2 weeks of work: Jan. 1 – Jan. 14

We’ll see how it goes, but in an effort to apply some personal reflection on photos that I’ve gathered, I’m going to start throwing some images up on the blog from the previous two weeks (or so).

I haven’t had much success in scheduled retrospectives in the past – I suffer from a severe case of PADD or Photographers’ Attention Deficit Disorder. But hopefully a 14-day time period will give me enough time to get my lazy-self in line and publish routinely.

Here are some images from first two weeks of January – with the occasional insight and accompanying pages worth showing.

Was sent out to a mobile home park to meet reporter Tony Seskus for a story he was working on about tax adjustments being made to mobile home properties. By the time I arrived Tony had found Ivan Clendenan, a mobile home resident.

Personally I liked the closer horizontal image compared to the farther vertical which ended up in the paper. But due to the preferred layout format used by the Herald, vertical, or square images, will always trump horizontal images when it comes to section fronts. (As you’ll see farther down the post)

Here’s another example of how publishing space dictates how photos are run. The published version of this photo of the executive director of the Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta, taken at the Calgary Energy Centre, was adjusted to fit the section front that it was printed on.

Even while shooting it I knew there was little chance of it running as is, but sometimes you gotta satisfy your artistic urge.

Later in the day I covered the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship final between Sweden and Russia. The photo of the Swedish player celebrating his overtime winning goal is a personal favourite from the night.

Friday was a somewhat slower day. In the end my images leaned towards the daily goings on of Calgary.

A simple portrait. This time the subject was allowed to carry on with the interview as snaps were taken and the hanging light gives something a little different to the resulting image.

Bob Dhillion, of Mainstreet Equities, in Calgary Monday, January 9, 2012.

Peter Flynn, Balancing Pool president, with analyst Jordan Persaud, right, at the Balancing Pool headquarters in Calgary Tuesday, January 10, 2012.

Calgary Herald Sports section front page – Wednesday, January 11. 2012

Needed some photos to accompany a story on a young girl who was adopted by a Calgary family after the Haiti earthquake of 2010. The young girl has adapted well and loves nothing more than to play with her big sister, whom she apparently idolizes.

At first the photos looked a little too formal family portrait like. So I took the girls aside and suggested, in a whisper, that,”when I say ‘Go’, spin around and jump on daddy’s back.” They seemed to take well to the idea.

The result was some genuine joy, if a little coerced.

It was then off to the Dome for some more hockey. The game coverage had to take a quick backseat as Calgary forward Rene Bourque was traded to the Montreal Canadiens – the announcement coming in the first period.

This was the first time I’ve ever covered a media conference during a game.

Occasionally you don’t need to apply the precise timing needed for sports images or the creativity needed for well lit portraits to get an image that’s going to get good play.

Anyone can do it – put your flash on the camera, point your camera at your subject and press the button. Click, instant front page. As in the case of this photo of reacquired Flame Michael Cammalleri.

Calgary Herald A section front page – Saturday, January 14, 2012.

And in a Media Moment: For the ten to fifteen minutes prior to Cammalleri’s arrival, the gathered media provided themselves with some chuckles while scrambling for positions and realizing that it appeared that we were there to interview an empty jersey.