115th Boston Marathon

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

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

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

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.)