shooting from the hip

splitsville

strazz — Mon, 03 May 2010 14:34:49 +0000

It’s moving day.

My blog “shooting from the hip” is migrating to the Chicago Tribune website.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/shooting-from-the-hip/

The move, preceded by a lot of hard work by Tribune photo leaders Torry Bruno and Robin Daughtridge, is a wonderful thing.

My new home safely within Trib Nation allows me to share both published and unpublished photos, display my images large and hopefully, expand my reach into the non-photo world.

My personal project work from my ongoing Common Ground essay will be moving to a new site, too.

http://commongroundtheblog.wordpress.com/

In addition to “shooting from the hip”, the new Chicago Tribune blog site will also host fellow Tribune photographer Alex Garcia’s blog- “Assignment Chicago” and the aforementioned Robin Daughtridge’s blog- “Trib Photo Nation” which will highlight other Tribune photo staff work.

Thank you so much for visiting “shooting from the hip” over the past two years and I hope you will continue to stop by at its new location.

alone at the top

strazz — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:25:11 +0000

For every type of event, there is a photo cliche associated with it.

At a county fair, one expects to see a young farm boy sleeping on the hay near his prize-winning cow.

A triathlon will bring you a photo of swimmers splashing through the water back lit by the rising sun.

And a school dance will inevitably produce a child seated off to the side away from the others on the dance floor.

Well, at the daddy daughter dance, I produced that cliche but on steroids.

While chasing Caroline around, I noticed a young girl sitting by herself. It seemed comical to see such a small child atop the bleachers.

I couldn’t refrain from snapping off a frame.

“I hate Justin Bieber”

strazz — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:33:01 +0000

My step-daughter Caroline’s friend Josie tagged along with us to last Saturday’s daddy daughter dance at the local high school.

On the way to the dance, Justin Bieber’s song “Baby” came on the radio. Caroline loves Bieber and the song. Josie absolutely hates it. In fact, I looked in the rear view mirror and Josie had a pained expression on her face as she plugged her ears with her fingers.

During the dance, “Baby” was played twice more and Josie tried her hardest not to hear the song.

Although I knew the answer, I asked her why she was plugging her ears.

She responded, “I hate Justin Bieber!”

news flash…bulls lose

strazz — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 23:38:48 +0000

Game 4 of the Chicago Bulls’ Eastern Conference quarterfinal match up against the Cleveland Cavaliers was my assignment today.

I was looking forward to an exciting game and hopefully a dramatic finish.

I got nothing.

LeBron James and the Cavs blew out Derrick Rose and the Bulls 121-98 to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the series.

There were no great plays or emotional reaction.

The only photo I really liked was from the 1st quarter when a fan’s flash behind me spot lit Derrick Rose as he drove to the basket.

The photo says little about the game but at least the lighting gives the image a retro feel.

As for doing better next time, methinks this will be my last Bulls’ game of the season.

head games

strazz — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 18:30:06 +0000

My stepdaughter Caroline, her neighbor friend Josie and I went to a daddy daughter dance last night.

Caroline and Josie spent the majority of the time dancing together so instead of making forced conversation with some random dad, I spent the majority of my time photographing them.

Several times during the dance, the DJ turned on an ultra-fast strobe light.

I must have shot 100 frames while the strobe was pulsating.

I experimented with different shutter speed and aperture combinations.

Of all my attempts only one frame worked. But like we say in the newspaper business, you only need one.

I am not sure who the girl is but hopefully her parents won’t be too upset that I turned her into a six-headed dancing machine.

For those of you that are interested in the technical side of photography, the settings were 1/3rd of a second at f/8 at 800 iso.

that’s the way the puck bounces

strazz — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 10:57:55 +0000

I have mentioned many times in the past, that my goal when it comes to playoff sports is to capture the emotion of the event.

Action is nice but reaction is better.

Well, sometimes when the photo gods are cranky, you don’t get what you want.

Last night in Nashville, the Blackhawks took back home ice advantage with a workmanlike 3-0 win over the Predators.

Like Game 3, I shot the 1st period from an ice level hole on the Hawks’ offensive end and then the final two periods from a upper level position at mid-ice.

Unlike Game 3, all the good jubilation headed away from me.

