Sam Adams - Visual Thinking

Exercises 1,4, & 5

2011-03-14T14:11:00.006-06:00

Exercise 1 -
Exercise 4 -
Exercise 5- Part 1 -

Exercise 5 - Part 2 -

The Marketing of No Marketing

2011-03-02T13:57:00.003-07:00

I found this article to be very interesting, because I've experienced a lot of what is written about in this article and I think it is a great look inside the marketing plan behind it, as little as it is. As a cyclist myself (not a PBR drinker though), I've known many people that are fans of the brand for many of the same reasons mentioned in the article, and it is interesting to hear the background behind company and how it is currently approaching its marketing. I think the culture/s that are mentioned in this article are exactly as the are portrayed in terms of rejecting larger corporations and favoring home-grown, local companies, and brands (despite whether they may or may not be). The interesting thing about Pabst's marketing plan is that is focuses primarily on local and small events, to give the local company feel, and yet do that on a national level. The thing Pabst has going for it, that few companies do, is they already have a "group of people who embraced the brand" as Neal Stewart from the article puts it. That gives Pabst the advantage of having a select demographic of people who embrace and share the brand of Pabst with no advertising or marketing needed.
It was also interesting to read about how some of the marketing people/firms hired by Pabst came from many of the larger breweries nationally, and essentially had to stop themselves from doing what they were trained to do and re-think about how to brand and market a company to a culture that doesn't pay attention to or rejects traditional marketing. It is a funny approach to go into everything trying to "always look and act the underdog" as Stewart said. Most companies approaches would the complete opposite. It is a very interesting article because it looks at how marketing is evolving in this time of relentless advertising all around us, and how perhaps for the future companies will focus more directly on how the market to people effectively without bombarding them with ads.

Narrative Project - Car Theft

2010-12-14T13:09:00.003-07:00

Chapter 3. Response

2010-12-03T13:04:00.001-07:00

I found many of the works in this chapter very interesting and ground breaking for their time, but I found it a little bit difficult to find "art" in what I would consider some of which just being telecommunications, or computer science advances. The fact that there is a point, statement, or concept behind the work, as well as its location is what contributes to it being "art". One such example is the "Telegarden" by Ken Goldberg and Joseph Santarromana. (pg. 155). The work allows for users to remotely control an articulating robotical arm through the internet from the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria. The robotic arm would care for a small garden of plants by planting seeds, watering, and monitoring them. I found the work to be incredibly interesting in terms of technology and the ability to remotely care for and grow plants in another location. However, I tended to see this project, like many others in the chapter like technological advances on the roles of computers, and the internet. However, because of its social networking/ interactive component, and it's placement it is considered also a work of "art". I feel that the book best says this " Telegarden explicitly emphasized the aspect of community by inviting people around the world to collectively cultivate a small ecosystem. Survival of the ecology was dependent on a remote social network. " It is the exploration of social networking, technology, and nature which makes this work an 'artwork".

I think many of the works in this book will all fall into this category of being what I consider mostly to be technological advances, with a smaller component of art to them, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It is only through the advancement of technology the the realm of digital art even exists, and through its current rapid growth digital art is growing and changing at the same speed of technology.

A Narrative on Telling Narratives

2010-12-02T16:24:00.002-07:00

A segment of the documentary on photojournalist in South Africa in the early 1990's called the Bang Bang Club.

The Bang Bang Club - on youtube.

Project 3 | Embracing the Digital Esthetic

2010-11-16T09:48:00.005-07:00

So for my embracing the digital esthetic project I wanted to work with doing composite photos at night using various exposures and editing techniques to achieve a more surreal photo then could have been achieved otherwise. I was aiming to achieve a look that emulates that of photographer, Dave Hill, yet still keeping the idea and style somewhat of my own. The concept behind this image, and the images for my next project will be on crime. This image is supposed to depict two would be robbers making their getaway after a botched home robbery.

Below are the images I used to create the above final image above. Each of the three people were lit individually to get the best lighting all the way around for the people, then I used two base images to get an even exposed background and surroundings to give it a much more natural feel.

Project 2 - Fabrication

2010-10-19T16:02:00.005-06:00

I've long been fascinated with the fabricated landscapes in photoshop that show a distant planet, or nearby stars and galaxies just outside our atmosphere. It gives such a surreal effect bringing the beauty of the galaxy to the earth's evening view. So, for my fabrication project I chose to use some of my landscapes that I had already shot, and added a few neighbors to the evenings sky.

I studied a number of images that I liked that gave the look I wanted to achieve. You can see a good sample of some of the images in this google images search. Below are some of the images I used to create the sky background. In photoshop I tried to find pictures with late evening skies so that when I used the "screen" blend mode for the layers they came through nicely. The brighter the sky, the harder this was to achieve. Once I changed the blend mode to "screen" I used levels to bring in the blacks to help the layer of the planets or stars blend in seamlessly with the background images.

Parodies

2010-09-28T17:25:00.002-06:00

I found this recent story on the www.theOnion.com. I think it is a great parody because it uses multiple forms to convey a sense of reality. There is a picture with Bush with a bunch of space stuff behind him, and an illustration of his plan, along with supporting text. All of this is displayed in a very believable format much like many of the major news networks. It has well written, journalistic text with accompanying pictures and illustrations to add to the truth value for the story.

Project 1

2010-09-21T11:03:00.003-06:00

When you look deeply into any commercial photography these days, you'll realize that many of the images represented today, are composites, combining 2 or more images together to achieve a more pleasing image, weather that goal is to sell a product, convey a message, or to just make the image more aesthetically pleasing.

For a good idea of this visit: www.joemorahan.com .

He uses composites in some of his images to combine sunning landscapes with athletes in action. I wanted to use this technique on something I am a little more familiar with, which is BMX bicycling. By using a couple of different images, and paying attention to lighting characteristics of the photos, I combined the two together to create an image, that not only never happened, but is an image of a trick that would be so crazy that, I hope, it would never be attempted.

Below are the two images I used to create the composite image:

Mario, Wes, & Kenny

2010-09-09T17:33:00.003-06:00

Drawing of a Picture

2010-09-09T14:56:00.002-06:00

For my drawing I class I did a copy of an old photo of mine, and this is my favorite one.

Digital Collage

2010-09-02T01:02:00.003-06:00

New Blog!

2010-03-11T10:55:00.002-07:00

I've decided to switch blog interfaces. My new blog will be at:
www.samadamsphoto.wordpress.com

The previous posts will remain on this blog for the time being, but be sure to check out the new blog and sign up for e-mail updates when I post new work and news.

-Sam

Denver Fixed Gear

2010-03-01T18:23:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to share a few images from other night shooting Daina, a fixed gear rider here in Denver.

This first image was shot like a previous shot I did a while back. It is shot with a Canon 5d with a 15mm fisheye that held by a Bogen Magic Arm that is super clamped to the frame of the bike. I wanted to shoot Daina riding past a steaming manhole downtown, and I stood off to the side of the road with a Canon 580 flash in my hand that I fired with the camera to light Daina as he rode through the steam. Although, I did not take a picture of the set up you can get a pretty good idea in my previous post, the only difference is I just stood on the side of the road and used the flash instead of putting it on another bike.

In addition to getting the riding shot we did some portraits in an alley way nearby. To light these I used an Alien Bee 800 powered by a batter pack with a large softbox. I had the Alien Bee turned down to its lowest power to allow for the ambient light to come into the picture. You can see the set up shot below.

-Sam

Full Pipe Carve

2010-02-25T21:46:00.001-07:00

Full Pipe Carve
Originally uploaded by Sam Adams Photo

Found this old photo while looking through photos to enter in this years Red Bull Illume contest, however, I tend not to think this one wouldn't quite be publishable nationally without some photoshop work.

Double Ditch Jam

2009-08-20T12:51:00.003-06:00

Vital BMX just featured my images from this years Double Ditch Jam in Albuquerque, NM. You can check them out by clicking on the image or link below:

Vital BMX: Double Ditch Jam

Summer 2009 Newsletter

2009-08-12T16:52:00.002-06:00

I just finished up the Summer 2009 newsletter and posted it on my website. You can download it by clicking on the image or link below:

Summer Newsletter

I've been behind on the newsletter but I hope now that things are settling down since the move that I can get these newsletters back on track.

-Sam

Cityscapes

2009-08-03T09:11:00.004-06:00

I've always loved cityscapes, but lets face it, downtown Albuquerque was never all that great for a good cityscape. So, one of the first things I wanted to shoot here in Denver was a good cityscape of downtown. Luckily for me, my girlfriend works at a facility that has a 14 story building which has some pretty awesome views of downtown and she was able to talk with the security guard and get him to allow me up top and on one of the balcony's after hours. As far as I know it is the tallest structure west of downtown Denver so it has a pretty unique view.

I wasn't able to get up top as early as I would of liked and I missed all the direct sunlight. So all the images were made after sunset, which at first I was a little bit concerned because I had missed the golden hour, but as the light slowly disappeared the some awsome colors emerged.

I am going to try and get back up there again sometime during a Rockies baseball game and while there is still some light out.

-Sam

Denver

2009-07-26T16:24:00.004-06:00

So it's been about a month and half since I've moved up here to Denver, and I must admit I am enjoying it here. It's a beautiful and lively city and I am happy to be here. I've posted a few random photos that I've shot around Denver this past few weeks.

Denver, CO

2009-06-26T15:29:00.006-06:00

The past month has been a very hectic one in many ways. I've since made the move to Denver, CO as I briefly mentioned in my last post. I've posted below a few shots from the past month or so of stuff I've been up to.

A few images from before I left.

And a few images since I've lived here in Denver.

Hopefully work will start flowing in soon, so I should have some new post soon. Oh, and on a side note, I joined twitter and you can find me here: SamAdamsPhoto on Twitter.

-Sam

Evening Road Bikes

2009-04-08T15:30:00.003-06:00

So I know it's been a while since I've had a post on here. Things have been changing a bit, including a big move from Albuquerque to Denver in the next month.

So with that being said here are some recent images from a shoot I did with my friend Dorian just the other day.

Lighting set up is one Alien Bee 800 with a medium softbox with a 1/2 CTO gel at 1/2 power.

-Sam

Ahh Sh**!

2009-02-05T20:59:00.006-07:00

Probably my least favorite words to say just before starting a shoot. It means one thing, I forgot something I needed. In this case it was my pocket wizards, I brought all my lights, stands, cords, etc. but I forgot my triggers. Now normally I have my car with me with at least 15 ft. of cable to trigger my flashes, but that day I had my girlfriends car since mine was in the shop.

So with no pocket wizards or cords to hardwire the flashes, it left me with one choice. Ditch the flashes and go with the natural light. Kind of a scary thought for me since I use flashes in almost all my BMX shots.

Which leads me to my point, lots of times as photographers we seem to get "fixed" in certain ways of photographing different subjects. Weather it be different poses, lens choices, specific backdrops or lighting set ups.

Sometimes having a fixed way of photographing subjects is good, it helps develop your own style of shooting. Other times, it can be a mental block which keeps you from exploring other possibilities with the shoot.

For me, not having my flashes, felt more like a mental block. I got kind of nervous, but after a little exposure tweaking and some looking at the scene I began to look at the natural light rather then think about where my flashes should be. I forced me to think outside of my usual box and look at things differently.

So, maybe Ahh Sh**! isn't the worst thing you can say at the start of shoot. Unless you forgot your batteries or memory cards/film, then your just screwed.

-Sam

New Years Resolution

2009-01-10T19:37:00.003-07:00

I've never been a big participant in new year's resolutions, but this year I decided to have one. My resolution this year is to set up at least three personal photo shoots each month. So to start the new year off right then, here is my first shoot with my friend Wes.

