Favorite Images 2019

February 15: SHN Production of Hamilton: The day before the premier of Hamilton, the major players participated in a round-robin interview period where media people could chat with the actors about their careers, the challenge of being part of the Hamilton cast, and in one case I overheard, the best neighborhood Mexican takeout in the Mission District.

I managed to get some rather nice headshots of all the major cast members using a variety of bounce flash arrangements. The broad highlights created by this technique was particularly flattering to the cast members, and not as intrusive as direct on-camera flash.

There had been a push by my editor to include more page space to local entertainment that had peninsula connections. The return of Hamilton was a significant event on its own. And while the cast didn't burst into a lively rendition of "You'll Be Back", they were an exception collection of delightful people whose insights and commentary were entertaining in and of themselves.

March 28: Sting at the Golden Gate Theater: Sting wrote the musical The Last Ship about life in a small English town when its shipyard prepares to close. To generate interest and to reward the theater's major patrons, Sting and members of the singing cast performed selections for the musical, several months prior to its opening.

This time members of the press were treated to selections from the musical, which everyone enjoyed. It was an interesting venue in which to photograph. The performs sat at the edge of the stage, their backs to the audience. The "bleachers" were arranged on stage in front of the performers. It was actually a very cramped shooting environment, but we made do with what were given.

March 12: Oskar and the Big Bully Battle: Silicon Valley Theater Works presents a variety of plays designed to help children deal with a variety of "growing up" problems. This year's production centered on the bully epidemic, and how children can find ways to confront the problem.

2019 05 12 Wedding Fashion RWC

May 12: Historic Wedding Fashion Show. The San Mateo County Historical Society's collection of vintage wedding gowns were presented at a Wedding Fashion Show presented at the Historic County Courthouse in Redwood City.  I made the photo from a covered alcove that surrounds the Courthouse Plaza to simplify balancing the flash key lighting with the sunlit background.

Shortly after I submitted the image, I was asked to replace it with another, a shot that I made just for fun (right). In retrospect, I could have tightened up the composition by having my bride stand closer to me, but since I was only interested in getting a photo of the bouquet in "flight", I was content to simply keep it in the frame, properly lit, and reasonably focused. Lest I be seen as a slacker, it took almost a dozen tries just to get this photo as the window of opportunity is incredibly brief, and my bride had somewhere else to be. One could argue that the image looks more like she's catching the bouquet, rather than throwing it.  This was because my bride was tasked with both throwing the bouquet in the air and catching it on its descent, something that's requires more concentration than you might think.

2019 05 31 Flowers to Art

The Flowers To Art event assembles local floral designers at San Francisco's De Young Museum where they re-imagine the floral arrangements that inspired a still life painting. My subject was the only contestant who lived in the Journal's service area and could make herself available for a photo. This was actually a complex to set up. First, I searched for a image of a painting that included flowers and some basic props. I then made a color laser print of the painting, and cropped and mounted it in a period appropriate frame. Next, I went about assembling some props, and finally purchased some flowers. All this was schlepped to the patio of my subject's friend where I made the photo using a softbox to properly illuminate my subjects and the related props. I managed to get a small flash placed high and behind my subject to get a highlight in her hair, and while the result was not all that I could have hoped for, it gave me some ideas on how to accomplish this in the future.

2019 08 06 National Night Out

National Night Out is a community end-of-summer block party featuring music,  a DJ, and a chance for the community to meet some of San Mateo's first responders. Here a young man dances with McGruff, the official crime fighting mascot.

2019 09 05 City of San Mateo Birthday Celebration

During the 125 Anniversary of the City of San Mateo, several blocks were closed off for a three-day block party. Special events included live music acts and ballroom dancing lessons. I submitted a photo that was more in keeping the the 125th Anniversary theme, but this photo, and the young woman's expression, immediately became a personal favorite.

2019 09 08 Jasmine Jimison

Miss Jasmine Jimison was one of the up and coming ballet dances training at the San Francisco Ballet School. Since she lived in our service area, an article about her experiences was scheduled, and a photograph scheduled. I never saw the article, and don't know if the photo was published.

2019 10 25 Sonoma Valley Muzzle Loaders

Buckskinners dressed in 1830's attire gather to test their frontier skills during "Rhondezvous", a loose reenactment of the annual meetings between the Rocky Mountain fur trappers and the traders from the major cities. I've been attending these events for over 10 years, and decided that this year, I'd make photographs of the participants in their 19th century finery. I used a single speedlight combined with a shoot-through umbrella placed near my subjects. The real trick was finding a cluster of leaves, highlighted  by the afternoon sun, to use as a background.

2019 10 31 Halloween at the Carolands Mansion

The historic Carolands Mansion served as a canvas for the annual Halloween party. Several projectors were used to create the ghostly images on the mansion walls, and coupled with the darkened evening sky, helped to produce a very scary image.