Davidson Does it Again (basketball photos)

With the Davidson College regular season winding down, I wanted to make sure to photograph some of the remaining home games.
The Wildcats took care of business again last night downing UNC Greensboro, 75-66, on the way to their 18th Southern Conference win.
I'm looking forward to following Davidson's progress in March.
(Remember to click on the photos for better viewing. Hit the back button to return).
We're also excited about out "Faces of Davidson" photo project. I want to thank David Boraks for the nice mention in DavidsonNews.net today.
Please send us your suggestions. Don't be shy. Tell us who you think we should include and why. Email us a crecord@carolina.rr.com.
We're in the process of gathering names and we'll release more details about the dates of the portrait sessions soon.

Is this the so-called "Sixth Man?"

Money

Boris Meno rejects UNCG's Kyle Hines

Curry drives

Thomas Sander hits the floor for a loose ball

"Mr. Assist" Jason Richards shoots one himself

Drawing a foul

Sideline humor

Happy Cats

McKillop and company are 18-0 in the conference

Basketball photos

Saturday was fun as I took in the Davidson College-College of Charleston basketball game with our son Sean.
Sean and I were a bit nonchalant as we rolled up very close to tipoff, and we ended up parking close to a mile from the arena. (Sometimes I really miss press parking). We hadn't anticipated the large crowd that turned out to see the Wildcats and super sophomore Stephen Curry.
We ended up in the nosebleed section which made my photography efforts a bit more challenging. (I also miss seats right on the floor but I'd much rather go to the game with Sean). I made do with a 70-200mm lens and got a few nice shots.
Davidson, which is undefeated in Southern Conference play, won easily and Curry scored 26 points. I had photographed Curry's father, Dell, when he played for the then Charlotte Hornets.
It's a rare treat to see such a talented player at a small college and we try to get to as many games as we can.
We're hoping Davidson makes another appearance in the NCAA Tournament in March.

Stephen Curry drives to the hoop

Davidson coach Bob McKillop talks to his team

More from Curry

McKillop congratulates Curry as he leaves the game

Cover Photo

Just got a copy of the Fall 2007 Davidson Journal, which has my photograph of new college president Tom Ross on the cover.
Following many, many years of seeing my work on poor newspaper reproduction, the beautiful glossy stock of the magazine was a real treat.
One of the many bonuses of having our studio in Davidson is getting to know some of the fine folks at Davidson College. Meg Kimmel, editor of the Davidson Journal, and media relations head Bill Giduz have been wonderful to work with.
Ross is a former Superior Court Judge and he becomes the 17th president of the 170-year-old college. He has a engaging style and it was a pleasure spending some time with him.
Here is the cover and a few other photos from the session.

Davidson College President Tom Ross

I wanted to mention an incredibly interesting talk I got to attend last Friday night at The Studio at the Cedar Street Design Center in Charlotte.
Our friend Nanine Hartzenbusch, who has started a children's photography business in Charlotte, organized a gathering to hear David Hobby, the creator of the Strobist photographic lighting blog.
David also comes from a newspaper photography background and I was glad to get to pick his brain a bit. I would encourage anyone interested in better, simpler photographic lighting techniques to check Strobist.
While I think many at the gathering were expecting to get some new lighting techniques, Hobby focused his talk on his blog and how his niche site had turned into somewhat of an international phenomenon. So much so that I would be very surprised if he ever returns to newspaper work.
He started small with his ideas of how to use off-camera flashes to improve the drama and quality of your photographs. As it gained popularity, Hobby's job has changed into more of an administrative role as he funnels the huge volume of ideas he gets from his readers.
One of his main concepts is freely giving information and knowledge.
Much like David Jay's Open Source Photo, Strobist encourages everyone to share knowledge for the common good. Hobby proved to be an incredibly smart and humorous speaker and his ideas gave everyone food for thought.

Photos of Beautiful Fall Day

It's been a strange fall here in Charlotte with a prolonged drought and warmer-than-usual temperatures, but a cold front moved through Thursday bringing some rain, colder weather and then a brilliant afternoon.
I had a few things to catch up on at the studio so I headed up to Davidson. I love fall and the conditions prompted me to grab my trusty Nikons to record some of the intense colors around the Davidson College campus.
It's somewhat ironic that I used to hate so called "wild art" assignments like shooting fall color when I was a newspaper photographer at The Charlotte Observer. But I think it's good to keep your creative juices flowing with many types of photography and I thoroughly enjoyed my personal assignment.
I feel so blessed that my passion for photography remains so strong and I get so much enjoyment out of my job.
Here's what I saw Thursday - enjoy!

Big Day in Davidson

Following a packed wedding schedule in October, Saturday was a nice change of pace as I documented the inauguration of Thomas Ross as the 17th president of Davidson College.
I always enjoy working with Davidson's Bill Giduz and Meg Kimmel and it was nice to get the opportunity to work with Leslie Marsicano, who organized the entire event.
I did a portrait of Ross some time back and he is incredibly personable.
For the photographers out there: during the ceremony at Belk Arena I utilized four strobes mounted in the rafters of the arena. I triggered the flashes with Pocket Wizard wireless transceivers.
Please enjoy a few selections from the day. As always, click on the images for better viewing.

Thomas Ross is sworn in as his wife, Susan, looks on

Artistic endeavor at Davidson College

Friday must have been a satisfying day for Brad Thomas and many other folks at Davidson College.
Thomas, gallery director and curator at the college, has spent a great deal of time the past few years overseeing a project to bring some new art pieces to Davidson.
The installation of Antony Gormley's 2005 iron sculpture "You" and another new work by Joel Shapiro was another step in Davidson building a world-class contemporary sculpture collection.
A determined crew from Alward Masonry in Rockwell, N.C., did an excellent job working with Brad on this unique installation.
Meg Kimmel, senior creative associate and college editor, hired me to document the event. I look forward to the chance of working with Meg, Brad and John Syme of the communications department on future projects.
Davidson's news director Bill Giduz, who also happens to be a talented photographer, was out of town at an event so I was happy to step in to help record this important day for the college.
The new sculpture garden is a wonderful addition to an already beautiful campus.

Brad Thomas, left, and Hazen Alward remove the old base

Brad and Hazen line things up

"You" by Antony Gormley