Category Archives: Sports Photography

Pleasant Valley Wins Over Allen High School in a Character Builder!

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It took two nights, eight innings, and a come from behind rally to win, but Pleasant Valley won a character building game on Friday night!

Howie Stevens took the mound in a suspended game due to darkness the previous night. Allen had rallied from being three runs behind to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning. The game was called due to darkness with runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs. This situation was inherited by Stevens to re-start the game on Friday. The first batter battled in the count and then drove a ground ball down the 3B line. PV’s Travis Van Houten made the play at the line and threw a bullet to first basemen, Chris Burke, to record the first out.

A walk in the inning and an errant pick-off attempt, left a runner at 2B. A stolen base and another error scored the first run of the evening, but it wouldn’t be the last. Stevens got out of the inning with good stuff and then it was PV’s turn to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning.

A walk to Connor Cardenas, started the inning. Cardenas was then awarded 2B when a pickoff attempt went past the first basemen, who then interfered with Cardenas. Cardenas was then awarded 2B. Adam Raseley lined out to center field, which brought catcher,  James Shank to the plate. After three straight fastballs, the count was even at 1-2. Then Shank crushed a ball over the left fielder’s head to get the game-tying RBI and send the game into extra innings!

Here Shank is celebrating as he coasted into 2B with a stand-up double.

Stevens again took the mound to start the top of the eighth inning. He rolled through the inning with only one walk. That runner stole second base and then got to third base. With two outs the Allen batter laid down a bunt to first base. The runner on 3B broke for the plate and 1B Chris Burke fired home. Shank put the tag on the sliding base runner for the final out!

Chris Burke was walked on four pitches to start the bottom of the eighth inning for PV.

Cardenas was hit by a pitch, so there were runners at 2B and 1B when Shank came to the plate again. Shank’s first swing was a bullet down the third base line, but foul. Then, with another crack of the bat, Shank hit a walk-off, game winning RBI single.

Burke scored the winning run and was mobbed by his teammates after crossing home plate.

Games like this can be nerve-racking, but they build character in a team. These players stuck together and overcame the obstacles to win the victory. It’s not always easy, but winning games in this fashion build character that can take a team to many more victories. Go Bears! To see all the photos of this game, click here.

Sports Photography Products Available

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Sports photography is a passion for me!

There is nothing that quite beats the challenge of capturing the action on the field with my camera. As play after play unwinds, the story of the game is told. My job as a sports photographer is to capture and tell this unique story through photographs.

A single photograph, or even a photo album of photographs is one traditional way to tell the story and remember a game.

But today there are better and different ways to recapture a special moment on the field or re-live a game.

One popular way to capture a game or a complete season is to create a photo book, which includes photographs compiled nicely in a photo book. There are many alternatives to this method including soft-covers and hard-covers, one photo per page or several photos per page, and much more. You can see a sample of photo book here.

A custom photo collage of a play or a game is another option that can highlight a great play on the field or a victory. I create these custom collages in Photoshop by including several different photographs and soften their edges to help them blend together in an attractive way. You can see one sample here and some more here.

Photo collages can come in all sizes, shapes, and varieties. I like to include several different options.

The 4-Photo Collage is a simple, straightforward design. It highlights four equally-sized photographs in the four quadrants of the collage and highlights the player name and number in the middle.

The 3×1 Photo Collage is the perfect way to capture great plays or a hitting sequence like a triple. The one side of the collage features a vertical photo while the other side features three smaller photos. A triple could be documented in this way: the player hitting the ball on the vertical side with each of the three smaller photos featuring the player running around the bases. A defensive play could be displayed in a similar fashion on one of these custom collages.

The 3-Photo Collage is a nicely laid out presentation including one large photo in the middle and two supporting photographs overlaid to create a more artistic display. This can also highlight a great defensive or offensive play, or any combination of desired photos.

One of my favorite options is what I call the Teamsake Collage. The idea behind this collage is to include several teammates on the collage to remember a special season. Players bond together during a season and this collage provides a way to remember your teammates in a great way for many years to come. This layout includes 9 equally-sized photographs so the starting lineup of the team can be included, or just a variety of favorite teammates can be featured. It’s all up to you!

Collages are just one one example of the great options available today. Photo buttons, trading cards, calendars, greeting cards, mouse pads, magnets, and Stick Pix, which are like FatHeads that stick to the wall, are also available from any photograph in my galleries. You can view some of the options here. These options make perfect gifts for Christmas, birthdays, and graduation!

