It's always tough photographing a thought or idea if the final product has no physical presence. You can maybe shoot the by-product of the concept or the person working on the project, but sometimes it just will not prove to be an interesting image. This is a photo shot for the most recent RESULTS magazine about Dr. Mansoor Haider using "mathematical models to study how cartilage cells respond to different stresses and strains." After I got the old meat & potatoes photo, I decided to just shoot a clean head shot, with the idea in the back of my mind that I could do a "Beautiful Mind" treatment in Photoshop. I also shot Mansoor's monitor screen that showed the equation he constructed. I turned the yellow and blue words into black and white, making on template layer of the equation. From there I made multiple copies of the layered file, making some larger and some smaller to give the letters a sense of scale and distance from Mansoor's head. Of course, I needed to make each layer grow more and more out of focus as they "floated" further away from the main subject. The final effect was a look of Mansoor being surrounded by deep thought.
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Alumni magazine art director Molly Renda asked me to shoot a cover shot depicting the current budget crisis on campus by photographing a penny being squeezed by pliers. I grabbed a pair of pliers from the office tool box and proceeded to try and locate the shiniest new 2009 penny I could. I asked everyone in the office and the best we had was a shiny 2006. Using a rubber band to clinch the pliers shut on the penny, I then clamped the pliers to a light stand. One light on the white background, one umbrella light on the penny/pliers combo from the right and a white card reflector from the left was all that was needed. After shooting the 2006 shiny penny, I replaced it in the same lighting set-up with an older 1999 penny so my shadows would be the same. Using Photoshop, I took a nine from the 1999 penny and plopped it over the six on the shiny one to give me the needed 2009 date. Viola!

Here's how it ran in the magazine:

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Back when I was at The N&O, I photographed award-winning science fiction writer and NC State faculty member John Kessel in his home. I wanted to shoot something with a sci-fi feel but was limited in the way of props that told the story about John's book and other works. Since John had a fun personality and was willing to do something a little different, I asked him to peek over the top of his book. Traditionally, at that time, editors at The N&O preferred pictures of people that actually showed how the people look so I was taking a chance at hiding a good portion of John's face. His slightly arched eyebrow gave the image a whimsical touch and the blue gel I threw on the background of the living room added to the other-worldly feel. Having the title of the book large in the frame helped sell the image to the features editor and the photo ran as I had hoped.

Now fast forward to present day and my need to photograph John for the upcoming Chancellor's Annual Report. The previous image had always stuck with me, so I immediately thought of re-shooting John in the same way, just to compare. Shooting in his Tompkins Hall office, I tried to duplicate the lighting from memory. It was not until 10 minutes ago that I located my digital copy of The N&O version. I did a pretty decent job I think since I had seen the first one in probably a dozen or so years. It's interesting how well we can remember some things.


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At the end of the first Gulf War, many of the Marines based out of Camp Lejeune returned home by Navy ships. As the only N&O photographer that had access to free accommodations (my parents' beach house) down near Morehead City, I was given the assignment to cover the return of one ship in particular - the USS Raleigh. The ship was due in at sunrise, but before going to the port I decided to check out the beach at Fort Macon State Park first. Waiting there in the predawn glow on the beach was a huge gathering of supporters, spread up and down the shoreline. In the distance we could see the ship and as it steamed closer to Beaufort Inlet an older gentleman got out of his truck with an American flag. Just as the sun crested above Shackleford Banks the USS Raleigh glided by and the proud American waved his flag with gusto. I motored through his actions, trying to time his body or the flag as it blocked the sun. I knew I had the image I wanted as soon as I lowered my camera.

The story of the USS Raleigh continued for me that day when I was fortunate enough to be on the Raleigh's final journey home to Norfolk. Myself and several other local journalists spent the night on board as the ship made it's last cruise back to its home port. The Raleigh was soon decommissioned and sent to the scrap yard. But that's another blog for another day.

