Change is good

Recently I sold off two pieces of equipment that had been with me for a very long time. My decision was due to the change in the market. No not the stock market but photography. If it's one thing that I've read over and over on being a successful business it's to recognize shifts in the market and adapt to those changes. Well I've recognized the change for a while but didn't want to change until now. My mentor Gary has been telling me for years to get away from shooting sports and other things that didn't generate the same level of revenue as the other aspects of my business (namely weddings and portraits). I would answer back, "yeah, yeah I know."

So in the last few weeks I've been really feeling the effects of the Great Recession and looked at where I needed to take my business. This is a necessity with any business and especially in these times.

Then a few weeks ago I made the decision to sell my 400mm lens. Yes the one that I use for most of my sports assignments. There are a couple of reason why I decided to sell it. For one it's so old that even Canon Pro Services won't touch it. I had to have a new lens mount put on it a couple of years ago and it cost me an arm and a leg to have a third party repair shop fix it because finding the right part is hard to do.

Secondly, I just don't shoot enough sports assignments that pay me a day rate. That is a client that will pay me to go and cover a college or NFL football game. That's where the industry is heading. More and more "weekend warriors" who have good paying day jobs are buying into shooting sports by buying pro gear and letting the camera do the rest. And they'll do it for free because what the really want is to be the guy on the sideline. Autofocus has ruined sports photography.

Lastly, with the cameras that have come out in the last 18 months you don't need the fast aperture of f/2.8 anymore. I would rather carry around a lens that weighs 2.5 lbs. instead of one weighing 15 lbs. for three plus hours. The newer Nikons and Canons make some great looking pictures at ISOs that were unthinkable just 3 years ago thereby allowing the photographer the option of shooting at f/4 instead of f/2.8.

So I sold the lens I bought 11 years ago and made some great images with in order to move on with my photography.

The other thing I did was to sell my Canon EOS-1D Mark II. This was my main sports camera and it was 5 1/2 years old. Now for some that's not a big deal but the odometer read 261,000 images had been snapped with this camera. That's a lot of picture taking.

My rationale for this move was that Canon was about to announce (and as of this morning they did announce) the new flagship pro camera the EOS-1D Mark IV. Yeah I missed a couple of updates to mine but it was a sound camera and made great images. I just needed to sell it and recoup as much of my investment as I could before it depreciated any more with the release of the Mark IV.

So with the sale of both pieces of gear I was ready to set out on a different direction. I redesigned the wedding website, had business cards printed for my wedding business and now I'm in the process of meeting with wedding coordinators and bridal shops in the hopes of attracting new clients.

My old editorial business is still there it's just that I want my business to grow and I can do that better by focusing more of my resources towards weddings and portraits than shooting on spec at a game.

There are some interesting things happening in the world of photography. Almost every digital SLR being manufactured today has the ability to shoot HD video. Combine this with the breakthroughs in low light photography and it seems to be one of those points where you can either change with it or be left behind. I for one want to be on the front side of this wave.

Sometimes Bigger Isn't Always Better

I don't know if it was me or just the section we were sitting in but I felt a little unfulfilled as we left Raymond James Stadium following last night's U2 concert in Tampa. Don't get me wrong. I'm totally biased as a fan and still loved the concert but I didn't grab the same vibe that I did from the previous two arena tours.

For the lesser U2 fan, the U2 360° Tour's main draw after the band is the stage which has been called "The Claw" and was inspired by LAX. The reason for The Claw was that the band wanted to play in the round at football stadiums but needed a way to rig sound and lighting. Hence The Claw.

I gotta tell you I've read the reviews and the most talk about how The Claw doesn't take away from the band and that it almost blends in to the darkness at times during the show. Well let me tell you when you're in the top deck of a stadium it's all you CAN look at. The band was so freaking small I felt like The Claw was performing the songs.

(As a side note to future concert reviewers. Try sitting in the third deck for part of the show. It'll give you another perspective to include.)

I've seen the boys play concerts at stadiums before. In fact I've seen 5 of my 9 U2 concerts at stadiums but this made them seem too small. That could also be because we were closer to the stage than the 737s landing over at Tampa International at the other stadium shows.

As for the setlist, they seemed to stay with more of their songs from this century than older material. Not bad but come on I've heard those songs before. Dig in to your catalogue and pull out some more gems. I did like that they played Unforgettable Fire which was the first time I'd heard it live. I just would've also like to have heard songs from the Boy or War albums that maybe they haven't played recently. In the end like Cathy said after the show, "They've got so many hits it's hard to choose which ones to play for a 2 1/2 show."

Now let me get down to the heart of what bothered me. Section 342 was filled with casual fans. I was the only idiot who didn't sit the entire concert. Usually at U2 shows everyone around us stands and sings every song. But then I'm usually closer to the stage where I'm surrounded by other U2 freaks such as myself.

Around us were lots of families who brought their tweens or 8-year-olds with them. The row in front of me must've been sponsored by Geritol. And the jerk behind me was just there for the beer apparently as he slurred his threats for me to sit down.

I do have to brag for a second. Because I had done my research on the concert I knew that the song Moment of Surrender would be the conclusion to the concert. And when the closing cords played I grabbed Cathy and said, "let's go."

We made our way to the exit tunnel, hit the john before the long car ride home, and made our way to the secret exit. It was a side stairwell away from the pedestrian ramps that everyone else was heading.

A lone security lady started yelling at us to go the ramp. I just continued down the stairs while Cathy paused. I looked up and yelled, "Come on. What's she going to do throw us out?"

We got out of the stadium and down Woodlawn Avenue where we had paid a private lot to let us nose our car facing out. My iPhone's Maps helped me navigate the small residential roads leading away from Ray Jay and get me out ahead of the traffic. In fact, as we turned onto MLK Boulevard I could see the traffic behind us. We made it home in an hour and 25 minutes which is the normal time when there aren't 72,000 people (btw it broke the stadium record for the most people to attend an event at Ray Jay which was set at this past January's Superbowl) clogging up the roads.

It was great to see the band again and hear the songs but I think next time I'll try and get general admission tickets and stand on the floor with the rest of the U2 crazies.

Back in the Burgh

EDITOR'S NOTE: This entry was supposed to be written earlier this week but with Cathy out of town my time was limited.

Last week Benjamin and I joined Cathy on the road as she taught a group of bankers in Pittsburgh. It gave us a chance to see the city we loved and lived in as well as reconnect with old friends.

It was hard for us to believe that it's been almost a decade since we resided in the City of Bridges. As we exited the Fort Pitt tunnels we saw downtown and were reminded why we will always have a fondness for this town. It's neighborhoods give it a small town appeal but still feels like a big city.

Our first stop was lunch in Oakland at one of our old spots Fuel & Fuddle. Located one block from the law school we grabbed a bite before the students piled in for lunch and walked around Pitt. Benjamin really loved the lawn and hills around Pitt's Cathedral of Learning. He ran up and down them for a while.

While Cathy taught her seminars Benjamin and I took excursions to various places around Western PA. The first morning of Cathy's classes I took Benjamin up to Rochester, PA to visit the graves of his great grandfather and great, great grandparents on both my mother's sides.

It was a cold, wet morning at the Sylvania Hills Cemetary but Benjamin didn't seem to mind he just wanted to run around like the boy he is. The cutest thing was whenever we would leave one of my relatives' grave sites Benjamin would turn around and say, "Bye bye."

On our second adventure I took the Mino to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to look at dinosaurs. He was pretty impressed by their size. We looked at some of the museums other exhibits like their mineral and gems collection and the plasters of old cathedral doors but the highlight took place in the basement of the Carnegie.

