Life in rural Kansas works a bit differently then it does in most other places. A fascinating place to explore.
Whether you shop there or not, you know J.C. Penney. It's an America staple that can be found anywhere you go, from the biggest of cities to the smallest of towns. One thing you probably never think of though, is where it all began. I certainly never did. And definitely didn't expect to stumble up it's "mother store" while traveling through Kemmerer, Wyoming. Cool think about how far it's come from this little town in 1902.
Really fun fitness shoot on the beach in Lajolla. Timing wasn't perfect, as we were fighting the tide, which just made it that much more fun.
Really been getting into the whole in-camera multiple exposure thing. The rhythm of shooting is completely different from the way I normally shoot. You'll be seeing more of this from now on.
Been shooting a lot of multiple exposures lately, and enjoying it a lot. The method of shooting is completely different and creates a whole new batch of challenges. This idea was in my head for a while now. Saturday mornings are usually a great time to hit the stairs at the San Diego Convention Center. There are always a lot of people running, and they all are doing something fairly unique, as you can see.
I've been shooting Crossfit for a few years now, and love it. There is a certain element that is missing in regular gyms. Most people in regular gyms get dressed up to "workout", but really they just stare in the mirror for an hour. Crossfitters want it to hurt. They are authentic. They want to be in pain by the end of their workout. This is a small collection of images I made over the past month, of that pain.
All images were shot on a Nikon D810/D4 and lit with Broncolor strobes.
It's been done a million times over because you just can't deny the beauty of a roadtrip up the California coast. This wasn't my first time doing it, nor will it be my last. You'll never run out of places to see, things to do, or great food to eat. The small towns that peppered up the coast are top notch. And the harder they are to get to, the better. Images below are from a from Morro Bay, Big Sur, San Francisco, Sausalito, Point Reyes Station, Tomales Bay, Mendocino, Shelter Cove, and many other point between. This was part of a much longer roadtrip that went up into Canada, so check back soon to see those images.
Couple images from a shoot a few months back with World Champion and NBA MVP; Steph Curry of the Golden Sate Warriors. This was my second shoot with Steph, and he's still cool as ever. The second shot was taken during filming of the Foot Locker commercials you've probably seen on tv, and done with all natural light. The first was done on white seamless with 5 strobes. The only place we were permitted to set up our seamless was outdoors. And at the very least, you always have to worry about wind taking up the seamless, or knocking down your strobes. Weather that day said 0% chance of rain. And of course it didn't rain all day, until we were a few minutes into our shoot. Then it just started pouring. Steph wasa good sport about it, and thankfully, we had already got what we needed. Some of my equipment on the other hand, took a small beating. Took quite a while to rip it all down, and get out of the rain. Everything was all good in the end though.These two images are my favorites, but certainly not what Foot Locker/Under Armour used for their store windows/ads.
Silverton Mountain in Colorado is unlike any other place you can ski/ride in the U.S. Think of it as the exact opposite of Vail. First of all, just getting there is a commitment, as it's about a 6.5 hour drive from Denver. The last part of the drive titled "The Million Dollar Highway" is about as much fun as you can have on a mountain pass. Switchback after switchback, with very few if any guardrails, and long steep drops off the side. The town itself is the kind of place you can see having gun fights in the street back in the day. That kind of town. Drive about 15 minutes out the back of town, and there is a parking lot. Next to the parking lot is a trailer with skis/snowboards piled on it. Next to that is a 2 person chairlift and a yurt for a lodge. That's it. No bougie villages with people wearing fur boots while sipping on a Hot Toddy. Just friendly people that want to ride. And all those people are earning there turns, because that 2 seater lift only goes 3/4 of the way up. From there, your guide leads you on a hike up ardigeline to the place he chooses for you to drop in. And did I mention that they are only open Friday-Sunday? Which means the snow piles up all week, so you're always getting fresh turns. On top of that, the guides section off the mountain, to keep things fresh for the next two days. The terrain is steep and technical. And fun. If you're a serious skier, you should get to Silverton. I loved it so much and wasn't even in great skiing shape when we were there. It was only my second day riding for the year, and I was just finishing up a month long cross-country road trip. Hell of a cap, but definitely wish I was in better shape. Either way, it was a great time, and I can't wait to go back in March. Did a little bit of shooting while I was there too. Hard not to. On day two, the light was so good, I didn't have a choose. It was partly cloudy, so the sun was peaking in and out of clouds. Creating some surreal conditions. Silverton rocks.
Only about 6 months late on this post, so yeah. Trying to chip away at the piles of images gathering dust on my hard drives from the past year. These are from an incredible camping trip in the Colorado backcountry. Specifically in the backcountry of Yampa. A very small and very remote town that is only frequented by locals, and those lucky enough to know about it. Our "campsite" was about a 5 mile hike from the car. So not crazy, but certainly enough to get far away from everything. Mojo was with me on this one, and he had a blast to say the least. We got in a lot of fishing and a lot of eating. One thing the Yampa backcountry is famous for is the "Devil's Causeway" (seen below). It's part of a trail with a narrow strip of rock with very immediate and very long drops on both sides. If you fall, you're down. Walking up to it doesn't seem that bad, but once you're there, it gets in your head a little. I saw one kid completely freeze while trying to cross it.
