Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Shooting from a helicopter over NYC


Tonight I had another great opportunity to take my photography to new heights...literally. I was shooting another ad for the Lexar "Focused on Photographers" campaign. This time I was harnessed to a helicopter (with the doors removed) and shooting the Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Vincent LaForet while he was shooting photos of New York City. We hovered at 1300 feet over the Empire State Building at sunset and also flew over to the Statue of Liberty to shoot there as well. It was cold and windy, but very fun!

Before getting on the helicopter, we put on our harnesses and prepared all the camera equipment. I carried two camera bodies with different lenses since it is not advisable to change lens or memory cards in an open helicopter above the city (I actually did change one 16GB card - holding it in my teeth and them handing back to the assistant in the chopper). We were in the air for about an hour, from just before sunset until dark. If you haven't ever done this, I recommend it. :)


I actually prefer flying over New York as opposed to driving through it. The sites are better and there aren't any people in your way.

Taken after we landed, this is the assistant, myself, Vincent LaForet and the pilot.

My favorite part of the trip was after we landed and I called home to check in with the family. My daughter, Ali, answered the phone and after I said hello, she said "Hold on dad", put the phone down, and yelled "DADS ALIVE!!!!". :)

Sunday, October 5, 2008

San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots


It has been a long time since I have been to a SF 49ers game. Most of my friends who played for the team have since retired and I have not had much interest in returning to Candlestick Park. But since I had a chance to photograph the game on the field, I made the return trip. It was a perfect day to shoot, the weather was exceptional (especially for San Francisco) and this was the day that they retired Steve Young's jersey. Since I have never been a huge fan of Steve Young (long story), I didn't care much about seeing him, but it was great to see Keena Turner, Brent Jones, Junior Bryant and other old friends. The fans were thrilled to see Jerry Rice on the side lines for most of the game.


The 49ers played well but could not pull off a win against the Tom Brady-less Patriots. A couple of key turnovers and spotty defense didn't help. But, hey, at least the photographic opportunities were there for the taking.




To see more pictures from the game, you can go to:

http://www.jeffcable.com/sf49ers