The museum has a discovery room where children can touch and learn about many things on natural history. This one particular exhibit allowed children to pick up and touch furs, skulls and petrified woods. It was the plaster replica of a small dinosaur skull that caused us problems. Benjamin grabbed it and slammed it on the floor. Now I think it was broken beforehand and the fact that it was a replica and not an actual artifact didn't give me concern. We just quietly put it back on the shelf and walked away.

The last night of our trip we had dinner with the Pritchards. We haven't seen Matt and Korey since we left and they now have two beautiful boys who could pass as Benjamin's older cousins.

The whole week Cathy and I talked about how much we missed Pittsburgh and the city's character. I got tingles as we drove past the old apartment building and saw our coffee shop. The city has changed a lot since we moved away but still felt like it was ours. As much as we would love to live there it's hard for us to be that far away from our family.

So to all of our friends still in the Burgh we'll be back again to see yinz.

Achieving my Goal

It's now official. In the last 28 months I have lost 60 pounds and now weigh in at a svelte 165 lbs. I went from a 38-inch waist to 31-32" (depending on which brand). I don't think I ever thought I would get to that goal weight but I have and am proud of it. I look very different and feel very different.

When I first made the decision to take control of my health we were expecting our first child. Since that time a lot has happened and yet I was able to "stay on target." (Star Wars reference for the geeks in the crowd.) I remember during the first few weeks talking with Cathy and both of us thinking that 185 lbs. would be a good goal weight for me. "Anything less and I would look unhealthy," I can remember justifying. Plus that would've been 40 lbs. of weight loss. That would be good, right? Wrong!

At this point I kind of forget when I hit various stages. I believe I was at 185 around Christmas of last year. Not bad but Cathy would say to me, "Honey I think you could lose another ten pounds and look better. Then at 175 she said, "Maybe another 7 pounds would be your ideal weight?"

Well I decided that if I was going to go from 175 lbs. to 168 lbs. I might as well just hit the 60 pounds of weight loss mark. And I have.

In the beginning I did research and found that a man of my height would be considered overweight if he were 168 lbs. or more. Cathy and I both laughed this off as extreme and out of date. Now looking at it I guess it wasn't too out of line.

I know in the past I've rattled on about my progress and how good I feel but I honestly do. Being able to go out and think nothing of running 9 miles or biking 37 miles gives me great confidence that I can complete a difficult task no matter what. Also the fact that I've lost 60 lbs. shows me that the mind is an amazing thing when you harness it.

Alright now where are the Dunkin' Donuts? I'm starving!!

It's Becoming an Addiction

It felt better the second time. My hobby of triathlons is becoming an addiction I think and Saturday's race in downtown Orlando solidified it for me. The race itself was slightly longer than my first one back in June and my training for it was even longer.

The OUC Downtown Orlando Triathlon consisted of a .25-mile swim in Lake Underhill, then 11.5-mile bike ride and finished with a 3.7-mile run from the Lake Underhill to Wall Street plaza in the heart of downtown. I smashed my goal time by five minutes to 1:15:22.

The swim segment is still my strongest of the three disciplines (shocking I know) but this swim was much different than the first race. The main reason was that it was an open water start as opposed to a sprint from the beach. I kept getting kicked and hit for the first half of the swim but when I got away from the pack I really kicked it into high gear. I was the 8th person in my grouping to get out of the water which I thought was really good.

The best way to cut your time in a triathlon is to tighten up your transitions which I did very well. I cut my transition times by 2 1/2 minutes this time around. The biggest reason for my time improvement from the first race was knowing iPods are prohibited. I din't have to waste time putting it on and then taking it off.

The bike course was more tactical compared to Clermont's scenic ride around the lake. This was city biking with 90-degree turns along the way. I did have to yell at one participant as she didn't know the meaning of pass on the left. She just kept peddling her little beach comber while I screamed, "LEFT!!!!"

It was during the run that I started to feel the temperature. The wind that was in my face during the bike was absent as I turned on to Robinson Street for the long run to downtown.

Looking back, the only thing I would've changed would have been to increase the pace of my run earlier. During the home stretch I had way too much left in the tank. I had a kick that felt like I was at the NFL Combine timing my 40.

In the end I placed 11th out of 42 for my age division and 121 out of 505 overall. I felt great after the race and now want to find another to enter. I am making a goal to enter and finish a half Ironman next year. I already have done the swim and run distances of 1.25 & 13.1 miles respectively. All I need to do now is see how I would do with those and a 56-mile bike thrown in. Who's with me?

Back to School

As you may remember I joined up with Panasonic a few years ago to be one of their instructors for a program they called Digital Photo Academy. I taught a class in Tampa and really liked the whole experience.

Since then we've tried to find a similar venue here in Orlando for me to teach. Then this past summer we came up with the idea of holding the classes in the community room of my subdivision's clubhouse.

So now, once a month, I will be teaching Beginner, Intermediate and Understanding Composition classes. Panasonic has other classes through the DPA program but I prefer these three as I can teach all of them in one day.

This past Saturday I had a group of three attend the Intermediate class. The course description says that the class is four hours long but the last few times I've taught it I only needed three. The class is not too technical but it helped explain to students how to use their cameras to capture the picture they wanted by using the aperture, shutter speed as well as other features found on most of today's digital slr cameras.

It was nice to be back in a classroom environment and showing others how photography can be an outlet for them. If you're interested in finding a DPA class near you click on www.digitalphotoacademy.com to sign up.

Circle of Life

It's official. Summer is now over and my weekly schedule has returned to somewhat normal. This morning I dropped off Benjamin at his new school and headed back to an empty house. How nice.

So I have to tell you about another one of those moments of parental realization for me that happen last week.

I took Benjamin to school to meet his new teachers and talk with them about how he is as an active boy. For the most part it went well. He seemed like he would do fine when school started and he gave his teachers a warning shot of his active nature.

While Benjamin was busy playing with the new toys he found in his classroom the teacher asked me to fill out the emergency contact info and other last minute forms. I didn't think much about it and took the forms to one of the tables in the classroom and squatted into one of the miniature chairs to fill out the information. Then it hit me. Wait a minute. The teacher got me into a midget chair.

At this point my mother is laughing loudly while reading this entry. There is a story that she likes to tell about how I got her into a midget chair when I was in second grade.
Back in the day, I was known as the class clown. I know shocker. Well apparently I considered music class my chance to dazzle my classmates with my stand-up routines instead of learning my do, re, fa, so la, ti do.

So when it came time for parent/teacher conference day all of my teachers lined up for an inquisition of my mother. To this day she still talks about how when she walked into the room there were three big chairs and one midget chair. That's when she was hit with a barrage of attacks on how I wasn't taking the lessons seriously. She said she felt so belittled just by the simple fact that she had to sit in a midget and take the attack I caused.

Fast forward 27 years. As I was writing down my cell phone number a wave of memories hit me. And the feeling of being a parent settled in. I was now sitting in a midget chair in my son's classroom. Thankfully he hadn't been there long enough for me to endure what my mother endured with Mrs. Boone, Mrs. Gonzales and Mr. Campbell.

Counting My Blessings

The last few days have been self-reflecting. You see a very good friend of Cathy and I's is showing true Grace through a very difficult time. I for one have hugged Benjamin more often because of what Sylvie is enduring and have felt blessed for having a child as I do.

Sylvie is one of those people who is such a beacon in this world. You probably know the type. She is one of the most optimistic persons you know. Sylvie is a sorority sister of Cathy's and I shot her wedding a few years ago.

