"I am thinking of earlier times." — Ludwig Beck

 Spent Devil's Night out in Detroit with a couple friends chasing the scanner and photographing some fire. It was fun. And warm.

Livin' on Love (JRN 521 Final Project)

So over the last month and a half I've been working on a piece for my JRN 521 class, taught by Ryan Wood. The goal of the class was, among other things, to create a longer-term story based off an issue that we drew out of a hat at the beginning of the semester. I got consumption/consumerism, but it ended up turning more into focusing on budget issues and family dynamics. I found my story thanks to Nathan Morgan. He was pretty pumped about the prospect, and told me to run with it, so I did. Below is the final project I turned in for class.

Livin' On Love from Sean Proctor on Vimeo.

Here are some photos I kinda like.
















I think I'm going to pick up the story after I get back from Alaska in August. John Tully, who originally shot the Parsons for an MDN assignment a year and a half back, suggested extending the project to the surrounding areas of Midland County, and it's definitely something I'm interesting and will be considering when I get back.

Anyway. Enjoy, and thanks for looking. And a huge thanks goes to Nathan Morgan, who helped me edit several times through the project, and also gave me the idea for how to shoot the interview and what other situations to look for. Also, to Ryan Wood for pushing me this semester.

Happy Easter from the Creepy Bunnies...

I was walking to the bar and stumbled upon this scene. Kind of weird.

A demonstration and some science kids

As seen from the sky. And on TV.

Midland v. Dow soccer

Lazy Blog Update Redux Part II

Football v. Northwestern


Junior running back Paris Cotton runs upfield during the first half of play Saturday afternoon against Northwestern.


Sophomore quarterback Ryan Radcliff winds back to deliver the ball to sophomore wide receiver Jerry Harris during the second half of Saturday's game against Northwestern at Ryan Field. Radcliff went 29-for-43, throwing for 347 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.


Coach Dan Enos yells his objections at the referee's after sophomore quarterback Ryan Radcliff was sacked during the failed two-point conversion attempt during the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon against Northwestern. "He was in the neutral zone," Enos said to the officials about a Northwestern player.

Lazy Blog Update Redux Part I

Football vs. Eastern Michigan


Junior running back Paris Cotton is thrown to the ground by Eastern Michigan's senior linebacker Neal Howey and defensive back Brandon Pratt during the first half of play at Rynearson Stadium.


Sophomore wide receiver Cody Wilson dances down the sideline as Eastern Michigan sophomore defensive lineman Devon Davis leaps after him Saturday afternoon during the first half of play at Rynearson Stadium. Wilson had three catches for 100 yards and one touchdown.


Redshirt freshman running back Zurlon Tipton is wrapped up by Eastern Michigan senior defensive back Brandon Pratt Saturday evening during the second half of play. Tipton, who played in his first game following a two game suspension for a violation of specified team rules had 11 carries for a total of 54 yards and one touchdown.

The joys of shooting football with only a 200. Cropcropcropcrop. Oh!

420 Location Lighting Fun

Kent had us make snoots and barn doors, then set us loose across Mount Pleasant. Here are some shots.

Tanya, whilst making snoots, before departure.

Snoot over strobe on camera, directed at Tanya's face, shot with an 8mm fisheye just for kicks. Thank Tanya for the fisheye fun.

Kent, posing as a super hero. I wish I had more time to refine my idea, but we had to be part of a PR shoot. This was my shoot.

One strobe with snoot on light stand, probably raised over 6 feet, pointed down to illuminate Kent's face. Libby held another strobe by the first, snooted and pointed to define the shadow. We used one of those small, circular fun strobey things on the floor to illuminate behind Kent's head.

Libby's shoot.
Libby, looking super hipster or indie. Or both.

Strobe with snoot, bearclawed to a tree about 3 or 4 feet in front of Libby. Strobe with barn door stuck in tree for rim light.

More of Libby looking super indie/hipster.

Same set up as last shot, although I think I used the small, circular fun strobey thing for more fill, I just held it over my head.

Libby, holding light, cause she can.

Same light set up, except Libby held the small, circular fun strobey thing in her hands.

