Go Toros!

The CSUDH men's soccer team improved their conference record to 6-4-0 today with a 4-2 win over Cal Poly. This was my first outing with the 5D Mark III and high level soccer. My concerns were focusing speed, frames per second (fps) and overall responsiveness. In addition, because I don't have a vertical shutter button, framing and tracking were a concern.

The good news is that the 61 point autofocus kicks ass. So by eliminating that variable, it came down to the speed/fps of the camera. It took a little getting use to, but once you get into a rhythm it's all a matter of timing.

To put the camera to a proper test, I shot 4+ frame sequences. Below are two of the sequences.

#2

Bubbles

That's right, Jessica's U14 soccer team is named Bubbles. This is the first year with a full size ball and a full size field. This is also the year where the game starts getting competitive. We have a great coach and a great group of talented players. Here's some images from Saturday's game. All shot with the Mark II/400mm f/2.8 classic combo :-).

Women's Volleyball

The 2012 CSUDH Toros are a much improved team over last season. Their cross-town rivals Cal State Los Angeles came to the Torodome on Wednesday evening. The Toros broke out the broom and swept  CSULA in three straight games for the first time in many years. Unfortunately, I was tasked with primarily shooting Senior middle blocker, Marquis Mora (#2) from CSULA. Here are some images from the match.

Toro Soccer - 2012

In team sports which involve scoring goals, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender, netminder, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player in charge of directly preventing the opposing team from scoring.

The CSUDH Toro women have had a rough start in 2012 with an overall record of 2-5-1. However, their record does not reflect their determination and talent. Senior Goalkeeper, Tiffany Hollis is a prime example.

Welcome to the Hotel California

Actually, this is the Hotel Del Coronado (such a lovely place). Spent this weekend in the San Diego area. Perfect weather and very enjoyable. All images captured with the Olympus Zuiko 21mm f/3.5 except as noted. All I can say is that it wouldn't suck to live on Coronado Island.

Shot at 23:30 with an EF 70-200mm at 70mm, f/8, 30 seconds

End of an Era

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (August 17, 2012) - In 1987-88, I was commuting from Laguna Beach to Long Beach. I happened to be tuned onto 95.5 KLOS one morning and heard a Southern gentleman with this infectious guttural laugh. It drew me in and I started listening to these two guys (Mark and Brian) who seemingly were making it up on the fly in a free format. At the time, they really pushed the FCC boundaries and in fact were suspended on at least one occasion (for an incident involving a woman, a dog and some peanut butter). Throughout my career I have always been a near four hour listener. It's hard to believe that all this time has passed.

Today was the final broadcast of the Mark and Brian Show and it was a very heart wrenching final hour of the show. I'm sure it will really hit me on Monday morning when I get in the car and the show won't be on. Truly the End of an Era...

Way back when, Brian was one of the finalists to become Bozo the Clown, however, it turned out that he didn't get the job. One of the things they used to do was throw birthday parties for each other. For one of Brian's birthday shows, Mark worked it out so that the Bozo the Clown people came down to dress up Brian as Bozo. However, because Mark wasn't sure if he could get Brian to follow along, he got him drunk on tequila first. For years Mark has talked about his favorite photo of Brian dressed as Bozo, drunk in the back of the Mark and Brian mobile and smoking a cigarette. They could never post it because of legal reasons, however, today they did.

Here's a link to a podcast of the final hour.

http://podfuse-dl.andomedia.com/800185/podfuse-origin.andomedia.com/citadel_origin/pods/KLOS-FM/MB-8-17-12-9AM.mp3

Downtown Issaquah

Woke up early this morning and cruised to downtown Issaquah, WA. Found this old Shell gas station around 07:00 and captured it with the Zuiko 21mm, f/8, 1/60 at ISO 100. A cool place if you're looking for some good 'ol leaded gas.

Evening Magazine

MAPLE VALLEY, WA (August 6, 2012) - My nephew Haydn was one of four Jump Start participants to be featured in a piece by the local Seattle show Evening Magazine. To our surprise, the host of the show, Meeghan Black and her photographer came out for the video shoot. They shot for about three hours, including the use of a GoPro cam strapped to a gymnast and on a stick running along side the tumbling passes. Below is the segment that aired on August 7th and some stills I took during the shoot.

Haydn and Meeghan Black

Strapping on the GoPro cam for the trampoline footage

Trampoline & Tumbling Nationals

LONG BEACH, Calif. (July 5-8, 2012) - Earlier this month my nephew participated in the 2012 Trampoline & Tumbling National Championships at Long Beach Arena. He did very well scoring two second place medals in three events. Here's some shots from the event.