Monday, December 31, 2012

My Best Game-Action of 2012



This is a fun time of year to look back and review the ebb & flow of my 2012 archive. An imperfect year for sure, there were many misses that I tried to commit to memory. Many of the moments in this gallery still feel really fresh in my mind. I like them for an expression, or for symmetry & pattern, or for their moment in the competition, or just simply an airborne snap.

I'm blessed & generally have a lot of fun doing this "job". Throughout the year I get to see almost every type of collegiate sport … I even felt the included Cricket shot warranted exposure - although admittedly not an aficionado, I may be overzealous about the shot.

It has been especially inspiring reviewing other Sports Shooters Best-of lists to see fresh perspectives of my contemporaries. I'm really grateful for these networks; they help me grow as a photographer.

These images hold some of my best moments in the field during 2012. I hope there will be just as many opportunities in the upcoming year, and that my head will be up and my eyes will be wide more often.

Thanks for Looking. Feedback welcome.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Maine Maritime Winter Double-Double

Last weekend was my final weekend road trip of the year. I traveled up north to cover winter action at Maine Maritime Academy. It was an intensely thorough visit with a Friday & Saturday doubleheader where I needed to cover all of my bases, from general school stock images to overhead remote action. Here's a recap of some of my favorites including an attempt to stay in sync while firing three bodies ...

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Winter Blossom Garden Detail

I've been slow to post lately, but found time to do some morning wandering in the garden this Thanksgiving Holiday. It's nice to photograph some non-action, and especially nice here to still catch some winter crops blooming well into November. It's a side project of mine to shoot garden details. Here's my growing work in progress. And I'm building some nice peak-action coverage to hopefully post a solid Best-Of this year ... in the meantime here's some recent "micro" posts.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Peerless Naval Lunar

9/24/12 - York, PA: For a second, I thought that Navy was waxing where NASA is now waning. Instead it was just a exceptionally unusual scene from what I normally bare witness as I'm hammering away on astroturf. I'm not sure if this was Naval training, or observation, or just a joyride, or even if it's typical. It's certainly not something that I see everyday, and I'm trying to make a point to "capture-it if I like it" ... especially fleeting momentary visual opportunities like this. The shot has been tweaked for affect in Lightroom + about a 15% crop, otherwise the elements of the composition are true ...

Monday, September 10, 2012

Selective Light

It was one of the most beautiful days to be outside this season. The humidity was low, the air was crisp with a cool breeze, it was dry, and it was bright. And there were some georgeous cumulous clouds that dodged & burned my canvas for about 5 hours today. Here's a fun shot that almost seemed to involve a little divine intervention ...

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Just out of reach ...

This happened so fast, I didn't know what I had until it was over. From my angle the shooter had his back to me & was I obstructed by a Goucher defender. I didn't really even have a grasp of where the ball was, I was just tracking the Goucher goalie Matt Sinatro (#1), who had over-committed and was caught tracking a softly popped shot by McDaniel middy Max Rutherford (#11). My favorite is the middle image, but I had to include sequence for a little extra airtime. McDaniel dropped Goucher 4-1. Here's the boxscore.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Opening Days

It's been a whirlwind of an opening week & though slightly soggy at times, I had some good luck back on the field & I'm happy there wasn't more lightning. I forgot again to stretch my photo muscles, so I had to ice-up in my editing studio this Labor Day weekend … Here are some of my favorite picks as I work on my early season mechanics.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Spring '12 Recap ...

It's been a busy spring for me, both personally & professionally. Fortunately it was one of mild weather, so I was able to cover some my favorite sports, baseball & softball early & all the way to into Championships. Admittedly I've fallen a bit behind on posting, so here's a recap of some of my favorites from my spring athletic work. There are some stills, much action, and as always an attempt to capture some good moments, some that I won't forget.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Arm Chair Jockeying

… a moment from a private party this weekend, near the finish of the Kentucky Derby, when the attendants diverted their attention from each other to "I'll Have Another".

