Riverdale Baptist @ Landon Football

Headed out to Landon again for their late Friday afternoon game against Riverdale Baptist School. The game was pretty close at the beginning but Landon pulled away and got the win 31-7. The game was called mid-way through the 4th quarter due to a neck injury to a Riverdale Baptist player. An ambulance was called to get him off of the field. I hope the kid is ok.

Coolidge @ HD Woodson

The game was originally scheduled for 7p Friday night, but luckily for me, it was rescheduled for 11a Saturday morning. Yes, more daylight for me. And this time, I brought the 400mm.

There is a little history between these two. HD Woodson has knocked Coolidge out of the playoffs the past two years and judging from the game Saturday, they have a lot to say to each other. Coolidge jumped out to a 13-0 lead but eventually gave up 24 unanswered points to lose the game. Read about it here. Lots of athletes, a lot of intensity and a whole lot of trash talk made for some pretty good pictures. Shout out to linebackers and running backs kicking field goals and punting. It's an interesting sight.

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DeMatha @ Archbishop Carroll Soccer

It was pretty cloudy and I thought it was definitely going to rain. Good thing it didn't. But a 5:15p start didn't help my cause toward the end of the game as the light began to fade...quickly. DeMatha jumped out to a fast 3-0 lead in a game that I thought would be pretty competitive. What is it about those Carroll Lions? Shout out to that lady doing Christianity conversions in 30 minutes or less in the parking lot.

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Mercersburg @ Landon Football

Rare. A Friday football game played under natural light. Probably the most compelling reason that I was at that game in particular. Mercersburg Academy is a team from Pennsylvania that probably made a long trip to Bethesda that day and an even longer trip back. Landon pretty much had their way (hopefully evident in the pictures) in a 30-6 win in which Mercersburg scored in the final seconds of the game and was genuinely excited about it. Read about it here. Shout out to programs that are rebuilding.

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Cloudy with a Chance of Smoke

Nothing special about this game. Landon beat Archbishop Carroll 21-0 in a non-league game. But when I looked over at the cheerleaders cheering, I noticed smoke billowing up in the distance. Then I heard the sirens. I still don't know what happened over there, but I think I, along with the crowd, missed about four plays of the football game. Shout out to distractions.

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Ballou @ Coolidge Football

I feel like if this was the SuperBowl, ESPN would talk for days and days about the story lines of this football game. But it's not, so I'll fill you in.

The current head coach of Ballou used to be an assistant to the current head coach of Coolidge. Three years ago when the current head coach of Ballou took the Ballou job, he also took a handful of Coolidge's best players. Yeah, because for some reason, DC public high school athletics works something like free agency but without the contracts. Which is why Coolidge's junior running back from last year is now Ballou's senior running back. Confusing I know, but drama nonetheless.

Oh and Ballou scored a TD with no time left to tie the game. They didn't have a kicker, so they had to go for two...and the win. Everyone thought that the two-point conversion was successful...except the ref signaling an incomplete pass. All hell broke loose. Read about it here. Shout out to kickers.


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O-Lineman : No Love

They are the most important component of an offense, yet we have no idea who they are. They never score touchdowns, they never touch the ball (except for the center, but that doesn't really count) and they flat out get no love, until now.

Last Wednesday, I shot yet another Coolidge High School practice. But this time I wanted to make it interesting. I spent the whole practice with the O-Line. It's hard work and no one wants to do it. They line up and clash with the biggest, strongest guys on the other team play after play after play -- all in the name of their more recognizable teammates' feats. They don't want the glow. They want the glory. And in a game of inches, every yard earned is their satisfaction. Shout out to the blockers.

   

Pigskin Debut

This past Saturday was my first official football game of the season and it was not glamorous. There weren't any Friday Night Lights nor thousands of screaming fans, this ain't Texas. The game wasn't even competitive, but it was football. My willingness to sit through a 47-0 blowout just shows the end of the desperation to finally shoot football. The Model Secondary School for the Deaf played Maret at a field near the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. The time - 2pm, the light - horrible, but it was football. Yes...shout out to football.

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8to8: Deontre Blayz/Derrick Bowers -- Rapper/Aftercare Instructor

Although I've known Blayz since about 2003, I hadn't kicked it with him for such an extended period of time. And when we did kick it, it was usually in the music studio down in the basement of the McKinley building at American University. This time around, it was interesting to see his creative process but even more interesting to see him at work and interacting with kids. I guess we've all grown up.

Deontre Blayz is a Brooklyn-born MC and Howard University alum currently living in Washington DC. Derrick Bowers, also known as Mr. Bowers to his 4th graders, was formerly a teacher associate and is currently an aftercare instructor at E. L. Haynes public charter school on Georgia Ave. NW. Music is his passion but working with children pays his bills. We all know that becoming successful in the music industry doesn't happen overnight. In this installment of 8to8, I follow Deontre Blayz to illustrate a day in the grind of getting there.

P.S. this blog post includes an embedded slideshow so it might not be viewable in your feed reader. You might just have to head to the site Untitled, Michael Starghill.

Portraits and Lyrics

And the unveiling of yet another one of my projects. This particular series of portraits have yet to be formally named but lets call them "performance portraits" for now.

I've known Sabrey for quite a long time...as you can see. And Roger for quite a bit longer. The Evanston born and raised hip hop duo is known as GooD HooD and I've even been known to step in the booth to spit hot fire in collaboration. But those were my younger days.

Now I just watch and listen. A few weeks ago I did a simple white seamless shoot with them for some new promo material. While at the shoot, I had them perform a verse from a few of their songs and shot as fast as my lights would recycle.

For me, what is even better than good music is the passion with which the artists performs. I tried to capture that. Shout out to GooD HooD and you can check their music out here and here.




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