PShizzy: The Blog

The Mercury defeated the Sparks 89-80, and now own the best record in the League. With a flurry of games (They stand at 5-1 within the first two weeks of the season), they’re off to a great start, and it seems like the teams gelled already. Cappie Pondexter had 21 points, and Diana Taurasi added 17, but the story was Temeka Johnson, who added 18 points, with 10 in the fourth quarter.

So, uh, why the picture of Lisa Leslie? Because it’s all about  smiles and cries (If you haven’t seen Training Day, go see it). A better way to put it, for those that haven’t seen the movie, is that you need genuine emotion to make a photo work. You’ll always hear people saying things about their images featuring a players face, and that’s true, but beyond that you need a face that shows a genuine emotion. Smiles and cries.

When a player is injured, there’s no hiding it. Leslie took a bad fall and could barely walk off the court (hip injury, out a week). Another example I like is the look of dejection, often happening after a game losing shot or your final game in the regular season or playoffs. With most games, there’s always tomorrow. When there isn’t, it’s a somber feeling.

More after the jump. [Read more →]

Tags: equipment by PShizzy
No Comments »

The Mercury stand at 4-1, atop the Western Conference, with their 104-80 win over the Minnesota Lynx. Diana Taurasi put up 28 points, and rookie Dewanna Bonner had a double double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Generally speaking, after a few games, you get a feel for the style of the team (if they have one) and the tendencies, both good and bad. Understanding the team allows us a better opportunity to catch moments, and make some nice photos.

For example, I’m sure that Diana Taurasi has a chip on her shoulder. Was it from not making the playoffs last year? Does she see that perhaps this team has the talent to go far, and wants to display a level of intensity as a standard for her team? I don’t know what the answer is, but I like it so far. Every game has had her reacting to foul calls and non-calls. Every game, she’s been playing very aggressively (which may explain the fouls). I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up MVP and leads the league in technicals.

So what else am I noticing two weeks into the season? More after the jump. [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
No Comments »

The Mercury faced the Liberty for the second game of their season, winning 91-84 despite the slow start. Cappie Pondexter put up 26 points, and Diana Taurasi had 21, albeit on 6-15 shooting, in the victory.

Despite the shooting woes, Diana contributed in other ways, grabbing five boards and five assists, as well as two steals and two blocks, rounding out her stats.

When one of the bigger names on the team is having an off game, or even the entire team seems to be in a funk, what do you do? I mean, you gotta show something for being there. So what do you do? Just like players can contribute in other manners, we can look for something other than the usual “player driving to basket” shots.

Read on to for more pics, a gallery, and the type of shots I look for besides the usual peak action. [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
No Comments »

Another season of the WNBA season began on Saturday. The Silver Stars came into town, a strong contender after making it into the finals last year (only to be defeated by the Shock). So to kick it off, I tried to get a little bit of everything. I won’t necessarily start backwards, but if you look at the starting image, I’m pretty sure you can tell who won and who lost given Becky Hammon’s expression. Most people like jube shots, I prefer dejection.

So, what else do I try to get when a new season starts? Read on to find out. [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
2 Comments »

First, Instant JPEG from RAW has been updated to version 1.1. Added support for new cameras (50D, anyone?) and some bugfixes make it a worthy update. Click on the image to head on over to their site.

Next up, I thought I’d test out a photo gallery. Photoshelter has recently updated their site to offer Flash based photo galleries. I think it’s pretty cool because it’s so easy to set it up. In fact, it’s retroactive, so I can set up a Flash gallery for any galleries I’ve already made. Creating the gallery itself isn’t too hard either, but this has further motivated me. So, I’ll give it a test run after the jump.

Oh, and I’ve been playing with a few D3′s lately. I really like the cameras. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from users over at the FredMiranda forum on a few posts about the D3 and my opinion on it. Link to that after the thread. It’s been a long couple of weeks. Preseason NBA, NCAA and high school football, even a local kids soccer game, plus other non sports shoots (wedding, and two schools) have kept very busy lately. It’s been great to be so busy, but it’s also been time consuming. And of course, it’s my favorite time of the year, with the NBA season finally starting. More after the jump! [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
2 Comments »

I’m not old school or anything, in fact I’m only 30, but for some reason, whenever I see boxing, I just think it needs to be done in black and white. I’d actually really like to break out this RZ67 I have and get some frames with it. But, for now, what I can do to appease my desire is simply present my work in black and white.

It’s been a good while since I’ve shot boxing, and the scene in Phoenix, even Arizona, just isn’t as strong as it once was. I remember shooting the “retirement” fight for Julio Cesar Chavez (this was actually a tour, as he retired a few times), and even shooting the stunning upset of Sergei Liakhovich by Shannon Briggs, in the very last second of the very last round. The fights themselves weren’t amazing comparatively speaking when you consider the depth of boxing lore. But for a few fights, Phoenix was the place to be.

Back to the point: I love black and white boxing photos. You’re left with fighters and details when you remove the color. Tonality, the contrast of the image, works to great effect with a nice black and white conversion. A couple more photos, a small gallery, and an oldie but goodie link after the jump. [Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
2 Comments »

After some Friday night hs football action, I had to gear up again for Saturday night, as the #15 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils faced off against the unranked Stanford Cardinals. Stanford, if you recall, ended USC’s 35 home game winning streak last year in one of many upsets last year. Stanford came into town hoping they could revive some of that magic.

Arizona, led by Rudy Carpenter, led the whole way, only letting up slightly when the Cardinals cut the lead to 27-17 before the Sun Devils put up another two touchdowns. Thankfully, despite the score, the game was much more competitive than ASU’s home opener against NAU.

While it’s the same game, there are many differences (besides skill level) between the hs and college games. Yes, if you’ve shoot football, you understand the game, but at the college level, football is an event. So, what are these differences?

[Read more →]

Tags: photography by PShizzy
3 Comments »

So I get a call from an old friend and she asks if I wanted to go cover a HS Football game. I was amped. I haven’t covered hs football in a long time, and while football is football, each level of skill has their own challenges. With the NFL, even the worst coach teams can run off a play with military precision. Broken plays just don’t happen that frequently. In college, if you’re lucky enough to shoot a D1 school (such as ASU), then you’ll have an assortment of talent, and while play’s may get broken, the players are often talented enough to make the best of it.

At the HS level, sometimes having enough players is good enough. And thus enters Boulder Creek at St Mary’s. Boulder Creek in only it’s second full varsity year put up a good fight, led by All Region quarterback Taylor Davis. Inexperience in their receiving core kept Boulder Creek on the ground, with Davis running for dear life and the ocassional first down, against St Mary’s. Boulder Creek’s defense held their ground, only giving up a touchdown through the first half to keep the score close at 7-0, but St Mary’s opened the second half with a kick return TD. Eventually, a 32 minute (of 48 total) time of posession by St Mary’s caught up with the Boulder Creek defense. Final score: 27-7.

So, how do I prepare for a hs football game? a few thoughts, and a gallery, after the jump. [Read more →]

Tags: general, photography by PShizzy
5 Comments »