Meet Mr. & Mrs. McLeod

I'm sorry for neglecting the blawg, dear readers. I found a bunch of photos from the summer that I forgot to post, so during this Thanksgiving break, I'll be putting up some catch-up posts for you to enjoy with your turkey.

So, I'm reaching that age where my friends are starting to get hitched, which means I can actually attend a wedding, rather than just photograph it (Don't get me wrong, though. I actually LOVE photographing weddings! Hire me for yours!)

The first couple whose nuptials I witnessed this summer (was invited to five, made it to three) are Chris and Alex, who I know through our time served at BU's Daily Free Press. It was great to see them and to see some friendly faces from the newsroom. I got to go to the rehearsal dinner and actually chat with them a bit and then had a great time the next day at the DFP/BU table. Chris and Alex have been one of the greatest, kindest, most inspiring couples I've had the fortune of knowing and I was honored to get to share in their big day at their elegant wedding.


A quiet moment at the rehearsal dinner.


Such a lovely bride! (And such an elegant wedding!)


Hitched!


First dance.


The groom and his mother break it down.


Basically, this is how our table was for the entire reception.

Meet ISO 6400

The hooligans of Daily Free Press past assembled at the end of May for an alumni event, but I couldn't get there until after the gig I was working that evening. I showed up just after midnight, after the party had relocated to a rooftop in Beacon Hill, which had absolutely no light.

Using a borrowed 5D Mark II set at ISO 6400, I made these three pictures in what, to the eye, looked like almost pitch black settings (safety note: the rooftop had a very high ledge; don't be worried). I had to focus using distance, since I couldn't tell and the auto focus certainly couldn't tell if anything through the lens was in focus. Not the greatest shots, but pretty cool that I was even able to make them.


The Boston sky at midnight.


Dave, lit by his iPhone.


I think this is a fairly accurate portrait of beloved former editor, Dan Atkinson.

Meet Sarah at the Seashore

My favorite part about visiting (or living in) Boston is easy access to the seashore. Growing up in Iowa didn't afford many opportunities to visit and splash around in a vast body of water (shocking, I know), so if the weather is decent, I try to say hullo to the Atlantic when I'm in town. Earlier this summer, my friend Sarah took me to a nice beach in Nahant, which is north of Boston. It was a perfect day to kick around in the waves.

Meet the Boat Mitzvah

I worked a really fun gig at the end of May when I was back in Boston: A bat mitzvah...on a boat, which sailed around Boston Harbor. Ergo, "Boat Mitzvah."

I successfully avoided sea sickness, dropping things/self into ocean, losing my balance. And while I was working hard to not mess up in that respect, I made some nice pictures. It was pretty easy to do, though - this group knew how to have a good time. Here are a few of my favorites:


When I made this picture, I finally relaxed. This felt like THE picture of the event. And I got it.


The lady of the hour.

Whenever I look at this picture, Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter" starts playing in my head, though that wasn't the song to which they danced. (It was a rare James Taylor track...same difference, right?)


He was doing the ad-libs for "Shout!" and, may I say, he was KILLIN' 'em.


Like I said, these people knew how to enjoy a great party.

Meet the Sox v. Mets at Fenway

At the end of May, when I was in Boston, I was given the opportunity to go back to my old stomping grounds and photograph the Red Sox's game against the Mets at Fenway Park. I didn't get any award winners (I hadn't shot baseball since October 2007), but it was a gorgeous night for some baseball and, along with seeing the (highly talented) Boston photographer crew, I got a few decent (bloggable?) images. Thanks to Mike Ivins for inviting me back and to Brita Meng Outzen for lending me a 400.


Brooks Canaday, one of the photo interns and one of the Fenway crazies. Nice guy.


MLB hazing isn't humiliating, it's cute. (And that's a Japanese language/culture guide in that side pocket.)


Jacoby Ellsbury adjusts his pant leg after stealing third base.


Kevin Youkilis dives back to first base safely.