When she told us that she was pregnant last Fall we were so happy for her as we knew she would be a great mother. She was so looking forward to seeing her baby girl.

When Sydney was born March 14th she was 7 lbs. 7 oz., 20.5" long. The doctors at first didn't know what was wrong with her right lung and how it was effecting her heart. Eventually they found out that she suffered from Scimitar Syndrome which effects these organs.

I'm by no means smart enough in this area to break it down into laymen's terms but to put it simply Sydney had a lot of obstacles from the start. The doctors said that she faced some serious corrective procedures. Some surgeries would take place in the first months of her life and continue well into her childhood.

Cathy and I have kept up with Sydney's progress be reading Sylvie's journal on Caring Bridge. It seemed that with every step forward there were two steps back. Then came Saturday's entry.

In Sylvie's entry she informed us, "On Monday, the doctors indicated that Sydney is having multiple organ/system failures. It breaks my heart to tell you all that she will not ultimately survive. There is nothing the medical team can do for her except offer comfort, dignity and loving care. Yesterday we had a care conference with her doctors and nurses where we decided the goal of her care is to keep her comfortable."

After reading this I wanted to hold my son in my arms and thank God for the blessings he has given me. Sylvie deserves nothing more than to care for her child like most of us do everyday. She wants to provide for Sydney. To change those diapers and rock her little girl to sleep in the middle of the night.

Cathy and I have talked several time over the last couple of days about this. Words can't describe what we feel for Sylvie nor can they come close to what our dear friend is enduring. As Cathy said to me, "for her to come home and see the nursery that Syndey will never see must be heart-wrenching."

I don't know how I would react if I were in Sylvie's position but I admire her for her strength. As she puts it, "I don't know how much time there is left. My goal is to be with her as much as possible. Family and friends can pray for our family, pray for her comfort. Hope is still around us. It's only changed form. I appreciate all of you going through this journey with Sydney, and I offer my love and compassion for your feelings of sadness and loss. She is a light in all of our lives. No one will forget this precious little girl. Our lives are better because of her. She did have purpose. I will never know how many people prayed for her. How many became closer to God because of her. How many held their own children a few minutes longer each day because of her."

Mad Men Season 3 promo shoot

For those who are addicted to the AMC series Mad Men you already know that the new season premieres this Sunday. You may have also seen the promo poster for season three where the lead character Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm, is sitting in his office surrounded by water.

When I first saw the ad I thought that the water was photoshopped in like most imaging in today's ads but it wasn't they actually had Hamm in a water tank for the shoot.

Anyways I thought it was a pretty cool behind the scenes video to watch how an ad is created.

Twittering Myself

Yeah that's right. I broke down and created a Twitter account. For the uninitiated Twitter is a way to post quick thoughts, pictures or links for the world to read or see. It's essentially the same as Facebook status updates just through a different source.

Some friends of mine sync their Twitter and Facebook accounts so that if it goes out to one it goes to both. I haven't done that as I want to try using Twitter for something a little different. I guess I post more thoughts to Twitter than I do for Facebook for now. Some of my Facebook friends have complained about the frequency of my status updates.

One of the things that has surprised me about Twitter since joining are the random people who have added or "followed" my feed. I get an email every so often saying @JoeSchmo is now a follower of yours. Who the heck is Joe Schmo and why did he decide to read my tweets? Who cares join my bandwagon.

In the process of getting more acquainted with Twitter I've found the page called Trending to be insightful especially on Fridays when new movies come out. Last week I wanted to see the thoughts of those who went to see the new G.I. Joe movie. I had low expectations of the movie but a lot of people on Twitter were giving it favorable reviews.

Then this past week the wife of Twitter CEO tweeted during the birth of their first child. It started with this tweet:
"Dear Twitter, My water broke. It wasn't like Charlotte in Sex and the City. Now, timing contractions on an iPhone app." When the contractions became too strong she handed the phone over to her husband Evan Williams to update followers on the baby's progress.

Kind of cool how some of this technology is changing the way in which we communicate. Like I said this is just something I'm dipping my toes in to for now. I'll see if there comes a time in which I'll take the dive. If you would like to follow my Twitter feed you can see it at http://twitter.com/livingstonphoto

Kayaking- Behind the Scenes

As you may remember I shot a story a while back on Kayaking in the Florida Keys for the New York Times travel section. I spent three days paddling around different parts of the lower and middle keys with my good friend and travel writing partner Christopher Collier. We got to go to some pretty interesting sites such as paddling through a forest of mangrove trees as well as uninhabited areas off the main keys that many don't know about.

Originally I wanted to have more video footage but considering I was doing this as extra I'm still happy with the footage I got.

For those who look for continuity errors or other oddities in movies (i.e. the "ghost" behind the curtain in Three Men and a Baby), if you look closely in the opening scene you can see the digital audio recorder I'm trying to hide in my hands. I had to record a separate audio track for that shot because the handycam was about 20 yards and prevented me from getting clean audio from it's internal microphone.

And if you wish to see this at a better resolution you can watch it at YouTube.

In-touch at 34,000 Ft.

This past weekend I flew up to Milwaukee with Benjamin to see my grandmother on Orlando-based Airtran. I had never flown Airtran before and was unfamiliar with their new program of offering wireless internet on board their flights.

Traveling with Benjamin on a 2:40 flight was different this time than it was when we flew last summer considering he runs around now. I didn't think having WiFi during the flight would be anything great. I mean who has time to watch silly YouTube clips at a cruising altitude of 34,000 feet when Mr. Crankypants wants to run up to first class to see what all the fuss is about.

Well count me a fan of airborne WiFi. That is because I realized how valuable it was on the way back. The flight up was a bit painful for my mom and I because I didn't correctly transfer Benjamin's TV shows over to my iPhone and he needed some entertainment.

While we were flying back I gladly accepted the $6.95 charge to use the WiFi just to access YouTube and fire up some clips of the Backyardigans. Since I always keep my phone fully stocked with media I had no room left to purchase and download shows directly from my iPhone before boarding the flight so YouTube was my only option. And it worked.

Yeah yeah I know electronic babysitter but have you ever enjoyed being on a plane with a screaming baby?

Well I wasn't playing the Backyardigans for the entire flight as Benjamin kept turning around to play peek-a-boo with the little boy seated behind us. During those times I was able to try out the rest of the internet including talking with Cathy via a Facebook chat session. She was driving back from a babyshower in Tampa and was able to check in on how Benjamin was doing during the flight which I think made her feel better.

I was also able to send out some email which I couldn't do earlier on the ground as I was running around with Benjamin at our gate.

I did try using Skype to make a call but the sound was horrible. I first tried calling my friend Robert who was online but it went to his voicemail. I then called Skype's test call number to hear how my voice sounded to someone on the other end. While I was able to clearly hear the British woman's voice recording informing me to speak after the beep to check for clarity I could only hear burps and bleeps of my voice on playback. So fear not travelers who don't want phones to be used on flights. It's still not there.

Overall the WiFi feature onboard Airtran is nice for those who would like to be able to conduct a little business. The good news is that you aren't completely accessible to the world. So business travelers who want to be productive but undisturbed for a couple of hours can now do so.

Now can we just get a children's play area with sound proof walls on all flights?

Out of Commision

Well for the last 10 days I have been nursing some injuries. You see the morning of Independence Day I went for a workout and had an accident during the bike portion. I'm getting better now but the three stitches are still in and the road rash is still visible.

Needless to say it kept me from entering my second triathlon last weekend as well as limited my exercise.

