Men of Influence - Eric Metaxas

When it comes to photography, I mean working as a full time photographer, you have to stay sharp.  Most photographers create personal projects in which to sharpen their skills, and continue to get better at practicing their craft.  I've started numerous personal projects, that are on-going, but I started a new one these past couple of months.  I thought something that is "personal" with me is my faith, so I contacted many of the people who have influenced me and my faith over my lifetime.  Of course,  I received many rejections to photograph them, but I did get quite of few that were willing to allow me to create a portrait of them.  I'm calling it "Men of Influence".  After about two months of phone calls and emails, I was given the awesome opportunity to photograph Eric Metaxas, a New York Times best selling author, speaker, and radio show host.  You can learn more about him here (www.ericmetaxas.com).  Eric is from New York, so coordinating the logistics was quite a feat.  Fortunately for me, Eric was speaking in Houston (The Woodlands) at a fundraiser, the PACN 2018 Spring Gala (Pregnancy Assistance Center North).  I was only going to have 15 minutes with him, so I had planned about 3-4 different setups.  When I arrived, the event planner, Mindy Reynolds, promised to get me a space to take Eric's portrait.  She delivered for sure.  I was given a large conference room.  I couldn't have asked for a better setup.  After giving it some thought, I finally decided on two setups.  One for a more dramatic look, and one for a more commercial, but different look.  Eric arrived, and was so down-to-earth.  His sense of humor is by far, the wittiest, I have ever been around.  He was game for anything I asked, so when I broke out the big-nose, hairy eyebrow glasses, he took and ran with it (see one of the images).  One of the reasons I wanted to photograph Eric was his authentic, matter-of-fact faith.  He pulls no punches, and doesn't criticize your beliefs.  He just speaks truth and isn't apologetic about it.  One story that solidified him in my ring of influence was when he was speaking about his book, "If You Can Keep It".  He tells the story of the creation of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  When a local madame asked Ben Franklin what they decided on (what type of government), Mr. Franklin responded with "A Republic, if you can keep it".  The meaning goes really deep into how our country came to be; the two principles of how it is structured.  And that, along with Eric's unwavering faith, helped me choose him as one of my "Men of Influcence".  If you get the chance, visit his website (www.ericmetaxas.com), and make sure to listen to his "I am Second" testimony.  It's fascinating.  Well, back to the story, the fifteen minutes flew by, but I got some great images that reflect his character and personality.  After wrapping up, the husband of the host of the gala event invited me to eat dinner and listen to Eric speak.  I can't say I wasn't blessed that night.  Safe travels, a great room to setup in, and the hospitality of all involved truly blew me away.  If this is how the beginning of my "Men of Influence" project will turn out, I can't wait for my next subject.  Thanks again to all that helped coordinate this: Janille, Mindy, and of course, Eric.  I'm grateful for this "Divine Appointment".

Finishing Up with This Year's Class of the 2018 Texas High School Football Hall of Fame

Just finished up with this year's class of the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.  I had some challenges this year, more than any other.  Two of the inductees are deceased, which meant I wouldn't be photographing them.  Fortunately, my work ethic paid off with extensive research and time, and I persevered and completed the assignment. These 9 gentlemen are worthy of this honor. The talents ranged from book authors, collegiate and professional athletes, NFL greats, Coaching Legends, University Football Coaches, to prominent business men in their communities.  I have a history with two of the inductees.  First, Kliff Kingsbury, the head football coach at Texas Tech.  I coached against him as a player when I coached at Alamo Heights HS back in the mid to late 1990s.  His team beat mine on a last second, botched fake punt.  He then went on to Texas Tech University to break all the passing records, some of which still stand today.  I played some ball at Tech, so we swapped stories about some of the same coaching staff members.  The second inductee with a past history is Coach Phil Danaher.  I coached against his 1996 Calallen team (also with Alamo Heights) in a playoff game.  Of course his team won.  The coolest thing about Coach Danaher, is that he is the winningest High School football coach in Texas High School Football history.  Wow!!! I mean he surpassed Gordon Wood, and G. A. Moore.  Now that's a feat.  Anyway, I always look forward to doing this job because I'm a football fan, and I played the game for 13 years. I'm looking forward to the ceremony on May 5, 2018 in Waco.  The odd thing about this is, my wife is too, and she's not even a sports fan.  It's probably because she loves to go to the Fixer Upper/Chip and Joanna Gaines Magnolia Market. Looking forward to next year's class being announced in the Fall.

Congratulations to these fine gentlemen.....

