Essdras M Suarez - Photographer - Blog

Mixed Bag

2012-01-25T17:49:00.004-05:00

FOOD, SPORTS, FEATURES AND WILDLIFE: These is pretty exemplary of the range of assignments a photographer working for a newspaper gets to experience. These images were shot between last Friday and today 012512. BEHIND THE SCENES/ HOW THINGS WORK: Most of us staff photographers at the Boston Globe are required to be able to photograph whatever is needed on that day at that moment. We all shoot food, some better than others. Others shoot sports, I don't do it that often and that is why when sent to cover a track meet the photo I ended up liking the most was that of the start-gun going off. But when it comes to weather, that my friends is the "great equalizer" among the staff members. It doesn't matter who you are or what your perceived specialty might be we all have to pay the piper when it snows, rains, when the sun comes out,when the sun hides,etc, etc. The frog image I made during an day off visit to the zoo. TECH STUFF: the only technical aspects worth mentioning here is the two food shots were shot on location with two off-camera strobes at a crisscrossed pattern at about 11 and 4 on a clock face. Speed is maximum synch-flash speed for my Mark IV 1/320th of a second, lens: 60mm 2.5 macro.

Elizabeth Banks

2012-01-20T18:28:00.005-05:00

Boston, MA 012012 Actress Elizabeth Banks was in town to promote her new movie Man on a Ledge. We photographed her at the Liberty Hotel on January 2012. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/G BEHIND THE SCENES: In the course of my job I have gotten used to photographing people from all walks of life. From US presidents to actors to regular people. So I just don't get star struck anymore. However I apparently can still become "beauty struck." Banks possesses such a natural and radiant beauty it is kind of hard to look at her for too long when her full attention is upon you. Thankfully, she was really nice and a professional when it came to being in front of the camera. The whole shoot took about five minutes and not because that is what I was allowed- sometimes that is how much time you are given with movie stars and alike- but instead it was that short because that is how long it took me to make the photo that I wanted. Some days my job is just that easy. (:-) I also knew she had been doing interviews and photo shoots all day long and that I was the last one on her schedule so I didn't see the need to keep her longer than necessary. I got what I wanted really fast and I believe on quitting on a high note. TECH STUFF: I had originally set up a mono-light with a medium rectangular soft box but I also kept paying attention to a shaft of light coming from a reflection off a building and through the window. When I saw her up close I knew immediately she was the kind of subject who could handle such dramatic light and I was correct. ISO 500, aperture 2.8, speed 1/500th of a second, WB sunshine. Cameras MarkIV and Nikon D3s, lenses 17-35mm 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 EXTRA TECH: While using aperture priority- my favorite mode- the matrix metering in the camera wanted me to use a 1/160th of a second at 2.8 I know the limitations of my gear so I used that to my advantage and increased the speed to 1/500th of a second to expose just for the highlights. (for those old school shooters you may recall this is how we used to shoot chrome.) Thus creating the dramatic effect seen on these images.

New Hampshire Primaries

2012-01-10T14:43:00.007-05:00

Manchester, NH 011012 Presidential candidates made a stop by the Woods School in Manchester, NH on the day of the New Hampshire primaries. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: I hadn't been asked this time around to cover much of the candidates as they campaigned up until today: the day of the primaries. My assignment was scheduled for noon and I was to get John Huntsman stopping by this school. The other candidates had already come by and everybody else had a claim on the "good spots." So I did not panicked but instead I looked around and made a tactical decision to stand across and above. A position where at the time there were no other members of the media and I just hoped for the best. As luck has it, the best did happen and I got a couple of great images of Huntsman with his wife with the supporters and media in the background. Later I got Ron Paul being escorted out by his staff and Manchester police officers.

Just as in martial arts, when covering an event with other media: You don't fight the flow you go with it.

The other two shots: The PETA activist driving around dressed as pigs was just too good to pass up. And the Sanctorum broken-down truck could be interpreted in many different ways. Bottom line when you are in the "on mode" while shooting you should pay attention to everything since everything can make a picture.

TECH STUFF: two cameras: Nikon D3s, MarkIV/ two lenses Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 and Canon 70- 200mm 2.8 with a 1.4TC. ISO 400- 640. Speeds 1/250th- 1/800th of a second. WB: Cloudy.

Last Day of the Year

2011-12-31T14:44:00.004-05:00

Boston, MA 123111 A gaggle of Canada geese displace a seagull as they land on the Charles River, a friendly feline vies for the attention of passersby from his South Boston store window display and a florist loads a truck with white-feather center pieces for a new year- motif wedding later on the day. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe staff)/ BEHIND THE SCENES: This is the first time in about five years where I am not scheduled to work the late shift on New Year's. Therefore I am going to miss all the preparations for Boston's First Night celebration, its parade and the fireworks. It really is okay since I get to spend time with my lovely wife instead at a friend's restaurant. Anyway, I only had one official assignment today and it was to photograph a restaurant in South Boston. I took it upon myself to look for features since I know the latter are always well appreciated by the photo editors. Sometimes these kind of photos also known as "no-stories,""stand alones," "enterpise photos," or simply "features" are hard to come by if you look too hard but sometimes like today they are everywhere you look. It is in days like this one, I appreciate even more what a great job I have when the world around me is my visual playground. TECH STUFF: two cameras: Mark- IV, Nikon D3, 24-70mm 2.8 Nikon lens, 70-200mm 2.8 Canon. ISOs 400 to 1,000. Speeds from 1/80th of a second to 1/25oth of a sec. Apertures 2.8- 5.6.

X-Mas Pageant Trinity Church Boston

2011-12-25T11:12:00.005-05:00

Boston, MA 122411 In front of a full house, children perform during the Christmas Pageant at the Trinity Church at Copley Square on December 24, 2011. The official cast is only Mary, Joseph and a couple of angels but then the members of the congregation are asked if there is anyone out there who'd like to play the roles of stars and manger animals. This is the point where hundreds of children and even some adults take to the front of the church. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) BEHIND THE SCENES: In my 10 years at the Globe I've covered several Christmas pageants in different denomination churches. So I kind of knew what to expect... up to a point. At first I was a bit concerned since I saw the official cast was only about five children or so and I knew the Globe was counting on my photos for page one display so when they asked for actor volunteers and I saw how many came up I knew it would be all right. TECH STUFF: I was told by the officials at the church not to use my flashes since these disturb the children. I acquiesced and left them in my car. A decision I regretted the moment I saw the number of parents who crowded around the front of the church with camera in hands and flashes popping everywhere. As luck has it the girl's face in the main photo, the angel with open arms, was light by a red-eye reduction beam coming from a camera belonging to one of the parents. Had it not been for this serendipitous accident her eyes would have been cast in shadows due to the overhead-light scheme. ISO: 3,200 to 5,000/ Speeds: 1/60th to 1/160th of a second/ Cameras: Nikon D-3s, Mark IV/ Lenses: 24-70mm 2.8 Nikon, 70-200mm 2.8 Canon/ CompactFlash cards: SanDisk Extreme III 4GB and SanDisc Extreme 8GB (UDMA)

Santa's Land Closing

2011-12-17T22:48:00.003-05:00

Putney, VT 121711 Butch Johnson (cq) left, of Vernon, VT, who last visited the park twenty odd years ago and who came this weekend with his son and his family (not in photo) and the Swallow (Cq) family of Palmer, MA: (l to r) Danny (Cq), 11 (orange cap), Hunter (cq), 8, and their parents (mom and dad) await on December 17, 2011 for Santa's Land Express as they visited Santa's Land, a Putney, VT, Christmas theme park since 1957, which is closing its doors. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET
BEHIND THE SCENES: When an editor asks me if I feel like taking a ride I usually just answer, "Sure, where am I going." This time it was Putney, VT, about 2.5 hours away from Boston. The home of Santa's Land which was closing its doors after having been an attraction cherished by generation after generation since 1957. We as journalists get used to not paying to enter places like these because we are indeed working when we are there. But today I was a bit taken aback when I was told, "It's $10.60 to get it in..." It certainly wasn't the price but the fact that I was paying to do a story on them. But after I thought it over for a bit I realized why not? This was its last weekend and every penny counts. So more power to them. There were still some ponies, and llamas around but a lot of the animals which used to be part of their regular attractions were no longer there. Interesting enough the park was filled with people on this day. Some heard about its closing and wanted to rekindle a childhood memory, others had never been there before and figure they'd at least visit once before it went the way of the dodo. The forlorn look on the faces of the people waiting for Santa's Land Express told the story best in my opinion... however I'm pretty sure that is not what will make the paper tomorrow. TECH STUFF: 2 cameras: Mark IV and Nikon D3s, a 24-70mm 2.8 and a 70-200mm 2.8 w a 1.4TC. ISOs 640, speeds 400 to 1600.

Occupy Boston: Protesters being removed

2011-12-10T09:39:00.005-05:00

Boston, MA 121011 After several false alarms and rampant rumors Boston Police Department forcibly removed protesters from the Occupy Boston encampment at Dewey Square on December 10, 2011. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) BEHIND THE SCENES: During my career as a photojournalist, I've covered a lot of civil unrest confrontations between police and protesters. I must say this was one of the most well-planned, managed and executed massive arrests I've seen in my 18 years in the biz. Once the police arrived they herded the media to specific areas and we were told to shoot from our "assigned location." I've always had issues with the "media amoeba" (that amorphous mass of shooters who move as one and get the same images.), the mass mentality. I've felt I've always worked best when I act on my own. So I kept trying to step back into the off- limit area a couple of times. After the second time I was told very politely by a police officer if I were to do that again I would be subject to arrest. At this point I decided to move away from the immediate area. I saw one of Boston Globe star reporters, Maria Cramer, talking to Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, whom I've photographed several times in the past, so I inched my way next to them. He saw me and he said hi as he acknowledged my presence. I hung out near him even though he was at the outer boundary of the "arrest perimeter." This was progress but I was still pretty far away and the arrests were about to commence. So I turned to the commissioner and said, "Sir, those people are about to be arrested and there is no media near where the action is happening. If some allegations of police brutality or alike were to be brought up in the future don't you think you ought to have someone from an outside source in there documenting exactly what's going on." I added, "sort of a tight- pool situation." He looked at me and said, "You are right, follow me." And that is how I got to be the only still photographer allowed to be so close to where the massive- arrest action was occurring. Lesson learned: Sometimes all you gotta do is ask. TECH STUFF: 2 cameras, a Mark IV and a Nikon D-3s. Two lenses 16-35mm 2.8 and 70- 200mm 2.8. Two flash units with external battery packs. ISO 1600, speeds 1/15th- 1/125th of a second.

Waiting for the Witching Hour at Occupy Boston

2011-12-08T21:37:00.009-05:00

Boston, MA 120811 Occupy Boston protesters which have been occupying Dewey Square for over two months lost their last legal battle yesterday and were given eviction notice for today December 8 at the stroke of midnight. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: I haven't covered the Occupy movement that much so the fact that I'm here tonite on their final "legal" night makes it a good night for photos. I'm sure there will be an update to this blog later on. TECH STUFF: 1 Nikon D3 and 1 March IV, a 70- 200mm 2.8 on the Nikon and my trusty 16-35mm 2.8 on the Canon. Tonite Im going to need as much range as I can from shooting. As is Ive been using ISOs from 3200 to 8,000 so far. Later on I will use my strobes and take down the ISOs. I havent used the flash yet (2145 hours) the cold tends to kill batteris fast, Im saving these for the action photos later no tonite ... LATER UPDATE: So the witching hour came and nothing happened. Protesters awaited expectantly but Boston Police Department never amassed with riot gear. BPD officers present just kept their distance. After a while the protester crowded around an adjacent street, Atlantic Boulevard, and eventually brought traffic to a stand still... at 1:00AM in the morning. The police just diverted traffic one block away and business as usual continued. I finally left around 1:30AM to file images and barely made it my newsprint deadline. The top photo where the protesters are starting to sit on the street was the cover of today's paper. TECH STUFF: Turned on my flash finally but the cold kept sapping batteries away which made it falter quite a bit. Thank you for the gods of technology which allow you to shoot at 12,800+ ISO. INTERESTING POINT: It always amazes me how people will put themselves in front of the cameras to be photographed so the world can see them but when you approach them for their name they tell you, "You don't need my name."

Trainers Artemis and Eric

2011-12-05T22:17:00.006-05:00

Needham, MA 112711 My trainer friend Artemis Scantalides and I have been talking about updating her website photos for about a year and it finally happened a couple of weeks back. She and her business partner, Eric Gahan, are both personal trainers and they specialize in kettle bells training. TECH STUFF: The studio in which they train GStarfit in Needham, MA is a pretty cool studio with all the accoutrements of the trade. Big olympic cages, straps, barbells,medicine balls, exercise balls, etc, etc and a good amount of windows all over the place. From a photo shoot point of view, this basically translates into a lot of competing visual elements. Since this was about showcasing Artemis and Eric I decided to go with a black velvet background and side lights. However I hadn't realized their uniforms were black and the kettle bells they use were also black. This presented a lighting problem: I was working with people dressed in black, against a black backdrop (black velvet is the best when you want to drop the background out because it swallows the light), using a black prop (the kettle bells). I realized I needed to off set so much black by pointing spotlights in all of these elements to makes them stand out from the background. So the set up is as follow: Two autopoles against the ceiling, a crossbar and a custom-made black velvet backdrop. I used a strip softbox (14" x 56") to one side, a hair-light with a wide grid on it coming straight down from above and behind them. In the shot with the two of them I had one spotlight right behind them pointing at them so I could get a nice rim-backlight effect. And finally I had my assistant Timothy Dunn, hand hold another spot light and his job was to keep following the movement of the kettle bells as they executed training moves. EQUIPMENT: 2 battery packs, a 2400 and a 1200 watt Elite packs, three to four lights depending on the shot. One camera- a D-3S, and two lenses: 70- 200mm and the 24-70mm both 2.8s. The ISO was 100, the setting for the camera was RAW + JPG. I was pretty satisfied with the results and so were my clients.

Enjoying the Boston Weather

2011-11-20T20:35:00.003-05:00

Boston, MA 112011 Today was one of those rare warm November days in New England so I was assigned to look for "weather art." This means find someone or something which visually illustrates the kind of day Bostonians were experiencing. BEHIND THE SCENES: When you've been as a photographer for a while you develop a mental check list of places you can go visit for specific situations. The Esplanade along the Charles River, which divides the cities of Boston and Cambridge, is usually a sure thing. And my instincts didn't fail me this time either. At first I photographed runners, and bicyclists and then people with their dogs called my attention but I finally knew I had it when I saw this woman setting up a "slack line" in between two trees. I've seen these daredevils of the "low-altitude wire" do their thing before and I knew it was only a matter of waiting for moments to start occurring. The woman turned out to be the founder of the Boston Slack Line Club and she was quite adroit at this activity. Then as passersby would stop by to watch she'd asked them if they wanted to try and a great number did try indeed. The girl being guided by her dad and the slack-line expert made for a great moment. I just threw the dog jumping as a way of showing my attempt on how to photograph the mundane in an interesting manner. In this case I used a telephoto, I made sure my subjects were backlit and I waited for a moment: dog jumping. TECH STUFF: 2 cameras: a MarkIII and a MarkIV, two lenses: a 16-35mm 2.8 and a 300mm 2.8 with a 1.4TC. ISO: 200-400, speed 1/250th of a second to 1/3200th of a second. Aperture: 2.8- 22

First of many: A La Carte Photo Journeys/ Cuba 2011

2011-11-03T22:22:00.006-04:00

Havana, Cuba 10/27- 10/30/11 I recently had the privilege of accompanying four Canadians to Cuba on a photographic journey. I was their mentor on site. I've never posted so many photos at once but Cuba is Cuba and it deserves these many and more. Keeping to my style of shooting I followed my journalistic compass and simply allowed life to pass in front of my lens as I documented the scenes. I went for the ordinary and not the exceptions. From the beautiful Capitolio building being bathed by the rising sun rays to the man about to step into a puddle after an afternoon thunderstorm. Everywhere you look in Cuba, time seems to have stood still as colors explode, people mill about, and the texture of life beckons the eye. TECH STUFF: two cameras a Nikon D-3 and a Nikon D-3s, two lenses: 70- 200mm 2.8 with a 1.4TC, ISO:100-640

Italy on a Point and Shoot

2011-10-25T15:31:00.008-04:00

Italy October 2011 I recently had the blessing of celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary and my gorgeous soul- mate, Sara, and I agreed Italy was a place we both wanted to visit. I being who I am and she knowing me as well as she does, immediately told me, "this is not going to be a photo trip." I said, "Of course not..." But in reality I was not very happy about the prospect of visiting such a visually-rich environment without my trusty DSLRs at hand. So I came up with a creative solution: instead of taking my big cameras and all the lenses that come along with it I convinced her that if I bought a point- and- shoot camera that would be all that I'd need. I did a lot of research and I asked a lot of professional photographers their opinion. At eh end I concluded I would try this specific "point-and_shoot" (which I now think is a blatant understatement and misnomer):the Leica X-1. I've always heard these camera brand and its legendary optics celebrated reverentially. As someone who'd never tried one, it always seemed to me as if such high praises had to have contain a great degree of exaggeration... that is until I tried one. The optics performed magnificently and the degree of control afforded by the camera when it came to aperture and speed control as well as its many yet simple features made it feel just as if I were using one of my big "guns." By using this tiny camera and making the photos I was able to make, I was once more able to prove one of the mantras I teach during my photo workshops: "It's not about the gear, it's about how you- the photographer- sees the world around you." However I think now I must add to that statement,"... it doesn't hurt if you have great optics backing you up." So if you don't want to log around your big cameras while on vacation or while simply not on assignment, or you simply want to give your weary shoulders and knees a break, then the Leica X-1 is a great alternative.

2011 Head of The Charles Regatta

2011-10-22T20:06:00.002-04:00

Cambridge, MA The 2011 Head of the Charles Regatta took place under a perfect New England fall day which brought thousands of spectators to watch the competition. (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe) BEHIND THE SCENES: I have photographed this event about four or five times in my career and I can not recall a more beautiful fall day. The temperatures were in the 60's but the sun was shining for most of the day. On top of having to get enough images for a gallery in boston.com they wanted me to get features that said fall, thus the beautiful wide angle shot with the rowers, crowd and clouds. I was also asked for other features. Regularly I try not to photograph children and babies for the sake of them being cute. I believe these to be too much of an "easy" subject to photograph. I usually require a moment within context in order for a situation to appeal enough for me to make a photo. In this case the mother hoisting her six-month old worked beautifully because it was a way to show the reader/ viewer the crowds attending the event plus this was a bona-fide moment. The same with the man and his dog. It is because I caught the jump in mid air and how this slice of time blends with its environment and how it told the story of the good weather and the crowds watching that I deemed the scene worthy of this photo. The clean black background in the rower images is because I know where the sun is going to come from and how it hits the faces of the rowers and the dark background of the bridges that I knew enough to be in that spot. However this year I'd forgotten where it was originally and it took me about 20 minutes of walking around to find it again. TECH STUFF: low ISOs between 200- 340. Speeds in the 1000th's of a second. WB at cloudy. EXTRA NOTE: The image of the boat, the crowd, the clouds and the sun starburst I designed by closing my aperture all the way to 22 to make sure I would get that beautiful effect. GEAR: Two bodies a MarkIII and a MarkIV, three lenses: 70-200mm 2.8, 17-35mm 2.8, 300mm 2.8 and a 1.4TC.

Queen Elizabeth Boston Maiden Voyage

2011-09-22T18:52:00.004-04:00

South Boston, MA 092211 As Cunard's Queen Elizabeth docked at the Black Falcon Pier in Boston on September 22, 2011, Captain Chris Wells greets a crew member washing windows. At the time of our visit the ship was mostly empty of passengers since a lot had disembarked to take in the Boston sites and attractions. The ship which is a brand new ship, not to be confused withthe QE2 which was sold three years ago to Dubai to be made into a land-locked attraction, is 90,000 tons and has 12 decks for passengers and 4 more decks for crew. The ratio of passenger to crew members is 2:1 (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: In order to gain access to the Queen we had to provide our passport information and then they kept it as we boarded the ship. The ship was due to leave on this night of September 22, 2011 after 2200 hours but in the newspaper world there is rarely an opportunity to spend more than a couple of hours- if that much- on an assignment and this was no exception. We got there a bit before 1500 hours and we were out of there by 1630 hours. I was looking forward to taste cucumber sandwiches at a reception but we, the writer and I, had to move to do other assignments. The Queen Elizabeth is a beautiful, magnificent and lavish ship with heavy a heavy Art Deco penchant. We were told the average age of its passengers is 60+ and well traveled. TECH STUFF: 2 cameras, 2 lenses: 16-35mm 2.8, 70-200 mm 2.8 and a 1.4 TC. ISO 400- 1600, speeds: 1/4th of a second to 1/2500th f a second.

Manhunt for Jewelry Store burglars after shooting cop

2011-09-06T18:34:00.008-04:00

Woburn, MA 090611 Woburn, MA officers and from other police departments organized a manhunt for several men who were at large. The men were allegedly involved in the shooting of a Woburn police officer - he was shot three times but is now in stable condition- during a botched jewelry heist. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) BEHIND THE SCENES: I came into this story a good two and half hours after it broke. I have covered enough situations like this one to know that unless you are one of the first members of the media at the scene there is a very high likelihood you will be hanging around police barricades. This held truth once more today. I tried getting close to the area where the shooting occurred but by the time arrived, the police had a pretty tight perimeter of the surrounding area. So I decided the only thing I could do at this point was to make the best of where I was and to make good images of what was happening in front of me. I was lucky because the intersection I chose is a busy one and on the main road where much activity was happening. This included catching a glimpse of a police cruiser involved in the shooting where you could clearly see the grouping of five shot on the passenger side of the windshield. The man hunt continues. TECH STUFF: Two lenses 70-200 mm 2.8 with a 1.4 TC and a 500mm 4.0 (This is my preferred telephoto since I can hand hold it). Speeds: 1/800th - 1/200th of a second, ISO 640- 800. WB: Cloudy

Sad Labor Day weekend in Boston... homicides

2011-09-05T16:59:00.004-04:00

I worked this Labor Day weekend as a favor for another photographer. I thought I'd spent these days looking for pretty end-of-the summer images such as barbecques and alike. Instead I covered the shooting death of a college-bound 18-year old from a tough part of Boston. Today I had to hightail it to Lawrence, a suburb north of Boston whose population is heavily comprised of hispanics, to the aftermath of a triple homicide. The living-boyfriend of a 39 year old woman shot her and her two teenage children and then he wandered around the neighborhood until he confessed to a passerby. This was one of the most bizarre crime scenes I've ever covered. There were about 300 hundred people just standing around looking toward the address where the homicides where committed. Finally after twelve hours the police removed the bodies and the crowd reacted by crying and whaling. The third body fell from the gurney as it was being transported to the forensic vehicle. The crowd was not too happy about that. BEHIND THE SCENES: whenever I go to a situation like this, I'm very aware to be respectful of those around me. I try to put myself in their shoes and think how would I like members of the media to treat me if these were my friends or relatives who were murdered. I try to make eye contact with my subjects right after I make the photos. In this way I feel as if I am letting know that I am there, and doing my job. Based upon their reaction I might keep making more photos or might simply nod my head as an apology and move on. This was a very mellow and helpful crowd. It wasn't until the very end when they were removing the bodies that I felt tension running through the crowd. The Lawrence police officers behaved quite smartly by not antagonizing the crowd for most of the time. TECH STUFF: two cameras, MARK IV/ MARK III, two lenses: 70-200mm 2.8 with a 1.4TC/ 16-35mm 2.8. ISO 200-400, Speed 1/640th to 1/125oth of a second. WB: sunny.

Caribbean Festival Boston

2011-08-29T14:22:00.004-04:00

Dorchester, MA 082711 Members of the Soca Associates Band of Boston take part in the Annual Caribbean Carnival and Parade on August 27, 2011 in Dorchester, MA to the delights of crowds lining the parade route. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/MET BEHIND THE SCENES: I love shooting stuff like this. I know a lot of my fellow shooters don't agree with me but I find situations like parades and outdoor celebration as a cornucopia of visual materials to feed the furnace of creativity. I still love tight-face shots, I think we in general react well to this kind of images. How else would the viewer notice the length on the fake lavender eyelashes of the pretty dancer? The photo of the kid pulling the big costume: This wouldn't have worked as well it weren't for the double yellow line in the middle of the street. The latter became and extra element to lead the viewer's eye into your subject. The girl on the ground: She had just tried a dance move which required her hips to go very low to the ground. Well she did achieve this but ended up falling down. In the true spirit of the day she was all smiles even after the fall. The kid in the red costume: Sometimes we as photographers find ourselves with such bountiful palette of colors, and elements to chose from it is easy to give in and to want to show more in your image. But that great rule still applies, "less is more." Good shooting my friends. TECH STUFF: WB cloudy, ISO 400-800, speeds 1/125th to 1/640th of a second. Lenses 16- 35mm 2.8 and 70-200mm 2.8 w a 1.4 TC.

Of Dogs and Men

2011-08-17T09:05:00.005-04:00

Watertown, MA 081711 This series of images are meant to make us smile and to hopefully raise the spirits of my friend and Ninpo Tai Jutsu instructor, "Sensei Marc" , whom recently lost his beloved dog Choco. http://www.kusadojo.net/blog
Who knows what it was? It might have been our ancestor's admiration for the canine's graceful gait while hunting in packs. Or perhaps the old minds wondered about the furry beasts as they howled to one another on cold nights. But something indeed made us want to get to know them better. I'm sure once the original awkward bite and growl were over, this mutually-beneficial relationship just blossomed. And for some of us they just became another member of our families. May you have good travels Choco.

"Go the F_ _ _ _ to Sleep"

2011-07-29T21:37:00.004-04:00

Foxboro, MA 053111 At the Francomano residence in Foxborough putting their four-year old Jack (Cq) to sleep is job which involves everyone due to Jack's endless procastination tactics. We photographed the daily ordeal to go along with a story on a book who has become a hit with parents: " Go the F**K To Sleep." (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe)/ BEHIND THE SCENES: The first thing you want to do in a situation like this one where your job is to document is you have to let the whole family become acquainted with you. This includes the children in the household. The best possible scenario is that they become bored with you and start ignoring you with is the best thing that can happen to a photojournalist. In this specific situation the second most important thing is you have to shoot from a child-eye's level. This is how they see the world from below up. In other words: BEND YOUR KNEES when photographing kids. Jack was such a veteran of elongating the ritual he didn't really pay much attention to me or the videographer who accompanied me that day. My job that day was to try to become the proverbial "fly on the wall." I think I accomplished this quite well since the whole family went about the business of trying to put Jack to sleep and Jack went about his job of trying to outsmart the rest of the family so he wouldn't have to go to sleep. TECH STUFF: I used extremely high ISOs on this shoot because I knew the strobes would take away from the natural ambiance, away from the daily natural routine in the household. I used my Mark IV and I just kept changing lenses. On that night my second camera, a MarkIII, was basically just a lens holder since it really doesn't do well on low light situations. ISO: 1,000 to 8,000; speed 1/30th - 1/60th of a second; WB: Auto; lenses 16-35mm 2.8 and 70-200mm 2.8

Of Colors and Layers

2011-07-23T15:20:00.005-04:00

Boston, MA 072311 It is true that sometimes we photographers are asked to make images of an event or activity which we might not consider to be too visually interesting or appealing. But it is our jobs as visual communicators to bite the bullet and to try to show our daily, mundane, pedestrian world in an interesting manner regardless of the subject matter. Mind you I'm not trying to take away from the importance of an event. But assignments can be clearly divided into visual and non-visual. We can accomplish this by utilizing tools such as layering, juxtaposing of elements and learning how to utilize the full impact of colors in an image. Here we have three different circumstances: The Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure. Basically this is people walking for three days through different settings some rural, some urban. I'm not given three days to illustrate this story. So I had to figure out a way to show something visually common (people walking) in an interesting way. In this case while I was trying to locate the walkers I came upon them around a curve on the road and as I parked across the street I noticed the reflection in the rear-view mirror and the pattern distortion occurring because of the effects of the optics of the lens I was using ( a 70-200mm 2.8 with a 1.4 TC), the reflection in the mirror itself and the yellow and white lines painted on the street. The result is a fairly interesting image. In the second case I was asked to make a photo(s) at the annual Puertorican festival in Dorchester. The problem is that usually when I've gotten this assignment in the past, it is for it to be shot in the middle of the day where there are not that many people due to the sweltering mid-day sumemr heat. The other factor here is that this two-day festival is known for the hordes of people showing up on Sunday... never on Saturday. Yet it is still my job to show an image which may capture a bit of the essence of celebration, of pride, and the sense of the place and of its people and to do this fairly quickly. I found these two clowns playing a guessing game with children as they gave away free midway rides. I tried several different ways of documenting the scene but none was as effective and sophisticated as the one shown here. There is an immediate flow of information being passed on to the viewer by the flag, then you look at the clowns and finally at the overall scene. The last image is of the Bastille Day Celebration a couple of weeks back. This one was a bit tougher since this basically was documenting a "gathering" of people. This is much harder to do unless there are extravagant or strikingly-unique looking characters or activities. None of these applied here. Earlier I had noticed the adornments on the rail at the entrance to this building and the garlands hung around the door and how the light from inside spilled out a bit into the waning evening. It was only a matter of time to wait, observe and to be ready when all elements aligned themselves into what I consider to be an interesting array of moments, layering, and composition.

