Mixed Bag

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.