"Cayer's Sports Action Photography"

Girls Varsity Soccer - Lakewood vs Cabrillo

2012-01-27T13:40:00.000-08:00

Two days in a row of perfect weather to be outside shooting sports. Wednesday I was off and covered a soccer game, while Thursday - the day of this game - I had to work. Stuck inside an office with no windows and not seeing the outside until it was time to go home (my usual work day). Once I heard the weather was like the day prior (Wednesday) I decided to use a few vacation hours and leave work early to shoot another soccer game. I am so pleased I did, as it was a great afternoon to simply be outside and being outside shooting action is the perfect day for me.

So enjoy another set of high school soccer.

Boys Varsity Soccer - Lakewood vs Poly

2012-01-26T10:33:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I was off and it was such a beautiful day I decided to head out and shoot some high school soccer. After checking the schedule I found a game that I thought would give me some great action to shoot - "Lakewood vs Poly". So I headed to Poly high to enjoy the day.

As soccer games go I didn't leave with many shots. There was a lot of good action, just that when the action occured it was either on the far end of the field or there were just too many other players between me and them, but before you think - What no action! Look below, I was able to come away with some nice action as you really know I could.

Long Beach Middle School Girls Basketball City Championships

2012-01-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

I attended and covered this years Long Beach Middle School Girls Basketball City Championships, which were held at Millikan High this past Saturday.

The first game matched the Franklin Wildcats against the Compers Gators who both went undefeated throughout the season. Even though the Gators were playing with only six during the first three periods and most of the forth this was a very close game. I commend the Gators for not giving up and giving it all they got, but in the end the Franklin Wildcats found themselves the victor.

Your Division II Long Beach Middle School Girls Basketball Champions

"Franklin Wildcats"

"Compers Gators"

The second game matched up the Hughes Owls and the Jefferson Jaguars who also went undefeated throughout the season.

This game was not as closely matched as the first one with Hughes dominating the game and in the end taking the win.

Your Division I Long Beach Middle School Girls Basketball Champions
"Hughes Owls"

"Jefferson Jaguars"

Cal State Long Beach Men's Basketball vs Pacific

2012-01-16T15:13:00.001-08:00

2012 is starting off very well for me in regards to my basketball action. I love this new gig I started doing towards the end of 2011 shooting at Cal State Long Beach. The lighting is great giving much more opportunities to capture the action.

Now I am all about the action and don't really shoot with creativity, but I do like to try different things when capturing the action. For this game I tried to shoot some horizontal shots as the action got close to get some tightness to the shot and show more horizontal range.

I was very pleased on how they came out, but then again I want you to be the judge. Let me know what you think about the horizontal shots.

Cal State Long Beach Men's Basketball vs UC Davis

2012-01-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

This post marks my first shoot in 2012. I was asked to cover a game a week prior, but I had plans to take the family out to dinner to celebrate my son's 20th birthday and with me family will always come first.

If this game is a sign of what's to come for 2012 then I'm so looking forward to this new year. With that said - enjoy some shots from the CSLB vs UC Davis game.

Oh - the last two shots were taken during the kids half-time show / game. This future ballers play for a couple of minutes during half-time.

My Favorites from 2011

2012-01-01T09:00:00.000-08:00

2011 is over and as I look back I can say it was a great year. On the most part 2011 was pretty normal when it came to my photography. That is except for two main things, one being part of this post and another will be in text only.

First every year is a football year and most of the pictures I take each year are of football, which makes picking my favorites even harder. As I looked through all of my shots this year the first two stood out the most for me and to be honest they aren't the most visual when it comes to action, but visually I loved them.

Let's go over this first shot. By itself it lacks action completely and looks like it was a posed shot, but in fact it was taken during a game as the opposing team's quarterback was dropping back while avoiding a tackle and looked in my direction for a receiver. When I first saw the shot I didn't think much of it, but once I converted it to this high contrast b&w shot is just stood out and became one of my favorites for the year in football.

That brings us to this second shot, which most people have seen in b&w like the above shot. Initially I don't see the elements I would like to see in my action shots (faces / limbs cut off), but after I looked at this shot for a bit I fell in love with it. I find myself asking who would win this tug-of-war, although I do know who won, but if I'm asking this then my viewer would be asking it as well and I liked that part of the shot.

I do a lot with high school track and think I do a great job capturing the action. It was hard finding it hard to find my favorites in track as I had a bunch to go through and unlike football, most of my track shots are taken at peak action. But the below 4 shots stood out above the rest.

I'm known for my sports photography, but something else that's close to my heart is wildlife photography. I find it very soothing and relaxing to get out in the morning or evening hours to hike and shoot wildlife. These are my favorites for the year.

Ok, how can you not love this below shot, I mean really, it has the awww factor.

The below b&w shot has to be my favorite of them all. I have a 18x24 matted print of this hanging up in my office - Love it.

This brings me to the last group of shots. Last year I had the honor to attend my first and last Mpix Meet-up, which I also had the honor to teach a sports action photography class, but nothing here is about that class. Instead I want to share two portraits I took during a class I attended by Jennifer Walsh who covered avalible light.

This young lady had beautiful eyes and this shot really shows that. I loved the closeness of this shot.

As for this next one, this beautiful young lady was one of the Meet-up attendees daughter who volunteered to model. I simply loved her smile which just brighten everything up.

The last two were taken while on Route 66 with a Mpix buddy of mine (Paige). This is something really out of my box as I don't do a lot (if any) of this type of shooting, but I loved how these came out so they made my all-time favorites.

Pelican's in Flight

2011-12-30T21:00:00.000-08:00

This is officially my last post of the year and what a year it was.

I was able to attend and teach at the last official Mpix Meet-up. I was published in Sports Illustrated (dream come true), and had numerous pictures published in our local paper for sports coverage. I also have had the opportunity to cover my first college basketball at Cal State Long Beach.

