Ronald Reagan's Son

I was given an assignment to photograph the Reagan Legacy Dinner.  I was given this assignment just a few hours before the start of the dinner.  Since I'm freelancing for a weekly paper I normally get my assignments days in advance.  I was told that I should dress conservatively for this job.  I really wish I had gotten closer to my subject.  I was too nervous and the room was very dark.

     Keynote speaker Michael Reagan, author, talk show radio host and son of former  president Ronald Reagan,  speaks at  Reagan Legacy Dinner sponsored by Mason County Republicans at the Pavilion on Thursday June 12^th 

Democratic State Senator Tim Sheldon greets citizens Bill and El Wanda Bryant  at  Reagan Legacy Dinner sponsored by Mason County Republicans at the Pavilion on Thursday June 12^th

L-R Judy Lloyd (in black), citizen and owner of bread of presence book store, Dorothy Vanhof (in blue) Citizen and mother of ten and Beverly Craig (in pink) retired Bordeaux elementary school teacher greet each other before the  Reagan Legacy Dinner sponsored by Mason County Republicans at the Pavilion on Thursday June 12^th ~

Boys and Girls Club Polar Plunge

I got to shoot a polar plunge this weekend.  I felt a little bit intimidated by this assignment because the publisher of the paper that sent me to photograph this polar plunge won awards for his photography of a similar event just last year.  I set the bar for myself very high and I wondered if I could meet my own expectations.

As usual I turned to the internet for tips.  There is not a lot written about how to photograph a polar plunge.  Search on “how to photograph a car show” and you will find many helpful links.   Search on “how to photograph a polar plunge” and nothing comes up that actually matches. 

I thought about my assignment some more, what would be the best angle?  What is the most cliché angle?  It became clear to me that if I wanted to get the best shots I needed to be in the water.  I could stand on the shore and get maybe one shot of the sides of the participant’s faces and then have to shoot pictures of their backs or I could stand in the water and get close pictures of the participants faces. 

Okay, so I was going to stand in the water, but was I the first to think of this?  No, of course not.  So I searched again,  but this time for references to photographers standing in the water while shooting a polar plunge and that is when I found  Meryl Schenker's blog: http://merylschenkerphotography.com/2010/01/25/special-olympics-polar-plunge/.  I read her blog post and  I saw something that made me think twice about my idea of standing in the water. 

“This was actually my first time photographing a polar plunge and I learned a lot about where to stand and where not to stand as saltwater splashed my expensive camera gear, which thankfully appears to be fine. A couple of colleagues were apparently not as lucky as they lost their equipment to the sea.”

Uh oh!  I had no desire to lose my equipment to the sea.  Maybe it was time to rethink this.  It was late in the evening and my shoot was to be early the next morning, but I sent  the blog author Meryl Schenker  an email  in hopes that she might have the time and inclination to answer me.   I told her that I was about to shoot my first polar plunge and I asked her what she had learned about where to stand.

While waiting for an answer from her I decided that I would shoot the polar plunge with my cheapest DSLR and lens.  I would use my Nikon D40 with the 18-55mm stock lens.  I can shoot great photos with this set up in spite of it being cheap and it would not hurt as much to ruin it with salt water.

Meryl  wrote back to me.  Her instructions were to stand in the water and wear waders while trying not to get knocked over or get my camera wet.  From that I gleaned the other photographers who lost their equipment to the sea probably got knocked down.

I don't own waders, but I decided to stick with my plan to stand in the water use my D40.

The fog and low light meant that I had to bump up the ISO to shoot action

When I arrived at the shoot the next  morning the weather was overcast and foggy. I took a couple of test shots and I knew that  I was going to have to shoot with an ISO of  at least 640 if I wanted to get a good shutter speed and enough depth of field to have most of my subjects in focus.  My D40 would not be up to the task.  The D40 does not handle ISO very well above 400.  The D90 is good to about 800 and acceptable up to about 1,600.

So I went with my D90 and my 17-50mm 2.8 lens.  In other words, my best gear.   I decided to minimize splashing by only going out knee deep and I went so far as to ask the organizers to ask the participants not to knock me over or splash me on purpose.  Of course I was going to get splashed a bit, but I did not want to get caught in the middle of a splash war with people purposefully splashing me.

