That Time of Year...

         

Well, like the title says, it's that time of year again. Time to dust off the carry-on bag, grab some magazines, and get ready to hit the skies for another season with The Heartland Poker Tour. It's been 3 long months since I last worked with the crew, so I'm looking forward to making TV magic with them again. Speaking of the crew, the HPT was kind enough to add all our bios to their website. You can check them out at this link here. Now, in hindsight, mine needs a new picture and to be reformatted, but that was because of a misunderstanding on my part, so know that going in.

        

We'll be starting off season nine with one of our biggest events on the tour, Golden Gates Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado. It's typically one of our largest prize pools, so we like for it to go smoothly. Of course, one of the reasons I love working in TV production is because of all the hidden factors that nobody ever sees in the final product. Of the many small challenges that come with setup at Golden Gates (and every venue big or small has their own), the biggest one has nothing to do with the venue or our equipment. What is it? Altitude sickness.

This was a minor problem for a couple other crew members and myself last year when I traveled to Black Hawk for the first time. Coming from an area of Kansas that sits at about 1000 ft above sea level and ending up around 10,000-14,000 ft above sea level over the course of about 5 hours doesn't exactly acclimate you gradually. You literally feel like you have a mild case of the flu and want to throw up. Luckily it does start to fade after being up there for a while, but you could imagine how much it might effect a production if the entire crew were still feeling the effects of it during setup or even when cameras started rolling. But you still have to end up with a good production every time, because that's television.

Thanks for reading, see you in Colorado!

##

A Little Drama Before St. Louis...

Well, now that we've had our first tornado (depending on who you ask), I suppose winter is over and spring has sprung. That typically means business is about to pick up. In fact, I've already been talking to my friend Bogac with Digital Odeon Productions about some jobs. The first of those jobs is actually very soon... as in tomorrow. That's right, tomorrow night I'll be headed to my alma mater Pittsburg High School to shoot their rendition of Legally Blonde The Musical.

Photo Courtesy Pittsburg Morning Sun

While I may not be thrilled with the play they've selected, I'm actually looking forward to this job. The last two plays that I have taped for them have been excellent and I'm sure this one will follow suit. This job actually represents everything I love about event videography. While anywhere from dozens to hundreds of people are paying to come see an event, I not only am getting paid to be there, but I sometimes get the best view in the house. While a local high school play might not be the most illustrious example of this, I still enjoy every minute of it.

Of course, taking in a bit of theater isn't the only thing on my agenda this weekend. Saturday I'll be heading to St. Louis for my second stop this year with the Heartland Poker Tour. The first stop was at Downstream Casino just across the Oklahoma border. I've been working that location for the last couple years, but this will be my first time working another city with them. However, I'm especially excited because this shoot will mark the HPT's 100th event. That's a pretty huge milestone, so naturally, it's looking to be a quite a party. There are six poker pros already slated to attend including Phil Hellmuth and Chris Moneymaker. If you aren't familiar with poker celebs, let me just paraphrase a little Ron Burgundy for you. They're kind of a big deal. As if that wasn't enough, we'll also be shooting at not one, but two locations this weekend. I'll only be shooting the final table, but qualifiers and the main event will be taking place at both the Lumiere Place and River City casinos. I'm sure it's going to be a crazy weekend, I just hope it stays on the good side of crazy.

Thanks for reading.

##

New Photo Sessions: The Hutchisons and the McMasters

It's been a little crazy the last two weeks. Somehow I was able to finish up three projects in that amount of time and mix in some Christmas shopping as well. The first task was to finish the rest of Jake's session after the initial rush to get a picture to the school. After wrapping up his pics and slideshow it was on to my last two clients (presumably for the year).

The first was the Hutchison family. Unfortunately, we encountered one of the major predators of the "Natural Light/ Outdoor Photographer," wind... and lots of it. We did our best to find a place that might be shielded from the gusts, but it was next to impossible. Still, I think we ended up with enough good shots to make a decent session. Most likely we'll revisit this session in the spring... they are family after all. :)



The McMasters were the second family. They decided to brave the cold for their session. Thankfully for them, but to my disliking, the clouds parted for the last half of their shoot and warmed things up, but made lighting a bit tricky. They came ready with a lot of ideas and wanted a good amount of individual and couple/paired photos to go with their family pics, so it was a lot of fun and a nice challenge to come up with enough variety to keep the images interesting.



