Tag Archives: Sports Photography

Which Brand of Flash Cards: A small yet vitally important decision!

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Which brand of flash cards do you use? Do you know offhand without looking?

This decision might seem small and virtually unimportant, but I can tell you firsthand just how vitally important this decision is to your work!

I know that talk about photo equipment usually revolves around the latest and greatest camera bodies or lenses. Other essential equipment such as flash units, monopods, camera bags, etc. are also discussed at length in photographer’s circles. But flash cards? When was the last time you had a lengthy discussion about flash cards?

Today I was on an online chat regarding a compact flash card that is failing. The problem is that the first three images come up as blank images. This is not good, especially if any of these first three images are important captures! This is the second flash card I had fail on me, too. I just don’t have the time to be dealing with such unreliable products even if they are replaced by the manufacturer’s warranty.

So, I want to share with you which flash cards I use on a daily basis for my photography: SanDisk.

Now my intent here is not to get into another war on words such as MAC vs. PC, Nikon vs. Canon, etc. If you have a brand you prefer that’s fine. However, have you ever had a flash card fail? How often? Is it a recurring problem?

My photography experiences point to specific examples of what works and what works only sometimes for me. I prefer SandDisk cards because they are fast, reliable, and dependable. These three elements help make my decision on which brand of flash cards to buy a no brainer. When I am capturing images, the last thing I need worry about is how reliable my flash card is working!

For me and my cameras, it is SanDisk!

Bears Continue Their Win Streak

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The PV Bears won another game, this time at home against East Stroudsburg North. It was a thrilling game that wasn’t completely decided until close to the end of regulation. PV struck first on a touchdown pass to Danny Hunter.

at in Brodheadsville on Friday, October 17, 2014.

 

It was Senior Night at Pleasant Valley and before kickoff the Senior football players and cheerleaders were announced. They were accompanied by parents as they were introduced to the crowd.

at in Brodheadsville on Friday, October 17, 2014.

Quarterback, Brandon Kuehner, had a big night and threw for two TDs. He connected with Tanner Parascando who made a circus catch as you can see in these next three photos.

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It was a very memorable night for the 2014 PV Senior Football Players!

at in Brodheadsville on Friday, October 17, 2014.

 

 

 

 

September Photo of the Month

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For a few years now, I highlight one photo each month as “The Photo of the Month.” It typically features one of my favorite shots or one that stands out in some way above the others.

This concept gained some momentum even among the players I photograph. Some of them even mention one of their goals is to be featured in my photo of the month! I enjoy getting to know these athletes both on the field and the sidelines. They are real people who do some amazing things that I am fortunate to capture with my camera.

This month’s photo of the month was captured at an East Stroudsburg University football game. It includes some of the goals I aim for in sports photography. You can see the description of this photo here.

Pleasant Valley Rolls Over William Allen

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Pleasant Valley was looking for their first win of the season. Once they won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, it didn’t take long. Brandon Kuehner (14) dropped back to pass on the first offensive play of the game and threw to Kevin Cruz, who turned the completion into a touchdown! PV never looked back.

They scored and they scored often–on offense and special teams. It was a victory on many levels.

Two of my photographs of the game and a photo gallery are featured in the Saturday edition of The Pocono Record.

I also posted a photo gallery of last night’s game here.

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My Tear Sheet/Clip File

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A tear sheet or clip file is a collection of published photographs that a photographer uses to build his or her portfolio. It is a display of a photographer’s published work and shows that the photographs have, in fact, been published. Sometimes a media outlet asks to see such a tear sheet or clip file as part of the interview process.

Thanks to Bill Weitzmann, I started my physical clip file last year. I purchased a portfolio folder to archive and display all my photographs that were published. Now, I also created an online version of the same. You view this online tear sheet here.

To-date I’ve had 83 photographs published in The Pocono Record and The Easton Express-Times. My portfolio and tear sheet/clip file is growing!

Screen Shot of My Tear Sheet

PV Puts Up a Valiant Effort but Comes Up Just a Little Short

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FB 2014-09-06 040What was predicted to be a completely lopsided game ended up being a fantastic football game for Pleasant Valley on Saturday night. If Bethlehem Catholic was an unbeatable and untouchable team, PV did not get that memo. In fact, they made a strong statement of their own by putting such a successful game on the field this week.

Bethlehem Catholic scored first, but PV responded immediately with a well-designed and well-executed flea flicker. Then PV caught fire with their passing game. Bethlehem Catholic was shocked and entered the locker room at halftime down 35-21 only because they scored a touchdown with seconds to go in the first half.

A lightning storm rolled in and the delay resulted in a 2-hour halftime! Play resumed just after 10pm. The Golden Hawks came out running the ball and moving down the field consistently, but PV would not go away. They responded yet again in the second half.