Twice last year while on assignment, people splashed me and my camera on purpose.  I had water squirted at me at both the Tahuya Days Parade and at Oysterfest.  Both times it was done on purpose by people trying to have fun with me, but not realizing that there is nothing funny about  getting water on an expensive camera.

When it was time for the plunge the events happened quite fast.  I did not have time to get into the water before the countdown started.  Thankfully the organizer, who had forgotten about me, paused the count at 5 to ask the participants not to knock me down and then the count resumed from 5.  I did not like being the center of attention but I was glad that the participants were warned of my presence.

 I had been hoping that it would be done quietly and I never imagined that it would be done in the middle of the countdown.  At least the pause gave me time to get into position!  I was not happy to have my presence interrupt the event and I hoped that it did not constitute some sort if ethical breech.  Another newspaper had a reporter/photographer there.  What was she going to think?

I had planned on standing where I could focus on the participant who was dressed as a leprechaun, but I was lucky to even make it into the water on time, so I just stood right in the middle of the oncoming line and took pictures of everything that caught my eye.  

Oh girl, here they come rushing straight towards me.

By the 6^th picture I had water on my lens, I reached for the lens cloth that I had kept handy in anticipation of a wet lens, only to find that the pocket I was keeping it in was wet.   The cloth was too small for me to quickly dig out of  my now wet and sticky pocket.  I grabbed a larger washcloth I had and I used it instead.

 The washcloth was not perfect and it smeared water on my lens but I had to keep shooting as the event was going to be over fast.  With water smeared on my lens, my camera had a little bit of trouble focusing so I did not get as many shots as I wanted as quickly as I wanted them.  I fired away as quickly as I could and I hoped for the best.

Then while I was still in the water photographing the last folks who were coming out of the water, I realized that some of the participants were already leaving in their cars.  That meant I would not be able to get their names for the cutlines. 

However, through the magic of facebook I was able to at least get the names to go with my favorite shots before the deadline.

L-R:   Christy Garner,  Mary Gonzales and Katie Hopkins splash into the frigid waters
of Allyn's North Bay  together.  

This picture might be "newspaper sharp" but with no name for a cut line it probably won't publish.

I got a few drops of water on my camera body and on the outside of my lens, but my camera is just fine.  I used a UV filter over the front of my glass to protect it from any splashes.

Shooting this event was a rush and I want to shoot more of them now.  There is another plunge next weekend, but that job has been given to a staff reporter.

Hood Canal Salmon Center volunteer appreciation potluck

  The slow season is here but I have been keeping my fairly busy.  I photographed The Hood Canal Salmon Center's volunteer appreciation potluck.  One picture was printed.  The paper has found a huge archive of large format negatives from the 50's and 60's and they are printing them a few at a time.  Maybe those old photos are competing for ink with my new photos.

No one knows who took the old photos.  It seems to me that pro photographers in that era don't get credit for their photos now, unless they scratched their names into the negatives then.  That was the modern day equivalent of the digital water mark.

Isabella Giordano, 1, sleeps on Joey Giordano's shoulder, before the Hood Canal Salmon Center's volunteer appreciation potluck Saturday January 2015 at the Victor Improvement Club.  The Hood Canal Salmon Center sponsored the event, which recognized individuals for their time and efforts.  

Yes, I have a fast F/2.8 lens now but that does not mean I need to shoot in F/2.8 all the time, or does it?  It's hard for me to resist.  The next lens that I want is a 70-200 F/2.8.  I'll have to save my pennies for quite a while.

Football Fans

At the end of the first half the Seahawks were behind 16-0, the fans here at Bob's tavern don't look happy

The Seattle Seahawks foot ball team made it to the superbowl, the game was very close and it went into overtime.  I took my camera to downtown Shelton and got a few pictures of the fans.

Fans celebrate outside of the Shelton Eagle's club after the Seahawks win against the Packers

This Packers fan at Bob's tavern repays a bet that he lost

Fan whistles, this photo has a fair amount of barrel distortion, but I like the effect.

Shelton Elk's Hoop Shoot

Here is one for now, more later.

