So, this past weekend was supposed to be the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, it rained for most of the evening on Sunday and the race was postponed until Tuesday (9-6). The rain didn’t come down until around 6:45, which allowed NASCAR to go through all the pre-race events including the Lynyrd Skynyrd show and the racer introductions.

I didn’t event think to ask or look-up who was playing the “concert” when I looked at the schedule last week. I was more concerned about shooting the race. However… I soon learned that Lynyrd Skynyrd was going to play. That peeked my interest, especially since I plan to start shooting more bands and musicians in the future.

So, there was are hanging out with Dale Jr. (throwing names around)
and I realized the show was starting. I walked over to the stage from the drivers meeting and quickly realized that it was going to be almost impossible to get to the front of the stage. I had all my gear with me including a 20lb backpack. I figured I better get up there or I wasn’t going to get any shots.

So, I started to muscle my way to the front. It’s truly amazing how people get out of your way when you have a bog lens on. It’s almost like they are thinking that they are in your way… which most of the time they are! ha

Anyways… A security guard sees me trying to get up to the front and she grabs my hand and pulls my to the front of the stage. I’m not sure if I would have gotten up there if it weren’t for her. As soon as I got up to the front… It started drizzling. It seemed to hold off a bit until the show was over. I had a great time shooting them.

Here are a few of my favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd pics form the day.

Gary Rossington

Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd

The whole band…

Mark Matejka and Rickey Melocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd

Michael Cartellone

Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd @ AMS

Follow me on Facebook: Facebook

Follow me on Twitter: Twitter

The rest can be found on my Flickr site located here: Click here…

HEY FOLKS…. Yesterday, Aug 20th, was the annual UGA Picture Day in Athens, GA. This is an opportunity for the parents and other family members to come over to the practice facility and meet the all the players and their families. Oh yeah… We also take individual photos of the players as well as group and a large team photo. The team then gets on a bus and heads over to another facility to meet the fans! It’s a great day for everyone.

This marks the 5th year that I’ve had the privilege of shooting Picture Day along with my fellow Dawg shooter Gabby.

It’s always a good time shooting in Athens and I have to thank Claude Felton and the rest of the gang at the UGA Athletic Department for being so helpful and accommodating.

While it’s work :) we like to have a little fun as well. Here’s a pic of me while we were adjusting our settings.
I took a bit of a creative license while doing some post processing…

Another cool thing about shooting the Dawgs is having the chance to meet the kids. I can call them kids because I’m old! haha
Aaron Murray and Orson Charles couldn’t have been nicer.

See ya next year!

Here are few of my favorite shots from the past weekend in Nashville. I wish I could have taken more artistic shots, but the portraits in front of the Parthenon and shooting candid shots at dinners took up most of my time.

Anyways… I saw this in my head as soon as I walked up to the Fiat showcase outside the hotel. I loved the lighting of the tent/trailer.. the reds and yellow looked awesome. I pumped up the ISO, set my SB800 to 1/64 power and barely lit the car. I really like the way the car is silhouetted against the Fiat set-up in the background.

I loved this old Fiat at the Lane Museum in Nashville. The paint was bronze and it really stood out.

Any probably my favorite… I was walking through the parking lot and this image just hit me. So nostalgic… A classic car at a drive-in theatre.

This past Saturday was the last home game for the Georgia Force. The Force fell to the Chicago Rush 51-41 in front of a sold out arena. It was the first sell-out all year. I sure wish they would have played like they have all year at home for this crowd. A few early turnovers really hurt the Force in the first half.

Anyways… It was a lot of fun shooting this guys all season. I’ve learned a lot about shooting an arena game and I got to hone my football shooting skills. Here are a few of my favorites from the season. You can click on any of the photos to open up the set in Flickr.

Crosby getting pumped up before the first game of the year. I was wondering if he was putting on a show or if he was for real. Well… the next pic (taken after this one) shows the goose bumps running down his arm. And after watching this guy play all year… I know it’s real. This dude brings it!

Crosby after scoring:

Maurice Purify is a good receiver that should get another shot at the NFL. The Force missed him badly last game. He signed a deal to play in Omaha this year in the UFL… so he didn’t play. He catches everything… or just about everything.
Here’s a pic of Purify after scoring a TD. He only did this flip once… I’m sure the coaches or his agent reminded him that doing this flip probably wasn’t in his best interest. Regardless… I got it. :)

Purify gets crushed in this pic but holds on to the ball.

CJ Johnson with a 37yd TD to close out the game.

Cool pre-game introduction photo from a low angle:

Who doesn’t love a lil’ pre-game introduction?

Kickers don’t get a lot of love, but this is a cool pic. :)
Martinez is a solid kicker. I only remember seeing him miss one kick all year.

This is cool pic of my boys Ray and Sean. Those guys were solid in holding down that line all year.

I almost got steamrolled on this onside kick.

What would a football game be without cheerleaders?

…and then there is BLUE.