The top photo is lit with the set up below, which is an Alien Bee 1600 with a medium softbox powered by a vagabond battery pack. The photo just above this is all natural light.

Along with the new year's resolution, I am also planning on updating here with each shoot.

-Sam

Forensic Psychology

2009-01-08T10:30:00.006-07:00

Last week I photographed Alexander, a forensic psychologist, here in Albuquerque. The basic idea was to create professional business images to enhance his website for his new firm here in New Mexico.

With that in mind we started out creating some basic, clean, business like portraits in front of the metropolitan court house.

Once I got my basic shots done we decided to try some different, more creative ideas. Having a subject like Alexander who is open to trying some different and more creative ideas really helps with not only the photos, but the overall shoot.

Below are some of the more creative shots with some behind the scenes looks at the lighting of the images.

-Sam

Fall Newsletter

2009-01-08T10:22:00.003-07:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks, between shooting and the holiday season. That's my lame excuse for my lack of posts.

If your interested in finding out a bit more about whats been going on be sure to download my quarterly newsletter available on my website at: www.samadamsphotography.com or click on the image below.

-Sam

Perpective on Vital BMX

2008-12-10T13:01:00.003-07:00

This morning Vital BMX posted a small multimedia project of mine. It's a behind the scenes look at what it takes to make a BMX picture from both my point of view and the riders.

To see the project click on the image above or follow the link below:
Sam Adam's Perpective on Vital BMX

-Sam

Ride BMX #151

2008-10-27T14:58:00.003-06:00

Ride BMX magazine has a photo of mine in the Focus section of this months issue.

-Sam

Feature on Defgrip

2008-10-20T14:48:00.002-06:00

There is a new @ Random feature on defgrip with one of the photos I discussed in the previous post.

Click on the image above to check it out.

-Sam

Ramp Riding

2008-10-09T17:06:00.002-06:00

So just the other night I shot some stuff with some friends riding a new ramp they are building in my friends back yard. It's going to be a pretty impressive ramp once it is all said and done, but kind of fun to shoot while they are building it all up.

Below is the set up shot for the two images above. Both images were shot with a Canon 5d with a 15mm fisheye and the flashes were triggered with Pocket Wizards.

-Sam

View Magazine

2008-10-03T12:06:00.003-06:00

Germany's View Magazine ran a photo of mine this month. The photo of O'Doyle bailing off his bike, has become a rather popular, since this is the second magazine to feature it in two months in Germany.

-Sam

Tom Anderson

2008-09-30T10:06:00.005-06:00

Last week I got a call to shoot a portrait of Tom Anderson, the CEO of Novint, for the London Financial Times. For those of you are probably not familiar with Novint, they created a pretty cool new joystick for video games. It's a very unique design and totally cool. So, anyways, CEO portraits are not really a specialty of mine, in fact, I hardly do them. Which made this kind of a fun assignment.

I got the call Thursday afternoon and the shoot was scheduled that Friday afternoon, so luckily it gave me some time to do some research and look up Novint and Tom Anderson to get a feel for the company and perhaps some ideas for some shots. The only real stipulation for the shoot was that Novint's new joystick must be in the photo with Tom, which is pretty standard when your doing an editorial portrait. What's also pretty standard is we ended up shooting in a conference room. I generally try and find a unique location or setting to take the photo, but sometimes that just doesn't fly to well. So below is my set up shot from the conference room.

You can see it is a pretty standard conference table, so not a whole lot to work with. As for lighting, I used two Alien Bee lights, one with a photoflex medium softbox w/ a grid to the left, and the other has a 20 degree grid for a rim light. Although, it may not look like the room was very bright, there are two big windows behind me letting in a lot of light. I knew I wanted to drop out the ambient light so that my lights where the only thing lighting Tom. So, I pumped up the power and made the light more direct hence the grids on both lights. Doing this allowed for me to drop out the ambient and be more in control of the light in the room. Below is my favorite shot from the shoot.

-Sam

Planes in the Sky

2008-09-23T11:45:00.003-06:00

So the other day, when I was out shooting I realized I have this little habit of shooting pictures of planes in the skies over Albuquerque. I think it might have something to do with the fact that we have some cool clouds here.

-Sam

Obama

2008-09-09T10:47:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago Senator Obama came and spoke at a local high school here in Albuquerque. I've only photographed one other political rally before this one, and that was Senator Clinton during her run for the democratic nomination.

Senator Obama's rally was much like Clinton's in its location, a high school, and it's layout of photo positions. I was lucky however to get to one photo position that I was not able to shoot during Clinton, and that's the position right in front of the candidate on the floor.

You can see from the image above the view from the side photo position as well as the photographers in the front area in front of Obama. During Hillary Clinton's rally this area was, for the most part, only for pool and traveling photographers, such as those from Getty, AP, AFP, and Rueters.

During Obama's rally, the pool and traveling press were allowed in there first, then we swapt places as they came out, one by one. I decided when I went in there to bring a 300mm with me right up front. Obama is a very heavily photographed person, so making images that are unique to him is very difficult. So, I thought by bringing in a 300mm to shoot super tight might be a nice way to make some images that no one else got during the rally.

The above image is one shot with a 300mm right up front, and I think it gives a nice up close and tight image that is some what unique. However, my favorite image from the rally is probably the one below.

To see more images from Obama check out my images on Aurora photos.

-Sam

Recent Sports Work

2008-09-09T10:42:00.003-06:00

I've posted some recent sports work online on my Sportsshooter page.

-Sam

Bringing out the big lights.

2008-08-30T14:23:00.004-06:00

Over the past week or so I've decided to start bringing out my bigger sets of lights instead of using speed lights for my BMX and skate photography. The set I am working with currently is an Alien Bee 1600 and 800, then using a Vagabond portable battery pack to power the lights.

The two lights with the battery pack during the 2008 Double Ditch Jam

The same two lights and pack at a rail set-up in Albuquerque.

