Raptor

The fast moving F-22 Raptor, one of the latest and greatest next generation jet fighters made for an interesting photo as the water vapor in the air was squeezed out during higher speed, and high-G turns, causing the plane to become enveloped in the moisture during the annual Miramar Air Show in San Diego. I’ve seen the plane at the Reno Air Races when it was 100-degrees, and no humidity, and no matter how fast it went, this kind of photo wasn’t possible. I dropped the color because the sky really wasn’t very good. In fact, it was really, really bad, and the black-and-white added drama, which is what it’s all about.

Howard Lipin

Raptor

Car hits gas line, garage goes up in flames

A car struck a natural gas line in Mira Mesa late Sunday afternoon, triggering a house fire, San Diego fire officials reported. The incident occurred about 5 p.m. at 8136 Calico St. A fire department spokesman said a motorist hit the gas line, igniting a fire that destroyed the home’s garage. The driver was transported to a hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Ronnie Revoredo

Car hits gas line, garage goes up in flames

Cool Riders

The first day of summer in San Diego started out as an overcast cool day. The kind of day I like. Not too cold, not too hot, and overcast for the soft lighting. I was searching for a picture that illustrated the cooler than normal temperature and was different. I spotted the group of riders, and waited for them to pass in front of me. With a slow 1/50th of a second shutter speed and panning the camera as they passed, I was able to get the shot.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Cool Riders

Come Out with Your Flippers Up

It was just another day in San Diego as I hit the streets at 6 a.m., with the goal of finding, shooting, and transmitting breaking news photos, so they can be used on The San Diego Union-Tribune website ASAP. In many ways it’s a cat and mouse game of listening to the police scanners to find out where the action is, which has become more difficult because the cops are doing a lot of their dispatching via computer, and not the audible Adam-12 thing on a lot of good stuff. So listening for any type of tip, or out of the ordinary communication on what’s happening early-on, is more important because there's less of it than in the past. An officer reported to his sergeant that he couldn’t move his patrol car because “It“ was still under the car wouldn’t move, which got me wondering what could keep a cop from moving his car. After figuring out where it was happening, I headed to the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego to find a sea lion hiding under a police car. It had come out of the ocean and decided to setup shop under the patrol car in the middle of the street at 4 a.m. The officer was checking-out a report of a sea lion under a parked car, and when he arrived, the pup came out from under the parked car and headed to his patrol car where he stayed four several hours until the mammal rescue folks from SeaWorld arrived, and in a matter of a couple of minutes, convinced the little guy to come out. They took him back to SeaWorld where he will stay for several weeks until he’s ready to go back into the ocean. This brings the motto of "To Protect and Serve," to a new level. More Photos.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Come Out with Your Flippers Up

Just a Little Taste

It was an easy assignment to photograph. A lady that was a shut-in, and one of the thousands in San Diego County that receive their hot meals via Meals on Wheels. As she started to enjoy her lunch, her dog jumped up on the couch, and just sat there with that, aren’t you going to feed me look in the eye, waiting for her to give-in and offer just a little taste. Her four-legged friend didn’t have to wait long.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Just a Little Taste

The Fallen

Memorial services are humbling no matter who they are for. And in some way, even more-so when they are for members of the law enforcement community and the military. This year, as in past years, memorials are held in every community in America to honor and remember those who have protected us, served and paid the ultimate price while doing so. In San Diego, San Diego County Deputy Sheriff Ken Collier, was one of two members of the law enforcement community to die in the line of duty during the past year. The other, Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas. Their names are the 81st and 82nd to be added to a law enforcement memorial wall outside the San Diego County Administration Center, so they will never be forgotten by the communities they served, and the friends and family they left behind.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

The Fallen

Above it All

Every once in a while, it’s nice to get away from the everyday grind of life. And that’s what I did when I had the opportunity to go for a late afternoon flight in a 1927 Travel Air biplane over Carlsbad, California, just north of San Diego. There were two planes, the one I photographed and the one I was in. It couldn’t have been better. Late afternoon light, and flying fairly low near some hills. It’s times like these I can see the real beauty of the World, that sometimes I forget actually exists on the ground. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe I should go flying more often. Yeah, that’s the ticket……

Howard Lipin

Above it All

Paper or Plastic

Earth Day fairs bring out some interesting outfits worn by those trying to make a point about the environment, and in San Diego it’s not too much different than everywhere else. The challenge is to make a photo that reflects the purpose of the event in an interesting way. This can be frustrating, because it can be pretty difficult to do. I was heading out, feeling ok, about the photos I shot, when I saw the Plastic Bag Monster, all decked out in her outfit of plastic bags. When people would ask her to let them take her picture, she would say, “as long as you promise to stop using plastic bags you can.” More photos.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Paper or Plastic

Play Ball

It’s that time of year again, when the lights of baseball stadiums all around the country burn brightly into the night. As the San Diego Padres begin their seventh year at Petco Park in the downtown area of San Diego, I thought it would be a nice time to show a couple of photos from the first opening night in 2004. The photos were shot from a helicopter using a Nikon D1x, at the time one of the latest and greatest. Attached to the camera was a gyro stabilizer, which allowed me to use a slow shutter speed, between 30th and 50th of a second, and keep the images sharp. It was my private skybox, complete with most everything needed to watch the game, except for the food and drink……

