Shippensburg vs. West Chester

Last Saturday I had the unique opportunity to photograph The Shippensburg vs. West Chester college football game, from the sideline of the visiting team. I have been friends with the quarterback’s father all my life, and have been looking forward to the game for months. Shippensburg arrived undefeated for the season and left holding the same honor. What is difficult to share is how I felt ,being so close to the action. Hopefully the image gallery can give you a hint of the experience. What I can say is that emotion is palpable. The fortitude, courage and pride of these athletes awoke a strength deep within me. Feelings from my youth of fearlessness, team unity and honor coursed through my veins as I remembered how it felt to be vibrant and full of raw emotion. Long live college football!

​West Chester University Football field

Beauty and the Beast

Or the Sky and the Caterpillar: Why would I take a picture of a big ole bull dozer? Because I liked the dirty feel next to the colorful sky. I had driven by this behemoth and wondered why it was parked by the side of the road. Obviously waiting for some skilled earth mover to man-handle it later in the day. Just standing beside it I could sense the power, the unyielding hardened steel of its blade. The “Tim-the-Tool-man” grunts sounded in my head. I stood in awe while the scene subtly started to change behind the sleeping giant. Soft wisps of pink and purple danced in the upper atmosphere and began to glow. The power of the Earth mover was still and quiet peacefully lighted by the sunrise. Thats why my shutter clicked.

The Sky and the Caterpillar​

Nikon D800 Tokina 16-28 f/2.8 @ 16mm f/8 ISO 100 5 image HDR​

#TravelTuesday San Antonio

Last Autumn my wife and I returned to the city of my birth, San Antonio Texas. I would express how much I missed the city and how I have dreamed of returning often, but I was extracted when I was not yet a year old. My father was stationed at Fort Sam Houston for a few months during his service in the army.
San Antonio is home to the Alamo, which (to my astonishment) is smack in the middle of downtown. I had always pictured it in the desert, with tumbleweeds rolling by, the air so dry it would suck the moisture right out of your lungs. This is, unromantically, not the case.
The city has been compared to Venice because of the intricate waterway that winds around center city, one story below the streets. The temperature is usually ten to fifteen degrees cooler along the water and provides shady respite from the midday sun.
San Antonio is a delightful city to spend some time in, and if you happen to be there around brunch I highly recommend The Guenther House where they mill their own flour and the waffles are the best I’ve ever tasted.

​San Antonio at night

Nikon D5100​ Nikkor 18-55mm kit lens @ 28mm f/9 ISO 100 8 seconds

Calming Down

After an action packed weekend things are quieting down around here. I was hired to photograph the West Chester /Shippensburg football game over the weekend and it was a blast. I will go into more detail later in the week. Most days, early in the pre-dawn light at Marsh Creek State Park, fishermen venture out to test their angling skills. I have never been one to fish. The allure of this pastime is lost on me, but at least these guys got to see why I get up early and scavenge the world around, looking for sky splitting beauty. They cracked a joke or two as they motored by about what I was doing there,and I don’t know if they even noticed what was happening above them, but hey, to each their own. We were all doing what we enjoyed.

​Fishing at Sunrise

​Nikon D800 Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 @ 16mm f/13 ISO 100 5 image HDR

Final day at the zoo

The Zoological Society of Philadelphia was established in 1859 making it America’s first zoo. Interestingly enough it is also the year the Charles Darwin published his On the Origin of Species. Other notable facts are that the MGM lion “Leo” retired from show business at our zoo, and the first cheetahs born in a zoo were born at the Philadelphia Zoo. The changes that have been made at the Philadelphia Zoo have created a place that is far superior to what I experienced as a child. It is welcoming to people of all ages and satisfies a craving for knowledge in most preliminary zoological endeavors. Take an afternoon and visit, you won’t be disappointed. Next week back to pretty pictures.

​Tiger

Nikon D800 Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 w/ 1.4 tele @ 280mm f/9 ISO 100 1/13​ sec

Image not for sale​