Hard News

Cuba's Story

Portrait Shots

Tight Shots

This entire take was done on a Canon 60D with a 100-400mm lens, and most on the top end of the focal range. These were taken in Las Vegas, at the Bellagio and Fremont Street.

Wide Shot

These shots were taken at the Dixie basketball game Saturday with a canon 60D and an 8mm prime lens. We normally don't shoot too wide for sports shots because of the required distance from the camera to the subject. An 8mm lens looks better the closer you are, and even from right on the sideline, sports requires you to be a ways away from the players. However, the mascot shot opportunity presented itself as I noticed the Jazz bear walking by the same spot over and over again, and it was right where he started messing with the crowd. I waited until he was out of the way, then sat down in the side line where he would pass soon.

Pennie Smith - London Calling

Many of us are familiar with the 1980 Clash album "London Calling", and especially the cover art. But the story of the photographer who shot this iconic image is one that is often left untold. Pennie Smith, who was around 30 years old when the album was released, shot this picture of Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar at the Palladium in New York City on September 21, 1979 during "The Clash Take the Fifth" US tour. Smith was known for her rock photography of some of the biggest bands of the era. Wikipedia lists the following as some of Smith's subjects: Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Iggy Pop, The Clash, The Jam, The Slits, Siouxsie Sioux, Debbie Harry, U2, Morrissey, The Stone Roses, Primal Scream, Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, Blur, Oasis, and The Strokes. The story here is her original view of the picture as not being good enough. She thought it was too blurry, but despite her experience with other bands she failed to see the potential future of her take. Fortunately, however, Joe Strummer, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist, and Ray Lowry, graphic designer of "London Calling", thought it would be an excellent choice for the upcoming album, and it is now one of the most iconic images to ever enter the rock realm, and has received multiple awards since its debut. The image embodies the apex of rock culture, the loss of control, and the flow of pure emotion.

So what's the point? Sometimes we don't know how well a photo will do in the moment we are shooting it, and even after that we may not understand what we have in our take. But staying open, getting second opinions, and sometimes even taking chances will open up the potential of what we shoot. So ease up on the trigger-happy delete button, and give that take a second chance.

Axioms

Slow Shutter

f/9

6"

100ISO

Fast Shutter

f/5.6

1/250

1600ISO

Shallow

f/1.8

1/200

100ISO

Deep

f/4

1"

800ISO