Injured player series... 16 Oct 2010

Growing up I played my share of sports. Never once thinking about getting hurt. The bruises, the bumps and the occasional 'twisted ankle' or jammed finger and of course the very often broken nose.

I played Hockey, Football and Lacrosse in my youth and into High School. In my twenties, I played Lacrosse and Hockey. I witnessed my share of injuries on the field and ice.

As a parent of three daughters who are very athletic, I pray that they never sustain an injury that will change their life. One of my daughters, tore her ACL in a basketball game and thankfully she is going very well and will be back on the court this winter.

As a photographer, I watch the action from the sidelines, capturing the plays and emotions of the contest with my cameras. On Saturday, while photographing a HS football game and watch as a young man went down during a play. First the official came to him, then the coach. The coach called for the trainer. Within 2 minutes, the ambulance was being driven on the field. I reviewed my images and thought I saw what looked like his teammate landing on the back of his leg.

When I got home and was reviewing the images on my computer, I saw something much worse... This young man has a lot of work and rehabilitation ahead of him. This injury will probably end his sports aspirations for the near future. I wish him well.

Access and Opportunity

It all boils down to this, Access and Opportunity. With out that, you can forget about getting 'the shot.' You can study, you can shoot hundreds of thousands of images, know your camera inside and out. But if your not in the spot, you have no opportunity to put all that work to use. If you do get the access and opportunity... Be ready and don't mess it up, or you'll never be invited back.

If you are reading this, than you know how passionate I am about this craft. I have been working at it for most of my life. I have been fortunate in that I get to shoot assignments for a local daily newspaper. As weird as that sounds, I love the work. I only wish It were a full-time thing.

This weekend, I had an assignment to shoot an equestrian event in Saugerties, NY. Very upscale and prestigious.

Not only did I get to photograph some amazing riders and horses, my image made the front page of the paper for the third time. The lead image was a shot of Jessica Springsteen, yes, that's right, Bruce's daughter, jumping her horse.

I worked the event, from beginning to end. Took shots of the guests, local performers during a pre-show, the skilled riders jumping. I even got to photograph the concert after words... John Fogerty. I had the chance to meet and photograph Bruce and his wife Patti while they were getting ready to leave. Even though I was standing right next to them during the event, I held off until the end. It was a great experience, and looking at the images, I'd say... I can do this job... Just need the access and opportunity to show people that I can do it.

Access and Opportunity... Don't take them lightly. Use them to your advantage, but never abuse the trust someone has put in you and your skills.

Suffern beat the Vikings 2 - 1 in extra innings...

Today was a good Rockland County HS baseball match up. The Vikings of Clarkstown South traveled to Suffern to take on the Mounties.

The Mounties came in to today's game 8 - 1 having lost over the weekend to Ketcham.

Robbie Aviles, their star pitcher, coming off 2 no-hitters in a row was on the mound, but the Vikings were able to break his streak in the first inning with a blooper to short right.

South tied the game in the 7th, but could not hold off Suffern in extra innings.