Libby, holding the world in her hands. Pretty epic.

Same light set up. Libby held her hand in front of the small, circular fun strobey thing, obviously.

Woo!

Lazy Updates Part I

Birds. Thought it was interesting.

Back to the grind

Finally, after almost two months since my last assignment, I started working again. My first real assignment (for Midland) was on Saturday, but I was nervous...Like. First day of work for Midland nervous...So I went out to RIVERDAYS with Libby, who has there to shoot The Verve Pipe, ran into Nathan and Thomas, and snapped a few frames. The best way to get over shooting anxiety is to just shoot...Doesn't matter if they're portfolio images or anything, but it helps.





Nothing super incredible. The light was nice, though. But it worked, and I wasn't as nervous any more. Cool.

Dog Show Grooming

"I've spent so long grooming him, I forgot to groom myself," Adele MacAskill said as the Old English Sheepdog judging started Saturday afternoon during the Midland Michigan Kennel Club dog show at the Midland County Fairgrounds. Rudy, who is 17-months-old, is new to the dog show circuit, the MMKC show being its third, and holds a junior herding level. "He can herd ducks. Sheep are next," MacAskill said.

Softball coach detail

Shot Joe Albaugh, the Coleman High School softball coach, on Wednesday. After teaching for 26 years, and coaching 3 different sports--Football for 16, Baseball for 9, and Softball for 11--Albaugh is retiring. Here are a few details from the shoot. Yay details.

GLIAC Softball Rain Out

Northwood University senior Michelle Boscola warms her hands while waiting to step up to the plate Friday morning against Saginaw Valley State University during the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at Emerson Park. Boscola did not reach the plate, as the game was postponed in the bottom of the fourth inning with SVSU up 4-0 due to inclement weather.

Composition of a Moment (cheeeeeessseeee)

I was hanging out in the Midland Daily News office with Libby today, waiting on word about the softball game I had been shooting that was delayed due to weather (Game started at 10, they set the potential restart time for 3), and while waiting I decided I would get to captioning some photos I had shot for The Morning Sun the day before. As I was doing this, Nathan, the Photo Editor, came down into the photo department and we started talking. He noticed the image I was captioning and said, "That's a nice moment, why didn't you shoot that for us!", and we laughed about it. And then I though to myself...wait, I already have. I've shot almost the same shot for Midland just a couple weeks ago. Similar moment, similar framing. Weird.


Christina Westbury, center, and Jessica McFarland, both of Midland laugh together while discussing ideas to improve their costumes Monday evening, April 19 at Creative 360, during the Restoration Theater Group rehearsal of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest." The play, the first production by the Restoration Theater Group, will be performed at Creative 360 on April 23 and 24.


Vanessa Sprague, 20, laughs along with her father, Tim, and younger sister, Olivia, 9, as her other sister, Alex, asks the Mount Pleasant Robot if it is a guy or a girl. "He's a tin man with a big heart," the robots spokesman, Alex Mikus, said about the robot.

Weird, right? And then I stopped caring. And then I put them on my blog and almost attempted to write an insightful look at how both these moments were captured. But I stopped. Cool.

JRN 423 Final Project

Here's my final project for 423. I wanted to try something different with my video, and unfortunately it fell through as a whole. I had several sources drop me on short notice, or just refuse outright. As it is, I used what I had, what was originally going to only be a small portion of the video, and made it my final. Here it is. I have a couple mistakes to fix, so I'll probably update this post in a week or so.

Up in Smoke from Sean Proctor on Vimeo.

