-Under Armour Night Workout Motion Spec Spot-

Well…..I have not posted in a while for a great reason….I am now switching over to motion and have been studying for a while.  It was really weird, I almost felt like I was back at school.  I decided to do this to open a few doors for myself, so I had to figure out how I was going to learn all this.  So I started doing some research…..and I came across one of my favorite photographers/ director/ DP, Vincent Laforet.  He has been doing some really great things in the industry, and it seems as though I cant research anything without coming across his name.  He has been dubbed the “King of DSLR” so who better to learn from?  I am working all the time at my Art Gallery in Denver, Colorado called FatTail.  So I have never had the chance to meet Vincent…..but guess what?  Vincent recently published a “webinar” about still photographers who are switching over to video.  It was a really intense class, I think around 24 hours of information.  First of all I would like to say thank you to Vincent for doing something like this, and I have to say the $129 price tag could have been 10X that and still would be worth every penny, so thank you Vincent!!!!  Also another thing I noticed is that he never seemed to run out of words, a very educated photographer, and director.  (also a few appearances by a master of sports photography & motion Chase Jarvis….a big time bonus to the video)

Please check out his online class!!!!

So I decided to give Vincent’s online class a try and sat there taking detailed notes and making sure I was soaking all the information I could.  It was jam packed, almost to the point I could not take it all in.  So many cameras, tripods, lenses, gears…..which at the time was frustrating, but as I went to buy some of the gear, I felt very prepared thanks to Vincent.  He reviewed what seemed like every piece of gear known to man, and I learned tons and now know all the gear.  I have had training with extreme high speed cameras, like the Phantom shooting thousands of frames per second.  I love shooting on that sort of camera, but for now I picked up a 5D Mark II.

I really miss shooting super high speed photography and motion, and the whole reason I graduated in Industrial and Scientific Photography was to some day use that knowledge to enhance my sports shooting.  So its all coming sooner than I thought and I am very excited for my future.

I started working up a few concepts for my agent Katherine Kennedy from Other Films.  I wanted this first project to show off my skills of lighting, and creative ideas, and of course showing my passion for sports.  I talked to Katherine a lot, coming up with different ideas, and spec campaigns.  We ended up landing on doing a 30 sec spec ad for Under Armour.  I became very excited for a new challenge and the whole process proved to be way more difficult than I anticipated.  The pre-production took a lot of time, and ended up helping the final spot, and I am very happy that we put the time in that we did.

A few other notes I would like to mention about shooting this project:  There are a few companies that helped with this project, and it could not have been done without their help.  First off I would like to thank Katherine for all the inspiration and help making this all happen.  She is a master of her craft and one heck of lady!!!!  I would also like to thank Hoodman for providing me the compact flash cards that I used for this project.  The super fast RAW 675X UDMA 6 Hoodman 8 GB did the trick for this shoot.  I also used a lot of gear made my RedRock Micro, thanks to the advice from Vincent.  Their gear is top of the line when it comes to HDDSLR Cameras.   I also would like to thank Canon Cameras for the ability to create such a cool project using the familiar Canon equipment.

Equipment List:

Canon 5D Mark II

Ziess Lenes

Hoodman Compact Flash Cards

Redrock Micro

Cinema Gadgets

Manfrotto

Models: (In order as they appear)

Demel Traver

Boubacar Doumbouya

Zoe Malfetti

Hannah Herreid

Behind the Scenes

Here are a few images taken by Dominick Rich Photography.

They are from the basketball court we shot at.

All images © Dominick Rich Photography-

Of course I would like to thank Michael O for his photoshop wizardry, and a link to Michael O website: www.bymichaelo.com

Image Discription:  This image shows a fitness model Boubacar Doumbouya standing with a Nike jump rope in an old garage.

Athletic Portrait in Old Garage

(click image to enlarge)
Shot details: f/4; 1/100 sec; ISO 1600; 5616×3744 Pixels
Focal Length 17mm; EF 17-40 mm f/4 L USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

Nike Roots by Joe Morahan Photography

Shot details: f/16;  1/250 sec; ISO 100
Focal Length 40mm; EF17-40mm f/4L USM

Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

RAW 675X UDMA 6 Hoodman 8 GB CompactFlash Professional 500,00 Cycle Cards.

