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.
