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Aside from getting a great candid shot, the most memorable photos from a wedding are the creative portraits. This past weekend in Costa Mesa we ran into quite an adventure when scouting out possible portrait locations. As the videographer and I were taking test shots a day before the wedding, we soon realized that security was soon on our backs. We were told to leave the grounds and that we weren’t allowed to take photos in the area. We were ”this close” to leaving (… I’m holding my fingers ever so close together as I say this). But before we turned our back to walk away I realized we weren’t shooting for commercial purposes or to resell our photos… These photos would be used strictly for personal use by the couple we were shooting on Saturday. Luckily security approved the idea and the next thing we knew we were signing forms and we were cleared to take photos.
The location was well worth the trouble, although it didn’t stop different security guards from pestering us a bit once we started taking portraits of the couple the next day. I was a little worried since Keith and Kimberly were very laid back and didn’t want to draw a lot of attention to themselves, but at the same time I could tell that they were a little impressed to be shooting at a location that was normally off limits to photographers. But the shoot went great and eventually security left us alone to have some fun and get some great portraits.

The Raiders didn’t put up a point this afternoon against the Jets, losing 38-0. I got a couple decent shots of Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, but again it was difficult to get a good shot of the Raiders considering the score. There were a couple of moments where the Raiders gave their fans a little bit of hope, mainly by the energy that backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski provided when he came into play the second half, … but even his energy was not enough to turn things around in the second half. I don’t have any football to shoot next week but I’m looking forward to seeing the Titans play when they come into town to play the 49ers on Nov. 8th.

The Raiders won a game… and they beat a pretty good team at that. Oakland defeated the Eagles 13-9 in game that only provided one touchdown. I was probably most upset by the lack of scoring because it didn’t translate into good photos. Most of the game I had to keep my eye out for Michael Vick, but I think he only came in for a few snaps the entire game so my best shot of him actually came in the pregame warmups. But I don’t feel like writing much on this blog because the game was pretty dull to be honest… it was a frustrating day in the office for me.

Anyone who knows me is aware of how much I love basketball. It’s not necessarily my favorite sport to shot… but it’s definitely my favorite sport to play, and attend as a fan. When I found out last week that we had clearance to cover the NBA this year I was ecstatic! I’ve covered a few games before in Miami when the Heat had Shaq on their team, and then I covered the USA team when I lived in Las Vegas… but this year it looks like I’ll be able to cover most of the Sacramento Kings games which isn’t too far of a drive for me. The only downside is that after shooting my first game last night I found out just how truly awful the lighting is at Arco Arena… I’ve been at high school gymnasiums that are lit better than Arco! But I suppose it’s a small price to pay if I’m able to shoot professional basketball. I can’t wait for the regular season to begin!

So yesterday turned out to be the longest day ever. After shooting a wedding in Fresno on Saturday I turned around to cover the last day of the President’s Cup on Sunday. I’ve come to find that I don’t need too much sleep to work well, so in terms of shooting… “most” of my day went fine. I made it through the day with some good shots, and then everything started to go downhill from there. When the U.S. team started to celebrate their tournament win… I started looking through some pics on the back of my camera and noticed that there was a white line going through some of my recent photos. Turns out… my shutter was broken. So now I was down to shooting with one camera. It’s a little annoying because no one likes getting repairs, but I always wonder how things like that happen. I remember a couple of times when other media was running into me trying to get all of the celebratory shots that were taking place (… some photographers can really get aggressive and they won’t stop at anything to get “the shot”… I on the other hand would love to get the shot, but I’m not going to take out someone’s life in order to get it if you know what I mean). So I thought the camera needing repair was going to be the least of my troubles… but as I was driving home in a mess of traffic (it was horrible since the 49ers game ended just about a half an hour earlier), I got a call from the sports agency that I work for that there was a “glitch” in the system and that all of my pictures were distorted in the uploading process. I have to admit I was getting a little drained and then when I got that message I think that just took the life out of me! So once I made it across the bay bridge I found a Starbucks and re-transmitted my pics. So unfortunately, I made no money on web-based pics for the last day of the tournament… but at least the weekend is over now and I can hit the refresh button and get ready for the next assignment. I think I’ll take a nap now.

Whew… it was a fun day shooting Monica and John’s wedding in Fresno. I’ve decided to sleep in Fresno for the night and drive back to San Francisco in the morning for the final day of the President’s Cup. I just don’t have enough energy to hit the road after spending a little more time taking pictures at the reception tonight… so it’ll definitely be an early start tomorrow for me! But John and Monica were great… really easy to work with too. John is the perfect example of one of those “nice guys” who every girl would love, … and Monica has a “spunky” personality to say the least… they’re very cute together. Monica wanted a variety of photos from me in terms of traditional and unique, and that was easy to do since we had so much time between the ceremony and reception. I found a house painted yellow right across the street from the church where they were married which made for some really cute pics, but really I think the best pics were candid moments throughout the day… my favorite being when Monica was working on a beer before being introduced at the reception… too funny. But it’s time to get some sleep now… I’ve got a long drive in the morning.