All-Star Week

For the eighth consecutive year, I was able to attend the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star Games in Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas. All games were played in the best facilities in the Southeastern Conference, except for football, which was played at Bentonville, which is the best high school stadium in the state and possibly the second or third best overall in the state behind Razorback Stadium and War Memorial Stadium. I've mainly include photos of the players I cover on a regular basis from Cabot, Lonoke and Carlisle. All were taken with my 40D and 70-200 2.8. Some were taken with a 1.4 TC or 2.0 TC.

Accidental catch in centerfield

Cabot Centennial Bank centerfielder Zach Uhiren caught a fly ball during Class A American Legion baseball action on Friday night at the Brian Wade Conrade Memorial Field.
But it wasn't a typical catch.


Zach sees the ball coming toward him.


Zach is battling the sun.

He turns his head from the ball.

As you can see, the ball is coming toward him and he sticks his glove out but he's not sure where the ball is.

He somehow catches the ball.

The ball almost pops out of his glove.

He manages to hang on.

And after a few more shots, including the umpire getting in my way, Zach shows his surprise.
Even the umpire and the Conway coach asked me if I got the photo and I was proud to say that I had.
Normally, I like to run faces but if I had his face the entire time, I wouldn't have gotten the shot in this way. I'll probably run a series of shots in this week's Star-Herald.
All photos were shot with a Canon EOS 40D DSLR, 70-200 2.8L lens with a 1.4 Series I extender. I'd love to shoot with a 300 but this setup still does pretty well.
thanks for looking
Mark

Morgan and Timothy Engagement

On Sunday, May 31, I shot engagement portraits for Morgan and Timothy. We started at the Terry House, where their wedding will take place but the grounds were locked, so we went to the Arkansas Arts Center and made some good portraits there, despite all the bright sunlight.

After shooting there, we went to the River Market District and the Riverfront Ampitheatre and shot some really good stuff.

I had a lot of fun and think the photos turned out great. I've known Morgan for 10 years as she is the daughter of my wife's best friend when she was growing up. Morgan is also my niece's first cousin so I felt like they trusted me. I look forward to shooting the wedding on Aug. 1

Goodbye Coach Steelman

On Friday, May 15, at 10 a.m. Lonoke High School and the Jackrabbit family, which I'm an adopted member of, lost one of its greatest heroes. Hal Steelman, lost his battle with diabetes after losing both his legs more than 10 years ago.

Hal was an inspiration to all those who knew him personally or knew of him. He was a coach at Lonoke for 19 years and was still coaching girls track at their conference meet just 8 days before he passed. He was an amazing man and his legacy will live on forever!

Safe or out?

Cabot's Ty Steele tags out a North Little Rock baserunner during the Panthers' 2-0 win over the Charging Wildcats on Tuesday at Vince DeSalvo Stadium at DeJanis Field.

The picture was taken with a Canon 40D and 70-200 2.8L and a 1.4 extender. This is definitely the top baseball photo I've taken this year.

Sorry I haven't updated lately. I've been through some medical tests, including two CT scans and a biopsy and with the grace of God everything is good to go.

Remote work

When I got a set of Pocketwizards off Ebay last summer, I was wanting to set up a remote camera. I did it once with volleyball last fall and this past Saturday, I set up a baseball remote.

I used my Canon EOS 20D and old 80-200 2.8L as the lens. It won't autofocus anymore but is perfect for this setup.

It was raining that day, so I put a trash bag over the camera and PW. I sat in the stands and got this photo, which ran six columns in this week's Carlisle Independent.





The second and third pictures were taken at the same time. The third photo was the remote camera triggered by the PW on my handheld camera, the secopnd photo. It was taken with a Canon EOS 40D, 70-200 2.8L and a 1.4 TC

I was very pleased with my first effort at a baseball remote. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

State finals

The Lonoke Lady Jackrabbits lost to Shiloh Christian 51-45 in the Class 4A state title game on Thursday, March 12. It was Lonoke's third consecutive loss in the title game.
The photos were all taken with a Canon EOS 40D and a 70-200 2.8L lens at available light. Summit Arena in Hot Springs has some really bright lights!