Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Mascot Fun



Star, the mascot of WNBA's Atlanta Dream, covers his ears while the national anthem is sung by an elementary school choir before the the Georgia Lady Bulldogs play the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009.

Yesterday i was archiving and came across this gem that still makes me laugh. I was UGA's womens team to come out of the locker room and run out into the court when the national anthem started. Generally i look for a photo and if there's nothing to shoot, I stop and be respectful - its what you do.

Apparently Mr. Mascot known as "Star" - the mascot for the WNBA's Atlanta Dream - decided that hearing a bunch of third graders try and sing the national anthem was just too much for him/her/it. Naturally i took a photo of it.

The kids really did try and its a very hard song to sing. (I hear it 2 or 3 times a week; grown adults and professional singers have trouble with it) Whether i agree or disagree with the sentiment put forth by the mascot, it still makes me laugh.

EDIT: Now that i see there was a page spike from the AtlantaDreamBlog, I have one thing to say - sign Jen Deverjanik. (FA, Phoenix.) That ends my plugging of athletes i went to college with.....

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Escher Layers



Retired Atlanta Braves pitcher Brad Clontz at a Habitat for Humanity homebuild in Bogart, Ga., on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009.


The Philly boy in me wants to make a Robert Esche joke (former Flyers goaltender) or a WFC joke about the Braves.

Instead.....

This is Brad Clontz. He recorded the first win at Turner Field. (Thats a trivia answer for you) He's also quite the handyman when it comes to working on a Habitat for Humanity home.

It really was the shadows that drew me in to the scene here; reminds me of somethign M.C. Escher would come up with. Shot it as i was walking away.

A World Series ring is amazing to see first hand, even if it doesn't have the name of the team you'd like to see on it.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

More Remote Fun



Georgia's Albert Jackson grabs a rebound in the first half as the Auburn Tigers beat the Georgia Bulldogs 71-59 on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga. Auburn lead by 29 midway through the first before Georgia cut the lead to 6 points late in the second half.

With basketball remotes, its either going to be really good or really bad or such my experience has been. With both basketball programs here at Georgia having off-years, there are fewer and fewer photographers on the sidelines to share the spaces with, also meaning more available positions for remotes.

The biggest problem I've found with the available light overhead remotes is depth of field. I'm shooting wide open at 2.8 which means i have to choose a spot somewhere between someone's head and the rim to be the center of focus. If i had the strobe resources, i could just focus on the net and shoot at f/8-f/11. So i think i have that mastered and I think I'm done with all my fun in the catwalks, well for basketball anyways.

The floorplate, eh. Its an interesting look of being right under the basket, only thing is that all the subjects are looking up at the ball/hoop and 3/4 of the time it looks like a deodorant advertisement.




Georgia's Travis Leslie goes for a slam dunk in the second half as the Auburn Tigers beat the Georgia Bulldogs 71-59 on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga. Auburn lead by 29 midway through the first before Georgia cut the lead to 6 points late in the second half.



The pole remote? Gets the lane, you see the whole court, its okay. You see everyone, you see the play under the hoop.

Backboard? Same problem with available light, depth of field and it looks flat. All the remote stuff looks flat.

Which brings me to my new favorite angle (and i really have to credit John McDonough of SI and super-assistant Jordan Murph for where i got this idea from) which is putting a fisheye on the angled part of the pole looking down. I really feel that this view brings you into the game in a way that you cant get any closer. You see faces, you see action and its where all the action happens in a game thats not being played above the rim.




LSU's LaSondra Barrett is fouled in the first half as the LSU Lady Tigers beat the Georgia Lady Bulldogs 57-46 on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

School Nurse.....



Nurse Ivy Willoughby takes second-grader Bailey Hamby's temperature at Colham Ferry Elementary School in Watkinsville, Ga., on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009.

I just like the composition. Its a simple story, the governors office is considering cutting funding for school nurses.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Finally... BASEBALL.....



Georgia Bulldogs freshmen (standing, l-r) second baseman Levi Hyams, Center Fielder Zach Cone, right fielder Chase Davidson, third baseman Colby May and left fielder Johnathan Taylor (seated) on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009 in Athens, Ga.



Georgia Bulldogs catcher Bryce Massanari, left, first baseman Rich Poythress, right, and pitcher Trevor Holder, seated, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009 in Athens, Ga.


It wasn't what i had in mind originally, then again shooting group shots of people really isn't my forte'. Doing a cool, shadowy portrait is. Its been a long time since Omaha and its good to get around these guys again.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Under the Sea....



North Oconee Titans sophomore Amber Juncker in the Ramsey Center Natatorium at the University of Georgia on Monday, Feb. 16, 2009. Juncker placed second in the GHSA A-AAAA State Championship for the 500 yard freestyle.

When i lived in Florida, i thought about getting a housing for my camera. Not really practical for the newspaper shooter and my friend Chris McGonigal (now with AOL) told me about the fishtank trick. Never really pulled it off right.

So this was at the Ramsey Center pool with me sitting on the edge and a gang of 4 SB-28s all firing at 1/4 power with a 70-200. First time i've really gotten to photograph a swimmer since i left Florida.

So i got paid to go swimming.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

20mm @ f/11 part 2



More of the 20@f/11 Project..... just a pretty statue in the middle of a cemetary in Danielsville, GA....

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

20mm at f/11 Part 1



Sundial on UGA's North Campus

In a sense to try and recapture what i love about photography and photojournalism, I'm starting this crazy essay idea of shooting random stuff/features around town and the world with a 20mm lens and at f/11.

I miss black and white photography with a red 25 filter, and thankfully the Nikon D700 lets me have a similar mode in it. (IE, i put a red filter on it and shoot in a B/w mode)

SO from time to time i will be doing this. Shooting 20mm at f/11.



Berries on a Bush on North Campus.



City Hall.



War Memorial.



Downtown clock.



I work here.



I just really liked the windows.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Friday, February 6, 2009

Look Boss! De Plane! De Plane!



An Air Force C-17 cargo plane heads in for a touch-and-go landing at Athens Ben Epps airport on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009.

I got as close to the end of the runway as i legally could. I wanted to try and make a dramatic image with a 20, to try and get the plane going over my head if i could. Instead, i tried to get as low as i could and just shoot it going in front of the sun.

Twisted my ankle as my car couldn't make it to where i wanted to be.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Hiding for a few days.....

So yeah, I haven't felt like blogging very much lately. I'll probably post a weeks worth really quick to get it out there.

I'm not going to go into it publicly on the internet. Suffice to say that the past week has sucked. I still have a job and that's all I'm saying.

Here's a link kids -> http://onlineathens.com/stories/012809/new_382328605.shtml