Ryan A. Ruiz Photography

Swimsuit Shoot at Lake Pleasant

2011-05-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

A model friend of mine needed some updated bikini photos for an online contest and asked me to help her out recently.

I had never been to Lake Pleasant located a few miles outside of Phoenix, so we went there to see what we could find.

Here's what we got.

Mariachi Pasion

2011-05-03T10:46:00.001-07:00

Every year as Cinco de Mayo approaches I'm faced with coordinating cover shoots that are clearly Mexican-themed. The past few years I have exhausted the cliche of a sombrero-clad model holding a margarita, so this year I came up with the idea for a mariachi group to grace the cover of the College Times.

It didn't take long to find a local mariachi band in the Phoenix area, but I was happily surprised to find an all-female group called Mariachi Pasion that was available for a photo shoot.

Diner Cover Shoot

2011-04-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

The April 7th issue of College Times was dedicated to local restaurants and locally grown produce. Because of that my editor was hoping for a 50's-style pin-up diner cover, so I went location scouting for local diners in the Phoenix area. My assistant editor suggested a place called Mac Alpine's on 7th St. & Oak.

Stepping into Mac Alpine's was like stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting... It was the perfect setting, and the waitresses were done up in the right outfits, and one in particular had a pin-up style of her own. I approached the owner and the waitress at Mac Alpine's to see if they would like to be featured on our cover. They agreed. So I went back the next day. Here is the result.

Golden Gloves Champion Luis Olivares

2011-04-01T00:15:00.000-07:00

We recently did a feature story on 18-year-old boxing phenom Luis Olivares. He's been boxing since he was 8 years old, won his first fight by knock out when he was 9, and has made a habit of beating people down in the ring in the years since.

Olivares recently won the state and regional Golden Gloves championships and is poised to take the top prize on the national stage on his way to his ultimate goal of representing the United States in England as the 152-lb member of the US Olympic Boxing Team.

Here is the stylized cover made to look like a classic boxing poster, and a number of extra photos from the photo shoot.

Lady Gaga in Phoenix

2011-03-30T00:05:00.000-07:00

Lady Gaga put on a spectacle at US Airways Arena in Phoenix, and her fans were right there doing their best to keep up. This was an interesting night to say the least.

AMOCOCO at the Mesa Arts Center

2011-03-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

The architect who designed the Sydney, Australia Opera House cooked up a sprawling inflatable interactive art structure called AMOCOCO that is touring the world and that is currently set up in my hometown at the Mesa, Arizona Arts Center. Ambient music is played and different colorful panels fill the space with an array of color from the sunlight projecting through. It's really a relaxing sublime experience exploring the space that has been created out of plastic sheeting less than a millimeter in thickness.

Turning a New Leaf

2011-03-24T04:34:00.000-07:00

It's been some time since I last updated my blog, so if there's anyone left out there still keeping tabs, I apologize. But I'm back...

I've decided to commit to posting on my blog if not daily at least more regularly. My job is fun and interesting and very busy. My backlog of photos is enormous and I often lose track of posting images because I'm not supposed to share content that hasn't yet been published, so by the time my work IS published in our weekly magazine I've already shot and am working on shooting dozens of other assignments. It's a never-ending cycle. I live my life one-week's-worth of assignments at a time.

Life doesn't stop for anyone, or even slow down for that matter, but continually trudges ahead. Sometimes it runs you over and leaves you tossing aimlessly and helplessly in its wake. I feel like I've been lost for a spell. I'm entering into a new transitional stage in my life, and although I don't know where this all may lead I am open to whatever change may come.

So cheers...Here's to new beginnings.

-Ryan

No Pants on the Lightrail

2010-02-06T09:06:00.001-08:00

Improv Arizona is a group that organizes different public events to catch the general public off guard and to inject a bit of peculiarity and fun into people's lives.

We first covered their shenanegans in June of 2009 when they performed their very first Flash Mob Freeze during First Friday http://ryanaruiz.blogspot.com/2009/06/first-friday-flash-mob-freeze.html

Here the organizers and volunteers boarded Valley Metro Lightrail cars at a specific time and all at once removed their pants for the long ride from Mesa to Phoenix.

AMA Supercross at Chase Field

2010-02-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

I was surprised at how many fans turned out for AMA Supercross Racing at Chase Field. The stadium was at near capacity. Even more unbelievable is how much dirt was brought into the stadium to build the course. Pretty crazy really...

Ghost Hunter Cover

2009-12-23T14:50:00.001-08:00

Heathyr Hoffman is a local medium who was invited by the Sci-Fi channel to try out for their newest ghost hunting show. I spent an afternoon with her at the historic Hotel San Carlos in downtown Phoenix because it is reportedly haunted and has some pretty cool architecture.

Halloween Costume Shoot

2009-12-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

I shot these for the Halloween Costume Fashion spread in the College Times. The models really worked their characters and we all had a lot of fun on this shoot.

