About Me

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Long Beach, California, United States
Welcome to my blog. Looking through my posts you will find that I love and have a passion for photography and although my expertise so to speak is in Sports Action, I have been getting into wildlife and senior portraits. No matter what I'm shooting I want to bring my client the best possible shot I can and give them / you a photograph that you will cherish for a lifetime. If your looking for someone to capture your child in action, to show the intensity and emotion in which your child plays, look no further. Just drop me a line (e-mail) at homerkenpo@aol.com. I cover most areas in Southern Califoria.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Youth Soccer - FC Long Beach

After two football games on Friday I had the option to shoot four youth soccer games the following Saturday. Needless to say I decided to shoot only three of the games. It was getting hot being in the open and I was a bit tired. I still had to go through all of my pictures from the night piror and todays three games.

Last year I shot this league (FC Long Beach), which had only 9 teams. This year they have 15 teams and I've offered to come out and shoot some action of each of the teams. Thoughout the next few weeks I hope to capture all of the teams in action. Last year I had three of the teams buy all of their pictures. I'm hoping to have a few more teams this year, as I don't charge them to come out. I make my money on the sales after the fact.

The first game I had was for the FC Long Beach Boys U13 Bronze West Team. They had a rought time playing against a tough team. I spent most of the game near my team's goal, as the team I was shooting didn't get down toward the other goal much at all. It did take me quite some time to get back into shooting soccer, but I think I ended up with some nice shots. You be the judge.




My second game was the FC Long Beach Boys U12 Bronze Omega Team. This was another tough game. The team I was shooting didn't do to good and had a very rough game. So I spent most of the game on the end near my teams goal as above.










Like most youth to high school sports, the older the kids get the better the action. I love shooting youth sports because of the expressions I get from young athletes. As they get older they show more emotion and intensity rather than goffy expressions.

This last group of shots were from the FC Long Beach U17 Silver West team. These guys played a great game with lots of action.













7 comments:

Al Quackenbush said...

First shot captures a great moment. There is another, down in the middle, with the kid with the headband going for a steal that is sweet! Love the angle.

Third from the bottom is hilarious to me because I know what that feels like and his expression says it perfectly. Great stuff, Jim!

Lisa Walsh said...

I think the second shot is my favorite. :)

Denise Marie Olson said...

nice shots, Jim!! I can actually feel the sweat and hear the grunting in your images. Great captures!!!

CMR photography said...

Jim,
what more can I say but "WOW GREAT SHOTS!!!"
Chad

Anonymous said...

Your action work INSPIRES me...I shoot a football game on Friday night...I can only hope my action is as great as yours!

Anonymous said...

These are just awesome. I just LOVE the energy you've captured and the grittiness, and the game faces. You really have an awesome gift for sports photography!

gsh said...

Jim,

Awesome pics, as usual...

Our first soccer game was this past weekend and our first game on a competitive team (U-13, girls). It definitely took a bit of adjustment to the faster pace, especially after a summer lull.