One

_{Mar. 27, 2011 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Mad Ants forward Marvin Phillips, right, snatches an offensive rebound away from New Mexico's during the second half of the Mad Ants' 129-97 victory over the Thunderbirds on Sunday at Memorial Coliseum. Phillips led a group of eight Mad Ants players who scored in double digits with his 22 points and 13 rebonds, while Peterson was the game's leading scorer with 36 points. Photo by Chad Ryan.}


Yep, just one from last night's Fort Wayne Mad Ants' game. Set up a camera on the shot clock for this one. Unless the Ants make the NBA D-League playoffs and they get a home game after I get back from vacation, last night's game will be my last for this season. It was another fun year, and I only wish I could've shot a few more of their games instead of three high school games a night.

Perigee Moon

Last night the moon was about the closest it ever gets to Earth. Due to that fact it appeared to be about 14 percent larger than most other full moons. According to NASA, the moon on Saturday was less than one hour away from perigee, the absolute outside edge on one side of it's elliptical orbit around Earth. This occurrence happens only once every 18 years.

I did not make the pictures I wanted to make from this event. I had just rolled back into town from a high school state championship gymnastics meet and had less than an hour to scout a location and get set up. All I knew was to look in the eastern sky. I wanted to be outside of town and shoot Fort Wayne's modest skyline with the moonrise, but I could not find an adequate elevated location that faced the east and was not blocked by trees. So I went into town and got set up for a possible shot.

Once I saw the moon creep just above the horizon, I quickly deduced my location was a bust. the moon appeared huge and red, and I thought about staying to shoot it where I was. Instead, I decided to get in the car and buzz around, looking for another spot. The goal was to shoot something in the photo to give perspective to the size of the moon. I thought I would at least get a recognizable Fort Wayne building in there, so I set up for the old standby - the Allen County Courthouse. I've shot the courthouse against a full moon before and made a nice frame of it. I didn't want to duplicate that photo, but I was out of time and had to make a picture.

If nothing else, I suppose I've got 18 years to find a better location for the next time.

Turkey Season approaches

In the last few years, I've taken up hunting for wild turkeys. I've never been real serious about it because I hunt very hard in the fall and winter here in Indiana for whitetail deer. By the time spring rolls around I've got duties at home and I'm usually quite busy with baseball and other sports. But last year I got the bug. I made a video of my friend Tom's hunt on opening day of the Indiana season. Tom's video is here.

I only had one day to be out in the field, so I didn't get the chance to do a hunt for myself. This year, I'm taking turkeys seriously. There are few experiences like being in the woods before first light and have birds gobbling all around you. Last fall during the archery deer season I would sit and listen to the birds talking back and forth all day, and this year I'll be recording the chatter.



To kick start my pursuits, I added a couple of tools to my arsenal for this season to try to get a gobbler to come within range. First, I ordered a custom-made friction call from Ed Jenkins of Ghostmaker Calls in Illinois. After reading about his callers and seeing photos on IndianaSportsman.com I had to have one. So, I ordered a curly ambrosia caller with a ceramic surface over glass. What a piece of art. The folks over at IS.com always said his calls look almost too nice to take hunting. I have to agree. But I will take mine out because right out of the box I could make it work. I'm new to using pot calls, but I'm feeling good about the sounds I can make with Ed's caller.



The second piece of gear I added was a new choke tube for my shotgun. I heard about Kicks choke tubes, and thought I'd give the Kicks Gobblin' Thunder a try. My initial pattern test suggests any turkey within range will be in grave danger.

Fort Wayne SAC Holiday Tournament

The Indiana IHSAA Class 4A No. 6 Snider Panthers' girls basketball team beat Class 4A No. 13 South Side 64-59, and the unranked Northrop Bruins' boys beat Class 2A No. 1 Bishop Luers 78-74 to win the SportONE Summit Athletic Conference (SAC) Holiday Tournament championship on Thursday at Fort Wayne Wayne High School.



<sub>December 30, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Northrop's Jason Jordan, center, floats between the defense of Bishop Luers' James Blackmon Jr., left, and Ken Mullen for a layup attempt in the final minute of Thursday's SportONE SAC Holiday Tournament championship game at Wayne. Jordan missed the layup but drew a foul and sank both free throws to put Northrop ahead for good in the Bruins' 78-74 victory. Photo by Chad Ryan.




