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My First Color Run
The Organization
Concept aside thoug
h, it was a fluid event and I understand and see how they have so many events around the world. All of the volunteers were assigned to either 1 of the 4 color zones, water detail, or the store. Each of the Color zones had station supplies organized in a packing crate and the volunteers help set up. Basically a few tarps for the color, mustard bottles, about 10 of the 10 ft. promotional flags, archway and a sounds system for music. Â Once the last person left the starting line, it was taken down and each zone was disassembled after the last group went through it. When I left my zone and walked to the finished the entire starting area was pretty much non-existent. They definitely have it to a science.
The Experience
I was blown away at how cheerful and motivated the people were running into the color zones getting color put all over them. I was blown away at some of the costumes and outfits that people enjoyed getting color all over. There was a smile and joy on almost every person. The goal of the run was nothing at all about the run, but getting color squirted at you. I recall in my zone particularly a point to where we were backed up and instead of running right through to finish the race, they basically lined up to make sure they got color on them. Organized chaos were the words that came to mind at that particular moment.
The Finale
Upon finishing the race there were about 4-5 arches with confetti and cheers that accompanied you when you entered it. I am sure that was a moment that you felt accomplished and to top it off, right by the finish line was a stage and open field that turned into a Color Throw Concert. Hundred of people jumping up and down to music with a entertainer counting down and when he gets down to “1”…
Well you know from there…
Masters 2014 Experience
First off, congratulations goes to Bubba Watson on his victorious win during this Masters. In other news though 2014 Â marked my 3rd year of working the Masters and I had a blast as usual. The organization and the people who put this on and even the people who come to just watch really make this tournament the best on the planet. The hospitality there is simply unmatched and the food is great as well.
I promised some pictures and here they are along with a short caption about how that picture represented The Masters:
Guiding Posts
All along the course are these signs which point to the “Big” important places that anyone would need to know and all the places that you want to see. They are an awesome guide.
Great MaintenanceÂ
The course always blows me away with how beautiful it is. The maintenance and upkeep that Augusta National Golf Course does is very in-depth and a heightened attention to detail. To support that claim will bring me to introduce the next photo.
The “Bee Line”
I call it the “Bee Line” they are a series of large tractors that mow the course daily after use at the Masters. I call it the “Bee Line” because they sound like bees and surprisingly low in sound even though they are huge. Another reason I call them the “Bee Line” is because they travel in a single file line until they get on the green or on an area they need to cut. Once they hit an area that needs to be cut they turn into this angular wave and cut the grass. It is a very impressive sight to see even though they are just cutting the grass.
Concessions
One of the places that has the highest satisfactions for YEARS on end at The Master’s is Concessions. People are time after time surprised at the quality of food and affordable the prices are. There are not usually any ridiculous wait times and everyone is polite and hospitable. This is a place that you will visit many times. My favorite item is the Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich. Other classic favorites year after year are the Pimento Cheese and the Egg Salad.
Seating
After you grab all the great items from concessions there are stands spread throughout the course to be able to sit and watch at certain spots along the course to enjoy all the players as they come through. You always though have an option to purchase lawn chairs and sit throughout the course, which is what a good number of people do.
One place that is a favorite is Amen’s Corner:
Amen’s Corner is a popular place to be. It is the most southern corner of the course with a small body of water that segregate it from the rest of the course.
Gary Player
One of the things I got to see that was different this year was Phil Mickelson, Gary Player, and Arnold Palmer in Amen’s Corner reminiscing about past Master’s and Memories of the course. This took place during the last practice round before the Tournament actually started. Here’s one of the shots of Gary player I managed to quickly get as he sped away on his Golf Cart…
I always enjoy going to the Masters and playing an integral part in the  entire Master’s  experience and I look forward to being apart of that experience Next Year, as long as they will have me.
Natalie Stovall and the Drive
Concert Photography… That is a tricky one as always… You have to deal not only with the low light and not using a flash, but on top of that you have these crazy colors going on at the same time… A few days ago I covered an event on Georgia Regents University called Jaguar Jam, which was an event focused around GRU Athletics and Homecoming. It was located at Christenberry Fieldhouse. Natalie Stovall was the entertainment for the night and she sang many songs that night that were incredible.
Natalie definitely was a great singer and I really enjoyed how she kept the crowd’s energy up as well.
Since I had to shoot without a flash I had to push that ISO and utilize some noise reduction in post. I shot it with my go to lens, a 70 – 200mm f/2.8, since there was a stage and I didn’t want to go through the process of getting all the way to the front in other people’s way.
For me with concert photography it is very difficult to get consecutive good shots because you usually will get one of two things: An Actions shot of them singing or A flattering picture of them dancing or singing. There are many things that hinders that shot from their microphone placement and other like interesting variables that have them covering their face or instrument.
I ended up with only half the photos I shot. I definitely like some of the photo results I got and overall satisfied with my performance at the event.
I will definitely be doing concert photography more often. (if I can) Definitely a challenge.
TEDx Telfair Street :: MATTER!
I had the amazing pleasure to cover an event Downtown called TEDx Telfair Street. If you are familiar with TED Talks, TEDx simply means that it was independently organized and setup by a third party. The event took place Friday January 31, 2014 and I covered the event photography.
There were amazing speakers that talked about truly interesting things that is meant to spark ideas and action into the viewers and the minds of those that watched. The theme of the event is MATTER. All of the speakers here that are speaking fall into 4 categories:
- Education
- Message
- Creativity
- You
Exercising to KEEP you going
Exercising by way of music or dance is by no means a new or revolutionary concept, but it is definitely a way to motivate yourself to continue exercising when you get discouraged or don’t feel like exercising. I personally have done structured exercising programs like Shaun T’s Insanity that are great at pushing you to exercise. Recently I took pictures at an International Festival at Georgia Regent University put on by the Jaguar Production Crew and they featured a local Zumba group that danced to about 7 songs back to back and it seemed like a great cardio exercise that a lot of people seemed to enjoy. I personally have never done Zumba, but I know there are loads of people who do it and see results. Photographing them on stage though required me to use a faster shutter speed since, in Zumba, they are moving pretty fast. Find something that gets you active like music or a video and do exercise to it other than the normal day to day things to keep you exercising.
While I was at the festival I also made a neat Auto Awesome Video that I will include in this post for your pleasure of watching that includes a good bit of Zumba footage and how everyone enjoyed it as well.
