Need your help! Athlete and friend, Daniel Velasco seriously injured in Paragliding accident.

Hey folks,
I write today with a heavy heart and ask for your faith, prayers and financial support for a good friend!  Last week, I received an email that stopped me in my tracks and made all the things I had planned for the day completely insignificant.  My mind started spinning and I could barely focus on the photo shoot I was about to undertake.  I learned that an amazing athlete and good friend, Daniel Velasco, had suffered a severe spinal cord injury as a result of a paragliding accident and may not walk again.  We need to raise money as Daniel does not have medical insurance and has a long road to recovery.  Read more and donate here: http://www.kauailovesyou.com/kauailovesyou/Daniel_Velasco_Fund.html

It was just over a year ago that I met one of the coolest guys I've come to know as I was recruiting athletes/models for a trail running shoot in Kauai, HI.  Daniels girlfriend had seen a local ad posted about the shoot and responded with a recommendation that I use Daniel.  The next day I was on the phone from Utah talking to a guy I hadn't met, but could tell he was going to be the perfect athlete to work with.  Not only that, but he offered this random haole photographer from Utah (me) a tour of all the best trail running locations once I arrived and anything else I needed while on his home island.  This guy was awesome, I thought to myself as I hung up the phone!  Upon arriving in Kauai and meeting up with Daniel the next morning I was amazed at how generous he was once again to a complete stranger; his smile and zest for life were contagious and I felt like I had know him all of my life, like two old friends back together to hang out for a week of awesome action and fun.  Our photo shoot carried out the next day and like many shoots required the 4:00am start time to shoot sunrise and a subsequent 12 hour day of shooting and non-stop running to follow.  My classic, "one more lap" was echoed throughout the day as we moved back and forth all over the Naapali coast trail probably putting in 12-15 miles of running.  He was unstoppable, never tired, had the form of a champion and the best attitude of any athlete I've ever worked with.  We created some killer images that day for my client and as a bonus Trail Runner Magazine put one of our shots on their Fall, 2010 Cover.  We were both stoked!  Shaka!  We've stayed in touch since the shoot even talking just the few days before his accident about how awesome it is to ride, run, surf and play outside.  In addition to his trail running prowess, Daniel is an awesome triathlete (one of Kauai's best), mountain biker and surfer.   He enjoys kite boarding and para gliding among other outdoor activities.  The guy's passion is contagious and he lives and breathes exercise, activity and the outdoors; which makes this accident even more devastating.

So, I'm writing to share a story that is close to me and to ask for your help!  Please help in any way you can.  Again, Daniel did not have insurance at the time of his accident and needs financial support!


1) Donate anything you can here.
2) Your prayers and faith will also be a tremendous blessing to Daniel as we have hope for a miraculous recovery!
3) Drop a quick email to offer encouragement here.  DanielVelasco@yahoo.com
4) Share this link via Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.  Let's raise some money for Daniel!

DANIEL - We love you buddy!  Hang in there! If there's anyone that can get back on their feet, it's you!  Stay strong and keep smiling brightly.

Creating long exposures in mid-day sun. Photographing in Kauai (Tiffin IR ND Filters)

Location: Kauai, HI (Hanalei bay pier)

Photographing land and seascapes in Kauai is an epic experience and the Hanalei bay pier is just one location to check out when you visit.  On my recent trip to the islands, I was primarily shooting film and video for a commercial project I'm working on.  Of course, the beauty of filming on DSLR's (the primary tool for this project), is that there's always the opportunity to shoot a photograph without much of a set-up change.  Such was the case for this shot.

Let's talk shop for a minute - there are two things you might pick up on in this image:

1) There's direct sunlight hitting the pier.

2) The water is at a complete standstill.

The truth is that this image was taken on one of the best surf days of the year in Kauai.  There was a 20-30 foot swell that followed the disastrous Japan Tsunami all the way to the islands (fortunately doing little damage to the islands) and the tow-in surfers were out in spades getting in on the swell.  The large sets were breaking well outside of this frame, but there was a decent little break all the way to the beach.  

So how do we expose for long periods of time with that much light and create the effect of a sea of glass? ND filters to the rescue!  I pushed this exposure to 30 seconds and f/22 using one of my favorite tools, a 77mm Tiffin, 7-stop (2.1), IRND filter.  A 7 stop filter is an awesome tool for pushing your seascape photography into a different realm.  All of the sudden you can start experimenting with longer exposures at high noon on a bluebird day!  

For more info on the filters I use and why:

I hate to carry more gear than needed, especially when traveling, so I have one set of filters that I use for both Video and photography - Tiffin IR-ND series filters - 7 Filters total (1-7 stops).  I won't go anywhere without these babies.  This is the first filter specifically designed to shoot video on DSLR's and produce the best image (no IR contamination) bar none.  They rule for photographs in the same way.  Check Shane Hurlbut's Tiffin IR ND Filter test, for an industry leading opinion if you have any questions.  They're a bit spendy, but well worth it. 

