Ninja at home

So, my boys decided to create “Sugar Glass”, you know, the material that is used on movie sets to crash over the actors heads, or in the old cowboy Western’s, the window that was broken as the villain get kicked out of the saloon. This is all the rage apparently with 8 and 10 year old boys….as this is all they spoke about for a week.

Now, if you don’t know my boys, they are actual Ninjas….honest to God, actual living and breathing NINJAS! The actual spinning, flying, grunting and cussin little buggers who are 2 stripe tests away from earning their brown belts…(one belt away from BLACK)……so you can probably see where this little story is headed.

I digress….....so anyways, they mixed the concoction up in the bowl and then cooked it in a 9x9 cake tin. It turned into a rather large Ricola cough drop looking thingy, about half an inch thick and sticky as hell….but it was transparent for the most part.  We left it in the fridge overnight to harden….as the boys went to bed for the night, smiling and planning on the next days adventures, and how to break the glass.

Sunday morning was like Christmas to them as I apparently overslept for the grand breaking ceremony. I was pulled from my somewhat comfy bed with the demands of Blaze to "grab my camera and shoot this thing"…………Y A W N!

I told him to go to the garage and retrieve the black backdrop, stands, beauty dish and a kicker light for the background. We took a 4x8 foamcore sheet and tried our best to block the sun streaming through the front door, as total darkness what my ultimate goal. This didn’t really work out as planned, but I proceeded to attempt the shot anyway.

We took a simple tripod and Blaze gaff taped a normal spring clamp to it, to hold the glass in place. This stuff was as sticky as molasses I tell ya.

It was very important for the two

of us to get our timing down, we only had the one chance to nail the shot and I was already up……..I counted him down at least 10 times until I felt we were in sync. When he finally got consistent in his throwing of the punches and his screams were at the optimal NINJA volume, we decided to go for it!

One more test of the flash was necessary to make sure the lights were firing…they didn’t?  The cable release had fallen out,….phew….quick fix.

3………..2………..1………POP!!!!!!.......then a second later the shattering echoed throughout the living room……….it was over….DONE!

Chimping on the back of the camera was almost as glorious as seeing my Space Shuttle remotes for the first time….we had done it….Perfection on one take.

He laughed as we ate the glass that was still stuck to the tripod………….not a bad days work.

Check the new website at www.AlexMenendez.com

Bay Bridge San Francisco

I recently traveled to California for the assignment of filming the new construction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The new east span is the largest suspension bridge in the world as was built on the premise of public safety in the event of an earth shattering earthquake occurring again. The current (Original) bridge buckled and a section collapsed after the last major earthquake struck years ago.

This new structure is built of hollowed out steel sections that are joined together, almost like a large train, but with the girth of an aircraft carrier….a total of 5 lanes wide with a bike path and hi-tech LED lighting fixtures.

This particular assignment was for me to capture the build and archive the way the structure is connected, both above and below the bridge. Entering through the roadway was almost like climbing down into a manhole in a major city street.  The backpack and the two cameras I carried over my shoulder made the entry very difficult, with a very narrow steel ladder to climb down.

Once in the structure, I quickly noticed that each section was lit by the orange halogen bulbs, and the air was thick with various gasses and welders smoke.  The hollowness of the steel made the construction work above sound like I was in a motorized subway, hum after hum followed by the never ending buzz of electric lines over my head. To describe it would be like the sound of a stirred up bees nest in your attic.

The steel walkway that went down the center of the aisle was still cluttered with nuts, bolts and boxes of steel connectors.

After assessing the scene, and with no tripod for long exposure shots, I decided that an onboard flash would be the only lighting I could use. I snapped shots, then moved on down the walkway, capturing images as we went.  The hard helmet I was required to wear was surely needed, as hidden steel rods and corners protruded every 20 yards.  The whole setup reminded me of setting strobes in the rafters at an arena, above an NBA basketball game, only much darker and confined.

The highlight of this adventure was gaining access to the never before filmed “Splay Chamber”. This is where all the cables that support the bridge meet, and connect, to hold the bridge up over the bay. I was allowed about 5 minutes to spray this area and boy did I. These photos will one day be worth their weight in gold, and I was so lucky and thankful for the opportunity as this area has now been deemed off limits. (Due to the construction controversy of bad steel rods and the recent discovery of cracked bolts installed in various locations on the new structure).

After a hot hour exploring underground…..it was time to go back up to the main deck.

