Get the Job Done: Shooting Jodi's Race for Awareness

This weekend I will be the event photographer for Jodi's Race for Awareness, a 5k race/walk benefiting the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance. This is the second year the race has been held, and I'm excited to be helping this young event chronicle its progression.

My colleague, Denver Post columnist Bill Johnson, wrote this great article about Jodi, thehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif woman for whom this race was named. Here is a video her as well:



It's always fun to be a part of something new when the people involved are passionate, hopeful and overflowing with ideas because I always leave these events inspired. I look forward to building a lasting relationship with event coordinators who embrace the need for professional photographic coverage. I have been asked to give special attention to capturing storytelling imagery, including before and after race pictures and detail shots. It will be a great challenge for me to try to put into photos what these survivors, their family members and friends are experiencing as they participate in this race. At the same time, I've got to be able to capture shots the organization can use to promote their goals of raising awareness about this deadly disease. If you are in Denver this weekend, stop by City Park and make a donation to keep Jodi's dream alive. Hope to see you there!

Get the Job Done: Shooting the first annual Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference

It's confirmed! I will be shooting the first ever Rocky Mountain Early Childhood conference
running April 15, 2011. I'm crazy excited about this opportunity because it's so much fun to be involved in the kinetic energy attached to a new event. But this is also the first time I put in a bid for a photography contract, competed against other photographers and won the gig!

The conference is a two-day session featuring events on Friday and Saturday including receptions, lunches, general workshop shots, and a vendor/exhibitor hall. Specifically the preschool program has requested that I be creative about my shots and use some depth of field and other photographic techniques so the imagery doesn't look like snapshots. I'm more than happy that I've been given a little more freedom to try some unconventional shots as well as shoot the necessary posed shots the organization needs as well. Thanks to my four years of consecutive coverage of the National Brotherhood of Skiers annual summits, the Council on Foundations event as well as numerous other smaller dinners and receptions I've shot locally, I have no doubt I can give the preschool program what they want in just about any lighting situation I might encounter.

It's purely coincidence, by the early childhood conference's featured speaker is Geoffrey Canada, CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone -- a guest speaker that I shot last year during the Council on Foundations annual conference held in Denver. Out of all the esteemed foundation guests (including Former Vice President Al Gore), I remember feeling more connected to Canada because a good education has been the basics for why I've been successful.

Here's one of my shots of Canada that appeared on the Council on Foundations 2010 event wrap-up page:



I'm beginning to think that I should try to specialize in special event coverage since they have been the bulk of my assignments recently. I would never give up shooting portraits because I love focusing on people, but maybe it's time I start to consider a specialization. I'll chew on this and get back with you later! :)

Get the Job Done: Lead Photographer for the National Brotherhood of Skiers Summit 2011

I'm blogging to you live today from Steamboat Springs, Colorado where the opening ceremonies for the National Brotherhood of Skiers Black Ski Summit 2011 will kick-off in about two hours. The NBS contracted me to serve as their event's lead photographer for the fourth consecutive year, and I'm looking forward to working for them and visiting a new city.

More than 800 registered NBS participants are in Steamboat for social events, parties, skiing activities, and races all geared toward raising funds to support the NBS Olympic Scholarship Fund designed to provide financial support for exceptional athletes of color who excel in winter sports. The intent is to propel these young athletes to Olympic and international competition. In addition, funds from this event support the operation of the National Brotherhood of Skiers. In past years, I've photographed NBS summits held in Breckenridge, Aspen/Snowmass and Winter Park.

This year, officials have asked me to focus on capturing more members engaged in skiing, snowboarding, racing and other activities and less on the social/party scene so the organization can use those images for gaining more advertisers and sponsorships.

Check out some highlights from last year's summit in Winter Park:



Here are some of my favorite action shots from previous years:













Check in for some daily blogs about the doings here in Steamboat and wish me luck!

Get the Job Done: First Special Event Assignment of the year!

I'm excited to be kicking off 2011 with my first special event assignment, a company awards banquet for Eaton Metal Products Co. at Denver's prestigious Brown Palace Hotel. Eaton fabricates a vast line of steel plate product including heat exchanges, reactors, storage tanks and heavy weldments.



The grand, expansive atrium and lobby with a sweeping staircase offers unlimited spots for the numerous group shots I've been asked to shoot. I have a few ideas for the group shots that I hope will work.



Yesterday I checked out Ellyngton's, the restaurant where the awards banquet and dinner will be held, so I could see what kind of lighting I and my second shooter Jason Peckovitch of Illusive Dreams Photography will be working with. A row of windows surrounding the restaurant should bring in some great natural light until the day gives way to evening. Wish Jason and I success!

Get the Job Done: My first Quinceanera!

Ali's Quinceanera held last month in June was a great success, and I look forward to being able to shoot more of these cultural events in the future! The family received their final images this week, so I wanted to post several of my favorites on the blog. A Quinceaneara is a coming of age ceremony in some Latin American cultures celebrating a girl's 15th birthday. The scope is similar to a Sweet Sixteen with the grandeur of a wedding due to the honoree's gown, a court and a reception held after a church ceremony.

I drove to Paxton, Nebraska, to shoot Ali's ceremony, which started with a family barbecue. I enjoyed covering this event because it gave me an excellent chance to do some family portraits as well as some special event photography.

Today's blog is ALL ABOUT THE DRESS! I will post other photos taken of Ali's court, the ceremony and the dance-filled reception later.

Get the Job Done: Photographing the Council on Foundations annual conference in Denver

Today I received my service agreement contract to be the official event photographer at The Council on Foundations Annual Conference being held in Denver, April 25-27! Even though I was contacted about this last week, I didn't want to announce it on my blog until I knew if I had been awarded the contract.

When I spoke with the organization's public relation's director, I asked her how did she find me. I was pleased when she said Picture Your World Photography appeared on her Google search for a "Denver event photographer." It's good to know that all that time I've spent learning about SEO and how its techniques can benefit my studio has paid off. "Plus, I thought the name 'Sheba' had a good, earthy sound to it, too!" For that, I guess I can thank my father, since he got to name me! :)

The Council on Foundations is a membership organization serving national and international grantmakers, family foundations and corporate giving programs. This year's annual conference will feature keynote addresses by Former Vice President Al Gore who served with the Bill Clinton administration 1993-2001 and Admiral Mullen, the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the principal military advisor to the president, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council. Because of such high profile speakers, I will have to endure going through tons of security. All of the speakers seem very interesting and I can't wait to be apart of this event. Other speakers include Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Obama administration; Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone; Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National & Community Service; Chip Heath, co-author of “Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard;" and Douglas Shulman, the 47th Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

Shooting event photography gives me the chance to flex my developing photojournalist muscles. Not only do you have to be a master of your equipment, but you have to be a master at interpreting decisive moments and showcasing them in storytelling photography. My three years spent as the official photographer for the National Brotherhood of Skiers has definitely honed my skills for coverage of the council's conference. However, a major difference in this event is that I will have to quickly turn over high res images at the end of each day of coverage so the council can use them as updates on their website. That means I've got to get as much as I can right in camera from the start instead of relying on time consuming fixes in post. I think I will also take advantage of some batch process editing tools and plugins as well in Lightroom and Photoshop. All told, I can expect about 25 hours worth of work from the three-day event, including shooting conference attendees, key note speakers, other VIPS, receptions, and workshop sessions. Wish me luck on this wonderful opportunity!