Photo ABCs

T is for Tennis!

I had the pleasure of photographing the Acura Classic tennis tournament in La Costa, California recently.

Unfortunately, this was the last year this excellent tournament will be held.

Here is French star and Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli.

Background is everything.

More photos from the Acura Classic can be seen here.

S is for Sports Photography

Thursday night I had the great pleasure of hearing Dave Black speak to the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers. If you've read Sports Illustrated, you've probably seen Dave's photographs.

Dave is an equally good speaker and instructor as he is a photographer. His photographs, of course, were stunning. His humor kept us entertained and he freely shared his innovative techniques on lighting and how he has developed his trademark graphic compositions.

What's interesting is that Dave has never considered himself much of a sports fan (though his stories about Michelle Kwan, ice skating, gymnastics, and horse racing could make you think differently). He sees sports, though, as a dramatic and colorful arena in which incredible photo opportunities regularly present themselves, for the prepared photographer.

He is consciously shifting his emphasis from being a sports photographer to photographer. He recently shot a story on Arlington National Cemetery, chosen because of his light painting skill, and has actually decided to skip the Beijing Olympics to shift his emphasis to other forms of photography.

I have rarely enjoyed or learned so much at a photography presentation. If you have a chance to see Dave, or take one of his workshops, do it! If not, you can enjoy his photos and his extensive teaching at his website.

G is for Gallery

Looking at great art and great photography is inspirational and will improve your photography more than looking at equipment specifications. (like most of us have been doing recently with the new releases from Nikon and Canon!)

In the past two days I've had an opportunity to look at some great photography.

I discovered a hidden gem of a gallery in Chula Vista, California. It is the Victor Diaz Collection of the International Institute of Photographic Arts. This gallery is located behind the studios of XLNC1 Classical Radio (my favorite radio station!) It's a large warehouse, but beautifully designed as a gallery with black curtains and studio lighting, with the space to show hundreds of photographs.

The photos are a Who's Who of 20th Century Photography. On display are iconic images by Galen Rowell, Harold Edgerton, Jay Maisel, Joel Meyerowitz, Robert Turner, and Eliot Porter, to name a few. I was excited to see Harold Edgerton's famous image of a bullet piercing an apple. Anyone interested in photography should see these photographs.

Also on display until September 8 are lush seascapes by the gallery's founder, the late Victor Manuel Diaz. These are lovely images. However, the gallery places the viewer just one or two feet away from these greatly enlarged images, which ideally should be seen from ten or twenty feet away (which would render insignificant the enlargement artifacts visible at a close distance...)

The gallery gets far fewer visitors than the stature of the images present deserve. Do yourself a favor and make the drive to Chula Vista and visit this gallery of photographic masterworks! (Hey, the San Ysidro outlet malls are nearby!)

F is for Flowers!

A dozen of my flower photographs are on display at Bard Hall, 4190 Front Street, Hillcrest (San Diego), 92101, through August 30. They will be showing with artwork by Carol Graber and Maryellene Deason.

There is a reception tonight, Tuesday August 21, with refreshments, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Hope to see you there!

S is for Self Promotion!

My show, Colores, Photographs of Tecate and Ensenada, will be on display at the Kate Ross Men and Women's Clothing Store at 3013 University Avenue, San Diego, beginning Saturday, August 11, and running through September 4, 2007.

The opening will be from 6-10 p.m. on Saturday August 11, in conjunction with Ray at Night (gallery night in North Park). Ray at Night is lots of fun, with over a dozen galleries open within one block of each other.

$50 from the sale of each photograph will be donated to the Flying Samaritans Tecate Eye Clinic.

I hope to see you there!