BEST of On The Road
"Memory Lane"

December, 2008

Hi and welcome to this final edition of On The Road. Yes, I'm afraid it's true, this will be the final monthly edition of On The Road. For those of you who have become avid readers of my On The Road monthly articles for the past 6 years it is with extensive thought that I have decided to discontinue writing On The Road in favor of concentrating my attention on each monthly Workshop at the Ranch article. By not dividing my time writing 2 articles with advice and techniques I hope to increase the depth and educational content of the monthly Workshop at the Ranch articles. However, I feel there are several previous editions of On The Road that might still be helpful to many photographers, so, beginning in January 2008 "The Best of On The Road" will feature a collection of previously posted articles that had exceptional readership numbers and instructional content. I hope you continue to enjoy those.

Originally, On The Road was designed to offer a quick overview of my sports event coverage of each month. The images and text were geared towards attracting magazine picture research and photo editors to either hire me for assignment work or purchase stock images for publication from my archives. Captions were non instructional and too the point back in 2003, but grew in length and content over the years to the point where On The Road began to resemble Workshop at the Ranch. My business continues to grow and the subjects I photography today have broadened significantly since 2003. Much of my current work no longer applies to the original purpose of On The Road. With this in mind I plan on concentrating my efforts into one monthly Workshop at the Ranch article that I hope will be more informative than ever.

With this being the final edition before "The Best of On The Road" takes over, I thought it might be nice to take a walk down memory lane and feature images and commentary while I was On The Road during the past six years.

