Marching band photos

Snider Marching Panthers photos

First PAL football game

This year, my 10-year-old son decided he wanted to play football. He really wants to play ice hockey too, but that is still to be determined. In any case, My son got placed on the 49'ers of the Police Athletic League here in Fort Wayne. Watching him play takes me back to the days when I played in the PAL league. I'm still trying to figure out how to just watch my son play and not shout instructions to him. He's trying his best and having fun.

This Saturday the team had its first game of the season, so I decided to shoot some photos ... especially since it's his first game. He had a bit of trouble getting around a certain offensive lineman who was good at holding/tackling. The team lost, but it gave a solid effort. I'm looking forward to watching my son progress, and hope he will continue to enjoy it.

My son wears #84, but I posted a couple photos of some of the other kids too.






Thanks for looking.

More updates are coming

Just a couple of photos from a recent assignment on a Fort Wayne Roller Derby squad. I tried to post some vacation photos earlier today, but Blogger was clogged. That never happens, does it? Anyway, I plan to get those up by this weekend when I'm not making primitive tools for art class, shooting video for another class, working at my full-time job - The News Sentinel, or trying to spend a minute with my wife so she doesn't forget who I am.

Summer school is done!

Summer session classes are done. Unfortunately, summer is almost done too. Now it's time for a much needed vacation.
I thought I'd post a project I put together last night. This image is comprised of 18 seperate photos strategically placed. I photographed the plant in small sections with a macro lens using a technique called lightpainting. Each exposure was 20 seconds at f/7.1. I made a snoot for the flashlight to better control the direction of light. I also used colored gels over the light to enhance the colors of certain sections.

It's Official

I accepted an offer last Friday from The News-Sentinel to be a full-time staff photographer. It was a decision I struggled with because I was also a candidate for the full-time photo position with the Journal Gazette. It was really a win/win situation for me in that I knew that I would have a job in Fort Wayne. While the decision hadn't been made at the Journal Gazette, I was still in the running for their position. Ultimately, I took the position at The News-Sentinel because the staff members really seemed to want me to be part of the organization, and they went the extra mile to convince me that I should stay.

I will be working both in the photo department and with the online department. I have a lot to learn in a short time, but I'm up for the challenge. I join the staff officially on August 14, and the ffall semester at IPFW start a week later. It should certainly be interesting working full-time, going to school full-time and taking care of my duties at home.

On a side note, I will be participating the Sports Shooter Academy in Los Angeles in November. I am quite excited about this. The Academy runs for five days and will teach techniques for covering all types of sports and location portraiture. The Academy is being coordinated by Robert Hanashiro, staff photographer for USA Today. The faculty includes: Matt Brown, southern California freelance photographer, Wally Skalij, the Los Angeles Times, Donald Miralle, Getty Images, Michael Goulding, Orange County Register, Myung J. Chun, Los Angeles Times. This is a great opportunity to learrn from photographers whose images are seen in major newspapers and magazines worldwide.

Night photos

During the last few weeks I have been working on a project of night photos around Fort Wayne for a summer photography class. We had some storms roll through the area Wednesday night, and I went out in search of lightning photos. After a drive around town and an hour shooting in a parking garage, I decided to head home because I wasn't getting anything decent. Once I was at home, the lightning kicked up again and I was able to get a couple of photos from inside my garage.







I shot some night photos around diffferent venues during the Three Rivers Festival including one from the top of the Farris Wheel at Headwaters Park. I covered the 3RF fireworks from Freimann Square and got a few decent photos but I nothing spectacular.



Big things are right around the corner, and I'll provide more details on that when I have more concrete information.

Thanks for looking,

Chad

It's been awhile...

