Photographing the Monster Jam

I photographed something new this weekend, the Monster Jam at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cleveland Photographic Society arranged for it's members to photograph the event. We were given Media Passes and were able to go down on the arena floor and get some up close shots of the Monster Trucks. We had the floor to ourselves for a little while but before we knew it, swarms of kids and their parents joined us on the floor to meet the drivers and get their autographs. During the show, thanks to our Media Passes we were allowed to roam around the Arena and get photos from various vantage points as long as we didn't get in anyone's way.

Before the show started the lighting wasn't very bright and I was worried about how I was going to get some good photos of the trucks in action, but once the show started they turned up the lights, I still had to crank the ISO up to 800 to get a high enough shutter speed to get sharp photos of the moving trucks. A Shutter speed of 1/250 seemed to do the trick. I experimented with slower shutter speeds between 1/100 to 1/250 to try and get tires blurred and the trucks sharp. If I used too slow of a speed the trucks became unsharp, somewhere around 1/125 to 1/160 of a second gave me the effect I was looking for. Sure a lot of shots didn't come out, but that's the fun of photography, trying different stuff and see what works and what doesn't work, that's how you learn.


Click the photo to go to the gallery
To see a slide show go here: Monster Jam Slide Show

Photo of the Day - Wing Walker - Air Show Photo Tips

Air Shows are a lot of fun to photograph, but they can also be quite a challenge to photograph due to the speed of the planes. A few things you can do is use a higher ISO, fast shutter speed and panning to capture the planes in flight. While this plane wasn't flying anywhere near the speed of the jets, I used an ISO of 400, a shutter speed of 1/1600 of a second, and panned the camera as the plane flew by. It was taken with a 70-200mm F2.8 Nikon lens with a 1.7 teleconverter. This is a husband and wife wing walking team. What I like about the photo is the pose of the Wing Walker and the way the pilot's hat is blowing behind his head. The Air Show comes to Cleveland every year over the Labor Day weekend. Check it out if you get a chance.


Wing Walker
Click Photo to go to Gallery

To see more Air Show Photos go here: Air Show Galleries

Cleveland Photographic Society, 125th Anniversary Exhibition

The Cleveland State Art Gallery will be hosting the Cleveland Photographic Society's 125th Anniversay Exhibition from January 21 to March 12. On Saturday January 22nd you can meet some of the photographers from 2pm - 3:30pm. Check it out if you get a chance.

The Gallery is located at 2307 Chester Ave, Cleveland Ohio

Go here for more info Cleveland State Art Gallery

Monday, January 21 – Saturday, March 12
CSU Art Gallery, Gallery C
CPS AT 125: Cleveland Photographic Society, 125th Anniversary Exhibition

Here's the photo I have on display:


Dueling Rhinos

The Frozen Lighthouse Photos - 15% Off

The Cleveland Frozen Lighthouse may be gone but photos of the Frozen Lighthouse can be purchased here The Frozen Lighthouse and from now until 2/1/2011 you can save 15% on all photos in the gallery by using the coupon code: lighthouse during check out. Just go to the link and select the photos you like, you can change the size and choice of lustre, metallic or glossy by clicking the "Change Product" button on the right side of the screen.


To purchase a photo go here: The Frozen Lighthouse Save 15% on Frozen Lighthouse photos until 2/1/2011- use the code: lighthouse during checkout.




To purchase a photo go here: The Frozen Lighthouse Save 15% on Frozen Lighthouse photos until 2/1/2011- use the code: lighthouse during checkout.

Historic Glendale Cemetery

On a very hot and muggy Monday morning Dona, Troy, Joanne and I ventured to Akron, Ohio to check out Glendale Cemetery Glendale is Akron's oldest Cemetery and was established in 1839. There is a very beautiful Chapel there and a road lined with Mausoleums. We didn't have the best lighting conditions when we were there, it was bright and sunny, but we made the best of it and took lots of photos. If you get a chance I recommend exploring Glendale for yourself. You can find out more about Glendale here: Glendale Cemetery.

Civil War Memorial Chapel

Click photo to go to the gallery.

Glendale Cemetery Slide Show - click to go to photo

My Terminal Tower Adventure

On a Sunday evening in May about 50 Cleveland Photo Society photographers went on a shoot at the Terminal Tower Observation Deck. The Observation Deck has been closed since 9/11/2001, but rumor has it that it will soon reopen to the public. CPS was given access to both the indoor Observation Deck and the Outdoor Oberservation Deck. A few of us were also given a tour of the Greenbrier Suite. A great time was had by all.

A fisheye view from the Terminal Tower
Click on the photo to go to the gallery

Terminal Tower Slide Show
Click to go to photo

My Winter Photo Adventures

I like taking photos all year round and like most photographers tend to take less photos in the winter. This year though I've gone out more than ever capturing Northeast Ohio's snowy winter and I'm really enjoying it. Sure it's cold out there, but you can capture images you wouldn't be able to capture any other time of the year, like photos of the Lighthouse at Headlands Dunes from a frozen Lake Erie.

Below are some of the photo shoots I've done this winter, just click on the photos to see more photos from each shoot!

In early January, Dona and I decided to photograph the gulls at East 72nd Street, it was a bitterly cold day and since the lake wasn't frozen yet the mist from the water froze on the front our lenses. We had a lot of fun though

Gulls at Gordon ParkClick Photo to go to Gallery

One of my favorite shoots was the Sled Dog Classic at Punderson State Park, a lot of photographers showed up for this event!

Sled Dog Classic at PundersonClick Photo to go to Gallery

Next Dona and I decided to explore Cleveland in the winter, we took photos at Wendy Park, Edgewater Park and the Flats. This shoot was only a week or so after the Gull Shoot above, but the lake was now ice covered!

Cleveland in the WinterClick Photo to go to Gallery

The next winter adventure was at the Gorge Metropark in Cuyahoga Falls, we first explored this park on a Cuyahoga Valley Photo Society Photo Walk and liked it so much we went back again a week later with our friend Debbie.

Gorge MetroparkClick Photo to go to Gallery

This next shoot is my favorite, Dona and I decided to see what Headlands Dunes looked like in the winter and boy were we surprised! The lake was frozen solid and was covered with large snow covered sand dunes. The frozen lake gave us the opportunity to venture far out on the ice (Dona thought I was crazy!) and capture photos of the Lighthouse that I would never be able to get other times of the year.

Headlands Dunes in the WinterClick Photo to go to Gallery

Over the Presidents Day weekend we went on three more winter shoots. On Saturday we went to Marblehead Lighthouse State park, on Sunday we went to the Cleveland Zoo ( I haven't process the Zoo photos yet ) and on Monday we went to Hinckley Lake and Whipps Ledges.

Marblehead Lighthouse in the WinterClick Photo to go to Gallery

Whipps Ledges in the WinterClick Photo to go to Gallery

Well those are some of the places I've taken photos this winter and I'm sure I'll get out in the next couple of weeks and add to my winter photo collection. So don't put your camera away and stay indoors all winter get out there and shoot and you'll end up with a lot of great winter photos to add to your portfolio!

Also if you're looking for cool places to take photos, check out my Cool Photo Ops Blog where I list cool places to take photos in Northeast Ohio and beyond. I also have google maps with directions and GPS coordinates, weather maps and more. You can check it out here.... Cool Photo Ops