Having the New Year's weekend off I decided to make my final venture for the year to the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. I was simply looking to get out and relax while shooting and for me wildlife is the thing to do. I will start this post with the end. Just as I left the sanctuary I grabbed this last sunset shot.

Now as my last outting at Bolsa Chica Wet Lands, the bird activity here was very quite. I was able to take a couple of shots, but didn't really get anything until I was about ready to leave right before sunset. As I was walking past one of the last ponds I saw this pelican continually flying circles around this pond fishing. He would do several fly-bys before diving and catching his dinner. As he continued this, I simply hung out waiting for him to perform his actions closer so that I could take some better shots. So this post is dedicated to the pelican.

Enjoy

Bolsa Chica Wet Lands

2011-12-25T21:19:00.000-08:00

As some you know I am a member of the Mpix forum and am one of the sport guys on the site. Well recently I read a post in which a fellow forum member was thinking of heading down my way to visit the Bolsa Chica Wet Lands, well actually the post was directed at me since this member knows I go to the wet lands often.

I responded and later found out he was going to make it, so we made arrangements to meet at the wet lands at 6:30 for a 6:54 sunrise, which the below shot was taken just moments before.

We spent the whole morning walking from the east bridge to the west tree line to see what activity we could find. I have to say the morning was rather quite with minimal activity, but as you will see even with minimal activity there is always something to find and shoot.

I want to say I enjoyed myself and had a great morning talking and shooting with a fellow photographer, something I wish I could do more of.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T21:14:00.001-08:00

This is our families Christmas card this year and it pretty much says it all.

Cal State Long Beach Men's Basketball vs Eastern New Mexico

2011-12-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

Covered the Cal State Long Beach men's basketball vs Eastern New Mexico game last night at the Pyramid. I was only able to cover half the game as I had to get some shots off to the paper and call it a night for work today, which starts at 6am.

I have to say in the short time I was there (half) I was able to come away with some nice shots, but then again you be the judge.

Cal State Long Beach Women's Basketball

2011-12-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

First time covering the Cal State Long Beach Women's Basketball as they went up against Dartmouth and I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the fan base that was there, or I should say lack of fans. I cover a lot of high school football and get disappointed when parents don't come to watch their kids play ball, although with high school the games usually start at 3pm, which is during work hours. I just like to see a lot more participation with fans and the school, it motivates the athletes during their game.

Any hoot, it was a good game to watch and shoot and hopefully you will feel as I do, that I ended up with some nice shots.

Published in Sports Illustrated

2011-12-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

In late November I received a phone call on my cell while at work. Since I was unable to answer at the time it went to voice mail. Once I was able I checked the message and heard the following broken message "Hi this is Jen -------Sports Illustrated ----------Compton Football -------- email" Yeah it was pretty much broken up like that, but I was able to hear that an email was sent to me as well. So with that I checked my email to find the following.

"My name is Jen and I work in the Sports Illustrated photo department. I wanted to see if you have any photographs of Compton HS football player Kitam Hamm (2) from this year or last where he is running with the ball?"

I usually take my laptop to work with me and still had all of this years football pictures on it, so I took a look at the Lakewood vs Compton game and found quite a few shots of the player she was looking for. Now it was time to return the call. The call went pretty much how the email was. Jen was looking for a shot of Kitam Hamm running with the ball. She indicated he didn't see much game time this year and that I would more than likely have to check last years game. She was surprised when I told her I had several shots oh Hamm running with the ball from this years game. With that said Jen said she needed a shot of him for an artical they were putting together and gave me the details on possible layout and pay. I'm not going to discus pay as it suited both myself and Sports Illustrated. I then sent them several possible shots. After about a week I was informed that they would be using one of my shots for their December 5th issue, which is pictured below.

I just have to say getting a call from the assistant sports editor of Sports Illustrated is rather exciting for a simple sports shooter as myself. Now there is more to this story, but for me personally, getting published and credit in the biggest sports magazine in the nation is - well its freaking sweet.

My shot is the top right action shot of Hamm being pursued by Lakewood's defensive end #53 Jared Utupo.

And of course my credit, I think they used the smallest type possible for this one (LOL).

Now for the second part of the story. While this was going on I was asked by a local Long Beach paper (Gruion Gazette), which I contribute pictures to on a regular basis, to cover the Cal State Long Beach Men's Basketball game againsts BYU Hawaii. This would be my first college basketball game. It was while I was at the game when I found out the following.

As it turned out, Sports Illustrated contacted the Gazette asking about pictures of Compton Football player Hamm, for which they gave them my information. So that is how it all came back to me and getting a shot published in Sports Illustrated.

Now I cover Lakewood High Football and have been providing the Gazette with shots throughout the season, but this was my first front page shot in the Gazette, with a shot taken from my first college level basketball game.

Long Beach Middle School Boys Track

2011-12-05T07:31:00.001-08:00

Twice a year Long Beach Middle School's hold their middle school track at Lakewood High. This past Saturday was the Boys League Meet. This meet includes all of the middle schools in Long Beach (approx 27+ school) that compete in both field and track events.

This is my 8th year covering middle school track and each time I try to capture as many of the athletes as possible. The meet usually starts around 7:30am with the field events (shotput / high jump / long jump) and then at 9am continues with the track events. I believe out of the 8 years I've been doing this, this is the most shots I've taken (approx 1100), so needless to say I have a lot of pictures to go through, but in the mean time, here are some of my favorites.

Cal State Long Beach Men's Basketball

2011-12-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago, well prior to the start of high school football I was hired by Gazette Sports (an online / hard copy sports paper), which covers the Long Beach area. I was provided CIF credentials for high school sports as well as credentials for Cal State Long Beach. Now throughout football season I covered Lakewood football and would provide them with pictures for their online site as well as their paper, but like all things do football season came to an end for me.

