Covers

From uppper left, clockwise: local pilots, spa treatments,
kneeboarding and margaritas.
Image copyright Kokomo Tribune 2008

The latest issue of out magaine finally came out, with the cover featuring the kneeboarding assignment I did just over a month ago. Its the one in lower right corner. The others are previous covers I've done in the past year.

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Let's try this again

Justin Kline pops over a wave as he knee boards on the Mississinewa Reservoir. Image copyright Kokomo Tribune 2008

I was out on a boat again Wednesday. When some of the editors at the office looked at the stuff I shot on Saturday for our Howard County Living magazine article, they realized there was a problem.

No one I shot who was in the water doing any sort of surfing behind the boat was wearing a life vest. In violation of state law. Doh!!

I didn't think of it, I'm not a boat person. Don't own one, occasionally spend time on the water, not enough to remember all the rules though. Showing someone not wearing a life vest in a photo, on the cover of a magazine no less, wouldn't make us look good. Big no-no.

The person doing the story, lifestyle editor Erin Shultz found someone she knew who was out on their boat so we could get some more art. She and I went back to the same area I was at on Saturday to meet up with the subjects.

I shot some kids and adults tubing, and the owner of the boat, Justin Kline doing some knee boarding. And everyone was wearing their necessary life vests. Fantastic!

Even though I wasn't scheduled to work, spending three more hours on a boat isn't a bad thing to be called in to do. And the art turned out great. Got some flips from the tube rides and some big air of the knee boarding.

And we now aren't advocating that anyone should break a state law.



The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Comments containing off-color or hateful language may be removed.

Row, row, row your boat

As Bryan Saylers uses a board to surf behind the boat, Ryan Valadez drives, while upfront Kelly Vanglabbeek and Erin Saylers watch Saylers two-year-old daughter.

Image copyright Kokomo Tribune 2008

Spent part of today out on Erin and Bryan Saylers' boat in the nearby Mississinewa Reservoir for a Howard County Living magazine story on boating fun. Today this job was all fun in the sun. And the sun did appear later, contrary to what this photo looks like.

The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Comments containing off-color or hateful language may be removed.

Cooking up an image

Reflected in a mirror, Trudy Henricks of Arcadia eats lunch
at the Anvil Inn in the little town of Cicero with
her granddaughter Lindsey Singleton, who was visiting from Westfield.
Image copyright Kokomo Tribune 2008

For each issue of our bi-monthly Howard County Living magazine (which is rapidly approaching its year anniversary) we profile a unique and interesting restaurant. The magazine is focused on those readers in the upper income brackets, so all the articles are focused on things they would appreciate, such as the Anvil Inn in the little town of Cicero.

The restaurant's been open for about 30 years. Two years ago it was bought by a woman, Kimberli Baker, and her husband James DuPont. Baker grew up in Cicero and moved away to Phoenix where she met DuPont. Together the two started a catering business. Two years ago the couple were in Cicero and saw the restaurant was for sale, deciding to buy it.

As I was waiting for Baker to come out from the kitchen, I saw the image above. These are the kind of things I really love to see. Its got a lot of areas to look, a couple different layers of images that together with the story tell a reader a lot about the restaurant I think. The customers are lit with the natural light coming through the windows, while the painting is lit using a strobe and pocket wizard left of the frame.

Anvil Inn Chef Kimberli Baker talks about the Italian-style steakhouse she and husband James Dupont have owned for two years.
Image copyright Kokomo Tribune 2008

This is completely lit with strobes. I hope it looks fairly natural. Some days lighting (that is lighting I manufacture, as opposed to natural light) comes fairly easy, other days it can be a struggle to create something interesting.

This was pretty easy with all the locally created artwork on display, I knew I wanted to try and get that into the photo somehow. There is a strobe off left of the frame with a small softbox on it lighting Baker. Behind her on a shelf in the background is another strobe focused on the painting to bring a little more light than the spotlight already there.


Fortunately for me, I had been working on my lighting skills for about a year before we started the magazine. And I'm still working on it. Like I said, some days it comes naturally. Once the mag started, I was expected to do pretty much all the lighting. It can be a lot to shoulder when you're the only one who is doing it, but I enjoy it. Fortunately, an assignment like this I'm given more time to work on it, which allows me to play around with some different lighting setups.

Even more fortunate, I recognized the opportunities the magazine gave me to try out things like this. I can say that there are some people I know who do not recognize these as opportunities, rather seeing them as albatrosses. That's a shame.


The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Comments containing off-color or hateful language may be removed.