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.