A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to assist the amazing new york photographer, Jeff Riedel, on an ESPN cover shoot in Moab, Utah.  It was quite an experience.  Since the photographer was from new york, and would be flying into a much closer airport,  it was my job to transport the rental gear.  I was to pick up the biggest van I’ve ever seen, full of more photo gear than I’ve ever been accountable for, and drive it from salt lake city, down to Moab, a 4-5 hour trip.  I picked up the van at Redman Movies and Stories, the rental shop, and after a quick stop for an Arizona iced tea, doughnuts, and granola bars, I was on my way.  The van had a great stereo and cd player, but I had NO CD’s!  I was THAT guy you always see jamming to headphones, flying past you on the freeway in a moving van.  After arriving at the hotel in Moab, I met the photographer and his first assistant, and got settled into a room.  Then, after channel surfing and recovering from driving for an hour or two, I drug the bell boy cart out to the van, and pulled the 10 batteries from the Profoto 7b packs.  These batteries are basically a small car battery used to power the flash, used in photography.  I lined the cart with the ten batteries, and threw the chargers on top.  As I was rolling them in through the lobby, the girl at the front desk began to eye the contents of the cart.  Then I realized this may look odd to some one who doesn’t know what a 7b battery is.  “That looks like quite a project…?” she said.  “These are just batteries,” I replied, trying to think of a simple way to explain it.  “I need to charge them for tomorrows photoshoot.”  She just said, “Ohhhh” in relief.  I pulled the cart into the elevator, and a man in a swimsuit and flip flops followed after me.  As the door shut and the awkwardness came, the man slowly leaned back, and stared down at the ten black, fuse covered batteries with wide eyes.  I then felt what It must feel like to walk into a building with dynamite strapped to  your chest.  I felt very powerful, and I liked my terrorist moment.  I wonder if this man seriously thought I was about to blow up the Hampton Inn, of all places.  He scurried out at the next floor as soon as the door slid open.  After I was alone, I busted up laughing for a good two minutes.

The next day was a lot of hard work.  Call time was 5am, and we had to hike to the top of a mountain to get a shot before sunrise.  Working on a shoot of this caliber is simply exhausting but rewarding.  We worked at full speed in the hot summer sun, out on the slick rock and sand for a good 8 hours.  “Thats a wrap!”  Everyone on the crew was spent.  After dinner, I had no hotel room any more, so I had no choice but to hop in the van and drive all the way home.  I gassed up, and was on may way with good coffee and good spirit!  The drive home was fun, and I made it in an hour less.  I walked in to my house, dead-tired, and collapsed on the couch.  What a business trip!

Good news! I was just notified that my photo made it to the finals stack for the best photo in the contest, we’ll see what happens from here.  For my headshot, I photographed Ryan Nagy again (same fellow as in the last post).  He needed some business portraits for his site, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to jump into the strobist boot-camp contest, for my first time.

Click here to view my submission on flickr.