Short Notice Assignment

I recently received one of those phone calls we "aspiring 'professional' photographers" look forward to getting - an actual assignment - AND - one that pays.  That's the good news.

The bad news was the call came on a Thursday and I needed to shoot on Friday.  Oh Boy!

Orono High School Athletic Director Mike Archer has been assembling a series of inspirational/motivational posters of the some of the stellar athletes at Orono High School.  The posters are mounted in the hall near the gymnasium and each photo of each athlete has a word printed on it that describes both the person in the photo and the characteristics we hope all athletes (and non-athletes alike) aspire to.

For the winter sport season Mike needed a shot of Hockey, Swimming and Track and Field.  I had travel plans for Saturday and that Friday too if the truth is to be told here but I was able and willing to take on the two scheduled on Friday.

His description of what he desired was simple; action shots of Cameron Dwyer swimming the butterfly stroke and Michael Brown making a save on a shot on goal - both 'head on' capturing "the moment!"

Friday was THE day because there was a swim meet at the pool on Campus and the boys Hockey team had the ice at the Alfond for practice.  Okay---game on!

First, a call to my friend Kevin Bennett, a fabulous shooter for the Bangor Daily News.  Kevin has always been gracious in sharing advice, technique and answering my questions.  On more than one occasion I've accompanied Kevin while he was working and he never tired of my inane endless questions on every conceivable photographic topic from "what is this White Balance thing" to how to correctly spell jpeg?  Kevin Bennett Rocks!

So I told him my assignment, knowing that he had shot swim meets at that pool.  He was quick to answer and his advice was right on.  "Bring lights, it's dark as a pocket in there.  Wear shorts - it's hotter than blazes in there.  Wear shoes that won't slip, plan to wet (both you and your camera) and May The Force Be With You!"

Oh Boy!  I'm in trouble.

First I shot Cam Dwyer.  Cam is a super stud of a swimmer (and baseball player) from a family of other super athletes.  Panic set in upon arrival at the pool when I learned that Cam would NOT be swimming the Butterfly tonight.  Oh Boy! I'm in BIG trouble.  Options?  NONE.  Pretty hard to make out faces with the other strokes, let alone something that conveys POWER and STRENGTH.

Quickly now.... quickly.......the Meet starts in 15 Minutes.     Oh Boy.  More Trouble.

Talk to the Coach.  Tell him what I want.  "Sure,"  he says, "how about I have him jump in lane four right now, swim the butterfly towards you and have him jump out and get ready for the meet?"  Great!  What is that warm liquid running down my leg?  Kevin was right, I'm getting wet


Justin clamped an SB800 flash to the lifeguard stand at camera left, zoom all the way out, set to half power, remove dome diffuser, attach Pocket Wizard radio transceiver, aim halfway down Lane 4.  Put second SB800 flash with Pocket Wizard on paint stick, hand to my lovely and capable assistant (Andi), tell her to stand camera right with flash aimed at center of Lane four.  Fire two test frames, make exposure adjustments and holy crap here he comes signal Cam to start. I shoot, shoot, shoot.  He stops and looks up at me.  I chimp through the LCD real quick.  The coach gives me the "glad I could help" look, and I'm done.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm lens at 200mm, Dynamic 21 pt. autofocus, Manual Mode, f2.8 at 1/250th, Matrix Metering, ISO 800, Auto White Balance, two SB800 flashes fired via Pocket Wizard.

Move over to Alfond Arena for Hockey.  We wait for the peewee league to finish their practice and out comes the Zamboni.  Andi points out the Goalie - Michael Brown - and I introduce myself and tell him what I want to do and beg him to ask one of his friends to protect me from either an errant check or puck to the back of the head.  Mike is very gracious.  He casually calls his Mom to bring his Varsity Game shirt - which of course she does.  I get the green light and out on the ice I go.

Two SB800s set TTL on light stands at 45 degrees camera right and left.  Frame it up, Mike's buddy starts taking shots.  I work on timing.  Look at the LCD.  Make some adjustments.  Ten minutes go by, the coach starts to get antsy.  I'm done.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm lens at 70mm, Dynamic 21 pt. autofocus, Manual Mode, f3.2 at 1/250th, Matrix Metering, ISO 400, Auto White Balance, two SB800 flashes fired TTL with +2 EV dialed in, pop-up flash used in Commander Mode with -2 EV dialed in for just a hint of on-axis fill.


Great night.  Great kids.  Can't wait to see the posters in the halls at the High School INORONO.

Winter=Basketball INORONO

Our long winter in Maine has officially begun.  

I usually consider winter to be the time between when the World Series ends and Spring Training begins but as the parent of a High School Basketball athlete, I've learned that winter really begins with the opening Basketball game and ends at the Bangor Auditorium. 

Here INORONO, "winter" began Friday night with the opening games of our Orono High School boys JV and Varsity basketball season.

The JV squad played well but faced a very talented GSA team.  With several Seniors on the Varsity team the JV Boys will each have a lot at stake as they work hard to earn a spot on next year's varsity team.

The Varsity Boys came out gunning and held on to get a big win under Coach Coleman in his first year. Off to a 13-0 start in the first they held off a steady charge by GSA to get the win.  Above Seniors Tyler Eddy and Sam Chase drive for points.

Coach Erin Porter's squad got the JV season off on Saturday night.  After a sluggish start the girls composed themselves and really put together a great game for the win.  Like the boys, the girls Varsity team, with seven Seniors, will need the JV girls to work hard and next year many of them will be playing for Coach Jessica Libby Witham.

Following the JV girls the Varsity girls came out to face Mattanawcook Academy's team in MA's first year in Class C East after being in Class B for years.  Once the girls settled in they played well only to fall short by just one point.  Below Senior Kate Berry saves a ball headed out of bounds while Senior Laura Triandafillou executes the final play of the game and puts up a shot as time expired that bounced around and out.  The hard fought contest came down to that last play and the Riots came up short on a play that could have easily gone the other way for the win.

So it goes in all sports, as in life, that sometimes you execute and it's just not quite enough.  

All the Cool Parents and other fans are looking forward to the rest of the season and those of us with Seniors don't want to think about our long winters next year when our girls are all away at college.

So good luck to all of the Riot Winter sports and we'll be seeing you out there on the court INORONO.