Hodgman goal clip

It's a little choppy. Cut me some slack, my camera only shoots 8.5 frames per second, and this is made of high-res still images.

Komets are Champs again!

_{Sergei Durdin hoists the Turner Cup after the Fort Wayne Komets beat the Port Huron IceHawks 3-2 in a triple-overtime Game 7 of the Turner Cup finals.
Photo by Chad Ryan}

Anyone who is a fan of hockey would have loved to watch last night's Turner Cup finals Game 7 at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne. Fans who bought tickets almost got two games for the price of one. The Fort Wayne Komets and the Port Huron IceHawks played a triple-overtime barn burner in front of 10,462 fans. Game start time: 7:30 p.m. Game end time:12:20 a.m. Score Komets 3; Port Huron 2.

You can check out all the stories from Blake Sebring and Elbert Starks and photos from Brian Tombaugh, Michelle Linn and me on News-Sentinel.com.


<sub>Fort Wayne's Justin Hodgman picks up a loose puck in front of Port Huron goalie Larry Sterling and buries it in the net at :23 into the third overtime period to win the International Hockey League Turner Cup championship on Monday at Memorial Coliseum.
Photo by Chad Ryan.



The Fort Wayne Komets players empty onto the ice after Justin Hodgman's goal 23 seconds into the third overtime period clinched the Turner Cup.
Photo by Chad Ryan


Port Huron goalie Larry Sterling, left, steers away a wrap-around attempt from the Komets' Matt Reynolds during Monday's Game 7 of the Turner Cup finals.
Photo by Chad Ryan.



Fort Wayne's Dacid Hukalo, center, tries to shield himself as P.C. Drouin and Brent Henly dump bottles of champagne on his head after the Komets won the Turner Cup.
Photo by Chad Ryan



P.C. Drouin, left, rests on teammate Brandon Warner's leg in the locker room after the Komets beat the Port Huron IceHawks in triple overtime of Game 7.
Photo by Chad Ryan</sub>

Internet problems

Alright, so I started a new blog for my Indy 500 coverage for The News-Sentinel. The intention was that I would post photos online live from the track mixed with tidbits of news and other content. Well, that was until I got to IMS and had troubles connecting to the Media Center's Wi-Fi connection.

It was not a good start to the day. If that wasn't enough, I was denied "Over the Wall" access by the track because of security officials' efforts to pare down the number of people allowed onto pit road. On Friday, Danica Patrick hit another driver's pit crew member, who was apparently in street clothes and not actually working, causing multiple injuries to his head and neck. Security blamed extreme pedestrian congestion on pit road, so they clamped down for Saturday.

There are always a lot of people with no business on pit road wandering around, but the best thing to do is eliminate working photographers' access. We pose the real safety threat in every situation - Sarcasm intended. In any case, there were several photographers allowed on pit road, some whom I'd never seen there before. I figured it was time to plead my case.

I talked to the director of the speedway's photo staff, and luckily, he allowed me access. Without it, I was stuck behind countless fans taking pictures with their camera phones for the first round of qualifying. It is nearly impossible to cover Pole Day without this type of access. A photographer could get some pictures with just pit access, but odds of getting "the" shot" are nonexistent.



Tensions remained high, though. At one point, I dropped down to my knees to shoot a low angle photo and I was told by the head of security I couldn't kneel. I'd never heard that rule before, but I complied. After I stood up, said security person pointed me out to the photo director who shouted that I had been given a warning and the next one would result in my expulsion. I was close to the wall and behind two other people. Needless to say, I was beside myself.

Most everyone at the track kneels down to take photos, including IMS official photographers. I figure they should know if a rule exists, considering some of them have covered the race for more years than I've been alive. I went over to apologize to both individuals and explain that I had no idea such a rule existed. Then I was told I was carrying too many cameras (3), as I stood beside two other photographers who each had three cameras.

I was also told I waited in one spot for too long. I was there less than 5 minutes waiting to shoot a photo of Tony Kanaan leaving his stall. Normally, if I'd tried to move along I would have been yelled at for stepping in the way of the car. It was absolutely a no-win situation, and my explanation did nothing to diffuse it, so I cut my losses and moved along. There was not going to be any slack given on this day.


_{This photo is one example of an image shot from the low angle approach I tried to use when I was reprimanded.}

Once it was all over, I got what I needed. The trick to this job is there are ALWAYS going to be issues to overcome, it's just a matter of whether or not you get the pictures. Editors don't want to hear about access restriction, dead batteries, or any other issues that pop up. They have to justify the expense of sending a photographer when there are numerous Associated Press photographers and other wires service shooters there. The fact is I work for an afternoon newspaper in a two-paper town so I absolutely must come back with different, but equally impactful images than the AP from an event. Our morning counterparts get the first crack at wire service photos, so I work extra hard to get different images for our newspaper(hence the kneeling down episode listed above).

