Event
University of New Mexico and New Mexico State have a rivalry called the Rio Grande Rivalry. To prepare for that big in-state collegiate football matchup, UNM holds the Red Rally where a towering NMS Aggie mascot gets burned, and burned for a long time!
Read MoreI was hired by Modern Promos out of Minnesota to photograph an event here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sprint was offering customers a free Kona Ice frozen treat. I arrived in the middle of the afternoon desert heat and sun to meet Franky in the Kona Ice truck wondering if anyone would show up on such a Friday afternoon? After a slow start, some people did start to come and some were very excited as you can see above!
Read MoreThe Remax ribbon cutting event in Rio Rancho was the first event I attended as an official member of the ABQWest Chamber of Commerce and the first to photograph with my awesome new Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC lens! I needed that ultra-wide lens to get everyone in frame in that tight space (had not much room to back up myself). Then it's just timing the ribbon cutting just right!
Read MoreSince coming to SW Florida, I have not had a chance to attend a supercar event in over a year. There are not as many here as there were in Tampa Bay. Fortunately, Naples Motorfest 2016 was on a Saturday morning I had free and Dona of Luxe Fashion Group once again allowed me to attend and photograph the exotic cars on display. This allowed me to see for the first time the Lamborghini Aventador SV (above) in a standout blue color with SV graphics on the rear quarterpanel. This car had tremendous presence and was drawing the most attention of any supercar there by far.
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Guests arrive to pose in front of the new Jaguar F-Type at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg event photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly
The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg was host to an event put on by Crown Jaguar for guests to come and see some of its cars, including the stunning new Jaguar F-Type Coupe (see above). This was my second time working for Crown, as I photographed the Audi A3 premiere event back in April too. This time they hired me to photograph all the guests as they arrived in front of a F-Type. This was my first time doing this kind of arrival portrait photography actually. The shooting began just before sunset so early arriving guests got a colorful background like in the above portrait. Soon night came and the background became just a few distant lights.
My setup for making guest arrival portraits a speedlight in each broody and my camera tripod mounted so I got the exact same framing and background for each shot - photo made by iPhone 6
This was my setup for all the portraits. My camera was on a tripod so every shot was in the same framing. I advised people to stand in front of the front wheel of the Jaguar F-Type Coupe to further insure similar photo results. I had two speedlights each in a brolly and kept the one to frame left constant, but as night fell moved the one to frame right to also light the car more. Unfortunately, the provided lighting for the car was not very bright at all. I compensated for that by moving one speedlight and tweaking a few camera settings. I ended up pleased with the results of night portraits using just two speedlights with a large background object (the car).
Some guests at the Crown Jaguar F-Type Dali Museum event arrived in costume - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/60th - tripod mounted with cable release - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly
Some guests wore costumes as Halloween was just three days away. It was interesting to look up and see who might appear before my lense each shot. Many people joked asking if this photo was their opportunity to win the car or something like that. I only ever replied simply, "umm, no."
From dusk to night shooting guests arriving in front of the Jaguar F-Type at the Dali Museum St. Petersburg Event Photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/30th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly
The Jaguar F-Type Coupe received universal praise for its looks by everyone. As of the time of shooting, Crown Jaguar did have this particular F-Type for sale!
The Jaguar F-Type coupe made for a stunning backdrop for portraits at the Crown Jaguar Dali Museum in St. Petersburg - event photography - Nikon D300 tripod mounted with cable release Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 320 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 & SB-600 both in brolly
It was a fun and challenging evening of photography, my favorite kind, and I got to stare at a beautiful car the whole time too. Two Crown Jaguar employees helped make sure each guest would receive their print of the photos I made by writing down the photo number as I shot, thank you ladies!
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Kool & the Gang horn playing at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D90 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 1250 1/200th
Concluding the festivities at the PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball at the Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida was a performance by Kool & the Gang. This gave me an opportunity for live concert photography after several hours of general candid event photography.
Kool & the Gang rocked the small stage at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/30th
They played over an hour set of their hits making it seem like it was the 1970s, even asking the crowd, what were you doing in the 70s? Many in attendance were similar in age to the band so they could very well have been dancing to Kool & the Gang back then at one of their first concerts.
