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.
Hand Cycling is a great escape from the day to day rigors of using a wheelchair. First off, they are comfortable and you need’nt be working so hard to keep your balance. The second cool thing is you can go pretty fast and the breeze in your face feels great. Definitely a good work out.
So the good guys at Phoenix Parks & Recreation offer Tuesday night cycling for free. I’ve indulged in the past but wanted to get some motion shots. Only problem is there was no motion to be shot. So I got one descent shot of Renee Tyree using a bare strobe off camera left that was pretty close to what I wanted.
Getting a low angle shots from a wheelchair isnt easy. I use a small monopod and turn the camera upside down. I then just lower the camera and guestimate whats in the frame. Using a wide angle lens gives the photo some cool perspective. In this shot I cropped out just a little on the left.
Hopefully this entry is work in progress and I can add some more action shots along the way.
On Saturday, the 3rd annual Over The Line tournament took place in Phoenix. OTL is a 3-man sport that’s somewhat like baseball. The sport has been adapted for people in wheelchairs. Each team tries to score runs by advancing ghost runners around the bases. The event was held in the parking lot of the North Phoenix Baptist Church. This year eight teams participated, and there was a 2nd event for youths using a wiffle ball.
The sport allows you to photograph up close but unfortunately in a tournament like this, the backgrounds arent too pleasing. So I got a lot of experience looking for photo opportunities that didnt include j-johns and trash cans in the background.
I had to leave before I got the rosters, but I’ll add the teams, rosters, and winners pretty quick. More photos are inside article. Read the rest of this entry »
The NRA hosted it’s first ever Open Range Day for people with disabilities at Ben Avery Shooting Range today. As a student, I briefly worked for the NRA. So I know that NRA never does any event half way. True to their reputation, Vanessa Warner and team didnt show up with a few hand-me-downs and the old pea-shooter. Participants got to shoot new Ruger semi-auto pistols and AR-15’s rifles, Remington and Baretta shotguns and there was plenty of ammo for everyone to make lots of noise.
We in Phoenix have one of the country’s premiere shooting ranges just north of town. The Ben Avery Shooting Range offers every type of shooting (and archery) you can imagine. Even better, the entire facility is very accessible. So the National Rifle Association (NRA) selected Ben’s to be the venue for their first ever Open Range Day.
Unfortunately it was a rainy cold day so we didnt have great turn out, but for the 15 or so that did arrive, there was that much more time on the firing line. Ben Avery is a big range and so hats off to the NRA for getting accessible buses to hussle the groups around and for catering a good lunch.