Tobyn Dudley, 10 takes a warm up shot with other boys in the age 10-11 class at the
Shelton Elks Hoop Shoot sponsored by the Shelton Elks and held at the Shelton High
School  Minidome on Sunday Jan 11th 2015

Basketball Practice

My next for sure job will be photographing kids in a venue that I have been told is poorly lit for photography.  I happened to be driving past the venue this weekend and I saw that something was going on in there.  So I went in and asked for permission to practice taking photographs.

I was able to take about 85 photos before the woman who let me in became concerned about the volume of my photos.  She told me she would have charged to let me in if she known that I was going to take more than one or two photos.  I took that as my cue to leave. Get in, get out, avoid drama.  I'm glad I got in, but I wish I could have stayed a little bit longer.

I learned that to photograph basketball I need to use continuous focus, later at home I learned about back button focus and I like it.  I will use back button focus when photographing basketball.  Here are a few of my pictures that turned out okay.  I used my external flash on camera in a soft box.  The ceiling is high and brown, so bouncing off the ceiling is not an option.

 I shot in manual mode, since the lighting was uniform.  I settled on 1/500 and ISO 12,500.  I was having trouble focusing so I kept my F stop mostly at 2.2 and higher.  Now that I know about continuous back button focus I will try F1.8 again.  I think most of my focusing problems had to do with the focus method rather than the depth of field.

I used my 55mm 1.8 prime lens for these, on my crop sensor that is equivalent to an 85mm lens.  This gym is very dark and basketball players move fast, so my 3.5-5.6 zoom lenses  never got to come out the bag here.

I have a new lens on the way, a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD Large Aperture Standard Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital DSLR Camera.  How about that alphabet soup?

Happy New Year!

Steve and Roxie Martinell prepare to kiss at the end of their New Year's Eve dance at
the Pavilion at Sentry Park.  The Mason County Senior Activities Association Hosted the party

I went to the senior center to photograph their New Year's Eve dinner.  Some of the seniors were dancing up a storm and it was fun to see.  

The room is very dark and the ceiling is high and white.  I think that the next time I photograph in this space I'm going to light it up a bit more with my flash.  I have to get candid photos for a newspaper, so I did not want to be too obvious with my flash.  I wish now that I had turned it up and bounced it off the ceiling instead of using my softbox, turning it down and pointing it right at people.  Hopefully I'll be sent to this venue again soon.

The room with the buffet line was better lit so I concentrated on getting a few pictures there before I moved on to the main room.

L-R  Rosie Martin,45, poses while Jackalin Martin,71, picks out a cupcake at the Senior Center New Years Eve Party at the Pavilion in Shelton on Wednesday  Dec. 31 2014 Photos by Shawna Whelan  (no flash)

L-R Joseph, 87 and Vivienne, 89 Zorich dance in front of  a sign that says Happy New Year.  Vivienne began professionally dancing when she was 3 she went on to own a dance school, she is now retired she looks forward to turning 80 in February.  At the Senior Center New Years Eve Party at the Pavilion in Shelton on Wednesday  Dec. 31 2014 Photos by Shawna Whelan  (on camera external flash in a softbox)

House fire in town

I heard this on the scanner and it was just a few blocks from my house, so I hopped on my bike and raced to the scene.  I thought there might be nothing to see in front so I went to the ally for a different angle.

A middle aged police officer who was on the scene and watching the alley told me that flames were probably about to burst through the roof.  Based on his advice I went back around to the front and waited until the house burst into flames.

I took my pictures and then I went back and thanked the police officer for his advice.  The police officer had witnessed enough house fires to know what to expect and now I have a better idea of what to expect as well.

Two police officers watch as Central Mason firefighters put out a fire on the 800
block of Cota street in downtown Shelton on Saturday.
(this one was on the front page of a newspaper)

Central Mason fire fighter Roberts approaches the house fire on the 800
block of Cota street in downtown Shelton on Saturday.

Two Central Mason fire fighters on the scene on the 800
block of Cota street in downtown Shelton on Saturday.

Personal Body of Work

Every Christmas I escape from my house for an hour or so to photograph the lights in town.
I used to just light paint by moving my camera around, but this year I also experimented with zooming.

