Canon 17-40mm f/4

on

Sunset At The Patriotic Barn

If you read this blog then you know that I love barns. I love old barns because I think that they photograph so well. This is one of my favorite barns to photograph, and that is saying something. I love the look of the barn as well as the flags on either end of it. If the conditions are right I love to make a quick stop on my way to Indiana State.

Going Black and White

This was a photo that looked good in color, but I thought that it would also look good in black and white. I thought a retro black and white photo would suit this scene. I wanted it to look like it could have come from any era. In the end I think that I accomplished my goal. As this post goes live I will be on my way to Indiana State again. I hope that something interesting is happening as I pass this barn.

Advertisements

on

My Eighteen Favorite Photos From the 2017-2018 Xavier Men’s Basketball Season

This was the first year that I was able to photograph the Xavier men’s basketball season for the team. It started with their Musketeer Madness pre season event, and then ended in the NCAA Tournament. This was a fun team to photograph, and I was lucky enough to be at a couple of very cool moments. Here are my eighteen favorite images from a fun season.

18. We will start the countdown where the season did. Musketeer Madness was a fun event where the team got to meet the fans, and then play an exhibition. It was here where I first learned just how much of a personality Tyrike Jones. had. Here his aviators give me a glimpse at the young man getting his autograph. This was a fun picture from a fun day.

17. During March Madness I was able to photograph Bill Murray. What a cool bucket list item to check off. I had some closer shots of him from pregame, but I liked this one because is just illustrates the fact that he always seems to stand out from the crowd.

16. At the end of 2017 I travelled up to Milwaukee to see Xavier open their Big East season against Marquette. They got the first of what would be many Big East wins on the season on their way to the Big East title. Here was one of the punctuation marks of that game.

15. One player that I wish that I could have photographed more was J.P. Macura. He plays the game hard, but that translates to amazing photographs. He was the kind of guy that would will his team to the win.

14. This is the tip off of the final game of the season. I liked the idea of getting the tip with the logo on the court. Being the second shooter allowed me the freedom to break away to make the picture.  Continue reading “Top 18 Photos From the 2017-2018 Xavier Basketball Season”

on

The John Hancock Tower Gets Lost In the Fog

While in Boston we had a great view of the John Hancock Tower. That is every day except one where the clouds were so low you could not see most of the tower. I had a great view out of my hotel window of the building, and it made it easy to make pictures like this one. I always feel sorry for my wife in these situations when she is woken up by the sound of my camera shutter. The light was right though, and the fog was too good to pass up.

Finding the Right View

One thing that I love about my wife is that she actually thinks of the view that we will have when she books a hotel room. In this situation the conference she was at determined our hotel, but she determined the view. I loved look at the Trinity Church every morning before heading out to see the city. On this occasion it worked out very well for me as I was able to make a cool photo from my room before going back to bed.

on

Nashville Shines Under the Lights

My trip to Nashville in 2016 was a special one. I shot a great baseball tournament that weekend, but it was the relationships that were made at the time that really made it a great weekend. I had already shot for Washington in the Women’s Final Four a few months before this trip. I was able to shoot for them again that weekend. I also shot for Xavier for the first time. Since that time I have had some really cool experiences with Xavier that would be hard to fill if I had not met them. It is that relationship with Xavier that will get me back to Nashville this weekend as they start their March Madness run there.

An Awesome Night

The night that I made this picture should have been a bad night in many ways. The tournament that I was photographing was cancelled due to bad weather. Instead of moping about it and heading back to the hotel I went downtown to make some pictures. The fast, low clouds were perfect that night to showcase this awesome town. I think that when you travel you have to make the most out of what you are given. Every night will not always be a perfect night. Sometimes the worst weather of the trip makes for the best photos.

on

My Favorite 18 Indiana State Basketball Photos From the 2017-2018 Season

This was really a tale of two seasons. The first half of the year was an interesting one in which the team really seemed to struggle. At the beginning of 2018 a coaching change was made, and this team really took off. That run at the end of the season was so much fun to cover. This team really started playing well, and that just makes for good photos. Here are my eighteen favorite images from the 2017-2018 season.

18. On senior day all of the seniors started the game. Freja Christensen got the nod on senior day, and seemed to be having some fun out on the floor. Here she dribbles through a screen looking to make a pass. It was fun seeing her get some minutes with her family in the stands.

17. Regan Wentland is a player that you never have to question her effort. She always gives her all, and is going to be a key player returning next season. Here she gets a shot up against Evansville to help give the team their first MVC win of the season.

16. I had to get one photo in here of Ashely O’Neal getting a three up. She was money during the season from behind the arc. When the team needed a big three they could count on Ashley to nail it.

15. This photo of Alexis Delgado was made during the final game that I shot for the team this year at Southern Illinois. It was basically a preview of a matchup that would happen one week later at Hoops In The Heartland. This team really battled back to finish fifth in the conference. From the way that the season started you would never have guess that it could have happened.

