Rain features
Zakoya Martinez-Florez, 5, (bottom left) Anastasia Martinez-Florez, (center), 6, and their friend Alice Barham, 4, collect water from the roof and the pool in background as they play in the rain outside their home during showers in the metro on Monday, August 18, 2008. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
During the few days of rain that we had last week, I spent an afternoon looking for people playing or working in the rain. These girls were outside their home with their mother and aunt, so I asked to take a few pictures. The girls were collecting water to make a sand castle, but the process, as they explained it, was fairly complicated. They used cups to scoop water from the wading pool in the front yard, or catch it coming off the roof. Then, they poured their water into a small, sandy flower bed. They couldn’t immediately go to work on the castles though. They had to wait until the water had sufficiently soaked into the sand, then the construction would begin. Their aunt said it usually takes most of the afternoon.
-John Clanton
It’s football time
Carl Albert High School football player David Oku poses for a photo at Frontier City where he works in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, July 16, 2008. BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
Photographing football is one of the things I really enjoy doing. Every summer when we start to work on our football preview section, I know that fall and a return to roaming the sidelines are not far away. This year I photographed the portraits for the covers of the three different sections in the preview, OU, OSU and high school football.
The theme of this year’s section was “Dirty Jobs.” For the college players we focused on what were the tough things that they do on the team. The high school profiles dealt with the jobs and hobbies of the athletes.
The first portrait I took was for the cover of the University of Oklahoma football section. OU offensive lineman Duke Robinson was the subject. Duke was nice enough to stand in the hot sun and pose with the pieces of sod I purchased to illustrate his dirty job of working in the trenches.
Here’s the photo of Duke that’s on the OU cover:
Below are some of the other photos from the shoot. Click on the thumbnails to see them larger.
OSU’s Zac Robinson is a quarterback who can run as well as throw. Because he’s a mobile quarterback, Robinson gets hit a lot. Despite the extra abuse he just gets up and keeps on going. He agreed to pose for us with some ice packs. Here’s the cover photo and below it are two alternate takes from the shoot.
For the high school cover I photographed David Oku of Carl Albert. Oku, one of the best running backs in the state, works at Frontier City trying to convince people to play the carnival games in his spare time. Below is the photo on the high school cover. The shot at the top of this entry, which was my favorite photo of the from these sections, was used on the inside. The only reason we didn’t use it on the cover was because we needed a vertical photo for the cover.
I was very happy with the way the shots turned out this year and think the sections look great. Thanks to Matt Strasen, Amy Rymer, Hayley Riggs and Phillip Baeza for assisting on the shoots. And special thanks to the athletes as well as the sports information departments at OU and OSU, along with Frontier City, for working with us.
Be sure to check out the football preview section when it publishes on August 24.
If you’d like to see all the photos that were in the section and more, check out this gallery:
http://newsok.com/photo/gallery/?gallery_id=3955
-Nate Billings
Hey, take my picture! Part 2
Well, I think John Clanton may have started something with his “Hey, take my picture!” entry. Fellow staff photographer Steve Gooch asked me to post this photo for him. These girls were at a youth football practice at Millwood school and asked to have their picture taken.
-Nate Billings
Hey, take my picture!
Newspaper photographers have interesting days, we could go from a rodeo to an arts and crafts show or from a church service to a motorcycle race in a single afternoon. One of the constant things that we hear, no matter what the assignment, is people shouting “Hey, take my picture!” Over the last ten years of working for newspapers, I must have heard some variation of that request hundreds of times. Usually it’s kids that ask to have their pictures taken. I always oblige and pull my camera up and take a few pictures, even though the paper would never use them. I don’t think kids even care if the picture is ever used, mostly they just want to hear the shutter click.
But, from now on, if I get that request, I’ll try to post the pictures on our blog site. Should make for a fun collection of pictures. Anyway, I was driving around looking for pictures of people in the rain. I saw that the students at Oklahoma Centennial High School were having football practice, so I stopped to see if I could make some rain pictures. Even though I didn’t get any pictures that I liked, I did get “hey, you should shoot my picture,” as I was leaving the field.