To answer the question of what happened it's simple. I should have pulled off on the side of the trail and not try to clear out someone's text messages while riding. In the quickest of moments I had veered into the side rail of the wooden bridge I was crossing and was thrown off the bicycle. I never hit my head (which thankfully was protected with my helmet) but suffered a deep wound in my left elbow. Yes the same elbow I needed stitches in two years ago when crossing the street.

The ER visit only took 3 hours and Cathy took care of me the next three days. Since then I have found new ways of coping with everyday life using my right hand a majority of the time.

I'm scheduled to have the stitches removed in the next few days and hopefully will be back to training. Since the accident I have gone on a 20-mile bike ride and didn't seem to suffer any flashbacks when crossing the bridge.

So there's the reason why saran wrap has been at the top of my blog for way too long.

That's a Wrap

Tonight was an unexpected passing of a friend who has seen us through a lot. It went off to law school with Cathy, returned to Central Florida three years later, moved in to our first apartment with us a newlyweds and helped us with Benjamin's meals. Yes I'm getting sentimental over our restaurant-sized roll of Reynold's saran wrap.

It was originally purchased by Cathy's folks along with a lot of other apartment supplies in August 1997 when she left for Pitt. It has been moved all over with us and finished it's last job tonight wrapping some thawed chicken to be cooked later this week.

If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, "Why is Chris wasting a blog entry on saran wrap?" Well then you aren't one in on the running joke.

Cathy and I had our doubts if we'd ever finish the roll. It just kept giving and giving platic goodness to out leftovers. We wrapped Thanksgiving turkey, bowls of salads, and even some rice cereal when Benjamin was just learning to eat solids. For the Pitt crew as well as our folks they know what we're talking about. It got to be like a member of the family because it was always at our house in good times and bad. Holidays, weekends it didn't matter Reynolds was always there.

So tonight I say thank you for your 12 years of service. And I wonder, "My god how much leftovers does a restaurant have to need this type of roll?"

Something Different for Father's Day

First of all Happy Father's Day to all. This being my second Father's Day I wanted to make this year as memorable as my first. So I decided to enter a triathlon. I know weird.

Yesterday I competed in a spring triathlon that consisted of a 1/4-mile swim, 8-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run. I've been training for the last six weeks varying my distances to help my endurance as well as time of day to factor in the heat.

Standing on the beach at Clermont's waterfront park I could feel the adrenaline pumping as I looked out at the buoys in Lake Minneola. I was in the mountain bike division which meant I was the last group that started because those type of bikes are slower than racing bikes.

I decided that I wouldn't run full steam into the water but instead jog and try to make it as far out as I could before diving into my swim. The water was extremely warm which slows me down. It was also very brackish making it difficult to see any swimmers ahead me.

I knew I was doing well as I only saw one neon green swim cap in front of me (different divisions had different cap colors). As I rounded the second buoy I aimed for the exit chute and navigated through a sea of slower swimmers from the division that started before mine.

Going into the first transition I felt pretty good. My breathing was down and I was able to get out on the bike quickly.

The bike route took us around the lake to places that I used to patrol looking for feature photos when I worked at the paper. The only time I was ever passed during the entire triathlon was at mile two of the bike segment.

My second transition time was quicker due to the the fact that I already was dressed. All I had to due was rack the bike and head out to the run.

Going in to the race I knew my strengths would be swimming and biking thanks to my years on the high school swim team and my Poister thighs cranking the bike along.

The run was the grueling part for me. It had more to do with the heat and lack of breeze more than the physicalness of it. Last week I purposely trained later in the morning to get acclimated to the heat and humidity. It was a good thing because it helped.

The last mile I really felt the heat. I kept my pace slightly slower than I normally would have just to give myself a kick at the end.

With .2 mile left I picked up to a full sprint for the finish line and crossed it with a time of 1:08:07 which was good enough for third place in my division.

I'm very proud of the fact that I made the decision to enter a triathlon but more proud that I did well enough to place. It was great to see Benjamin along the route cheer me on. Behind my sunglasses my eyes welled up seeing my son point at me and yell whenever I ran by him.

It was because of Benjamin that I started swimming, biking and running which led me to race yesterday. In the process I hope that I showed him by example that if you put your mind to it you can accomplish any goal you set for yourself.

Happy Father's Day!

Covering the Finals

So here's a video I produced during Game 5 of the NBA Finals this past Sunday with the help of Cathy. I've been thinking about shooting this video for a few months but never had an opportunity to have an extra person for scenes that would require someone to follow me around.

This video gives some insight as to what I do when shooting a basketball game. It shows that I don't just show up an hour before tip-off and sit on the court to take pictures. It's usually a 10-hour day and rigging remote cameras. The remote camera help me hedge my bets that I don't get blocked during the key play.

After editing the video I've developed a drinking game for it. Man I say the word "so" often during the video. I may also have to upload the blooper reel. The opening was shot over several takes as Cathy kept cracking up every time. Eventually I had to make her go down to the court until I was done.

Anyways, hope you enjoy.

Capturing a Champion

What a game. To document the Lakers' 15th NBA Championship was simply amazing. And shooting pictures of Kobe doing what Kobe does was astonishing. There were some shots he would take that I was certain there would be no way he'd make it and he did.

Watching the Lakers celebrate on the Magic's home court was disheartening to me as a fan but great to capture as a photographer. Photographing basketball history in the making was special. Getting images of Phil Jackson holding the Larry O'Brien trophy for the tenth time and surpassing Red Auerbach is something I know I'll always look back on say, "Yeah I was there."

I also documented Magic center Dwight Howard sitting on the bench and watching the Lakers' pump their fists and celebrate their title. That had to be rough for a player who wanted to carry his team to the stage and hoist the O'Brien trophy himself.

Covering The Finals was a great moment for me professionally but those three games were exhausting. I'm glad to say that the basketball season is over and I was able to work the final game. Hey doesn't NFL training camps open in four weeks?

Putting the Wife to Work

After the Magic beat the Cavaliers and advanced to the NBA Finals, I got an email from my editor at EPA asking me if I could find someone to help run digital cards from the shooting positions back to the editing room during the games in Orlando. Wow talk about a tough find. It's not like I had everyone and their brother calling or emailing me after Game 6 asking if I needed an assistant.

I knew I better call and offer it first to Cathy before calling my buddies up. I told her that two of the three games in Orlando didn't start until 9pm and that we probably wouldn't be going to bed until 2 am. Didn't matter she was in.

We made some logistical arrangements for Benjamin as well as for us to stay with my mother during Games 3 and 4 so we could get as much sleep as possible following the game.

Cathy's responsibility was to retrieve the cards from our two photographers on the floor who were shooting while I had a separate runner for my position in the stands. She said following the game that she developed a series of signals with John and Larry to communicate if they needed a card picked up or not from her position just off the court. So she was able to watch most of Game 3 from an area that people were paying close to a $1000 to do the same thing.

It was funny listening to her after the game talk about the celebs that she saw and literally ran into during the game. (Apparently Charles Barkley collided with her coming out of the bathroom. Don't worry he survived.)

I have to say that it was nice that I was able to get Cathy into the Finals. I know that most of the games I cover she could care less about attending but this is special. I mean The Finals only comes around to Orlando every 14 years.

photo taken by Phelan Ebenhack

FINALly

Last night the Magic were able to do what previously they couldn't. Win an NBA Finals game. Yeah I know it's not winning a Championship but for this town last night's win was huge. The frustration of the previous six losses was apparent.

So here I am still shooting basketball and it's June! It feels a bit strange but I enjoy it. In the last seven months I've shot my first World Series and now my first NBA Finals. Not bad but it's still just shooting a game.