Howard LIpin

Photos used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Play Ball

Nimitz

In San Diego, photographing the departure and arrival of navy ships is just about as common as the sun rising. So when Mother Nature throws a little rain and big beautiful clouds in the mix, it can make for out-of-the-ordinary photos. Between heavy downpours, I created this image of the aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz, complete with sailors lining the rails, as it began to pull away from North Island Naval Air Station, in Coronado, across the bay from downtown San Diego. It was a gray day, so in color it didn’t look much different than it does here in black and white.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Nimitz

Night Flight

While transferring some of the older shot on film images to digital, I came a across this night time exposure shot from inside a nameless blimp. You know, the ones we see over sporting events and flying aimlessly around cities. As the blimp lifted off, I shot the pilots in the foreground with a 16mm fisheye lens at f-8 for 20 about seconds on ASA 100 Fujicolor negative film handheld and hoped for the best. No second chances or chimping here! Remember the days of film when you had to use what you knew, rather than what you saw on the camera’s monitor? Over the years I’ve screwed enough time exposures up and learned what works. You’re probably wondering why I’m leaving the name of the blimp out. That’s a story for another day.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Night Flight

Sportrait

I love shooting after a rain. It cleans the air, and most of the time leaves big beautiful clouds behind. Since in San Diego we don’t get that as often as other parts of the country, I took advantage of it when I photographed Todd Baek, an up-and-coming high school golfer. It was late in day, and I used one small pocket sized strobe on a light stand to the left of the camera, and narrowed the beam of light on the strobe to 50mm giving me the light falloff throughout the frame other than on his face and upper body. I used a 16-35mm lens set at 16mm and a PocketWizard to trigger the strobe. If you're wondering about the name of this post, "Sportrait," it's the new lingo to describe a sports portrait....

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Sportrait

Mourners

As San Diego County mourns the second teenager to be found dead in as many weeks, it has the community hurting, and outraged at the same time. The investigation continues, but it is thought the accused killer of one of the girls may be the same person responsible for both murders. A registered sex offender who spent five-years in prison, but was let out early against the recommendation of his psychiatrist at his sentencing for an attack on 13-year old girl in 2000. These types of assignments are the most difficult. It wasn’t always that way, but as I get older, that’s what they have become. In some way, I hope the images I create will help with the healing.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Mourners

Press Conference

The First Amendment grants us all access to court proceedings... that is in most cases. Last week's courtroom proceedings was no exception. The national coverage presented a handful of complications that news media outlets needed to work out with the court's lead and approval. In this case and rightly so, the courts didn't want the news media to take up huge spaces blocking hallway access. So it was worked out that 5 photographers would be granted access to the court arraignment proceedings, and the remaining 6 still photographers and 22 television cameras, two-dozen reporters and more than an handful of ENG technicians would set up in an empty courtroom for the press conference that would immediately follow the court proceedings. This assembly of tripods was about two-thirds of those who would eventually setup for the presser.

Nelvin C. Cepeda
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Press Conference

Slow and Steady

The 17 Galapagos tortoises at the San Diego Zoo were moved out of their home so it can be replaced with the latest and greatest digs a tortoise could ever want. In order to do that, the slow movers have to be taken temporarily to the other side of the zoo, so the wrecking ball can go into action and then their new chalet built. It was and up-close and slow moving experience watching these creatures, some quite old, make the trip. Not knowing how far away from these guys I would be shooting, I brought the 300mm, and because it was early in the morning, and quite chilly, I wore a heavy jacket. WRONG on both accounts. I was so close; many of the photos were shot with a 16-35mm lens. And because they were kept locked in their heated and I mean heated enclosure until it was time to go, we all were sweating. When the door came open, it was a breath of fresh air and a big relief…. More Photos.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Slow and Steady

Flying Fortress

“Liberty Belle,” one of only 14 World War II era B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers still flying visited San Diego County on a tour honoring those who flew in them, and in many cases died while doing it, as they defended the World against the Nazis. The plane really isn’t as big as most people think it, but it sure packed a punch when it went into action in the skies over Europe. As is the case with many tours like this, media types at each stop are invited to go on a flight so we can publish stories and let the public know they can come out and see the plane for themselves, which is what I was able to do. It was a quick flight, only about 15-minutes, so shooting as many photos while in the air as quickly as possible was a must. This incarnation of the Liberty Belle never saw combat, but is named after the original plane that flew 64 missions before being salvaged in 1945. More photos.

Howard Lipin
Photos used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Flying Fortress

San Diego Sheriff's Dept. 2010

Got the call from Mobius Images partner Sandy Huffaker to help him out on a shoot for the San Diego Sheriff's Department. These are a sample of the images from last year.

I hope to never experience this in real life. It was a particularly challenging because of the constantly changing light due to cloud cover. Being in manual mode and having quick dials on the camera made it easier to change my settings on the fly. After applying some selective sharpening and using the Dave Hill technique for RAW images, these are what I ended up with.

