I shot game 1 of the Spurs/Grizzlies series in San Antonio on Sunday for European Pressphoto Agency (EPA).

The Spurs won by a large margin, and the game wasn’t terribly exciting, but I had a blast!  I have several photographer friends in San Antonio, and it was wonderful to see them!  Also, the thrill of shooting a pro game and being in a new venue was fantastic.

I was hired as a second shooter, so I didn’t get a spot on the floor.  Rather, I used my 200-400mm f4 to shoot from a few different places on the mezzanine.  I took some advice and found a decent spot, then experimented a little to try to find a clean back ground, without going too high and shooting the tops of the players’ heads.

Alright, lets get to some pictures.  NBA, college, high school or peewee, a basketball game is a basketball game.  The principles of the game are the same, so there wasn’t anything unexpected to shoot.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Click here and search for Spurs to see more Spurs/Grizzlies images from EPA.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was my work on the wall.  No matter how many years pass, I never get tired of seeing my work in print, especially when it’s hanging on someone else’s wall.

After sneaking a quick picture of my pictures I found the owner and head coach, Kris Allison.  This time the story was about him and how he managed to coach more than a dozen state champion pole vaulters since 2002.  Four of his Austin-area athletes (three were present at the shoot) made it to the UIL state finals this year.

When I arrived they were just starting practice, so I jumped right in and got a couple shots of them pole vaulting and working with Kris.

During a break, I got the coach, his assistants and athletes together for a group photo.

Then I let reporter Rick Cantu take over and I headed home.  It was great to visit the facility and see that everything was still going well.

Click here to read Rick Cantu’s story.

Click here to view photos from Pam LeBlanc’s visit to Lone Star Pole Vault.

Years ago when Obama was campaigning the first time around, he came to San Marcos.  I was on staff at the San Marcos Daily Record at the time and got to cover his visit.  This time was very similar, though the venues and crowds were smaller.

He had two speeches planned for Thursday – one at Manor New Tech High School and one at Applied Materials in Austin.  I was assigned to cover both speeches from a spot on the risers.

While it is exciting to get to cover a presidential visit, unless you’re in the pool and can stay with the president all day, it’s fairly routine.  I had to arrive at 9:30 a.m. to check in and find a spot at Manor New Tech High School, and the president wasn’t scheduled to speak until 1:05 p.m.  He didn’t arrive until about 1:30 p.m., so all of the media had to stand around until then.

It was a bit frustrating because we were sequestered in a high school gym in the back of the school and if we wanted to see the president speak, we weren’t allowed to leave.  If I could come and go during that time, I’m sure I could have found a feature photo or two of people holding signs outside or the Secret Service milling about or something.  But instead we stood around and told stories.

On the up side, it’s a great place to see fellow photographers and talk about what we’ve all been working on.  It’s sort of like a reunion.

That photo above looks pretty packed, and it was, but the atmosphere is not what you might think.  We’re all there for the same reason, and though we technically compete with each other, we cooperate well to make sure everyone gets what they need.  For example, my new friend Bob was very generous to let me share his tall ladder for the above shot, and another Bob and Matt shifted their ladders to make sure we had enough room.

After a while the pool photographers came in and the presidential seal was hung on the podium.  It was time to shoot.

I started on a ladder with my D700 and my 200-400mm f4.  I wanted to make sure I got the shot from dead center in front before moving on to another angle.

He stood at a podium in front of students on risers, with an American flag behind them.  It was an okay background, but a little busy for my taste.  After a few minutes I shifted to a riser on the side of the stage, where a banner was well-placed in the background.  (It’s like they plan these things…)

He gave a speech that lasted about 10-15 min. and then briefly greeted the crowd before making his exit.  That’s where the best shots are made, when he interacts.

Then it was off to the second site – Applied Materials.

It was about 5 min. up the road by GPS, but it took a lot longer with delays due to Secret Service and construction.  The majority of the media barely made it inside before the check-in cut off at 3 p.m.

Once inside I found my spot and sat down on the floor with my laptop to edit the first speech.  We had about an hour and a half wait before things started happening again.  I had a little trouble finding a reliable wifi signal, but got photos in just before it was time to shoot again.

The setup at Applied Materials was very similar to Manor New Tech – a set of risers in the back, facing Obama, and a set of risers on the side.  I liked this location a little better because there was more room to move around on the risers, there were more people in the crowd and the light wasn’t so dramatic.

I used the same strategy, shooting from straight on first…

Then moved to the side.

Then, of course, Obama greeted people on his way out to the tune of thousands of camera shutters.

That last photo was one of my favorites of the day.  They all look so thrilled to see the president.

Click here to view more photos.