So what now, well that's what I was thinking until I got a text asking if I could cover the Cal State Long Beach Men's Basketball vs BYU. So there ya go, that's how my first time covering a college basketball game came to be. Oh - and there will be more, that I can guarantee.

Ok, now to the game. With shooting high school I have a lot of freedom as to where I go to position myself, that all changed when shooting this game. I was limited as to where I could go and had to deal with a few other photographers. Don't get me wrong, I didn't have any problems, just had limited positioning.

With that said I have to say with this being my first basketball game since last year I am very happy with what I ended up with. So enjoy the shots.

Higham Family Session

2011-12-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

Recently I was asked to photograph the Higham family, which to be honest I was little nervous about. I don't really do portraits, especially family portraits, although I want to do more of them I'm concerned about presenting them with good quality images. Not putting much thought into, but later I came to the realization that this shoot covered three generations and it was an honor to photograph them together.

So I will say I am very happy with how these turned out, but you be the judge.

Thanksgiving at El Dorado Park

2011-11-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I spent the day with family and enjoyed some great company with some awesome food.

The day before and after Thanksgiving I went out to El Dorado Park to simply enjoy the evening and see what I can find. Although the pickings were slim, I did get a few shots, so enjoy and thanks for stopping by.

Lakewood Varsity Football vs San Clemente

2011-11-20T21:28:00.000-08:00

Lakewood's season is officially over and although we didn't make it past the first round of CIF playoffs or win the Moore League, it was a great season. Lakewood over came a new football program with an almost complete new coaching staff. Even with these obstacles Lakewood played with heart and took second in the Moore League behind Poly, but that is a different story.

The first round found Lakewood matched against the San Clemente Tritons on their field and although the two teams were evenly matched, San Clemente was victorious. I'm sad to see the season over and look forward to being on the field with them next year.

So enjoy my last shots of the season showcasing Lakewood's action.

Bolsa Chica Wet Lands

2011-11-14T10:35:00.001-08:00

Well football season is starting to wind down and although I truely love shooting football, I am ready for the season to be over. I miss getting out to shoot other things simply for my enjoyment, such as my wildlife. I don't get home until very late after a game under the lights and then have to do some quick edits so I can send various shots to a local paper and to the football teams website and when Saturday morning comes along I'm not much in the mood to get up early for some wildlife shots.

This last week Lakewood had a bye which gave me the opportunity to get out early Saturday morning. The sky was overcast with very dark rain clouds, but I headed out anyways to see what I could find, if anything simply to get out and enjoy the fresh chill morning air.

After hanging out for a couple of hours I only managed to get some pelicans that were feeding nearby and some snowy egrets. So I hope you enjoy the shots as much as I enjoyed being out there shooting.

Lakewood Varsity Football vs Millikan

2011-11-06T07:38:00.001-08:00

Last game of the season finds Lakewood at home during their Senior Appreciation Night against Millikan.

Although Millikan has has a very rough season with no wins they have kept their heads up and played with heart. Lakewood took out a lot of their starters early in the game, if not to give others the opportunity for some field time, but to save them for their first playoff game in two weeks.

Again I decided to leave my flash set up at home. I set my Canon Mark IIn to manual with an ISO of 3200, f/2.8, and a shutter of 1/320. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get great action shots with a shutter of 1/320. Take a look at the below shots and you be the judge. Considering what my limitations are and what I had to work with I'm very pleased with what I ended up this game. Bottom line, you can either pack up early and call it a night, or you can stay and shoot and learn from it. I choose to stay and shoot, which is the only way to improve.

Prior to game time they lined up all of the seniors on the field and I took quick shots of all of them. These two I felt made nice b&w sportraits. The two shots following these are from our half time show and of the drill team.

Lakewood Freshmen Football vs Millikan

2011-11-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

This marks the last game of the season for both the freshmen and JV teams. To even things out I decided to cover the freshmen game at home.

Ok, for those who follow my posts will know that I favor and will almost always use my 300 f/2.8 lens for my sports shooting, but there are times when the action just gets too close. Before you think that I am going to break down and use another lens your wrong. I have no problems bringing the action in tighter and showing some detail. In the below shot you'll see just that. When the team gets withing the 20 yard line I will position myself at the end zone upright, putting me right in the middle of the field. This way I can get action coming directly at me or to the sides. Now if a pass is made to the corner of the end zone then I will usually attempt to shoot horizontal and get the upper portion of the player and outreached arms, which you see below. For me - I think it works, but you be the judge.

Long Beach Middle School Girls Volleyball City Championships

2011-11-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

The Long Beach Middle School Girls Volleyball City Championships took place at Wilson High School right after the flag football city championships.

For the below games (7 matches) I used a combination of my 70-200 f/2.8L lens and my 300 f/2.8L lens. I actually believe most of the shots posted (team shots excluded) were taken with the 300. I positioned myself behind the judges where I was able to capture shots on either side of the net.

In Division II the Cubberley Cubs found them matched against the Muir Trailblazers.

Your Division II Long Beach Middle School Volleyball Champions - "Cubberley Cubs"

For next match up found the Rogers Mustangs pitted against the Hamilton Wolverines.

Your Division I Long Beach Middle School Volleyball Champions - "Hamilton Wolverines"

Long Beach Middle School Boys Flag Football City Championships

2011-11-01T09:03:00.001-07:00

I covered the Long Beach Middle School Boys Flag Football City Championships at Wilson High School this past Saturday morning. Below you'll find the team and some of my favorite action shots from both games.

The first game had the Cubberley Cubs against the Tincher Tigers with the Tigers winning 27-16

Your Division II champs, the Tincher Tigers.