I regularly compete against teams of four and five shooters that have better access than I do in most cases, but I'm told I continually get the photos we need that the AP doesn't move. That alone makes my editor want to keep sending me to events despite his bosses' grumblings.

Finally, I made it to the hotel and tried to start uploading content to the new blog when I found out the high speed internet connection there is only marginally faster than dial up. On top of that, Wordpress had been down for a ridiculously long time. So, I wrote to this blog. I'll have some photos up over there soon, so check it out when you get a chance.

Race pix blog

So, it's May, and my entrenchment at Indianapolis Motor Speedway start this week. I'll be covering qualifying on both Saturday and Sunday for The News-Sentinel. In an attempt to get my content out faster, I started a new blog for the newspaper, Up To Speed.

The purpose of the blog is mainly to display photos from the track, but I'll also sneak in some news and possibly video clips as they become available. I'll have Pole Day pix and results posted as soon as I can on Saturday afternoon. After May festivities end att Indy, I'll keep the blog going for the stock car races and NASCAR races I am scheduled to cover. So, if you're a race fan, check out the blog. Send me some race or driver tips about something you'd like to see, and leave a comment if youhave the time.

Quick Pix

Just a couple of pictures from last week that didn't see print. Unfortunately, I didn't do much shooting during the week because I wrote and did some research for upcoming stories, but I did come up with a few decent photos from a couple of assignments.









May is here, and I'll be spending my share of time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The days are long and the work can be hard, but I have come to enjoy covering the race and the activities leading up to it. I'm in the process of putting together an Indy500 photo blog for The News-Sentinel that will be updated with photos and possibly some video every day I spend at the track. When I have it up and running, I will post the link.

As always, I'm available to handle freelance photo assignment requests for your editorial, commercial corporate or stock image needs. Give me a call at (260) 385-9448 to discuss what I can do for you. Thanks to everyone for stopping by to check out my work.

Chad Ryan

Friday Little League game pics

Last Friday, I received a phone call around 3 p.m. from my editor asking me to find a Little League game and shoot enough pictures for a photo page for Saturday's section. The problems were: a. It was a Friday early in the season and few teams play on Friday this early; b. I had to get a remote camera set up for the Komets' playoff game, and it had to be done two hours before game time which in this case meant, I had to be done by 6 p.m. Any baseball game I would find would likely start the same time I had to be in a catwalk 160 feet above the ice at the Memorial Coliseum.

So, I went on my way searching for games. I travelled to four different parks with not a soul meandering at any of them. Time was winding down on me because I knew I had to get to MC. So, I drove by Georgetown Little League, and a team was there practicing hitting. Bingo. Being about three minutes from the MC, I decided to run over there, get my remote installed and make it back in time for the ballgame. I got that done right on time, and made it back with 45 minutes left to shoot.

At this point, I had limited time to shoot enough images of just one game to make a photo page. No problem. At least not when you have great light. The sun was low in the sky and a beautiful golden light pierced through the clouds from time to time. So I kept an eye on the sky and made the most of my opportunities. While it was only one game and I was short on time, I was able to pull off 10 pics for the page, of which the editors used seven. I got done early enough to stop and grab a soda on my way back to Memorial Coliseum. Believe it or not, I wish I could have more days like that.

Movin' on up

The Fort Wayne Komets are headed back to a championship series after beating the Muskegon Fury 5-1 in game 6 of the International Hockey League's Turner Cup semifinals on Saturday in Muskegon. Fort Wayne scored two goals in the first 1:29 of the game and added a third at 5:33 of the first period to set the tone.

Fort Wayne will meet Port Huron for a chance to win the Turner Cup with the series starting later in the week once building open dates are determined.



April 26, 2008 - Muskegon, Mich. - The Fort Wayne Komets and Muskegon Fury shake hands after the Komets won the Turner Cup semifinals series four games to two with a 5-1 win over the Fury on Saturday at L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon.

Photo by Chad Ryan.



April 26, 2008 - Muskegon, Mich. - Fort Wayne's Mathieu Curadeau reacts to his first-period goal against Muskegon on Saturday. Curadeau's goal was the Komets' second goal scored in the first 1:29 of the game as Fort Wayne advanced to the Turner Cup championship series with a 5-1 win over the Fury at L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon.

Photo by Chad Ryan.



April 26, 2008 - Muskegon, Mich. - Muskegon's Rob Kwiet, top, throws a punch at the back of Komets forward Mitch Woods' head after pushing him to the ice in Saturday's Turner Cup semifinals games at Muskegon. Kwiet received a minor roughing penalty for the incident despite throwing his glove off to punch Woods several times with his bare hand.

Photo by Chad Ryan.