Wow. I just looked at the date and realized that I haven't posted to this blog in quite some time. All I can say for myself is that I have been extremely busy. I know, who hasn't been busy? In my defense I was out of town covering State track, tennis and baseball championships. Those were some incredibly long weekends. Especially during the baseball championships. We had three local teams in the State finals ... all in one day. Adding the spot news assignment I did at 5:30 a.m. before leaving for baseball, I worked 21 hours that day. I then had an assignment the next morning at 9:00 a.m. Needless to say, sleep has been at a premium lately. I also completed a multimedia audio slideshow on one of the baseball teams that won its State title. You can view the slideshow at Fort Wayne.com Here






I have been practicing quite a bit with my lighting lately. I was inspired by the tenets of the Strobist blog to get out and make things happen with as little equipment as possible. Well, maybe as small as possible. I still carry at least three lights, two light stands and a floor plate around with me. Not to mention the other tools I use such as snoots, softboxes, umbrellas, radio remote triggers and whatever else I can fit into the back of my car.


Next week we have the Three Rivers Festival firing up, so things will continue to be hectic for me. As always thanks for checking out my photos and enduring my meandering thoughts.

Chad

Feel free to leave a comment if you see something you like ... or don't like.

Strobist: Google. Gotta Love 'Em.

Strobist: Google. Gotta Love 'Em.

Long, long weekend...

I spent the entire weekend in Bloomington and Indianapolis covering high school track and tennis state championships. It was a lot of work, but I made some pictures I like. I decided to shoot a set of strobes at the finish line because it had a very strong back light (thanks to del sol). I got some strange looks from people. But, I showed them the results and I bet I'll see more photographers trying it next year. I am really getting into putting together a small, lightweight lighting kit that will light most anything I would need for any assignment. In my quest for more information on this type of lighting I came across a wonderful new blog named "Strobist" that gives detailed information that is exactly in line with what I am trying to do.

After last weekend covering the Indy 500 and working 40 hours in three days this weekend, I am ready for a break. I don't have long though. I will be covering the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indy in a couple of weeks. Some great photographers will be there and I am looking forward to observing some of their techniques.

Check out my Sports Shooter member page for some other sports photos including a gallery from the Indianapolis Colts' playoff loss the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. I just learned last night that I was accepted to participate in the third Sports Shooter Academy in Orange County, California in November. The Academy is a 5-day sports photography workshop where I will be learning to improve my sports photography and location lighting techniques from top pros. I am excited to say the least. This is a big opportunity.

Thanks for looking.

The semester is over!

Finally, the spring semester is over. I have two weeks off and I plan to take full advantage of that time to get some projects done that I've put off for some time now. Well, I can't say I won't be somewhat busy. I'm shooting a wedding Saturday which will command a fair amount of time for post-processing. I also plan to go to Indy during that period for time trials and practice sessions at the race track.

These are a couple of pictures I like from a recent fashion shoot for a project I was working on. Again, my wife was a gracious model helping me out of a jam. As she knows, I am one of those "last-minute" guys, and she has been a big help.


















Thanks for looking.

Chad

More to come

I first must apologize for neglecting the blog. It is finals time and I have been trying to get my head above water for the last few weeks. I have three days of finals starting Monday, and after that I will be out of school for a whole two weeks before summer session starts up. That being said, I should have some free time for a day or two during that period to post my favorite Komet hockey photos from this season. Congratulations to the K's for making the playoffs even if it didn't turn out the way we would have liked.

By the way, I was at game four Thursday, as a paying fan, and I was extremely dissatisfied with the officiating, and the undisciplined play by some of the Komets. The penalty shot was a terrible call. It may have been within the rules to call, but it was just bad. I was more disappointed at the number of stupid penalties the K's took. The guys knew they had to win that game. They knew that to do it they needed to stay out of the box as much as possible. It should have been simple math, but this time 2+2=6 goals against. Three of those goals came from basically one series of play in the second period... the St. Pierre slash at 9:55 and penalty shot from the same play, then the Campbell double minor 30 seconds later giving Rockford nearly two minutes of 5 on 3 power play time. They only needed 6 seconds to bury the first goal and 1:02 for the next. So, in 1:38 we gave up three goals. Dissapointing to say the least. In any case, the K's deserve credit for playing tough through the season and giving the fans some great games to watch, especially at the end of the regular season.

Take care, and check back soon for the photos.

More Portraits

I am working on finishing the assignments that are left in my portrait class. Today, an IPFW theatre student needed some headshots done and we decided to shoot a few more photos. Breona was great to work with and a big help. Malina, another portrait class student, and I were able to get some nice photos. Feedback is always appreciated, so if anyone has any comments about the photos, feel free to leave a ccomment or send me an email.



Thanks again for looking.

Chad

Birthday Party Fun

My nephew (pictured) was one of ten people my son invited to his 10th birthday party last weekend. When my son told me he wanted all of his cousins to sleep over, I was less than excited. Usually mayhem ensues when all of the kids get together. But this time around, it wasn't that bad. We started off playing laser tag and arcade games then came home for birthday cake and pizza. After the festivities, my son popped the Madagascar dvd in and everyone was quiet until they fell asleep. The next morning, my wife woke up and made a huge breakfast for everyone. She even let me sleep in. She's too nice.

I decided after breakfast to shoot some photos of all of the kids. I thought it might be a good time to get some portrait assignments worked out while I had a captive set of models. Besides, they are all a bunch of characters and they love to have their pictures made. I decided to try out the "shot from below" technique I have seen a couple of shooters do, and it worked out well. I constructed the aparatus for a couple of portrait assignments for work, and I thought it might be good to practice with the kids first.

I shot this photo of my nephew, the biggest character of the group. Then I got all of the kids together in a photo. I had fun, the kids had fun, and my son had a great birthday. So, it was a good weekend.

My glass is definitely half-full

I pulled into my garage around midnight tonight after driving for the last 12-plus hours to get home from a photojournalism conference in South Carolina. It normally wouldn't have taken quite so long, but Cheryl and I decided to drive through the Smokie Mountain National Park on the way home because we love the scenery. New colors were starting to emerge and the weather was quite nice today. Unfortunately, I underestimated the amount of traffic that would be in the Gatlinburgh, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville area as I thought, surely, traffic would be light on a Monday. I won't make that mistake a third time.


The National Press Photographers Association held the Southern Short Course in news photography over the weekend in Spartanburg, SC. It was a weekend filled with guest speakers, breakout instruction sessions and meeting new people. I had a great time and saw some wonderful, inspiring work by some of the best photojournalists in the world. I also received some great feedback on my portfolio. I was lucky enough to win a Nikon Coolpix S4 digital camera after winning first place in the Nikon Shootout. The Shootout is a contest where Nikon Reps hand out 25 digital point-and-shoot cameras. The photographers are given 45 minutes to go shoot an assignment based on a theme. At the end of the 45 minutes, the cameras were to be returned with only one photograph on the memory card. The theme of the assignment was "Spring Forward." My winning picture is shown here

Events like this one and the SportsShooter.com Luau/upcoming shindig not only teach and refine techniques, but they are great for recharging the batteries in terms of creativity and devotion to the craft. I have some ideas for new work that I am excited about and look forward to get started. I also plan to start working on my new website very soon. When I get the new site registered, I will post a link to it.

As always, thanks for checking out my work and reading my rants.

Chad

Link to Purchase Prints

Anyone interested in purchasing prints of photographs I have taken may follow the recently installed "Purchase Prints" link on the right side of the page. The link will take you to an online storefront where I have a portfolio for viewing purposes only and a gallery of photos for sale. I am unable to sell photos that I make while working for The News-Sentinel, but I do have a collection of stock images that I will be adding to regularly. Some of the galleries listed right now include art of various subjects including wildlife, nature, landscape, still life, lightpaintings and sports.

I am available to shoot portraits, formal studio and environmental on location, weddings, corporate outings and sporting events. I provide professional quality images at competitive prices. To discuss your photographic needs, send me an email or leave a comment.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Chad

Finally getting my head above water.

It's been a few weeks since my last post, and rest assured, I haven't been slacking. I spent four out of the last five weekends in Indianapolis covering high school state championships for team and individual wrestling, girls and boys swimming and diving and girls basketball. I'll be on my way back to Indy this weekend to cover the girls gymnastics championship, and if Harding's boys basketball team makes it out of the semi-state this weekend, I'll be on my way to the state finals again the following weekend. Aside from all of that, I managed to squeeze in a Komets game and shoot some local news events as well last weekend.

