Event

Ribbon Cutting Event with Mayor Bill Foster at Office Depot

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St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster (3rd from left) helps with a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new Office Depot on 34th Street NOn Tuesday I was able to continue my great photography relationship with Office Depot in St. Petersburg by photographing a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new store on 34th Street North.  This was also another chance to photograph St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster helping cut the ribbon on a new local business.  I am starting to get familiar with who in the local government attends these events, like Council Chair Leslie Curran (4th from right) and Council Member Bill Dudley (5th from right).  

Office Depot handed out "big checks" to several local non-profit groups and donated 200 backpacks for school children.After I photographed my first Office Depot event in December I realized how a large corporation like Office Depot actually reaches out to be a helpful member of the local community by investing in local non-profits through donations of both cash and goods.  They continued this custom handing out three more checks and 200 backpacks filled with school supplies to be given to local school children.  Being able to photograph and be a part of an event like this is a satisfying experience.  Office Depot has earned my business, which is mostly the purchase of printer ink, but still, in my mind through their charity work they have established a very positive image.  It was also my second time to meet some of the regional management and they remembered me as well.  I hope to continue to be able to photograph future Office Depot events showcasing their community work and new stores.

Office Depot Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Event St. Petersburg Florida

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Event for a new Office Depot location in St. Petersburg - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 800 1/60th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted @ 1/4 powerI have a new respect for Office Depot after photographing their ribbon cutting ceremony for their new location on 40th Ave NE in St. Petersburg.  Not only did they help support a local business by hiring me to photograph the event, they also took this opportunity to give to local businesses doing community work.

Nothing like being handed a big check! Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 800 1/60th Nikon SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted @ 1/4 powerPhotographing an event like this is pretty straight forward and I was provided an excellent shot list and agenda by the home office.  When big checks are in shots, they can tend to act like reflectors and being more blown out than any other subject in the shot.  I balanced the exposure of the check itself in the above shop by selecting just the check in Photoshop CS5 and then adjusting the highlights until it matched more with the rest of the image.  This also makes the red in the check look a more true, deep red instead of a light pinkish red.

St. Pete TV was there filming the event and interviewing Office Depot managers and other VIPsI really like photographing ribbon cutting events because the atmosphere is celebratory, I am always trying to top my previous ribbon cutting action shots and there are often great cookies or other treats up for grabs.  I look forward to continuing my business relationship with Office Depot and using them as a customer for my printer ink needs as they are located very close to my neighborhood.

Carnival rides motion blur at night St. Raphael Festival Snell Isle Florida

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Carnival rides intersecting motion blur - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable release

I feel lucky to live just a few hundred yards from a field that is home to an annual carnival.  Where do the come from?  Where do they go?  I do not know.  For three days and two nights they bring their rides, their prizes and their deep fried Oreos (delicious!) and delight this small island community.

Concentric circles ferris wheel motion blur - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/16 ISO 200 15 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable releaseYet, the cost of enjoying the carnival to its fullest is too expensive for me.  Each ride is about $5.  There is the option of buying an unlimted ride pass for . . . $30.  I did not go on a single ride.  Each food item, likewise, is basically $5 or more.  I could not resist a huge sign declaring, "DEEP FRIED OREOS."  They were not what I expected.  Basically funnel cake batter surrouned a very warm Orea cookie that loses all of its crunch in the frying process so it warmly dissolves in your mouth leaving the familiar Oreo aftertaste.  If they were not $1 a bite, I would have eaten ten!

Fiery Ferris Wheel reflection - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/16 ISO 200 5 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable releaseSince I could not enjoy the carnival in its intended purposes, I instead had to appreciate it only for its night photography opportunities, of which there were many.  I stood at the east edge of my apartment complex in complete darkness before my tripod pointing my lens at the lights just across the water.  I felt like an astronaut observing an alien world.  Mine was dark and silent, theirs filled with dazzling light and laughter.

