International Photography Award Winner!

For the last 20 years I have refrained from entering photography contests. I am not sure why, but it was just something I didn't do. I think the main reason was that I saw so many other photographer's images and thought that mine just would not hold up to that standard. 

This year I decided to enter a couple of the largest photo competitions to see what would happen, and as it turns out, I am getting some nice recognition for my work. Earlier in the year, I was selected as one of the Sports Photographers of the Year and then this week I was notified that I took second place in the International Photography Awards. 

Interestingly enough, it was the same image taken of a skateboarder at the Paris Summer Olympics that has garnered the most attention. I did have four other images take Honorable Mentions in this latest competition. 

Looking at all the winners from these competitions makes me feel incredibly honored, as there are some incredible images capture by some really talented artists out there. But I am very happy to be included in this group.

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I am really honored to be a winner in this year's World Sports Photography Awards

A couple of months ago I was asked to submit some of my images to the World Sports Photography Awards. I know this may sound weird to many of you, but I never really enter contests. After some coaxing by my friend, I decided that I would throw some images out there to see if they would be considered.

More than 2200 professional sports photographers from over 96 countries around the world submitted more than 13000 images to this year’s competition, and there were some unbelievable images that made me feel like an amateur. 

I looked through the list of finalists and was blown away. I figured that there was no way I would stand out in this crowd!

You can see all the winners here: https://www.worldsportsphotographyawards.com/winners-and-shortlists-per-year/winners

I felt very honored this morning when I heard that this photo of mine won an award. It was one of my favorites from the Summer Olympics in Paris.

I took this photo with my Canon R5 Mark II camera and the Canon RF 70-200mm lens with the following settings:

* ISO 320

* f/8

* 1/2500th sec

Congratulations to all the other winners who captured some unbelievably amazing photos, and thanks for reminding me that I still have a lot to learn too.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• You can now purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Costa Rica, Peru, Galapagos, Alaska and more. 

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Memorial Day at the Golden Gate National Cemetery

This morning I made a visit to the Golden Gate National Cemetery for Memorial Day. 

It always daunting to be in a military cemetery with 145,000 grave stones. On this weekend every year, they decorate each stone with an American flag. Families also come to pay their personal respect for those who served in our armed forces.

I have been to this cemetery numerous times in the past, but this year I made it in time for the ceremony. The San Bruno fire department had their ladder truck flying the American flag in the background.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the Coast Guard did a fly-by over the site. I slowed the shutter of my camera (to make sure that I did not freeze the helicopter rotors), and waited for the chopper to fly by the ladder.

Since I know many people will ask me about the settings for getting the helicopter shot, I had the camera set to ISO 50, aperture set to f/22, which gave me a shutter speed of 1/30th second. I panned with the chopper as it passed by. This shows the spin of the rotors, which is much more visually appealing than freezing them in place.

I walked up the hill to show the crowd and part of the expansive cemetery in the background.

Since I have photographed this cemetery many times and posted in the past, I decided to keep the shutter slow (showing the movement of the flags) to capture this differently from the past. 

As I was leaving, I spotted this by one of the stones. I thought it was interesting and worth a photo. 

As all of you are enjoying your barbecues, I hope that you take a moment to think about the people who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. 

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• You can now purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa Costa Rica and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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UCSF Hospital Prom - Getting back to Pre-pandemic festivities

Last week was the annual UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Prom, and once again I was thrilled to be a volunteer at this amazing event. If you have been following the blog for the last 10 years, you will likely have seen my post from this event in April of each year. Well...the pandemic changed that over the last 3 years, as they moved to online prom and other activities.  As you can imagine, these kids are more susceptible to infection and diseases, so protecting them from COVID was even more critical than for the average person.  But, the in-person prom is back once again!

This year was the first in-person prom since 2019, and it was still scaled back a little, as a cautious restart. Normally they would have many of the San Francisco 49ers show up to party with the kids, and that did not happen this year. But the dancing and festivities were back and the kids were thrilled to be there.

Now I will share some of my favorite photos from the prom.

Before the kids arrived, I checked out the decorations and met some of the other volunteers. They had a roving magician, so I had him play with his cards in front of the decor, for fun and to determine the best exposure settings for this area.

ABC was there to interview some of the kids. I caught some of that in camera. You can see the ABC piece HERE. And yes, you can spot me a couple of times in the background.

