Taylor Chace, for Boston Globe Magazine. This is the image that the editor picked to run in the magazine's "Boston Uncommon" article on March 7, 2010.

As I write this post, Taylor Chace is still in Vancouver, British Columbia.  I would guess that he and his teammates are probably still riding the high of having won Olympic Gold.  To me, that realization is both incredibly wonderful and surreal, and it makes me wish I had been there to see all that had transpired in the four weeks since I photographed him for Boston Globe Magazine.

Heather had taken a message for me one day when the main line rang at Myers Creative Imaging.  The editor had called from Boston Globe Magazine to ask if I was available to photograph Taylor Chace, a defenseman and Alternate Captain for the US Men’s Sled Hockey Team.  Taylor and his teammates were here in Rochester, NY for training prior to their trip to Vancouver for the 2010 Paralympics.  The deadline on this project was super-tight, and once I understood the details, things were set in motion pretty quickly.  We had an extremely short window of opportunity, and once I had talked to Taylor on the phone and learned what the team’s training schedule was like, I realized just how tiny that window really was!

Usually, I would prefer to do this type of photography on location.  The team’s ice, for instance, a locker room, a training facility, a frozen pond.  All these ideas were knocking around in my brain.  When I thought of the time crunch, though, I decided that we could pull off an equally strong image within the confines of our Richmond Street studio, and maximize our time taking pictures rather than traveling to a location and lugging lighting gear.

I’d had a few different ideas about how to execute the photography in the studio, and by the time Taylor had showed up that morning, freelance assistant, Amy Millert and I had our lighting setup ready and all tested out.  We went over wardrobe that Taylor had brought with him.  All official USA Hockey Team gear, warm-ups, game jerseys, helmet, pads, sticks, gloves, the works!  We made a plan to start with just the warm-up uniform and progress forward, giving the Boston Globe editor as many options as we could provide.  In the end, I think the best images came from the early stages of the shoot, as well as the final stages.  I went home that night, and spent a couple hours in Adobe Lightroom, editing the job down to my favorite 25 images.  I separated those from the rest of the image files and processed all of the RAW files into JPEGS, all to be uploaded to an FTP site the following morning.  The editor in Boston downloaded them and got back to me with a selection that afternoon.  Then, I spent a little time retouching and color correcting the image, preparing it to go to press.  Final file, FTP upload, deadline met!

Early in the shoot. Warm-ups. Relaxed expressions. Taylor, I'd like one of those sweaters, please, in XL.

Taylor Chace was a great person to hang out with.  He was so easy-going, happy, funny, patient with all of our questions, and very helpful.  Perhaps what struck me most about him, though was his modesty, and dedication to his teammates.  I had, early in the day, voiced my expectations to Taylor regarding the shoot and had told him that we would probably be done after a couple of hours time.  That seemed like a pretty long time to him!  He really just wanted to get back to be with the rest of the team as soon as he could, and was really trying to downplay this whole photography thing.  This was a super-important time in their training program, and while I assured him that I understood the importance, I distracted Taylor, and had Amy hide his truck keys and lock the studio door.  We had a job to do, too!  We were able to convince him later to sit and have a nice, relaxed lunch with us, though, before he headed out.

After the shoot, we walked out to Taylor’s truck with him, Amy lugging a huge hockey bag full of gear.  Taylor was apologetic for the bag’s “locker room smell.”  Part of the game, I guess.  As I watched Taylor’s truck turn on to Main Street and drive away, I knew he was heading off to take part in some really big things.  It would be a few more weeks, though, until I learned just how big those things would be.

Wanting to learn more about Sled Hockey, or Sledge Hockey, as it is called in most places outside the US, I went to Team USA’s Saturday morning practice on the ice at the ESL Center in Henrietta.  I was blown away by what these athletes did, and how very good they were at it.  I mean, heck, I’m watching Olympic athletes, here!  I walked out of the arena after their practice that morning feeling incredibly inspired.  When I finally got home that night, I hopped on my computer, and went to USA Hockey’s website to learn some more.  I was excited to find that I could either watch live coverage of the Sled Hockey tournament at the 2010 Paralympics, or follow a “Live Game Blog” that gave by-the-minute updates during game play.  I tuned in when I could, which was for most of the tournament, and this is a summary of how things went in Vancouver:

March 13:  USA, 5 – South Korea, 0.

March 14:  USA, 3 – Czech Republic, 0.

March 16:  USA, 6 – Japan, 0.

March 18:  USA, 3 – Norway, 0.

March 20:  USA, 2 – Japan, 0.

