Track Warmup...

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.

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.

Happy Birthday Virginia...

Getting a brief break from football... I'll never complain about shooting too much football, but it is always nice to change gears every once in a while. I shot the 100th birthday part for Ms. Virginia Boyd Connally. Hundredth birthday parties used to be somewhat of a big deal, but with the way medicine has advanced lately making it to 100 isn't quite as much of a feat. However, when that person is responsible for helping that cause then the story is justified. Ms. Connally, a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, was the first female physician top open a practice in Abilene, back in 1940. So, the Abilene Womens Club was throwing her a big birthday bask, after her alma mater had thrown a party for her earlier.

It was a really nice event, there was a long line of people waiting to speak to the guest of honor. I was making a few photos of her speaking with everyone, then a guy came up and asked if I'd be taking pictures of them, I told him I was with the newspaper and was just shooting candids. He kind of chuckled and walked off, the next thing I know him and his friend walk up to her and both give her a big kiss on each cheek. It made for a fun photo. Afterward I went to get their names and told them, if I'd have known you guys were going to do that my answer would have been yes definitely! It made for a good laugh and nice photo. After the receiving line the Hardin-Simmons Cowboy Band came in to play "Happy Birthday" for her and serenade her. It made for some really nice photos and was cool to see how genuinely happy and excited she was about the serenade.

HSU vs ETBU...

I find it kind of funny sometimes how I can spend a whole game shooting and the majority of my best photos come from just a couple minute period. The game between Hardin-Simmons and East Texas Baptist was just that. The game was kind of turning into a blowout and I was thinking of leaving at half time, however, it was homecoming and I needed to get a shot of the homecoming queen (that's a whole 'nother rant for another time).

So, I figured I'd stick around for the first few minutes of the third quarter to see how things played out. It really paid off, since my best photos all came from about a five minute stretch to start the second half. It also blew an already lopsided game even more wide open. By the fourth quarter the backups were in and they were pretty much just running out the clock... my queue to leave.

Saturday Football...

I love football on Saturday afternoons. Shooting it, watching it, doesn't really matter, though I think I'd prefer shooting it especially when the light is nice and the ball is flying. Hardin-Simmons has had a rough year so far losing their first two games of the season. So, for their third game they were playing a really bad Texas College team at home. The first quarter of the game started out a little slow, but in the second quarter the fireworks stared going off. The final score was 57-21, but it wasn't that close, Texas College got a couple TD's in garbage time, but HSU dominated this game.

Maybe I'm Bad Luck...

So, on Saturday, I had to shoot two softball games and a baseball game. All three games were doubleheaders, so time wasn't really a factor. I shot the first game of Hardin-Simmons' softball games and the second game of ACU's softball DH. McMurry had a baseball game that was starting an hour behind the softball games, and since baseball games usually go longer I had plenty of time for all three.

Well, at the end of the day, I'm sure all three teams may have been happy if I didn't show up, since all three lost their games. I'm thinking I may have been bad luck. The good thing about it though is I was able to make some nice images from the two softball games, both plays at the plate, one of them with a nice bit of dirt getting kicked up. Well, if I'm going to covering the losing side of the game at least I can come away with a few decent shots.

Soccer Time Again...

Last Sunday Hardin-Simmons was playing UT-Dallas in the championship match of the American Southwest Conference tournament. I ended up having to work, since ACU was playing in their conference championship match. It was cool, the last time I had shot college soccer was after HSU had won the national championship last year. The cool thing about having to shoot on my day off (other than overtime pay) is it's usually only one assignment and I don't have to worry about getting a shot and heading to my next assignment.

Since I didn't have to worry about time it allowed me to set up a remote behind the goal that HSU was driving to. Remotes are great and make for some really nice photos when they work. However, they often don't. There are plenty of games that I set one up and come back with a couple hundred pictures of nothing. But, it still fun to set one up and see what happens. Plus, when they do work, it usually makes a great lead photo. For this game I'd say it half worked. I was really happy with the celebration shot at the top, but I also had the header of the girl hitting the ball into the net, sadly the net cut her head in half. Oh well, I think I'd rather have the jube shot anyway... at least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself. The bottom photo, by the way, is the same moment that I shot at the same time with the camera I was shooting with.

Ending the Streak...

It's hard to call a game a rivalry, when it is so lopsided that one team has a 23-game losing streak that dates back almost 50 years. That is how long Hardin-Simmons has been dominating it's cross-town rival McMurry. And most of those year the score has been pretty dominating on HSU's part. This year, though, McMurry has a really good team and HSU is down a little. It was also McMurry's last chance to get a win, since it was probably the last time these two teams would play with McMurry moving up to play in NCAA Division II next year.

The game wasn't all that exciting, McMurry didn't air it out quite like they had been doing all year with HSU's biggest team strength being pass defense. So, they stuck with a fairly conservative running and short passing game moving the ball down the field pretty slowly but effectively and often. HSU was running the ball well, but could never really get ahead or ended up with an untimely turnover when they didn't need it. Personally, I'd have preferred a little more offense, just makes for better pix, but I did manage to get a few that I was happy with. And given how long the streak was, it made for a couple nice celebrations photos after the game was over too.

Crosstown Volleyball, College Style...

The week before Halloween is always Crosstown Rivalry week, not only for the high schools but also for the two local D3 colleges, McMurry and Hardin-Simmons. It's kind of weird this year though, since McMurry is moving up to play NCAA Division II next year, so this is the last time the week both the volleyball and football games will be combined. It's not going to be quite as fun next year, but the week won't be as busy as well either.

When they played earlier this year, McMurry won the first game pretty easily and then Hardin-Simmons ended up winning the next three straight games to take the match in four games. This time McMurry won the first game in a blowout, then Hardin-Simmons came back to win the next two games pretty easily. It was looking like deja vu all over again. This time, however, McMurry ended up winning the next match, forcing a fifth game. Now, not only is it rare to see a five-game volleyball set, it's even more rare for me to stick around for all five games. But, given the rivalry and the emotions flowing I figured I'd stick around for the whole thing. Plus, they only play the final game to 15, so at least it'll go a little quicker. And, the added bonus is since they were playing so close the final two games I knew there would be some great emotion from the win, and given the heated rivalry, that just added to things.