Compared to using speed lights these two lights put out a combined power of 960 w/s of light at full power, which is more then enough to over power daylight in most situations. Although, I don't exactly know the watt seconds on a speed light it is roughly around 60-70w/s. This means on average I was putting 140w/s into a photo at most when using speed lights. So a big difference between the two.

Alex Gonzales wall to whip during the Double Ditch Jam. Lit with an Alien Bee 1600 and an 800 at full power with the vagabond pack.

Drew Hosselton does a double peg at Highland High School. Lit with one Alien Bee 1600 at full power with the vagabond pack.

Although I really enjoy the extra power it comes with some serious draw backs. The Alien Bee set-up is considerably heavier, and a lot harder to move around with. This pretty much eliminates putting all the gear in a backpack and going riding with it, which is what I would do with my speed lights. Essentially the Alien Bee set-up can only be used when I can park my car or be with in a reasonable walking distance. With the speed lights I can just throw them in my backpack and ride with them when I go shooting. So, when it comes down to it each set up has it's pro's and con's as usual, but if I could only have one I would probably go with the Alien Bee set-up for the power and quality of light rather then the convenience of the speedlights. Well for now at least, until I get tired of carrying them.

So with that said, I am sure you'll be seeing plenty more photos with some heavy duty lighting in them.

-Sam

Slackin!

2008-08-29T09:57:00.004-06:00

Yea, I know I've been slackin on the post recently. Things have been pretty busy which school starting, moving, and having the 5th annual Double Ditch Jam this past weekend.

(Tommy Betts kicks a mean topside no-footed can out of the wallride.)

This years images and video from Double Ditch should be up on Vital BMX this weekend. However, as a sneak peak they've already posted the photos, so if you would like to check those out follow this link to: Vital BMX

I will post some new work and some behind the scenes stuff this weekend.

-Sam

NEW Quarterly Newsletter

2008-08-11T14:53:00.004-06:00

So today I am putting out the first of what will be a continuing series of quarterly newsletters. I got the idea from a friend, Michael Clark, and ran with it, so here it is the first issue.

(Click on the image below to link for download)

The whole newsletter was designed with Adobe's InDesign and this was my first time using the program, so it was certainly a learning experience. Because this was my first time, I am especially eager for critiques or comments on the design and layout, so fire away.

Also, if you would like to be added to the list for email updates when the next newsletter comes out please email me at samadamsphotography [at] gmail.com or through my website and let me know you wish to be added.

-Sam

Fixed

2008-08-05T11:18:00.004-06:00

Fixed gear bikes are gaining a lot of popularity here in Albuquerque and Sam Miller is one of the best when it comes to tricks. Aside from landing on the cover of the bootleg sessions DVD we shot a few images for an upcoming interview for him. So I thought I would share.

Both images are lit with an Alien Bee 1600 with a vagabond battery pack and triggered with pocket wizards.

-Sam

Rome, Italy

2008-07-24T16:23:00.003-06:00

Rome during the summer is essential a city of tourists, which although I too was a tourist, it's not fun being around so many others. It's hard to be inspired to take photos when everyone and their mother is running around with their cameras. So, with that being said here are a few images from Rome.

Rome was our last stop on our trip before we headed back to Spain for a day and then back to Albuquerque. It truly was a trip to remember and I hope you enjoyed looking at some of my favorites from the trip.

-Sam

Florence, Italy

2008-07-24T16:18:00.002-06:00

Hot and humid are probably my two best words to describe how Florence felt. It was pretty brutal, so our activities outside we limited to museums during the day for the most part. However, in the evenings, things cooled off quite a bit and were pleasantly enjoyable.

Next up - Rome, Italy

-Sam

Venice, Italy

2008-07-24T15:59:00.005-06:00

Venice was a quick stop along our trip, we only stayed one night before we headed on to Florence, but regardless it was a great sight to finally see.

Next up - Florence, Italy

-Sam

Interlaken, Switzerland

2008-07-24T15:49:00.003-06:00

From Interlaken there is a train that heads to what is called the "Top of Europe" which is the highest train station in Europe. It is an amazing ride though the Alps with some of most amazing scenery I've ever seen. Easily one of the most enjoyable highlights of my trip.

Next up - Venice, Italy.

-Sam

Munich, Germany

2008-07-24T15:43:00.002-06:00

So, unfortunately, we didn't get to spend as much time in Munich as we would of liked, only one day. However, because of an awesome free bike tour we got to see how cool Munich is.

Munich has a river that comes shooting through a tunnel and when it exits the construction creates a continuous wave that can be surfed, so that was a pretty cool site.

Next up - Interlaken, Switzerland.

-Sam

Paris, France

2008-07-20T11:18:00.005-06:00

Leaving from Barcelona on to Paris, we were asked to exit the train just prior to the French boarder because of a labor strike in Montpellier. So, I made a few images while waiting for a French train to come pick us up and take us in.

So after a hour or two delay a train finally showed up and we made our way into France, and of course the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most easily recognizable and photographed monuments in the world, so making a unique image isn't an easy thing to do. So with that being said, I tried to get a few different types of images then I've seen before.

Next up - Munich, Germany

-Sam

Barcelona, Spain

2008-07-17T13:28:00.003-06:00

Barcelona was by far on of my favorite cities that we traveled to, lots of cool images to be made in that city.

Next up - Paris, France

-Sam

Granada, Spain

2008-07-17T13:09:00.005-06:00

So, here we go. I will be posting every other day with images from locations I visited on my trip to Europe. To start, I'll begin in Granada, Spain, below are a few images from there.

Next up is Barcelona, Spain.

-Sam

48 Hour Film Festival

2008-07-14T17:43:00.003-06:00

So coming back, jet lagged as could be, I started work with a group of friends on an indie film project for a 48 hour film festival. I was in charge of the lighting, so I thought I would post a few images of the set up for you to check out.