It is always inspirational to see these kids who are battling so much, let loose and have fun for a night.

I even got to hang out with Johnnie the therapy dog. 

There were definitely less people on the dance floor (and less boys) this year, but everyone had a ton of fun.

The caricaturists were a big hit with the kids.

And I think the caricaturists were having as much fun as the their subjects.  

For this shot, I got down low and put the one young lady in between one of the ring lights.

Many of the attendees got their outfits and makeup done by volunteers. 

And yes, it would not be a prom without selfies.

They raffled off a bunch of cool prizes, including Apple AirPods, a Nintendo Switch, cool headphones and gift cards. 

I love the smiles.

For the whole night, the roving magician was working his magic (pun intended). 😀

It was fun capturing the reactions of the kids.

The prom always includes in-patient and former patients, this year was more of the former patients.

You will see one of my remote lights in the background. I used three flashes for this prom. Two of them were on light stands and one was diffused (with a MagMod Sphere) on my cameras. 

Here is the camera equipment I used for the night:

* Canon R6II

* Canon R3

* Canon RF 24-70 f/2.8

* Canon RF 15-35mm

* Canon RF 70-200 f/2.8  

As I have done every year in the past, I waited for all the kids to return to their hospital rooms or be picked up by their parents, and I took a photo of the hospital volunteers. I then rushed off to get home to recharge all my equipment for my full day shoot on Saturday. As tired as I was, I knew that this was nothing compared to what these kids go through on a daily basis.

I hope that you are as inspired by these youngsters as I am.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• You can now purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa Costa Rica and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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We are not just photographers, we are historians

I am writing this blog at 4am, since I am not able to sleep. Yesterday I spent the first half of the day at a funeral. Not for someone who was elderly and had lived a good long life, but for an 18 year old who's life ended way too soon. I have photographed for this family for more than 10 years and it has really hit me hard. This is now the third kid that I have photographed who has past away, and all three of those happened in the most tragic ways. 

I am not writing this to depress all of you, I am writing this because, as I processed images for the funeral it reaffirmed how important these photos are. For the last 15 years I have told people that I don't just think of myself as a photographer, I see myself as a historian. This was just reinforced this week. 

When I heard about the passing of this brilliant young man, I waited a couple of days and then reached out to the family to see if I could help in any way. I know that these photos are important to the family and that it is my way to help. Being a photographer who has every image I have ever captured (on multiple QNAP NAS drives), I offered to go back and find the best photos from past events. Over the last 11 years I have photographed four bar/bat mitzvah, family portraits, a baby naming and more for them. 

Since I have the Canon Pro-4100 large format printer, I offered to print poster sized images for the service. I heard back from the family that they would love to have these. Then came the hard part. I poured through thousands of photos taken as far back as 2013, and it was really sad. I saw this smiling boy, full of energy, who is now no longer with us. 

I tell people that I have the best job in the world because 99% of the time I am capturing happy occasions, athletes competing at the Olympics, and taking people to exotic places around the world. But over the last couple of days I saw my job as a photographer in a less glamorous light.

This time I saw the fragility of life, but also saw the immense power of the photos. As sad as it is, it is also a way for us to remember this young man. Yes, I was hired by the family, but is still my gift to them. When I photograph events (no matter what they are), I pour my heart and soul into that. It is not just a job, it is a chance to create memories, to be creative, and to record history.

People often ask me why I always shoot my images to two memory cards at a time. The first time I was asked this, I responded by saying that in the most important moments, I want to make sure I have those photos. I was thinking of the Olympics when I said that. But then I thought "but just about everything I photograph is important to someone." When I capture a personal event, those images are very important to that family. Arguably more important to them than any Olympics I have ever taken. Even when I am messing around and taking photos of my granddaughter playing in the back yard, those are incredibly important to me.

I am not going to post images of the any of these kids, since I want to honor the privacy of those families, but I do want to share this photo with you.

This is a photo of my mother. It was taken 14 years ago, and it was the one of the last photos I captured of her before she unexpectedly passed away. It was way back then that I realized the importance of a photo, and the responsibility of a photographer. And it is for that reason that I take every photo job so seriously (but in a fun way). What we do is important! As photographers, we need to remember this every time we pick up our cameras.