Phoenix Oktoberfest

2009-12-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Phoenix Oktoberfest has a lot of lederhosen, accordian music, dancing, and feats of strength; in this case the stein hold.

Repeat Offenders

2009-12-22T18:16:00.001-08:00

The College Times began producing extra publications this year as a way to supplement its profits to offset the loss of revenue during these hard economic times. This is a band photo of an 11-member group called the Repeat Offenders. It just so happens that one of the members is a law professor at ASU who had access to the university's mock court room. Each member played a role and it was a fun shoot that ended up in the guide for the Tempe Music Festival where this band performed on the stage set up for local performers.

Tour De Fat

2009-12-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

This event isn't what it sounds like it would.... This bicycle event is put on by the brewers of Fat Tire beer, whose logo is a bicycle... It is a huge bicycle parade through the Tempe streets and ends up at a beer festival where you can test out some custom bicycles. It's a good time.

Mad One

2009-12-22T17:56:00.001-08:00

The College Times did a feature on a local graffiti artist who goes by the street name Mad One... I've worked with him in the past and he always asks me to hide his face. Previously I would photoshop his mob boss logo over his face in the photos, but i thought it better to have him wear his paint mask instead this time.

The Grand Canyon

2009-12-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

I've lived in Arizona my entire life and have been to the Grand Canyon on a number of occasions. But in all those trips to the Canyon I had only ever been to visitor centers and tourist attractions along its edge and never ventured into it.

In September, two friends and I took a 4-day hiking/camping trip along the north rim of the Canyon to Deer Creek where we set up our final camp and stayed for a day and a half. It was one of the most grueling, physically and mentally demanding things I have ever endured, but the end result was worth the pain. In the seclusion of Deer Creek, standing in the cold fast-flowing waters that helped form the immense Canyon over millennia, I experienced a powerful yet humbling connection with the Earth that recharged my emotional and spiritual batteries.

These photos don't convey the experience in the least, but I hope that an appreciation for the sheer pristine natural beauty of this secluded place gives you some idea the effect it had on me. I am forever changed.

Thank You Electa

2009-12-21T07:07:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to my friend Electa for always getting on my case about keeping this photo blog up to date. It's always on the back of my mind that if I don't post something, I will hear it from her. So Thank you Electa for keeping me in check.

Here are a couple of photos from a fashion spread I shot in Chandler of local Native American clothing designers modeling their own clothing and jewelry line.

Their line is called UN3EK SY5TEM.

Suns Dancer Tryouts

2009-09-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

The Phoenix Suns dancer tryouts were held at the US Airways Center in August and was choreographed by Ashley Roberts of the Pussycat Dolls.

One of the toughest assignments I've had to shoot yet...

Kaity's Law

2009-09-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

Bobbi Sudberry is the step mother of Kaity Sudberry, after whom the law was named.

Kaity's death at the hands of an ex-boyfriend spurred the recent creation of "Kaity's Law," a bill designed to extend protection to domestic violence victims, including unmarried couples who had previously been unprotected by Arizona laws.

Ms. Sudberry asked me to somehow get the painting on the wall in the photo because it is one of her favorites of Kaity's watercolors.

First Friday

2009-09-08T05:46:00.001-07:00

First Fridays in downtown Phoenix are always a good go-to event for the College Times... Art, music, dancing? You can't go wrong.

Urban Chicken Farming

2009-09-08T05:37:00.000-07:00

Myron Mykyta is a local expert on raising chickens in the city. He was kind enough to invite me to his home in Mesa....

For some reason August was all about chickens and dogs... For this same story I took a picture of another young man in Tempe who owns two chickens in his back yard... My previous two posts cover the dogs...

Find My Dog A Date

2009-09-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

Michael D'Elena created the website www.FindMyDogADate.com as a way for dog owners to find playmates for their pets.

I got a standard dog and owner portrait to start out, but wanted more of a natural reaction from Michael and asked him to let his dog Mika lick his face... He was very cooperative and we ended up using the second photo...

Arizona Animal Welfare League

2009-09-08T05:26:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Animal Welfare League has a kennel in Phoenix where people can adopt pets. The picture that ran in the College Times was of one of the volunteers spending time with a dog that had had surgery to repair its injured hind legs, but I really liked this photo...

Who doesn't love puppies?

ASU Algae Research

2009-09-08T05:17:00.001-07:00

I get to see some really interesting and fascinating things through my job at times... I found this assignment to be one of those times.

At ASU's Polytechnic campus students and scientists are finding that they can create a completely renewable diesel fuel source from algae... Aside from biodiesel, this program is also concentrating on creating jet fuel from the algae.

This scientist is holding up a small sample of refined diesel fuel derived from algae.

While this guy extracts algae samples for testing.

