Sports

Sat - September 22, 2007

Sports

A few images from recent sporting events. :-)

Off to shoot more... ;-)

~Bill

Posted at 08:02 AM

Tue - July 31, 2007

Mason County Rodeo

I haven't been to a rodeo in a looonnng time... and I forgot how much fun it is! Click here for the slideshow - you can't help but smile. :) turn on the sound, the song is the best part!

The best thing about the rodeo is the people. Friendly, down to earth, and they know how to have a good time :)

The rest of the pictures (268 of them) are posted in my galleries, take a look!

These guys are looking good:

The next generation:

The fairgrounds is right by the Shelton Airport and it's a popular spot for learning to skydive:

A typical Mason County pickup truck:

Getting the job done:

Roping is an amazing art:

These barrel racing horses are big and fast!

Check out the muscles:

These bulls are big and mean:

There were a lot of other photographers there too, easy to see why, it's just plain fun to shoot!

Alright... now back to real life :-)

~Bill

Posted at 07:04 AM

Sun - April 15, 2007

Rugby - Eugene vs Budd Bay

I've never watched - or shot - rugby before yesterday. It's cool, I'll be doing that again for sure!

The local team, Budd Bay, lost to the Eugene OR team, the score was 5-0.

Posted at 04:00 PM

Tue - April 10, 2007

Skaters

These guys were hanging out and having fun on River Street every day I was in Savannah. The barefoot guy wasn't exactly one of them, he just walked up and asked to borrow a board, then he broke it on impact! Before he even peeled himself off the concrete he had his wallet out to pay the guy for the broken board. You never know what you'll see if you get out and explore... ;-)

Flying!

This guy seemed crazy for doing this barefoot and on someone else's board

Dude! My board!

They were there at night too, pretty much all the time...

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

~Bill

Posted at 07:46 AM

Tue - March 27, 2007

Anatomy of a Club Volleyball Tournament

They come from all over Western Washington and even Canada. Parents and their teenage athletes. Working hard all week to stay in shape and master the skills, these kids don't just play the regular school season and take 9 months off. When the school season ends they change their jerseys and keep playing, pretty much all year round. Saturday's tournament at Evergreen was 10 full hours of matches on 4 courts. And it was just one age bracket, U18 (17-18 year olds). Most of these girls have been doing this for years, moving up through the age brackets. And this is it, the final year of HS and Juniors play. They're good at it. For some it will mean a college scholarship, the chance to take it to the next level and get a 4 year education at the same time.

Mostly I'm just impressed by everyone there, the athletes and their families who make long drives and spend long days to make it all happen.

The Gallery is here: U18 Evergreen Volleyball 3-24-07

The Game:

the serve:

the bump:

the set:

the spike:

the block:

the fun:

the winners:

Posted at 09:49 AM

Sat - February 17, 2007

End of the Soccer Season

I shot the last game of the season for the South Sound Select Futbol Club's Victory team again the HSA Eagles today at North Thurston HS. The select teams are so fun to watch because the level of play is so high, especially the play off games... ;-)

The gallery is here.

As far as I know I won't have any more soccer to shoot for a couple months until the spring seasons start, if you know of anything I'm missing, let me know!!

:-) ~Bill (-:

Posted at 07:31 PM

Mon - January 22, 2007

Puget Sound Volleyball U16

My Friend Libbie at Controlled Rain sent me the schedule for the Puget Sound Volleyball U16 pool tournament. They were playing all over western Washington, but since there is only one of me and Libbie's daughter was playing at the Evergreen Gym, I went there! It was a blast and all the parents were friendly and happy to see someone taking good quality pictures that they would be able to view and order. With 4 games going on at once for the whole event it was tough to keep up, but I did my best! Click here to see the Gallery . When I'm not shooting portraits or weddings , I love to find sporting events to cover, so if you have one you'd like me to show up at, just give me a call or send an email, if I can make it, I will. :-)

Check out the rest here: Vball Gallery.

Thanks!

~Bill

Posted at 08:25 PM

Mon - November 20, 2006

NW Fight Challlenge IV

Saturday Night Fights! What could be better..... ;-)

I just posted 850 images from 15 fights in my galleries here: NW Fight Challenge 4

Most of the gallery pictures are in color, but for the blog I decided to sepia tone the images, gives them a gritty feeling and lets the emotion shine through. If you're ordering prints and would prefer black and white or sepia, just email me after you place your order (that goes for all the gallery prints, not just the fights).

The event was hosted by The Academy of Brian Johnson. Brian and Danni Johnson and the whole crew from AOBJ did an amazing job organizing this event. MC for the night was Chris Cope from Last Call Entertainment and he was a blast to work with. Also the guys from NW Fight Scene Magazine were there and I'm looking forward to seeing their coverage of the event!

There was lots of warming up and doctor checkups prior to the action

The event was sponsored by Rockstar and they sent their crew including these two lovely ladies who were busy selling drinks all night long. Can you tell I said something funny?

It's not very often that another camera's flash goes off at the exact instant I take a picture, but that's what happened here. I was shooting from the balcony about half the time and then alternately running downstairs to get close to the action. This shot is from the balcony.