At the service yesterday they said that the young man loved math and physics and he loved to talk about rainbows and why they occur. They ended the service by saying, whenever you see a rainbow, think of him.

Not more than an hour after the service, I was out for a walk and saw this. It is a simple iPhone shot, but the meaning is far greater than the overall quality of the photo. I definitely thought of him.

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• Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!

• You can now purchase Jeff Cable Photography images from my new fine art site at: https://fineart.jeffcable.com/

• If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.

• Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa Costa Rica and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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Memorial Day Photos: San Francisco National Cemetery

Today is Memorial Day and I thought it would be appropriate to pay my respect to those who have made it possible for us to have our freedom. I looked back and found some of my older images from the National Cemetery in San Francisco (from a blog post I did ten years ago) and also have added some new photos that I took yesterday. 

The first two photos were taken back in 2013. It was the first time that I visited the cemetery after the volunteers has placed flags in front of all 32,000 tombstones. 

For this image, I used a fish-eye lens to capture the flags at the entry of the cemetery.

On my previous visit I was there on Memorial Day and had a chance to photograph some of the military who were in attendance.

Yesterday the cemetery was mostly empty. Since I had just finished shooting an event, I had many of my cameras and lenses to choose from. I decided to use my Canon R3 with the Canon RF 70-200mm lens. I got down low to capture the flags and show the repeating pattern of the endless headstones.

I also looked for graves that had been visited. I shot from a standing position...

...and also got down low to highlight the tribute. 

I did not just take photos. I also walked around and fixed some of the flowers and flags that had fallen over and took time to read many of the names of the fallen.

As I walked around, I was looking for repeating patterns in the background. I took this photo at f/3.5 to have the first stone in perfect focus, but let all the stones in the background go out of focus. This photo highlights the name and information.

For this photo, I waited for the wind to blow the flag in the foreground, and focused on that. I took this photo at f/5 to have both the flag and the stone in focus.

There are some military who are buried with flat headstones at grass level (like you can see in the first photo). I got down low to the grass to highlight only the repeating pattern of the flags. 

After spending an hour or so in the cemetery, I was about to leave when I saw these geese walking through the grounds. I saw these two that were walking towards the flags and waited to take photos until they got close.  It almost looks like they are paying their respects.

I got back in my car and was driving out when I saw this goose walking. I lowered my passenger window and framed my shot, and just as I did, it took off. I like that this is a different view within these hallowed grounds, with a little bit of life amongst the fallen. 

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Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
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If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours. 

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My Olympic work featured in local magazines

It is always an honor to be written up in a magazine or newspaper, and I am really excited about this new article since it highlights my Olympic work. This was published last week in numerous magazines in the area. The writer did a really nice job of capturing my story. I hope you enjoy it!

Behind the scenes with Jeff Cable, independent photographer for Team USA

BY MARIA GRUSAUSKAS

 

When asked what his favorite sport is to photograph, Jeff Cable, Olympic Team USA’s only

independent photographer, answered within a shutter speed’s thousandth of a second: “Anything different.”

Cable is a rare breed of photographer whose niche is that he doesn't have one. Beyond the Olympics, there are lizards in Tanzania to capture, exotic tree frogs in Costa Rica, Bay Area bar mitzvahs and events, portraiture for corporate clients like YouTube and Facebook, and so much more—and he loves shooting it all.

“I don’t give a [hoot] what I’m shooting, as long as I’m doing it right,” says Cable, who grew up in San Francisco and is currently

based in Saratoga. “For me, it’s just a general overall passion for photography.”

He’ll never forget the first time he shot bobsledding, for instance. “It was incredible," Cable says. "And so much fun to challenge myself and figure out how to shoot it.”

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Cable shot 26 different sports. Yet he still has fun shooting water polo or ice hockey again and again, the primary sports he has been photographing at the Olympics since 2008.

“I like to challenge myself to shoot everything differently than I did in previous years. Whether it’s the technology getting better, or me getting better at shooting, taking more risks to get a shot, that’s what

drives me. I want to push myself. I don’t want to get stagnant,” he says via Zoom on the 100-day countdown to the pandemic- delayed 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo— his seventh as a photographer.

“To be around some of the best athletes in the world, it’s just such an honor,” says Cable.

As the team photographer he’s in the unique position of being, well, a member of the team. “As a photographer, you’re really a historian,” he says of his approach to his work. “Whether it’s a bar mitzvah or the Olympics.”

