tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43582890296946871062024-02-18T22:31:46.678-06:00Tommy's Modern Life...All photos are copyright Tommy Metthe or the Abilene Reporter-News; Not to be used without permissionTommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.comBlogger547125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-22976710521600553662013-06-26T10:43:00.002-05:002013-06-26T10:43:34.365-05:00Gymnastics...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9142644193/" title="0516_ABSP_CHS_Gymnastics1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5515/9142644193_a035f0ed77_c.jpg" width="800" height="471" alt="0516_ABSP_CHS_Gymnastics1"></a><br />
It's been a while since I've shot any gymnastics. The local schools haven't had any local meets here and it's been a few years since I've been assigned to shoot practice. So, it was kind of cool to get to shoot a pair of local kids being selected for the Texas team at the national high school meet. So, after spending a few minutes scraping the rust off I got to it. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9144866206/" title="0516_ABSP_CHS_Gymnastics4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7408/9144866206_bf81ed63b1_z.jpg" width="468" height="640" alt="0516_ABSP_CHS_Gymnastics4"></a><br />
The nice thing about shooting some of the secondary sports is they are usually so happy to have you there shooting pictures and covering them that they'll give you pretty much free run of things to shoot from wherever is good to shoot from. Having shot a lot of gymnastics in college, I've always enjoyed shooting the sport anyway. The nice thing about practice is you can shoot from the spots you'd never be allowed at during competition. Plus, if you miss something they usually do it 2-3 times. That always helps, especially when it's been a couple years since I've shot the sport. If there was a complaint it was the way the gym is set up there are windows all along the top of the building near the roof causing some really ugly back lighting that crews everything up, so I was only really able to shoot from one side. that and awful lighting in the gym didn't help either. But, crank up my ISO and stay on the right side of thing alleviated that. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9144869136/" title="0516_ABSP_CHS_Gymnastics3 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7351/9144869136_fee4486dbe_z.jpg" width="363" height="640" alt="0516_ABSP_CHS_Gymnastics3"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9142647873/" title="0516_ABSP_CHS_Gymnastics2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5548/9142647873_2cf6b42ec9_z.jpg" width="640" height="392" alt="0516_ABSP_CHS_Gymnastics2"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-12999959049413263732013-06-24T21:18:00.001-05:002013-06-24T21:18:13.044-05:00State Track, Day 2...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9129843269/" title="0512_ABSP_StateTrackDay2_1591 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7445/9129843269_3892fefb6a_c.jpg" width="800" height="598" alt="0512_ABSP_StateTrackDay2_1591"></a><br />
After what seemed like a brief nap after four total hours of rain delays the day before it was time for day two of state track and this was supposed to be the long day. In the past Class 5A was all by themselves for the Saturday night meet in Austin. This year though after splitting Class 1A into two divisions they added the 3A meet with the 5A. The problem with this is it used to be that we usually only had one or two races to shoot on Saturday night and I was usually done fairly early on Saturday to make up foe the 12-15 hour day before. Not this year. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9132049376/" title="0512_ABSP_StateTrackSvill800 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3809/9132049376_c076208d7e_z.jpg" width="640" height="452" alt="0512_ABSP_StateTrackSvill800"></a><br />
We had to get there early on Saturday for the field events, plus the 1A Div. I and 2A running events in the afternoon session. Once again it was an afternoon of a lot of shooting and not much time to edit. At least this time I had more time to edit photos and I had all my 1A and 2A photos sent before the 3A/5A session started. It also gave me time to edit a lot of the slideshow photos from earlier, giving me less work to do on the other end. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9129838587/" title="0512_ABSP_StateTrackWylieKenzie by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5337/9129838587_65e4419fcb_z.jpg" width="640" height="421" alt="0512_ABSP_StateTrackWylieKenzie"></a><br />
The bulk of the really good athletes for us are in Class 1A and 2A. So many of the races I was shooting in the evening session weren't going to change a whole lot of what needed to make the newspaper. Also, there weren't near as many people to cover. I even had a few breaks with as much as 30 minutes between the races I needed to shoot. I made sure to take full advantage of this running to the tent to edit and send photos when needed. Saturday seemed to go by a lot smoother. Maybe because of the weather delays the night before screwing things up. Either way, I ended up having more photos, mostly because of more athletes and more events, but things seemed to go a heck of a lot smoother. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9132056886/" title="0512_ABSP_StateTrackDay2_0610 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5444/9132056886_98e6b4076d_z.jpg" width="640" height="503" alt="0512_ABSP_StateTrackDay2_0610"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9132049976/" title="0512_ABSP_StateTrackStam3Jump by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2890/9132049976_f651f89c62_z.jpg" width="440" height="640" alt="0512_ABSP_StateTrackStam3Jump"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9129847543/" title="0512_ABSP_StateBallingerPV by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3737/9129847543_66d1467840_z.jpg" width="640" height="441" alt="0512_ABSP_StateBallingerPV"></a><br />
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Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-57361110260357092102013-06-18T23:30:00.000-05:002013-06-19T00:03:39.383-05:00State Track Day 1...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9080652411/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrack_PhotoPageCP by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7408/9080652411_e77ae210c3_c.jpg" width="800" height="505" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrack_PhotoPageCP"></a><br />
Like a lot of the UIL events this year things got changed around this year for state track too. Class 1A got split into two different divisions. Division I was doing some of their field events on the first day but the running events were being run on Saturday. Division II, which was had a ton of teams that we cover was all being run on Friday, all the field events as well as the running in the evening session. This not only made for a really long day, but also, very little time to sit down and edit photos between events. Since I had someone in almost every one of the Div. II events. To add to that there was a 2 hour delay in the morning to open things because of a thunderstorm. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9082872896/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_0725 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2837/9082872896_c76185b8ca_z.jpg" width="640" height="371" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_0725"></a><br />
The delay put all of the field events on a rolling schedule which meant I didn't have any time to run to the tent to edit. So, I spent most of my dinner break editing photos instead of eating (not that it would hurt me to miss a meal or 6). By the time the running events started I was still a little behind with no photos sent. Part of this is I didn't want something put on the page in case I got something I liked better or it fit with the story being written. In the back of my head I was thinking to myself that a rain delay wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. However, I didn't want the two hour rain delay that we eventually got. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9080652927/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrack_PhotoPage2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2811/9080652927_a652f5961e_z.jpg" width="640" height="398" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrack_PhotoPage2"></a><br />
