Author Archives: bobshank

Pleasant Valley Intermediate School’s Musical: Peter Pan, Jr.

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Pleasant Valley Intermediate School is fortunate to have Ms. Snyder and Mrs. Hicks as teachers. Not only are they very capable and quality teachers, but they put on a spring musical each year that rivals some high school productions!

This year’s musical, Peter Pan, Jr. is no exception. The students opened Friday night at PVI and they brought the house down! Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Wendy, Captain Hook, and all the rest took the stage and presented a musical that was entertaining. Parents and guests had the first-hand experience of seeing the talent of these young students. Ms. Snyder and Mrs. Hicks did it again; they prepared their students and the production was sensational!

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I also had the opportunity to try out the new Nikon D7100 at this performance. Musicals can be quite tricky to photograph because theater lighting is typically spotty. Bright areas and dark shadows are usually only a hair-breath away from each other. High ISO settings are required. My D300 is okay, but I get nervous when I have to push above ISO 1600. Well, enter the D7100! I was told this camera could perform, even at the high ISO settings, and I found out tonight that this is accurate. The photos you see here in this blog entry are all at ISO 3200! Unbelievable! As I was editing my photos earlier, I was struck by how many times I hit the “pick” button in Lightroom because the quality of these photos from the D7100 are so good!

Congratulations to Ms. Snyder, Mrs. Hicks, and all their students! If you haven’t seen Peter Pan, Jr. yet, I sure hope you get to attend on Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. You’ll be in for quite a show!

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Pleasant Valley Hosts East Stroudsburg South

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Pleasant Valley hosted the Cavaliers of East Stroudsburg South on a bright and warm afternoon. The sky was blue and the temperature was baseball ready!

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The Cavaliers jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. They then put some solid defense on the field for the first few innings. It looked for all intensive purposes like it was going to be a one-sided game.

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But the Bears never gave up. They battled back to bring the score to 10-5 in the fourth.

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In the end, South defeated PV by a score of 10-7, but it was an exciting game to the last out!

To see more photos of the game, click here:
http://bobshankphotography.com/Gallery%20Photos/BB%202014-04-02/

Pleasant Valley Wins Their Home Opener

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Travis Van Houten took the mound for Pleasant Valley in their home opener as they hosted East Stroudsburg North on a beautiful April Fool’s Day in Brodheadsville. The game started evenly after an inning as each team’s defense did the job. Van Houten pitched efficiently and recorded six outs without much trouble.

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Then PV put together some hits. Here in the photo above, pinch runner Jerry Peechatka, stole second base. PV went up 2-0 and never looked back. Van Houten worked out of some possible trouble several times and the PV defense assisted nicely.

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The portable home run fence was not up yet and a couple of long bombs might have cleared that fence if it was in place. But PV kept the pressure on, worked out of trouble, and looked solid in their home opener.

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Thomas Aruta had two hits to help the team work to a 5-0 advantage, which would be the final score. PV baseball is now in full swing and the team is looking good! Tomorrow they host East Stroudsburg South.

You can view more photos from today’s game here:
http://bobshankphotography.com/Gallery%20Photos/BB%202014-04-01/

Baseball Opener!

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Baseball season is under way! The Pleasant Valley Bears traveled to Bethlehem to take on Freedom in the season opener. It was very windy, reminding us we are still in the ides of March, but it was a great day for baseball!

The Bears struck first and the game see-sawed back and forth inning after inning. This was the very first day PV was on the diamond because the winter weather still has a grip on their field in Brodheadsville.

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The game showed much promise for the team and competing with a Lehigh Valley team on the first game of the season is always a great way to start! The new, young players stepped up to the plate, Brendan Kearns hit a home run over the right field wall, and the players worked together to score 4 runs on three hits. Good, patient at-bats helped in the nip-n-tuck game.

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Yep, baseball season is now underway, and PV showed it will be an exciting season to be sure!

 

NCAA Men’s Basketball Division II Atlantic Region Final

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I had the opportunity to photograph a big basketball game tonight! It was the final of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Division II Atlantic Region and I was there for the Easton Express-Times.

Koehler Fieldhouse was abuzz with much excitement as I arrived, first going through the Media Room to pick up my credentials. Both teams were warming up and getting ready for the game.

The action was fast-paced, as is the custom of both of these teams. In fact, the pace was fast and furious most of the night! This made photographing the action a real challenge, but the newspaper published my favorite photo of the night, which is displayed above.

It was a great challenge and a wonderful opportunity. I felt privileged to be there!

A Great Night of High School Wrestling!

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Stroudsburg Wrestling

Nazareth against Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain East against Northampton. What a night for high school wrestling!

Both matches were filled with excitement and well into the bouts, both matches were tied! The enthusiastic crowd cheered on.

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Nazareth pulled away from Stroudsburg about three-quarters of the way through the match with a couple of well-placed pins. The other match, however, went down to the last and final bout. Northampton was leading by three points going into the final matchup. The crowd was stirred into a frenzy as the final and deciding bout began. The decision went to East and they won the match 31-30!

Even the winners looked worn out on this night!

Stroudsburg Wrestling

See more photos here.

 

 

He was Barking at Me!

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Chincoteague 2014-01-21-148I was in Chincoetague, Virginia this week. On Tuesday morning I was photographing a blue heron when I heard this sound. I wasn’t sure what it was at first. Then I looked down the way a little off to my right and there was this red fox barking at me!

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It was great to see a fox so close. Sadly, it saw me before I saw it. I didn’t get many photos of it and no really great ones, but I did get a few. It was my first time seeing a red fox to photograph.

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The blue heron saw this predator well before I did! This served as a great reminder: don’t get stuck in tunnel vision when photographing wildlife. Keep alert and watch in all directions. You never know what might come along!

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Pride and Prejudice Dress Rehearsal

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Pleasant Valley High School Fall Play: Pride and PrejudiceTonight I had the opportunity to photograph the dress rehearsal of Pleasant Valley High School’s play, Pride and Prejudice. Believe me, these students did a phenomenal job preparing for this performance! The stage presence put on in this play is absolutely astounding!

Pleasant Valley High School Fall Play: Pride and PrejudiceYou owe it to yourself to attend one of the upcoming performances of Pride and Prejudice. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday at the high school in Brodheadsville, PA.

 

 

 

Mercyhurst v. East Stroudsburg University

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Millersville v. East Stroudsburg UniverstiyThe third college game I photographed this year featured East Stroudsburg University hosting Mercyhurst. The action was back and forth in the first half and it was fast and furious! It still took some concentrated effort to keep up with the pace of the college game, but I could definitely see a difference in my performance from the first college game of the season.

College Football: Mercyhurst v. East Stroudburg
This photo was not quite as easy to capture as I expected. There were many problems I encountered before capturing this shot. Many times the QB rolled out to the opposite side of the field, going away from me. Other times, the pocket was formed around the QB and linemen were in the way. Still other times, the referee was smack dab in the middle of my frame! It took me well over half the game to capture this pose, but I think it turned out pretty well.

College Football: Mercyhurst v. East StroudburgSometimes the QB pulls the ball down and has to scramble for yardage. And sometimes the play is a designed QB-keeper. Either way, keep the QB in your viewfinder and track his movement. This is probably one of the easier photos to capture. I like this shot because both feet are airborne. I think this pose just portrays action! I really enjoyed the three college football games I photographed this year. I learned a lot and got a little better. All-in-all, it was a very good football season!