SB900

Sorry to have been such a flake on the blog lately. Life got pretty weird at the mother ship (the day job) in the last few months and it has completely taken the wind out of me. I have no idea if it is the start of something good, or the continuation of a very slow boil, to which, in the end, I find I am a lobster in a pot.

While I have neglected the blog, I have not neglected my personal and free lance work, and I am very excited to show you all, i.e. my parents and two other people who read this, what I have been up to.

First, and maybe the most recent is that the blog past its first anniversary last month. Not really a milestone in my opinion, but it ties into what happen just a few weeks ago.

If you hit the back button on the blog enough times, you will see I started the blog right about the same time I journeyed down to Paso Robles to help my friend, fellow Canonista, and mad man Syl Arena, for the start of his workshop series. His first instructor was Joe McNally, and it was my pleasure to assist him during the workshop. You can catch up here, here and here if you are new to the whole story.

A month ago, a similar situation presented itself. I heard that Joe would be in my neck of the woods, in the fine capital of California, Sacramento. He was in town to teach for the Kelby Seminars, and I wanted to catch up again. I was very fortunate that Joe not only said yes, but let me be second assistant for the day.
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(Editors note: I have been so busy this post is a bit late, but I don’t think you would hold it against me.)

So day 4 in the Paso Robles Workshops has wrapped up and the students are working on their images for the critic for the next day. Just when you think the locations and the models can’t get any better, Syl pulls day 4 out of the hat and the students, myself, and Joe were very impressed.

The first part of the day began as always, with a critique of the previous days work. I haven’t really talk much about the process, but each student brings in 5-10 images from their work from the day before. Their work is presented in front of class and Joe’s gives his thoughts and opinions, as well as the students. This is not really a time to shine, as much as it is a time to work through problems and talk about successes. Joe encourages the students to bring in failures as much as the great images that they are shooting. When I took my first workshop from Joe, I didn’t really understand the logic behind showing the failed images, but now I do. There is so much more to learn by what went wrong than what went right. Even though I didn’t get to shoot that much, because I am working, I found that I may have learned more than if I was in the workshop myself.

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So we did so much at the Paso Robles photo workshops with Joe McNally yesterday, that I didn’t have time to post anything from Day 2, and now it is Day 3. But that is just how it is here in Paso Robles, time flies when you are using TTL and speedlights. Syl Arena continues to impress the students and myself with the amenities of the workshop.

On Day 2, Syl took us to the depths of an abandoned warehouse that was used to process almonds some 50 years ago. Now it is filled with pigeons and enough pigeon crap to start a fertilizer farm, but great texture and graffiti all over. With so much space and interesting places to shoot from, the students had free range to roam all over the building and not get into each other’s way. The conditions did not phase a single person, even the models, which were top notch the entire time.

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So I made it to Paso Robles in one piece. CHP locked on to me a few times, but my radar detector kept me safe. I must be the only person of my generation that does not own a GPS, but has a radar detector, in a HONDA ELEMENT.

This is my life and that is why I came down to Paso Robles.

I am down here helping out Syl Arena as he hosts the first, of soon to be many, workshops in Paso Robles. The first intructor is the great Joe McNally. He did a great day of demoing gear and lighting situations for the students. I have seen Joe do something similar several times at workshops and Photoshop World, and every time I see him do it, it is different and I take away so much. The students are buzzing after the demo and are ready to go on Tuesday, the first day they get to shoot.

While the title may suggest something sinister about the town of Paso Robles, it is anything but. The people of Paso Robles are so nice and have treated us so well. I can see why Syl lives here. An amazing place to photograph and live.

Joe McNally and his Really Right Stuff equipped tripod.

I also had time to run down to San Louis Obispo after the demos were done and hit Really Right Stuff. If you are looking for great, and the best solutions for tripod heads and plates you can’t go wrong. I have a review of their mid-range head in the works.

Going to bed and getting ready for day 2.

M.D.