Mindy Dupont College Times Cover

2009-09-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

The decision was made over the summer that instead of using models for the covers of the College Times we would start putting our featured subjects on the cover.

We profiled a young woman named Mindy Duponte whose older sister and bandmate had died inhaling Dust Off. Mindy prevailed and continued her music despite the tragic loss of her sister.

Gospel Claws on the Lightrail

2009-09-08T04:57:00.001-07:00

The website www.thetraintracks.com in partnership with Valley Metro has been bringing bands onto the lightrail trains to perform live acoustic music for passengers while they film the performances for the website. The dates and times aren't consistent so it's sort of the luck of the draw for passengers as to which specific train will host and at what time...

I tagged along with Gospel Claws for this particular performance. Pretty good stuff.

Devastation

2009-09-08T04:50:00.001-07:00

Devastation was a video game competition in July at the Phoenix Convention Center downtown. It was kind of challenging to get good people shots when all anybody was doing was sitting around staring at TV screens.

I liked that the guy in the back isn't plugged in, but was playing along anyways... I remember him saying out loud to himself that he totally nailed every note. He's my new hero.

4th of July College Times Cover

2009-09-08T04:42:00.000-07:00

Years ago when my now wife Stephanie and I were first dating we came across a large American flag mural on the side of a building in a commercial district in Mesa where I took some film photos of her just for kicks...

After my art director and I began kicking around ideas a few months ago for the 4th of July cover this year he asked me if I knew any place where there was a giant picture of an American flag and I immediately remembered the mural. I set up this photo shoot on the 20th of June and was very pleased with the end result.

I'll have to dig up the original photos for you that I took of Stephanie at this location... Remind me some time.

Pretty Things Peep Show

2009-09-08T04:33:00.000-07:00

The Trunk Space, as the name suggests, is a tiny venue. What this place lacks in size it makes up for in character and usually presents some pretty interesting shows.

The Pretty Things Peep Show was part freak show, part strip tease, part magic act all rolled into one interesting evening.

Pool Party

2009-09-08T04:27:00.000-07:00

The Lofts at Rio Salado apartment complex put on a number of pool parties over the summer. I shot a couple of them, but there wasn't much action because the water was probably about 90 degrees and people figured the less they did in the heat the better.
I like this photo because of the colors... It has nothing to do with the fact that there are three bikini-clad girls in the photo. I swear. No, really.

Tattoo Festival

2009-09-08T04:14:00.000-07:00

This event took place in May this year.

Every year at the Mesa Convention Center this tattoo festival brings thousands of tattooers and their canvases together in one giant room.

Roller Derby

2009-09-08T04:04:00.001-07:00

I shot this assignment in May at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the State Fair grounds in Phoenix.

Roller Derby is always an entertaining time. Who doesn't like to watch a pack of attractive tattooed women on roller skates beating eachother up?

Greek Festival

2009-09-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

Shot in May of this year...

During the Greek Festival at Tempe Beach Park every year you'll see saganaki (flaming cheese), traditional dancing, and lamb on a spit.

NU at the Heard Museum

2009-09-08T03:34:00.000-07:00

I shot this assignment in April of this year...

NU (Native + U) at the Heard Museum is an event that integrates live music, art, native american artifacts and history all into one culture-filled evening in downtown Phoenix.

Locks of Love

2009-09-08T03:11:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there who still look at my blog, I apologize for the long lapse in posts... Many of my assignments are weeks in advance of when they go to print, so I have to wait to post them and I let them pile up far too long...

That being said, this assignment was shot in March of this year.

Locks of Love is a program that provides wigs to children experiencing hair loss due to a range of medical conditions and treatments. The wigs are fashioned from quality, donated human hair.

My style writer Jillian and I tagged along with Jenn Smith to Dolce Salon & Spa where they offer free haircuts to those willing to donate a minimum of 10 inches of braided hair to the cause.

College Times Swimwear Cover & Fashion Shoot

2009-06-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

I shot this cover last week in downtown Phoenix outside the historic Hotel San Carlos. The hotel was actually kind enough to give us access to their lobby and restrooms for makeup and wardrobe changes.
We do a lot of water-themed covers during the summer so I wanted to get away from that notion and put models in the city. Sort of a fish-out-of-water shoot.... It got a little crazy. You would think people had never seen women in bikinis before. Anybody in a vehicle felt the urge to check their horns and people on the street were cat calling or standing over my shoulder asking to have their photo taken with the models... It was fun.

First Friday Flash Mob Freeze

2009-06-04T09:00:00.001-07:00

A local performance art group called Improv Arizona organized their first ever flash mob freeze during First Friday in downtown Phoenix on May 1. Volunteers gathered at a predetermined area where a concentration of art-goers would be and "froze" in place for five full minutes. The release of helium balloons by organizers signaled the freeze and an air horn let participants know when the five minutes had passed. Then everyone "unfroze" and spread out into the crowd like nothing had happened.

