He’s a junior in high school but USC and UCLA are already courting him to come play. He’s known for his speed but he should also be known for his personality. Woods was the nicest athlete I’ve come across in a long time. Complacent about his abilities and impeccable character…and he let me put a Little Red Riding Hood cape on him.
The LA Times gave me an assignment left over at the end of the day. It was interesting to say the least. I was walking around to photograph an overall of the Wilshire Restaurant and Bob Saget (Full House & Americas Funniest Videos) asked me not to photograph him. I didn’t recognize him at first but told him I wasn’t going to take his picture. He told me to pester the restaurant for some free food and later introduced himself to me in the lobby and apologized for potentially ruining any pictures. Nice Guy.
Protesters organized in downtown Los Angeles against illegal immigration and in support of Jamiel’s Law. Jamiel’s parents are right and left. Organizer Ted Hayes wants illegal immigration stopped due to job loss among african-americans and gang violence between immigrants and locals.
When I first visited Portland in November of 2007, I had the privilege of being on the set of an aspiring photographer, Alicia Rose, to view her rendition of a project called fairy tales. The photographer asked me to hold off posting my images from the set until her gallery of images had been displayed locally. This photograph was taken during a break in shooting using the modeling lights. This gives the photograph a different appearance than the image in the gallery due to the ambient light bleeding into the forest of Sauvie Island. This is my favorite from the series.
The best weekly in Portland, The Willamette Week, had me running around photographing locations for their annual drink guide. One of my favorite places to photograph was the Gilt Club in Northwest Portland. As a professional photographer you often want as much training as you can get shooting in a style that represents your vision, but you also need to get out of your comfort zone once in a while.
Editorial photography (essentially cheap advertising photography) is good training because you’re forced to make compelling images regardless of the location you’ve been assigned to. In some aspects it’s more difficult than advertising work as you’re not able budget for location scouts and assistants to help with lighting and props and you don’t have a second pair of eyes to make sure you’re thinking of everything. This is why I urge emerging photographers to shoot as many different styles and genres as possible. Inevitably what you learn in these other ventures will pay off when you’re problem solving in your higher end work. I found my prior experience photographing in dim situations as a photojournalist really helped me with this assignment. Lighting the scene was not an option. Hauling in lights would’ve disrupted business and given me unnatural expressions. In any case, the Willamette Week was happy with the body of work and I reinforced my ability to photograph in extremely low light. Play on playah.
Just up the road from the city of Santa Cruz is Wilder Ranch State Park. I was wandering around the barn trying to capture the essence of what the Ranch used to be in the 1890s when D.D. Wilder built the original farm. I found this restored horse barn to tell the story.
I’m off to Chicago for the next week so my posting will much lighter. For now, I’ve decided to post more from the archives. I’ve been digging back a few years to submit some work to a stock agency, which I’ll write a more in-depth post on in future months…here’s an advertising shot about motorcyles…Gotham.
My most recent trip to Santa Cruz California led me to his spot, Natural Bridges. It was one of the hottest days of the year, but the ocean water was still freezing cold this time of year. The contrast in temperature causes steam to rise from the water…which added an interesting visual effect. I fly down every other month or so to work on a travel book on Santa Cruz County. It should come out next year.
Portland Photographer Brian Lee and I teamed up to shoot one of the coolest weddings we’d ever been too. Super low-key. It was the first time I’d photographed a wedding that didn’t follow the traditional format. The bride and groom had drinks with their guests before the actual ceremony, some during it and of course after. The bride handed her bouquet to the girl she wanted rather than tossing it up. Family and friends were a part of the ceremony rather than watching from their seats…and it ended with a killer thunderstorm that sent everyone inside for cake. Some selections:
I agree with Sharon, this kid could be a model!
SUPERMAN LIVES !! HARD WORK PAYS OFF
Thanks for writing. I had the same impression of Robert Woods as well. He is a great kid and will be an solid example to other up-and-coming athletes out there. In terms of lighting, I used two lights. The wind blew at the right moment. It was the only photograph I captured with the wind blowing. It doesn’t usually blow at this time of year in Los Angeles. But keep your eyes open…look for him at the next level.
I’ve known Robert since he was “SUPERBOY”, And too see how far he has come and strides he has made it is no surprise to he has come as far as he has.He has a great family presence behind him(mother Sharon,Father Robert),that will only allow him to get better.
Robert Woods is an amazing hard-working athlete and I have been fortunate to see him play. Keep striving for the best!
This picture is outstanding! You really captured an incredible pose. Keep up the good work. This guy should also think about modeling.
Dude, that is sick. How many lights did you used? Did you use a fan or wind machine? Nice work. I’ve followed you for a bit and you’re growing exponentially with your portraiture. Killer stuff.