Santa Con

Today, I participated for the first time in a nation-wide tradition called "Santa Con". For those of you not familiar with the event, you can look it up in Wikipedia but in a nutshell Santa Con is a mass gathering of people dressed like Santa Claus who for one day roam the streets of the city bringing holiday cheer. I was intrigued by the concept and so joined over 500 other individuals and roamed the city streets of Los Angeles (in costume, of course). There were many photo opportunities most of which you can see in our 2009 Santa Con gallery; however, some costumes were not for (ahem) public consumption; I will leave that to your imagination . Nonetheless, you can enjoy the many versions and interpretations of a Santa suit. I think the women in particular were most creative but there were a few guys that showed incredible ingenuity. So, pour yourself a cup of hot cocoa, pull up the gallery and view hundreds of Santas as they wreaked havoc on a cold and rainy Saturday in Los Angeles. Ho, Ho, Ho!

Red Rock Revisited

I'm playing catchup this weekend and so have posted the last set of photos I took at the Red Rock tournament in 2007. As I reviewed the photos for posting it brought back many memories of that field and that tournament. One of my favorite tournament for many reasons: location, players, quality of game, I still miss shooting this tournament two years later. Click here to take you to the gallery of photos for the 2007 Red Rock Tournament and enjoy revisiting one of the greatest tournaments that men's fastpitch has to offer. Let's hope we can one day soon return to this beautiful venue.

Field of Dreams

I was in Quad Cities photographing the ISC II Tournament of Champions this past August and it just so happened to be a couple of hours from the actual Field of Dreams. So, off we went to look at this famous site and I must say it did not disappoint. It is the film site for the baseball movie of the same name. As baseball movies go, this one quickly became a classic and the field, I suppose, became a must place to visit for baseball and movie fans.

If you are not a baseball fan, this may not strike you as all that interesting, but I can tell you that if any place can convert you this one can. A pristine field of green grass against a jaw-dropping azure sky, a striking (and ghostly) corn field, visitors reverently walking and playing in the grounds, and you have a magical place. You need not be a fan to recognize that.

So, as you peruse the photos, may it bring back some joyful memories of playing in your own backyard or as I did, may it help you recognize the beauty of something as simple and beautiful as a baseball field, on a hot summer day.

When walls come tumbling down

This week I was invited to photograph a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I jumped at the chance to do something so interesting and unique in Los Angeles. Starting out with a gala reception featuring the famous german chanteuse Ute Lemper and ending with the ceremonial tearing down of an artists' wall on Wilshire Blvd., the evening was filled with interesting people and great opportunities for photography. However, some of the activities kept me on my toes as they also provided challenges. In an effort to re-create the atmosphere of an old nightclub for the gala event the wonderful lighting people had used a chemical fog that enveloped the entire room. This resulted in a sultry ambiance that sent my camera readings off the charts and made capturing that "sultry" ambiance a bit (ahem) of a challenge. I have to admit that I did mutter under my breath on several occasions but I am very happy with the results. The street event also offered its own unique challenges having to fight for space with hundreds of media photographers who were just as determined as I to photograph the tearing down of the wall. I ended up hanging over a barricade on a platform overlooking the wall and praying that the barricade would hold. I think I have bruises in my abdomen from doubling my body over the fence. No pain no gain. Still, I would not trade in a moment of that evening. It was as if we were all participating in a historic event ourselves; over 700 people meeting on Wilshire Blvd., at midnight just to watch... how incredible is that? The photos have been posted under our cultural events category in the gallery: 2009 Fall of Berlin Wall Event. Enjoy!

2009 ISC II Photos - Final Galleries

It is in a bittersweet mood that I finished the task of reviewing and uploading all the photos for the 2009 ISC II - Tournament of Champions. Bittwersweet because it signifies the end of the fastpitch season for me. No more standing in the field and sharing it with the very talented athletes who play this great game called fastpitch. No more smelling the sweet smell of grass as I stand too close to the foul line to get just the right shot. No more chattering with the managers and players as they return to their positions on the field. But all is not lost, as this will all repeat itself next year. Until then I hope you join me in re-visiting, through my photos, the wonderful tournament called the ISC II.

