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.

 

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 have to say that I love magazine assignments. The most obvious is because the photos are printed on beautiful paper stock and they can also play very large. And when working with a talented art director, the design just holds up the story and images in perfect harmony. Ahhh. Text + Image equals a wonderful experience. I really hope the iPad will allow these great art directors to really push for beautiful and intuitive design that just works.

Ok. Back to the photography. I was assigned by Edmonton's Avenue Magazine to take the photos of a local parkour group for their May edition. The story was written by Kimberley Ireton. The traceurs (a practitioner of parkour) in the photos are Wayne Higham, David Tonner and Thera Raudsepp.

 

Edmonton firefighter Paul McGonigal stands on the roof of a fire station in Edmonton, Alberta on March 10, 2010. Paul McGonigal and a group of firefighters are camping out on top of their fire station this week as part of an annual fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy. The camp out runs from March 9 to 12. For the Globe and Mail.

Isn't it enough that fire fighters fight fires? Do they need more excuses to
be called heroes? Really?

I had the pleasure to hang out with Paul McGonigal, who has been a fire
fighter for the last 20 years. One week every year for the last several
years he has been camping out on the roof of a fire station, to raise money
and awareness of Muscular Dystrophy (the charity of choice for fire fighters
in Edmonton).

McGonigal is the real deal. A soft spoken, caring and inspiring local hero.

The Technical Stuff: The portraits were shot using my Nikon D700 and a
70-200 mm lens. I really like the look of using a longer telephoto lens
because it compresses the objects in the photo and it also helps to make the
subject really pop out. I also metered to drop the ambient down two stops
and Paul was strobed using an SB900 flash with a Rayflash ring light.

Ok, I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures is to spend my lazy days shooting sports. There is something hypnotically relaxing being able to just follow the action and shoot. There is a rhythm to every sport and once you can get on that beat, you can get some amazing photos.

Swimming is a bit different than most sports I’ve shot. Mainly because the athletes have their heads under the water for most of the race. This breathing thing, kind of slows them down. So really you might get only three or four really good opportunities to shoot a good profile shot. Of course there is other interesting shots you could find if you had an underwater kit.

The Technical Stuff: I plunked myself down in front of lane 5 (the middle lanes will have the fastest racers). I placed two Nikon SB-800s (set to 1/4 power and zoomed in) on small stands on either side of this swimming lane and pointed towards the middle lanes. I didn’t want the flash to be direct. This way the light wraps slightly around the swimmer. My ISO was at 320, Nikon D700, AFS-300mm lens, F2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/320sec. Ahha! You say. The D700 only synchs to 1/250 sec with off camera flash. You’re correct. At this speed there will be a small black band along the bottom of the frame. (Another trick from Strobist). And this is what I wanted to increase the drama of this photo.