Cubberley Cubs

The second game of the day found the Hoover Highlanders going up against the Rogers Mustangs, with the mustangs winning 16-7.

Your Division I champs, the Rogers Mustangs.

Hoover Highlanders

Lakewood Varsity Football vs Jordan

2011-10-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

Homecoming finds us up against the Jordan Panthers. Now normally I would take a ton of shots of pre-game activities for homecoming, but this year I actually spent the time talking with friends along the sidelines and relaxing prior to the game.

Once I saw our team suited up in all black I knew I was going to have issues with light since I left my off camea flash set-up at home, so again I would have to shoot this game without a flash. I knew in advance that I would have to slow down my shutter more than I like, but thats what I get for not being prepared and having my proper gear with me.

For starters I set my camera to manual with the following settings. ISO 3200, f/2.8, and a shutter of either 1/250 or 1/320. I have to say I wasn't really happy with what I got this game, but did find some keepers to share with you all.

The below shot is what I put together for our Homecoming football program cover.

Lakewood JV Football vs Jordan

2011-10-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Not a lot to say about this game other than I really hate going to cover a game at Jordan High School. I understand all about school security and the safety of the students, but man do they make it completed to get into the school and then get on the field. I made the mistake of leaving an extra battery in my car and wouldn't you know I needed it by the end of the second quarter, so during half time I had to walk all the way out through the front of the school and then through a side parking lot to the back of the school where my car was parked to get it. Thank goodness someone on the school's staff was going onto the campus when I was ready to come back in.

Any hoot, since out team was on the side facing the sun I shot from Jordan's side, which helped a bunch and allowed for much better shots.

Although it was a bright sunny day, I did end up shooting manual during this game due to the high contrast difference from the two teams uniforms. Lakewood was in all white while Jordan had navy blue jersey's and black pants. I wanted to balance the exposure for both uniforms and was very happy with what I ended up with.

A few shots I thought had that b&w look to them.

Lakewood Varsity Football vs Cabrillo

2011-10-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

There was no doubt in my mind that our boys were going to close this night with a win, but in high school football you simply never know. Lakewood was going against Cabrillo who is undefeated for the season and coming into this match up with one thing on their mind - destroy Lakewood.

For the start Lakewood's defense dominated Cabrillo's offense stopping both their run and pass game. Although our boys put some good points on the board, we have a long way to go to be ready for the playoffs. Our offense has been slow to start and not very consistent, which is what their going to need when it comes time for the CIF playoffs. I have faith in our boys and know that have what it takes, they just need to be consistent on each drive and play.

Enjoy the below pictures which were taken with a Canon Mark IIn and a 300 f/2.8L. My camera was set to manual at ISO 3200, f/2.8, and a shutter of 1/400 - no flash was used.

Today I'm going to talk about the non-action shot. Although football (especially high school football) is packed with non-stop action full of big hits and bigger plays, it's also full of kids giving it everything they have to win a game. Whatever their reason (hopeful college recruitment / school pride / cross-town rivals / or simply for the love of the game) they get suited up each and every Friday night to play. Just prior to each play each athlete on the field gets set for the play to come. On offense they know their assignment and where the ball is going, they've identified their target and are ready to eliminate them to move the ball. On defense their watching the ball and reading the play. For them it's all about anticipation and knowing their opponent. Now I can't tell you what's going on in their minds prior to the ball snap, but I try to capture a shot that shows their intensity (without the action) and especially their focus. The below shots I hope display this and gives you something to strive for when shooting football at any level.

Lakewood JV Football vs Cabrillo

2011-10-21T10:15:00.001-07:00

I was set to cover the JV game at home, but once I got to the school I found out the team we were playing didn't have a JV team, so I took the drive to the other school to cover the freshmen game.

I had terrible back light, but I did what I could to capture the best shots. Since I had such a high contrast in uniforms (white and a dark green) I decided to take a reading off of the white uniforms and then set my camera to manual to slightly overexpose the shots. For those shots where I had real bad back light and almost a haze on the shot, I simply increased my black clipping in Lightroom to bring back my colors and shadows.

Our defense was really getting through Cabrillo's offensive line so when Cabillo had the ball I would position myself down field behind the line of scrimmage to capture the D-line rushing. In the below shot of #71 he initially made the hit on the quarterback and while attempting to bring him down got ahold of the ball and ran it in for a touch down.

Lakewood Varsity vs Poly

2011-10-16T16:05:00.001-07:00

This is the game we wait for each year. We know it will be the hardest game played and we would have to bring every tool we have to win it. As I said in my prior post this game determines who will take first and second place in the league. It doesn't matter when this game is played in the season as the team that wins is pretty much taking the league while the losing team will place second, although neither want anything to do with second place.

I am a Lakewood fan and I cover their football games and although I would very much love to see Lakewood bury them, Poly is a great team and if we give them any space they would take it and so much more. Also what I want more than anything is to have a great game of football between these two teams.

Well Lakewood or myself didn't get what we want. Although by the end of the first half Lakewood was up 14-10, it wasn't because of our offense. Our defense gave us all the points we had the first half and was holding Poly. If we were to win this game our offense would have to start moving that ball and put some points on the board, but this didn't happen. In the third quarter Poly came out and scored three times without Lakewood throwing anything back at them. Lakewood is usually a second half team, but this game they came out without drive or motivation, it wasn't until mid forth quarter that Lakewood started to play some football again. We did manage to score again on a great fast drive, but Poly had to much of a lead and we turned up the heat much to late.

Congratulations to the Poly team. Lakewood - keep your chin up and get ready for the next game. Let's get into the playoffs and turn that fire up again. Enjoy the pictures.