Over the years of creating my photography website, I tried to find better ways to make these products available for purchase. I currently  offer many of them directly in the photo galleries when you click on and enlarge a photograph. Prints, buttons, magnets, and trading cards are easily selected in this way. I will be including the other options soon, but some are not so easily available in this manner. For example, the photo colleges need to include more than one photo obviously. Finding an easy to follow method to choose and include the exact photos presents a dilemma. I am experimenting now with some new ideas and hope to have this available as soon as possible. In the meantime, if you want to purchase a collage, just email me and I will get it together.

Photographs make special and unique gifts. There are a variety of ways to take a photograph and turn it into a creative keepsake. I feel my job is to “capture the moment” and make a memory for a lifetime. These sports photography products help to deliver this goal!

The Ups and Downs of Coaching

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All coaches, no matter what sport, know full-well the ups and downs involved in coaching. One moment might be an absolute high feeling of success and achievement, while the very next moment can be a feeling of emptiness and discouragement. Few people can truly appreciate the time, commitment, and widespread feelings coaches experience! When you coach athletes you should not only see that they eat well, that they train well, but also that they feel better or recover as quickly as possible from any muscular discomfort. The best solution for this are sarms, the compound that helps the muscular recovery of an athlete.

Coach Terwilliger and his coaching staff at Pleasant Valley know and live these ups and downs every day of the football season. The spotlight is obviously on them during games under the bright lights on Friday nights, but few can appreciate all that goes in to preparing for a game each week. Film is watched over and over, practices including calisthenics, drills, play execution,  and conditioning consume hour upon hour each day leading up to the big game. Coaching is not for the faint of heart! The reward is when all the hard work comes together as the team puts into practice all the effort, learning, and coaching of the previous week. Some Kratom, Kratomystic,https://kratomystic.com  for recovery helped them out significantly during downtimes.

Teamwork among the coaching staff is critical. Each coach has his specialty on the team and in a combined and orchestrated effort, the coaching staff builds on one drill after another and one week after the next. Positive attitudes and a healthy degree of humility can go a long, long way as the coaching staff tries to implement its plan for the season. A sense of togetherness and give-and-take are both required throughout the season. When these elements break down it can be a long season for both the players and coaches. Even worse, one bad call by an official can not only threaten the outcome of a game but an entire season. Talk about pressure! Remaining calm and steady; not getting too high or too low, helps tremendously. Coaching and testosterone boosters can help increase motivation and enhance performance. They can also help men combat low testosterone levels, increase libido, and improve mental and physical health. When paired with a healthy lifestyle and dietary changes, coaching and testosterone boosters can help create a comprehensive approach to improving health and performance.

 

Sometimes it all comes together beautifully. Such was the case last Friday night when Pleasant Valley not only won an important game, but also witnessed their freshman running back break a school record! Austyn Borre broke the season rushing record and stands to add to this total in the upcoming weeks.

Coach Terwlliger and his coaching staff certainly experience the ups and downs of coaching, but they remain steady and confident as they play through this football season. It is fun to watch, especially because all the hard work is paying off in positive ways. Skills are increasing among the players, the team is growing closer together, and lessons learned on the football field will eventually be played out in the game of life. Coaches and their importance are often overlooked. We must remind ourselves that these guys are not only teaching boys how to play the game of football, but they are turning these boys into men both on and off the field.

Ball in the Action

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Some of my favorite sports photographs include the ball in the action!

It is exciting to pony up to the challenge of capturing these shots and while it might take a great deal of effort and good timing, the success is rewarding! I always believe that every game has a story to tell and part of our job as photographers is to capture and tell the story through our lenses. I will take this even one step further: each and every play also has a story to tell! Think about it… a quarterback drops back to attempt a pass, the line is fighting off the pass rush and maybe even a corner blitz, the receivers are running their routes, and the defensive backs are defending their territories. Isn’t there a fascinating storyline in here?

One of the best ways I find to tell the story of a play is to include the ball in the image. Not only does this help tell a specific detail about the play, but it adds action to the photograph like nothing else can accomplish. All eyes are on the ball–both in the field and in the image! Now this might sound easy, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Just try to capture a sharp image of a moving ball on a Friday night under the lights! The challenge is still worth the effort, however. That’s why you will see me along the sidelines week after week trying to get to capture the ball in the action!

Pleasant Valley vs. Notre Dame – Fall Baseball

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Two good teams faced each other on October 8th in a baseball showdown. The fans were treated to a true fall spectacle as the teams battled it out in fall-like weather. The above photo shows the second baseman, Adam Raseley, throwing a runner out at first. He cleanly fielded the ground ball and made the throw to first to record the out.