The workers in their orange vests were scurrying around pretty quickly and the guys on the wires, high above, were doing their jobs as if they still had their boots on the ground. They were all tethered in, with a giant crane dropping materials, and these were some of my favorite images to capture. The workers blasting with the blowtorches made for some very artsy looks as well.

Once done on the bridge itself, we were brought to the marina area and boarded a boat to float on and shoot under the new span of the bridge. The weather was less than ideal with a grey and white sky, which caused my photos to look as if they were shot in black and white, but the experience was so surreal, and authentic, and we all know that you cant change the weather! .We floated the entire length of the new span, both under and around the new structure. The Bridge Media Liason, Andrew, was a true professional and was one of the most patient and accommodating media reps I have ever dealt with, a true professional who knows how to get play for his project. My producer on the job was local, Linnea Edmeier, and many thanks to my Editor Doug Benc at Associated Press.

Currently there are over 300 images posted on the Associated Press Website as well as my Photoshelter site, found here:

http://alexmenendez.photoshelter.com/gallery/Bay-Bridge-Construction/G0000hSARCVr0MkM/

Altas V Launch with my sons

I missed the remote control camera setup on Tuesday
for the Atlas V rocket launch, but couldn't get the thought of missing this opportunity to film at Cape Canaveral out of my mind. When a rocket blasts off and you are within sight and close enough to taste the smoke, there is no better feeling. To describe it would not do it justice.....AWESOMENESS exploded!!!!

So I decided that with perfect blue skies, I would go for the 5:38 launch on Wednesday.

Keeping in mind that both of my sons have a science fair at school this Monday, and both of them are featuring rockets and launchers....I decided to pluck them from school, grab our swimming trunks and 4 Canon cameras.....and off we were...they were thrilled!

We of course had to stop at the Twistee Treat ice cream stand on the way, (Don Montague, you know what Im talking about).....with our bellies full we set out towards Playalinda Beach.

The crowds at the park were pretty fierce and we had to drive a bit to park in a secondary parking lot. After loading up, we crossed the boardwalk over the dunes to see 4 foot waves and about 1000 spectators who had the same plans we did.

After setting up a pocket wizard remote to the 70-200, the boys jumped into the Florida surf.  You could barely hear their screams of joy over the hovering helicopters flying overhead, but the smiles on their faces told the whole story.

Twenty minutes later, we were lined up in the waves, firing 4 cameras as the rocket lifted off towards space....

The  launch actually went on time without a hitch and it was back into the water until the rangers ordered us to leave...

We had to stop on the way out to let a 5 foot long alligator cross right in front of my truck......thats when I heard the words I love to hear....."This is the best day ever Dad!"

I hope this wont be our last launch......

More pics here

Bill Clinton UCF

Had another opportunity to film former US President Bill Clinton today.
He was the featured speaker at the University of Central Florida for their commencement day graduations. Listening to him speak, whether scripted or off the cuff, is always a treat, and today was no exception.....

Some of my favorite quotes follow....

"We need each other. We need to grow together. We need to learn together."

"Too many of us still believe our differences are more important than our common humanity,"

"Most of the people who have ever lived on planet Earth never had the choices your degrees and your mortarboards give you. Most people didn't choose what they do for a living, but even in a tough economy, you have been given that."

"My advice — do what makes you happy," he said. "I hope you will do well. I hope you will do good. I hope you will have a good time doing it."

All Photos Copyright Alex Menendez/2013 

Snap Orlando Workshop

Today I had the opportunity to fulfill a dream that I have had for many years.
My photography has taken me around the world to various locations and into some really wild adventures, and all these hidden stories have been buried in the back of my brain....until today!
SNAP ORLANDO, the only real art event featuring still photography in the Central Florida area, invited me to speak at one of their smaller events.

Founders Patrick and Holly got to talking with me a few weeks back and the idea of my speaking at a workshop at Downtown Credo in College Park came up. After some hesitation and a slight bit of prodding by Patrick, my lack of speaking experience and fear of saying yes disappeared. I committed and then let the lump in my throat get the best of me......     I was booked.

I had three weeks to assemble a talk on how best to capture "motion"!  Keep in mind that I have almost 50 Lacie harddrives dating back some 10 years, chock full of crazy images and some never before seen photos as well. My goal was to resurrect some of these for the workshop, and boy let me tell you, was it ever a  challenging process.

I was to travel for 13 straight days to San Francisco, San Diego and then to Washington D.C, with about 5 days left before this talk to assemble and color correct the 130 images I finally ended up choosing to feature. I culled these down from about 350 original selects. With a little guidance from top notch producers and editors that I regularly work with, I selected some that weren't particularly my favorites, but the ones that told the story at hand.