In the end, PV came up 2 points and a few inches short from scoring a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. It was a disappointing loss after such a successful first half. However, this should be a character builder and shows that PV can compete with the best teams this year!

The full gallery of photos from the game can be found here.

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East Stroudsburg South Rolls Over Pocono Mountain East

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East Stroudsburg South racked up a huge game up on the mountain Friday night! They scored 42 unanswered points and never looked back. It was a game of excellent runs, passes, and interceptions.

This first photo is featured in the Pocono Record online edition. It shows running back Changa Hodge running East Stroudsburg South’s first offensive play of the game, which resulted in a 53-yard touchdown. And with that, a victorious night was ignited!

I still find the lighting at these high school night games a real challenge. There just is never enough light for us photographers. This second photo features quarterback Nicholas Boushell winding up for a throw down field.

You can view the full gallery of photos here.

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Friday Night Football

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Friday night football is back! I had the privilege to photograph the Friday night football atmosphere at Pleasant Valley High School as they hosted Easton last night for the opening game of the season. The excitement and enthusiasm of pre-game on Friday nights is hard to beat!

PV played a hard-fought battle against Easton and showed some definite signs of promise for this season. Yes, they have a new quarterback and a new head coach, but they will be okay.

The above photo ran in today’s Pocono Record. You can see the full gallery of my photos from Friday night’s game here.

My Photo from the Pocono IndyCar 500 Appeared on Front Page!

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The photo at the top of the page on the masthead is my photo from Sunday’s Pocono IndyCar 500! It appeared in Monday’s edition of the Easton Express-Times and shows the eventual winner, Juan Pablo Montoya, passing Marco Andretti on turn 1 earlier in the race.

I was photographing the race for the Express-Times, who secured credentials for me. It was an incredible day starting with the pre-race festivities. The action did not slow down even after the checkered flag was waved and I was there for it all!

The newspaper published four of my photos and included a total of 34 of my photos in their online gallery of the Pocono IndyCar 500. I was very excited to be able to cover this race and it was an incredible experience! Thank you Easton Express-Times!

I Photographed the Pocono IndyCar 500 Today!

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PRI 2014-07-06 812Today I photographed the Pocono IndyCar 500 for the Easton Express-Times. I arrived early for the mandatory photo meeting to receive the important instructions. Then it was out to the track for the pre-race festivities.
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One of the nice surprises I stumbled upon was Mario Andretti signing autographs for the fans. He knows how to work a crowd and the people love to get a chance to talk with him and receive an autograph. The pre-race activities are priceless! It didn’t seem like long before the National Anthem was sung and the green flag was dropped!PRI 2014-07-06 2742It was a beautiful day in the Poconos and the fans were on hand to watch history, literally. More about that later. I positioned myself toward the end of Turn #1 from the inside of the track. It is a steep-banked turn that can give troubles to drivers, especially as they move through it at this incredible speed!PRI 2014-07-06 2879Until you see this kind of racing with your own eyes, you can only begin to imagine the breakneck speed these guys turn out. It is absolutely incredible! I readily confess that it took some work to keep up with these guys, too. Photographing an Indy race is nothing at all like photographing a baseball or football game!PRI 2014-07-06 4227
I then walked up to Pit Row to see if I could capture any action there. I was not disappointed! It wasn’t long before I saw Team Penske getting ready to pounce over the wall for a pit stop. I got ready, too, and the first photo was the pit crewman getting ready to drop the sign marking the end of the pit stop. PRI 2014-07-06 4377Then I photographed the pit crewman fueling the car at this pit stop. It is amazing to watch these guys work so quickly! I wish the fill-ups in my Chevy truck were anywhere nearly as fast as this!PRI 2014-07-06 4383As the car drove out onto Pit Road, I photographed a crewman who thought the pit stop was a success. Thumbs up, is the universal sign for, “I liked that!” or “That was good!”PRI 2014-07-06 4311While I was photographing at Turn #3, there was an accident near Turn #2. I obviously couldn’t see or photograph this accident from my location, but I did capture the wrecker hauling the National Guard car back to the garage.PRI 2014-07-06 4545The winner of the 2014 Pocono IndyCar 500 is Juan Pablo Montoya! Here he is pulling into Victory Lane. Oh, by the way, this race broke the Indy record for fastest average speed per lap in a 500-mile Indy race: 202 mph!!!PRI 2014-07-06 4615And here he is celebrating with one of his pit crew members.PRI 2014-07-06 4843Roger Penske is the team captain for Juan Pablo Montoya, and here he is in Victory Lane. What a legend!PRI 2014-07-06 4864Victory is so sweet! Congratulations, Juan Pablo Montoya, on your sweet victory!