Tag Archives: Grant Munroe
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 Indiana Portrait Photographer: David Family Shoot
This past weekend, I was contacted by CMA’s football coach Andy Dorrel to do a family portrait of the David family, as all of the kids and grandchildren were in town at the same time. 24 of them in all! Little did I know that this family shoot was also being done for a campaign photo for Mr. David who is currently running for County Council. We decided that Culver Academy had the best scenery and setting for our session but unfortunately, we couldn’t control the weather. It was very beautiful but extremely hot and muggy. Keeping everyone happy, smiling, and sweat-free was a little difficult. We managed, though, and I got some shots that I’ll be proud knowing will be used in print advertising. I’ve posted a few of the photos here.
Culver Indiana Wedding Photographer: Desiree and Dustin
Two weeks ago, Ginny and I photographed the wedding of Desiree and Dustin, a beautiful, young couple who are a lot of fun to be around and photograph. They had their reception at the Cove and wanted some specific shots on the beach. We also came up with a few other ideas. Ginny made the comment that Desiree had some of the most beautiful expressions and smile, and I couldn’t agree more. Dustin had a hard time holding back the tears. We had a blast with both of them and their friends and families. Desiree and Dustin, Ginny and I wish you both all the best in your new ventures. You both deserve the great times ahead.
Culver Indiana Photos: Custom Products
In the past couple of years, we’ve been asked to create numerous custom products. These are a lot of fun, as they typically involve editing/processing work, and some of these products are printed with print companies that specialize in this type of thing. Some of the popular choices include custom collage photos, slideshow DVDs, banners, yearbook pages, custom coloring and spot coloring, event and sports photo books, Christmas cards, invitations, party yard signs, announcements, Fathead wall clings, and entire sports season DVDs. No matter what your custom need may be, we can probably help.
I’ve posted some of my examples here. Some of these have been presented to clients. Others were requested by our clients. You can find more at:
http://www.culverphotos.com/custom.
Culver Indiana Photos: Crop Dusting
Growing up in Indiana, I can honestly say that I’ve only seen crop dusters at work four or five times. Of these few times, I’ve always been driving or with others and never had the chance to stop. This past Sunday, I saw that a crop duster was spraying some fields a quater mile outside of Culver so I ran home and grabbed my camera. It was an amazing thing to watch as the bright, shiny plane flew within 20 feet of the ground and dodged trees and power lines by 40 or 50 feet. If you ever see a crop duster working, I recommend stopping for a look. It is really cool. At one point, the pilot changed his pattern to fly right by me. Very cool of him! I’ve posted some photos here. Others can be found at:
http://www.culverphotos.com/6_20_10_cropdusting.
Culver Indiana Photography: Boys and Girls Club Auction
On June 18, we attended the Culver Boys & Girls Club auction event. This year, Ginny was once again heavily involved in the event. The CBGC board was kind enough to give her a plaque for her work on the auction event. This year, the theme was “A Night at the Speedway,” and I have to say that the way the auction committee transformed the Lay Dining Hall at Culver Academies was amazing. Carol Zeglis was in charge of decorating and she paid attention to every detail. She even wrapped the potted plants in checkered paper. There was a race track for wiggle machine races, which were hysterical. I have to admit that I particiated in the races. I have to get some of those machines for my nieces and nephews! Mary Szymusiak, who was in charge of check-in and check-out, raced against me. She beat me in the practice round, but I won the race round. Mary’s husband Jim did a great job of running the races and MCing the live auction at which Ginny won the Peyton Manning rookie jersey that Peyton autographed back in ’98! I wasn’t there during the live auction, as I was out checking on a friend’s house. As some of you may have heard, there was a bad storm Friday night. We lost power for about an hour, and then, when the generators kicked on, the dining hall was the only building in Culver with power. Thankfully, the guests stayed, and though the turnout was much lower than anticipated, all of the event organizers were happy with the results of the evening.
If you haven’t made a donation to the Boys & Girls Club in awhile, take the time to support the kids. And hopefully, we’ll see you at next year’s auction event! The planners of this year’s auction are already planning the theme for next year’s event. It’s sure to be great. In the meantime, check out some photos of the great food (provided by City Diner), the fantastic decorations and donations, and some of the people at the event.
Culver Indiana Wedding Photographer: Troy & Mallory Wedding
About a week and a half ago, Ginny and I shot the wedding of Troy and Mallory Ulch. We are still going through the pictures, editing some, cropping others, and choosing our favorites, but we wanted to post a few, so that Troy and Mallory could take a look at some preliminary shots. Most of these are before the wedding and during the ceremony, as we haven’t been through all of them yet. We had the Boys & Girls Club auction last Friday and Ginny was preparing for it all of last week. We will eventually catch up with our posts! For now, here are a few shots of Mallory and Troy. Oh, Troy is a Culver police officer if you are wondering where the handcuffs came from…
Culver Academy Graduation Photos: Commencement
The 2009-2010 Culver Academy school year comes to a close with the Final Formation and Graduation Commencement that was held last Sunday on the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee. As part of the ceremony, the cadets proceed through the CMA Gate and the coeds walk through the CGA Arch. Once through, they are welcomed by a Legion Board member as they join the ranks of other Culver Alumn. As always, emotion runs high, as this celebration is both joyous and sad being the end of the seniors’ Culver (and high school) lives.
All totaled, I shot over 1500 photos before, during, and after the graduation ceremony. I tried to get a couple of photos of each student as they received their diploma and progressed through the Gate or Arch. I’ve only posted a few photos here. Others can be found at:
Before/After Ceremony- http://www.culverphotos.com/6-6_10_commencement_bf
Arch Ceremony- http://www.culverphotos.com/6_6_10_commencement_arch
Gate Ceremony- http://www.culverphotos.com/6_6_10_commencement_gate
Please note that both the Gate Ceremony photos and the Arch Ceremony photos are in the order that the students progressed through the Gate and Arch. If you are looking for a student who graduated later in the ceremony, look much later into the gallery.
Culver Academy Graduation Photos: Officer’s Figure
Last Saturday, Culver Aacdemies held the annual Final Ball and Officer’s Figure. When asked about Officer’s Figure, I tell everyone that need to see it at least once because it’s not like anything you’ll see at a typical prom. It’s not just cool. It’s a tradition at Culver. I’m sure that the cadets don’t get as excited about it as someone like me, but, as you can tell from the photos, their dates and mothers enjoy being a part of it.
Following are some photos from the event. There are more photos posted on the www.culverphotos.com website. I seperated the galleries into the photos of cadets with their dates (http://www.culverphotos.com/6_5_10_officersfigure_dates) and the photos of cadets with their mothers (http://www.culverphotos.com/6_5_10_officers_figure).
Culver Academy Graduation Photos: Final Ball- Outside
Before and after the CGA Senior Waltz and Officer’s Figure, I shot several kids and families outside of the gym. For the Culver students, mingling and carrying on with their friends outside has before a tradition and integral part of Final Ball. It is a lot of fun to be around, as there are hundreds of students and mothers in beautiful gowns along with their male counterparts in Dress As and suits. Everyone always looks very sharp.
I’ve posted a few photos here. Other are at:
http://www.culverphotos.com/6_5_10_final_ball.
Please note that photos from the Officer’s Figure and Senior Waltz are not in this gallery. There are three galleries that contain these photos: “CGA Senior Waltz,” “Officer’s Figure- Mothers,” and “Officer’s Figure- Dates,” all of which can be found in the Graduation gallery at http://www.culverphotos.com/2010grad.
