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