I will start on Wednesday posting images from my trip from each location, and will do so every other day till I do all the locations, so be sure to check back.

-Sam

Hola de España

2008-06-11T09:24:00.004-06:00

So it´s been a busy week and half so far. We´ve spent most of our time in southern Spain so far. More specifically in the city of Granada. We leave tomorrow for Barcelona for 5 days then it´s up to Paris for a few days and so on after that.

It´s been a great experience so far. It´s nice seeing how other parts of the world live and work, as well as to hear some opinions on world events from outside the US. Probably the biggest problem we´ve ran into so far is the language barrier. It´s not so much a probablem here in Spain, because we had two people who are fluent with us, and I know a tad bit of Spanish. However, none of us know French, German, or Italian, so that could make things interesting. It´s a weird feeling talking and knowing people around you have no idea what you´re saying.

So anyways, since it´s our last day here in Granada, we went to the Alahambra Palace, which was pretty incredible in terms of it´s history and views of the city. So, here are some untoned jpgs from the Alahambra today.

(From L-R: Me, Dorian, and Audrey at the Alahambra)

So, I´ll try and write again before we leave from Barcelona.

-Sam

Sports Shooter: April Clip Contest 3rd Place

2008-06-01T01:01:00.003-06:00

So here i am, it's 1am. I leave for Europe in 5 hours and i still haven't finished packing, but yet i am posting a blog. I know what your thinking, genius, huh?

Anyways, this will be my last post from the states for a while, so i figured i would link to this months clip contest winners on Sports Shooter where I got 3rd place for sports feature.

To see the image and the other winners follow this link to: Sports Shooter or click on the photo.

-Sam

Heading Out

2008-05-29T16:40:00.004-06:00

So, the blog is going to be a bit slow over the next month; I am traveling to Europe this Sunday to backback around the continent and shoot photos with a couple friends, so posts here are going to be pretty slow till I get back in July.

I will try and update the blog, with a few pictures from the trip, however because I am not taking a laptop that may prove to be somewhat difficult. So we will see how that works out over there since i'll only be using internet cafés.

-Sam

New Studio Set Up

2008-05-20T17:24:00.003-06:00

The last few weeks have been super hectic around here; my final exams, as well as all the state championship sports events which i cover for a client of mine. So I haven't had too much time to shoot anything for myself, but today I was able to make some time to do so.

I've been wanting to do some more studio type work, so this past week I set up a makeshift studio in my garage at home. Nothing really impressive to look at but it will allow me to really work on some ideas I've had for a while now.

Below are a few images is shot with ,skateboarder, Brian Jackson today. I was trying to go for a darker moodier photo which is why i placed the softbox almost directly above him for this first photo, which is my favorite of the three.

-Sam

Picking Your Background

2008-05-09T20:08:00.005-06:00

Yea, I wish I could just pick my background every time I went to a sporting event, but instead I have to go looking for it. So, today i was assigned to go cover some high school tennis matches during the state championships, and one of the most crucial parts to a good sports photo is a clean/ good background. It's hard to make a good image with out it, and if any of you have ever shot tennis you know how horrible the backgrounds can be.

So pick your background -

The one on the left is probably the most common background you'll find doing tennis, and yea it couldn't be much worse. Chain link fences surround every court and no matter how hard you try they are almost impossible to get rid of.

The image above isn't a great image by any means, but it is pretty typical of what you'd see at a tennis match. The first step here is to try and clean up the background so the action isn't lost to the background. Thankfully, they have started to put up these dark green/black covers on the backs of the fences to either cut down late evening sun or wind, I don't know which, but all i care about is it helps clean up the backgrounds.

So, those covers help out with the backgrounds quite a bit, helping to isolate the action and have a cleaner feel to it. However, you still get some weird lines of the bars in the fences and some shadowed outlines sometimes. Generally, this is about as good as you get for high school tennis as far as backgrounds go, but i got lucky today. I found two courts with wood backgrounds that were really nice and weathered looking.

Just from a glance you can see the obvious difference between the two other backgrounds. This was a godsend to find. It really allows for the action to stand out. I also got lucky that today was pretty overcast so I didn't have to worry about any hard shadows. So, i stayed with the wood background as long as I could before I had to move on. I made a couple decent images like the one above, and this one below where timing just happened to help make a kind of a funny image.

So the bottom line from this post is when your shooting sports look for those clean backgrounds. It makes all the difference in the world when it comes to making a good sports image.

-Sam

Blurb Book review on Defgrip

2008-05-03T23:04:00.003-06:00

So I wrote up a review on Blurb.com for one of my favorite online sites, Defgrip. Blurb is a book making site that is pretty cool, so take a look at the review and perhaps you may want to start a new book making project.

To go to the review click on the photo or follow this link to Defgrip.

-Sam

Desillusion Magazine

2008-04-30T19:13:00.003-06:00

So with finals coming up for school, shooting has been on the slow side. However, today I got the new Desillusion Magazine in the mail all the way from France with an image of mine on the cover. So, I thought i would share that today.

Nate Richter - 180 barspin with company.

-Sam

Sportsshooter Annual Newsletter Contest - 3rd Place

2008-04-20T23:48:00.005-06:00

So some exciting news this evening for me. I placed 3rd in the SportsShooter Annual Newsletter contest in the student category.

To see my image as well as all the other winning images click on the picture above or follow this link to sportsshooter.

On another note, I am going to try and get another post with some new images up in the next week.

-Sam

Fixed Gear Fun

2008-04-10T13:13:00.003-06:00

I've been wanting to do a shot like this one for a while, but never got around to it till last week. My base idea was to attach a camera to the front of a road bike with a slow shutter speed to get a cool effect. However, this is by no means a new idea or anything, so i decided to try and change it up a bit. I decided to do the shot at night which lead to it's own problems. When i first borrowed the rig set up i decided to try it out around the neighborhood. I figured in order to get the shot right i would have to be riding under a street light or some other ambient source.

