Edmonton - June 26, 2010 -  Kent Shockley competes in the Nitro Jam finals at the Rocky Mountain Nationals at Castrol Speedway. PHOTO BY JIMMY JEONG

I was way too close. I'm still shaking my head and wondering why I didn't duck like the other photographers.

Anne Brown at her home near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta on June10, 2010. Anne Brown is an intervener in an Energy Resources Conservation Board hearing on a proposed new bitumen upgrader in the area by France's Total oil company. Photo by Jimmy Jeong

Dubbed Alberta's Industrial Heartland, Fort Saskatchewan (an Edmonton suburb) residents are faced with the construction of another bitumen upgrader. This one by France's Total Energy. The construction in the area has brought jobs and wealth to the region but the story is more complicated than that. So, you really should read the Globe And Mail story to get a grasp of everything involved. The thing is, it might affect more than just the residents in the area.

Potatoe farmer Wayne Groot stands on one of the fields he farms across from the Shell Scotford upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta on June10, 2010. Photo by Jimmy Jeong

 

It just happens that this industrial heartland is also considered very fertile farmland. How close should refineries be allowed to be built near our food source?

Barb Collier stands at her mother and grandparents' home near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta home on June10, 2010. Barb Collier is testifying in an Energy Resources Conservation Board hearing on a proposed new bitumen upgrader in the area by France's Total oil company. Photo by Jimmy Jeong

 

 

Seba Beach, Alberta - June 26, 2010 -  Ashley Thompson, 13, who has attended the camp for several years, plays with Cetiva Rymer, 7, and sister Shawna Thompson, who has attended the camp as a camper's companion. They are visiting Camp He Ho Ha's (health, hope and happiness) 50th anniversary. The camp is Alberta’s first summer camp for people with disabilities and the only facility in the province that accepts individuals regardless of the type or degree of their disability. PHOTO BY JIMMY JEONG

At one time, 50 years ago, it was called the camp for crippled children. There were no paved roads and resources were scarce. Today, the camp is more like a resort with skilled staff, a boat, a huge and scary climbing wall and political correctness. After spending the day with people like Ken Thomas, who was there for the opening of the camp, one thing that hasn't changed is that the camp is this wonderful place for so many people. Like other camps, it gives these kids those great camp memories. And lets kids feel like kids.

If you get a chance read the Edmonton Journal story by Mariam Ibrahim.

The Technical Stuff: Whenever I work on longer piece stories I travel light. One Nikon D700 with a 70-200mm lends and a D3S with a 50mm f1.4 (One-point-four, can't ask for more. Just a saying I used to say). Ok, maybe that's not super light. But that combination allows me to shoot from a distance to capture candid moments and then come in for more intimate glimpses into people's lives (something a bit wider can help with this). And if people can sense that you're an honest person they will open right up and share a part of themselves with you.

 

Five members of the Wandering River Fire Hall pose for a photo on a blocked off part of Highway 63 two hours north of Edmonton near Breynat, Alberta on June 7, 2010. The volunteers are Maureen Hagan, Jennifer Batiuk, Trisha Hatch, Sheri Johnson and Janet Snydmiller. The Wandering River fire hall is threatening to close down due to the high calls of traffic incidents on highway 63. Jimmy Jeong For The Globe and Mail

Speeding semi-trucks on highways scare the shit out of me. So imagine how I felt, lying flat on my stomach on one of Alberta's most dangerous highways. I just kept telling myself that the perspective would be better (see second photo) and that it will be worth if for a more compelling photo. It's about angles, right? The road actually rumbles and shakes when semis drive by. I kept thinking that they might pass back into my lane, not see me, and then run over my camera and my head along with it. One of the firefighters, Sheri Johnson, saw I was feeling nervous and then asked me to imagine what it's like for them when they answer a call on a pitch black highway and there's only two of them.

Good thing that these volunteer firefighters are a lot (lot) smarter than I am. They had a friend, Terry Wilkinson, with his AMA tow truck steer the traffic and close off one lane of a two-lane (passing) stretch of the highway. Seeing the fear in my eyes, one of the firefighters, Maureen Hagan was also kind enough to put a lot of flashing cones down. I kept insisting that she place more down.

