Thankfully spring break has been a blessing in the sense that it has provided me with much needed time for rest and recuperation. Part of that process has been hanging out with friends but the biggest weight off of my shoulders is getting to work ahead on some of these projects that have been nibbling at my toes for the last few months. I will continue to update my website with more pictures and galleries as I can but there is only so much I can do at one time. Next on my list is compiling a gallery for all of the sports photos I have taken in the last 6 months. And for those of you who don’t know it would amount to almost 25,000 still frames. Of course I wont post them all but there are plenty that fit into my favorites category. I am very excited for this summer and the opportunities a head and I cant wait to work with you all more. Thanks for your support!

I really think that Andy enjoyed being able to be that close to nature and to this little bird. We tried to show the young boy that lives next door to us but by that time the bird had caught its breath and felt comfortable flying off to its home.

In case you had not heard this year I was hired as the athletics photographer for Winona State University. So far this year I have covered events such as soccer, football, indoor volleyball and rugby. I am really looking forward to attending more softball, gymnastics and basketball now that the seasons are starting again. As I have the chance my portfolios online will be updated. I am trying to make sure that I keep updating content so people will stop back. As always I appreciate the support! Feel free to comment as well.

I am also ramping up my services to help provide my customers with a better product in the end. This includes custom CD trays, Flushmount albums, and more. Check back to see my progress as I will be updating often.

I ended up missing coverage of the B Team game because of a location change but JV and Varsity both played wonderful games. If you have any trouble finding the images or accessing them please let me know so that I can help. My Articles are well under way and I will hopefully be launching the new section to my website within the next few days.

Now back to business though. I have been playing with startrails a little more lately and have had a few chances to get away from the city lights enough to have a good show. This was taken in Northern Scottsdale on a semi clear night. The exposure for this picture was a little bit more than an hour of time creating the streaking effect. I hope to go out either tonight or tomorrow and capture some more striking compositions with the stars in them in Credit River Township south of the cities. I would be staying with Brian and Liljana, friends of the family.

Merry Christmas to all of you and remember the holiday season is not about gifts or giving. It is about forgetting and forgiving all the bad and the worse that has happened and moving forward in life with the good human nature that we try to achieve.

This picture was taken from the top of Squaw Peak in Phoenix Arizona. After an exhausting climb with Lisa to over 2800 ft above sea level we were greeted with this beautiful vista. I feel like this picture should go with a caption like on those motivational posters. Maybe I will publish one : ) Any who if you have any suggestions for this posters caption please email me and I will update accordingly. ( You can also leave a comment here if it is easier )

A student here at WSU was reported missing on Thursday of last week by his family and he was found on Friday afternoon. This is what the school released to the student body

Winona State University regrets to announce the death of one of its students, Matthew Alexander Gille, a junior from Rockford, Illinois. His body was found this morning near the Garvin Heights Overlook in Winona. The body was recovered from a wooded area later in the afternoon. The exact cause of death is not known at this time. The Winona Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol and the Winona County Dive and Rescue Team assisted with the recovery of the student’s body. More details will be provided pending investigation by law enforcement officials. The student was reported missing on Thursday. His family, campus security and law enforcement officials were notified shortly thereafter. A search began on Thursday evening and was narrowed to the Garvin Heights area after his car was found near the overlook. The search resumed on Friday morning, leading to the location of the body.

Freshman year I lived down the hall from Matt and got to know him in passing. He was a nice guy, well loved, and he will be missed no doubt. It is pretty scary to think that this could have been anyone that I know. There has been a huge outpouring of support for the family and through Facebook people have started to collect and assemble a storybook of his life experiences as seen though others eyes. Pretty amazing how many people one person could touch.

Wish me luck on finals and I will keep you as updated as I can. I leave for Arizona on the 15th of December!

As promised the pictures from Tuesdays game are up for purchase on www.digiproofs.com the password is “winonabb” without the quotes. If you have any questions or comments please leave a comment below.

After taking a number of pictures with a dedicated digital infrared camera I have found that usually 1/125th of a second ISO 100 f/8 is a good starting point for exposure. You can also create some pretty dynamic lighting using sunlight and shadow because of the extreme difference in exposure.