Wanamaker Photography

Yesterday, I photographed my first High School Lacrosse game at Minisink Valley. While I’ve photographed Lacrosse before (2007 Minisink Swap Stix Match), I had never covered a high school game where everything seems to be 10x more violent.

It was a cold, cloudy and overall dreary day as we headed onto the field. As we finished setting up our gear, the teams were getting ready to take the field. The Minisink Varsity team was about to play Hyde Park (FDR) High School.

As the game got under way, I quickly saw that Lacrosse was a mix between Football and Hockey. Players were getting whacked with sticks and body checked by opponents in a fight over a little white ball that could knock you out cold if it hit you just right!

The first half was played extremely well by Minisink as they scored a goal nearly every 10 seconds (or so it seemed). I actually had to move from one end of the field to the other as I had no action down by me and was starting to get bored!

Minisink wasn’t as strong in the second half, but still beat Hyde Park by a lot!

A group of Minisink and FDR players chasing a failed pass

A Minisink player going after a bouncing ball

An FDR player with the ball heading down field. The Minisink player in the middle actually lost his balance on the wet field after trying to catch up

A pep talk by the coach during a time out

Last year, our introduction to the sport of Lacrosse started with an invitation to photograph the annual Boys vs Girls Swap Stix Match at Minisink Valley High School. Unfortunately, that game was nearly at the end of the season for the teams and we only had a couple more opportunities to photograph them before it was all over.

During the off-season, after a couple phone calls, we had a contract with Minisink Valley to cover the 2008 season for the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. Finally, Lacrosse season is here!

I love Lacrosse because its fast and action packed and reminds me a little bit of Hockey. Last Wednesday was my first game for Minisink Valley Varsity as they played Valley Central at home. These two teams have always been big rivals and the game they played was tough. Here are some of the shots …

Kali became one of the latest teenagers to experience our custom Senior Portrait Session!

Kali’s mom originally contacted us as she was not happy with the quality of the images that were produced by the school photographer for Minisink Valley High School. Her original intention was to purchase a bunch of wallets to include in Kali’s graduation invitations and she wasn’t about to use what was produced by the school.

During my initial phone consultation with Kali’s mom, we discussed what exactly she needed and what she could expect with the Senior Portrait Session. We booked Kali’s session a few weeks out as they wanted to wait until she had her braces off.

The day of the shoot finally arrived and Jenny and I headed up to Kali’s house to setup everything. As we brought everything into the house, I secretly scouted their decor as I hadn’t had a chance to have an actual sit-down consultation with them prior. I took notes and knew that I could surprise them with something I knew would fit right in.

We started out with the traditional drape shots …

… and then moved on to some more traditional shots … but in non-traditional locations …

Once we captured enough shots indoors, we bundled up and headed outside for some “fun” shots around her house. We posed Kali in one area and photographed away. Jenny and I would often switch off and hold the reflector while Kali’s mom grabbed one of our cameras for some “behind the scenes” shots (which are extremely top secret )

Once Kali’s session was over, she told us that she felt like a “superstar” and couldn’t wait to see the images. Jenny and I packed up and headed out. Now the real work began!

We touched up a couple photos with different overlays and embellishments to give them a unique look that Kali would love.

 

In the mean time, we had a custom DVD Slideshow, assembled to music, created for our upcoming Sales-Order Session with everyone. I also worked on creating a custom 5×30 poster with a bunch of our favorite images of Kali. My notes finally came in handy as well as I talked to our custom framer and had something created that would fit the style their house perfectly.

When the night of the Sales-Order Session came, we showed everyone the DVD on their big screen and I uncovered the 5×30 framed composite poster of Kali. Her mom loved it so much that she purchased it from us. However, the best part of the night was when her mom told us that the composite poster frame was “her frame” and that she felt like it was specially made just for her. Paying attention to those details always pays off!

Yesterday, Loretta was out covering the Section 9 Wrestling Finals at Monroe-Woodbury as a Team Photographer for Minisink Valley.

During one of the matches, the coaches in the corner of the mat kept blurting out moves and opportunities that they saw as the wrestling match progressed. After a few minutes of this, it seemed that the wrestler had had enough and decided to tell the coaches how he felt …

We actually thought that this was pretty funny. In all the times we’ve photographed wrestling matches, it was the first time we’ve actually seen a wrestler telling his coaches to be quiet during a match. While the extra eyes and expertise can be an added advantage for the wrestler … trying to listen to two coaches yelling moves to you can definitely break your concentration.

This image was shot using our Mark III and 70-200mm lense, zoomed all the way in at 1/200 at F3.2 with the ISO at 500. The light actually came via a friend of ours, who had two strobes on the upper level tied to a pocket wizard. While he uploaded some of the images he shot to the newspaper for a play-by-play, he let Loretta use the system for some of her shots.

This past Saturday, we attended our first Cheerleading Competition hosted by Minisink Valley. While we’ve photographed cheerleaders at football games before, this competition turned out to be a completely different animal for us!

We setup in the morning for portraits in the far corner of the gym and found a nice spot behind the judges to video record all of the performances. We had a slightly smaller crew this time with Sean working the video camera, Loretta and Jenny at the table and myself shooting action shots during the event.

As things got underway, I quickly found that I was trying to anticipate the next flip, kick or jump. Needless to say, I did so with very little luck! Everything was extremely fast paced and moved over every inch of the mat. As the day went on, Jenny would join me in front of the judges and would shoot group shots to get the action as it happened while I would shoot closeups on a few of the competitors. Some of the shots we captured were interesting!

In our new Photo Of The Week section, we also posted a great shot of one of the cheerleaders with a memorable face that became an instant classic!

In between the competitions, we would watch the crowd and sidelines for things that might catch our attention. The little boy pictured below was hanging out with us at the edge of the mats and decided to pick up one of the megaphones that was being used as a barrier. I think he might have a future in this

During the morning set, I hopped up during one of the breaks to make sure everything was alright at the table with Loretta and Jenny and to check out the video Sean captured so far. As I came around the judges table, I found this couple who seemed to support their little cheerleader 150%!

Overall, it was a great day for everyone and we were even invited to do the same for the Cheer For All Winter Fest at Pine Bush High School on February 16th! Let’s see what kind of shots come out of that one!