I will remark that shooting last night's game was a little different. For starters I'm shooting from what is commonly referred to as the "up" position and not the floor as EPA's staffers who are shooting all the games are in the floor spots. I am in the upper bowl of Amway Arena which is kind of nice because I don't get blocked by players, refs or ABC cameramen as they scramble onto the court during a timeout. Nor do I have to worry about the guy sitting behind my spilling his beer on me and my gear when Rashard Lewis hits a three-pointer.

The game in general seemed to fly by for me. I don't know if it was the play of the game or because I was running down to drop off my digital cards to the runner. I think it was also because when covering the Finals you are always looking to make images no matter what's happening. there is no down time especially during the game because the game changer could happen at any moment.

It was a very long day and didn't end until early this morning. With just a few hours of sleep I'm back at Daddy Daycare and in a couple hours I'll be off to another shoot.

Now that I have my first game of the Finals under my belt I think I'll be able to enjoy shooting game 4 more tomorrow night. Go Magic!

Where was this 20 years ago?

So I stumbled upon this video on the WIRED RSS feed and thought it was pretty cool how far video gaming has come. I mean I thought The Legend of Zelda was cutting edge when I was growing up but this is mind blowing.

I've been a fan of Tony Hawk for almost 25 years. As a teen I skated all around Temple Terrace with my friends. We would buy the Powell & Peralta videos whenever they'd come out (I still have my VHS tapes including The Search for Animal Chin.) and watch them endlessly.

Watching Tony transform himself from professional skateboarder into a household name was interesting. He really hit it big when he started designing and producing skateboarding video games and the latest is incredible.

In the video Tony shows how gamers will be able to use a special deck to perform tricks in the new game and accumulate points. It's kind of like Tony Hawk on the Wii.

If only I'd had this 20 years ago I could've probably saved myself the pain of a lot of scraped knees and elbows.

Slam Cam Setup

Last week during the NBA Eastern Conference Finals I was informed that I would be responsible to set up the pool remote for all of the wires that goes behind the glass backboard during Game 4. This wasn't a problem as I've done this for years at USF basketball games. The main difference was that this was the NBA and not USF. I knew that I would have to get approval for where I positioned this remotely fired "slam cam" so as not to block TNT's cameras. At USF I was the only one who ever clamped a remote behind the backboard so I had carte blanche. Now it was a little different.

Only the NBA and Sports Illustrated are allowed to set their cameras behind the glass at every game in the playoffs. All the others had to share a pool camera. Well it was EPA's rotation and I was the person in charge of rigging the camera as well as firing it during the game.

Tipoff for the game wasn't until 8:30pm which meant I needed to get my remote installed around 2pm. No joke. Because you have the teams practicing in the morning, then rehearsals for all the performers during the game and halftime before the players come back to warmup the only time I could rig was six hours ahead of time.

The key to rigging any remote is safety. The camera is locked into place using a special clamp that screws into the tripod socket and then clamped to one of the support arms connecting the backboard to the stanchion. Once you have it locked down, a safety cable is connected to the camera and support arm in the event the clamp fails the camera doesn't come crashing down on someone (specifically a multi-million dollar athlete).

The next part is to focus the lens to where the anticipated action will be and shoot a couple test frames to see if it's sharp. Finally you have to connect the camera to a remote triggering device. In this case I use a Pocket Wizard Multi Max to fire the camera. Once the shutter release cable is connected to the Wizard and the camera I do anther test fire to make sure the remotes are receiving the signal and then I turn everything off.

About 40 minutes before the game I had to scramble up a ladder to turn on my remote camera and double check everything. This was important as it would be the last time until halftime that I would be able to change any settings.

Now during the game I have two cameras in my possesion. One is used for the times when the action is at my end of the court and the other had a long telephoto lens attached for the times the action goes to the other end. It is on the down court camera that I attached the remote trigger for the "glass cam".

The Pocket Wizard transmitter fits into the flash hot shoe at the top of the camera. This is so that I just have to follow the action and fire whenever something happens. Thus allowing me to have an action sequence from both the camera in my hand and the one behind the backboard. I don't have to make a snap decision which camera might have the best angle I can see both angles later to decide.

At the end of the game I took a look through the hundred of shots I got and felt pretty good about what I captured. It was just a little stressful because I couldn't tell if it was firing during the game and I was responsible for more people photo feeds. And that was the last thing I needed. Someone else's picture editor yelling at me when I don't even work for them.

Now on to the NBA Finals. Go Magic!!

LeBron Who?

So like the Reebok debacle of Dan vs. Dave before the '92 Barcelona Olympic game Nike has the Lebron vs. Kobe gaff for the '09 NBA Finals with their puppet commercials. With all the hype surrounding the network droolfest for a Lakers v Cavaliers Finals I was thrilled when the Orlando Magic defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers last night.

Since the end of the regular NBA season all anyone has heard about is the "Dream Final" between the two mega basketball stars. Even while the Magic took a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals all ESPN and TNT wanted to talk about was how LeBron James would turn things around for his team to make it to the NBA Finals. Guess what he didn't!

Even this morning it seemed like the coverage of the Magic winning their first title since 1995 was mainly about LeBron. Get over it!! They lost. You don't get the "Dream". You get Superman and his super friends vs. Kobe.

I will say this about last night. It was amazing. What a difference it was covering the Magic winning the Eastern Conference title compared to the Tampa Bay Rays winning the American League pennant last Fall. The celebration last night was different mainly because of the proximity of the fans to the playing surface compared to baseball.

With 2:42 left in the game it became apparent that the Magic were in fact going to win Game 6 and play the Lakers for the NBA Championship. The crowd kicked it into an even higher gear and cheered on Dwight Howard and his teammates as time expired.

In the last minute, security brought out a yellow rope for everyone to stay behind during the initial celebration which allowed me to get some images but not great ones. Then came the trophy ceremony at half court. I was somehow able to sneak my way into the secured zone to get up front pictures of the team as they hoisted the trophy in front of the fans.

So I now have the next nine days off from covering basketball which is nice as I have a ton of office work to get done. I will be part of a four-man crew for the European Pressphoto Agency covering the Finals when the series returns a week from Tuesday for Game 3.

I'm kind of excited that in the last seven months I will have shot my first World Series and now my first NBA Finals. It's also pretty cool that in Benjamin's life the Rays have gone to the World Series, the Magic have gone to the NBA Finals and the Pittsburgh Penguins have always played for the Stanley Cup. This kid is my good luck charm.

Go Magic!!!

Getting Away from the NBA

The orginal plan was for us to drive to DC the Thursday before Memorial Day to see friends. Then we'd drive to Hitlin Head Island for a few days at the beach.

That all changed when the Magic beat the Celtics and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

After shooting Game 4 against the Cleveland Cavaliers I packed up the family and drove to Hilton Head for four days of rest during an otherwise busy week.

As some may remember we came to Hitlon Head for our "babymoon" when Cathy was almost seven months pregnant. We stayed with my cousin Amy's in-laws Lynne and Blaine Lotz.

The Lotzs have always welcomed us and we've appreciated their hospitality. This was very true this time around considering we brought the monkey man with us. Benjamin was all over the place and let everyone in the house know it.

We had a very nice time while on the island but wished the Magic could've won Game 5 so we could've stayed until Sunday.

Benjamin loved his first trip to the beach. He couldn't get enough of playing in the sand or feeling the waves crash over him.

So here I am writing this entry while riding back to Orlando to shoot Game 6. All I can think about is sitting on the beach, listening to the waves while watching my son play. It's great to be a dad.

