2013 Scottsdale Criterium — Cycle Racing

I love cycling, and I love photographing cycling so when the 2013 Scottsdale Criterium rolled around this year I jumped at the chance to head over there and try to capture a few action images.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

There is always a variety of different way to depict motion and the speed of the race, with this shot I used second curtain flash sync to create the motion blur effect.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

Sometimes shooting in the harsh bright sunlight can be very challenging and there can be a few different ways to deal with the harsh bright light.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

At least they didn’t change the cheerleaders outfits.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

Image © Doug James, no use without written permission

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.

2012 Scottsdale Polo Championships – Horses and Horsepower

I have never attended an actual polo match before, except for the polo scenes in the movie “Pretty Woman” so when I heard about this event to be held on October 20, 2012 at the Scottsdale Polo Fields I made the necessary inquires for a media credential. What a great event, all kinds of interesting things to photograph, although covering the actual polo match proved to be difficult and would require very long glass with very shallow depth-of-field to help with very, very distracting backgrounds. I didn’t feel like lugging big heavy glass around with me on a warm day in October, so I took an f5.6 lens which didn’t cut the mustard as they say.

I was a bit disappointed with most of what I got, with the difficult lighting conditions and me not having a long enough and fast enough lens I tried to capture some reasonably good images. Have a look and feel free to let me know how you think I did.

Covering a polo match is, as I said is all new to me, I sure had a good time and found the event very interesting. I look forward to the next event where I can apply what I learned at this event and try to capture more compelling images.

To see more images from the 2012 Scottsdale Polo Championships, click the continue reading link below:

PGA Golf — 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open

I know golf is not hugely popular on my photo blog, but I thought maybe if I had some images of one of the most popular local players, Phil Mickelson and some brightly colored images I might get a few extra viewers. Here are a few shots from round 2 action, I hope you enjoy these.

February 01, 2013: Phil Mickelson on the 9th green during round 2 action of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at the TPC Stadium golf course in Scottsdale Arizona.

To see more from the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open, click the continue reading link below:

The Arizona State University Sun Devils Final 2012 Regular Season Home Game

Everyone seemed excited for the Arizona State University Sun Devils football final regular season home game on November 17, 2012. I was excited because it would be a day game and I would get to create images in the beautiful sunlight rather than the typical night game, high ISO of most of the ASU games I cover. This was the game when the Sun Devils would celebrate the graduating seniors on the team so a great many of the players had several family members either in the stands or on the sidelines.

You could almost feel the excitement in the air as the teams took the field, and for many of the players, the last time they would play in front of the home crowd.

17 November 2012: Arizona State Sun Devils QB Michael Eubank (18) drops back to pass during the Pac-12 conference match-up between the Washington State Cougars and the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

To see more of the exciting Sun Devils action, click the “continue reading” link below:

Lucas Oil Off Road Series — 2012 Drivers and a buggy or two

For the 2012 season of the Lucas Oil Off Road Series racing (LOORS) I tried to mix it up a bit with my images and I found some personal gratification from producing images of some drivers in their trucks. The way the screening and window net as well as the dash configuration sometimes made fitting my wide-angle lens between everything difficult so not every driver is represented and some shots just came out better than others. Here are a few that I liked:

Todd LeDuc gives me the eye as I grab images through the window net.

To see more images click the continue reading link below:

NCAA College Football – Oct. 18, 2012 University of Oregon Ducks vs. Arizona State Sun Devils

I am excited to see the Oregon Ducks play in this year’s Fiesta Bowl so I went back for a little look at the images I captured when the Ducks came calling on the Arizona State Sun Devils

18 October 2012: Sidelines are reflected in the helmet of University of Oregon Ducks CB Terrance Mitchell (27) prior to the start of the Pac-12 conference match-up between the Oregon Ducks and the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

First off the Ducks had these really cool helmets that would make all kinds of great reflection images so I had to try to take advantage of that opportunity.

To see the rest of the game images, click the continue reading below:

Hawaii, on the big island you must stay

When I travel my primary focus is photography (no pun intended), but for many people photography is almost an after-thought when they travel. I don’t really understand the mindset of someone who takes random snapshots in the middle of the day while visiting some of the most amazing locations around the world. I have traveled many times to a location for the specific purpose of making photographs, and when I say “making photographs” I’m not talking about “taking pictures” or “grabbing a few snapshots” what I’m talking about is the very deliberate act of getting up before sunrise to make sure to be at a location for the sunrise light or arriving at your shooting location hours before sunset to allow yourself time to set up your tripod and plan out some images you are interested in capturing.

For me the joys of carefully crafting beautiful photographs is a challenge to my “creative self” and has a degree of therapy to it that helps feed the never-ending drive to exercise my “creative” muscles.

Hawaii seems like just the place to push my photographic skill set because I currently live in a desert environment and tropical beaches and rainforests are just about polar opposites from what I am familiar with.

There were certain iconic shots I was specifically looking for on this trip and much to my dismay mother nature would not always reward me with perfect blue skies and golden sunlight. I think one of the challenges of travel photography is being able to “find your shot” even when the skies are cloudy and grey, or when the “shot” you envisioned in your head just doesn’t present itself.

To see more beautiful images from the big island of Hawaii, click on the continue reading link below:

NCAA College Football – Aug. 30, 2012 NAU at ASU

There are some general guidelines on how to photograph college football, but sometimes you just need to be lucky.

I know, I know nobody likes to read too much text so I’ll use fewer words and more images for everyone out there with attention deficit disorder (ADD). Also, just so you know, NAU is Northern Arizona University, and they are the Lumberjacks and ASU is Arizona State University and they are the Sun Devils.

30 August 2012: Arizona State Sun Devils WR Rashad Ross (15) completes a 50 yard reception against the NAU Lumberjacks during the PAC-12 season opener at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.

See more of the story by clicking on the continue reading link below: