Area Talent Shows Were a Delight to Photograph this Past Weekend

Friday night I was at the 2014 Athens Follies, “Remember the Feeling… Enjoy the Fun” and Saturday night I was at the 2014 Cabaret in Tekonsha, “Black Tie Affair, Under the Stars”.  Both productions were student based with assistance from teachers, parents and the community.

What was the most interesting between the 2  productions though was that the 2014 Athens Follies had mostly singing and choreographed dancing while the 2014 Tekonsha Cabaret was singing and skits or plays with acting.

Both events were held in their school’s gymnasium with public invited to watch.  Both events had a stage crew, ushers and programs but at Tekonsha the students really did run the show with lighting, music, curtains and communication. While the 2014 Athens Follies is open to all students K-12 the 2014 Tekonsha Cabaret was 7-12 grades.

I was amazed with the talent at both shows especially with some of the solo artists.  There was range from playing the guitar to saxophone and even a violin!

Now as a photographer, I will have to admit that the Follies and the Cabaret can be my most challenging events to photograph.  It is completely pitch dark in the gymnasiums with spotlights and stage lights but not controlled by me.  Freezing motion in this type of setting is extremely hard.  However, I always manage to get some good pictures even though I probably drove those sitting next to up the wall with the number of clicks they heard and all of my movement!

 

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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

New Way to Pay for your Prints – Introducing the PayPal Button

I am so excited today to share the New PayPal Button on my website! I am a huge fan of PayPal and I use it whenever it is available.  Now I can offer you this feature on my website!!!!

No more limiting my customers to Credit or Debit cards….  one click of the button and you can log into your PayPal account and purchase your prints.

If you have not used PayPal before, it is supper simple and easy to set up and account.  Go to PayPal and set up an account.  You have the option to use credit cards or debit cards as your payment option but even better…  you can have PayPal set up to use your checking or savings account for your payment!

That’s right…  You can now pay for your prints with your checking account from my website!!!!!!

No more shuffling around to find your Credit or Debit card to make a purchase!

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Memory Pages are not just for Sports but can be created for ANY School, Sport or Event!

My 12″ x 12″ Memory Pages can be customized to your school, sport or event!  One way to find out how to order a Memory Page from me is to go to my Website, scroll down to the Sports Folder, click on it and you will find the following information…

12″ x 12″ Memory Pages cost $25.00 each.  Starting in September, 2014 – when you purchase 4 Memory Pages you will receive your fifth Memory Page for FREE.

Here are some examples of Memory Pages from Union City 2013 Homecoming…

and here are a couple examples of Memory Pages done for Harper Creek 8th Grade Football.

Memory Pages are 12″ x 12″ and perfect for Scrapbooks.  You can also find frames for 12″ x 12″ prints at various stores.  Memory Pages are an excellent way to display your Senior’s accomplishments and participation in various sports and events for their Graduation Open Houses!  A Memory Page makes a great present and is a keepsake that will last forever with proper care as they are professionally printed.

To order your 12″ x 12″ Memory Page, contact me with the Athlete’s Name, Number and Sport/Game/Event they participated in by sending me an email, message on Facebook, filling out the contact form on my website or by calling me at (517) 767-3013.

I do offer the option to have a Memory Page mailed to you with a tracking number and in a cardboard sleeve for an additional $5.00.  For more information on having your Memory Pages mailed, please contact me.

 

Prints or Downloads

I have had a few people inquire about how to purchase Prints & Downloads from my website.  Here is a quick break down on 2 ways to purchase Prints & Downloads from my website…

All galleries will have a button “Add to Cart” in the upper right hand corner.

When you click “This Photo” you will be taken to this screen.  Select the size print you would like to purchase and then you can click “Back to Photos” to add more to your cart or “Checkout” to purchase the prints you have in your cart.

You can also click “Downloads” at the top of the shopping cart.  This will take you to the screen shown above.  Here is a break down on the different sized downloadable file that are offered

– Low Res (1Mpix) is about 1000 x 1000 megapixel file.  This will work for 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″ and possibly 8″ x 10″ prints.

– High Res (4Mpix) is what you would purchase for good quality 8″ x 10″ or larger prints (reasonably sized).

– Original File is just that.  It is my original file which is high quality and resolution.  This would be purchased for printing large poster      or larger prints.

All downloadable files come with a personal print release which basically states that you can print these photos for your personal use. You cannot resell any of my files or prints.

This screen viewed above is what you will see if you select “Photos from this Gallery” when you click on “Add to Cart”.  This screen is actually pretty cool if you have several pictures in a gallery that you would like to purchase!  You can select the Print Size or Download that you would like to purchase and then just click on each of the pictures that you would like to purchase.  Once you click “Add Photos to Cart” you can continue on to another gallery and purchase more!

Prices shown here are for Sports and Event Galleries only.  If you are interested in Portrait Session & Prints Prices, please contact me.

Thank you for your business and support but even more so…  Thank you for allowing me to photograph your athletes!

New Sports Templates for Team Portraits & Memory Mates

Above you are looking at the new 8″ x 10″ Team Portrait print that you will receive when ordering a package containing an 8″ x 10″ Team Portrait or an individual 8″ x 10″ Team Portrait.  All schools of the teams that I photograph will also receive an 8″ x 10″ Team Portrait for displaying in their school.

Above you will find the new 5″ x 7″ Team Portrait print that you will receive when ordering a package containing a 5″ x 7″ Team Portrait or an individual 5″ x 7″ Team Portrait.  Also, all coaches will receive a 5″ x 7″ Team Portrait  of the team they coach.

You will notice that the new Team Portrait prints look similar to the Memory Mates!  Now you have nice complimentary prints for scrapbooks and framing.  There will be times when I will customize the Memory Mates to suit the teams, school/team colors and portraits taken.  Here is an example of a change in the Memory Mate for the same school but different sport:

I am looking forward to an exciting and busy year of High School & Middle School Sports!  Good luck to all of the teams that I am photographing…  Athens, Tekonsha & Union City.  You will also find me in Harper Creek this fall photographing athletes competing in Football & Volleyball.