Few years back Laura and I worked on a tribute to NASCAR fans. Driving past Daytona today in route to Miami, I can't help but think about them and revisit that piece.
NASCAR Fans from Straw Hat Visuals on Vimeo.
Havana /
It's Havana's birthday. She's a dozen years old today.
I remember when I met her so clearly.
She has had an incredible effect on my life. I see things with a softer edge now that she is in the world.
In Osaka, Japan Alexander Hassenstein, who I met first in Barcelona at the Olympics when he was barely 17, and then again in St Perersburg Russia during the Goodwill Games, asked me what my new daughter was called. ....when I told him Havana his eyes lit up, and he called Germany immediately to speak to Sabine--then carrying their unborn daughter--and he said "I have her name. It must be Havana."
Two old friends, who behave like children, crossing paths all over the world, sharing stories about their Havanas. And an unspoken bond forged through a love of life, people, and images.
More of my images of Havana through the years are on my Website.
Sandhill Cranes /
Growing up in Nebraska, I experienced nature first-hand. Life on the plains taught me to live on the land and to appreciate its natural beauty.
Nebraska's mystery and majesty have always inspired me creatively.
It's remembering those roots that keeps me fresh.
More than 500,000 sandhill cranes stop along the Platte River each spring as they make their way northward. Tom Lynn, Laura and I will be there to document their visit.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, George Archibald, one of the founders of the International Crane Foundation discussed cranes and their elegant dance. "[The cranes] have complicated and beautiful behaviors — they dance and duet and have all kinds of vocal and visual languages in ways that seem to be human-like. They are devoted to a single mate for life and rear just one or two chicks at a time. Because of this and other factors, they are also one of the most endangered groups of birds."
The plains of Nebraska are known as a vast, open space with endless skies and unbroken sight lines, the only constant noise the whistling wind but when the cranes descend on the wide flat Platte all that changes. These majestic birds create a city on the sandbars and bustling traffic in the skies.
I invite you to come to come to Nebraska in mid March to experience first-hand why so many nature enthusiasts call the sandhill crane migration one of the greatest spectacles of nature in North America.
I'll be leading a photo tour that will allow you to not only experience the migration but also to capture video and images of the phenomenon.
The tour includes entrance to the blinds, hands-on instruction from me, Tom and Laura with the cameras and support systems. There will also be an Apple certified Final Cut Trainer providing instruction.
You can learn more about the tour and secure your spot at http://strawhatvisuals.flywheelsites.com/workshops/cranes/.
Newspaper /
I've spent most of my adult life working for print publications. Almost the entire time, I have had to suffer through conversations about why print is dead. I see photo staffs being eliminated to save money at newspapers who are struggling financially because they can't sell their products. That makes very little sense to me as a long term plan. It's a desperate stab literally in the dark to raise short term numbers without any initiative, cleverness or creativity. Eliminating content providers eliminates content production and doing that is not going to attract or retain content purchasers.
Boarding my flight from Oslo to London, I watched passenger after passenger grab 2 or 3 newspapers from racks next to airplane door.
The entire flight virtually every seat was filled with people reading the morning newspapers.
The plane was WIFI equipped, but for this flight, on this day, newspapers ruled the air.
Makes me wonder if they know something we don't.
Stories for the Super Bowl /
Every Super Bowl, I have some form of connection with at least one of the teams in the game.
Early in my career at Sports Illustrated, I covered 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh when he was the starting quarterback in Indianapolis. One shoot in particular sticks in my memory. As a coach, Harbaugh is known for being tough to interview. As a player, at least with me, he was great. Not only did he give me as much time as I needed, but he took me out for breakfast -- at Cracker Barrel.
Harbaugh reading the paper at home.
Then in October of last year, Laura and I, along with Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Tim Layden, did a story on the four kickers in NFL history who have kicked 63 yard field goals. David Akers of the 49ers is in this elite group.
David not only gave us as much time as we needed, he brought his family in to meet us. We had so much fun with them, we shot their Christmas card while we were there.
People always ask me who my favorite sports teams are. My answer: I like people, not teams. David Akers and Jim Harbaugh are two of those people. They were gracious and easy to deal with, and so I hope they do well.
Over the years, I have covered more than 25 Super Bowls. For tomorrow's game I'll be Amsterdam bound to judge the World Press Photo competition, but I will definitely be checking in on the action in NOLA -- as soon as I land.
