Goodbye Blue Sky

Some time ago, a wise blogger suggested that the Holy Redeemer/Crestwood rivalry in Field Hockey was just getting started, and that these 2 teams are likely to have some epic, close battles as the seasons go by.  As it worked out, that blogger was 1/2 right-  the first half.  Halftime arrived with the game knotted at 1, and the result very much to be determined.  The second half.....  was very different, with Crestwood putting away 3 quick goals early on, sending them on the way to what the box score say was an easy victory.  In JV action..... well, there was no JV action.  It seemed a little over-cautious to cancel the second game at first, but that proved to be a wise choice as well.  By the time most of us were in our cars, it was goodbye blue sky, and hello to an impressive, late summer thunderstorm.

Some quick thoughts-

A pick or a scratch?  (Sorry Juliann!)

Feel free to leave a comment- What do you think Melanie is yelling to Mallory?

Nice lids.  Really nice lids....

Here's another fill place to fill in the quote-  First we see a little love between opponents- nice gesture.  Seconds later- what do you think is running through Courtney's mind?

Surprise-  too much to do, so this post is over.  Of note to this crowd, there are pictures from the Jr High game at Pittson in the pipeline-  stay tuned!

For now-

Crestwood at Redeemer

Fotofink.net

Enjoy!

Unknown Legend

Photos are flowing through the pipeline, but there are still several events in front of me- 2 Wilkes games, then a rare trip to a  fitness competition this past weekend.  With the dawn of the new week, and new stuff to shoot, it would be better to be fully caught up, but there are only so many hours in a day.  Blog posts sometimes feel like an "extra" during these times- are they truly necessary?  Are people actually reading this stuff?  Or am I an unknown legend in my time?

There are 2 measures of that- the first is just word of mouth- and there are a fair amount of in-person comments- "Oh I love what you wrote!"  "Oh you are so creative!" "Oh come shoot my wedding!"  (that last one is a favorite, by the way...)  A few more written comments on blog itself would be nice (hint hint) but its not a perfect world.  A second measure is the stat counter for the site- and it is fun to see how many people actually click through these links and posts. The counter also registers where each visitor is from- at least in a general sense of where the ISP is located.  The local visitors are to be expected- there should be a few from Mountaintop for this entry, of course.  Apparently there is a small following from New England, and an occasional visitor from Turkey who is clearly lost.  It's nice to be a global sensation though. (you are soccer fans.....  you'll get that....)

We are almost a week removed from the soccer matches in this post, so recaps are pretty unnecessary- even the printed media could consider this old news.  Here are a few notes from the gallery before the links-

LOVE the game face.  Now tie your shoe.

I see you too.

Speaking of game faces....

Really-  Tie your shoe....

Hopefully you enjoyed the Neil Young reference- it seemed appropriate during the week of the harvest moon.

On to the photos-

JV and Varsity

All of them

Enjoy!

Say It Again

Looking over the last few posts, it seems that there is a recurring theme- too much to do, too little time.  Considering this, it seems unnecessary to say it again, but if anything- things are more behind than ever.  Over a week has passed since the game, so a recap seems foolish- although it was a thrilling OT win for Wyoming Area. Instead, this will have to be a quick look at the photos from the game, and then back to Photoshop for our staff....

These fans seemed happy to have a photographer there, since they announced it on their bullhorn....  Start the pool on how long it takes to ban those things from the stands.  Anything that fun has to be somehow restricted.

It really seems like the sticks in this game should be longer.  Way too much stooping going on.

This seems kind of rare.

Wardrobe malfunction?


This turned into the game winner, and resulted in some great jubes.  Good times.

Fastest post ever?  Maybe.  Here's the stuff-

Wyoming Area at Wyoming Valley West

All of FotoFink

Enjoy!

I'm Free

It's hard to describe how quickly things have fallen behind here at FotoFink- Let's just say that I have a lot of photos to edit from this last week (over 3,000) and it will be a while before I'm free.  As is the norm these days, this will have to be a short post.

Some quick thoughts from Nanticoke-

I love this-  thanks for noticing me girls!

Celebration pictures are great- I have heard other photographers refer to them as "Jubes"- some sort of abbreviation of jubilation, I imagine.  Regardless of the word origin, I like this shot- a jube.

One of the most famous sports photos of all time was this shot of Muhammad Ali, after he knocked out Sonny Liston in the first round of their fight in 1965.  So what?  This shot reminded me of that, although I doubt that Melanie nor I will enjoy the notoriety that Ali and Leifer did.  Stay tuned though, you never know.

If you follow this blog at all, you know I love the ball carry.  Please tell me that this head rub is part of the process too-  I see so many photo possibilities....

You may wonder- How come there are no cool shots of the Holy Redeemer goalies, like this one?  Simple-  The play was never in front of them for long enough to justify walking all the say down the sideline.  I'll make up for that in another game.

This was supposed to be short, so....

Game photos

FotoFink.net

Enjoy!

Dreams I'll Never See

The fall seasons are all of a week or two old, and already the pressure of time and photos to edit feels overwhelming.  Since I don't wish to have dreams I'll never see, this will be the fastest blog post on record.
Tuesday saw Coughlin travel to Crestwood, for a match between 2 playoff teams from a year ago.  Anticipation was high, as with any game this early in the season- Who is back?  Who is gone?  Are they any good?  After a relatively close first half, Coughlin answered all of those questions, pulling away to a convincing 5-1 victory.  Every game is critical this year, as there are no rematches on the schedule.  Time will tell, of course, how this year unfolds.

Some thoughts-

Losing a shoe- It happens.  It shouldn't, but it does.  Deciding to play for a while without it?  That's different.

There is a very select group of people- 4, to be exact, that will recognize this as a "Roy Lassiter moment".  This will be a test to see if they are reading the blog.

That one's going in.

Gimme a.....huh?  That looks worse than drunks at a wedding doing YMCA.

Fast... as promised.

Game Photos

FotoFink.net

Enjoy!

All Of The Good Ones Are Taken

Some days, the pictures are the easy part.  Blogging, however, takes creativity, which is doesn't always flow freely when clicking through and editing a few hundred photos.  Even with the expanded universe of music (more on that later), most of the sports related song titles that come to mind have been used already- with this being the 117th post, it seems that all of the good ones are taken.  How then, does one work something in without being repetitive, or ridiculous?  Thanks for asking.

The boys' soccer schedule looks a little different this season.  Re-alignment will bring some unfamiliar match-ups to the calendar, and no repeat visits during the regular season, at least.  Like this or not, it's nice to host our friends in Tunkhannock this year, saving the scenic, but long, drive to their beautiful spot in the world.

On the pitch, your Royals battled to a 2-1 victory in the opener- making them the undefeated, co-leaders of division 2, with twice as many goals scored as allowed.  Enjoy that while you can- its still a long season.

Changes are happening here at FF as well- rather than repeat, feel free to read the last post, Do It Again, for details.  There is nothing that shouldn't be apparent as you browse through the photos.

Still photos can capture so much more than video, or even live viewing.  "Game Faces" make for great pictures- the determination, the concentration, the ......  puffy cheeks....  and no- its not just Jared.

Here's Jobey, using the "chin tickle" technique of shielding the ball from an opponent.

Most days, this shot gets scrapped-  no faces no ball, no interest.  Except that the ball that is out of the frame ended up as the game-winning goal.  Nice job Jeff.

OK- enough with the blabbering...  Want some photos?

Tunkhannock at Redeemer photos

FotoFink.net

Enjoy!

Do It Again

Ahh September-  Cooler weather, back-to-school, and a last few weeks that DC United fans can cling to the mathematical possibility of post-season play.  More importantly, September means that it is time to crank up the FotoFink machine and do it again, for what will be our 5th consecutive year of snapping and selling.

Before this goes any further- Steely Dan......  was really a different band outside of the studio.  Generally there is a lot to like about live clips, and they are the preferred option on most of the blog posts.  That last one though..... blecchh.  Here-  try this.

So what's new?  Glad you asked....

The Lady Royals Field Hockey team opened with a strong, 2-0 victory over Wyoming Area.  Last season, this one went to extra time, so draw your own conclusions about the prospects for this upcoming campaign.  Here at FF, we are happy to see the Royals earn a victory, but also pleased to have some photo interest from the Warrior faithful- there are no losers here.

You may see a few changes in the world of FotoFink- most notably, a slight price increase.  Before the panic sets in, let's realize two important factors.  First off, prints are still significantly less here than on many or all similar sites.  Just not ridiculously so any longer.  Second, we are introducing discount coupons for early purchases, which should temper the blow of the price increase.  See the notes in the gallery for details on using the coupon.  Take note also of the fact that the price has not changed on any of the older prints, yet.  Hints do not get any more clear than that.

Our horizons continue to broaden as well- in recent months, we've begun shooting equestrian events, and with the help of an accomplished staff (Really.  Staff.) we were able to offer same-day, on-site printing for those events.  Our wedding business has tripled this year (it was pretty small to start out with...), once again with the help of a second shooter on the special day.  Senior portraits?  Happy to, thanks very much.  Contact us for more info on any of those events.

Marketing wedding photography to high school girls may not be the most brilliant idea ever, but....... maybe you have older siblings.  Hopefully, FF will still be here on your wedding day also.

Lastly from here- an update on the lifelong project.  You are surely thinking "Steely Dan.....  He's been busy!", and you are very wrong.  In truth, the CD burner on my laptop has taken a turn for the worse, and is now a pop-out cup holder.  The lifelong project of converting LPs to digital can continue without it, but it is far more complicated that way.  For now, things are on hold.  Blog posts will continue to feature song titles, but they will come from all over the place now.  Hopefully, with fewer restrictions, the level of music will improve.

So did anything interesting happen at the game?  Thanks for asking.....

In sports photography, backgrounds often are what they are.  Pittston's soccer fields are some of the best in the area.  At Wyoming Area, the bus parking is in about the worst place possible.  These folks are probably not any more happy about the game in their front yard than we are about their lovely home in the background either.

Sisterly joy during the ball carry.  Nice.

Kelly must be thrilled that FotoFink has returned.

4 out of 5 dentists agree- these things work better when they are actually in your mouth.

Memo to the equipment manager- two number 26's really confuses some of us.

Photos?  Sure.

Holy Redeemer at Wyoming Area

Many more games, etc.

Enjoy!