More NCAA College Basketball

I’m sorry but this is the closest thing I have to March Madness, so if you want something more you might as well head on over to Sports Illustrated dot-com or ESPN dot-com. If a few shots of the Arizona State University Sun Devils Basketball game against USC will help with your March Madness fix than this is the place to be.

Thankfully I have a few images of the “older” Sparky uniform before the change over to the “new and improved” Sparky that no one seems to like.

At least they didn’t change the cheerleaders outfits.

24 January 2013: Jordan Bachynski #13 of the Sun Devils dunks the ball during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the University of Southern California Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the USC Trojans 98-93.

24 January 2013: USC Trojans Byron Wesley #22 drives toward the basket during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the University of Southern California Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the USC Trojans 98-93.

24 January 2013: Dewayne Dedmon #14 of the USC Trojans during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the University of Southern California Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the USC Trojans 98-93.

24 January 2013: Jahii Carson #1 of the Sun Devils during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the University of Southern California Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the USC Trojans 98-93.

24 January 2013: Jahii Carson #1 of the Sun Devils during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the University of Southern California Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the USC Trojans 98-93.

24 January 2013: Carrick Felix #0 of the Sun Devils dunks the ball during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the University of Southern California Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the USC Trojans 98-93.

24 January 2013: USC Trojans Eric Wise #34 takes a shot while ASU Sun Devils Jordan Bachynski #13 defends during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the University of Southern California Trojans at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the USC Trojans 98-93.

One last farewell to the “good” Sparky.

2013 NCAA March Madness Basketball

It’s March and for many sports fans that means NCAA March Madness Basketball. Lots of people follow the annual college basketball brackets with fantasy sports leagues, office bracket pools, and television coverage all leading up to the final four!

Sadly, I don’t have any coverage from any of the tournaments, only a few shots from a game where the UCLA Bruins took on the Arizona State Sun Devils. I hope this satisfies your need for college basketball.

26 January 2013: UCLA Bruins Shabazz Muhammad #15 dunks the ball during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the UCLA Bruins at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the Bruins 78-60.

26 January 2013: Sparky, the Arizona State Sun Devils mascot (foreground) and the UCLA Bruins stand for the National Anthem prior to the start of an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the UCLA Bruins at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the Bruins 78-60.

I know this game is from way, way back in late January, but it’s all I have, so you will have to make due. From the opening tip-off to the final buzzer, this was a great game.

You just had to know I’d get a few shots of the Sun Devils Spirit Squad.

26 January 2013: Arizona State Sun Devils Jordan Bachynski #13 dunks the ball during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the UCLA Bruins at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the Bruins 78-60.

It looked to be a full house as the second half started.

You just gotta love the outside jumper in front of the opposing teams bench.

26 January 2013: UCLA Bruins Kyle Anderson #5 (center) during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the UCLA Bruins at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the Bruins 78-60.

26 January 2013: Arizona State Carrick Feliz #0 and Jonathan Gilling #31 celebrate after winning an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the UCLA Bruins at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Sun Devils beat the Bruins 78-60.

Playing catch up with some NCAA College Basketball from December of 2011

I realized I had not posted any college basketball from this season and I’m sure some sports fans are missing college basketball with March Madness being finished and the Final Four all but a distant memory. It’s hard to pay attention to college basketball when the team you cover is consumed by player’s behaving badly, so much so that they are tossed off the team, the rest of the team not playing well and the fate of team being placed on the shoulders of a single player to carry the team to victory ever week. To top off all that the team plays a bunch of teams no one has heard of or, sadly cares about. What can you do?

17 December 2011: Durrell Norman (34) of the Lumberjacks tries to push inside against the ASU defense during an NCAA Basketball game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. The Lumberjacks beat the Sun Devils 69-68.

I loved this picture because I could hear the flesh hitting the solid defender’s chest and see the sweat fly off the player’s face as the two crashed together. Although cutting off the defender’s head kinda makes it a fail. Oh well, I never said I was that good of a photographer and I know I still have a lot to learn.

To see more of the hard-hitting action click the more link below.

The Basketball Diaries, or how I learned to love a big softbox with a grid.

One of the parents of a high school football player saw some of my action photos and asked if I would give her a price on an individual/team photo project and it got me to thinking.

I haven’t done team and individual photos before, but I was really excited to take on a project that would involve team and individual photos. It turns out there was no way I could even come close to the budget she had set for the project, but I still wanted to venture into the realm of individual sports portraits so when I saw an opportunity I jumped at the chance.

Due to image theft, all images have been removed from this blog post. Sorry.

I didn’t really have a lot of time to put this together and I wanted to see some examples so I ventured on over to Dustin Snipes web site and his blog. Dustin Snipes is well-known for being very good at sports portraits and I have seen his work in the past so I knew to check his blog for examples. You can check out the story and examples on his blog here: http://dustinsnipes.com/blog . Now I don’t have anywhere near the experience with lighting or working with athletes as Mr. Snipes, nor do I have that much lighting gear, but I thought I’d give it a try anyway.

To see the rest of the story, click on the more link below.

2011 NCAA March Madness Basketball

Well not exactly. I was able to shoot the Arizona State Sun Devils team this year and their season did not turn out the way they would have liked. The Sun Devils did not make it to the PAC 10 Tournament and for the most part suffered a very frustrating season.

Everybody loves college basketball, so I thought I would post some images for your March Madness stoke.

For this shot I set my camera right down on the floor for a bugs-eye-view of UCLA Bruin’s Jerime Anderson (5) taking a free-throw shot during an NCAA Basketball game between the University of California, Los Angeles Bruin’s and The Arizona State Sun Devils at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe AZ. UCLA beat ASU 73-72 in overtime.

See more NCAA Basketball images by clicking on the more link below.