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Bankers' Hours

I guess it's that time of year ... when the sky opens up unexpectedly and you just have to roll with the punches. But that makes it fun, & my school needed some rain-out stock anyway. Plus, I made it home before dark ... it was a good spring day.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Pic of the Day - Green Men

3/3/12 - Lancaster, PA: It was the second round of the Men's Division III NCAA playoffs, and all came out to cheer-on their Diplomats drop Western Connecticut State 82-72.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Swimming Championships

On the eve of another big championship Saturday for me … I had to reflect on last weekend's Centennial Conference three-day title meet in Gettysburg. Here are some of my favorites ... & here's a link to the photostore.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Pre. Focus.

I covered a Indoor Track & Field meet recently at Hagerstown Community College. Available light in this arena is hard to come by. However, there are three 30 foot tall windows and with a bright day, I had some great natural light infusion. Here are some moments during the Shot put - as these athletes enter the circle, focus on form & balance, and prepare themselves for their throw.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Orange & Blue Revolution

I was asked to make some high impact portraits of student athletes to help cornerstone an upcoming Gettysburg College Orange & Blue club fundraising campaign, which will help fund the school's athletic teams & the very athletes I was to portray. The focus of the project was to communicate intense game-focus determination through intimate portraits, without an overbearing suggestion to a specific sport.

So I choose to approach it with a simple black background to highlight the subjects; and with the use of striking lighting, I attempted make a bold impression that would translate well into print publications for National distribution to their alumni.

It was an exciting opportunity to research & orchestrate a new creative production, travel with my mobile studio, & make images of athletes who I normally only catch on the field or court.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Off the Wall ...

01/14/12 - Erie, PA: I had a request from a good friend & colleague to make some maternity images of her, while in Erie covering some sports for her school. Now I usually stray from this type of work, but the stars were in allignment & we went for it. We did a lot of conventional shots & used some researched stock for ideas. This image began as a typical "pregnant woman peaking around the corner of a wall" shot. We did that, than I noticed that cool homemade wall art & the clean walls. So I did a 180° and put a umbrellad strobe behind her & camera left. I got the belly highlight I was going for, and I was pleasantly surprised with the light's reflection off the foreground wall. I've never made an image quite like this, & it may be one of my favorite personal portraits. And I really dig the wall art.

Friday, January 20, 2012

F&M Basketball

1/12/12 - Lancaster, PA: Here are some tops from an exciting weekday doubleheader last week where I ventured into the rafters for a POV that isn't recommended without life insurance. It's always a shot in the dark with a remote such as this, but luckily I got some good action and landed a few nearly identical frames from different angles.

Monday, January 16, 2012

My Martin Luther King Jr. Day

  I was in D.C. today and I'll be honest, it wasn't for any altruistic reason. I had a piece of gear that was broken & my favorite camera repair shop is in town … so with the combination of a government (thus traffic) holiday & free parking, it was a match made in heaven. With some midday time waiting for my repair, and I decided to jog the mall. It was a beautiful crisp day, and I was heartened to see many other people and their families enjoying it. I went out simply for some exercise & to wander through many monuments that I haven't seen for a while or even at all. Soon I found myself at the foot of The Lincoln Memorial. I didn't preconceive this adventure in this way. To be walking grounds where thousands of citizens have stood to rally for their rights. Who listened to Martin Luther King Jr's famous words echo through the District's Mall valley.
  I felt so fortunate to be in here, on our Nation's annual holiday to honor his work for the Civil Rights of minorities & the poor. It was a refreshing day well spent. I even got to meet some new people … pictured in the first image: Lynda Jone-Burns of Washington D.C., walks through the World War II Memorial with her family, & with an original copy of The Washington Post from Friday April 5, 1968.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Child escapes Swimmer

1/14/12 - Erie, PA: MaryEllen Spooner, competing in the breast stroke Saturday afternoon for her Behrend College Lions, attempted to swoon a child to the water in turn 3 of her 100 meter breast stroke. Luckily, the young child's Father stood close at hand & it was his reactions that saved the baby from the grasps of the undergrad & what would certainly have been a soggy demise.