Auburn running back Onterio McCalebb, center, finds a hole in the South Carolina defensive line, during their game in Columbia, S.C., Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

On Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, Flashnick Visuals owner and photographer, Brett Flashnick was on assignment for the Associated Press to cover the Auburn Tigers as they came to Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. to face the No. 10 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, some of his thoughts and a gallery of his images are available after the jump.

Below are a few of my thoughts from the game, a gallery of 20 images and a list of gear used. If you’d like an actual recap of the game check out the article by my AP colleague Pete Iacobelli over at usatoday.com.

While going through my mental gear checklist before heading out to the field to cover the Auburn at South Carolina I checked in with my editor at the AP Sports Photo Desk in New York to make sure everything was set. At the end of our conversations he said “… One more thing, be prepared for an upset.”  Being a “neutral third-party” here to cover both teams I knew that was a real possibility, even though I always want to see the home team (especially one I grew up watching) do well.  With that in mind my game plan was to focus on South Carolina during the first quarter. Over the past four games, I knew that their offense had been struggling, and realized that if they were showing the same signs of weakness during the first quarter against Auburn, the defending BCS champions and a team they lost to twice last year (once during the regular season, and once for the SEC title game), I knew an upset was a real possibility even though this was a much younger, and less experienced team.

After a very long first quarter with South Carolina only up by 3, I made the decision to start focusing more heavily on Auburn.  This proved to be a good decision by the end of the first half Auburn led South Carolina 9-6. The Auburn defense had found a way to contain South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore and quarterback Stephen Garcia’s passing was everything except accurate. Auburn’s offensive line had started to wear down the Gamecock’s defense, and quarterback Barrett Trotter and running backs Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb were finding holes on almost every play.  I began to doubt this decision when Lattimore scrambled for a 21-yard touchdown during the third quarter, but a last minute, game-winning touchdown by tight end Phillip Lutzenkirchen, erased those doubts.

Its always stressful for a game to be this close, especially coming down the the last minute and thirty seconds. But thankfully my editor had prepared me for this possibility and I listened. Even though all of my friends here in Columbia, S.C. left the stadium feeling dejection, I was able to walk out knowing I delivered the images AP needed to tell the story of this game.

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Gear Used

Cameras: Canon EOS 5D MKII & EOS 7D (both cameras with their respective battery grips)
Lenses: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L, Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS
Camera Support: (w/ 300mm f/2.8): Manfrotto 679B
Memory: Sandisk Extreme 8gb CF & Lexar Professional 8gb CF***
Computer/Software: Apple MacBook Pro, PhotoMechanic (workflow), Adobe Photoshop CS4 (color correction, cropping, etc.)

Error Message re: Corrupted Lexar Compact Flash card

***Ever since I got these cards I have been having issues with my SanDisk CF readers (both the FW800 and USB 2.0) reading the cards accurately.  When inserted the read indication light will flash rapidly indicating an inability to read.  Typically this can be resolved by removing, and re-inserting the CF card into the reader.  However during my ingest of photos at half-time the card from my 5DMK II was corrupted during this process.  I have tried running Image Rescue 4 on the card to recover images to no avail. I am planning to give Lexar a call this morning to see if they can advise on this issue, and help me figure out a way to recover the first-half images.  I will update with a post in the “Gear” section as soon as I have a definite answer.

I guess the iApp is the new equivalent to going to the paper box in the morning to see your clips for the day. It’s amazing to think about how the industry has changed over the past 12 years.

If you don’t have the USA Today app already, I would recommend heading over to the iTunes App store, and downloading it today. It has become one of my daily GoTo news apps.

P.S. This post was published from my iPhone. Yes the world has changed!

Here are a few of the outlets from Seattle on the west coast to NYC on the east coast that published my images last night.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/army-s-new-fitness-tests-add-taste-of-battlefield-1.2722013

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=13028950

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/armys-new-fitness-tests-857171.html

http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/national/117202543.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014368274_armyfitness02.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/01/national/main20037925.shtml

http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2011/3/2/72813

http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1512110234/Army-swaps-sit-ups-for-combat-run-in-new-PT-tests

http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/armys-new-fitness-tests-add-taste-of-battlefield-1290144.html

http://www.salon.com/wires/us/2011/03/01/D9LMNSTO0_us_army_new_fitness_test/

http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/01/army-swaps-sit-ups-for-combat-run-in-new-pt-tests/

http://www.newstimes.com/news/articleGallery/Army-s-new-fitness-tests-add-taste-of-battlefield-1036257.php

http://www.kansas.com/2011/03/01/1741926/army-swaps-sit-ups-for-combat.html

For those interested, and not inclined to read the full story by my AP colleague Susanne Schafer, here’s the caption version. The new set of standards now includes two separate fitness tests, one which resembles the PT tests of the past 30-years which includes pushups and a 1.5 mile run, while adding new elements like wind sprints, long jump, and a hybrid sit-up/leg lift called the rower.  The new test requires soldiers to don full battle gear and take on a 400-yard run, then immediately complete an obstacle course that involves balance, agility and strength.  The latter of the two tests seemed more like an agility drill from the NFL combine, rather than an Army fitness test.  This all made sense when I spoke with Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who oversees all training in the U.S. Army.  Hertling said that the goal for these exercises, along with new nutrition guidelines is to bring today’s soldiers up to the level of elite athletes.

