One roll through this cheap plastic camera yields twelve photos. Of those twelve, which I took while quickly walking up and down the boardwalk in Pacific Beach at sunset, here are eight nine I’m willing to reveal.

Will had a lot of fun with light this month, shadows and subject popping from their light sources. He also got outdoor photos that don’t involve snow which I am pretty jealous about. As always, he was a ramblin’ man, heading home, meeting Ozzy and hanging out with furries. When are you going on your road trip Will?

In other news, another photo of Will’s reminds me of one of our favorite found-on-flickr photographer’s photos. His name is also Will.

Will Parson

Will Stern (WillPower on flickr)

They say a good photographer never shares his/her contact sheets. Let’s just say that “Digital Contact Sheet” is a nonrandom sample geared toward the interesting, and will happen again whenever I deem a raw series of photos worth sharing for educational or entertainment purposes.

This time it’s La Jolla local and former model/actress Bonnie Horne. I walked by Horne once but on registering those sharp sunglasses I had to stop and ask for a photo. She said it reminded her of her performing days, and indeed she was perfectly comfortable in front of a lens.

Steeping the People from Jackie Snow on Vimeo.

Here is my producing debut. I shot the video on my 5d mark II and then edited it on Final Cut Pro. I only had a 4 gig card, severely limiting what I could shoot, so please excuse the lack of b-roll. Also, the sound was only recorded through my camera, a big no-no to anyone trying to shoot anything worthwhile on HDDSLRS but I did what I could with what I had. I loved doing this project, I bought 16 gig card, and have my eye on a wireless mic so expect more projects.

This weekend I traveled to East County San Diego, where distance from the coastline starts to manifest itself in a way that’s consistent with many areas in California – with a populace that’s more rural and more conservative. Several hundred people gathered at a well-kept public park in El Cajon to voice their dissatisfaction with taxes and the government that collects them.

I tried to see past the signs and star-spangled denim, and found a group of humble folks who were just plain mad. Mad, and tired of a government they feel ignores them to such a degree that some of those same people decide to dress as revolutionaries to seal the commonalities with the British-suffering colonial America.

In any case, I ended up feeling drawn to these people, not just because of my own conservative upbringing, but as I’m always drawn to people who feel strongly and earnestly about an issue.

Speakers included congressional candidates, California gubernatorial candidates and 52nd District Congressman Duncan Hunter, whose brief speech seemed mild in comparison to the other speakers. Several even happened to express hatred for the same endangered fish.

I’ve been quiet on here as it’s New York Fashion Week and I am a slave to fashion for these 10 odd days. It’s exhausting. Fortunately, I only have one fashion week every six months, but some editors and buyers have fashion month-and-a-half, traversing the world (or at least London, Milan and Paris) to look at designer’s new collections. Lauren Greenfield traveled to a few cities’ fashion weeks and documented the whole she-bang in the video above. My first thought was…is that it? Full disclosure, Will and I were both totally burned by Greenfield and rejected for her three month unpaid internship.

But way more importantly, I see way more interesting shots at my work, where some photographers make magical shots on the daily. For some reason, I am generally not impressed with photojournalists take on fashion week. I would think a fresh eye would bring fresh shots, but more research into what has and is done would serve these photojournalists better.

UPDATE: I realized this post sounds a bit more negative than I intended. I am a huge, HUGE fan of Greenfield. Have you seen Thin? This was her first foray into video and it’s amazing. And inspired me to do the same.

Two things to keep in mind while shooting golf. First, a 400mm lens is a must. And, second, to make ‘the’ photo of the day you have to use a wide angle lens.

That was the case with veteran photographer Donald Miralle, whose photo of Phil Mickelson made the Wall Street Journal’s “Pictures of the Day” slideshow after the final round of the tournament. Below is my version of Mickelson, who was having a bad day, taken on the same hole under the same tree. What does Miralle have that I don’t? Well, a decisive moment for one…that and composition, color, etc…

My experience overall was less fruitful than it could have been. The media director saw fit to only give me a media pass, not the special green bib that allowed you in front of the clothesline separating the crowd from the players. Imagine my chagrin when I showed up with what I thought was all the go-ahead I needed, only to find I had to rub elbows with the normals all day. If I wanted a good angle for the popular players like Michelson, I had to work for it.

Then again, Miralle was shooting well away from the action when he took the photo I linked to above. I did what I could to make the most of my day, equipped with a meager 200mm and an eye that had never even seen a golf course up close before, but the ability to improvise is probably the most important tool in any photographer’s arsenal.

Here’s a slideshow of my set from the day.

Farmers Insurance Open Golf Tournament – Images by Will Parson

If I can sneak out early enough, I’m going to try and go to the beach to see what the ocean looks like with snow falling on it. I can’t compute how that looks.