I really think that they should do a reality show on this group. Even the Globe writer, Josh Wingrove, was saying that he could write so much about each of them. Here is the article that was written. And if you get a chance, please visit my website and let me know if you think I should add one of these photos to my portfolio.

The Technical Stuff: The first and third photos were shot using two Nikon SB-800 Speedlights on either side of the group. As usual, I first metered for the ambient light so that the scene would be about 2 stops darker to get richer tones especially in the sky. And then I brought up the lights on the portrait subjects. One eye on the group, one eye on the road.

 

Friends leave the scene of a homicide in Edmonton's Ritchie Neighbourhood. Photo by Jimmy Jeong

Tragic stories I photograph do have an effect on me. Sometimes the emotions overcome me as I hide behind the camera. Some stories take a day or two to sink in after I've taken another look through my photographs. This past Sunday, I recorded precious few minutes of an event that will forever effect friends of Apichat Sudsaneh as they came to visit the site of his slaying just half-a-block from where they were living. According to the Edmonton Journal story by Conal Pierse, Apichat Sudsaneh was stabbed to death while rushing to the aid of two friends who were being attacked by a group of young men in the Ritchie neighbourhood. Apichat Sudsaneh was celebrating his going home party that night.

I never saw this moment as this man walked by. This 1/320th of a second as the mirror on the camera raised and he walked by was only studied after as I was editing the photos. But I do remember that his face was red and that his eyes were full. And all I could say to him was, "I'm sorry."

 

 

 

Premier Floyd Roland of the Northwest Territories sits down for a portrait at the Westin hotel in Edmonton, Alberta on May 25, 2010. Photo by Jimmy Jeong For the Globe and Mail

I have to admit that sometimes, rarely, a subject for a portrait can be intimidating. But this is the first time I've met a sitting political leader who had actually dropped the gloves and got in a hockey fight (in his B-div beer drinking hockey league in Yellowknife) during their tenure. I wonder if other Canadian premiers or Prime Minister Harper now thinks twice before opposing Premier Roland in the political arena.

The Technical Stuff: I really wanted to isolate the premier from the environment so that he would be the only focus of attention. The shoot took place in the hallway of the second floor of the Westin Hotel in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. So, I gridded all the lights. I started by setting my camera settings (Nikon D700, iso 100, f5.6, 1/250th of a second) so that basically if I took the photo without lights the frame would come out black. From there I built up the lights. There are two strip lights (long and narrow) behind the premier on either side. These are both gridded, which controls any spill from the lights and makes a much more narrow beam. I then made use of the reporter (thanks Josh) and had him hold a Nikon SB900 with a Honl 1/8 grid pointed at the face of the Premier. The strip lights add a rim of light around the subject and chair (you will also notice the angle of light on the floor because the lights were up high pointed down) which separates the subject from the black background. And then the punch of light on his upper torso brings back the detail in his face.

I've been asked by a lot of people how I set this up. Well, really the title says it all. But I'll go through the steps here and give you some insight into some of the problems I had to deal with.

What You Need: 

1. Eye-Fi SD Card (Or a canon or nikon wireless transmitter. Eye-Fi was much cheaper)
2. iPad or iPod
3. router
4. ShutterSnitch app
5. compatible camera

The legwork is going to be done by an Eye-Fi memory card. These are SD cards with a built-in Wi-Fi that will transfer images from your camera to your computer, or to an iPad or iPod. Kind of. You will still need some sort of router to act as the network which will bridge the files from the Eye-Fi card to your iPad. In my case, I used an Apple Airport Express. You do not need an internet connection. In fact, it might be more stable not to use one (unless you have set up your Eye-Fi to post to the web.)

*Note - If your camera does not take SD cards then you can get a compact flash card adapter like the one I used for the shoot. (Thanks to Ryan Jackson for the loan of all the cool tools). I was using a Nikon D3 which has two compact flash (CF) slots. Your camera must be able to take CF Type II (the fatter one). I found out quickly that this wouldn't work with a Nikon D3S. Although someone has pointed out this adapter that might work.

The other important piece of the puzzle is an app called ShutterSnitch which you can download from the iTunes app store. I also highly recommend visiting the ShutterSnitch site for great information if I start to ramble you run into any problems. It's this app that runs on your iPad or iPhone to receive the images. Important When you first open the app, write down the password. I was so excited to use the app I skipped past this page. The password apparently allows you to use other advanced features.