Last week during spring break, I decided to get some things done around the house. I installed the shelving system that my wife got for my office closet. During the process, I found some old negatives from the Komets' early 90's seasons. I looked through the pile of old stuff and there happened to be a couple of shots of two members of the "Ice Patrol" doing what they did best. One frame is of Killer Kaminski mixing it up, and the other is of Stve Fletcher delivering a monster body check in the corner. Now, these photos are not the best I've taken, but keep in mind, I was 19 years old shooting for a newspaper in Columbia City with antique equipment.


A little hard to see, but this photo is of the Killer in action. I loved going to games that year. That was my kind of hockey.
















I'm a fairly big guy, and I could deliver a pretty good hit on the ice when I played hockey. But I'm certain I would've tried to get out of Fletch's way if I saw him coming at me. Fletch was one big, tough dude, and although he didn't score much, he had quite a slapshot.

I plan to update the site with new photos from recent Komet games as well as some of the state championship images. Check back occasionally to see what's up. As always, I appreciate your time spent on this blog and any feedback you might have, so, leave a comment or send me an email message.

Thanks for looking!
Chad

IHSAA Wrestling State Finals

Here are a few photos from the IHSAA Individual State Wrestling Championships at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday. I shot a lot of photos and video at the event, and I intend to post more content when time allows. I'll be shooting the State Team Finals this Saturday at Center Grove High School and the Boys State Swimming Finals at the IU Natatorium this weekend.





I decided to try some slow shutter speeds on these photos to get the blurred action. A little use of this technique goes a long way, but it can lead to some interesting photos.





Bellmont's Matt Irwin won the 135-pound State Title over Hobart's Brennan Cosgrove by a 12-5 score. Irwin was thrown in the second period and landed on his head. No points were awarded because the throw was ruled a dangerous technique as Cosgrove had left his feet and didn't maintain control completeing the technique. Irwin gave up the only offensive points to any opponent of the season late in the third period on a takedown by Cosgrove, but held on for his first title in three State tournament attempts.



Columbia City's Bryan Deutsch finished in second place after Bloomington South's Paul Young took control of their 162- pound match in the third period. Deutsch led 3-2 in the second, but didn't seem to fully recover from a takedown by Young in which Deutsch's face was slammed to the wood floor outside the mat area. After an injury timeout, Deutsch continued the match and was able to get things going, but later in the match it appeared that he hit his head one again. At that point, young took over and completed his second consecutive State Title run winning 9-4.

Recent Photos

Here are a couple of photos that I liked from the last week.



Members of the Fort Wayne Police Department's Emergency Response Team (ERT) were called to the 4600 block of Fairfield Avenue Thursday to search a house where a suspect believed to have fired multiple gunshots in the area was thought to be hiding in the attic. Officers found no one in the attic but said the person had been there.


Jonathan Goodwin is tripped by Motor City's Matt Smith and goalie Bill Ruggiero in the third period of the Komets' 7-3 win over the Mechanics Sunday at Memorial Coliseum.


A Fort Wayne firefighter checks for burning embers in the first floor ceiling and walls of a house at 2821 Lafayette St. after crews extinguished a fire at the residence Monday night.

I'm Lucky

My friend Ellen recently asked me a question I frankly didn't have an answer for. "How did you get your wife?" she said. With strong emphasis on the "you." As Ellen knows, it would take someone quite special to endure my unfavorable personality traits and there are a few. All I can say is that I am lucky.

Every married couple has its issues, and people in long-term relationships tend to take one another for granted. But today is Valentine's Day, and I would like to acknowledge and thank my wife for supporting me, helping me persist in finishing my college education, and most importantly, being a wonderful mother to my son. She is truly a gem, and I love her.

If that wasn't enough, she lets me make lots of pictures of her. From someone who was previously not keen on celebrating it, Happy Valentine's Day.

Missed Opportunities

The score of tonight's Komet game could have been 9-1, but the K's gave coach Greg Puhalski his 500th win with a 4-1 victory over the Port Huron Flags. The Komets hit the post at least two times that I remember, and had open net shots that went wide at least three times. Port Huron goalie Scott May gave up four goals, but he did what he could to keep his team in the game. The Komets outshot the Flags 27-2 in the second period and 53-25 in the game.


