From the archives: Bull Riding School Student Portraits

I recently took time to reorganize some of my negative archives when I came across some portraits I took at a bull riding school in 2014. I remember my goal was to make a portrait of the students immediately following their first-ever ride on a bull. The students, to my surprise and initial disappointment, looked nonplussed. I wanted to see a modicum of vulnerability in their faces, but instead only saw pictures of teenagers in cowboy clothing. I scrapped the idea and moved on.

A second look this month, at least three years later, revealed there is an underlying tension in the images, for me at least. Whom of us as adolescents couldn't wait to grow up to be the archetype we most admired? In some of these images, I see some who easily slide into the role, and others have a long trail ahead of them.

In case you're interested, the images were shot with a Hasselblad 553ex and Tri-X film. Let me know what you think!

Cheers,

Eric

Babe Didrikson Zaharias (deceased) for ESPN.com

ESPN.com recently published a feature on deceased sports heroes and how they still get visitors. I think my assignment was the control group, since I didn't see much evidence that the gravesite of Babe Didrikson Zaharias saw many visitors. And this is a shame. One of the first pro women golfers and 1932 Olympic gold-medal track star, the woman was a legend in her own time. She broke the gender barrier as well as world-records that still stand today. Read more about it here and check out a few images from the shoot below.

Sister Anna Nguyen for the Houston Chronicle

I was pretty happy with a photo I made of Dominican nun Sister Anna Nguyen for the Houston Chronicle. It ran on this morning's Sunday front page.

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Shale water portrait

I had the opportunity yesterday to visit with and photograph entrepreneur and director of the Shale Water Research Center Ross Tomson for a Houston Business Journal story. I almost always enjoy photographing scientists because they're typically more giving of their time and let's face it - their lab is full of cool stuff to use as props. While Tomson's lab wasn't exactly like Dr. Frankenstein's, it did have a flask with cloudy water in it, something you don't normally find in the office of a CEO. I started with a straightforward portrait, one with very little shadows. I lit it using a strip light on either side of the subject and then using a softbox in front to illuminate his face. I don't think I quite have this mastered so I won't be showing it here. I have a friend of mine who uses light like this to amazing effect, but I'm still working on it. The second set I fell more into my comfort zone, which is to make portraits with heavy, stagey chiaroscuro lighting. I threw a 10 degree grid on the flask, and used one strip light to light Tomson. What does Tomson do, you ask? Basically, he researches and creates more environmentally-friendly shale water used for fracking. According to Molly Ryan's story in this week's Houston Business Journal, the company creates research, "to allow energy companies to reuse more water when drilling in shale formations, which in turn, will reduce companies’ water treatment costs, water purchasing costs and environmental concerns. Energy companies pay $100,000 for an annual membership to the center, which gives them access to research before it is published and allows them to shape the course of the center’s research initiatives."

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New work: August 2012 edition of The Texas Observer

Earlier this month, I was contacted by Kate Iltis of EmDash, the company contracted to design The Texas Observer. I met Kate when she reviewed my portfolio at the Texas Photo Round-up, my first gig that was a direct result of attending the gathering.

I was excited when she contacted me about doing a story in Freeport, Texas, where I had lived for a year as a staff photographer at the local newspaper about ten years ago. The story was about Gulf Chemical, a poorly regulated chemical recycler that was found to have been dumping massive amounts of waste into local waters and the air, among other concerns. Kate really wanted smoke coming out of the stacks, but the company would only go full bore during the cover of night or during rainstorms. Freeport is an hour and ten minutes south of me. I left very early to try and catch smoke emitting from the stacks. However, when I got down there, there was no smoke to be seen. I made do with what was there and then decided to check out the shrimp boat docks that are about a mile away to photograph a shrimper that I knew was half-submerged in the Old Brazos River (I knew this because this same boat has been rotting away in the canal at least since I was a photographer at the local paper ten years ago). As I was working the half-sunken shrimp boat, I saw a yellow fishing boat heading in the opposite direction. I decided to track it and as I spun around, I saw a big plume of yellow, sulfurous smoke come out of one of the stacks. I started hammering away on the shutter, silently muttering prayers of thanks to the photo gods. According to writer Forrest Wilder, "Those brief "puffs" are due to the "rapping" units at Gulf Chem. It's an inherent part of the system there and allowed by TCEQ. A former executive with the company explained it to me."