So above is the first test shot, which you can tell is way too dark. So i had to think of a way to better illuminate the rider. So obviously a flash was called for, but i really wanted to avoid using an on camera flash, so i thought of the set up below.

The bike on the right w/ the camera is the one my friend Sean would be riding while I would ride the bike on the left about 10-15 feet in front of him and to the left with a Canon 580ex flash attached to my seat post. I really wanted a natural look to the image, which is why i decided to have the flash off camera. I also placed a full CTO gel over the flash to match the warm colored street lights. The flash was dialed down to about 1/16th power so it wouldn't over power the ambient light. The flash also allowed me to "freeze" the rider since the exposures were 1 second or more. Below are some of the final results.

(Both images were shot with a Canon 5d w/ a 16-35mm lens set at 16mm, the exposure was 1.3 seconds at f-2.8 at ISO 800. Both were lit with the Canon 580 flash on my seat post in front of Sean.)

The image above with the trees is my favorite from the shoot. The warm light from the street light and the feeling of just flying by under the trees worked perfectly for what i was going for. I do plan on trying another set up with this rig in a parking garage in downtown Albuquerque, so i'll update later with how that one works out.

-Sam

BMX & School – Do They Mix? What People In The BMX Industry Say About College

2008-04-09T00:43:00.004-06:00

There is an article on BMX Online this month about bmx and college. A few riders and others in the industry as well as myself were asked a few questions on the topic.

To read my answers and to see what others have to say click on the picture above or follow this link to BMX Online.

-Sam

Sportsshooter Monthly Clip Contest - First Place Sports Feature

2008-04-01T01:45:00.004-06:00

I know it's been a while since i've posted, but hey thats what mid-terms will do to ya. Anyways, thought i would post this for anyone interested to check out. I promise I'll have an update with images soon.

To check out the image follow this link to Sportsshooter.com

-Sam

Peacoats

2008-03-12T21:06:00.004-06:00

So last week i shot some images in downtown Albuquerque with my model Sydney and I thought I would post a few up. When it comes to lighting on all of these it is super simple, one light. I've added a picture at the bottom of the lighting set up i used for the shoot.

One of the things you'll notice through out the whole shoot is that she is wearing almost the exact same outfit. Sometimes, I like doing outfit changes, however, sometimes when the outfit is just working with the model in a way i like I'll just stick with it. This was certainly the case for this shoot. I wasn't working on making a variety of image, more or less, a few nice clean images, so an outfit change wasn't necessary.

Okay, so above is the general lighting set up for the whole shoot. It is an Alien Bee 1600 head powered by a vagabond battery pack (which by the way is great for holding down the light in the wind). On the AB i have a photoflex medium softbox with a grid on the front to help me control the light spread.

-Sam

So Zombie's huh?

2008-03-06T14:51:00.005-07:00

So this week a friend and I decided to shoot some zombie-type photos in an alley in downtown Albuquerque. Sure it's a little bit outside the genre that I usually shoot, but it was fun and made for some interesting images. It's nice shooting something that your not used to, it forces you to light an image in a way you wouldn't normally, it gets those gears up top turning and makes you think more about what your doing.

Anyways, below are some images from the night as well as some set up shots with some descriptions of the equipment i used.

Okay, now time for some technical info. All the images above are shot with one Alien Bee 800 light with a medium softbox with a full CTO gel inside and a grid on the front. I used the CTO gel to give it a warmer look and to help the florescent lights in the background go a nicer green.
Also, if you notice, the softbox is generally raised pretty high so to cast some dark shadows around her eyes and to give it the look that is is being lit by a street light.

You can see from this shot, it wasn't a very elaboratly lit shot, just one light in an alley.

Although none of the shots from this angle came out you can see the vagabond battery pack that is powering my light as well as the grid on front better.

Anyways, hope that helped a bit and you can get an idea for what i am doing.

-Sam

20 Hours of Wrestling

2008-02-24T17:53:00.004-07:00

20 hours of wrestling is no fun, and thankfully I probably won't have to shoot any more wrestling for another year. However of those 20 hours of shooting it all comes down to about 3 hours, which i do enjoy. Those 3 hours are the final rounds of the state championship.

Those 3 hours is what it all comes down to for the wrestlers and the a photographers which means the best action, and the most jubilation and dejection. Which is what i've posted, my favorite; action, jube, and deject shots from this years 5A championship matches.

If you would like to see some more images from this years state wrestling check out my sportsshooter page.

-Sam

platon

2008-02-20T22:02:00.004-07:00

One of the things i spend a lot of time doing online is looking over various photographers work for ideas and inspiration, and tonight I found a whole heck of a lot.

Click on photo for link

I probably spent at least a good hour on his site, and i plan on going back to it after i finish this post. A big highlight for me is the interview section. The Fly Magazine interview is a definite must for anyone, even if your not into photography.

-Sam

Defgrip Autophoto

2008-02-17T22:10:00.004-07:00

Defgrip recently put up an autophoto with some of my work. So be sure to head over there and check it out.click on the picture for a direct link

A side from the autophoto, Defgrip is by far one of my favorite blogs to check out and is always filled with some very cool stuff, especially if your interested in BMX stuff.

-Sam

BMX Union Interview

2008-02-09T18:42:00.001-07:00

AJ over at BMX Union just did an interview with me. So if your curious take a minute and read up.

Interview on BMX Union

-Sam

Lobo Profile: Dionne Marsh

2008-02-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

I am working on a new portrait project for the Daily Lobo, the school paper for UNM. We are going to be profiling athletes and shooting some nice portraits to go along with it.

Our first athlete is Dionne Marsh of the womens basketball team. One of my goals for this project is to create a portfolio of strong graphic portraits that are well lit and interesting to look at.

These portraits of Dionne Marsh was taken at the Rudy Davalos training center right next to the PIT. I've included a few shots of the lighting set up as well.

All the above shots were shot with a Canon MK IIn with a 70-200mm lens at 1/250th at F-4.5. The lighting set up is below.

