Old School – Slides

Photography has evolved tremendously in the past 15 years. Everything from capturing images, processing, editing and publishing has changed. Film, including slide film, is just one of many photographic processes that have nearly or completely vanished in the digital age.

Reversal film is a type of photographic film that produces a positive image on a transparent base. A slide is an individual transparency (one frame or exposure) mounted in a cardboard or plastic housing which can be used in a slide projector. Slides were also the preferred format for many publishers, due to its high reproduction quality.


Do you think the advent of digital technology has lightened the workload? Think again. Every frame I shoot still gets edited and scrutinized, now its on a computer screen instead of a light table.

I actually miss using slide film. Looking at slides from an NFL game on a light table was like opening a pack of baseball cards as a kid. It was the highlight of my week during the fall.

Shoot the Moon

Tonight, Jan. 10th, the biggest full Moon of 2009 is outside and in full view here is South Florida.

Perigee full moons come along once or twice a year. Tonight’s perigee moon is about 16 hours from the month’s full moon. On January 30, 2010, the perigee and full moons will be just 2 hours apart.

The moon’s orbit is an ellipse, so when it is at its closest approach to earth, or perigee, the moon comes much closer to the Earth than at its apogee, or greatest distance, so it appears about 14% wider and 30% brighter than normal.

Lets Shoot Two!

January 1, 2009: Knowshon Moreno of the Georgia Bulldogs is tackled by Kendall Davis-Clark of the Michigan State Spartans during the NCAA football game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Georgia Bulldogs in the Capital One Bowl. The Spartans were leading the Bulldogs 6-3 at halftime.


In the spirit of Cubs great Ernie Banks, on New Year’s Day I worked two bowl games, starting my day at the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, and finishing at the FedEx Orange Bowl in Miami.

January 1, 2009: Tyrod Taylor of the Virginia Tech Hokies in action during the NCAA football game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Orange Bowl Classic. The Hokies defeated the Bearcats 20-7.

The drive between the two venues was 213 miles and it took 2 hours and 57 minutes with a little help with my lead foot and light holiday traffic on Florida’s Turnpike.

Combined I shot 3500 frames for the entire day.

Crosley’s Field of Dreams

Saturday I photographed a wedding at the Powell Crosley, Jr. Estate in Sarasota. My reference to Crosley Field should ring a bell to baseball fans, as Powell Crosley, Jr. was the owner of the Cincinnati Reds in the 1930’s and 40’s and of which the stadium the team occupied at the time was named for.

Crosley built the estate, named Seagate, for his wife Gwendolyn in 1929. Situated on 62 acres next to John Ringling’s Estate on Sarasota Bay, it measures 11,000 square feet, and features 21 rooms including 10 bathrooms. The Crosleys used Seagate as their winter residence until Gwendolin’s death in 1939.

Purchased and renovated by Manatee County in the 1990’s, it is now used as a meeting, conference, and event venue. For a few thousand dollars, it can be yours for a wedding.

Below, the groom and his groomsmen pose in the “Ship Room,” a circular room that housed an unusual weather vane that displayed the wind direction on the ceiling.