No pixels were moved here this was done with perfect timing of panning and zooming
and using the rear flash feature to make the lumber jack pop 1.3 sec;   f/16;   ISO 1250

No pixels were moved here, lens zoomed in on the word  "Journal" and then it
was zoomed out during this long exposure to make the streaks

This is a photo  illustration . Pixels were moved when I edited this picture and this picture is a triple exposure.
The clock on the left was from the first exposure and the Christmas tree beneath the clock
was the second exposure, the payday loan sign was the third exposure.
The clock in the door was cut and pasted from another photo

No pixels were moved here, I just zoomed out after
 letting the camera point at  Santa for a bit

No pixels were moved here
This clock reflection is in a mud puddle.  I focused on the clock in the puddle for a bit and
 then I zoomed out and made big circles with my camera to light paint with the actual clock face on the tower above

It's still the season

December has been a good month overall.  Yes I dropped my flash and had to buy a new one and get the old one repaired, but I got enough jobs to cover the expenses and I have a nice new flash to play with.

I took photos at a family art night at a local elementary school, the theme of the month is Christmas.  We'll see what January brings.  January is typically a slow month for freelancers.

Shalynn Hash, 5, looks at a book during the book fair at the Bordeaux
Elementary School library in Shelton, Washington on December 11 2014

Santa, Santa and Santa

Baby's first Christmas (see caption above below on front page of paper)

1/80 sec;   f/2.5;   ISO 800,  external flash was fired with a small softbox over it.
 Nikon D90 and 50mm 1.8 lens

Jordan Rolland 11, warms up before she marches with the fourth and fifth grade band  at the Belfair Christmas  parade sponsored  by the the NM Music Booster Club and others in downtown Belfair on Sunday Dec. 7 2014 ~ Shawna Whelan

L-R Kaiden Lauzon, 1 and Izzabella Louzon age 2 wear Christmas hats while watching the parade

 at the Belfair Christmas  parade sponsored  by the the NM Music Booster Club and others in downtown 

Belfair on Sunday Dec. 7 2014  ~ Shawna Whelan

Jacque Hamilton sings while Michael Pratt plays the guitar in front of a large crowd after the parade

 at the Belfair Christmas  parade sponsored  by the the NM Music Booster Club and others in downtown 

Belfair on Sunday Dec. 7 2014  ~ Shawna Whelan (I caught the blue light here)

Santas arrival sparks excitement among the children at the Belfair Christmas parade sponsored by the
the NM Music Booster Club and others in downtown Belfair on Sunday Dec. 7 2014  ~ Shawna Whelan

It seems that I have become a Santa photographer this week, not an official one with strobes and umbrellas,  but one who stands to the side and tries to get candid shots.  Every week I get to do something different and I get to face new challenges, that's what I really like about photojournalism.

I shoot with my 50mm 1.8 prime as much as I can so I can get a shallow depth of field and speed.  But it's tricky to use a 50mm lens on a DX camera.  I miss shots due to cropping and I am always at the risk of stepping on people's toes as I back up to try not to cut off the top of someone's head. Also such a narrow angle is not good at all when working in crowded situations.  

I'm still using two camera bodies, but now I have equipped one with an 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 lens and the other with a 50mm 1.8 lens.  It's redundant as far as focal length goes but the redundancy is worth it due to the speed and clarity of my 50mm lens.  I need the wide angle of the 18mm -55mm lens for overview shots.

 As a photojournalist I need to be able to tell the story with pictures and I can't tell the entire story with a 50mm portrait lens, I've got to be able to zoom out and get the wide shots too.  I'm pretty sure that other photojournalist would laugh at my lens combo, but for now it's working for me.  I don't miss shots due to changing lenses this way, but I still sometimes miss shots due to changing cameras.

At this point my dream lens is the 17-55mm f/2.8 DX.  If I had that lens it might be all I would use since I'm not shooting sports, but I think I would still bring along a second camera body with my 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 VR lens just in case.  The only time I'm using the bigger zoom for photojournalism is when I photograph the police arresting someone from a block away.  Usually the movement is not too fast for that big slow lens, but shooting sports with that lens can be a real challenge.

The Christmas parades require lots of shooting in the dark where again a fast lens is preferred, but the narrow angle of a 50mm lens on a DX body is not at all ideal.  I'll upgrade my lenses and not even think about getting an FX camera.