Lakewood JV vs Poly

2011-10-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

This is the prequel to the most anticipated game of the season "Lakewood vs Poly". Now althoug h I say prequel to the most anticipated game I'm referring to the Lakewood and Poly fans, but by no means do I mean this JV game meant nothing. As a matter a fact I mean the complete opposite. While I was shooting this game a lot of Lakewood varsity players were on the sideline near the endzone towards the end of the game and things were becoming heated between these varsity players and the Poly players on the field. As staff was trying to get the Lakewood varsity players back to avoid a penality call I heard one varsity player said "This is only JV, it don't mean nothing". I thought about that statement and to be honest was a bit dissapointed in the player who made this statement. This game is just as important to these kids and their family up in the stands watching as any varsity game being played this season. This was the Lakewood / Poly match up and although it was JV, it was setting the tone for tonights varsity game at Vet's stadium.

Now with that said I want to get back to the players and this game. I have to say I get a bit nervous every year when it comes to this game (Lakewood vs Poly) and event mentioned that to one of Lakewood's trainers just prior to the start of the game. Poly is the team to beat and has been so throughout the six years I've been taking pictures for them and although we have one a game or two, we usually leave the field with a loss.

If a tone was to be set it was set by this game. Lakewood came out ready to play football and took charge of the game from the get go. By the end of the half it was 20-0 Lakewood. I don't think I've ever seen a game where Poly went scoreless for this long, but it was happening. Now we all have to remember that Poly plays great football and there's a reason why their the team to beat and they let Lakewood know that this game wasn't over by any means.

During the second half Poly came out with fire in their eyes and stopped Lakewood in their tracks while putting 13 points on the board. Now we were down to the last few minutes of the game with Poly stopping Lakewood most recent attempt to score to put more distance between them and Poly. Poly made a valient effort and drove the ball down to their 25yrd line with 1/10 of a second left in game time, but failed to do anything with it.

Simply put this was a great game of football by both teams and if tonight's varsity game is anything like this game, we are in for a night.

Now enjoy some shots from this game.

I may be over doing it, but I really like how these b&w images are coming out and continued with the below shots. Some shots in my mind just scream "B&W" .

Lakewood Varsity vs Compton

2011-10-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

This marks our second week of season play and finds us matched against Compton, who last week played a tight match up against Poly, which lead me to think this was going to be a close and tough game. Was I wrong, although our offense started off slow during the first quarter, our defense was on top of things and simply dominated Compton's offense. By the second quarter our offense opened up that can and took charge. I think the final score of 54-0 says it all.

Enjoy the pictures from the game.

Lakewood Freshmen vs Compton

2011-10-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the freshmen game against Compton.

When I take pictures of the cheerleaders, especially action shots of them jumping or being tossed up into the air I tend to take them from the side. I do this to avoid the infamous crotch shot. I want to take an action shot while keeping it tasteful for these young ladies.

Just prior to the start of the second half the cheerleaders will bring out the paper that they have painted up for the players to run through. Now I've tried for several years to get the perfect shot of the players or player running through the paper and I think I've finally achieved it. Once the cheerleaders set up I will position myself usually right in front of the paper to get the shot(s) I want. Well this is the first one I really liked, so you be the judge and tell me what you think.

Flash Set-up "Friday Night Lights"

2011-10-06T00:25:00.001-07:00

I've been asked a few times how I set up my flash when shooting night football games, so I thought I make a post here to make it easier for all to see.

This first shot shows how my setup looks. Since I shoot while kneeling my monopod is only extended a bit higher than what you see here. Now you may ask why go through all this trouble and simply put my flash on top of the camera where it belongs. Well this is done for the same reasons why someone doing weddings or portraits will use OFC (Off Camera Flash). One to minimize red eye and second to control where the light goes and how it effects your subject. Although I still have my flash pointed straight ahead from the camera I do have it lower. The purpose for having it below the camera is to provide light into the face mask and face area inside the helmet.

If your wondering why the pink bandana, well two years ago our teams starting sporting pink gloves, mouth guards, and tape to support brest cancer. Duing one game I obtained this bandana and put it on my camera where it's been ever since.

Here you can see how the off-camera shore cord is attached to my camera and extends below to the flash.

The flash is attached to the opposite end of the off-camera shoe cord, which is has a standard stud screwed into it. This stud in then attached to a super clamp and attached to my monopod. I usually have the super clamp attached just above one monopod section, which prevents it from sliding downward during the 2-2 1/2 hours of game shooting.

A Canon off-camera shoe cord with standard stud.

Super clamp

I hope you find this post useful in setting up your flash for the night games. Enjoy and among everything else - Have fun shooting.

Lakewood Varsity vs Wilson

2011-10-03T13:47:00.001-07:00

Our season has officially started with an away game at Long Beach Wilson. I'm not sure what Lakewood expected, but Wilson wasn't going to go down easy and game to play some football, especially their quarterback #8.

The game seemed to changed momentum back and forth between each team throughout the first half and when Wilson took the field during the 3rd quarter, their quarterback, weather by design or of his own choosing, pushed Wilson back into the game by pretty much doing anything and everything. If he didn't pass the ball he ran it moving them forward. I have to say he was the man to stop and did a great job, but in the end Lakewood pushed harder and wanted the win more as their defense put a stop to Wilson's QB and the offence continued their drive.

A great game of football.

For tonight's game I decided to bring out the flash. First my camera was set to manual with the following settings. ISO 3200, f/2.8, shutter at 1/400. Now the flash was set up off camera, about 1 1/2' below the camera attached to my monopod. By setting up my flash this way it lights up the inside the helmet better and lessens red eye. This conversion is an action I made in Lightroom.

The below shot is something I've recently started to look for when covering these games. I look for a shot that has a little emotion to it, without seeing a face. A shot that might tell a story that each viewer will see differently. Wilson was setting up for a kick-off return while being behind in points. Our kicker was putting the ball in the end zone on most kicks preventing Wilson from getting a return. You can almost see the frustration in this athlete knowing that an opportunity for a return will most likely go unanswered.

Lakewood JV vs Wilson

2011-10-03T11:45:00.001-07:00

Here are some shots from the JV's first season game. I used the 300 (f/2.8) for all of these shots.

I'm going to add a new feature for those who follow my blog and for those seeking information on shooting sports. I will take one shot and tell you how it came to be. In other words I'll go into my thought process and my positioning to get the shot I've highlighted.

Today's highlighted shot will be the below QB sack, or I should say "The sack that could have". Depending on how the team is doing and how much penetration the defense is getting I will position myself just behind the line of scrimmage looking for the below shot. In this game our defense was getting to the QB a lot and causing him to scramble to the outside. So by positioning myself about 3'-5' behind the line of scrimmage and watching / focusing on the quarterback I was able to get the below shot. Now this wasn't an automatic thing, I did have to wait a several series before capturing this shot. So be patient, be aware of how your team is doing, and then position yourself where you can increase your odds of getting the shot.

Lakewood Varsity vs Leuzinger

2011-09-27T13:37:00.001-07:00

The last game of pre-season was against Leuzinger, who really didn't stand a chance against Lakewood who won 55-0 at the final whistle.

The good thing that came out of this game is everyone got to play and get some game time under the lights.

Now I still haven't used my flash and have been avoiding it since I don't really care for the way they look, although I think our opening season away game against Wilson High this Friday will bring my lights out of hiding. Lakewood's field is pretty dark and if my memory holds true I believe Wilson's field is even darker, so we'll see what happens.

For this game I again set my camera manually to ISO 3200, f/2.8, and a shutter of 1/320. Now I'm often asked what I think about the 70-200 f/2.8, since most people can't afford the 300 f/2.8, which is very costly (took me a long time to save up for that beast). I will say the 70-200 is more than capable of capturing great shots under the lights as long as you work with the lens. What it comes down to is positioning and as a matter of fact, you are more likely to capture big plays that come to close, which takes people like me out of the mix due to range. If you position yourself properly and wait for the action, you can and will get some good action shots. So have fun, get out there, and shoot.

I'm liking how some of these look with a b&w action I put together, so here are a few to share.

Lakewood Freshmen vs Leuzinger

2011-09-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots from Thursday's home game against Leuzinger - Enjoy!

Cerritos College Football vs Long Beach City

2011-09-19T14:10:00.001-07:00

This was my first opportunity to shoot a college football game of two local colleges (Cerritos and Long Beach City).

It is always a pleasure to shoot a game under the sun, even if the sky is overcast, which is what we had for the first half of this game. With both of these being community colleges it really wasn't much different than shooting a high school game. Now don't get me wrong, by no means am I referring to the players themselves as they played hard and provided me with many opportunities for some great action, but I refer to the sidelines and how I covered the game. The caliber of playing ability with these players was much higher than what I see during a high school and it
was a pleasure to be there to capture them in action.

So with that all said, here are some of my favorite shots from the game.

Lakewood Varsity vs Mayfair

2011-09-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

"The Milk Bucket"

That's what this game is all about. Lakewood and Mayfair are cross town rivals and play for the Milk Bucket each pre-season. Lakewood has maintained the Milk Bucket for the last few years and this year Mayfair came to take it back, or at least made a great attempt to bring it home. In the end Lakewood gets to keep the Milk Bucket for another year.

This was a great game of football from both teams. There were some fantastic plays and passes that just made your jaw drop. Mayfair came out very strong in the first half and dominated the field going into half -time, but when Lakewood took the field during the second half they came out stronger than ever with the defense stopping Mayfair in their tr acks and the offence putting up some big numbers to win the game.

This was another game in which I didn't use a flash, but this time it was by choice. The lights were great and I was able to shoot at 1/400, which is something I seldom get to do. My settings were ISO 3200, f/2.8, and 1/400, while using the 300 f/2.8 and the 24-70 f/2.8 for the last two shots posted.

For the varsity game, lets start off with the cheerleaders.

Coach talking to the team after their comeback win.

Group shot with the Milk Bucket

Lakewood JV Football vs Mayfair

2011-09-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

I need to get caught up, I have three games to post :)

Here are some shots from the JV game this past Thursday.

There is nothing special about the below shot, but I really like how it looks. For me this is your classic Sportrait shot. His mom loved it.

And of course I can't forget our cheerleaders.

Lakewood Varsity vs Bosco

2011-09-13T07:25:00.001-07:00

Going into this game I knew it was going to be a tough battle for Lakewood and would test them and their drive towards victory.

Bosco took an early lead while Lakewood fought hard for each and every point they put on the board, which I thought spoke hard and true as to what their capable of. With a new head coach and a lot of untested players, Lakewood continued to fight and move the ball. Even though when the final whistle blew and the scoreboard reading 35-31 Bosco, our boys showed that they have what it takes to hit the field hard.

Now as it was a tough game for Lakewood it was a tough game for me as well. There weren't many open field runs, which made it hard to capture the action that I strive for. In addition to that I had equipment problems. I knew in advance Lakewood would be wearing their black uniforms and planned on using my flash from either the second quarter or half-time on, but once I got it all set up I couldn't get my flash to fire and couldn't figure it out for the life of me. So I simply put my flash gear back in my pack and continued shooting without the flash.

Settings were manual (f/2.8, ISO 3200, 1/320)

It was a rough game for our boys and a rough game for me, so I will end this post with some shots of the beautiful young ladies who keep the crowd going and the team motivated.

Lakewood JV vs Bosco

2011-09-09T13:45:00.001-07:00

Week two finds Lakewood pitted against Bosco. This was JV's first game of the season as Locke High, which we faced last week didn't have a JV team. So JV opened their season against Bosco yesterday at Lakewood.

