When Frank Sole asked me if I would pose for a picture to be hung on his swim studio / training facility wall, I quickly agreed. The photo shoot was to be done by Dave Cruz at his studio just a few minutes from Frank’s place. When I confirmed the date with Dave, he also indicated that I needed to bring EVERYTHING that I use to train and compete with. Not wanting to leave anything behind, I loaded up 3 different cycling helmets, my tri kit, my bike, two different pairs of sunglasses, two different running caps, goggles, swim paddles, swim suit, running shoes, shirt, and shorts. Did I forget anything? I headed over to his studio not know what to expect since the only photo shoots I’ve ever done have been at places like Sears or Portrait Innovations where the photog acts a fool and tries to get the kiddos to smile for a family pic. As I pulled up to the strip mall, about 20 minutes early, I parked right in front of a place called Xpleo Media. I quickly found out that they are a website and graphic design company that allows Dave to use the back room as his studio. I walked in, still dressed in my shirt and tie work attire, and told the first guy I saw that I was there to see Dave. He walked to the back of the room and poked his head through a slightly opened door. From what I could see, the room was completely dark with the exception of a glow from two huge flat screen computer monitors. Dave immediately came out to greet me, but seemed a bit frazzled. “You were scheduled for 4:00PM, right?” When I told him that I could just wait in the lobby, he emphatically said, “No, not at all, come on in!” I walked into the darkened studio and leaned over his shoulder as he sat down at the computer to finish up his previous appointments photo (another triathlete for Frank’s collection). Once that was over, he asked to come out to my truck to see what I had brought to the shoot. After showing him my goodies, he indicated that he would like to shoot me in my running gear. At this point, I let out a little chuckle and told him how ironic that would be since me weakest discipline is, in fact, running. After learning this, he quickly changed focus and you could see the creative juices begin to flow. He helped me bring my stuff in and turned on the studio light before I started setting everything out. He immediately zeroed in on my tri kit, road helmet, cycling shoes, and my bike. He told me to go ahead and get changed in the bathroom up front and he’d start getting the shoot ready. Shortly after I entered the bathroom, I could hear a low rhythmic base thump coming from someplace. At first, I thought there was some kind of exercise class next door or an audiophile was driving through the parking lot. It wasn’t until I returned to the studio that I learned that it was the playlist on his computer. “What kind of music do you like?” he asked. “I’ll put it on so we can get in the mood.” I told him that what he was playing was just fine. The tracks were dance, house, and techno. After a good 20min of fussing with the equipment, he finally asked me to get onto the set. A couple more flashes and a few more adjustments and it was go time.
The studio:
We brought in my bike and he started to click away. With techno bumping in the background, he kept telling me to pose this way and that. If I was “too posed” or too “stiff looking”, he told me to walk away and come back. The second I was back in place, POP! POP! POP! Three more flashes. He got on a ladder and was on his back, he had me smile, and he had me look intense. After 169 flashes, we were done. I changed clothes while the pics were downloading and then sat down behind those two big flat screens. We narrowed 169 pics down to about 13 in just over a minute. We narrowed those 13 to 3 and then quickly settled on one…..
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