Among other things that I haven't been posting about, is my Hoops Project. The past 6 months has been filled with road trips, which means I've been busy sniffing out hoops along the way. Not only that, but last month I had a small printed book filled with these images sent out to companies/agencies all across America. Hope to get some feedback on that soon.
Click HERE to see more of my fine art basketball photography.
A few months ago we took a trip to Spain, and one of the highlights for me was the meat. It's something they definitely don't play around with over there. Everywhere you look, there are pig legs sitting on a bar, or hanging from the ceilings. At the markets, it seemed like there wasn't a single part of an animal that you couldn't buy. Don't made saying that I completely overdid it with the mean consumption, but whatever....
I just got back from a month long coast to coast road trip (8,027 miles). Obviously it was a great time. I was lucky to see a lot of friends/family, as well as some new parts of the country that I haven't previously seen. For a while now I've been saying that I'm pathetically behind on blog updates. The amount of unpublished material I have is going back about a year now. So one of my New Years resolutions should be to take care of that. After all, if they aren't published anywhere, then they don't really exist? Stay tuned.
The relationship between a man and his vehicle is a funny thing. I can't even count the times I've crossed America in my Honda. Visited all 50 states. Most of them more then once. Endless memories. Great memories, but today it's time to say goodbye.
Goodbye Ol' Rosie. My ode to a sweet ride.
Rosie,
Because of you, my friends all made fun of me. They said you weren’t a beauty like Mercedez. But you were beautiful to me. They said you didn’t have the curves like Lexus. But you still did it for me. You didn’t turn heads like Aston. But you always seemed to catch me staring.
We’ve been together for the better part of the last four years. And it seemed as though you liked it? During that time, you’ve taken me places that most will never see. Places most would never want to see. From the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, to the stifling swamps of Louisiana, you never once complained.
You embraced me when I had severe food poisoning after eating 2-day-old bbq ribs from Kansas City. I should have went to the hospital, but knew you would take better care of me. You were my chariot, to, and from Colorado for my wedding. I know you know that I love you. But it couldn’t have been easy to be involved in that? Giving me away to another. After all that we’ve been through.
I’m a filthy person. You’re not. So the life I gave you just isn’t fair. Even worse, I didn’t ask your permission before inviting a hairy beast into your place. Where he too moved in, and began shedding, and drooling all over you. Again, not one complaint.
It probably seems like I use you for money? Especially after I ripped out your insides. Making way for my two other loves, cameras and strobes. Does it feel like I cheated on you? I hope not. I don’t care that I wasn’t your first. We’ve all got pasts. And we never would have met each other if it weren’t for that.
The way I treated you, undoubtedly caused your premature aging. I pushed you hard. Harder then anyone else would. Hopefully you know that my intentions were good? If it weren’t for you, I would not be where I am today. We developed a trust that came from pushing. Which is why you are where you are today. I am sorry. But I can’t take it back, and I don’t think you want me to?
What we had was amazing. But it’s time to move on. The trust is no longer there, but it’s not your fault. Some things just aren’t forever. You won’t be missed my many, but you’ll be missed by me.
Goodbye Ol' Rosie.
RH
Been shooting this type of stuff along with a production crew for a long time now. And think this might have been the most fun yet, because of the inclusion of Jimmy Kimmel as "Bobby Butter". If you haven't seen the commercial, check it out. Filming with him was hilarious, and he was awesome. "I'm like mayonnaise, because I'm smooth, but dangerous to leave open.
Sorry about the low res iPhone pics of the store, but you get the point.
Had a shoot last month in Boston that involved a 200-400mm lens. Which is something I don't normally shoot with, and decided to take advantage of the rental period. So I walked around town for a while and made some pictures. Boston is an awesome city that I've always had a lot of love for. Not an easy thing to say for someone born and raised in New York. Either way, I really wasn't concerned with shots of the major landmarks, just random sections I came across during my walks. Good times. Looking forward to doing this again.
Contact me directly for photography prints of Boston, MA - rob@robhammerphotography.com
Fun with guns.
I've got so much content to post, and trying desperately to catch up on it. I keep cruising over these images, and thought I'd get them out of the way. Gotta love Utah. The more I road trip, the more it seems like there are states that want to give you good stuff. And others that really make you earn it. Utah is one that seems very giving to me. Not sure if I get lucky or what, but I always seem to come out of there happy. This day didn't see a lot of shooting because I was in kind of a rush driving back from Colorado with Emily who had to work. Still though, the few times the camera came out, it was a success. I love this type of shooting.
Over the past year+, I've been doing a lot of traveling/shooting for my hoops project. And think it has developed into a pretty cool body of work. Yesterday the gallery got a nice update, so head over there and check it out. Also decided to try and get these images out there, and currently working on a nice promotional booklet that will be sent nationwide to a large handful of magazines, companies, and ad agencies. Hopefully they will dig it.....
WWW.THEBASKETBALLHOOPSPROJECT.COM
Happy with what we got here, but things didn't start so hot. Our first location was the rear stairs of the San Diego Convention Center. So I got there early to set up, and got kicked out before we even got started. That always sucks, but I've learned when things like that happen, it pushes me harder, and I usually come out of the day with cool stuff. You just have to improvise, and Tara was great. The portraits were actually shot in a parking garage. Who needs a studio?
Random fact: Tara and I share the same birthday.
Shot on a Nikon D800e and lit with Broncolor strobes.
