While I have not yet posted my “Five Points of View” on the True/False film festival held in Columbia last week, I have decided that this image–much as I might light it–will not be making the cut.  Think of it as a teaser for the project to be posted some time soon.

Amanda Espy, a volunteer for the True/False film festival, twirls in front of the "Q" line for standby tickets for the movie "Identity Crisis" on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010 at the Tiger Hotel in Columbia, Mo. | Canon 5D Mk. II and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 59mm; exposed 1/6 sec. @ f/5, ISO 400

If only that “Q” was a little sharper….I’d like it more.  But it still wouldn’t make it in!

Tags: EOS 5D Mark II, photojournalism
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Missouri women's basketball forward Jessra Johnson, left, fails to prevent Oklahoma's center, Abi Olajuwon, from making a two point shot on Wednesday, 20 Jan. 2010 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. Olajuwon wears the same number as her father, Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon, from his college career. The Tigers lost 61-62 to the Sooners. | Canon 1D IIn and 50mm f/1.4 lens; exposed 1/1250 sec. @ f/1.4, ISO 800. | Color corrected with X-Rite Color-checker Passport.

The Set-up

Last Wednesday I found myself sitting on the court at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. with two different camera bodies and three different lenses.  So, what’s the problem?  The 7D and the 1D Mark IIn see colors differently.  Add to the equation that the glass in a lens affects the color rendered in the final photograph.  For newspaper photography, usually captured in JPEG instead of RAW, this is just something you would normally “live with.”

Maybe you’d just take two identical bodies and figure no one will notice the difference once its printed on Charmin, any ways.  But online, the differences can be stark.  Take, for instance, this Columbia Missourian slideshow where I was using my 7D and a 1D Mark III on loan from CPS, but my colleague Chris Dunn was using an older D2Xs body at the football game between MU and Kansas State.  This is an extreme example, but it is amusing to watch Kansas State’s jerseys suddenly jump from purple to blue depending on which camera was used.  Hint: Nikon didn’t figure out what purple “looked” like until the D3 and D300 came out.

Article continues!

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Tags: basketball, color management, EOS 1D Mark II N, EOS 7D, photojournalism, Reviews, sports, X-Rite Color-checker Passport
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I’m at home in Racine, Wis., and have begun the process of filling in the missing keywords, re-ranking, and re-organizing my photographs from fall 2009 in my Lightroom database.  I keep finding images that only got one star that should have been two, four star images that should have been three, and so on.  When I got to my photos from MU’s homecoming parade, the eyes in this image lunged out at me.  I had to work up the image (tone and crop, mostly) and post it up here.  I’m sure I’ll uncover a few more “lost images,” and will be sure to post them here.

Kaitlyn Peacock, 13, from Chamois, Mo, prepares to march with the Chamois High School band in the University of Missouri's homecoming parade through downtown Columbia, Mo. on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. | Canon 5D Mark II and 85mm f/1.2L II lens; exposed 1/4000 sec. @ f/1.8, ISO 100

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MU freshman Erika Chapman dances with the Golden Girls during a time-out at the women's basketball game against Texas - Pan American on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009 at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. | Canon 1D IIn and 16-35mm f/2.8 L II lens @ 23mm; exposed 1/400 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 800.

On Thursday I went over to the Mizzou Arena with Stephanie Hinkle to photograph the University of Missouri’s women’s basketball team demolish Texas – Pan American 83-34.  I haven’t photographed basketball much, but have found that I can at least find the occasional feature photo even if my action images haven’t yet developed to the point where I’d like to have them.

Missouri's Bailey Gee attempts to drive past Texas-Pan American's Sherrell Davis during the first period of the game. | Canon 7D and 70-200mm f/4 L IS lens @ 70mm; exposed 1/800 sec. @ f/4, ISO 3200.

Golden Girls Time-Out. | Canon 7D and 70-200mm f/4 L IS lens @ 176mm; exposed 1/400 sec. @ f/4, ISO 2000.