The second rain delay really threw things off. The one good thing that did come out of it was I was able to get pretty caught up with a lot of the photos I already had. Plus I was able to send a bunch of photos with the possibility of getting more. After the rain delay I would shoot a few events and if I wasn't trying to edit in camera I was running up and editing between the 1A events I was shooting (the Class 4A meet was going on too and we have no 4A schools that we cover), or I was shooting an event from the top of the stands in the tent as my photos were moving or downloading a card. It wasn't the ideal situation and made for a damn long day, but it had to be done. It's a good thing I enjoy shooting track... and it's happening again, so I got to go back to the hotel for a nap before starting over again. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9082869464/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrackIraMorris by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5350/9082869464_ac07b2109c_z.jpg" width="640" height="422" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrackIraMorris"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9082871368/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_1325 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3780/9082871368_76b9ca0bca_z.jpg" width="640" height="334" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_1325"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9080651167/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_0208 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3769/9080651167_4b95ba0157_z.jpg" width="640" height="404" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_0208"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9082870492/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_1400 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7446/9082870492_ac9ed4492a_z.jpg" width="640" height="441" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_1400"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9080645829/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrackMoranShot by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3806/9080645829_29904b6936_z.jpg" width="454" height="640" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrackMoranShot"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9082873886/" title="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_0265 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7433/9082873886_9200898599_z.jpg" width="640" height="383" alt="0511_ABSP_StateTrackDay1_0265"></a><br />
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Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-15294686890059661772013-06-16T23:19:00.003-05:002013-06-16T23:19:32.109-05:00Parading Around...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9062720241/" title="0510_ABLO_WHC_Parade3 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5503/9062720241_d35bedbb1b_c.jpg" width="800" height="483" alt="0510_ABLO_WHC_Parade3"></a><br />
The Western Heritage Parade is one of the biggest parades in Abilene every year. It's also the closest I get to shooting the actual Western Heritage Classic, since it happens every year on the same weekend as the state track meet in Austin. So, the parade usually ends up going to me. That's ok, it gives me the chance to try and figure out a new way to shoot it, fix the mistakes I may have made from shooting it in the past, or make better on a way that I had shot the parade in the past. Shooting the same events year after year can be kind of a double edged sword sometimes. On one had you go in with an idea of how you want to shoot an event. However, the other side of it is trying to find a new or better way to do it than in the past. It helps sometimes when you see a little kid dancing along with the dancing team in the street before the parade starts. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9062722181/" title="0510_ABLO_WHC_Parade1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5451/9062722181_675d345925_z.jpg" width="640" height="408" alt="0510_ABLO_WHC_Parade1"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9064949784/" title="0510_ABLO_WHC_Parade2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3671/9064949784_413d040c7e_z.jpg" width="640" height="492" alt="0510_ABLO_WHC_Parade2"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9062719291/" title="0510_ABLO_WHC_Parade4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7435/9062719291_73ac25be8f_z.jpg" width="640" height="430" alt="0510_ABLO_WHC_Parade4"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-3636897709570546162013-06-11T23:16:00.003-05:002013-06-11T23:16:40.171-05:00Track Warmup...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9023019726/" title="0509_ABSP_ACUtrack1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8126/9023019726_b9145b40df_c.jpg" width="800" height="521" alt="0509_ABSP_ACUtrack1"></a><br />
The Oliver Jackson twilight meet used to be a pretty big track meet. It used to bring in quite a few good track programs all trying to get their athletes some good times in some of the last meets before nationals. So, there were usually some really good races and event with everyone going all out to make a last attempt to qualify for the national meets. Just a few years ago there used to be full races and prelims in the afternoon, before some really good finals races in the evening. Now, though, some of the races hardly fill half the lanes on the track. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9023020338/" title="0509_ABSP_ACU_BaptisteKerjean by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/9023020338_852d9a681f_z.jpg" width="539" height="640" alt="0509_ABSP_ACU_BaptisteKerjean"></a><br />
I had to shoot one of the ACU hammer throwers for a feature we were doing about him. Then just a few standalone shots for the next day's newspaper. The good thing about this meet is with so few people there I can shoot from just about anywhere on the track without catching a whole lot of guff about being in folks' ways or bothering anyone else. I also used it as a last-minute warmup for myself before heading to Austin for the state high school meet. So, despite a lack of participants in the meet I ended up getting a few nice images as well as a good warmup for the upcoming weekend. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9020793837/" title="0509_ABSP_ACUtrack4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3818/9020793837_b278245fb1_z.jpg" width="640" height="458" alt="0509_ABSP_ACUtrack4"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9020792327/" title="0509_ABSP_ACUtrack5_ by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5454/9020792327_f8f848d02c_z.jpg" width="640" height="497" alt="0509_ABSP_ACUtrack5_"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-26991989887403723092013-06-10T23:20:00.001-05:002013-06-10T23:20:20.658-05:00State Golf Day 2...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9013454786/" title="0504_ABSP_StateGolf_Class1A by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3763/9013454786_992075a3b9_c.jpg" width="800" height="534" alt="0504_ABSP_StateGolf_Class1A"></a><br />
The second day of state golf was a lot like the first one. I was running around my a chicken with its head cut off. Spending only a couple of holes with each of the local golfers then moving on to the next ones as well as throwing in running around Austin to multiple courses. Eventually ending up back where I started. The one nice thing about such a long day was the awful, cold windy weather that started out in the morning turned out to be a really great day for golf as everyone was finishing up their rounds. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9013453938/" title="0504_ABSP_StateGolf_Clyde by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2878/9013453938_1f3c5762c0_z.jpg" width="415" height="640" alt="0504_ABSP_StateGolf_Clyde"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9012265943/" title="0504_ABSP_StateGolfDay2_0752 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/9012265943_31f09852d4_z.jpg" width="640" height="466" alt="0504_ABSP_StateGolfDay2_0752"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/9012265155/" title="0504_ABSP_StateGolfDay2_1033 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8542/9012265155_78df8ec7ed_z.jpg" width="640" height="498" alt="0504_ABSP_StateGolfDay2_1033"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-37596873249450782882013-05-29T16:24:00.004-05:002013-05-29T16:24:57.909-05:00State Golf, Day 1...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8883340786/" title="0503_ABSP_WylieStateGolf by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8119/8883340786_6262fbdbcf_c.jpg" width="800" height="552" alt="0503_ABSP_WylieStateGolf"></a><br />
In the past shooting state golf has been a really busy, but not overly long day. This year, however, instead of the normal two teams qualifying for the state tournament, the top three teams from each region qualified. This made it a lot tougher since all the teams could no longer be on the course at one time. So, instead of state golf being over around 3 or 4, it was close to 7 or 8 when everything finally got finished. And with 39 players spread around over three different courses it made for a lot of walking (more than 10 miles) and not a lot of time to spend following any particular players. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8883347638/" title="0503_ABSP_StateGolf_Clyde1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2826/8883347638_83d53d8788_z.jpg" width="640" height="398" alt="0503_ABSP_StateGolf_Clyde1"></a><br />
