Tag Archives: SDSU

career, Lightroom 4, location shoot, photography, San Diego, Sports

I used to shoot Sports

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I am an architectural photographer who also does corporate and commercial work.  I used to shoot sports but due to personal reasons have stayed away from the genre.  BUT……. the more things change…

My friend Stan Liu, an accomplished sports photog himself generously offer me a credential to go shoot the San Diego State v. UNLV football game.  What a great time.  The game was sloppy but being able to capture athletes in an intense competition was exhilarating and made me remember why I had chosen that lifestyle for so long.  If only I could have figured out how to make money doing it.  Thanks Stan.

Techy notes:  Shot with a Nikon D700 with a booster for the motor, Nikkor 400 f2.8 lens and images processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.

Websites: http://www.zwink.com and my archived sports and editorial site:  http://bigstudioz.com

career, family, location shoot, photography, San Diego, Sports

It just won’t go Away

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THE AZTEC WARRIOR

     Sometimes, if you’re lucky, during your career you’ll make images that will stay with you the rest of your life.  Images you enjoy, images that strangers will know.  You know, the image you may see on a poster or a wall print that someone comments “that’s nice…..”  Then you get to proudly say, yes I took it.

     I’ve been lucky to take a few of these during my shooting career.  The above image was taken for the Aztec Warrior Foundation after SDSU decided their mascot Monty Montezuma was not politically correct anymore in the eyes of the school administration.  After a fallout of public outrage and the efforts of the Aztec Warrior Foundation, Monty was reintroduced to the school and fans.

     But, I digress some.  What I also wanted to point out is that these situations can often profoundly affect your life.  I met Monty, aka Carlos Gutierrez, while we were both on the sidelines during the Aztec games.  We became (and still are) close friends, had a few excellent adventures and I became his unofficial photographer.  His passion to promote and support SDSU and it’s athletic program genuinely rubbed off on me.  I have friends that cover baseball and other sports that have also developed lasting friendships from their photography exploits so I’m not the exception.  It’s a reality, embrace your passion and your subjects.  It will affect your life.

More of my work can be seen at:  www.zwink.com  My archived work which includes Monty is at www.bigstudioz.com

location shoot, photography, San Diego, Sports

It’s good to be an Aztec for Life

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SDSU Aztecs celebrate winning a share of the Mtn. West basketball league title.

Saturday night was a great night to be:

  1. a SDSU student
  2. a SDSU alumni
  3. a long suffering Aztec fan
  4. a member of the SDSU’s 29-2 basketball team
  5. SDSU President Stephen Weber

More game and celebration photos can be seen at:  http://zwinkftp.com/csusdsuhtml/ My website is:  http://zwink.com

location shoot, music, photography, Photoshop, San Diego, Uncategorized

Mozart is still Alive

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SDSU Cast of “A Walk in the Clouds”

 

When I was working part time at the San Diego edition of the L.A. Times I was introduced to the world of theater photography.  I got to cover the La Jolla Playhouse and the Old Globe to name a few.  What a great time.  I got to see world class performances by known and unknown actors while getting paid to cover their shows.  Most shoots were done during dress rehearsals meaning I was allowed to move around the theater with silent impunity.

Nowadays I still get to work with the SDSU Theatre department and Stone Soup Theater.  At SDSU it is a wonderful experience as I not only get to hone my low light craft but I get to watch the development of the future professional actors.  It not only is a time to watch the character development but it allows  you a chance to study the body language and emotional interactions that can be transferred to shooting portraiture and getting that little special extra into your work.  After all good photography is just capturing the day to day live theater we live in.

techy stuff:  D700 with a 28-70 lens.  Shot ISO 1600 at f4.0.  Postproduction in Photoshop 5.

NFL, photography, San Diego, Sports

Giving Back

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I believe in charity, I believe in getting paid. The one thing about a lot of charities is that they believe photography should either be free, donated or minimal cost. A lot of times the requester will mention the great marketing potential and visibility and best of all it’s for charity. Generally the staffer from the charity is paid, the venue is paid, the catering either paid or discounted, the photographer……. free? See why I rarely do charity events?

So, I found a way to give, feel good and not abused. I went to San Diego State University, fell in love with the campus and after leaving for a job continued to actively support them. I eventually was awarded the sports department photography contract and met two young men that both personified the love of sports, friendship and life. Carlos Gutierrez, then Monty Montezuma, and I became great friends while on the sidelines at the Aztecs sporting events. I also met a freshman running back that would put SDSU on the map. Marshall Faulk went on to become an All American, runner up for the Heisman Trophy (he got robbed), first round NFL draft pick and now a future Hall of Famer.

Faulk now a NFL Network analyst is still loyal to SDSU. The last couple years he has been involved in a marketing program to get more alumni involved. It’s called “Aztec for Life”. In the photo above at a event promoting that is (left-right) Carlos Gutierrez, Marshall Faulk and SDSU President Stephen Weber.

Faulk also has his own charity called the Marshall Faulk Foundation. The mission is to improve the quality of life for San Diego youth by increasing opportunities for them. So Carlos G. and I came up with the perfect solution. I donated the image of Faulk (top left) from a game against USC and Carlos had a friend donate the printing of the image. The image was printed on canvas and then stretched on a frame, ready for Marshall’s autograph and the auction. So far copies of the image have garnered nearly $3,000 for the charity. This was a win for me and for the foundation. My old archived images had created the means to help the children of San Diego. What’s in your archives and who can you help? Happy Holidays.

My other work can be viewed at: www.zwink.com