This King Needs a Team

Last night was Orlando's turn to host the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. After the Magic took Game 1 Cleveland was able to split the series when their franchise player and media pinup girl Lebron James nailed a final second three pointer.

In Cleveland's other two playoff series they swept both Detroit and Atlanta without any problems and waited while Orlando grinded it out with Philadelphia and Boston. And while they waited ESPN and TNT cranked up their hype machines for a ratings dream matchup between Lebron and Kobe for the Finals.

That was until the Magic came to town. Let me just say this. After watching Games 1 and 2 and shooting Game 3, I don't think the networks are going to be happy. I know some may discount my opinion as being a homer but I just see Orlando as the better overall team. They have more depth on their roster where the Cavs are Lebron and four other guys.

Don't get me wrong I think Lebron could will the Cavaliers into the Finals but he looked exhausted after the first game in Cleveland and last night I caught him bent over sucking air. I don't think if this series goes long he'll be able to last.

Also when you think about it. Had that last second three rimmed out Orlando would be looking to close things out tomorrow night. I just can't see King James beating the Boys in Blue.

On a side note, it was interesting to see as a team goes deeper into the playoffs the more the sidelines become celebrity row. As usual I was next to Tiger but also in the crowd were rappers Lil' Wayne, Usher, NFLer Ray Lewis, and everyone's favorite domestic violence poster boy Chris Brown. I wonder if the Magic make it into the Finals whether Jack Nicholson will be making the trip to see his beloved Lakers.

Go Magic!!

Still a Loser

As some of you may have seen on my Facebook status the other week I've officially lost 50 pounds over the last two years. It feels great and I would like to shed about 5 more pounds to reach my goal weight of 170. The Body Mass Index charts say that a man of my height and age should be around 167 but I think 170 will be just right for me.

So now that I've been running and swimming to help with the weight loss I also borrowed a friends bike to get some miles cycling. Then one day it hit me. Why don't I enter a triathlon and see how I'd do. So I'm entering the Central Florida Triathlon Series in Clermont next month. It's a sprint style triathlon where the segments are shorter.

The race will consist of a 1/4-mile swim, 8-mile bike and a 3-mile run. A couple of weeks ago I did a test run with mileage a little longer than the race to see if I could complete it and how I would do in the transitions.

Well I didn't die. In fact, it was pretty cool. I think I'm going to like triathlons because of the different elements. I like running but the long distances can be a little boring at times. When competing in the triathlon there's more strategy involved which I like.

So here I am 50 pounds lighter (the equivalent of the two dumbbells I'm holding in the picture) and gaining more confidence. As a side note, now when I walk around with the dumbbells it's amazing that I used to do that every day. I'll let you know how the race goes.

And BTW I always give credit where credit is due. Cathy shot the portrait of me so thank you honey.

Haircut or Torture?

This morning we took Benjamin down to the place where I get my hair cut to give him his first official trim. In the past Cathy had cut his golden locks but this time we thought it might be best to have Denise do it.

You would've thought we were plucking the kids toenails out by the way he cried. To also be fair he had just fallen asleep in the car and only got a 15-minute nap in when we got him out of the backseat.

He squirmed and cried making it very difficult for Denise to do her job. I was amazed at how well she was able to cut the mullet away into a nice hair cut. He no longer looks like an unruly surfer kid but instead like the adorable little boy that we love.

I made sure to tip Denise very well and apologized to everyone in the salon for his crying but they seemed to understand. It also didn't hurt that he tried flirting with more than one of the ladies in the store.

Back to Boston

Yes the Magic won ugly the other night and sent their series with the Celtics back to Boston for a deciding Game 7. The game Thursday night was physical and made for some nice pictures on my part. I hung two remotes for the game. One was in the my usual spot on the basket to get the picture above and the other was off to the side of the court.

The second remote is what I attribute to the Magic's win. You see going into the game I knew that if Boston won they'd advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland and I needed to make sure I got a jubilation picture of them.

After Baby's buzzer beater in Game 4 I watched the highlights on SportsCenter the next morning and saw Celtics coach Doc Rivers reaction to the win which was euphoric. I thought I need to have one camera just on the bench in the event I was unable to make a picture due to all the people on the court.

So right before the start of the fourth quarter I went up to the bench camera and double-checked everything. Well I guess expecting the Celtics to win and devoting one camera specifically for jubilation jinxed them and sent this series to a Game 7.

I just hope Sunday night someone has a bench camera set up for the Celtics inside the TD Banknorth Garden.

Fly Fishing in North Carolina

If you have a chance check out my latest travel story I shot in today's edition of the New York Times in their Escapes section. It's a story I shot with my favorite travel writer Christopher Collier. We traveled to the western part of North Carolina to do a story on fly fishing.

Now I've never been fly fishing but I quickly learned how much of a passion it is for many. This was the third time Christopher and I teamed up on a story and it lived up to our usual adventure. Previously we worked together on stories based in Florida (Florida's natural springs and kayaking in the Florida Keys) but this was our first story outside the state.

I shot this story last month and it was one of those stories that was more like a good road trip than work. We flew in to Greenville, SC and made the quick drive into North Carolina where the story would be written.

Over the next three days we drove all around the area in search of a good fishing hole. What I found was a hole in my waders which was no fun. I eventually ditched the waders at the end of the trip but before I did I made some good pictures.

Christopher was able to secure some nice accommodations for us at the High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, NC where we stayed in a relaxing cabin that could sleep 12. If I had more time I would've played the gorgeous golf course they have on property but our time was very limited.

Just to burst everyone's bubble about travel photography, it's never as wonderful as you think. In the end it's work. Plain and simple. You stay and see some of the most beautiful places this world has to offer but you aren't on holiday. You are there to make pretty pictures and once that is done you move on to make more pretty pictures.

Check out Christopher and I's story on fly fishing either by picking up today's copy or going to their website (http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/travel/escapes/15fly.html?ref=travel).

Big Baby's Buzzer Beater

Last night's Game 4 between the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic was one of the more intense games I shot in the past few years. This playoff series is emblematic of playoff basketball. The two teams are grinding it out on the court every game. Granted the first three games were one sided but game 4 was incredible and came down to the last second.

I didn't have much from the first half but neither did the other photographers. It was a sloppy first half and I only sent 5 images at halftime.

Then the game's intensity grew during the third quarter. The Celtics never seemed to put the Magic away. One team would go on a run and then switch. The play was physical and emotions were getting the best of some players heading down the stretch.

With 15 seconds to go in the game Magic forward Rashard Lewis saw an opening and drove to the basket to get fouled. After hitting both free throws Lewis and the rest of the Magic headed back down the court with a one-point lead.

Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers called a timeout to draw up a last play. The fans knew there was too much time to feel comfortable with the lead.

The inbound pass went to Paul Pierce who held the ball to allow his teammates to run their routes and see who would take the final shot for the win. It would be Glen "Big Baby" Davis.

I choose to shoot the final play a little on the loose side with my 70-200mm at 200mm in order to get everything in the frame. It may have been a little loose but I was guaranteed to have the pivotal moment.

I followed Baby as he jumped and released the ball towards the basket. Rashard was too late to block the game winner. As Baby came back to the court I stayed with him in order to get his reaction. I was in luck because he was in front of the Magic bench. If Baby missed I would have the Magic's reaction or if he sank it I could get him running back to the Celtics' bench. Either way I was getting something good.

Big Baby watched the ball go through the net and exploded with emotion. He ran through the crowd of Magic and fans gathered along the side of the court. I just left my finger on the shutter as Baby broke through the crowd at the end of a good game. He just continued running towards me screaming in victory.

