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Summer Fun

Well, here we are. It's July 1st and summer is in full swing. It's been a few months since I last posted, so I wanted to share some images and catch up. I've had a really busy summer so far. I've shot baseball, basketball, soccer, football, volleyball and of course, racing. Oh, and this past weekend I added one of the events that I have wanted to cover: Tiller racing! :) I've picked up assignments from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette to help out while one of their staffers is on medical leave. I am grateful for the opportunity to help fill in as needed.

So, here are some of my images from the last few months!

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Arkansas will enjoy a field of quarterbacks this fall. Ben Hicks (6) will battle with a group that includes John Stephen Jones (9), the grandson of Jerry Jones, and Nick Starkel, a highly regarded transfer from Texas A&M.

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Easily the most impressive player in the spring was freshman wide receiver Trey Knox. The youngster graduated early to participate in spring drills and he did not disappoint.

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Arkansas head coach Chad Morris still has a lot to prove to most fans. Personally, I think he will be a great coach at Arkansas and think once he gets the kind of players he needs in place, the Hogs are gonna win a lot of games.

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I shot a lot of baseball in the late spring. I captured this really sweet image during the Wally Hall tournament in Benton, Arkansas in May.

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I really try to take advantage of situations where back light is available.

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Caught a nice slide coming into 3rd base.

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Still shooting racing when I can. I captured this shot at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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In April, I traveled over to Pocola, Oklahoma to cover an ASCS Midsouth race. I grabbed this shot after a hot laps session.

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Tri-State Speedway has some elevated platforms in the corners that allows you to get some different angles.

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Danny Smith jumps the cushion during a heat race at Old Number 1 Speedway in Harrisburg, Arkansas.

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Former NASCAR star and team owner Tony Stewart was on-hand racing in Harrisburg, Arkansas over Memorial Day weekend. Here, he is watching the NASCAR race before the feature race.

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Former NASCAR star and team owner Tony Stewart celebrates after winning the USCS feature race in Harrisburg, Arkansas over Memorial Day weekend.

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Staying with Tony Stewart, I captured him before a World of Outlaws hot laps session in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Final image of Smoke in this post. Due to the limitations of where we could shoot at Nashville, I shot this pan image from the infield.

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Snapped this frame of Sheldon Haudenschild during hot laps at Nashville, TN.

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Nice tight racing shot from Nashville.

In June I got to cover the Air Race Classic at the Saline County airport in Bryant, Arkansas. It's a women's point to point air race that started back in 1929 as the Women's Air Derby. Amelia Earhart competed in the inaugural race and finished 3rd.

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In June, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette asked me to cover the Arkansas high school All Star games. I would cover 6 games over 2 days. It was a lot of work, but I was happy to take on the challenge.

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I started with the baseball game and snagged this standard pitching image of the windup.

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I will be totally honest here. I do not enjoy shooting volleyball. I've only shot it a few times and struggled with it. So, the same thing happened this time. I guess, if I shot it on a regular basis, I would be more comfortable with it.

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I also don't shoot basketball on a regular basis. In fact, until these shots, I had not taken a basketball photo since 2012. It's not my favorite sport and I don't go out of my way to shoot it.

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I haven't shot a lot of soccer, but I really enjoyed it.

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Caught former Bryant quarterback Ren Hefley rolling out to pass during the All Star football game.

This image has an interesting story. Before the All Star baseball game, I was taking photos and this kid, Landry Wilkerson of Van Buren, who told me that he was gonna make a diving catch. I kinda laughed and said "ok." He essentially called his shot, Babe Ruth style. Well, he backed up that called shot! I joked with him about it after the inning and gave him credit for calling it. The image was a little blurry but the photo editor sharpened it up for the paper.

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I was really happy with this image. And, so were the editors at the ADG. They chose this for the front page:

And, finally, here is my favorite shot from the tiller races!

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This image got selected as one of the Pictures of the Day for ZUMA Press.

The Man Behind The Camera

Jimmy Jones, 47, is a freelance photographer based in Benton, Arkansas. Specializing in sports photography, Jimmy frequently covers the Arkansas Razorbacks, Arkansas State Red Wolves, high school and professional sporting events in the state of Arkansas and surrounding states.

 

The Kentucky Derby, the Breeder's Cup, the BCS Sugar Bowl, AT&T Cotton Bowl, The Southwest Classic, The Knoxville Nationals and the Indycar Grand Prix of Birmingham, are some of the notable events that Jimmy has captured through his lenses. Jimmy has covered the NFL, PGA Golf and NASCAR as well.

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Jimmy shoots exclusively Nikon bodies and is a strong supporter of the brand. He currently owns the D4, D3s, D7100, D300s and the D60 along with a wide-variety of Nikon lenses and accessories. He also uses THINK TANK bags / harnesses, Manfrotto Tripods / Monopods, Lexar Media Cards and GO PRO cameras.

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