I think one of my favorite benefits to living in Colorado Springs is to get to take advantage of all the sports venues associated with the Olympic Training Center and The Broadmoor Skating Club. You can see world class athletes competing or performing usually for free. The Broadmoor Skating Club held an exhibition for the public on Wednesday night at the World Arena. It will be fun to watch the upcoming Winter Olympics and watch for some of the skaters I photographed this evening.
Probably one of the most inspirational people I’ve met in a long time is Alphie Omar. Born without legs or most of his arms, Alphie doesn’t let anything stop him. About twenty years ago, Gazette photographer Bob Jackson did a wonderful photo story of Alphie when he was a schoolboy. A large photo of Alphie sitting in his school chair with a huge smile, raising his small arm to answer a question still hangs in a hallway gallery of Gazette photos. Reporter Andrea Brown and I had been talking about doing a story on Alphie for a while. When I found out that he was going to be a bellringer for the Salvation Army for the holidays, it seemed like the perfect timing. I was most inspired by how Alphie would greet everyone passing by with a hello or with that same big smile like the one in the photo gallery.
Charles Elliott has been skiing Wolf Creek Pass since before it featured a ski area. The 96-year-old skied the southern Colorado ski area last week for the first time since his hip replacement last summer. Reporter David Philipps and I spent the day with him as returned to the slopes. I inspire to be like him. An amazing man. Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Viddler video. Read David Philipps’ story
Lt. Col. Ted Treffeisen is co-pilot of the C-130 training mission with the 302nd Airlift Wing the Air Force Reserve Command. The plane flies is flying at an altitude of 300 feet at this point in the mission on Tuesday, December 15, 2009. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett)
Earlier last week, I had an interesting flight. It wasn’t the destination or the in-flight beverage service that made it interesting, but it was the flight itself. I flew in a C-130 on a training mission with the 302nd Airlift Wing from the Air Force Reserve Command at Peterson Air Force Base. We flew over Pinon Canyon and other areas where they made a couple of drops from the door and the back of the plane. Flying in a C-130 was not a new experience for me, but not at such low altitudes. Watching the scenery go by from the cockpit and the opened areas of the plane was a great experience. I had heard from co-workers that the media often have airsick problems on these low flying, bumpy flights. I’m happy to report there were no problems.
Load master Tech Sgt. Scott Gordon looks out the C-130 after dropping a sandbag during a training mission with the 302nd Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command on Tuesday, December 15, 2009. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett)
(Pine Creeks gymnast Hannah Brown waits patiently in the studio before beginning her photo shoot)
The lighting setup for this project entailed two, sometimes three lights- a Nikon SB800 flash and a regular household flash light (both used intermittently). The background light/color was produced by gelling a strobe and turning the modeling lamp on in an effort to have constant light hitting the back wall as well as a portion of the floor. The main light had a soft box as well as a soft grid and was moved from right to left depending on the athlete and their position. The third light used in some cases had a 20″ grid and a diffuser gel doubled in an effort to create soft, directional light as seen in Kendall’s volleyball image below.
In this particular image a household flashlight was used to illuminate the bottom portion of the ball as well.
In most cases, it was a 4 1/2 to 10 second exposure, during which time the athletes were asked not to move. Now I don’t know about anyone else, but trying to hold a body position as well as a facial expression for 10 seconds without moving is not an easy task, but these guys (and gals) pulled it off like champs! In order to create an edge or halo around the athlete, I would rack the focus during the exposure and if I were looking for a harder edge, I would pop the strobe on the back light right before the shutter closed. The lighting for these portraits took some serious finessing and a lot of trial by error.
It was a near impossibility to duplicate the light from one athlete to another without rearranging and re-testing the light over and over…and over and over and over again. Thankfully I found some great models here at The Gazette such as Mark Reis (nice form buddy).
Our intern Mariah Tauger took on the challenge of photographing outstanding high school athletes for our Fall Peak Performers section. Working in our studio, using some different lighting techniques, she pulled off some great photographs. Check out more of her work at gazettepreps.com peak performers.
I remember receiving the green light from Stuart Wong, giving me the go ahead to shoot the athlete of the year project here at The Gazette. I was unbelievably excited and insanely nervous; after all, our studio here at The Gazette is not the largest or the most organized. Not to mention, I had not worked extensively with studio lighting. The lighting technique I decided to use for this project was handed down and shown to me by our Deputy Photo Director Mark Reis. Needless to say, within three days I had in my hand six out of the 12 athletes’ names and numbers. Let the scheduling begin! Over the next week and a half it was basically a non stop shooting frenzy and luckily, on many of the shoots, I received an extra pair of helping hands. Thanks Mark! The best part of this experience for me was the athletes themselves. Each person walked into the studio with an open mind and wonderful attitude. Without much hesitation, each of these young men and women let their guards down and allowed me as well as the Colorado Springs community to see their playful, more personal sides. This to me was a true testament to their grace and humble characters. To each and every one of you who allowed me to see your softer sides, thank you so very much and congratulations on being athlete of the year!
Well Santa arrived bright and early at Peterson AFB to go over his Christmas Eve flight with NORAD officials. NORAD has been tracking Santa’s flight since 1955 when a misprinted phone number started the tradition.
Madison Loucks, 4, checks out the surroundings during a briefing for Santa and NORAD officials at Peterson Air Force Base. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)
As it turn out, yes! It’s something I have never photographed while at The Gazette. Today was a bit special, though. Cadet Thomas Avolio, who should’ve graduated in 2008, was one of seven graduates today. You may remember him as the cadet who in 2006 fell 200 feet off of Eagle Peak and had to be rescued by helicopter. He was in bad shape. It’s truly a miracle he graduated after receiving the injuries he did. We knew, of course, his family would be there but I was pleasantly surprised to find out all, or at least, many of the people involved in his rescue were also there for his graduation. That was a treat to be able to see so many people who were critical to this day, Dec. 16, 2009, be on hand to send one of the Air Force Academy’s newest graduates into the world. Avolio wasn’t shy in reminding his colleagues how his rescuers saved his life. A humble young man, I believe Avolio is on his way to great things. He’s a true inspiration. I don’t even know the guy and I felt proud of him.
