The Woodland Camera Forum will present a free photography “scenic road trip” digital show, “Traveling Down Hwy 395 in Eastern California”, by photographer O. Truman Holtzclaw, on Monday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m., at Norton Hall, located at 70 Cottonwood St.

The presentation is open to the public, and travelers and photographers are encouraged to attend.

This photo tour will take visitors from the Historic Ghost town of Bodie in the North to the Historic Ghost Town of Cero Gordo in the South.

In between, we will make stops at Conway Summit, Mono Lake, Devils Postpile, Bishop’s Petroglyphs, Law’s Railroad Museum, White Mts. Bristlecone Pines, Death Valley’s Eureka Sand Dunes, Alabama Hills and Cero Gordo.

In this presentation, this 400-mile trip would normally take you four days to cover. This presentation will take about 50 minutes.

From 35 years of serious photography, Truman has perfected the skills to artfully blend his teaching experiences, biology background and his love of nature to create a collection of more than 240,000 beautiful images.

Truman enjoys most all photographic endeavors which include attending and presenting workshops, leading field trips, competing & judging in local and international competitions, and leading commercial photo tours.

In addition, he photographs individuals, groups, special events, weddings, banquets, architecture and sporting events.

From the beginning of his photographic exploits, Truman has always been fascinated with wide-angle lenses and their results. His first wide-angle lens was an inexpensive 20mm “Spiratone” lens which brought him much early success in his local camera club and later on in the P.S.A. competitions.

Today his two favorite lenses are the Sony telephoto100-400 mm and his Sony wide-angle,12-24 mm, which he uses with a full frame Sony a7rV.

At his retirement in 2001, after 34 years as a biology teacher, he started his own photographic company called “A Beautiful Image.”

He is past president of the Sacramento Audubon Society, Sierra Camera Club and the Gold Rush Chapter of the Photographic Society of America. Presently he is the Vice President of the Lincoln Hills Photo Club. He also has worked as a Park Naturalist at Calaveras Big Trees.

Truman is a world traveler. Destinations include Canada, Africa, China, Europe, Japan and South America. He has traveled throughout the United States including Alaska and Hawaii. His favorite location for photography still remains the Western United States.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison Athletics seeks students to support key areas related to exposure, brand representation and creative media with roles in broadcast, creative video, photography, graphic design and social media.
 
Available opportunities would naturally fit students from media arts & design, communications or the Hart School, but students from all areas of study are invited to participate. Both volunteer and academic (practicum or internship) positions exist. Some positions can lead to future paid roles.
 
Interested students should directly contact the individual listed with each area. If desired, students may explore more than one area.
 
Live Productions (Broadcast)
 
Video production… Sports… Broadcasting… Live TV… ESPN! 
 
Get a hands-on, immersive production experience with JMU Sports Network. Students will be fully involved in the production and broadcasting of JMU Athletics events on the ESPN+ platform. It takes a whole team to put on a great show. Camera operators are essential! If the camera doesn’t catch it, the viewers don’t see it. Replay operators provide Instant Replay and help tell the story through highlight packages. Graphics operators can tell a story of their own through player and team graphics, updated stats and score bug manipulation. And nothing happens without a good producer, a director calling the shots and a technical director pressing all the right buttons.  And we haven’t even mentioned audio operators, video shaders, production engineers, associate producers, or assistant directors. Every position working together in rhythm, that’s what it takes. We need JMU students to join our crew today and help us enter the Sun Belt and the ESPN family with the best live production operation!
 
Contact Director of Live Productions Kelly Bowmaster – bowmaskt@jmu.edu
 
 
Creative Video
 
Creative Video is a rapidly-evolving field within sports and the Creative Video team is looking for driven students interested in telling the story of JMU Athletics through video. Students who work with the Creative Video team can expect opportunities to assist in both capturing and editing content from our events as well as producing content such as recaps, hype videos and features, for social media, television and the video boards within our athletics facilities. Students will gain valuable experience learning to work with the industry leading equipment and software, working with a team and have the opportunity to build a portfolio that sets them apart from the crowd!
 
Those interested can contact the Creative Video team at athletics-video@jmu.edu
 
 
Photography
 
Photography for JMU Athletics is looking for student assistants experienced in sports photography.  Assistants must be detail-oriented, reliable and dependable, while also proficient in photoshop, photo selection and editing.  Must be able to multitask and work at a fast speed. Student assist with capturing and sorting photos during all home sporting events. Other student tasks include office work to process, sort and tag images from various shoots.
 
Contact Photography Supervisor Cathy Kushner – kushnecs@jmu.edu
 
 
Graphic Design / Social Media
 
Interested in how @JMUSports runs its social media? The social media and graphic design teams work hand-in-hand to promote our athletic programs externally to all our fans. Students will assist, create and participate in the day-to-day operations of the Social Media and Graphic Design teams. This includes the production of game day posters, scoreboard graphics, stadium signage and promotions on all platforms. We’re recruiting students for this position to experience the behind-the-scenes work of the Creative Services department here at JMU Athletics. During this time of growth, students will enhance their portfolio skills, understand the relationship between social media and graphic design and gain insight and knowledge in the profession.
 
