Update Jan 2012.....

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Boca Raton Photography and Design

How I got the shot: Double Page spread in Sports Illustrated Dec 2011 Noah Flegal 900 spin

This past summer, I had just heard that Noah Flegal  had just landed his first ever 900 and then did it in competition, making him the youngest ever to do so on a wakeboard at 13.  With that feat, I knew this kid needed some exposure as no one down here was covering him.  I scheduled a shoot with his awesome mom and we shot away.  The best part was going to pick him and his posse up at their house early....7 am.  Yeah, they werent real awake yet.  " Ben, here's $20, can you stop by McDonalds and pick them up some breakfast, his mom said."  And so the day began!  My main goal was to somehow cover the 900 along with his impressive aerial arsenal.  Shooting from the tube first with a Canon 1d mark 3, Tokina 10-17 fisheye at 12mm about 5 feet infront of him got a few shots in the bag to start the day.  We then shot the rest from the boat when I was too beat to get pounded on the tube anymore.  Thats when I told the driver.... 14 year old Merrette Fay, who is Noah's awesome filmer... to keeping doing double ups at the far end, where the sun would be hitting Noah in a front lit array.  I positioned myself to the center of the boat with my Canon Mark 3 with a Canon 70-200 L 2.8 IS set on Manual focus at the center of the end of the rope when he crossed  the middle.  I also set it at 5.6.  This way when I shot the sequence the focus would not change trying to track him and I would also be able to keep him in focus on the far left and right of the frames.  I aimed so that I had the far left of the landing covered and the far right of the take off.  As soon as he hit the takeoff I held the shutter button down and let the motor drive fire away!  After what I remember the third try, he nailed it and we got the shot.  I then took the 15+ shots and layered them in photoshop on top of one another on a 12 x 18 inch 300 dpi blank doc and started the process of erasing what was needed and what wasnt, through transparency, and masking techniques.  His mom, with all her awesome support really pushed all the sponsors on all the shots especially this one in many markets.  This led to his nomination of the SI Kids Sportskid of the year and eventually his win and amazing accomplishment.  Sports Illustrated contacted me about wanting to use the photo in their opening spread on him and the rest was history. 

A little pulse and a little barrel in Palm Beach....

Last week the South Florida surfing community got another suggestion that the start of this winter is gonna be another good one as we got a little pulse.  Here is a shot ran on Surfline.com of Local ripper Tanner Strohmenger getting some tube time in. Check it out here:

A few shots from the the Superhero Scramble.....

A local sprint adventure race held at Quiet Waters Park, provided an excellent opportunity to get some nutty people putting themselves into painful situations.

Cast Iron Cross Fit Marketing images for there Ad Agency

Here are a few of the many shots we got for Cast Iron Cross Fit out of West Palm Beach, FL for there winter marking Campaign.  We shot during an actual workout with raw lighting and the grunge/garage look.

Logo Design for Just for Stocks.com

Here is a logo we created as part of the branding campaign for Just for Stocks.com.

Recent samples from some Nature shoots

Shot in various locations in South Florida you just might recognize.  For purchasing information and a selection of my fine art prints got to www.benjhicks.com

Bike America / Florida Panthers ad

Here is one of the many pieces of ad work we do for Bike America throughout the year.  This was a simple ad in the Florida Panthers Growl Magazine as part of Bike America's support of the Florida Panthers team and organization. 

Tri-Fold Brochure for Island Water Sports

Recently we created a Tri-Fold Brochure for Island Water Sports representing their entire audience to kick off the winter 2011-12 season.  These are flattened versions.

Recent Wedding shot in Boynton Beach, FL

Recently I shot a wedding in Windy blustery south florida.