Luckily for me, I did get a nice floating puck seconds before Patrick Sharp scored Chicago’s first goal and a what else is new snap of Adam Burish being a pest.

The series heads back to the United Center on Saturday but it being my off day, I will just have to wish my Chicago Tribune colleagues good luck.

the wanderer

strazz — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:54:56 +0000

I spent my afternoon wandering around downtown Nashville.

Except for Broadway, the main strip of bars and clubs, the city reminds me of Peoria.

Tonight at the Bridgestone Arena, sandwiched between the Hawks’ games, is Bon Jovi in concert.

There seems to be plenty of tickets available but I chose tv in my hotel room instead.

Here are some random snaps.

predators get the upper hand

strazz — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:17:43 +0000

I realized last night while shooting Game 3 of the Western Conference quarterfinals in Nashville, that I have never photographed a road Blackhawks’ game before.

I have shot countless baseball, football and basketball away games so I am very familiar with the challenges of arriving at a new arena and having to figure everything out.

My experience Tuesday night at the Bridgestone Arena was very typical.

I gave myself a bit of a break by calling Predators’ team photographer John Russell on Monday and asking him about the shooting positions at the arena. He mentioned that I would only be able to get an ice level shooting position for one period. That was fine since I knew that it was possible that I would get it for no periods.

When I arrived in Music City USA, I headed directly to the venue.

I found the credential pick up window and was directed to the lower level. As I exited the elevator, I asked a security guard where the photo work room was. I received back that blank stare that I often receive when I talk to a non-media employee at a stadium.

My minimal amount of pre-planning paid off seconds later, when John Russell came bounding down the hall and asked if I was from the Tribune.

John then graciously showed me where the work room was and explained what the shooting position situation was.

I ended up getting a hole to shoot from in the 1st period on the side of the end of the rink where the Hawks’ offense would be attacking.

That meant I would be upstairs for the final 2/3rds of the game.

After shooting some features of Hawks’ fans, I set off to find a good upper position.

I chatted for a bit with AP photog Mark Humphrey and spied a possible upper spot.

I wandered to my desired spot and kindly inquired with the tv cameraman if I could squeeze in next to him during the 2nd and 3rd periods. He gave me a big thumbs up.

At this point, I was anxiety free and could shoot the game without worries. Well, as few worries as possible when you are shooting an NHL playoff game by yourself and need to transmit photos back after each period and sometimes during a period.

Photographically, the game went well. The Hawks sucked but I made some nice storytelling pictures of the rough play and Nashville’s celebrations.

I also turned two negatives, the Preds’ fans waving towels in front of my camera and an annoying spotlight, into a positive for my end of game images.

Thursday night should be much easier now that I know the lay of the land.

emotional rescue

strazz — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:59:43 +0000

The NHL playoffs never lack for excitement.

Every year there are unexpected upsets (Go Colorado!!) and tension-filled series.

The Chicago Blackhawks’ Western Conference quarterfinal match-up with the Nashville Predators has been no different.

The Preds stole game 1 Friday night at the United Center leaving the Hawks in a must win situation Sunday.

After some nervous moments early and some great saves by rookie goalie Antti Niemi, the Hawks finally got offensive and pulled out a 2-0 win to even the series as it heads to Music City USA.

Last night was my first game of the playoffs and I definitely noticed an elevated sense of urgency.

I shot the action but I concentrated on the emotion.

I am off to Tennessee tomorrow with the hopes that the Hawks will return to Chicago with at least one win from the trip.

the golden hour

strazz — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:39:37 +0000

One of the best things about working an evening shift is my time spent in the city as the sun sets.

This “golden hour” is my favorite time to wander as Chicago’s skyline magically dissects and reflects the light.

On my way to dinner this evening, I noticed a bright illumination underneath the Wabash Street bridge on the wall of the Chicago River Walk.

This sliver was the only sunlight that was evident in my scope of vision.

I waited for a jogger to run through the light and I made a handful of images.

They were ok frames but I felt that it could be more.

I walked a little farther west from my vantage point near the Wrigley Building and I noticed a nice reflection near some columns at the base of the Trump Tower.

I once again waited for a human presence. This time it was two runners.

Ahhh…yes. Much better.