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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