Pretty nice view of Fenway from the third base pit, eh?


The Green Monster guy watches to make sure he finishes changing the scores before the inning starts. The game score and some of the out-of-town games can be updated from inside the monster, but the slots further out have to be changed with a ladder from the outside.


Kevin Youkilis snags a throw from the pitcher to pick off Mets player Gary Sheffield.


Red Sox manager Terry Francona talks with the umpires about a home run call made from instant replay after a ball hit off the top edge of the Green Monster.


In anticipation of rain, the Fenway grounds crew put the tarp over the infield.


Boston photographers Matt Lee, Matt Healey and Winslow Townsend file images after the Mets game...


...so long, in fact, that the lights of Fenway are turned off.


The inside of Fenway park with the stadium lights turned off. Seems kinda lonely to me.

Nostalgia Friday: Boston University Hockey

"Though you only get four years as a student,
you get a lifetime as a Terrier."
[ Joe Rouse ]

How exciting that my 100th blog post is about my beloved Boston University Terriers. I earned my undergraduate degree (BS (ha) in Photojournalism) from Boston University and spent a significant portion of my time photographing the men's hockey hockey team. I was able to photograph a lot of great players and a lot of great men out on the ice, got to see the transition to a new arena and my own transition to digital photography.

Some of my greatest friends, greatest moments and greatest memories are deeply rooted in the Boston University hockey tradition, and in honor of their appearance in tomorrow's NCAA National Championship game, I am posting images from my first full season covering the team as a sophomore and photographer with The Daily Free Press ("the independent student newspaper at Boston University").

These photos come from back when I shot with two rolls of 36-exposure film (ISO 1600) for an entire 60 minutes of hockey using a Canon Rebel (with absolutely no hint of a motor drive) and a 70-300 3.5-5.6 zoom lens (think about that for a minute). These are from the days of Walter Brown Arena and Section 8, of Faro and Mags and Fieldsy. That season was a crucial part of my college experience for so many reasons and, even though it was far from being a year for the record books, I loved every second of it. When it was finally over, I was so moved by my time in the rink that I wrote an overly-schmaltzy editorial for the Freep (and when a college photographer voluntarily writes an article, that's really saying something).

So anyway, here are some of my favorite shots, scanned from the original negatives (which were mailed to me by a kind editor who noted that with the vast digital archive they now had, they never looked at the film archives, which is sad, because there are so many wonderful images hidden away in those neg sleeves). I've included captions and some of these captions contain jokes that are only funny to those who were there for them and I hope you can indulge me in not explaining them all just this once.

These images are a record of where I, as a photographer, truly began.

BU's David Van der Gulik nets a goal in over-time at the University of New Hampshire that gives BU a spot in the Hockey East Playoffs.

Whenever I think of my first season of BU hockey, this is the image that flashes in my mind.

Happy that the season isn't over yet.

Goaltender Sean Fields flashes his glove save at the University of Minnesota's Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.

Steve: "Hey, my parents had a layover here once."

Goaltender Sean Fields denies a shot from a BC Eagle at Conte Forum. (Remember the home & home against UNH at WBA when he let in 8 and shut them out the next night for the first time in several seasons?

...That was pretty awesome. (well, the second part))

UNH fans know their Hockey East history and come prepared to taunt Ryan Whitney and the Terriers about the 2003 quarterfinal mishap.

(I don't have the heart to recount that; just Google it.)

Freshman Eric Thomassian battles with a UNH player at Walter Brown Arena.

Captain Mark Mullen battles with a University of Toronto player as David Van der Gulik looks for the puck during an exhibition game in Walter Brown Arena to kick off the 2003-2004 season.

And let us not forget: BC sucks.

Meet Dominick (again)

I spent spring break in Boston (quite tropical, I know), as a graduation present to my friend Dominick. It was a far better trip than I could have ever imagined. Here we are, enjoying some mediocre Chinese food and stellar conversation.