(above) The lighting set up for the shot. I origionally set up an octabank but decided to go with the medium softbox with a grid on an Alien Bee 1600 head.

(above) This is the light that was behind the wall lighting up the glass windows around Dionne. It's an Alien Bee 800 with a standard reflector powered by a vagabond power pack.

The whole shoot from arrival to when i left took about an hour. However, I only photographed Dionne for about 5-10 minutes. Preparation is key when it comes to working with subjects limited on time. So I arrived early with about 30 minutes to set up and test lighting, then plan for about 10 mintues to shoot and then time to pack up.

Having a location planned along with a few ideas and lighting planned out in your head before you arrive to shoot is key to doing this successfully.

-Sam

On the Campain Trail

2008-02-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

Talk about an interesting night. This Saturday i had the chance to cover my first big political event. Presidential canidate Hillary Clinton came and spoke to thousands at Highland High School here in Albuquerque.

Covering a political event this big isn't like anything I've covered before. Upon arrival an hour and half before the Clinton was scheduled to speak there was already a line of at least a thousand people waiting to get in, luckily the media had it's own entrance with about 10 people at that time.

Getting into the event as media is not a difficult task to say the least, anyone with a camera and/or a note book and pen could get in as media. All they have to do is write down their affiliation and name and you got a media pass. This made the already limited media spots even harder to come by. There are a couple of reasons why i figure they aren't that strict as other events; one, because they need all the coverage they can get for their candidate, and two, these events are set up and scheduled only about a day in advance, so requiring advance media approval is kind of out of the question.

(above) A view of the two media positions set up for us.

The stage they placed Clinton on wasn't very high and put her not too much above waist level over the heads of the crowd, so higher elevation spots became important to get to. However, I decided to stay low when Hillary first came out to try and get a shot through all the signs they have been handing out, but because of my location none of the people in front of me where waving signs, but i was able to get a shot through their hands as Hillary first came out.

So after i made the image above i decided to move around to the side to a more elevated photo position.

(above) Hillary from the second, side, photo position.

(above) Fan feature during Hillary's speech.

(above) Boy oh boy do i wish i had a tilt shift lens, but for now I'll just have to do it in photoshop :( Which ruins any chance for this image having any life in the editorial market.

During these events they generally do not let the press wander around much outside of their assigned areas. However, one of the most important things you can do being a photographer is to try and get an image that no one else has, even if it is risky.

So at this point after I had been to both photo positions I decided to try and make my way up to the upper level of stands (which i had been told previously was off limits to media), but decided to try anyways.

There are generally two things that might happen; one, you'll get to your new position and they will tell you can't be there, or two, you'll get there and you'll have no problems. Luckily in my case I didn't run into any problems and was able to make a few more images from the upper levels.

(above) I kind of got lucky with this shot in that i caught the tail end of another photographers flash which help Hillary pop out from the background more so then some other frames.

Another shot of Hillary from the upper level.

Besides Hillary being over an hour late, the gym being super hot and humid and being crammed with media it was a very worth while experience and I look forward to either Clinton or Obama's stop on the campaign trail next year.

-Sam

Ride BMX Photo Issue

2008-02-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

This months Ride BMX features a couple photos of mine in the focus section. Below are some (crappy) scans of the issue.

(above) Mario Carrasco at Red Brick

Joe Possion at his house in Lunas

-Sam

No one to shoot with? No Problem.

2008-01-22T23:17:00.000-07:00

Over the past week or two I've done an unusual number of self-portraits of myself. Part of it was i didn't really have anyone to photograph, the other, bigger part, is boredom. So posted a few images below from the past week. Nothing special, just boredom mixed with a tripod and self-timer.

Oh, one more thing. I swear I smile most of the time. I just look better in photos being serious.

-Sam

Glass can be hard

2008-01-16T15:41:00.001-07:00

For the first time ever i tried photographing glasses, not exactly easy, to say the least. I did have a lot of help from the book "Light: science & magic". Which by the way, i highly recommend anyone picking up a copy of.

So anyways, with out that book, i probably would of been lost. However, since i had it i was able to take a few decent images in my opinion. I am sure anyone who photographs tabletop stuff regularly would beg to differ.

Although this isn't a new or unique image by any means, it is a first for me, and the only way to learn is to try. Also, I did some other images with water splashing out of a glass, but felt this one worked better.

This was my set up. One Alien bee 800 on the floor pointed up a this skinny white paper. The glass was set on foam board(except for the ones where the wine is being poured).

-Sam

Take a Trip

2008-01-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

I find that sometimes I get bored and find myself stuck in a rut when it comes to shooting. My general solution is to do something different. This can be shooting something I've never shot or rarely have or in this case take a trip with some friends. So that's what I did, a quick weekend trip down to Carlsbad, NM to check out Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands. It's always kind of a nice way to refresh yourself.

-Sam

Basketball the Strobist Way

2008-01-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

Pretty much anyone who has ever tried shooting high school basketball knows that the gyms they play in are usually very dark. Usually pushing us to shoot at ISO 1250 or 1600 just to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action and get an alright exposure. So the question then is why not put those strobes to work. Two small strobes (even one helps a ton) can be the world of difference when it comes to photographing basketball in a badly lit gym.

My two lights up in the stands prior to the start of the game

Generally, I only light one half of the court. This allows me to travel pretty lightly when going to games. My general set up is one Canon 580ex and one Quantum Q-flash. I use two different lights only for the reason that i don't have two of the same lights, so really anything works. Below is a basic list of light gear I use:

2 - Flashes (prferably speedlights for portability)
2 - Stands (either tripods or light stands)
3 - Pocket Wizards
2 - Sync cords

The Q-flash up on a light stand. Although it is bigger then a speedlight it is considerably more portable then studio strobes.