 The time machine conductor - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable releaseThe pilot of the ferris wheel remains stoic as carriage after carriage passes through time and space.  Who knows what speed they pass by?  

like a spool of colorful thread - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable releaseYet the ferris wheel almost seems a snail in comparison to this machine which lifts its subjects into the night sky spinning so fast that one appears to be a constant at once everywhere and only there.  

Night Over Carnival motion blur - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/16 ISO 200 25 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable releaseSurely when one visits Mars the view from outside of town mirrors the one above.  Hopefully they have deep fried Oreos on Mars as well.

Ride first, eat second - Nikon D300 with Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable releaseIn the warped world of the carnival, food is the only constant.  Everything else flirts between dimensions.

Tilt A Whirl motion blur - Nikon D300 with Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/16 ISO 200 15 sec mounted on Induro CT214 tripod with cable releaseHaving no Martian technology the semi truck in silhouette is like the octogenarian observing the child with today's digital devices removing one from the present.  For me, I will remain with the truck on the outside, as always only the observer.

St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster Ribbon Cutting at VIP Eye Care

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St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster helping Dr. Mona Henri with the ribbon cutting for her boutique's new location.This morning was my fourth opportunity to photograph St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster at a ribbon cutting for a local business.  VIP Eye Care has been my source for contact lenses since moving back to Florida 2.75 years ago.  I chose Dr. Henri's (in red above) eye care facility because I wanted to support a fellow independent St. Pete business rather than a chain with outlets across the country.  As you would expect, the service is great and Dr. Henri's eye exams are actually kind of fun.

Warning, looking closer may cause sticker shock! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th with Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 +2/3 power hotshoe mountedMost of the times I visit VIP Eye Care I am just in and out to pickup my contact lenses.  At the ribbon cutting this morning I had a chance to browse the many designer brands of eyeglasses on display.  Now, I have been a loyal Oakley man since I was 16 years old, so I am accustomed to paying a not insignificant sum for eyewear.  However, Oakley provides "thermonuclear protection" which I absolutely believe in.  Thus, $300 to $400 sticker prices for just an empty pair of frames was shocking to me!  At least the ones for $400 were made of carbon fiber!

Candid Mayor Bill Foster trying on a pair of square lenses at VIP Eye Care in St. Petersburg FloridaMayor Foster declared himself as a person who really loves wearing glasses having no interest in lasic surgery or contact lenses.  I liked that.  You do not often hear people being proud to wear glasses, although I think it has gotten a lot cooler to do so in the past few years compared to when I was a kid.  

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Candid Birthday Party Photography Tampa St. Petersburg Clearwater Florida

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Numis Network 2011 Annual Meeting Grand Hyatt Tampa Event Photography

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Ray Higdon is the top earner at Numis - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 @ 1/4 on hotshoe - Tampa event photography

Numis Network is a company that sells coins.  I had never heard of them when they booked me less than a week before their annual meeting at the Grand Hyatt in Tampa.  I was expecting a somber affair with lots of dry talk about the details of the coin industry.  However, in the two days (over 16 hours of photography) I was photographing the event the energy level was more like a rock concert rather than a business event.

Numis reps from all over North America in Grand Hyatt lobby - f/5.6 ISO 400 1/40th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - Tampa event photographyI arrived at the Grand Hyatt Tampa on a Friday at 5pm, and luckily there was not yet much traffic over the Howard Franklin Bridge.  There were so many people it was hard to get a shot at crowd level so I used a staircase to get some air and the above wide shot of the gathering crowd of reps from all over North America.  Numis headquarters is in Tampa though. 

Numis Network 2011 annual meeting MC Matt - f/2.8 1/100th ISO 800 SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - Tampa event photographyMatt, also a Numis executive, MCed the entire event and understandably was getting a little horse in the voice by late Saturday night.  I learned that he has had his mustache for thirty years.  I have had mine for less than half that time.  I also sat at his table for (a brief) dinner break Saturday evening.  

