I heard today that Lorena Ochoa, the world’s number 1 female golfer ( and has been so since the beginning of time, or so it seems), is retiring right in the middle of the season, and right at the top of her game! I had the great pleasure of being asked by Sports Illustrated to travel down to her home town of Guadalajara, Mexico and do a shoot with her for their end of year portfolio. It was a great trip and shoot, and Lorena was so unassuming and sweet to work with. I can only imagine it’s a temporary retirement ( i.e. a break form the game), as she’s been the queen of women’s golf since she was 8!
Yesterday was a good day. It all started out with a photo shoot with Simon Sinek, a cool, young, new- thinking entrepreneur ( my favorite kind). The shoot all worked out organically. Nice! Then simon invited me to his guest speaking event last night. Now I’ve been reading his book, but the seminar? Words fail me. I think there’s a lot of ‘new thinkers’ out there, and it can be easy to be cynical, but Simon has really hit on something. What was so impactful to me (other than his great story telling ablility) was the simple fact that people/ clients/ whatever don’t come to you for WHAT you do, but WHY you do it. Think about that. You probably think you know the ‘why’, but in reality it’s probably just the ‘what’ and ‘how’ you do what you do that your familiar with. Do yourself a favor, and learn how do grasp the ‘why’. Now i know that probably sounds too simple and straightforward on it’s own, but believe me, you’ve never thought of things with this much clarity before. If you only get inspired by one person a month, consider Simon Sinek next time!
NEW WORK: in this week’s issue of People magazine, a story i shot last year on private investigator moms! This was about a four day shoot in the San Francisco area. All the investigative team were great to work with, and i even got to be a part of their cover, being that i was with them during a ‘covert op’! It was just like out of a Hitchcock-ian movie, running the streets of San Fran, hiding cameras etc., then watching the incriminating footage from the night before. I could start to like this work.
After watching the Saints miraculously win the Super Bowl this past weekend, I began to think about my first trip down to New Orleans, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I was initially covering evacuees in Houston for People magazine, but once that assignment was over, myself and staff writer Ken Lee decided to make the dicey drive through Louisiana (mainly because ken needed his car back, after it had been stranded at New Orleans airport for the best part of a week). So we stocked the car with four or five cans of gasoline, food and a couple of empty bottles as an emergency bathroom ( you can’t stop once your crossing the swamp). I was fortunate to hook up with a unit of the 82nd Airborne as they patrolled the city, including the Superdome. It was a remarkable sight. There were signs posted outside noting that ecoli was present, which made the experts at the time certain that the building would have to be demolished! I’m happy to say that prophecy did not come true. But the experience of walking this desolate empty space, with just the sound of dripping water, was eerily reminiscant of a scene from a Ridley Scott movie. I just stood there, thinking that this was the sight of so many past great Super Bowls, and every Saints home game, and just a few days ago, the scariest place on Earth. What a remarkable recovery for a team that a short time ago was homeless, just like it’s residents.
here’s one more iphone photo combo, from a recent trip to the big apple. What’s not to love about the iphone for pure spontaneous photography. except of course the file size etc. But what i like is that it really simplifies things. Your stuck with the one lens and such limitations which i think is a good thing. Need a zoom lens on your iphone? It’s those two extremities below the waist. Walk!
clockwise from top left:
5th Ave.- This guy just looks perfect for a hurried, impatient business-on-his-mind New Yorker.
Empire State Building- what a beautiful day for a meeting, this was right after leaving the offices of ESPN magazine
‘Man with sink’ 5th Ave.- say no more!
Yankee Stadium bleachers- the reaction when a lone Red Sox fan decided to make his home in the bleachers. Oh yeah, and the Red Sox weren’t even playing that day. Forgetaboutit!
A selection of some of my favourites of my iphone series when out and about in LA. For those who follow me on twitter (http://twitter.com/gallagherphoto) you may have seen these before, but they still look good, particularly as a set. I think so anyway. Ok, i’ll do more.