One the first day the weather was cold and windy, like 25mph steady winds with gusts in the high 30's. This made for some interesting golf to say the least. It also made for a lot of shots coming up short or going off target, often landing in the sand traps. That may not have made for the best scores for the players, but it did make for some nice shots. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8882724955/" title="0503_ABSP_StateGolfDay1_0427 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7452/8882724955_69310dd0d1_z.jpg" width="640" height="366" alt="0503_ABSP_StateGolfDay1_0427"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8882729761/" title="0503_ABSP_StateGolfDay1_0399 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3789/8882729761_5c391ab4b7_z.jpg" width="459" height="640" alt="0503_ABSP_StateGolfDay1_0399"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8882731743/" title="0503_ABSP_StateGolf_JN1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7436/8882731743_f8b4d07d06_z.jpg" width="598" height="640" alt="0503_ABSP_StateGolf_JN1"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8883353282/" title="0503_ABSP_StateGolf_BS1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3794/8883353282_160a8cb010_z.jpg" width="404" height="640" alt="0503_ABSP_StateGolf_BS1"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-88669619995041859382013-05-24T12:23:00.005-05:002013-05-24T12:23:56.305-05:00State Tennis Day 2, Making History...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8805050631/" title="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3831/8805050631_9526f1f472_c.jpg" width="800" height="660" alt="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis2"></a><br />
The second day of state tennis is always the more exciting, photo-wise. The championship matches are almost always filled with emotion. And Wylie was trying to make history by sweeping all five of the matches in Class 3A. Last year they won four, boys and girls singles, mixed and boys doubles. The only one they didn't win state in was girls doubles, they finished second. This time they had a chance to do it again with players or teams in all five of the championship matches. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8815631670/" title="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis6 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2812/8815631670_472a7a13f5_z.jpg" width="640" height="346" alt="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis6"></a><br />
They day started out with boys and girls singles and mixed doubles playing all at once. Luckily they kept all three of the matches were being played on adjoining courts. That helped a little in that I wasn't having to run all over the complex, like in years past. However, with all three players winning in straight sets it did make it a little tougher to shoot, but I kind of had an idea who would win their matches first so I was able to plan a little bit of where I needed to be and when. I was surprised a little bit to see some of the celebrations, they were a little better then the others. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8815635956/" title="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5348/8815635956_f5893501d7_z.jpg" width="640" height="417" alt="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis1"></a><br />
In addition to Wylie, we also had a boys singles player in the Class 2A championship match. The was on the other side of the stadium courts, not too far away, I was at least able to keep an eye on it to make sure I didn't miss anything. Luckily that match was pretty close so I was able to finish shooting all the early Wylie matches before moving over there to shoot it as well. Things ended up working out well, after Wylie won all three of their matches I was able to move over and shoot the last half of the second set of the 2A match, another win. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8805054371/" title="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_1020 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3763/8805054371_25de8c95cb_z.jpg" width="512" height="640" alt="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_1020"></a><br />
The boys and girls doubles matches were the final matches of the day. The Wylie boys and girls teams were playing on opposite sides of the stadium. This made it a little tougher, but easy enough to deal with. I started out shooting from the stands up high. It made for nice enough photos. Then I moved down to court level. They were playing on a court that also had access from the sides so I could get to court level. Both the boys and girls teams do a really good job of showing a lot of emotion throughout the season, so I knew there should be some pretty good celebrations following at least one of the matches, at least I had hoped. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8815639984/" title="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_0743 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3698/8815639984_1f80be5a10_z.jpg" width="640" height="451" alt="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_0743"></a><br />
The ends of both of the matches literally happened within minutes of each other. I was running back and forth trying to figure out who would win first. The girls were cruising along at first, up 4-0 and then ended up losing three straight and winning in a tiebreaker in the second set. The boys didn't go to a tiebreaker but it ended up being pretty close as well.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8805049019/" title="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7365/8805049019_71e4786e58_z.jpg" width="640" height="468" alt="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis4"></a><br />
The girls match ended on the other team hitting a shot out and the line judge taking forever to make the call, before finally saying it was out, there was a nice little celebration, but not nearly what I was hoping for, a winner at the net would have been nice, but there was still the boys match going on leaving me hope. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8805048149/" title="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis5 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7304/8805048149_6fbcd3a986_z.jpg" width="640" height="339" alt="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis5"></a><br />
I got to the boys match and had a great position courtside for the final match. I could almost breathe a sigh of relief. With six total matches and everyone having won their matches I hadn't missed one yet. Now that I didn't have any other matches to shoot I felt good about what I had so far, but now I wanted the big emotional shot. I was feeling pretty good about it now that this match was tightening up a bit and getting kind of heated. The "winner" shot that I really wanted ended up happening on the shot before match point. Then on match point I was all set and ready. The Wylie team had the momentum and were up. Then probably the worst thing could have happened, the other team double faulted, match over. Damn! I ended up going with the shot from the point before, it told the story of the match a lot better and was a nice shot. I only wish those two points would have been flip flopped. All in all, it worked out well, I ended up with some really nice frames and Wylie made history in the process becoming the first school to sweep all five matches in the same classification in the same year. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8815641920/" title="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_0579 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7401/8815641920_7a1bcd7da3_z.jpg" width="536" height="640" alt="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_0579"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8815643442/" title="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_0355 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7404/8815643442_0692b4eb70_z.jpg" width="640" height="491" alt="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_0355"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8805049901/" title="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis3 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7445/8805049901_46da9526e4_z.jpg" width="405" height="640" alt="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis3"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8815630502/" title="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis8 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2842/8815630502_2a045c9416_z.jpg" width="539" height="640" alt="0501_ABSP_WylieStateTennis8"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8815637702/" title="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_10269 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5459/8815637702_5d37c5c91d_z.jpg" width="443" height="640" alt="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_10269"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8805056561/" title="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_0722 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7321/8805056561_3d07049d5e_z.jpg" width="640" height="605" alt="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_0722"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8805059883/" title="0501_ABSP_JNStateTennis1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5465/8805059883_3bb88b050b_z.jpg" width="570" height="640" alt="0501_ABSP_JNStateTennis1"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8815637032/" title="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_11125 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2894/8815637032_d1590abbea_z.jpg" width="640" height="442" alt="0501_ABSP_StateTennisDay2_11125"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-34713017874243851502013-05-19T21:47:00.000-05:002013-05-19T21:47:08.765-05:00State Tennis, Day 1...