Gersh Photo Post | Max Gersh | Multimedia Photojournalist

Let me start off by saying this is a techy and camera-specific post for shooters.

Chris Lee is an excellent sports photographer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Apparently, he is also excellent at reading the owner’s manual to his Canon 1D.

Many professional photographers shoot their camera in a full manual mode to ensure they have the most control of the exposure. This works great until the subject you’re tracking runs into a shadow and your settings are now three stops off.

For years, I’ve just quickly spun my camera’s dials to compensate. But usually by then, the action is over or the exposure isn’t right on.

That was until I read about the “Chris Lee button.” What a wonderful discovery.

To get to the point, on the back of the Canon 1D series cameras (original & MarkII), there is a button third from the right at the top. Most shooters use the button with the asterisk ( * ) as the focus button. It is the one to the left of that. It is labeled WB, +/-, and an X-shaped box. That button can be programmed to switch camera modes while pressed.

For example, I could be shooting in manual when my subject runs into a shadow. I am already pressing the ( * ) button so I move my thumb left less than an inch onto the WB, +/-, X button. That switches my camera instantly into AV (aperture priority) mode and adjusts the shutter speed to match my preset f-stop setting.

With the press of one button, your camera will continue following focus and get an accurate exposure in AV mode. As soon as you release the button, it goes back to the manual settings you last had.

AMAZING.

So, how do you do it?

You must have a computer with the Canon Utilities program installed and the camera connected via Firewire. In that program, you can activate the personal functions of the camera.

1. Enable personal function #6. This is the only step you have to do on the computer.
2. Go to the personal functions menu on the camera and turn on #6.
3. Set your desired exposure settings for when you hit the WB, +/-, X button. For me, that’s AV mode and f/2.8. The ISO wont change from manual your exposure.
4. Press and hold the +/- (exposure compensation) button on the top of the camera next to the backlight button.
5. Simultaneously press the WB, +/-, X button.
6. Press the WB, +/-, X button to select.

This didn’t entirely make sense for me. That is because you have to make sure some other settings are in order.

If you have custom function #11 set to 2, then you have to press and hold the magnify/AF point select button and the WB, +/-, X button simultaneously.

You will also need custom function #18 set to 0.

When you do this properly, you will see a small square appear in the top right hand corner of the top LCD screen. You’re exposure settings have been saved to that button.

While this setting was discussed on SportsShooter a few years ago, I am just now coming across it. I find that many shooters don’t know their cameras have this setting.

Chris Lee revisited the topic recently when he got his 1D Mark IV. Apparently it is now a stand-alone custom function.

Thanks for sharing this Chris. It is a great tool to have a thumbs length away.

I had never thought about how interior designers stylize their own home. I found out first hand back in January when I visited two designers in one day.

My first stop was at the home of Edwin Massie.

Edwin Massie in his home. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I had two primary objectives while at the homes of theses designers - capture the essence of their home design and make a portrait of them in their element.

Faux ostrich eggs line the shelve in the dining room of Edwin Massie. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The sitting room in the home of interior designer nEdwin Massie icludes a life size metal human designed by a local artist. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

One of the bathrooms proved to be very difficult to photograph. The entire design was very cool but the contrasty lighting and tight quarters made it hard to show everything. I ended up using a 14mm lens and playing with the reflections to show the entire scene.

The dragon, one of Edwin Massie's favorite pieces, sits in his first floor bathroom. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I left Edwin Massie’s house wanting him to overhaul my home. I loved his style and use of international antiques.

I then moved on to the home of Ken Stuckenschneider, who had a very different design style.

Ken Stuckenschneider and his Golden Retriever, Brooklyn. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Brooklyn, his dog, was very excited to see me and nearly ripped my camera off my neck. Luckily, my camera strap (and my neck) held.

In the living room at the home of Ken Stuckenschneider. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

In the guest bed room at the home of Ken Stuckenschneider. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A light switch and candle stick on the wall in the dining room at Ken Stuckenschneider's home. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On top of a mirror In Ken Stuckenschneider's daughter, India, 3, bedroom. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

It amazed me how much both of there homes felt like I was shopping at a high end furniture store. Every room felt like it had a theme. There was a perfect balance of design and blank space.

So yes. It is true. These guys do indeed practice what they preach. If their home design at all reflects what they could do for a client, I would hire either one in a heartbeat.

In the last few months, I’ve won multiple awards in news.

It started in December. I entered the National Press Photographers Association’s monthly clip contest. Photographers enter their best work each month and compete against other shooters in the region. In St. Louis, I am in region 7 (R7). That includes all of Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

One of my images happened to beat out every other shooter in the region in December in the general news category.

Soldiers take a nap Friday morning along the side of a stairwell at Lambert International Airport. Thousands of soldiers were at Lambert for the annual exodus home for the holidays from Fort Leonard Wood. © 2008 St. Louis Post-Dispatch

In April, the Missouri Colligiate Media Association (MCMA) banquet was held in St. Louis. This is where awards are presented for college newspapers throughout the state. My last 1.5 years at Webster, I was the photo editor for our student paper, The Journal.

Last year, I won 1st place in sports photo, feature photo and photo illustration. I also took 2nd place in information graphic.