I've found environmental stories to be some of the most challenging assignments I've had to shoot. Pollution is rarely something that can been seen with the naked eye, so it was a nice surprise.

The only real moment of drama was something that I had halfway expected and something that I'm unfortunately used to from working as an editorial photographer in Houston for the past five years. Whenever I pull over to the side of the road on a public thoroughfare to photograph a chemical or oil refinery, a plant security guard almost always drives out to where I am, parks behind my car, writes down my license plate number, and asks me a lot of questions. Even though what I'm doing is perfectly legal, it's their job to make it as uncomfortable an experience as possible. This time, I did have someone park behind me while I was photographing the plant from a different angle from what's in the tearsheet. However, he never got out and engaged me. It was, after all, drizzling and the air was thick with mosquitos.

I've added a couple of out-takes in the end. One is of a 84 year-old barber who has been cutting hair in the same building since the mid-1950's. He was born next door. Despite being downwind from Gulf Chemical since it's inception, he is completely healthy and has no complaints. The guy repairing nets is Tom, who owns and operates Tom's Net Shop. He spends his days repairing nets used for shrimping. I found it amazing that his job hadn't been replaced by machines.[gallery link="file"]

Tom Wood, Shrimp Net Repairman

I had a recent photo assignment that sent me down to Freeport, Texas, about an hour south of Houston, where I live. While the story I shot for is an important one (and will subsequently will be published this Friday), being back in Freeport brought back memories from ten years ago, when I was a staff photographer at The (Brazosport) Facts. At the time, most of what I shot was newspaper fare: car wrecks, parades, high school athlete portraits. I could sense there was a deeper narrative to the place, basically built from the ground up around World War II to help process magnesium for the war effort. From that industry sprouted dozens of chemical refineries throughout the area. This evolved side by side with the shrimping industry. While photographing the chemical refineries is something that is typically done from the side of the road (and even then, a photographer will be asked questions and have his license plate recorded by a plant security guard), the shrimp dock in Freeport is much more accessible. According to Tom Wood, of Tom's Net Shop, the canal where the shrimp boats dock used to overflow with hundreds of ships. The one shrimp processing facility, I was told, started making drastic cuts for the price it paid for shrimp, and a great deal of the shrimpers eventually started docking elsewhere. Now that there is new ownership at the processing facility, it's thought by Wood that the docks may someday revive to their former glory. I photographed Tom Wood at his net repair shop as well as a few other areas that looked compelling. I used a Hasselblad to force me to slow down and take a closer look at the area. I look forward to returning to the area soon to explore the dock and Freeport soon.

New tearsheet - Harvard Business Review

I was recently contacted by the Harvard Business Review to drive up to New Waverly, Texas to photograph gymnastics coaching legend Bela Karolyi. Few have the reputation for coaching champion gymnasts like Karolyi. I wasn't sure to expect, but in a way, it seemed like a pilgrimage. Many of my favorite Houston-based editorial photographers had, at one time or another, made the same drive out into the woods of the Sam Houston National Forest to document the silver-haired Hungarian. When I got there, a film crew from Yahoo was just wrapping up. The threesome told me they were traveling around the country interviewing athletic greats. Man, what a great gig that is. Then they asked me about living in Houston, and then moved on to wonder out loud why anyone would want to live anywhere other than Los Angeles. Being a media grunt, I could see his point. There is definitely more action on the coasts. But I digress.

