Another tip-in to win

Bishop Luers's DeShaun Thomas picked up his second buzzer-beating tip-in to win a basketball game in eight days. South Side held Thomas to just 20 points and 15 rebounds, but he buried the Archers when it counted to win the SportONE SAC Holiday Tournament championship. Read the game story by News-Sentinel Sports reporter Nick West on the Prep Sports Page at News-Sentinel.com.






Thomas, center, tips in a basket in the final minute of the Knights' SportONE SAC holiday Tournament championship victory.
Photo by Chad Ryan of The News-Sentinel.

________________________________________________________________________

The girls championship game kicked off the night round of the tournament with a bang for the standing-room-only crowd at Wayne High School. Elmmhurst and South Side played a close game with Elmhurst pulling out a two-point win to claim its first SAC tournament championship. Once again Nick West did a great job of telling the story.

South Side's Normalyn Smith buries her face in her hands after a referee took away her chance to tie Elmhurst in Saturday's SportONE SAC Holiday Tournament championship game with less than 10 seconds remaining. Down by three point, Smith drove the lane, scored and drew a foul, but the referee ruled the foul happened on the floor. Elmhurst held on to beat the Archers 60-58.

Photo by Chad Ryan of The News-Sentinel

Darrell Reid lowers the Boom

If you missed the Indianapolis Colts game against the Tennessee Titans last night, you missed this monsterous hit by Indy's Darrell Reid on Tennessee's Chris Henry during a kickoff return. In fact, stop what you're doing, walk away from the computer and tune your TV to ESPN to catch the replay on SportsCenter. It was as big a hit as I've ever seen in football. It was down right nasty to watch from field level. The replay was shown five or six times during the commercial break, and the crowd reacted with the same amount of enthusiasm all five times it was replayed. It was that big.




Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Darrell Reid, top, blows up Tennessee Titans running back Chris Henry on a kickoff return in the Colts' 16-10 loss in their season finale on Sunday, December 30, at the RCA Dome.

Photo by Chad Ryan of The News-Sentinel

Basketball, Basketball, and more Basketball

Bishop Luers' DeShaun Thomas, center, floats to the basket, laying in two of his game-high 35 points in the Knights' 67-60 win over Northrop in the SportONE SAC Holiday Tournament. Thomas, ranked the No. 1 prospect for his age group, averages more than 30 points a game for the Class 3A No. 1-ranked Knights. Thomas led the state in scoring last year as a freshman and is on track to break Bishop Luers' all-time scoring record in just his second season with the team.

Photo by Chad Ryan.


The annual SportONE Summit Athletic Conference Holiday Tournament is in full swing, and I have been shooting many of the games. The SAC tourney is down to the fiinal four in both girls and boys brackets, and the champions will be crowned Saturday night. I got to the venue early tonight to set up a remote camera. I originally intended to set up something I haven't done, but the logistics didn't work out with the venue's staff, so I went with a backboard remote, and I got a couple of decent photos. I think I'll try again for the finals.

*****Note - For the "right-clickers" amongst us: Before deciding to illegally download photos from this site, please consider that my work is strictly copyright protected. It is NOT part of the public domain, and absolutely NO UNAUTHORIZED USE is permitted under any circumstances. Contact me by email through this site for information on how to obtain licensing for the use of my images. We'll discuss your needs and how I can help you meet them.

Merry Christmas!

Although my family celebrates Christmas, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday (whichever it may be). I also want to send out a big thank you to everyone who comes here to check out my work. I certainly appreciate your time.



My six-month old son, Luke, was more interested in trying to eat the ball on my Santa hat than having pictures made of him. My wife and I got some knock out photos today until the Santa hat made an appearance. I know when the "awww" comes out as we look over photos of the baby that Cheryl likes what I've done.

For those that want to see more pictures from Sunday's Colts game against the Texans, I have a few galleries posted. Check them out here and here. Oh, and here for the Colts' cheerleaders in their blue Santa's helpers outfits.

