Basketball
I used to shoot a lot of sports. I have always enjoyed it, and feel that shooting something that moves fast helps me to do a better job when shooting stuff that doesn’t move at all. I bought a new work camera just before the end of the year, and haven’t had much of a chance to get comfortable with it. My friend Thom Kendall has the contract to shoot all of UMASS sports, so I asked him if I could tag along for the UMASS v. LaSalle game in Springfield yesterday. I got maybe 5 decent shots out of the whole game. He probably got 30 really good ones and 50 more that were totally usable. His support was really helpful, but it made me realize just how difficult it is to get good action photos when the athletes and officials are moving around right in front of you and the lighting in the arena sucks big time. Anyway it was fun and a good learning experience. And I am pretty sure that the next time I photograph something that isn’t moving, I’ll be just that much better at it.
Fenway
Every year around this time, Peter and I drive into Boston. Our first stop is Fenway. We park on Yawkey Way (there is always a spot) and walk around the perimeter of the park. It is always a bit odd to be there in the off season, especially with lots of snow on the ground from the storm earlier this week. We start by heading East on Yawkey and then around to Lansdowne. This year we spotted the entrance to the Bleacher Bar, which is actually inside the building, just under the center field bleachers. It is a really nice smallish pub that was mostly empty. A nice time for an early Guinness for me and a lime and soda for Peter. It was a great day to be together.
Maegan Hoover
I have been shooting for Connecticut College for a very long time. I get interesting assignments that go beyond the usual college events and when they asked me to shoot a group of alums who play on a Boston area rugby team, it sounded like fun. It was a lovely fall Saturday and a great match. Here is Maegan Hoover on a great run.
Swimmer
On Saturday, I shot swimming for my friend Thom Kendall who was out of town on another job. I grew up as a swimmer, so being back in a pool is usually a lot of fun for me. Just the smell of chlorine and the humidity brings back memories. Shooting it can be a challenge. How many shots of athletes breathing out of the side of their mouths can one take? So I usually try to look around for different angles. The UMASS pool has a nice balcony just above the starting blocks and I thought it would be nice for the backstrokers. It worked.
Acorns
When I was growing up in Meadville, there were tons of oak trees. In the fall the acorns would start dropping and be everywhere. Sometimes we would fill our pockets full and inevitably someone would start throwing them,which would lead to some massive neighborhood battles. One day Don Blackmar’s father got involved in the effort, and since he was the only adult, just about everyone started heaving them at him. He got really pissed and took it to a level way beyond parental discretion. It was unusual to see a parent go over so far over the edge in what was mostly just a benign game. I never felt the same about him after that.
NYY Steak
I’m not sure why this seems so funny to me. Maybe because I remember Bill Simmons referring to Hal and Hank as Uday and Qusay. Cris and I were at Yankee Stadium yesterday for our nephew Adam’s NYU graduation, and after the ceremony John and Lynne took us upstairs for a memorable lunch at NYY Steak. We did it last year when Adam got his undergrad degree, and I had failed to notice the display of knives near the elevators. This year I saw them. Everybody’s there including Rudy Giuliani, although I didn’t have time to look for the empty spot where Ronan Tynan’s used to be.
Brentford FC
Peter has been wanting to see an English league football match for a very long time, and since we arranged to be in London during his Spring break, it finally worked out. Brentford was at home, and their ground is very old and has the distinction of being the only one in the UK with a pub on each corner. We went to the Griffin before the match and it was great. We stood on the terraces and saw Brentford beat Leyton Orient One-nil. We were so happy.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
leave a comment