I knew that taking a "normal" photo wouldn't really illustrate this story because photographs in general will freeze anything in the frame. I figured I would set up my camera on a tripod and shoot at an extremely slow shutter speed so that anyone that wasn't part of the flash mob freeze would be blurred as they moved around.

Kings of Leon

2009-05-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

I was presented with the opportunity to photograph Kings of Leon when they were in town performing at the Mesa Amphitheater recently. Like every other concert I've photographed I was told that I would be able to shoot the first three songs of the performance and then would have to get out of the pit in front of the stage. Unlike every other concert I've photographed I was immediately and rudely and unapologetically ushered out of the pit and escorted directly out of the venue at the end of the third song. I can't say that I'm a big fan of security at the Mesa Amphitheater. I was there for a legitimate reason to help promote the band and the venue in our publication but was treated like I got caught sneaking into the place.

Kauai, Hawaii

2009-05-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

There's a reason Kauai is called the Garden Island... Unparalleled pristine beauty.

Great Arizona Picnic Cover

2009-04-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

I shot this cover at the park in Scottsdale where the actual Culinary Festival takes place... They have beautiful flower beds there that I thought would make for a colorful backdrop.

Culinary Festival Preview Shots

2009-04-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

Honey Moon Sweets Bakery

Lu Lu's Cupcakes

Drift

Stingray

Tempe Music Festival

2009-04-11T21:03:00.001-07:00

Country Thunder

2009-04-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

March Madness College Times Cover

2009-04-11T20:34:00.001-07:00

Rage in the Cage

2009-03-04T18:33:00.001-08:00

Strong Beer Festival

2009-03-04T18:29:00.001-08:00

Matsuri Festival

2009-03-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

The Matsuri Festival is all about the Japanese culture.
Here you have Karate...

Shinkendo...

Traditional music...

And Japanese drums.

Scottish Highland Games

2009-03-04T18:08:00.001-08:00

The Scottish Highland Games bring bagpipers....

Large men heaving extremely heavy objects...

And strange, redheaded comic jugglers.

Chinese Week

2009-02-11T22:10:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday I had a couple of different assignments in Phoenix. Here is Chinese Week at the Chinese Cultural Center. This was a lot of fun.

Along with Kung Fu demonstrations, there was Chinese yo yo juggling...

And really impressive Chinese dragon dances... Good stuff.

Hoop Dancing at the Heard Museum

2009-02-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

I had a busy little Saturday last week... Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond... I didn't think I would have enough time... But I squeezed in a couple of assignments in Phoenix for kicks.

Here's the Hoop Dancing Championship at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. It was really entertaining and I was really impressed with the athleticism of the performers.

Rising Up

2009-01-26T19:32:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest College Times cover. The photo that was picked for the cover wasn't my favorite. I mean, I like the photo, but I felt the background was too busy because of the reflection off the side of the light rail car. It turned out pretty well nonetheless.

Women's Football League

2009-01-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

Summer Meservy is one of the defensive coaches for the Phoenix Prowlers, a new, full-contact women's football league in the Valley.

Rap Artist Juice

2009-01-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

Juice is an up-and-comer on the rap scene who is representing Phoenix on his rise to stardom. He was kind enough meet with me at the Saltmine Studios in downtown Mesa on his son's birthday for this shoot.

Back to Product Shots

2009-01-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Here's another sample of some of my day-to-day work load. Exciting, I know. But really, I don't mind it.

Rage in the Cage 120 at Celebrity Theatre

2009-01-16T16:53:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to shoot Rage in the Cage at Celebrity Theatre recently. It was cool because they gave me free reign of the place. The only problem was that there is a little runway built around the cage so I couldn't get right up against the fence, so all of my action shots have chain link in them. Oh well.

ASU Sun Devils vs. Oregon State Beavers

2009-01-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

One of my first assignments back was to cover ASU's domination over the Oregon State Beavers... I like shooting basketball. The game is quick and the access is pretty sweet.

Freeline Skates

2009-01-16T16:18:00.001-08:00

This is Ryan Farrelly. He came to the College Times' office just before Christmas to give us a little demonstration of his invention, the Freeline Skates. It's basically skateboarding without the board. What you do is simply stand on the individual trucks and roll sideways.

This guy was pretty impressive on these things. There aren't any foot straps, velcro, tape or glue holding these to your feet and he was dropping in on a local concrete skate park like it was nothing.

Back into the Swing of Things..

2009-01-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

The end of 2008 was very, very busy at the College Times and I simply didn't find the time or motivation to update this photo blog. For that I apologize.

But now it's 2009. I'm fresh off of a full 2-week vacation and ready to go. Here are some new photos to gawk at. I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks all.

-Ryan

Biodiesel Motorcycle

2008-11-06T19:31:00.000-08:00

I've been shooting a number of interesting stories, but many of them are being held for upcoming issues, so I can't show them just yet.

