Hi and welcome to the April edition of Workshop at the Ranch. I have devoted earlier issues of Workshop at the Ranch to the subject of arena sport strobe lighting but felt that this topic is always worth additional examples and information. Each year I have several events that I photograph for the United States Air Force Academy. One of my favorite events to cover is the Wing Open Boxing Championship. I enjoy this Olympic style boxing event and especially enjoy lighting the arena with sport strobes. Let’s begin………. Continue reading article →

Hi and welcome to the March issue of Workshop at the Ranch. This edition will be devoted to examples and my first thoughts regarding Nikon’s D2X digital camera. Let me begin by saying that I see my career taking on greater challenges and new clients with the quality and detail of the 12.4 megapixel resolution of the D2X. For sometime now I have wanted my images to enter the fine art print gallery market place and I believe that the Nikon D2X will enable me to do so with confidence. The image quality produced by the D2X is stunning. I have already made prints up to 24 X 36 and I am excited about all aspects of the images that I can capture with this camera. I would have to say that if you need one camera that can do it all…from journalism to commercial to gallery prints, the Nikon D2X is that camera. Continue reading article →

Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. I receive many emails each month asking how to become more successful in the photography business. To answer that completely I would need to write a book. The digital revolution is a great boom to the industry but also seems to suggest instant results both with images and business alike. Here are some of the steps I recommend for photographers starting out in business. Take them to heart, work hard and you will find your images improving each time you shoot. Continue reading article →

Hello and Happy New Year from the Workshop at the Ranch. As I write this article there is a blanket of new fallen snow covering the ranch. A perfect day to sit down and scan in some memories from the past for clients in the future. I have made most of my living capturing images of athletes who compete in the Olympics, World Championships and International sports events. Although I was never a great skier, I was adequate and could hold my own when it came to photographing ski racing. I am already submitting stock images of winter sports to a variety of clients looking ahead to the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy February 2006. Stock image sales come as a result of my retaining ownership of all my images. Ownership of images is a much debated subject these days. Many clients encourage and often require the photographer to sign away his or her ownership rights to all images they produce. Continue reading article →

Hi again, and welcome to the December issue of Workshop At The Ranch. I thought it might be fun to recap a seminar I taught during the Sports Shooter Workshop and Luau that I taught at while on the road. My breakout session was Lightpaintng. Some165 students signed up for the 2 sessions but over 200 total managed to find space on the walls and floor to see the SHOW. Before class began I made a few practice images of Jess and the Ducati Super Bike 916. Here are three test images I made before class started that might help illustrate the evolution of a lightpainting. Continue reading article →

Hi and welcome to the November edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Football season is well underway so I thought I would address a football lighting situation that confronts all photographers who are on the sidelines every Saturday and Sunday but is seldom used. I am referring to the “SHAFT OF LIGHT” that cuts across many of the gridirons around the country. I have been scanning in some old NFL images this past month and thought it appropriate to discuss the importance of RECOGNIZING LIGHT. Only if a photographer can recognize light will they be able to use it to their advantage. Let’s see how this works…… Continue reading article →

Hi and welcome to the October issue of Workshop at the Ranch. The 2004 Summer Olympic Games are still vivid in my mind. During any event there is usually time to take close notice of the graphic elements in relation to the athletes that might be pleasing to the viewer. The incorporation of graphic design into your photography will be well worth your efforts. Editors always take notice of these kinds of images in your portfolio and many publications use them as double page spreads and openers for the feature article. With a mind set on graphics and design let’s take a look at some Olympic images with an artistic approach… Continue reading article →

Hi, and welcome to this issue of Workshop at the Ranch. The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece became my 11th Olympics to cover on assignment. Newsweek Magazine is….well…..into the news, but their editors are always appreciative of interesting and unique images that will set their coverage apart from all the other publications. There is plenty of opportunity to capture pictures of this enormous event that are artistic and graphic as well as reportive and action packed. Total coverage is one of my objectives each time I shoot an event. I push myself to deliver images beyond the “trading card” action. So let’s take a look at some images from Athens… Continue reading article →

Hi again, And welcome to the August issue of Workshop at the Ranch. By the time this article is posted I will already be in Athens, Greece working for Newsweek at the Summer Olympics. I am still practicing / learning how to best use the Nikon SB-800 Speedlights as I believe they are a perfect solution for potential on location cover shoots at an event like the Olympics. Last month I demonstrated the step by step portrait. This month let’s really break instruction down as many of the emails that came in during July requested set up explanation of the Nikon SB-800 Speedlight WIRELESS TTL LIGHTING. Continue reading article →