Team USA claimed the Gold Medal in Men’s Sled Hockey on March 20, 2010.  In the entire tournament, not a single puck crossed the line into the US net.  The last time team USA had won Gold in this event was in the 2002 Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Taylor, all of us at the studio are so proud of you guys!  Congratulations on attaining such an incredible goal!

Taylor Chace. Photographed February 17, 2010 at Myers Creative Imaging in Rochester, NY.

Camera:  Canon EOS 5D Mark 2.

Lauren Tracy, filmmaker, in the Editor's pick. This is the image that ran in Boston Globe Magazine on November 01, 2009.

Every so often, a job will come along that is so very enjoyable, it makes me feel as though I’m getting away with something!  I mean, nobody should get paid to have such a nice time, even if they’re taking their October Sunday afternoon to do the work!  When I got to photograph Lauren Tracy, a film student at RIT, on October 4, 2009, I realized not too far into the process that this would be one of those especially wonderful scenarios.

When the studio phone rang that Friday afternoon, I had actually been halfway to the front door to leave for the weekend.  The week had been pretty crazy, and I was ready to kick back and relax for a little while.  I set my things down and picked up the phone.  On the other end of the line was an editor from Boston Globe Magazine with an immediate need for an environmental portrait of Lauren Tracy, who was being featured in a section of the magazine titled “Boston Uncommon.”  The article showcases Boston area citizens who have risen to do something of significance for their community, or perhaps even on a grander scale.  After getting the details of the job and some pertinent information about Lauren’s background, I hung up from the editor and gave Lauren a call to introduce myself and set up the shoot.  Lauren immediately struck me as someone who was very intelligent, energetic and well spoken.  She also seemed as though she really loves what she does, and is very dedicated to her craft.  We talked over the necessary details, and decided that we would shoot sometime over the weekend, probably on Sunday.  Now, I just needed to find the perfect location!

Lauren in one of my five favorite outtakes. I really loved the simplicity of the green top, and the way it was complemented by the environment.

On Saturday, I spent some time in the morning researching and reading some more about Lauren, and what she is accomplishing.  Lauren has created, along with her father, a fund raising organization, X-Factor Filmmakers, which provides grants and scholarships to help female filmmakers produce their projects and bring their vision to the big screen.  Helping to increase the number of women enrolling in film schools is a major focus of X-Factor as well.  Funds are raised by donations, partnerships, and through sales of some very cool t-shirts that are available on the X-Factor website.

The name, X-Factor, is symbolic of the fact that females possess two X chromosomes in their genetic make-up, while males only have one.  X-Factor celebrates the idea that this “genetic formula” creates a vision that is special, and unique to female filmmakers.  At the time of this writing, X-Factor Filmmakers had just begun a new Short Film Contest, open to both female and male filmmakers.  Entry is open until April 19, 2010, and the winner will pocket $1000 for the production of their next film!  People interested in submitting work are invited to follow this link for the 2010 X-Factor Filmmakers Short Film Contest.

Now, back to our story.

Later in the day, after spending some time away from the city and in the woods, I headed back North to do some location scouting and finish getting the components in place for the next day’s shoot.  As I was driving back into Rochester, my mind was working feverishly to think of just the right place for the photography to happen.  Suddenly, it came to me.  After a couple of calls from the truck, I was all set to shoot in “The Snug” at The Old Toad, an English pub on Alexander Street in Rochester.  The Snug would provide the environment of an old sitting room with a British flavor to it.  Interestingly, I found out later, that one of the films Lauren had directed had been set in just such an environment.

I think this outtake would be my favorite of the day. The wardrobe was a little more sophisticated, but still warm and natural. I love the way Lauren is engaging the viewer here.

We rolled into The Toad just before 1:00 that Sunday afternoon, unloaded the truck and got to work.  I was working without an assistant that day, so while I set up the camera, laptop and ProFoto gear, Lauren was back and forth down the hall to show me the different wardrobe options we had selected from the collection she had brought.

Once everything was squared away with the lighting and wardrobe, we started taking pictures, and things just really fell into place very nicely.  Though the room was pretty small for photo-shoots, it offered several really nice perspectives that fit my vision perfectly.  It was a little bit of a challenge moving around such a small room once I’d brought in power packs, extension cords, strobes and scrims, but we managed just fine.  Actually, Lauren managed just fine because she mostly sat, smiled and ate Shepherd’s Pie.  She had arrived that day with a large Ace Bandage on her leg from a soccer injury, and I had given her explicit instructions to enjoy the sofas and chairs while I hauled the gear around.

I think both of us would have liked to have had more time to explore this environment! It had some really relaxed and playful potential.