14. Ashley O’Neal has the nickname ‘Biggie’. I am sure that it has to do with her size, but you would never guess it to see her on the court. She is fearless in the way that she plays the game. Here the sophomore drives the lane against a much bigger opponent. It seemed like she would need stitches every game after going in the paint, but it never stopped her from doing so. She will be fun to watch grow over the next couple of years.  Continue reading “Top 18 Photos From the 2017-2018 Indiana State Women’s Basketball Season”

on

Indiana State Beats Western Illinois To Start Their 2018 Home Season

Yesterday Indiana State used a hot start to defeat Western Illinois. The final score was 5-4, but several interesting calls by the third base umpire seemed to make the game closer than it should have been. I don’t like to blame officials for losses, and ISU won so I am not doing that here. A couple of calls that in my viewfinder looked like no-brainers were called the other way.

Finally Back Photographing Baseball!

It has been nearly three months since I photographed my last baseball game. Before that game it was another three months since the previous game. Six months and only one game is not nearly enough for me. I love photographing baseball. I think baseball and football would be 1A and 1B for me. It was great to get out and photograph some baseball early this year. The weather seemed to decide it was time for baseball as well as it was a very nice early March day.

Having Some Fun With Multi-Exposures

Usually when I talk about multi-exposures I am using it to show motion in a sport. I try and capture the mechanics of the sport in three or more frames. Yesterday I did something with the multi-exposure function that I don’t do often. I blended a couple of photos together. Before the game started and I had a little time I made some photos of the Indiana State logo behind the plate. Later in the game I layered another photo into that photo to get what you see above. It provides something a little different to the gallery, and is fun to make. I will have to try this a little more to get it down to something that I really like.

My Usual Multi-Exposure

This is usually how I use the multi-exposure feature on my camera. I normally would not have pulled this trick out of the bag so early in the season, but the light and the uniforms were right for it. The dark background with the white jerseys lit up usually works very well so I figured why not try it. I already had photos of this pitcher from the inning before so I could have a little fun.

Using The Tamron 150-600mm Lens

I took my Tamron 150-600mm lens mounted on my Canon 7D Mark II to the game to use during pregame to get some tight action shots. On the crop frame body the lens basically becomes a 240mm-960mm lens. I used it pregame and ran up to the press box to see how it did. I liked the results enough to give it a shot for the first part of the game as well. That went well enough that I just kept using it for the entire game. Obviously it was a nice sunny day so the f/6.3 aperture really did not come into play. My 400mm lens will get a lot of use this baseball season. For now though the Tamron is a way for me to get a little closer to the game.

on

My Favorite Eighteen Photos From the 2017-2018 Indiana State Basketball Season

It is really hard to believe that this season is over for Indiana State basketball. It really does not seem that long ago that they came to Purdue for the exhibition game. The game at Indiana to start the season also seems like just a couple of weeks ago. College basketball season used to seem like an eternity to me. This team made this season so much fun that I don’t want it to end. At the end of the year we said goodbye to four seniors. They will be hard to replace. The players coming back though have me very excited for next season. Until that can get here though here are my favorite 18 photos from the season that just finished.

18. We will start the countdown at the end of the season in St. Louis. At this point of the year we have good close ups of everyone so I decided to go wider for the game to show the atmosphere of the game. Here I liked how this worked out as Tyreke Key puts up a big three. This true freshman really came in and contributed this past year. It will be fun to watch him grow as a player. As a true frosh he hit many big time shots for the Sycamores.

17. Next year the Sycamores will rely heavily on Emondre Rickman now that Brandon Murphy is gone. Here he battles at Indiana to start the season.

16. Speaking of Big Murph here he is on senior day taking it all in one last time. He was truly fun to shoot for the last couple of years. This might be my favorite picture of him over my time covering the team.

15. This year I played with this tunnel concept quite a bit. I have a few favorites from the season, but here senior Demonte Ojinnaka gave me a pretty good look as he walked through. The lighting is crazy in the tunnel so I created a lightroom preset just for in here. I like the look it gives me.  Continue reading “Top 18 Indiana State Men’s Basketball Photos From 2017-2018”

on

The Absolute Beauty of Trinity Church

One thing that was on my list for sure was Trinity Church during my Boston stay. I ended up walking by it everyday because my hotel was right next to it. One day I went in to see what kind of photos that I could make. I tried to find stuff that most people would not see, but when you see something like this you make a picture of it. Everyone else does as well, but that is okay because it is amazing.

A Great Trip

I made this photo as part of a great first trip to Boston. This was a place that I had wanted to visit for years, and something always came up making the trip a no go. I tried to make the most of that first trip there. You can view some of my favorite photos from that trip here. 

on

Hanging Out Late At Night On Broadway In Nashville

A couple of years ago while shooting at the NCAA Baseball Championships in Nashville I had one night with a rain out. Instead of being smart and heading to the hotel I went down to Broadway to see what that was all about. I didn’t go into any of the places, but I did walk around and get the feel of it. The rain would subside for a while allowing me to get some nice reflections shots with all of the neon on Broadway. It was a short night, but a fun one for me.

Some Photos From a Great Week

This trip was done fairly early on in my Week In Photos time. I was really working hard on the posts at the time trying to mix up the photos as much as I could. That really can make the process longer though so now I just through them all together as they are made. I really had fun going back and reliving that last week of May and beginning of June in 2016. If you want to as well click here to go to my Exposure page.