Young woman running on a dock in Bora-Bora in the French Polynesia Islands

***Composite***

I’m pretty excited to announce that Joe Morahan Photography has teamed up with Lowepro!!!! I have decided to make Lowepro my sole digital carrying solution and will be reviewing the bags and gear produced by Lowepro. I have been using Lowepro gear for years now, and they have already been the company I trust, when traveling with my camera gear. It doesn’t matter if its a long journey through Southern Africa, or a 12 mile trek through the Grand Canyon, I have always used a Lowepro backpack. That being said, I have a few different types of bags already……but nothing even close to this cool!!!

DryZone 200-Totally Waterproof Backpack

100%!! Only time will tell…..and of course….me throwing it into the river ; ) So I am sure I will test this bag, like its never been tested before. Through the river, sand, salt, cold, and hot I’m sure this bag is gonna see it all.

I was on a shoot a few weeks ago, up in the Rocky Mountain National Park and kinda fell in the river. I say kinda cuz the camera in my hands started to fall towards the rock, and I swung it around and fell a bit in the water…..camera was fine, no bumps, no water, I got a little lucky. I was talking about this with the great folks down at Lowepro and we decided that a great bag for me to test, try, and write about would be the Dry Zone 200.

Joe Morahan Photography joins the Lowpro Team

Here is what Lowepro says about this bag on their website about the DryZone-200

lowepro.com

DryZone is the world’s first totally waterproof, soft-sided camera backpack. Even fully loaded, they float so your gear is always protected. The inner drypod with patented, waterproof TIZIP™ zipper provides 100% watertight protection. It’s like a drysuit for your equipment. When less protection is needed, leave the TIZIP™ open and fasten just the inner zipper and top clip for easier access. The heavy-duty, padded camera compartment inside is fully customizable while the outer shell comes complete with a technical backpack harness. Also included, ergonomic lumbar support, fully adjustable CollarCut™ shoulder straps, tuck-away tripod holder, self-draining mesh pockets, drain hole, rubber handle, and attachment loops for SlipLock™ accessories. DryZone packs are comfortable to wear and give you total peace of mind in extreme environments.

Joe Morahan Photography joins the Lowpro Team

So my first impressions are…..

Well….after the shock of the bright yellow color, and of course the slick appearance that Lowepro always seems to have. I opened the front cover. It seems like a nice place to put filters, cords, and other small objects. This section is not water proof…..just a place to hold things. My knife and other survival gear will call this area home, when traveling in the outback. Then you get to the water-proof section, which was a bit hard to get open….but after smearing all the grease they supplied, it came open with a bit of a tug…..not something I would store my gear in, if I’m going in and out of the bag, however, there is another section that zips up. This means, you could leave the water proof area open, and be able to get in and out of the bag with easy and speed. (and still have the gear zipped up and protected) But when trekking down a river, or mother nature starts to pour, that’s when I will get that water-proof zipper locked. I really want to know if I throw the backpack in the river, first….will it really float as they say….also going through rapids and getting dunked will to still remain dry? When I do give it a shot….no camera gear will be in there…..but I need to know how water proof this DryZone 200 really is. I will report my results after the tests.

Ever since I moved back to Colorado…I have been wanting to shoot at Garden of the Gods.  Its way south of Denver….maybe an hour and half, but it seemed so far away.  Anyway I had some pressure to get back out and shot some sportrature, so this was at the top of my list.  I went out and scouted the location a day before the shoot, and was blown away by these amazing rock formations.  It was breathtaking to say the least.  I drove every road in the park, and looked at every view point on the map.  I drove around, hiked a few trails, and then went up.  Straight up  in fact,…..walked off the road and went up the side of the mountain….and there it was…a great spot to shoot at!!!!  This was one of the only locations from the positions I wanted to shoot at, that worked for my needs.  Most of the land around Garden of the Gods has thick scrubs and its difficult to see through them, so this was truly one of the only clear spots.

Call time for everyone to meet up in Denver was 3:30 am.  And to me, thats way too early, but to get the shot that’s the time we needed to leave.  So once we hit the road, we arrived at Garden of the Gods at around 5:00am.  We had to hike up the mountain in the dark, which is always fun.  Hard to see anything, freezing cold, but we made it.  I set up fast, and got a minute or two to relax before the sun came up.  Once it started to hit the rock formations, everything came together and worked out fine.