Matt Hunter watches as his shot glides down the goal line but not over it.



Colin Chaulk's shot misses an open net.



David Hukalo couldn't get a handle on the puck to put it in an open net.



Matt Hunter hits the post with a wrist-shot in the third period.

Random items

So, I'm sitting in the press box at Memorial Coliseum waiting for the Komets and Port Huron Flags to gracefully skate around each other in an attempt to avioid contact at all costs. Well, I hope that isn't the way the game plays out, but as we all know and are frequently reminded, hockey isn't what it used to be. Some of my earliest memories of hockey include some hard-hitting games with Steve Salvucci and later with Jim Burton, Steve fletcher, and a host of others. It seemed there was a couple of bench-clearing brawls each year with the despised Toledo Blades and after that with the Indianapolis Ice. So everyone says hockey is different now. Maybe so, but a guy whose favorite football team just won the Super Bowl can still dream, can't he?

Yes, it's true. I am a Steelers fan. I know what you are thinking; the articles on this blog never brought that fact to light. Though I did write several stories about the black and gold on this blog, I also remained fair giving equal game coverage to the Steelers' playoff victims. The stories just happened to come about during the Steelers' playoff run in which they won 8 must-win games. I have to say, though, I did have a tiny space in my heart for the Colts this year. I would like to see Peyton Manning get the big-game loser tag off his back. That, and my mom loves the Colts. I still haven't heard the end of the arguments about the '95 AFC Championship when Jim Harbaugh nearly threw the game-winning pass at the end of the game. The dispute continues about whether or not Kordell Stewart was out of bounds. No one needs to guess where I stand on that one.

The Seyferts zamboni is circling the Coliseum ice, and fans are trickling in. There are a lot of empty seats tonight with just six minutes until the puck is dropped. As the pre-game clock winds down, I realize I should get down to ice level. Look for photos after the game.

Chad

Painting with Light

I have been working on a light painting assignment during the last few days. The assignment stipulates that the only source of light to be used is a flashlight. I put together a few images and the two on this post are my favorite so far.After seeing some possibilities with flash light, my wife asked if I would want to make a picture of her, and of course, I did. She especially liked the warm skin tones the flash light created. I liked the warmth of the light and I think the picture worked out nicely.



I thought of the baseball idea because of the publicity surrounding the new World Baseball Classic. I have to imagine the U.S. Team is the favorite to win the tournament; however, I'm not sure how motivated the players are considering they are not making their Major League salaries and possible injury could jeapordize their pro seasons.




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Next Stop: Detroit

The Pitsburgh Steelers are riding a 34-17 pounding of the Denver Broncos all the way to Detroit. Bill Cowher is riding the Bus to redemption.

In the first half a fast Steelers defense forced Denver's Jake Plummer to fall into what most called his old ways. Joey Porter and James Farrior broke his rhythm and caused the Broncos to commit four turnovers, all of which lead to Steelers points. The Broncos had five turnovers during the entire regular season.

“Anytime you have four turnovers it’s hard to win football games," Denver coach Mike Shanahan said. "This is a team game. You do it as a team, offense, defense and special teams – I think we got beat in all areas today. When you have two turnovers(in the first half), you’re playing catch-up for the majority of the day.”

Plummer was under pressure for most of the game slipping out of the clutches of the Steelers' defense seemingly on every other play.

“It’s all about pressure, we really got after (Jake Plummer)," Porter said. "I felt like I could beat their tackles off the end and was able to keep containment when he would bootleg to my side."

Porter played in his third AFC championship with the Steelers earning his first trip to the Super Bowl.

Cowher's past failures in AFC championships proved not to haunt him in this game.

"You can say anything you want about me and the failures I have had," Cowher said. "That's fine. I understand it's part of this business. I try to seize each year and take each game and this group of guys and make them be as good as they can be.