This was a very close game to the last quarter when Bosco took the lead 21-14. Below you will find my favorite shots from this meetup ending with a few of the cheerleaders.

Tonight I'll be at Lakewood under the lights as our Varsity faces Bosco for their second pre-season game. Last week I didn't use a flash, but tonight Lakewood will be coming out in black so I think I may have to break out my flash for this game.

Lakewood Varsity vs Locke

2011-09-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

Here we are, "Friday Night Lights" once again. I have to say this is the part of the year I so look forward to. I love shooting sports and anyone who knows me knows about my love and passion of capturing the action. There is nothing like a Friday night game under the lights with fans screaming and hollering at the top of lungs encouraging their team on. Now to be on the sidelines with the team brings the intensity to the next level. This part of the year is even more exciting as we have a bit of sunlight before the night becomes black.

Another aspect of high school football is none other than the cheerleaders who rightfully deserve their place on the field. I make every attempt to get some shots of them warming up prior to the games and the below shots show their athletic ability.

So enjoy these shots and thanks for stopping by.

Something I should add is my settings. I will set me camera to manual with an aperture of f/2.8. From this point I simply adjust my ISO to maintain the shutter speed I desire. As the game is played I'm constantly adjusting my ISO to keep my speed up, that is until I'm at the very low end of what I'll shoot with. Normally for these night games I'll use my flash, which I have set to my monopd about 2' below the camera. This will provide me with light under the helmets to capture the eyes, but for this game I decided to stay away from the flash and continued to shoot. My settings during this period were ISO 3200, f/2.8, and 1/320. The results are the last four shots in this set.

Lakewood Freshmen vs Locke

2011-09-04T09:40:00.001-07:00

A day late, but the season has officially started with Lakewood opening up against Locke. Since their game was cancelled on Thursday it was rescheduled for Friday before the varsity game.

So here are some shots of the Freshmen team doing their thing.

The Game that wasn't

2011-09-04T09:15:00.001-07:00

Its now football season and one thing for me that changes during this time of the year is my mid-week day off. Now I work a 4/10 schedule, which means I work 4-10 hour days during the week and I normally take Wednesday's off, but once football starts I take Thursday's off. Well I took this last Thursday to start the season and headed out to Lakewood for their opening freshmen game against Locke. As it turned out Lakewood was ready to play, but there must have been an understanding with Locke as they thought the game was Friday. So what do you do when you show up ready to shoot a game and there's no game. Well you take some shots of the cheerleaders and of the team running through some plays.

So I'll start with a few of the cheerleaders going through a few routines.

Now for some shots of the receivers running through their routes.

Lakewood Football Scrimmage

2011-08-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

High school's everywhere throughout the country are getting ready, if not starting their season of football. For me, the school I shoot for will start their pre-season this next Friday against Locke High at home, but until opening day, I will have to settle with their intersquad scrimmage game they held this past Friday.

So while I get the feel back for shooting football, here are a few shots from their scrimmage.

Just a little play on a sportrait

Lake Havasu 2011

2011-08-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

First this is late coming, but none the less is finally here.

As most of you are well aware, each year about this time my family, along with my two sister's and their families go to Lake Havasu for a week long vacation. It's all about relaxation, fun, and spending some great quality family time together. For me, it means a week of not having to answer the phone at work - can you say SWEET!

Now I usually post too many pictures and if your thinking I did again well then you are absolutely right. How can I now after spending a week at the lake and taking tons of pictures. So sit back and enjoy the show.

I'm am going to start with a picture of yours truly, which was taken by my daughter (nice job sweetheart, you captured my stuffed muffinness)

A little scenery after leaving Blythe and heading to Parker AZ.

None other than "The Family"

For the general pictures I'm going to start out with various family and fun shots

During our second evening we had a monsoon that passed near-by. This monsoon was giving us a light show so I decided to bring out my camera to see if I could capture some lightning shot, which I haven't done before. I did bring my tripod and a shutter release cable just in case something like this happened. I set my camera to manual (ISO 100, f/11, and bulb). I would lock the shutter open and wait for the lightning to strike. I even left it open to get multiple strikes on the same frame. The first shot shows a single strike, while the next two shot multiple strikes.

During the sixe years my family has come to Lake Havasu we have had some interesting things come to our beach area. We've had a very strange and scary looking sand spider, and two years ago we had a pelican that even came into our canopy's. This year had a few ducks decide to come and visit us. Once I saw that they were staying close I got my camera with the 70-200 f/2.8 attached and got into the water. Once I was about chest deep I positioned myself so the sun was behind me and started taking some shots. This first one is my favorite in the bunch.

Now for some various senery and fun shots along the beach.

"The Ladies of Havasu"

Now for the action. I will start with some wake boarding shots.

I usually don't get on the tube as I'm usually keeping myself pretty busy taking pictures, but I decided (or should I say was talked into) getting out on the water. I had my daughter take some shots and I think she did a wonderful job. Anyone who tells you it's easy taking pictures from the back of a boat while it's turning from side to side to wipe the tupe around is crazy. It's very hard as not only are you being forced / jerked from right to left, but you constantly have to tilt your camers to maintain the horizon, so with this said my daughter did an outstanding job.

I have to say capturing the action of the tube has got to be my favorite. I usually get some great action as well as some great expression, which I'm sure after you view these shots you will agree.

Something that has become somewhat a tridition during the last couple of years is taking portraits of the moms and this year was no exception. I have to honestly say I just wasn't into it this year and I think the pictures show that, but I did my best and feel I left with some nice pictures anyway.

This last group of shots are of my wife, my best friend, and well you know -wink wink nudge nudge. She puts up with me and I love her for it.

I hope you all enjoyed looking through these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. Until next year.

