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.