Snow blankets the banks of the Saluda River in Columbia, SC, following a snow storm on January 10, 2011.

I hope these posts about snow in Columbia aren’t getting redundant.  I’m doing my best to mix it up and shoot new, and interesting things every time it snows here. I’m getting some really good practice in seeing the world a bit differently in similar situations.  The fact is that I can’t remember a time in my 29 years of life that it has snowed three separate times in less than a year, much less two separate times in 15 days.  This is something that is completely unheard of in the Palmetto State.  I’m not going to speculate where all of this white wintry stuff is coming from, but rather enjoy the fact that I have the time, and the ability to photograph it.  Click “More” below to see the gallery.

The past two times it has snowed in Columbia I have concentrated my efforts on photographing the scenes of the city.  While these winter photo excursions have yielded some really nice results, I wanted to do things a bit differently this time and focus on one of my favorite things about Columbia… the rivers.

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I have spent a lot of time trekking up and down the banks of the Broad and Saluda Rivers during good weather, and know these locations very well.  Getting to some of these locations can be treacherous in good weather, so to challenge myself a little bit, I decide to see if I could get there and make some nice images during bad weather.  It should be said that no photo is worth risking your life or your safety, and I did take appropriate safety precautions.  If I didn’t know these areas, and know how to handle myself in these kind of conditions, I would not have attempted it, and unless you know what you are doing both outdoors, and with a camera I would not suggest trying this the next time it snows.  With all that being said, I had a lot of fun, challenged myself, and hopefully made some images you enjoy looking at.

Snow clouds pass over the skyline of Columbia, SC, during a snow storm on December 26, 2010.

Its pretty rare for us to get snow in South Carolina, its even more rare for us to get snow twice in one year, but snow on or around Christmas here in Columbia is pretty rare.  The only time I’ve ever seen a “White Christmas” was when my family took a trip to the mountains for the holiday when I was in elementary school.  Not sure when I would ever see snow around the holidays in Columbia ever again (even though it was minimal) I took my cameras out for a ride, and this is what I saw.  See more of my images from the day after Christmas below.

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I am completely humbled that I have been selected as the Columbia Regional Visitors Center ”Artist of the Month” for November 2010. Photographic prints will be on display and available for purchase throughout the entire month of November at the Visitors Center located inside the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center (1101 Lincoln Street).

We are kicking things off with a happy hour drop-in on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2010. Please join us for beer, wine and light hors d’oeuvres from 5:30-7:30pm at the Visitors Center in the Vista.

If you can’t make it to the happy hour, I will be at the Visitors Center all day, so feel free to stop by when you have a moment. These photographic prints make unique Christmas gifts. To help you get started with your holiday shopping all prints will be discounted 10-25% from 8:30am-7:30pm on the 4th.

Perry Dozier Jr. - Columbia, SC 2009

Looking back on my email box, I found the first correspondence letting me know that I had been selected to participate in fourth series of the Palmetto Portraits Project a year ago today.  Less than five days from now, on Wednesday, September 16, 2009, the exhibit will open to the public with a reception at MUSC’s new James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, located at 29 Bee St. in Charleston, SC.

The PPP was started a little over four years ago by the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), in partnership with the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, and the South Carolina State Museum.  The goal of the project was to commission approximately twenty noted and emerging photographers from across South Carolina to focus on portraying South Carolinians in the Lowcountry, the Piedmont, and the Upstate—reflecting the full range and diversity of the state’s citizens, occupations, and recreational activities. Creating a collection of art to display within MUSC’s educational and clinical buildings, the University hopes to remind students, faculty, staff, and visitors of those they serve at MUSC and throughout South Carolina. MUSC and the selected photographers have broadened the impact of the project by donating an identical set of photographs to the permanent collection of the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia.

This was an amazing project to be invited to be a part of, and am still humbled to this day to have had the opportunity to work with so many great photographers.  While the past year of my life has led me in a in a direction that I never saw coming, both personally and professionally, I am deeply thankful for the people I have had the opportunity to meet while working on it, and the new way in which it has taught me to look at my native state.  I don’t feel I can ever thank those who have supported me, and helped me with this project over the past year enough.  I will be eternally grateful to all of you!

