Recent Stuff

I've been all over the place the last few weeks, and even managed to sneak in a short vacation. Anyway, here is a sample of some of my favorites from recent assignments.



<sub>June 15, 2008 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., cheers in Winner's Circle after winning his first race on NASCAR's premier racing circuit, the Sprint Cup Series, in more than two years (since May 6, 2006), by holding off Kasey Kahne on a restart to take the checkered flag at the LifeLock 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
Photo by Chad Ryan



June 17, 2008 - Midland, Mich. - Fort Wayne Wizards first baseman Felix Carrasco hits a one-out double in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the East team runners on second and third. East couldn't get a run in, and Clinton Lumber Kings outfielder Tim Smith hit a solo blast in the top of the 10th inning to give the West team a 5-4 victory in the Midwest League All-Star Game at Dow Diamond, home of the Great Lakes Loons, on Tuesday in Midland, Michigan.
Photo by Chad Ryan



June 17, 2008 - Midland, Mich. - Fort Wayne Wizards pitcher Derek McDaid throws a pitch in the Midwest League All-Star Game at Dow Diamond on Tuesday in Midland, Michigan.
Photo by Chad Ryan



June 17, 2008 - Midland, Mich. - Dow Diamond, and the Great Lakes Loons, hosted the Midwest League All-Star Game on Tuesday in Midland, Michigan.
Photo by Chad Ryan



June 25, 2008 - Fort Wayne, Ind. - Bishop Luers coaches, from left, Matt Lindsay (football), James Blackmon (basketball), and Gary Rogers (baseball), achieved a feat this year that had previously been unmatched in Indiana high school athletics by winning state championships in each of the three major sports in the same academic year. The Knights' basketball and baseball titles were the first in school history, while the football team won it's seventh championship.
Photo by Chad Ryan.



June 26, 2008: Fort Wayne second baseman Andy Parrino makes a play on a ground ball hopper in the Wizards' 6-5 loss to the West Michigan Whitecaps on Thursday at Memorial Stadium.
Photo by Chad Ryan.



June 22, 2008: Laura Wilkinson breaks the surface of the water on one of her dives in the platform finals at the Team USA Olympic Diving Trials at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana on Sunday, June 22. Wilkinson won the event and will represent Team USA for a third time in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Photo by Chad Ryan.



June 22, 2008: Nick McCrory performs a somersault during one of his dives in the 10-meter platform finals at the Team USA Olympic Diving Trials at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Photo by Chad Ryan.</sub>

NASCAR at MIS

Here I am today at Michigan International Speedway just outside of Brooklyn, Mich., getting ready to shoot the LifeLock 400 Sprint Cup Series race. It's been a long weekend, and I'm looking forward to getting this race in and heading home. I drove up here, which is nice little 2-hour drive, on Friday to get story material on qualifying day, then ran back home to prepare to photograph my sister's wedding. Wedding day took a bit longer than I'd hoped, but they all do. So, after the reception, I drove back up here to Michigan last night to get ready for today. I think I have about a total of 7 hours of sleep for the weekend, but I will hit this race just as hard as everything else I shoot. This is my second NASCAR race, and the first of four that I am scheduled to cover this summer.




To all the fathers out there, including my own, Happy Fathers' Day.

Playing around

It's summer break for the kids, and for them that means ... well, I don't know what it means anymore. I used to play ball, ride my bike all over town and just generally be a nuisance. But whatever I did it was outside and usually away from my sisters.

The first thing that came to mind for my older son was, of course, video games. I encourage him to get outside as much as possible, but I think he and all of his friends are caught in the digital trap. I'm sure we'll get a chance to go out and play some golf together this summer, and I'll keep encouraging him to go on a bike ride or something, but for this first week of summer break I'm cool with some video game play.

So, tonight we'll break out the Guitar Hero and do some thrashing. What?? If you can't beat 'em, might as well join 'em, eh?

Now we just have to figure out which version to play.