I have uploaded two more galleries: the first gallery is of the photos taken during the Opening Ceremonies (2009 ISC II - Opening Ceremonies) and the second gallery has photos taken around the ballpark of the fans, players and staff (2009 ISC II - Around the Ballpark). My thanks to everyone who each year make this tournament an unforgettable experience for me. From Blair Setford who each year gives me access so I can photograph this great tournament. To the game controllers who always happily accept the task of babysitting my equipment and keep me in stitches with their stories and jokes. To the players whose athletic prowess challenge me each and every game as I try to capture with photographs what they do so easily and with such talent. And last but not least, the umpires, for who I feel a close kinship; sort of brothers in arms you might say, sharing the field game after game but never playing in it.

ISC II Photos Posted

After a long weekend of post-production work, I finished the "action" photos of the Tournament of Champions tournament. They are posted under the "ISC II - Action" gallery (see here). I still have photos from the Opening Ceremonies to post and some photos I took around the ballpark. Hopefully I will have those up this week. Enjoy!

2009 ISC II - Tournament of Champions

Thanks to the many people who have inquired about photos taken at the 2009 ISC II Tournament of Champions. I just returned to California today, Monday, August 24, 2009 and have begun the "post tournament production work" on the huge batch of photos taken at the tournament and expect to have them up for viewing and purchase this week.

Thank you to those of you who have emailed me and to those who I ran into at the tournament for your kind words on my photography. I hope this batch will live up to the compliments.

Stay tuned for the photos, they are coming right up !

Twitter

Maddy's Photos has finally succumbed to the "Twitter Revolution". You can check us out at http://twitter.com/maddysphotos. As many of you know, I am getting ready to shoot the ISC II - Tournament of Champions in Quad Cities so in preparation I have decided to post a photo of prior ISC II tournaments on Twitter;one picture per day. It has been exciting to join this new technology and find another way to share my photos with you. Let me know what you think and if you want to follow us - even better.

Catching Up

I've been catching up with my photos this weekend and reviewing old photos to upload. I have started with the 2008 Best of the West tournament which many people have asked me about and it looks as though I never posted. So, they may be a little old but they are now posted here for all posterity. Enjoy!

Hongi

This past 4th of July weekend I was invited to shoot the prestigious World Fastball Invitational in Monkton, Ontario, Canada. I can’t begin to express all the thoughts that come to mind when I think of this past weekend and how fortunate I am to be involved in such a great sport that attracts such great people. Our gracious hosts Brian Baillie, Kevin Quipp and Sandra Machlan who made my job that much easier by providing everything and anything I needed; the people of Monkton whose hundreds of volunteers make this one of the best-run events I have ever seen; the caliber of players and umpires that come to this tournament and the locale of this wonderful tournament made this a most memorable experience for me. Which brings me to something I learned this weekend, called the “Hongi”; the Hongi is a traditional Maori greeting which is done by pressing one’s nose to the other person when they meet each other. It is believed that when the two noses meet, people exchange their breath and the visitor becomes one of their tribe. I had the privilege to watch a “Hongi” in person as the New Zealand team honored one of their own Paul Walford at the tournament. It dawned on me then how much of this we already do as part of the fastpitch community. No, we do not touch noses, but instead we share in the experience called “fastpitch” and as such become part of the “tribe”. I am far from being a player but I’d like to think that through my photography I have joined the fastpitch tribe and through the images I capture I hopefully bring the “tribes” closer together. You can see the photos of the World Fastball Invitational here.

Heartbreak

Sometimes digital photography can break your heart. This past weekend I was called to shoot the Best of the West fastpitch tournament in beautiful Santa Barbara. I spent two days on the ball fields, capturing what I thought was some of my best shots, and it was all for not. As many of you have seen, I carry quite a bit of gear, and in open parks such as the one in Santa Barbara I have to be watchful of where the gear is at all times as it is open to the public. I even take advantage of my friendships with the fans and players to keep an eye on the gear when I am not around. However, all precaution aside, I like to keep the digital chips with me. In case the gear disappears, I always have the images that I have worked hard to capture. This past weekend something went horribly wrong and I lost the case that contained the chips with the photos of the last day of the tournament. I can’t describe the feeling of losing those photos and the sense of disappointment in not being able to provide Dave, the tournament director, and the players the images that they saw me taking throughout the tournament. This has given me time to reflect and reconsider my approach and with the help of my very able husband we are working on a workflow process to avoid this in the future. So for now, if you do not see your team in the photos, know it was not intentional and that I am truly sorry for the loss. In the meantime, I was able to save some photos from the first day and some from the second. You can find them here for your viewing pleasure.

