Alan MacRae

Faces...

2012-01-28T13:15:00.001-08:00

I've started work on an idea that was inspired by David "Strobist" Hobby's "HoCo" project. I am working on a list of people who are, solely in my opinion, "iconic" in the Laconia area. The selection criteria I'm using are very nebulous. One of the subjects I was talking with said "it's a gut feeling", and I think that pretty much sums it up. I have selected and deselected quite a few, arguing with myself over who should and shouldn't be on the list.

So, what are you doing with this list, you ask. Well, my plan is to do a portrait, one, of each of the people on the list. With the portrait, I'm also doing a very informal interview with each individual so I'll have two things: some biographical info to go with the portrait and some sound bites of each person I shoot. Yes, I'm recording the interviews, with permission of course.

I plan to publish the images on the web, www.the-faces-of-laconia.com, along with their brief bios and some voice clips from the interviews. I'm doing this with the idea that the people I am selecting have made significant, yet sometimes not widely recognized contributions to our community. I feel that these contributions should be recognized and memorialized, which is my goal in doing this project.

When I came up with this idea, I envisioned it as strictly a photographic project. I've now done about ten portraits and the experience has been amazing. Most of the folks I've shot are people that I have known for a long time, since I was a child in many cases. The interviews, very informal, with little or no structure, have been incredible. I have laughed, and cried, with many of the subjects who have graciously accepted my request to have them participate in this project. I hope it turns out as good in their eyes as it's shaping up to be in mine.

I'm not soliciting or using images that I have not shot specifically for this project. It's not intended to be a documentary or a history piece, although in some ways I hope it becomes historical. In some ways, that's a bit sad as there are lots of folks who I would love to include, but who have already passed.

So, I'm going to continue working on this. The list is not at all defined, just like the selection criteria. Who are these people? Well, in due time, you'll have the chance to see who they are, on the website and, then, I think you'll be able to surmise on your own why they were selected.

Portraits

2011-08-12T05:30:00.001-07:00

I've been fortunate to have been able to work on sharpening my portrait skills recently. That's another way of saying that I've started putting into practice some of the skills I've learned at various workshops I've had the pleasure of attending over the last few years. While my "bread and butter" has been editorial work, changes in that market have pushed me (read: kicked me in the can) to start exploring other areas of photography. Getting creative with lighting is lots of fun. I'm a disciple of Joe McNally and David Hobby and like to emulate, as best I can, both of their lighting styles. I find that a lot of the portrait work I see, especially locally, is pretty sterile. Make no mistake, it's beautiful, award winning work. But, for me, being tied to the overhead of a studio is not the least bit desirable. Take me to a place like a hockey rink, when the ice is out in the summer, or an abandoned factory, or in the woods, with lots of natural green, moss covered boulders, then supplement the lighting with one of Dave Hobby's paper Chinese lantern light mods. I think the images are wonderful.

So, most recently, my friend Jill and her motorcycle "Pretty", in the Laconia Ice Arena, a few days before the ice goes in for the season...

Summer Fun

2011-08-07T07:32:00.001-07:00

And, if you're up for it, visit my site for some "Summer Fun" pics of things around the Lakes Region area...

"
Summer Fun - Images by Alan MacRae

Fireworks

2011-08-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I've loved fireworks. Great revelation, you say? Well, I really do know some folks who can take them or leave them. That said, I decided that I wanted to shoot a few fireworks displays over the summer and last night took advantage of the Belmont, NH, Old Home Day celebration to add a few shots to my collection. Following some advice from Joe McNally, via his blog a month or so ago, I was pretty pleased with last night's results. Here are a few shots from last night...

High rise play...

2011-06-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

While not as epic as Joe McNally's shot of the guy changing the light bulb on the Empire State Building, it was pretty cool to photograph some of my "brothers" on the Laconia (NH) Fire Department doing high angle rescue training from the roof of one of the city's tallest buildings on Monday. I've been extremely fortunate to have been a member of the department, as their photographer, for a number of years now and have photographed and participated in many of their training sessions over the years.

