photo journalism

Get Your Geekon: Pinball, Beer and Charity

If I recall correctly I believe I was alive at the tail end of the arcade generation. A time where you would exchange all of your allowance into quarters and play games while your parent were out doing whatever at the mall. I remember dumping a lot of those quarters into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game and Time Crisis when I was a kid. While today arcades have become very obsolete with modern gaming platforms being the way they are there’s still something satisfying about setting up at a cabinet dumping all your quarters into it. That’s what made Get Your Geekon such a great event and you didn’t have to get a role of quarters.

Geekon, the company hosting the event at Sister Bar in Down Town Albuquerque, specializes in restoring, repairing and selling these old arcade cabinets and pinball machines. The endevor started as a simple pet project of restoring an old Ms. Pacman machine and it turned into a business that they are able to operate from their own home. It could almost be described as inspiring.

The event it’s self was put on to benefit Project Pinball which is a Charity group that raises money to put pinball machines in children’s hospitals. Proceeds from the event’s pinball and street fighter tournament went to Project Pinball as well as vendors that were selling prints and raffling off prizes.

The best thing about Get you Geekon without a doubt was the people. Not just the patrons who came out for a drink and a round of pinball but everyone who came out to contribute; Jon Sakura of Gamers Anonymous came out with his usual classic and fun loving flair and the Girls of Geek also came to sell prints and mingle with the crowd. It was easy to feel in place when you have people who you’ve gotten to know over the years be present at these sorts of events and want to just help out with a good cause and friends.

Daniel Reinhard. COO of Geekon LLC.

Media Training for New Mexico’s First Responders.

It’s summer time, the weather is hot and dry, school is months away and I’m constantly trying to find ways to keep myself busy. Often I look for any kind of freelance gigs to cross my path and this last week Merritt Allen of Vox Optima LLC hired me on to help out with a training seminar for media relations during an emergency response situation.

At this seminar we had numerous representatives from local and state agencies that can be found at the scene of any number of high stress emergency situations. The goal of the class was to teach organizations the importance of having a media communication plan in order to get important information out to the public while as maintaining control of information that could be constantly changing and possibly highly sensitive to the situation.

On top of being run by Merritt, who has years of experience as a Public Relations expert, we also involvement by Floyd Vasquez who is my former New Mexico in Focus producer at New Mexico PBS. Having a familiar face who I’ve worked with in the past made things a lot easier to assimilate to the situation and make it look like I know what I’m doing and talking about.

Even though both Merritt and Floyd have been in this line of work for longer than I’ve been alive they were incredibly helpful at making me feel like I had just as much to contribute to the conversation and the material even though I had specifically signed on as a camera operator and I’m still just a college student.

Despite being there as camera operator and pseudo instructor I left with learning a lot about what goes into covering a developing situations and how the relationship between the Public Information Officers and reporters is vital to getting the story out accurately and in a timely matter.

The biggest take away from the seminar was that in and emergency situation every one is there to do their job. The media is trying to get information to report, emergency responders are trying to gather information while getting control of the situation and PIO’s are there to make sure that the information that is getting out is accurate and isn’t going to cause interference with the on going situation.

I really appreciate Merritt Allen and Vox Optima LLC having me out to work the seminar and I hope I get to work with them more in the future.

A Few Glitches Won’t Stop The Protomen

To kick off Denver Comic Con 2015 the big guns were literally pulled out by giving the main stage of the opening ceremonies to the Protomen.

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I’ve known about the band for years going back to a friend’s non stop jabbering about their musical brilliance, and after seeing the chaotic masterpiece in person I can now see what all the hype was about.

The show was clearly not the smoothest ride the band has ever had; with numerous problems with equipment and instruments deciding to just not work at crucial times, the performance was wrought with technical difficulties. Despite the obvious frustrations the show went on and the Protomen rolled with the punches like champs.

Carrying the performance was the rhythm section. Like any vital part of the body the drummer acted as the heart beat of the band, especially when things continued to go wrong on stage. The performance was held together by the unrelenting pounding sensations from the drums and it covered any mishaps that could only be heard by the trained ear.

