Scroll below for more pics and a story about an incredible experience!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Mariner's
Last night I had an incredible experience and reaffirmed that I would love to be a Sports Photographer!
The Groom from the wedding I had mentioned in a previous post works for the Seattle Mariners. A couple of weeks ago he and his wife emailed that they had worked it out so I would have photographers access to the game. I didn't realize how cool that was! I was given a few pregame instructions and told the rules by Jeff and by the team photographer. One of the rules was to set the camera down during the National Anthem and to be respectful during that time. I was headed to the Press Pit just before the game started when the Anthem began. I stopped where I was, took my hat off and looked to the flag. After a brief moment it dawned on me where I was. I was standing on the field in front of the dugout. I look to my left and there was the entire team lined up next to me! Talk about a bigger-than-life experience!
Ultimately the Mariners did not win, but it was still a great game and the team played hard. I told my good friend Dave Powell from Sparks, Nevada about the opportunity and invited his son to join me for the game. Mike is 15 years old and is a sports fanatic. He spent a few days up here, we hit the Zoo, the Space Needle, he schooled me at basketball (a humbling experience at best) and we got to play catch for a while. We had a great time and to see him on the field during batting practice was priceless. His eyes were about as big as golf balls as Ichiro ran right past him along with all the other players. Again, a bigger-than-life surreal experience. I cannot thank Jeff and Stephanie enough for making it happen.
I took Mike to the airport early this morning and then hit the Zoo all day to cover the Herbie Hancock concert (pics to come later) and a bird show they needed photo's for. I only had a few minutes to pic some photo's from the game so I'm sure I'll be posting more later as I find other favorites. In the meantime, here are some shots and have a great day!
Mat
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Sophie's 15 minutes
Just got back from a winemakers dinner at a great restaurant on the water in Seattle called Palisades. While I'd like to think it was because of my wit and charm the servers kept my glass(es) full it was probably because of the cash I kept slipping them...the dinner was incredible and the wine was phenomenal! We were at a table with the owner of the restaurant and her husband who works at Amazon.com. Two ladies to my left who were former original Microsoft employees. My beautiful wife to my right and an old wine snob to her right. As I mentioned I just got back so it's difficult at best to keep the typos to a minimum. As a result I'm going to keep this short. Around the Zoo are pics of my beautiful girl Sophie on the Carousel. Attached is apic of her with her pic.
Have a good one and thanks for the birthday wishes!
Mat
Monday, June 11, 2007
Wedding Crasher
It's not the kind of Wedding Crasher you're thinking of. Friday night I photographed an awesome wedding (pictures to come later this week). We were in a bit of a time crunch to get from the venue to Lake Union for some formals and then back to the venue in time for the wedding. The shoot went well and the Bride and Groom headed back. My assistant Joshua and I loaded our gear into the back seat (which was weird because I always put my stuff in the trunk) and headed off. A car slowed to let me in and make a right hand turn. I went to the left lane and started to turn left when I noticed a car in the oncoming lane going extremely fast so I hit the brakes when BAM! The car that was nice enough to let me in slammed in to me. Crap! Talk about pressure, the wedding was starting shortly and I did not have time to deal with an accident. Fortunately the guy that hit me was pretty cool. We traded names and numbers and I headed up to the wedding. I never did tell the Bride and Groom as I didn't want to put any attention on myself during a day that is all about them. I suppose if they are reading my blog that they will now know :)
It was an exciting part of a great day and I'm glad no one was seriously injured. I'm really glad we didn't store our camera in the trunk! I haven't posted about my new camera but I'm sure I will...the Canon 1D Mark III is in my camera bag now and if you are photographer reading this, let me tell you...it lives up to the hype!
Adios!
Mat
Saturday, June 09, 2007
A tragic loss
Friday morning Zookeepers at the Woodland Park Zoo found that Hansa the 6 year old Asian elephant had died in her sleep. Her death came as a huge shock to everyone at the Zoo.
It was particularily shocking to me as Sophie and I were at the Zoo on Monday afternoon just four days before her death. Above are a few of the photo's I took of her that day. I don't go to the elephant habitat very often anymore as it is a bit off the beaten path but Sophie was adament about seeing the elephants that day. Hansa was out playing with her ball, dipping her trunk in the pond and spraying water. We spent around 15 to 20 minutes watching her play and eat. She appeared to be very healthy. The Zoo had reported she had showed signs of being ill but was on her way to a full recovery.
It was particularily shocking to me as Sophie and I were at the Zoo on Monday afternoon just four days before her death. Above are a few of the photo's I took of her that day. I don't go to the elephant habitat very often anymore as it is a bit off the beaten path but Sophie was adament about seeing the elephants that day. Hansa was out playing with her ball, dipping her trunk in the pond and spraying water. We spent around 15 to 20 minutes watching her play and eat. She appeared to be very healthy. The Zoo had reported she had showed signs of being ill but was on her way to a full recovery.
It was obvious the impact had in the Seattle community that night I photographed a wedding and the bride on her wedding day brought up Hansa and commented on how sad it was. I heard many people talking about it. It was the front page story for the Seattle Times. Many people were impacted by her death and she will be missed.
You can read more here ...http://www.zoo.org/pressroom/pr/2007/pr06_08_2007.htm
I'll post happier news tomorrow...the awesome wedding I shot, the car crash I had in the middle of it all (OK, that part isn't so happy), Sophie's 15 minutes of fame and anything else I can think of.
Take care,
Mat
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Chelsea and Shelby
On Sunday morning I had the privilege of photographing Chelsea and Shelby. They are getting married on July 7. Shelby is a personal trainer with a state of the art gym adjacent to their house. After I had booked their wedding I learned that he is the guy responsible for several of my employees arriving to work barely able to walk! I hear a workout with Shelby is not one you would soon forget. He really knows his stuff.
Chelsea and Shelby were a lot of fun to photograph and I can't wait to shoot their wedding. We started the day at their gym and travelled down to Gasworks Park in Seattle. You can view a slideshow of their images here...
Take care,
Mat
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