Fri. morning I woke up to storms that I knew would set the track schedule back by at least two hours.  Sure enough, the schedule was altered, but I didn’t need to be there until later that afternoon.  By the time I arrived around 4 p.m. they were mostly caught up.  The evening races didn’t start until 6 p.m., so I went down to the field to take in some triple jump.  There were several Dallas area athletes competing.

Clouds were starting to roll in again, but the races started on time at 6 p.m.  I shot two or three and then ran up to the press area (at the top of the parking garage next to the track) to send in a few photos.  I try to schedule myself a little bit of time to get a few images in early, and this time I had about 30-45 min.

Well, that is until the announcer came over the loud speaker and said, “we have reports of bad weather in the area, so we are going to start a rolling schedule.”  That means instead of keeping a minute-by-minute start time schedule, they were just going to run the races back to back as soon as the athletes were ready.

I immediately sent in the five or so photos I had ready to go, then grabbed my gear and ran down to the track.  On my way to the finish line to shoot the 4A girls 100 meter hurdles race, I heard “on your mark…”  Oh no!  Not yet!  I need to shoot that race!  “Get set…”  Run faster!  “…Stand up”  Whew!  They weren’t ready to start yet.  I kept running and they got ready again.

As I got about half way from the start to the finish, the gun fired.  I knelt down on one knee, pointed my 200-400mm at lane 3 and fired off three shots as my athlete jumped a hurdle.  I didn’t see shot 1, but I knew shot 2 and 3 jumped to back focus.  Agh!

I didn’t have time to look at the back of the camera before a UIL official tapped me on the shoulder and said, “ma’am, you can’t stay here, you have to stand at the finish line with the other photographers.”  I got up and moved.  At the finish line I took a deep breath and pulled up the photos.  Shot 2 and 3 were badly out of focus, just as I suspected.  But shot 1?  Shot 1!  I got something!  Whew!

I settled in at the finish line to shoot the next group of races, checking my list for lane assignments, when a UIL official turned and looked at the line of photographers.  “We’re shutting down for weather,” he said.  A few seconds later the announcer confirmed and everyone was evacuated from the stadium.

Everyone except the photographers, who sat under large tents with metal poles on the top of the parking garage, right next to a giant metal light pole.  At one point a lone campus police officer made a mild attempt to get us to take shelter, but if you’ve ever tried to get a journalist to move from their computer during deadline, you know that it’s a completely futile effort.

I sent in the last of what I had shot earlier and packed up my laptop to keep it from getting wet.  I put my 200-400mm f4 in my car and pulled the car under an overhang in case of hail, then took shelter in the crowded press box.

The storm was bad.  At just after 7 p.m. it was completely dark outside.  Not just storm dark, it was middle of the night dark.  Take a look at the photo at the top of the post.  That was taken around 7:30 p.m., which should be just about magic hour this time of year.

The rain came down in sheets.  It was more rain than we’ve seen in central Texas in a long long time.  I sat in the press box and returned some phone calls, checking in with my reporters and UIL officials regularly.  At about 8:30 p.m. I got a call from my editor, who told me to go home.  Oh boy, was I happy to hear that!  The rain hadn’t let up, and it wouldn’t until about 10 p.m.  They resumed events then and didn’t finish until after midnight.

Day 2

Sat. was completely opposite.  It was sunny and nice and there were no delays.  I got there early again, but no Dallas athletes were competing.  I set up my computer and touched base with the reporters, then got something to eat and waited until the 6 p.m. race start time.

Like I said, everything went fairly smoothly all evening.  Instead of giving you the play-by-play, I’ll just post some of my favorite images of the day.

It might just be me, but photos of running events just never have that wow factor that field events do.  I prefer to shoot field events like pole vault and high jump, but this time was mostly running.

A lot of times when shooting running events, I end up with the same photos over and over and over again.  If I camp out at the finish line, all I get are athletes running toward me finishing the race.  Then most of them are rushed off the track as soon as the race is over, not leaving much time for reaction.  It just seems very formulaic.

I try to find other places around the track to shoot to make a different image when I can, but sometimes, access just doesn’t allow for it.  Like that hurdle shot I took on Fri.  I got one shot before I was asked to move.  It all just depends on the meet, the layout and how strict the closest official is with the rules.

Anyway, for you gear-minded people, I used two Nikon D700s, one with a 200-400mm f4 lens and one with an 80-200mm f2.8 lens.  I had my 24-70mm f2.8 lens on my belt and used it when necessary.  I also kept my SB910 speedlight on my belt, but I didn’t need it.

Click here to view more track images on the Dallas Morning News sports web site.

This time I didn’t shoot for 1st Photo Texas for UIL, rather I took on a few editorial assignments.

On Monday morning I was in Austin at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center at UT for the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.  New Braunfels High School had a few athletes competing, so I stuck around for the quarterfinals.