Contact Graphic Designer Evan Powell – powellet@jmu.edu
 

Video Board Operations

Ever wonder what it takes to make the “Big Screen” at sporting events work? Become part of that “behind-the-scenes magic” that brings the board to life at our games! PAID positions available for football and basketball game days and more! Positions vary from camera operator, graphics operator, replay operator and there’s room for growth into director and assistant producer roles.

Contact Katie Windham – katie.windham@daktronics.com

How many smartphone photography tools have you purchased and eventually misplaced or have forgotten about? Maybe these cleverly designed accessories will serve you better.

If you’re a little more serious than others about taking great photos with your smartphone, you’ve probably purchased a handful of accessories that are supposed to help you take better photos or at the very least make the process more convenient. Personally, I’ve owned about a dozen smartphone tripods, tripod mounts, and even lenses and filters for various smartphones, and they have all shared one inevitable flaw (which may also be considered my fault): I always forget to bring them whenever I have an actual use for them.

While there are photographers who exclusively take photos with their smartphones, I would say that my smartphone photography serves to either take behind-the-scenes images and clips or to infuse a little creativity during the day when I’m just running errands and doing non-creative work. Whether you’re a serious mobile photographer or someone who does it for convenience, it is almost certain that you’ve found yourself empty-handed when you actually needed some accessories to take the photos that you wanted to take.

For this article, let’s take a look at some parts of Peak Design’s mobile accessories line that can benefit your on-the-go creative lifestyle for smartphone photography.

The Everyday Case

Peak Design has been one of the most popular brands in camera bags and straps in recent years and this is mainly because of how the brand has infused functionality and modularity with minimalist sleek design features. Their popular Everyday backpacks, sling bags, messenger bags, and other accessories feature simple and subtle yet elegant designs that use nylon canvas material that started a trend that departed from the typical camera bag designs, allowed commuting photographers to blend into the urban scene, and basically made them look less like bags that camera thieves would go for.

The Peak Design Everyday Case for iPhones, Samsung Galaxy, and Google Pixel smartphones follows the same design principles. These smartphone cases feature the same nylon canvas shell on top of a lightweight polycarbonate protective case that covers the entire phone’s rear and sides as well as gives added padded protection to the screen and camera modules by having additional width on the padding. All of the phones’ buttons are also covered by the case that has embedded button extensions for an easier, tactile experience. At the bottom are speaker holes on both sides, a hole for the charging cable port, and a camera strap loop on each side that are compatible with Peak Design Anchors for straps.

The modularity and compatibility of the case with the accessories come from a small rounded-square depression at the back of the case. For iPhones this goes hand-in-hand with the Magsafe features that add even more convenience. The square dent on the back of the case is the receptacle that allows secure mounting and quick button release on most of the mobile accessories. For the case itself, some possible limitations would be that they only come in two colors and are only available for select smartphone models. However, for non-compatible smartphones, a universal adapter is available that can be mounted onto any smartphone case (the actual back panel of the phone) through durable adhesives. This universal adapter will allow users of any smartphone brand to use Peak Design accessories altogether.

The Mobile Tripod

The simple yet clever design of this portable tabletop tripod fixed the most common issue with all other smartphone tripods which is the fact that they would always be extra accessories to bring around and ultimately extra accessories to forget. The Peak Design Mobile tripod, when folded, only has a thickness of 4.75-7.5mm (tapered) and magnetically latches onto the back of the Everyday case. Since this accessory only makes use of magnets (not the SlimLink port), it can also be compatible with other cases on iPhone models with Magsafe or other cases with built-in magnets. However, the strength of the magnetic bond may differ depending on the case. The mobile tripod weighs 76 grams which is relatively heavy for a small 9.5 x 5.5cm plate because it is made entirely out of bare anodized aluminum with only some rubber pads on the surface that mounts to the phone and the tips of the tripod’s legs.

Most of the structure of the mobile tripod remains latched onto the rear surface of the phone while a key-shaped structure taking up 1/3 of the back, flips 180 degrees outward to reveal the legs of the tripod. This further flips out and divides into three legs that are connected to the rest of the structure through a ball joint that functions pretty much like a tripod ball head and allows the user to turn the smartphone 360 degrees and tilt up and down. On the inner surface of the middle leg is a magnetically attached key with a hex tool as its tip. This allows the user to fine-tune the friction of the ball joint as well as tighten the joints of the legs altogether.

The Mobile Creator Kit

The Peak Design Mobile Creator Kit is the brand’s version of a tripod mount and while there are thousands of variants of smartphone tripod mounts in the market, this particular one solves the problem (or flaw) that 99% of tripod mounts have which is the fact that they use spring-loaded clamps that apply a significant amount of pressure onto the sides of the phone. Aside from the fact that these can sometimes be tedious to work with, they also often come into contact with the smartphone’s buttons (when you want the mount to be at the center to balance the weight) and may hinder access to the buttons or accidentally press them.