-John Clanton
From the Director of Photography
We have lots of tours at OPUBCO and one of the highlights used to be the photo department. I say used to be because in the age digital photography, our office looks pretty much like everyone else’s, a desk and a place for a computer. Gone are the cool things we used to show, the rotating doors to the darkroom, the darkroom illuminated by a dim safelight, the film processing rooms with reels and tanks and turbo dryers. Gone are the trays we used to watch our handiwork appear before our eyes. Watching the print develop was one of the things that turned me on to photography. It was a magical thing to see the photo slowly appear out of nowhere. But also a thing of the past is the repugnant odor of fixer, the dry rot on your fingers from having your hands in liquid all the time and the itchy feeling of being slightly allergic to the chemistry. Yes, we were supposed to use tongs to move the prints from tray to tray, but on deadline late at night it didn’t happen very often!
I resisted digital until the quality became comparable to film, but now I say “FILM IS DEAD!” Yes, the prints from real fiber-based silver prints are superior to anything digital, but they only belong in a gallery hanging on the wall. For most people, digital is an enormous jump in access, cost savings and ease to share. For most publishing, digital is the new king, for better and for worse. Better because we can do things much faster and cheaper and worse because we can do things faster and cheaper! Because of the low cost of technology, more people can afford better cameras and the software to deal with photos.
But a 10 megapixel camera, business card and photo manipulation software do not make a photographer. The art of photography is just that, art. It is created in the mind through a media that captures light and shadows and takes a lifetime to perfect. Yes, I will concede that anyone can get a good photograph occasionally (several Pulitzers have been won by amateurs who were in the right place at the right time), but it takes a professional to do it day in and day out. Which leads me back to the photo department at The Oklahoman.
Our office is now wherever we can find a digital signal for our laptops. Whether that comes from phone, hardwire or WiFi. Have cameras will travel! Our staff of 16 photographers have an average of close to 20 years in the profession and now we can stay longer and get photos into publication faster than we ever would have thought possible 10 years ago. So that vision, plus technology makes for so great photography on a daily basis. In print, on the web and now in this blog. Enjoy!
- Doug Hoke
Steel Lasso Adventure
Well, I now sit here ready to begin a new process in the profession I chose as my career called photojournalism. I began my journey to this point nine years ago, after I graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma. I have worked at four newspapers in this short amount of time, and I have undergone many of these new endeavors. Learning to blog will be one more experience that I can add to my ever growing list of experiences that I have been able to learn from and enjoy just because of the career choice I made (it seems) forever ago. This is my first attempt at blogging, so forgive me until I hone in my blogging skills, and most of all wish me luck……….Here goes.
THE STEEL LASSO
For my first entry I am writing a ‘How was that photo taken’ post for a photos I took on the opening of the Steel Lasso roller coaster.
I was given an assignment to photograph the official opening of the Steel Lasso roller coaster at Frontier City. The directions were simple go get a photo that can carry page one. Easier said than done, but don’t tell anyone I said that.
I was given the assignment a few hours ahead of time, so I tried to put some thought into what I might do before I got there. Since there are a number of limitation to getting a ‘GOOD’ photo when taking pictures of a roller coaster, one being that it is hard for me to shoot those behind me while riding the thing, and it is not a guarantee that you will get a good photo by standing on the ground watching others enjoy the thrill ride as they zoom past you overhead.
Mickey and Amber Reed, from left, enjoy the front seat thrill ride on the new Steel Lasso roller Coaster at Frontier City on Thursday, July 24, 2008, in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Steel Lasso is the Oklahoma’s first suspended roller coaster. Staff Photo by Chris Landsberger
So, I hit my head on the wall a few times, paced the hallways and finally settled on an idea. I then grabbed my photo assignment, cameras and a few other photography gadgets, and off I went to Frontier City.
Now for my idea, I decided to mount a remote camera to the front of the roller coaster that would allow me to shoot back towards the thrill seekers getting their first ride on the new coaster. A remote camera is an unmanned camera so to speak that is securely mounted on a Magic Arm and controlled by radio remotes called Pocket Wizards. This allows the camera to go for the ride, and I get to keep my feet safely on the ground while shooting the pictures.
Here is a look at what items I used.
Canon Mark lln with 15mm fisheye lens mounted to a magic arm.
Pocket Wizard radio remotes.
The most important item of all Gaffers Tape. Always a life saver.