Charles River Kayaking

2011-07-16T22:26:00.004-04:00

Cambridge MA 071411 For our Summer Series we visited the Charles River Canoe & Kayak in Kendall Square off Broad Canal on July 14, 2011. (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe)/MET BEHIND THE SCENES: The Globe has been doing a water/ summer series on things to do in the city and this was one of the things a writer decided to investigate. No complaints, great weather, beautiful scenery and end-of-the-day light. It's amazing how you really don't know a place until you've walked through it. This is the case with the Kendall Square area in Cambridge which offers amenities like these that you normally wouldn't find out while driving. TECH STUFF: No brainer: two cameras, one w a wide angle and one with a 1.4TC on it. ISO 320-640, speeds... up there. Not much to add on this one other than I'm a sucker for patterns, triangular shapes and pretty light so this was a very easy and enjoyable assignment.

Sand Castle Competition Revere

2011-07-15T22:39:00.005-04:00

Revere, MA 071511 Competitors in the Revere Beach National Sand Sculpting Festival at Revere Beach on July 15, 2011 work on their entries: The Veil and Castle, as beach-goers stop by to catch a glimpse of the artwork. (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe)/MET BEHIND THE SCENES: I've photographed this event a couple of times in the past but this time the weather was perfect and some of the sand sculptures were simply breathtaking. TECH STUFF: As always my trusty wide angle zoom 16-35mm 2.8 and the 70-200mm 2.8., WB cloudy, ISO 320, Aperture 11-16, speed 1/500th of a second plus. In an environment so filled with competing visual elements creating separation between the many subjects and the backgrounds is what makes this a challenging scenario.

South Sudan Flag Raising Boston City Hall

2011-07-10T12:43:00.008-04:00

Boston, MA 070911 Maria Ajang (cq), who was kidnapped into slavery in Northern Sudan at the age of nine-years old , was with her family and over 100 Sudanese now living in the New England area to celebrate the independence of Africa's youngest nation: South Sudan. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Sometimes we cover events at City Hall Plaza and they are just not that visually interesting. However this one proved to be the contrary. Brightly-colored dresses, white feathers ( I was told this symbolize pride), dark skin against bright skies all framed by high emotions. It was a visual cornucopia. TECH STUFF: I usually go by the rule of using my camera at first in Aperture priority mode and then after taking a couple of shots and looking at them, I then switch to manual and take over. This was an extreme case since it was a bright and sunny (high contrast) day and some of the subjects on these photos had skin so dark that it completely threw the camera's internal light- meter readings completely off. So there was a lot of trial and error until I was satisfied with the exposures. But even then the slightest movement on their part, just looking up versus looking down made the exposures change all over again. Lots of patience required for this one but the results speak for themselves. EQUIPMENT: 16-35mm 2.8, 70-200mm 2.8 w 1.4TC. ISO 200-320, apertures 2.8-5.6, speeds 1/800th of a second and above.

2011-07-01T21:28:00.002-04:00

Charlestown, MA 063011 The Sunset Parade at the Charlestown Navy Yard on June 30th, 2011 is designed to celebrate the neighborhood's naval heritage and the New England's patriotic roots. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: On this day I spent all day today covering "patriotic weekend" activities. Earlier I was on the Charles River on the fireworks' barge. Later on the day I was sent to the mooring pier of Old Ironside, USS Constitution, for this parade. I thought I was done after I got the image of the kid being helped with his shoes by another member of the band. But the moment I was driving away the clouds parted and the sun just shone in. So I turned around and got these amazing- light images. Never give up on your natural light. TECH STUFF: 24-70mm 2.8, 70-200mm 2.8 w a 1.4TC, ISO 200, aperture 4.5- 5.6... and exercise patience.

Corpus Cristi Celebration Cuenca, Ecuador

2011-06-26T07:58:00.002-04:00

Cuenca, Ecuador 062411 The religious celebration of Corpus Cristi also known as El Septenario include the burning of structures called castles covered with pyrotechnics as well as hundreds of vendors selling sweets. The festival goes on for seven days and it culminates with a procession on the seventh day. (Essdras M Suarez/ EMS Photography) BEHIND THE SCENES: I was in Ecuador to teach several photo workshops around the country. I was in three different cities and taught close to 100 people between students and professionals. The Corpus Cristi celebration had been mentioned to me but it truly was serendipity that I happened to be there on this night. TECH STUFF: two cameras D3, D3S; two lenses a manual 24 2.0 and a 70-200 AF 2.8. I took a flash but decided against it. ISOs vary from 800 to 3200. Shooting fireworks is always challenging since you are dealing with a constant light-changing situation. As most of the times, I started shooting on Aperture priority and then once I'd look at the images I'd turn the camera to Manual mode thus controlling everything manually. This is strictly a trial and error situation.

Stanley Cup in Boston

2011-06-16T19:53:00.004-04:00

Boston, MA 061611 Bruins’ team members stopped by at Tia's Restaurant and Bar on June 16, 2011 with the Stanley Cup. Fans like Sondra Perry (Cq) (foreground) of Manchester, NH who was posing for a friend to take her photo as Andrea Wolley (Cq) of Boston had her photo taken with Bruins' captain Zdeno Chara (bckground) Later player Dennis Seidenberg moved the cup around for more photos. But the ones that got the most fun out of the event were waitresses Kristen Wright (dk hair) and Kelsey Barrasso (blonde). They had asked to have their photo taken with the cup and when Wright couldn’t pick it up she turned Tyler Seguin and said, “Bro’ could you help me out with this?” and he replied,”did you just ‘bro’ me?”

Caruso Wedding 060411

2011-06-05T17:06:00.010-04:00

June 4, 2011 Watertown, MA Denise Caruso and Dan Bubany the day of their wedding at the Oakley Country Club after their nuptials. (Essdras M Suarez/ EMS Photography) BEHIND THE SCENES: I just don't do that many weddings. The only way I do so is if I know one of the people involved and if they ask me to do so. I don't actively seek clients so if someone contacts me and they agree to let me do the wedding photography in the best way I know it can be done, i.e photojournalism style, then I might say yes. Funny enough this photo which was one of my favorites was done with artificial light and it was a portrait situation. TECH STUFF: ISO 100, lens 24-70mm 2.8, aperture: 18, WB flash, speed 320th of a second. Lighting: One Norman 400 B battery pack bare bulb. I initially thought of using a soft box but the ambient light was too strong. The ambient reading at 100 was about F11 at 125th of a second. So I took control of the light and expose for the output of my strobe thus the contrasty moody feeling of the photo.

Monson, MA/ Two days after the Tornado

2011-06-03T22:40:00.003-04:00

Monson, MA 060311 Residents of Monson, MA try to cope with the aftermath of a tornado which hit theirs and 18 other communities in Massachussets two days prior. Some had their walls blown out as they watch from the inside of their homes, others like these children played with found objects like this bowling ball that showed up on their lawn and this soccer ball which took the brunt of the tornado head on. A bent STOP sign serves as yet another testimony of the raw power of mother nature. (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe)/ MET

Monson, MA/ One Day After the Tornado

2011-06-02T18:56:00.004-04:00

Monson, MA 060211 One day after three tornadoes hit 19 communities in Massachussetts, residents of Monson, MA got to take a first look at the devastation. Some attended church services, other started on the clean up. Such as Tony Esposito who took a break from cleaning as he sat atop the rubble which used to be his home. And some as these friends found a moment of joy in such simple things as finding a plastic Crayola piggy bank in the debris at one of their friend’s home. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Yesterday when I saw the weather reports I kind of knew I'd be covering this story today. I was told to go to Mononson, MA where a service was being held at a church which lost its steeple during the storm. Not hard to make photos when there is so much devastation all around you. TECH STUFF: Shot again with my trusty 70-200 2.8 with a 1.4 and my 24- 70 2.8. WB: Sunny, Cloudy and AWB for inside the church. ISO varied from 320 to 6400.

2011 Globe 100

2011-05-25T21:57:00.009-04:00

(2011GLOBE100) Every year the Boston Globe puts out a special-edition magazine called the "Globe 100" where they profile the 100 most-relevant biz in the New England area. I did it for a couple of years and then I had to take a break. It is very stressful to deal with the logistics of scheduling important people such as CEOs for portraits. Some years I've been given more time, others like this one I was given my 6 or 7 subjects, 8 biz days before deadline. So I took a more zen approach on this edition: I let the chips fell where they may. At the I still got my portraits. This is who they are: Alan S. McKim (cq) CEO of Clean Harbors (the 2011 Number I company) ; Nathaniel Dalton (Cq), President and Corporate Operating Officer of Affiliated Managers Group; Harvard Bioscience president David Green (cq) photographed while holding a syringe pump; IPG Photonics CEO Valentin Gapontsev (cq) in front of a 20,000- watt fiber laser cutting through a 1/2 inch low- carbon steel; Seth Priebatsch, self- titled Chief Ninja of SCVNGR, keeps toy helicopters in his office to help him relax and Carol Meyrowitz the president, Chief Executive Officer, and director of TJX Companies, the leading off-price retailer in the United States. TECH STUFF: Every single one of these lighting set ups was tailored to the circumstances. Some are done with battery packs others are done with AC-fed lights, etc. If you want any specifics contact me and I'll be happy to give you the deets.

President Obama visits the Boston's South End

2011-05-18T22:07:00.003-04:00

Boston, MA 051811 US President Barak Obama stopped by Boston's South End on May 18, 2011 as he attended a fundraiser at Cyclorama. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET This is about the 5th or so time I've photographed the president and invariably all I end up thinking is : Wow! this man can really work a crowd into a frenzy. He is a gifted speaker, there's no doubt about his linguistic prowess. TECH STUFF: 300mm 2.8, 70- 200mm 2.8, 1.4 TC, ISO 1200, WB: Flouorewcent (whomever light this venue really knew what they were doing.), Aperture : 4.0- 4.5, Speed 200th-320th of a second.

All in Day's Work 5/12/11

2011-05-17T13:39:00.004-04:00

This is a sampler of a very interesting day. First assignment was to photograph the booming operations of a professional de-licer outfit. Just reading the assignment made my head itch but once I got there and listened to the knowledgeable nurse who started the biz I realized mine as well as most people's alleged knowledge on lice and nits was purely based on misconceptions. Adult lice can't walk, they are designed for clinging to hair. The next assignment was to photograph Boston Mayor Thomas Menino playing bocce in the North End. I as most pj's have shot many too many times Menino, so I tried to make interesting photos regardless of whether the politician-du-jour is in the photo or not. I particularly liked the pattern created by the bocce alls and the seniors shod feet. At the end of the day the sun finally made an appearance so I was asked to find a sunny-friendly feature. I stumbled upon a group of girls jumping through this fountain while the sun shone from behind. Voila! that was my day.

Cool Beach Find: Newborn Seal Pup

2011-05-03T07:42:00.004-04:00

Boston, MA 050111 I found this seal pup while photographing beautiful beach landscapes somewhere in New England. According to the New England Aquarium personnel this is about a 24-hour-or-less old pup. They were able to tell this by the fact it still had part of its umbilical chord still attached. They also asked me not to disclose the location in order to give it a better chance of survival. If touched by human hands the mother would reject it and it probably wouldn't survive on its own. TECH STUFF: I had the unique opportunity to shoot at my leisure since I was the only one at this beach so early in the morning. So I took my time and shot a lot mostly with my 70- 200mm 2.8 with a 1.4 TC on it. Camera Nikon D3s. ISO 400. Apperture 4.0- 5.6. Speed 1/500th- 1/1000th of a second.

115th Boston Marathon

2011-04-19T07:14:00.002-04:00

Boston, MA 041811 Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai who won the 2011 Boston Marathon, shown here in a neck to neck with fellow Kenyan Moses Musop near Kenmore Sq. Mutai set a record of 2:03:02 in the men's elite category of the 115th Boston Marathon on April 18, 2011. Ryan Hall, who led early on and for much of the race on Monday, ended up coming in fourth place, with a time of 2:04:58, a new record for an American runner gets a chest-full of water while trying to retrieve a cup from a volunteer. And an enthusiastic man dressed as a woman cheers as the men's elite runner pass his location near mile-marker 12. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/MET BEHIND THE SCENES: This was my fourth or fifth time covering the marathon. Perhaps my second on the men's elite media/ photographers' truck. Let me explain to you how this works. You get to the starting point in Hopkinot about 3-4 hours before the runner leave. Then you sit in the truck for about 30 minutes before they get going. Then after you have secured your pre-assigned spot, you sit in an awkward position on a wooden plank while on the back of a retro-fitted pick up truck while strapped in to your seat by what seems to be a stapled-job type seat belt. So this is not the best situation if you are prone to motion sickness, i.e me. You need to have at least two cameras going, one with a big heavy telephoto and another one with a smaller telephoto and having a monopod helps. You are sharing your hard-as steel seat with at least two more shooters who have as much or more gear as you do. So you are continuously bumping and elbowing each other and not all of it is on purpose. Add to that the fact that you have to hold the lens upright while the truck shakes, compose, expose, and focus. The resulting is a formula for a very stressful shooting situation. So when you do get good shots from your precarious perch while speeding down a bumpy road, the feeling of satisfaction when you nail the shot is definitely larger than normal. (:-) TECH STUFF: Two cameras, two lenses: a 500 F4 and a 70-200 F2.8 w a 1.4 TC on it. ISO: 400-640, Speeds:1/1600th of a second to 1/2,500th of a second, WB: cloudy. EXTRA NOTE: I forgot to mention you wake up the next day with a bruised brow since you really can't take your eyes off the lens for most of the ride since you want to make sure you don't miss anything. So I don't think I'll be doing too much winking today.