Running and Fitness at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs by Joe Morahan Photography

(click image to enlarge)
Shot details: f/6.3; 1/125 sec; ISO 400; 5616×3744 Pixels
Focal Length 34mm; EF17-40mm f/4L USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

This was the first time I used some of my new Hoodman gear.  It was great!!!!  I ended up using the HoodLoupe 3.0 Glare Free LCD viewing loop.  For the first time in a long time, I had no trouble viewing the images on the camera.  This little tool made a big difference, and will be used by me, for most every shoot.  This was a big surprise that it worked so well, and made my life a little easier.  Which we all need on photoshoots……so a big hit in my eyes!!!

Another piece of equipment used for the first time was the RAW 675X UDMA 6 Hoodman 8 GB CompactFlash Professional 500,00 Cycle Cards.   Hoodman sent out a tons of these cards, and it was used for the first time.  So I guess I have only 499,999 more formats on that card…..which will take me sometime to get to….but I’m on my way.   I have nothing but great things to say about the cards….and that only seems right.  They were fast in the camera, and my download of 8 gigs took no time at all.  These little guys are getting so fast.  I will be testing out some of the equipment soon,  then posting the results as they come in.

Behind the Scenes!!!!!!

I will be posting a behind  the scenes from this photoshoot.  It was an early morning….3:30am call time, and we did a cool video to go along with this shoot.  I should be posting it soon, within the next week.  The video was completed by Deanna Washington Photography located in Georgia.  Link to her site. Its around 3 minutes long and shows what goes into my shoots : )

Model: Kari White- What a pleasure it was working with her.  Nothing was impossible….and I look forward to working with Kari again!!!

So while out shooting running and other fitness images, I decided to take a few yoga shots.  The back ground was so peaceful looking, I just had to create some peaceful looking images.  This location took a while to find, but offered some amazing views of the Garden of the Gods.  I was shocked how well the mountains lit up, and the detail that ended up in the frame.

This was the first time I used some of my new Hoodman gear.  It was great!!!!  I ended up using the HoodLoupe 3.0 Glare Free LCD viewing loop.  For the first time in a long time, I had no trouble viewing the images on the camera.  This little tool made a big difference, and will be used by me, for most every shoot.  This was a big surprise that it worked so well, and made my life a little easier.  Which we all need on photoshoots……so a big hit in my eyes!!!

Another piece of equipment used for the first time was the RAW 675X UDMA 6 Hoodman 8 GB CompactFlash Professional 500,00 Cycle Cards.   Hoodman sent out a tons of these cards, and it was used for the first time.  So I guess I have only 499,999 more formats on that card…..which will take me sometime to get to….but I’m on my way.   I have nothing but great things to say about the cards….and that only seems right.  They were fast in the camera, and my download of 8 gigs took no time at all.  These little guys are getting so fast.  I will be testing out some of the equipment soon,  then posting the results as they come in.

Yoga at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs by Joe Morahan Photography

(click image to enlarge)
Shot details: f/10;  1/60 sec; ISO 100
Focal Length 70mm; EF70-200 f/2.8L IS USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

Image Description:

This image shows a young woman sitting performing yoga on a set of reddish rocks.  In the background is the Garden of the Gods located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  The shot was taken at sunrise in the park, showing the jagged red rocks, and the pine trees below.

Behind the Scenes!!!!!!

I will be posting a behind  the scenes from this photoshoot.  It was an early morning….3:30am call time, and we did a cool video to go along with this shoot.  I should be posting it soon, within the next week.  The video was completed by Deanna Washington Photography located in Georgia.  Link to her site. Its around 3 minutes long and shows what goes into my shoots : )

Model: Kari White- What a pleasure it was working with her.  Nothing was impossible….and I look forward to working with Kari again!!!

Image Description:

This court is right across the street from one of the greatest beaches in the world. Huntington Beach, California. I lived a few hundred yards from this court and it looked as though it has been there a long time. The rim was rusted red and had cracks through the metal. The net was hanging on by a thread, and the court even had grass growing on it. A photographers dream come true. Also Branden being the model helped as well. He is a talented athlete who can dunk with great accuracy. Its a good thing because for this shots I was balanced on a latter just under the basket. The basketball player would jump and come flying toward the camera almost killing me on every shot. Thankfully I never fell and we got a great shot from it.