Monday afternoon started with a phone call from Chief Ken Erickson telling me that "the boys" were "playing" on the high rise and they had said "Alan should come and take some pictures." So I headed up to meet with the gang and was swung up onto the roof in the aerial basket. The guys are, out of necessity, consummate safety pros so everyone on the roof was "clipped in". I shot a bunch of images of the guys rappelling down the seven story (yes, you city types, I know, seven stories is nothing) building. They had a bunch of fans in the building, which houses a fair share of elderly folks (like me), who were applauding as the guys made it safely to the ground. The lead guys in this exercise are Jeff Desrosiers and Steve Hanser, both experts in ropes and all the little gizmos that go along with being able to lower someone safely to the ground from what is, for some, a dizzying height. If Jeff said he could take a ball of string and make the aerial ladder fly, I'd go along with him. Jeff yelled out to me "Hey Alan, want to go?" and I said sure. Now a small disclaimer here, I've done this before, but I think a few of the new guys didn't know that, so when I said yes and started suiting up, I think they were a bit surprised.

Like I said, Jeff and Steve are experts, like "Don't try this at home", at this stuff and once you're clipped in, it's amazing how secure you feel as you lean backwards out over the edge of the building, until you're parallel with the ground and then just start walking backwards down the side of the building. Way cool! As I said before, I've done this with these guys before and, I'm happy to say, some of what I learned the first time actually stuck! I don't think anyone will forget, or let me forget, the first time, on a three story building, when I stepped off the edge too early and smacked into the side of the building, camera and all. Neatly over the edge, parallel to the ground, walk backwards. Yes, it's really that simple. I told my oldest son Ryan, who is a merchant marine, about it and his answer was "F--- that!" My youngest, Kevin, who is an avid sky diver was like "Way cool, Dad!" When I had lunch with the Chief the next day, he said "Why am I not surprised?"

So much for today's musings. Oh, yes, a photo? Taken by Laconia Firefighter/Paramedic Jeff Desrosiers with one of my cameras...

More NYC...

2011-05-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing new and profound to write, but was revisiting more of my images from NYC. Of a more personal nature, my brother fell prey to my camera, more than once, and I to his, as you can see. Every time I look at images from NYC, I can't help but want to go back.

That said, Jon and I have been blessed to have visited a number of big cities together, in various areas of the globe including New York, San Francisco, (where he watched my camera and I get soaked by a wave crashing over the seawall), Boston, Oslo, Bergen, London, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Gothenburg. I've been incredibly lucky to have shot in these cities with Jon and, were it not for him, I probably never would have been to many of them. Actually, I have to say that I'm incredibly lucky to have Jon in my life. So, here's a couple of fun shots of Jon and another from Penn Station in New York. As Joe McNally would say, "More tk."

New York City

2011-04-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

I was flattered with a comment from a former classmate who said, "Alan please up-date your blog with gorgeous photos on a regular basis......." Thank you, Joni, for that nice comment.

I was fortunate to have spent the last few days in New York City with my brother. The two of us both photo bugs and attended "The Flash Bus Tour" with noted photographers Joe McNally and David Hobby. Great program by two of the best in the business. I'll probably write more on that later.

After Thursday evening, all day Friday and Saturday morning, Jon and I wandered the streets of Manhattan looking for things that caught our eyes. I owe a debt of gratitude to Jon for having the New York Public Library on his list of places he wanted to visit. What an amazing place to spend some time. Had we had a few more days, I would probably still be in there shooting. The folks there are very friendly and helpful. The library even has it's own uniformed police force, a gentlemanly group, who were very friendly, all the while maintaining a vigil over those who were there. An amazing amount of traffic passes through the front doors every day as people wander through the gigantic building looking at the many books and other artifacts they have there. While it's a real throwback to the "days of old", the NYPL is not lost on new technology, boasting several rooms loaded with computers for folks to research the net. One room that we visited probably had about 300 computers, nearly every one in use. While I have an ever expanding "bucket list" of places I want to visit, the NYPL is definitely on my list of places to visit again.

