Wheels Up - WAY UP!

Sorry friends, it's been a while since last we spoke. Late nights, early mornings, you know the routine.

What's important, though, is that we're back tonight with some fresh images. These two frames were pulled from a skate shoot I threw together earlier this evening.

With the promise of good company and a round at a local bar my good friends John, Joe, and Kevin agreed to jump on their boards and perform for the camera. Now, these guys have been gracious enough to deal with my lengthy shoots before. So, they knew what was coming when they agreed to jump in the car and drive a good 45 minutes north to visit a fairly new skate park.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of being dragged along on a shoot, I'll share what this normally involves.

- 2 Pelican Cases (1 for cameras/lenses & 1 for my collection of speedlights)
- 2 large Tamrac totes (filled with various grips, accessories, and other odds and ends)
- Minimum of 4 stands + tripod and head

Needless to say, when we roll into a skate park, we tend to draw a bit of a crowd. Luckily, we have Kevin and his quick wit to deter any would-be pranksters.


Our goal of the evening was to capture images that showed Kevin in his element as well as the unique curves of the skate park. The two shots you see above you were created with three speedlights, a set of Elinchrome remotes, my D700 w/14-24mm, and one very talented skateboarder.

Lesson for the day: This one is for your Tech Heads! Don't forget your subject. It's so easy to get caught up in shutter speeds, f/stops, lens choices, and white balance settings that we sometimes forget that there is a living, breathing person in front of our lens. Talk to them! Tell them what you're doing - using as little terminology as possible of course - and make sure you constantly remind them how grateful you are to be able to work with them. After all, without their participation you'd really be up a creek wouldn't you?