I'll fix it in post...

Digital capture can be a really nice thing. You can grab all sorts of images and then decide later which look to apply to each individual frame. You can change your mind. Make a variety of "finals." Some of us tend to do more post-processing than others. I think sometimes it can really complement the images and sometimes folks go to far and the treatment they apply to the images becomes distracting, or suggests to the viewer that the photographer has tried to make a weak image more interesting.

Recently I have been shooting some personal work with my Leica Rangefinder on film. Yes, they still make film. Remember when we had to decide what look we wanted the final image to have BEFORE we shot the images? Remember when we would choose from our favorite emulsions as an artist would choose his palette? Remember when we would capture a latent image on film, but couldn't view it instantly? How about that moment when you clicked the shutter and just KNEW you had that shot in the can, and the anticipation of processing the film and then looking to see if you were right?



cross-processed color film



high-speed black & white

These images were scanned and adjusted for density, color, contrast, and crop. I love the looks, and I've spent a lot of time in post-processing digital captures trying to achieve these exact same looks! Still, there's a certain satisfaction that comes from the deliberate intent that goes along with shooting film. Especially when it turns out right...

mmmm... doughnuts.

What would make thousands of people get up early on a Saturday morning and brave mid-30's temps to run 4 miles? Some might say it's the charity- the NC Children's Hospital, and they'd be right. Others will swear it's the doughnuts- 12 glazed rings of sugary goodness that you have to down at the halfway point. But really it's the challenge- can you run 2miles, eat a dozen glazed, then run 2 more miles all in under an hour? And can you keep the full dozen down, or will you be one of the many decorating the streets of Raleigh?

It was the 6th annual Krispy Kreme Challenge this morning in downtown Raleigh, and the rain let up, it didn't snow, and the challengers were out in force to raise money for the NC Children's Hospital. One of these years I am going to run, but once again this year I just went to take pictures. I met up with the runners at the halfway point at the Krispy Kreme at the corner of Peace and Person St. as they were attempting to put away their allotment of doughnuts. Sidestepping the large rain puddles and the various other small puddles left behind by folks who weren't quite up to the challenge, I watched as runners wolfed down doughnuts and the media swarmed them for pictures and interviews (myself included.) Then, slower than when they arrived, the runners began to head back out on course, leaving their empty boxes in large piles along the sidewalks for the volunteers to dispose of.

I have to do this at least once in my life. OK, maybe next year I'll leave the camera at home and take on the challenge...

Helicopters and Ambulances

One of the most extensive projects I have shot was with Stop Studios, a design firm in Durham. The client was Duke University Medical Center's Emergency Services, also known as Duke Lifeflight. The assignment was to produce a "library of images" from which they could pull for a huge variety of uses- brochures, a calendar, and even t-shirts! Take a look at a few printed pieces here.

My first step was to scout out the hospital to see where things were and determine how much access I could get to areas around the helipad, ambulance bays, and trauma rooms. Little did I know that my scout day would become a shoot day by default! The call came through that someone needed a Lifeflight airlift, so we hightailed it upstairs to the helipad and I quickly began taking pictures of the helicopter crew going through their pre-flight checklists. I had a few seconds to obtain permission from the pilot to stay up on the pad (at a safe distance, of course) and then they took off, banking out over the Durham skyline to go help someone in need. In the rush, everyone forgot that the Flight Nurse was also acting as our escort, so once the helicopter lifted off, we were left unattended on the roof! It wasn't long before a security guard looked out there and noticed me taking pictures of the helipad for detail "vignettes." After a brief explanation and a call on his radio to check my story I was allowed to stay out on the pad and wait for the helicopter's return. The sun was setting and it was "magic hour" as I was photographing the landing and offloading of the patient, then into the building and down to a trauma room. It happens fast! I was able to shoot the helicopter taking off again after dark, since they had to fly to RDU for refueling. All in all, my scout day was very successful.

I would spend quite a few days over the course of a couple months with the Flight Nurses, Pilots, and Ambulance Drivers at Duke. These folks are busy. They have serious jobs. They don't want to stop and pose for a photo shoot- people's lives are at stake. So I got to follow them around and see what they do day in and day out. Their days are spent keeping themselves busy with equipment maintenance and paperwork until the call comes over the radio that sends them into action. So that's what I did too- I had my laptop set up in their control center, deep in the bowels of the hospital. There I would look over images and show selects to my Art Director until the folks in the blue flight suits got their call. Then it was off to photograph the ambulances and helicopters and their emergency crews.

We also were able to shoot portraits of the crews, a few scenarios that were set-up during downtime, and one day I went up in the UNC chopper to photograph the two Duke Lifeflight helicopters flying over Durham. That was one of the coolest things I've ever done! I very much enjoyed working with the emergency personnel at Duke, and was quite impressed with their abilities and their professionalism. I have put a bunch of images on this post, this is just a small sample of the body of work we created.

Why "A Thousand Words?"

Well, I have a portfolio of images on my website and I've tried using descriptions and whatnot, but I always end up going back to the theory of letting the image speak for itself. After all, "a picture's worth a thousand words," right? The purpose of this blog, therefore, will be as an outlet for me to ramble on about what it took to create these images, to show all my favorites from a project instead of just the one hero shot, and to show personal work that may not quite fit in any of the categories on my website.
I hope that folks enjoy seeing the images I'm working on and don't mind reading my drivel too much!!