TriCoast Photography boasts worldwide and editorial fashion photographers with a very different approach to their work. Their unique style provides clients with a "one-of-a-kind" attitude that is very apparent in their final product. TriCoast was also named Eastman Kodak's Photographers To Watch 2008. An honor only bestowed upon two photography studios per year.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Relay for Life at Cy-Fair
Last Saturday, I had the honor to photograph an event called Relay for Life. The Relay is a fundraiser for the fight against cancer. My friend, Sheldon, also came out to help me cover the event.
Here is a quick slideshow preview. The rest of the images are hosted at Collages.net
Off again, right after the Denver, we headed out IAH for another workshop in Columbia, SC. Of course, Continental decided that we were not going to make it on time. Good thing we flew out a day early :)
We sat waiting at the crowded terminal. Several other flights had already been delayed, and there were a mad rush of people rushing from one termina to another to make the connection. Of course these two were oblivious to what's going on around them. One of them is checking email. The other is playing Pack Rat on Facebook...
Of course, the thing that grabs their attention, is the announcement that the plane is that we were not boarding because there was a maintenance crew on board. Makes you wonder...
Of course, once onboard almost 2 hours later, the pilot announced his apologies. And added a nice little gem, that he tried to get a different plane but failed to switch over. But flight maintenance took care of the issue... Our seat belts were already securely fastened and cabin doors locked. No way out now...
We did land safely, so that's a good thing. Our awesome host Kim Bradford picked us up from the small municipal airport and drove us to the house. At over 120mph...
TriCoast's Denver Wireless Flash and Processing Workshop
TriCoast joined the Mile High Club in Denver this week with the three day workshop. It's not what you think you pervs... We've been suffering "Altitute Sickness" since we landed on Sunday. But that's not going to stop us from having fun teaching this workshop. Especially with this great bunch of people. We're now at Day 3 and will be going over the way we work our images and what inspires us to do what we do.
The workshop is located a few minutes outside of downtown Denver. We are in a business community with some seriously amazing creative talents. World class architects, graphic design firms, commercial photographers, and a bunch of other fancy artsy stuff only Denver could provide. And a pretty sweet restaurant named Fuel.
Overcoming the harsh sun light so we can have some fun shots on top of the old taxi cab.
One of our models, Rebecca.
How the shot was done.
Suzy showing some love.
Suzy as our model. Looking at some awesome photographers playing with the Radiopopper.
Night time video light session.
Denver has seriously been fun. We met a lot of talented photographers and friends. Sadly, it is always too short. However, next week, we will be in South Carolina for another workshop! Hope to see you there!
I was lucky enough to spend a Wednesday afternoon with Northern IL PPA group outside Chicago in Elgin, talking about Wireless Flash, Marketing, Radio Poppers and another photography related things.
Wednesday I spent the day a great group of photographers outside of Chicago. In the process of teaching/speaking on Wireless Flash and other aspects which make up TriCoast I found one important thing to still be true in this amazing art form we all call photography............Photographers are Amazing People!
Here are a few snapshots from the day!
Me speaking to Northern IL PPA Group
Some of the tools which TriCoast uses and speak about - including all of our "MacGyver" lighting tips and tricks.
Some of the photographers in the Northern IL PPA group!
Browsing through YouTube on a rainy afternoon could be fun. Often times, turning up funny videos of people running into walls or Sandra Bullock's appearance with Kermit the frog. But something I wasn't expecting turned up today.
Apparently Mike & Cody did a little hallway session while they were Rhode Island. So, for those that will be at the New Hampshire convention at the end of April, you've been warned.
And now, back to Sandra Bullock and the muppets...
About a year ago, Mike and Cody got together with Eva and her friends for their Senior photos. Her photo stuck out in my mind, not just because she's a beautiful young woman, but also a three time cancer survivor. I'm not a writer or a journalist, but I wanted to share the day I spent with her. Eva 2007.
Eva today.
A few weeks ago, the local chapter of American Cancer Society Relay for Life, contacted me to document the upcoming event. It's an event for those that have cancer, know someone with cancer and those that lost someone to cancer. The Relay for Life events are overnight, starting at 7pm and runs to 7am. Different intervals of the night symbolizes phases of the fight against cancer. The organization offered a spot to display TriCoast photos at the event. I immediately thought of Eva.
At the age of 14, Eva Schmidt was diagnosed with Adrenocortical Carcinoma, a rare form of cancer which forms on the adrenal gland. The mass that was detected was so severe, the doctors scheduled for surgery the next day. At the time of surgery, the cancer has been growing for at least a year. The cancer attacks the adrenal glands. Adrenal glands has a list of duties such as controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Eva was one of twelve known cases out of millions of cancer patients. Several of the other cases were reported somewhere in South America. The day after the surgery, the swelling had gone away.
