Footie season!

Tug on the shirt, originally uploaded by Hoosiers United.

I grew up playing soccer. Luckily as I began to follow the sport on a professional level, foreign leagues began to be broadcast in the US. The English Premier League and the European Champions League began to be weekly viewing. I also was lucky to attend two great soccer schools - Rutgers for undergrad and Indiana for grad school. During my time at IU the Hoosiers won two national titles, including the 2003 College Cup in Columbus, which I was lucky to broadcast for WIUS.

The European leagues are just getting going, while the game in America, MLS, is getting to crunch time. I didn't start following MLS until moving to DC in 2005. Luckily I came to the city with a quality team and the best fan base in the league. Unfortunately 2010 has been a year to forget for the Screaming Eagles and Barra Brava. Despite a disappointing MLS season there are some signs of a strong future with the development of young players like Bill Hamid and Andy Najar.

DC United is still alive in the US Open Cup, the American counterpart to England's FA Cup. They host the semifinal against Columbus Crew on September 1st.

These pictures are from United's match against the Richmond Kickers in the US Open Cup, held at George Mason University in Fairfax. It was a very interesting game to shoot. First, when I entered the stadium a security guy at the gate tried to keep me from bringing in my 70-200 f 2.8 Tamron lens. However, a DC United employee told him to just let me in. Then, the other issue was the stadium itself. The stands face due wert, making it much more difficult to shoot. I think i got some good ones. The one at the top is my favorite of the group. More after the break.

DC United v Richmond Kickers set on Flickr

Oh, the Mets

K Rod wind-up, originally uploaded by Hoosiers United.

The Mets have always been the second franchise in New York, often toiling in the shadows of the Yankees. However, this gives the Mets, and their fans, a certain authenticity and character. Personally, I grew up watching Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, Ron Darling, and the rest of those mid-1980s teams that contended year after year, winning it all in 1986. Since, the Mets have largely teetered between decent and awful.

Despite all the years of mediocrity, the past 3 years have been especially rough, with 2 late-season swoons and a ridiculously overpriced, underperforming team in 2010. The failures of this season have been punctuated by the fiasco surrounding K-Rod (shown here in happier times in Cleveland closing out a win on an extremely successful roadtrip). Losing a former All-Star closer for the season to an injury sustained during a fight with your fiance's father in a lounge at Citi Field has again focused attention on what happens off the field, and not on it. Of course, for most of this season the Mets haven't given their fans anything to focus on on the field, either.

I hope that there is a chance they can bring back the glory days, and given some of the good, young talent they have it's not impossible for the Mets to contend in the coming years. Hopefully they'll deliver a title sometime soon so I'm not stuck watching the 1986 championship video to see them win it all.

Love at the Smithsonian

Couple at Air and Space, originally uploaded by Hoosiers United.

One of the things I love about photography is capturing moments. I would much rather get a shot of people enjoying their lives than something staged and posed.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go wander around the Mall and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. I was more interested in the people enjoying the museum than in the artifacts themselves. The picture above, in my opinion, is the best of the bunch. Two people stealing a private moment in a very public space.

I also really enjoyed this one:



Rest of the set is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoosiersunited/sets/72157624646153350

Are you ready for some football?

Beatty v Tuck Edited, originally uploaded by Hoosiers United.

It might be August but it's football time again. The preseason starts for real for me on Monday night when my beloved New York Giants take on the cross-town Jets in the first game at new Giants Stadium. The Giants are coming off a disappointing season while the Jets have become media darlings, mainly because they never stop running their mouths.




While I cannot make it to the game i did see the last Giants victory of 2009 when they smacked the Redskins at FedEx Field. My wife bought us tickets (we met watching the Giants at a sports bar in Northern VA) and we had a blast being so close to the field.

These shots were taken before I got my new f2.8 lens so i did what I could with the equipment I had. That said, some shots like this one i am really proud of.

Rest of the set is at http://tinyurl.com/gmenskins.

Rain on the back steps

Rain on the back steps, originally uploaded by Hoosiers United.

Tonight some massive thunderstorms rolled through the DC area. I got caught in the worst of it on the drive home but managed to make it there in time to get a couple of shots. This was the best - a leaf on our back steps.

Gus

Gus, originally uploaded by Hoosiers United.

When my wife and I went to bed last night, our cat Gus was fast asleep on the bed. I tried to quickly and quietly get the camera to take a picture. As you can see, he woke up but he was kind enough to strike a pose for this picture.

Angels @ Orioles, 5 August 2010

Arrieta, originally uploaded by Hoosiers United.

I took up my customary position in Section 22 of Oriole Park at Camden Yards for Nick Markakis Mini-Bobblehead Night. It was the third game of the Buck Schowalter era in the Charm City, and while the sample size is small he has brought a new fire to the team. They seem to be fighting harder, giving more effort and passion than they had earlier in the season under either Trembley or Samuel. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new era of Orioles baseball.

The main photo here is one of the O's up and coming pitchers, Jake Arrieta. Along with Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman, Arrieta provides the Orioles with many potential young stars on the mound.

Some other shots from the game:

The rest of the group is located here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoosiersunited/sets/72157624566743309/

New Blog

I've decided to try and blog more about my photography, including some back story on the pictures I've been taking. For more pictures, please go to my Flickr page. Thanks for visiting.