Every once in a while at my job, an assignment comes up where all the elements fall into place and I get to make a really creative portrait. Such was the case with this photograph. This was for a story on 17-year-old Danielle Burmudez who was recently awarded membership to the National Society of High School Scholars. To earn such an award a student needs to not only have good grades but also to be involved with their school activities and community. Burmudez was on the swim team and also created her own non profit program with two school mates to raise money for the Foundation for African Medicine and Education. She collects plastic bottles and then cashes them in for money that is then sent off to children in need. Already she has raised almost $300 through bottle donation.
She showed me her mountainous collection of bottles in her garage. I think one of the elements that go into making a good picture is getting your subject to hop on board your idea. This can be achieved many different ways but mainly through your enthusiasm, attitude and convincing argument for its purpose. The quicker you can establish trust with your subject the better your photos will be.
So for this shot I saw the bagged, plastic bottles all bundled up nicely and told her that I wanted to bury her in them. Swimming in the success of her achievement. After promising to help her clean up she agreed and we got started. I think that really made all the difference. Here is another version of the picture showing how I lit the image. I had a strobe on the upper left side of the image balanced on stacked boxes about 4 ft tall and another strobe in the lower right corner illuminating her feet. The top strobe was bounced off the poster board at right to give a little fill light to the right side of her face. I was pleased with the results.
Vimeo for Everyone!
MultimediaThis is a video I did last fall about the community of pet owners that occupy the Lagoon Valley Dog Park outside of Vacaville, California.
I recently discovered this great alternative to youtube called Vimeo. I re uploaded this old video I did last fall on a local dog park. Hope you all like it. Best, -M
Sticking to his Goals
EditorialFor the past six months I have been following the progress of a local teenager’s goal of losing weight. Sophomore Alfredo Ortega, 16, got a slap of reality back in December 2008 when his doctor found signs of diabetes and serious liver problems due to his obesity. From that point on, Alfredo decided he was going to make a change. Tipping the scales at 371 lbs be began a rigorous work out routine with his family members and continued to follow it daily since. Each month we would do an update of his progress. This week marked the end of our coverage of him when he reached his goal weight of 250 lbs. It was pretty incredible to watch him transform like this. When I first started shooting him he was incredibly self conscious about his image and would never smile. As you can tell from his big grin above, he has found his smile. When asked what he was going to do next he said he was off to Disneyland with his family. He earned it.
Old Love
EditorialThis was from an assignment I shot the other day about a elderly Fairfield couple, Jim Davis and his fiancee Barbara Gregory, who met over the Internet and were now getting married. They had me over for a tour of their home and to tell of how they met. Jim is the biggest pack rat I have ever seen. Collections of stuff was everywhere. Antiques galore from floor to ceiling. Both of them loved to talk and flirt with each other. They reminded me of a couple of high school students; laughing and giggling the entire time. They were a riot. I had them sit at there dining room table and tell stories of how they met online. “I knew I would marry him when he cleared a wall for my photographs,” said Barbara about the wall behind her fiancee. I thought it was cute that after all this time, they had finally found each other and I felt that this shot really captured their relationship. Ah, the power of the Internet.
Getting my Wings – HYDRA Training Exercise United States Air Force
EditorialYesterday I had an opportunity to spend the day riding along on a C-17 Globemaster cargo jet for a media day with the United States Air Force. The event was all part of a military training operation called HYDRA created to give contingency response units such as the 615th Contingency Response Wing of Travis Air Force Base the chance to train with other Air Force units and services on quickly setting up and coordinating operations between multiple small airfields. This training would simulate how well the participants would respond to getting humanitarian supplies into an isolated region struck by an earthquake. It was also a chance for the military to show off it’s capabilities to the working press.
I had only previously been in these planes during airshows growing up. Now the opportunity to fly in one while being in the cockpit (especially when they would be doing an in flight refueling) was too cool to pass up. We spent the whole day flying around to different dirt landing fields and dry lake beds throughout southern California. My job was to document it. A long but entertaining day.
The Classes of 2009
EditorialIt has been a very busy week running around shooting all of the local high school graduations here in Fairfield.