A couple of pics

It's been a slightly busy weekend compounded by the fact that I had not started my Christmas shopping. After getting back from the Colts game around 9:30 last night, I was off to get as much of my shopping done as possible. I'll be finishing up today - Christmas Eve. I'm sure I won't be the only one.



12/23/2007 - Indianapolis, Ind. - Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne, center, hauls in a reception an instant before Houston Texans safety C.C. Brown, left, blasted Wayne, knocking the ball out of his hands. Wayne later caught a touchdown reception in the Colts' 38-15 win over Houston on Sunday, December 23, at the RCA Dome.

Photo by Chad Ryan



12/23/2007 - Indianapolis, Ind. - Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders, lfet, hits Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels, knocking the ball out of Daniels' hands. The pass was ruled complete after Colts coach Tony Dungy challenged the on-field ruling that the ball was caught.

Photo by Chad Ryan



12/21/2007 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Bishop Luers' Kelsey Wyss, left, reaches to take a pass in the Knights' 46-33 win at Bishop Dwenger on Friday.

Photo by Chad Ryan

Feeling Welcome

I just want to send out a quick thank you to Mitch Harper and all of the folks from Fort Wayne Observed who came over to check out my work. I've got a full tilt of high school basketball on tap for tonight, and I'll get a photo or two up as soon as I can (likely Saturday).

Thanks again, and a hat tip to Mr. Harper for adding me to the blog list on FWOb.

My pictures from tonight's games will be up sometime after midnight on The News-Sentinel's photo sharing site CU for those that want to see more pics from the games.

***Disclaimer - not intended to be a shameless plug for CU ... just an announcement that my pics can be seen there tonight.

December Art

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, center, throws a shovel pass to running back Luke Lawton in the fourth quarter of the Colts' 28-25 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, December 2, at the RCA Dome.


Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders, right, and cornerback Marlin Jackson celebrate after Sanders delivered a jarring hit on Jacksonville's Greg Jones near the Jaguars' goal line on Sunday, December 2, at the RCA Dome.


Bishop Dwenger's Justin Frain, center, sets the pace in the boys 1000-yard freestyle race at the Fort Wayne Classic.


Bishop Luers' DeShaun Thomas makes a move to the basket in the Knights' game at South Side on December 7. Thomas finished the game with 32 points and 18 rebounds.


South Side coach Ryan Bond, center, goes ballistic after the referees counted a tip-in at the halftime buzzer by Bishop Luers' DeShaun Thomas. Bond thought the tip happened after the buzzer.


New Haven's Trent Culbertson reacts after scoring a reversal in the last 20 seconds of his match to beat Yorktown's Brenten Hiestand during the New Haven Invitational on Saturday, December 15. Culbertson was one of four Bulldogs to go undefeated on the day.

November Art

Indianapolis Colts receiver Anthony Gonzalez, left, draws a pass interference call on New England Patriots safety Asante Samuel.


IPFW forward Jaraun Burrows, left, hustles after the basketball as it heads out of bounds. IPFW opened its home schedule on Thursday, November 15, losing to Valparaiso 74-64 at Memorial Coliseum.


Bellmont's Kylee Lehrman, left, and Cindi Miller are the 2007 PrepSports Volleyball Co-Players of the Year.


Fort Wayne Mad Ants guard Rod Wilmont reacts after hitting consecutive three-point buckets in the first half of the Ants' 94-86 season-opening loss to the Tulsa 66ers on Friday, November 23, at Memorial Coliseum.


Fort Wayne's Colin Chaulk, center, throws a punch at Kalamazoo's Mike Bickley in a first-period fight during a game on Saturday, November 24, at Memorial Coliseum. The Komets came back from a three-goal deficit to beat Kalamazoo 4-3 in a shootout.


Northrop basketball player Jessica Harrison.