Slideshow

I've been experimenting this weekend with putting up videos of the photos I take. I usually make digital slideshows of my photos to present my work. I find that it is alot easier to sit through a quick presentation (with music) than to sift through hundreds of photos. So, I am very excited that I am now able to publish my little "vignettes" here on my blog. Hope you enjoy it.

A pleasure

After almost a decade and a half I found myself once again on the grounds of the annual Renaissance Pleasure Faire. As luck would have it, it is now held in Irwindale, California which is very close to my mother's home. So, with camera in hand, and I must admit, not many expectations, I entered the world of Queen Elizabeth and her merry court. I found that the faire has become quite the photographer's magnet as I was not alone in carrying a large camera body and matching lens throughout the day. However, this event is something to be experienced rather than captured. I for one was mesmerized by Queen Elizabeth's paramour, the Earl of Leicester, fascinated by the "Bargain Midwife" selling (pardon the word) testicles, and happy as a pixie watching children and young girls dance around a maypole. It is a cacophony of sights and sounds and one you should not miss. Just in case you do, however, here are some photos of the event to wet your appetite.

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to photograph the AIREX exercise at the LA/Ontario airport for the Ontario Airport Crash & Fire division. For those of you not familiar with the event, this is an unrehearsed, full-scale, aircraft incident drill to evaluate the operational capability of the airport's emergency management system, in a real-time, stress environment. Access like the one I was given does not come easily and I was grateful for the opportunity to be able to go anywhere and shoot anything I liked. So much so, that I had a close call with a helicopter that was taking off and had it not been for an alert fireman who warned me I may not have been writing this blog today! The event offered much to shoot as there were multiple things happening at once: an explosion, a smoke-filled airplane loaded with victims and and a tarmac that became an emergency treatment area as victims were brought in and treated. The "victims" were volunteers from a local college and there was no lack of acting on their part. I saw many a gasping, choking, wreathing in pain victim which just added to the "reality" of it all. You can see them and the wonderful fire crews at work here .

Celebrity

Call it the luck of the Irish (I am one after all, by marriage) for this year I was lucky enough to be called back to shoot the Los Angeles St. Patrick's Day Parade. This event is always fun one to do as I always have something interesting to shoot or I get to meet someone interesting. This year was no exception; I not only met the beautiful Vera Jimenez (here pictured with me) but a myriad of police officers, firemen, celebrities and hundreds of school children who make this such a wonderful event. A favorite of mine was the band from Baja California whose "colonial" looking uniforms and enthusiastic cheerleaders made it that more special. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. You can see them here

Women's Fastpitch at Fullerton

Steve Miner, a good friend and Assistant Coach for the women's fastpitch team at San Diego State University got me access to shoot their team at a local game against Cal State Fullerton. I don't often have the chance to shoot women's fastpitch so I was very excited about getting this opportunity. It did not disappoint. The game was exciting and had quite a bit of action. I think the women bring a different flavor to the game with their chants and their energy but they are not any different from the men when it comes to being tough and competitive. It was truly a pleasure to shoot them and I hope I get the opportunity to do so again. The photos are posted here if you wish to peruse them.

Santa Ana

For the past two weeks I have had the opportunity to explore a nearby town that I usually do not get the chance to visit. Santa Ana, as I have come to find out is a melting pot of attractions. The civic center has the beautiful Ronald Reagan Federal building and the charming Old Courthouse where yours truly got her marriage license. It is also home to the Bowers Museum and a locally-famous neighborhood called the Flower Park with hundreds of old houses all impeccably kept and harking back to the 1920's and 30's. Though not within its city limits the Crystal Cathedral is also nearby and worth taking a slight detour to see. Click here to see some of the photos I have taken in the past few days of the undiscovered city of Santa Ana.

AAU Tournament - 6 years in a row

Once again I had the privilege and the luck to shoot the AAU Men's Fastpitch Tournament in Orlando, Florida at Disney's Wide World of Sports. Great weather and a superb facility make this one of my favorite tournaments. However, it is the mix of players from all over the United States, Canada and the Caribbean who flock to this tournament that make the tournament so special. It is also a very competitive tournament and as any player will tell you anyone can win it but anyone can lose it too. For all these reasons, I love to shoot this tournament but the 40 teams and 6 fields with games continuously playing throughout 3-1/2 days, make it a challenge. You can check out the gallery of photos here. Let me know what you think.