December 30, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Purdue recruit and Snider senior Liza Clemons cuts down the net after the Panthers came from behind to beat South Side in the championship game of the girls SportONE SAC Holiday Tournament on Thursday at Wayne. Snider won its first SAC holiday title since 1998, beating the defending champion Archers 64-59. Photo by Chad Ryan.</sub>

Back on the sidelines

_{December 19, 2010 - Indianapolis, Ind. : Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Austin Collie, left, falls to the turf, apparently knocked out, after taking a hit by Jacksonville linebacker Daryl Smith on a second-quarter pass play during the Colts' 34-24 win over the Jaguars on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Collie scored two touchdowns in the first half and was in his first game back with the Colts after suffering a concussion earlier in the season. Photo by Chad Ryan.}

After not covering much pro football this year, I found myself back on the sidelines at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 19. I had only photographed the Indianapolis Colts' preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers and then Manning Bowl when the New York Giants rolled into town back in September. Needless to say, I was itching to get back at it.

The Colts certainly did what they had to do to win that game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but in the process they might have taken yet another hit to the team. Colts receiver Austin Collie was on track to have a career day after catching eight passes, two of which were for touchdowns in the first half. But in the second quarter, Collie took a brutal hit to the head from Jacksonville linebacker Daryl Smith as he tried to make a catch in tight coverage. Collie appeared to have been knocked out immediately, and his helmet bounced of the turf. Collie was playing in his first game back after suffering a concussion from a similar situation just about a month earlier.

I shot the play from about 25 yards away, and judging by his body in this picture I'm saying he was unconscious before he hit the floor.

This was a scary moment because Collie was motionless for several minutes before training staff got him turned over and moving again. Reports are out now that Collie has another concussion, and I have to wonder not only will he play again this year, but if he'll ever play again. I'm guessing after watching that hit, his wife would prefer him to find another line of work. But players want to play, and Collie is certainly a football player.



_{December 19, 2010 - Indianapolis, Ind. : Indianapolis Colts receiver Pierre Garcon, left, and linebacker Tyjuan Hagler celebrate in the end zone after Hagler picked up a Jacksonville Jaguars onside kick and ran for a 41-yard kickoff return to seal the Colts' 34-24 AFC South divisional victory over the Jaguars on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Photo by Chad Ryan.}

Galloping Gobbler 2010

I photographed the 2010 edition of the Galloping Gobbler four-mile run/walk at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Gobbler has become a Thanksgiving Day tradition, and more than 2,000 participants braved the rain and wind this morning to burn off some calories running through Lindenwood Cemetery.

For more info about the race, go to FortWayneGobbler.com. To see the photo gallery and order prints head on over to my Photoshelter site: RyanVisuals.com.

Trying not to be a slacker

It appears I am once again guilty of letting the blog updates slide to the rear of my list of things to do. I could give excuses, but what good would that do any of us. I think we can move on from this.



_{Nov. 21, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Mad Ants forward Darnell Lazare, left, ducks under Sioux Falls' Anthony Mason for a reverse layup in the second half of the Mad Ants' 99-97 comeback win over the Skyforce on Sunday at Memorial Coliseum. Photo by Chad Ryan.}


So, I have been ridiculously busy shooting, writing and pursuing my outdoor adventures in the last three months. The shooting part has been OK. I’m working myself out of a little funk right now in that department. The new hip has been a little slow to get back to full speed, and when I’m shooting the same things over and over, I’ll admit it gets a little tough to see things in a new way. But I’m starting to get back to where I want to be.



_{Nov. 21, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Madame Ants dancer Samantha cheers during the fourth quarter of the Mad Ants' season-opening game against the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Sunday at Memorial Coliseum. Photo by Chad Ryan.}

The writing is, well, writing. That’s all I have to say about that.


_{Oct. 28, 2010 - Churubusco and Fort Wayne, Ind. - Churubusco's Kyle Monk, left, and Canterbury's Becky Pedro and two area basketball players to watch this season. Photos by Chad Ryan.}


The outdoor adventures have been great. I’ve been hunting a very nice whitetail buck and have been close to taking him. I did miss a shot during the archery season, which is definitely not normal for me. Then I let him slide at 40 yards during the opening day of the firearms season because I had my 14-year old son with me. I wanted my son to get a shot at the big boy, but he couldn’t get in position so we let him go. The next time there’s a close encounter, it will be the last.

In any case, I’ve posted a few pics that I think are OK from the last three months. Take care an Happy Holidays to everyone.


