For the Love of Baseball

A couple of weeks ago, I rejoiced as I received my "third child" (aka my D600) back!

The Nikon Service guys replaced its shutter mechanism, updated the firmware, cleaned it up and even wrapped it quite nicely in plastic.


I unwrapped it, put a lens on it, adjusted the focus back to single point (I had to break out the manual to figure that out, sheesh) and then it sat in my purse, unused.

Actually, since I keep it in my purse, I lugged it around with me everywhere. But I was slow on the picture taking. I blame it on the late summer heat and humidity - it was so hot and humid, all I wanted to do was hide in my air conditioned house (until the air conditioning unit fan shot craps, but that is another story). I had no desire to go outside and take photos.

Slowly, it made appearances at my son's baseball games. One or two shots here and there. Then I got into a groove and remembered how much I enjoyed capturing these moments in life. And I remembered how awesome this camera is at capturing action shots.


Yup, he was out at second, but it was a good effort.


Strike! And a poof of dust at the Catcher's Mitt!


The Coach gives some constructive direction after a tough inning.



They are certainly having fun playing ball this year. Our team has a winning record and we're heading into the post season - wish us luck as we play in a semi final on Saturday! I'll be there to capture more action (and those in-the-dugout shenanigans).

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Fall Baseball

The boy is playing Fall Baseball on his middle school team. Last year he couldn't try out, as unbeknownst to me, tryouts are held the first week of August and we had scheduled vacation that week. [Seems normal to me that if school isn't scheduled to start until the third week of August, you should be able to schedule a vacation in early August - well, I was wrong. All the Fall sports start practicing in early August and for the more competitive sports, you need to be present for the try outs in order to make the team.]

This year, we cut our vacation out East short by a day or two, he participated in baseball tryouts and made the JV Team. The rest of August was filled with Cross Country practice in the morning and Baseball practice at night. It was a perfect combination to get his sleep scheduled transitioned back to getting up early.

Right now, his priority is to Baseball, but the season ends well before Cross Country, so he'll be able to run in some meets later in September and well into October.







Being on the team has been a lot of fun - we know many of the other players from Little League and it has been nice to see the team perform and have fun while they are at it.

Photos taken with the D300 and Nikkor 70-300mm lens

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60 Days of the 50mm

Here's the second edition of my 60 Days / 60 Photos / 50mm photo project.

I love this lens because it works great in low light and since it is so small, it makes my camera almost seem "small". I guess size is all relative, though.

The photos I've taken over the past week.

Strike Three, You're Out!


The Lavender blooms in the front yard.


I have camera gear and iPhone gear. It's an obsession, I know. Here's my iPhone 4s mounted on a Glif, which is attached to a Joby flexible tripod. I've attached the Olloclip macro lens. I'll post more about all this gear and the apps I use in a separate post.


A dedicated musician, practicing in the dark. It was so hot this weekend, I guess this is a way to keep cool while playing.


Watercress Salad


I am trying to capture as much variety as possible. I tend to gravitate towards nature, flowers and what my kids are doing - and I've taken so many photos over the years, sometimes it feels repetitive. I've been fortunate so far and I hope the opportunities continue to come.

All of the photos from this project can be found on my Flickr Set, 60 Days of the 50mm

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P365+1 Week 21 - Prelude to Summer

The weekend was hot, then things chilled down, and we ended up the week with temperatures in the 90's. The kids are winding down school, with another round of Finals for the Girl and nothing but fun for the Boy in middle school. Summer vacation is just around the corner for the kids.....

Saturday Night Block Party - it was a perfect evening to enjoy the Tons of Fun Band. Heather even convinced me to dance and I had a blast.


Sunday - Oops, no photo. I recall relaxing at home.

Monday Evening Baseball Game. Unfortunately, another loss.


Tuesday - the note I found on the kitchen counter:

My daughter complained the other night that there was a cricket in her room that wouldn't stop chirping which prevented her from falling asleep. So she's dubbed the thing "Demon Cricket". Then we discovered that it's not a cricket, but a very loud frog that has take up residence in our pond. He is so loud that even our neighbors have noticed his high pitched trills at night. Good thing I wear ear plugs to bed.

