Night Soccer

I was laving the Honeoye vs. Bloomfield game when I seen this... it was too dark to shoot any real action on the field it self so I figured a wide action shot might work. I got behind the goal with a 300 f/2.8 with ISO at 1600 and just watched and waited for some action to occur on front of the goalie.

Triathlon

Three photos from the Finger Lakes Triathlon held at the Canandaigua Lake.... the story here is that I have no one to be mad at, only at my self!

Another Fall Fest

I was trying to find inspiration to get through this Fireman's Fall Fest shoot. At our paper we shoot allot of "Fall Festivals" and just about any other "Festival" through out the year. This is something one can get tired of shooting... including me. Anyways, I used to work with this one photog by the name of John D. Hanlon and the thing about John, he used to shoot for Sports Illustrated, and other national publications back in the day when airline tickets were cheep and SI could fly you all over the country. Now in his later years he settled down in Canandaigua, N.Y. and was working for a chain of local newspapers mainly covering events such as this. (I wonder why veteran photogs do that?) What I remember most about John is the pride he took making each picture, even of community events such as this. However John's pictures, even of kids having their cheek painted, were always immaculate, well exposed, well toned, and color balanced and captured the playfulness of the kids and the fun of the moment. I often think there is something special about that.... and I don't know it yet. I see older photogs from me taking photos like that and treating them as though they are of great importance. But the conclusion I arrive to, is that those photos are important to them, to the parents of the kids and the kids, to the community it self! (I'll stop here but you see where I'm going with this.) (Above) Kids play in the mist created by Rush, N.Y. Firefighter Warner Wandersleben.

Fans of the Action

This is from a volleyball game that went one game too long. To get this angle I climbed the folded up bleachers on the opposite side diagonally from the home team fans. I wanted to show them as well as the action. Perhaps more so, I wanted a clean background for the action and they would provided that. During a time out I manually pre-focused the 70-200mm where I thought Tyler DiCicco (1) would be when he jumps and made this pic on the fist play. The one thing I would have liked is to not have EJ Wells Spicer (6) in the picture. Maybe if I panned the camera to the left the composition would have been better. But over all I'm 75% happy. You probably didn't notice him as a distraction till I told you.

Canandaigua Lake

A picture I made while visiting Sponge Bob at Bikini Bottom, just kidding I was visiting his best friend Patrick. Just kidding again! This is under water at the Canandaigua Lake. One of the cleaner lakes around here, the water is really soft!.... and lets keep it that way! :-)

Flames

This is my first motor vehicle spot news photo with flames! I got to work today a call came across the scanner that there has been an accident and one vehicle is on fire. The good thing, the crash was just around the corner from the office... as I ran to my Man-Van I could here the sirens from the fire trucks and ambulances coming from various directions... the excitement was in the air! I hit the gas and few seconds later I was there. As I arrived the flames were already extinguished, I thought dam! why couldn't they wait till I got there! However, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood and the next thing you know there were flames, before you know it they got bigger and before Canandaigua firefighter Mike Bates could extinguish them I snapped this photo.

Migrant Workers

The following three photos are from a Mexican migrant workers camp. As a photographer, I believe in the power of a picture. However, no picture or words can substitute the experience of being at a place with your own two feet, seeing the people, hearing the tremble in their voice, or have your own eyes and senses tell the full story. ----- (Above ) Mexican migrant worker Gabriela Garcia 19, is currently in court proceedings facing deportation, and her father (who chose to remain anonymous) has been sneaking in and out of the United States since his early twenties. He has changed his name several times over the years to avoid capture and deportation. In the recent years, with the tightening of the US Mexican border he stopped commuting back and forth and visiting his family in Mexico.

Luciano Garcia 19, takes a moment from a volleyball game to talk about his current status in the US and his road to employment in the US. As he spoke with a reporter one could hear the tremble in his voice. For some this land of the free, is the land of constant vigilance, and insecurity.

Usually after a day of work in the orchards, migrant workers (mostly men and boys) get together and play volleyball late into the evening.

Bills

I was on top of the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park on September 9, 2007 as the Bills opened their season and hosting the Denver Broncos. I wanted a celebration shot and possible jet planes flying over the field. The guy downstairs told me there would be jet planes..... but they never came. So in the mean time fireworks as the Bills take the field would have to do. The game would turn out to be anything but a celebration for the Bills.

James

James Rozwood was struck by lightning while with boy scouts in the woods when he was 16, now in his early 20s, he is in a wheel chair and has limited voluntary movement. The worst part of all, his mind works just fine according to his caregivers, but he is unable to talk. He communicates through blinks and smiles, and via DynaVox (the screen on his wheel chair) This picture was taken with 17-35mm with ISO 800. To me, the picture shows what it must be like to be James, trapped in his own body, and perhaps in his mind. The windows symbolizes the eyes, and the room symbolizes being inside his head. As though he is free to think anything he'd like, but unable to physically reach beyond the walls.

' 07 Grad

This photo is from June '07 graduation.... the sun was setting and the rays were coming through the field house window and hitting few kids coming on stage, I got behind them, stepped up the ISO and the shutter to darken everything else and to capture the light around their profile, put on the 1.7x TC onto the 70-200mm and made this picture. I tried several kids but this one came out looking best.