I wasn't sure how much time I'd have with Bela, so I made sure to set up with a quickness. To say that the gymnasium was warm would be an understatement. By the time I was finished setting up for the first shot, I was drenched. I let the maintenance guy know I was ready for Bela. Two minutes later, he arrived by golf cart and strode over the padded gymnasium floor and asked me where I'd like him to stand. I didn't really have to give him much direction. I'm sure this was the 1,237th time he'd been photographed. He feel into a relaxed stance, and we got busy. I'm glad I did all the sweating for us.

The only restrictions I had were knowing that the final image would be black and white, and that the designer needed about 1/3 of the frame available for text. Being able to control the light indoors was a plus. We were the only people in there so I had all the lights turned off and could actually use my modeling lights, which I'm almost never able to do. Another plus was Karolyi's silver hair and mustache, which I knew if I lit well, would draw the eye right to his face.

Bela stood calmly while I sweated and worked the first set up. We eventually moved to a second set-up, the uneven bars, where I made a few more pictures. My personal favorite is the shot by the uneven bars. HBR liked the vertical shot.

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Carol Paul and the Ron Paul Cookbook

About a month ago, I received a phone call from my good pal Brandon Thibodeaux, a regular contributing photographer for The Wall Street Journal. He wanted to know if I wanted to shoot the video segment for a Wall Street Journal feature story on Carol Paul and the Ron Paul Cookbook. Having a chance to produce a video for The Wall Street Journal sounded like a great opportunity, so I accepted the challenge. The shoot took most of the day, with WSJ reporter Elizabeth Williamson talking with and helping Carol Paul make a couple of recipes in Paul's new kitchen. Mrs. Paul was very gracious and a real character. She was a real pleasure to interact with and record. The editing took about a month, mostly due to being slammed with other work. The fine editors at the WSJ were okay with it, though. In fact, they were instrumental in providing feedback with my edit. It was almost like getting paid to learn.

I also made a lot of progress in finding my way around Final Cut Pro X, Apple's newest version of their non-linear video editing program. It's completely different from Final Cut Pro 7, sometimes in good ways. Other times, in not so good ways. So there was a learning curve there.

Bring your appetites and check out the video below.

The Eagle Ford Shale

I took a trip last week through the Eagle Ford Shale drilling area of south Texas. I wanted to see the oil and gas boom in action and first hand. I met a few interesting folks along the way, including the two men I met in a Carrizo Springs, Texas barbecue joint - Wes Baucom, left, and Terry Vaughn. Both are from other towns in Texas and have been working in the oil fields for many years. [gallery link="file"]  

Christians, tattoos and Lent all wrapped up into one picture

From a fun portrait shoot I did a couple of days ago...  

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Tea Party - Better Late Than Never

During a massive cleaning of my office, I rediscovered some negatives from a self-assigned shoot to photograph a Tea Party rally in the summer of 2009 (I think) at a race track in Bay Town, Texas. Wanting to try something different, I rented a Hasselblad medium format camera and made the trek out to the rally. I seem to be attracted to the overt patriotism: flags and people dressed up as figures from American history, as well as a sense of the paranoia of a dystopian, socialist future that seems to drive much of the conversation at these events. Also to note: I shot a couple of different film stocks. One is chrome and the other was an expired batch of porta left over from grad school.[gallery]

Scenes from the Suburbs - Day 2

Another set of photos from behind the scenes of the making of the Arcade Fire/Spike Jonze film "Scenes from the Suburbs" can be found on my website here.  

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"Scenes from the Suburbs" - Day 1

In April, 2010, I had the opportunity to shoot the behind the scenes still images for the Arcade Fire/Spike Jonze production of the short film "Scenes from the Suburbs." The movie, screen-written by Arcade Fire, illustrates themes explored in their Grammy-winning album of the year, "The Suburbs."  