The Peak Design Creator Kit makes use of a square attachment mechanism called Slimlink which perfectly latches onto the port that can be found on the back of the PD Everyday case or universal adapters. This works alongside the magnetic mounting that the mobile tripod also uses. The Slimlink port makes use of two small protrusions that lock the two in place making sure that even a bit of impact can not remove the phone from the mount. Aside from making the mount secure and sturdy it also allows quick and easy mounting without having to deal with springs or friction knobs. The stem of the creator kit connects to the arca-swiss type bottom plate through a joint that allows almost 180-degree tilt adjustment while on a tripod. Alternatively, it can also be removed and mounted onto an action camera mount, clamps, suction mounts, etc.

Smartphones are always the most convenient cameras to use because of how readily available they are to any creative. While there will also always be limitations to what they can do, having accessories definitely boost their capabilities by a lot. Peak Design’s smartphone accessories have many different applications for photography definitely have a lot to offer mainly because of how their clever design makes using and carrying them more and more convenient.

What I Liked:

• Sleek minimalist design
• Portable and easy to use
• Secure mounting with magnets and Slimlink

What Can Be Improved:

• More compatibility and color options for the Everyday case
• Lighter options through mixed aluminum and rubber for the mobile tripod
• Retractable stem option for the creator kit

The U.S. military has doled out exactly 3,535 Medals of Honor since the award’s introduction during the U.S. Civil War, and as of August 2023,  only 65 recipients were still alive. Retired Air Force combat photographer Jeremy Lock wants to photograph all of them.

“These guys are the ultimate heroes to me,” Lock tells Military.com. “I’ve always had a fascination with them, these larger-than-life heroes that are just like us, just like you and me.”

Lock, who was named Military Photographer of the Year seven times during his time in the service, created a special page on his website dedicated to the portraits he’s taken of living Medal of Honor recipients. He’s been at it for nearly eight years, with 32 portraits to show for it and the ultimate goal of capturing all of them.

Today, Lock is still a photographer, but he’s also a storyteller and podcast producer. He started taking portraits of these Medal of Honor recipients through his regular work. In 2016, he was hired to be the lead photographer for the AirPower Foundation’s annual Sky Ball gala event, which regularly features a guest list that includes former prisoners of war and Medal of Honor recipients.

Lock had years of photojournalism experience, covering everything from worldwide humanitarian missions to combat operations while in the U.S. military. His work had been featured in Time Magazine and even the Smithsonian. But before covering the gala, he’d learned studio portrait photography and decided to put that practice to use.

“I had this real opportunity,” he says. “I had this new skill, and I thought, ‘How amazing would it be to sit down for, like, 10 minutes with my heroes?’ At first, it was tough, because they’re trying to go to the gala.”

The AirPower Foundation was impressed by Lock’s efforts, and before long, the organization began specifically setting aside room for him to take the portraits.

“Now they’re calling and asking: ‘What room do you want to set up for the portraits? We gotta get these,'” he says with a laugh. “It’s been awesome to sit down and just kind of capture the essence of who these heroes are. That’s basically how the project was born.”

Lock has his favorites, of course. Among them is Army Staff Sgt. Hiroshi Miyamura, a former POW who received the Medal of Honor for covering his squad during a nighttime retreat, holding back a human wave of Chinese troops with his bayonet and killing 50 enemy troops before being captured.

Then there’s Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, who received the Distinguished Service Cross for his defense of a Special Forces camp in Vietnam’s A Shau Valley in 1966. While wounded, he directed mortars while exposing himself to enemy fire to rescue his fellow soldiers. When no one else remained to fire the mortars, he took over until he ran out of ammo. He fought for 38 hours before leading his men in a two-day escape through the jungle.

Both men passed away in the past few years: Adkins died in 2020 at age 86, and Miyamura died at age 97 in 2022. Lock, who has seen more than his fair share of combat with the U.S. military, has stunning portraits of both men.

“I mean, God. What an honor it is to do that,” Lock says of taking their photos. “No one can tell what kind of person they’re going to be on the battlefield. You can’t answer until you’ve been in that situation. And these guys, they’re me and you; they’re us. But something switched in them on the battlefield, and they became heroic.”

His podcast, “Last Letters,” grew out of the time he’s spent photographing his heroes. He hosts people from all walks of life, from Nobel laureates to exonerated prisoners, who talk about what they would do if they knew tomorrow was their last day on Earth.

“It opens up an amazing conversation,” says Lock. “It’s the greatest storytelling I’ve ever done. … There’s no bias whatsoever. At the end of the day, everyone is going to die: So what would your final words be? And who are you saying them to?”

The latest episode of the show features Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War who received the Medal of Honor after flying through a maelstrom of smoke, fog and enemy fire to rescue wounded soldiers, even landing in a minefield to reach them. Lock has a portrait of Brady, too.

“These guys aren’t getting any younger,” Lock says. “You’ll see quite a few that have already passed. These photos show the kindness and greatness of them, but also their humanity — that the person standing right next to you could be the next Medal of Honor recipient.”

To view Lock’s full portrait gallery, visit the Medal of Honor recipients page on his website, and be sure to see his other work on JeremyTLock.com, which includes 21 years of military photojournalism, and the Last Letters Podcast.

— Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, or on LinkedIn.

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