Image #1 Tom Brady ... On The Road began in 2003 which also marked my second decade of covering Football. I have spent many weekends On The Road to photograph both college and NFL football. In my office I have three large containers of sports event credentials that have accumulated over the years. Football sideline passes total 227 games and counting. It's difficult for me to think of a better way to spend a fall Sunday afternoon than photographing the NFL. I don't cover as many games as I once did, but always find time to work some games each season including this one on a fall Monday Night in 2003 where I followed the New England Patriot's quarterback Tom Brady. Nikon D2H, ISO1000, 1/500 at f4, Nikon 400mm f2.8 lens with Nikon TC-14E 1.4X Teleconverter, WB Cloudy, Lexar Flash Card.
Image #2 Michael Phelps ... As previously mentioned, the initial purpose of On The Road was to attract photo editors and picture research people to to my website to find and then publish my images. Making stock image sales of pre-Olympic events and athletes who would be attending the Olympic Games was a main staple of my business. The 2004 Summer Olympic Games were being held in Athens, Greece where Marion Jones, Paul Hamm, Rulon Gardner, and others would provide the world with memorable sports moments. My September 2004 On The Road edition included Michael Phelps, among images of other Gold medallists, with instructional text explaining the "how and why" thought process to each picture. Nikon D2H, ISO400, 1/2000 at f7.1, Nikon 600mm f4.0 lens with TC-14E 1.4X Teleconverter, WB Cloudy, Lexar 1G Flash Card.
Image #3 Young Girl of the Sinai ... Some On The Road articles took readers on a journey to far away countries. Egypt was perhaps the most exciting and breathtaking land I have ever been to. From the Great Pyramids to the Sphinx, and from the Nile River to the Valley of the Kings I wrote and illustrated a wondrous place and its people in the April 2007 article. While I was On The Road during the past six years I met and photographed many interesting people including this young girl in the Sinai. Nikon D2Xs, ISO320, 1/160 at f4.5, Nikon 17-55mm lens, WB 3000K, Nikon SB-800 Speedlight with warming Gel and a power output of +1.7, Nikon SU-800 Commander to trigger the SB-800, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #4 Tiger Woods ... Golf was only a tiny blip on my radar screen before the 2004 Masters. I made some impact with Golf Digest and the golf industry by using a silent shutter Nikon COOLPIX 8700 camera which enabled me to shoot pictures of golfers at the top of their back swing without making a shutter "click". Since that first Major I have had the opportunity to photograph several tournaments, after which I would share these experiences with readers of On The Road. Seemed like anytime I included a image of Tiger in an On The Road article the readership would nearly double. Nikon COOLPIX 8800, ISO200, Shutter Priority 1/1000 with EV-0.7, WB Cloudy, Lexar 2G Flash Card.
Image #5 Barbaro ... The Kentucky Derby is always a highlight event of each year for me and I made every effort to illustrate my experiences in several On The Road articles over the years. When Barabaro and jockey Edgar Prado won the coveted "Run for the Roses" in 2006 everyone began speaking Triple Crown. That was not to be as a devastating and eventual fatal injury took Barbaro's life later that season. Nikon D200, ISO400, 1/1250 at f4.5, Nikon 200-400 G VR Zoom lens, WB 6700K, Lexar 4G Flash Card.
Image #6 Ice Climbing in Ouray ... Sometimes On The Road stayed closer to home. The Ice Climbing Mecca of Ouray, Colorado provided a near fantasy location for me to Lightpaint. By this time many of the On The Road articles had become much more instructional to the point of showing little difference between the articles written for Workshop at the Ranch. The February 2007 article entitled Ice Climbing From Ouray was well received for its tutorial content and images. Nikon D200, ISO200, 30 seconds at f5.0, Nikon 17-55mm lens, WB 6650K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod, SLIK Super Ball Head, Pocket Wizard Multi Max Transceivers to trigger the camera remotely from my Lightpainting position 300 feet to the right of the ice climber along the top of the ice gorge, Two Brinkmann Q Beam spot lights, Lexar 4G Flash Card.
Image #7 Airborne Imagery ... Over the past 6 years there have been a few On The Road articles written about more casual subjects that catered to the pure enjoyment of making pictures. These articles were more of a blog style of script than an article. I always enjoy making pictures and had some favorable response to the articles and images that suggested shooting pictures from the window seat of my commercial flights, transit buses, cars and train travel. My emphasis was to encourage photographers to make good use of their time while traveling on the road or whatever mode of transportation they might be taking. In short, just make images because you love to, even if you are 21,000 feet over Utah. Nikon D3, ISO400, 1/320 at f13, Nikon 24-70mm Lens, WB 6650K, Lexar 8G Flash Card, and a Window Seat.
Image #8 Arlington National Cemetery ... I mentioned earlier that my business has continued to grow over the years and that my photography interests are broadening. No where was this more evident than the assignment to Lightpaint Arlington National Cemetery for Arlington and National Geographic. My work and study of light over the years includes arena lighting with sports strobes, location lighting with Nikon Speedlights, and artistic lighting of landscapes using long exposure times and Lightpainting. Being part of the Arlington book project, Where Valor Rests, was an great honor for me, and a true departure from weekly sports coverage. Nikon D2X, ISO100, 25 seconds at f16, Nikon 17-55mm lens, WB 8000K,Gitzo Carbon Fiber with Gitzo Ball Head 'L' Bracket, 2 Brinkmann Q Beam Spot Lights, Lexar 4G Flash Card.
Image #9 Surf's Up ... No On The Road article drew more email response than the April 2008 edition entitled "The Endless Winter". The article featured images from the California coastline and the most "surfer dude" lingo that I could find (via www.rippinh2o.com and click Surfer Lingo.) Emails rolled in like waves from around the world. Most of which came from surfers who, like other professional athletes, get a good laugh from an "over the top" article about their sport. Although "most" athletes enjoy a lampoon of their sport, example: PGA Golfers rate Caddie Shack as their #1 movie, and MLB Players agree that Bull Durham is their favorite, there were a few who took my surf lingo laden text as a shark bite towards their sport. All said and done, I meant no disrespect to those Kahunas, Haydens, Quebees, Babes, Nicoricos, and Cavefish, who Carve, Fade, Rip, Hop, Score, Flounder, get Shut Down, or even do a White Whale on the world wide waves. I was a gymnast and coach from age 8 to age 27 and could still perform a full twisting double back on trampoline when I was 25 years old ...the movie Gymkata said it all for me. I love the way water looks when photographed at a slow shutter speed as was used with this image. Nikon D3, ISO800, 1/15 at f10, Nikon 200-400mm G VR Zoom Lens with TC17E 1.7X Teleconverter, WB 7600K, Lexar 8G Flash Card.
Image #10 Turn Burners ... I really enjoy shooting sports and athletes. Commercial assignments have filled my calendar days and replaced many of the editorial assignments I used to do. It's fun to orchestrate a photo shoot, hire athletes, and direct the simulated sports event to make pictures for a client. When you shoot a commercial project you always get the best seat in the house, in this case I laid down right on the track after instructing the motocross riders to "just miss me" when they come racing around the curve. Nikon D700, ISO250, 1/1000 at f5.6, Nikon 14-24mm lens WB 5560K, 4 SB-900 Speedlights Remote with power output of +3.0, Nikon SU-800 Commander, Lexar 8G Flash Card.

For those who have been here before I'm sorry if the discontinuation of On The Road comes as a disappointment. For those of you who are just logging on for the first time to On The Road, don't give up. The Best of On The Road will be here beginning in January 2009. All the best tutorial articles will be available for you and hopefully a source of education and inspiration. While The Best of On The Road won't offer new articles remember that Workshop at the Ranch will continue with new tutorial articles each month.

Well, It's been a great ride and I want to thank all of you who came to read, learn, and just enjoy the stories and images. Many of your emails helped encourage me to become a better teacher and communicator.

I hope to see you each month on Workshop at the Ranch. Adios, Dave

WORKSHOPS and PRESENTATION Schedule

June 27- July 2 ... Sports Photography Workshop, Colorado Springs, Co. www.sportsphotographyworkshop.com

August 1-5 ... Long Island Photo Workshop, Long Island, NY. www.liphotoworkshop.com

August 12-15 ... American PHOTO Mentor Trek to Acadia National Park, Maine. www.mentorseries.com

September 9-12 ... American PHOTO Mentor Series Trek to Tetons, Wyoming. www.mentorseries.com

October 3-8 ... Photography at the Summit, Jackson Hole, Wy. www.photographyatthesummit.com

December, 2008 (click here)
Memory Lane