The process is pretty easy after you get some practice mounting a remote camera. I will detail the steps as follows.
1. Clamp magic arm to sturdy beam on the front of the roller coaster.
2. Mount a 15mm fisheye lens on my Canon Mark lln camera.
3. Mount camera to magic arm, and position camera to shoot the front two seats of the roller coaster.
4. Prefocus lens on the seats, use gaffers tape to prevent focus from moving.
5. Secure magic arm and camera with safety cables.
6. Use a Canon remote cord to connect Pocket Wizard radio remote to camera.
7. Use gaffers tape and rubber bands to secure radio remote to the roller coaster.
8. Test fire radio remotes to make sure the camera does take a picture when you need it to.
9. Double/tripple/quadruple check to make sure everything is tight and secure and that nothing can fall off the roller coaster in any fashion what so ever.
10. Send the camera on a test ride (without passengers), fire some test shot with the handheld radio remote and wait for the roller coaster to get back to the control booth.
11. Now you can make sure that it took pictures, then double/tripple/quadruple check everything one more time to make sure it is securely in place.
12. Load up the passengers and let the fun begin.
Robert King and Joshua Scott, from left, go for a thrill ride as they enjoy the new Steel Lasso roller coaster at Frontier City on Thursday, July 24, 2008, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Staff Photo by Chris Landsberger
Nikki Birdsall uses her cell phone to take a picture of her brother Andrew as he holds on for dear life while they take a ride on the new Steel Lasso roller coaster at Frontier City on Thursday, July 24, 2008, in Oklahoma City, Okla. Staff Photo by Chris Landsberger.
That is the quick run down on how the photo was taken, I had a great time and was able to work with some great people at Frontier City that allowed me to get some very fun photos. In the end as with most assignment I had a lot of fun and was happy with the photos I took, I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed the process of capturing them.
- Chris Landsberger
Pictures I Like
Many times in the newspaper business, there just isn’t enough room. Since November 2005, when I started at The Oklahoman, I’ve put almost 4,300 pictures into our archive system. Roughly 1600 have never been published. I’m excited about another place on the website where I can publish pictures for no other reason than because I like them.
Brandon Griffin, a first-grader, joins his classmates as they play in the water during “Water Day” at Kaiser Elementary School in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
Water Feature
I took several pictures at Kaiser Elementary on the last day of school when the students were hosed off by water from a fire engine. The principal talked about how the kids love water day and talk about it all year. I covered my camera with a polo-style shirt and got in the water to take this picture. I think this pictures conveys the chaos and the excitement of water day.
Graveside
James Miller’s brother was mudered ten years ago. The alleged killer, David Lee Kemp, was captured, but escaped from the Commanche County Jail before his trial. I photographed James as he visited his brother’s grave in Lawton, Oklahoma. We ran a video about James and his family and the affect of Robert’s murder on their lives. Look for it on NewsOK.com
Cara Beth Taylor, of Piedmont, gets a kiss from her father Kevin Taylor, during the first Spirit League Game at the Yukon Commnunity Center in Yukon, Okla., on Tuesday July 8, 2008. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman
-John Clanton
Welcome to our new endeavor
If you have stumbled upon this page, you have found the new blog of The Oklahoman’s Photography Department. I’m Nate Billings, one of our staff photographers. We are all first-time bloggers, to my knowledge, and are excited to get started.
Here we hope to post some of our favorite photos, videos, and thoughts about photography. Many of the pictures you may have seen before in the newspaper or on newsok.com, others will be posted for the first time here after being left unpublished for one of the many reasons that things do not make the newspaper. Although photographers are not known for being great writers, we will also try to give some background on what goes into getting a picture and what our jobs are like.
Since this is a photo blog, I should probably post a photo in this inaugural post to get things going. Here’s one that didn’t get published. Often space constraints are the reason for this.
Jack Evans looks at the interior of a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air before Santiago Auctions Oklahoma City Summer Classic car auction at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, Friday, July 18, 2008. BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
This feature picture is like many we shoot, but illustrates one of the things I like best about being a photographer. I get to leave the office, meet people, and see all sorts of things. Before the car auction I took a portrait of a woman who had lost her son. After this assignment I photographed a baseball game. Every day brings something different.
-Nate Billings