Like I said, these will most likely be my last photography jobs of the year. This first year has definitely been a learning process and I know I am starting to pick out what areas I am lacking in and need to improve on. I'm just hopeful that I will get more opportunities next year to do so. I've already got some equipment upgrades planned, so it should definitely be interesting to see what the future holds.

Thanks for reading!

##

1zero8 MMA - Danger Zone

Looks like another round of 1zero8 MMA videos have landed on YouTube. Be sure to check out the Ring Girl interviews this time around as well. I'm not sure if they'll turn into a regular part of those gigs, but I've got my fingers crossed they do... My wife, not so much. Enjoy!

##

Flip The Switch...

Another crazy extended weekend is in the books. Jake's senior pic was sent in to the school for his yearbook, and day three of 'Epic Christmas' wrapped on Tuesday. I even slipped in an impromptu family session for my Sister-In-Law. It seems like it has been non-stop since Friday, so finally having a day off on Wednesday really helped get me back up and going for the fights coming up on Saturday.

##

A Day (And Night) With the HPT...

Well, now that I have retrieved yet another left-behind piece of camera equipment, I can tell you about my great weekend working with the Heartland Poker Tour. Yes, that's right, I let a HPT crew member take production pics with my camera and I didn't check that the SD card was still in it. I'm an idiot, I know. Anyway, that still didn't take away from another great work experience.

##

MMA Videos Are Up...

A fresh batch of my MMA video work hit YouTube yesterday. You can check them out below. Also, if you're looking for some great live MMA action in the KC area, their next show is coming up on November 19th. You can also keep an eye out for future events at 1zero8.com.







As always, thanks for reading!

##

Slaughter Pen Jam Video...

I decided I've been letting the video I shot at my first XC Mountain Bike race sit around for too long. So, I decided to finally turn it into something. In hindsight, I wish I had GoPro or Contour camera footage of my own ride to add to the mix and break up the third person perspective, but there's no point crying about what you don't have.

Enjoy!

##

Another Wedding Weekend...

Surprises aren't always nice, so when I come across a pleasant one, I always like to share. Once you've shot weddings for a couple years, you become able to notice when a couple has actually put their own personal touches on their wedding day and not just whipped out the 'Church-Reception Hall-90s Top 40 Music' cookie cutter wedding. So, when I got to the address for this weekend's wedding ceremony and I stepped out of the car and into some grungy Power and Light District back alley with no church in sight, I knew the day showed a bit of promise. Then, as I walked past the graffiti sprayed walls, stepping over cigarette butts and streams of water coming from who-knows-where, I rounded the corner to find this...

The reception area upstairs wasn't too shabby either. A mix of modern flair and rustic charm that really showed off the couples burlap, wood, and springtime flowers theme.

Wedding critiquing aside, it was nice to find myself behind the camera at a wedding again, even if it was just a short 5-6 hour shoot. It's been a slow wedding season this year and with a few more bookings to go, one of which is a double wedding and MMA shoot day, it felt good to get back in the groove of that type of shooting. Hopefully I can keep the momentum and good vibes going into the next gig and finish the year out strong.

##

Down On The Farm...

Wow! Another huge gap in between posts. What happened? Did Zack Die? Was he committed to an asylum? Did he move down South to pursue a new-found dream of becoming a radish farmer? Well, to answer your questions; No, No, and Why would you even ask that? Actually, I do have to blame part of the delay on what I am now referring to as The Great Camera Scare of 2011. I don't want to waste time with details, but let's just say it involves the last job I worked on, a hotel, FedEx, and me being separated from my camera gear for two weeks.

Speaking of my last job, the last week of July I spent a day working as a PA/Grip for a Paper Meat Productions while they were shooting on location in Sedan, KS. The program we were shooting for was a food show tracing certain dishes back to their origins. Thus, we were on a farm looking at grass-fed cattle. It was your standard PA work, making runs, grabbing drinks for the crew, and setting up lunch. The Grip work was light, mostly C-stands, sand bags, and reflectors/diffusion. I even got to take some set stills when their camera's battery ran out. However, this time around there was one small twist. It was my first time working on a 3D shoot.

Quite the setup...

##

A Quick Holiday, Some Volunteering, And It's Back To Work...