Tags: basketball, sports, sports feature
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After scratching my head for a while to figure out what I was going to do for my final project in Staff Photojournalism, I realized that I should expand on the month-long architecture project that began back in October and ran in the Missourian last week.  And unlike the other slideshows this semester, I made this one at home, using Premiere Pro (the school only has Final Cut Express, which, unlike it’s bigger brother, cannot handle square pixels, meaning that all images are warped).  All comments welcome!

Tags: architecture, multimedia, slideshow
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I haven’t photographed much basketball before, so I didn’t exactly know what I was doing when I went to photograph Hickman High School’s women’s basketball team play Helias High School.  I have no doubt that I am at the bottom rung of the totem pole, but even so, I had fun.  Especially when Hickman’s junior guard Aqua Corpening dove down to the floor after shooting for a two-pointer with only a minute left to the game.  Just as she’s about to hit the hardwood floor, the ball starts to go through the net.

Hickman junior guard Aqua Corpening dives to the floor after shooting a two-pointer in the fourth period of the game against Helias High School on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 in Columbia, Mo. The Kewpies defeated the Crusaders 53-48. | Canon 1D IIn and 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens @ 16mm; exposed 1/320 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 1250.

I also thought that the way that the Helias team was swarming around the same player, Aqua Corpening, was fun in this image:

Aqua Corpening, junior guard for the Hickman Kewpies, prepares to attempt a two-point shot during the fourth period of the game against the Helias Crusaders on Dec. 3, 2009 in Columbia, Mo. | Canon 1D IIn and 24-70mm f/2.8L lens @ 38mm; exposed 1/320 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 1250.

Usually I’m told to find a good sports feature in addition to the usual sports action.  Most of the time I can find interesting people in the crowd, but I had forgotten that a better opportunity would come at half time, when people can go out onto the court and shoot baskets themselves:

Jackson Kespohl, 6, aims for the basketball hoop during half-time at the Hickman High School vs. Helias women's basketball game on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 in Columbia, Mo. | Canon 7D and 70-200mm f/4L IS lens @ 81mm; exposed 1/400 @ f/4, ISO 3200.

Tags: basketball, sports, sports feature
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Fans wave glow sticks on the balcony of the Blue Note at the start of the Bassnectar concert, fashioned to be like a rave party, on Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 in Columbia, Mo. / Canon 7D and 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens @ 24mm; exposed 1/8 sec. @ f/2.8, ISO 4000.

Last Friday I was assigned by Vox Magazine to go to a pseudo rave at a Bassnectar concert held at the Blue Note, a theater-like venue here in Columbia, Mo.  I decided to pack the 1D Mark III and the new 7D, leaving my 5D II on the shelf at home.  While it is a great camera in low light, I was more interested to see how the other two would perform as they are both relative “unknowns” to me.  Risky?  Sure.  But I figured it made sense to have one pro body with me, and my own 1D IIN is terrible in poor lighting conditions.  The only rule imposed on me was “no flash.”  This was going to be ISO 3200+ territory.

More photographs after the jump!

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Tags: Bassnectar, Canon, concerts, EOS 1D Mark III, EOS 7D, raves, Reviews
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Betsy Shirey, the house manager for the Stephens College production of "Dixie Swim Club" at the Warehouse Theatre, walks on stage before the start of the tech rehearsal on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 in Columbia, Mo. The play opens next Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 PM, and will run though Saturday, Nov. 21.

Tonight at 7:30 pm, “The Dixie Swim Club,” a play written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, will be performed at Stephens College at the Warehouse Theatre (Missourian article here), and again every night through Saturday.  I photographed a tech rehearsal last Thursday, and this photograph struck my editor, Stephanie Hinkle.  I had dismissed it as it is a photo of the house manager coming onstage to welcome the audience to the theatre and to announce a raffle to be held at intermission, it does have a graphic quality to it.  It’s funny, as I’ve been trying to focus so much on content-driven photos that I sometimes forget about having a little fun with graphic elements in the frame.  Some day I can better blend the documentary with my other styles of photography, but maybe this is a start.

Tags: outtakes, photojournalism
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