Scripting my talk was even harder. How long to talk? What to discuss? Who is the audience?   Not doing this on a recurring basis, heck, having never really spoken publicly about my work was hard enough, but to outline it and assemble it into some type of order was a nightmare. This process took me up until midnight every night this week.
In the end, I stuck to about 70 percent of what I had originally planned, swaying off topic every now and then, but for almost 2 hours straight, I think I did a decent job of storytelling, explaining and answering questions for the guests that attended.

Someday I would really like to teach a class for aspiring photographers and today kickstarted me in ways I couldn't imagine! I am both blessed and humbled.

I want to thank EVERYONE at SnapOrlando, Downtown Credo, Conduit and to my friends and all the photographers who showed up for my workshop today. There were so many of you also behind the scenes that encouraged me and gave me guidance, who will never even be recognized, and I thank you most of all!

I will sleep well tonite.

Black and White photos by Romeo Guzman, thanks man.....

Proposition 8 Supreme Court

What a week, Spring Break and the kids in Washington, D.C.!  The Smithsonian, Capitol Building, Lincoln Monument, Natural History Museum , Metro trains and taxis........oh yeah, and a little Supreme Court action thrown in for fun!!

Vacationing in the Nation's Capitol was quite an adventure I must admit. My 8 year old, Zane was captivated by the Washington monument, so tall and grand, and older bro Blaze was digging all the snow, the Spy Museum and the MTA subway trips......me, well, lets just say I have a small issue with wanting to film everywhere I go. The plan was to leave the big guns at home, as well as the Apple laptop.....I resolved myself to bringing just the Ipad and the Canon G12, point and shoot....

.......................my bad!

Had I done a little more research, I would have known that the Supreme Court would be settling down this week for a challenge of California's proposition 8 bill that basically, in short terms, discriminated against gay couples who want to get married and the benefits that come with......

On my second day of the trip, we ran across the demonstrators lining up to sleep overnight on the steps of the Supreme Court building. It was in the low 30's, the rain was falling, melting the snow on the sidewalk that had accumulated the night prior.   I knew at that point I was in trouble, my trigger finger was twitching uncontrollably,  I caught myself already scouting shooting positions and angles for the next day........."sorry boys",  was on my mind already. After a few snaps on the Iphone and an upload to Linnea at KGO Radio in San Francisco for a sound clip, we were back on our way.

The next day was gorgeous out, the air was extremely crisp, and the chants and cheers could be heard the minute I stepped up from the bowels of the MTA station....."GAME ON!!!"..... I only had one quick chance to capture what I could.   The boys were headed to the restroom, just steps away in the Library of Congress.......I bolted for the event and shot for exactly 14 minutes, and only got screamed at 3 times by DC's finest......

Those damn Westboro idiots yelled at me every time I stuck the lens in their red, childish looking faces, I gave them the dirty look as I mashed the shutter button with all the FLASH I had in that little camera.......

Most couples holding signs were laughing and having a grand old time, and the person dressed in the devil outfit was spinning in circles, dancing and rubbing up on anyone within his grasp.......it was almost as if I had entered a rumbling, synchronized carnival full of laughter....

I was gone as quickly as I had arrived, and uploaded a few dozen frames to the Associated Press. Shooting events like this always gets my spirits up and my instincts on edge.  I can't wait to go back in June when the final verdict is due....I sure hope they win!

More images here:   http://alexmenendez.photoshelter.com/gallery/Supreme-Court-Gay-Marriage/G0000ZxkEvja3wPM/

NASCAR Kyle Larson Autoracing

NASCAR Drive4COPD Crash

Rookie NASCAR Nationwide driver Kyle Larson was having one heckuva week at his first ever Daytona International Speedway Speedweeks. He took second place in the ARCA race on the track and captured first place in the special night race that the track held for drivers. He never imagined however how his week would end, with him being the centerpiece of one of the most spectacular crashes the track had ever featured. It was the final lap of the Nationwide Series opener, the Drive4COPD event, that was being broadcast live across the world.

Larson was in the top 10 coming out of turn 4 and in racing for a top 5 spot, he got tangled up with a few other cars as they raced near 200 mph down the front stretch.  As race winner Tony Stewart was crossing the finish line with almost every camera focused on him with the checkered flag a wavin......a mere 300 yards behind him, all HELL was breaking loose!

