I was hired recently to shoot an arts and music festival that featured a Vegas-based cover band called The Bluzmen. As you will quickly see, the band is a knock-off of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act from the late 70s and early 80s, best known from the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. It was a great show and a nostalgic blast from the past for those old enough to remember The Blues Brothers.
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I have known Emily since she was in high school and have always thought the world of her, so it was a pleasure and an honor to be asked to photograph her wedding this past weekend in Newport Beach. Although it has been a rainy winter in Southern California, the weather was perfect and the celebration went off without a hitch. Here are a few images of the lovely bride with her new husband, Bryce:
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The latest generation of digital single lens reflex cameras is able to capture images in lighting conditions that would have been impossible even one generation ago. This image, for example, was captured at ISO 6400 with a hand held telephoto lens at 1/250th of a second. While a small amount of post-production noise mitigation was necessary, the clarity and relative sharpness of an image like this one, shot in such low light, would have been next to impossible a year and a half ago.
Here, Jesse Sapakie, the Performing Arts Department Chair at a local high school, conducts the school’s choir. His hands and his music are lit by an overhead spot while his face is lit by the reflection of the lights trained on the performers on stage. It’s an evocative image, capturing both Mr. Sapakie’s individual artistry as well as his relationship with the unseen singers in front of him.
These are a few of the performers he is conducting.
Over the weekend I photographed a moving groundbreaking ceremony for a new LDS church building not far from where I live. Despite the early hour, close to a thousand people showed up to celebrate this event and to remember the sacrifices of the pioneers who settled this community more than 130 years ago.
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Over the weekend I met a few teenage friends at a local skate park to get some images of them doing their thing. Given the insanity of some of the tricks in their repetoire, I was a little nervous about the absence of protective gear, but all turned out well. A couple of scrapes and bruises, but no broken bones. Meet Dallin, Devon, Jared, Cooper and Alec.
Cooper and Dallin
Jared
Alec
Cooper
Dallin
Devon
I recently photographed a couple of runway shows on the roof of the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale. I got there early to stake out a spot from which to shoot and had some time to kill before the shows began. The roof was dimly lit, but here and there you could find little splashes of light, so I dug out my fastest lens – a 50mm f/1.4, which photojournalists say can see in the dark – and wandered around the pre-show party looking for interesting images. I especially liked the blue LED lighting the producers used to set the mood.
Meet the scholars of Boys Hope Girls Hope of Arizona. BHGH finds academically capable, motivated kids, who have financial and other obstacles to their educations, and offers them, without charge, the opportunity for a comprehensive learning experience. The kids are offered scholarships at the best private schools in Phoenix, as well as counseling, medical care, personal growth opportunities and, eventually, college counseling and assistance with college tuition. Since 1989 when the Phoenix branch of BHGH was founded, every single kid that has graduated from the Arizona program has been admitted to college. They are often the first in their family to go. Schools they have attended include Arizona State University, Colgate, Dartmouth, Gonzaga, Pepperdine and others. It is an amazing, amazing program. Here are some of the current BHGH scholars:
