Faces of the Games

I've always been intrigued by portraits, in the stories they can tell when done well...maybe an elusive goal of mine for a very long time.  For several of the past Special Olympic World Games, I've tried to shoot portraits of athletes, not just ones on Team USA, but other countries as well.  Coaching and photography are at odds with each other during competition, but I manage to make a few images anyway.

We're together for such a short time and become close, quickly appreciating each other and learning just a little of their lives and their stories. If nothing else, they are a reminder of the person I had the privilege to come to know for a few brief weeks.  Sadly, I may never see them again,  so the pictures become even a more valuable record of who they are and our time together.

Some Crazy Coaches

Although not entirely a portrait, this image kind of sets the stage for the rest of the photos-these three friends have coached at four Winter World Games together and can pick up that friendship right where it left off years ago.  I think the expressions here illustrate that closeness that I'm so thankful for.

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Kimmo

Kimmo is the Finnish Head Coach and someone I have become close to over the years.  A World Games can become like a reunion of sorts, with old friends getting back together once every four years.  I don't take these friendships for granted, and it pains me to to think one day I won't have this chance again.  Kimmo is a fun loving coach, always quick with a laugh and thru his broken English we have lively conversations.  He always puts athletes first and I respect him greatly...crazy Finn. ;)

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Standing Out

It's a known fact that our motto is "hurry up and wait" so one must be more than patient.  Coaches also need to be ever watchful, knowing at all times where their athletes are, so keeping a careful eye out is requirement numeral uno for the staff.

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The Pay-Off

Being at a World Games is payment enough, but no one should not be fooled into thinking the medals don't matter.  Every athlete wants to take their place on the highest podium spot-that's where the payoff comes from all the months of hard work, travel, lousy food and sleepless nights.    

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Proud Coach

Usually few photographs of me appear here on my site, but I'll indulge myself some in this post-just have to for there are far too many people that will be missed and I became close to.  Laura was our team Captain and hails from New Ham-sure ;) and was one of the hardest working athletes on the team.  She just was the one person you always loved to see in the morning and would be willing to help in anyway she could.  Besides all that, she is a top notch skier and a great example of a world games athlete.

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Kansas Spitfire

Helen is from Kansas-the hotbed of XC skiing.  She has such a great fun loving and friendly personality-how could I not love her.  She skied hard, laughed loudly and took all of the world games experiences in-just as it should be.

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Dynamic Duo

Games faces on before the 1 kilometer race.  We'd always stage races in a tunnel under the stadium-the perfect place to see how athletes handle the pre-race.  These two guys were just awesome to be around.  Junichi saved the day in the airport in Japan, translating to TSA agents there for the figure skating team.  David is a hoot-his stories and daily banter (" how do you know?") is the stuff I'll always remember.

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Birthday Boy

 Jimmer celebrated his 18th birthday and did his best to let everyone at the World Games know.  He had quite the following of Korean girls and spent maybe just a little too much time cultivating those friendships.  The Korean Head Coach also befriended Jim and was kind enough to hand deliver a birthday cake on the special day-just a small thing, but so typical of the games.

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Rain Day

We were totally rained out one day and the weather was just miserable and this images sums up the face of a Head Coach scrambling in his mind to come up with a plan for the day ahead.

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Prepped and Ready

 Jerry was our oldest athlete on the team at 57 years young and an outstanding skiier-always with the questions of how he'd done.  Bryan is a Global Messanger and had one of the most dramatic finishes in a race ever-televised for the world to see.

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One Last World Games

Erin, retiring skier and veteran of two World Games.  She always pushed to do longer races, even with limited training time back in Pennsylvania.  She knows the game face.

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The Captain

 The captain again here.  A prepared athlete if there ever was one.  Nothing bothered her and she was up for any challenge.

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Game Faces

Trying their best to do the game faces I taught them...too bad a second later they burst into laughter.

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The Medal Brings it Home

A rare smile from Jeremy and there were more thana few times we wondered if he really enjoyed the games.  Then, something like this would happen and we discovered he really was taking everything in and appreciating his time in Korea.

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Ever Watchful

At times there are things going on in every direction and it takes all hand on deck to pull it all off.  I had the very best coaching staffs one could hope for.

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"Seriously?"

"Lunch" was about the only downtime we had all day and it provided us all with a much needed break and a chance to just talk to each other-the conversations I will miss, the cold food, not-so-much.

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Reflection

At the end of the games, I think all coaches take a minute to reflect on all that had just transpired during the previous crazy, hectic, proud and intense days...and a quiet moment like this is what is most needed.

New years Day-Best of 2011

I'll give full credit to this post to friend Laura Schmitt, who recently did a best of piece on her wedding photographs from this past year...which got me thinking about going back and looking at my own work from 2011.  It's an interesting exercise in a way-going back and taking a close look at what happened in my life thru images.  I won't get too carried away with those deep philosophical thoughts (I just like photographs!) but still, it's a reminder of what caught my eye before pressing the shutter.  I started picking one image from each month....that lasted until February, then abandoned that and just went with photos I liked and tried to keep it to one per event.  Some months were better than others as they say.  (BTW, who are "they" they always talk about?)  So here they are, in no particular order, my favorites (and not always the best photographs) from the past twelve months.

Colored Snow Drifts

We were blessed with a lot of snow in early 2011 (actually, late 2010) and I find myself shooting winter scenes as a favorite....and I do love snow.  Taken on a late afternoon, on the Miatke farm field, where I hike at all times of the year.  Rain had formed a crust, then high winds blew new snow across this tundra-looking plain to form these colorful forms.

Grousin Around

One early morning last winter I looked out the window and a neighborhood grouse lit in the crabapple tree out back.  He (she?) gladly took the opportunity to fill up on the remaining fruit clinging on the twigs during this cold morning.  I'll never tire of living out in the country when one never knows what might wander through, stop for a bite or just say hi.

Tenley at Levis Mound

The kids have moved away now, so unlike earlier days, they don't appear in my of my photographs, but last March a fun get together at Levis Mound with skis and snowshoes brought Tenley back to town.  A portrait?  Maybe...I love the smile, the location and the richness of the colors and knew this would be a favorite of mine of the year.

Sharp-Shinned with Prey

When I first posted this image, I wrongly identified it as a Merlin, another small hawk, but realized later it actually was a Sharp-Shinned hawk.  Backyard feeders offer plenty of prey for these sift skilled flyers and small song birds are a favorite target.  The hawk picked off a chickadee near the window and lit in a large oak tree, where quickly the smaller bird was dispatched.  It's natures way and I had mixed feelings but grateful to be a witness to the skill and survival of the raptor.

Michael at the Polar Plunge

The Neillsville Rotary Polar Plunge raises money for Special Olympics and other organizations in town, and I figured would offer some great opportunities for images.  It didn't disappoint.  Michael is a Special Olympic athlete and also took part in the plunge and by his expression, wasn't going to swim around in the ice water too long.

Madison Rally

To say this has been a polarizing year in Wisconsin would be an understatement-no matter what side of the political fence one is on.  The unprecedented cuts to workers rights and education brought out a storm of protesters from every part of the state-including myself.  I made the trip to Madison as a participant and also, from time to time that day, as a photographer.  I think this image illustrates people of every walk of life, rallying for the rights they feel strongly about.

Fog Day Off

It wasn't a conscious plan to have this peaceful photograph follow the chaos of Madison last spring, but I guess it works.  There were two days last winter/spring that because of the strange weather we've had, were about the thickest fog I'd ever seen.  School was called off and for good reason-the fog never lifted this day and visibility was truly measured in feet.  Unusual atmospheres are always fun to experience and photograph.

Trombone at Tufts

Am I a "professional" photographer?  I have been hired and even paid for photographs, but don't depend on that income for anything than spending it on more photography equipment!  I was asked to do a shoot of a band rehearsing and performing for a comeback tour of sorts.  The Willie Wisely Trio gathered this past summer at Tufts Mansion for several days of rehearsal, some group shots and the a performance.  I always love shooting musicians and bands-so many great photographs telling stories of their talent and skill and what they bring to us, the listeners.  It's always an honor to be asked to photograph these artists performing their craft.

Forest Ferns

Simplicity.  A curve, a line, a form-I'm attracted to those elements a lot when I'm out shooting and find myself at times, looking for the small quiet subjects.  I shoot a lot of ferns-sometimes just to get them out of my system.  In the spring, everything is too green, so usually these photos end up black and white, where for me, it's easier to see those elements of art stand out and come to the forefront.  This one?  I just love natures perfect curve-no artist could draw that as well.

Bog Lake Photographer

Each summer I try to get a photography class or workshop in to advance my skills, to see differently and to force myself to shoot everyday-a lot.  It's always a rejuvenator for my photography.  This past July I spent time in Northern Wisconsin and the U.P. shooting nature, waterfalls and sometimes other photographers.  This was an early morning on a bog lake outside of Eagle River Wisconsin and my favorite from this photo session.

Young Greek Girl in Rhodes

Coaching at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Greece was a great opportunity to be a part of something I love doing in my life.  The head coaching position on the track seemed to fit me well, and I loved every minute.  Well, almost.  I bought a new camera for the games, expecting to make a lot of pictures, but coaching is a full time job and I was a participant, not an observer here... I found myself not shooting much at all.  Our host town was on the Isle of Rhodes and one day we had the chance to visit an ancient walled city there and as thousands of athletes paraded the cobble stone streets, Greek residents cheered and waved along the way.  I saw this young Greek girl waving from a window high above the street and loved the joy expressed in her face, and in a split second grabbed a shot before getting paraded forward down the narrow crowded street.  It would be an image I'll always remember.

Jermaine on the Ferry

Another World games photograph made the cut here and I guess the color really drew me to it.  It was a long ferry ride from Rhodes to Athens-some parts great, some during those 18 hours, not so great.  Meeting Jermaine, who was a powerlifter, was a highlight-a giant spark of life, who could not only lift small cars, but also perform  cartwheels into the splits to fire up his teammates and the rest of Team USA.

Jamie-High Key

These photographs are loosely chronological as I'm posting them, but I had to go back to late spring to a shoot I did for a family friend down the road.  Jamie has a great personality and it was fun to make some senior portraits of her out on the farm.  There were a lot that I liked and she is easy to photograph, but I kept coming back to this high key image as one of my favorites.

Sam Moku-Skipping

This is actually from the Team USA training camp in April held in San Diego.  We trained at San Diego State on their excellent track-a perfect place for our track and field athletes.  We got to know the athletes and other coaches and Sam became one of my favorites.  He is from Hawaii and not only is he an excellent coach but a fun loving human being and one I'm proud to call friend.

The Sun Bites a Building

One of my favorite artists, Georgia O'Keeffe, once described a painting she did of New York skyscrapers as buildings shooting up to the sky with the sun taking a bite out of the building.  This image reminded me of that-taken in downtown Minneapolis this past fall while attending a wedding of a good friend.  Every once and a while, it's good to get the country boy to the big city....just for a while.

Nate & Ena

Unlike Laura, I don't see myself taking up wedding photography on any great level-that's a lot like work and there is pressure to get the shot and make no mistakes.  I'll admit, weddings I've shot for friends have been fun and there are always a few images I really like.  This was a favorite of mine taken at an unexpected moment high above Lake Wazee where the ceremony was held and captures their fun playful side and love for each other. 

First day-Ava and Juju

I've had a habit of marching around school on the first morning, camera in hand,as students file into their classrooms and settle into their desks.   As a teacher, it's fun to see their excitement (for the most part) of starting a new year, with new classmates and teachers.  Ava and Judah are so very different and so very likable and I love having them walk into my classroom.  On this first day I wonder what they are each thinking...

Molly and Colored Blur

A strange image but I just love it.  Taken on a fall hike out in the county forest along logging roads and ATV trails.  It's sometimes hard to get fall color photographs just right, or something one hasn't seen before, and for whatever reason, this was my favorite from that day...light, motion, color, Labrador retriever?

Mr.Art and Abby

Photographers usually don't like to have their picture taken or photographs of themselves-at least, that's the case for me.  That said, I do like this one-I'm at my job, in my room and with one of my favorite students.  Abby is the sister of one of my past high school students, who is also an excellent photographer, and one who made countless pictures of Abby as well.  As a teacher, there is nothing better than students who love to come to your room smiling, happy to see you and ready to try the next great thing in art and give it their all.

Whew.....bring on 2012.........