Prior to the diagnosis, Eva lived a happy, healthy lifestyle. She's an avid tennis player and led an athletic lifestyle and diet. Her family has had no prior history of cancer. But even with proper exercise and dieting, Eva was gaining weight around four pounds a week. Her stomach was swelling up, and her face was getting puffy. She grew more fatigue as the days go by, and eventually started to sleep the day away. The doctors ran tests but found nothing conclusive and gave her a clean bill of health. Then one day, while using the bathroom, Eva seized up and fell to the floor. She was unable to get up and crawled for help. This time, her parents took her to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.
I met Eva at Hastings, a bookstore/coffee shop, in Lake Jackson. It was a quiet setting, until later in the afternoon, when patrons came in to order their frozen blended cappuccino. (Essentially, Frappuccino, but that's Starbucks registered trademark). The original plan was to do a phone interview, but I did not find it safe to do so in rush hour traffic and rescheduled. Later on the same evening, Eva sent a text message to see if I wanted to some of her bald pictures. Cody had mentioned to me that Eva got a new tattoo on her head. I wanted to see it for myself. We had conversed briefly the day before but I did not know what to expect. She came strolling down out of the "Art" section of full of life and wearing a big smile, the kind that makes you wonder what she had been reading. Eva Schmidt reminded me of a local pageant queen that just got off her limited edition Captain America Harley Davidson. Her head was freshly shaven and her tattoo, bright and vibrant, was an indication of her spirit.
Since that first operation, the cancer has came back twice. She has gone through over 8 different kinds of chemotherapy. Some are clinical trials which required Eva to document every day of her life. At one point, she has also tried radiation and has the pin point tattoo to show where the laser entered her body. The cancer has spread to her lungs and now to her heart. The doctors are afraid to operate, for fear that it would advance the cancer. The doctor told Eva to love everyone that she loves, prescribed her methadone, and then cried. Any normal person would probably have broken down. Eva shrugged it off and continued to enjoy life. She tells me about skydiving and traveling. At one point, we joked about "The Bucket List", and how we could get a ticket to Italy, Greece and some other remote locales.
I know Eva, not as the you woman with cancer, but rather the adventurous young girl with big dreams and a kick ass attitude. As I'm writing this, I know she's going through another round of chemotherapy. I could imagine in a week or two, she'll either be jumping out of an airplane or sailing out in the gulf. Or speeding through the county lines :)
Cody, Cindy and Mike drove over to New Orleans this past weekend to spend some time with a wonderful couple and their friends and family in the Big Easy of New Orleans. Starting in your classic Crawfish and Shrimp boil as only the Cajun's can do and ended up on Bourbon Street the entire event was a blast from start to finish.
Friday evening we drove on the other side of the Mississippi River to Deanna and Steven's family's house for some good ol' crawfish, shimp and of course BEER!
The following morning Cody and Cindy woke up early and went down to the 5th floor of our very nice French Quarter Hotel Room to begin capturing the ladies getting ready, while Mike got to sleep in late waiting for The Boys to begin.
Sorry no picture of me sleeping, but just think about how nice those amazing beds in the hotel room felt and me sleeping while Cody and Cindy were hard at work!!! Yeah if your smiling you understand where I was coming from Saturday Morning :)
So on to the Wedding Venue for a great little New Orleans Style place right on the Mississippi River. A short wedding by all accounts (maybe 5 minutes) but still beautiful and emotional every second of the way.
During the Reception we were able to steal away the clients for about 10 mins and capture some shots upstairs in a little dark red hallway which both Cody and I fell in love with!
Finally, after a full day of wedding fun we ended the day by heading down with the couple in our comfy clothes to Bourbon Street for some fun only which New Orleans can give you!
Look at the PURE REAL TERROR in the face of our wonderful groom. To get a kiss from his buddy on his wedding day I do not think was his idea!!!
All in all it was a GREAT weekend in The Big Easy and Deanna and Steven are JUST the clients TriCoast loves to not only capture the wedding day but become life long friends with in the process. I can't wait to go back and enjoy some more Crawfish and Beer!
Why shoot a wedding in Philadelphia right before Vegas?
Right before WPPI, literally, the Saturday before the convention, Mike, Cody, Suzy, and Cindy flew up to Philadelphia for Deirdre and Dan's wedding. Why shoot a wedding in Philadelphia right before Vegas?
Read about it in the full post!
Mike and Cody have been excited for this one for quite some time and it turned out to be well worth the wait. Deirdre is the Director of Marketing and Product Development at Collages.net and has gotten to be close friends with the gang over the years that TriCoast has been speaking for Collages.net. The wedding ceremony was held at Old St. Joseph's Church - a small, beautifully lit church and the reception was held at the Union League - the building had tons of opportunities for fun images with all of the elegant and historic spaces. The weather was great so they got to take advantage of a Philadelphia spring day with tons of outdoor images on Broad Street. Mike and Cody reported that they had never seen a crowd that loved to dance as much as Deirdre and Dan's guests - a good time was had by all!