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8756353474/" title="0430_ABSP_Wylie_StateTennis2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7452/8756353474_67b1a69eb9_c.jpg" width="800" height="573" alt="0430_ABSP_Wylie_StateTennis2"></a><br />
State tennis this year was a lot different from years past. Like a completely different place and city even. In the past Classes 4A/5A and Classes 2A/3A traded back and forth between playing at the University of Texas courts in downtown Austin and at Lakeway World of Tennis about 40 minutes outside Austin. The problem was, when the matches were at Lakeway, nothing ran on time and Lakeway being a private club made it pretty clear they didn't really care about state tennis being played there and it was a giant pain in the ass to both deal with the members running things, bad parking plans and things never able to stay on schedule. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8755232781/" title="0430_ABSP_Wylie_StateTennis6 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8539/8755232781_9fb4812f0d_z.jpg" width="553" height="640" alt="0430_ABSP_Wylie_StateTennis6"></a><br />
This year Class 1A-3A got moved to the Texas A&M courts in College Station (Class 4A and 5A stayed at UT in Austin). And, I have to say there have been some really bad ideas made about venue changes (like the move to Lakeway in the first place), but this may have been one of the best ideas made in a long time. A&M has great facilities, they didn't charge for parking, things all ran on time and the people running things did a really great job of keeping everything running smoothly. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8755233209/" title="0430_ABSP_StateTennisDay1_0738 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3704/8755233209_0ff212ee1d_z.jpg" width="541" height="640" alt="0430_ABSP_StateTennisDay1_0738"></a><br />
So, on to the competition... Wylie had their regular contingent of entries into the tournament, seven total singles and doubles teams together. We also had boys singles players in 2A from Merkel and Jim Ned. The first day of competition is a lot like the first day of regional track, there isn't a whole lot of emotion, just the players going through their matches. So, part of it is trying to get all of the local kids' matches in and just trying to find some nice action going on and any kind of reaction that may go along with it. It made for a pretty long day, but not near as long as it had been in years past since everything at least was running on time. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8756354028/" title="0430_ABSP_StateTennisDay1_0574 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5334/8756354028_af4e8541c8_z.jpg" width="421" height="640" alt="0430_ABSP_StateTennisDay1_0574"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8755234135/" title="0430_ABSP_StateTennisDay1_0146 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8278/8755234135_1b9d8d01ba_z.jpg" width="435" height="640" alt="0430_ABSP_StateTennisDay1_0146"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8756354310/" title="0430_ABSP_StateTennisDay1_0381 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5465/8756354310_6400381cdb_z.jpg" width="571" height="640" alt="0430_ABSP_StateTennisDay1_0381"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-26236731542129960232013-05-16T23:48:00.000-05:002013-05-16T23:48:05.446-05:00Regional Track, Day 2...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8747030610/" title="0428_ABSP_5ARegionalTrack1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7298/8747030610_1eceffe48e_z.jpg" width="484" height="640" alt="0428_ABSP_5ARegionalTrack1"></a><br />
The second day of regional track started early. I had to shoot a couple of the early field events before the running started in the afternoon. The good part about this was I'd be able to edit all the field event photos before the running got started, less to do after the meet ended. And since I had a 150 mile drive home afterwards everything I could do to save time was a good thing. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8745909487/" title="0428_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7315/8745909487_259aeba319_z.jpg" width="640" height="456" alt="0428_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack1"></a><br />
Normally there is a little bit of emotion at the end of some of the races, but the people who are expected to win their races aren't much for celebration. Either they were expecting to win anyway or have been to state already, etc. So, the few times there are nice celebrations at the end of races I make sure not to miss the shot. When it's a local kid doing the celebration I get pretty excited, mostly because I have the chance to make a nice image. So, when the Abilene High kid in the 800m made up a lot of ground after getting boxed in and moved from 7th place to 2nd in the last 300 meters there was a great celebration after he qualified for state for the first time. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8747030370/" title="0428_ABSP_RegionalTrack0578 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8544/8747030370_b925649468_z.jpg" width="640" height="551" alt="0428_ABSP_RegionalTrack0578"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8747030484/" title="0428_ABSP_RegionalTrack0207 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7284/8747030484_39b22a7b2d_z.jpg" width="569" height="640" alt="0428_ABSP_RegionalTrack0207"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8747030792/" title="0428_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack5 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7284/8747030792_e3308fff31_z.jpg" width="640" height="412" alt="0428_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack5"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8745909205/" title="0428_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack3 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8136/8745909205_eb3eee74a6_z.jpg" width="640" height="463" alt="0428_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack3"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8747031152/" title="0428_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8560/8747031152_a7dd735107_z.jpg" width="422" height="640" alt="0428_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack2"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-31514295570701746452013-05-15T23:52:00.000-05:002013-05-16T00:02:58.414-05:00Regional Track, Day 1...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8742670065/" title="0427_ABSP_RegionalTrack0106 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7293/8742670065_9f457a1813_c.jpg" width="800" height="560" alt="0427_ABSP_RegionalTrack0106"></a><br />
I covered the Region I-3A and 5A track meets in Lubbock for the last couple of years now. It's a lot different from the state track meet in a lot of different ways. The biggest is there are both prelims and finals races over two days, at state, it's just finals. So, the first days is pretty nuts and bolts. There isn't a whole lot of emotions, mostly because even if you win your prelim race you still have to come back tomorrow and race again to make it to state. It often is time spent trying to figure out ways to make nice photos and stay creative. The one nice thing that I did have added over the last few track meets I shot, were field events. So, that was a nice change. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8743786712/" title="0427_WFSP_VernonTrack by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7291/8743786712_e45c056e47_z.jpg" width="416" height="640" alt="0427_WFSP_VernonTrack"></a><br />
