The G.O.A.T
Recently I was asked to photograph Jerry Rice, a retired San Francisco 49er wide receiver, NFL Hall of Famer, and one of the athletes that I watched growing up. I have a great friend Stephanie Suddarth who is now the general manager of his energy drink company called G.O.A.T. fuel (Greatest of All Time).
As a photographer, we meet many different people from business owners and tradesmen to athletes and actors.
Jerry Rice, Retired San Francisco 49er wide receiver and NFL Hall of Famer.
Recently I was asked to photograph Jerry Rice, a retired San Francisco 49er wide receiver, NFL Hall of Famer, and one of the athletes that I watched growing up. I have a great friend Stephanie Suddarth who is now the general manager of his energy drink company called G.O.A.T. fuel (Greatest of All Time). His daughter is the president. I was asked to travel to the Bay Area to make some marketing and PR images of Jerry for social media usage. So I spent Thursday evening and Saturday morning photographing him during various activities.
During the Saturday morning session, I was able to shoot individual images of him.
Saturday's location was a brand new hotel in Silicon Valley. When I arrived I scouted out a gray area in the parking garage that I could use to make my portraits. As the morning progressed and I was photographing the various events, Jerry turned and said, “Hey, let's do those images now. I have 20 minutes before I have to leave.” Thank goodness I had scouted out my spot and planned out what I wanted to do. My assistant Skip and I hurried over and set up five portrait scenarios in about eight minutes. Jerry came over, and we were able to make about 200 images in 12 minutes. All the scenarios except for one worked out.
This is the area I scouted when we arrived. Having Skip as my assistant sets my mind at ease. He is so good at what he does.
After we finished, I shared the story with Jerry about how my father had a personalized license plate that said RICEDAY. I kept them after my father's passing and have had them in the garage for years. I brought them to show Jerry and he was happy to sign them. They will make for some good conversation pieces.
My dad and I watched the 49ers for decades, his license plates are a testament to it.
One of the takeaways from the assignment is to know your gear and have a plan going into a shoot. Be ready to go. If I had tried things I hadn't done or wasn't comfortable with my equipment, it could've been a disaster.
Lana
I had a special treat this month and photographed an individual I photographed a few years ago as a model. She has transformed into an actress. Lana is a gorgeous actor out of the bay area.
I had a special treat this month and photographed an individual I photographed a few years ago as a model. She has transformed into an actress. Lana is a gorgeous actor out of the bay area.
I'm so pleased with what we made with the help of Ernesto makeup artist. There's a difference between posing as just a beautiful face and giving emotional content to the photographer. Lana did an excellent job giving me a tremendous amount of variety. It's so motivational when you get that kind of effort on the other side of the camera.
We started the day with a discussion and a plan of attack that we want to accomplish. With the help of Ernesto, we knocked out the locks, and I was able to match the lighting to the style of each look.
I typically have a plan on most shoots, even if it's a simple as lens selection. But with the best-laid plans, you have to be willing to alter or change direction quickly as opportunities or images present themselves. I feel it's like making a cake. I know all the ingredients, but I'm not sure how I will combine them in the end. Many photographers stick to a very rigid game plan, and I haven't found that it works for me. Being fluid and taking cues from your subject on the direction and look is what got me to where I am.
Sacramento magazine may cover shoot
I was very excited to get the assignment to make the May 2021 cover for Sacramento magazine. This one presented different challenges that I've dealt with in the past. A majority of the images I made were with my drone. Some of the locations required me to ride my mountain bike, which presented a set of physical challenges I wasn't quite in shape for.
I'm no stranger to riding, but it's been quite a few years since I've been off-road with my bike.
I put together a small kit to take to the different locations that consisted of my drone, three extra batteries, and, just in case, my Nikon Z6 with a 24 to 70mm. Gabe, the art director, joined me on a few of the shoots. It was great having him along to ensure the images I was making were what he needed.
Going into all these locations around the area reminds me of what great outdoor activities we have in this region.
Amanda
Recently, I made a trip to Los Angeles to visit and photograph my friend Amanda. Since I began photographing Amanda in 2011, she has become a very close friend and an incredible model.
Recently, I made a trip to Los Angeles to visit and photograph my friend Amanda. Since I began photographing Amanda in 2011, she has become a very close friend and an incredible model.
There has been a steady transformation from our first shoot until now. She's always had something special about her that was very evident from the beginning. Through all her significant life changes, Amanda has stayed grounded while maintaining an infectiously positive attitude. I was honored to create some images in this next chapter of her life as a new mother to a beautiful baby girl Nakano and wife to the talented actor Wilmer Valderrama.
I was fortunate to have my good friend and photographer Skip and the amazing make-up artist Ernesto on this shoot. Having a talented crew makes the difference between a good image and a great image. Working with somebody like Ernesto for make-up has transformed my images and pushed my work to the next level. Skip is much more than an assistant; his extra pair of eyes and collaboration frees me to focus on the moment, knowing everything else will be handled. Amanda and Ernesto have worked together several times, and he knows her style and always has outstanding ideas when working with her. I'm so fortunate to have Skip and Ernesto along, and I couldn't have done it without them.