James Franco at BC

2011-04-16T09:10:00.003-04:00

Boston, MA 041511 Actor James Franco answer questions from Boston College students who attended the screening on April 15, 2011 of Franco's "The Broken Tower" a movie based on the life of poet Hart Crane who committed suicide at 32 by jumping off a boat while out at sea. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: I'm not a movie critic, but I walked out after a couple of minutes of b&w artsy sequences of the camera following Franco up-close and focusing on his pained expression... then the next time I walked into the theater Franco was in the middle of a heavy make out session with another guy. To each its own I say but if I'm not mistaken this is the third role for Franco where he plays a homosexual character. More power to Franco for exploring his sexuality like that. TECH STUFF: dark stage ISO: 2000, speed 1/225th of a second, aperture 4.0, WB: auto. It was a good thing Franco has a tendency to look up every time he would answer a question thus allowing the overhead spotlights to hit his eyes. Lucky for the photographer or Franco is just that good at playing to the audience and is always aware of how to looks his best.

Curundu Renovation Project visit

2011-04-11T22:38:00.004-04:00

Curundu, Panama 040411 On this day while I was teaching a photo workshop sponsored by the Obredecht construction company we were given a tour of the Curundu Renovation project. It was fast and there were about 40 or so people with cameras. So I spent most of my time observing and I took only so many pictures. The situation was so unique that it allowed me to treat photography as the art I know it to be other than the documenting-tool for which I usually use my trade. This company is very interesting because there is a social component to the project. The company trained the residents of the slum of Curundu as masons, electricians, foreman, etc. So the people who will be living in these buildings are the ones involved in the construction of these structures. TECH STUFF: pretty two-camera standard set up for me. A 24-70mm 2.8 and the 70-200 2.8mm with a 1.4TC on it. ISO 200- 400ASA, speed: pretty fast. This was a sunny day in Panama.

Paul Revere Capture Ceremony Minute Man Natl. Park

2011-04-09T17:56:00.002-04:00

Lincoln, MA 040911 A ceremony commemorating the capture of Paul Revere took place at the Minute Man National Historic Park in Lincoln, MA on April 9, 2011. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: As part of the season opening of the national parks in the area the local re-enactors held a ceremony and I was assigned to cover the event. I was told I needed to get enough images for the paper and for the web (boston.com). This usually means shoot the heck out of the subject. I was pleased with the request because it allowed me a maxim I live by when it comes to photography: KEEP SHOOTING, KEEP MOVING, KEEP ADJUSTING. The ceremony wasn't that long and it wasn't that short neither but since I never stopped shooting and I kept circling the protagonists and I kept looking for new angles and moments, time really went by quite fast. TECH STUFF: As always, two cameras one with a 24-70 2.8 and another with a 70-200 2.8 with a 1.4 TC. ISO 200, Speeds: 1/125th to 1/200th of a second. WB Cloudy (even though it was a bright sunny day I usually use the cloudy setting to add a little bit of warmth to the images.)

Patriots Cheerleaders Tryouts

2011-03-19T15:05:00.003-04:00

Foxborough, MA 031911 Three hundred young women showed up on March 19, 2011 for the 2011 Patriots Cheerleaders tryouts at the Dana Farber Fieldhouse at Gillette Stadium. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: It's been a couple of years since I did this event and this year the Patriots' organization allowed us to cover the tryouts as long as we adhere to a maximum of 10 photos only in our www.boston.com slide show. That proved to be a daunting task since I shot about 1,100 images in about 2.5 hours and to narrow it down to 10 was a very exacting task. Anyhow these five are a good representation of the essence of the event. TECH STUFF: two cameras with a 24-70mm 2.8 and an 80- 200mm 2.8. WB fluorescent. Speed 1/ 125th of a second. Aperture: mostly 2.8- 5.0. The lights at the fieldhouse emit a pulse frecuency that can not be seen by the human eye but it is sadly enough caught by the camera. This means every other 4th frame the exposure was off.

Boston's Crazy Weather

2011-03-15T22:26:00.006-04:00

These photos were all taken within a five-week period. Some just days apart. The last one was made last week. The first one of the kid jumping was just made yesterday March 16, 2011 at Harvard Square. This photo never ran... as it happens to a lot of our work. All were shot in the Boston metro area. Just comes to show you how erratic New England weather can be. All by Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe Staff photographer BEHIND THE SCENES: When it comes to newspapers weather IS news. So be it sunny, cold, wet, dry whatever it might be, the newspaper will cover it as if it were a major story every single time. I just do what I'm told... which usually is, "We need a page one photo for display." This usually means I have a couple of hours tops to find something. Thankfully once you get out of your car and start walking something that I find visually appealing happens to cross my path. TECH STUFF: Two cameras, one with a 24-70mm 2.8 and one 80- 200mm 2.8 with a 1.4TC. ISO 400- 2,500. Speeds 1/125th to 1/2000th of a second. WB usually Cloudy.

The Resiliency of a Child

2011-02-28T16:29:00.004-05:00

Brighton, MA 022311 Six-year old Melissa Orosco (cq), walks with her parents Salvador and Jobita Orosco (Cq) of Allston as she was getting ready to be released from Franciscan Hospital for Children on February 23, 2011 She was the victim of a hit and run a couple of months back as she was holding hands while walking with her mother. According to her mother, the still-to-be caught driver never stopped nor slowed down as he left the scene after he struck the little girl. According to her mother, Melissa was literally thorn away from her grasp. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: This was one of those assignments that are humbling. Here in front of me was a little girl who only two months ago had had her neck, pelvis and left arm broken as well as suffering brain injuries. Yet you couldn't have known that while she played a game of Wii tennis with her dad. The human spirit is truly indomitable and its will to survive its at its strongest in children. TECH STUFF: Two camera bodies with a 24-70mm 2.8 and a 80-200mm 2.8, ISO 1,000, WB:A, speed 160th of a second, aperture between 2.8 and 5.0.

RED TAIL HAWK AND PIGEON

2011-02-17T20:30:00.004-05:00

Dorchester, MA 021711 A red tail hawk enjoys the fruits of a successful hunt, a pigeon at a nearby perch in Dorchester. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Today while at the Boston Globe's office I was walking by a window and I was caught by surprise when I thought at first I was looking at huge snowflakes falling. I did a double, and after closer inspection I realized I was looking at feathers flying as a hawk tore into a pigeon it had just caught. I ran back to our pool-lens cabinet and got a massive telephoto lens. I watched this amazing spectacle for about 20 minutes as it ate everything, including legs, heart and innards. While looking through my viewfinder I couldn't help but to be amazed at the raw power of nature. It was a humbling experience to witness this through the intimacy of my viewfinder. TECH STUFF: DSLR with a 600mm 4.0 lens, ISO 500, speed 1/4000th- 1/5,000th of a second, aperutre 4.0-5.0, WB cloudy.

Food and three Flashes

2011-02-12T14:22:00.003-05:00

Boston, MA 020811 This first image is a Squid ink Risotto dish from Erbaluce restaurant Boston's Bay Village area on February 8, 2011. The rest of the dishes are from Canary Park in Jamaica Plain. These are fried twinkies, criminy pickled mushrooms and a plate of charcuterie. (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe)/ Food BEHIND THE SCENES: I have been assigned to photograph at least three restaurants per week in the last three weeks. This is mostly due to my schedule which is usually afternoon to early-evening shifts. At first a couple of years back when I started getting these many food assignments I used to resent these since I thought my talents were being misused. I have since learned to appreciate the extreme efforts chef put into their culinary creations. Thus, I've come to the conclusion that it would be a disservice not to do my best to make these dishes look their best. TECH STUFF: First of all I must say that I pride myself in the fact that I can shoot food under any situation. I don't need a lot of space to work and my gear consists of one camera body usually with a 100 macro 2.8 or a 60mm 2.8. The latter tends to offer a certain degree of optical aberration so I try not to use it unless the food that I'm photographing is many dishes at once. Until very recently I used to use only two off-camera strobes and a remote atop my camera. The strobes are usually positioned across from each other at table or food level on their own little stands at the 7:00 o'clock and 2:00 o'clock positions. Lately I've been experimenting with a third strobe and I position this at the 11:00 o'clock position. By adding an extra light the set up allows me to move around the dish and try different angles without really having to do anything but minor adjustments to the strobe positions. The strobes behind the food are usually about 1/3rd higher than the one on the front and they are all synched on TTL mode.

Valentine's Day Pooch Party

2011-02-11T10:27:00.002-05:00

Charlestown, MA 021011 Dogs and their owners attended a Valentine's celebration at Durty Harry's, a dog grooming store in Charlestown, on February 10, 2011. The store owners tried to set up a red-carpet for the dogs but that lasted about 30 seconds before the dogs thought it would be more fun to chew on the carpet than to walk on it. According to the store owner about 50 dogs and their owners attended the affair. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Every once in a while you get an assignment that when you read it you can't help yourself but to smile. This was definitively one of those occasions. Because I know the best way to photograph dogs is from their eye level I put on a set of knee pads I always carry in my car. When there were just a few dogs and a few people things were working out beautifully but as the night progressed and the small space became crammed with more canines and their owners being on my knees was not as much fun anymore. By the time I was done I and all of my gear were covered in a thick layer of drool. TECH STUFF: Two cameras. A 16- 35mm 2.8 and a 80-200mm 2.8. The camera with a wide angle had a camera mounted strobe unit. The place presented several technical issues when it came to lighting because of the flood-light style fixture in the ceiling. These created pockets of bright light and left the non-lit areas very dark. So black dogs and white dogs running to and fro under the lights made for interesting exposure issues. There was as much as 2 1/2 stop difference between the light areas and the dark areas. Even while using a strobe it was very challenging to try to balance the ambient light with the strobe output just because of the constant changing exposure situation. But alas the world around is in constant flux so we must adapt.

Pond Hockey Tourney Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

2011-02-05T23:05:00.005-05:00

Meredith, NH 020411 The second annual New England Pond Hockey Classic took place at Lake Winnipesaukee, NH on February 4,5 2011 where 14 rinks where carved into the lake surface. (Cq). (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) BEHIND THE SCENES: This was a pretty good assignment. I got to drive away from the city and all of its bad traffic due to snow pile ups. I got to go the NH Lakes area which is beautiful anytime of the year. And most important of all, I got to charter a small plane to do aerial shots of the venue. Shooting from an airplane gives you a perspective on things you normally just wouldn't get from ground level or even a tall structure or building. Despite the temperature up in the air being in the minus 10-25 F range and catching the brunt of it while shooting through an open window. It was worth it. TECH STUFF: ISO 250, aperture 5.6- 22, speed above of 1/400th of a second for the aerial stuff. Gear: two camera bodies, a 24-70mm 2.8 and a 80-200mm 2.8 with a 1.4 TC.

Chefs and their Food

2011-02-02T11:09:00.007-05:00

The Globe has now created a new feature in our G Food Section in which we showcase a chef(s) and their creations. I kind of like this better than just photographing the food since I will always be partial to photographing people than inanimate objects. Here are a couple of recent examples. The first one is chef Pedro Alarcon from La Casa de Pedro in Watertown and one of his delectable creations which he named "Faldas de Yayi" dish made out of skirt meat also known as skirt steak, Thai chili, cherry tomatoes, smoked salt, red onion and flour tortilla. The second set is that of the owner and chef, Peter Liu and chef Lijun Liu, of the Sichuan Gourmet Restaurant in Sharon, MA. The dish shown is double- cooked and spiced pork. BEHIND THE SCENES: These assignments are pretty straight forward. You are given a restaurant, a chef (s), and a couple of dishes to photograph. It is my responsibility to make every single photo as visually appealing and interesting as possible. TECH STUFF: the set up is pretty standard. I use a mid-size square soft box with a Travel-lite Kit at about 45 degrees in front and to either side(s) of the subject (s) making sure that the light source is slightly above the subject" (s) head level; thus, creating classing Rembrandt lighting ( Equipment: 24-70mm 2.8 or 16-35mm, a 100mm 2.8 macro and for the food photos two to three strobe units on controlled by a camera-mounted remote. Exposure: portraits 1/125th @11 ISO 250 for the two chefs and 1/10th @9.0 ISO 500. With the two chefs I wanted crisp contrast between the light and the shadows and fast fading as to emphasize the cool frosted glass design in which they were standing behind while being photographed. With the other (the single chef) I wanted to capture some of the ambiance of the place; thus, the lower speed.

Fire & Ice

2011-01-22T00:23:00.002-05:00

Boston, MA 012111 The wind blows snowflakes in between buildings on Forsyth St in Boston on a day that brought a myriad of weather conditions ranging from heavy snow, to light snow, flurries and then the sun finally breaking through. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENE: Today was a tough day to document weather conditions in the city because of the extreme range of weather conditions in a short period of time. The early morning was heavy snow, then it tapered off and finally the sun broke through. So the question was: what would resonate with readers the following day when they look at photos of this day? I kept my eyes open for an image that would showcase this variety and I found it while walking to an assignment when I noticed how the sun would light from behind the falling snow crystals. It was then a matter of waiting for a human to come into my frame. (REMEMBER: People will react to other people in a frame, it gives the image a sense of familiarity and scale) I got a couple of people walking by and I thought that would be the shot but as I started walking away I noticed this guy actually going down the alley. I rushed back and barely had enough time for a couple of well-composed shots before he veered into one of the buildings. Notice how the about-to step frame epitomizes the quintessential decisive moment in the photo. TECH STUFF: ISO 640 @ 9.0- 1/320TH Of a second. AWB.

Myopia 2011 Sled Dog Races

2011-01-15T16:11:00.014-05:00

Hamilton, MA 011511 Myopia Sled Dog Races at Appleton Farms in Hamilton on January 15, 2011. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: I had covered this event last year so I had an idea of sorts what to expect and where to be to get the best possible photos. The only problem is that I arrived there kind of early and walked about a third of the course (couple of miles) sometimes kneed deep in snow without snow shoes and without having brought water with me. By the time noon time came about I was wind burnt, thirsty and exhausted. To the point that I completely forgot to make a crowd shot. TECH STUFF: three cameras Nikon D3S, Nikon D3 and a Mark III. Lenses: 44- 70mm 2.8, 70- 200mm 2.8 with a 1.4 TC, and a 300mm 2.8 with a 1.4TC (now you can see why It was so tiring to walk around). ISO 100, apertures 4.0- 5.6. Remember when shooting in the snow to compensate for all that white. Also if shooting through dappled light, as in light filtering through the trees, you are better off with matrix metering and Aperture mode.

Norestah' hits Massachussetts

2011-01-12T17:47:00.009-05:00

Watertown, MA 011211 Boston metro area residents cope with the first major Northeaster winter storm of 2011. Photographs taken onJanuary 12, 2011. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: It is a fact weather is news, specially in New England. Today I didn't have to travel too far for images. I pretty much stayed on my neck of the woods and got plenty to work with. In contrast with the last storm that hit the area, residents heeded the official advise and a lot of people stayed home. TECH STUFF: Two camera bodies as always. Two lenses 24-70mm 2.8 and a 80-200mm 2.8. I also had a 1.4TC on the telephoto which I usually do when I know I'll be making images outside. ISO 250, speeds 1/250th to 1/100th of a second. Apertures 3.5 to 8.0 depending on the situation. Mode: aperture priority to begin with ... and as I usually do then Manual Mode. When shooting in the snow you have to open up your aperture or slow down your speed in order to allow more light in. The camera will easily be fooled into darkening the image because all the white in the frame. REMEMBER: CAMERAS ARE SO SMART THEY'RE DUMB!

First Night in Boston

2011-01-02T16:17:00.008-05:00

Boston, MA 123110 Among the First Night celebrations in Boston there were dancers from the Chu Ling Dance Academy of Boston performing on December 31, 2010 at the Hynes Convention Center and fireworks. And then on first day of the year the traditional L Street Bath House Polar Plunge in South Boston. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ Met BEHIND THE SCENES: Photographing the First Night activities this year was much easier than in previous years since I wasn't assigned to cover both the parade and the fireworks. I'd be the first one to admit that shooting fireworks is not my forte. It has never been anything I particularly care to shoot. I think these two images are okay and represent the spirit of the festivities and that is about it. BEHIND THE SCENES POLAR BEAR PLUNGE: I have covered this event about three times already and after the first year I figured out the only way to get good images is from the water itself otherwise you don't get to see the faces of the people running in. So I put on a pair of fishing waders and go in the water up to mid thigh. In past years this has worked out but this year due to warm temperatures the number of people who showed up to take the "arctic" plunge, mind you it was close to 50F, numbered in the hundreds. Perhaps as many as 1,000 people showed up on this day and several hundred more came to watch. Needless to say this presents a whole new issue of safety regarding the well being of the cameras. As the first wave of swimmers approached the water's edge, I heard alarm bells going off in my head since I saw how much water they were displacing as they ran in. Both of my cameras became soaking wet with salt water just from the splashing and usually these can take a beating and keep on ticking. This time the issue was aggravated when someone bumped into me and I took a step back to regain my balance and one of my cameras, the one with the wide angle in it, slid off my shoulder and into the water. I found out through a colleague at work the best thing to do in a situation like this is to clean all the salt water of the cameras and lenses... even if it means completely dunking these under the tap or submerging these in distilled water. I did this with the camera and lens that were submerged in the water and it was a painful experience. It was a first for me to actually hold these under the running water for whatever brief amount of time it might have been. I'm keeping my fingers crossed while waiting for the repair diagnose. Wish them luck... TECH STUFF: Fireworks ISO 640, time 3", aperture 9.0 and of course on a tripod, WB auto.

Nativity Play at the Congregational Church of Needham

2010-12-26T21:54:00.011-05:00

Needham, MA 122410 Christmas Pageant at the Congregational Church of Needham on Christmas Eve December 24, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: This is about the third time I've had to cover a X-mas eve events, play etc, in my career and by far this was the cutest. It certainly was a photo-rich environment. Everywhere you turned there were moments happening. The only other point to mention is that the church members were so welcoming and nice it was kind of hard to be the "proverbial fly on the wall." But alas one must adapt and people being nice to you is certainly not a bad thing. TECH STUFF: My trusty two lenses 24-70MM 2.8 and 70- 200 2.8mm, apertures: 2.8- 4.5 depending on the light conditions. ISO: from 1600 to 4,000 (amazing sensor in the D3-S); speeds: 1/50th to 1/200th of a second depending on the specific situation.

A Christmas Story

2010-12-24T12:26:00.007-05:00

Melrose, MA 122110 Richard Parker used to carry his son Sammy Parker,an eight-year old who suffers from cerebral palsy, up to his bedroom every night. But due to recent health problems, Richard is no longer allowed to do any lifting. Sammy's mom, Patty, called Malden Catholic High School and asked for help. The school nurse mentioned it to Rudy Favard (Cq), 17, a captain in the football team, and before she was done telling the story, he had said, "I'll Do it." So now every night Rudy comes to the Parker's home and carries Sammy upstairs. (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: This was one of the those situations in which I was the lucky one assigned to an amazing story. A lot of readers reacted to this story and praised the images but these photos really have nothing to do with me and everything to do with the amazing character of the subjects in the photos. TECH STUFF: Lens 24-70mm 2.8; aperture:5.0, speed 1/25th of a a second; ISO 800. I deliberately chose to "drag" (the use of slow shutter to show movement or to allow the existing light to become visible in the photo) in order not to overpower the scene with my strobe light. When shooting in such small quarters, one must be careful when using flash since its light will bounce all over the place creating what is knows as the "jewelry box effect" in which the light creates an even, sometimes too strong, effect.
READ WHOLE STORY AT: http://www.boston.com/community/stories_to_inspire/articles/2010/12/23/a_teenagers_simple_act_elevates_all/?p1=News_links;

XMas Spirit

2010-12-16T19:54:00.008-05:00

Jamaica Plain, MA 129410 Dozens of children gathered in Jamaica Plain, MA on December 3, 2010 during the annual Mayor's Trolley Tour Christmas lighting ceremony to await the arrival of Santa. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Xmas motiff assignments are ubiqutuous during this month so I make it a personal challenge to find moments, or graphic images or new angles. I think I found all three on these images. The little girl's body language as she speaks with Santa is a universal gesture. The shot from above I took after getting three NOs from the trolley people. Each time I asked to talk to a supervisor and finally the head person said, "sure." DON'T TAKE NO FOR ANSWER. In my opinion the X-mas tree-clad Santa's helpers made a more interesting photo from behind than to photograph them from the front. TECH STUFF: ISO 25O, speed 1/125th to 1/500th of a second, aperture between 4.0 and 5.6 Lens: 24-70mm 2.8 MORE BEHIND THE SCENE: The tree lightings were happening all over the city so they had started at 10:00AM and went from place to place so needless to say at 1:30PM it was just not worth it to photograph the tree itself.

2010 Boston Globe's 25 Most Stylish

2010-11-29T15:45:00.014-05:00

Beth Ludlaws a.k.a "Ms Thang" was photographed for the 25 Most Stylish on November 5, 2010 at Jamaica Pond. BEHIND THE SCENES: Every single photo shoot was dealt with on a case by case scenario which included sometimes lengthy conversations with the subjects in order to find out a suitable location for their photoshoots. Sometimes the latter was determined by their availability or by geographical convenience. TECH STUFF: Every photo shoot but the Boston Ballet dancers was done with one softbox either plugged to a wall or with a battery pack. The Boston Ballet shoot was originally planned for five lights but a right before shooting commenced one of my two battery packs blew up so I ended up lighting them all with two lights. The rest were all shot with one light. Sometimes the light source was bare and only with a dome reflector on the head in order to control the spill of the light. Most of the times I used a square soft box. ISO: mostly 100 or 125 ISO depending on the camera that I was using. Speed: varied from 1/30th to 1/320th of a second. Lenses: 24-70mm 2.8 in most cases and a couple of times I used my 80- 200mm 2.8 as well. EXTRA INFO: This would be my fourth year involved with this project and once more I was humbled by how the best laid plans mean nothing sometimes. So you simply do what you must in order to adapt. You keep shooting, you keep moving and keep adjusting.
2Boston Ballet members: Lawrence Rines (cq)(african american, glasses, gray jacket, white shirt), Leah Cirio (have a discrepancy between this spellng and the website's spelling more info TK) (gray top w a lot of draping to it, dk hair) her brother Jeff Cirio (cq) (with lil hat on), Kelsey Hellebuyck (cq) short black short dress with shoes w straps) and John Lam (cq) (w knee high tall light brown boots). They were photographed at a space adjacent to the Boston Ballet in South Boston on October 8, 2010.
Paige Tatum (Cq) was photographed at her Jamaica Plain home backyard on October 27, 2010.
T.S. Whitlow was photographed at Forest Hills Cemetery in Roxbury on October 13, 2010
Marc Brent (cq) was photographed at the Boston Harbor and Rose Wharf on October 20, 2010
Naomi Mirando (cq) was photographed on November 4, 2010 at her Fort Point Channel apartment.
Willa Bodman (cq) is a teacher of Russian language and culture at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, and head of the World Language Department and she was photographed on November 3, 2010 at her Cambridge home.
Clayton Samuels (cq) was photographed for the 25 Most Stylish on November 5, 2010 outside of the African American History Museum in Beacon Hill
101210 Architect David Hacin (cq) was photographed on October 12, 2010 at his South End.
Yolanda Sellucci (cq) was photographed on October 17, 2010 at the Larz Anderson Museum.
Alyssa Braithwaite was photographed on October 19, 2010 at the John W. Weeks pedestrian bridge which connects Cambridge and Allston.

Runner and the Thermodynamics

2010-11-16T21:37:00.004-05:00

Charlestown, MA 111610 Members of the band "Runner and the Thermodynamics" Marc Pinansky (Cq) with beard, Mike Oor (Cq) base and drummer and Roger Knight (cq) practice at a Charlestown, MA location on November 16, 2010 as they get ready for an upcoming performance in Cambridge, MA. The band was together from 2000 to 2005 and had reunited for this occasion. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ G BEHIND THE SCENES: This came in as a band practicing assignment so I made sure I had ear plugs in my camera bag. The music was loud but these guys were very good. Great visual representatives of the archetypal band members too. TECH STUFF: ISO 2500; aperture 2.8- 9.0; speed 1/15th- 1/60th. Some images were shot with an off camera flash being set off by a remote on top of camera. The main light was a big fluorescent box of lights above them which worked for those playing right under it but the drummer was in the shade; thus, the flash. After all was said and done I remembered what my friend Dominic Chavez, a great photographer, always says; "do not disrespect the light." So I followed suit and the final portrait was done just with the overhead fluorescent and I think it worked pretty well.

Head of the Charles Regatta 2010

2010-10-24T12:41:00.008-04:00

Cambridge, MA 102310 Competitors take part in The Head of the Charles Regatta on October 23, 2010 in the Charles River. More than 20 nations took part in this year's competition. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENE: It started as a beautiful crisp clear autumn day that kept getting colder and windier as the day progressed. So I just shot for about three hours. I had three cameras on me: one with my 24-70mm, another one with the 70- 200mm and the last camera had on a 300 2.8mm with a 1.4 extender. TECH STUFF: The light was so bright I shot everything at ISO 200, lens varied,and exposures were mostly on the fast side to capture peak action. MORE TECH STUFF: on the shots of the rowers with the bridge behind them I had to take control of the camera by putting it in manual mode and not my regular aperture priority mode. Had I stayed with the aperture mode the camera would have kept slowing down the shutter to compensate for all the dark areas in the background. However I knew I could add drama to the image by using a faster shutter speed and by exposing for the highlights. Remember cameras are so smart they are dumb.

New Boston Ballet ballerina

2010-10-17T18:52:00.006-04:00

Boston, MA 101210 Keenan Kampa of Oak Hill, Virginia recently joined the Boston Ballet as a recent graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia – an unprecedented honor for an American student. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ G
BEHIND THE SCENES: I recently photographed a group of new Boston Ballet dancers and remember being awestruck of how much Keenan look like the quintessential ballerina. She reminded me of one of those tiny ballerina dolls on top of a music box. So I was ecstatic when I got the assignment to photograph her for an upcoming profile the paper is doing on her. I had already photographed her once while practicing so this time I wanted something different. I was a little disheartened when offered yet another dance studio for the portrait photo shoot. But my intrepid Boston Ballet PR showed me these boxes and suggested I take look at this setup to see if it might work. I'm always saying that two heads are better than one so I was happy she was present to suggest it. TECH STUFF: I'm currently at an interesting point when it comes to lighting. My Elite 1200 pack just blew up a week prior and what this means is that I have been forced to become a minimalist and to embrace the one-light effect of my back up lighting kit. So these images were made with one square soft box, 36" x 48", coming from above and slightly to the side;thus, I kept her looking up most of the time to avoid harsh shadows from the overhead light. ISO: 100, Speed: 250th sec, Aperture: 9.0, WB Flash.

Giant Pumpkin Contest Topsfield Fair Oct. 2010

2010-10-12T10:27:00.008-04:00

Topsfield, MA 100110 Fifty-six hopefuls entered this year’s giant pumpkin competition at the Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, MA on October 1, 2010. Many crossed their fingers as the long months of work boiled down to the weigh-in. At the end Steve Connolly and his wife Nancy Connolly (Cq) of Sharon were crowned the winners with their 1,674.5lbs entry. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe staff)/ MET

Iphone Tip

2010-10-06T12:53:00.001-04:00

I have been asked by a few people if there are any tools to help decide certain settings in the camera based upon the photo conditions. There are lots out there. I recently came across an iPhone app called PhotoHelper. It seems pretty cool and useful. Check it out at photohelperapp.com. I contacted the developer and they told me if I knew people interested they would get me a couple of promo codes. I can send them to you for download in the iTunes Store if you write to me at esssuarez@aol.com

After the Shooting

2010-09-27T10:05:00.008-04:00

Dorchester, MA 091710 Boston Police representatives, members of the local clergy, parents and their children attended a meeting on September 17, 2010 at the Dorchester High School cafeteria to address parents' concerns after a shooting occurred the previous Tuesday during the Eagle Pop Warner (5- 7 year olds) team practice. The children had to take cover while a gunman ran through the field while firing forcing parents and coaches to dive on top of the children to shield them.(Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: At first I was not exactly sure what was I supposed to get out this assignment since it sounded as if THE photo happened when the gunman ran through the field. However once I arrived and saw the parents' faces and the haunting look in the children's eyes it became obvious to me that I was there to show our readers how such wanton acts of violence can affect a community. TECH STUFF: Shot with two cameras like I always do. One w a 80-200mm 2.8 and another one w a 24- 70mm 2.8. ISO varied from 1600 inside to 5000 outside. Aperture, I stayed pretty much with shallow apertures throughout the whole time since in this case it was about isolating my subjects from the background. I pretty much stayed between 2.8 and 5.6.

Yoga Masters

2010-09-16T22:23:00.004-04:00

Newtonville, MA 091610 Five master yoga teachers opening a new studio in Newtonville called Down Under Yoga. (l - r) Justine Wilthshire Cohen (cq) dark hair, Natasha Rizopoulos (cq), Patricia Walden (cq), Barbara Benagh (cq) and Peentz Dubble (Cq) were photographed at the studio on September 16, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/G BEHIND THE SCENES: Because this a topic dear to my heart I made it a point to be the one to photograph this assignment which included coming in earlier than when my shift was supposed to start. But I really didn't mind doing it because photography has yet to feel like a burden to me. They ladies were amazing, I just wished I had more time to talk to them. It was awe inspiring to see what a well trained body can do. TECH STUFF: Shot with a 1200 Prophoto Pack and four heads. Decided to set the lights only coming from one side, the left, since it was a small room and I wanted to create drama in the photos. All the heads had different size grids on them based upon how close to the subjects the lights were positioned. The further away the bigger the grid size in order for more light to hit the subjects. Three of the four lights are on stands and the fourth is on a baby boom. The latter is positioned above and slightly from the left with a very wide grid to create a metadata baseline for all the subjects. The individual shots were mostly shot with one or two lights depending upon the pose and whether I ascertained if they needed a second light to create separation. ISO 100, lens 24-70mm 2.8, 80-200, Speed 1/60th sec, aperture 5.6 for the group shot 4.0 for individual shots. EXTRA NOTE: Remember I work for a newspaper so we are not allowed to retouch images beyond: sharpening, dodging and burning and cropping. Thus, the electrical outlet showing in the background will remain as such.

Street Scenes

2010-09-13T08:48:00.010-04:00

Boston, MA 091110 The mid-day sun casts shadows against the back of one of the buildings in the Quincy Market/ Faneuil Hall area on September 11, 2010. Boston, MA 091010 Stoddard's Fine Food & Ale in the Downtown Crossings area in Boston is one of several eateries opening in the area. This was for a story on businesses boosting the economy of the area. BEHIND THE SCENES: Sometimes you shoot an image whose appeal goes beyond what is there. In the case of the Quincy Market shots, I first saw the long shadows and that is what attracted me to to the scene. But it was the person walking in the shadow and the pigeon caught in mid air that made the photos. TECH STUFF: The pigeon and pedestrian shots were made w a 24-70 2.8 at an ISO of 250, exposure 1/320th sec, aperture 22. PHOTO THEORY: The human eye might be the best camera in the world. What we see with our eyes is an amazing range of latitudes when it comes to light gradations. The mid-days images if seen with the naked eye would not be as dramatic since in reality your eye can see details in the shadows as well as in the sun-light areas. This is where you as the photographer rely on your experience and your knowledge of your equipment and its limitations. I took an ambient reading and the original exposure might have been something along the lines of 160th/sec at aperture 22 and the ISO of 250. That is the camera matrix metering (five point) system wanting to be in the mid range to get some detail in the shadows and getting rid of some details in the highlights. However I know from experience if I let my camera do the thinking for me the result would be a not-so appealing image. Thus, I underexposed the image by a full stop, or full stop and a third in order to create a much more dramatic image. The other aspect of the image with the pedestrian is that I lucked out since they were walking in the shaded and I knew they would just show up as a silhouette. The last point in this image is that I chose the frame in which the human subject was perfectly framed by a door frame found in the background. GOD is in the details. The other image I threw in here so you could see how an unexpected element, i.e. flying pigeon, can make a better photo. God is in the details and we should always be open to serendipity. SECOND PHOTO: Boston, MA 091010 Night scene at Downtown Crossings outside of Stoddard's, one of the new restaurants which have recently opened in the area.(Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ BIZ TECH STUFF: ISO 3200, aperture 2.8, speed 1/80th second, hand held while kneeling. (Due to many years of experience I've gotten very good at hand holding the telephotos steady even below their suggested limits for hand holding. Also going down on one knee and holding my breath while shooting helps make the image sharp.) PHOTO THEORY: In this case what makes this photo for me is the body language of one of the men in the background as he reacts to a woman entering an adjacent business.

Ethiopian Food

2010-09-10T12:18:00.006-04:00

Somerville, MA 090910 Baklava desser, Kitfo, Ethiopian coffee ye-minchet abish, from Fasika Restaurant in Somerville. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) Food BEHIND THE SCENES: This was a quick one which took longer to set up than to actually shoot. The good part of the food itself was that not only did it have bright colors but it also had a very three-dimensional component to it. This lends itself for a lower angle to put the reader at eye level with the subject matter- the baklava in this case, and the dish itself was bright and created patterns which helped the composition. I kind of styled the coffee a little by being very selective on what to include in the background and what to leave out. The owner of the restaurant originally had brought four coffee cups and saucers accompanied by candle light. I kept removing objects until I was satisfied that the message of the image of coffee was an immediate sell. TECH STUFF: Shot with my same formula: Two flashes controlled by a remote at food level or slightly higher pointing down toward the dish. One flash from behind at 11 o'clock and another one at 5 o'clock in the front. ISO 100, WB Flash, Speed 25oth of a second, lens 100 2.8 macro.

Ninth Annual Boston Tattoo Convention

2010-09-03T21:13:00.007-04:00

Boston, MA 090310 Laura Rost (cq) of Sharon, CT reacts while having a T-Rex tattooed on her shoulder, Cody Meyer (cq) of About Time Tattoo of Nashua, NG works on Emily Duhamel (Cq) of Bridgewater who was having a quill tattooed on her side, Nick Kelley (cq) of Precision Body Arts of Nashua, NH works on Kevin Silva (cq) of Somerville, and tattoo artist Scott Quinney (Cq) left with cap on, with Route 9 Tattoo of Framingham works on Alyssa Nigrelli (Cq) of Sharon who was having the face of her Labrador "Rex" tatooed on her arm during the Ninth Annual Boston Tattoo Convention at the Sheraton Hotel on September 3, 2010 which goes through Labor Day. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: It was kind of a slow news day since we are all waiting for the outcome of Earl as it grazes MA, so I was told to check out the first day of the convention. It was supposed to be an in and out stop but I had so much fun shooting I stayed for a couple of hours. TECH STUFF: Shot with my two trusty lenses 24-70mm, and 70-200mm both 2.8. WB Auto, ISO 1600 in the camera w the telephoto and 2000 in the camera w wide angle.

New Boston Ballet Dancers

2010-08-31T20:22:00.004-04:00

Boston, MA 082510 New Boston Ballet dancers: Lasha Khozashuili (Cq) foreground/ gray sweats, Adiarys Almeida (cq) all in black, Kenna Kampa (Cq) all in white, and Joseph Gatti (cq) other male dancer with dark clothes on. They were photographed at one of the Ballet's studios on August 25, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET Behind the Scenes: I love photographing dancers. To me they always look like beautiful sleek sports cars ready to take off. I was pretty happy when I got this assignment. I only had about 30 minutes with them and as soon as I saw their height differences I knew I was going to have to get creative fast; thus, the from below angle. TECH STUF: 4 Prophoto heads off a 1200 Prophoto Pack, there are three lights on stands to their left. The light furthest away from me had the biggest honeycomb grid in it since I wanted this one light to highlight at least two of the dancers. Then the other two heads, also with grids but smaller, one is pointing to the side of one of the dancer's face and the third one, the closest one to me, is pointed to the side of the principal dancer who is located the closest to me. The fourth light is on a baby boom with a large softbox coming from above and slightly from the left. This softbox is what created the "baseline" metadata for the image. ISO: 100, Speed 1/320th, Shutter 8.0. MORE ON TECHNIQUE: I think what makes these portraits work is the attention paid to keeping a clean background around each one of the subjects... hope you agree with me on this.

Tough Dog

2010-08-26T19:32:00.003-04:00

Boston, MA 082610 A combat-boot clad James Fluhr (Cq) ,originally from Tennesse and now in Boston while attending school, walks his twelve-week old Chihuahua named "Bitbit" on Newbury street during a balmy day in Boston on August 26, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Today I'm the 3:330PM-shift guy. As it usually happens by the time you come in to work this late most of the assignments have already been shot. So its up to you to come up with feature photos. The other duty of the late guy is to listen to the scanner in case news break in the city. TECH STUFF: Shot with my trusty 80- 200 2.8; ISO 640; aperture 4.0; speed 1/320th. PHOTO THEORY: The obvious reason this photo works is the subject matter: the cute puppy and the juxtaposition of the "tough" look of the owner's shoes. Also note this was shot from a very low angle to emphasize the disparity in size between the boots and the petite canine plus this angle offers a clean background.

Glamorous Jujubee

2010-08-14T10:01:00.006-04:00

Boston, MA 081210 Draq queen Jujubee who recently gained national notoriety with her participation in RuPaul's Drag Race was photographed along with male models Zack (dark hair) and Ian (blonde) at the Oriental suite at the Mandarin Hotel in Boston on August 12, 2010. Photo by:(Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/G section cover/ Photo assistant:Ryan McBride/ Globe Fashion writer: Christopher Muther
BEHIND THE SCENES: Having just come back from an assignment in Haiti the previous week and then to have to immediately have to plan this big-production photo shoot should give you a good idea of how versatile one must be as a newspaper photographer. I also learned that I apparently need to watch more TV since I didn't know who Jujubee was and my two little nieces in Oklahoma were all excited when they found out I was going to be photographing Juju.' On location were a total of 9 people plus myself: I had an assistant, the writer had another assistant, Jujubee showed up with a make-up artist and two assitants. We had two models and a very helpful PR woman from the Mandarin Hotel. My assistant and I arrived 2 hours prior to the scheduled photo-shoot time to set up the and test the lights. This took about one hour. Once Juju arrived we shot for about three or so hours counting the time it took her to change from one outfit to the next. TECHNICAL STUFF: We used a 1200 ProPhoto pack with four heads. For the bed shot we used: One 36" x 48" x 24" Calumet brand soft box for Jujubee and two heads with grids for the models. For the round table shot: One bare bulb light with a medium reflector coming straight from above (high noon angle) and then two bare bulbs with reflectors and grids for each model coming from the sides and head level in order to create more of a sculpted look on the guys. For the bathtub shot: Three heads with reflectors and grids. We didn't use a softbox due to the limitations of space in the bathroom (even though this was a pretty big bathroom). The round table and bed shots look was inspired in Film Noir. The bathroom shot was meant to evoke more of a party scene with harsher light. CONCEPT: Jujubee and her boytoys... writer came up with the idea. EQUIPMENT: 24 - 70mm 2.8/ Lens. ISO 100./ WB Strobe./ Speeds: max synch speed of 320th of a second to about 60th of a second to capture a little bit of the ambient light. Personal note: Juju and the models were true professionals with a lot of energy and easy to direct. All in all a great shoot!

Haiti General: Downtown Port-au-Prince

2010-08-10T12:50:00.014-04:00

Port-au-Prince, Haiti 080310 The Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral was among the structures destroyed during the January earthquake. Destroyed building in downtown Port-au-Prince. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET Behind the scenes: Part of my job during this trip to Haiti was to get general photos of how Haiti’s capital looks like now 8 months after the earthquake. So I spent a little bit of my time in-between my other three assignments, going to the downtown area- one of the hardest hits- and simply watching daily life. TECH STUFF: All shot with two cameras. One with the 70-200 2.8 and a 24-70mm 2.8. ISO varied from 400 to 5000 depending upon the lighting situation. WB: Cloudy and AWB.

Haiti: St Therese Park Tent City August 2010

2010-08-10T09:51:00.015-04:00

Port-au-Prince, Haiti 08/10 The St. Therese Park tent city has a population, according to official documents, of over 4,000 residents.The camp is one of many erected around the city after the January earthquake. The camp is an amazing testimony to the strength and resiliency of the human spirit. Among its residents, we met a man who lost his leg in the earthquake and now lives in a 8’ x 4’ space with his wife and two children. A rat recently bit their youngest one so they send them away to stay with relatives in the Haitian countryside. There was the single mother of a 10-month old baby who lost her husband in the earthquake who told us when it rains her mattress would get so wet she had to stand up while holding her child in her arms to keep him dry. Yet I saw laughing children who had not toys yet used blown-up condoms as soccer balls. Adults laughing and going about their lives. People would take showers out in the open yet still managed to perform such simple task with an air of pride and dignity. Haiti was a country plagued with problems before earthquake. It just made things worst for Haitians but at least it brought the attention of the world back to a country which needs its help. We as journalist are duty bound to tell these stories with our words and pictures in the hopes that others will not forget and to remind the rest of us of how lucky we really are. BEHIND THE SCENES: A writer and I were sent to Haiti to follow up on a couple of earthquake-related stories on specific subjects. On top of doing these I suggested we do a third story on a tent city by spending time at one of these places and documenting daily life. I managed to visit this camp about four times and I was surprised on how welcoming most of the people were to yet another group of journalists. TECHNICAL STUFF: ISOs went from 100 to 12,800, speeds varied from ½ a second to 2,000th of a second, WB: cloudy and AWB. OTHER TECH NOTES: I know modern DSLRS have an amazing range of light sensibility but I was left to wonder: what good does it do for A photographer when your camera can see in almost-complete darkness yet when you look through the view finder it is so dark you can barely focus? I also came face to face with the harsh realization that a camera sensor needs contrast in order for the AF function to work and that this feature is rendered pretty much useless in such darkness. YOU CAN ALSO FIND THE STORY AT http://boston.com/bostonglobe/photos/photos_galleries/petionville_haiti_tent_city_2010

Listening to Light

2010-07-28T15:40:00.005-04:00

Boston, MA 072710 Berklee College of Music students hang out at the common area in Commonwealth Ave on July 27, 2010 as some picked at a guitar and others enjoyed the sweet aroma of a hookah. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)G BEHIND THE SCENES: I'm under strict instructions to find a feature per shift so I'm always on the lookout for something out of the ordinary. In this case I was driving down Commonwealth Ave and I first noticed how this one shaft of light was hitting this group of people. This is what I called "listening to the light" where the light makes itself noticeable by its quality and then you start paying more close attention to what is going on. I try to always "listen" to the light around me. As I approached the group, I immediately was taken by how the light hit the one guy with the guitar. Then as I circled around I noticed there was also a picture to be made just by looking from the other direction. (REMEMBER ALWAYS TAKE THE TO CIRCLE YOUR SUBJECT) TECH STUFF: Lens 24-70mm 2.8, Aperture: 2.8 on the horizontal/ 22 on the vertical, ISO 320 on horizontal/ 1000 on the vertical. Speed 1/800th of a second for the horizontal/ 1/60th of a second for the vertical. MORE TECH: When I looked at the light coming off the reflection off the windows I realized two things: first, I needed to overexposed my foreground in order to capture enough meta data in the image which in turn would give me over exposed beams of light; second, I also knew I could use these beams of light to my advantage by creating a "starburst" effect. The latter can be accomplished by stopping down your lens to 16, 22, 32... etc. It is the optical aberration of the rays of light filtering through the blades in the iris of the lens which creates the "starburst" look.

CULINARY DELICACY PHOTO DAY

2010-07-23T21:07:00.006-04:00

Boston, MA 072310 A gazpacho dish from Post 390 on Stuart St in Boston; Beso del Diablo and Mojito Carteluo cocktails from Orinoco in Brookline. And Summer Melons and monkfish and shrimp sausage dishes from Rocca at Boston’s South End. (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe)/ G
BEHIND THE SCENES: There are days the Globe editors simply set a photographer aside to shoot food all day. On this day I had to photograph a total of 8 dishes and two cocktails. These are all from three different eateries all located in the Boston Metro area. TECHNICAL STUFF: Surprisingly enough all were shot with the same set up. Two off camera strobes hooked to Pocket Wizards which were set off by the transmitter on my camera. Speed was usually kept at the max-synch speed of my camera :1/320th of a second in order to make the background go dark. Lens: 100 macro 2.8. D.O.F.: 2.8- 4.0. WB: Strobe. OTHER TECH STUFF: I have a tendency to start by always setting one light behind and another light in the front. So basically at about 11 and 5 or 2 and 7 if you were looking at a clock face. If I think the lights are too even I usually increase the power of the strobe in the back. From there I keep tweaking their heights, distance and angles until I’m satisfied with the resulting image.

BOSTON PD AND TENNIS PROGRAM

2010-07-20T15:59:00.009-04:00

Boston, MA 071610 Three-year old Lamar Pina (cq), 3, of Dorchester, listening intently to a Boston Police officer's instructions, and other Boston Metro inner city children as they attend a tennis program at the Sportsmen's Tennis Club in Dorchester on July 16, 2010. The program is to expose the children to the sports of tennis and to get them familiar with police officers. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: This was a visual candy store for photos. I spent a couple of hours at the tennis courts with the kids and it was just tons of fun. The Asian-American twins in the photo were very funny. I approached one of them and ask for his name and age. He didn't answer he just pointed to his brother and ran away. I went to the brother and asked him the same questions and then I said, " what's up with your twin?" He said, "well he doesn't like talking." I added, "MMmhh... Ok, so how do I tell you guys apart in the photos?" He gave me a tired look and said, "That's obvious, he is the one who doesn't like to talk, duh!" TECHNICAL STUFF: Gear: two cameras w two lenses 24-70mm 2.8 and the 70-200mm 2.8. White balance: AWB and fluorescent. ISO: 800- 3200 depending on where in the courts the subjects were located. Speed: 125th, all the way up to about 640th of a second.

Rain n Cupcakes

2010-07-14T18:15:00.006-04:00

Cambridge, MA 071410 Pedestrians on Church Street in Harvard Square walk by a mural at the Harvard Square Lowes Theatre buidling as they try to remain dry as sporadic rains hit the Boston metropolitan area on July 14, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Among the beauties of my job is that of never knowing what am I going to be shooting on a daily basis. For example today was spent shooting cupcakes at a new bakery and then I was told to once more look for an N/S (this stands for an image without story, a stand alone, a feature, etc, etc.) Since I really didn't want to spend too much time chasing people to get their names while under the rain I went for a more abstract look in the image of the raindrops running down the side of the glass. And I decided focus on the mural instead of the pedestrians on the other photo. But the story of rainy day was told the same either way. TECH STUFF: The cupcakes were shot available light with a 100 2.8 Macro lens, at 200ISO and 1/160th of a second exposure at 2.8-4.0 aperture range. The rain art was shot with a telephoto 70-200mm 2.8 and my trusty 24-70mm 2.8 while focusing on the water and waiting for the right amount of color to come into my frame.

TORRENTIAL RAINS BOSTON

2010-07-10T16:18:00.004-04:00

Boston, MA 071010 Jacquie Garrity (cq) foreground, enjoys the rain as her friends Caroline Cadieux (Cq), and Faisal Balghunaim (cq), all 17 and students at the Tabor Academy in Marion, MA try in vain to remain dry as they walk by the Boston Public Library as torrential flash rain hit the Boston metropolitan area on July 10, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET The other photo is people just walking down the street in Boyslton St. BEHIND THE SCENES: I had just finished covering the Natl. Govs. Assoc. meeting at the Sheraton in the Back Bay and right after I got into the parking garage it started pouring. At that point I had to decide whether to get wet in order to get photos or shoot from my high vantage view point. Thus, the second image. The first image I shot through my car window and I thought I was smart by staying dry until they came closer to give me their names after I called them and as they lean their umbrella just poured a ton of water into my passenger seat... TECH STUFF: 70-200 2.8 @ 4.0, ISO 400, WB Cloudy, speed 325th of a sec... pretty straight forward.

COOL POOLING

2010-07-06T18:47:00.006-04:00

Boston, MA 070610 Eager bathers await to go back into the Reilly Memorial Recreation Center pool at Chestnut Hill Reservation on July 6, 2010 while a water check was being performed. Afterward divers and children mingled alike. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: The hot day is not over yet so my editor sent me out again to make some more weather features. Photographing in a public pool is a very easy endeavor. It's the proverbial fish in a barrel. So I try to use the angles and composition to make the pedestrian seem a little bit more visually appealing. TECH STUFF: Shot low ISO again: 200, aperture in the telephoto at 8.0 because I wanted depth in all the subjects' feet and at about 10 aperture with the wide angle counting on the fact that someone, the jumping girl in this case, would come into my frame. WB still at Cloudy to add warmth to the scene.

IN THE HEAT OF THINGS

2010-07-06T16:29:00.007-04:00

Charlestown, MA 070610 Firefighters seek relief from the heat under the shade while covering their heads with wet towels and by getting hosed with cool water after battling a four -alarm fire at the intersection of Cross and High Streets in Charlestown on July 6, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENE: I showed up to the office today one hour earlier to catch up on some editing and the moment I sat down they sent me out to cover this four-alarm fire. The fire turned out to be structural damage and no injuries so the focus of the assignment immediately switched from the fire to the close-to 100 heat wave we are experiencing. TECH STUFF: Pretty straight forward shooting low ISO 200, high speed about 3000th to 5000th of a second; thus, the frozen droplets of water. Lens 70-200. D.O.F. at about 2.8- 4.5. WB cloudy

Ghost Box Orchestra

2010-07-03T16:53:00.004-04:00

Watertown, MA 070310 Members of the band Ghost Box orchestra: Chris Johnson (cq) tall with glasses dk clothes, Martin Rex (Cq) black T-shirt and tall, Nazli Green (cq), Jeremy Lassetter (Cq) cowboy look long hair all in black, and Dennis Noble (cq) plaid shirt glasses, were photographed on July 3, 2010 in Watertown,MA (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ G BEHIND THE SCENES: The original assignment said to meet the band at at the entrance of a local cemetery. I gave them a call and after chatting with them for a little we realized that shooting in a cemetery might not be the best idea due to legal issues with trespassing and alike. So I came up with this alternative location near my place in Watertown. The band was ecstatic and said it reminded them of the series "Lost." I was pretty happy with the outcome myself. TECHNICAL STUFF: Images were shot late morning but artificial Norman 400 heads were used to light the scene. By using artificial lights I was able to add drama to the scene by underexposing about three stops below the ambient light reading. For the outside I used two lights, one from either side and the one on the left mostly working as a highlight. For the inside shot I only used one light because we barely could fit all of us in this space. The light here was pretty much above my camera which I knew would give me the gritty contrasty look of straight on camera but I also knew that the space and my subjects could handle such harsh light. Aperture 16, speed about 250/ 100, ISO was 100. Equipment: 24-70mm 2.8, Nikon D-3. EXTRA TECH: I used a Pocket Wizard to set off one light and a long PC chord to set off the other one since at the last minute one of my battery packs decided not communicate with the transceiver despite the fact I had checked my lights and remotes about one hour prior to the shoot. (IMPORTANT: Always have back up systems ready when using lights because something Can and WWill Always Fail.)

On Layering

2010-06-29T21:31:00.008-04:00

BEHIND THE SCENES: These photos were taken during a variety of situations during the last month. The photo of the ice cream truck turned into a shake-delivery truck uses a reflection to add layers; the photos at the park which were a last-minute request (about 1 hour to get something for a weather page and then they didn't use them) were taken taking into account the repetition of shapes and the usage of negative and positive space. And then there is the basketball photo of a youth center which is scheduled to close due to lack of funds according to Boston City officials. The latter was composed with the main subject in the center of the composition while all the other elements within the frame lead the readers' eye to him. What these have in common is the layering of elements which makes them more visually appealing. The photo of the three people by a TV screen with the lady in the foreground was for a story on an interactive art installation in a street corner. The lady at the bottom of the frame simply walked into my composition and I didn't fight this but embraced it. There are points of entry leading you to action within the frame. As far as composition goes, the layering effect was also used while keeping the subjects with clean backgrounds as much as possible. Any photo can be turned into a more appealing situation if we take the time to compose cleanly and to add layers.

Basho Brasserie Boston

2010-06-25T17:36:00.007-04:00

Boston, MA 062510 Basho roll, Oyster Shooter with caviar and cucumber ponzu, Tofu Hamburg steak and Robata Grill from Basho Brasserie on Boylston St in Boston. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ G BEHIND THE SCENES: Every once in a while I get sent to photograph food for a review and all the stars just line up. This time the owner happened to be there. Apparently he was at some point a sushi chef and an art director so his sense of aesthetics was impeccable. For all intended purpose he is the one who styled the shoot. TECH STUFF: Like most food shoots I do, I used my 100 2.8 macro lens, ISO 200, aperture 4.0, speed about 60th of a second (the corner of the restaurant I chose was dark enough where I didn't have to worry too much about available light; thus, there was no need for high aperture speed.) I used two off- camera strobes, the one with the major output of light was placed from behind at about 45 degrees with the table- about 2 o'clock on a clock face-- and perhaps about 6" away. The other strobe was positioned slightly to the side and to the front between 7 and 8 on a clock face- in order to c create texture. I had a nice PR woman, Emilia, helping me hold this strobe in a couple of the shots since I like to vary its position while shooting.

Slained MA State Trooper Walk By

2010-06-23T11:26:00.010-04:00

Brockton, MA 062210 About 600 officers paid their respects to fallen comrade MA State Trooper Sgt. Douglas Weddleton at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brockton on June 22, 2010. Sgt Weddleton was a father of four and 27-year veteran of the state police who was killed this past weekend after he was struck by a vehicle after making a traffic stop. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: I had been on vacation the previous week and was disconnected to daily news so it caught me by surprise that my first assignment coming back was such an important event. After reading some back issues of the paper I felt a little better about covering this assignment. All the officers and troopers assigned to detail of directing traffic and alike were extremely courteous to everyone. We, the media, were not allowed into the church but other than that we could get as close as we wanted as long as we did it in a respectful manner. EXTRA NOTE BEHIND THE SCENES: The young man and his father saluting is a good example of what I always tell my students: When you think you have a good photo in front of you, take the time to look behind just in case. TECHNICAL STUFF: As always I came prepared with two cameras but as luck has it one of these quit right after I got there. So I had to shoot the whole event with one camera and just kept switching lenses. I used my 24-70mm 2.8 and a 300 2.8. ISO went from 250 to 2000 as the day progressed. For the blurred images I set my camera on aperture 16 and dragged the shutter to about 1/8th of a second at 250 ISO.

GAY PRIDE PARADE BOSTON

2010-06-12T19:54:00.010-04:00

Boston,MA 061310 Gay Pride Parade in Boston brought out thousands of spectators and participants despite the flash torrential rains. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff0/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Photographing such an event is a photographer's dream. These are happy people who love to express themselves and some do it in the most outrageous manners. It is what I call pure joie de vivre. TECH STUFF: Lenses: 24-70 2.8, 80-200 2.8 w 1.4TC. WB Cloudy, ISO 400-800 depending on the weather. Speeds about 400-800th of a second with an aperture of 4.0 for the tele and no more than 5.6 for the wide angle. WEATHER TIP: My cameras are water sealed so they work pretty well under most rain situations however eventually the lenses get water inside. What I do is I put my cameras on my shoulders and then I put a rain shell on which ends up protecting them until I bring them up to shoot.

Food: Summer Dinner Dishes

2010-06-10T20:51:00.007-04:00

Watertown, MA 060910 Dishes for a story on summer dinners. Photographed at the Boston Globe's food editor's home. The dishes are grilled lobster, corn chowder, roasted chicken, jambalaya and baked ham. (Essdras M Suarez/ Boston Globe)/ G/ Food. BEHIND THE SCENES: Shooting at the editors home entails bringing a studio on location. She has all the props you can think of and she is heavily involved in the styling of the photos. I get there and I'm told what needs to be photographed and how it is going to be used which in turn will dictate the way the dishes will be shot. All I'm responsible for is to light it properly and some minor aspects of composition. TECH STUFF: lens 100macro 2.8, iso 100ASA, speed max synch 320th of a second, aperture is about 2.8- 3.5. Light system Elite 1200 pack and I used two lights for this one. One from behind to the left at 45 degrees and one across from it in the front and to the right. I used neutral density gels on both lights in order to cut the output down to be able to use the shallow depth of field. This battery pack has three possible output power: 300, 600 and 1200 watts. These were shot at 300 with the gels taking the output down -2 stops in the one in the front and -1 stop on the back light. This gave me the feeling of strong window sunlight streaming from behind the dishes. EXTRA: The lobsters were shot with a hand held strobe to the left and behind held about 1.5 foot away and at about 45 degrees.

Punta Cana... just for fun

2010-06-08T21:25:00.007-04:00

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic June 4-7, 2010. These were literally just for fun. I took my gear just in case. My wife and I spent a couple of days at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana. Took a dune-buggy tour. Some of these photos are from some kids re-living the experience and a family washing off the mud after the trek. TECHNICAL STUFF: lenses 24- 70mm 2.8 and 70-200mm 2.8. WB Cloudy. ISO 250

Vigil for 17-year old Stabbing Victim

2010-06-02T16:18:00.009-04:00

Mattapan, MA 060110 Mirveline Chambers(Cq) the mother of Ivol Brown (Cq), 17, who was stabbed to death a couple of days prior, and over 100 friends and relatives held a vigil at his home in Mattapan on June 1, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: This assignment came in within the last hour of my shift. Once I arrived at the scene and realized I was the only member of the media present I knew I'd want to stay for a while regardless of how long it'd take. It was a very sad situation where there was grief and anger palpable in the air. However the mother made sure I was well taken care of and she allowed me to remain closed to her. This was one of those rare instances in which I as a journalist feel privileged to be taken in by my subjects despite the pain they are feeling. I was honored and humbled. TECH STUFF: ISO 10,000, aperture 2.8, speed 60th- 80th of a second. Lenses 80-200 and 24-70 both 2.8s.

