I am not a parent yet. Yet a recent assignment made me think about how I would be as a parent who’s had a kid searching for that perfect Halloween costume. The other day I went to photograph a kids halloween parade and stumbled across this little boy that was dressed up as a “Deadly Surgeon”. When ninety nine percent of the kids were wearing costumes of in the Disnet PG range, this kid was six years old and was decked out in a bloody outfit of death and carnage that would easily hold rank in the adult horror movies category. It was a shocking contrast to what other parents would let their kids dress up as. I found it humorous yet a bit over the top. To each their own I guess. Still my own person jury is out on what I would let my future kid wear as a costume.

Hear are some more images that I have taken in the last couple of days ranging from the scary holiday festivities, the hardcore parent fans, to an Annual cross county race for grade school kids.

The final week of work up in north. I arrived to Redding and then headed east towards Lassen National Park to the last two lodges. The first was Hat Creek Ranch.

My photo shoots were spread out over the last three weekends. Each weekend I would spend a day at each place. Clear Creek was the second destination of the first weekend and a much different experience than Antelope Creek. Where Antelope Creek leans more to the creature comforts of a beautiful lodge and fine dining cooked by top chef Donny Dye, Clear Creek was set up more for the type of person who is looking for the more rustic weekend. It was on a private family ranch where you find cozy little cabins buried amongst thick vegetation and a crystal clear, big trout infested Clear Creek. Unfortunately we were unable to catch any of the numerous 18+ inch rainbows that were cruising around. Beautiful all the same and it is a place worth checking out.

For the last month I have been doing some freelance work for The Fly Shop in Redding, CA. After returning from my South America trip, I haven’t had much time to get outside. It was great to get back to shooting the sport of fly fishing. I wanted to share some of the photos I took of the places. If any of you are looking for a great weekend getaway, any one of these destinations would be well worth your time. I only wish I had more time to enjoy them myself.

I had an assignment today that I want to share with you guys. Gabriel Del Real is a local boxer that will have his first professional welter weight fight at the Silver Nugget Casino this Tuesday night in Las Vegas. My editor was looking for a portrait for the upcoming story our sports department is writing on him. I decided to break out the new homemade ring light I talked about in my last post. With the assistant help of Chris Jordan, one of the other photographers here at the paper, we added side light strobes from the left and the right to help separate the boxer from the background. Here is the final result. I am digging this new light.

Things are smooth sailing right now for me at the paper. The last week or so (as you can see) has lent itself to a variety of cool stories that I have had an opportunity to shoot. A lot of what I have been doing has revolved around the new school school year both elementary and high schools. Classes are in session and with that, the season starts of all the fall sporting events. I’ve never seen let alone shot any water polo before and I have been enjoying the challenge of trying to document a sport that I am unfamiliar with. The photo of the woman clutching her son was taken after she rushed home after hearing her home caught on fire. Nobody was hurt thankfully but her family home was completely gutted out. It’s scary how quickly a fire can change your life. Never a dull moment in Fairfield. Thanks for looking. -M

For the last week I have been working on some portraits for my newspapers upcoming Prep Football Page used to introduce the upcoming season and players to watch for. I had very little time to set up and shoot these. I recently purchased some remote radio firing devices aka pocketwizards and this was my first attempt at using them. Considering the time constraints, I was pleased with the results. There is always room for improvement and I consider these to be a good foundation to grow on. -M