This guy is an ASU professor who built a custom motorcycle that runs on biodiesel that he himself processes from used cooking oil... I was hoping to meet him at his home and get shots of him in his garage (for some reason I pictured him having a crazy laboratory-looking set up in a garage), but he told me he doesn't process the fuel at his home and that he preferred to meet at a Phoenix Starbucks... So I settled for the alley behind the coffee joint.

Halloween Cover

2008-11-06T19:17:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted anything. I've just been so busy. Here's my latest cover. This was shot at Papago Park in Phoenix at dusk. There were five models, each with two outfits and sunlight was fading fast, so this shoot was a whirlwind. It was more a shoot for the style pages on different Halloween costumes, but I came away with a cover.

Here are a few frames from that shoot.

State Fair Cover

2008-10-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

I shot this cover last week in Gilbert, where feed hay farms are still common. I liked the hay bails because they made a simple, clean background and still sort of communicated "State Fair." My other idea was to shoot on a carousel but I had a hard time setting that up with my time constraints.

Here are a few more shots from this shoot.

Oktoberfest & The Irish Festival

2008-10-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a sampling of my weekend.... I had to shoot both the Way Out West Oktoberfest and the Arizona Irish Festival. Tough assignments, I know.

The Irish Festival featured bagpipes and beer...

While Oktoberfest featured polka music and beer... I'm beginning to see a pattern.

Back to Shooting Covers!!

2008-10-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

Here is my first College Times cover since getting the new model release forms from our legal department. This was shot in Phoenix at two separate locations on September 21st... I couldn't post any of these photos until the paper had hit the stands today. I shot another cover last night, but you won't get to see that one until next week either, so hang in there.

Here are a few of my favorite alternatives. I was hoping to get a good beer splash photo, but the model was a petite little thing and had a hard time handling a full stein of beer (it took three beers to fill this thing!!). It wasn't until the stein was nearly empty that we got a good splash.

Edgefest

2008-09-29T11:17:00.001-07:00

Edgefest was way out at Schnepf Farms again this year. I kind of rushed this assignment so I could make it to my editor's house on time for his charitable bocci ball tournament. Aside from the 105-degree heat, it was another fun event.

There were The Kooks.

Mickey Avalon.

Mosh pits.

Civet.

Authority Zero.

And crowd surfers.

ASU vs. Georgia

2008-09-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday ASU took on Georgia at home at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. It was no surprise that the #3 nationally-ranked Georgia Bulldogs dominated over the ASU Sun Devils. It was sort of a big game so it was nationally televised and they had one of those cable-suspended TV cameras that hovered around over the field, which is always pretty cool to see.

UGA brought along their beloved mascot... That's a handsome bulldog. (This was supposed to be a GIF animation file that is apparently not working.)

On My Own: Nicole & Justine

2008-09-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last night I met up with a couple of local models who contacted me through ModelMayhem.com for a shoot a few weeks ago. I location scouted last week and found the most perfect below-ground parking garage in Phoenix for the shoot, but when we arrived we were kicked out by some young rent-a-cop who called it in and was told to escort us off the premises. I didn't see him there last week when I scouted it.

We improvised and ended up at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix. The girls had scheduled to have a makeup artist, hair stylist, and a wardrobe stylist involved...

It turned out that the hair and wardrobe stylists canceled on us, so the makeup artist sort of filled in the other roles and this is what we ended up with...

ASU vs. UNLV

2008-09-15T12:59:00.001-07:00

Saturday night ASU took on UNLV at Sun Devil Stadium. UNLV was definitely an underdog coming in, but they pulled off the upset, beating ASU on their home turf in overtime.

Lowriders and Tattoos

2008-09-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Friday night I went to the Mesa Arts Center for the Lowriders and Tattoos Show.

Some of these cars are true pieces of art.

There were also tattoo-inspired art pieces, as well as tattoo artists inking people up.

I was amazed at how powerful the hydraulics are on these things...Awesome.

Product Shots

2008-09-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

You may notice that I usually have significant lapses in my posts. It's not that I'm not shooting everyday; it's more that I often feel that what I'm shooting isn't necessarily post-worthy. I've decided to look past that notion and show you some of my day-to-day work load.

Here are some examples of the product shots I regularly do for our style pages. I used to use a white cloth backdrop draped over a chair, but found that the opaque glass desktops in the office make for a much better backdrop since I can light through them.

ASU vs. Stanford

2008-09-08T20:21:00.001-07:00

Saturday night I was on the sidelines for the Sun Devils' 41-17 victory over Stanford. It was a warm one. I think it was 113 degrees on Saturday, and being down on the grass was disgustingly humid and sticky. As uncomfortable as it was, I really enjoyed this assignment.