A lot of guys that went through it last year didn't want to go through that same feeling again. They worked too hard to get here. I want to make sure they remember that also and two weeks from today because, like I said, no one remembers who lost the Super Bowl."

One of the guys who "went through it last year" was Jerome "Bus" Bettis. Last year the Steelers were 15-1 heading to the playoffs then fell apart in the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots. Bettis contemplated retirement. In tears, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told Bettis to give him one more year and promised the Bus he'd get him to the big Game. Roethlisberger deliveder. Bettis relied on him and the rest of his teammates to realize his dream of playing in the Super Bowl in his hometown - Detroit.

"I asked them for two things," Bettis said. "I asked them to give me 110 percent, and if you walk away from this game giving that, I'm going to say thank you, shake your hand and give you a big hug... The second thing I told them was get me home."

Heading to the Super Bowl after beating the AFC's top three seads on the road was unprobable. Heading to Detroit with the hopes of locking two future members into the Hall of Fame is definite.

Komets won Friday and Swimming was ... swimming

The Komets had a little more pep Friday night than the last game I shot.
It seemed that the K's had a bit of motivation and it showed with a 5-1 victory over the Missouri River Otters.

I have to say that as much as I loved watching Kevin Kaminski mix it up with everyone back in the early 90's, it was almost painful to watch him pull his goalie with four minutes left in the game and down by three goals. Looking at his players, you could see on their faces that they thought it was just as ridiculous an idea as I did. Was it gutsy? Sure. Was it smart? Probably not.














Covering high school swimming was interesting to say the least. I enjoyed the challenge although some of the people in attendance failed to exhibit courtesy in more than one instance. They continually positioned themselves in front of my camera while I was working. A particularly interesting complaint was made by one swimmer to the judges that I threw off his or her timing by being at poolside. Considering the 100 or so kids in front of me I'm not sure how I, specifically, was a distraction. In any case, I perservered and made a couple of nice frames. There are challenges involved with any job, and I will continue to cover swimming events with the same enthusiasm that I would otherwise.

Looking forward to the weekend

Normally people look forward to the weekend because they're off work, they can spend time with families, some go out to hang out with their 12 oz. friends or they're going to catch the big game. I'm looking forward to this weekend because I am working. That's right, because I am working. Don't get me wrong, work is work, but this weekend should prove to be a great weekend of events.

First, I am covering the Komets Friday night. If their 7-2 butt kickin' last Sunday is any motivation, the K's should be fired up to go out and prove something. Maybe even, God willing, pay out a few body checks. I'm looking to mic the boards so I can get some audio for a multimedia slide show I am working on. It is my hope that it will be the Komets putting people into the glass.

Saturday, I will be shooting the NHC swimming and diving championship at the Carroll High School Natatorium. Swimming and diving meets present specific challenges in making quality photographs. Light in the natatoriums is always a concern. They are usually dark enough that making action-stopping photographs becomes a real challenge. Aside from light issues, it is often difficult to identify swimmers when I am doing my edits so I generally need to take extra notes while shooting. In any case I enjoy taking on challenges, so I look forward to it.

I will head to Indy Sunday to shoot the AFC Divisional playoff game between thee Steelers and the Colts. I especially look forward to this event, for more reasons than the obvious. Industry-leading professional sports photographers will be at this event, and it will be a great experience to cover a game of this magnitude.

Chad

Komets Get Shellacked

Colin Chaulk, left chases Danbury's Mike Omicioli in Sunday night's 7-2 loss to the Trashers at Memorial coliseum.
After winning the last three games by shutouts, the Komets were unable to stop the offensive power displayed by Danbury.

Komets' defenseman Mark Lindsay and Danbury's Ben McManama mix it up behind the Komets net in the first period of the Fort Wayne's 7-2 loss to the Trashers Sunday at Memorial Coliseum.


David Hukalo, left, puts Danbury's Carl Corazzini into the boards in front of the Fort Wayne bench Sunday in the Komets' 7-2 loss to the Trashers at Memorial Coliseum.

Check out the full game story by Blake Sebring Here. For more in-depth information about the Fort Wayne Komets, go to Blake's blog Tailing the Komets.