Image #3   Jay Maisel … Nikon D800, ISO1000, 1/640 at f4, Nikon 28-300mm lens, WB 6240K, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.

Spending a day in early March with Jay Maisel at home in his NYC Bank Building was perhaps the greatest joy of the year for me. It’s such a pleasure to listen to him travel down memory lane about photography and photographers whos images and encounters live forever in print and publications.

After touring the multiple floors of bank vaults, studios, archives, tools, galleries, living rooms, and hallways of gadgets we settled into what looked like an office. Jay made a short business phone call and as he hung up the phone he turned to me and asked, “What makes you cry.” “Death,” I said.

I will not forget that day…I love this man.

Image #4   Flying Illini … Nikon D4, ISO2500, 1/600 at f2.8, WB 6250K, Nikon 70-200mm G VRII zoom lens, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.

I have been involved in the sport of gymnastics since I was 8 years old. I began the journey as a kid in the local gym program, then the High School team, then NCAA competition, then as a coach in college and Private Club programs.

I have photographed the sport for 35 years capturing action and stories at numerous National competitions, World Championships, and 6 Summer Olympic Games where Gymnastics was always a huge media concentration.

This image of NCAA All-American, Paul Ruggeri was made in April during the Pro Gymnastics Challenge, the brainchild event of Brent Klaus. Brent is a former National Gymnastics Champion, the last American to score a perfect score of 10.0, and a long time friend. I will always find time to photograph the sport that started me off on my photographic career and spend time with those in the sport that are like family to me.

Image #5   Florida Finish … Nikon D4 (REMOTE), ISO360 (AUTO ISO mode), 1/3200 at f8, Nikon 14-24mm lens, WB 6250K, Pocket Wizard Multi MAX Transceivers (to trigger the REMOTE camera), OverXposed Ground Plate, SLIK Ball Head, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.  

I have been involved with Scott Kelby and the KelbyOne program of online instructional photographic classes for the past 3 years. It is simply the BEST program I’ve ever worked with.

This image was captured using a Nikon D4 and 14-24mm lens as a REMOTE camera placed underneath the inside rail while making a KelbyOne class at Tampa Downs in May.

To watch how this image was made and learn several additional sports photography techniques, simply log onto  www.kelbyone.com  and click Dave Black under the Instructors list. My class can be rented for under $10 (viewable for 48 hours) or if you are a KelbyOne member you can watch it throughout your yearly membership.

Image #6   Lobo Charge … Nikon D4 (REMOTE), ISO500, 1/250 at  f9, Nikon 14mm lens, WB 6250K, Pocket Wizard Multi MAX Transceivers (to trigger the REMOTE camera and trigger the Rangers, 2 Elinchrom Ranger 1100 RX Speed AS power packs each with “A” (Action) Flash Head (mounted in the arena catwalks with Manfrotto Super Clamps and Safety Cables), 2 Elinchrom Ranger 1100 RX Speed AS power packs each with “A” (Action) Flash Head each with a blue gel (mounted in the arena catwalks with Manfrotto Super Clamps and Safety Cables, the D4 camera is mounted on a SLIK Super Ball Head and OverXposed Ground Plate, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.

The Workshop at the Ranch (my Instructional BLOG) continued to service many photographers quest for knowledge. The VERY popular “Your Questions and My Answers” series elevated the monthly count to well over 85,000 Unique Visitors. I will be continuing this series during 2014, so “click” the Contact page on my website and send me your question…you will get my answer and you might get written up in a future Workshop at the Ranch.

Image # 7   Twilight at Elean Donan Castle … Nikon D800, ISO400, 30 seconds at f20, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 3030K, 1 Brinkmann MAX Million II portable hand held spotlights to Lightpaint with, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod and 410 Geared Head, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.

I continued my teaching relationship with the American PHOTO Mentor Series in 2013. August featured a two-week photo “Trek” to Scotland was a real highlight of travel and face-time teaching for me.

During our Highland travels and photo opportunities in Scotland was a twilight shoot at Elean Donan Castle. I can only take about 30% of the lighting credit as the castle was already well lit with spotlights installed on the grounds surrounding the castle. I added my own Lightpainting of the lengthy bridge and a little on the foreground to complete the scene.

I already have some Treks lined up for 2014, including a Nikon Speedlight Trek in New Orleans and Mono Lake-Bodie Ghost Town where we are sure to Lightpaint the town. I will list my 2014 workshop schedule January 1st, 2014. To contact the Mentor Series of workshops:  www.mentorseries.com

Image #8   American Legend … Nikon D800, ISO1600, 1/500 at f6.3, Nikon 200-400mm G VR zoom lens with Nikon TC-14E 1.4x Teleconverter (making the lens a 550mm total focal length), SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.

I have some reputation for my Sports Action images and my Lightpaintings. I am not a wildlife photographer, …and don’t even pretend to be one. This image was made at Jeff Liembach’s “The Digital Photo Workshops.”

The workshop was held in my favorite location, Jackson Hole and specifically Teton National Park, WY. We were about ½ mile from the Triangle X Ranch where several vehicles had stopped to gaze at the massive herd of Bison. We all pulled off the road and began taking some pictures.

Suddenly, the entire herd turned and began to trot, then gallop directly at all of us. No one moved as they were advancing so quickly. They surrounded us while on the run. I stood motionless while being wedged into my open truck door. I hand-held my Nikon D800, Nikon 200-400mm G VR II zoom lens with a TC-14E 1.4x Teleconverter (a 550mm focal length) and made several images. I just kept on shooting until the entire herd had rumbled by. The sun is coming from behind the Bison and also reflecting off the windshields of surrounding vehicles, all of which created some beautiful shafts of light on the passing Bison. With the Bison so close and 550mm of lens all I could see was a portion of the animals faces.