This year, my images won 1st place news photo, 2nd place news photo, honorable mention feature photo and honorable mention sports photo.

1st Place News - A day after a Kirkwood resident gunned down fice city officials, more than 1,000 people gathered Feb. 8, 2008 for a candlelight vigil and prayer service. The hour-long service was held across the street from the Kirkwood City Hall, where Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton shot and killed four City Council members before being gunned down. © 2008 Max Gersh

2nd Place News - Gerald Thornton takes a phone interview outside of the Kirkwood City Hall Feb. 8, 2008. Thornton is the borther of Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton who entered the Kirkwood City Hall armed Feb. 7. "Cookie" Thornton killed two officers and three more city workers before he was killed by police officers. © 2008 Max Gersh

Honorable Mention Feature - Ray Holtmann plows the sidewalk March 4 around the Quad just before Webster University closed for the day. Holtmann has been out plowing since 6 a.m. and is going to keep plowing until he gets called in for the night. He said he would begin plowing again at 6 a.m. the next day and have the sidewalks cleared by 8 a.m. to keep it safe for students. © 2008 Max Gersh

Honorable Mention Sports - Gorlok forward Steve Hrdlicka jumps to block a shot by the Eureka College Red Devils. Webster lead by 20 points at the half and closed out the game be increasing the lead to 30 points. © 2008 Max Gersh

Some of my photo staff also collected multiple awards.

Laila Wessel took 1st place feature photo for a stunning dance image (#11 in her Theater & Dance gallery) and took 2nd place sports for a great basketball image (#25 in her sports gallery).

Phil Crawford, a contributing photographer to the paper, received 3rd place feature photo.

Brent Johnston won 1st place sports photo for a nice moment in a flag football game.

The paper took 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for photo spreads.

Over all, The Journal took home 33 awards, more than any paper in the state. Way to go Journal!

I am awaiting the NPPA R7 results for the month of January. Keep your fingers crossed.

Every now and then, I like to Google search my name. I used to just look for rank placement of my website. I am proud to say that if you Google search “Max Gersh,” my website is the first to appear.

Recently, I have followed the pages a bit deeper to see where my name and pictures are showing up. I have found my pictures being displayed on sites all over the web.

I first noticed this after I took a snow feature that has nearly become viral in the sporting world.

Wednesday January 28, 2009 — After an overnight snowfall in St. Louis, someone stomped out the words "Cubs Suck" in Ballpark Village, as seen from a view from the 19th floor of the Hilton St. Louis at the Ball Park. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

By no means do I consider this a “great” photo but it sure has stirred up Cardinals/Cubs rivalry. Both published versions of my shot made it on Urban Prankster. I appreciate the second commenter, Melissa. “There could not be better photography in this world.” I might disagree but thank you.

Again, both versions of my photo appeared on a baseball site called Home Run Derby. Another baseball site called Ball Hype ran one as well. And Yard Barker. And Sportsnipe. And MLB USA. And PopFi. And The Large Morning Show in the Afternoon. And so on.

Let’s not forget that it was first published on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Website.

The most supprising link for the Cubs Suck photo was the Chicago Sun-Times. Their blogger, Kevin Allen (a Mizzou grad), thought the message in the snow was a bit harsh. I find it funny because I don’t even like baseball.

Another photo of mine I found on the web was one I shot in Rolla, MO of the Discovery Channel filiming a new show called The Detonators.

Friday January 16, 2009 — Explosive experts Dr. Braden Lusk (blue hard hat) and Dr. Paul Worsey are filmed by a Discovery Channel crew at an experimental mine in Rolla Friday morning. Lusk and Worsey are the hosts of a new 13-part series on the Discovery Channel called "The Detonators." ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The story and photo were picked up and ran in the Springfield News-Leader and the Kansas City Star.

I also found a portrait I shot of an environmental economist on the McClatchy-Tribune wire.

Tuesday February 10, 2009 — Professor Lea Kosnik poses for a portrait in Forest Park Tuesday afternoon. She has been teaching economics at UMSL for five years. Kosnik has expertise in environmental economics, public and regulatory economics and behavioral economics. ©2009 Max Gersh | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

As I dug deeper, I found a photo I shot of the Delmar Loop on a blog called Bad Black Girls.

On top of that, I found endless links to my work at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Alton Telegraph, my personal website and my blog.

My web presence is constantly changing. It is interesting to see who picks up your work and who reads what you write.

Since I’ve been working at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I’ve had many opportunities to produce multimedia pieces. I have been required to do stills, video and audio slide shows at different points of my internship. I have even had the opportunity to raise the bar on my time-lapse skills.

While all of this work has been made over the last four months or so, it was only available on the Post-Dispatch’s web site. I decided that I better post it on my own site for you all to see.

If you go to my website, click on the multimedia link. There you will find a list of my projects. The pieces range from sports, feature, spot news (breaking news), etc. I’ve nearly covered the gamut.

Check them out and let me know what you think. All of the pieces are very short. Let me know which ones you like and which ones you don’t. If you have any suggestions for improvement, mention those as well.

Now go get your popcorn, turn on your speakers and get to watching! Enjoy.