Live performances often come down to how much energy is in the room. The Protomen certainly didn’t lack any as they brought their distinct ability to connect with the crowd along with their enticing theatrical performance, all of which compliment their melodic identity.

While their ability to power through all the annoying glitches that plagued their performance there was a nagging feeling the band was robbed of a proper sound check. Through out the show there seemed to be a lack of balance and it could have a been the obvious cause of the bands woes throughout the show.

To be completely fair I did spend a vast majority of the show in the very front of the stage and my head was right next to the guitar amp, I noticed that the further away from the stage I was the more I found that the sounds from the PA system was more balance.

A big factor of any show is the venue of course and that presented a set of challenges of its own. Essentially they were playing a giant convention hall with chairs filling most of the space that was available. There was probably only 10 feet of space between the front of the stage and the first row of chairs and could only fit only the most enthusiastic of fans who wanted get the full effect of the show.

Despite all the woes and frustrations the band showed a great amount of enthusiasm and humor towards the situation. With several cracks about how you have to respect gear only to turn around and have the lead singer say “Forget what I said…Fuck gear”

If one word could be used to describe the show it would be exhilarating. It’s not very often that you get to experience a live performance from a unique sounding group that creatively use their tools to put together a performance that gives you the urge to look at their past work and see what the group is actually made of.

Roundhouse Kick: Day at the New Mexico Legislative Session.

New Mexico is at the tail of end of the 60 day legislative session and for the most part it has just passed me by. I’ve wanted to go all semester for the show I work for (New Mexico in Focus) but regrettably I have class all week so it was impossible for me to get up to the Round House. However because it was spring break I requested to tag along as a production assistant, but I ended up doubling as a Behind the Scenes photographer because that’s what I like to do.

We went down the day after the controversial “Right-to-Work” bill was tabled in commodity before going to the Senate floor, so we went in to discuss the death of the bill considering that huge amount of attention that it had accumulated. Surprisingly we found many of the people we needed for these interviews, such as a sponsor of the bill and someone who as been avidly against the legislation, within a few minutes of getting there.

The thing I enjoyed most about going to Santa Fe was getting to watch my producer Sarah Guestavus, professor/Corespondent Gwyneth Doland, and graphics master/cameraman Antony Lostetter work in such a fast paced and stressful environment, something that they handled collaboratively and masterfully to the point where it could only be described as awe inspiring.

Like anything else in a production field there is a lot of time spent sitting around with nothing to do, and this trip was no different. At a lot of points it felt we were just waiting but it was an excellent opportunity to get to know some of the people I work with. I get to spend a lot of time with the other student employees who are some of the most talented people I have ever been around, but the upper level employees have so much more expertise and it was a treat to get to pick their brains.

Shooting at the Round House was an interesting experience. Dealing with people moving around and recording in rooms with heavy amounts of echo left a lot to deal with. However we managed very well in the conditions and some of these problematic conditions let the recordings feel more organic.

To cap off the day we got an interview with the New Mexico’s Secretary of Education, Hanna Skandera to discus the controversial PARCC testing that many students have protested taking.

I’m glad I finally got to go out to Santa Fe this semester and hopefully next time I’m out there I’ll be actually reporting on the legislative session and am not just going along for the ride.

UNM Journalism Boot Camp: Photo Essay

The University of New Mexico’s Communication and Journalism Department hosted their annual Journalism Boot Camp where they get many media professionals from all over to come to give their insights on the industry and educate aspiring journalist on the things they need to know to do the job in the modern era. I spent weekend capturing the event and the different panels over the weekend.

Associated Press reporter Russell Contreras discusses how to cultivate sources and how to get the best information out of them.

KUNM News Director Elaine Baumgartel educates students on the challenges of vetting sources amd getting to the truth.

Editor for the New Mexico Business First Rachel Sam and various other editors from local papers elaborate on the avenues that college gradates can take to find employment in the journalism field.

Veteran Reporter Sam Donaldson interacts with UNM students discussing his experience in news media.

Photographer Steven St. John captures moments from Sam Donaldson’s key note speech with the boot camps attendees.

