Black-Tie Affair...

Members of the 8th grade Clyde McPherson Middle School shoot hoops

So it's not exactly a black-tie affair. However, I couldn't help be be amused when members of the Clyde McPherson Middle School eighth-grade basketball team came out to shoot hoops dressed in ties. It was during half time of the seventh-grade game and I guess the boys were restless so they passed the time shooting hoops till the second half resumed. I reminds me of the old photographs of spectators at sporting events dressed in suit and ties.

Swim

It was a full house at a swim meet at Port Clinton High school on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010

Swimmers warm-up prior to a meet at Port Clinton High School on Dec 9, 2010

It seems I've been covering a lot of swimming lately. I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. I usually enjoy swimming and with the humidity in the pool I don't have to worry about getting cold. Here's a pair of features I'd like to share from two recent swim meets at Port Clinton High School

Rough Seas

News Herald reporter James Proffitt braving the elements while on the top deck of the Miller's Ferry headed to Put-in-Bay

Waves blow over the deck of the Miller Ferry as we approach Put-in-Bay

In a perfect world anytime I leave the house to shoot an assignment I'd never have to worry about the weather. Unfortunately this isn't a perfect world. On a recent trip over to Put-in-Bay for work we hit rather undesirable conditions while crossing on the Miller Ferry. With strong winds blowing directly across the open waters of Lake Erie nothing stood in it's way to slow it down. At first I stayed in the protection of the vehicle we were taking over with us. Before too long the call of adventure grew too strong and I couldn't stay put. With some good timing I managed to leave the safety of the car and made it to the enclosed section of the ferry between waves. The boat was rocking pretty hard and I still don't know how I managed not to lose my footing as I made my way across the deck of the ferry. We got some strange looks but I couldn't resist not taking any photos from the top of the ferry.

Waterproof camera, pvc pipe, duck tape, and a little luck

Me trying to get photos of a school of rainbow trout from on top of the water

One of my unsuccessful attempts of photographing the school of rainbow's

Success! This is the image that ran with the story in the next days paper

I was working on a recent assignment with News Herald reporter James Proffitt doing a story about construction at the Castalia State Fish Hatchery. Construction was just getting underway and the photos I was getting were kind of boring. James and I decided we'd get something more exciting by duck taping a waterproof point-n-shoot style camera to a 6-foot long pvc pipe. By setting the camera on timer that gave me just enough time to push the button and slow dip the camera into a school of Rainbow Trout in the Cold Creek flowing through the grounds of the fish hatchery. It took several tries and a little luck but we were able to get a nice frame that ran in the paper along with Proffitt's story.

A special thanks to News Herald reporter James Proffitt who took the photos of me as I was taking the photos of the rainbow trout

Thrill of Victory, Agony of Defeat

According to Marriam-Webster the definition of jubilation is an act of rejoicing, and an expression of great joy. This season I've been working hard at catching photos of jubilation as well as sorrow. Whether it's scoring the game winner or losing a hard fought battle there's plenty of emotion to be seen during a sporting event. Here's an example of both I capture during a youth soccer game. In the first photo the young man scored the first goal well into the second half of a soccer match breaking the stalemate. In the second photo the young man was one-on-one against the goalie but pulled the ball wide of the net as his team falls short of a victory.

A light in the sky

I was unable to get out to catch the meteor shower on Thursday but from what I hear, in our location, it sounds like I didn't miss much. Friday night I headed out in hopes to maybe still have the chance to catch a meteor on film. I only saw four meteors and two of those were as I was setting the camera up. The other two fell in the opposite side of the sky I had the camera pointed at. I did however capture something in the night sky Friday night. I saw what I believed to be a satellite traveling through the southwest sky. I made a 30-second exposure as the object traveled high above the trees. While I may not have captured a meteor this time around and suffered from more mosquito bites than one would ever wish to, I did make a nice image of what I believe to be a satellite as well as the Big Dipper.

Toby!

A rather large bone for an average sized dog available for adoption at the Humane Society of Ottawa County, 2424 Sand Road, 419) 734-5191

Mohawk Trail Creatures

Shortly before graduating school, I was traveling along the Mohawk Trail in Western Massachusetts when a lady ran down the street flagging me down. I didn't know what was happening so I pulled over. Just as I did two mules came over the top of a hill running down the Mohawk Trail. I was able to catch a photo of the lady blocking traffic in the westbound lane and State Police blocking the eastbound lane as one of the mules cut between them. That was the first photo I ever had published back in 2001. I finally made it back to visit the area and to my surprise I found more creatures strolling down the road. I came around one of the many curves in the Mohawk Trail to find three cows casually strolling down the middle of the street. I was disappointed I couldn't make it to Brattleboro in time for the Strolling of the Heifers celebration and it turns out I was treated to my on personal "strolling of the Heifers".