Another difference from past years is both the 3A and 5A meets were being combined instead of afternoon and evening sessions. This made things a lot easier for the deadlines since by the late session I was usually trying to edit from the earlier session and the late session both at the same time and send photos all at once. It made for a late night followed by an early morning. This time, though, I was finished and had everything sent by 9pm. In years past the late session was just getting finished at that time and made it for only a 12 hour day instead of 16. That helped a lot the next day. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8742669681/" title="0427_ABSP_RegionalTrack0403 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/8742669681_072324aef9_z.jpg" width="640" height="497" alt="0427_ABSP_RegionalTrack0403"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8742670567/" title="0427_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7282/8742670567_8d527be5e8_z.jpg" width="640" height="416" alt="0427_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack1"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8742669829/" title="0427_ABSP_RegionalTrack0287 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7290/8742669829_2826214cca_z.jpg" width="640" height="481" alt="0427_ABSP_RegionalTrack0287"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8742670381/" title="0427_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7284/8742670381_f10cc57cb8_z.jpg" width="640" height="506" alt="0427_ABSP_3ARegionalTrack4"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-62552053338151540592013-05-06T10:51:00.000-05:002013-05-06T10:51:56.649-05:00Over in a High Heeled Dash...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8713656367/" title="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8400/8713656367_2871074943_c.jpg" width="800" height="479" alt="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash1"></a><br />
Despite how early the assignment was I was kind of excited about shooting the first-ever high heel dash in Abilene. It was supposed to be a mile and a half race for people wearing high heels with a pretty big prize ($1,000) to the winner. It was raiding money for the Children's Miracle Network and had brought out a pretty big crowd of both men and women. Most of the guys had bought their heels at Goodwill or other thrift stores earlier in the week. Some, however, had gone all out, buying new shoes online or some had their shoes bought for them. It was a pretty funny event and everyone was having a good time, and this was before the event had even started. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8714776338/" title="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash0052 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8548/8714776338_60f447b2dd_z.jpg" width="640" height="376" alt="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash0052"></a><br />
No one had told me ahead of time, but they shortened the race from the original length to just .2 miles. It made my assignment go by a lot quicker, but kind of caught me by surprise as the winners were sprinting across the finish line a mere 38 seconds after the start of the race. And all of the 50 or so runners were done in less than two minutes. It was pretty fun to see all the guys out for the event and having fun, and so many of them took it further than wearing just heels. Made for a lot of fun. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8713655383/" title="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash5 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8120/8713655383_56e9d03820_z.jpg" width="640" height="378" alt="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash5"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8713654817/" title="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash0010 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8398/8713654817_9b897536e6_z.jpg" width="640" height="396" alt="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash0010"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8714777878/" title="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8548/8714777878_397b1a0853_z.jpg" width="640" height="426" alt="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash4"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8713656749/" title="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8121/8713656749_258bda93a2_z.jpg" width="640" height="422" alt="0414_ABLO_HighHeelDash2"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-70088282438953347582013-05-05T23:59:00.000-05:002013-05-06T00:02:56.904-05:00District Track...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8713329088/" title="0413_ABSP_AHS_CHS_DistTrack0175 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8550/8713329088_a74c7c969a_c.jpg" width="800" height="531" alt="0413_ABSP_AHS_CHS_DistTrack0175"></a><br />
It's never been a secret how much I've enjoyed shooting track. The last few year, though the only meets I've been able to shoot have been the regional and state meets. And, while those are usually the best ones photo-wise, it's always nice to get a little practice in beforehand. So, I got sent down to shoot the District 2-5A meet in San Angelo. I've only been tot he Angelo State track a few times, but have always liked it. The track is sunken into the ground so there are some nice high angles to shoot from. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8712204629/" title="0413_ABSP_AHS_CHS_DistTrack0004 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8415/8712204629_f3273ccf2a_z.jpg" width="640" height="422" alt="0413_ABSP_AHS_CHS_DistTrack0004"></a><br />
I only shot the last day of the meet which was just the running finals, all the field events had finished the day before. They also had the whole JV meet at the same time of the varsity finals. At first it seemed like it was just dragging the meet out longer. But, there towards the end it made for some nice time to be able to download and edit my photos, so hopefully I wouldn't be there all night. So, between 2 heats of the JV boys and girls 1,600m runs and mile relays, I was able to get most of my photos edited and cropped and toned. So, at the end I only had two races to edit and then caption photos and send. It made life a lot easier, though the track meet ending an hour earlier may have done all the same things. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8713329714/" title="0413_ABSP_2-5A_DistTrack4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8131/8713329714_666ee54419_z.jpg" width="640" height="399" alt="0413_ABSP_2-5A_DistTrack4"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8712205191/" title="0413_ABSP_2-5A_DistTrack2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8558/8712205191_091a2c83e5_z.jpg" width="571" height="640" alt="0413_ABSP_2-5A_DistTrack2"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8712205387/" title="0413_ABSP_2-5A_DistTrack1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8254/8712205387_2c12c0b183_z.jpg" width="640" height="413" alt="0413_ABSP_2-5A_DistTrack1"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-27295544705462484862013-05-01T21:35:00.001-05:002013-05-01T21:35:47.918-05:00Blazing a Trail...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8700996298/" title="0407_ABSP_EphriamFeature by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8133/8700996298_e802047c6c_c.jpg" width="800" height="538" alt="0407_ABSP_EphriamFeature"></a><br />
Stories like this I always enjoy shooting. Iria "Bubba" Ephriam was the first black player to play in the Texas state high school basketball tournament, in 1957. I had kind of lucked out when I called him he was out running errands and said he could meet me down the street at one of the parks, perfect, I was really hoping for something other than a shot of him in his home. I grabbed my basketball off my desk on the way out and headed to the park. I was kind of tight on time and was squeezing this in between assignments, but had an idea in my head. I made the shot pretty quick, he was real easy to work with and a lot of fun, a nice guy who had some great stories. I wish I had more time to listen to his stories, he was a really good guy and had a great laugh. Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-83348754825342805072013-04-23T23:55:00.001-05:002013-04-23T23:55:05.249-05:00Golf Season Begins...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8677525424/" title="0406_ABSP_DistrictGolf1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8265/8677525424_7d17966360_z.jpg" width="499" height="640" alt="0406_ABSP_DistrictGolf1"></a><br />