For five days, I shot a mix of Illford HP5 and Kodak Tri-X film using two Nikon F5 cameras to shoot the images that eventually were included in a booklet released with the DVD of the movie. The grain you see in the film is a result of "pushing" the film three stops in some cases. It effectively raises the ISO (sensitivity) of the film. The trade off is increased grain in the film. For this assignment, it seems to work well.

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To view images from the first day of shooting, check out the link to my website here.

Artist Jordan Sullivan at Peel Gallery

I recently had the pleasure of photographing artist Jordan Sullivan at Peel Gallery for Gloss, a fashion and lifestyle publication produced by the Houston Chronicle. Sullivan was a little shy in front of the camera, but I think it's this sensitivity that is a part of what makes him a successful artist. [gallery orderby="rand"]

It's Not Like Work

I spent the last five days attending the 2011 Multimedia Immersion at Syracuse University. During the week-long program, we learned the basics of creating and producing a short video using Canon 5D Mark ii cameras and various microphones. The experience opened up a new world for me. Situations that traditionally might not make for a very good photo package of stills now have the potential to become rich narratives through the additional elements of sound and motion.

Our stories were chosen literally out of a box. I chose a character story about Ed Patterson. He owns and operates a custom golf store in Syracuse, New York. I thank him and all the great teachers and new friends I made at the workshop for making the experience so memorable.

http://vimeo.com/24430173

April portraits

Hi folks,  

I have some portraits I made in the month of April, more or less, for your perusal. Thanks for looking and I hope you're enjoying the spring weather, especially in Houston.

Cheers,

Eric

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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

A few weeks ago, I had the honor to photograph Chitra Divakaruni for the Houston Chronicle. She is an award-winning author and poet who writes about women, immigration, the South Asian experience, history, myth, magic and diversity. She writes for adults and children, and her books have been translated into 20 languages. Born and raised in Calcutta, India, Divakaruni, 54, teaches creative writing at the University of Houston and lives in Sugar Land with her family.  

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Basketball hotshot Jenzel Nash

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing Jenzel Nash, the nation's leading scorer at 39.9 points a game. She was great to work with and needed very little direction. As a senior, she is sure to be rocking it in the NCAA very soon. The photos were made with a single 580EX strobe and a STS transmitter. The Pocket Wizards are in the shop, so it's been a good push to try and keep things simple.[gallery orderby="rand"]

Toni Hickman - Overcoming Obstacles

Toni Hickman, an Atlanta native, overcame two aneurisms to become an aspiring hip-hop artist. Doctors originally told her she would be in a wheelchair the rest of her life. Through her own efforts and the efforts of the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, she was able to beat the odds. We wanted a hip-hop feel, so we used the east-facing wall at Java Java Cafe in the Heights neighborhood of Houston. The owner was very accommodating and even let me use his AC outlet for my lights. Also, we had to shoot on what was probably the coldest day of the year, another testament to Toni's grit and determination underlying her beauty.

Natural light versus lit

Last month I had a couple of portrait assignments that contrasts how I work in different situations. In the first, the assignment was to photograph a long-haul trucker who was having trouble with his CDL license. Initially, I was told his truck would be at his residence. In fact, it was out at a yard that happened to be on federal property. For the moment, my lights are strictly AC powered although that is supposed to change soon. Instead, I had the blessing of a day with full sun, although clouds were slowly creeping in (at one point, we had to wait 45 minutes at a railroad crossing because his truck was just on the other side. Sometimes I really LOVE Houston...). I had him point his truck into the north so the grill would be in the shade. I then used a simple reflector to point the sun back into the shadow and photographed him with a 35mm/f1.4 lens. The next image was more controlled, but alas, the weather was crappy. I think it was Sam Abell who said bad weather makes good pictures. Because the sky was dark, it was a Saturday assignment and I had time and because I had a willing subject who was proud of his home, I was able to pull out some stops and practice my lighting. I lit the subject with a medium softbox from camera left and used a flood camera right to put a hard light on the side of his face and to also light up the house. Because I lit the scene, I was also able to create a more dramatic sky.

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