Rayfield Wright visits FBC Kaufman

Certifiable football legend Rayfield Wright was a guest speaker at FBC Kaufman last Sunday. For me, it was a fun opportunity to capture another event at the church while working on photo ideas.

First up was a baptism, and I finally got to try putting a remote camera "backstage" for a unique view. I used a Strobist inspired 2-flash setup... 1 flash in a Lastolite EzyBox about two feet above the camera, and another on the other side of the pool firing directly back at the camera. I wanted a blast of light behind either the pastor or the boy who was being baptized...

Canon 5D, 24-70mm, f11, 1/200, iso400

Next time I will try blasting the whole back wall to white.

The remote was triggered by the camera I was using from the back of the room...

Canon 40D, 70-200mm, f2.8, 1/100, iso1000

Next up was Rayfield Wright... and he is a totally classy guy with a great message about living, faith and finding your way to a meaningful life. If you get a chance to hear him speak or meet him in person, you will be blessed.

I tried to be inconspicuous... but I had a hard time finding anything unique to shoot. There was Robert with a Tony Romo jersey, listening intently...

Canon 5D, 70-200, f2.8, 1/30, iso1600

Mr. Wright is an active and expressive speaker which is great for photos... unfortunately there are a lot of distracting things on stage that draw attention away from the subject...

Canon 5D, 70-200mm, f2.8, 1/30, iso1600

I did not want to be distracting with a flash, so even at ISO 1600/f2.8, I was still shooting at 1/25-1/60 shutter speeds. Leaning on the wall helped keep the camera steady, but I had to try to catch him with his hands still, which wasn't easy. I still like this one because the pastor is laughing and looking back toward the camera.

Canon 5D, 70-200mm, 1/25, iso1600

Finally I caught him gesturing, not blurry hands, just the red chairs in the background, and a nice bunch of attentive audience members in the foreground.

Canon 5D, 70-200, f2.8, 1/30, iso1600

With that, I was pretty happy.

This was the last of 3 services that morning, and Mr. Wright stuck around until nearly 1:30 signing autographs, selling his book and shaking hands. He put one of his SuperBowl rings and his NFL Hall of fame ring on the little kids for pictures... those rings are huge!

Canon 5D, 24-70mm, f5, 1/60, iso1250, Flash w/bounce card

Pro Football is a game for really big men..

Canon 5D, 24-70mm, f5, 1/60, iso1250, Flash w/bounce card

It was a fun morning to shoot, and great to hear a really inspiring man share his story, faith, and experience. He retired from football when I was 4 years old, but what he shares is timeless.

If I took your photo, you can find it here.

Back to photo basics next.

don j.