My Canon 580 on a tripod in the stands

All of the images were shot at ISO 800 with a Canon 1d MkIIn with a 70-200mm 2.8 lens. The exposure was 1/250th at f-3.5. Both flashes were set to 1/4 power, had i turned up the power of the flashes i could have shot at ISO 200 with the same exposure. However i keep the power at a 1/4 to help recycle time, battery life, and for a faster flash duration (specifically on the q-flash). Both lights are pointed at the top of the 3-point line and on speedlights in which you can set a zoom, i generally set that to 35mm.

-Sam

2007 Favorites

2007-12-31T13:25:00.001-07:00

I posted a some of my favorite images from 2007 on my sportsshooter page

www.sportsshooter.com/trailridersam/

-Sam

From Above

2007-12-30T11:14:00.001-07:00

Although no longer an uncommon image to see from professional sports photographers, shooting from above is still unique and fun image to get.

During Saturday's T-Mobile invitational at the PIT here in Albuquerque i made my way up to the ceiling. I made a few images to show what it is like trying to navigate through the maze of metal and lights, and a few images i shot from above.

After climbing up the ladder and stairs you come to this narrow pathway

At the end of the pathway you make your way out on to the area above the court. At this point your walking completely on the ceiling of the PIT.

At the set of lights that sits directly over the basket, there is a makeshift pad to help make it just a tad bit more comfortable.

My view through the lights down onto the court

Although neither of the two above images are phenomenal they give you an idea of what type of image is made from above

and finally me taking a break from getting lost in the maze

-Sam

Will in the Corner

2007-12-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

This afternoon i went over to my friend Sean's house to just set up some portrait shots and have fun. Below is a shot of Will in the corner lit with two lights. One an Alien Bee 800 outside the window, and the second an Alien Bee 1600 with a 20 degree grid spot right on his face. Both were around 1/4 power triggered with PW's.

Both of these images were toned to give them a slight HDR (high dynamic range) look. I used the Adobe Camera Raw software with Photoshop CS3 to tone them.

This is a screen shot of adjustments made to the images in Camera Raw

The images were fine exposure wise, however using the fill light slider i was able to add in many more tones and then by pulling in the blacks gave the image a nice simi-HDR look i also pulled down the saturation to give it a little darker feel.

-Sam

New Mexico Bowl

2007-12-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, i covered the 2nd annual New Mexico Bowl game here in Albuquerque. It was a fun game, well at least while the sun was up. As soon as the sun set it got cold, and not very pleasant. The game itself was rather boring UNM won 23-0 over Nevada. It's not usually exciting when a game is so one sided the whole time.

All the images were shot with a Canon 1d MK IIn with a 300mm f 2.8 lens. When there was daylight out, i used a 1.4x teleconverter as well.

-Sam

Nate Richter on the Bridge

2007-12-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Last night Nate Richter and myself shot some portrait type stuff for a bike check for FBM. I wasn't exactly stoked on shooting it that night, perhaps because it was right around 32 degrees outside with a breeze. Nate still wanted to wear his iDAS t-shirt so he decided to man it out for a few minutes. Me on the other hand am wearing multiple layers and a winter jacket.

Canon 1d MKIIn w/ 85mm 1.8, lit with two Alien Bee lights. One AB800 behind Nate at 1/4 power and an AB1600 in front with a medium softbox at 1/4 power.

Canon 1dMKIIn with 16-35mm lens, lit with one AB 1600 at 1/4 power through a medium softbox.

The image with the car lights is a two image composite. I feel as though it was kind of a shotty attempt at it. Nate was photographed at this location, however after we photographed him there, I had him step out of the frame and shot a 30 second exposure to get the car trails in the background. This allowed me to use two totally different exposures for one image. This is not a technique i use very often, but it is a handy one to know.

-Sam

Some times, it doesn't happen

2007-12-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

Some times, it doesn't happen. Saturday was one of those days.Mario disappointed just a foot away from going up the whole rail

Mario tried going up this rail dozens of times, and came super close several times. He would grind up perfectly and then just stop just before the end. However, while waiting for him to try i noticed some nice light and shadow stuff so i shot a decent frame of that.

Shadow play in between Mario's up rail attempts

Despite not being able to make a good riding image, the best part of shooting BMX for me is getting to hang out with your friends. So regardless of weather or not i make any images, any day shooting BMX is almost always a good one.

Mario and Chris

-Sam

Sandia Mountains

2007-12-10T16:48:00.002-07:00

So this time of the year the Sandia mountains always look amazing as the tower over Albuquerque. Over the past week or so i've photographed them from different places around town.

-Sam

Film, you remember that stuff?

2007-12-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

So earlier today i decided to hook up my el-cheapo film scanner and look through some old binders of negatives i had from back in high school. It was kind of fun looking back to my early days of shooting.

The best part was finding an image i actually liked. The image below is of my friend Steve-o riding the old Elks Lodge pool before it got filled in. It's one of a few that i found digging through thousands of old negatives.

Since my website launched last weekend, i've gotten dozens of emails from aspiring photographers asking me to look over their work and give my opinion and advice. Looking over my old negatives tonight helped me realize that they are no different then i was back in high school, in fact some of them are better.

So i guess my advice to them and others is just keep shooting, and be passionate. I know that i wouldn't be where i am if i didn't have the desire to keep shooting.

-Sam

Forest Portraits

2007-12-03T23:20:00.001-07:00

Just a quick look into the basic one light set up i use on portraits from time to time.

Light Gear:
Alien Bee 800
Photoflex Medium Softbox
Vagabond Battery Pack
Pocket Wizards
Lighstand and other accessories

Sandia Mountains

2007-12-01T20:04:00.002-07:00

Still as kind of a first day thing, here is a photo from this evening of the Sanida Mountains here in Albuquerque.

With the launch of my website, comes the launch of the Blog

2007-12-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

So finally http://www.samadamsphotography.com is up and running, and with the request of many friends, i've decided to add a blog into the mix as well. This first post will be short and sweet. However, i would like to continue this blog with weekly updates on work, events, and other information.