Investigative Producer for KRQE Jeff Proctor presents the differences in reporting between the mediums of television and print and how they come together online.

Journalism student Rebecca Cox listens to a lecture on visual presentation’s in the press and how each publication has its own style and restrictions.

Seasoned Photojournalist Mark Holm directs an activity that teaches students to become stronger storytellers in a collaborative way.

Andrew Oxford of The Taos News (left) Nicole Perez and Robert Browman of the Albuquerque Journal explain to UNM students the process of reporting breaking news.

Howl Reporter Brianna Gallegos checks her phone while in between panels at the Journalism Bootcamp.

Daily Lobo Photographer Kanna Mammadii sits in for a panel on visual presentation.

Public Square Producer Megan Kamerick and Crime Journalist Robert Browman setting up the presentation for their panel on breaking news.

Carlos Ayulo from the St. Louis Post-dispatch discusses covering a national story when you only have the resources of a local paper.

Albuquerque Comic Con 2015 in Photos.

Conventions are always long, exhausting and crowded; But that doesn’t change how fun they are to go to and how fun they are to shoot. Here’s to a great year of Albuquerque Comic Con hopes for more to come.

Albuquerque Comic Con 2015 Preview: (ReEdits from 2014)

It’s a new year and what better way is there to kick it off than going to a Comic Convention? If you’re a humongous nerd like myself, there really isn’t any. It’s always fun to go to these conventions and spend time around people with similar interests and just celebrate our enthusiasm for nerd culture. I only got to make it to one day last year but this year I plan on taking the whole weekend in and sharing with you the visual goodness that I capture.

Now last year was one of my first outings for using my d600 and I can tell you, having a full frame camera was a godsend with how little light I was dealing with. It was dark, crowded, and I had to literally had to shoot wide open just to get anything. This year however they have changed locations to the Albuquerque Convention Center which think is great because 1. I’m familiar with the layout of that building from all my outings at ACE (The Albuquerque Comic Expo) 2. Lighting is so much better and 3.Crowding shouldn’t be an issue like it was last year. This year I will pretty much have the same gear and I’m hoping that the photos I get will show a years worth of improvement in my photo skills.

As always I will be focusing on the people who are attending the event and the creative costumes that many of them have come up with. Some of the things I’m expecting to be popular are characters from Guardians of the Galaxy considering how popular that movie became, and probably a ton of Harley Quinn (because that’s just how it is.)

Normally I don’t much care for the celebrity guest that come to these things but there are some notable ones like Sean Patrick Flarney of the Boondock Saints cult classic and Fabian Nicieza who wrote one of my favorite comic book series, Cable and Deadpool. Whether or not I get permission to get photos of the guests is still up in the air, but if that’s a No-No I’m not going to be heart broken about it.

Another really exciting thing about Albuquerque Comic Con is getting to see some awesome people who I don’t get see on a regular basis like the members of the 501st Legion: Dewback Ridge Garrison, some of my cosplay friends who are always bugging me for photo shoots.

Speaking of photo-shoots, I’m probably going to be doing quiet of few of those while I’m there. I’d like to get some new people in on them but if that doesn’t happen it won’t be for lack of effort. Posed shoots are always fun to do at conventions and it’s always great to give cosplayers who have spent so much time and effort a chance to show off their work everywhere and not just at the convention.

So here’s to what hopes to be a spectacular Albuquerque Comic Con and I hope I get plenty of stellar images to share with all of you.

Albuquerque Comic Expo 2014: Preview

We are now officially a week away from the Albuquerque Comic Expo (ACE) and just like last year I will be there all three days with my camera equipment on the show floor documenting everything the show has to offer.

Last year ACE was my introduction to shooting not only conventions but doing photography in a candid and unique way. One thing that I do differently from most photographers at conventions is that I take a run and gun approach. I move around, I don’t stop my subjects and I try to capture moments as opposed just posed portraits. It’s a fairly unconventional style of photography when it comes to comic conventions but people seem to always enjoy the results.

Though I enjoying shooting in a candid style at conventions it’s not uncommon for people to stop and pose when they see the camera pointed at them. I don’t mind this in the slightest. I try to take more of the street photographer mentality of capturing candid moments but obliging people who want to pose in their cosplays that they’ve worked so hard on.

