Daily Prompt: Work, What have I been doing today?

 

This is just 1 of almost 700 images that I have been processing from last night’s basketball games.  You can find them under High School Basketball in the Sports & Events portion of my website. 

Plus I wrote a blog post for Photography by Char about one of the basketball games.  You can read the post here.

Now if I could only get a screen shot of my entire computer screen! You would find that I have several programs open.  Earlier today I lost a bunch of work…  not because my computer could not handle the load but because a program could not handle the load!  Go figure!!

and lets not forget… writing this post (Daily Prompt: Work) for my second blog.  Now I need to get a few other things done too.

I hope everyone has a good evening… Char

The Excitement of Overtime at a Rival Basketball Game

The crowd is roaring and you can feel the excitement in the air! The game has ended its 4th quarter but the score is tied… everyone prepares for OVERTIME!

There is a buzz in throughout the gymnasium… “Who is going to win?” Someone shoots… misses then a rebound… Now someone is at the free throw line.  The crowd comes to a low roar but then as the shot is about to be made there is a frantic cry for a miss!

The score goes up for one team and then the score goes up for the other team.  There is a break away and a block… the clock is counting down the seconds… and then buzzer goes off.  The score is still tied. OVERTIME once again!

There is finally a  break through and one team takes a lead.  With the sound of this final and third buzzer Athens wins with a final score of Athens 77 Union City 71.

It was once again another game for the record books! It was about 4 – 5 years ago that the boys Varsity Basketball Game between Athens and Union City went into multiple overtimes.  The ironic thing is… the game was played at Athens and Union City won the game.  This year the game was played at Union City and Athens won.

But I remember that game at Athens all too well.  I was not photographing it but instead I was a parent of a Union City Junior Varsity basketball player.  We were watching the Varsity game to support his school team and fellow athletes.  However, a part of me was also supporting the Athens team… you see, I am an Athens Graduate (1986).

It is amazing now going to these games and photographing them.  I’m not rooting for one or the other teams any more… but instead I am thrilled to be a part of documenting such a great rivalry between schools.  Click here to see more photos from last nights game between Athens and Union City.

Daily Prompt: Make a Wish

There are several ways to make a wish… you can wish on a star, when you are blowing your birthday candles or blowing  or when you throw a penny in a wishing well.  This photo of a dandelion represents one seedling floating off with a wish attached to it!  Will it come true…  maybe.  After all we must believe in wishes to make a wish come true!

Daily Prompt: Lucky Star: Wishes

Through the Lens Thursday #6: Flower

Today I thought I would try something a little different.

I have subscribed to a host of blogs by Alison Lee who writes the Writing Wishing Blog.  I would highly recommend her to anyone who enjoys reading blogs!

Through the Lens Thursday was started by Greta of GFunkified and I found Writing Wishing Blog.  Every Thursday they post something related to a word with a photograph(s) they have taken.  

Anyways…  when I discovered that the word for Through the Lens Thursday was going to be FLOWER, I decided what a great way to spruce up these winter days in Michigan!

Some of you may have already seen these flowers on Facebook or on my Website.

These 2 images are both of Tiger Lilies from my back yard.

This baby of a flower is a Purple Cone Flower and grows to become a fairly large flower at maturity.

Not only do I like to take pictures documenting different stages in a flowers life cycle…  I also enjoy playing with my focal point, depth of field and rule of thirds.

On to the lovely Black Eyed Susan of the bunch!

Flowers serve as a great tool to not only play with angles, lighting, water droplets but to work on your macro photography…  all things wonderful that come from a mixture of my love for photography and gardening!

#throughthelensthursday

flickr

Daily Prompt: When you think of RED… What comes to mind FIRST?

During the month of February many of us would probably think of roses, hearts, Valentines Day…  the cinnamon red hots I have sitting on my desk when asked “What do you think of when you think of the color Red?”  Another thought might be red birds of sorts like this House Finch…  

To be honest, I have been thinking about this post all day (we receive our daily prompts for WordPress in the morning) and I finally decided to write about something that I really do think of the majority of the time when I think of the colors Red & White.

Now mind you, I am suppose to “Show you Red” another words with these daily prompts for a photographer, I am suppose to show you something… so tonight I am going to show you Red & White, but I am also going to tell you a little bit about the Tekonsha Indians.