Ronnie Revoredo

San Diego Sheriff's Dept. 2010

Morning Dew Drops

I took this photograph last fall, and sometimes the coolest photos just happen to be in your backyard. One early morning while enjoying my coffee, the morning news, and a view thru the sliding glass door this spider web in my backyard caught my attention. Shot at ISO 50, 320@2.8 and a little strobe off to the right side to help accent the morning dew drops.

Nelvin C. Cepeda

Morning Dew Drops

Cha Cha Cha

It was blast-shooting photos of Cha-Cha, an Asian elephant at the San Diego Zoo, one of four brought in from the San Diego Wild Animal Park as part of a program to blend multiple herds. You’d think blending herds would be an easy process but it’s not. There are more steps to it than Dancing with the Stars. Everything is planned and specific. After all, we’re talking about elephants, a smart group of critters. Remember how it was when from time-to time, you moved to different places and had to get to know, and get a along with your new neighbors. It’s the same with elephants. Now at her new home, Cha-Cha spends a lot of her days hanging out with her newfound friend Sumithi, whom has lived at the zoo almost all of her life. Cha-Cha Cha. More photos.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Cha Cha Cha

Liberty

While finishing up and assignment in El Cajon, California, I noticed this guy all dressed up like the Statue of Liberty waving an American flag, promoting a tax preparation service. I’ve seen and photographed them before, and especially during tax season they seem to be everywhere. They all have their unique ways of getting the attention of people passing by, and they got mine too. After all, they’re live sized advertisements. It was the flag, and the way the mid-morning light was lighting-up the flag that compelled me to shoot it. Lady Liberty helped too.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Liberty

Bet You Can’t Eat Just One

Girl Scout cookies. They’re hard to resist no matter who is selling them, let-a-alone a cute salesperson like five-year-old Daisy Girl Scout Emilia Quintanar. Emilia and her sister, Andrea, along with their parents spent the morning in their Eastlake neighborhood of Chula Vista, California selling the famous cookies on the first day of the annual fundraising selling season, and the first year you don’t have to wait for them to arrive. Bet you can’t eat just one. More photos.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Bet You Can’t Eat Just One

Bolt Fans

They’re colorful, crazy, raucous, sometimes ridiculous, and dedicated to their football team. They’re San Diego Chargers fans. Each home game they come from all over to Qualcomm Stadium tailgating and party it up until it’s game time. Then they take it inside and become the 12th man on the field. At the hands of the New York Jets, the season didn’t end the way anyone wanted, but next season they’ll be back, crazy, raucous, sometimes ridiculous, and just as dedicated. After all, they’re San Diego Chargers fans……… More photos.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Bolt Fans

Raging Waters

With the recent heavy rains in San Diego came the flooding that is all too common in this semi-arid desert, and it looked more like a rushing river than a business street. It seemed like the car was floating, but it wasn’t. Experts will tell you that it only takes six-inches of water to make a car float away. Luckily for the owner, that didn’t happen. A short time after the photo was taken, the water started to subside.

Howard Lipin
Photo used by permission of The San Diego Union-Tribune

Raging Waters

New Mobius Images Photography Courses

If you have ever dreamed of learning photography from a professional photographer or photojournalist, then we have the opportunity for you. You can learn from photographers whose work has appeared in the New York Times, USA Today, San Diego Union-Tribune and the London Times, as well as being part of the news/photo department of an award winning newspaper.

Our team of instructors have over 100 years of experience in the field of photography and now you have the chance to learn from them in group classes as well as one on one in this series of informative and hands-on classes.

The first series of classes is on Saturday, February 20th, with photographers Howard Lipin, Sandy Huffaker and Ronnie Revoredo at the Mira Mesa Village Rec hall at 10550 Caminito Flores, San Diego, CA 92126. The courses for the day are Intro to Photography 1 at 10am, Intro to Photography 2 at 12:30pm and Portrait Photography at 3pm. For future classes you can choose from any combination of the following courses:

• Introduction to Photography
• Introduction to Photography 2
• Travel & Landscape
• Portrait Photography
• Sports Photography
• Lighting
• and Advanced Photography (File management & Processing)

Don't delay as these classes will fill up very quickly, so reserve your spot soon.

Photography Courses

Introductory course $60.00 Intro Course DUO $100.00 Single Course $80.00 Two Course $140.00 Three Course $160.00 Four Course Suite $180.00

New Mobius Images Photography Courses

After our meeting last night

The Mobius Image partners had a long and spirited meeting last night and after all was packed up and done we lumbered our way out to the parking lot, where out of the corner of my eye I could have sworn I saw lightning. At first I thought perhaps I was imagining things, but I decided to cruise around just to be sure. No sooner had I driven 5 minutes, than I had my confirmation. Lightning! As elusive as Mother Nature can be, I was pretty certain of the shot that I wanted, now it was up to her to cooperate.

She didn't. She is fickle. I waited and I drove and waited some more. Unfortunately, we don't always get the shot we want, but I did get a tiny taste of what I wanted. Next time Mother Nature, next time.

Ronnie Revoredo

After our meeting last night