Another blast from the past!

Hitting up my father’s side of the family. This is my grandparents. No date on the shot.

A few years ago, I was looking for different subjects for photography.

I did a search for independent wrestling and came up with a group — 2CW — out of Syracuse. A couple of us went to an old Legion hall in Binghamton and watched. I was sold.

I’ve long been a fan of pro wrestling and have written about it here at times. I’ve done photo posts and other things. I’m slowly even working on a few bigger writing projects about wrestling. Slowly being the key term.

I’m heading off to see an event tonight. It’ll be the first live show I’ve seen in several months. It’s always a lot of fun to watch, from the action in the ring to the fans in the stands.

And, as always, I’ll bring my camera.

Since that first event, though, I’ve hit up more than 20 independent events and they’ve been a hoot. There’s been some great stuff, some bad stuff and everything in between.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to make this week’s Foto Friday about the squared circle and the battles going on. I probably have done this before, whether in a regular post or a Foto Friday, so I’m going to try and pick a few different shots.

I’ll be sure to leave the gore elsewhere though.

No matter what, though, I have to start with a certain image. Truthfully, it’s what sold me on going to many more independent shows, especially 2CW. From there, the images are in no particular order and I’ve tried to mix the federations a bit.

1. Fire!

This came after the last match of the evening. The one guy — Jason Axe — dragged his foe out of the ring, brought him back to this spot and set up a table. As he started squirting lighter fluid on the table, I knew what was coming. The camera had already been put away as this was it — but I quickly grabbed it and the flash and started snapping. (From 2CW in Binghamton, Sept. 24, 2010)

Through the table, Mikey.

2. Here’s dust in your eye!

One thing with pro wrestling is knowing how things work. I’ve watched and learned about the way things go for a long time. So I can usually anticipate. This one was setting up pretty well and I was just hoping I’d snap at the right time — and I did. (From BTW in Delhi, Sept. 30, 2011)

I can’t see!

3. Packed house

Sometimes, it’s about capturing the atmosphere. With the lights on only over the ring, the dusty look and feel and a packed house inside an old Legion hall, this is independent professional wrestling. (From 2CW in Binghamton, Feb. 24, 2012)

A packed house makes it even better.

4. Up close and personal

In many independent setups, you are really close to the action. So if you are prepared and snapping away, you can come up with some cool shots. Such as this one with Tommy Dreamer and Colin Delaney. (From XCite in Binghamton, Sept. 28, 2012)

Beat down!

5. Stars of the past

Finally, going to independent shows often gives you the chance to see the stars of the past and those you watched growing up. Many of them are very approachable and friendly, which makes it even better. These guys have been through it all in the industry, and are still going. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is one of my all-time favorites and I’ve had the chance to see him on these indy shows several times. (From 2CW in Rome, April 14, 2012)

Hacksaw!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Another blast from the past!

It’s Mother’s Day weekend. Did you think there would be somebody else this week?

Though photography as a whole is a passion of mine, I really enjoy sports photography.

I have several favorite topics when shooting photos, but there’s something special about stopping action in a shot. Capturing a ball in midair or an athlete doing something really wild makes it even better. Though I love video, I’ll take a great action shot over the video any day.

Recently, I’ve shot a few softball and lacrosse games of a local college.

This isn’t a how-to post when it comes to action photography. I have to keep learning just as much as anybody else. I know I can continue to get better and that’s why I try and shoot sports photos whenever I have a chance.

The thing is trying to think a little differently. Not just the pitching or swinging photos in softball or baseball, but something different.

Baseball and softball can be tough to shoot at times. There’s the issue of timing when the ball is going to be in play somewhere, or being thrown, or being hit. There are times when you focus on somebody and nothing happens. But there’s so much more going on. It’s a true game of reaction when it comes to photos.

With all that in mind, below are some of my favorites I’ve taken of the local college and their spring sports I saw, as well as some thoughts on my process of getting them.

I actually haven’t processed all my photos from the games, so I’m going with ones I have done and have already uploaded to Flickr.

1. Quick to react

Even if you focus on a certain player or spot during a game, you still have to be quick to react. Sometimes you can fire off several shots and still not get the ball or good action. Shots like this one really work out well because it goes beyond the norm. This is one of my favorite shots because of her focus, as well as the bouncing ball — where you even see the shadow.

Stay focused.

2. Other things make good images

The photo of a sporting event doesn’t have to always be on the action. Look around. Are there celebrations? People being upset? With those two, you can capture emotion. This shot is something I liked. I knew this umpire, so I was going to get a few shots of him. This one, in between innings, really worked out for me as he flipped the ball up and down.

In between innings.

3. Close in on the action

No matter what anybody says, I’m a firm believer that one’s whole body doesn’t have to be in the image. Take, for example, this one. What more would it add if their legs and feet were in the shot? The action would be more of a wider shot. In this one, you can see the action, the expressions and the ball (in the netting of the one stick).

Battling

4. Shoot from the front or, at worst, side

Nobody wants to see an image behind the action. It’s one of the biggest issues I find with disc golf images. Try and keep it so you capture the action and, hopefully, the faces of those involved. In this one, the Delhi (gold) player is coming in on the action, but the shooter from the other team is coming almost right at me. This shot would have been worthless if taken from behind. Instead, it’s one of my favorites from the season because of the action and where the ball is.

Shooting

5. Anticipate

Sports photography is all about knowing what could happen and where. If you think something might happen, focus on that spot. Especially in baseball and softball. You can only take so many images of pitching and hitting, so look around. Is there a chance somebody could steal? Focus on that base. Is a certain player hitting one way? Stay looking at that spot. It’s all anticipation. This shot was one where I had a feeling there would be a steal coming. As it was, I snapped a whole series of shots, but this one really shows the thought of anticipation with the dirt flying up on the slide.