So I can’t even start to explain how very excited I am now that I have teamed up with Hoodman Compact Flash Cards.  Not only are they known for being the best/ most reliable cards out there, they are made right here in the USA!!!  If you are not familiar with Hoodman check out there website for all the details.   The RAW UDMA Compact Flash Cards are tested to 500,000 formats and that’s just the beginning. They are rugged, and will keep on working.  They cost a bit more than some of the others out there, being the mass produced cards, but Hoodman cards are worth every penny.  Most of the other card companies have around 2%-5% card failure, however Hoodman has 0 Card Failures!!!!  And that my friends, is why I trust Hoodman with my images.  When I travel to Africa, or hiking days through the Grand Canyon trying to get the shot, it would seem silly to save a few bucks on a card and have it fail on me, while I go through so much to create the images I do.  So that being said, this is why I have chosen Hoodman as my ONLY Compact Flash Cards.

I look forward to reviewing the gear and trying a few new tools that they slipped into my sponsorship package.  The one tool I have never used before is the HoodLoupe 3.0 Glare Free LCD viewing loop.  I used a loop all the time back in the day with the old 4×5, but I am really excited to use this.  I have a feeling it might get me to take a minute to view images, helping my mind slow down a think of other parts to the image, helping me create better images.  Of course it will help with the glare of the sun, especially that I mostly shoot outdoors.  So this will be a tool that I will use on every shoot.

Also sent to me use a Hoodeye Digital SLR Camera Eyecup, that will help me fight the glare I face-off with everyday.  I look forward to seeing if this is something I can use from now on….I assume it will take a little getting use to but I will get it more than a far shot and see how things work out.

Of course I will need the best card readers around town to download all these cards that were sent to me, and to download,  Hoodman sent me a few card readers.  One is the RAW Professional FireWire Reader Designed for 42 MB/Sec UDMA CompactFlash Cards.  The other card reader is a USB 2.0 UDMA Reader RAW Professional Designed for 42 MB/Second UDMA Compact Flash Card; also supports CF, SD, and SDHC Card Formats.   From what I here, these cards readers blaze through downloads with maxim reliability, but also keep up a ridicules download speed.

And to top things off Hoodman sent me a handful of RAW 675X UDMA 6 Hoodman 8 GB CompactFlash Professional 500,00 Cycle Cards.  These babies will get there fair share of use.  From the travel, sand, salt, and all the other strange places I go creating imagery we will see how they do.  I have already had a few Hoodman cards and all have never given me one problem.  These should last a lifetime!!!

Look for more updates with Joe Morahan Photography and Hoodman Compact Flash Cards.  I will also now be featured on the RAW Shooter List on the Hoodman website.  www.hoodmanusa.com. To be on this list of shooters is beyond words for me.  This exclusive list of the finest photographers from around the world, and to be even mentioned on it is a really great step for my company.  So a big thank you to Hoodman for teaming up with Joe Morahan Photography!!!!

Winter Reflections by Joe Morahan

*Composite

Joe Morahan Photography 1st Place Image

H2O

Image description:

This shot shows a woman running through a cracked and dried up lake bed.  She is running around 45 yards from the camera making her a bit small in the frame, and is in the overall background.  In the foreground a bottle of water rests on its side dripping some water from the cap.  The bottle is very close to the camera creating an illusion to the camera prospective.  The cracked ground fits together like a puzzle, and is in desperate need of water.  As the drop falls from the cap is looks like the drop of water is the same size as the runner in the background.  Its a play on hydration. Shot in El Mirage Dry Lake Bed, CA ***Composite***

H2O Running through desert forced prospective

This shot has similar aspects to the other image, but was shot in Denver right after a snow storm.  Its a play on forced prospective.  The water bottle which sits near camera, just inches away is set around 30 yards in front of the basketball hoop in the background.  The bottle has a drop of water coming out that looks as though its going to fall through the basketball hoop.  The drop because its close to the camera looks around the size of a real basketball. Layers were used in this shot, to keep focus and for other image compositing.  Shot in Denver, Co.

Basketball Forced Prospective

*Composites

Joe Morahan Photography, LLC

It was great to get back to the science stuff and it was just as challenging as I remember.  There is no real right or wrong with these…..just personal preference.  I set the shoot up in my kitchen while the g/f was out of town.  I had to put a few holes in the ceiling and a few other marks that will remain from the shoot.  This is a really cool technique of lighting and results in some cool ass images.  These are all one shot.  There is no photoshopping to the images to make the designs.  Just simple color/curves.  It was tough to get the exposure right on, but once I hit the magic spot pretty much all exposures were the same, other than the time.  The time has to deal with the pattern that the light creates.  The more time, the more streaks of light.  Its a lot of fun playing around with this.