My Daughter's Tattoo

2011-08-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

Recently my daughter graduated from high school and as most graduating high school seniors she received various graduation gifts (money) from family members. Well she has been talking about getting a tattoo off and on for awhile now and with this new found wealth she decided to pursue it and make it happen.

I have to say I was a little uncertain about my little girl getting a tattoo, but once I saw what she wanted I have to admit that I rather liked it. Also, just to clarify, I'm not against tattoos, that is as long as their tasteful. With her tattoo picked my daughter did some background work and found a place in San Pedro called So Cal Tattoo, which my sister recommended. My daughter went with Tom Berg, whose work in more on the darker side and after seeing the tattoo my daughter wanted I think he was the perfect person for the job. If your looking to get a tattoo in the Southern California area I highly recommend Tom, not only is his work outstanding, but he's down to earth and great to work with. He gave us the freedom of moving around and taking pictures during the tattoo process.

Below you see the drawing my daughter wanted as a tattoo and the tattoo process.

The finished tattoo - Awsome Job by Tom Berg

Happy 4th of July from the Wetlands

2011-07-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

First let me wish everyone a great 4th of July. I plan on spending the day with family enjoying a bbq and local fireworks in the evening.

Now if you read my prior post you know I headed out to the wetlands on Saturday in an attempt to get some shots of the black skimmers, which didn't work out. I did get some great shots of the Caspian Terns, but no skimmers. Well since I was enjoying a nice 3-day weekend, something I don't get a lot of, I thought I make another attempt at the wetlands for the skimmers. I was still dissapointed with the lack of skimmers, but was able to get a few nice shots of them and it was the perfect morning to take them. The sum was coming up on a cloudless morning with mirrored water. Perfect morning to be out.

After spending some time getting some shots of the skimmers I walked to the mid-area of the wetlands to get some shots of the Caspian Terns feeding and again I wasn't dissapointed. Although I didn't stay at this location long as I wanted to walk further into the wetlands to see what else I could find. I did see and take a few pictures of a red tailed hawk and peregin falcon, although I wasn't happy with the quality and won't be posting those.

Prior to leaving I made another stop where the terns were feeding as was able to get some shots of a tern feeding her chick, which I thought was very cool and hopefully you will as well. So enjoy the shots and enjoy the 4th with your family.

I'll start with a few of the black skimmers.

Now for some caspian terns

These next two shots are actually two different shots from two different series.

A few various other shots I took during the morning.

Brown Pelican

Snowy Egret

Unknown spider, have I told you I hate spiders, although I thought this was a cool shot.

Bolsa Chica Wetlands

2011-07-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

Got up at oh-dark thirty and headed out to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. I was hoping to get some shots of the black skimmers, but unfortunately it was very overcast and there just wasn't any activity from them this morning.

I started the morning along the east entrance to the wetlands along a footbridge and while I waited and watched I noticed a lot of terns flying past me with fish in their beaks. They were all coming from west of me, so I decided to head over there to see the activity. During this I met a very nice gentlemen who was out doing the same thing I was, enjoying the morning and photographing the wildlife. We talked as we walked and I found out he used to have a photography studio, which focused on weddings. Our conversation really made the morning very pleasant.

Once we got to our destination, we shot and continued to talk. Had a great time shooting the terns.

For my first shot I have the Brown Pelican.

This is followed by the Black-necked Stilt

And then Caspian Terns, many Caspian Terns.

High School Graduation - Sarah (sweetheart)

2011-06-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

First I have to say - Sweetheart I am so very proud of you and love you very much. The door is open for your future and all you have to do is step through it.

What is that all parents say, "Where did the time go", well I know where it went and the journey we all took to get here. With all the good times there's been a fair share of hard times, but I can truly say I wouldn't have changed a thing, although I wouldn't mind having my dark hair back instead of all of this gray that has somehow found its way on my head and chin.

I remember when you were born and when you took your first step. Taking you to Disneyland for the first time and when you first saw your favorite "Pooh". Reading to you while you fell asleep in my arms and coaching you in t-ball. Watching you grow has been a wonderful experience for me and I know this is only the beginning.

In the beginning

Taken just before we left the house for her graduation at Vet's Stadium.

The Ceremony

My sweetheart is now out of high school and starting the next stage of her life.

Stopped at Heartwell Park on the way home for a few shots.

I love you Sweetheart

2011 Southern California Special Olympic Summer Games

2011-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

For the last four years in June I've had the opportunity to cover the Special Olympics of Southern California Summer Games, which has been my honor to do. I look forward to this each and every year.

The first year I represented Torrance Police Department and roamed around capturing various images from all of the sporting events, along with opening and closing ceremonies. The following year, which was my first representing the Special Olympics, I was asked to cover golf and then last year I was asked to cover boche ball and basketball.

Now for this year I requested to cover track, which I was given, but I was also asked if I could get a few shots of gymnastics as well.

So lets start this adventure. Opening ceremonies started on Saturday, June 11th, at approx 10am on the track field. This begins with the walk of champions as all of the athletes walk along police officers from all over Southern California.

Let the games begin. I spent the morning and afternoon roaming the track getting various shots of the athletes as they competed. These first two are from the tennis ball / softball throw.

Shot put

Wheelchair Slaloms

And now some shots from track

This next group of track shots were from the second day of activities

Gymnastics, well what can I say. This is something I don't have much if any experience in shooting, but I knew they wanted some shots so I spent Sunday morning and early afternoon covering the events of the day. I will say that I am very happy with what I ended up with, so take a look and let me know what you think.

In closing I want to add one final thing. During both days I was contacted by my Special Olymics contact and asked to take some candid shots of Johnny Knoxville. Now I thought this was pretty cool and have to say I was very impressed with his interaction with the athletes and fans. I did take a bunch of shots and these are my favorites.

I had a wonderful and full weekend covering the summer games and look forward to doing it again next year.