Tuesday morning I made the two hour drive to College Station to cover the 3A boys singles final for the Dallas Morning News.  The match was at the Mitchell Tennis Center at Texas A&M University.

Dallas Madison’s Bradley Loftis played Abilene Wylie’s Rayce Roberson.  Loftis, a 15-year-old eighth grader, had made it to the finals, which is further than anyone from his district has gone since at least 1983.  That’s as far back as the UIL online records go.  If he would have won the match, it would have been the first time since 1929 that anyone from Dallas ISD had won the state title.

Loftis ended up losing 6-0, 6-1 to Roberson, but it was fun to watch Loftis play.  He was clearly emotionally invested and had an athletic quality to his game.  He jumped high and moved quickly around the court.  It was a fun match to shoot, even if it ended with frustration rather than celebration.

Here are some of my favorites:

It’s almost always nicer when I get to shoot an athlete (especially a kid) winning, but I hope Loftis knows he had nothing to be ashamed of, and that he’ll have another chance next year.

As far as gear goes, I used two Nikon D700s, one with an 80-200mm f2.8 and one with a 200-400mm f2.8.  At both locations I shot from the official stand at the net on the court, from either side of the back of the court (where players enter/exit), and from the raised seating area that overlooks the court.  Both locations offered great access.

Click here to read more about the New Braunfels HS tennis team.

Click here to read more about Dallas Madison’s Bradley Loftis.

I stayed about an hour, long enough to see the last round of races before the championship, and to take in a little bit of the quirkiness.

This is champion dachshund Boomer, center, and his owners Brad Lawson and Jennifer Candeloria.  Boomer defended his title after taking home first place last year as well.

This is one of my favorite times of the year.  There are so many little festivals and parades happening in small town central Texas.  No matter what your day is like, wiener dogs crashing in to each other on a make-shift race track will make you smile.

There’s a lot of personality in these kinds of festivals and I tried to capture a bit of it in the short time I was there.

There are many more festivals coming up this spring and summer.  Can’t wait to share some of my favorites!

Click here to view more photos.

All eight of the games I covered on Thurs. and Fri. were semi-finals.  I didn’t stick around for the finals on Saturday because I chose to attend a friend’s wedding instead.

Soccer is always a wild card.  Not as much as some sports, I mean, at least these athletes run around and make contact with the ball, but still, it’s not exactly a high-scoring sport.  Then you add in factors like a very large field that requires a telescope of a lens (I used a 200-400mm f4) to cover, and unpredictable spring weather…well, it’s not exactly football.  …You know what I mean.

There was some rain on Thurs. morning as a cool front moved in, but only a short shower during the game.  Then the temperature dropped to the 50s and the north wind blew.  The weather got better on Fri., and thank goodness there were no game delays!

All of the games were successful and on time for the most part.  Working there at the Georgetown High School football stadium is nice.  A large press box with plenty of room, and the staff there takes care of us well.

Anyway, let’s get to the pictures.  Here are a few that stood out to me.

Thanks for your patience lately on the blog, it’s been a very busy spring!

Click here to view more soccer photos.

I’m not a parent, but the words “minimalist parenting” seem kind of odd to me.  I mean, shouldn’t children rely on their parents to be the authority figures in their lives?  So many TV shows are based on kids acting up and parents keeping them in line.  Taking a minimalist approach sounds like mom and dad giving a kid the basics – food, water, shelter – and letting the kids figure out the rest for themselves.

Yeah, that wasn’t it at all.

The story was more about parents not stressing over every little aspect of their kid’s lives, and, instead, slowing down to enjoy the time they have together as a family.

A good example of that was at the end of the shoot when I wanted to get one last family photo of Noll, her husband Kenny Anderson, and her four children.  They had been playing a board game and the youngest, Dean, 6, had put on a fake mustache during the game.  Everyone gathered around Noll and Dean still had the mustache on.  Being conscious that most parents might not want their family photo to feature a thick, black, fake mustache on a six-year-old, I asked if he was going to leave it on for the photo.

Noll turned to Dean and said, “it’s up to you.  What do you want to do?”  Dean said he wanted to keep it on, so the family portrait included the mustache.

In most cases, I’d do one picture without the mustache, just in case, but this somehow seemed perfect.

From a (theoretical) parent aspect, what would the harm be in letting your child wear a mustache in a picture?  The world wouldn’t end, the family wouldn’t be disgraced, nothing would happen except it would show people that you have a sense of humor, and it would let the child know that he does have a say in his own behavior.  Noll might be on to something here.

Anyway, that’s enough parental musing from this non-parent.  Let’s get back to the photography.

When I arrived at their home that evening, it was cloudy, but not too cold, so the family took advantage of their wonderland of a yard.  They have a very large, metal slide that they inherited from a friend, a rope swing and some other playground equipment.

