On assignment for Lake Murray / Richland Northeast again, this time up in Blythewood. George Zara is the CEO of Providence Hospital, but crafts and repairs one-of-a-kind saddles for fun. The level of artistry involved, time and effort required to build a saddle is hard to comprehend, but it's evident Zara is a master at it.

Geroge Zara, Saddle Craftsman, February 2010

Geroge Zara, Saddle Craftsman, February 2010

Geroge Zara, Saddle Craftsman, February 2010

I haven't posted any of my video work on here before, but in fact my full-time job is that of a videographer. It's just that the stuff I shoot isn't all that exciting most of the time. Last week I spent some time with the identical Mathias quadruplets over in Lexington, S.C., and had a blast documenting them. 

The Mathias Quads: Age 10 from Andrew Haworth on Vimeo.

Then a few days later, a massive snowstorm rolled into the area. I really just wanted to create a video that was akin to a moving postcard. I planned to shoot with my normal camera, the Canon XHA1, but I didn't want to fry it in the blizzard (it was getting iced up and melting snow was seeping into every cranny). I switched to a small pocket video camera, the Kodak Zi8, shooting in 1080p mode and got wonderful results. 

I used MPEG Streamclip to convert the Kodak's AVCHD-compressed clips to Apple Prores 422, then assembled in Final Cut Pro. I used a piece of music from the FCP Creative Suite for a nostalgic feeling.

Snow falls in Downtown Columbia from Andrew Haworth on Vimeo.

Tearsheets, 02-08-10A look back at some of my work from last week. I was proud of the A1 lead photo from the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, but the reproduction quality was abysmal in print. Fortunately, it looks better here. I've featured the Signing Day photo here in a previous posting.

The girls cross-country pictures were a surprise. I shot them last year and had no idea they were running this week. I'm trying to ignore that the designer cropped out part of the athlete's foot in the bottom left photo, but it's really aggravating me. I wasn't happy with that series to begin with.

A former co-worker of mine contacted me last night to ask if I had a copy of a portrait of Orangeburg gunsmith Ed Kukelkorn. Apparently, Kukelkorn passed away last year and a columnist at the Orangeburg Times and Democrat was writing about him. I photographed the guy in the late 1990s. Back in the film days. Indeed, a print was in my ancient pre-grad school portfolio. 

Portraits seemed so simple back then. Flat lighting from a bounced flash, 1/60th of a second, ISO 400 film and a great character. Nowadays I make it complicated, and maybe I'm missing the point. Back in the film days, I had about 36 chances to get a portrait right. Now it takes hundreds of shots, light adjustments, profanity and a ton of batteries. By the time I make the final capture, I think I've forgotten the whole reason for being there and my subject is squirming uncomfortably as I make shot after shot.

Looking back at my old stuff, it was much more emotional, whether it was an intense gaze, a hidden sadness revealed by the lens, or expressive natural lighting. I think it's time for me to turn back the clock. 

Ed Kukelkorn, Gunsmith, Orangeburg, S.C., c. late 1990s

Travelled to Greenwood yesterday to meet with USC recruit Kelcy Quarles, an All-American defensive lineman. Cool thing was his dad, Buddy Quarles, played on South Carolina's infamous 1984 "Black Magic" team. Did a quick portrait in a grungy stadium tunnel, then shot some interviews in high-def for the newspaper's web site.

Kelcy and Buddy Quarles, January 2010