Last night I spent the evening at the Tekonsha Senior High School in Southern Michigan photographing the Indians during 3 basketball games.  It was a fun night with the JV & Varsity Boys winning their games and the Varsity Girls really put up a good fight against the Will Carleton Academy Cougars.

At the end of an evening, when I am leaving any sporting event, I am always thinking about something that stood out as in a player’s outstanding athleticism, a spectator’s spectacle or an official’s call… but last night not only was I thinking of the wins that I had just photographed, I kept thinking back to 1985 when Tekonsha went all the way to the State Quarterfinals in basketball.

Now Tekonsha hasn’t been the only school in the area to go a long ways in a sporting season.  1985 was however the first time that I had followed a team when they had gone as far as Tekonsha did.

I never dreamed back then I would be a Sports Photographer now, but I remember the excitement and the thrill of the crowd as the team took the floor back in 1985.  It wasn’t too long ago I was able to not only follow but photograph the Athens Indians Varsity Girls Basketball team go all the way to the State Finals in 2012 and the Semi Finals in 2013.

You see, I was actually an Athens Indian (purple and white) but I had some really good friends who were Tekonsha Indians.  I knew quite a few of the 1984 – 1985 graduating classes and then some.  I had spent quite a bit of time attending Tekonsha Senior High School events from the Cabaret, sporting events, dances… to attending school on an occasion as a guest student (something that most schools do not allow anymore).  I was purple and white thru and thru but there was a bit of red and white in me too!

Now I am photographing for several schools all different colors including the Athens Indians, Tekonsha Indians… the school that my children graduated from, the Union City Chargers (maroon and grey) and schools in the surrounding area.

You can find more information and my photographs on Facebook and my Website.

Daily Prompt: Red

Daily Prompt: Who wants to COPY another Photographer?

“Daily Prompt: The Sincerest Form of Flattery, Publish a post in the style of a favorite author/blogger or photographer.   Photographers, artists, poets:  Show us COPIES.”

At first thought I was like “What!”   I thought to myself,  “How am I going to show copies?   I like doing my work my way!”

So with some thought…  here is a portrait that is based on a portrait that was seen on the Internet that my client liked.

I tend to look for ideas on the Internet for inspiration and I encourage my clients to do the same.  I wouldn’t say that I am copying what someone else is doing though because we make the portrait our own. Maybe I should say that I make the portrait my clients portrait and not a reproduction of what someone else has created.

Pinterest is a perfect place for inspiration.  I even have a Pinterest account for Photography by Char where I have collected some ideas for clients to look at and I have uploaded some of my own images for inspiration for other photographers and their clients.

I absolutely love it when I arrive at a session and a client pulls out their phone and shows me something they found on Pinterest that they would like to try.  For one thing… they are excited and this means that the session is going to be creative and fun!

Daily Prompt: The Sincerest Form of Flattery: to COPY?

Daily Prompt: The Potential of a Group can be OFF the Charts!

The Graduating Class of any school holds their future in their hands…  what they could, can and will accomplish in life can be astronomical!  Therefore, the Potential of a Group can be OFF the Charts!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last year I took the Group Portrait of the Union City Graduating Class (also my daughter’s senior class)…  I allowed them to portray what they felt that day and possibly how they felt about their future. This was their portrait!

As hats were thrown into the air there was a sigh of relief for many and a deep breath of the weight now on their shoulders!  However, the celebrations began shortly after.  Several of the senior I see on a regular basis and I am so very proud.  They are taking adulthood and making the best of it if not taking the steps to one day change the world.

Now on to MOM Bragging Rights…  these 2 young adults are my children and I know they will make their own mark on our world.  Ben was a part of the graduating class of 2012 and Martha, 2013.

Has your school scheduled a Photographer to help document this monumental time in your life?

Daily Prompt: Group

 

Daily Prompt: Happy Ending to a Football Game

So my prompt is actually “the end” but I like “Happy Ending” better! When I think of the ending of any sport this game always stands out to me.  It was my first year on the sidelines of a football game and it was exciting!  It was the first conference game of the season, new coach and my daughter’s senior year, so I knew pretty much all of the kids on the team.  It was also my last year working at the high school as a paraprofessional so I was working hard to build my photography business and to hold myself to my goal of being able to resign at the end of the school year…  and I did.

Another good ending and beginning!

Daily Prompt: Happy Ending to a Football Game