Category Archives: Sports
Indiana Sports Photographer: Busy Afternoon
Yesterday was a busy afternoon for sports on Culver Academy’s campus with three home games scheduled. The afternoon started off cloudy, but things cleared and all the games were played. The first event was a JV tennis match against LaPort LaLumiere. The men’s JV soccer team played next against Chesterton High School, and it was followed by the CMA varsity soccer game against Chesterton.
All of the teams played well. The JV soccer team won by two goals, and the varisty soccer team lost by two goals. The Chesterton soocer team is a good opponent for Culver as both the JV and Varsity teams were well matched with no clearly dominant team. The final scores could have easily gone the opposite way.
I’ve posted some photos here. Others can be found at:
CMA JV Tennis- http://www.culverphotos.com/8_30_10_tennis
CMA JV Soccer- http://www.culverphotos.com/8_30_10_jv_soccer
CMA Varsity Soccer- http://www.culverphotos.com/8_30_10_varsity_soccer
Indiana Sports Photographer: CMA Varsity Football vs. Northwood
The other night, Ginny and I shot the first regular season home game of the CMA Eagles against the Northwood Panthers. It was played on Culver Academy’s campus overlooking Lake Maxinkuckee. I was looking forward to this game, as this was the first sporting event at which I could use my new camera, the Nikon D3S. I purchased it over the summer and shot some weddings with it, but I hadn’t been able to use it for action shots.
For the camera buffs out there, the Nikon D3S is truly an amazing piece of equipment capable of shooting up to 9 shots a second. The camera’s real claim to fame is its capability to shoot in almost no light, making it ideal for Friday night football games, weddings, and other events where using a flash might be distractive or prohibitive. At Friday’s game, I decided to push the limits far past anything that I’ve attempted before and I shot the entire 4th quarter of the game with an ISO setting of 10,000. To my surprise, I am happy with the photos and proud to display them along with the rest of the quarters.
The CMA Eagles held their own against a tough team and in fact, they had the lead for much of the first and second quarters when number 17 caught a long pass from the number 7 quarterback on CMA’s first offensive play. The crowd was loud after that play, and the game remained tight throughout the second quarter. The Northwood Panthers had a tough running game, and they scored going up the middle a few times in the second half. The Eagles made attempts to come back, but they never scored again. I thought they looked like a strong team for a group of guys who lost several seniors in key positions from last year. Ginny and I think it’s going to be a fun season. We hope to travel to some of the away games and keep up with the team.
Following are a handful of photos of the game; additional photos are located at: http://www.culverphotos.com/8_27_10_football
Culver Academy Reunion Photos: Crew Regatta
On Saturday morning, I was out the door by 6:45 a.m. to catch the Culver Crew Regatta, as this was only the second time this season that the Culver Academy Crew Teams competed on Lake Maxinkuckee. I shot the team during practice a few weeks ago and wanted to get them competing and in their uniforms.
If you’ve followed my blogs, you’ve probably figured out that the weather here in Culver is unpredictable and has not been my friend this Spring. Saturday morning was no different. The event started almost an hour late due to the weather. It was hazy, foggy, and overcast. At one point, it even started to rain enough that I put my protective gear on my camera.
I apologize for not getting more pictures of the boys’ crew teams, but during the five hours that I was there, most of the races were of the girls’ teams. I would have loved to stayed longer, but being Culver’s Reunion Weekend, I had committed to following one of the alumni classes around as members attended their events.
I’ve posted some of the crew photos here. Others can be found at:
Girls 2-Person- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_22_10_girls2person
CGA Girls 4-Person- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_22_10_cga4personcrew
Visiting Girls 4-Person- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_22_10_visiting_4pgirlscrew
Girls 8-Person- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_22_10_crew_girls_8_person
Boys 4-Person- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_22_10_mens4person
Boys 8-Person- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_22_10_mens8person
Culver Indiana Sports Photography: Culver Middle School Track Meet
Yesterday afternoon, I got to shoot the Northern Indiana Middle School Conference Track Meet, which was held at Culver Community High School. This event was originally planned for Monday but rescheduled due to rain. Overall, I believe Culver did well. It is difficult to know for sure because there were so many events going on at the same time. I know that long-time family friend Amber Cowell easily won her hurdles qualifier and hurdles race. She was pretty spectacular to watch, and I did catch her in action. Way to go, Amber, you made the cover of this blog entry! And note how far ahead Amber is of her competition in this photo.
I did the best that I could to shoot all of the events, but it was difficult because they happen at different ends of the field. And I have to tell you that I like shooting the action-oriented activities, such as jumping and hurdles. Some of these young people look like they can fly! I left before some of the relays and longer races happened because of my schedule and fading light. I look forward to another track meet. Following are some photos of the various participants and events. You can find others at http://www.culverphotos.com/5_19_10_trackmeet.
Culver Indiana Photography: CCHS Varsity Softball vs. Glenn
It took me a few attempts due to bad locations, poor weather, and general scheduling conflicts… but yesterday afternoon, I finally managed to shoot the Culver Community School Corporation (CCHS) Varsity Softball Team as they played Glenn High School. The weather was nice, but the wind was strong and the clouds kept coming in. The girls played hard, but Glenn was a tough opponent. I don’t know what the final score was, but it appeared as though the CCHS women improved with each inning and as they got into the groove of the game. I’ve posted some photos here. You can find others at http://www.culverphotos.com/5_14_10_cchssoftball.
