2 Assignments, 2 Cameras and 2 Lenses

This afternoon (Friday, Sept. 6, 2013) I decided that for both of my assignments I would just use two cameras (Nikon D700 and D300) and two lenses (24mm f/2.8 on the D700 and 60mm f/2.8 on the D300).

I figured that neither of my two afternoon assignments required anything longer than a 90mm equivalent (60mm on a cropped body = 90mm), and my 24mm f/2.8 on the D700 is my favorite lens/body combination.

At the end of the day it proved to be a good move. Sometimes after a busy afternoon of assignments my back/shoulders can be a little sore. Just carrying two small prime lenses and two bodies was a huge relief on the old back.

I've always been a big fan of prime lenses, particularly the the 24mm f/2.8, but I've never had the guts to cover an assignment without my 80-200 f/2.8. Breaking away from the 80-200 turned out to be a good move.  For some reason, when I use wide zooms I feel like I shoot too wide and have a hard time forcing myself to zoom in.

When I use my 24mm f/2.8 it forces me to be more creative and use my feet to zoom in or out. It makes me think about my shots more.

It was also nice to not have a big bag bouncing around and getting in the way every time I tried to get low for a different angle or something like that.

In the end, though, it's all about the person behind the camera and not the camera.

Thanks for looking.

Sydney Huntimer (left) and Caleb Dagel discuss what to do with a rotten bell pepper in the school garden at Memorial Middle School in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Sydney Huntimer, 12, (left) and Madison Gerhart, 11, look for rotten tomatoes in the school garden at Memorial Middle School in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Students pick out which items they want to take home in the school garden at Memorial Middle School in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Peppers from the school garden at Memorial Middle School in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Madison Gerhart, 11, looks for rotten tomatoes in the school garden at Memorial Middle School in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Sydney Huntimer, 12, (left) and Madison Gerhart, 11, talk about what to do with some rotten tomatoes in the school garden at Memorial Middle School in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Mike Peterson, of A Plus Towing, cleans a Ford F650 Flat-Bed truck before the Touch-a-Truck event put on by the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation department at Harmodon Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Isaak Booker, 3, of Lennox, S.D., checks out a 1962 American LaFrance Fire Pumper truck during the Touch-a-Truck event put on by the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation department at Harmodon Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Isaak Booker, 3, of Lennox, S.D., explores the cab of a 1962 American LaFrance Fire Pumper truck during the Touch-a-Truck event put on by the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation department at Harmodon Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Willow Booker, 3, of Lennox, S.D., looks out from the top of a 1962 American LaFrance Fire Pumper truck during the Touch-a-Truck event put on by the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation department at Harmodon Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Harris Adamson, 10, (left) and his brother Calvin Adamson, 7, both of Sioux Falls, sit on top of a 2001 Harley Davidson Heritage Soft Tail during the Touch-a-Truck event put on by the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation department at Harmodon Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Abigail Glanc, 9, of Sioux Falls, smiles as she honks the air-horn of the Allied Building Products' Articulated Knuckle Boom truck during the Touch-a-Truck event put on by the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation department at Harmodon Park in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. (Joe Ahlquist / Argus Leader)

Joe's Barbershop on 5th Street

Earlier today, while working on an assignment for school, I stumbled across a neat little barbershop in the west end of Winona. The shop's name was Joe's Barbershop on 5th Street.

I was working on an assignment for a class, but I tend to use those opportunities to just shoot for myself. I try to shoot what I want. It was really quite nice. No looming deadline and no real pressure.

It was a nice break from my usual assignments, which lately have included a lot of prep sports and searching for wild art. Don't get me wrong, I love shooting those assignments, but it was nice to shoot something on my own terms.

All images ©Joe Ahlquist

Anyways, back to the story. I walked in to Joe Hoese's shop, introduced myself and asked if it would be alright if I hung out, took some photos and asked some questions. He told me that would be no problem and I asked his first customer if that was alright, and he had no problem with it.

So, armed with nothing more than my D300, my 24mm f/2.8 and a 35mm f/1.8, I started making photos. After making a few photos I overheard Hoese's customer talking about grouse hunting, which, being from northern Minnesota, was something I'm quite familiar with. So, we started talking about that.  Pretty soon Hoese's first customer was done and he was gone.

Next in line was Quinten Cole, and he was a very interesting man.

 

Cole worked for the forestry service for 31 years, and worked in four different states; Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho and New Mexico. He had some interesting stories about flying around and looking for people having illegal campfires during dry seasons.

Cole also claimed to be the oldest person to ride in the Habitat 500, which is a 500 mile bike ride benefiting the Habitat for Humanity.

He then explained that he had Parkinson's disease during the ride, but didn't know it then. Cole had since had some operations, which had helped him a lot, he said.  

Pretty soon though Cole was all payed up and headed out the door.

After Cole left I got a chance to ask Hoese some questions about how he got his start. 

He told me that he wasn't always a barber. Hoese was an airplane mechanic, he told me, but the October after September 11th he was laid off. He explained that he worked some odd jobs to scrape by, but the economy was tough.

In 2003 he went to barber school at the Minnesota School of Barbering in Minneapolis. After completing school he got his first job at Dick's Sports Barbers in Edina, Minn., which he explained was voted best barbershop in Edina quite a few times.

In 2005 Hoese opened up his shop in Winona.

Anyways, it was a really cool experience. It was nice to go into a place like Hoese's barbershop with no expectations, and to meet such interesting and nice people. So far in my short career as a photojournalist that has been my favorite part. Meeting new and interesting people, and this was another great example of meeting nice, interesting, people.

Road Trip Day 4-5: Campus, Cards, Music and Pizza

This is the last post from this trip, tomorrow Lauren and I will be making the long drive from Ann Arbor, Michigan, back to Winona, Minn.

This post consists of photos from bumming around Ann Arbor.

There are some photos from touring the law school with Lauren and Eric's cousin, Alex. There are some photos of us on the bus and waiting for the bus. There are also photos a person playing music outside of a coffee shop and photos of us bumming around Eric's apartment and playing cards. Oh, and there is a photo from Neopapolis Pizza, which was really good. 

Actually, there is one other photo down there that I forgot to mention. Some people decided to make a giant snowman in front of a bunch of tiny snowmen, which was kind of weird, but the light was quite good. 

For more of my photos and stuff from the road trip visit this post and this post.

Thanks for looking!

All photos ©Joe Ahlquist

A Walk in the Woods... Among Other Things

The day after Christmas my beautiful girlfriend, my parents, and I went for a beautiful walk through some trails that my parents had been exploring the last couple of weeks.

My parents go for a walk just about every day.  They're not short walk either.  They typically walk upwards of five miles when they go out.  We didn't walk quite that far this particular day because my girlfriend and I aren't used to walking that much at once, but the shortness of the walk didn't take away any of the beauty of the walk.

It was a gorgeous day, about 20 degrees, the sun was out, fresh powdery snow on the ground (and covering the trees), and beautiful trails and swamps to explore.

While we were out there my dad also put out a remote camera to try and get some photos of wildlife.
All in all it was an awesome walk.

Oh and there are some photos from an ice fishing trip my dad and I took up to Upper Red Lake.  We were only up there for a little bit, but we caught four walleyes (I didn't put any photos of them up though).  Thanks for looking!

All photos ©Joe Ahlquist