Hitting the Road

I have moved my missives to a new location.

Check us out at our new digs: blog.daveeinsel.com

Remembering the Shuttle

Often I am asked what was the coolest, bestest, most awesomest subject I ever photographed. After pausing to consider, I always come up with the same answer, “My first space shuttle launch.” Over thirty years, I have witnessed a lot of amazing and sometimes disturbing things but I have never been juiced like watching the Shuttle Discovery lift off from Pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center for mission STS-26. The Return to Space.

From about three miles away at the KSC media center, the ground shook like a California quake and the roar was, well, a ROAR as the orbiter lifted off for it's mission. Perhaps it was the anticipation. Perhaps it was the afternoon edition deadline pressure. Perhaps it was a lifetime of being interested in space. Whatever it was, it was pretty darned cool.

iPad and Moving Magazine Covers

This weekend's launch of the Apple iPad marks the first really big step into a whole new world of publishing. Unlike the clumsy architecture of magazine websites, digital forms of our favorite printed publications have the potential to come alive.

VIV Mag Featurette: A Digital Magazine Motion Cover and Feature for the iPad from Alexx Henry on Vimeo.

This is really cool stuff...BUT... the question I have is, "Will visual budgets for cover shoots or spreads that are currently $10 thousand suddenly increase to $50 thousand or way way more?" Certainly, time and expenses are much bigger on a moving production than a normal 5-setups-with-talent in a still studio. The cost for a still photo of a person running on the beach might be $5K but the same shoot in motion could easily reach $35 large. Given the current economic climate for just about every consumer magazine, I tend to doubt it. Maybe this will be reserved for special issues like Vogue's 840-page fall fashion doorstop. I certainly hope it will find much wider use.

Walking on the Moon to Dancing with the Stars

Apparently, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin has not lost a step since trekking on the moon 41 years ago. At 80-years old, Aldrin has been tagged for a spot on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. It looks like those Nikes did the trick. I might actually watch the show for the first time just to see how he does.

A Minute with Boxing Champ George Foreman

George Foreman is an Olympic Gold medalist, a two-time heavyweight boxing champion, a grill selling machine, a minister and one heck of nice guy. I am especially thankful for that last one. I was assigned to photograph Big George for a large publication. My assistant and I arrived at his youth center in Houston hours before our appointed time to setup and test lights before Foreman arrived.

The gym was...well, a gym. There was equipment everywhere and ugly light (see video below) so I decided to make that all disappear through the magic of lighting. It was a simple three light setup. The test shots went fine. George steps in and Murphy's Law takes over.

Flashes of Hope at Texas Children's Cancer Center

When fellow ASMP colleague Hall Puckett asked if I would like to get involved with this project, my immediate response was, "Where do I sign?" Flashes of Hope is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating powerful, uplifting portraits of children fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses and I believe we can't do enough for these kids.