2017-11-11 The Luck of the Puck

Sometimes being in the right place at the right time isn't enough. Sometimes 12 frames per second isn't enough. Sometimes great light isn't enough, and sometimes great action, even paired added to all the other things listed here isn't enough. The luck of the puck is what's needed in hockey. For many hockey pictures I want the puck in the picture. It informs the viewer what going on with the players. It shows how a play is moving, or gives excitement to the moment. The problem comes when you consider the size and color of that little black piece of vulcanized rubber. It can get lost easily in a photo. If it's in the right place but there's a black pad or glove behind it, then it doesn't catch your eye. Every now and then, all the factors mentioned earlier, and the luck of the puck align for a fraction of a moment, and the shutter happens to fall at the precise moment and magic happens...

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 11: Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) makes the save against Philadelphia Flyers right wing Wayne Simmonds (17) during the NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and the Philadelphia Flyers on November 11, 2017 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia PA. (Photo by Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire)

Nikon D4 Sigma 35mm f/1.4 @ 1/1600 sec f/4 ISO 1000

2017-11-11 Back to Basketball!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Basketball is one of my favorite sports to photograph. For an adrenaline junkie the speed of basketball, with its spontaneous changes of directions, fakes and split second decisions, keeping up with the action takes agility and speed. It's great to have a home team like the Villanova Wildcats, because they have been great competitors over the past recent years. This year their home games will be played at the Wells Fargo Center as their usual home turf undergoes a transformation.

Here's Villanova Wildcats guard Mikal Bridges (25), determined to get past Columbia Lions forward Myles Hanson (31) during the game between the Columbia Lions and the Villanova Wildcats last night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Nikon D4 Sigma 50mm f/1.4 art @ 1/1600 sec f/3.2 ISO 2000

2017-11-10 Flyers Friday

It's great to be back at the Wells Fargo Center for the NHL! I was a bit rusty on my timing and framing, but it's been a while since last season and hockey is FAST. Here's Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Elliott (37) as he stops one of the 38 shots on goal that he successfully defended last night. This was in the third period as the Chicago Blackhawks tried feverishly to get their game together.

Nikon D4 Sigma 135mm f/1.8 @ 1/1600 f/3.2 ISO 1100

2017-11-9 Throwback Thursday

A few years ago I was assigned to cover my first soccer matches. My local team is the Philadelphia Union and this picture is from when the venue was called PPL Park. Fan favorite Conor Casey (6) was in the air and the sweat spray from his header is flying out from the impact. I thought it was pretty cool at the time, and I think it represents a throwback to one of my earliest professional soccer matches.

2017-11-8 Winning Wednesday

This has been a great season for NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr. The winingest driver this year with 7 wins and an amazing average finish of 9.9. There's a lot to Martin's story which you can learn more about on the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation site, but I wanted to tell a brief example about how he is a winner in more ways then on the racetrack.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to photograph Martin as he helped out at Dover International Speedway with a presentation for Falci Adaptive Biosystems. The work this organization is doing for the disabled is remarkable, as you can see in this video. The disabled people that had come to the event wrangled on fire suits and rode with Martin in a Furniture Row Camry around the speedway. The participants were full of questions for Martin and thrilled at the opportunity of being driven around a NASCAR track by the most frequent visitor to the Monster Energy victory lane this year. Just when I thinking about how great this ride-a-long was for the people something really astounding happened. Not only were these disabled people going for a ride, they were going to be able to drive this specially designed racecar around the track by themselves. I can't describe the emotion, the joy, the power I saw in these people's faces. It was inspiring.

Here's Martin as he prepares to head off in his racecar.

Nikon D4 Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm 1/500sec f/3.2 ISO 1250