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Holiday Bowl | San Diego | ASU vs. Texas

Texas reserve QB John Chiles (7) runs in for a score in the first half.



ASU tailback Dimitri Nance (#31) is wrapped up by a swarm of Texas defenders in the first half.




ASU QB Rudy Carpenter walks off the field in the second half, his shirt torn.


Last night I got to take a little walk down memory lane as I shot the Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

Thanks to my long time, good friend Tom Story who used to work with me at The Arizona Republic and now works for Media Relations at Arizona State, I had a field credential. This was the first football game I had shot for probably six years now (since leaving the Republic in 2002). Wow, time has sure flown.

It was good to see Tom, and also another former colleague Rob Schumacher who was covering the game for the Republic.

Not a good game for the Sun Devils. They looked flat, and couldn't seem do do anything right in the first quarter, especially. No running game and while they made some headway later in the game, a 21 point first quarter deficit was just too much to overcome. It was tough to shoot in the first half, because I was getting text messages from my friend Dan, a Texas alum, who took great glee in the thrashing of the first quarter.

After Hawaii I kind of had a hankering to get back and shoot some action and this game I took a bit different approach then I would have taken if I were covering it for the paper. Plus I'm fascinated by the psychology of fan, especially on the collegiate level. Football and Texas have a unique place in our culture and I wanted to be there to try and find some photos that might help me capture that sense.

In my newspaper days, I probably would've taken an extra long 400 2.8, extender, and a wide zoom and a telephoto zoom. This time I took a 300 2.8, and only a 50mm and 35mm lenses. I also had another camera for shooting b & w film, just for the look of film . These images were all made with a Canon 1dm3 with the 300.

The reason I chose the 300 vs. the 400 allowed me to work hand held (no monopod) and would also get a slightly different look than I would've gone for in the past.

I actually enjoyed working this way...the looser crop in shooting allowed for a bit of cropping in post and being able to work handheld just kept me a bit more mobile.

I had a great time and it was good to see old friends, especially. I can't wait to see how the b & w film images look. There are a couple images burned in my brain cells shot with film that I am just chomping at the bit to see.

Huntington Harbour Holiday Lights

With my Mom in town, we wanted her to get a chance to view the holiday lights at Huntington Harbour. Nicki's cousins, Boris and Doff (Doff is Nicki's dad's first cousin) live there and every year at this time we get to take a tour of the homes via Boris & Doff's Duffy boat.

This was Kate's first time viewing them as well and she had a great time. She's had a hectic little Christmas time and today she conked out for about a 3 hour nap.

Every year the lights are a bit different and I just love the colorful reflections in the water. Boris & Doff publish a regional magazine for the area so one or more of the photos will end up on the cover of their magazine, Harbour Lights.

Putting up the Christmas Tree

and, Kate, dreaming of summer already??





This past weekend, we got our Christmas tree and decorated it. This year's tree is a bit taller than last year's...and this one seems to be a perfect fit in the nook by the stairs.

Kate, I believe, is starting to get a sense of what Christmas means (at least to little ones)...bright lights, visits from relatives and friends and soon she'll get the ultimate kid's meaning--PRESENTS!!

Of course, we'll have to work on the real meaning along the way.

Hawaii Sunset

Getting caught up a bit with the blogging...was a fairly hectic week here -- finishing some last minute holiday print orders, welcoming my Mom in from Wisconsin for the holiday, and still battling a cold...(finally seem to be winning).

Some images just archived today:

A view from my hotel room at sunset on the North Shore.

I loved the light in Hawaii...it was ever-changing.

bummed...

Kate's been sick all night with that nasty flug bug making the rounds in orange county...Nicki has been taking such good care of her...sorry I am not there to help her out...but will be back tomorrow...

No surfing contest today at Pipeline Masters...the waves are flat...did see a beautiful rainbow just after sunrise this morning...but alas, no more surfing action for me on this trip....back home to CA tomorrow...