The Creative Process /
A few days ago, I went to get my hair cut.
One of the simple pleasures of my life is watching the creative process at work.
From inspirational speaker Marco Antonio Torres crafting a lecture on art after looking at a barista delicately putting a milk message on the top of a latte to Professor William Rankin using quantum physics to explain medievalism. Or my sister Elizabeth crafting anything magically with cloth to Laura shaping a coherent message from my disjointed images and thoughts.
This was a new one. My favorite stylist Lisa Hershman used a photograph I took of her hair years ago -- a present actually for her husband -- and had the contours of the interior of her studio built to replicate the lines of that image.
Just wish my hair could look that good.
Joey Abrait /
On assignment for Sports Illustrated in Russia, I met a young Lithuanian photographer Joey Abrait. We went for long slow walks around St. Petersburg shooting and talking about images and photojournalism for hours. But mostly, we talked about freedom and the differences of growing up in the American Midwest and in a Soviet occupied Baltic country.
The freedom we were talking about was far from political, but artistic and journalistic.
She is finding hers in her work, both written and photographic. I'm not sure how many languages she speaks, but at least four or five, and I love her words. She has a new blog and it's going to be fun to follow.
Joey last winter in Stockholm.
Clyde Butcher /
I visited Clyde Butcher's wonderful gallery again a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't my first trip to that special place, and it certainly won't be my last.
Here is a man that has done it his way.
His life's work is a study in how to harness vision and passion and own it. He photographs places that mean something special to him, and he does it in a big bold way.
As I slowly turned my car back onto the road, I was left thinking that what needs to matter is to do the work I need to do for me. To share my feelings and thoughts. Making images not because I have to, but because I live to.
Sandhill Cranes Photo Tour Announcement /
One Year /
One year ago, I made this image.
It's that point in time yearly when I spend a few minutes thinking about where I've been, what I've seen, and what I've done.
When art director extraordinaire Gen Umei asked me to shoot one of the ads for the international release of the Nikon D4 I was thrilled. The chance to work with Gen is a photographer's dream. Not only he is the best at what he does, he's a cherished friend.
To be one of the first photographers in the world to use the latest of a long line of Nikon imaging machines is another dream. I leapt at the chance.
One of the things Gen wanted me to demonstrate was the high ISO capability of the camera, and the superb autofocus functions.
So, what subject matter to select? It wasn't hard to figure out.
2012 was an Olympic year. I love track and field. Laura is a Florida Gator. And we wanted to do part of the shoot at home in Jacksonville.
How do these things work together?
Christian Taylor. Florida Gator. World Champion and soon to be Olympic Champion was happy to jump for us.
Joel Lamp in an act of superb kindness made Jacksonville University's track and field facilities available.
The natural temptation was to shoot the image in beautiful light. Either late afternoon direct sun, or some filtered artificial light. But that would defeat the purpose. We had to show the jump in low, flat light in order to demonstrate just what this camera could do.
We set up and waited. The sun crept lower, and lower in the sky. When it hit the horizon, we started to shoot.
I was shooting with a Nikkor 600 f4 head on with a D4 set at 12,800 ISO. Laura was slightly to my left side and closer to the pit shooting with a Nikkor 400 f 2.8. Andy Hancock was just to my right and was shooting a little looser with a Nikkor 300 f 2.8. We had our bases covered.
Christian was extremely gracious. I expected him to jump a half a dozen times. He did a dozen and would have kept going if I needed him to.
But 12 leaps was more than enough. We had plenty of options. The camera did it's job. We did ours. And Nikon had their ad.
A few hundred thousand air miles later we were in London fully devoted to covering Track and Field for Sports Illustrated.
We had a remote camera high above the triple jump pit. Laura was firing it with specially configured Pocket Wizards.
Christian Taylor jumped brilliantly claiming the gold with a performance of 17.81m, .19 meters better than his fellow teammate Will Claye who finished with a bronze.
I was at the finish line head-on moat, across the stadium from Christian, but I was watching the video streaming. When he won I couldn't help a small exclamation, and a quick text to Gen at home in Tokyo.
Christian and Florida Gator teammate Will Claye took a lap of honor, and when Christian saw me he came over and put out his hand.
An excellent memory for sure.