Tropical Power Coast 2 Coast '08

Well, I don't normally do sports stuff, but lately I've been thinking about it and I decided that it would be a good Idea to take some photos at the Coast 2 Coast race this year. The race is a multisport race; running, cycling and kayaking over two day and its open to international competitors (and there were many). You can enter in teams with each man doing a leg or you can rough it and do it all yourself...which I must say is not the easiest thing for the average Joe.

You can check out the site here www.trinidadcoast2coast.com

These photo outings are generally done just for practice so there's not pressure of deliverables...(yes!!) and of course this allows you to not only have more fun with the whole thing but you actually get a chance to observe so that when you are actually commissioned you are treading on familiar ground and I'll always encourage anyone who is getting into photography (or in it already for that matter) to get out there and just do stuff, just shoot...and you'll realize that the experience is more valuable that any monetary compensation.

Of course I had to roll with my photo peeps...Ayinde was along for the ride (literally, as I had to do all of the driving through that rugged terrain...its times like this I wish I had a 4WD vehicle of some sort) and we were able to get there just before the start of the race.

I decided to make this a BLACK & WHITE affair to maintain some of the "artsyness" in the midst of the hardcore multisporting.

Check it out!

Chatting before the start of the race

Committee member Keron Kong talking to the mulisporters before the race.

Last minute prepping before the race...

Off we go!

Some people found themselves in early trouble...but got by with a little help from fellow multisporters...

Ayinde in action.

The last descent of the cycling leg...

Here is Abigail Hadeed one of Trinidad and Tobago's and the Caribbean for that matter top photographers, met her for the first time...friendly gal.

Cooling down after the first two legs of the race

Some final arrivals.

Carnival 08' - Sigh...Highs and lows

Ayinde Just sent this one over so I thought I'd just include it in this post. Boy do I look unkempt, but that's Photography for you. That's the D80 with the 1.8 85mm in my hand, one of the rare times I mounted that lens for the day. I used the D80 for the most part, the D200 was just heavier and in that sun an ounce of weight can make a big difference.

Well I may have told some people that I'm not really involved in Carnival and that's quite true, but I still ventured to take some pics this Carnival Monday and Tuesday...only reason being that i didn't want to dissapoint Abigail (my apprentice) after saying that I was going and that she could come along. Plus my good Paparazzi friend Ayinde was in on the action as well.

Jouvert was good as usual mud, body paint, steel pan, the whole shabang and a wealth of creative photographic opportunities.

Tuesday however... was Tuesday.

Most Carnival bands can be summed up into an experience I had on Tuesday while doing some light photography in Port of Spain.

Ayinde, Abby and myself were looking for some friends of Ayinde's and while walking through the band that we knew they were in, we could not find them so we kept on walking through all the sections of the band.
I somehow ended up leading the march (even though I had no idea who we were looking for) and at some point I heard Ayinde calling out to me so I turned around. He then pointed to the security in the band...and i noticed that their t-shirt colour had changed...so I was like "is this some type of exclusive section or something?" Then Ayinde signalled and pointed to the print on the security's t-shirt...it was not that the band security t-shirt colour had changed but this was a completely different band!
It all just looked the same, the costumes were all just bikini's with a splash of colour and you couldn't tell where one band ended and another began.

There was no creative signature that made the costumes distinct. As usual.

There was however one band that DID stand out and it stood out so greatly I wondered whether there should just be two bands this Carnival...one massively big bikini band, with a splash of colour, called the "Splash of Colour Bikini Band" which would mostly be all the bands combined competing against Brian Mac Falane's 2008 presentation "EARTH" for band of the year.

I was captivated buy the elaborate detail and care put into creating the Brian Mac Farlane costumes. They were in a word "outstanding".

So thumbs up to Brian Mac Farlane and his creative team for bringing some sanity to an otherwise parade of half naked people.

I can't decide which photos I want to put up what so in the mean time, I'll just put up my favorite pics from Jouvert and Carnival Tuesday and a couple of the crew.

My Favorite 08 Jouvert Photo.

I'm sure people will ask why this is my favorite pic...no mud, no steel pan but this photo has character and some thing I just...well I dunno, the more I look at it the more I love it...the grey stubble on his face, the squinting eyes, the fact that he is chipping like this unwaveringly...just a nice pic.

A nail-biting-ly close second

I like this photo because you can see the detail of the bottle cap on the top of his head, the photo is cut in two and he's right in front of one half almost like if he is just about to cross the border , I love all the feet framing the top of the photo and the only pair of feet at the at the bottom, oddly but wondrously so is facing in the opposite direction almost like a perimeter is being formed around him while he's doing his Jouvert ritual. I also love the colour and texture of the mud on his skin.


My Favorite 08 Carnival Photo (arguably)

I love the perspective on this and the fact that he's just about to move out of the frame. It gives him a feel like a tall tree and the sky is lovely and of course this is Brian Mac Farlane's band.

A fighting second

I love this because It does not necessarily have anything to do with Carnival, the only thing that is connecting this photo to Carnival is the reflection of the masquerader in her sunglasses.

As things become clearer I'll post more.

Ayinde and Abigail...keeping a sharp eye out for photo ops.

My, what big knees you have Grandma...this is me checking my mail @ Ayinde's, Abby took this photo.

Shoot with Ayinde - High ISO, Large Aperture and a side of Flash

So one of my partners in crime Ayinde, asked to me to go on a shoot with him on Sunday last in Port of Spain. I was looking forward to do the shoot with him since I had nothing on and wanted to just "connect" with another photog. So Here's me thinking I was going to assist with the shoot, but when we got there I realized that I was only the "muscle" cuz Ayinde didn't want be cavorting with thousands of dollars worth of equipment all around the city at night by himself...yeah it was a night shoot.

So in keeping with all things good and not having to assist Ayinde, I kinda shot the shooter. Yup, and it was gooooood. Shooting a photographer is always interesting you kinda get to see what you look like in action...well, in some part. Plus you get to practice with a subject in a photo journalistic context with out being eyeballed all the time. Sweeet.

Here are some pics.

You really have to give your self to the environment to get the shot you want...here I am lying on a pavement in Port of Spain to get this low angle shot...ahh the smell of all things sewage

checking the angle.

Checking the shot, another angle, excellent rim lighting.

Love this colour version, look at the railing in the bg, the perspective is wicked.

The streetlight makes for excellent back lighting and this gave the photo extra depth.

This was a long exposure, with a double flash.

Profile..getting the shot.

No stress...just waiting on a long exposure.

Getting low for the right angle.