Border Wars

2008-08-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today took me to Collins College 14th Street Studios in Tempe (among other places) to get a photo of a crew headed by Collins College instructor Ryan Noble (front and center) who locally produced a feature-length immigration drama called "Border Wars."

They gave me full range of the studio and the building in general to shoot and when I picked the supply closet I thought it would illustrate things best because of all of the cool studio gadgets on the shelves, but as soon as my subjects stepped into frame they blocked all of the supplies, but I was pressed for time and came away with this "band shot."

Scandalesque at Wrigley Mansion

2008-08-11T02:27:00.000-07:00

I was very moved by Deanna's and Courtney's respective posts about casualties of war and rebuilding after the floods. I feel somewhat meek and superficial in the world of photojournalism when our task is capturing the human condition and I get an assignment like this one... I guess I feel that I have a larger responsibility as a photojournalist than what my current role allows.

Now that I got that off my chest...

Saturday I made it out to the Wrigley Mansion hidden away in the hills north of the Phoenix Biltmore for the latest performance of the burlesque/cabaret troop Scandalesque. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this assignment ; ) ...I'm just saying that there are more important things happening in the world... If you get a chance, catch one of these shows. They're a lot of fun.

Alltel Ice Den

2008-08-08T11:43:00.001-07:00

We're putting together our annual "Guide to Everything" over at the College Times and that means having to drive all over the Valley getting shots of different businesses that we think might interest college students. Yesterday I shot a number of different places, but only one I thought enough to post. I had just finished taking photos of people ice skating and was on my way out when I noticed this guy sharpening ice skates in the corner.

Professional Bull Riding

2008-08-04T11:42:00.001-07:00

Saturday night I made it out to Jobing.com Arena in Glendale for PBR. It was my first time going to a bull riding event and I had a great time. It was really pretty exciting. I guess it doesn't hurt getting to shoot from atop the bull pen. It's a unique perspective...Especially when you get to experience the smell.

Rockabilly Group: Voodoo Swing

2008-07-28T22:34:00.001-07:00

At around sunset I went out to the desert near the San Tan mountains with a local Rockabilly group called Voodoo Swing. The bassist's son is a friend of mine and they needed some band photos so they can start a MySpace page...Apparently you can't get booked for gigs these days unless venues can check you out on MySpace.

Since Deanna asked...I shot this using two remote strobes on stands firing through white diffuser umbrellas. I had one midi strobe with a red gel inside the car, but it didn't fire with any sort of reliability so you can only catch it in a couple of frames. My camera was set to ISO100, shooting at 1/50 second at f/5.6. I'm not sure, but I think my main light was near full power or 1/2 power and my fill light was at 1/8-1/4 power.

Hotel San Carlos with Brenda Lee

2008-07-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday I met up with a local Pin-Up model named Brenda Lee at the historic Hotel San Carlos in downtown Phoenix. She and her boyfriend rented the Carey Grant suite and booked a couple of photographers to shoot in the hotel.

I tried another multiple since she had a ton of wardrobe changes that she brought. We had full reign of the hotel. It was a lot of fun.

Brenda's boyfriend, Coz, had a style of his own, so I got a couple shots of him too.

Lightning!!!....Finally!

2008-07-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have had the WORST time capturing lightning this season...I thought for a while that God didn't like me, or maybe he/she/it was just messing with me because I would spend hours at a time chasing, setting up, and waiting for lightning the past couple of weeks whenever I could find time. I would leave the shutter open for 20-30 seconds and just as it would close lightning would strike. It happened repeatedly, and I almost pulled my hair out.

I set up on the 4th floor outdoor stairwell next to a new hospital in Mesa to get this shot...The same thing kept happening where I would just miss a strike after a full 30-second exposure. And when I finally did capture some lightning, a MedEvac helicopter was landing just then and left a streak through the frame from its flashing lights. I was just going to give up because the lightning was getting more and more infrequent when this baby lit up the sky...What a pain in the ass! (Click to Enlarge)

Selling Out

2008-07-20T13:28:00.001-07:00

Since the freelance gigs haven't exactly been rolling in lately, and I'm still doing modeling trade work on the side until I can build up a name for myself, I decided to try preying on my neighbors for extra cash...
Here's a flyer I recently fashioned (Click to Enlarge):

My Weekend

2008-07-20T13:04:00.001-07:00

I had an interesting line up of assignments this past weekend...

Friday morning I found myself at the Mighty Mud Mania in Scottsdale. I was a mud-splattered mess at the end of it all, but it was fun to see the kids getting into the fun.

Then Saturday morning I headed down to the Salt River (AGAIN) for Halloween on the Salt River. Just like I figured, the only people dressing up for the event were the employees.

Saturday night was spent at The Sets in Tempe where they were putting on a qualifier for the World Series of Beer Pong Tournament.

Role Reversal

2008-07-18T00:17:00.000-07:00

One of our writers is working on a feature about role reversals in modern relationships... The couple in this photo was great to work with. They did everything I told them to do for this shoot. They were a lot of fun.

