I had a really fun photo shoot today with Justin Dentmon, aka JD, aka Justin Time (my Dawg Pack cohort should remember that one). JD played basketball for the University of Washington Huskies from 2005-2009 as a point guard and shooting guard. He’s tied (with Bill Hanson, 1960-62) for 12th on the Huskies’ all-time scoring list with 1,425 points. He’s also 2nd in career steals, with 180. My earliest basketball memory of JD was watching him play “AHH!” defense…where he would guard his man tight and yell every few seconds to try to get him rattled. The Dawg Pack got a kick out of this, and we all started yelling “AHH!” every time Justin was guarding the ball. …I don’t think Coach Romar shared our affection for the noisy D, though, since soon it was just JD’s footwork doin’ the talking. Regardless, if I ever see/hear anyone play defense like this again, my first thought will be of JD. And a thought of JD will lead to how much this man…
…LOVES the camera. Lovvvvvvves it. No modesty here! Working with JD was a breeze because he’d already done research on the types of shots he wanted, so all we had to do was drive a few blocks around the U District to find the right alley and stairwell, and he did the rest with his oh-so-serious poses. Although, there were a few times where I caught him crackin’ up, which I appreciate because it shows the character behind the character…make sense?
A little over a year ago when I was starting to think about taking photography beyond a hobby, I’d asked Justin if he’d ever want to pose for me so I could practice. Naturally, he agreed, but we never got around to it until today, since he’s been playing overseas in Israel and continuing to pursue a professional career in the NBA. We both helped each other today; this work will contribute to both of our portfolios – mine as a photographer, of course, and JD’s as a model, another ambition of his.
We finished the day by going through all of the photos – “yes,” “yes,” “ehhh, nah the other one’s better,” “yes,” “no,” “haha look at my face” – over lunch (his treat – what a nice guy! Thanks JD).
(I’m a bit sleepy so I’m only posting a few for the moment).
OH! WAIT! Before I go…I also created a watermark this evening! Let me know what you think. 🙂