Culver Academy Track Photos: Culver Academy Track Meet
Yesterday afternoon, the rain cleared and for a little while, things were nice. I took advantage of the sunlight to go by the Culver Academy track meet against North Judson that involved both the boys and girls competing. (Some track meets are only one or the other.) Unfortunately, one event that I was hoping to shoot was canceled due to the winds. In yesterday’s meet, there was no pole vaulting.
This was my first track meet of the 2010 season. To be honest, they tend to intimidate me a little as there is so much going on and multiple events running at the same time. If you aren’t set up in the right place when an event starts, you’ve missed it. If you’re shooting a another event while a slower event or an event with fewer people is going on, we’ve probably missed that event as well. Ideally, to properly cover a track meet would require 2 or 3 photographers to cover all of the events. At yesterday’s meet, I covered what I could.
I’ve posted some of my favorites from the different events here. Others can be found at http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_trackmeet.
If you are looking for a specifc event, use the following links:
High Jump- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_highjump
Hurdles- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_hurdles
Long Jump- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_longjump
Non-Competition (Infield and coaches)- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_noncompetition
Relay Races- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_relayraces
Shot Put- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_tf_shotput
Track Races- http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_trackraces
Culver Academy Baseball Photos: CMA Varsity Baseball vs. South Bend Riley
Yesterday afternoon, I had two firsts for the Spring. I wore shorts, as the temperature was in the 80s, and I shot a track meet. (See my other blog entry for more on the track meet.)
However, I started my afternoon shooting some of the Culver Academy’s varsity baseball team who hosted a match against South Bend Riley. I don’t know how the game ended, but it got off to a rocky start. As I’ve learned with most baseball and softball games, it started late. (If I weren’t shooting multiple events in an afternoon, it wouldn’t matter. When trying to keep a schedule and make it to other sports, games that start late limit the amount of time that I’m able to stay.) In addition to starting late, the game started with only one umpire. This posed a slight problem as an umpire at home plate has a difficult time seeing the action at the other bases. (There was a bad call at third base that I have the photos to prove. Don’t worry, though, it didn’t afect the score.) Finally, the CMA Eagles slow start allowed Riley 3 points in the first inning.
I wish I could have stayed longer, but my plan for the day was to shoot the track meet because I hadn’t shot one this year. Because it started later, I decided that getting a little of the baseball game was better than getting none of it. I’ve posted some photos here. Others are at http://www.culverphotos.com/5_13_10_cmavbaseball.
Culver Academy Lacrosse Photos: CMA JV Lacrosse vs. Brebeuf
Sorry that I’m a little late in posting this entry. Between a computer failure and 9 shoots involving over 3,000 photos this weekend, I’m little behind schedule. On Saturday, the Culver Eagles JV Lacrosse team and the JV team from Brebeuf out of Indianapolis played a tough game, braving some very cold weather. The weather didn’t seem to slow the Eagles down. CMA easily won, although Brebeuf did manage to give Culver’s defense some action, which was a change for me. Lately, I’ve seen only the offensive end of the lacrosse field for JV and Varsity. This was the second game of the day for the JV team, and though I’m sure they were feeling the effects of the first game, they won the game without a problem. I’ve posted some photos here. You can find the others at http://www.culverphotos.com/5_8_10_jvlacrosse_brebeuf.
Culver Academy Lacrosse Photos: CMA Varsity Lacrosse vs. Brebeuf
In the third lacrosse game played yesterday, the CMA varsity team played against Brebeuf High School. It was a freezing, windy, cold day. (I had on two pairs of socks, long johns, gloves, ear muffs, and my heavy jacket that I thought I’d put away for the winter.) Did someone forget to tell Mother Nature that this is the middle of May?!
Once again, Culver dominated the game with little action on their defensive end. The final score was 17 to 1 (15 points were scored in the first half). The action on the offensive side provided some great opportunities for shots on the goal. I’ve posted some photos here. You can find others of this game at http://www.culverphotos.com/5_8_10_varsitylacrosse.
Culver Academy Lacrosse Photos: CGA Varsity Lacrosse vs. Sacred Heart
This morning started with a lacrosse game between the CGA Varsity Lacrosse team and the Sacred Heart team. It was cold! Thought I had on three layers and gloves, I couldn’t feel my feet or hands by the time the game was over. I felt bad for the girls as they were obviously struggling to stay warm when not running on the field.
The lacrosse team from Sacred Heart is a very good team that provided a challenge for Culver and made for a fun game to watch. Sacred Heart started off by scoring early. Culver answered by scroring two quick goals in less than a minute. After that, Culver stayed strong and maintained a multiple-point lead. This continued until midway through the second half when Culver started to struggle a bit. Sacred Heart tied up the game in the last 10 minutes of the game, and they ultimately won by one goal. The final score was 8 to 9.
I’ve posted some photos here. Others are located at www.culverphotos.com/5_8_10_cgalacrosse.
