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

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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: Close and then Closer

Daily Prompt: Close

 

Daily Prompt: A Bathing Beauty

While I was sitting in my cool home I discovered several Robins visiting the old cement birdbath outside.  I looked at the thermometer to see that it read over 90 degrees.  No wonder these Robins were taking a bath!  I quietly cracked the sliding glass door and captured this beauty during her bath.            Char

Daily Prompt: Singular or One

Daily Prompt: High School Sports Current Events

Saturday I covered the Homer Wrestling Invitational located in Homer, Michigan.  There were 10 teams at this event wrestling in 2 gyms.  The excitement was running high as the wrestlers took the mat with Jackson Northwest going undefeated to win the invitational.

Upcoming wrestling events that I will be photographing this week are the Marshall Quad Meet on Wednesday 1/15 between Coldwater, Harper Creek, Marshall and Sturgis and the Quincy Invitational on Saturday 1/18.  For more dates of events that I will be attending, check out my calendar and to see more of my work you can go to the sports section of my website.

Daily Prompt by WordPress.com

Daily Prompt: Sometimes Quirky is a Part of a Good Photo Shoot!

Today’s post is about the word “quirky.”

Definition: different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion <the waitress styles her hair in a quirky way that always gets her remembered by customers> from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.

My first thought of “quirky” of some of the funny little things I do or say on a photo shoot…

Such as attempting to pose in a abnormal way to show a client how I would like them to pose.  A good example would be this next photo of McKenzie…  her mom actually said that she had more fun watching me try and pose during the photo shoot!

Then there are times that I get sidetracked!  This next picture was taken during a photo shoot with my daughter.  We were playing around with a mirror found in a garden area at Southern Exposure, located in Southern Michigan.  I was attempting to take some pictures of her and her reflection from different angels when I discovered myself in the mirror!

Then there are always the silly faces…  or playing that some of my seniors might decide to do!

My ultimate goal on a photo shoot with a senior or family is to have fun!  I want to capture their true nature and character.  What they love doing and what life and family means to them.  Sometimes this leads to some “quirky” moments to get the job done but I am okay with that!

Daily Prompt: Photographers show us “Quirky”

Daily Prompt: Pictures Showing Fast Forward!

This is a Senior Portrait of a 2014 Union City Senior.  He wanted one where it looked like he was coming out of the blocks…  I took the shot a step further by adding a zoom blur to make it look like he was in hyper speed!

Daily Prompt: Fast Forward

 

Daily Prompt: Outside: Hunting Senior Portraits

Daily Prompt from WordPress: Photographers show Outside

March Madness… yes, I am talking about Basketball!

As many of you know the NCAA March Madness tournament begins March 19.  Now I don’t usually follow college or professional basketball.  To be honest the only thing March Madness has meant to me in the past was that normal Channel 3 shows were going to be interrupted!  However, this year I am actually looking forward to March Madness.  Yes, Dish Network has assisted with this since I can now find The Young & The Restless on the Soap Opera channel…  but more importantly would be my enjoyment in photographing the sport!

In the past, my favorite sport to photograph has always been whichever sport my teens were participating in at the time.  They are grown now with my daughter graduating high school this year and as a result I have noticed a shift in the way I go about photographing sports.  Instead of just focusing on my teens and their team… I am striving to capture the whole game showing the dedication and determination that all athletes bring to the competition and their team.  While I enjoy photographing all sports, basketball has become one of my favorite to photograph.  You can literally test all of your photographic skills while photographing a basketball game.

From capturing the action of a fast breakaway to freezing the ball in midair or a player jumping for a jump shot… to the contemporary portrait shots of a player concentrating on that all important free throw.  To capture the facial expressions of a player while waiting for a rebound or a pass… to the physical contact on the floor with blocks and picks… nothing is better than that up close action right under the basket.  There is a play on focal points and depth of field with capturing the spectators in the stands, the team on the bench and the lectures of the coach during a time out.

Ultimately, I have seriously enjoyed this past basketball season!  Not only have I photographed 7-12 grades in the Big Eight Conference in Southern Michigan but I also followed the Athens Lady Indians to their Regional Victory and second trip to the Breslin Center at MSU for the Class D Semi Final State Championship Game.  What an experience!  These young ladies played an awesome game and I was extremely proud to be a photographer down on the floor while they played.

Spring brings a whole new round of sports.  I have already lined up several Athlete & Team Portrait Photo Shoots along with athletic events.  If your school needs a photographer, give me a call at (517) 767-3013 or email me at photographybychar@gmail.com.  You can also see more of my work on Facebook @  https://www.facebook.com/PhotographyByChar.

In the meantime, I will be watching the NCAA March Madness tournament to see different aspects of the game that I can look for next year!