Lobster at last!

I lived in Massachusetts for 3-years and nobody there could believe I never had lobster. Of course being born and raised in Ohio it was rare that lobster was ever an option. They told me not to have the imported thing in Ohio that I need to have it Fresh from a Massachusetts or Maine lobster shack. I moved back to Ohio in 2004 and I vowed that one day I'd be back and I'd finally have me a lobster. It took 6-years but this past week I found myself on the Vineyard . I found an awesome little place called Larsen's Fish Market located in Menemsha where I enjoyed my first lobster while sitting on the docks near the lobster and fish boats. It was quite a treat. If you ever find yourself on Martha's Vineyard you HAVE to make a stop at Larsen's. I have also included a few other photos seen near the docks during my visit.

10 Lucky Stones and a 4-Leaf Clover

I took the dog to the beach the other weekend for a little swim. Of course I always keep an eye out for lucky stones. Lucky stones are actually the ivory colored ear bone found in Sheephead fish. After a the fish dies and the body decays these white "stones" wash ashore. The unique thing about them is that every single one of them has an impression of the letter L. Lucky stones have been found at ancient archaeological sites, where they are thought to have been used as good luck charms to ward off illness. I first learned about these a few years ago and I began my search. I think it took about 7-months before I found my first one. Some days I might find one or two and then I might go a period of time before I find another. I was fortunate enough to find ten of them in an hour and a half this past weekend. A personal record! Add on top of that the four-leaf clover I found over the weekend as well. Now maybe I can channel some of this luck to use towards my favor.

Silly Puppies and Crazy Cats

I make a weekly visit to the Humane Society in Ottawa County to get photos of the various pets that are available for adoption. While some are easy to get photos of other can take a bit of work. Every once in a while a photo just does not come out right at all which can make for an interesting photo. Here is a look at just a couple from the past two weeks.

Jungle Gym

I headed to Fremont bright and early on Friday morning. My plan was to get a jump on next weeks assignments by shooting Camp Endurance at the Fremont Rec Center. It was a running camp that I thought would have worked great for a youth sports page. I guess they decided that they would let the kids spend the last day of camp swimming. I wasn't about to leave without shooting something. Thats when I found kids playing in the park at a nearby elementary school. I took this picture of three of the kids playing on the jungle gym. So here it is Monday and I'm stil looking for a youth sports page for Thursday.

Wacky Pants II

Another day of golf, another pair of wacky pants

Mayflies

The Mayflies have returned! You can't walk down the street or take your dog out in the yard without getting swarmed. They say these things live in the water for a year and then when they hatch they live anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. They can be really annoying but supposedly they are a big part of the food chain for the walleye and other fish here in Lake Erie. There's 630 different species of mayflies in North America and over 2500 worldwide. I think I'll try to get out and get some other photos of the mass gatherings and I'll post a link.

In Training

A young ref was in training learning the ropes prior to the start of the S.B.C. vs S.L.L. All-Star football game in Genoa on Monday, June 14, 2010.

NASCAR

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart made an appearance in Fremont Thursday night and took a turn at racing on the clay oval at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds. Stewart wasn't willing to talk with anyone and also showed up late. Marcos Amborse seemed like an all-around good guy. He came out and signed autographs and took pictures with the fans. I had issues with the pit crew intentionally trying to stand in front of me to block my shots as you can see in the last photo. Dispite the issues I was able to walk away with some good stuff.

34-SECONDS

With the Chicago Blackhawks being crowned the winners of the Stanley Cup last night I couldn't help but be reminded of a small fraction of time... 34-seconds. In 2008 I was at game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Detroit and thought I was going to see the home team win the cup but with 34-seconds left on the clock Pittsburgh scored to force over time and finally got the victory 3 overtime periods later. Detroit won two nights later and brought the cup home to Detroit. I got to cover the victory parade for the News Herald and News-Messenger and it was a day I won't soon forget.

TORNADO CLEAN-UP

I don't think anything could have prepared me for what I saw Tuesday morning. I made my way out to Clay Center just north of Genoa, Ohio to get photos of residents cleaning up following a string of storms that brought tornadoes along with it. I heard people refer to it as "unreal", and "like being in a war zone". I think the most amazing story was from the man who tried to get his 100+ pound 13-year-old dog down in to the basement. He could only get the dog to the landing about 5 steps down and had no choice but to leave the dog and seek shelter for himself. He emerged from his basement to find his house completely destroyed but his dog was still sitting, untouched, where he had left it on the landing leading to the basement. It'll be a long time before I forget what I saw Tuesday.

WACKY PANTS

Some of the wackiest pants I've seen in a while (on or off the golf course)