This weekend....

I finally got to use my birthday present. For those that didn't know, my birthday was Valentine's Day. Jen bought me a Bogen Variable Friction Arm for my birthday. Actually I got it a week before my birthday. What the arm does is let you mount cameras, lights, reflectors, etc. at the angle that you need them. I used mine to mount a remote camera behind the backboard during a girls playoff basketball game Saturday night......Jesuit vs. Oregon City High School. This gave me some different looking shots compared to the same stuff taken from court level. Using a remote camera is hit or miss. You never know what you got until after the game. I ended up with 2 images from the remote that I sent in to the 2 papers I was working for...The Beaverton Valley Times and The Clackamas Review.

(Above)This is one of the images sent to the Beaverton Valley Times.

This image went to the Clackamas Review.

I made sure I got to the gym early, 2 hours early, in order to have enough time to get permission to use a backboard remote and to be able to set it up and make sure it was working right.

Sunday my father-in-law came over to give me a lesson on fixing brakes. When it comes to cars, I don't have a clue. The brakes on Jens car needed to be replaced. She took it to a MAJOR tire center here in Oregon. The estimate was outrageous. $180 just for the parts. I don't know if that price included stuff that MIGHT have to be replaced or what. All I know is that we needed new brakes. The brake pads cost about $25 and we did the work. Didn't take much time at all. For his trouble he got a really nice dinner (Jen likes to watch the Cooking Channel) and he got to take DeShaun home with him for a week.

Free Day

No shoots for me today. Me and DeShaun just hang out at home for most of the day. DeShaun spent most of the morning on Barbie.com. At noon we met Bruce Ely for lunch. Bruce is a photographer for the Oregonian newspaper. We've been trying to get together for some time.

We ate, talked and DeShaun kept us entertained. Bruce, being a photographer, had a camera handy (his camera phone) and took a photo of DeShaun. I, being a photographer, had a camera handy and took a photo of Bruce taking a photo of DeShaun.DeShaun, being the son of a photographer, knows what to do in front of a camera. He loves to have his picture taken. He has always had a camera in his face.

Retakes

Had to shoot a cheer team and a dance group for NSP on Tuesday. It was actually retakes because the AD of the school didn't like where the photos were taken the first time. The cheer team had about 8 girls. The dance group had 33 members, including the coaches. Most of them were happy with their first photos so not too many retakes. The photo above of the dance group was where the AD wanted the photo taken. This will look much better once NSP puts the digital graphics on it. There was a basketball game that I was going to shoot for the paper but couldn't make it because of other stuff I had to do. I was pretty bummed about that. I enjoy shooting for the paper. When given lemons, just make lemonaide.

Final Day of H.S. State Wrestling Tournament

Saturday was the final day of state wrestling here in Oregon. I came away with a few images that I was happy with.
This kid dislocated his knee cap. He wrestled in the 189 lb final and could not continue. This is the image that made my soreness go away. This kid just won the 112 lb state title, as a freshman. He has the chance to become a 4 time champion.This is the 119 lb champ. He also won the 103 lb titles in 2004 and 2005. A three time champ.

The only thing that went wrong.......After shooting all day I was starving. Me and another photographer went to Jack in the Box to get some grub....It was closed. That sucked!

And Down The Stretch They Come

Friday was the second day of the Oregon State Wrestling tournament. More winners, more losers, more great expressions. It was the class 2A/1A schools first day of wrestling today. Saturday is the last day of the tournament. Champions will be made, losers will be broken. I hope to get some great jube shots. Oh, by the way, my body is still sore. Some great images on the last day of the tournament will take the pain away.

First Day of State Wrestling

One down, two more to go. I'm covering the Oregon State wrestling tournament for NSP.
My butt is sore, my knees are sore, my feet are sore. I feel like I was on the mat wrestling for 3 periods.
Other than being sore, everything went well. Even made it home without too much traffic.

A busy birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and it was a busy day. I started the day with a shoot for Dealer Principal Magazine. They are doing a story on a local dealership in Portland, Market Driven.
They specialize in high-end cars. The 2 owners are great guys. It was a fun shoot. If you are looking for a nice pricey vechicle, give them a call. They said they can get you any car you want, it doesn't have to be high-end. Near the end of the shoot they brought out this sweet Bently. I was tempted to ask for a test drive. After that I had to drive to Camas for another shoot and then after that I covered a basketball game for the Clackamas Review. After working all day I stopped and picked Jen some stuff up for Valentines Day. I didn't get home until 10. It doesn't get any easier with state wrestling starting tomorrow. My alarm clock is set for 5 AM.

Lazy Day

Did nothing all day today. Oh, I took a long nap. I've been recovering from the day I had yesterday. My Saturday started at 5 AM when my alarm went off. I had a shoot that started at 8 AM and didn't end until around 4. Jen had made some plans for us to celebrate Valentine's Day/My Birthday. She made reservations for us to have dinner at Salty's. So I rushed home after the shoot, showered, got dressed. By this time I am ready to fall asleep on my feet.

Dinner was great. I even got to sit next to Kevin Pritchard's table. For those who don't know who Kevin Pritchard is.....He is the Director of Player Personnel for the Portland Trailblazers. He also coached the Blazers after Maurice Cheeks was fired.

After dinner we went to Elite Hot Tubbing in Beaverton. What a great evening. Jen always seems to come up with ideas for a great time.

Wrestling

Friday turned out to be a long day. I covered the Three Rivers League District Wrestling Tournament for NW Sports Photography. I got a few good images. Some of the matches that I covered ended early due to pins. Other matches were tough to photograph due to having backsides in my face, either from the wrestlers or from the refs. Wrestling is a tough sport. Sometimes I feel sorry for the kids that are just outclassed and manhandled. Next week the state tournament starts and I will be there covering the event for 2 days. Wish me luck.

Update to Thursday nights girls game

The final score was Oregon City 76-Lake Oswego 32.

Girls Hoops

Thursday night I covered a H.S. girls basketball game for The Clackamas Review, Oregon City vs. Lake Oswego. Oregon City puts a powerhouse team together every year and are usually ranked nationally. As of Feb. 8 they are the number 8 team in the West Region. I was really excited about covering the game because I never got the chance to watch the Oregon City girls team in action. Oregon City is in 1st place in the Three Rivers League and Lake O is in 2nd place. I was looking forward to a good game. This game was no contest. Oregon City won by a bunch. I left before the game was over so I don't know the final score, but I do know that it was not close. I will have to get back to you guys with a score later.