Saving Sea Turtles

South Padre Island

Learning Something New

Today was my first time doing a "controlled" concept shoot. The photograph is to illustrate a story about a sports psychologist for a magazine targeted at kids around middle school/junior high age. The original idea was to get about 5-6 kids in a hospital waiting room dressed in full gear sitting around waiting to speak with the psychologist. I spent a good week, if not 2 calling around and realizing how difficult it is to coordinate a group of people. Long story short, between getting out of school, skipping practice, parents taking off work to drive their kids, dinner times, and homework, it didn't work out. So this was the next idea. I may post some shots I took a few days ago on a sort of "trial run" with my friend Catalin. But here is the situation from which we'll hopefully choose an image that works for publication.

Swimming

Some more images from the Division II Swimming and Diving Championship.

Drury University freshman fans Michael Laupp and Aleah Niemczyk traveled from Springfield, MO to cheer their school during the Division II Swimming and Diving Championship held at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, MO. Drury University's men finished first place overall.

Members of the Truman State University swim team are congratulated by other teams on their way to the podium to receive the Division II Swimming and Diving Competition national title.

A Wayne State University swimmer prepares for the start of the first heat of the 400 yard freestyle relay.

Drury University swimmers Alexander Protsenko, left, and Kyle Kearbey celebrate a first place finish after just winning the 400 yard freestyle relay. They swam a 2:58.84 to win the national title.

NCAA Judges wait.

Drury University swimmer Kyle Kearbey warms up for the start of the 400 yard freestyle relay. Drury University swam a 2:58.84 to win the national title.

A diver's tat.

Division 2 Championship

Saturday night I shot the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championship at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia for NCAA Photos. I had a great time...

James Kane from Clarion University takes his first dive during the men's 3 meter diving competition at the Division II Swimming and Diving Championships. Kane placed sixth with 419.30 points.

(From left) Cauli Bedran, a sophomore swimmer with Wayne State University, waits with University of North Dakota swimmers, Pedro Pereira, and Daniel Moraes while Truman State University fans cheer during the Division II Swimming and Diving Championship.

Jakub Jiracek of Seattle University competes in the 200 yard breaststroke during the Division II Swimming and Diving Championship. Jiracek swam a 1:58.55 time to win the national title.

Paul Kemp, father to a freshman on the University of Nebraska- Omaha women's swim team, cut his hair in support of the team who placed fifth overall at the Division II Swimming and DIving Championship.

A diver warms up before the start of the men's 3 meter competition.

Caycee Anvik, a junior from University of North Dakota, stretches before competing in the 200 Yard Breaststroke. She placed twelfth overall with a time of 2:23.37.

Alison Lesher of Le Moyne College competes in the 1650 yard freestyle. Lesher finished with a time of 17:24.97 putting her in seventh.

Marios Panagi, a sophomore from the University of Indianapolis, sits in a waiting room before the start of the men 400 yard freestyle relay. Panagi and the University of Indianapolis finished the relay in seventh place with a time of 3:02.56.

Wayne State University men's 400 yard freestyle relay team celebrate after placing fourth in the race. They finished with a time of 3:01.52.

The Drury University Men's swim team holds up the first place trophy after winning the national title. The team finished the championship with a total of 523.5 points.

Red Hair and a Funny Wig

The College of Engineering had a celebration for St. Patrick's Day.

.Fight Night>>slideshow.

slideshow

Before and After the fight

Last night I photographed at a local MMA fight in Columbia. Having worked on a project about the sport for a few years, I wanted to take a different approach than photographing the fights and behind-the-scenes. So The idea was to photograph about 5 fighters before their fight and right after. There is another fight in about 2 weeks I'll try and bring this concept to and perfect. Last night, everyone I photographed won their fight and barely received any visible injuries. I think this is going to take a while but my goal is to have a series of about 5 fighters paired with images before and after their fights that show a change in physical rather than mental appearance.
I haven't decided on a final toning look, so when I do I'll repost with the finals.

.Postcards from Kuwait.

Mike Morones, a friend and staff photographer at The Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Va. just headed to Kuwait with reporter Rusty Dennen to document Delta Company, 3-116th BCT out of the Fredericksburg area. They'll be keeping a blog and updating it as regularly as possible, so check it out now, as it's just getting underway.

Postcards from Kuwait

.Ibbidy IP Hooray.

More from the Chicago band who describes themselves as an "Astounding Circus Punk Marching Band."