On top of covering the show floor I also take posed portraits of my lovely cosplay friends. Most of them have worked very hard to put multiple outfits together for the convention and I’m always happy to oblige.

This year I’m hoping to show off how much I’ve improved as a photographer in the last year. I’ve learned a lot of different techniques, rules and concepts that I didn’t know a year ago. So if you thought the pictures from a year ago were good get ready. Because shit is about to get awesome.

See you all at ACE.

Photos from Denver Comic Con

For just over a year now I’ve covered Convention that have graced the fair city of Albuquerque and I have enjoyed quite a bit of success at photographing the show floors of the conventions. Through my work at convention I’ve made friends, connections, and even a small following. However over the weekend I stepped out of the pond that is Albuquerque to shoot at the biggest convention I’ve ever had the privilege to covering at Denver Comic Con.

I got the opportunity to go to Denver when my buddy Seth M Beyers (@ThatSethMBeyers) got us approved for Media Badges for the Podcast/ soon to be media company Nerdout Hangout (Nerdout Entertainment) The essential plan was to drive up to denver with all my gear film, interview, photograph repeat through the whole weekend. Needless to say I’ve done that an now I need to sort through everything and make it into respectable content. All the photos have been taken care of but the footage may take quite a bit of time to get turned over. But without further wait here are the best of the best photos from Denver Comic Con

Photographing Live Music and Working with the Situation You are Given.

Concerts are designed specifically to be a listening experience where you get to hear music coming out in it’s rawest form. Instead of having a compressed sound file play out of your speaker you have the true source in front of you blasting the sound for the entire room to move to. This experience however is not built for photography.

The lighting is often dim, made to be highly stylized for the audience’s enjoyment but not so much for a camera sensor. You are confined to a space where you can’t get up close and personal with the subject, whether you’re in the pit or back stage. You’re compositions needs to be tight in order to keep gear and moving band member out of the way to get the shot. So at the end you just have to work with whatever you’ve been given and try to get the best shots possible.

The first thing you have to keep in mind when shooting live music is time. Major bands will normally only give you 3 songs to shoot and then you’re done. Others are just short set list where they only get 3 songs to begin with. The main way around this is to not only shoot when the band is playing. You should be willing to shoot during the set up, between songs and get the band members interactions between songs. The one thing you always have to do as a photographer is to be ready for anything and capture the moment.

The time tip is relatively situational being that if you’re shooting a smaller band you might have more than 3 songs. But one thing you will have to deal with is the lack of space to work with. If you’re in the photo pit with tons of other photographers you have multiple things you need to consider; Where are all the other photographers, What gives you the best shooting lanes to get a variety of shots and what lens you want on your camera. In the pit the best lens choice that I can think of personally is a 70-200 2.8 to give the sense that you’re right there up close to them with your shots. However using a wide angle can be useful in order to get the entire band in frame and give the photo grander context. But at the end of the day you got to do the best with what you got.

The biggest pain in the ass is going to be getting photos of the drummer. The drummer is all the way at the back of the stage with the worse lighting and with the most of amount of thing in your way. If you are able to get good shots of the drummer more power to you but it’s one of the most difficult things to shoot and often they are out of the way of the action.

So we discussed getting your shots in and getting them composed properly now how do we get the proper exposure. Most shows are going to have terrible lighting. Most show lighting is built around to be a visual experience but it doesn’t translate well on camera. The two work around to this problem is high ISO and processing the images in black and white. Shooting at high ISO will of course bring in the grain and cause problems in the color detail. So when the light is so dim and giving off strange colors the the sensor can’t process, well black and white is a great solution.

Just because the lighting is a challenge doesn’t mean you can’t use it creatively. When a show does use some kind of creative lighting can cause creative flaring and even hair line highlights. and when processing in black and white it you don’t have to worry about the tones.

The main thing to remember is to have fun and not every shot is going to be perfect. You’ll take some good ones some bad ones but every now and again you’ll get some great ones. You just got to keep shooting.

TCK-Media

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