I suppose it's been too long since my last post. However, in my defense, there was a holiday weekend mixed in there somewhere, so I feel little remorse. I decided to leave my Memorial Day weekend open to spend some quality time with the family and work in a bit of volunteering. Then it was back to work.

That's right. I said volunteering. After all, I'm not completely heartless. I'm sure by now everyone has heard of the complete devastation that occurred when an EF5 tornado cut through the center of Joplin, Mo. It was, and still is, a tragedy that will be felt for years to come in Southwest Missouri. Living less than 30 minutes away, I felt I had to make an effort to help in some fashion, so I took a day to participate in debris removal. It was an experience that words can't describe. Seeing it first hand is not comparable to pictures or videos that have been shown. Sadly, I can't give as much time as I would like, but I do plan to return in the near future and I would encourage anyone sitting on the fence about helping to stop thinking about it and just go.

##

The Best View Isn't Always From The Top...

I knew it would happen... and by 'it' I mean karma would not turn a deaf ear to my talk about the great changes in store for my recent MMA shoot. Oh no, she was listening alright, and she decided to pay me a visit.

Actually, the view is pretty good up here.

##

The Non-Fist-Pump Weekend...

I've been doing wedding and event videography for a few years now and one thing that I've had to get used to is the sometimes forgotten fact that videography jobs are fluid by nature, especially when problems surface. The contract may have times, stipulations, and a myriad of other agreements, but both parties involved know (or should know) that nothing ever works out the way it appears on paper. When it works out in your favor, you do a fist pump, hop in the car, and cruise on home. Unfortunately, this was not a fist pump weekend.

##

"This Lens Will Change Your Life!..."

Well, at least that is what I read on some of the online forums I frequent. I'm talking, of course, about the Canon 50mm f/1.8 ii lens I recently purchased.

##

March Madness (On A Slightly Smaller Scale)...

Have you ever had one those weeks where you have something big coming up and small things start to happen that make you think the entire week is going to be a disaster? Well, that was last week for me as I left to shoot the NJCAA Men's National Championship Tournament. I had to leave the wife and kids for a week so I was stressed about them, I had to work another job until late in the evening on the same day I was to leave on a 4 hour drive, and I ruined my travel air compressor and burned myself in the process. Needless to say, my week seemed destined for disaster.

Hutchinson Sports Arena

##

Business Cards Arrived Today...

A while back I decided it was time to break down, give in, and bite the bullet. It was time to make some business cards. I know they are something that I have needed for a long time, but being in a creative business, using a generic Vistaprint template just didn't seem like a smart move. So, this meant I would have to design my own. For a long time it seemed more practical to just punch myself in the face until I forgot about it rather than getting it done and over with. After all, I didn't get asked for my info in person that often, it was mostly through emails to people who were already considering me for a job anyway. Then I realized that maybe this was my problem. Perhaps adopting the 'preemptive strike' method and having cards to whip out in the middle of a conversation could be a good thing.

So, about two weeks ago, I finally designed and ordered my own cards. I decided to go with Vistaprint based solely on the fact that I was familiar with them and their prices seemed on the lower end of the spectrum. When it was all said and done, I ended up paying around $9.00 for 250 cards with front and back custom designs, which doesn't seem too bad to me. Here are the designs:

Front

##

Strap in...

For the last couple months I've been trying to catch up with the current DIY camera accessory community. I've mostly been looking for shoulder mounts, steadycams, and sliders, but I've also been picking up other small tips along the way. One such tip I got from the Cheesycam website. Here is the original video they posted:


DIY Quick Camera Strap from emmagination on Vimeo.

##

Feeling things out...

Well, after spending all of Saturday putting in a new hot water tank and Sunday doing other chores, I didn't have much time to get out and test my T2i. However, I did sneak outside for a few minutes to capture some video. I'm starting to get more and more used to shooting with my Canon, but I'm still not at any kind of a comfort level yet. My biggest complaint about Canon's control setup is their use of only one wheel to control exposure settings and having to holding down buttons while using that wheel to change different aspects of the exposure. Nikon typically has two wheels, one for shutter and one for iris, so I find myself fumbling around trying to remember which button I need to be holding to get what I want. Once I got my settings the way I wanted, things actually started to go a bit smoother. The T2i automatically goes to live view when you switch over to video and recording is only a button press away from that.

##