From the 1950's and before - Bobby Cavazos - Kingsville HS

1960's - Brad Dusek - Temple HS

1970's - Ken Washington - Port Arthur Lincoln HS

1980's - Tommy Jeter - Deer Park HS (Houston)

1990's - Kliff Kingsbury - New Braunfels HS

2000's - Jonathan Gray - Aledo HS

The Two Coaches are:

Bob Shelton - Hays HS

Phil Danaher - Calallen HS

And the Contributor to the Game - Bruce Hardy - Texas Stadium Manager

The Polish Hammer and Tres Imposter - Crossfit SA - San Antonio Photographer

Had the privilege of photographing two crossfit athletes earlier this week.  Ryba is 6'2" former collegiate athlete, who is put together like an action figure.  She told us she's auditioning for the next Wonder Woman movie as an Amazon (just kidding).  I don't think she'd have any problem playing the role.  Her nickname is the Polish Hammer.  Omar is one of the trainers at Alamo City Crossfit (Ryba is one as well).  Every time I looked at him, I saw either Adam Sandler, Jason Biggs, and at certain angles, Manu Ginobili, but of course in better shape (Tres Imposter).  I'll tell you what, both of them are incredibly fit.  We did the session at Alamo City Crossfit, and let me tell you, it was 100 degrees inside the gym (I'm not kidding).  My equipment was hot to touch.   It was 104 degrees outside, so we embraced the 4 degrees of coolness inside (not).  Anyway, Ryba and Omar displayed their physical prowess by demonstrating some of the crossfit moves.  I was impressed.  I can see why their bodyfat % is so low. The more I learn about the crossfit craze, the more I understand how fast you can get results.  It's hard work and the exercises are intense, but with dedication and perseverance the results speak for themselves.  We got some great images, and I think I know who I'll call on if I ever need two models for a fitness campaign.  Thanks again Ryba and Omar, the images and the time spent with you are greatly appreciated.

#alamo city crossfit  #steve slate #crossfit #commercial photography #Ryba #Omar #Athletes #Polish Hammer

Ryba using the rings for a muscle up.  One of my favorites from the session.

Natural light - Ryba with a kettlebell.

Omar with a power clean.

Founder of Foto Septiembre Session - San Antonio Commercial Photographer

I had the fortune of photographing for San Antonio Magazine again.  This time it was for a portrait of Michael Mehl, founder of Foto Septiembre.  He's a very interesting man (maybe the most interesting man in the world).  Foto Septiembre is an Annual Photography/Art event held each September here in San Antonio.  It showcases some very talented artists who have displays/galleries all over the city.  It's in it's 23rd year this year.  Michael and I talked on the phone several times where I learned more about him.  He loves comic books and Gotham City is his favorite TV show.  He told me that he really liked the Tower Life Building here in San Antonio.  He told me some spots that he thought would be great that included the building in the portrait, and we ran a bunch of ideas by eachother.  I was out of town the week before the session, and when I was driving home I thought about trying to get a better view of the building into the portrait.  Then I remembered that I stayed downtown a few years ago during New Year's Eve (thanks to Avoya Travel) and photographed the Tower Life Building during all the fireworks displays.  I made a few phone calls, and what do you know, at 8 am a few mornings later, we were photographing Michael on the roof top of that hotel with the Tower Life Building right there in front of us.  Michael was thrilled, and I was satisfied with the composition.  Unfortunately, I can't show you the final image, but you can see it in the September issue of San Antonio Magazine.  In the mean time you can view some of the behind the scenes images right here.  Enjoy...  And if you get the chance to attend a Foto Septiembre event during the photo festival in September, you might just run in to Michael and his beautiful wife, Ann (who took these behind the scenes images).  Make sure to say hello.

Trying to compose the shot

Me trying to be a human tripod

One reason why I love Pelican cases so much, they serve more than one purpose:  you can stand of them (Michael) or sit on them (Me).

This is the scene of the our favorite image from the session.

Trying to take in all the wisdom Michael had to share.

My trusty, last minute, 1st and 2nd assistants working hard...

A View from a Kill

For those of you who are not familiar with volleyball terminology, what we old-timers call a spike, the new lingo term is a kill (when a player hits the ball really hard by jumping up over the net, and it lands somewhere with the lines of the court).  The title is taken from a James Bond movie and tweaked just alittle (I'm sure the Bond fans out there know what I'm talking about).  Sarea is an all around talented athlete.  She play's Volleyball as well as runs Track for her University (in San Antonio).  She's the reigning Southland Conference champion in the long jump.  I have been wanting to photograph her for a while now, and last Saturday the opportunity finally came. Watching Sarea play on the court is a spectacle to behold.  Her energy and tenacity, along with her pure power, intimidates her opponents.  Yet even during the make-or-break moments of the game, Sarea still exhibits her humanness with her facial gestures and choreographed rituals with her teammates.  If you ever get a chance to watch her play (highly recommended), you will not only get your money's worth, but be highly entertained as well.  You know when you see in the movies or tv shows a tiny woman kickin' butt, I always think "Yea, right".  If you put Sarea in one of those shows, I'd believe it.  She's not only tough and talented, but glamourous too.

Portrait of a Jumper

Had a session with Shawn yesterday.  He's a local University basketball player.  Last Year in one of the games he actually jumped over a player while dunking the basketball.  I've never seen the crowd go that wild in my life.  There were so many mouths wide open in awe of what they just witnessed.  Anyway, Shawn will be a Jr this coming season and I definitely expect him to be one of the best players on his team.  For the session I wanted to emphasize his athletic ability as well as his athletic build.  Maybe some day you'll be watching him playing at the next level.  Fingers crossed....

Skying it at the Playground

Entering into a new Adventure....

This is my first blog entry for my new venture in commercial photography.  Nothing really exciting about this entry other than I just designed and published my new commercial web site by myself. I'm excited and ready for the adventure it's going to take me on.  I hope to document my assignments with behind the scenes images and some video as well.  Until next time.....