Bocce Balls On Court in Lake Orion

Another shot from last weekend's wedding reception at the Bocce Ball court in Lake Orion.

Softball Season with the color Pink

Youth's learn to play the sports that help define their lives. They begin to learn the motor skills to perform the sport to their very best, but the sport becomes something more than just learning a skill. Sports teach us teamwork, determination, learning how to lose, learning how to win, learning how to react when you win or lose, how to listen to authority, how to become the authority, how it feels to build a team that succeeds, and how it feels to build a team that wins not only in the sport but with each other. Sports help define our lives, and that's one reason why I enjoy photographing them.

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

Is Cheerleading a sport?

Is Cheerleading a sport?

Is cheer leading a sport? This competitive version can definitely be categorized as a sport. Here's a picture of my wife from her competition today, and she still has the moves.

Gymnast Salute

Gymnast Salute

"Gymnast Salute" These are the words that a gymnast hears after they have received a trophy such as this these. Sunday was a big gymnastics day full of sports photography. I really enjoy sports photography because you need to time your shot just right. It not only requires knowledge of photography, but also requires knowledge of the sport in order to get that well timed shot. In the following photo, I was familiar with the routine enough to know when to catch the flare on the mushroom. The following shot was taken with my 50mm 1.8 lens. Lighting in the gym is always horrible, so having a fast lens (F/1.8) is a must.

Mushroom Flare