Archbishop Carroll @ St. John's Football

The popular sentiment in the high school sports community is that Archbishop Carroll football is back! Apparently they were a force to be reckoned with in the early to mid 90s but I have yet to see a Carroll team that has even made the playoffs. Maybe that will change this year. Last Saturday they played a game against St. John's College High School in NW Washington in which they captured a stunning 13-6 victory. Read about it here. Shout out to the 93 degree weather. I thought the summer was over.

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Gerald Wilson: Jazz Legend

Last week I photographed jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer and arranger Gerald Wilson. He was being presented an award at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual jazz concert by Rep. John Conyers. In a room full of jazz lovers, I'm pretty sure I was the only one who had no idea who he was or any inkling of what to expect. But I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed his performance.

The work was already done. The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra played songs that he'd arranged and composed years ago. That night, Gerald Wilson was sans any instrument and served as conductor and lead storyteller. I was mesmerized by the way this 92 year-old-man moved his hands, feet and body in sync with every sound that sang from the pit. Naturally, he knew every note that played and what section of the band it was being played from. I couldn't find a YouTube clip that does his energy and passion justice, but here's a sample. Shout out to his jazz roots...they run deep.

Broadway Miller: Catch up or get Caught Vol. 2

A few weeks ago I photographed my man Broadway Miller for his upcoming mixtape project titled Catch up or Get Caught: Vol. 2. I've known this cat for a while now and have documented his career from performing at Howard Homecoming and recording tracks at American University to opening for Fort Minor at Nation and Rick Ross at Fur. Over the years, he's happily been a guinea pig for many different portrait ideas that I've had. This time we shot atUnion 206 Studio in Alexandria, VA. (Quick plug: this place is a great space to work in, provides lots of location options and pretty much has everything you need to execute a successful shoot. Definitely check it out).

While CUOGC Vol. 2 has not yet been released, do yourself a favor and download The Mixtape before the Mixtape. Shoutout to this mini twitter party: @broadwaymiller @union206studio@starghill.

Harry Boomz

I had some ProFoto gear left over from a shoot a few weeks ago and had to put it to use. I enlisted Harry Boomz, a Washington DC music producer, for location shoots live from my alley and between a couple of office buildings on K street. Check him out on twitter and listen to a couple of his beats here.

I-95 Kickoff Classic at Towson University

The inaugural I-95 Kickoff Classic included 4 football games that pitted Baltimore teams against Washington DC area teams. It was a long day in which I shot 3 of the 4 games, none of which were exceptionally exciting. In fact, I vividly remember only two things (which is a little disturbing as I'm still a young man).

1) The light during the 2nd half of the DeMatha vs. Loyola Blakefield game was BEAUTIFUL!

2) Darius Jennings OMG Darius Jennings

Not only does he make people miss in the smallest of spaces, but he is the fastest player I've seen live since Caleb Porzel.

Shout out to Gilman. They look tough.

______, Camera, Action!

Sports photography is a little difficult to execute when minimal light is available which is frequently the case at high school football games. Even with the D3's and the Canon EOS Mark IV's abilities to crank up to 1,000,000 ISO, the image quality is still pretty shitty. So, I usually don't shoot action at the games scheduled at 7pm. The light is gorgeous around that time in the beginning of September, but it quickly slinks behind trees and buildings, then disappears for the night.

Oddly, I've grown fond of the overhead fluorescent lights of locker rooms across the country. The light shines brightly overhead in one spot, then falls off pretty quickly. I think it compliments the tense drama often felt among teenagers in the caves of high school football.

So here we are again, football season officially begins. Hopefully I can avoid shooting the same pictures from last year. We'll see. Shout out to the Trainers. New blood, fresh start.

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