Capturing history at the Olympics may be a lot of fun, but it’s also “a ton of work.” While all of us at home get to relax on the couch, Cable gets texts from his friends and family, “I’m watching you on TV!”

as he works from 9am to 3am for three weeks straight, on 14-minute deadlines.

“So if I shoot a game and I’ve got 1,000 images, I have 14 minutes to find the best ones, retouch and resize them and get them back to the U.S. They want it fast. But I relish the challenge,” says Cable, who is sponsored by Canon, and has access to the highest-tech equipment and fastest memory cards around today. He also takes his Olympics-paced work ethic and seriousness with him to all of his jobs, usually getting clients their photo galleries by noon the next day.

In the little downtime that he has, Cable blogs from the Olympics on his website, showing hundreds of thousands of his followers behind- the-scenes snapshots and well- written stories about unforgettable Olympic moments, like seeing the U.S. women’s hockey team win a gold medal against Canada in Pyeongchang—an event he reveals as his number-one bucket list item since he began photographing the Olympics.

“Those girls were out there celebrating until the lights were turned off,” Cable, who celebrated out on the ice with them, recalls.

“I’m one of those lucky people," says Cable. "I just love what I do."

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Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
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If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
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Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours. 

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Two new videos: Interview with Steve Wozniak and a tutorial video on fill flash

I have added two new videos to my YouTube channel this week. 

The first video is the interview with Steve Wozniak (the inventor and founder of Apple) which was recorded last Thursday afternoon. We had so many people that some were not able to connect up with us live. Luckily the entire segment was recorded. 

It was a rare chance for people to see Woz in an informal setting, sharing his stories about the early days of digital imaging and more. 

You can click on the image above to watch the video. I know you will enjoy it. 

WHEN YOU ARE ON THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL, DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE!

The second video is much shorter but briefly explains how and why I use my flash when shooting portraits outside in daylight. 

You can click on the image above to watch this video.  

I hope you find both the videos entertaining and informative.

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Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
__________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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Two BIG announcements for next week!

Next week I have two really BIG events to share with you all. 

On Tuesday, the 22nd at 5pm (Pacific time) I will be presenting a class on wildlife photography for Creative Photo Academy (virtually of course). I will be speaking about camera settings, composition and other tricks to help you capture incredible images for yourself. I will be sharing images from Africa, Costa Rica, India and here at home, to help you learn how I captured them.

You can sign up for the class here: https://creativephotoacademy.com/events/jeff-cable-wildlife/

And then on Thursday, the 24th at 1pm...

...I will be hosting another Zoom Get Together. This one has a VERY special guest, none other than STEVE WOZNIAK! It's true, The Woz is going to be on live with us. Not only did he create Apple Computer, he is also a good friend and had a huge influence on my photography career. Yes, it was Woz who gave me my first digital cameras and inspired me to capture images in my life. We will share that story and talk about technology, digital cameras and answer your questions.

If you have not signed up to be on the Zoom calls, you can do so here: https://bit.ly/3c86Jmc

Once you have signed up, I will add you to the list and email you the Zoom invitation.

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Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
__________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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Purchase prints and support an amazing charity!

I have contributed a print to support NYC SALT's mission to help raise funds to ensure that high school students at NYC Salt continue to receive college guidance and creative development during this pandemic time where the students are isolated and at even more of a disadvantage.

My image for sale at the NYC SALT print event

Please visit https://printsbysalt.com/ to support the cause and browse many of the beautiful prints by professional artists.

NYC salt uses a camera as a tool to build futures. The program combines art education, college preparation, 1:1 mentorship, career exploration, internships, and job placement. It’s a one-stop resource for our students who are immigrants, from low-income families and primarily young women of color who dream to enter the creative industry in NYC. 

It is truly a great cause!!


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Subscribe to the Jeff Cable Photography Blog by clicking HERE!
__________________________________________________________________________
If you are interested in purchasing ANY equipment, please click here to go to B&H Photo, as I get a referral from them if you enter this way. It does not change the cost to you in any way, but it helps me keep this blog up and running.
__________________________________________________________________________
Check out my upcoming photo tours to amazing places around the world. I have photo tours to Africa, Costa Rica, Europe, Asia, India and more. And Canon will loan you any gear you want for FREE for any of my tours.

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