Here, pitcher, Chris Burke, waits for the signs from the catcher with eager anticipation! He’s ready to get into his windup but he needs the sign first. You can see the 4-seam grip in his hand as he awaits the sign for the proper pitch. Then, if needed, a slight turn of the baseball gets him ready to deliver the pitch.

Connor Cardenas gets safely back into first base as the late tag is applied. Connor extended his lead on the next pitch and stole second base with ease!

This swing by James Shank produced a double that went to the fence.

Howie Stevens’ swing produced the game-winning RBI, to lift the Pleasant Valley Bears to a 1-0 victory in a closely contested and very competitive ballgame!

To see all the photographs of this game, click here.

My New Baseball Portfolio

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I was long overdue for an update on my Baseball Portfolio, so today I spent some time sifting through new photographs, comparing them to old ones, and refining my Baseball Portfolio. The images in this blog entry are just a few of the photographs that made the cut.

I need to be very picky to keep getting better with the wonderful subject of sports photography. Some of my primary goals are clean, clear backgrounds; tack-sharp focus; catching the action (hopefully peak action); and telling the story of a great play with an image. These goals are important to me because they keep pushing me forward. I want to get better so I have to be demanding of myself.

Paying attention to the quantity, quality, and direction of light sometimes keep me on my toes as the sun moves during a game. Keeping a chain-link fence out the background is very difficult at some fields, too. Then there are other times when a base umpire or another player steps right between an exciting play and my camera! Tenacity and a never-give-up-attitude are all very helpful. Another important tip is to never get lazy or give up on a play. Stay behind the viewfinder until you are positive the action of that play is complete. Besides, some of the player’s emotions after a play can make for some real interesting subjects, too. But stick with it because you don’t want to miss any action!

The game of baseball provides hours of enjoyment for the players, coaches, and fans. But I strongly believe the great game of baseball also provides endless hours of enjoyment and even excitement for us sports photographers, too! Time sometimes seems to stand still during a baseball game, but if the photographer gets lured into this false sense of boredom, he or she is sure to miss some of the action! Keep alert and keep shooting!

You can see my new Baseball Portfolio with all the photos that made the cut here.

 

Football Scrimmage – Elizabethtown vs. Palmyra

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Are you ready for some football? Well, the E-town Bears sure are!

 

This past Saturday they strapped on the equipment, traveled to Palmyra High School, and put their game out on the field. From the opening snap on offense to the last play on defense the Bears looked good! In fact, they looked real good!

 

New Photo of the Month

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Now that May is over, I posted a new Photo of the Month on my Perfect Game Photos website.

Each month I sift through all my sports photos and present one of the best as the Photo of the Month. I then post the photo on the website and add a description about the photograph. This past month’s photograph is Pleasant Valley baseball player, Howie Stevens, laying down a bunt.

Bunting might seem rather mundane and unexciting, but look at the action in this photograph. The dust cloud coming off the bat dispels the rumor that bunting is boring. I believe the photo shows the drama and excitement in the ordinary bunt. What do you think?

Thank You, Players!

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Thank you to all the players and parents who appreciated and commented on my baseball photographs from the 2012 Pleasant Valley season.

It was a great year for me in many ways and I believe I am getting better and better in my sports photography abilities. You players certainly helped me by making some amazing and acrobatic plays on the field! You put the energy and action on the field and I was fortunate to capture some amazing moments from this season.

Last night’s Baseball Banquet celebrated the season and honored the outgoing seniors. It was a true celebration for some amazing athletes and students at Pleasant Valley. The photo presentation I presented captured just some of the highlights and photogems of the season. To see more of this year’s photographs, check out the Sports section of my website.

Thanks again, Pleasant Valley Baseball Players!

This Photo is in the Running for Photo of the Month

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This photo is the running! Each month I select my best shot of the month and give it the honor of “Photo of the Month” on my all-sports website, Perfect Game Photos.

Last month was easy because I captured a bat breaking as it was swung at and hit a baseball. I always try to get the ball in the frame because it shows the intensity and action of the game. This photograph I captured today shows the second baseman’s eyes focusing on the baseball as he is tracking down the ball to catch in his glove. One of the player’s feet are in the air as he is running it down. I love the action of this shot!

I am picky though and there is one bad part to this image and that is the background. There was a house behind the field and it usually shows up at the exact wrong time in an otherwise great photograph. Still, this is a quality shot and is now in the running for the honored spot for the month of April.