Nicaragua

I just got back from yet another photo excursion--this time to Jinotepe, Nicaragua.

Back in the fall my good friend Ashley Auman went with her cousin to this orphanage in Diriamba, Nicaragua to help out with medical stuff. After going down, they realized that while the need for medical attention was pretty severe, more importantly the orphanage and ministry were just plain out of money. As soon as Ashley hit the ground back in the States, I got a call. Being a science person, Ashley doesn't know much about photos or storytelling. So that's where I fit in.

I had a main project that I wanted to accomplish--following a girl, Maria Castillo and her family that have overcome some really hard times and now the girl is in med school. Maria's family couldn't afford the cost but the group I was with funded her first year. The project will hopefully open up opportunities for her, and for other people in her situation. It's so great to see people like Maria strive for every single learning opportunity down there, while kids here in the States just complain about it (not excluding myself).

Link to the photo essay

I also shot a ton around the community and came up with a lot of stuff I enjoy looking at, but don't necessariy fit into the story line of Maria and her family.

While we were down there, we did a lot of work with a school that essentially serves as an orphanage called, La Quinta Esparanza, that is led by two American missionaries. Their ministry is absolutely huge--everywhere you look they have another project going on.

Something about Nica light is just awesome. Golden hour is phenomenal and lasts forever, great sunsets every night, and no interior lights mixed with windows with satin draped across them serve as a softbox in every room. This single is the cook of the orphanage watching the children be fed after Sunday school.

This single was shot at a child protection center called El Aydante in Léon, Nicaragua. The center not only provides a place for the kids that live there to play, but for all of the community members as well. Here are a few interacting and playing.

New York City

Just got back to the south after a week up in New York City visiting Jeyhoun Allebaugh and helping assist on a few photo shoots. While I didn't walk away with anything absolutely stunning photographically, I walked away with a bunch of knowledge, plus had a great time exploring the city.

This one was shot while hoofin' it across the Manhattan Bridge on my way to Brooklyn, shortly after being stuck in the middle of Chinatown during a main Chinese New Year celebration. Check out my Flickr for a few more photos, including some stuff from Madison Square Gardens.

Fortunately, I made it out of the city just as the snow began to get a little too much and made it back to North Carolina. Look out for a post in two weeks from after I get back from Nicaragua, where I am photographing a family that were exiled by the government into a slum in Jinotepe with a daughter trying to go to medical school.

Indoor Track

The good ol' Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachian State boasts not only a full sized arena that seats nearly 10,000 people, it also houses one of the worst indoor tracks I have ever seen. The outer rink of the arena that generally is just to get around to the different sections doubles as a track. The surface appears horrible to run on, there is no seating or room to stand, and best of all, ambient exposure is only 1/125, f/2.8 at ISO 1600.

Out come the strobes.

This was shot at 1/500, f/4.5, ISO 1600. Much better. The classic 1D provided the 1/500th sync speed. Two SB-28s bounced off the walls on PocketWizard Multimaxes.

Sledding off the Parkway

With the huge dumps of snow in the Boone area over the past few weeks, lots of snow fun has ensued. In protest of Valentine's day cliches, Casey and I joined another couple in a day of sledding. Tons of kids, Floridians in high heels, and stuck cars were out for the day. I have not seen such a high concentration of happiness in a very long time.

Technical details: Canon 1D, 300 f/4

Article in Free Hub Magazine

I've been working recently with mountain biker Daniel Sapp to put together a rider bio for Free Hub Magazine. We did two shoots last week in the High Country area with tons of hiking. Free Hub does two annual print issues of about 200 pages, with that nice thick paper, and then a monthly online magazine, with the identical lay out as print. Pretty cool idea, looks like they are doing it right too. This is currently the "article of the week" and come the turn of the month it will go in the online edition, and then in the print edition in the spring.

Thanks to D-Sapp for the hook up and the talented riding!

Technical Details:

1.) Canon 1D, Tamron 17-35, 2 SB-28's on Pocketwizards

2.) Canon 20D, Canon 50 1.4, 2 SB-28's on Pocketwizards

3.) Canon 20D, Tamron 17-35, Natural light

Movie Review Portrait

Yesterday I shot a portrait of friend and co-worker Ben Hostetter for a story he is doing about the new movie Avatar. This is in an on campus movie theater with a strobe at a 45 degree angle to the subject with a blue gel, then one directly in front of him with a fancy new bubble wrap diffuser I made.

Apparently movies such as Avatar are causing depression because people become so disappointed that their lives are not the fantasy that Avatar is. Wow.

Personal Day (shooting)

Today long-time partner in gnarly crime Chris Davis and I went for a little photo shoot. We ended up in his friend's back yard in Oregon Hill, Richmond, VA with this tiny little dirt jump track, so we shot for an hour and hung out. Crazy little spot; it felt kinda like a scene from Hallowed Ground with a skate ramp in the middle of the metal shacks of Rio de Janerio.

It got dark quick so the flashes came out, good times.

New Site, New Opportunities

Over Christmas break I made a list for my self, on that list I have applications, new website, and play disc golf. I've yet to play disc golf but the rest is done. Check out the new site, let me know what you think!

Tommy Penick Photo

On another note, back in early December I frantically applied for Sports Shooter Academy VII in Southern California, scheduled for April. This thing is a week of workshops, shooting sports, with the biggest names in sports photography. It was a long shot getting in, and I think I applied a bit too late. However, I heard back the other night that I'm in--SoCal here I come. Check out the Academy's site. I'm beyond stoked.

New Blog

I have rejected, refused, and resisted the ideas of blogging since its debut into social and professional networking in the past few years. However, I have finally come to realize that there is no way I am going to be reworking flash galleries on my site every time I want to show some work.

I'm not going to try to tell the world how it should function, attempt to share knowledge on a subject I don't know, or tell everyone I'm going to the grocery store (I guess that's Twitter)--I'm just posting photos, updates, and maybe how I shot the photos. If there is a hilarious or interesting story that went with it, then maybe I will share just a little.

Hope that ya'll will take a look at some photos, feel free at any time to email me!