Larsons car got tangled with a few others and the newly designed "Generation 6" car flew like a kite up against the catch/safety fence, spitting fire like an angry dragon. His racecar slapped right up in to the safety barrier about 15 feet in the air, with parts flying off like it was a lego toy. The madness only took about 3 seconds before the sound diminished into screaming fans, blood and utter chaos. As the race winner was being announced over the P.A. system and lightbulbs were flashing, the smoke started to settle, and cries for help could be heard coming from a few of the lower sections of seating.

Larsons car came to a rest on the infield, with the entire front half of the vehicle missing....he had left the entire front portion of the car, engine included, in the front sections of the grandstands.  An entire wheel, not just the rubber, but the rims and axles, as well as his entire engine had appeared to fly through the fencing and was burning at the feet of the security personnel standing in the front row.  Shards of metal, plasting and glass had sprayed the crowd like fireworks that had been lit on the pavement.  Chaos ensued and the medics were scrambling like pissed off fire ants to the scene. The burning engine block was quickly extinguished as the smoke began to rise into the already heated stands, and the television folks began to scan the victims with their broadcast cameras.

To say the tone was quickly turned down is an understatement, even Tony "Smoke" Stewart, the race winner, didnt celebrate like he should have, he said thanks and wished the best for the injured fans. The next day he would visit those same gearheads in the local hospital.

I was filming from the roof and after 15 races, can honestly say Ive only captured the race winner 1 time, when I could see that there would be no crash on that final lap, this time I felt it and decided to hold off on the winner once again. The following frames are the exact reason why I held off........pure Instinct.  

I am so glad that no one was seriously injured in this crash, and glad the race organizers were smart enough to place this catch fence when they did. Many worse things could have happened here, and Larson was the luckiest of all....

More images can be found at this link below.

Larson Wreck

Color Run Orlando

First I must start off with an apology to the half dozen followers that still stop by this blog from time to time, I haven't been here in months and I am sorry....
Cool? K, lets move along.........

So with that, I will start 2013 anew with a shoot I filmed this morning, the Color Run of Orlando. This is another 5K type event but since it was competing head to head with the Disney marathon, I chose to cover this instead. The concept is pretty cool, show up wearing bright white and run 3 miles while volunteers pelt you with various colors of a corn starch like powder.....to say this was a visible shoot is an understatement!
My mother in law gave me the heads up about the event, and since it is only 3 miles from my house, I figured I'd give it a shot........so GLAD I did.
I wish I was running in this one lemme tell ya........nothing but smiles all the way around.
I sent a quick email to the event organizers and was invited to shoot away....so once I arrived there I made my way to the volunteer tent, secured an orange t-shirt and got to filming.
A word of warning to any future photogs wanting to cover this event...bring your oldest camera and lens....the powder (dust) gets everywhere and does not come out easily. I grabbed my oldest Canon 5D MKII and MKIIN, with old plastic style kit lenses.....I did miss my pro glass and wide angle lenses..but the risk was not worth the loss if I ruined one....

The event featured about 10,000 runners/walkers and the weather could not have been much better! I look forward to shooting this next time it comes to Florida, if I'm not running in it myself.

More images here, and thanks for stopping by.

/http://alexmenendez.photoshelter.com/gallery/Color-Run-Orlando/G0000VY4w9XDpEJg/

Dwight Howard has left the building!

After the past year of will he stay or will he go, Dwight Howard has officially left the building....while most are glad to see him leave, I am not.

Dwight brought credibility to the "City Beautiful", and with his loss, the entire city is back to being tagged as a non sports town. Sure we have the Orlando City soccer team (minor league), and the Solar Bears Ice Hockey team starting up, but what else is there? The Predators indoor football.....puhleeze....? (You can surely hear my bellowing as I laugh so hard I almost pass out)...

 Sure, a lot of prominent athletes come from here, but the tiny city of Clermont has more pro athletes training there (NTC) than in all of Orange county now. 

I am not afraid to say that the same owner that built up the Magic has on the surface, successfully torn it apart. Sure, you own the team and can do as you wish, but for the love of God, think about others and how they have supported you and backed you for so long.......selfishness is an ugly beast....and you will see when you realize that the ticket sales are slipping and that new arena you built is only going to survive on concerts that tour the area.

To let Dwight go is like giving up on the dream you have been holding onto of for so long....this was handled in as bad a way as could have been handled.......the MAGIC did not try......if I worked for you I would quit as well....hell, I couldn't leave soon enough, no matter how much green was thrown my way....

