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.