BABY POWDER EXPLOSIONS

I’ve been coughing up Johnson & Johnson’s hypoallergenic baby powder for the past week. I was caked in the fine, white stuff. But it was all for a good cause producing this year’s 2011 All-County Football spread. I had the idea after watching Lebron James do his pregame ritual where he claps his hands and makes a small explosion of powder. I figured it would add some drama to the portraits.

The shoot was an incredible amount of fun as all the players really got into it. A couple of things I would mention when working with baby powder:

1. Shoot with a long lens and try to keep your camera away from it.

2. Bring a big fan to clear the air.

3. Don’t wear black.

The photos above are a few of my favorites. Thanks Travis Geske for helping with the shoot and providing some pretty spectacular powder throws. I owe you a beer.

The Chief Retires

There’s just something about the challenge of making an interesting photo in a controlled environment. It’s why I love shooting press conference at our city’s rotunda. It’s a small room, and I’ll take several photos in there during the week. But it always seems to provide some new way angle, new mood, new light.

Caption: Salinas Police Chief Louis Fetherolf, right, embraces evidence technician Jessy Pacheco after annoucning his retirement from law enforcement December 7 at the Salinas City Rotunda. Fetherolf, who was hired in March 2009 at age 63, served 32 months in Salinas and leaves a 40 year career.

Read more from Sunita Vijayan and The Salinas Californian here.

Right before the fight

Is there anything better than the moments before a fight? I think not.