Thanks to all the military men and women that have served our great nation. We are a better country for all that you have done...
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In honor of the start of the season of hardwood action, I offer up one of my all-time favorite basketball photos. The Pack was playing Western Carolina in, what was at the time, the most awesome facility to shoot round ball ever : Reynold Coliseum. The lighting in Reynolds rocked, plain and simple. Right after the National Championship in 1983, the university invested in some great lights (for TV, of course) that lit the court up like a sunny summer day. The TARTAN® flooring acted liked a giant reflector, removing overly harsh shadows and adding some great fill light. While the yellowish hue from the floor sucked for color, it made for super black and white. Add to the fact that the awesome light from above dropped off just a few feet from court surface and photographers were treated to a clean, almost pure black background. No faces. No signs. No Clutter. Sweetness.
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This particular image of Chucky Brown and WCU player is by far, my all-time fave. With all the Final Fours, NCCA tournament, ACC tourneys and major games under my belt, this photo still tops them all. It's the peak action that makes it for me: both guys' hands at the exact same distance from the ball, their faces and Chucky's gum. As an Agromeck yearbook photographer, I never really had too many sports images appear in Technician, the student newspaper, because they had their own staff of shooters (this was back when there were separate photos staffs between the two). But that particular non-conference game, the Technician shooter was a rookie without college basketball experience. When the sports editor saw this image, he asked if they could run it and they did - four columns on the front page.
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I will also always remember this photo fondly because of a portfolio review session I had at the Southern Short Course that year. The late, great Washington Post sports photo legend Richard Darcey was kicked back out in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Woodlawn, looking at slides for shooters in search of guidance and wisdom. He takes my sheet of slides and scans quickly over the 20 chromes. His eyes keep coming back to one image in particular. "Let me ask you something," Darcey said to me. "Why do you have so many basketball photos?" (I had something like five). "Because I want to be a sports photographer and I'm trying to show that I can shoot basketb..." and before I could finish, Darcey interrupted "Son, you just need one. This one." he said pointing to the Chucky photo. "This one image tells me you can shoot some action. This is one of the best basketball photos I have ever seen." And with that, I floated away.
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Some days shooting are better than others. Today was one of those "better" days. Is there any greater way to spend a few hours working than driving around on a golf cart on a beautiful golf course on a beautiful fall day taking photos? The leaves were better in some areas of the course than others, so I'll probably go back again next week in the late afternoon when the greener trees have changed and to get different holes from other angles. Bonus on a day like this is the benefit of being on the links and not getting frustrated with poor golf play. No bogeys for me today, only sweet images.
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This one of those moments in photography that I like to refer to as "gravy." Whenever a shooter gets an assignment, the first rule of thumb is to get the "meat and potatoes" before anything else. You shoot what the editor requests and then when that's secured you shoot what you want. If the subject is willing, you play around and see what happens. In this case (shooting for the Alumni magazine), I was shooting a researcher at ABB on Centennial Campus with a new petroleum product that would be used in transformers and was not as volatile. I shot the usual posed shot of him holding the vessel with transformer in the background. I noticed his tie was enlarged within the liquid and after I got the main photo, I asked him to look through the beaker. Viola! His eye enlarged and I knew I had the photo I wanted. To my pleasant surprise, the magazine ran the unusual image instead. And the rest, as they say, is gravy...
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I used to love shooting Wolfpack baseball games back when I was in school. Nothing like a sunny Spring day, a package of salted peanuts, an ice cold Mountain Dew and shooting America's game. This image is one in a series in which these players make an awesome catch. From what I remember, the second baseman bobbles the catch with his glove; reaches for it with his bare hand (this frame); misses; the right fielder backing him up dives and ultimately makes the catch. I'll see if I can locate the contact sheet and post a scan here of the series.
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Here's the downtown Raleigh skyline photo I shot yesterday afternoon at dusk. Overcast, rainy conditions were nearly perfect for this kind of image. The late afternoon bluish hue in the rain clouds made for just enough separation between the buildings and sky - and the damp streets gave a nice glow from the streetlights and auto lights. I was really pleased with this shot, despite the miserably cold rain and the occasional obnoxious honking motorist. This was the last frame shot of the night.
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The North Carolina State Fair starts tomorrow, so I figured I would let today's image be from the Midway. I have been shooting the State Fair now for 25 years and seen my fair share of nice sunsets and other various pretty photos, but this shot stands out from the rest. The tonality from sinking sun to the midway and ride lights is what makes the image sing.
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This photo's existence is courtesy of Photoshop. Jim Valvano was quite probably the best coach I ever photographed. He was always up, always haranguing the officials, always yelling at his players and always calling the shots. Sending in play "number 2," coach inadvertently flashed what would eventually become a pair of trademark "Vs." Shot from the upper deck of Reynolds Coliseum during the 1983 season (the year of the Wolfpack's Cinderella run to win the National Championship), the film that this was shot on was improperly processed, leaving a streak across Jimmy V's arms. In the darkroom, the image was totally unusable and beyond any attempt at printing. Fast forward to modern times (negative scanners and Photoshop) - and viola! - we have rescued an image that turned out to be iconic of the man himself and a best seller for Replay Photos.
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President Obama spent his final primary hours campaigning against Sen. Hillary Clinton on campus in Reynolds Coliseum. I usually try to keep my political shots localized, meaning I want my viewer to know where the photo is taken. While this particular shot does not read where he is and could have been taken anywhere, I like the American flag background because there was no good signage that said "NC State"and a flag backdrop is better than anything else. Prior to his addressing the huge crowd, I was fortunate enough to meet and shake hands with him and the First Lady in the basketball offices downstairs - one of the nice perks of the job.
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How cool is this? Found this photo online from the U2 concert with me shooting The Edge and Adam Clayton...
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There are only so many ways to photograph an inanimate object and keep it interesting. These shots of the Alumni Gateway on Western Blvd. is one several campus icons that people want to use photos of, but don't want to use an image that's been over-used. So I've had to constantly be looking at the Gateway to try and capture something different. Thankfully the metal structure sits next to my office. These are four of my favorites. The black & white was shot on film with a "toy" camera called a Lomo. The others are digital images. The difference between them is angle and/or cloud conditions. Not much else you can do, so it's a challenge. Coming soon: 300 different ways to photograph the Belltower...
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This is probably one of my favorite all-time photos shot while here at NC State. Year before last, I went with a group of Student Leadership, Ethics & Public Service (CSLEPS) students to the Dominican Republic for Alternative Service Break. ASB takes place during breaks from school (Spring, Fall, Winter, etc.) and students travel the globe providing service to those in need. In this case, our students built homes for Habitat for Humanity in the town of Nagua, on the north side of the island. While our students shoveled sand and poured concrete, two sisters walked up and watched a new home being built before their eyes. There's a sense of comfort in the hand holding and a feeling of "everything's going to be alright" from the loving gesture. Instead of heading to the beach for their Spring Break, these students sweated and bent and lifted and toiled in the Caribbean sun for a reason - and that reason stands holding hands, watching.

