My Inspiration Pt 1 - Sports Shooter Academy

  On this journey of mine, there have been some people that really inspired and motivated me to keep on learning. The first are my mentors and the 2nd is this organization called Sports Shooter.  I attended a Chicago Tribune Photography 101 workshop in March 2011. One of the Chicago Trib photographers, William DeShazer talked about social media and how to use it to advance your business/photography. He had a handout of a list of social media websites and Sports Shooter was a recommended site.  I checked it out since I was interested in Sports photography.  I tried to apply, but I had to know a Senior member to get in.  I emailed William to ask him if he can sponsor me and he was kind enough to help me out. I received a confirmation shortly and I was accepted to be a member...yahhhooo!

  I posted my sports pics and surfed the site.  I stumbled upon the Sports Shooter Academy page and noticed an upcoming workshop on Lighting held on April 22-23, 2011 in Orange County, CA. I was like Cali...well that is kind of far for me. I figured if I need to further my knowledge on sports photography, I should apply and just go. A week or so I received an email that I was accepted, so I made the reservations and I was off to So Cal.  I have to say I was quite nervous and excited at the same time. 

  The Lighting Luau workshop consists of two full days; working with lighting, using speed lights, 3-D lighting techniques and the best part how to use lighting equipment. I have the SB 900 flash and I wanted to learn more on how to use it with Sports, portraits, etc. 

  The first day consists of listening to So Cal free lance photographers Matt Brown and David Honl. Matt Brown has covered So Cal College Sports to NBA Finals, Super Bowls, etc. He is amazing photographer!  David Honl developed Honl Professional Lighting System, light weight and innovative light modifiers for speed lights. I love his products! Check it out! After lunch we had the privilege to listen to Tim Mantoani, who recently released his book Behind Photographs: Archiving Photographic Legends, which by the way is awesome. I cannot even describe his work, I was just so amazed.  You know the EA Sports Video Game, Tim shot those pics. He is also a motivational speaker, I had goose bumps when he started talking about his work and advice. At the end of his speech he did say to the class, when you go back home try to work on something you always wanted to but never had a chance to do it. I am definitely working on something this year. Thanks Tim! 

  After the speakers, we did a hands on exercise with the faculty and had been assigned to David Honl and photo shoot in the garage with the LA Roller Derby girls. David showed us how to set up speed lights and how to use his lighting equipment. In this shot, we used 4 speed lights, one hanging on the pipe, at her foot, and 2 voice activated light stands. We used the snoot, travel soft-box, speed grids and different colored filters.

  Here are my photos: Cookie from the LA Derby Dolls.

  After the end of the session, we went back to the room to work on loose edits and received critiques from the faculty and picked our top 3 photos.  The top 3 photos from each photographer were displayed and the faculty voted on the best picture for the day. I have to say, it was very intimidating working with the faculty and fellow photographers, but everyone was helpful and encouraging.  

  Second day, we had an all day hands on training either at the Cal State Fullerton campus shooting gymnastics, baseball and soccer or the La Habra Boxing Club and Cal State Long Beach volleyball players and an actress.  I choose the Boxing venue and then headed out to Cal State Long Beach.

  Here is the set up for the Boxing portraits:

Buddy Tyson

Albert - He's so adorable!

  Shoot at the Cal State Fullerton campus: Brooke Langston, Professional Volleyball Player (AVP Pro Beach Tour)

Beatrice, an inspiring actress

  After the photo sessions, we headed back to the hotel to finish our loose edits and critiques and watched the slide show of all the photos. The faculty once again selected the best picture and gave away a beauty dish and other equipment from the sponsors.  Here is the gallery of photos from my classmates. These photographers are incredible and I am so honored to have met and worked with all of them. It was a great experience and I am so happy and thankful Bert Hanashiro, Founder of Sports Shooter and photographer for USA Today choose me to attend the Coolest Lighting Luau ever! Thanks to the faculty for putting this workshop together! Stay tuned tomorrow to read about the Sports Academy VIII I attended in the Fall of 2011.