Walking with Dinosaurs Press Conference

2008-07-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

This morning I went to a press conference at the U.S. Airways Center that was hyping up the Walking with Dinosaurs Experience that will be coming to Phoenix in September. I realized when I got there that there weren't going to be any of the life-size dinosaur puppets set up like I had hoped, just a visually uninteresting stage and three speakers.

Luckily a group of kids from the Tempe YMCA showed up and got a little lesson about dinosaurs from a local paleontologist. Here the kids get a close look at a T-Rex tooth. (Click to Enlarge)

Branching Out On My Own

2008-07-09T12:34:00.001-07:00

Since I've been shooting more covers in the past months I became a member of a modeling database website called Model Mayhem (www.modelmayhem.com) where I've been going to find cover models for the College Times.

Since I'm currently on a modeling freeze at work I decided to do some collaborative shoots with local models on the side and do some trade-for-portfolio work that I hope will eventually turn into paid work once I've built up more of a name for myself.

Yesterday I met up with a local model in Mesa named Ad'ee who is working on a themed collection pertaining to social issues (i.e. drug addiction, anorexia/bulimia, etc.). We tackled "Domestic Violence" at this session. Her best friend, Amanda (wearing my suit) helped out... Ad'ee's a little smiley in a couple pictures, but I think it makes it look more sinister and sadistic...

Cuatro de Julio

2008-07-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

I know, I know...I'm a little behind.

But here are my requisite fireworks photos from the thing at Tempe Town Lake.

Phoenix Science Museum's Upgraded Planetarium

2008-07-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today I headed over to the Phoenix Science Museum to get some shots of their newly improved planetarium. The Phoenix Planetarium now boasts the most technologically advanced system in the world and is much more than just a presentation of a few stars. It was really pretty fascinating.

Unfortunately, I was only allowed to take pictures when there weren't any people in the theater, so I tried to include the seats in the foreground to give the planetarium some sense of scale. If you get a chance to shoot there, I would say that this is one of those rare assignments that warrants using a fish-eye lens because of how huge and encompassing the ceiling screen is.

There were nebulae...

Our moon...

A close-up tour of Saturn's rings (notice the rows of seats and you'll get a feel for how immense this screen is)...

Lastly, the curators put every little extra the system had to offer up on the screen for me. They turned on all of the constellations, the cardinal directions, a scale showing the course of the earth through the solar system at each month, and a 3-dimensional grid of the universe...Really amazing.

Sign Spinners

2008-06-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

I shot this video a few weeks ago to coincide with the print story we were running. I just now figured out how to get it uploaded to my blog. I'll be more timely with future videos...I promise.

Spring Valley

2008-06-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend cabinning with friends in Spring Valley near Flagstaff. It was nice to get away from the Phoenix heat for a couple of days and the scenery was beautiful.

Sunday morning I was up at 5 a.m. to catch the sunrise...
Here's a manual panorama of the sunrise over the mountains (Click to Enlarge)...
I saw about 20 white tail deer crossing the valley and spent the next hour-and-a-half or so stalking them. My stalking skills need some work, though... I only got within 120 yards before they spooked and ran off into the woods.

Warped Tour

2008-06-26T19:24:00.001-07:00

Wednesday I headed out to Cricket Wireless Pavilion in west Phoenix for the Vans Warped Tour. There were five different stages going and most of the bands I had never heard of, but it was a good time...

There was Mayday Parade...

Against Me!...

The Academy Is...
Crowd surfers...
Gym Class Heroes...
and Alesana, just to name a few.

Here I caught a couple of fellow photojournalists (from the Arizona Republic) editing and transmitting back stage...Notice the intense concentration brought on by the pressure of making deadline. (Click to Enlarge)

Summer Spectacular with Robosaurus

2008-06-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday night took me to Firebird International Raceway for the Summer Spectacular with Robosaurus. There were drag-racing funny cars...

Burnouts...
Jet cars shooting 30-foot flames...
Robosaurus demolishing and torching cars...

And fireworks to top it all off.

Scorpion Under Black Light

2008-06-21T00:32:00.000-07:00

My neighbor is out of town and before she left she asked to check up on her house now and then. Tonight I took a flashlight into her back yard to make sure everything was okay. I don't think she gets the place sprayed because it was an arachnid-fest back there....I ran into four scorpions and two black widows.

I remembered that I had a portable, battery-powered black light in my garage and that for some reason scorpions glow under black light...So here you go. (Shot with a 50mm f1.4 lens at 1/20th of a second at ISO800. Camera on tripod.)

Mannequin Multiple

2008-06-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

The owners of the College Times realized that our insurance policy doesn't cover models and make up artists for on-location photo shoots, so until a new policy is drafted, I'm on model lock-down.

