Bubbles!

Another great relaxer for photographers is bubbles.  Silly, I know, but this little trick I learned from a photographer friend to get some natural expressions in portraits-plus, it just is plain fun.  It's amazing to see high school students re-live some of their early childhood when they start blowing bubbles-soon it's a competition, laughs, smiles and reactions-which are great for photographers to shoot.  The students will be making a slide show from their images while I decided to post a few myself here.

More from this set here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150192198564469.324926.750289468&l=5db8aaa095

Cloverbelt Conference Track Meet

The next in a series of posts from this weeks' shooting.  The Cloverbelt Conference Track and Field Meet was held at the Colby HS track this week.  Since I have retired from the head Girls Track Coach position, I have had a bit more time after work to just enjoy the spring.  This spring...well, kinda of glad I didn't have to stand for hours out in the cold, wind, snow and rain, but on this day, it was perfect for a meet.  I do miss many of the athletes, but having a chance to photograph them helped ease that withdrawl.

Katrina lead-off in 4X2

Morgan-100m Finals

Dodger-finals in LJ

Ryan-LJ Finals

Dodger Airborn express

Dodger Flyin

Wendy-HJ

Katrina-HJ

Sammie setting a PR!

More from this set here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150192211004469.324928.750289468&l=44cec4535e

The Annual Arb Trip

So I've felt like a photographer again this week-it's been busy!  The senior shoot for Jamie started things off and I felt it went well, and I was really happy with the images.  Each semester in my HS photography class, I like to get the students to the Listeman Arboretum on the west side of Neillsville.  In the fall, we tend to shoot the colors and in the spring, wildflowers.  This time around, I never made it more than a hundred yard of the bus, and found myself moving very slowly looking for pictures in the small world of the forest.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Trillium

When I have time, I'll search Stan Tekiela's book: Wildflowers of Wisconsin and try to ID some of these flowers and plants.
More photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150192221104469.324934.750289468&l=688f598595

The Merlin

A Bittersweet moment in life on so many levels.  Merlins are beautiful small hawks, and exciting to see and photograph, but it was sad to see a chickadee, feeding nearby outside of the house, become it's next meal.  It's mother nature, and the strong survive and there is beauty in it all.  I've only seen one other Merlin, all pewter grey, dead after striking a window in our house, now in my freezer for the chance that it may one day reside in a natural history display somewhere.

"Scenic" Spring Roads

The "Spring" of 2011 will probably go down of one of the coldest, most drawn out and wet snowy one that I can remember.  Maybe it seems that way because there is an urge to get out and start summer sports-hikes, mountain biking and mowing (ha!).  Most of the township roads near my home are gravel, okay, ALL of them, which isn't all bad, but after this spring-they are turning into a wet potholed mess.  These images were taken on a cold morning while heading to Levis Mound to do some trail work.  One, Columbia Road, is the main road north and south through the county forest.  Another is passing the Sturtz Prairie, still flattened by the winters' snow.  The third is the old rail road bridge in the ghost town of Columbia-I guess it was almost mandatory to make this picture-the most "picturesque" of them all.

Columbia Road in April

Sturtz Prairie

Columbia Railroad Bridge

Team USA Training Camp, Part 1

The escape from Wisconsin's cold damp spring was made, off to San Diego California for the Team USA Special Olympics training camp.  To catch up, the camp is the first chance for all coaches and World Games Athletes to finally meet, after months of email and phone calls for training.  As first time head coach, I was nervous, but hopeful that I could do the best job possible for the athletes.  I commented more than once, that I was amazed by how quickly all 49 athletes and 15 staff (for the track team), came together as a team...as a family.  Adversity helps to be sure-changes of schedule, bus breakdowns etc.  We just have the best team, so many great athletes and a top notch staff-our trip to Athens next June should go just great and I'm happy to be doing this trip with all of them.

This is usually a photography web site, but this time around I was seldom a photographer.  I did manage to snap a few images and these are some of my favorites.  I think they capture some of the personalities we have on the team, for people, are the most important thing of all in Special Olympics.

Sam Moku- World Games Coach

  We trained at San Diego State University, a beauty track located ontop of a parking ramp...okay, and surrounded by palm trees.  Sam is from Hawaii and one coach I was so anxious to meet...according to other coaches who know him. He is an excellent track coach, and just as important, a great Special Olympics coach.  Our personalities meshed well and he will become a great friend.  This shot just shows, in one instant, his joyful personality.  I look forward to working with him again in June.

The Crew

This shot is from the last day of training-and one that illustrates about every level of athletic ability.  Pictured here are some of the fastest sprinters I have ever seen and some of the most developmental Walk racers.  One of the kindest athletes and one of the most talkative and patience grabbing.  But...we are all family and they are great.

Doug

Does a portrait have to show a face?  I don't think so.  This is Doug, a quiet, unassuming person who has great knowledge of track and of athletes and who made my job so much easier.  Maybe one of the best things was just talking between workouts or on the bus or at the game about little things-just getting to know each other.  I like this shot-his hands say a lot, they are caring and strong.  The garb is typical Special Olympics Coach...everything that is needed and nothing more.

Craig.

A pretty simple photograph I know, but like the previous, I think it can tell a story.  Craig is a SO coach from Ill, with a lot of experience in track and with special needs.  Again, he tends to have everything he needs and little more and knows on track and off what is best for the athletes.  I know we'll become closer the more schedule changes we face and the more buses break down.

Polar Plunge !!!!

So my "assignment" today was to help out with the Neillsville Polar Plunge-it's put on by the local Lions club and is a great fund raiser for our  Special Olympics agency.....in fact, our athletes have raised the most money every year of the plunge and thankfully, those funds come right back to the local team to help with costs of competition and training. 

My other "assignment" (a self assignment, BTW) was to make some pictures here.  I really needed to get back on the shooting horse again.  The morning of the plunge was below zero and it gradually warmed to +9 at "swim" time.....luckily.  The Lions announce the groups and members and then it's dunk time.  A friend, News Herold Photographer Laura Schmitt  (http://lschmittphoto.blogspot.com/)  was on assignment here also.  The plunge is just a great opportunity to get fun images-expression, action (some faster than others) and shooting something out of the ordinary.  I knocked off about 200+ frames and edited them down to maybe 75 that I liked.  From there maybe 25 keepers.  I wondered how Laura does it-she can only publish maybe one photograph from the shoot and it probably is one a photo editor selects.  Must be interesting and or frustrating to press the shutter so many times and have it boiled down to one picture which captures the story-that's why she's so good.  I didn't have those restrictions and published a bunch to a Facebook album and now here on the blog.
These are some of my favorites.

Daina-our Spec. Oly. Snowboarder

The Lobster-Man

Refreshing Dip?

A couple Colby HS Hornettes