"All the President's Men..." June•2010

*Redford & Hoffman in the acclaimed 1976 Academy Award winning film by the same name...? No, not those two. In my case it's been more like Presidents Clinton, Bush (Sr. & Jr.), Obama, and others including VP Cheney, Hillary, Eric Holder (current AG), Gates (current Sec. of Defense), as well as various other commanding generals and high ranking government officials from Washington, who I've photographed in my career. Following General David Petraeus last week here in the area at two separate events, got me thinking about some of that coverage and the resulting images. Below is a slideshow highlighting some of those favorites from the past few years... ~cg.

General David H. Petraeus listens to Cornwall High School Principal Dr. Frank Sheboy's introduction during the school's 56th. Annual Commencement in Cornwall, NY on Friday, June 25, 2010. Gen. Petraeus, a Cornwall High School Class of 1970 alum, was the keynote speaker. Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON

*Use the arrow at the bottom left of the player or click the image to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. Pause the portfolio slideshow in the right column by clicking the "II" pause button. There is no audio track with this presentation.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN. An Afghan man with an automatic weapon guards the waiting area of the Charasyab health clinic approximately 20 kilometers outside of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, May 26, 2002. A humanitarian mission organized by The Geshundheit Instititute, founded by Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, Lufthansa Cargo, and DHL Worldwide Express collaborated to ship medicines, food and orthopedic supplies to the Indira Ghandi Children's Hospital, clinics and orphanages in Kabul. The German NGO (Non Governmental Organization) Hammer Forum supervised the distribution of the donated supplies from various non-profit organizations in the U.S. and The Netherlands. (26 May 2002. Photograph © Chet Gordon / The Image Works)

*I'd been thinking about this image a lot lately and others from my work in AFG back in 2002. Particularly in light of world events in that part of the world today, both militarily & in the civilian sector. Afghanistan. Pakistan. Baharain. Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE (United Arab Emrites). It's been eight years already, and I remember that initial call on my cell phone from a contact in Washington, like it was just last week; asking if I'd be interested in accompanying an airlift of humanitarian aide from Frankfort to Baharain and connecting through to Kabul... ~cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.
A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. -cg.

*"Back on Track..." (or why I still get juiced shooting sports.) June•2010

There's still something sweet about arriving early to a venue, knowing you're there working a big game, no matter what the sport. Throw in some of these newer stadiums and arenas where even local high school games are contested nowadays, and when weather conditions are favorable - it's just about nirvana for me. I've written quite a few posts on this blog the past few years about (my) sports photography and have tried to highlight a lot of the intricacies on what I go through in preparation, the gear and supporting hardware I utilize, just about everything I try to do and work to accomplish in a routine manner in covering games, if you will.

The past few weeks have sort of meshed together with game coverage of HS baseball state tournament games, HS track & field state championships outside Binghamton, NY (another 18+ hour day, but who's counting), HS lacrosse state playoff games a few weeks ago at Middletown HS (top photo) and Thursday at media day & practice (I stayed later) for our local professional minor league team, the Hudson Valley Renegades - where even the simplest of images of a couple of bats in the bat rack (right) in their empty dugout sort of has meaning. It's another image that can be used anytime in conjunction with a baseball story.

Beyond all the talk, notes, diagrams, remote cameras, radio transmitters to trigger those cameras, fancy lenses and do-dads, finger-crossing, silent meditative chanting, and bubble gum chewing I could ever do, I wanted to again emphasize that making good sports images, no matter what level of play, requires an innate amount of concentration, attention to detail, and probably most of all - a working knowledge of the game. It all began for me eons ago, probably way before I gave much thought about being a professional photographer. Because way "back in the day..." I was a pretty decent ballplayer, and to this day understand the minutiae of sports and fine sports photography. In fact, I almost crave it...

Here's a slideshow highlighting recent sports work where I've brought out the small strobe kit again for team headshots of the Renegades baseball team during their media day (right), added a 2x tele-coverter to the 300mm for the pole vaulter warming up on the runway (above left), and laid on my belly a few times for low angle images for action & feature images around the ballpark or track. Still not one to be ashamed about getting a little dirty on the job. "Cheers...!" ~cg.
*Use the arrow at the bottom left of the player or click the image to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. Pause the portfolio slideshow in the right column by clicking the "II" pause button. There is no audio track with this presentation.)

"Follow Me, Please..." World Cup. June•2010

Photographers are led onto the field before the 2010 World Cup opening match between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg June 11, 2010. (REUTERS/David Gray)

*(Sorry, I just couldn't resist this one. This obviously isn't my image - but it sort of gives you an idea of how photographers are sometimes treated the world over; even here at the opening game of the World Cup last week. As if these pros can't be trusted to walk across the pitch on their own... ~cg.)

To see more from the opening week of the World Cup on The Big Picture, click HERE.

"ANC..." April • 2005

ARLINGTON, VA. Horse drawn caisson with the US Army Honor Guard sentries of the 3rd. US Infantry, known as "The Old Guard" proceeding after a military honors funeral in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA on Monday, April 18, 2005. © CHET GORDON / THE IMAGE WORKS

A story broke yesterday out of Washington about the care and maintenance of grave sites and those buried there at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) in Virginia. As a veteran (and onetime frequent visitor to the Washington, DC area) I found the facts behind this story troubling, if not worse.

This from today's NY Times:

Inquiry Finds Graves Mismarked at Arlington

WASHINGTON — "The remains in more than 200 graves at Arlington National Cemetery may be incorrectly identified, the secretary of the Army said Thursday, as he announced a shake-up in the cemetery’s management. In some cases, remains were found in graves listed as empty, and occupied grave sites were unmarked... An Army report listed dozens of deficiencies in the day-to-day management of the cemetery, including an outdated record keeping system that may have contributed to many of the errors at Arlington, which was first designated for military burials in 1864. An inspection, which began in August 2009, found problems at 211 sites..."

Full links here and here. ~cg.

-30-

(Photographing) *The People We Know... June 2010.

HS Cellist @ THE WHEREHOUSE Restaurant. Newburgh, NY. 6•June•10

(Hardware / Software info): Nikon D-1X w/ 28mm - 70mm f/2.8AF. Nikon SB-800 into a shoot-thru umbrella at camera right at 1/4 power. Second small strobe at lower left w/ Stofen Dome on the floor at 1/16th. power. Triggered by Pocket-Wizard Multi-Max's. ISO 400. 1/250th. sec. @f/5. Original files shot on RAW & converted to JPEGs in Nikon ViewNX & PhotoShop CS5.

"It's always a pleasure to be asked to make a series of photographs like this one, particularly on location..." ~cg.

Untitled. Outside THE WHEREHOUSE in Newburgh, NY on Sunday, June 6, 2010.