I’ve always found them to be somewhat entertaining to shoot. Sure, you have a couple of talking heads, or maybe some signatures being scrawled in a deluxe leather-bound folio, or maybe a trophy (if you’re lucky).

For me, it’s the thrill of the hunt. Will I be able to milk this “photo op” for all that it’s worth? Will I come up with something different? Or will I come away with the classic “execution at dawn” people-standing-in-a-row (with only the blindfolds and cigarettes missing) shot?

So I drove down into the dusky loins of the capitol and parked. I was ready. I had an aloha shirt on. This was going to be big. Some sort of “announcement” was going to be made about “energy.” Someone from “Washington” was going to be there.

“Washington?” Did they say “Washington?”

I got off the elevator on the 5th floor and sauntered to the governor’s office. Small rivulets of people were doing the same.

I opened the giant wood door, and was greeted with a waiting room filled with all sorts of people. Suits. Military types. Silky aloha shirts. Slacks. High heels.

It was electric.

Or so I told myself, as I braced for the impending “event.”

People started to fill the governor’s office, which is actually just the room where these press conferences are held. A big table, a giant Seal Of Hawaii dangling behind the podium, flags, a semi-circle of nice leather seats with little “RESERVED” signs on them, a phalanx of television cameras. The room was at capacity. People were hanging from the rafters (well, not really, but it was close).

Some man came out and a hush fell over the crowd. “The governor will be coming out soon,” he announced. Murmurs from the crowd. I looked for a gavel, but didn’t see anything.

Then, a door opened, and people rose to their feet, and in walked Lingle and a couple of other people.

It had begun.

Ted Liu stepped up the mic and started talking.

With the room stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey, there really wasn’t any room to move around. I was slightly to the right of the podium, prime for shooting mugs, but it wasn’t conducive to anything else. I usually wander around and look for weird angles, but that wasn’t happening today. I decided on doing the layer gag. Get one person in focus, the other out. Luckily from where I was standing either Lingle or Karsner were standing in position that I could get the two of them in the same frame.

January 28, 2008 - U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner listens as Governor Linda Lingle speaks at a press conference establishing the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. Exposure details: Canon EOS-1D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f2.8 (at 200mm), Manual, 1/320 sec at f/4, ISO 1250, Tungsten white balance

So I milked this idea for a while, then found a little open space off the right behind some cardboard “energy initiative” info graphic sitting on an easel.

From there I could shoot wide and get the whole room, establishing the scene, plus there was another angle where I could employ the running two-for-one-in-the-same-frame gag. Plus, the light was a little moodier from this vantage point.

January 28, 2008 - U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner speaks as Governor Linda Lingle listens at a press conference establishing the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. Exposure details: Canon EOS-1D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f2.8 (at 90mm), Manual, 1/200 sec at f/4, ISO 1250, Tungsten white balance

With that out of the way I went back to the front to start harvesting mugs. This is an important part of any press conference assignment. Come away with as many mugs as possible. The paper always needs fresh mug shots of people, and sometimes you can get photos of people you wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to shoot. You never know when those will come in handy.

And with that, it was over. Another fun-filled episode in the governor’s office.

January 21, 2008 - Rob Farrow stands at the foot of the house he and his wife Christina found and renovated in Palolo Valley. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF 10-22mm f3.5-4.5, Aperture Priority, 1/800 sec at f/6.3, ISO 400, Daylight white balance

I recently went on a shoot for the business section for a story on a couple who bought a run-down house in Palolo with the idea of fixing it up and selling it. Turns out they are going to be living in it for a while.

The assignment mentioned that they’d be showing us around the house, and we’d need a number of photos for a centerpiece story.

So when I showed up, they were talking with the reporter in the driveway, and I started shooting. I avoid doing set-up “smiley people looking in the camera” deals as much as possible. Sometimes it’s simply unavoidable; there’s nothing going on, there’s nobody talking to anyone, and a set-up starts to loom on the horizon. So in a situation like that, I ferry everyone into some pose, have them look directly into the camera (eye-contact with the camera establishes the “I set up this shot” motif) and fire away.

In this case, Rob was talking with the reporter, his wife, and the realtor, and when I saw the corner of the house, I whipped out the 10mm for something a little wacky.

Then they invited us into the house to show what the interior renovations looked like. I’m always still impressed that people will invite me, a complete stranger, into their homes and let me take pictures.

January 21, 2008 - Christina Farrow shows how she and her husband plan to cover up the electrical box in their newly renovated home in Palolo Valley. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF 10-22mm f3.5-4.5, Aperture Priority, 1/30 sec at f/6.3, ISO 400, Daylight white balance

They were showing the living room, and lamenting on how the due to building codes, the electrical box had to be placed on a conspicuous wall right in plain view. The reporter asked how they planned to deal with it, and Christina grabbed a framed piece of art and placed it over the box. I ran over and fired off a few frames. I ended up with something natural from what could have been a pretty static photo.

January 12, 2008 - Hawaii’s Matt Gibson gets a face full of Nevada’s Ray Kraemer’s arm in the second half at Stan Sheriff Center. Exposure details: Canon EOS 1-D Mark II, EF 50mm f1.4, Manual, 1/640 sec at f/2.8, ISO 1600, Fluorescent white balance

Shooting UH hoops the last couple of games has been interesting. There’s been contact all over the place, and that isn’t only on the court.

The action has been so-so, with the usual stock armpit shots (which I try to avoid, but end up shooting anyway… just in case). I always try to find action that’s a little out of the ordinary, so Matt Gibson getting an arm in the face was a nice change of pace.

