*well, summer has arrived early here in the Northeast. Hot & sticky. Muggy actually. So that means the school year is almost over and playoff baseball, track & field championships and oh, still more graduations that I care to even think about yet to cover. Kinda nice to at least be able to cover some of these events in shorts & sandals again.
Two-day Track & Field Championships in Kingston, NY. June 8-9, 2007.
High School pole vaulter heads down the runway during the NY State Track and Field Championships in Kingston on Saturday, June 8, 2007. Times Herald-Record/Chet Gordon
Kingston catcher C.J. Lukaszewski, #24, jumps into the arms of relief pitcher Matt Jordan, #34, to celebrate their defeat of Monroe-Woodbury in the Section 9 Class AA Baseball Championship game at SUNY New Paltz on Saturday, June 2, 2007. Times Herald-Record/Chet Gordon
Cadets toss their covers skyward after receiving their commission to 2nd. Lt. during the United States Military Academy's 2007 Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony in Michie Stadium at West Point on Saturday, May 26, 2007. Times Herald-Record/Chet Gordon
*Notes from this assignment. (or what I actually care to remember from the gig.): A terribly long day for the working media. We had to be in the stadium by 7AM. Of course risers were set up behind the cadets for "Tee-Vee", stills & such. Made for good podium images of Vice President Dick Cheney w/ a 300mm f2.8 & 2X AF tele-extender. (do I really need to post images of him here too...?) shot with three cameras, and initially wanted to clamp a remote camera up in the stands somewhere with the 10mm fisheye, but the Secret Service would have none of that. You can find more from the graduation on the Flickr site by clicking the image.
Justin Rutty of Newburgh Free Academy photographed at the high school in Newburgh, NY on Tuesday, March 27, 2007. Rutty is the Times Herald-Record's 2007 Section 9 Player of the Year. Times Herald-Record/Chet Gordon
*(Lighting & Tech-Talk mumbo-jumbo: One Dyna-Lite M500 Power Pack used to light this portrait. Main light into a Chimera softbox at camera left. Nikon D-1X. 28mm - 70mm. AF-S Zoom. ISO 125. 1/60th. sec. @ f/10. Original file shot on RAW.)
*Notes from this assignment: in almost 20 years of shooting sports from little leagues and pee-wee football, all the way up to all the major leagues in all sports, including playoffs and championships series and such, I can't remember when I've actually sweated a photo assignment like I did this one. (there are others though to be sure) I lost sleep over the weekend worrying about how I was going to put all these ideas together in my head. I actually went to the school the day before on my day off to scout locations, meet the AD (athletic director), and most importantly, get a "feel for the room..." I wanted to see the gym because I hadn't shot in their school and I feel one of the worst things I can do is walk into a location "cold" and be expected to relax and work comfortably, especially when dragging in lights, umbrellas, tons of cords, stands, clamps, cold coffee and stale doughnuts first thing the next morning. besides all that, the assignment was for 10AM, (moved up from 3PM) as the kids only had a half day. I kind of figured I'd be a wreck if I had to hustle to the school and not know the environment. So if I can share any sort of advice for an assignment like this is to always, always, always go early, or even the day before, meet the major players, hand out business cards and most of all be professional. In all my years of newspaper work, I know this sort of preparation might seem out of place and unexpected, but jeez, it sure helped me relax all morning yesterday, the day of the shoot. when scheduling allows, either for my day job at the paper, for freelance clients and of course for myself, this will be another thought-out way of working and understanding that the back shop work and preparation is just as important as the X's & O's of the camera setting gobbledy-goop... -cg.
Marist College Fashion Show. Poughkeepsie, NY. April 2007.
Studio portrait for at-home facial products. April 2007.
Pastor Installation @ Harlem, NY Church. April 2007.
Iraq Veteran's Funeral. March 2007.
Nadia Cadavero kisses the casket of her son, Sgt. Jonathan Cadavero after burial services at the Orange County Veteran's Cemetery in Goshen on Friday, March 9, 2007. Sgt. Cadavero of Tuxedo is the US Army medic who was killed last week in Iraq. Times Herald-Record/Chet Gordon
*Notes from this assignment: nobody likes covering funerals, especially when a member of the military has been killed. you try to keep your composure, and professionalism, stay back & don't be disrespectful, as even being there with cameras makes you stand out enough already. sometimes the families won't allow the media in the church or at the gravesite. for this young army medic killed Iraq, we had another photog at the church outside and I eventually made this image at the cemetery, being the only media person to wait around after the ceremony to capture this intimate moment. -cg.
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