Better a month-and-a-half later than never

Really, the only excuse I have for not putting up fresh, new content is ... Well, I guess I don't have a good excuse. What I can say is that things have definitely been looking up for me on the sports photo end. I've done some work that I am proud of, and it's starting to get noticed more. I'm working to establish more freelance clients, so I've been pushing myself to get more creative with my lighting. In my opinion, the effort is paying off.

I've got some big things coming up at work. It looks like I'll be travelling to some IU and Purdue basketball games in the very near future. That should be a good time. One on the schedule for sure is Indiana at Michigan State. I'm looking forward to that game. Also, it looks like I'll be covering the Indianapolis Colts through the playoffs once again. I'm rooting for them to go to the Super Bowl, because I have a good shot to go again if they do. (Yes, I'm a Steelers fan, but after they lost to New England the way they did, I have to be realistic.)

In addition to the pro and major college stuff, I have a pretty good plate full of high school sports that I am shooting and writing about. This winter I will be responsible for covering swimmers for our weekly features on The News-Sentinel's Thursday Prep Sports page. Last week I shot swim meet action of the Fort Wayne Classic at Homestead, but didn't get a chance to do any portraits for my story. Another writer had already been assigned to write the story for this week, since my editor wanted me to concentrate on action photos. I was able, however, to do a portrait tonight (Wednesday) of a swimmer for next week. I am happy with the shot, but I needed one more piece of equipment to pull it off the way I wanted it. I'll do a month in review photo post in the next couple of days. I hope you all enjoy the photos.

If you like what you see, don't hesitate to drop me a comment or email, especially if you want to hire me for your important editorial or commercial freelance photo assignments or your company's stock photography needs.

Happy Holidays!

CR

Game of the season?

Well, here we are just two days from what everyone in the sports world is dubbing Super Bowl XLI 1/2. Will it live up to the hype? I hope so, but it will be hard to top last years AFC championship. That was one of the best games I've ever seen. The atmosphere in the second half at the RCA Dome was more than electric. It was undescribable. It was a marked difference from the first half when the Patriots shelled the Colts for 21 quick points. After Marlin Jackson intercepted the pass the sealed the game, it was absolute pandemonium. I photographed people crying out of joy.

While this game is carrying more hype than maybe it should, it does have a great deal of significance. This game could very well determine who goes to the Super Bowl this season. Sunday's winner will very likely end up with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Considering the Colts were undefeated at home last season, and the Patriots are equally tough to beat on their home field, especially in January, Anyone hoping to make it to the show will play in one of these two teams' backyards. This game is the game of the season without question.

I'll be there shooting the game from the sidelines, which will likely be packed full of media personnel. I'm planning to get to the Dome four hours early in anticipation of the crowd and the mayhem. While most people assume drawing this kind of assignment would be a dream job, let me just say that it is no picnic. I'm not complaining. I get to go to these kinds of events, and get paid to do it, but there is a ridiculous amount of work involved. My day will most likely be around 16 hours, counting drive time. For an idea of what I have on my person when covering this type of game, check out this post. Then imagine me running up and down the sideline with all of that, dodging sound dish guys, cable pullers and the big boom truck that holds the mobile TV camera platform ... oh yeah and about 20 other photographers trying to get to the same spot.


It is a lot of work, but when everything is said and done, it's all worth it to me. Sometimes I just wish I could take one person (out of the countless people who ask) to help carry equipment. Unfortunately, Sports Illustrated hasn't realized that they need me just yet, so I don't get the benefit of an assistant. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it, and all weekend, I'll be plotting my game plan to get myself in the right position at the right time. Have fun and enjoy the game.

Halloween 2007

This was the motley group that left my house in search of the sugar-filled delights that define Halloween. The group is comprised of my wife, my two sons, my nephew and my three nieces. We had pirates, a geisha, the scream character, a cheetah, a frog and the devil herself made an appearance.

I went out with the group to provide protection. I'm 6'3, 295 pounds, give or take a few, and tough as nails ... well at least tougher than twinkies. So, I thought my ominous presence would ward off any evil-doers. You know the kind I'm talking about - those pesky 5-year olds who run around without looking where they're going, smacking into your knees. Oh, then there are the 13-year olds who think they are funny with every prank they pull. Turns out the group didn't really need me. My wife has a pretty good handle on youngsters. She has way of imposing her will on them.