The photogs all have to sit on the baseline, which is a little tight. There are these tables that have been set up there, so we have to squeeze in between the tables and the baseline. With my height, there’s only so much I can fold up my legs. Sunday’s game was one of those where the refs were hugging the baseline, and, of course, stepping all over me.

Oh, and don’t forget the players. They end up flying into us, too.

Bobby Nash gets knocked out of bounds by a San Jose State player and the photogs get showered with player and ball.

December 17, 2007 - Haunani Apoliona, Office of Hawaiian Affairs chairperson, delivers the keynote address for the State of OHA and the Hawaiian Community held at St. Andrews Cathedral. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5mm (at 15mm), Aperture priority, 1/200 sec at f/4, ISO 1600, Daylight white balance

I’ve been fortunate in the past month to be assigned to shoot events at St. Andrews Cathedral. It’s a beautiful church, and I got to see it both in the day and the night which provide very different views.

A few weeks back OHA held their State of OHA thing at the church. It was held late morning and there was really nice sunlight coming in from the windows.

When I got there I talked with one of the OHA folks (former S-B writer Crystal Kua) who said I could pretty much go anywhere as long as I stayed out of the way of the TV cameras. No problem.

I wandered around before the thing got started, looking for angles. Apoliona would be speaking from a podium to the left of the church. And luckily when it came time for her to speak, there was a nice shaft of light coming from above. I tried various places, but the best turned out to be right beside her where I could see the windows. Good stuff.

I’m not really the religious dude, so I always get a little nervous when shooting in churches. I’m not really to tuned in on what’s going down during services, etc., so I try to lay as low as possible. Not easy when I’m 6′2” with cameras dangling from me. I’m always worried I’ll stand in the wrong place or something, and then I’ll be “that camera guy.”

Once when I was shooting at Our Lady of Peace Cathedral, I was trying to do my “lay low” thing. I got there early for whatever it was that I was shooting, and was looking around for somewhere to hide. I noticed a little fountain kind of in the middle of the place. “Ooooh, a fountain!” I thought, and sat next to it. Turns out in the middle of whatever was going on, all the priests came over to get some water, apparently holy water, out of the fountain. Of course, I was sitting right in front of the thing. I was wondering why they were walking right towards me, kind of shooing me away… hmmmm… learned something new that day.

January 03, 2008 - Choir members rehearse under the direction of John Renke for the Festival of Lessons and Carols at St. Andrews Cathedral. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5mm (at 10mm), Manual, 1/30 sec at f/3.5, ISO 800, Tungsten white balance

Then last week another St. Andrews assignment came my way. Shoot the choir rehearsing. Cool. Plus it’s at night. They’d have all the lights on, they said. Great.

Got there and it was looking pretty sweet. I talked with the choir director and he said I could go anywhere I wanted. Of course, visions of holy water fountain faux pas danced in my head, so I kept it pretty low key. The church speaks for itself.

Well, I’m back in Honolulu after a long trip back from The Big Easy. Sitting here at the Stan Sheriff waiting for a UH men’s v-ball game to get rolling.

It’s nice to be back. But it was a really good experience to see what it’s like in the world of “real” bowl games.

There were a ton of photogs out there at the Sugar Bowl. But since there were so few yahoos on the sidelines, unlike the average game, it was pretty easy to get a place to shoot.

A pack of photogs huddle in the end zone. There were lots of people in yellow jackets around there to remind us about “the yellow line.”

The light in the dome was really nice. And it was great to be indoors since it was like, in the 40s outside. And it was loud. The Georgia fans have all their cheers down, so when they start shouting chants in unison, it’s pretty impressive.

A tale of two Georgia mascots

January 01, 2008 - Georgia defensive end Marcus Howard (38) sacks Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan (15) in the first quarter of the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome in New Orleans. Exposure details: Canon EOS 1-D Mark II, EF 600mm f4, Manual, 1/800 sec at f/4, ISO 1600, Fluorescent white balance

I was getting a little worried about Colt Brennan. I’d never shot him getting sacked so many times. And they were brutal.

January 01, 2008 - Georgia cornerback Asher Allen (2) and Hawaii wide receiver C.J. Hawthorne (2) both lunge for a pass (neither caught it) in the third quarter of the Sugar Bowl . Exposure details: Canon EOS 1-D Mark II, EF 600mm f4, Manual, 1/800 sec at f/4, ISO 1600, Fluorescent white balance

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, it was time for the post-game scrum. I decided to take off after Colt, shooting various celebrations along the way.

January 01, 2008 - Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan (15) walked across the field after losing to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Exposure details: Canon EOS 20D, EF-S 10-22mm f3.5-4.5mm (at 10mm), Manual, 1/500 sec at f/3.5, ISO 1600, Fluorescent white balance

When I found him, it didn’t look good. He looked dazed, and, well, un-Colt-like. I followed him for a while, then ran off to start transmitting.

We had to fly out of Houston at 8:20 a.m. on Jan. 02, so we grabbed our stuff and started the drive back to reality…

We’re about 2 hours to game time. Kick-off is set for 7:47 p.m. here at the Superdome in New Orleans.

We caught the media bus from the hotel out here about two hours ago, and have been shooting some fan stuff outside the dome, where it’s probably in the low 50s but a strong wind adds a nice bite. Inside it’s probably in the mid-60s or so.

The work room is in the bowels of the stadium, right off to the side of the field. High-speed internet connections for all!

There are quite a bit of photogs milling around. 400mm 2.8 lenses all over the place. AP has a whole stable of photogs. Looks like it’ll be a zoo out on the field.

We’ve been told that we have to kneel “as a courtesy to fans in the lower seats.” Of course, I left my kneepads in Honolulu. I “borrowed” a bath towel from the hotel to use as some kind of cushion.

Okay… gonna go hunt for some food now…