All of the fighters wear a mouth guard, but most of them are smooth plastic and a solid color (like black), but this guy went for one with vampire fangs, really adds to 'the look'.

Here is one happy teenage girl. She was very composed under pressure, she fought like a pro

I just think this is a cool shot of a coach and fighter

In the MMA bouts (Mixed Martial Arts) the fighters start out on their feet with punches and kicks but it almost always ends up on the ground. The object is to pin and pound your opponent into tapping out, the fighting equivalent of 'saying uncle'. If you're curious about MMA and how it compares to other types of competitions like boxing and wrestling then check out this USA Mixed Martial Arts page.

I thought these would all be sepia tones, but this guy has such stylin green shorts that I had to make one in color....

The ref isn't just there to watch. He happens to be a professional fighter and quite often had to get involved to end a round or a fight.

To see more be sure to visit the gallery .

~Bill

Posted at 10:12 AM

Mon - November 6, 2006

District Finals in Lonview

The Girls Varsity Volleyball AA District 4 Finals were decided on Saturday in Longview. It was exciting!

Lighting in the RA Long HS gym was challenging, the ceiling is low and electrical outlets were hard to find. I don't mind a challenge though and I think I got some exellent images. :-)

Click here for the whole gallery

The 11am match between Tumwater High and Black Hills decided who would get a 2 hour break and move to the championship match at 3pm and who would have to play from 1 to 3 for the right to via for 3rd or 4th at 3pm. Only the top 4 teams move on to State next weekend in Yakima. I'd head over there if I didn't have a wedding to shoot. :-)

Black hills won that first match and took a break. Tumwater went right over to the other gym and played the Woodland Beavers. They won in 4 games, guaranteeing either a 3rd of 4th place finish and the right to compete at State. Turns out they won their final match and took 3rd overall. Good job!!!

And this is my favorite shot of the day, the other team's facial reaction to this crushing spike is priceless:

The final match started at 3pm. The RA Long Lumber Jills vs the Black Hills Wolves. The Wolves took an early two game lead, but it wasn't over.

RA Long came back from being down 2 games to 0 to winning 3 games to 2. They were very happy about it.

Congratulation to all the teams! And good luck at State!!!

~Bill

Posted at 02:56 PM

Sat - November 4, 2006

Soccer Action!

The Girls Varsity teams from Columbia High, Toledo/Winlock, Napavine and Rochester all squared off at Tumwater Stadium on Monday night for the WIAA quarter finals. The action was great! The gallery is here if you'd like to see more: Quarter Finals.

I'm headed south for District 4 AA Volleyball district playoff finals today!

Posted at 08:31 AM

Fri - November 3, 2006

District 4 AA Volleyball Tournament

I drove down to Longview yesterday to take some shots of the local girls at the district playoffs. Both the Tumwater Thunderbirds and Black Hills Wolves looked very strong and won their matches with authority. They will face each other tomorrow at 11am for the right to move to the final game at 3pm. I think I might have to drive down again to see who wins.... And take some more pictures of course. :-)

The other two teams I saw yesterday were the Mark Morris Monarchs and the Ridgefield Spudders.

A few of the pictures are posted below, the rest are here .

Posted at 09:04 AM

Fri - October 13, 2006

Tumwater vs Aberdeen

Jen is on the injured reserve (Goal Keeper is a tough place to hold your ground), but she goes to the games anyway to support the team. I went last night and took some pictures of the Varsity game as well as the JV. These are a few Varsity shots. Those girls are fast!

The complete gallery is here: Tumwater vs Aberdeen

Posted at 06:27 PM

Thu - September 14, 2006

JV Girls Soccer

Tumwater vs Centralia. Erin's daughter Jen is the goal keeper for the Tumwater JV team. She had a perfect game, no goals scored (and they won!). There was a suprise at the end of the game, scroll down to see.

Here's Jen doing her thing...

I'd say they've all been hit in the face with the ball before...

Look up!

Here is the surprise: This guy came at the end of the game with flowers and a big sign to ask one of the players to homecoming. She said yes. :-)

;-) To see the rest, the gallery is here: Tumwater vs Centralia

Posted at 09:45 PM

Fri - July 7, 2006

Long Time No Post

Wow, it's been a while since my last post. Life has just been crazy, this is my 'busy season' in a bunch of ways. I have been taking lots of pictures, just not much time to sit down and post them! Here is a fun soccer shot that I took a week or so ago. The red team is 'The Tide' and they have a whole team full of great players, much fun to watch and relatively easy to get good shots of!

Posted at 08:41 AM

Sun - June 11, 2006

Saturday Night Fights

I had the honor of being the official photographer at the Northwest Fight Challenge III "Rocked" event at the Olympia armory last night. My 'press pass' allowed me to wander around the building and catch all the action. I have to say that Brian and the whole crew from The Academy of Brian Johnson did an awesome job of hosting this event, it went off without a hitch! A few of the pictures are below, but the other 800 or so are here:

NW Fight Challenge Gallery