Random Thoughts and Photos » Sports

M-I-Z-Z-O-U oops!

randomphotog — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:08:17 +0000

Been too long since my last update, and I sincerely apologize for that. It’s been a pretty busy few months, and just haven’t made the time to update the blog.

However, I had the fun assignment of covering the ESPN Thursday night NCAA game between Missouri and Nebraska. MU was undefeated going into the game, although being ranked 24 in the AP Poll, and Nebraska was ranked at 21.

It had rained most all day, and that situation didn’t change all during the game. And although I’ve got rain covers for myself and my gear, it still was pretty miserable to shoot. On the flipside, the rain did make for some cool shots!

Below are a few of my favorite ones, but many more Random shots are on my website here!

And one of my shots made ESPN’s headline shot on the NCAAFB page from the game:

Although it was wet, chilly, and crowded, it was a really fun game to shoot. I really wish MU would’ve pulled out the win (they blew it in the fourth quarter, losing 27-12), but…it’s a ‘rebuilding year’, right?

Several more of my shots from the game can be found here on my Random Photography website. As usual, thanks for looking, and I’ll hopefully update again soon!

So, are you gonna do a blog, or WHAT ???

randomphotog — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:20:19 +0000

Well, that’s what I’ve been kind of asking myself lately, because YES, I want to keep updating my blog, but I’ve had quite a busy couple of months that I’ve kept pushing this update back further, and further, and all of a sudden I realize it’s been FAR too long since I’ve updated. So, as a way of apology to the couple of devoted readers of my blog (hi Mom!), here’s an update to tell you a little bit about what I’ve been up to the last month and a half.

One of the most FUN shoots I’ve had lately, and some of the coolest shots, was for a company called Three Dog Bakery. If you’ve never heard of them, just ask your dog. I’m sure he or she has heard of them. And if he or she hasn’t, then they’ve not been paying attention to the neighborhood bark-wire. It’s a great company with their headquarters here in Kansas City, and we had WAAY too much fun shooting their new line of Summer Treats! Many, many thanks to Teri and Sarah for making the stuff look (and presumably taste) great! Here’s a couple of the shots from that session, which are now in all of their stores nationwide:

Yep - all dog treats (except the flowers and ants!)

YUMMY! (yes, people can eat them too)

MARATHONS!

Here's Betty!

Lots of marathons. One darn near every weekend in different states. From Chicago, IL to Grand Rapids, MI, to Denver, CO, to Traverse City, MI and now Deadwood, SD – it’s marathon season. And I’ve photographed all of ‘em, working for Action Sports Images. Good times, lots of travel, and racking up the frequent flyer miles.

Um...yeah. Marathoner. In Denver. Mile High City. Go figure.

Speaking of speed….

Indycar

Photographed the Indy Car races at the Kansas Speedway for the Associated Press. Indy car is fun to shoot – great colors, interesting drivers, and man, do those babies fly!

And, of course Danica Patrick….’nuf said.

Danica Patrick

Also had the opportunity to photograph a former NY Mets player, who then went to the Royals, and consequently suffered a series of nearly fatal illnesses. This was an assignment for the New York Daily News. His name is Ed Hearn, and his story is really incredible. This very gentle, very friendly and accommodating gentleman is truly an inspiration for everyone, and I highly recommend reading his book and visiting his website. Thanks very much to Ed and his family for allowing me into a little part of their daily lives.

Ed and family

Ed's championship rings, worn by his son.

Also had a couple of aerial jobs lately, one of which involved both air and ground photography for an engineering firm. It was a completely gorgeous day, and perfect for flying. Here’s a couple of photos from that awesome shoot:

Brush Creek to the Plaza

Brush Creek

I’m very grateful, and it’s always a blast these last few years to be chosen as the photographer for the Great Dane Club of Kansas City’s annual show held in Kansas. I LOVE shooting these shows each year, and I get to spend the entire day (or two sometimes) around the most wonderful breed evah!! Here’s two shots from this year’s show – check out my website for more!

Best of Breed

And, of course, more Royals games – several in the last month or so. What the heck has happened to this team??? Wow…I mean, they’re not sucking as bad as previous years, but come on! We were doing sooo well. It’s like all the talent has just been drained out of ‘em. I know – it’s still a long season, so I’m hoping they’ll come back around and start the winning again. I was kind of getting used to starting to think about maybe we might have a team this year. Not completely giving up hope – yet.

Our "White Knight"?

Yeah - he was safe at home.

Academy Award material here - that pitch wasn't THAT close!

OK….this isn’t nearly ALL I’ve been up to in the last month and a half, but some of it. I wanted to share a few photos, check in, and let y’all know that I’m still around. And making a commitment to try, try, TRY to update a little more often.

Thanks for reading this RANDOM sampling of what I’ve been up to lately, and I really hope you’ll check back soon for more!

Spring football??? MIZZOU!

randomphotog — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:48:28 +0000

Ouch.

On a rainy day in April (today, the 18th as a matter of fact) I headed to Columbia, MO to the University of Missouri to photograph the annual Black and Gold football game. Spring football! Can you tell which sport is my favorite?

Although the weather for the first half of the game wasn’t great, it was good to shoot some football again and see some of the newer players on the field. Here’s a few of my Random selects from today’s game. By the way – MU won.

Ouch. Again. Wide receiver Jonnie Fields looses his hat on this tackle.

Wide receiver Jerrell Jackson can't quite hang onto this one as linebacker Luke Lambert has the pass coverage

Possible starting quarterback Blaine Gobbert hands off to tailback Derrick Washington

Who knows how the Tigers will do this season, but it sure was fun to shoot some football in the spring!

Yankees v Royals – a few favs

randomphotog — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:14:13 +0000

Since I photographed the entire Yankees v Royals three games this past Fri-Sunday, I thought I would do a quick blog update and post a few of my favorite shots from the games. No logical order or anything – pretty Random – just some I liked with some decent action. The Royals got off to a rocky start with losing the first two games, but the Boys in Blue made up for it on Sunday with a 6-4 win, and a very exciting eighth inning!

Hope you enjoy the shots, and thanks for looking!

Safe at Home

still safe at home!

New bat, please?

Missed that tag

In respect and honor

Royals Opening Day at the New K! – 2009

randomphotog — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:02:58 +0000

Been a while since I’ve updated this blog, so I thought it was high-time to do it, and since yesterday was a big day for Kansas City and the Royals baseball team with Opening Day 2009 in the newly renovated Kauffman Stadium, I figured I’d share some of my photos with y’all!

It was a great day for baseball – nice and mostly sunny by game time, and with the new amenities and facilities at The K, it seemed like the sold out crowd was mostly in a festive mood. The New York Yankees were in town for the opener, and they always draw a big crowd, but it did seem like there were more Royals blue shirts than Yankees gray this year. How about that?

Here’s some of my photos from the pre-game, as well as a few during the game. Unfortunately it was not a very action-packed game, and the boys in blue ended up losing to the Yanks 4-1, but overall it was a fun opening day experience.

Royals Dancers?? Yep – they had ‘em.

The new Party Deck ontop of the new Rivals Sports Bar proved to be a very popular spot at the New K

A military fly-over before the game was provided by the crew from Whiteman Air Force Base

Royals starting pitcher Sidney Ponson

Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter

Royals designated hitter Billy Butler did seem a little bored with the game at one point.

Overall, even though the game outcome wasn’t great for the Royals, I thought it was a successful day for Kauffman Stadium and Kansas City. Great job to all of the hard-working folks “behind the scenes” that made it go as smoothly as possible, and I think a fantastic experience for the fans!