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When shooting for News Services, you never know where your photos will turn up. This is a "heart cart" designed at NC State to keep a pig heart beating so researchers can test the beating organ without using a live pig. What a wild sight. This image was chosen as Popular Science magazine's "Must-See Photo of the Month."
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. .Here are a few shots of Bono and the boys from the U2 concert at Carter-Finley Stadium...

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This unique angle of the Memorial Belltower is courtesy of a lightning strike during a thunderstorm - and Charlie Leffler. A bolt tagged the top of the tower, sending a huge chuck of granite earthward and facilities had to fix it asap. With the use of two huge cranes, workers repaired the damage and even had a little time to give me a ride to the top (with a little coaxing from Charlie). I rode up with them the day after the storm to shoot the damage and the work being done. That was a seriously windy day that had the bucket swinging big-time. Not a place to be for the timid, fear-of-heights kind of person.

This particular shot was made at 7am the day after they fixed the main problem and were returning to do some needed roof work. This single image is actually six photos stitched together to get the panorama look.

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Legendary golfer Arnold Palmer tees off at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course. His company designed the course and he ceremoniously teed off to inaugurate the first "inside the beltline" golf course to be built in 60 years. I shot this while lying in the grass shooting an inverted "Hail Mary." Mr. Palmer signed an 11x14 for me and it hangs over my desk.