Whew! What a game. After looking over what the other photographers got I felt like I had some of the best shots of the key moment. I can't wait until they return on Thursday for Game 6.

Glad I get Boston and not Tiger

This weekend I'm covering the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals of the NBA playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic. If I weren't I would probably be up at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra near Jacksonville.

I told Cathy the other night that I was glad to be doing the NBA for two days and making slightly less money than four days of golf. The main reason is because this weekend the high temperatures are in the mid 90s and I'll be shooting inside air conditioning.

I've covered the Players in years previous but that was when it was played at the end of March and not in May. There were times where I can remember shooting in freezing rain while walking 18. That won't be the case this weekend for my friends at TPC Sawgrass. Nope they're probably out there right now huffing it up and down the stadium course getting their pretty pictures of Tiger while trying to stay hydrated.

Me, on the other hand, will be courtside in my chair shooting the Celtics going at it with the Magic in comfy 68-degrees air conditioning. I'll also have a beverage case close to my laptop and munchies to snack on during the game.

The other part of why I'm pleased to be covering the NBA playoffs and not the unofficial 5th major is that golf is the most physically demanding sport to shoot I think. A typical day last 12 hours, your outside in the elements and your humping 30-lbs. of gear with you.

Tomorrow I'll get to the arena around 5:30pm, set my remote camera, dine in the media room, shoot the game and get home around midnight. I won't have to sleep in some motel bed either and when I wake up I get to see Benjamin. Bring on the Celtics. Sorry Tiger.

Sample Sale Shopping in LA

This weekend Cathy and I took a mini vacation for us. We dropped Benjamin off with his grandmas and we went to Los Angeles.

Today's entry is about the main purpose of our trip, sample sale shopping. Since I've lost almost 50 pounds I've found that I only have a limited amount of clothes in my wardrobe. So Cathy suggested a while back that we go to the sample sales in Los Angeles' fashion district. Cathy had gone previously with her girlfriends and talked about how you could get designer clothes that normally retail for $150-$200 for $30 or even less. So off we went to LA.

Every Friday the designers open their doors and sell off the sample merchandise they use to show wholesale buyers from the previous month. At the end of the month most designers just want to get what they put in for materials.

My overall impression is that sample sale shopping can be fun but for the most part it's for women and children. I was one of the few men who could be found roaming the buildings looking for clothes designed for men.

Meanwhile Cathy was hitting every office/shop in two buildings and finding great stuff for very little. I got frustrated after the first building. The only thing I could find for men in the California Market Center building were designers selling their sample suits. Considering I have one suit and it's 10 years old I left and went next door.

Over in the New Mark Building I found much more to my liking. Again the majority of the stores were for women but I managed to find mens' shirts and jeans.

I first picked up a pair of Tommy Bahama swim trunks for $10 and normally they go for around $60. They had some other things but size was a big issue in a lot of the stores which I will talk about later.

I was about to pass this one designer's store when the woman behind the counter waved me in to see what all they had. The men's shirts were in the back which is where I found the designer Georg Roth helping customers. Georg was a very kind and helpful man who took one look at me and knew I was a medium in his shirts. He then went over to some racks and pulled out some styles he thought would look good on me. I ended up buying four shirts and a pair of jeans because he took time and found things that complimented me and fit me the way I like. It was also cool to have the actual designer style you.

I caught up with Cathy and took her around to some stores I thought she'd like. We tried on some jeans for me but nothing seemed to fit. I'm a 33x30 and most of the jeans were 32x32. (You know because only male models shop at these things.) The shirts were sized large for the most part which I'm a medium. The only things I could do was find a limited group of shirts in medium and a pair of jeans that will now have to be tailored for my length.

Now the really bizzare part of this kind of sale shopping is that these designers don't have any fitting rooms. That's because wholesale buyers aren't buying for themselves they're buying for department stores and boutiques. So the only thing you can do is drop your drawers in the store to see if the jeans or shirt fit.

The experienced shoppers (women) will either wear lycra bottoms or a skirt (like Cathy) to try on bottoms without exposing themselves. Some women just don't care because it's by and large other women or the occasional gay man.

One of the stores I went to with Cathy was a bit uncomfortable. Most of the women were walking around in their underwear trying on various outfits while I held Cathy's bags. She headed over to this one rack to look at a shirt and there were two other women practically naked and I didn't have to pay a cover charge. Very weird.

At the ned of the day Cathy and I were fruitful with our shopping. We both felt like we found some great clothes and didn't spend a lot in the process. I have to say that I think I have found some better deals on better fitting clothes at the outlet malls in Orlando but it was a fun adventure.

And by no means do I have to surrender my man card.

Excited for Poop

A few weeks ago we noticed that Benjamin was giving us signs that he might be ready to start potty training. We found that he would take the small basket in which we drop his wet diapers and set the basket on top of the garbage can in the kitchen. Another time he went into his room and came out with a new diaper to show us he needed to be changed.

So Cathy went out and got him his first training potty which was of course Elmo. We sort of just left it in our bathroom not really knowing how we would introduce it to him. Then he started to go to it and sit down if he saw one of us go in to our water closet.

I tried sitting him down a couple of times and mimicking the grunts he makes right before one of his dirty diapers and I think he got the concept he just wasn't ready to go.

Well yesterday morning I decided that I was going to have a breakthrough with him right after breakfast. This kid is like clockwork every morning. About five minutes after he finishes breakfast he always starts to squat and grunt. So I decided that Friday morning we'd go straight to the potty after his breakfast and wait for nature to take its course.

I sat there with him and turned the pages of his Elmo book while he sat on the potty. He seemed entertained with the whole reading on the potty part. In fact, Benjamin took the book from me and looked through it all by himself trying to figure out how Elmo got back to Sesame Street.

Then I noticed him tinkling and it was going into the potty. And then I saw the poop. I had never been so happy to see poop as I was at that moment. I lifted my naked man up in to the air and he and Daddy celebrated.

As I took him back to his room (I forgot to bring the wipes over) I kept giving him positive reenforcement of what he'd just accomplished. "Yeah, Benjamin! Yeah, you used the potty," I said lifting him up in the air as he smiled.

Wiping is so much easier with the potty compared to when it's in the diaper. And the best part was I got to put the old (still dry) diaper back on him.

It was yet another point in my life where I realized that parenthood is so different than my life before. Nowadays I get teary-eyed over a little pile of poop in a little potty that doesn't even flush. Before I'd be equally excited about getting second row seats to U2 (don't get me wrong I got excited earlier this week when my tickets for U2's Tampa concert came in the mail). This just feels greater because I'm impacting my son's life and not just my own.

A Great Easter

Cathy and I hosted Easter lunch for my parents at the house yesterday. It was nice to see my step sister Gina and her husband Jose who drove over with my Dad and Sylvia. Needless to say Benjamin had a built in audience for his new performance which I captured on video.

He started doing this flipping thing this past week while sitting on the couch with Cathy and I. We don't know from where he learned this but he keeps doing it and yesterday my dad (no pun intended) put a new twist on it.

Here's the video. Enjoy.

Technology is Cool

I saw this video and thought it was way cool. It's shot using a Canon 5D Mark II which replaced the 5D which is my main camera. Anyways the new 5D is capable of shooting HD video in 1080P. Combine that with some of Canon's fast lens and the video almost looks film like.

This video by the folks at Timescapes.org and has a bunch of nature time lapse video set to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Learng to Fly". Anyways, just wanted to update the blog with a video I thought was pretty cool considering it's from a still camera. If you'd like to see a bigger version of this video you can go to www.vimeo.com/4038064.

