Michael Lyman has been involved with photography since high school, as a member of the photography club, and has been around the world photographing places and events. Are you looking for a photographer to cover your event? Let’s talk!
Photo Essay: Saving A Sailor’s Home
When Tropical Storm Debby blew through Florida in 2012, a sail boat called the Promise was driven onto the beach in a small seaside town called Gulfport, its keel buried in sand. The boat is owned by a former Navy SEAL who is retired and has been living on it; he has no other home to go to. Gulfport gave him an ultimatum: it would chop up the boat and haul it away as scrap unless a way was found to move it. So Steve Smith, a marine line-rigger, organized volunteers to push the boat off of the sand and anchor it in deeper water. I spent the whole day in the water with my Nikon D90, photographing the salvage operation, and captured some amazing images of total strangers coming together to help a veteran, bonding with one another in the process.
At 8 AM, the Promise lays grounded just feet from the shore
The keel was buried in the sand
Steve Smith, a veteran seaman and line rigger, organized the operation
Several lines are attached to boats anchored off shore.
Volunteers spent the entire day in the water
A flooded rowboat provides additional counter weight to help pull out the keel
The beach-front park was crowded with spectators, news trucks and the curious
Volunteers line up to begin pushing and rocking the boat to free the keel
The slack from the lines is tightened so Promise doesn’t slip back into the sand
Shouts of “HEAVE!!” and “HO!!!” fill the air, mingled with the grunts of exertion
The barnacle encrusted propeller shaft becomes visible behind the rudder
Spectators are wondering: can they do it?
SUCCESS!! The Promise floats away from the sand bar, now completely free
Tired but happy volunteers celebrate their success in saving a man’s home.
The Promise in its new mooring. A veteran’s home has been saved.
Fireworks On the Beach
What’s more tropical than watching fireworks on the beach? Mike Lyman captured the festivities and the fireworks themselves, documenting a truly Florida-style July 4th celebration
Weird Al Concert – Behind the Scenes
As a member of the 501st Legion, Mike Lyman photographed members in their Star Wars costumes as they appeared with Weird Al Yankovic during his Star Wars parody song The Saga Begins (see the music video HERE). He was backstage beside the sound board to capture the event, a vantage point few people see!
Superheroes Night
Costumed superheroes descended on Threshers Field in Clearwater to brighten the lives of kids and their families, followed by fireworks right after the game. The interactions with the kids just makes everything seem all right.
Deconstructing Roxy
Roxy is an enormous Rancor monster featured in the Star Wars film Return Of the Jedi (see the video clip HERE). Some Star Wars fans created a nearly life-size recreation of Roxy that travels to comic-cons and events and raises money for charity (read more about Roxy HERE). During Megacon in Orlando in 2013 I was lucky enough to be part of Roxy’s handlers, manning the 501st Legion booth where Roxy attracted lots of people – including some celebrities – who wanted pictures. When the con was over, it was time to take Roxy apart so she could be safely transported back home. This is how it is done.
A screen-shot of Roxy as she appeared in the Star Wars film The Return of the Jedi
Roxy waiting for victims at the 501st Legion booth
She is almost two stories tall
Roxy takes a bite from my arm before the crowds arrive
David Prowse, who played Darth Vader, came by to visit
Threepio and R2-D2 were huge hits when they visited
Michael Hogan, who portrayed Colonel Tighe on the television series Battlestar Galactica, ambled over to ham it up with Roxy
The first step is to cut into the seams with a long knife, breaking the gooey adhesive that holds Roxy together
One of Roxy’s claws is carefully shimmied out of the slot that connects it to her arm. The process is delicate; moving the claw back and forth causes Roxy to sway
The connecting stump of Roxy’s arm onto which her claw is seated
A 501st Legion member carries one of the claws out to the loading dock at the rear of the convention center
Roxy’s arm is carefully separated from her body. It has to be pulled out at the right angle to prevent the body from swaying or tipping over
The cavity in which Roxy’s arm is placed is now visible.
Carrying the arm to the loading dock
Next, Roxy’s head is removed from the torso and carefully carried out to the waiting truck. Roxy’s teeth are extremely delicate
Roxy is looking a lot less fearsome now, with her head and one of her arms removed
The head, ready to be wrapped up for transport
At the loading dock at the rear of the convention center, one of Roxy’s enormous arms is ready to be loaded into the big box truck that will take Roxy back home