Cross Country Line

Cross Country Line

I had the good fortune of photographing this year's Cross country meet in Waterford. If you are a parent from this meet send me an email, I will have these available for download soon.

Helmet Posts

Helmet Posts

This is the last shot from Friday's football game that I will post. Can someone please tell me the purpose of these helmets sitting on these posts? I think they cover the radio transmitter, but I'm not quite sure.

If you want to download images from this game, go to the following link:
DOWNLOAD IMAGES FROM THIS GAME

Official

Official

Here's another shot from Friday night's game. I was lining up this shot with the official standing there (arms down) and I was prepared for it to me a mediocre shot. Then something happened on the game field and the official raised his hand adding better framing to the shot and making the image that much better.

LOHS Varsity Homecoming Sneak Peak

The following series of photos are some of my favorites from the game that help tell the story of the night. I have not finished processing all of the photos from the game, so stay tuned for a link to download all of the photos I took at this amazing game. Now on with the story:

The game begins with this piece of equipment right here. This is one of the game balls that was marked and ready for yesterday's game. Notice the band members blurred in the background of the shot.

And the band played on...

This next shot is a powerful display of the respect for the flag.

No game is complete without one of these helmet thingies.


Cheerleaders seem to drop their pom poms all in a row.

This next shot was one of my favorites from the night. I had to take the big honking lens off the camera in order to get this wide angle shot, but I'm so glad I did. The sunset was amazing this evenging and I just had to capture it.

Dragons!

Ok, yet another helmet shot, but I really liked this shot.

Here's the quarterback throwing a touchdown pass.

And here he is happy about the result.

This next shot would have been better if I had taken more frames, but instead I just got this one. I know that Mike from Photo Impressions Gallery
got a much better shot of this one than I did.
After the game recap.



Again, stay tuned for a link to download more shots from Friday night's game.

More to the game

More to the game

There's much more to the football game than the players on the field with the ball. These headsets were prepped and ready for the coaches to use. I saw this shot at the last game but was not able to get it. I was there in time tonight to capture this perspective shot.

Morning Post

Morning Post

Here's a shot of this morning's sunrise as it rose above the football field. Tomorrow night I get the opportunity to shoot the varsity football game, and I am completely geeked about it. Stay tuned for shots from the game.

End Zone

End Zone

I love football. This is my first season taking pictures of football games and I must say it is a blast. I have been able to capture some awesome moments on the field, and today was one of those days. I was using my son's football game for some practice in capturing those cool Sports Illustrated moments. I look forward to shooting the Varsity football game this Friday as well.

This is why I am a photographer

Nana and her babies

This one made me cry when I took it and even more when I saw it on the screen. Being able to capture moments like this is why I am a photographer and why I absolutely love this craft.

Puggle, Mans Best Friend

Puggle, Mans Best Friend

One of the highlights from this weekends art fair in Perrysburg Ohio was this puggle being walked by its proud owner. There were actually two puggles at the time, but this one was the puppy and a bit of a ham in front of the camera.

September Maternity Session

Today I had the great pleasure of capturing a moment in time for Kathy and her beautiful family before the arrival of their baby in November. We spent about an hour today capturing this maternity session, and we were able to accomplish a lot in that amount of time.

And now for the all important belly shot:

Hey look, someone is going to be a big brother soon.

This next shot had to be done today. The obligatory hands on belly shot is a must have for any parents to be.

I had about 3 seconds to capture this next gem, for he was on the move and ready to get as far away from the camera as possible. I love how the sun illuminates his natural curly hair as he ponders something important like "how to run away from the guy with a camera."

Thank you Kathy and family, I really enjoyed working with you today, and I hope you enjoy all of the shots we were able to capture today.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition Fireman Sculpture

Extreme Makeover Fire Edition

This is my brother's sculpture that he donated for a Toledo fireman for the TV show "Extreme Makeover Home edition." My brother and I spent the day in an art booth in Ohio attempting to sell our work. His amazing metal work sold very well today, but my photographs did not. While we were there a fireman from the Toledo fire department came up to my brother and thanked him for donating his piece. He said that it was wonderfully lit with solar lighting and was the centerpiece for the entrance. Check out my bro's work at http://www.maurermetals.com

Oh, and if anyone wants to purchase any of my prints that did not sell today (that would be all of them), they can be obtained from the following website: http://www.pictage.com/548164

SS

SS

Another shot of the Chevelle from yesterday.

Chevelle SS

Chevelle SS

An old friend of mine is fascinated with Chevelle's and when I saw this vehicle for sale I had to stop and pay tribute to this magnificent machine. This is from a purple (most likely not stock color) 1966 Chavelle SS.


Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/9
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Hillsville Court House

Hillsville Court House

My travels this week brought me to Hillsville Virginia and this was a slightly crooked look at the court house. I felt that shooting this building straight on would be a boring shot, so I spiced it up a bit by a turn of the camera. The building is glowing with warmth from the sun set making the colors seem more natural.

Bokeh Blades

Bokeh Blades

This was an experiment with capturing the morning dew on the blades of grass as the sun rose. The focal point is located somewhere near the center of the picture and gradually moves out of focus the further away and closer you become to that point.

