I just shot two new images for my ongoing project on kids in sports. This is a project that I started last year in response to the increasing pressure I see put upon kids that play in competitive sports. I know first hand because my two boys (11 and 14) play competitive soccer. When my wife and I would go to parties the conversation would always turn to people's kids and the sports they play. We as parents put a huge amount of time shuffling the kids to and from practice and games.
I decided to take a more sophisticated approach to the images by lighting them more dramatically and having the kids give me some attitude (but hopefully show underneath that they are kids). I worked a little in post production to desaturate the colors. Check my website for other images in the series.
I just got the video from my assistant of me hitting the tree parapenting in Switzerland. If you don't know what that is, it's running off a mountain strapped to a parachute. I was shooting other parapenters and was attached to a guide. You can see me holding the camera in my left hand. This was the second run. The first run went off beautifully. We got the money shots on that run. I put a longer lens on for the second run. When we took off the chute didn't inflate all the way and we started to head down the mountain three feet of the ground. The only tree in our path and we hit it dead center. I kept saying "please bend, please bend"; it didn't. I love the commentary in French by the other guide. He's talking to my assistant and goes"oh no" right at the end. Anyway, got untangled, wiped myself off, walked back up the mountain with the guide and the parachute, and this time had a successful takeoff. You know; "no pain, no gain". Enjoy.
