Spring is here on the River

All the sudden I'm noticing green on trees and fisherman on the banks of the Chattahoochee. It's been sometime since I have posted, and to my 4 followers, I apologize. I just wanted the chance to observe the season and appreciate it. April rains got here a bit early, but I'm sure when we are in the middle of July heat we'll be wishing for this weather once more. I hope the seasons changing will bring more life out to the River. Please let me know in an email if you have an event or know of something interesting going on around the Riverwalk. I'd love to be there if I can.

Riverrails

I know..I know...It has been awhile since I've posted. But here I am, and I have documented proof of your tax dollars hard at work down by the Riverwalk. I stumbled into City Street Department workers Robert Ivey, Gregory Brown, James Hutchins and Nate Harp painting the handrails and gates along the Riverwalk yesterday and I think they were glad to see me and have someone there documenting them working. In these economic times I think everyone wants their employer to see they are diligent. Thanks for being cool with me guys while you worked.

Sweeping landscape on the Riverwalk

I'm teaching a basic photography workshop for CSU downtown and I wanted to highlight a student's work since it was the Riverwalk.(and well done in my opinion) Kyle Brengel took this image at 1/250 sec, f/ 9.0, 100 ISO, with a 21mm lens. Double click on the image to see it large. I teased him and asked if he had paid two small boys to put bright red t-shirts on and run down the stairs, but he didn't. It's just really a perfect slice of life downtown with not to mention clouds that seems to move off your computer screen and into your world. I wish I could highlight all my student's work here. I've really been blessed with a talented batch from all walks of life. Remember you can send me your photos of the Riverwalk and who knows, maybe they'll end up on here for everyone to see. More posts coming sooner then you think.

Sunshine on the Riverwalk makes us all happy

Sunday was a great day for being outdoors, and if I had no other assignments I think I could have found a dozen or more feature photos from all the life on the Riverwalk. Alas, I had other obligations, but here are a few moments I managed to catch before I had to run off. Sam Stapleman trys to walk while balancing his daughter, Hanna, 3, and pulling her bike along with her brother's, Samuel, 4, not pictured, after a long day of biking along the Riverwalk Sunday. Poor Dad. I saw these two going south at first and Dad was pushing Hanna on the bike only she was asleep on the handlebars. I could get there from where I was to make a photo, but I was blessed when they decided to pack it up for the day and return to their car.
Here is Rafael Yance , 7, from Colombia South America learning to skateboard with a determined look to shred. Below you can see his friend Christian Zuluaica, 6, as he carves it up moments before crashing. Don't worry he got up, dusted himself off and laughed as he raan back up to do it again.



Angela Zuluaica, 13, shares a moment with her friend, Tatiana Yance, 11, as she helps her navigate up a hill.
Alexandra Burden and Adam Douglas share a laugh while taking advantage of the summer like weather Sunday on a patch of grass along the Riverwalk. For those of you who have tried to shoot people you don't know in a candid fashion, I'm sure you know how tough it is. As a newspaper photographer it is something I deal with on a daily basis. How does one get the image and not look suspect while doing it?

I've found the best method is to show how humble and/or silly you're willing to be to make such a photo. In this case, I calmly (the key word) walked maybe 20 feet off at an angle to Alexandra and Adam and laid flat on the grass. I made probably 30 frames before they even realized I was there. And when they did notice me, they smiled. I think your willingness to get on someone's physical level or simply be relaxed in your approach, unarms them a bit and says "Hey, I'm here to have fun too."

When I was a residential counselor I remember learning how important it was to be able to read a person's body language to do my job. Well, I guess it works both ways. We're always communicating to others without speaking. Question is: What is your body language saying to others?

Back in the saddle again

Well, I'm back. For those who are wondering, my surgery went well. The pain is all just a memory and after a good bit of physical therapy I'll look forward to hiking again in the spring. I was able to catch a few photos of the last legs of fall along the Riverwalk yesterday, but I wanted to let you know something else as well. I'm looking at developing a new blog (of a subject matter I will announce in the future) and am uncertain if I will keep this one up or retire it. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions so please email me here or at sszwarc@ledger-enquirer.com. I will try to post with more frequency since I am back, so stay in touch for new cool developments on the horizon. There might be an opportunity or two to learn a little along the way, but I'm saying too much already.

Not the last photo you'll see from me

I just wanted the three loyal viewers I have to know I'll be going out for surgery on my leg next week and won't be able to post for awhile. I wanted to take this time to say thank you to those who have shared their comments and more importantly those who have shared their lives. I'll be sitting on a couch catching up on my "need to see" movie list, but I'll be itching to get back to shooting as soon as possible. So, just to let you know, this is not the last photo you'll see from me.

Pictures of pitchers

This may have little or nothing to do with the Riverwalk, although I could argue that you can see South Commons(where I made these) from the Riverwalk, but I wanted to share them with you. Columbus' Chandler Padgett, Northside's Haley Love and Melanie Trevathan, and Hardaway's Courtney Darr are considered the best fastpitch softball pitchers in the area. They were really fun to work with and were even willing to be silly as you see from the outtake. The lighting technnique was one light directly above me and stopping down the shutter speed to allow for the bold blue sky in the back. I will be posting more lit portraits hopefully in the future and possibly other projects. Until then...