<sub>Sep. 4, 2010 - South Bend, Ind. - First-year Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly leads the Fighting Irish to the field before the start of the Saturday's game against Purdue. Kelly and the Irish opened their 2010 season with a 23-12 win over the Boilermakers at Notre Dame. Photo by Chad Ryan.


Sep. 4, 2010 - South Bend, Ind. - Notre Dame's Michael Floyd leaps over Purdue corner back Ricardo Allen to make a catch inside the Purdue 20-yard line in the third quarter of Notre Dame's 23-12 win on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Photo by Chad Ryan.


Aug. 27, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Carroll running back Corey Nelson, left, and Marion linebacker Justin Little dive for Nelson's fumble inside the Chargers' 10-yard line in the first quarter of Friday's game at Carroll. Little recovered the fumble and set up a Marion touchdown. Photo by Chad Ryan.


Sep. 13, 2010 - Bluffton, Ind. - Former North Side football coach Casey Kolkman, center, now coaches at Bluffton and has led the Tigers to their best season start at 3-1 in a number of years. Photo Illustration by Chad Ryan.


Sep. 19, 2010 - Indianapolis, Ind. - Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney (93) grabs the arm of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) causing a fumble during the Colts' 38-14 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Photo by Chad Ryan.


Nov. 2, 2010 - Orland, Ind. - Firefighters battle a blaze caused by an explosion in a home just east of Orland, Ind., on Tuesday, November 2. Photo by Chad Ryan.


Oct. 13, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Canterbury midfielder Adam Antalis, right, heads teh ball away from Snider's Tyler VanCamp during the first half of their Carroll Regional ofirst-round game on Wednesday at Carroll. Photo by Chad Ryan.


Oct. 13, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Snider's players mob replacement goal keeper Seth Tutton, center, No. 15, after the Panthers beat Canterbury 3-2 in penalty kicks in the first round of the Carroll Regional on Wednesday. Tutton made a big save on the Cavaliers' first shot in the penalty-kick round after replacing Jeremiah Hill, left, after the second overtime period. Photo by Chad Ryan.</sub>

HS Volleyball

Just one for today...

Baseball and more baseball

<sub>June 21, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Great Lakes Loons player and East League All-Star Jerry Sands makes contact with the ball during the Midwest League All-Star Home Run Derby and Skills Competition on Monday at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, Ind. Photo by Chad Ryan.



June 21, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - East League All-Stars, from left, Nate Freiman, Jerry Sullivan, Garrett Richards and Kane Holbrooks watch the fireworks after the Midwest League All-Star Home Run Derby and Skills Competition on Monday at Parkview Field. Photo by Chad Ryan.



June 19, 2010 - Indianapolis - Carroll pitcher Curtis Wise, gets set to deliver a pitch in the fifth inning of the Class 4A state championship baseball game on Saturday at Victory Field in Indianapolis. The Chargers broke a scoreless tie in the top of the ninth inning and beat No. 1-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral to claim their first-ever state title. Photo by Chad Ryan.</sub>

For a few more baseball pics from the last four days, check out my member page over at SportsShooter.com here.

High School player up against Minor Leaguers

_{June 18, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Garrett baseball player Spencer Burns beat out Elmhurst's Kristian Gayday and Carroll's Justin Glass to earn the chance to go up against professional ball players in the Home Run Derby during the Midwest League's All-Star festivities on Monday at Parkview Field. Burns will be the lone high school player competing against eight Class A minor-league all-stars. Photo by Chad Ryan.}

I photographed Spencer Burns, a recent graduate of Garrett High School in Northeast Indiana, on Friday at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Burns won his conference home-run hitting contest and beat out two other conference winners to earn the chance to compete with Class A minor league all-stars in the Home Run Derby during the Midwest League All-Star festivities on Monday, June 21, at Parkview Field. On Tuesday the best of the Midwest League, including six players from the Fort Wayne TinCaps, will take the field to lay the annual All-Star game.

Check out News-Sentinel columnist Reggie Hayes' story about Spencer in today's edition of The News-Sentinel and at News-Sentinel.com.






_{June 17, 2010 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Fort Wayne TinCaps pitcher Nick Schumacher throws a pitch during the TinCaps' game against the Dayton Dragons on Thursday at Parkview Field. Schumacher, the TinCaps' closer, is one of six Fort Wayne players selected to play in the Midwest League All-Star game on Tuesday at Parkview Field. Photo by Chad Ryan.}