ETA: Well after posting some of the Canon guys wanted to head into the water, so I went with them for a couple hours and photographed one of the Oahu North shore breaks....it was a fairly far break though so thankfully I was using the 600 f4 lens and a 2x extender on the mark 3 and while it brought me there it was still a bit underlensed. Plus the waves were still pretty flat and I still had a good time being out there shooting some sports action.

The evening presentation went well in Honolulu, a very receptive crowd and the cap to a great trip to Hawaii.

Pipeline Masters Surfing Day One

Today the weather finally broke and the world's greatest surfing contest began. Here Cory Lopez catches some air, though he finished second to Andy Irons in Heat #1, Round One.

The Canon crew including Amy Kawadler, Josh, Scott, Tera and Roly and I all headed to Pipeline and it was great.

A bit of sun peaking through, some rain, very common for the Northshore.

I got a chance to shoot some long lens action, something I haven't done for a couple of years..Carrying long lenses -- 300 2.8s, 400 2.8s, was something that I did a ton of when I worked in journalism as I shot a lot of sports and the long lenses are necessary to work...since I have been in CA, though, I haven't had a real need for long lenses...and.I must say I had a blast doing it...these images were all made with the 1dm3 and a 500 f4 L IS lens....The 500 has been one of my favorites since the early days when Canon made a 500 f4.5L for the manual focus FD line of lenses.

It was always a great focal length...in some locations, the 400 is a tad short, the 600 a tad long...but the 500 is the sweet spot, for things like second base action...

I sat at the edge of the beach, watched the action and had a blast.

Jennifer & Matt | Salt Creek | Dana Point

Earlier this week I met Jennifer and Matt, fellow Ladera residents, who are getting married in 2008. We met at Salt Creek which was loaded with surfers hoping to catch some of the 12-15 foot waves from the recent swell.

We had a great time doing a series of engagement portraits/holiday portraits at the beach on a fantastic December day. The waves were awesome and so was the light.

Thanks you two!

Joel & Jeni's Family | Fullerton

Catching up on my shoot for our friends Joel and Jeni at their lovely home in Fullerton late last week. Check out their fantastic work at
http://emausphoto.com.

This was the first time I met their children Bayley and Caysen and I love the photos on the swing near their home.

Film images back

Some more photos of -- who else? -- from the film. Some from the Thanksgiving holiday at the cousin's and the others around the house here...

The grainy image is shot on a new film that I thought I'd try the Neopan 1600. I'm taken by it...yes it's grainy, though not quite as grainy as images shot on Kodak's 3200 film. All images processed and scanned by my great LA lab Richards Photo Lab.

Kate and her friends at Disneyland

Nicki and Kate along with Nicole and Marlee, Julie and Mia and Allison and Jane all took advantage of the great weather and hit Disneyland yesterday for a full day.

It was incredibly quiet around here but where they were I'm sure it was not. There were laughs and giggles and a lot of fun for all of the kids.

They're all just about the same age so they're going through development stages at the same time (and the parents too -- all of us are first time parents).

We couldn't be luckier to have such good friends and good friends for Kate.

They all loved "It's a Small World"...what a surprise ;-)!

Gero Photo Workshop | January 14-17, 2008

Nicki and I are very excited about our upcoming seminar here in Ladera Ranch next January. It's going to a very small class size for personal attention (limited to 12 students) and we'll be talking about seeing great moments, working the light, and using very simple tools to create great weddings and portraits. Please email me paul at paulfgero dot com for more information.

Canon talk -- next Wednesday in Honolulu

I'll be speaking next Wednesday at the YWCA in Honolulu, HI (1040 Richards Street) at a Canon Explorers of Light sponsored event as part of my trip to the Pipeline Masters next week for Canon.

The time is from 5-9 pm and if you would like to attend, please email Amy Kawadler of Canon akawadler at cusa dot canon dot com.

Katie Christmas 2007

I think we have our Christmas card for this year...

Second visit with Santa...same result

Even with her friend Mia sitting contentedly on Santa's lap, Kate wailed again. We tried three times today at the Babies Club gathering with Santa, each time the same result.

Our child shows no fear in everything else except for meeting Father Christmas...oh well...more pics soon...