Last month I finished up the chancellor's annual report and I really wanted to share my experience using chroma-key on this project. The designer preferred I wait until the printed piece has been distributed. Well, the book is out and I can now show and tell. We needed a photo to represent a story about an alumnus that won a Disney competition involving the engineering design of Soarin' Over California at Epcot and how she recently helped a group of NC State students win high Disney honors in another Imagineering design competition. The story is about about creativity so we wanted an image that spoke to the heart of the story, not just a group photo or portrait - so the idea of a student wearing Mickey Mouse ears while flying over a California landmark was hatched. Chroma-key has been around for a long time in the video world and it's use is beginning to take hold in the still world. Affordable software had been the hold up as far as I was concerned, but I stumbled across PhotoKey and was blown away by how simple it was to use. I tried out the demo and immediately purchased within 5 minutes. You can't beat $109 for something that can cut hours off a project work time. Wow.

We have a green screen wall in Studio A of the Creative Services TV Studio (where I learned chroma-key usage in television production classes back when I was an undergrad here), so I was able to use it for testing and the final shot. I borrowed one of Jim Alchediak's students after class, threw a pair of mouse ears on her head, turned on some fans to blow her hair, had her lie on top of a desk (pretending to fly) - and viola! - I had part one of my first chroma-key shot in the bag.



Art director Mike Quinlan chose a beautiful Golden Gate bridge photo from iStock that gave us a nice, easily recognizable California landmark. The image had just the right about of warm sunrise glow on the horizon, deep blue sky and a well-lit bridge. I love the bridge light reflection on the bay.




Using the PhotoKey software, I merged the two images into one. The software allows you to manipulate, re-size, rotate and generally screw around with both images until you get the result you want. We made a few adjustments to the flying student's location on the bridge photo to make room for placement on the page (ie the gutter) and the final image was knocked out way quicker than if I had to cut her out by hand in Photoshop.



Since getting PhotoKey and discovering the wonders of green screen, I have used several more times. I have purchased a 10'x20' chroma-key muslin and plan on using it for all my headshots. Being able to choose between whatever background a client will need in the future will be a great asset to have.

And other than having to see that garishly green piece of Hulk colored fabric hanging in the studio every day, it has been an awesome addition to my photography arsenal.

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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