Wednesday - an evening without outside obligations, so I can enjoy some wine and watch yesterday's episode of Glee (which made me cry, of course)


Thursday - Taking off from First Base, and a resounding win.


Friday - Kids acting their age? Certainly not.

I had seven yards of mulch delivered today - just in time for the holiday weekend. The best part? I can't really help put it down. [OK, I think I can handle a little bit of manual labor, so I'll help a bit] The kids are certainly big enough to help, but they had the best time goofing off after Scott told them to wash out the wheel barrel. Apparently that was a code phrase for wheel barrel races. Hey, they enjoyed themselves, didn't get hurt and even insisted I take pictures - I call that a successful evening.

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Just Playing with Topaz Adjust

I finally downloaded a 30 day trial of Topaz Adjust and I played around with a couple of images. Topaz Adjust works as a plug in for PhotoShop, PhotoShop Elements or Lightroom and creates effects to make your photos pop. There are several HDR (High Dynamic Range) presets that you can use on a single photo for an HDR end product.

I opted to use it in Lightroom and converted a picture of my son at bat during a baseball game.

The photo below is a Non HDR version:


And another shot, processed with an HDR preset:


A bit over the top and totally fake looking? Probably, but hey, I think it's kind of cool looking and stylized - sometimes its fun to play around. Once the 30 day trial is over, I'll probably purchase a full license and add it to my never ending set of post processing tools.

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Playing Catch

I got back from the east coast in time for two back to back baseball games. With vacations and injuries, our team barely has enough players to field a full team. So we had to bring in some reinforcements, at least for one night.

Olivia is filling in tonight and played the catcher position for one inning - with her twin brother, Nolan pitching to her.



It's just a simple game of throw and catch - just like at home.


It's a good thing the twins get along (at least that's what their mom tells me). Things can get heated around the plate.


Yeah, just kidding.

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Scenes from the Baseball Diamond

The action on the field:


Unfortunately, Brian was out at third:


Sometimes the action off the field is more entertaining, especially if there are little kids involved:



After a week of rain and cancelled games, we are now back on track with baseball, even if we are watching the games bundled up in winter coats.

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Baseball Jamboree

Another April, another start of the baseball season.

For the second year in a row, Brian's team will be sporting forest green shirts. Nice color, but kind of a pain to photograph (so dark).

I'm so glad the season kick off Jamboree was held Sunday instead of Saturday. As you may recall, Saturday's weather was less than pleasant, with the wind, rain and cold. Bearable for a one hour soccer game, not so much for a three hours of baseball.

Instead, the boys were blessed with comfortable temperature and sunshine.


There was the usual waiting around in packs.


And some actual baseball.


The official games start this week. Our crazy schedule just got a little crazier...

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256/365 - End of Fall Baseball

Tonight's game ended the Fall Baseball season, and the our 2010 baseball experience. The boys won their game, and the coach placed Brian 2nd in the batting line up, so he was able to bat three times (three walks, although on one of the walks he was hit by the pitch, so I'm not sure what that's called).

This Fall Team wasn't as successful as the Spring Team, but Brian gained more experience playing with bigger kids, faster pitchers without the restrictions of the younger teams.

Brian with one of his coaches, Coach Lon:


And we'll start it all over again in the Spring!

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September 6-8, Days 247-249

Monday, September 6 - Day 247:
A new home project has sprung life - Erica wants to paint her room a turquoise color, with huge circles spattered around the room. We picked out some color chips and a sample that has been chosen as THE color.



Tuesday, September 7 - Day 248:
Baseball game, Brian playing second base. At bat, he hit a big triple, then was out at first, and finally he hit a single. The team won.


Wednesday, September 8 - Day 249:
I didn't have time to get to the store yesterday, but I made it to Target this afternoon to purchase the newly released Sara Bareilles CD, Kaleidoscope Heart. I chose the Target version, as it contains three bonus tracks. I had been listening to a preview on IHeartRadio, and know it's a great follow up to Little Voice.



Instant faves:
Uncharted
Hold My Heart
Let the Rain

... although I'm sure I'll love them all after listening more.

