Marbles

Cat's Eye This photo reminded me of playing marbles as a kid. Marbles weren't that big of a deal in my childhood; Scouts, sports, board games and bike-rides were more fun than shooting marbles in the dirt. Marbles were popular when my dad was a kid (1920's). My entire "collection" came from him, and they …

Petanque

Petanque?  "What the heck is petanque?", I asked the chap at the bar during a mid-afternoon break of touring Bath, England.   He and his mates were getting very worked up over opening night of Bath's Petanque League.  Between fight songs with his petanque team mates, he tried to explain it.  It sounded something like …

Buffalo Chip Tossing

Ever thrown a buffalo chip?  First of all, what is a buffalo chip?  A buffalo chip is dried buffalo poop, also known as "chips" or cow pies.  Buffalo Chip Throwing contests are popular (well, something you have to try once in your life) in the midwest and western states of the US.  Chips are generally …

Do Your Best!

The Little League season is winding down; I have mixed feelings about that.  The number of games these little guys plays is extraordinary, no wonder they (me too) get burned out.  The hellish-hot days of July are right around the corner--yeh, I know, baseball is a summer sport, but there are limitations to my interest. …

Good and Bad

My mother always said, "Take the good with the bad."  That thought came to mind while I watched the first baseball practice of my 4 year old grandson ... there's a lot of good and bad in Little League.  Stretching?  Yeah, that was definitely not a priority for the four year old future stars. Learning …

Baseball Collage

Now I know what writer's cramp is all about.  I'm sitting here, late Sunday night, surrounded by thousands of pictures I've taken, and can't think of a thing to write about. My self-imposed blog deadline is Monday morning at 8:00 AM and I don't have anything blog-worthy.  I see another all-nighter coming.For a place-holder, just …

Color Run

I shot the Color Run in Des Moines, IA this weekend, a large charity event held in many cities around the country.  The Des Moines' event raised money for "Variety", a children's charity.  (Hmmm, pretty vague description.)   Cold and dreary day, but it didn't stop the runners from having fun. All runners started the …

I’m Off!

Just a quick note to let you know that I'll be out of town for a couple weeks, taking a photo safari to the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Southern Utah.  I hope to return with lots of memorable photos.  I'm off! Thought for the Day:  Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now …

In Sync … Almost

Track is hard!  I mean very difficult, a real challenge to the uncoordinated; events like the hurdles, high jump, and triple jump (formerly called"hop, skip and jump", it must have sounded too "hop scotchy" for big-time track enthusiasts) require a lot of technique and coordination. I watched a middle school track meet the other night. …

Gridiron Success

YAC = Yards After Catch.  After four weeks of playing offensive tackle or blocking back, the young lad finally got a chance to play split end.  As luck would have it, a rare well-thrown spiral made it to his vicinity; he caught it and scampered toward the end zone. I was happy to see his patience and …

Grunge Ball

During a photo shoot of a local high school senior, I noticed how beat up his football looked.  So I isolated the ball in his firm grip, converted it to B&W and started playing with different grunge-looking effects.  This is pretty mild compared to some grunge effects I've seen, but I like the way it …

Smash Mouth

Now that Labor Day is behind me I can concentrate on football, my favorite sport -- that is spectator sport.  Play football?   Are you kidding me!?  I could get hurt!  I played flag football in 7th and 8th grade and tackle football in 9th grade.  That was enough for me; I finally realized how important …

Early Retirement

After a full summer of baseball, its time to hang up the glove.  Maybe this little guy can find a better-fitting hat next year. Thought for the Day:  I take a one hour nap, from one o'clock to four.   Yogi Berra

Teamwork

One of the things I like best about photography, as opposed to videography, is the ability to freeze a moment in time.   In this photo, the aspiring young gymnasts are waiting their turn on the high bar.  At this moment in time, there are mixed emotions visible on the faces, like boredom, awe, and anxiety. Maybe in …

Happy Feet!

I was lucky to get this little guy with both feet off the ground, jumping so high that his shadow is separated from his body.   I think his coach told him that school starts this week. Thought for the Day:  The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.   Mark Twain

Fading Away

Summer is starting to fade away; organized baseball is over and for the most part, the brightly colored gloves are collecting dust in the closet.  Thankfully, colored gloves (even pink, for cryin' out loud!) are made only in the smallest sizes, where participation and fundamentals take priority over keeping score.  I suppose colored gloves make some …

Vignettes

Vignetting is a photo-editing technique used to help draw the viewer's eye to the intended subject.  I apply it on certain photos that have above average appeal to me, but have distracting backgrounds; the ugly chain link fence that is always present at little league ball games is a perfect example.  This photo would be …

Little Brothers

Two boys can have a lot of fun on a dock.  Barefoot, perfect weather, and free from daily chores, they can spend all day on the dock: fishing, sitting on the edge with their feet in the water, comparing tackle boxes, fishing, baiting hooks, changing bobbers, watching each other fish, day dreaming, fishing, sharing equipment, trading lures, …

Dadgummit!

Does anyone really like major league baseball?   Uggh, is there anything more boring than watching grown men pretending to be enthused while they "play" their way through 160 games extending from April to October?  ... in a sport that condenses the action of a three hour game into a 30 second film clip on the …

Note to Self

The Little League baseball and softball season is winding down, so make a note to yourself to come back next season and watch for the Player of the Week and Play of the Week series.  I'll still be showing action sport photos throughout the year, because that's what I do, but not as frequently as …