Boerne-Champion Softball vs San Antonio Brackenridge

WOW!... One long hot afternoon with two exciting Texas District 27-4A playoff softball games. While it turned out to be a great come-back for the Brackenridge Eagles after their Friday night loss, it was a heart-breaker for the Chargers after strong rallies in the last innings of each game.

I guess one of the hardest parts about shooting high school sports is you always know one team will have to lose, but where else will you find the opportunity for fantastic action photography and the next minute you're shooting emotions you'll rarely see outside someone's personal life....rarely in professional sports, that's for sure.

Boerne-Champion Baseball vs Smithson Valley

When I first started shooting sports it was primarily the Smithson Valley High School baseball team I focused on, so it was a double-treat to shoot the Boerne-Champion Chargers playing the Smithson Valley Rangers on Parent's Day....and it was an afternoon game!

Since Smithson Valley is a 5A team and Boerne-Champion is 4A this was not a district game, which allowed me to get photos of players I don't often see. Some good action at first and second and my usual attempts to get the ball on the bat.  No, a five+ frames/sec motor drive does not guarantee you'll get the ball on the bat. ;-)

Fiesta Frenzy - "An Evening at La Cage"..a benefit for Childsafe of San Antonio

and now for something completely different.... ;-)

I thought I was just going to a benefit performance last Wednesday and was looking forward to spending some money on a good cause and to see a few musical numbers that weren't on my usual list for weekend entertainment.   So there I am, sitting on the 4th row of the historic San Antonio Josephine Theatre getting ready to enjoy a mix of musical & dance numbers, female impersonators and stand-up comedy skits...when the MC says feel free to take pictures.   Too good an offer to pass up...

I'm guessing by the 3rd act the guy behind me was tired of seeing my elbow in the air holding my camera, but given the boisterous nature of the crowd and the phenomenal acts it turned out to be a really fun night for a good cause.

Fiesta Frenzy Gallery

Fiesta Frenzy is in its 9th year as a regular San Antonio Fiesta event whose goal is to raise money for selected community groups.  This year the event benefited the Childsafe organization which...

 "provides services in a safe environment for child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse. At the center professionals ensure that the child’s needs  emotional and medical  come first. The mission of ChildSafe is to restore dignity, trust and hope to children traumatized by sexual abuse."

Alamo Dressage Association - Spring 2009

Want to learn about dressage?  Try immersion...   I just spent two, intense, but fantastic days shooting a new sport for me, while trying to deal with less than ideal lighting situations.

The Alamo Dressage Association hosted their Spring show at the San Antonio Rose Palace the weekend of March 21-22, 2009.  Three rings, two days, over 90 riders/horses and me trying to figure how to shoot the indoor rings with low light (Nikon D700, 70-200/2.8, ISO 2500-4000), bad backgrounds, all while trying to learn what makes a horse and rider look great. You can read up on any new sport to get a sense of what makes a good photo, but I had the fortune to be able to pick the brains of top riders, coaches and trainers and a seemingly never-ending supply of riders to refine my technique on.  Three rings, a new rider every nine minutes or so and me with a camera.  Way cool!

If you ever get a chance to attend a dressage event, go with a sense of patience and appreciation for the nuances...and watch the top class riders.  They had their horses doing moves I'm not sure I can do with only two feet.

Alamo Dressage Association Spring Show 2009 Photo Galleries 

Baseball & Softball Season is back!

New fields, new tournament, new faces and great weather....a great way to start up the Boerne-Champion High School baseball and softball season.

Boerne-Champion hosted their first Champion Memorial Baseball Tournament this weekend (5-7 March). I spent Friday shooting a couple of baseball games and finished up the day shooting the Charger girls vs the Antonian Apaches late in the afternoon. Great lighting on the catcher and batters, but major glare with the sun setting in the outfield.

Boerne-Champion Chargers vs San Antonio Burbank Bulldogs

Smithson Valley Rangers vs El Paso Burges Mustangs

Boerne-Champion Chargers Softball vs San Antonian Apaches

The new fields look great to play on, but I knew it was going to be interesting to figure out how to shoot through and around all the new fencing and netting. With a long lens and shooting close to the net you can minimize the impact, but anything other than straight on is going to be an issue. All that said these were afternoon games with great light and great action so it was worth the eight hour day.

In between games I caught some of the Charger pole vaulters practicing. The Track & Field team has a home field meet coming up on 28 March, so that should be another fun day with a whole new mix of action shots.

2009 Hawaii High School Canoe Paddling State Championship - Maui

While on Maui I had chance to shoot the 2009 Hawaii High School Canoe Paddling State Championship. The Hawaii State High School Association has also been kind enough to present a small gallery of my images on their site.

This event has historically been held on Oahu, so this was pretty exciting for the Maui teams and provided them with a lot of home town support, with local canoe clubs providing the canoes.

The lighting at midday and distance to the canoes limited the quality of the action shots, but I really enjoyed shooting the candid portraits, friends, family and support teams. As a former/inactive whitewater and sea kayaker I could really appreciate what these eight-person teams were going through, particularly the boys and girls that paddled their own class and then had to turnaround and paddle the mixed events.

For those that are use to just seeing traditional Texas sports photography I hope you find these image enjoyable....and if you are visiting my site from Hawaii, Mahalo!, I had a great time.

Additional coverage by The Maui News and photos by Amanda Cowan:
1) http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/514611.html?nav=1
2) http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/514611.html

Race Results may be found here: http://www.sportshigh.com/sports/canoe_paddling/tournament/2009 edit

Maui 2009

Surfing at Honolua Bay or disk golf in an upcountry eucalyptus forest, these are some sports you don't find in San Antonio. 

 More Maui photos to come...