Leo Carillo, 57, of Oroville is the quintessential showman. He darts back and forth "yo-yoing" with the ball as he entices carnival visitors to test their skills at his game booth.Dragging the shutter at 1/2 sec f8 ISO 100 with the 580EX Speedlight in Lumiquest softbox at 1/4 power
“One in wins, one in wins” yells Leo Carillo, 57 of Oroville.
His Cheech Marin -like voice could be heard over the din of the carnival activity and music from the nearby carousel.
“You ready?” he asks playfully  to everyone who passes by.
Occasionally they challenge him to show that indeed sinking a basketball in the carnival’s hoop is not difficult and he obliges.
Many step up, pay $2 to try their luck to win a huge stuffed animal.
This sight of Ariel Vega's sheep grazing lazily in the cool morning made me stop. What do you think is missing from this picture? Photographers like to do that, don't they? They're often wondering what else can make their picture better. Maybe, that's just me. Sheep rancher Ariel Vega spoke little English and I knew just those unmentionable Spanish words in polite company. I didn't let that get in the way of my intent of making pictures.
At today’s gas prices of an average $4.30 a gallon, driving around looking for pictures can appear frivolous but producing good photographs requires some investment in time and gas money.
A recent morning, I ventured into the outskirts of Moreno Valley, some of my old stomping grounds I used to cruise searching for feature pictures.
I came across Ariel Vega, a sheep rancher sowing alfalfa seeds by hand as he sat in the back of his pickup truck.
Around him were 2 Australian sheepdogs, both extremely alert, obedient and hard-working.
Spontaneous laughter, craziness and not so perfect hair made this my favorite. Available light when its levels are marginal doesn't always allow capturing such fleeting moments because shutter speeds aren't sufficient to freeze them.
When I was a the newspaper, the gals on staff had for some reason first dibs on fashion or glamor type assignments. Since I was never the sort to lobby for certain types of assignments, I just didn’t get to do them.
To continue to grow, and I don’t mean just as a photographer but in life in general, it’s always good to get out of your comfort zone. Continue reading Lesly in Red→
