Another Year In The Gym...

But not just for working out, a great deal of it shooting photos like this one with fitness hottie Cassandra Madero...


Yes that is me in the mirror, background left, leaning into the waist level viewfinder of a Leaf medium format digital camera.

Anyway, I will be spending a lot more time in the gym for 2009. I lift weights too, a lot of big ones. But I will also be lifting a lot of cameras.

Thanks for visiting all year! And keep coming back in 2009 if you "Wanna See More...?"

Working Out...

Working out at the Power of Fitness Gym in Palm Springs California with amateur bodybuilder, Anu McKnight...





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I Can't Believe...

Almost an entire month has passed without me doing a new Blog post! So here are a few photos from some shoots to keep things going...

















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Always In The Gym...

Either working out or like this time, shooting photos...


I am often asked about how I get the different look to my photos. Well in this case, it is by shooting medium format film. This is Tri-X pushed 2 stops on a Mamiya 645AFDII for all you camera guys. The bicep belongs to amateur bodybuilder, Anu McKnight, shot at the Power of Fitness Gym in Palm Springs, California.

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“STF” - “Slim, Tone & Fit”

"STF" is a brand new magazine on the stands from the publisher of "Planet Muscle". "The Woman You Want To Be" it says on the cover with Jessica Paxson who is a woman you could want to be. And she is great, I know, I photographed her wedding to Peter Putnam just a couple of years ago.

But it is one big feature inside the magazine I think is very cool. It is seven full pages of training with the 2008 Ms Figure America and my good buddy, Ava Cowan. And even better it is filled with photographs shot by me with Ava right out here by my home in Palm Springs, California at the Power of Fitness Gym.


So you will be seeing Ava’s feature along with my photos in "STF" all next year so keep a watch out for it. And the current issue is on the newsstands but I think it is almost close to being sold out. But look for it and let me know what you think!

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Just me at work shooting photos...

That's me holding the camera standing behind amateur bodybuilder Sean Jones. In the gym is where you can usually find me. And by the way, I can out-lift Sean :)

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Tossing Some Weight Around... A Lot Of Weight!

At the 2008 IPF Masters World Powerlifting Championships over the last week (see my post below) I had a chance to see 42 year old Brad Gillingham set a new world record for this federation. This was 395 kilograms which is about 871 pounds. Not a bad lift for a kid…




He is a big kid though, 6-5 and 331 pounds. And you might notice that he doesn’t use a reverse grip, both hands are overhand which makes it really hard to hold on to that bar..

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Mamiya Selects.... ME!

For over 50 years, Mamiya has been among the best for professional cameras and lenses. And Mamiya has been my choice for much of my work in both film and digital formats. Indeed whenever I have the chance, it is my Mamiya that is first out of my bag when I need the best images and the most reliable camera system to get it for me.

Now Mamiya has started a Blog "Celebrating Mamiya Photographers Around The World" and I am very proud to be one of the two first photographers to be featured.

So check out the Mamiya website and click on the Blog. And in the future you might be seeing and hearing more from me there too.

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Heavy Lifting!

A change of pace for me, photographing Powerlifting. This is the 2008 IPF Masters World Powerlifting Championships. It is called the "World" Championships because it brought in 273 athletes from 32 countries around the world.


This is what warming up looks like...



This competition goes on for 5 days so I will be shooting more. Watch for some really big guys and some interesting people.

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Time In The Gym...

I spend a great deal of time in the gym, doing photo shoots and also working out myself. But here is one from a photo shoot; Sean Jones...


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Rebecca Hahn... "Feral"

One person described this look as "feral". Definition... "A feral child (feral, wild, or undomesticated) is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age..." I think it is a feeling, a look, we find sexy. What do you think?


As you can see this was shot on film, medium format. I continue to find the subtlety of film very special. It lends itself to a photograph that has a depth I do think is often missing from digital images. And it further lends itself to breathtaking large prints.

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I Just Really LIked This Shoot!

This photo is from a studio shoot about a year ago for a National print ad with fitness model Maria Rogers. It was just a really fun, but long, day of shooting.


For those of you who would like to know, it was shot with Canon 1DMkII, Canon 70-200L 2.8 lens and tethered to an Apple G4 notebook computer. Main lighting was Profoto.

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"Muscle Beach" from July 4th...

A few photos from my shooting at the Muscle Beach bodybuilding competition on July 4th...







And finally the beach at Muscle Beach, world famous Venice Beach...


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Devastation, Past or Future?

I recently took a drive to the Salton Sea not that far from my home in Palm Springs California. Once one of the most popular tourist destinations in the West not that long ago, it has fallen into devastation. Although there are communities around the Sea and visitor destinations, there are a great number of remnants of the past haunting the shores.


As I photographed and walked along the edges of this once great salt sea it seemed as though I could just as well be looking at the future of this planet following a climate caused catastrophe or some other man made disaster. Would it not look the same?

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Muscle Beach July 4th

As has been the case for the last few years I will be at world famous "Muscle Beach" at Venice Beach California for July 4th. I am always there for the bodybuilding and figure competitions. If you have been following along or viewed my website you know that bodybuilding, health and fitness are a big part of my photography business. And it is always fun at "Muscle Beach". We do get surprise visits from people out there all the time, it is a special place in L.A. Just last year we had this guy named Arnold come riding his bicycle down the boardwalk for a visit...


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Another 39 Megapixel...

Why do I feel like I should shoot everything with a 39 megapixel back?


The Phase One P45+ back is very exceptional as is the Capture One software. But with that said I still very much like shooting film.

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39 Megapixel Update...

Here is one more photo from my opportunity of shooting with the Phase One P45+ digital back; in follow up to my prior post below...


The detail produced by this back is just astounding as is the color and dynamic range. It is truly an amazing photography tool.

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39 Megapixels!

I have been shooting with the Phase One P45+ digital back for the last few days. This is a 39 megapixel monster on the back of my Mamiya 645AFDII and mostly used with the 105-210AF Mamiya lens. It does seem strange to be walking around with an almost $40,000 camera! Anyway for you photography tech folks, I thought I would give you my immediate impressions...


Now it does help if you get yourself a good looking model to work on these technical tests. Lucky for me my buddy Cara was up to the task. But on to the Phase One back...

First it is as simple to use as you could possibly want. Very simple menu system, easy to read screen and operated by four buttons on the back surrounded the LCD. It does not get any easier. Operationally it worked without pause or problem although battery life seemed a little limited but not as to create an issue. Shooting at 1.5 seconds per frame is slower than your smaller format Canon or Nikon but shooting with studio strobes will slow you down anyway. And much faster than that and perhaps you need to slow down anyway and get it right. Viewing photos on the LCD indoors and they are bright and sharp. Turning the camera moves them from vertical to horizontal which is a big plus. The LCD is a little small but it does work well enough except outdoors where most back of the camera LCD's become useless anyway.

But what this back does do is put out an enormous high quality photo. And that is especially true if you use the Capture One software. In Capture One, the RAW photos just jump right off the screen. Adjustments are fast and intuitive and this despite being 233 megabyte tiffs. Right out of the camera you have an 18x24 inch file at 300ppi! At 39 megapixels you are getting images with mind boggling sharpness and detail. A model with less than perfect makeup and complexion will cause you to be spending some amount of time working on skin in PhotoShop. Color is beautiful with even the slightest of color shades being well rendered. Highlights and shadows are completely superior to the smaller formats. Much more what I would expect to see in larger format film.

So what to do with 39 megapixels? Well my needs are perhaps more advanced than many. I do get asked to produce "covers" and full page or double page images for magazines. And in a world of mediocre I am lucky to have some clients that still demand the highest quality. That is where the Phase One P45+ comes in. And better is what I prefer to do. At least I try.

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We All Do It...

At least I think we all do it. We seem to all take photos out the window or from the balcony of our hotel rooms when we travel. As professional photographers we just can't help ourselves, it is almost required and built into our genes. For me it is also a testing ground to make sure my cameras and equipment are working before a shoot. It also is a testing ground for new things.

On one recent trip I tried out some new black and white film, the new formulation of Kodak 400 T-Max. Just some snap shots from my balcony with the Mamiya 645AFDII, roll scanned at processing to about 6.5 megs and then sized and sharpened for online display. That's the tech stuff for you photographers out there.







I would say that it is an excellent film with superb sharpness, beautiful tonality and without grain for a film at 400asa. I will be shooting more of it.

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Muscle Beach on Memorial Day Weekend...

It was great fun as always!


This is Jake Sawyer who was doing his very first bodybuilding competition. Anyway I have been really busy but wanted to get a new blog post in. But more soon! Thanks and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More...?"

A Car For The New Economy...

Here it is, the Isetta!


With a gas tank that holds 3.5 gallons it was way ahead of it's time, built in the 1950's.


Photographed at the Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance 2008 in Palm Springs California. The camera was the medium format, Mamiya 645AFDII with the Mamiya 45mm f/2.8 lens. The film was Kodak Porta 160vc.

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Driving Along...

Recently I was driving back from an assignment. A somewhat long drive, it took me through a few places I had not been before. Bright and sunny and not in any hurry, something caught my eye in the middle of the small town of San Jacinto, California. It was a tank...


In the midst of a beautiful green park surrounded by Roses in bloom and beautifully maintained is a United States Army tank. So I had to stop and take a look...


I had happened upon the San Jacinto Veterans Memorial at Druding Park. There are dedications to each war and all Veterans, a replica of the Fenwick Lighthouse in honor of the Coast Guard, an anchor from the USS Cleveland, and a propeller from the B-17 Flying Fortress...


There is also a plaque honoring one of San Jacinto's own fallen...


It is interesting what you can see when you slow down in the world.

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Buddha, Bullets and Cactus...

There are times when there are no words strung together that can adequately describe something. It is then that the camera is the ideal tool...


A scene in Pioneertown, California. It was just there.

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Film - Digital Workflow

I am asked all the time about what I use for scanning film and processing because I am using much more film lately and love the results. Certainly for many assignments, digital is the choice and small format or medium format digital is a main part of my work too. But let me explain what I do for film...


Film after shot is dropped off or sent via Fedex to "The Icon" photo lab in Los Angeles. Icon is a top pro lab serving a great deal of the ad and commercial business in L.A. and more. According to my instructions, Icon processes the film and then roll scans the entire rolls to the size I request. Typically I have been using 10 megs per image. By the way, I am mostly shooting medium format 645 and some 35mm. The scans are then uploaded to my Icon hosted light-box called an Icon Box. From there I can view and download, as well as organize, rank, make notes and order other services from those images. Client viewing can also be set up and retouch notes can go back and forth. It is a very versatile system.

At that point if I need any larger scans I will then order drum scans at typically 50 megs. That is a size that will cover every commercial request I get, easily, as well as very large prints. Most of my individual prints are done by myself on a Canon ipf5000 large format printer.

Now that is my workflow for commercial ad work and such. Other services I use, for example, are Buckeye Color Labs for larger quantity printing or orders of event type photos. And I use PhotoShelter for viewing and delivery of digital imaging.

If you have any questions, please fell free to send me a note to SecondFocus@mac.com. And keep coming back if "You Wanna See More...?"

Sasha and 360inPalmSprings

Sometimes it all just comes together just fine. The model is Sasha Anna Brown, a competitive figure newcomer and recent overall winner at the NPC Max Muscle Naturals in Anaheim California. The location is '360inPalmSPrings' a spot overlooking a canyon with a wonderful deck and a unique infinity pool.


Makeup and hair by Blythe Wargo of Palm Springs. And for your photography interests, the camera was the Mamiya 645AFDII shooting Kodak Tri-X film.


This photo was also shot with the Mamiya but on Fuji Acros 100 film.


Also the Mamiya camera but this time with Ilford Delta 3200 film.


And finally this is a digital photo. Shot on the Canon 5D with the Canon 24-70L lens.

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