The Set Up:

Set up the Eye-Fi card and add a network for your router. In my case, I plugged an ethernet cable to my Apple Airport Express. You have to be hooked up to an internet connection for just the first time to set up the network (to introduce your router to the Eye-Fi card). This gets the Eye-Fi talking to your router. After, you do not need an internet connection. Next, you need to set up ShutterSnitch to talk to the Eye-Fi card. For this you need an "upload key" which will be on your computer (assuming you've set up your computer with an Eye-Fi already). This is the info from the ShutterSnitch site:

If you're on WinXP the key is in the C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Eye-Fi\Settings.xml file.
On Vista it's in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Eye-Fi\Settings.xml.
On a Mac it's in /Users/<username>/Library/Eye-Fi/Settings.xml.
Search for <UploadKey> and there's your key. If you don't find anything, make sure that you've had at least one transfer directly to your computer via the Eye-Fi Center server.

Open the Settings app and enter this key into your ShutterSnitch settings.

Note: Make sure that the Eye-Fi Center is not running on your computer while using ShutterSnitch. All "talk" is done over your wireless network so having two Eye-Fi servers will just confuse your card.

(I used a text editor to read the XML file.)

Make sure your iPad is also using the network you set up. This can be changed in the Wi-Fi settings.

Setting Up Your Camera:

For the Nikon D3 I was using, which has two CF slots, I set it up so that the first slot would receive raw files and the second slot (with the Eye-Fi card via CF adapter) was a copy but set for small jpegs. I used small jpegs because the I wanted fast transfers and it was good enough for what I was doing. You might want to play with the medium or large size if you expect people to zoom in on the photos using the iPad.

Auto-meter off Delay - You need to change the default setting on your camera to allow for a full transfer of files. This setting on Nikon cameras is in the pencil graphic/timers.

Is it working:

Once you have everything set up, and have started a collection in ShutterSnitch, you should see a blinking text in your ShutterSnitch app that says Eye-Fi supported. When you take a photo, it will say Active and then Analyzing Photo.

Extra Help:

The ShutterSnitch forums are useful if you run into problems.

First Impressions:

People love playing with the iPad. And this set-up will really get people's attention and allow them to be more interactive. I usually tether to a computer and my Apple Cinema Display, but these can be intimidating to people especially kids (well their parents anyhow). I want people to be able to swipe through photos and have fun on shoots. This set up is especially great for any type of event photography or wedding photo booths.

Warning:

Don't reformat your Eye-Fi card and use with the same collection on your ShutterSnitch. The images will pop up out of order. And again, make sure your computer is not on as it will compete for the Eye-Fi connection.

Have fun with it. And if you get a chance visit my site or link back to me. Cheers.

 

Edmonton - May 16, 2010 -  Two-year-old Maddox Flynn with parents Mike Flynn and Nicole Champagne at their home. They expect Maddox to have surgery in New York on Friday for a severe facial malformation that has affected him since birth. PHOTO BY JIMMY JEONG / EDMONTON JOURNAL

Sometimes a great story comes along and it reinforces my belief that I'm part of a noble profession. To be able to share real stories about real people. Last week I was assigned to photograph the heart warming story of two-and-a-half-year-old Maddox Flynn and his adoring parents who just wanted the best life for their child. Maddox was born with a rare lymphatic disorder called cystic hygroma on the left side of his face. His mother Nicole told me that she loves him for who he is but has already seen how other children react to him.

The family has found a doctor in New York city who may have the answer that Canadian doctors have not been able to solve. According to the Edmonton Journal story Maddox may now get the treatment he needs due to the incredible support and donations from Canadians.

After an illustrious 14 minutes and 27 seconds playing time as an Edmonton Eskimo, in the Canadian Football League, son of former Eskimo great Neil Lumsden, has left the building. That's really too bad, for me. I was looking forward to photographing his career which I'm sure would of included some major milestones had he stayed healthy. It's rare that as a sports photographer in this city you get a chance to historically document such an explosive top tier player. I was really hoping to add some killer sports photos to my portfolio.

Well, best of luck Jesse. You are way too talented and too young to fall to such unfortunate circumstances.

Jimmy