When the herd had passed, and my heart had begun to slow down, I noticed a photographer, a professional or at very least one, who photographs wildlife on a regular basis, …he was pressed against the rear panel section of my truck. I said to him, “That was a thrill for me, guess you see this sort of thing all the time.” He turned to me all “wide-eyed and breathless” and said “After 40 years in this business I have never been in a situation like that…it was as BIG a thrill as I have ever had … hope I got something special.”

To contact The Digital Photo Workshop:   www.thedigitalphotoworkshop.com

Image #9   Photoshop World: Pre-Con Workshop … Nikon D700, ISO400, 30 seconds at f11, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 3030K, Gitzo Tripod and Ball Head, SanDisk 16G Extreme pro Flash Card. This image Photo by: Haley (Black) Hendrickson … my daughter.

September is Photoshop World in Las Vegas, and I once again was an instructor all week including my Pre-Con Workshop where my class learned Lightpainting in Nelson, NV.

My daughter Haley (Black) Hendrickson was again my co-teacher and was a terrific help to many of the participants during the 3 hours of Lightpainting the Town of Nelson.

Looks like I will again be holding a Pre-Con Lightpainting class for Photoshop World 2014. Spring Photoshop World is in Atlanta and the word is my class will be Lightpainting at Old Car City. Although Photoshop World Las Vegas is still being put together, I am hoping to teach another Lightpainting Pre-Con in Nelson. Keep checking the 2014 Photoshop World website and maybe I’ll see you there.

The Photoshop World website:   www.photoshopworld.com

Image #10   Zydeco Flirting Cyclone … Nikon D800, ISO800, 3 seconds at f22, Nikon 24-70mm lens, WB 5560K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Tripod and 410 Geared Head, Brinkmann MAX Million II portable rechargeable spotlight, and 2  additional studio flood lamps, SanDisk 32G Extreme Pro Flash Card.

A new addition to my workshop line up in 2013 came in the month of October with a long time friend, Bill Fortney.

Bill asked me to come teach a workshop that featured several sessions of Lightpainting in and around the Lexington, Kentucky area. This extraordinary piece of glass art is the creation of glass blowing artist Stephen Rolfe Powell of Kentucky. Stephen was preparing his latest creations for a show in Chicago. He was kind enough to invite our class to come photograph his collection before heading to the Windy City.

Stephen was currently photographing his own glass art by himself, but was having some difficulty illuminating all the colors due to the thickness of the glass. I introduced him to Lightpainting and made this example image using his own studio set-up of 2 flood lamps and then added my about 3 seconds of Lightpainting where needed.

Stephen’s exhibition runs through December 28th, 2013 at the Ken Saunders Gallery at 230 West Superior Street, Chicago, Illinois.

Image #11   Peyton Manning … Nikon D800, ISO4000, 1/1250 at f5.6, Nikon 600mm f4 lens, WB 4650K, Gitzo Carbon Fiber Monopod, SanDisk 32G Extreme pro Flash Card.  

My year 2013 would not be complete without a picture of Denver Bronco’s quarterback, Peyton Manning. I did not shoot as many sports events this year as usual, but could not pass up Manning who has become a household name nationwide.

I have made a conscience effort to use my Nikon D800 camera for much of my sports event coverage in 2013, and so it was when Denver met Kansas City on Sunday night, November 17th at Mile High Stadium, …sorry Sports Authority, it will always be Mile High to me.

I’m so impressed with the image quality at ISO4000. You might ask if The D800 is better than the D4 in terms of noise control. Well, yes, … it’s the larger file that makes it a better choice for quality for me even at ISO4000.

I don’t often rely on 10 frames per second to capture my sports action. Years of shooting on strobe lighting systems have groomed me to use single frames to capture the action. Thus, the D800 works well for me.

Other photographers on the sidelines asked if the auto-focus was too slow. I said maybe a tiny bit, but I set my Focus Tracking with Lock-On to the OFF mode. This setting, in my opinion, increases the precision and capability of the D800 to Lock-On quick enough for sports action.

Image #12   Knight Colors … Nikon D800, ISO1000, 1/3200 at f9, Nikon 14-24mm, WB 3030K, Elinchrom Ranger 1100 RX Speed AS power pack and “S” (standard) Flash Head with a Full CTO gel, Pocket Wizard FLEX TT5 (HyperSync mode) as my transmitter and Pocket Wizard ST5 as my receiver on the Ranger, SanDisk 32G Flash Card.  

The year finished at a Super Bike racetrack called Jennings GP near the boarder of Florida and Georgia. This image was taken as part of my latest KelbyOne video class to be released in Spring 2014.

The class is packed with teaching photographers 3 Ways to Light Up Sports Action. Detailed instruction and image making is featured using Speedlights, Quadra and Ranger lighting systems along with RadioPopper PX and Pocket Wizard FLEX TT5 (HyperSync) wireless triggering systems.

This production was a huge undertaking for the Kelby video crew and myself. We made use of 3 sports, 3 venues and several athletes including Super Bikes racing by me in a rainstorm. I define and illustrate the difference between High Speed Sync (with Speedlights), and HyperSync with the FLEX TT5 (Quadra and Ranger.) I’m confident that this unique class will be very helpful to all photographers who shoot location lighting.

To view KelbyOne classes:   www.kelbyone.com