Safe

Sports is a great theme when it comes to photography. And the best part of it is it really challenges your skills and your ability. One thing I would recommend, no matter what, is to familiarize yourself with the sport you might shoot. You don’t have to be an expert, but knowing a bit about the sport will help you react, anticipate and find the good spots when it comes to shooting. Most of all, have fun with it. I have a ton of interests when it comes to photography, but sports images are still the ones that make me get excited more than most because there’s a better chance to really get that “one” shot.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

When out on the Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway, you collect stamps in your log book.

I realize not everyone “gets” geocaching.

In fact, I’ve been asked several times why I do such a thing.

The questions are usually something along the lines of …

The coin we each ended up with.

“Wait, let me get this straight. You go hiking out in the woods, or drive around, looking for a box that somebody placed? And you don’t get anything out of the box?”

That is correct.

Geocaching, like anything else, is a game people play for various reasons. Whether it’s the thrill of the hunt, being outside, getting exercise or spending time with family, the game means different things to different people.

This past Sunday reminded me why this game really is so much fun.

Two of us headed to the Ithaca area to do a new cache series that would take us around Cayuga Lake. There were 20 geocaches in this series, and as long as you found at least 15 of them, you received an unactivated geocoin. For those who are geocachers, you know all about geocoins. For those not into the game, basically, a geocoin is a trackable item. So if you release it into the world, it can move from cache to cache, picking up mileage as it goes along.

The log book.

If they are released, they are not something you keep. But some people (me included) will purchase coins or whatever and keep them as part of a personal collection. I have a pretty nice collection of coins, but am looking to release proxy versions (using the trackable number, but not the coin) to get them traveling. I’m trying to decide the best way to do it.

So, besides knowing a coin was on the line, it also gave a good reason to get outside, see some great things and enjoy the outdoors some (though, to be fair, it was a bit hotter than expected and I wasn’t ready for it to be that hot!)

This was a day I needed.

It was good to get out and get some fresh air. To take a few walks and get to see and smell nature. To find a few caches (32, to be exact!) and sign some log books. To drop off some geocoins and travel bugs so they could continue their journeys. And to just get away from life a little and be able to smile and not worry about anything else.

All of the Cayuga Lake Scenic Byways Geotrail caches were quite easy to find. We ended up finding all 20. Most of they were pretty cool in that they took us to decent places. There were a handful, however, where we wondered how this was part of a “scenic byway,” outside of being near the lake. One or two left us wondering if they were last-second placements.

There were some amazing views.

But, it was enjoyable.

A couple of wineries were on the trail, so it was neat to stop in those. In fact, one had a note in a cache where if you went in and mentioned geocaching, you got a tasting for free. I’m not a wine guy, so I stuck to some lemonade.

Some of the non-trail caches we found were older ones, too. Being able to find a cache that is nearly 10 years old — and still in the original container with the original logbook — is really quite cool.

In the end, it was a fun-filled day. Geocaching is one of those things you can do on your own, with friends, with family, with kids or with whoever. It can be as hard or easy as you make it. For those wondering, we started in Ithaca, went up the east side of lake, then down the west side. It was about 95 miles and with 31 caches, it took us about seven hours, give or take.

And if you pick the right series, you can earn some cool things, such as this coin.

If you want more info about the game, I have a Geocaching 101 series I’ve been working on and post here sometimes. You can see all those posts by clicking here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

I don’t know how many of you out there are photographers.

I’m sure most of you take photos and all, but I mean somebody who really takes photos. It doesn’t even mean you’re a pro or anything. When I take photos, I take a lot. And it takes up a lot of space.

I shoot in RAW, which makes storing all of these photos harder than somebody who shoots just with JPEG or not many photos. I’ve filled three external hard drives — a 250 gig, a 500 gig and a 1 TB.

That’s a lot of space.

I also have about 500 or 600 gig on my hard drive.

Now, I’m out of space. Seriously. I have a heap of memory cards I need to empty. So after talking to a computer guy friend of mine, there’s a better way of doing this. Basically, it entails getting a certain cable and hooking it to the computer and then grabbing an actual hard drive (not external) and using it like an external. Once I fill it, unplug and store.

Why is this good?

Because none of the parts are moving. The hard drive doesn’t age or go bad (hopefully) because of that. So when you need it, hook it in and get what you need.

Now, I can order the cable off Amazon (which I am doing). But then I need to grab a couple of hard drives to start doing this.

My eventual goal is to have a good place to store all my photos and have an easy access system to get them (in other words, a good organizational setup). I plan on starting from the beginning and working my way through.

Things I am going to do:

• Create a filing system I can access (maybe in my DropBox), so when I need something I can search it and find where I have the photos stores;
• Go through photos to delete junk, duplicates and stuff that never would be used;
• Upload a ton of photos to Flickr, so I have an online spot for my images.

This isn’t going to be easy. I started digitally in about 2006, and with a DSLR in like 2007.

That’s a lot of time!

But in the end, I think it will be a good thing to do as my images will be safer, I’ll know where images are and I’ll be able to build the Flickr set a bit. I’ll also be able to do some blogging about things I find and such. I also had a few other ideas for photo books and it’s my hope to eventually do a couple of those, too. Especially with going through all of my images!

As much as I’d love to say this is a challenge I could finish in a week or two, the reality is this will take months and months. In the end, I hope it makes it so it’s easier to find and access my images, as well as show me what I’ve done with photography over the years.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!