All the best from The Oklahoman Photo Dept.

Great Ball of Fire!!

When I left the office tonight (Sept. 1) at Britton and Broadway Extension a little after 7:00, I noticed the sun was a big red ball in the sky. Knowing the conditions for this type of sunset are rare I kept an eye on it while looking for something to put in front of it during the drive home. As it fell lower and lower, it opened up a lot of opportunities. As I headed west on 33rd toward Coltrane I spotted the tall grass I put in the foreground, which luckily was right by a turn-off in the road. I whipped the car in and jumped out to get my Canon 40D and 300mm f2.8 lens and plopped on the ground and started shooting. For situations like this, I like to shoot in the jpeg + raw mode which allows quick editing for the newspaper deadlines, but also gives me more detail if I need it. The great thing about these type of sunsets is the exposure is so close to the ambient light, thereby maintaining detail in the sun. I varied the size the sun appeared by using different f-stops. The larger the aperture, the larger the sun. This frame was shot at iso 200 1/1600 at f2.8 to give the sun its maximum size. I think it was worth pulling over for and I hope you do to.

-Doug Hoke

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Just a lightning strike away…

Hugh Scott doesn’t get many bylines in the paper because most of his work is for the advertising and marketing departments at OPUBCO. But he has a collection of lightning photos that is insane! Here are a few from an early August storm. Seems like we’ve had more than normal for this time of the year.

Lightning strikes over the OPUBCO Communications building late Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, night as storms rolled across central Oklahoma. Photo by Hugh Scott, The Oklahoman.

Lightning strikes over the OPUBCO Communications building late Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, night as storms rolled across central Oklahoma. Photo by Hugh Scott, The Oklahoman.

Lightning strikes over the OPUBCO Communications building late Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, night as storms rolled across central Oklahoma. Photo by Hugh Scott, The Oklahoman.

Lightning strikes over the OPUBCO Communications building late Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009, night as storms rolled across central Oklahoma. Photo by Hugh Scott, The Oklahoman.

-Doug Hoke

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LibertyFest Car Show

Went to the LibertyFest car show this morning on the campus of UCO. It was hot and so were the cars! One of the best shows I’ve seen. Something from every decade from 1900!  I love the cars from the 50′s and 60′s. Back when the designers still ruled! Great car stories too. Here are a few of my favorite detail photos. Enjoy the full gallery here.

-Doug Hoke

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Simon Says

Remember playing Simon Says when you were a kid? How fun it was? Well now the fun is taking photos of kids playing Simon Says as I did Monday night in Edmond’s Fink Park at the Girl Scout Twilight Camp. I came across a group of Brownies playing and took some photos as the command was “Simon Says Smile Big!” See more photos Saturday in the MyEdmond section and a photo gallery:  http://newsok.com/multimedia/photos/gallery/501195

-Doug Hoke

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Ashley McKee

Ashley McKee, The Oklahoman’s 2009 photo summer intern started this week. Ashley comes to us from The University of Montana in Missoula. Ashley went to her first assignment Friday, the reopening of the Rock Cafe in Stroud after its destructive fire last year. Here are a couple of her photos. Some were published on Saturday May 30 and more will run with the Food Dude’s column in the Life section this week. Look for more from Ashley as we get her up to speed and she finds some projects to work on.

-Doug Hoke, Dir. of Photography

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Bring On Summer

Well it is here, the unofficial first day of Summer has finally arrived for us here in Oklahoma. To kick off the season I had an assignment to go take pictures of 1400 third and fourth grade Oklahoma City Public School students taking a water safety class at White Water Bay. The result was this photo that ran on page 1 Friday.

After it ran in the paper I received a number of inquires about how I took the photo. So, I thought I would take a few minutes and give a run down on how it was taken.

Overall, it was not very different from most other assignments that I go out on each day. The only difference was the equipment used to take the photo. Instead of the normal cameras I use from day to day, I used a Canon G9 point and shoot camera and an underwater housing that allows me to take the camera up to 140 feet under water. Luckily I did not have to go diving that deep in order to get the photo.
The next step was just trying to get a photo that I liked. As any of you who have been around a lot of kids playing and have a great time at a swimming pool know, it is chaotic to say the least. Knowing this, I settled in to be patient, and wait and shoot and wait and shoot……well you get the idea, till I got the photo that would work. I set the camera to a wide angle setting, and put the camera half way into the water with half the lens above the water and half under. From there I hoped to capture kids swimming above and below the surface. It took me about 45 shots or so till I got the one I wanted, which I believe was the 43 photo I took. As they say patience is a virtue.

–Chris Landsberger

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High Jump

This photo has extra meaning for me, not only because I think it turned out really well, but because the subject, Toni Young, is a high jumper. I was a 3-year-letterman high jumper in track in high school. When this assignment to shoot Toni, who tied the national record with a jump of 6′-4″ earlier, came up last week as a promo for the state 6A championships it brought back a few memories.

Her school, and the track we would shoot at, Del City High School, is where I set a personal best in 1975, my senior year. My 5′-11″ pales compared to her record, but was still my personal best. My senior season had a couple of distractions for me. One, senioritis–my hat goes off to all those spring sport seniors who can stay focused, and photography, which has become my life-long passion and vocation.

-Doug Hoke

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Baseball memories

Growing up in Kansas City, my favorite activity in the summer was to go to Royals’ games with my father.  There is no other experience in the world like going to the ball park with your pops.

The sights, the sounds, the smells, the food.  A hot dog at the ball park tastes better than the world’s finest filet mignon.  The crack of a line drive is unforgettable.

Baseball is the the definition of summer.

We would always go to at least three games:  Memorial Day for my birthday, Fourth of July for the fireworks, and my personal favorite Blues Springs’ Day.

Blue Springs Day was extra special. On this day, I would put on my softball uniform cleats and all. And along with hundreds of other future hall of famers, I would parade around the warning track before the game. If was lucky enough,  George Brett might even wave hello.  I felt so cool. I was on top of the world.

Here in Oklahoma City, every Sunday the RedHawks host Sunday Fun Day. After the game, all the children are allowed to run the bases, hit home runs, and play catch with their dad in left field. I certainly wish I had a memory of playing catch in left field at Kauffman Stadium with my pops.

I bet these kids feel as tall as their shadows as they round the bases and will always remember the time they hit a homerun at the Brick.

Summers at the ballpark can create memories of a lifetime.

-Sarah Phipps

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Capturing the joy of others

Last Saturday I was at Cops Cooped Up, an event to raise money for Special Olympics by the Edmond Police Department and also a safety fair.  It got its name because Officer Aaron Randall stayed in a tent in the parking lot of Academy Sports from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. The Edmond police and fire departments brought out a lot of their equipment to show the public.  Safety fairs are mainly put on to help educate children and let them meet these real life heroes. And kids there were. Which brings me to the point of this entry, capturing the joy of children and their parents photographically. It has always been one of the parts of my job I enjoy the most. Most young children have an innocence that allows them to enjoy things we (adults) take for granted. A young boy watching a fireman climb the ladder on a fire truck. Sitting on a police motorcycle or peering into the K-9 car to get a close look at the dog. Or just saying things to make us laugh. I hope you enjoy the following photos as much as I did taking them.

To see a gallery from last Saturday, click here

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Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service

Jim Beckel covered the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service this morning and came up with some nice photos.

To see the complete gallery click here

-Doug Hoke

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