Mason General Candy Cane Carnival

I photographed a charity event sponsored by Mason General Hospital.  I was not the Santa photographer but I took a couple of Santa pictures from the side anyway.  I broke my Nikon SB600 external flash and I had to buy a new flash, this was my first job with my new flash, it is a Yangnuo YN-568EX.

  It is a slight upgrade as it has high speed sync, a built in bounce card and a faster recharge time.  It cost a lot less than a comparable Nikon flash and so far it seems well built.  I also paid Nikon $118 to repair my SB600.  I had the SB fixed because it is smaller and lighter and that makes it better for hiking.

     Jimmy Rosaria, 5 of Shelton puts his toy fire hat on Santa’s head and then gives Santa* a hug at the Candy Cane Carnival Sponsored by Mason General Hospital and Co-Sponsored by South Sound Radiology held at the Alderbrook Resort and Spa in Union on Saturday Nov. 22 2014 ~Shawna Whelan

      Pheonix Oleachea, 8 and Siciley Whiting, 5 both from Shelton sit on Santa’s Lap  at the Candy Cane Carnival Sponsored by Mason General Hospital and Co-Sponsored by South Sound Radiology held at the Alderbrook Resort and Spa in Union on Saturday Nov. 22 2014 ~Shawna Whelan

Hunter Harris, 3 smiles while Destiny Dolezal’s, 5 face is painted by Shannon Paine of Shelton Health and Rehab at the Candy Cane Carnival Sponsored by Mason General Hospital and Co-Sponsored by South Sound Radiology held at the Alderbrook Resort and Spa in Union on Saturday Nov. 22 2014 ~Shawna Whelan

Vetrans Day BBQ and Stuff the Bus

This week I covered a Veterans appreciation BBQ out in Hoodsport
 and a food drive event at the Saint's Pantry food bank. I also happened
 upon some salmon swimming in the road and two of those pictures
 were published.  This was my most productive week yet for the paper. 
 My pictures are on three different pages of this week's edition.

James A. Young age 89 from Port Orchard,takes the microphone and talks about his
 experiences  serving  as Veteran during World War II. At the Veterans Appreciation BBQ
sponsored  by the Hoodsport  Lions Club  and held at  the Hoodsport fire and rescue station on
 Sat Nov. 8th ~Shawna Whelan

  
Carl Parker claps after Gordon MacLeod’s bagpipe performance to honor Navy veterans Saturday at the Veterans Appreciation Barbecue in Hoodsport. The Hoodsport Lions Club sponsored the event.

Food bank Volunteer Dennis Combs unloads donated items from a  Shelton School
District bus at the Stuff the  Bus event sponsored by the Saints Pantry Food bank in downtown
 Shelton on Sat. Nov 8th ~ Shawna Whelan

Why did the salmon cross the road?

The Skokomish River near Shelton Washington is flooding again.  These pictures are popular, so I've watermarked them heavily.  I've already sold some rights to a few of these and I hope to sell more.

   Pumpkins float in the flood waters of the Skokomish River next to the 
Skokomish Valley road  near Shelton Washington on Tuesday Nov. 4^th

       Fall chum salmon rest while waiting to cross the Skokomish Valley road onear Shelton

Washington on n Tuesday Nov 4th

Nearly a dozen Chum salmon use a residential drive way gate as a place to rest before

 trying to cross the Skokomish Valley Road near Shelton Washington Nov 4th 2014

  A Chum salmon rests on the fog line after crossing  the Skokomish Valley Road 

near Shelton Washington on Tuesday Nov. 4^th

Halloween 2014

I went to Sand Hill Elementary School in Belfair to photograph their PTA sponsored trick-or-treating event on Halloween night.  I had a major equipment malfunction and I was very sick, but I managed to take a few pictures that made me happy.

First Grade teacher Rick Robbers dresses as a beekeeper and gives out information on the

 lifespan of bees to a crowd of trick-or-treaters at  Sand Hill Elementary School in Belfair

 during a trick-or-treat sponsored by the PTA on Halloween night.

Fifth grade teacher Molly Johnson hands candy to Rachel Youngman age ten at Belfair's

 Sand Hill Elementary School  trick-or-treat event sponsored by the PTA on Halloween night.