I've always enjoyed shooting golf. It's not the fastest sport out there and there are a lot of unwritten rules to follow (no shooting on the backswing, don't stand in the golfer's line of sight, etc.), but it's also really satisfying to get a nice frame from shooting golf. Plus on a nice day there are fewer places that are better to be than hanging out on the golf course shooting golf. Notice, I didn't say playing, mainly because I'm an incredibly awful golfer, I'd much rather prefer shooting players golfing... it's much less stressful for me. The one shot that I absolutely love to get are jube shots. It seems like the only time I ever get any real emotions from golfers if when they are upset or reacting negatively. So, when I get a nice shot of someone sinking a long putt with a fist pump and a scream I know I can leave pretty happy. The other thing I love about shooting the game is trying to find something other than the post drive "pose." Of course, I shoot that and probably use it more than I'd like. But, if I get time to work to get something else I'm a lot happier at the end of the round. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8676418269/" title="0406WylieGolf0125 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8527/8676418269_ebb81454ff_z.jpg" width="463" height="640" alt="0406WylieGolf0125"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8676418861/" title="0406_ABSP_DistrictGolf2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8263/8676418861_d90bee11c0_z.jpg" width="415" height="640" alt="0406_ABSP_DistrictGolf2"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8677524960/" title="0406WylieGolf0013 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8536/8677524960_80f094faf2_z.jpg" width="640" height="418" alt="0406WylieGolf0013"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-47490093566064019692013-04-22T22:07:00.001-05:002013-04-22T22:07:14.484-05:00Getting Down and Dirty for Justice...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8673281425/" title="0402_ABLO_NS_JusticeWeek1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8673281425_27d96eea5c_c.jpg" width="800" height="557" alt="0402_ABLO_NS_JusticeWeek1"></a><br />
For the kickoff of Abilene Christian University's Justice Week the group organizing the event was having a tug-of-war competition. I'm not quite sure how the two fit together, but hey, I remember being in college and an event like this was sure to draw more people than a speaker of something like that. It was also a Monday, which meant it was a pretty slow day for photos, so I needed to go out and get something for the front page. The event was supposed to start at 5pm, but I guess they didn't realize that anyone would be there to cover the event, or we were given the wrong time by the whoever sent out the press release. Either way it didn't matter, I had to scramble to get photos. I was able to shoot a couple of the competitions and then everyone playing in the mud afterwards, which honestly made better photos anyway. The cleanup turned out to be the best images anyway, with the caked on mud on the participants legs. So, despite getting the wrong time, I was happy with what I had as I left. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8673280883/" title="0402_ABLO_NS_JusticeWeek2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8401/8673280883_6468142316_z.jpg" width="640" height="462" alt="0402_ABLO_NS_JusticeWeek2"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-50111385872335409202013-04-21T23:49:00.005-05:002013-04-21T23:49:56.253-05:00Riding in Style to the Easter Egg Hunt...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8671244182/" title="0331_ABLO_EggHunt3 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8388/8671244182_81f2954a61_c.jpg" width="800" height="491" alt="0331_ABLO_EggHunt3"></a><br />
This was a nice take on something that I've been shooting pretty much every year I've been here and was a nice twist to how Easter Egg hunts have been shot in the past. Earlier in the week we had gotten an email saying the Baird Easter Egg hunt would let kids ride on fire trucks to the park for the hunt. This may have been one of the few times I thought it might be cool to have grown up in a small town. I mean, what kid never wanted to ride on a fire truck? Especially when you're riding on a fire truck to a park to get free candy!!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8670142327/" title="0331_ABLO_EggHunt1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8537/8670142327_d6e33a82b5_z.jpg" width="640" height="323" alt="0331_ABLO_EggHunt1"></a><br />
When I got there I talked to some of the people organizing it and their explanation was even better. Instead of all the kids showing up at staggered times and them having to essentially herd cats from trying to start their egg hunt early, they all show up on the fire trucks and they start a few minutes after every one gets off the fire engines. Brilliant. The other great part about going to the area towns is how well-received you are by the people there. It's a nice feeling. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8671243888/" title="0331BairdPano by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8122/8671243888_454b39bdeb_c.jpg" width="800" height="277" alt="0331BairdPano"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8671244880/" title="0331_ABLO_EggHunt0286 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8542/8671244880_c19aa508c1_z.jpg" width="640" height="398" alt="0331_ABLO_EggHunt0286"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8671245228/" title="0331_ABLO_EggHunt0163 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8536/8671245228_e1de63800d_z.jpg" width="640" height="388" alt="0331_ABLO_EggHunt0163"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8671245862/" title="0331_ABLO_EggHunt4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8524/8671245862_36be8a7001_z.jpg" width="618" height="640" alt="0331_ABLO_EggHunt4"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8670143903/" title="0331_ABLO_EggHunt2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8536/8670143903_bb9a486097_z.jpg" width="640" height="414" alt="0331_ABLO_EggHunt2"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-74357882902972574022013-04-17T01:09:00.001-05:002013-04-17T01:09:14.594-05:00Clash of the Titans, (Almost)... <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8656397503/" title="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford3 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8117/8656397503_df805e89fe_c.jpg" width="800" height="551" alt="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford3"></a><br />
This was supposed to be one of the best baseball games of the year, a battle of two of the best 1A baseball teams in the state only separated by only about 15 miles. On paper it was going to be a great game when Stamford played Anson. The crowd was as big a crowd as I think I've ever seen for 1A teams in the regular season. The bleachers were jam-packed, people lined the first and third baseline fences in lawn chairs and after they filled the baselines, they started around the outfield. Then a few people even stood on top of the southeast end of the football bleachers which overlooked center field. I wasn't the only one expecting an epic regular season battle. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8656398249/" title="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8124/8656398249_9554bde832_z.jpg" width="640" height="473" alt="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford1"></a><br />
And, for the first 3 innings it was, then in the fourth inning Anson's wheels fell off. Stamford, like they've been doing the last couple of years started hitting the ball, slapping it through the infield, bloopers to the outfield, capitalizing on Anson mistakes, then a timely grand slam that blew the game open. After that Anson was frazzled and down big. in the fifth inning Stamford closed it out winning 11-1 by mercy rule. Stamford looked like the defending state runners up, and like they were hungry to finally get over the hump, and like no one was going to stop them. There will be another match up soon, I'm wondering how it will go. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8656397049/" title="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford4 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8104/8656397049_1ee70b2080_z.jpg" width="640" height="458" alt="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford4"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8656396545/" title="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford0024 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8106/8656396545_b11376cd3e_z.jpg" width="640" height="387" alt="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford0024"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8657503396/" title="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8108/8657503396_efedfce713_z.jpg" width="640" height="411" alt="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford2"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8656395929/" title="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford0298 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8105/8656395929_5135bf2ac2_z.jpg" width="640" height="470" alt="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford0298"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8656395397/" title="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford0319 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8109/8656395397_04d20bc891_z.jpg" width="640" height="326" alt="0330_ABSP_AnsonvsStamford0319"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-35278675035738933152013-04-15T10:51:00.001-05:002013-04-15T10:51:09.013-05:00Hanging with Legends and Outlaws...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8651577515/" title="0324_ABLO_OutlawsFront1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8543/8651577515_4f51efa641_c.jpg" width="800" height="491" alt="0324_ABLO_OutlawsFront1"></a><br />