Anyway, it was a relatively uneventful Halloween. I remembered the excitement of knowing it was time to go trick-or-treating when I was much younger. Tonight, however, I think I was asleep on the couch when the announcement was made that the time had come. I'm definitely getting old.

I hope all five readers had a safe Halloween. Take care.

CR

Favorite time of year

Fall is finally here. I know it's technically been autumn for some time now, but we're finally getting a taste of fall weather. I went out to shoot a few outdoors photos yesterday, but I didn't have much time. I'll be heading up to a hunt camp that I lease with some friends near the Michigan line for a welcome vacation next week. Deer camp, as we call it, is quite a place. We hunt over more than 400 acres of farm ground that has woods, a lake, a canoeable stream and a huge swamp area - where the big boys go. I've had some great times up at deer camp just hanging out with the guys. It's really more a week-long party. The 7 and sevens will be flowing all week, and incidentally, so will the bloody marys.


Every day starts with a huge breakfast. Pancakes, sausages, bacon, omelets toast, you name it. We'll have enough food to feed a small army. After we finish the morning hunt, it's back to the tent for venison burgers, chips and salsa, and jaunts around the property on 4-wheelers. Just before we leave for the evening hunt, the camp chef, Dan, usually puts a huge pot of venison roast and vegetables in the oven for dinner. That is unless Tom is cooking one of his delicious smoked, injected venison quarters. After dinner, everyone eiither settles in to a game of Texas hold 'em or they start telling stories and cutting on each other. I think I pick up enough insult material during this one week to last me a year.

Everyone usually comes home from our vacation week needing to hit the gym due to all the food, but it's well worth it. We work hard, and we play hard. It's actually hard to relax during the week, so it's not much of a vaction in that sense. It would be hard to guess the number of miles I walk, but I can tell you walking through swamps isn't easy, let alone hauling a big buck out of there. Walking nearly the entire property busting through thick brush and tall grass during our pheasant hunts isn't exactly a walk in the park either, well, I guess it kind of is, but you know what mean.


My wife doesn't quite understand the attraction to spending a whole week up there, but that's OK. I don't quite understand walking around shopping centers for a whole day. We each have our own interests, and that's a good thing. What she does understand is that this week means a lot to me, and she makes concessions for me to go. Thank God for that, or I'd be the butt of all the jokes and insults for the whole week. I have to find a vacation for her to spend a week away. The problem is she wants to go to places like Jamaica, Italy or Hawaii, and It would be hard for me not to go with her to places like those. Maybe I should buy a train ticket to Chicago where she can do all the shopping she wants. That would work. I can do without going to Chi town, and I'm sure a lot of Cubs/Bears/Blackhawks fans are thinking the same thing right about now.

Anyway, I didn't write this post to stir up debate about the ethics of hunting. If any readers are opposed to it, you're entitled to your opinion, but please don't send them to me. I've heard all the arguments, and we'll just have to agree to disagree. You have your interests, and I have mine, and that's a good thing. this season, I'll be doing more hunting with my camera, and I'll post some photos when I get back. Take care and go check out the outdoors this fall. It really is the best time of the year.

Other Pics from the last week

Long time no read

Whoa, I guess I haven't written to the blog in some time. Same story, different week. I have been so busy at work, the blog has taken a back seat, unfortunately. I've been writing like a mad man for the newspaper. In fact, on Sunday alone I wrote three stories, copy edited and rewrote material written by a co-worker, helped make up a schedule of must-see games and toned a bunch of photos for my stories. It's been rough to say the least, but I've made some decent pictures.