Real Life Super Hero
Recently, I had the pleasure of spending time with and photographing Kawa Mawlayee ( @kawa_m_official ). He has an extremely hectic schedule managing an online retailer, "The MUSA store", tactical and combat training with Alpha Training Group and Musa, military-technical advisors for the entertainment industry. I was honored to be able to have him fit me into that schedule.
Recently, I had the pleasure of spending time with and photographing Kawa Mawlayee ( @kawa_m_official ). He has an extremely hectic schedule managing an online retailer, "The MUSA store", advanced firearms and tactics company 2Alpha Training Group and Musa Consulting, military-technical advisors. I was honored to be able to have him fit me into that schedule.
Kawa is a US Army Green Beret and a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Kawa has had numerous deployments as a Marine Infantryman, is a member of the Army Special Operations community, and has served in several combat theaters and conflict zones.
This training course I was able to photograph was about close-quarters pistol training. It was very impressive to watch him train and work with the students. The level of mastery of his technique it's something to watch.
One of his many sponsorships is from Cobalt Kinetics. They are known for their premium AR-style rifles, packed with features to help shooters reach their potential and perform their best.
Gear used:
Nikon Z6
Sigma 85mm
Phottix Indra 500’s
Special thanks to my right-hand Skip I could have done it without you!
Is that a flashlight in your hand?
or many years now I've been using alternate sources of light in my photography most notably flashlights.
It started many years ago while walking down the isles in Costco and I came across one of the first reasonably priced LED flashlights after asking permission my wife allowed me to add it to the basket. I consider this one of my first evolutions in lighting. At first I just kept the lights in my bag in case I needed it. Finally one day on a portrait shoot I pulled it out to see what I could do and was very surprised by the power and how the color temperature was very close to daylight. For the next several years I continued exploring this style of lighting. Fast forward to today and it's like we're in the golden age of lighting. LED flashlights are so powerful and inexpensive that they found a permanent place in my lighting kit. Recently I've been using flashlights made by “O Light” they have an extensive variety of lights on their website, if you're into flashlights it's worth checking out.
For many years now, I've been using alternate sources of light in my photography, most notably flashlights.
It started many years ago while walking down the isles in Costco when I came across one of the first reasonably priced LED flashlights; after asking permission, my wife allowed me to add it to the basket.
I consider this one of my first evolutions in lighting. At first, I just kept the lights in my bag in case I needed it. Finally, one day on a portrait shoot, I pulled it out to see what I could do and was very surprised by the power and how the color temperature was very close to daylight. For the next several years, I continued exploring this style of lighting. Fast forward to today, and it's like we're in the golden age of illumination. LED flashlights are so powerful and inexpensive. They have found a permanent place in my lighting kit. I recently started using flashlights made by a company named "O Light" they have a wide variety of lights on their website. If you're into flashlights, it's worth checking out.
Thanks for the BTS skip!
Marauder 2 by O Light
The flashlight I used on this particular day was the Marauder 2. Some of the crazy stats are an 800-meter spotlight beam from the central LED and a 14000-lumen floodlight beam from 12 surrounding LEDs.
An intuitive rotary knob switch to turn on the light and circle through 7 output levels.
It's undoubtedly an impressive light.
For this shoot, I spent the afternoon with my good friend Morgan, she and I have worked together quite a few times, and I always enjoy our sessions together. The goal for the shoot was to walk and find the light. The camera I'm using is a Nikon Z6 II with a sigma 35 mm 1.4 lens. I could talk extensively about how much I love that lens, but I'll save that for another time.
Below are my results in using the flashlight as the main light and the sun as a backlight.
ISO 50 • 1/640 • f 3.5
I found the color temperature pleasing, and it only required a little white balance adjustment to bring it back to daylight.
ISO 50 • 1/320 • f 3.5
I'm going to test some other flashlights from O Light soon, and I'll be sure and share the results with you all.
ISO 50 • 1/320 • f 3.5
Top Doc
I am excited to wrap up the year with another cover for Sacramento magazine.
The assignment was for the "Top Doc" December issue.
Dr. Christopher Bayne
I am excited to wrap up the year with another cover for Sacramento magazine.
The assignment was for the "Top Doc" December issue.
The assignment on this one was to photograph two doctors, one for the cover and one for the inside. As always, Gabriel gave me good parameters to go on but left the lighting and treatment up to me.
Working on my inspiration, I looked to one of my favorite photographers Dan Winters. I love his lighting style and treatment. After I settled in on what I was going to do, I did a few lighting tests with my son Ethan. I am pleased with how it worked out.
Ethan Engle
For the two portraits, I had to have Covid compliance. I put my set in the studio's opening to minimize the need to come too far inside. It's definitely an advantage to have a large rollup door at the studio.
The final lighting set up was between two and three lights for each shot. I didn't need to light the whole body, so I was able to use smaller modifiers.
Dr. Laura Kester
This is another image of Gabriel that was a test before the doctors arrived.
Gabriel Teague
I can't emphasize enough the power in testing and working with your stuff before the actual shoot. The last thing I want to do is be messing with my lights while I'm trying to connect with my subject. All of the tech parts need to be out of your way before you push the button.