The Outlaws & Legends music festival is probably the biggest music event of the year in the area. It's only been around for a few years and has grown so big they built a new venue for it this year. I ended up covering both days of the event. The first night was just an acoustic jam with a bunch of musicians going around on stage and essentially jamming together. So, I kind of focused all of my attention to the crowd and shooting pretty tight since the crowd wasn't expected to be as good on the first night. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8652677804/" title="0324_ABLO_OutlawsFront2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8100/8652677804_e22b2bc545_z.jpg" width="515" height="640" alt="0324_ABLO_OutlawsFront2"></a><br />
When I went back on Saturday, the crowd, as expected, was pretty huge. The headliner for the event was Merle Haggard, who was going on too late and I wouldn't be able to stick around for. But, there was still a pretty good line up of bands and the huge crowd was having a great time. It also didn't hurt that the weather was almost perfect. The biggest problem of shooting the same event two days in a row is finding something different than the day before, plus the paper was expecting a photo package to go with the event. I stayed there for a couple of different artists to go on and walked around working the crowd as well as shooting the bands on the stage. When Gary P. Nunn took the stage the crowd really got into things and I was able to get some pretty nice shots. IT would've been nice to have a little more time to hang out and see what else I could get later in the night, but I had other assignments to shoot and deadlines. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8651579383/" title="0323_ABLO_Outlaws1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8406/8651579383_6ae603e8e8_z.jpg" width="640" height="434" alt="0323_ABLO_Outlaws1"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8652681178/" title="0324_ABLO_Outlaws0327 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8104/8652681178_42582168c6_z.jpg" width="537" height="640" alt="0324_ABLO_Outlaws0327"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8652676316/" title="0324_ABLO_OutlawsInside0100a by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8527/8652676316_94784bb45d_z.jpg" width="640" height="414" alt="0324_ABLO_OutlawsInside0100a"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8651582471/" title="0324_ABLO_OutlawsInside3 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8120/8651582471_d971b4e7e2_z.jpg" width="640" height="469" alt="0324_ABLO_OutlawsInside3"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-74585988317959012752013-04-14T22:46:00.002-05:002013-04-14T22:46:28.389-05:00Water Water Anywhere?<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8651200368/" title="0317_ABLO_LakeLevelsIvey3 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8531/8651200368_89683257b7_c.jpg" width="800" height="509" alt="0317_ABLO_LakeLevelsIvey3"></a><br />
It's a pretty common story here, the dwindling lake levels across the area. We don't get a whole lot of rain to replenish the lakes and the last couple of years haven't been kind, rain-wise. So, a couple of weeks ago I was sent out to do a lake level story. I shot some photos at Lake Fort Phantom Hill in Abilene and then down to Lake Brownwood and Lake O.H. Ivey. I chose these three lakes because Phantom was local and easy to get to, Brownwood is one of the most populated lakes in the area and Ivey is on of the main water sources for Abilene, San Angelo and Midland, it's also the biggest lake in the area. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8650100571/" title="0317_ABLO_LakeLevelsPhantom by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8385/8650100571_f8969e38b5_z.jpg" width="640" height="417" alt="0317_ABLO_LakeLevelsPhantom"></a><br />
I had been to Lake Brownwood a couple of years ago and got some really nice photos, the difference, however, was when I went two years ago it was on a weekend in the middle of the summer. This time I was going on a weekday in early March, big difference. Basically I was looking to show how dry the lake was and found some boats sitting on dry land with high weeds around them. Then when I went to Ivey it was obvious how low the lake was, it also kind of showed the story about how deep it was and how much water was still in it. I also was able to show some of the human element at one of the boat ramps and got a few shots of some boaters coming off the lake. The bonus was finding a pack of deer running through one of the parks by the lake. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8650101403/" title="0317_ABLO_LakeLevelsIvey2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8386/8650101403_c47c25359a_z.jpg" width="640" height="464" alt="0317_ABLO_LakeLevelsIvey2"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8650101805/" title="0317_ABLO_LakeLevelsBwood by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8110/8650101805_b8342b6b58_z.jpg" width="640" height="391" alt="0317_ABLO_LakeLevelsBwood"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-80777159413114674332013-04-10T22:17:00.003-05:002013-04-10T22:17:32.298-05:00Bulldogs in the Final 4...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8638448835/" title="0308_ABSP_WylievsDM2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8108/8638448835_2b0ef79ecc_c.jpg" width="800" height="410" alt="0308_ABSP_WylievsDM2"></a><br />
I guess since I'm more than a month behind I really need to start catching up... All year long the Wylie boys had shown some real signs of greatness as a team and their run through the playoffs was really proving what the team had already knew. During the regional tournament they beat two really good teams, including Kennedale, who had been ranked #3 in the state. The Hirchi team they beat to qualify for the trip to Austin many said were even more talented than the higher ranked Kennedale team. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8638449159/" title="0308_ABSP_WylievsDM1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8261/8638449159_6edc2136f1_z.jpg" width="640" height="443" alt="0308_ABSP_WylievsDM1"></a><br />
However, the team they would face in the state semifinals, Dallas Madison, was coming in looking and playing like world beaters. In the first quarter of the game Wylie was doing a real good job of playing their game and keeping it real close. At the end of the quarter, though, Madison hit a big three and in the second quarter they blew it wide open. Then, things didn't get any better in the third quarter. Madison ended up blowing out Wylie in a game that never even looked close. It was a sad ending to the season of the best Wylie team I've seen step on the court, they were just outmatched by a much more talented Madison team, there's no shame in that. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8639549300/" title="0308_ABSP_WylievsDM0928 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8255/8639549300_433f35c4a1_z.jpg" width="640" height="459" alt="0308_ABSP_WylievsDM0928"></a><br />
I've always felt if I were in a game like this I'd rather get beaten by 20 points than 2. When you lose by that much, you've lost to the better team, there's no question, when you lose close, you're always questioning yourself looking back at a few plays that could've gone either way trying to figure out what you could have done different. And two days later, Madison beat Houston Yates to win the championship, there's no shame in losing to the better team, especially when they're the best team in the state. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8638447261/" title="0308_ABSP_WylievsDM0648 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8102/8638447261_65c9530c84_z.jpg" width="569" height="640" alt="0308_ABSP_WylievsDM0648"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-39153038062521134942013-03-31T23:30:00.000-05:002013-04-01T00:05:39.322-05:00Playing for the Ring...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8608015179/" title="0303_ABSP_MerkelvsBrock2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8532/8608015179_00e672ac62_c.jpg" width="800" height="610" alt="0303_ABSP_MerkelvsBrock2"></a><br />
