"Goodbye Old Friend(s)..." 20•Feb.•12

On Monday I took the plunge and began making what one might consider a drastic change to my overall web presence. After some much needed thought, and from a mere economic and cost cutting measure, I discontinued the hosting plan I'd had since launching my original website (above) back in 2002 or so. I'd also moved my domain name to a new host server with more features for web hosting than the original service. (I'd been paying yearly fees equivalent to what it cost to host a website ten years ago) so you know I was overpaying the last few years. After a few discussions the past few weeks with a colleague and fellow photographer, I also decided to upgrade to WordPress blog software (for the new blog) and begin running the blog on my own server - meaning the "new" blog would be hosted on my server I'm paying for space on, and not hosted on a freebie like the Google / BlogSpot servers as I'd had for the last 5 years or so. So this post tonight can sort of officially be considered the first new post on the new blog... There's still quite a bit of back shop work to do here in the new WordPress software, but once everything here is moved over and rebuilt from the old blog to the new one with a slightly different theme (or design) it'll look and flow quite nicely. Thanks again for looking. Stay tuned and enjoy. "Cheers...!"
~cg.

You can view the new blog here: Chet Gordon • Photographer

"Giving Back..." (Part 2) Newburgh, NY 15•Feb.•12

(2) - During my lecture last night for the Hudson Valley Professional Photographer's Society at the Hilton Garden Inn in Newburgh, NY on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. (Photograph by Peter Salo)

"Giving Back..." Newburgh, NY 15•Feb.•12

I've been invited to speak at a dinner meeting of the Hudson Valley Professional Photographers Society of NY on Wednesday evening here in Newburgh, NY. Click HERE to access their site and newsletter. (click the newsletter link on their site to access the live links in the files posted below.) Looking forward to seeing some old friends and colleagues in the business, and making some new ones. Should be a fun night and an opportunity again to view my favorite images on a large screen, instead of hunched over in front of the Mac... ~cg.

Army - Navy Basketball (again). West Point, NY 11•Feb.•12

I've been quietly waiting a year to get back into Christl Arena at the United States Military Academy in West Point to work another Army - Navy basketball rivalry. Since I didn't have to opportunity to cover what would've been my fifth Army - Navy football game in FedEx Field last December in Washington, DC, I knew this assignment yesterday was going to be big. For the past few days I'd been playing out different scenarios in my head, and my mind's eye on how to go about covering another big basketball day with two games. Hauling in a full set of arena strobes was a given. (5) Five cameras bodies was also an easy item near the top of the checklist. (I work with four throughout the day.) Enough lenses ranging from a fish-eye to the 'long' 300mm f/2.8AF easily make the cut too. Besides, I'd worked last year's matchup between these two service academies, so I felt a little more comfortable knowing I had a good reference point for logistics in the venue, complete gear selection, shooting positions, strobing the arena again, and of course utilizing at least one remote camera. You can see last year's post on how I covered the games by clicking HERE. Arriving a little more than 3 hours before the start of the women's game at noon, meant at least 4 trips to the top rows of the empty arena to securely install the strobes in each corner. Since both games were on national TV, I hesitated in attempting to install a remote camera behind the backboard glass without a helper, and since the TV guys were still using a large ladder to install their audio equipment on both baskets, I decided not to waste too much time waiting for them and even dismissed the idea of installing a low angle remote camera on the backboard stanchion as I'd done last year. It'd have to be a remote camera from the stands with a telephoto zoom on this day (at right). My "ah-hah" moment didn't come until almost tip-off of the women's game at noon when a fellow photographer took his position on the floor nearby and asked, "Hey Chet, Where's your remote...?" I reminded myself that I'd already been in the building before 9AM... ~cg.

"My Day..." Middletown, NY. 09•Feb.•12

"...started before 4AM..."

Law enforcement officers outside a home on Eisenhower Drive in the Presidential Heights neighborhood during coordinated early morning raids on suspected gang members in MIddletown, NY on Thursday, February 9, 2012. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

"and the AP also moved this image on the wires this afternoon... ~cg"

"More Winners..." Feb. 2012

Kinda starting the year off right with a (small) announcement that an image of mine was awarded a second place (top) in the NPPA - MNCC (National Press Photographer's Association - Monthly News Clip Contest) for last October. The image that's come to be known around the office and with colleagues as "The kid with the cellphone..." has easily become a favorite of mine. I've explained that covering a fire (or any spot or even general news event) isn't only about photographing the actions unfolding right in front of you. Firefighters, cops, EMS personnel working a hectic scene, or even a "guy at a mic" (politicians and executives of any stature delivering a speech come to mind here) become the "locator" images or even the ones that will serve as an historical reference for later use. Editors live to see these straight ahead photographs. Images of burning buildings, twisted metal, and gurneys on the street just mean you got there in time at a breaking news event and made some timely pictures. Old school photographers know of the saying, "f/8 and be there..." when it comes to shooting spot news. Sometimes you have to walk around the building, scene, or even meeting room or lecture hall, and make it a point to change lenses, and just "see what's going on" away from the main action. Listen to neighbors or onlookers, because they may have "seen something" that you're not quite aware of yet. It also can't hurt if you hustle to a fire like this on your day off... ~cg.

Here's how the original looked with the complete caption info:

A boy uses a smartphone to photograph exposed flames burning through the rear of a 3 - story house during a three-alarm fire at 488 Liberty Street in Newburgh, NY on Sunday, October 23, 2011. Nearly a dozen people were left homeless after the fire erupted in the multi-family home when a resident was cooking in a second-floor apartment in the rear of the building. All the occupants got out safely and there were no injuries. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record