Joe Morahan Photography, LLC

Oh ya….I almost forgot to mention…..this was my first time shooting this type of photography digital.  Normally I would shoot film for something like this.  Chrome film does not show much grain during these long exposures.  However I used my Canon Mark III 1DS and a 17-40mm lens.  I used long exposure noise reduction and it worked like a charm.  It’s weird to me that I can do pretty much everything now digitally.  I thought for sure I would have issues with this shoot shooting digital, but after a quick check….it looked perfect.  One small problem….most these exposures are around 300 seconds….so it takes a while for the noise reduction to work and a lot of dead time between shots.  Film you can fire away, but have no idea till later exactly what the lighting looked like ext…..so I was overall pleased shooting this digitally and in fact I was surprised how well it came out.

Joe Morahan Photography, LLC

*Composite

I talked to Branden who happens to be one of the greatest athletic models I have ever worked with.  He has a sharp look to him and can jump over my head.  He has game….football, basketball whatever….no problem.  Thats why I had to call him for this very important shoot. (branden website) My new wonderful agent Katherine wanted to see some studio style sports images.  And since I dont have access to a gym or pro court I tough it might work well to shoot at night.  Drop everything else out other than the subject and whatever I wanted to keep.  So it was fun switching things up a bit and shooting at night vs. sunset or a magic hour of some sort.  Here are a few of my favs from the shoot

Joe Morahan Photography, LLC

While on my trip to Maui for a vacation, Tiffany and I went to explore the island like I have never been there before.  We went to many places, but one really stood out to me.  It was the bamboo forest.  We went to Haleakala National Park and went hiking around.  While we ascended into the rain forest we hit a bamboo forest.  It seemed so out-of-place for Maui and the Hawaiian Islands.  It just sort of appeared from nowhere and we were fully surrounded by the thin narrow and very green bamboo trunks.   We shot for hours up there, getting infrared images, panos, and some simple shots as well.  It only seemed fitting to work a sports image out of the shots.

This image show a young woman running down a path through a bamboo forest.  She is in mid-stride and fully surrounded by bamboo trees.  The path is dead center in the photo and is made of planks of wood.  The shot over all has a green color shift to it, from the reflection of all the green foliage, and also from the green leafs creating a green source of light.  This was shot with the intention of stock photography for Getty Images.

Green with Envy

(Click image to enlarge)

Shot details: f/10;  1/250 sec; ISO 100
Focal Length 300mm; EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

*Composite

This is a shot of a young women running in front of Maroon Bells.  She is slightly bundeled from the morning chill, and running in a grass field.  The massive Maron Bells is directly in the background.  The snow is startiung to build on the mountain side, and the tress are dieing showing the last colors of the season.  The trees are green, yellow, orange, and some are even red.  The sky is a deep blue color and the light on the Bells is prstine. This was my second time shooting the fall season in Aspen, Colorado and i thought it might be a great spot to shoot some sports images.

Running into Winter

(Click image to enlarge)

Shot details: f/10;  1/160 sec; ISO 100
Focal Length 70mm; EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

So I am gonna totally skimp on info for now, but I will update this info soon, but i have been very busy.  This shot shows a young woman doing yoga at Mooney Falls.  Mooney Falls is 12 miles from the nearest road and is quite a trek to get to.   I packed mules and donkeys to carry in the gear for me and I am very glad i choose to do that.  The 12 mile hike was a bit harder than i was expecting, but everything went fine.  We camped near Havasu Falls and walked to Mooney Falls first thing in the morning to get this shot.  It was down a 200 foot cliff, no ropes, gear, just don’t slip.  There are pieces of re-bar stuck in the rock for grip and things to hold on to.  It was insane and I would never do that again knowing how crazy it gets toward the bottom.  Oh also did I mention that all the rock was soaked from the massive waterfalls mist, making the surface wet, slippery and all the more dangerous.  Anyway I got the shots I needed to creat this image.

Yoga at Mooney Falls

(click image to enlarge)
Shot details: f/22;  1/8 sec; ISO 100
Focal Length 17mm; EF 17-40 mm f/4 L USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

*Composite

Rock Climbing at Red Rocks near Denver, Colorado

Rock Climbing at Red Rocks near Denver, Colorado

(click image to enlarge)
Shot details: f/13; 1/250 sec; ISO 100
Focal Length 15mm; EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

This shot shows a runner racing between two dead trees in a dry lake bed called “The Dead Vlei” located near Sossusvlei, Namibia. This particular dry lake bed in one of the most interesting places on earth. The trees you see are around 700-900 years old. I know that seems hard to believe but its true. There are three reasons why this dry lake bed as trees still standing after being dead for hundreds of years. Reason one, this is one of the driest places on earth. They get very little rain, in fact sometimes it goes years without any water other than the morning mist. Another reason for the trees still standing after being dead is the fact the they are full surrounded by massive dues, the most massive in the world. These dunes help protect the dead vlei from the wrath of the wind and shields it from mother nature. And the third reason is these dunes are the biggest in the world and there is tens of thousands of miles of sand dunes making life here almost impossible. There are no bugs and insects here to eat the trees. That is why these trees stand in the same place that they died hundreds of years ago.

