Emerald Bay Photography News and Updates

So I got myself a ring flash not too long ago, and finally got the chance to try it out on a client shoot.

Here are the yummy results!









I love how it glosses and tones the skin. I tried a couple of different backgrounds, and found a flat black painted, smooth wall in the gym to be ideal.

Try this at home!

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, commercial photographer Bend Oregon, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, fitness photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

If you've seen today's Health & Fitness section in the Bend Bulletin, you couldn't have missed the front page feature on Pilates (sorry, folks - no link to the actual story... uhmmm... it's subscription-only).

Incidentially, the pictures that accompanied the article for once weren't shot by the paper's own PJs - rather, they used the shots I had taken a few weeks back at my friend Diane's Pilates Center of Bend (she was interviewed for the article and tipped the paper off to the images).



So I thought I'd tutor anybody interested in creating similar images on how to achieve these kinds of motion effects. It takes a bit of planning ahead, but it's easy, really.

Step 1: Shoot numerous images while your model is in motion. The important part here is that you either mount your camera on a tripod, or if that isn't possible, you employ a steady handhold while shooting. You want the lines of the body to match up later.

Step 2: Open the desired images in Photoshop. I don't recommend working with more than three images at a time - unless the motion stretches across the entire image, overlaying more images can get visually confusing.



Step 3: Choose your background image (above). Go to your second image, and with the Marquee tool, select the part of the image you want to overlay. Cut and paste that as a new layer onto your background image.

Step 4: Go to Layer > Add Layer Mask and create a mask on your second image. Reduce Opacity on that layer to about 30%. Click on the mask, and with a soft black brush (at 100%) erase everything but the parts you want to showcase the motion with. Your images should now look something like this:



Step 5: Repeat with your third image. Play with the layer opacities to get the desired effect. Done!

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

What do you get if you combine some olympic-grade snowboarders, a world-class event and a really, really nasty blizzard?

A very cool, but cancelled event. With some unhappy snowboarders. And some serious fresh powder.

Such it was last Saturday at the Chevrolet US Snowboard Grand Prix. No less than 15 minutes after I arrived at the Superpipe (and *after* checking in at the media desk and then huffing and puffing my way up the steep and snowy hill for 10 minutes, mind you), the cool dude who had narrated the event with much gusto, informed all the other resident dudes and dudettes that - uhmm, so *totally* sorry, man - the event would be postponed until later, or at least the next day.

I fired off exactly 15 frames prior to that, obsessively trying to protect my rather water-sensitive camera from the driving snow and hoping Mother Nature would chill. No use.

I did see some rad moves by the snowboard kids, but documentation in the manner intended (with blue skies, sunshine, and actually being able to see out of my eyes) fell sadly short, to say the least. Hence, below pictures:





Yepp, they suck. I know.

Making my way back to the base then, I came to know what the term "snow blind" means. With snow crystals, sharp like tiny razors, coming at me with insane speeds, not even the combined efforts of my sunglasses, hood, and shawl were able to protect my eyes enough to actually be able to keep them open - I staggered down the hill blind, having faith in the fact that *other people* could (maybe) see me and get out of the way in time.

On Sunday, I contemplated a return to shoot the Superpipe and the Slope-style finals, but after checking the Mountain's Weather Page and Webcam and seeing nothing but snow, I ditched it in favor of another adrenaline sport - playing four solid hours of Baldur's Gate.

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, oregon stock photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

To me, it's become a yearly ritual. A sort of pilgramage, almost.

The shrine is the snowy Start/Finish line of the Attaboy 300 World Sled Dog Championships and the deities are the slim, yet incredibly tough sled dogs.

Not that I'm a dog fanatic a la "Best in Show". Not at all.

But if you've ever seen those sled dogs run their little hearts out in the rough and cold landscape, pulling that sled and its rider (or "musher") relentlessly, over steep hills, plunging descents, and ice that cuts into their tender paws, you can't help but admire them. By the end of the day's 50-mile course they appear exhausted, with tongues hanging to the ground, their skinny chests heaving, licking their bloody paws, and patiently waiting for their bowl of fresh meat. They seem to love it. The pure joy, that wild sparkle in their eyes, tell the story better than any words ever could.

They were born to run. Watching them brings to life legends of old, of a yet unconquered West, tales of a still-remote wilderness that was only accessible by dog sled in winter. You can't help but think of Jack London, the Alaskan Yukon territory, and the Gold Rush.

These days however, the true gold are the dogs themselves. The 2004 Iditarod prize pool was $720,000, with the winner pocketing $70,000...

Labels: Bend Oregon photographer, oregon stock photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

And fly they did.

Twirling, spinning, hoisting, grabbing, jumping, twisting, whirling - and sometimes falling on their faces they did too.

But most prevailed, and one Ross Powers even went on to take the coveted crown in the Halfpipe competition of the Chevrolet Snowboard Grand Prix at Mt. Bachelor last Saturday with acrobatics like this:



Fourth-place holder Dillon Keir goes sideways:



Andy Finch catches serious air...



... while JJ Thomas crashes after a good run to claim 15th place.



Enthused spectators watch as Toni Turunen whirls himself into 3rd place.

Labels: photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

I've spent almost the entire past weekend on Mt. Bachelor, amidst temperatures around 16 degrees and driving snowfall. The occasion? The Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix, a rousing combination of daredevil acrobatics in the Half-pipe on Saturday, and dizzying speed demons in snowboardcross on Sunday.

A small selection of pics from Sunday's event can be found in this gallery, but the rest should be up tomorrow.

Here are a few of the best:


Jayson Hale (27) and Francois Boivin (7) catch air on one of the SBX course's jumps.


Swede Mattias Blomberg throws up his arms in victory as he narrowly beats out Montanan Michael Rosengren for first place and $10,000 in Sunday's snowboardcross finals of the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix at Mt. Bachelor.


Mattias Blomberg gets tackled by his joyous Swedish teammate at the finish line.

Labels: photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon

Last night, downtown Bend was turned into a playground for the ultra-super-hyperfit - the 25th annual Twilight Criterium, part of the Cascade Cycling Classics.

This basically means, that the entire downtown section gets shut down to make way for a 6-corner cycling race like no other - men and women (separated into classes), at one with their sleek bikes, burn up the pavement for a respective 50 and 60 minute race, cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand.

Despite the low-light conditions and objects moving at a blinding speed (the pack created a breeze that blew up skirts and whirled dust and hay into the air), the photo opp was too good to resist. So for everybody who couldn't be there for the excitement, here are a few visuals to enjoy (to see the entire gallery, go here):

Labels: editorial photographer Bend Oregon, Editorial Photography, photography, sports fitness photographer Bend Oregon