POY 2009

So I tried to come up with a nifty term to sum up my 2009 like "The year of the _____" But there's been so much go on with me this year that one word wouldn't be enough.

I'll just list some of highlights.

-I met my nephew Alec.
-And on that note, I became an uncle.
-I competed in an Adventure Race (Run, Bike, Canoe, trivia... etc)
-I trained for and ran a half-marathon
-I lost about 45 lbs
-Unless something crazy happens, I'll finish in the top 10 of the Region 8 NPPA monthly clip contest (I'm currently in 4th with three months still to be judged)
-I've had a couple photos published on the front page of espn.com
-I had the lead image on a USA Today Sports page.

And those are pretty much all I can come up with. Feel free to add any you think I might have missed.

I also gathered up a few of my favorite photos from 2009. These aren't necessarily my best pics, just some of my favorite from the past year.

Big Hit

I considered it a "warm up" to the big Monday night showdown in the Dome between the Saints and Patriots. But last night's LSU game against Arkansas turned out to be pretty exciting. The Tigers pulled out an amazing 33-30 win in overtime.

I made a couple images I liked.

The kicker, who made the field goal to send it into overtime and win it in overtime...

A face mask...

A hurdle...

And a big hit...

KSU band

Marching to the stadium before the KU game. Oh, we won 17-10.

Geddy walk

Taking my dog Geddy for a walk today. Had a little suprise a few
blocks into the walk.

Point Cats!

Game three of the volleyball game against A&M.

Dad and I saw two A&M players at the coffee shop this morning. We
thought about putting "can't dig or kill" drugs in their mocha, but
didn't have any to put in there.

Who Dat Flippin

Pierre Flipping into the end zone for a touchdown during Monday Night Football. WHO DAT!

Trifecta Weekend

The first Trifecta of the year. I'm not sure if I'll have another one or not, but this one was pretty darn awesome.

High School Football on Friday. (Terrebonne at Central)
College football on Saturday. (Texas State at Nicholls State)
Pro Football on Sunday. (Giants at Saints)

Oh, and to make this weekend better, check out this other list of victories (or non-victories)

-Got a cool pic of Terrebonne touchdown... and Terrebonne won so we could use that pic in the paper.
-Manhattan High won to remain undefeated
-Kansas State destroyed Texas A&M
-KU lost (haha!)
-Nebraska Lost
-The Saints blew out the Giants
-Chiefs win first game of season
-and my fantasy team won even though Drew Brees was on my bench.

And to top it all off... I had photos on the front page of espn.com, usatoday.com and cbssports.com during the Saints game on Sunday.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the three games I shot this weekend.

This dude prayed, then pointed to the sky after the National Anthem... and add a cool sunset as a nice bonus.


This is the Terrebonne Touchdown I was all excted about because they ended up winning. It ran lead on the sports section on Saturday.


On Saturday, I went to Thibodaux to shoot Nicholls State vs Texas State. Nicholls was supposed to get blown out, but they ended up losing by 6. (and missed two field goals). I shot the first half from the top of the press box. And got lucky when the Nicholls QB high jumped into the end zone. I didn't get much else from this game... just standard football pics. but I kind of liked this one.

And finally, I shot the Saints game. This first picture ended up on the front page espn.com and cbssports.com.

here's the screen grabs...



and I nailed a pretty sweet shot from a touchdown in the first half. Drew Brees to Robert Mecham.

And to stick with the theme of pointing at things... here's Shockey after a big play pointing at Marques Colston for some reason.


And there you go... three days, three levels of football. (Topped off with a KSU win)

15mph

Quite a Hoot

This morning I went to South Terrebonne High at 6:30 a.m. to meet with State Police. They were handing out free music coupons to students who arrived wearing their seat belts... and tickets to those who arrived not wearing their seat belts.

Near the end of the kids arriving, this girl turns the corner into the parking lot and we see a wing sticking out from the front of her car.

She had hit an owl last night and was too scared to take it off the front of her car. The School Resource Officer took it off for her.

Poor Owl.

HOT ROUTE... HOT ROUTE

Let the games begin... tonight was the first real high school football game of the season. Well, close enough. It was a scrimmage, but the teams played like it was real. The only thing missing tonight... the bands. So the atmosphere wasn't quite the same, but still. It was high school football.

I shot the Terrebonne Parish Football Jamboree tonight. The four public schools in the parish all come to one stadium and play a shortened game.

Here's a few shots. I'm still a little rusty with football, but at least I was able to shoot with sweet light. A few weeks from now, it'll be dark before kickoff.