***First Place Image***

This shoot was kinda different from my average shoot. It was indoors and I had very little room to work in. Unlike being in nature where I have all the space to work I could ever want. The boxer featured in the shots is Alex who is a personal trainer in Denver, Colorado. He has a fighting background in MMA and trained back in Brazil.

This shot shows the boxer taking a rest after a grueling workout session. He sits with his back against an old brick wall that is crumbling after hundreds of years. The light is coming from camera right beaming through a window that was close by. The heavy bag sits in front of him almost taunting him to keep on working.

Life of a Boxer

(click image to enlarge)

This shot shows the boxer taking a second to meditate and think about his form and power. His abs shine with the light and he shows off his perfect figure. His head in bowed down looking toward his feet. The shot has a nice blue color shift giving a cold feel to this boxing image.

At Rest

(click image to enlarge)
Shot details: f/11; 1/250 sec; ISO 640;5616×3744 Pixels
Focal Length 17mm; EF 17-40 mm f/4 L USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

This shot was taken in the Hawaiian Islands. It show a woman running along the Kanappali Beach in Maui. The shot was taken from the water and shows both above water and below, showing the coral reefs that surround the islands. From the angle of the shot it looks as though the women is running on the water.
-More info coming soon-

***Third Place Image***

Running on Water

(click image to enlarge)
Shot details: f/4.5;1/2500 sec;ISO 200;2336×3504 Pixels
Focal Length 15mm;EF 15 mm fish eye f/2.8
Camera Details: Canon EOS 20D

*Composite

This dramatic shot was done for stock photography, and will be submitted to Getty Images.
(gettyimages)

It shows a young women hanging from the dramatic canyon walls. The Light beam shines down through the canyon at high noon but only last for a few minutes. She is partially lit and her body curves mimic the canyon walls. This shot was a creation of my imagination. I have never seen a rock climbing image from the slots, not to say that it has never been done, but I have never seen one. I wish I had a big client to shoot these sorts of images for, but I am on a limited budget so I had to cheat a bit. It is a composite of two images. One from the Upper Slot canyons at high noon, showing the beam of light and the canyon walls. The second shot is of a climber hanging on to a cliff. I used photoshop CS4 to combine the two images and get the final creation I had in my head. It’s one of the best parts of knowing photoshop and being a photographer. Coming up with a scene of something that I would like to create and going out and getting the shots I need. The most fun part to me is, combining images to creat a scene that never existed other that my mind.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the shot as much as I do ; )

***First Place Image***

The Slots

(click image to enlarge)
Shot details: f/9.0;1/640 sec;ISO 100;3679×5518 Pixels
Focal Length 17mm; EF 17-40 mm f/4 L USM
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

*Composite

The 2009 USASA National Championships at Copper Mountain, Colorado

A huge air at Copper Mountain, Colorado

Boy oh boy it was quite a week in Copper Mountain. Many of the best in the world were there competing for spots to be on the upcoming olimpic team. There was no holding back as the season slows as the winter ends. Lucky for me there was plenty of beautiful weather. By that I mean clear sky at least in the morning for a few hours, but the temp was -9 one morning. That’s a tough way to start my day shooting. Having to get my gear up a mountain in bitter cold weather. But well worth in after I warmed up.

Benjamin Gammon (25) Strong, Me goes for big air during the slope style 2009 USASA National Championships

Benjamin Gammon (25) Strong, Me goes for big air during the slope style 2009 USASA National Championships

Zack Black (18) Keystone, Co in the half pipe during the 2009 USASA National Championships at Copper mountain, Colorado.

Zack Black (18) Keystone, Co in the half pipe during the 2009 USASA National Championships at Copper mountain, Colorado.

(click image to enlarge)

Shot details: f/4.5; 1/1600 sec; ISO 100
Focal Length 15mm: EF15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
Camera Details: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III