Coach Bob Schellinger Points the Way to Semi-State

A few years ago I was dabbling with my new dSLR. At the same time the LaPorte Slicers were on a historic run as far as program history goes. That season seemed to be one that was very lucky for me. I kept ending up in the right place at the right time. This photo for example should never have happened for me. The night of this game I had tickets to a comedy show in South Bend. A terrible storm came through delaying the game just long enough that I was able to see the second half. After the game was over and the photos had been taken with the new hardware Coach Schellinger spoke to his team. I loved the expressions on the faces of the kids as he explained what was in store for them. He turned to point at the fans who stuck it out to support the team, and I made this picture. Moments like this one helped me understand the power of a photograph, and inspired me to make more like this one. Last week I made a similar image at the West Side game after they had a huge comeback victory. I took what I learned here, and added a bit to it. The one thing that doesn’t change is the pride and emotion on the faces of the kids. That is what keeps you coming back for more.

The Re-Dedication of Kiwanis Field

Tomorrow night the Slicers play their first game on the new turf that was installed this summer. I got a chance to get a sneak peak of the turf while it was being put down. You can see some pictures of that process here. I had planned on attending the game tomorrow night, but I will be covering the volleyball tournament here at Purdue. Before this season is out though I would like to get back up to LaPorte to cover a game. 

Dealing With the Theft of a Photo

Last year I saw that my old local radio station was using one of my Slicer images for their website. When I contacted them to simply ask for credit I was told that since they found it on the internet that they didn’t have to do anything. After watching them use it for advertising purposes for four months I sent them a bill for commercial use of my photo. It was a very fair bill that could have been much higher for the length of time that it was used. Of course the bill was ignored. This fall just for fun I visited the page of the radio station again, and what do I see? You guessed it. My photo on the front page advertising the broadcast of the games. When I contacted them again I was told that since they took it down that they had to do nothing else. Since they do not update the website that they are not at fault. Of course the term lawyer was thrown in the mix to try and scare me off. A simple matter of wanting credit will now come down to lawyers apparently. If you go to the front page of the WCOE website right now they are stealing a Getty Image from a NASCAR race taken by Tyler Barrick. The fact that they are still using images that they do not have the rights to really shows that they have learned nothing. It is funny how the fact that an image is online makes theft seem okay.