After their win on Friday, Merkel was set to play Brock for the state championship on Saturday. Brock was ranked #1 in the state and Merkel #2. Merkel was in their first trip to state and Brock was going for their fifth straight championship. And, I hadn't realized it until after Merkel had won the night before and the reporter I went to the game with and I were talking but the last team to win a state title that wasn't Brock was Jim Ned, back in 2008. So, would it only be fitting if Merkel won it and brought the Class 2A state title back to west Texas?<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8608014941/" title="0303_ABSP_MerkelvsBrock0368 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8528/8608014941_b34cbcdbfd_z.jpg" width="640" height="404" alt="0303_ABSP_MerkelvsBrock0368"></a><br />
Well, at the start of the game it was close, both teams traded the lead, played really tight defense and was looking like the game was going to be a dogfight. This we along for the first three quarters with the back and forth. Then, in the fourth quarter Brock took things over and Merkel went cold shooting the ball almost at the exact same time. Merkel was still playing really tight defense which was keeping them hanging on by a thread, but their cold shooting kept moving things apart. So, for the fifth straight year Brock won the state title, it was a really good for the first three quarters though. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8609121426/" title="0303_ABSP_MerkelvsBrock0878 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8534/8609121426_25a6721630_z.jpg" width="564" height="640" alt="0303_ABSP_MerkelvsBrock0878"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8609121160/" title="0303_ABSP_MerkelvsBrock1053 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8537/8609121160_15e6d19df5_z.jpg" width="640" height="444" alt="0303_ABSP_MerkelvsBrock1053"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-16289848397254953992013-03-29T12:09:00.000-05:002013-03-29T12:09:06.299-05:00Merkel's 1st Trip to State...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8599962097/" title="0302_ABSP_MerkelvsPoth1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8379/8599962097_db7c907dc8_c.jpg" width="800" height="577" alt="0302_ABSP_MerkelvsPoth1"></a><br />
After a thrilling and dominating performance in the regional tournament the week before, the Merkel Lady Badgers were punching their ticket to Austin for the state tournament for the first time in the school's history. The team had been ranked in the top 2 in the state in pretty much every poll of the year. And, they were coming into Austin with only one loss. So, it's not like it was undeserving, but the Erwin Center is a totally different place than a high school gym and the team they were playing, Poth, was just full of state experience. I think I've seen them in Austin pretty much every trip I've made down there. The only thing I'd never seen them do is win. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8601062518/" title="0302_ABLO_NS_MerkelFans by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8517/8601062518_f1a36f13ee_z.jpg" width="640" height="441" alt="0302_ABLO_NS_MerkelFans"></a><br />
Merkel came out looking like they had an obvious case of nerves, but they were able to put that to sleep pretty quick and took a lead that they never gave up. Merkel's two big post players dominated the game and Poth just couldn't deal with the big six footers in the middle. The problem the post players posed gave the guards plenty of room to work and and either get open from the bigs being double-teamed or favorable 1-on-1 match ups. The combination of the two gave Merkel a win and a spot for a chance at a state title in the teams first trip to Austin. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8599963051/" title="0302_ABSP_MerkelvsPoth2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8235/8599963051_6d0bba9452_z.jpg" width="448" height="640" alt="0302_ABSP_MerkelvsPoth2"></a><br />
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Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-73756145041067174872013-03-15T09:25:00.004-05:002013-03-15T09:28:24.709-05:00Playoff Doubleheader...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8559984086/" title="0227_ABSP_JNvsTornillo1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8092/8559984086_256f4cacca_z.jpg" width="484" height="640" alt="0227_ABSP_JNvsTornillo1"></a><br />
I got sent to Big Spring to shoot what looked to be a couple of decent basketball games. Jim Ned was playing Tornillo in the first game, then Wylie was taking on Seminole in the nightcap. Of course things didn't quite turn out the way I was expecting them. I was thinking Jim Ned would take care of Tornillo rather easily, while Wylie would have a little bit of a hard time dealing with Seminole, just based on their past. <br />
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However, Jim Ned came out of the gate looking pretty good, like I was going to be right. Though, Tornillo to their credit came scratching and crawling back and making it a really good game until the fourth quarter. Either the photo gods decided to smile on me for a little bit or I've just been getting lucky over the last couple weeks being in the right position to get some decent shots and from the right angle to get some nice dunk shots. And that's just what happened at the start of the fourth quarter. Jim Ned's big man, Will Bryant, got a nice pass off a steal and threw down a great dunk, which pretty much turned the tide of the game for good. That seems to happen a lot in high school basketball, one big dunk can totally deflate a team and turn the tides. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8558875921/" title="0227_ABSP_WylievsSeminole0132 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8374/8558875921_770b61d604_z.jpg" width="528" height="640" alt="0227_ABSP_WylievsSeminole0132"></a><br />
In the second game, I was expecting Wylie to struggle withe Seminole's zone defense and 6'7 big man. However, the Bulldogs just came out looking great. Their coach had a great game plan and did a really nice job of rotating in a bunch of smaller, but tough big men to constantly be on Seminole's guy. Plus Wylie was doing a great job shooting and hitting 3's from outside Seminole's zone. This game never looked close and it really wasn't. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8559984550/" title="0227_ABSP_WylievsSeminole2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8559984550_460b43d729_z.jpg" width="493" height="640" alt="0227_ABSP_WylievsSeminole2"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4358289029694687106.post-46594170828065666442013-03-11T20:37:00.002-05:002013-03-11T20:37:46.389-05:00State Bound Badgers...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8550640758/" title="0224_ABSP_MerkelvsWall1 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8112/8550640758_c6599ceac6_c.jpg" width="800" height="466" alt="0224_ABSP_MerkelvsWall1"></a><br />
I was closely following Merkel's game the night before via a coworker's Twitter feed, wondering if I'd be coming to cover them in the regional championship game. The plans was if Merkel won their game I'd spend the night in Lubbock after the Wylie game and head to Midland to shoot the game the next morning. The game the night before was close and Merkel won it by the skin of their teeth. So, given how good Wall has been in the past I was expecting another close game. Plus, I was excited to be shooting the game in the Chaparral Center. It's a great place for a basketball game. A nice arena, with plenty of light and for the 2A regionals there is always a good crowd for the games as well. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8550640906/" title="0224_ABSP_MerkelvsWall2 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8240/8550640906_a7e4d04e7f_z.jpg" width="640" height="451" alt="0224_ABSP_MerkelvsWall2"></a><br />
When I got to the arena the reporter that was there told me Merkel had gotten to the arena about three hours early and had a practice before the game. Well, from the start of the game it was clear that the early practice was a good idea since Merkel jumped out to a quick lead. Their guards were handling the ball well and shooting well. Both of those combined with a really good defense it was clear that Merkel was serious about punching their ticket to Austin. Between the great playing and the great defense that Merkel plays every game it was clear who was going to win this game. It made for both some nice action shots as well as a nice celebration for the #2 ranked team in the state, who would be making their first trek to the state tournament. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/metthe/8549542265/" title="0224_ABSP_MerkelvsWall0734 by Tommyboy74, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8382/8549542265_38c762bc2b_z.jpg" width="640" height="485" alt="0224_ABSP_MerkelvsWall0734"></a>Tommyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00772797251281407950noreply@blogger.com0