I first realized there was an issue when I was invited by Dwights team to go and tour Haiti after the enormous earthquake that rocked that poor island.  The entire trip was to be taken by myself, Dwight, Shiyana, Adonal Foyle, Rodney the bodyguard and Kevin, Dwights manager.... This trip was NOT supported in any way by the NBA or the Magic themselves...in fact, I believe that they were actually against it.....this may not be true, but my gut tells me so, and I believe myself over ANYONE else!

Regardless, Dwight went to Haiti and witnessed the devastation first hand, even into Cite Solei, one of the 5 most dangerous places in the world...and what did he do you ask....well, he smiled and hugged every kid and played ball for 3 hours at a time...on top of donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to the school for salaries, backpacks, food and shelter.....           but you never even heard a peep about this trip did you? Nope, nobody knew.......guess what, when we tried to leave the island, American Airlines cancelled our flight, so we spent the entire night in the airport, with the rats....Dwight bought thousands of dollars worth of food for everyone that was stuck, the volunteers and mission workers included, and he even signed autographs and posed for photos...all evening....

Its the little things that go unnoticed or unreported that makes a man who he is...and Dwight has far surpassed these measures...........dont think the city and the little ones that he has helped support all these years won't miss him........I just hope the Magic will fill the gaps that these large footprints have left....?

Good luck Dwight, you held on as long as you could here, and nobody blames you for going to L.A......at least they shouldn't if they one day think honestly about the situation..

I'm proud to know you!

USA-Scotland Soccer

I am a HUGE soccer fan and even played goalkeeper in high school. The sport is no doubt one of the hardest games to try to photograph, and I have been extremely lucky to have had access over the years to film some of the best teams in the world. Last night was another example when the Scotland international team visited Jacksonville, Florida to take on the US mens team. This was the largest crowd ever to witness a soccer match in the State of Florida with over 44,000 in attendance, almost more than the NFL Jaguars get in their own stadium....

No doubt, Landon Donovan is the best player the U.S. has ever had on its team, and boy did he show up last night, he scored a hat trick (3 goals) as well as 1 assist in the 5-1 trouncing of the "Tartan Army", and the crowd really let him have it after the game with a rowdy standing ovation that seemed like it was fit for a king......he deserved every clap and chant he heard....

I met some really cool people and need to thank photographer Gray Quetti for his Southern hospitality once again, he saved me a seat in the photo work room, hooked me up with a computer lock and even told me how to get to the top of the stadium for the massive view of the crowd!    I will be editing these images later today before the tropical storm rolls in.......

But........I really have to say I was blown away before leaving the stadium when I checked online to read the story of the game.......I was very blessed to have the lead images on both ESPN and Sports Illustrated....at the same time, just after the victory........(funny though, SI credited me as Alan Menendez/Getty Images?)!

Never in a million years, NO, make that a trillion years,  did I think something like this would occur, EVAH, its funny what happens when you put your head down and just do your job isn't it? 

anywho.....Have a safe Memorial Day ya'll, and thanks for reading. Up Next- The Boxing Hall of Fame ceremony in Canasota, New York.......fun times ahead!

Time Magazine

A few weeks back I was suppose to film a Delta rocket launching from Cape Canaveral but due to scheduling issues, I was unable to attend. So whats a photographer to do?

Well, just shoot it from the front yard as it will surely be bright enough to see from 45 miles away. These rockets are usually pretty cool to watch during the daytime when the smoke trail rises and spreads across the sky, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect after sunset.

I grabbed my son Blaze, age 8, who is a master at the Canon 30D. He set up shop under our palm tree by the streetlight. Using a remote trigger, we set the camera up on the bulb setting and I instructed him to use the trigger when the ship was aloft.

Here is the result of one of his grabs.......not too shabby.

Unfortunately, he can't get access to the launch pad until he turns 18.....!

Ryon McKenzie 10-0

I have been working on a documentary that has to do with the sport of boxing. I won't get into the details here because I don't want anyone to steal the idea, you'll just have to wait until August.

However, I just returned from a photo shoot with one of the principal fighters to be featured in the film. His name is Ryon McKenzie and he is from the Caribbean. This young man is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, unless you are across the ring from him and planning to scrap....

He won his 10th fight in a row this past Saturday in New York, his 9th knockout in his young pro career.

Memorize his name, he will be a force in the 175 weight class.....and remember you saw him here first!

