King for a Day

Here's some images I captured of the Sounders vs. CD Marathon (Honduras) while working for CONCACAF’s Champions League Soccer Match as one of their contract photographers. It's my second game shooting for the CONCACAF folks in New York with another one coming up next week. Since I'm one of two of their official photographers we get to wear a blue penny, while all the other shooters have to sport a pink ones. While they are limited to shooting from the back of the goal areas, we get to roam the sidelines. It's good to be king for the day once in awhile.

Waiting for that "Magic" light

While departing the Mt. Rainier area after completing one assignment and heading to shoot a football game in Tacoma I happened upon a view of the mountain wrapped in lenticular clouds. 

Most of a photographer’s time is spend waiting for that perfect light, or as we call it, the “magic light”, but once in awhile we are afforded a rare opportunity to capture not only the sunset’s golden glow, but, what we call “Alpenglow” a pinkish, rosy color that bathes the mountain in supernatural splendor. Knowing that this event only lasts for a few seconds and having nothing else to do for four hours until the football game started, I set up one camera on a tripod and enjoyed the scenery while taking pictures every few minutes or so.

What added to the pictures is that for the past two days, a lenticular cloud has hovered over the state's tallest peak. Seen maybe a dozen times a year, it still looks cool every time it's showcased.  The clouds are formed when warm, moist air runs into the surface of Mt. Rainier. The mountain forces the air upward, which cools and condenses turning, it into a circular looking hat cloud that sits a top the mountain’s peak. As the air sinks back on the other side, it dries out and the cloud dissipates. That's why it just hangs over the summit area.

Local area residents say that the cap clouds, are a sign that rainy weather is on the way and the clouds are the mountain's version of an umbrella, a prediction for oncoming rainy weather.

Anyways, back to the magic light.  As soon as I saw the clouds rapped around the mountain I knew I would be offered one magic opportunity to capture the mountain in some pretty dramatic colored photographs.  Using two cameras, one set up on a tripod with a 300mm and anther equipped with a 70-200mm zoom, both lenses would emphasize the glowing sunset effects on the mountains topography.

The Alpenglow, as captured illuminating the mountain, only lasted but a few seconds and was the highlight of this dramatic sunset, which was the cause of me being late and just making it to the football before halftime ended. But what the hell, I only needed four pictures for that assignment, and just how many times is a photographer afforded an opportunity to capture the Alpenglow?

A Stihl Ballcap, Rainbow Suspenders and a shotgun

A few years back near election time my editor received a letter from a readers saying he was sick and tired of the present administration and was tossing in his hat as a candidate for presidency. After calling the man, Pat told me to get my camera and come with him. On the way he explained that a reader in his 80’s was about to declare his announcement to run for the Presidency and he sounded pretty much crazy.  Pulling up in front of a rustic wooden cabin he met us dressed in his Stihl chainsaw hat, rainbow colored suspenders and flannel shirt.

I thought to myself, this is going to make one hell of a great environmental portrait. After the interview, he put on his hat and asked if we could take it outside his cabin with his shotgun. I smiled, replied why yes and thought, a chainsaw hat, suspenders, and a shotgun, it doesn’t get any better than this.

Trusting your gut feeling

It's all about getting in the right shooting position in order to capture good action. Normally, when I cover a baseball game I start out in either the inside or outside home photos wells to shoot the starting pitchers. But during the last Rangers vs. mariners game I trusted my gut feeling and opted to hang out in the first base line photo well to get pictures of the infielders and outfielders in action and significant plays at first and second bases as well as outfield action. After capturing a few pictures at that location, I moved to the inside home photo well on the other side of the Mariners dugout where I captured another play at home plate as well as the safe at second. A few innings there, I moved over to the outside home photo well to make a pictures of Texas Ranger's pitcher Tommy Hunter pitching, safe at third, a different view of a play at home,  Tommy Hunter wiping the sweat from his forehead before being relieved in the seventh inning and lastly, the Mariners closer David Aardsma hugging catcher Guillermo Quiroz after preserving a 2-1 win over the Rangers. Sometimes it's just 95% being in the right location and 5% dumb luck.

This Lady takes the Cake

I thought I had seen it all while covering the Seattle Seahawks games, but this lady takes the cake in the originality category. I spotted her decked out in her "Hawkhooters" before kickoff at the San Francisco 49er vs. Seahawks game on Opening Day. Some Seahawks fans come dressed as the Hulk, umpires, Scottish Highlanders and in all manner of blue and green costumes complimented with face paint and spiked hair. And, I’d have to go as far to say they pretty much rival the Oakland Raiders fans of Raider Nation in the weirdness and craziness categories. This proves a point that not all action is on the field.

Juniors Final Hit

Here's a picture I captured of Ken Griffey, Jr., being congratulated after hitting a game winning walk-off single against the Toronto Bluejays. Bluejays' first baseman Lyle Overbay (R) walks off the field as Seattle Mariners mob Griffey in the ninth inning at SAFECO Field in Seattle May 20, 2010. Griffey, pinch-hitting for Josh Wilson, hit the game winning single to right field that scored Milton Bradley in beating the Bluejays 4-3. I was able to capture the opposite emotions in one frame, the happiness of the celebrating Mariners players and the dejection displayed by Overbay as he walked off the field with his head down.

Come to find out this was his final hit at Safeco Field. On June 3rd he retired from Major League Baseball.

This picture is a fitting tribute that brought an end to a historic record of his final achievements in a hall of fame career.

Coming home to roost

Ever since we moved into our present home 15 years ago, we have raised generation after generation of squirrels, crows, peeps and Blue Jays, which made nests in the trees surrounding our home. A few years ago Amy had me cut down a big Cedar tree, which was home to our Blue Jays. Now, every morning I am woken to the racket this hungry little fellow makes in a tree right outside our bedroom window. So, I grabbed my 70-200mm and went searching among the limbs of the Douglas fir. Here he is all puffed up and trying to look big and dangerous. As I got nearer and nearer to the nest, the bigger he tried to make himself. Even through they make such a racket in the mornings, it's fun watching the babies grow up, make their first flights, peck around the yard and have babies of their own one day.