The Roar at the Start

The Roar at the Start

The most amazing roar is heard when the cross country race begins. Every runner roared in unison as they began their pouncing through the rain, water, and mud. Really cool moment to photograph.

I took some great photos of the junior varsity cross country meet this past weekend. My wife was kind enough to hold an umbrella over me and the camera in order to capture these moments. Email me if you would like a digital copy of your son. ed@edwardjohnphotography.com

HI ISO Grain

Hi ISO Grain

Digital cameras have an ISO feature that allows you to capture light even in low light conditions. Think of it as buying 200 speed film, 400 speed film, or 1000 speed film. The higher the number the faster you can capture light. The drawback with the higher speed film is that it produces some "noise" in the photo. I was told by the guy behind the camera store counter that hi iso grain can be reduced by increasing the contrast. So this was my experiment in this technique. I think I'll just buy a faster lens, because I am not a fan of hi iso grain.

Golf, I love this sport

Golf: I love this sport.

Lord Stanley's Cup

Yesterday was an awesome day. I got to see the Stanley Cup up close and personal. I can tell you that the bowl is not exactly circular any more, but it is an AMAZING trophy. This first shot is me standing next to it

And this one is my hand on the cup. I know it's kinda Cheezy but this was an amazing experience.

Scripps Mansion Photo Competition

After much help (actually it was a tie) from flickr users I decided on my final three photos to submit to the Scripps Mansion photo competition. Here are the three in order of submission:

Curved Perspective

Northern View

Lonely Knight

Stay tuned, I think the awards are given out this weekend. I'll let you know if any of these were chosen (**crossing fingers**)

Bell System

Bell System

I take photo walks from time to time in order to see the world in different ways and to keep honing my craft of photography. I have passed by this man hole cover many times, but today it was begging to be photographed. Enjoy.

Chili Accounting

Chili Accounting

This sign makes my day every time I pass by it.

I need your help

Ok, blog readers, I need your help deciding on a photo. Tomorrow I am submitting three photos to the Scripps Mansion photo contest. I have two photos that really rock and there's no question that they will be submitted (I will post them in a future blog entry.) However the third image is really tough and I cannot decide which one. So please leave a comment and let me know which one you like the best out of these two shots.

Over Her Shoulder

Lonely Knight

Which one do you like best out of these two? Please help me decide.
Thanks,
Ed

Stands alone

Stands Alone

Ok, this is the last one from the football game, but it was one that I kept looking at in my library of shots. I remember taking this one and framing it so that the flood lights appeared in the right side of the frame and leading the eye to the football player down on the field making sure I kept the grass at the lower third of the shot in order to give balance.

Go Dragons

Go Dragons!

Another shot from Friday Night's game. It's amazing how different a photo looks on the screen vs. in print. I had this one printed and it looks really great. There's something about holding an image in your hand that gives it a life of it's own.

Lake Orion Football Home Game

I had an amazing time this Friday Night at the Lake Orion Varsity Football game. Being on the field and taking pictures is an awesome experience. Below are some of my images from the game, or you can see all of the photos at the following link: Lake Orion Football 9/5/2008

I try to tell stories with my photos, so some of these images are not just the standard "guy with football" photo (although I take those shots too.) I took some amazing shots on the sideline that really tell the complete story of the game instead of just what's happening on the field. When photographing an event, it's good to shoot the game with a theme in mind. It helps me the photographer to stay focused on specific aspects of the game without getting overwhelmed with everything that is going on. For this game I had two themes. The first was called "Freshmen Quarterback" since the quarterback is a good friend of the family and the primary reason for my presence on the field. The other theme was "Sideline View." Since this was my first sideline appearance as a photographer I thought I would capture the view from the sidelines as the players and coaches see it.

On with the show:
This first image is the game ball waiting to be thrown, punted, passed, and carried.

Next we have the captivated ball boy waiting to replace the ball once Lake Orion had possession again.

These over-the-shoulder shots really strike me because they give you the perspective of the player or coach as he watches the team in action.

Ok, one more over the shoulder shot, but this one was done with a trendy lifestyle photography style in mind.

Here's the Freshman Quarterback putting his arm around my son's shoulders. My son asked if he could come on the sidelines toward the end of the game so I brought him in, but next thing I knew he was tapping the quarterback on the shoulder and saying "hi." Before I could tell hem to get back on the sidelines and not disturbe the players, I had to take a shot. This moment impressed me a great deal and showed me the kind of person that Sean is. He welcomed my Son and even involved him in the sideline festivities a bit.

The quarterback is a leader on and off the field, and here he is on the field taking charge of the game.

Notice how the ball hovers in the air in this next shot. This was a touchdown pass!

One of my better shots of the quarterback before he was tackled. By the way, I almost got run over taking this shot.

Another part of the story of this game, here's the team walking back on the field with confidence after half time.

Final score Lake Orion 24, West Bloomfield 15. It was an amazing game and a great time to shoot.

By the way, if you have read this far go ahead and check out this amazing photo that I took of "The quarterback" at the sleeping bear dunes this summer.

See all of the photos I took from this game at the following website:
Lake Orion Football 9/5/2008