Copy: (written very quickly)
On May 1, 2010, Michigan joined 25 other states, including much of New England, by enacting a statewide smoking ban in all enclosed places. The bill, signed into law by Governor Jennifer Granholm on Decemeber 18, 2009, bans smoking in all indoor, enclosed workplaces, as well as outdoor patios of bars and restaurants. The only places exempt from the ban are cigar bars, retail tobacco stores, private homes, company vehicles, and Detroit's three casinos' gambling floors.
The law is aimed toward cutting down on the health hazards of secondhand smoking in areas where it would otherwise be difficult to avoid it. The risks of secondhand smoke are well documented, ranging from the possibility of cancer, to lung problems such as asthma, or infections. It is estimated that 53,000 nonsmokers per year are killed by secondhand smoke, making it the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
"Personally, as a bartender and a nonsmoker, I think it's great not having the smoke around," said D.J. Blizzard, bartender at The Bird Bar & Grill in downtown Mount Pleasant for the past eight years. "I'm all for people having the right to do whatever they want, and as a private business you should be able to choose, but meanwhile, I don't think it will effect us that much."
"I just found out about the smoking ban," Mount Pleasant resident Archie MacGillivray said, "but I don't know, I have mixed feelings. It's nice that there will be a cleaner environment for everyone to hang out in--I'm a father, so obviously I think about my kids--but then there's the other side of it. Basically, I don't have to be in the smoke, I can always change my behavior by leaving a smoking environment. I see the good, but I see how it limits personal freedoms on a lot of different levels."
Livonia freshman Nick Armes has been smoking for one year, and he is against the ban. "All these places have the property rights, they can make their own rules. And here comes the government saying 'we're talking over your company and making the laws for you.'"
"I think it's unfortunate overall, because ultimately, when you get to the point, I think it's a property rights issue. It's not so much for or against smoking, but for and against personal choice, especially entrepreneurial choice." Andrew Petrevics, a Redford senior, said. "We've tried prohibition before with alcohol and it doesn't work, I think it's rather unfortunate and quite dangerous."

Golf golf golf

I shot golf for the first time today, as well as used the 300mm for the first time. It was a little finnicky (or wonkey, as Nathan says) with the autofocus, but it's golf...I have time to manually focus.


Jordan Fairbank, an H.H. Dow High senior, hits a drive as rain steadily increases Wednesday morning at the Currie Municipal Golf Course. "(Fairbank) has probably been playing golf since he could walk," said Dow coach Mark Pickering.

After a while of telephoto-ing, I got bored. So I took out the wide 14mm lens I had and got super close for a few shots. Holy green.


15-year-old Chris Dinh carefully looks and lines for his putt on the last hole of the front nine Wednesday morning at the Currie Municipal Golf Course. Dinh, an H.H. Dow High School freshman, is Dow's top golfer. "I've been playing for 11 years, since I was four. Golf is really serious for me. I'm going to play through high school, try to play in college, and see what comes next."

Bob's Barber Shop

Bill Cook, left, a lifelong resident of Mount Pleasant, sits in his chair and laughs with fellow barber Nate Darrow Friday afternoon, April 23. Cook owns Bob's Barber Shop on E. Michigan St., which originally was his father's. He also is a part-time firefighter and trained first responder, as well as owning several houses near downtown that he rents out for extra income.

(For black and white, go to flickr, if you really care)

The Dow Live Earth 6K Run for Water

My first big assignment for the Midland Daily News was on Sunday (April 18). All afternoon assignment, from Noon to 5, followed by a lot a lot of editing. Luckily, I got to shoot with Libby, which is something we do quite frequently anyway. So we split up the assignment and only occasionally came across each other. We shot a lot. For us, there was a lot of weight on our shoulders. This was the centerpiece for Monday's paper AND there was going to be a gallery online. Pressure! However, we got there, started shooting and found our respective grooves. Here's my edited take. I covered the celebrity angle, following around Carl Lewis for a bit as well as LaKisha Jones. For more, check out Libby's own blog post and the MDN photo gallery.

Quick shout out, thanks Ryan Wood for the assignment!

High School Baseball: First Time Around

I've only ever shot baseball twice now, it's a very different sport to shoot. I was shooting Mt. Pleasant H.S. baseball for The Morning Sun on Saturday morning--it was frakking cold, that's for sure. The lens I was using, the department Sigma 70-200mm was seriously hitting the shit and deciding not to focus (at all) for much of the day.




I wish I could have gotten closer for this play.


Again, I wish I could have gotten closer for this play.


All I need now is a roster for captioning.

All together, I'm pretty okay with the way I shot. Not the best, obviously have room for improvement, but I'm getting there. Maybe next time I'll be able to hold my camera still because I won't be freezing my ass off.