Snowy Scenes
A couple more photographs of the snowy beaches around town. Pretty I guess for the winter, but I really love summer! Brrr.
Fall in our town
A few shots from the beautiful town where we live. It’s so pretty in the fall!
Back on the Field
Last Friday I was able to get back on the football field to shoot our high school football team. Last year I was at every game to see my son play. This year, because of scheduling conflicts, I hadn’t been able to attend any games until last Friday. It was such a pleasure being on the field again, even though my son wasn’t playing. It did make me a tiny bit sad when a player ran onto the field wearing the number he wore last year, well maybe more nostalgic than sad. But it was great being on the sidelines, with the regulars there, along with the tension, action and screaming that is part of a football sideline. I enjoy hustling around trying to capture the plays and rooting when they do well. Our team had brand new jerseys to give them momentum for the big game. They didn’t fare too well in the end, but it was a good game!! And what would a football game be without the fabulous cheerleaders? And ours are fantastic. Go Wreckers!
Spring Blossoms
Don’t you just love when the spring blossoms pop out? Things get so much more colorful after the long winter here in the north east. I just love seeing the spring flowers, and try to appreciate them as much as I can since they are so short lived. The cherry blossoms are my favorite of early spring!
Teamwork and effort = great season!
What an incredible season our high school football team had! Ranked number 1 in the state and number 11 in the tri-state area (by MSG Varsity) and with an offense considered the best in the state, the expectations for our team were sky high. Our players and coaches were amazing in every way, from athletic ability to teamwork and spirit; they demonstrated what it means to be a great team.
Our regular season was extraordinary in every way. We won every regular season game, with an average score of 51-17 for the regular season. The team was 9-0 and clinched the conference championship on Thanksgiving Day. What a great day that was!! Smiles and cheering were all around, with awards presented and a bucket of Gatorade dumped over the coach in celebration.
Headed into the state championships we were favored and expectations were high. We won the quarterfinal game and were faced with another powerhouse team in the semis. Our boys played their hearts out in that great game. The game was close but unfortunately we did not win, an upset that was tough to take. I hope that the players, though, do not keep only this loss in their hearts and memories when they look back on their remarkable season. There are so many great times to remember and be proud of, which is what the season was about. I hope all of the players and coaches remember this season as an amazing achievement by a team to be proud of. Everyone on our team demonstrated a team spirit at all times on the field, from working their hardest to supporting and rooting for each other at every turn.
Being on the field taking pictures, I was lucky to be up close to the amazing athleticism demonstrated by our players. I just had to share some of the photos from the last game, which capture just a tiny glimpse of the effort demonstrated by our boys since September. Leaving that field for the last time was difficult, extremely so, particularly for seniors and their parents. I hope everyone associated with the team has a warm feeling about an incredible season filled with great memories. Wrecker Pride!
Fireworks!
One of our favorite nights of the year is when our town puts on the fireworks at the beach. A beautiful spot, gorgeous evenings and lots of fun with friends makes for a great night. I could have been a little closer to the water to get better foregrounds in the shots, but these are a few of my favorite shots anyway. Hope you get to enjoy some fireworks as well!
Morning on the Water
This morning I was working on some photos for an online photography class I’m taking. The assignment was to do with photos that would entice people to come to your state. So of course I headed for the water, because that is what draws most people to southern Connecticut. The waters here are just beautiful and I love going to the beach and river. I went in the morning to try and get some beautiful morning light, but I should have gone even earlier. And I’m definitely going back to shoot the house that is all by itself on an island (in the second shot, hard to see the house). I love that spot and that shot! Hope you enjoy them as well. And maybe you’ll come and check out our town! 🙂
Our Town on the Water
The town we live in is just gorgeous and I love living here! It borders both the Long Island Sound and the Saugatuck River. Having water all around is the best, there’s always something to catch your eye. Particularly beautiful is the beach at sunset, where we were on Friday evening. Those beautiful and fun evenings grilling and relaxing on the beach with the gorgeous sunsets are some of our favorite nights of the entire year. Last week I was taking photos of the beach and river and some of the boating that is available in our town so I thought I’d share them plus one from the sunset on Friday. There are kayaks and canoes to rent as well as small sailboats and of course marinas for motor boats. Plus the beach is ripe with stuff to do including a huge playground, sand volleyball courts a pavilion and grills for cooking. I have always been a real beach lover having grown up in New Jersey and heading to the beach as often as possible. While the Long Island Sound doesn’t have the waves of the Jersey shore, it is peaceful, beautiful, close by and one of my favorite places to be!!
Scrum, Ruck, Maul… Rugby is intense!
Have you ever seen a game of Rugby? If you ask most people around here, they have never seen a Rugby game, nor had I until my sons started playing for our High School’s team. It’s an exciting game to watch, and a tough sport!! The players are incredibly intense and physical on the field. I take pictures for our high school’s team and truly enjoy being on the sidelines with my camera. The boys work so hard and the games are very exciting!
Rugby was the origin for American football, so it has some similarities to that game, but also is similar to soccer in the pace of the game. Play continues even though the ball or player carrying the ball is down. There is no forward passing and no blocking, and it seems as if you can kick the ball whenever you want. These and a million other rules, known as ‘laws’ in rugby, make the game very different from football and very hard to know really well! There is plenty of tackling, but there are no helmets or pads. The only protection for the players are ‘scrum caps’ and mouth guards. The boys do enjoy the camaraderie that rugby teaches them, both on and off the field.
This weekend I am travelling to visit my son and watch his college rugby team play, I can’t wait! Rugby players often continue playing the sport as adults and I anticipate my boys will as well. Below are some recent shots of our high school team. Notice the expressions on their faces, this game is intense!!!!
Sunset HDR
I think HDR processing of photos makes them look so interesting. Not many of my photos have been processed using HDR (High Dynamic Range), but I have been wanting to try it out. There are many photos out there that are obviously processed using HDR techniques and I think they look amazing. If you aren’t familiar with HDR, it basically makes a photo have an increased level of detail and range of highlights and shadows. Many HDR photos are created my merging together 3, 5 or 7 photos of differing exposures (I just figured out that it doesn’t have to be, though, what a discovery!). Each of these pictures below is a combination of 5 shots, which are exactly the same composition but different exposures. Perhaps these are over-processed, which gives them that ‘extreme’ look. I wouldn’t use this on all of my pictures, but it was fun creating these. I think they almost have a ‘cartoony’ look. Except the purplish one, I think that one looks the most realistic. What do you think of this look?
April Book Photography | Westport, CT 