Video Note:  [Why you need ND filters for filming:  As many of you do, I shoot a lot of film/video in addition to my photographic work and ND filters are one of the most important tools to create a shallow depth of field in brightly lit situations for film.  Shooting video on a DSLR (or any camera) means that your shutter speed is a constant (e.g. 1/50th of a second for 24p footage) and thus the only way to shoot at say f/2.8 or wider in bright light is to pull out the ND's.  You can't bump your shutter up to 1/5,000 of a second anymore.]

-Kevin Winzeler

Active lifestyle, sport and commercial photographer

CarboRocket - Winner of the Photo Shoot Giveaway

And the winner is....CarboRocket!

As many of you know, we had a plethora of great entries into the photo shoot giveaway.  I'm pleased to announce that after much deliberation and research into each of these organizations, we've come to a decision on the winning company for the photo shoot.  Congratulations to founder and owner Brad Keyes and CarboRocket! We look forward to creating some epic imagery for your company Brad.

For those unfamiliar with this company (as I was), just take a quick read of Brad's story and you'll become quite curious about who this guy is and what this little company is all about.  I was rolling on the ground laughing after the first paragraph:   In his words: "I'm kind of a wimp. My wife hates to admit it but she's married to a delicate man. Sure, I like to punish myself on day long rides and can be found racing my mountain bike nearly every weekend all summer long. I like to think I'm tough. I'm not." -- finish the story here


I conversed with Brad via email multiple times during the decision process and was really impressed with his vision, love and passion for the outdoors and desire to help people get out there and live an active lifestyle.  As I told Brad, I also have a soft spot for anyone that takes a risk by going out on their own and doing what they love which he as done with this company.   In a brutally competitive market (think Gatorade, Energy Drinks, Hammer, Powerbar, etc.), he's serving up a product that is getting rave reviews and helping both the elite athlete as well as the average Joe (me) stay hydrated and refueled from a product filled with natural ingredients and not a bunch of sugar and chemical non-sense.  He mentioned the company is at a tipping point where if they can pick up a few key distributors there's potential to reach thousands of retailers nation-wide.  We hope photo shoot will get you on your way to landing those big distributors Brad!

As this blog entry goes live, we'll be informing CarboRocket of the good news!  For all the Photographers out there interested in the BTS goods, we'll also be taking you behind the scenes showing you the photo shoot from pre-production to the big day, so stick with us for some fun times ahead.

GIVEAWAY DAY 4 - Shimano XTR Pedals, Tech4o Watch, Clik Pack

LAST GIVEAWAY DAY: Get your fitness on!!!

*PLEASE NOTE! - To WIN, first nominate a company and then share this idea (link) with at least 10 PEOPLE you know (Facebook, Email, Etc.).  In the spirit of Thanksgiving :)

FIRST NAME DRAWN: -New 2011 Shimano PD-M980 XTR Pedals ($200)

SECOND NAME DRAWN: Clik Compact Sport Pack ($150)

THIRD NAME DRAWN: Tech4o Accelerator Carbon Watch ($70)

Here's how you win:

1) Think of a start-up company or non-profit organization in the fitness, outdoor or sports industry for the Grand Prize Giveaway - A fully paid, commercial Photo Shoot.

2) Write their name in the comments section and share this link with at least 10 more people (Facebook, Email, etc.)

3) Win cool gear!

More details (below):

Here's the scoop:  We want to help a new company or non-profit successfully get their name and product out into the marketplace by giving away a full blown commercial photo shoot - for free!  This will include everything from a preproduction phone call with the owners, directors or creative department to a full day of shooting with models and all the equipment necessary and lastly all post-production required to tie the shoot together.   I'm extremely excited to help a deserving organization out!

Now, In addition to this grand prize, we are doing a daily give-away just for nominating a company you think deserves this opportunity.  You can't nominate your own company (but a friend can).  To win, enter a new company name (no repeats  please).  The drawing will be at random at the end today at 10:00pm MST (12:00pm EST).  Please think of an organization or individual that is really deserving and fits the criteria mentioned above.   If they don't have a website or information, please tell us a little bit about them.

For anyone interested in getting involved either giving away something this week or participating in the shoot, please email me (info (at) kevinwinzeler.com) with details.  I would love to see a Creative & art directors, models, assistants donate their time for this project.

Huge thanks to the Shimano, Clik and Tech4o

GIVEAWAY DAY 3 - Adobe Photoshop CS5, Lastolite, Tiffen, Smugmug

TODAY's GIVEAWAY: Over $1100 worth of goods!!

*PLEASE NOTE TODAY's RULE CHANGE! - In addion to nominating a company, you must share this link with at least 10 PEOPLE you know (Facebook, Email, Etc.).  In the spirit of Thanksgiving :)

FIRST NAME DRAWN: -Full license of Adobe Photoshop CS5 ($699)

SECOND NAME DRAWN: Tiffen Dfx Software & Lastolite Triflip Kit LR3696 ($300)

THIRD NAME DRAWN: Smugmug Pro Account ($150)

Huge thanks to the Tiffen, Bogen and Smugmug