Sport Season Enders
EditorialAfter these last couple of weeks shooting high school sport playoffs, my arms have developed a tan line that a farmer would be proud of. The job has been keeping me busy. Here’s a long overdue update.
Light Pollution – How Solano County uses Light at Night
EditorialHere is a recent documentry project I finished up here at work. I have included the page layout from how it ran in the paper too. Best, -M
Artificial light allows Solano County residents to continue doing the tasks of daily life long after the sun sets. But the luxury of light comes at a cost – it dims the starry grandeur of the night sky and, when used improperly, wastes energy. Light pollution foes advocate using only the amount of light that is needed and focusing it on the areas where it’s needed. As Solano County continues to grow, communities must decide how much light is needed for safety, advertising and other hallmarks of modern life. They must decide how much is too much.
Enjoying the Weather
EditorialRow your Boat
EditorialThe last week or so in Pictures
EditorialThe Cousin Alarm Clocks
EditorialMarch in Review
EditorialRecent Work
EditorialSamplings of Summer
EditorialSteelheading the North Umpqua Part I
Fly fishingAfter a pain-stakingly long hiatus from fishing due to my new job in the Bay Area, I was finally able to get out of town last weekend for a two day steelheading mission to the North Umpqua river in southern Oregon. I met up with my good buddy Ryan Peterson, of The Fly Shop and his long time friend Dan from Colorado late Friday evening in Redding. We made our final gear checks, loaded up Ryan’s old Land Crusier and and hit the road for the five hour journey into steelhead country.
Steelheading the North Umpqua Part II
Fly fishingAfter a pain-stakingly long hiatus from fishing due to my new job in the Bay Area, I was finally able to get out of town last weekend for a two day steelheading mission to the North Umpqua river in southern Oregon. I met up with my good buddy Ryan Peterson, of The Fly Shop and his long time friend Dan from Colorado late Friday evening in Redding. We made our final gear checks, loaded up Ryan’s old Land Crusier and and hit the road for the five hour journey into steelhead country.
Banking on the Bottle
EditorialEvery once in a while at my job, an assignment comes up where all the elements fall into place and I get to make a really creative portrait. Such was the case with this photograph. This was for a story on 17-year-old Danielle Burmudez who was recently awarded membership to the National Society of High School Scholars. To earn such an award a student needs to not only have good grades but also to be involved with their school activities and community. Burmudez was on the swim team and also created her own non profit program with two school mates to raise money for the Foundation for African Medicine and Education. She collects plastic bottles and then cashes them in for money that is then sent off to children in need. Already she has raised almost $300 through bottle donation.
She showed me her mountainous collection of bottles in her garage. I think one of the elements that go into making a good picture is getting your subject to hop on board your idea. This can be achieved many different ways but mainly through your enthusiasm, attitude and convincing argument for its purpose. The quicker you can establish trust with your subject the better your photos will be.
So for this shot I saw the bagged, plastic bottles all bundled up nicely and told her that I wanted to bury her in them. Swimming in the success of her achievement. After promising to help her clean up she agreed and we got started. I think that really made all the difference. Here is another version of the picture showing how I lit the image. I had a strobe on the upper left side of the image balanced on stacked boxes about 4 ft tall and another strobe in the lower right corner illuminating her feet. The top strobe was bounced off the poster board at right to give a little fill light to the right side of her face. I was pleased with the results.
In Training
EditorialWell the weather here in Northern California is finally clearing up. We have had a ton of rain and it has forced a lot of my photo sessions indoors. Over the last week or so many of my assignments have revolved around individuals learning something new. The first two images were taken of a local grade school gym teacher who was gearing up for his first MMA fight. I spent some time out at a local wildlife refuge where I photographed docents in training for a biology tour. The winter sport seasons are winding down with the state basketball tournament happening this weekend. I look forward to changing things up. The basketball photo here is of these grade schoolers who went undefeated in their winter league season. The last two images are from a story on the increased use of cell phones in grade schools. It was crazy to witness all these little kids pouring out of school with a phone up to their ear talking with friends or calling for rides home. It was one of my first “old” moments where I remembered back when I was their age we used payphones and usually had to just hope the rides would come. So much has changed since that time. Crazy.
The Weekday Update
EditorialMixing up something Good
Editorial