The model freeze gave me an opportunity to use that "multiple" technique that I tried out a couple of months ago (see my "Trying Something New" blog from April) for our swimsuit fashion shoot for our upcoming issue.

In this photo I used only one mannequin over and over in different outfits and hair styles to make it look like a mannequin pool party.

(Click to Enlarge)

Hootenanny with Weezer

2008-06-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

Tuesday evening the Edge 103.9 hosted "Hootenanny with Weezer." 200 of the Valley's biggest Weezer fans were invited to come to a secret location in Phoenix and jam along with the band...And it was recorded live to boot.

People showed up with some of the most random instruments... Ukuleles, didgeridoos, cow bells, you name it.
This guy is playing the melodica...It's a wind keyboard. Right after I took his picture he was picked out of the crowd by the guys from Weezer to play a solo during the recording.... It was a good time.

Pirates on the Salt River....And a snake.

2008-06-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday I headed to the Salt River Tubing outpost in the Tonto National Forest for Pirates on the Salt River day....The idea was to get people out on the river dressed as pirates, but when I got there only the employees were dressed up....

Here you have one of the bus drivers, Pirate Betty, honking a horn and calling out to tubers to get on her pirate ship.

After about an hour I finally hit pay dirt... This fun group did it up right. They flew a pirate flag and even had pirate hats, swords, bandanas with skulls and crossbones, and eye patches.

While I was walking around near the river I noticed a snake swimming upstream just off shore...I love snakes, so I got in close and got a few shots. I did some research once I got home (www.reptilesofaz.com/herp-snakes.html). It turns out this little guy is a checkered gartersnake.

I didn't want any of the tubers messing with him so I chased him off into the river and followed him a bit until he was safely in some bushes growing out of the river bank.

PotD: Multiple Majors

2008-06-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

We'll be running a story about students that take on multiple majors... My Photo of the Day is a portrait of a gal who graduated recently from ASU with degrees in journalism and political science.

Catching Up

2008-06-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry if I've been slacking off, folks. My editors have me working a week or two ahead and they don't want me revealing our content until it's gone to print.

I haven't been posting any of my day-to-day stuff because I don't feel that it's really post-worthy, but here are a couple of the photos I shot on June 3rd for our June 12th cover and double truck. The concept for the cover was fully mine, and it was a real relief to have the cover turn out the way I had envisioned it.

It's really pretty stressful setting these shoots up; getting everyone involved on the same schedule and getting clearances for the locations. This was shot at the Mesa Golfland/Sunsplash Lazy River (cover) and water slide (double truck) at 8am before the park opened at 10am. They had to bring lifeguards in early so we could shoot.

I retouched the first two images myself...Something new to me that I need a lot more practice doing. The others were done by my art director.

I also had to go to each of these water parks for general shots for the magazine... I think I put 100 miles on my truck that day zipping around all over the Valley.

PotD: Memorial Day

2008-05-26T16:08:00.003-07:00

I went to visit my grandpa's grave today since he was a Navy man back in the day and fought in WWII...

While I was there I decided to shoot some Memorial Day wild art.

Here is my other Photo of the Day:

This lady showed her children where their grandfather is buried in Mesa. They had never met him before, but cried at his loss nonetheless.

PotD: Salt River Tubing

2008-05-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

I had to shoot a photo page of people tubing the Salt River today.

Here are a couple Photo(s) of the Day:

PotD: ASU Softball

2008-05-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

ASU took on Northwestern on Friday for game one of the NCAA softball Super Regionals.

Here are my Photo(s) of the Day:

PotD: Masturbation Awareness Month (PG-13)

2008-05-19T20:37:00.001-07:00

The sex and relationships writer at College Times is working on an article about May being Masturbation Awareness Month.

My editor wanted some sort of illustration. It was hard to come up with anything other than the obvious. I thought a more figurative approach would be best.

Here's my Photo of the Day:

PotD: Freelance!!

2008-05-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

Since going full-time at the College Times in January I've been too busy to really pursue or take on any freelance gigs.

Two years ago when I was still at ASU's newspaper (the State Press) I had to take a picture of the India Plaza's owner for a story we were doing. He asked me then if I ever did any freelance work, so I gave him one of my business cards and haven't heard anything from him since....Until two days ago.

He is looking to open an indian food restaurant in the plaza and needed shots of some of his dishes for the menu.

Here are some of my Photo(s) of the Day:

Here was my setup for this shoot:
I set one strobe to shoot through a white umbrella on the right with the white side of a reflector on the left to bounce the light. Then I set my other strobe (set to 105mm) behind the table to back-light the dishes.

PotD: Energy Conservation

2008-05-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

I had to illustrate a story about energy conservation today...How do you illustrate energy conservation with a subject from the story?!

I brainstormed a bit and thought that just one photo wouldn't do...Maybe a comic-strip style illustration was in order.

Here's my Photo of the Day: