A busy Saturday for the FotoFink staff started at the Wyoming Valley Sports Dome for a full-field, women's open soccer tournament. Open, of course, means that any age can play- so give credit to the Strikers- Some (not all.... some) of the players were old enough to be their opponent's Mama-
and they still managed a very respectable third place finish, missing a higher spot by virtue of a penalty kick shootout. As an old guy myself, I take great pleasure in thinking that perhaps there really is something to that experience over youth argument....
Some rapid-fire blogging on tap for today, so let's get right to some pictures-
Lots of the players in the tournament are making repeat appearances here on FotoFink- you may remember Kim from her Bishop Hoban days, or Natalie from Hoban/Redeemer. We can look forward to seeing more of Alyssa this spring as well, as she returns to the Holy Redeemer squad. Marian has graced our pages in a brief shoot at the over-40 night at the Dome, and surely some of the Dallas and Crestwood girls will appear in the girl's soccer pages somewhere. Soccer is truly a small world.
New visitors to the sight will have to surf around a bit if you want to get a feel for things- or if you just want the pictures..
In case you haven't noticed, the Freshgirls are on quite a run. With a regular season record of lots-2, the push through the post-season began Friday with a match-up against Dallas- one of only two teams to best the Royals all season. After running up an early lead, HoRe held off a second half push from Dallas to secure the victory. These girls, and the future of the Redeemer program, are truly Something So Strong.
If you had been enjoying the Genesis, don't worry. There is still plenty of it. I just needed a break. Although a little 80's pop is never a bad thing, my favorite part of that video is the Deep Purple riff at the beginning. (I can name that tune in 3 notes....)
Looking for that link led to this, which resulted in 7:08 of fun for me- thought maybe you'd enjoy it also-
As usual, time is short. Actually I am just trying to get this done before you guys start buying the photos. It's become something of a personal challenge.Some thoughts-
Still working on some new lighting techniques- I am happier and happier with the results. Sometimes, the outtakes are even interesting- here, and again here, one of the two lights didn't fire. The results are hardly poster-worthy, but I kept them because I thought they looked cool.
As has been noted, warm-ups often provide the best photo ops. That is, as long as the rest of the team and extra balls are not in the frame too.
I am not certain when the girls will play again- perhaps someone can leave a comment here with that information. But for the good fortune of picking up a facebook post between the girls, I may have missed this one too.
Tuesday was an interesting day from a photographic standpoint. To summarize, the shots from this game were all taken with a flash technique that our staff has been working on- The result seems to be that the photos are crisper, colors are more vivid, and in general- better. The trade-off is that there are fewer shots, since the flash has to recharge for a few seconds between frames. Combined with a late arrival (real job issues) and an early departure (soccer match at the dome), the result is a relatively small batch of 40 photos. That's All.
The Lady Colonels struggled again, as has become the norm (nice picture though, eh?). As frustrating as that is, sometimes success is not measured in wins and losses. Lets hope this season is one of those times.
Well- a small set seems to warrant a short blog entry, so here are a few quick points-
As a result of my arrangement with Wilkes, there are only a few games that I shoot where I can sell the pictures here. This is likely the last of those games- so if you've been holding out... there's nothing else coming.
Saturday looks to be an exciting day for the teams- last game of the season, against the cross-town rival Kings College. In addition, there will be senior night festivities and it's the Pink Game to benefit Breast Cancer research. Rumors have it that there will be some 50's era sock-hop music at the breaks in the early game.... the fun starts at 1:00!
Part of the fun of writing these blog entries has become tying them in to the musical recording project that's also in the works at the cozy mountain retreat. Alphabetically, you've all been plodding through my (and Mrs F's) vinyl album collection, guided by usually strained references to something that happened during the photoshoot. Today, we are skipping ahead a little- the lifelong project has hit a wall of Genesis, and The Knack seemed much more relevant, for several reasons.
First, the world is saddened to hear of the passing of Doug Fieger, lead singer for the Knack, on 2/14/10. As much as The Knack was a one-hit-wonder (and no, the one hit wasn't Heartbeat. Choosing the one hit would have been far too obvious.), apparently Doug was still performing live shows with some of his band mates from the 70's. Another random fact- Doug was the brother of attorney Geoffery Fieger, who got plenty of face time whenever his most well known client, Jack Kevorkian, was in some legal trouble. So what, you ask? Well, let's face it- you are not here for hard-hitting journalism. Enjoy the tidbits.
Second- These games and this post formed the bread on a Valentine's Day sandwich, so out of all the Knack songs that could have been a title- none seemed more fitting.
As for the games, the Lady Royals completed a three game sweep of the visiting Warriors from Wyoming Area. Senior Day festivities were on the agenda as well, so there were lots of photo ops throughout the day.
Nothing particularly smart-alecky is coming to mind, so here are a few quick favorite pics before the links-
Enthusiasm for the Freshgirls continues to amaze me- photo orders coming in before the pictures are even announced. Thanks to those girls and their parents- rest assured, I will do everything I can to make your playoff games.
Individual accomplishments are not usually noted here- this is, after all, a team sport. It was hard not to notice the day Shannon M. had though- nearly outscoring the entire opposing team. She looks cute with her tongue out too.
Paige gets quite the game face too. Rumors are that the injury she sustained later in the game was serious- lets hope she recovers quickly.
Here is another one of those photos I am glad to be able to take.
This time, my fellow photographer definitely had the better angle.
Ok, I know- skiing isn't really dancing, and Snoooo Mountain is hardly a volcano. But the lifelong project is in the middle of a long stretch of Genesis, and this is about the most appropriate title within reasonable sight of current recordings. As blog entries progress, there will be bigger stretches, trust me.
This is a bit of an experiment in the format also- by embedding the clip, you should be able to let it play while you enjoy these pearls of wisdom. Or not. Suit yourself on that- as has been noted, the musical part of this project is more to keep me sane than anything else. You can join that part of the trip or not.
Explanations now over, lets get onto some more interesting fare. Ski club concluded this past Friday, and as has become tradition, FF sent a staffer to cover the excitement. Efforts to generate a flash mob for some on-hill action shots failed miserably, but the skiers we found made up for the lack of numbers with a high level of enthusiasm. Thanks to Elizabeth, Abbie, Nicole, Erin, and Casey for their patience on the hill while I fumbled around the camera controls with frozen fingers.
Once inside, the group did manage to assemble for the traditional group photo, and a few random shots as well.
Two young men saw me snapping pictures and asked if it was for the website. Naturally, I assumed they meant my website (are there others?) and was happy to include them. I had no idea that they were not HoRe students, and surely they have no idea what website they are appearing on. Nice pose.
Speaking of my boy.... Reminds me of the line at the 1:15 mark of this clip.
Mrs. FotoFink is ending up all over this post. Last time, I promised a picture from the archives, which actually turned into a separated at birth update. I've long suspected that she doesn't actually read these posts- so this will be a test. If I have a black eye tomorrow, she's reading. BTW- If you are new to the land of FotoFink, that gallery is worth exploring a bit.
Before this ends, let's send a big thank you out to the moderators- who sacrifice Friday after Friday so that Ski Club (and the pasta/stir fry bar) continues. There were a number of attempts made at this picture- Mrs. Alfano preferred her crazy eyes in this one, Mrs. Decker preferred this shot, and for obvious reasons, I preferred this one. To each, their own.
Note that this is a right-clickable, low/no price gallery. Steal 'em all if you want 'em.
Schedules miraculously cleared on Monday night, and our staff was able to attend another triple-header of girl's basketball action. In fact, it hardly seems worth going out any more unless it's a triple-header- a fact that pleases our shooters, but plagues our photo editing department. The games ended in the typical 2-1 split, with Redeemer ending up taking the two wins. All three were close games, made notable for the most part because every single fan in attendance decided to help the officials. It's so nice when everyone chips in! In the photo at the top of this post, the WVW coach has clearly had enough- I am pretty sure he was saying "Mercy Mercy Me"
Motown is a bit of a departure from most of my music archive, and to be honest, it is the influence of Mrs. FotoFink. You are about to see more of that influence as the lifelong project moves on- we are headed in to a fairly steady diet of Genesis- While I tended to favor the later, Phil Collins pop stuff, my bride was more into the early, Peter Gabriel artsy stuff. No wonder it took a decade before we actually merged the album collection.
Some notes from the floor-
First off, thank you to the freshmen girls (freshwomen? freshgirls? Never mind- you know what I mean) for warming up without.... well- warm-ups! The layup/shooting drill in the game uniforms made for some great photo ops. If the other teams want to take note..... (hint, hint....)
If my musical tastes ever turn to disco, its nice to know that Marissa can help me with the supporting photos. There isn't really much chance of that disco thing happening though, trust me.
It's a little disappointing to see no cheerleaders at the girls game, and no Red Sea/Red Tide/White Noise either. At least one fan kept her spirit up regardless. I am not sure which side she is from- do horns make you a Spartan or a Royal? Or is she just a Favre fan? I don't really care, I just like that hat. Somewhere, buried deep in the archives, I have one of Mrs. Fink in similar garb. I'll try to find it for the next post.
The lack of cheerleaders was actually not such a big issue, as the fans were treated to what is still the best halftime activity ever- Mites!
Kind of an interesting effect here, as it looks like Anne Marie is running into some sort of glow from her opponent. In truth, this was shot just as the other photographer's flash went off- so I guess you will see that shot from another angle in the paper. What I still think is mysterious are the extra legs....
First things first- Careful readers will notice that Glenn Frey represents a small bit of progress in the lifelong project- let the wild rumpus begin! There really were no good song titles to use for this post, but I was so excited to have something new to draw on, I was determined to use it somehow. So rules get bent, album titles are now fair game, and the world keeps spinning.
No Fun Aloud is, of course, a play on words (6 1/2 years of college gave me a lot of keen insight). It's a bit of a stretch for a blog post title, but it seems to be an appropriate caption for this shot. Apparently, the word is out after the great inflatable attack of last week. The constable has issued an orange alert for further activities...
Facebook followers of FotoFink (yes- we have a facebook group now- if you are on facebook, you can find it) will note that I was not planning on attending the varsity game of the triple-header- I had hockey tickets for a 7:05 faceoff. Faced with the choice after the JV game- out in the cold to see this, or stay put for some of this- was there really a decision to be made?
Your Royals went 2-1 in the 3 games, and each of the outcomes was in doubt until the final buzzer. Game recaps are probably not why you are here though, so let's move on...
This photo is cropped a little wider than usual, but if you were there, you know the significance of the foot in the lower left corner of the shot. I stopped snapping for the bloody parts.
In our "These two should get a room" moment of the week, I present this photo. Since there are children reading this, we will assume that there is a basketball between them that is warranting all of the attention. Also in contention was this shot, but since Steve was in a compromising position last week, it seemed wise to spread the joy around a little. Draw your own conclusions about why Steve keeps popping up in these positions.
Even without a theme, the Royals faithful made an impressive showing. Who's face was on those popsicle stick masks anyway? As for Coughlin, granted, it was an away game, so it's probably unreasonable to expect a lot of the fans to make the journey. While their crew seemed to lack some organization, I do have to give them credit for the "Lamb Chop" cheer. That's just funny.
To say that it has been a rough few months for Alex Lauer is a gross understatement. Can we agree that it is good to see him back? Let's hope it's not too long before we see more of this.
FotoFink.net is actually getting a little crowded. It is my hope to use this blog as a running commentary, and to direct the FotoFink faithful to the most recent galleries on the site.
Basically, if you want my rants, raves, and completely biased opinions, along with links to the most recent galleries, start here. if you just want to buy some pictures (I can respect that) you can still go right to FotoFink.net.
Please feel free to comment- let's have some fun with this!
Posts
