ShutterSpeed

WTE Prep Athlete of the Week Kelsey Eklund of Burns.

Pretty impressed. That is how I feel about my experience shooting Burns track star Kelsey Eklund. A number of reasons contributed to my overall feeling of the shoot.

One being the chance to cruise into the country in order to visit the 11 or 12 people who live there.

Beware: seriousnesses follows below…

Not only did Ms. Eklund dazzle the camera with a natural smile and comfort, which required little to no direction on my part, but she was also able to wrangle every single pair of sneakers in the entire town for use as props. I used the 10 or so pairs as a backdrop for this shot. By looking at the photograph, it is difficult to realize that she is actually laying in a strategically empty space with the sneakers merely surrounding her body. There are, however, a few dark spots where shoes could not fit (due to a lack of pairs).

Following the initial frame seen above, I shot an alternate (just in case the sneaker shot stunk — puns are always bad).

Since Ms. Eklund is among the few athletes who are awarded PAW honors for multiple sports (she won during basketball season and is among the only players honored solely for defensive prowess), I decided to dig into the vault and pulled inspiration from a late 80s/early 90s shot of two-sport legend Bo Jackson.

Some of the readers who postdate Jackson’s career may not remember the shot of the legend shirtless, in shoulder pads, with a baseball bat over his back, so here is a link for your viewing pleasure: Bo Jackson, America’s Hero

Eklund may not be Bo Jackson, but she certainly knows how to compete and pose in ridiculous environments for the sake of art. Overall, time well spent in one of my favorite little cities.

An alternate shot a la Bo Jackson (my boyhood idol).

Technical Info

subject: Burns stud Kelsey Eklund

location: Burns High School stage

camera body: canon mark II
lens: 24-70mm (44mm for top, 50mm for bottom)

ISO: 50

shutter speed: 1/100th

f-stop: f-5.6

strobes: yes — Two Canon SpeedLights (550 ex, 580 ex). On the top photo, a young lady held the strobe to the left and above Eklund. Another was placed on a tripod to light her hair. On the bottom image, I placed one behind Eklund to create a rim light and another with a softbox to the direct right to create the dramatic look.

cons: I didn’t work very fast (about 30 minutes to find the shoes and set the lights up). It was also difficult taking Ms. Eklund away from her English studies (she was crushed).