Kool & the Gang still have dance moves on stage at Vinoy Resort PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 1600 1/100th
Kool & the Gang still had all their trademark dance moves and seemed to hold nothing back jumping in the air, cavorting around the stage and giving a max energy performance for those attending the PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball.
Kool & the Gang still feeling it during Vinoy Resort performance St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D90 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/2.8 ISO 1600 1/320th
I used a variety of lenses to get different shots of the members of Kool & the Gang. It was not really possible to get right in front of the stage due to the crowd and lack of barrier between them and the stage, so I mostly shot from the sides.
Kool & the Gang reflective moment on stage PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/500th
There was pretty good lighting during the concert which I tried to use as best as possible to enhance the concert photographs I made.
Kool & the Gang bathed in sapphire light during PARC 45th Sapphire Ball concert at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/320th
This low sapphire lighting seemed to glow like a fog on stage, a very cool effect.
Kool & the Gang taking it to heart performing at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Florida Concert Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 1600 1/200th
I kept wondering where one can get a Kool & the Gang style sequin animal print shirt? Is there like a 70s rock star store one can go to? Are they custom made? Do they travel with hundreds in a case?
The crowd was very into it as Kool & the Gang performed at PARC 45th Sapphire Ball Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ 5.6 ISO 800 1/25th SB-800 speedlight hotshoe mounted
Though many in the crowd matched or surpassed the ages of Kool & the Gang, the dance floor was packed and they were getting down on it, celebrating and keeping it too hot.
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Welcoming guests at PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedPhotography often puts me into places I would otherwise never be. Such was the case Saturday when I went to the Vinoy Resort in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida to photograph an event -- PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball. Somehow the "black tie" part eluded my mind so I was surprised to see everyone that dressed up when I arrived at the Vinoy!
Inside the Vinoy Resort showing why this was the Sapphire Ball for PARC 45th annual black tie event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 4 sec tripod mounted with cable releasePeople were not the only ones all dressed up, the ballroom in the Vinoy Resort was as well reflecting the Sapphire Ball theme. The chairs especially stoodout to me with their shape and striking sapphire blue covering including a sparkling diamond circle on the back. I made this shot when I first arrived before the guests were allowed in. Since I used a tripod and wanted to focus on the decorations, it was necessary to start with this type of shot first when photographing the event. For sure the ballroom did not look like this by the time 11pm came around and Kool & the Gang had the place jumping!
Candid event photography before the PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedAfter photographing the ballroom and some other outside establishing shots, I put away my tripod and went more mobile photographing the guests mingling out in the lobby. I walked right into this scene and had my camera ready to catch this amusing reaction shot.
Encouraging high bidders during a charity auction for PARC at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Event Photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedWhile dinner was being served, several items were auctioned off from charity ranging from a week vacation at a house on a private island to a custom diamond ring. Many items went for over $5,000!
Gayle Guyardo was an electric presence at PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball event at Vinoy Resort St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D90 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th SB-600 speedlight hotshoe mountedFor many years I have kind of had a crush on Gayle Guyardo. It was a very pleasant surprise to find out she would be presenting the winners of the Magnetic Man award at the event. Seeing her in person only further strengthened the crush!
Mike Alstott accepts the Magnetic Man award at PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Event - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedAnother surprise was seeing former Tampa Bay Buccaneers great Mike Alstott. He still looked like he could step onto the football field and play this Sunday! He received the first of thirteen Magnetic Man awards.
Kool & the Gang perform at PARC 45th Annual Black Tie Sapphire Ball St. Petersburg Florida event photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/30th SB-800 hotshoe mountedOnce the awards were handed out and the auctions ended, Kool & the Gang took the stage and played a very enthusiastic set. I am always impressed when artists can do this and make it seem like it's the biggest show they have ever done. More shots from their performance to come in another blog post.
Photographing this event for PARC was exciting and a chance to have an evening I definitely would never have experienced otherwise. Thank you Susan and Kelli!
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