Westbrook High School Lacrosse viewed by a Maine Photographer

If you follow my blog...I pledged last week to get back to blogging weekly, and that this weeks post would be focused on my beloved dog Tasha, who passed away in December of 2009.  Upon looking for some comforting words to share with a friend I realized that I had never written them down.  I'm not concerned with the time that has passed, I will still find the words to properly eulogize Tasha, but I am concerned with rushing the post just to get it done...that I cannot do...it's been 3.5 years...a few more weeks won't change anything.

So switching gears completely, here's my weekly post, this one like no other, it's about Westbrook High School Lacrosse, and I'm going to throw in a bit of "Photography 101"with it.

I've taught three rounds of Photography 101 at my local community center, and I will be teaching again this fall, so please if you are interested in getting to know your DSLR and what you can do with it, please check out my class this coming September at the Westbrook Community Center.

In the meantime, one of the things I talk about in my class is "back button focusing".
I had read about other photographers using it, and I had read that it takes time to get used to...but I had not yet gone into my camera manual to make the switch...

Until, I was asked by the Westbrook Lacrosse boosters to photograph some Lacrosse games.  Typically my Spring photography season is pretty light, so I thought this was a great opportunity for myself and for trying something new.  New.  Yes.  I had never been to a lacrosse game before.  I suspected though that it moved rather fast.  If you recall this past winter I said "yes"to the challenge of photographing hockey, so again, always working toward improving my skills and getting exposure with the local community, I said "yes" to photographing lacrosse.

Anticipating a fast moving sport was the perfect motivation I needed for trying "back button focusing" For those of you interested, you have to pull out your camera manual and look up how to set it up.  How it changes what you do is, instead of pressing the shutter button half way down to achieve focus, you now press a button on the back of your camera (that's how it works with Nikon anyway) and you achieve focus, then you press your shutter button to take the photo.  Also, the focus doesn't reset, until you press that back button again...so...if your subject moves out of your focus range your camera doesn't refocus on the background thus leaving you with a blurry subject and a tack sharp background.  It does take some getting used too...but now that I've kicked the learning curve I won't be switching back.  I'm totally lovin it!  I've included some shots from the last game of the season...some very fast moving action...and some very clear focused shots.  At the end is a photo of all the seniors and their parents.  Thought I would give them a little "shout out"for a great and fun season.  Yes, I would totally do this again!
(and only if you wish to watch, I've included a 10 minute slideshow of additional shots I took this season...just click the link at the end)

  link to slideshow:  http://video214.com/play/Uvl0UfJybSnHLeC6miJscA/s/dark

Coco the Dog. A Maine Photographer

I feel it's been awhile since I posted, and yet I have so much to say...well...there isn't a good enough reason for me to explain without making excuses...so here's  to a new strategy...post once a week...every Wednesday perhaps?...yes...I will try.

The photos I'm sharing with you today are of Coco.  I took them about a month ago, so of course I can't remember lots of the details...including that I can't remember if he was a she...but I'm pretty sure Coco is a he...I'm pretty sure he's 13 years old...and I'm pretty sure he's a chocolate lab...but I'm going to send this link to his Mom Julie, of Portland, and she will let me know if I need to update these simple but important things I've just stated.

I do remember my conversation with Julie over the phone, when I told her that she was the monthly dog portrait winner from Minor Moments Photography and the Dog Wash Etc and Julie told me that her daughter would be going into labor at any moment and that she was expecting her first grandchild...but that her dog was 13 years old and so I told her I was available RIGHT NOW because her daughter was not yet in labor, but that her dog was 13 and really, there was no time to waste!  Julie agreed to meet me at Jewel Falls just a few hours later so we could do a small photo shoot with Coco.

We met at Julie's house, and I got to meet her two cats also...yah yah....you guessed it...I don't remember their names either...but I think her kids call the black and white one cow?...Julie forgive me...and feel free to set me straight!  (heck...I'm assuming we have a baby name by now too...and I won't even venture a guess on name...or boy or girl for that matter...)  Yes, I'm pathetic when it comes to remembering certain things, but I truly do make up for it in the images I capture.  I am certain to capture a memory that will last your lifetime and beyond...because that is how important the "Coco's"and "Cows" of our lives are...it's their sweet faces and their eyes that we will look back and remember fondly how they filled our busy lives with love and joy.

 ...and lastly, I'm dedicating this blog post to one of my new friends, who already has become a dear friend...yet I didn't even know she had a dog...and she is currently dealing with the anguish of having had to say goodbye forever to her dog.  I'm not in the habit of asking my new friends if they have a dog and to please let me photograph their dog for them...so I'm putting it out there again...to all of you who have pets, please know that my business and pleasure is to capture forever moments for you.  I am honored...and blessed.  I was searching through my own blog, so I could share with my friend the words I put down when I grieved the death of my own beloved Tasha three years ago.  Tasha was the first and only dog I ever had.  In researching this morning I realized that I never did complete a blog post on losing Tasha.  I never shared some of the many photos I have of her...and I never eulogize her in my blog.  The pain was great, but I had also lost my big sister just three weeks earlier and I remember feeling torn of how to express my grief differently over a sibling and a pet.  Three and a half years later I have discovered that I must not have been able to do it, so I chose not too.  I believe I am ready now.  I have unfinished business to attend to, and it appears blogging material for next Wednesday...I hope you will visit again soon!

The photos below are of Coco and the cats...who shall for now remain nameless.