This week I went to Florida to pick up and move Suzy Roberts of Suzy Min Photography and Suzy Makes It Hot and of course her doggy Honey to Texas. After breaking down on the side of the road in Florida and a LONG trip back to Texas at 40 miles an hour on I-10 we arrived in one piece (BARELY)
After getting kicked out of the rest stop for, well resting, by the 90 year old security guard I got back on the wonderful road of I-10 (since your reading and can not hear my sarcasm I hate I-10). After 800 miles I stopped off for some fuel and I noticed a TON of clear-slightly red fluid all over the back end of my truck and the dolly trailer. After making phone calls to everyone I know who knows anything about mechanics, ok one person Cody of TriCoast, he informed me these Chevy models have a HUGE DEFECT in their Transfer Case that roughly goes like this:
The transfer case in crewcab will start leaking between 60,000 and 100,000 miles, due to a brass bushing inside that supports a shaft and if the bushing wears enough, the shaft can wear a pinhole in the back half of the case.
So here I am on the side of the road with a leaking Transfer Case which you HAVE to have fluid in to keep the vehicle on the road. So here I am knowing NOTHING about how to fix an engine, remember I am a nerdy photographer not a mechanic, on the side of I-75 adding fluid in the transfer case. To do this you have to climb under the truck, use an 18mm wrench WHICH I DID NOT HAVE, so after a quick trip to Sears to buy an 18mm wrench, and of course a Chevy dealership to buy the fluid, I am under the vehicle and adding fluid several times to just get to Tampa.
FINALLY in Tampa Suzy and I went to several Chevy Dealerships all with the same results: "Sorry we are too busy to look at your vehicle" So FINALLY after much searching we found one Chevy Dealership in Ebor which looked at the vehicle, gave me a quick checkup and found the 2mm hole in the backend of my Transfer Case. Of course not being able to repair the hole due to "official" reasons they marked it with a grease pencil and sent me on my way.
Getting to Suzy's apartment, after a trip to the auto parts store to buy engine cleaner, I once again climbed under the truck, sprayed it all down with cleaner and then applied JB Weld to the hole. HOWEVER knowing we had another 1025 miles to go till we got back home I was very worried that just the JB Weld would hold up. So in order to give that little pump more to eat on until we got home I stuck a US Dime on top of the JB Weld then applied more JB Weld on top of the Dime until you could not see the Dime. This way giving that little pump a hard metal of the dime to eat through before it leaked again. After all of this work and days of research and searching I ended up with this The black blob of stuff is the JB Weld "Fix" on the Transfer Case.
Finally loading up and leaving at 1:00am on Friday, Suzy, Honey and myself left Tampa Florida for good and hit I-75 North back to Texas. Finding out quickly two things on the ride home:
1: The dolly trailer really was too light for this vehicle and well we ended up having to go only 45 miles an hour on I-75 and I-10 all the way home.
2: Many wonderful people let us know how they felt we were #1 in their minds since so many amazing travelers held up their fingers and honked their horns at us as we drove down the road Westbound.
So onward we traveled, looking like some SERIOUS TRASH in the process, stopping every rest stop or so to check the belts on the dolly trailer and tire pressure and of course letting Honey take a break from her big soft comfy air mattress in the back of the truck.
After about 12 hours of driving and the HIGH stress of trying not to die on the roadway, I was completely wiped out and pulled off to a rest stop in the middle of the day and climbed onto Honey's bed and took a nap with my sexy and cute little mask. Notice Honey only moved over a little bit to give me room to pass out.
Finally back on the road and after almost dying (seriously) in Mobil, Alabama, we ended up day 1 of traveling, in Biloxi Mississippi at some crappy motel but they did allow Honey to come into the room with us. After an order of Domino's Pizza and some Cinnamon Sticks we all went to bed completely worn out.
Sleeping in as late as we possibly could we all hit the road again Westbound on I-10 around 12noon. Ending the second full day of driving at our good friends house in Layette, Louisiana Colin Burnum house.
After hanging out with Colin's wife Leslie and their amazing 3 daughters playing in the water on the sidewalk in front of their house
Leslie cooked Suzy and I some amazing Crawfish Etoufee, and as a great surprise, Colin after shooting a local wedding, brought home some cooked mudbugs all which were OUT OF THIS WORLD.
So having a full belly, a few drinks, good conversation with Colin, Jay (another amazing photographer) and Leslie we all went to bed for a great night sleep.
Hitting the road around 11:00am we headed towards the Great State of Texas and home, which we finally arrived around 7:00pm (normally a 3-4 hour drive) all tired, worn out and sheer happy to be there alive and in one piece.
So there you have it, our wild and crazy road trip from Florida to Texas. Almost dying a few times, taking WAY longer than ever expected but home safe and sound.