After a few minutes it started raining and we went inside for a change of venue and family activity.  This time it was a board game.

It was such a nice change of pace to be welcomed in to a home where the family wasn’t worried about how they would look in the pictures.  They were just themselves.  That’s all we ever really want as photojournalists.

Click here to read the Statesman’s story.

Click here to view more photos.

It’s the largest 10k in the state, and I was assigned to shoot the start and the finish.  There was a photographer (Ricardo B. Brazziell) in the back of the pace car, another (editor Jay Godwin) at the capitol, another at a water stop, a photographer (Alberto Martinez) in a helicopter and a videographer along the route as well.  It was a well-covered race.

The start time was 8 a.m., so I got there about 7 a.m. to find my way to the front of the pack.  I shot a few features along the way of people stretching, but mostly I just needed to get my barrings, as this was my first time to shoot the annual race.

The wheelchair race was supposed to start at 7:30 a.m., but there was only one racer ready to go.  They delayed the start a few minutes, but eventually let David Reeves make his way down Congress ahead of the runners.

Another wheelchair racer came late and started just before the runners.

As the running start approached, I got in position to get that shot of everyone running across the line together.  I got a little bit of grief from race officials because they didn’t want me to stand in the middle of the street with over 17,000 people running towards me.

After explaining that I was working for the Statesman and that they got that shot every year, and with some back up from Ricardo, we convinced them to let me stand where I needed to be.

Photographers, especially sports photographers, know when to get out of the danger zone.  We have athletes running toward us all the time.  We know how to get the shot we need and get the heck out of the way.  That being said, Ricardo, who was in the pace car behind me at the start of the race, took a photo of me shooting the start.  After seeing that photo, and seeing how small I look and how many runners were actually racing towards me, I can see how it might look a little dangerous to onlookers.

Anyway, I positioned myself at the start and framed up the traditional, symmetrical shot with an 80-200mm at f4.  I thought about shooting closer with a wide angle, but the background didn’t look as good in the test shots.

The shot that ran on page 1 today above the masthead was the photo at the top of the post.

From there I just tried to single out runners as they passed.

After about 10 min., it was time for me to make my way to the finish line.  Only about half of the runners had crossed the start line, but if I didn’t get walking, I would have missed the men’s winner.

At the finish line, I set up my shot and before I knew it, the announcer proclaimed that the men’s leader was just around the corner.  I saw the pace car and Ricardo, and a minute or two later came men’s winner Eric Chirchir.  He finished with a record time of 29:24.

A few more men came through and then the women’s leader came racing through.  Betzy Jimenez crosses the finish line with a time of 35:27.

My assignment obligations had been fulfilled at that point, but I stuck around for a little while to see if I could get a few features.

The crowd wasn’t terribly large or excited, so I decided to head back, knowing that the powers that be would want to get the winners ASAP!

Click here to view many more photos from the Statesman’s photo team.

Click here to view all of the Cap 10k coverage.

I’ve gotten to cover this program a few times since 2006, since I used to be a staffer at the San Marcos Daily Record.  ALERRT offers training for police officers and other law enforcement officials on how to deal with active shooter situations.

Unfortunately, there have been an increase in these types of situations in recent years, which is why this story is always timely.

In the past, I’ve photographed these training sessions in abandoned buildings, vacated schools and in college classrooms, but this was my first time to their new dedicated training facility.

Any time I cover this type of training, I take it very seriously.  Even if the guns aren’t real, it’s still daunting to be on the wrong end of one.  No matter the situation, if there are fire arms or gunfire nearby (there was a live practice range being used on the campus), it’s always best to be extremely cautious about your surroundings.

When reporter Claire Cardona and I arrived, a door breaching class was underway.  We got a quick tour of the campus from director John Curnutt before joining the class.  He showed us three different training areas and a shooting range.

One of the training facilities was used for live round training, one was a multi-level structure set up to look like a school or office building, and the third was an outdoor facade where we ended up meeting the class in progress.

They were working on door breaching, meaning opening a locked or jammed door with a potential shooter on the other side.  Each officer got to try different devices for forcefully opening doors.

Since these were just walls with doors and not full buildings, I could easily move around and play with angles as each team trained.  It was a bright, sunny day, so I didn’t have to worry much about lighting as they moved from outside to “inside.”  I just had to steer clear of the battering rams and sledge hammers.

The next part of the training was to go through the door as an armed group of officers.  They learned how to approach the door, open it quickly and enter in a way that would disarm anyone threatening, while protecting innocent bystanders.

This was the part that really made me nervous.  Like I said, it doesn’t matter the situation, being on the wrong end of a gun is scary.

My efforts on this assignment landed my work on the front page of the Dallas Morning News.  A first for me!

Click here to read Claire Cardona’s story.