Memorial Day Boston 20thousand Flags

2010-05-31T20:56:00.008-04:00

Boston, MA 05/31/2010 All day long during Memorial Day May 31, 2010 people stopped by the Boston Common to photograph or simply catch a glimpse of the twenty thousand flags, each one representing the life of a fallen Massachussetts soldier. The boots and dog tags belonged to Alexander Arrendondo, 20 years old, who was killed in An Najaf, Iraq during his second tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. This soldier was the son of Carlos Arredondo who try to immolate himself in a Marine van after they delivered the news of hi son's death. The story gained national notoriety back in 2004 when TV crews captured the smoking van and broadcast it nationally. BEHIND THE SCENES: I did this on my own, kind of gave myself the assignment, since I thought it was a story worth telling and sharing. I didn't have enough time to stick around long enough to capture emotion so I focused on the visual aspect of the event. TECH STUFF: ISO 200, lenses 70-200 2.8, 24-70 2.8. Speeds 12th- 200th of a second. WB cloudy. (Essdras M Suarez/ EMS Photography)

Multi-faith press conferenc in support of Muslims

2010-05-28T18:08:00.007-04:00

Boston, MA 052810 Children entertain themselves as adults like Zainab Elmi (cq) left (with glasses and scarf) of Somerville, and Amenyonah Bossman (Cq) of Boston (eyes closed) listened during a press conference on May 28, 2010 at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center mosque in Roxbury. Among the crowd were several hundred Muslims and a cadre of multi-faith religious leaders whom had gathered in order to show their support for the Muslim community and to denounce comments by Massachusetts State Treasurer and Independent candidate for Governor Tim Cahill. The group accused of allegedly making "bigoted" statements after Gov. Deval Patrick met with members of the Muslim community. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: The caption pretty much tells the story of the assignment. The only point worth making is that I was among the very last journalists who stayed until the end. I had already gotten the standard images of the different religious leaders talking on the microphone but I kept circling the scene looking for more of a human angle. That is when I found these man by the fence displaying almost identica lbody language. BTW, I was only able to make one frame of this scene before the man on the right moved away. TECH STUFF: This by far has been one of the worst technical situations I have had to shoot lately. Mid-day sun and every possible combination of colored garments and extreme tones of skin color. The camera kept giving me strange readings which I kept over-riding by putting the camera on Manual Mode. ISO 200, lenses 24-70 2.8 and 70-200 2.8. Speed varied from 320th of a second all the way to 2,000th of a second depending on how much depth of field I needed. WB set at Cloudy. The extreme ranges of the exposure made me feel as if these images needed to be converted into B & W.

FOUNTAIN WEATHER BOSTON 5/25/10

2010-05-25T18:42:00.005-04:00

Boston, MA 052510 Adult and children alike seek to cool off at the Christian Science Monitor fountain as temperatures climbed into the 80's on May 25, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) BEHIND THE SCENES: First 80-degree day in 2010 is humungous news for the paper. So all I did today was walk around the city looking for people enjoying or suffering the weather. I try not to shoot the fountains because they are too obvious but the sky, the silhouettes and then the pregnant woman lured me in. TECHNICAL STUFF:ISO 400, speed between 2500 to 3200 to freeze the water and silhouette the subjects in the photo. Lens: 80-200 and 24-70 both 2.8. WB: cloudy

Lexington High School's Tempest

2010-05-18T19:11:00.009-04:00

Lexington, MA 050610 Drama students at Lexington High School "walk the grid" before opening night of Shakespeare's The Tempest on opening night on May 6, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/MET Behind the Scenes: Lexington High School's drama club opening night of Shakespeare's Tempest. Their version was modernized by using as as a backdrop the Haiti earthquake. These images are all from opening night. To me as a visual documentarian the story usually can be found off the stage and this is what I tried to explore. The moody images where made in what they call their "Black Room" which where they go to mentally prepare for the performance. TECH STUFF: Lenses: my bread and butter 70-200 and 24-70mm 2.8s. The ISO varied from 400 to 2,500 depending on the availability of light. Speeds varied from 1/125th of a second to 1/5th of a second. BTW the kids were amazing on stage!

GOOD WEATHER DAY AT THE BOSTON COMMON

2010-05-13T17:54:00.003-04:00

Boston, MA 051310 Nanny Xiao Juan Li (cq) holds on to seventeen-month old Ethan Marc (cq) just in case as the latter looks with covetous eyes the waters in the Frog Pond at the Boston Common on Thursday May 13, 2010 . On another part of the park, Lars Lange (Cq) of Essen, Germany and on a Boston two-week vacation also enjoys the warm temperatures. (Essdras M Suarez) Globe Staff/ MET BEHIND THE SCENES: Easy, good weather, bad weather, dry, wet, cold is news in the newspaper world. After a press conference across from the Boston Common I took a big lens I had with me and looked for something interesting of people enjoying the weather. I usually avoid photographing children because they are so easy to photograph. There has to be a moment happening in order for me to shoot them. TECH STUFF: ISO 200, 300MM 2.8, 4.O aperture, 1600th of a second.

Mass Art Fashion Design Srs. Fashion Show 2010

2010-05-09T16:00:00.006-04:00

Boston,MA 050710 Behind the scenes as models and designers get ready for the Mass of Art Massachussetts College of Art and Design 2010 seniors fashion show at the Power Station on May 7, 2010. BEHIND THE SCENES: This is a job I do yearly for the college and one I always look forward to. Besides the runway shows I also get access to the behind the scenes and to me this is where the real drama happens. TECHNICAL STUFF 24-70 2.8@ 24mm, aperture 5.6, ISO 500 and 1/30th of a second (speed varied from 1/8th up 1/50th depending on what part of the tend I was shooting.)

Summer Fun

2010-05-05T18:37:00.005-04:00

Framingham, MA 050510 While driving west bound on the Mass Pike saw this group of people jumping off a railroad line bridge on the opposite side of the highway. Luckily I had a 500mm lens with me and I was able to stand atop of the guard rail while hand holding it in order to make these images. (Essdras M Suarez/ EMS Photography 2010) BEHIND THE SCENES: On warm days I'm always on the lookout for weather features. I couldn't use this one because I had no way of getting to these kids without exiting the highway, figuring out how to get near an entrance of this pond/lake body of water and then walking out into this bridge. I had a softball game to cover so I just didn't have the time to go get IDs or anymore information for that matter. TECH STUFF: Lens 500, aperture 4.0, speed 1/2000th of a a second, WB sunny. Hand held the lens while precariously balancing on the turnpike's guard rail. (mind you I keep a fluorescent-color vest in my car just for occasions like this one.)

Brother Thomas Artist Grant Recipients

2010-04-27T17:53:00.022-04:00

*BEHIND THE SCENES: The assignment came in as a series of portraits of local artist whom have received Brother Thomas awards of $15,000. I love this kind of assignments because I get to talk to the subjects and between them and I we figure out what would be a suitable location and it gives me an idea of the kind of image I want to create. Every single portrait was lit differently depending on the situation. TECHNICAL STUFF: I HAVE PLACED THE SPECS OF EACH PHOTOGRAPH AFTER THE SUBJECT FOR EASIER UNDERSTANDING.

*Barbara Helfgott_ Hyett (cq), a poet, of Brookline was photographed at Jamaica Pond. This was a true success. I seem to have good luck with trees and subjects. Here I used one bare bulb Norman 400 battery Pack. The light is positioned about 45 degrees to the left of the subject and slightly higher than face level. The ISO is 50 aperture 22, speed 1/100th, white balance: Cloudy. Lens 16- 35mm 2.8 at 16mm.

*Brian Knep (cq) was photographed at his Boston studio. His works includes projecting slides of nematodes.He was photographed without any outside source of light other than the light coming out of the projector)aperture 3.2, 1/125th, ISO 800, WB auto. Reason being is because is really hard not to overpower the light coming out of a slide projector without loosing the detail of the projected image.

*Cinematographer Alla Kovgan (Cq) was photographed at her Somerville apartment. I noticed the natural light coming through the curtains and the patterns it created on the wall. Then I noticed the plants she had in her apartment and decided to layer the composition for a more interesting image: Aperture 4.0, ISO 250, speed 1/125th, WB sun.
Second Alla portrait: Two lights, one hitting her from behind from the left just catching her profile and a second light behind her to the right with a snoot to hit the video camera in her hand to accentuate metal highlights. Aperture 13, ISO 125, speed 1/125th of a second__ aperture so high to compensate for using two bare-bulbs near the subject.

*Film Makers Strain by Brick wall: I wanted to balance the inside light with the outside light. I placed one strip softbox slightly to the left and in front of her higher than her head level making sure you couldn't see the reflection of the softbox on the window. Aperture 6.3, ISO 50, speed 250th of a second. WB daylight__ speed shot is as close as the maximum speed this camera and flash can synch together (1/320th) in order to saturate the image by under exposing outside ambient light by about stop and half.

*Kati Agocs (cq) musician, composer, and vocalist was photographed at the New England Conservatory of Music where she is a faculty member.\ I was standing on top of the piano on this one and I had two lights on her. One softbox high and to her left about 45 degrees up and about 4 feet away just out of frame, a second light flat on the ground to her right aiming at her face to highligth her profile. ISO 100, exposure 1/13th of a second to capture warmth tone in the ambient light, aperture 8.0, WB Auto.

*Richard Hoffman (cq) was photographed at one of his favorite cafes near his home, Good Food, in Cambridge. * With this one I played a lot. I thought he had an interesting profile and all the white facial hair worked. So I decided to go for a more ethereal look. I had two lights going. One softbox high to the right to establish a baseline an one bare bulb with a grid high to the left and slightly from behind to accentuate his profile. Aperture 8.0, speed 1/15th, ISO 160, WB daylight. I dragged the shutter (slow it down) in order to create a slight ghosting in his profile by allowing the natural light to show up in the exposure.)

*John O. ADEkoje's (Cq) who made the film "Street Soldiers" was photographed in front of the Strand Theather off Columbia Rd in Columbia Road.*Adekoje, film maker outside: I wanted to capture the grittiness found in his films which her done primarily on the streets of DOT. I went with a Norman Battery Pack 400 and kept changing the angle of incidence starting from the front and to the right. I had my assitant keep moving more and more to hit his profile until it became somewhat back-light which added to the drama of the scene. It was important to find a good balance between the natural light, the marquee light and the Norman's output... trial and error my friends, trial and error: ISO 100, aperture 1/15th of a second, aperture 13.

Boston Ballet Balanchines/ Robbins

2010-04-26T11:58:00.010-04:00

Boston, MA 042310 Boston Ballet company rehearsing on April 23 for their upcoming production of Balanchine/Robbins. BEHIND THE SCENES: This was for a story on the ballet's next production. I spent about two hours just hanging out with them as they rehearsed. I know a lot of the dancers just because I've been shooting them on and off for almost 8 years now. Because of this I have the advantage of being familiar with their dance routines and kind of have an idea of what to expect so it was only a matter of waiting and being ready and then to simply let them do what they do best: being dancers. Easy pickings for photos. Like I've always said, dancers are like sports cars. They look sleek, fast and ready to go even at a stand still. TECHNICAL STUFF: Shot it with my staple lenses a wide angle zoom ( a 17- 35m 2.8) and a telephoto (80- 200 2.8) most exposures were somewhere between 125- 250th of a second at 2.8- 40 range depending on how the light changed and how fast their movements were. ISO of 400- 520 setting AWB or Fluorescent depending on where they were in the studio. One side is lit well by natural light coming from windows other side is lit mostly by overhead fluorescent lights.

Natural Light with a Little bit of Help

2010-04-22T22:11:00.004-04:00

Boston, MA 042210 Luigi "Big Lou" DeMarco (Cq), left, the general manager of Caffe Graffitti & Ristorante in the North End of Boston was photographed at the restaurant on April 22, 2010. This is for a story on sidewalk sitting at North End cafes. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)/ BEHIND THE SCENES: This was one of those situations where the assignment was not very clear. It mentioned the owner and manager of this restaurant as possible subjects. I was asked to put them or either or within context of the area so the reader would know where the outdoor sitting would be. I walked in there and I immediately noticed how the natural light was amazing. It was bright outside but the quality of light foretold there were clouds coming so you could see changing light moving pretty fast. I shot w/o an artificial light and decided that was not good enough. So I set up a monolight to the right of the frame to side light the subject and voila. It was just a matter of waiting for the right scene in the background. TECHNICAL STUFF: Shot with a 16-35mm 2.8@ 16mm, ISO 50, speed 1/200th sec, aperture 5.6. I took a reading of the outside light and it was about 4.0@ 125. So I closed down my aperture and increased my speed to add full saturation and contrast to the subjects in the background while still balancing the inside light with the outside light. I think this worked pretty well. The gods of light were definitely smiling upon me with the beautiful light coming in from the outside. (the source of light you see on the right is my Bowen monolight, which I actually didn't mind having in my frame.)

Gates at Harvard

2010-04-21T17:26:00.006-04:00

Cambridge, MA 042110 Bill Gates spoke at the Sanders Theater at Harvard University on April 21, 2010. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff) BEHIND THE SCENES The Boston Globe was designated as pool for the event. What this means is that I was the only still photographer outside of Harvard staff and certain other Harvard publications to be allowed to photograph the event. My photos went on the AP wires and can be accessed by any of the thousands of AP customers. TECHNCIAL STUFF: Shot with a 300 mm 2.8 with a 1.4 TC at ISO 6400, Manual mode, aperture of 4.0 @ 1/640th of a second to make sure that hand-held telephoto would yield sharp photos without any movement. No monopod, I sometimes prefer to hand hold big lenses... personal choice.

Boston Marathon 2010 Elite Runners

2010-04-20T21:42:00.003-04:00

Hopkinton, MA 041710 For a while Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot (Cq) - left of Kenya and Deriba Merga (cq) or Ethiopia ran side to side until Cheruiyot took the lead between the 23 and 24th mile awinning the 114th Boston Marathon on April 19, 2010 with a record time of 2:05:52. (Essdras M Suarez/ Globe Staff)BEHIND THE SCENE: This year I was assigned to the men's elite truck. This basically means that I and another five or so still photographers rode on the back of a truck which drove ahead of the men's elite group but also ahead of the TV truck which was always in between us and the runners. So you basically catch glimpses of them in curves, hills and whenever the truck would veer a little bit to the right or left of the pack. In other words: for two hours you have to keep focusing and shooting every chance you saw the group. I shot a total of 1,400 images or so. TECHNICAL STUFF I chose a 400mm 2.8 lens on a monopod. ISO of 500 and set the camera in aperture priority oscillating from 3.5 to 5.0 depending on light conditions.