Out of practice. Like running a race you haven't been training for....

For visual pleasure only. No connection to the written content below...

I got a couple emails from a large radiology practice I've worked for often during the last 20 years. The emails came in last week. The requests were for two portrait sessions. Two doctors are joining the practice. The practice currently has about 150 doctors/partners and I believe that I have made portraits of every single one of them. Now we'll add two more.

As I opened my calendar to schedule the new doctors' appointments I realized that the last time I accepted an real, commercial assignment to make photographs was on June 15th. Back then I photographed five people for a public relations agency. Coincidentally, they sent me their selects to retouch as I was typing this blog post.

So it's been a month and change since I've done a job for a client. Sure, I've been keeping in practice operating cameras and, with a little help from my swim friends, I've been keeping my personal portrait "muscle memory" up to date. But I'd almost forgotten all the small details I have to put together to produce even the simplest of productions. 

Both of my portrait sessions for the radiology practice are booked for tomorrow. One at 11:00 a.m. and one at 5:45 p.m. It's nice to be able to schedule both on one day as I'll only need to set up the background and lighting once. 

I have a list from my adult supervision department. They (B.) indicate that it would be nice to have everything on the list done before the first person arrives in the morning. That list includes: cleaning the bathroom (including cleaning the Saltillo tile floors), stocking water bottles in the fridge to offer on client arrival, sweeping the walkway to the studio door, vacuuming the studio, maybe cleaning the studio windows, picking up all the extraneous gear littering the studio floor and otherwise making the compound look welcoming and.....aesthetically....satisfactory. 

In addition I have a self-generated list of items that includes: Setting up the portrait lighting I designed for this client a while back. I donated all my AC powered strobes to a newly launched photographer earlier in the year and am just using three Godox AD200 Pro flashes for all my flash work. 

Two of them go into the Godox mounting bracket that conjoins two bare bulb flashtubes and provides bright modeling lights. These, as one unit, will go into a 50 inch Octabank/softbox. I have already charged their batteries and tested them with an appropriate trigger. The additional AD200 Pro will be used with a round head and a dome diffuser to illuminate the background --- which will later be dropped out in post production.

I've now set up and tested all three lights. They work. Hooray.

Since I'm thinking of the Fuji MF camera as a personal/art camera for now I was hesitant to use it for these paying jobs but I thought, "oh, what the hell?" and decided to give the new camera a go. I set it up and finagled all of the settings required to work in a studio electronic flash environment. I also set up the camera to shoot Super Fine Jpeg + Raw so I can shoot the portraits in a square format and crop down to final, vertical images. The Jpegs will show the 1:1 crop but the Raws are there as a safety net in case I really screw something up and need the assistance of reliable and forgiving raws. 

One benefit of a square file mentality is not having the need to turn the camera sideways to get the usual vertical portrait shot. So much easier to work with a horizontally configured camera and just to crop as needed.

The other big set of tasks is just the straightening up of the studio and the putting away of all the toys that I've taken out over the last few weeks to play with.

I guess the biggest thing is actually accepting the idea that I have to knuckle down and actually be here at an appointed time. Or, rather, two appointed times. Other than swim practice I haven't had "time certain" commitments for weeks on end. I pretty much get to do whatever I want to do whenever I want to do it. 

Two studio portrait in one days feels like baby steps. Baby steps away from the edge of being fully retired. Which I've already decided would be too boring to actually consider. 

But I'm still happy I turned down the 14 shooting days in Houston the first two weeks of August for a London agency. That seemed a bit too hot and intense a re-entry to enjoy.

Swimming. The one thing I have been diligent about this year has been swimming, and the related strength training I've added mostly in service of improving my swimming. 

The water was cool enough this morning to swim more distance sets. The core of our workout today was a set that consisted of some middle distances --- reps of 200 yard swims. 

I call it "middle distance" but world class competitors now see 200 yard swim races as sprints. 

We did 400 yards of swimming and 400 yards of pulling, along with 200 yards of kicking, as our warm-up this morning. The fun, overarching set was:

4 x 200 yard swims on a 2:45 interval. The intention of the coach was that we "descend" each 200. Starting at a moderate pace and swimming each successive 200 faster until the 4th one was more or less a 95% effort sprint. 

Followed by a six minute continuous recovery swim.

Then 4 x 150 yards swims on a faster pace; still descending all four.

A recovery swim.

Then 4 x100 yard swims on 1:30 with each one being a faster sprint than the one before it.

We wrapped up with a moderate 400 yard cool down swim. 

There are two things I can feel improving in my stroke because of the strength training at the gym. One is that I am swimming while holding my core (ab muscles) tighter. Same with my gluteus muscles. This is an aid to maintaining a streamlined body position in the water. And as we all know better streamlines are "free speed." 

The second thing is that I've really been studying Katie Ledecky's distance freestyle stroke and trying to adapt a longer reach and a better turn over cadence while swimming freestyle. Katie just tied Michael Phelps for the most International Gold Medal swims (20) so she's the perfect role model for anyone trying to improve their freestyle swim performance. In the 1500 meter race held yesterday in Japan she beat her closest competitor by 17 seconds!!!!!! Amazing. All Hail Katie Ledecky. 

The biggest take away I've found so far is to start my catch way up at the front of my stroke instead of just leaning into the middle of the stroke for power. Try it. You'll find more power throughout each arm stroke. And it's the strength training that's providing the extra power at the front end of the stroke. I can actually feel that.

I'm trying to stay on the topic of photography here but swimming is just so captivating. Check out the World Swim Championships races on YouTube if you get a chance. Do a search for "Leon Marchand breaks Michael Phelp's record in the 400 I.M." It will make you a swim believer. Far more exciting than any "team" sports/games. Infinitely more exciting than watching bowling, golf or snooker... And over much quicker as well.

back to work on the studio prep. Hope your day is more fun.