The weeks have been full of football and volleyball. I generally cover a volleyball game or two during the week then up to four football games on the weekend. Last week, I shot volleyball on Wednesday, the Colts vs. Saints on Thursday, high school football on Friday and Saint Francis football on Saturday. There was even talk of picking up another game on Sunday, but the Bears were in San Diego. It's a good thing I love football. I'm hoping to cover a Colts road game or two. I thought I would like to go out to San Diego in November, but after the Chargers got blasted by New England, I'm not sure the game would be all that good. I can guarantee one thing, though, the light and weather in SoCal in November is incredible. It would be fun to go just for that reason.



These last two photos were shot in SoCal last November. I had a great time out there and would definitely go back. The thing about Southern California is that its a good place to visit, but it's good to get back home to Indiana.

The next couple of weeks will be long. Not only will I be incredibly busy, but in two weeks I'm heading with my family for a much-needed vacation in South Carolina. I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Glad to be home

It was a long weekend covering the race then heading off to the Indianapolis Colts' training camp. Considering it's late and I am all tapped out from writing, I'm just posting a couple of pics from the Colts' camp. Check out Reggie Hayes' stories about training camp and my photos at The News-Sentinel.com.

Stewart wins No.2

Check out The News-Sentinel and it's new community photo sharing site CU for more pics and coverage from race day at the Brickyard.

Clearing up Confusion

This is an example of what a reporter with a camera might carry while walking about covering an event such as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.






This, however, is what I carry for six to eight hours while walking around a two-and-a-half mile racetrack in 80-90 degree heat looking for different angles to cover an event such as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. I'm the size of a small NFL lineman, so that's not exactly a walk in the park.


***Note: everything pictured in this photo, except for the 400mm f/2.8 lens (I hope to have one soon) is 100% bought and paid for by ME.


After the race is all done, and I've run up and down pit road with this gear trying to get celebration photos of the winner so that I don't get outdone by the Associated Press, I go back to the media center and drink a few bottles of water because I've usually sweat out all the fluids in my body. Then I sit down and edit through more than 1000 images to get to the 10 or so I will submit to the paper. Next, I tone all of the select photos to make sure the color and size is correct. After that, I write captions for the images and finally transmit them back to The News-Sentinel.

Now my responsibilites include writing stories to go with the photos. **Note - not on race day; Reggie Hayes and Pete DiPrimio handle those duties.** I have to be knowledgable of the drivers' story lines and statistics. I have to think of questions that don't make me look more ignorant than I am to ask the drivers. I transcribe quotes to make sure I'm correct, that is if I was lucky enough to make it to the press conference in time. Thank goodness at events such as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard a lot of the quotes are tanscribed by track staff. But, if I'm not present I might not get the context of the conversation. Once this is all done, I write the story(s). That part takes me a lot more time than seasoned writers such as Hayes, DiPrimio, and Blake Sebring. Those guys can bang out a story. Finally, I read through the story to make sure it makes sense then send it off to The News-Sentinel.

This year I tried my hand at shooting video to go with the still photos, but with my other duties I just didn't have time to edit and process the raw footage.

I suppose that just about covers what I do in one day at the track.

Oh, then I get to hike with all that gear about a quarter mile or more out to my car in the media parking lot. Follow that up with a dinner stop and 2-hour drive ... if I'm going home.

Stats: 2 full-size digital SLR cameras (sometimes 3)
400mm f2.8 lens
300mm f2.8 lens
70-200mm f2.8 lens
16-35mm f2.8 lens
50mm f1.4 lens
1.4x teleconverter
Flash
Monopod
waist pack
Extra batteries and chargers
Flash cards
Audio recorder w/external microphone
Computer bag with laptop
point and shoot digital camera for web-sized video
a lot of other miscellaneous crap I probably don't really need


Total weight: around 40-65 pounds of gear
Total miles walked during one day: upwards of 5
Total hours: 14-20 depending on the day
Total meals: 2
Total restroom visits: 1 at the track and 1 at dinner

Amount of perceived appreciation for what it takes to cover a race such as the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard: negligible

More Photos for Saturday at the Brickyard

News-Sentinel photos by Chad Ryan