Dwight Howard media day

It annoys me when I show up for a shoot and one critical piece of gear is missing or broken....well, it happened to me this past Monday. The Orlando Magic were holding their annual "Media Day" event and the only story in town was that Superstar Dwight Howard had requested a trade from the team! Every sports station, radio, tv , newspaper and magazine was there to see what he had to say. Me, I just needed archive images for Orlando Sports Magazine, if Dwight was actually on his way out of town. (Thanks to Melanie and Joel once again for the access).

So the first thing I did was find my spot on the gym floor to set up, making sure that there was power and plenty of room for those that did not bring their portable lights. Most folks there will hover around the tv guys with their on-board lights and snap stills over their shoulder, unbeknowst to the videographers. Well, as tradition, they have a tendancy to hover around me until the player poses and then multiple flashbulbs blind the athlete until he can no longer see, paparazzi to the fullest...

Anyways, I opened and set my backdrop, set stands and lights and found the necessary power supplies....formatted cards, set camera to Raw/Jpeg and then went to grab the sync cord........um,....the sync cord. Dang, "Now where did I put that?"....I always carry 2 cords just in case one fails.......hmmm.........oh yeah, I was checking lights with my 8 year old a few days back, and we decided to put them back into the Pelican case, not the ThinkTank bag...NOT GOOD! I had the ThinkTank with me now..

Pocket Wizard time, but I only carry one set of these as I hardly ever use them....time to make my own magic.....I was able to put the transmitter on the camera and the only other receiver on my main light....I would just have to let the first light trigger the second light.....with absolutely no back light now......bummed to say the least!!!

The original plan was to set two lights at 90 degrees (aiming directly into the subjects ears) and then front light them with a ring flash much as I did last year. But now that my hotshoe was being used by the PocketWizard, that option was off the table....

My lack of properly preparing my gear came back to bite me in the butt.....

Regardless, you can only do what you can do so I simply pressed on. All of the players themselves were in a good mood it seemed, but the atmosphere was beginning to get tense an hour in, Dwight had not been seen or heard from by anyone.

Then suddenly, like someone had yelled "Fire", everyone moved to the center of the gym and surrounded the basketball logo on the floor. It looked like a giant donut, 5 people deep, with cameras, lights and mic boom poles everywhere. Dwight entered the gym much like Muhammed Ali would have back in the 70's, and after stopping for a brief moment to talk to a coach, he slowly glided across the floor to the buzzing entourage of English/Spanish/Italian? voices all clamoring to ask him about his future.....

......meanwhile, still photographers Fernando, Gary, John and myself all hung WAAAYYYY back and watched as the madness unfolded....scary and funny at the same time.....It sounded like honeybees surrounding the Queen..........had it been me, I probably would have run away!

Then it ended.

Dwight was gone just as quickly as he had arrived, and after about 30 minutes, the gym had a calm, eerie feeling to it. Of the 150 media members that had been in attendance, about 25 remained, not waiting for one-on ones with anyone else....They came, they conquered.......they bolted.

Three hours later the only ones in the gym were us photographers, CEO Alex Martins, and various communications people from the Magic. Almost all were on the phones speaking, texting or twittering.... then out of nowhere, Dwight came in again... He was ALL smiles, jumpy and very much alive...a few hellos to everyone and then it was GAME TIME!!! When he finally made it over to the last station, (mine), he smiled that pearly white smile, gave me a high five and a hug and we talked about our Haiti adventure together....I had seen him a few times over the summer but not as happy or as loose as today......I grabbed some hilarious frames of him acting like a kid, a happy kid, and then he was on his way, one last interview before heading home...

I packed up as quickly as I could, minus sync cord, and was out the back door.

No matter his choice, I sure hope Dwight decides to finish out his career here in Orlando, he is so much more than "just a baskeball player"! He actually gives back through his various charities and events, even those many of us have never heard about.......

More Images to view here:

http://alexmenendez.photoshelter.com/gallery/Orlando-Magic-Media-2011/G0000HD4QUs7TteU/

(Hey Dwight....I would take the elephant over the pint!)......better choice

Miguel Cotto Boxing Media Day

Had the unique opportunity to film three time World Champion Miguel Cotto at the KG Boxing Gym in Orlando the other day. The workout was pretty intense for the media event and I was very surprised at the turnout...about 250 folks showed up...

Top Rank Boxing promoter Bob Arum was also in attendance for the display and there was plenty of nervousness surrounding the fact the the December 3 fight against Antonio Margarito may not even happen due to NY State Laws.

It turns out the event is now "ON", can't wait to see how this bout turns out....these two fighters despise each other......

More images here: http://alexmenendez.photoshelter.com