For the 3rd year in a row I photographed the Desert Challenge Track and Field event in Mesa, Arizona. It’s put on by Arizona Disabled Sports. Its a good event with many exceptional athletes.
Afterwards, AzDS contacted me about submitting a photo to a magazine for the possible cover of an edition. Asking a photographer to choose just one photo that should grace the cover of a magazine aint easy. So that got me daydreaming and then it was time to whip out the PhotoShop.
So in no particular order, here’s a few I think would work.
Its good to get back in action. I broke some legs and for the last 5 months had both legs in casts. But the casts in the trash and the weather is great so hopefully more good photo gigs on the horizon.
On Wednesday I got a call to shoot portraits on Saturday for the Phoenix Suns and Mercury wheelchair basketball teams. The only hitch is I need to take the shots during and in between the games. Not exactly ideal settings. So to avoid distractions in the photos, it’s black backgrounds. The portraits are natural, the team shot got some photoshop.
Getting everyone together for ameture sports portraits is also a challenge. They just disappear.
Last July I trecked up to Denver to donate my time as a photographer for the VA Games. For 3 days I worked with a group of pros that cover VA events throughout the world. Fun stuff.
It was also great meeting some amazing vets and I managed to capture a few athletes along the way. Including the one of Jim Martinson for the back cover of VAnguard Magazine. Woot!!
For anyone who spends time rolling about in a chair that weighs less than 50 pounds, Jim is one of the early pioneers of racing or high-performance wheelchairs (See NM article). He’s a vet we owe thanks to twice.
This was 2nd time I photographed this event. It’s great because it’s so diverse. Indoors, outdoors, daytime, night, young and old athletes, vets, and some people with amazing physiques and talent. This year there were athletes from both Canada and Mexico.
If you have 4 minutes, there is a better flash folio at www.AccessingArizona.com. As always, if you are one of the athletes or sponsors, I am happy to provide you with photos for free.
If you roll around Phoenix for more than a few days, odds are you will run into someone who knows Corbin Beu and knows about something he built or adapted or somehow made accessibile for himself or someone in a wheelchair. And if you are guy who likes all things rugged, and adventurous, and outdoor-like, then you’ll also like hanging out as his garage.
A few weeks back I stopped by to thank him for welding up my chair to support a pair of leg casts. Before long he’s showing me his new lift that takes him up to his fold-out camper loft. Watching Corbin go from the driver’s seat to his crib is 10 minutes of mechanical amazement.
So it’s May in Phoenix and before the heat sets in I knew I needed to get some photos of his mobile loft. We met up at Papago Park and managed to get an hours worth of shooting before the park police showed up.
Last weekend, for the 2nd year in a row I shot the Symbius Medical Over the Line Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. There is more tourney info at www.AccessingArizona.com.
If you ever want to experience what it means to be passionate about something, come meet Pia Douglass at a fencing event. She heads up the Grand Canyon State Fencing Foundation (www.gcsff.org) and with the assistance of her two sons and others, knows how to put on a nice program.
The venue was a conference room with low ceilings, fluorescent lights and nothing too exciting for backgrounds. Not really the makings for a great photo expose. Fortunately I had a softbox with me and decided to shoot some portraits as well.
To see all the photos, click the link below each frame.
The folks at Arizona Bridge to Independence (www.abil.org) requested I take some photos for their 2010 calendar which would celebrate 30 years of the ADA act. I agreed to shoot them all when the deadline was July 2010. Then they upped it to December of 2009 and I only managed to deliver them 5 shots.
All of the photos along with other similar ones are for sale at Photoshelter.
Woman in Wheelchair watching NASCAR race at PIR in Arizona
Man in Wheelchair Fishing at an Urban Park
Young Girl in Wheelchair Swinging in an Adapted Swing Set
Man in Wheelchair Next to a Lightrail Train
Girl in Wheelchair at a Lake with Bridges Overhead
Help Portrait is a movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate this holiday season. Given my day job is in Mexico, I knew right where to go to find those who have the least this holiday season.
It was finally nice to shoot a tournament where all of the teams showed up. The event featured the TIRR Hotwheels (Houston, TX), the Hammer (San Diego, CA), the Suns (Phoenix, AZ), and BORP Bay Area Cruisers (San Francisco, CA)
The Hotwheels won all 3 games on Saturday, and beat the Hammer again on Sunday to win the tournament. On Sunday, the Phoenix Suns beat the Bay Cruisers for 3rd place.
I only shot the two game on Sunday. Here is a link to the photos;