Jake Kevorkian speaking at 2011 Numis Network annual meeting - f/4 ISO 800 1/100th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - Grand Hyatt Tampa even photographyThe founders of the company frequently took the stage, largely to thank all the reps for their support and promising that the company is only just going to get bigger and better, as well as introducing some new product lines and vacation bonuses.  The crowd seemed to hang on every word of every speaker and there were frequent shout outs.  

Grand Hyatt Tampa event hall - f/4 ISO 800 1/20th SB-800 @ 1/4 hotshoe mounted - Tampa event photographyTo be able to light up the large hall in the Grand Hyatt housing the event stage I had to use some really slow shutter speeds, like 1/20th of a second in the above shot.  There was not a wall or anything to brace myself against so I had to use my most steady shooting technique and really control my breathing.  At this event I used the slowest shutter speeds yet and was still able to produce satisfyingly sharp enough shots.

Distinguished Numis Annual Meeting Award Winners - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 @ 1/4 hotshoe mounted - Tampa event photographyThe whole 2-day event ended with a (long) awards ceremony where it seemed like everyone in attendance had a chance to hear their name read out loud and to go up on stage.  In fact, the ceremony ended over one and a half hours late!  Imagine if the OSCARS dared do that!  From the above shot you would also have no idea that by this time I was having to battle with dozens of people with camera phones trying to get shots of the people on stage.  It was not a battle I won.  Even though I was standing on a chair for this shot, it was still hard to make sure no random cell phone holding arm was thrust into frame.  

This event was the first time for me to really use my Black Rapid RS-Sport strap which I will be writing a formal review of with photos soon.  However, I can state that even after 16 hours+ of shooting I felt zero shoulder fatigue hoisting a D300 with an 80-200mm f/2.8 lens and 17-50mm f/2.8 lens also with a SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted.
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    • 1st Birthday Party for Brooks - St. Petersburg Birthday Party Photographer

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    1st Birthday Party Nemo balloon chase! - f/2.2 ISO 400 1/400th SB-600 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - St. Petersburg

    One of the most significant birthdays of one's life, the first, is one that is impossible to remember.  Thus, 1st birthday party photographs provide a significant visual window for those curious to see what theme their parents chose for such an important day.  Sitting here now I cannot recall what mine was, and I do not have any photographs nearby to remind me.  The theme for Brooks' party was FINDING NEMO related.  How easy or difficult will it be for him to remember that when he is 36 years old?  I wonder . . .

    1st birthday cupcake smash - f/5.6 ISO 200 1/80th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - St. PetersburgI have spent a very limited amount of time around babies having none myself and always living far from relatives.  I was aware though that babies seem to have a hard time putting an optimal amount of food into their mouths.  In this case, in Brooks' defense, he was given no fork so frosting covered fingers are perfectly understandable.  This solved some of the mystery surrounding babies eating abilities for me.  

    custom underwater cake - f/4 ISO 400 1/200th SB-600 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - St. PetersburgNow this cake remained pristine the entire 90-minutes I was in Brooks' home shooting.  That also means, unfortunately, I never got to taste it myself.  Therefore, I cannot vouch for its flavor.  

    Brooks chewing his mom's necklace - f/4 ISO 400 1/100th SB-600 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - St. PetersburgNow, I do know why babies put everything into their mouths thanks to a college professor who in addition to the subject he taught, was also extremely knowledgeable on baby behavior.  Babies put things into their mouths for a very simple reason, the nerve endings inside their mouths are fairly well developed from birth, but the ones in their fingers are not.  So what sensory data adults can get with fingertips, babies need to mouth to find out.

    emerging from the deep! - f/5.6 ISO 400 1/800th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mounted - St. PetersburgThe challenge of photographing this birthday party was largely due to going indoors and outdoors repeatedly.  This meant a whole sale change of settings and use of flash, on two cameras!  This is why I tell my DSLR photo students they need to be able to change all their settings in under five seconds if they want to start doing paid photography work.  

    It was a fun afternoon photographing Brooks on day 365 for him. 
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