So, for a short post, here are couple of pix from the library, on the red line, and also one that I shot Saturday morning from Liberty Island State Park, New Jersey.

2011-02-06T16:35:00.001-08:00

Boston is such a great city, to visit, to photograph. I had the pleasure of being there on Friday and spent some time in the North End. Here are a few of my images from that evening.

2010-10-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

As I read through some of the blog posts by my friends, I'm embarrassed to think it's been so long since my last post. I'm going to try to get better at it and share some of my "fun" images with you.

So, over the Columbus Day weekend, I was lucky to spend four days in the Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park environs. This is truly one of the more beautiful, peaceful places I've ever visited, despite the fact that Bar Harbor receives nearly 100 cruise ships and entertains about 147,000, yes, 147K passengers a year. Acadia is vast and truly one of the marvels of nature that offers something for everyone from avid hikers & climbers to those who just want to enjoy the peace and quiet of undeveloped nature. Blackwoods Campground is my favorite plac

e to camp, within the park itself. The sites are nice and all of the restroom buildings have recently been refurbished. For $20/night, it's a bargain and I enjoy the idea of supporting the park and the campground.

So, as a quick add, here are a couple of shots that I took and did a bit of photoshop experimentation with. Hope you enjoy them.

2009-11-28T06:16:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while since I posted anything in my blog, despite the fact that a lot has happened since my last post, at least travel wise. But, more on that later.

I'm a "self-taught" photographer/photojournalist. As I do what I love doing best, nearly every day, mostly for several small local rags, I sometimes cover events where other photographers are shooting. We all know each other within our community so, when I show up at an event with multiple photogs, we usually make eye contact and as we're shooting we're attentive to where we are with respect to each other's shot. That is, with the exception of one photographer. While he'll go unnamed here, the point I'd like to make is that within our craft, it's inevitable that there will be circumstances where you'll have to shoot around other photographers in order to complete your assignment. That said, we all need to be respectful of each other and do what we can to help each other by getting a few shots and then moving about a little so others can get as clean a shot as possible. I feel like I'm not expressing myself particularly well here.

The photographer I'm thinking of likes to shoot "low and wide" most of the time, which typically puts him very close to the subject. That's all well and good save for the fact that he stays close to the subject through most of whatever happens to be going on, oblivious to (read: ignoring) other shooters covering the event, making it nearly impossible for them to get a frame off without him in it. The editor of a local paper, who occasionally shoots once came into his office, where I happened to be at the time, pulled out his pocket knife and said "If I had a knife bigger than this (about a 1-1/2 inch blade), I'd have stabbed him." This from a gent whom I've always know to be quiet, gentle and the perfect gentleman. I guess that sums it up.

My parents brought me up, as did your's, I'm sure, that two wrongs don't make a right. I was talking with another shooter after a recent shoot where "low and wide" was and said that I was thinking of doing the frame block thing myself. It would be easy to do as I tower over this guy. She said that would be wrong, lowering myself to his level. I had to agree, reluctantly.

So, the point of this diatribe is that we're all in the same business; trying to eek a meager living out of the earth by doing what we love, creating beautiful images. There's no need for any of us to make anyone else in our profession work harder or lose an opportunity because of our own ignorance. Be cognizant of other shooters around you and give way after you've gotten a few shots. They'll do the same for you and everyone will benefit. I even think about that in my travels. As I watch tourists stop to pose shots, I try not to walk in front of them until they're done. It's really not hard, and that little bit of courtesy goes a long way. Pay it forward and remember, what goes around comes around.

Happy shooting.

2009-05-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a video slide show I produced of my trip to Alaska in the summer of 2008. I'm still very much in the newby stage in the video thing. Hope you enjoy.

2009-02-12T05:49:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite treats on the net is Joe McNally's blog. I've been privileged to meet Joe and attend two of his seminars, one in Oslo sponsored by Nikon and the other at his old studio building in Dobbs Ferry, NY. In addition to being a hugely talented photographer and mentor, he could have a second calling as a comedic writer. Visit his blog at http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/