If you don’t have the opportunity to make it to the opening on Wednesday, but find yourself in Charleston, SC the project will be hanging in James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, located at 29 Bee St. for the foreseeable future.  Please stop by and take a look at all of the amazing work of the series IV photographers.  It will give you a new appreciation for the people and places of this state.

for more information on this project, please visit the official project site at http://palmettoportraits.musc.edu/

*Update* Check out the review of the show in the Charleston City Paper.

My first fine art photography show Symbology, installed in the black box theatre at the Columbia Music Festival association.

As I sat on the porch where I currently live, listening to the water fall in the Koi pond, and trying to catch up on growing email inbox this morning, I ran across a facebook message from a few weeks ago that new friend and fellow artist Anastasia Chernoff sent, after visiting my photo show, the subject of that message was “The after-show glow…”  In her message she equated the emotions of putting your first show together, to giving birth to a baby (something I’ll never know about), and went on to say “…the opening night was all so beautifully surreal. An incredible high that, to this day, STILL resonates within me when I think about it.”  That last statement is something I can now completely understand though.  Now that I look back on the whole experience of my show which closed at the conclusion of the 2009 Artista Vista three weeks ago, it STILL resonates within me, and I’m sure it will continue to, for the rest of my life.  While my entire life has been a complete whirlwind for the past 3 months, filled with the stresses of work, travel, putting on my first show, and trying to buy my first home, I sit here this morning feeling the calmest, and certainly the most content I’ve been in the past 8 months, all thanks to the wonderful friends, and family who now share my life with me.

Five months ago I could never have imagined that I would find my voice as an artist in the midst of all the turmoil that was surrounding me, nor could I have hoped for the amount of support that I received in making this show a reality.  None of this would have been possible without those family and friends, both new and old, that I now treasure more than ever.  In recent months they have guided me, and supported me, through the process of this show, searching for a home, and the emotional stress of losing what I had come to think of as the most important thing in my life.  My long-term relationship with a person who I truly loved.  Now what they have helped me rebuild is even better than before.

For this reason I can’t thank my family, friends, and colleagues; Katie, J. Lee, Betsy, Chip, Lesley, Nicole, Natasha, Rich, Jay, Jody, Chris, Kim Kim, Gerry, Jeff, Meg, Jody, and last but certainly not least the Villanova crew, enough with any amount of words or deeds.  I could not have made it this far without you, and owe you far more than I could ever repay.  Also to those who found me and asked that I put this show on at the right time in my life, and offered more support and encouragement than I could have ever dreamed to help make my show a reality, the Columbia Music Festival Association, Susan & Steve, John Whitehead, Cindi Boiter, The Mouse House, The Frame Shop, Moses and the Ritz crew, everyone at Adorama Pix, for the amazing prints, thank you just isn’t enough!

A special thanks goes out to all of the following media outlets who helped me to promote the show and my work.

• Stir Magazine Vol. 5 – Click Here to read the PDF article by Cindi Boiter
• Be “Undefined” Art Blog
• Artista Vista: Views from the galleries by Otis Taylor: The State
• Renewed Energy at 2009 Artista Vista by Mary Bentz Gilkerson: The Free Times
• Art against the tide by Jeffrey Day: Carolina Culture
• Carolina Arts

A political protester grasps a confederate battle flag, outside of town hall meeting at Seawell's, in Columbia, S.C., for Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.

The proceeding statement was the founding basis for my first fine art photography show titled “Symbology,” which contains 15 16×20 format silver halide prints, from editorial images which I have created over the past decade as a freelance photojournalist.

The show will run April 23-25, 2009, at the Columbia Music Festival Association located at 914 Pulaski St. in Columbia, SC. Click Here to View a Map. 

Symbology will open with a free reception on Art Night, Thursday, April 23, 2009 from 4-9pm.

The show will continue on Friday, April 24, 2009, with gallery hours from 11am-3pm, followed by a special performance from local rock band, All Walks of Life from 7pm-Until.  Tickets for the show are $5, and can be purchased at CMFA in advance or at the door.

Gallery hours will continue on Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 11am-3pm, and will conclude with a special talk, and question and answer session from 2-3pm.

For more information on Artista Vista, Columbia’s Premier Gallery Crawl, visit their website www.artistavista.com or Click Here to download a PDF gallery map.

While last year was tough for me personally, and professionally (we are all dealing with this down economy).  The year of 2009 has started off for me with a great deal of opportunity and promise, with several great adventures already in the books that I can’t wait to share with you, and others that are out there which I don’t even know about yet.  I am going through a period of tremendous growth again, after being somewhat stagnant creatively for some time, and I am very excited for what the future holds.

The gallery of images contained in this post is never usually seen outside of contest judging rooms, where they may only get a brief glimpse of time on a projector screen.  With that in mind, I would like to have the opportunity to share some of my favorite images of the year with those of you who read this blog.  I sincerely hope you enjoy, and feel free to share your own stories, comments and critiques.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009!