I really would have loved to spend more time with Lauren that day.  We each had some additional ideas that we could envision and would like to have explored.  The reality was, though, that I was flying to California with John the following day, and had to go and get everything ready for that trip.  In the short time we had, though, we did some good things!  Lauren had been a dream to work with, the editor was ecstatic, and felt he had a tough job ahead of him because there were so many of the shots that he loved.  I was thrilled to have that kind of feedback!  Any time I can create a difficult edit because of the number of great images, I feel I’ve done things the right way, and done them thoroughly, too!

Lauren Tracy, October 4, 2009. In The Snug at The Old Toad, Rochester, NY.

Camera:  Canon EOS 1DS Mark 3

Mixed Olives and Parmigiano Reggiano Salami Bites.

One of the rewarding parts of being a professional photographer are the “testing days!” When the schedule allows, John and I will try to expand our horizons a little, and make a plan to try out some new lighting ideas we have, or do some preliminary tests for an upcoming client project. In some cases, it’s a necessary part of our problem solving process. Sometimes, though, it can be just plain fun! Testing gives us a chance to learn new ways of working, explore new photographic styles, and flesh-out concepts we have in our minds.

In this particular case, I was able to take a couple of days to create some new food images! Photographing food is one of my favorite things to do, and I was excited for the opportunity! After a little time spent making sketches, thinking of food types, textures and colors, I headed off to the Pittsford Wegmans with my shopping list. I was planning a hearty steak meal, a chicken soup shot, one with olives, another of grilled beef and vegetable skewers, and a fifth with sockeye salmon. I really enjoy having an excuse to roll the gas grill outside to cook, so I had planned three of the meals with that in mind.

Grilled Sockeye Salmon, Mixed Greens and Roasted Potatoes.

I was in the process of developing a studio flash lighting setup that would mimic natural daylight coming through windows. Now, much of our food photography had accomplished this before, but there were some subtle differences that I was trying to tweak. The primary difference in this setup was that the main light source would originate from the rear of the set rather than from the side. I was also deciding to make the light source more indirect, and to diffuse it differently from our previous working method. In some ways, it’s actually a simpler setup to use, and contains fewer components.

The images here are my favorites from the session.

Camera: Hasselblad H2 and Lead Aptus 65 digital back.

I wanted to share a couple pictures that I took Monday evening near my parents’ home in Vermont.  Christine and I had been visiting my family there over the long Memorial Day weekend. We had stopped one evening along the dirt road leading to my folk’s house to photograph this beautiful sunset unfolding before us. The moon was sliver-thin! I only had my point and shoot with me, and used a fencepost for a makeshift camera rest.  Christine took some beautiful shots, too, from the passenger seat!  I was really wishing for the Leaf digital back, though, and a good, solid Gitzo tripod!

Camera: Canon Powershot Pro S1.

My Black Widow PMA-X.

I somewhat reluctantly returned to Rochester on Sunday from a fantastic trip to Nixa, Missouri.  I had travelled there to attend the Instinctive Shooting Clinic at Black Widow Custom Bows.  The clinic is designed for bowhunters who use traditional archery equipment – recurve bows and longbows.  G. Fred Asbell and Ken Beck shared their knowledge with us during the two and a half day clinic, and covered topics such as arrow tuning, proper shooting form, spot and stalk hunting, camouflage and concealment, and mainly, the fine art of instinctive shooting.

The main premise of instinctive shooting is for the archer to shoot his arrow accurately to the intended target without the aid of sights or sighting references on the bow.  A great deal of emphasis is placed upon training the mind and body to work in unison to focus on the target and deliver the arrow precisely to it, all in one fluid motion.

Being able to immerse myself into this type of learning process for a few days was really fun, and extremely energizing!  It’s always really interesting to be surrounded by a group of folks from different walks of life who are passionate about the same thing that you are, and to see how they each put their individual twist on solving the different problems that arise.

There were a really great bunch of guys attending the course, and I’m sure that some new friendships have begun.  The people at Black Widow Bows sure know how to host a great event!  We all were made to feel right at home, and they really put some great food in front of us at mealtime!  Adaptations to the schedule were made very gracefully when Friday’s thunderstorms and tornadoes were knocking things around, and we never missed a beat!  On Saturday afternoon, many of us weren’t quite ready to break away from the group and head off to our homes.  One attendee had come all the way from Spain for the clinic, and another from Canada!  Really cool stuff!

Camera: Canon EOS 1DS Mk 2.

Bob, Grant and Arne.

Charles, Kevin, Aaron, and Don.

Pedro trading a customary arrow with Kevin.

Saturday morning practice session.

The afternoon of Christmas Eve brought a beautiful doe out of the woods and into the yard at my folks’ house.  I went to the lower level of the house to take some pictures of her at eye level.  The snow has been quite deep there for some time, and the deer are really attacking the cedar trees around the yard!

Camera: Canon Powershot Pro S1.