Meeting a Star

Yesterday was one of those days since becoming a dad that were special. I took Benjamin to Epcot so we could spend some time with Cathy's cousin, Orietta, and her family while they went around the park. Right as we entered I saw guests lined up to have their picture taken with the character Stitch. How perfect.

For some reason Benjamin has always been drawn to Stitch. It's one of those mysteries of the world. He has two little Stitches at home that he takes everywhere with him and always has to go to bed with them. His Baka and Nono also bought him a medium and large sized versions as well. So he is a huge fan of Stitch and for me to be able to introduce him to his buddy was special.

We waited patiently in line to have our pictures taken with the blue alien when all of a sudden Stitch walked away. I guess it was time for a break (ya gotta love those union rules). About five minutes later he reappeared which was a big relief for me.

The family in front of us finished having their photo session when Benjamin looked up and saw a live version of his best buddy. I can't think of a time when he had a bigger smile on his face. You could see it in his eye. He couldn't believe he was with the real Stitch. He kept wanting to touch him and hold him. To Stitch's credit he was patient with him as well as me. I had Orietta's son Pete snapping pictures on my iPhone so I could email pictures immediately and his dad Richard taking better resolution pictures with my point and shoot.

After a few minutes I realized I was turning into one of THOSE dads who hogs up all the time with the character and doesn't allow the other families to get their moments. So we wrapped the photo shoot and that's when I traumatized my son.

Benjamin couldn't understand why he had to leave his buddy. I know he was thinking, "Come on Dad we just met Stitch. I want to hang out with him for a while."Then the crying began. Fortunately he was quickly distracted with something else.

Yesterday was definitely one of those days where I created another memory with my son. What a way to start my week.

Travel Day

  Today I flew to Greenville, SC for a couple of travel stories I'll be working on this weekend. I'll let you know when the stories run later but for now I thought I'd of go over how I pack for such an assignment. 

  First of all, since I was flying to this assignment I had to consider a few things when packing. Camera gear always flies with me and is never in checked luggage. I can always go to Target and buy some clothes but I can't afford to lose equipment.

  I have a roller case for my cameras and lens that fits in almost all overhead bins. This is my primary carry-on and if need be I'll carry on a backpack with other essentials as my "purse". If I can I prefer to not check any bags and just roll from the plane to the rental car. The worst is waiting around for your checked bag(s) to come around on the carousel. 

  For this assignment I'm borrowing Robert's underwater housing for some pictures I'd like to get during this assignment. This things is bulky and takes up more space than I'd like it to but kind of essential for what I want to capture. The key with a travel story is to pack light. Zoom lens and two bodies is the norm along with some other tricks but not too many.

  As you can see from the picture above I've packed two camera bodies along with my 17-40mm and 70-200 lens. In addition to those pieces and the housing I have a couple of specialty lens rounded out with a flash and transmitter. I also pack into the case my laptop and necessary cables to download and edit pictures while on the road.

  My checked bag holds everything else which leaves clothes, toiletries photo fanny pack and hip waders (Just to clarify the last one doesn't come with me on every trip but for this one they'll be of great use.) I have way too many experiences where the checked bag didn't make the connection or something was removed from my bag to leave anything to chance. 

  Another thing I like to do is board the plane ASAP. With today's flight I had to pay an extra $15 for priority boarding which allowed me to board the plane first. Even before old women in wheelchairs. The airline's policy also says that passengers who have priority boarding have the priority in the overhead bins. So if another passenger can't fit their carry-on above THEY are the ones who have to gate check their bag while my bag has dibs on the bin.

  So this is what it's like to travel with me when I've got gear. I'm sure Cathy and my father can tell you all the anecdotes about how I fought the security people in Stockholm about hand inspecting my film or stashing my photo backpack under the seat in the hopes the Nazi flight attendant wouldn't force me to gate check it. It's always entertaining (and heavy) when a photographer travels.

A Complete Turn Around

  So it's now official. I've changed my bad habbits of eating whenever and whatever I want to making healthy choices and seeing the benefits. As you can see from the picture above I really was letting myself go. That picture was taken while covering Hurricane Katrina in September of 2005. 

  As I have mentioned previously, around the time Cathy found out she was pregnant I had a close friend suffer a heart attack. Those two events were the catalyst for me taking a greater interest in my health. I wanted to make sure I would be around a long time for my child.

  I didn't truly know how bad I had gotten until the insurance exam came back in the Spring of 2007. I weighed 225 lbs., my blood pressure was 142/80 and my cholesterol was 211. This was definitely not the way to start fatherhood.

  I immediately changed my diet and started a cardio regimen. Gone were the red meats and fatty foods like McDonalds. In were green veggies and chicken. Out were the times I'd sit on the sofa and watch 90210. That was replaced with biking and eventually jogging (although it was more of walking with a little running in the beginning).

  I called my financial planner in January and told Eric I wanted to option the re-examination clause of my life insurance. I had two years in which to be re-examined to determine if I qualified for a better premium status which I knew I would.

  A few weeks ago the nurse who had examined two years ago came back out to the house to do it all over again. When I answered the door she said she remembered the house but thought it was because she examined Catherine. When I told her that she had examined me she replied, "That's right! Wow I didn't even recognize you."

  So yesterday I received the letter that confirmed I had changed my ways. My blood pressure was 110/70, cholesterol was down to 160 and as of yesterday's weigh the scale read 178. I think I would like to get my weight down to 170 but I'm pleased with where I am currently.

  As I was out on my 7-mile run yesterday I thought about how much better I feel when I'm exercising and how I feel like crap when I eat like crap. I have more energy these days to keep up with Benjamin (although he has that unlimited source I lost when I turned 30). 

  With the weather warming up again I've gotten back in the pool and swim 2 km a couple times a week which helps offset the 15-20 miles I run. Later this year I hope to enter and complete my first half marathon. All of this is in the hopes I never have to see Fat Chris again.

Being my Best Man's Best Man

  This past weekend my best friend Robert married Angela in a beautiful ceremony at the Powell Crosley Mansion in Sarasota. Angela and Robert selected me to give the Best Man speech during the reception. 

  Needless to say I was a bit nervous. What would I say? What should I say? And so I did some research online. Most suggested to start with some light humor before delving in to something more sentimental.

  I got up early one morning last week and wrote my speech. I tried to keep it to under four minutes in duration.

  The following is my speech:

For those who don't know, Robert was the Best Man at my wedding. And after 8 years I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get to return the favor.

First of all, I want to congratulate the parents of Angela and Robert. I know they must have a great sense of pride in watching their children today.

Robert and I have known each other for 20 years and in that time we have seen each other change from reckless teenagers into the men we are today. It is truly an honor to stand next to you today. I will have to say there were times when I wasn't sure you'd ever find the right woman. I think about some of the conversations we had over the years and thought that maybe you were setting the bar too high.

Then four years ago it happened. I was covering the Terry Schiavo story along with Robert and remember one night Robert telling me about this reporter he'd met. I thought, "You were trying to pick up a chick at Terry Schiavo?" So I had to go check her out the next day. I returned to Robert's house the next day and gave him my assessment that not only was she pretty she she was nice to talk to.

In those four years the two of you have endured many experiences and taken many journeys together. Those experiences and journeys will be the foundation upon which your marriage will be built and it is a strong one.

I would like to say to Robert, while I may have thought at one time that you set the bar too high you have managed to find a woman who goes beyond your expectations for a wife.

Angela you have taken my Best Man and made him into a great man.

To Angela and Robert