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226/365 - Fall Baseball

After a short break, baseball is back in swing, this time with the Fall Ball league. Brian is playing on the "Thunder" team, in the Suited League. Tonight, their first game of the season.

The hot, hot, hot weather of last week has been replaced by cooler, perfectly crisp temperatures. But I thought it felt slightly chilly in the shade tonight. At a perfectly chilly 80degF! What does that tell you?

And for the Thunder, down 9-4 in the bottom of the last inning, it wasn't looking good. But the boys rallied and put 5 more runs on the board to tie things up. Brian hit a nice one out to center field, bringing in one of those runs.

Brian determined that he needs a longer bat. After striking out once, he switched to one of his teammates 30" bat and successfully hit the next two times at bat.

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Day 171 - Championship Game

After rain delays and wet fields, we finally arrived at the Farm League Championship game - our team vs the White Sox.

To add to the excitement, we played the "big field", a couple miles away from our normal field. That's because of the standing puddles of water in our normal field due to last night's torrential rains. Here, the backstop is further away from the batter's box, making the pitching / catching / stealing home dynamic very interesting.

A large crowd assembled to watch the game. By the end of the game, several neighbors and friends stopped by to watch.


Our team started out ice cold, but hung within a couple of runs. Brian knew he had to score to keep things close:


Safe!


Down by two runs at the bottom of the last inning, it was deja-vu from our last game - two big hits and gusty base running by Gracin and Conner. Gracin managed to score, but then we were stymied.

And thus we were handed our only loss of the season. I could tell the team was a little disappointed, but the other team played a great game, and I think the pressure of going undefeated got to the kids.


But, with some pizza, games and prizes, they finished off the evening with a team celebration.

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157/365 - Swing Batter Swing

Another post about baseball! With only two more games left and not much else going on at home, we get more baseball.



A nail biter game, all the way to the end, but we held the opposing team, winning 5-4. One more game remains in the regular season.

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156/365 - The Game Ball

While I was away, Brian earned the Game Ball for his performance during the Friday, May 28th game. His stats that night - 3 for 3 at bat and scored 3 runs. His team won the game against the Rays, winning 16-11.

The coaches decide which player get the game ball after each game. It's a great way to motivate and encourage the players.

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142/365 - Grown Up Softball

Hey, a shot of Scott at bat. No, it’s not baseball, it’s softball.

Buck asked Scott to play on his team of “mostly doctors” from Carle, and here we are - watching grown up softball on a hot Sunday evening. The Team’s name - the Medicine Balls. Appropriate for doctors, and goofy enough for Scott to appreciate. The best thing - these games are quick - an hour, tops.

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133/365 - Pitching Debut

A very exciting yet stressful day of baseball. Brian was scheduled to pitch an inning for the first time. We have been practicing and based on our practice sessions, I was filled with worry. Worry that Brian would hit the batter, the umpire and the sideline coach.

Even during his warm up, he was giving Conner, the catcher, a real side to side workout. But then the batter stepped into the batter box and he started throwing strikes.



Of course, I couldn't watch. All I know is that he allowed one batter on base, struck out two, and the other out was a great play by George, covering 3rd, who threw to first base for the out.

The team continues to improve and it's been great to watch.

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121/365 - More Baseball

Today's game was a makeup from a couple Friday's ago when storms passed through.
We're on a streak, because the team won yet again. Brian made two hits and scored twice.

And tonight, they are in the East dugout, which is a change from their normal (West) dugout. Of course, this doesn't prevent the boys from goofing off while they are waiting to bat.


At least he looks like he's paying attention to what's going on in the batter's box!

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110/365 - On Third Base

Tonight - our first official game of the season. A perfect spring evening.

Brian scored two runs today. And the team won the game. And it only took a little over 2 hours.

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106/365 - Baseball In Swing

The 2010 Little League Baseball season officially kicked off today with several games and Team pictures. Brian is on the Cubs team (yeah, with green t-shirts - go figure).

Each team plays 2 3-inning games. It's a chance for the teams to experience playing against one another in a "less competitive" environment (the games don't "count" towards regular season record - not that I keep track at all).


Of course, baseball requires lots of standing around. But when you're with your friends, that's OK.

Bonus - Brian batted in the winning run in each of our games - with 2 outs, and a full count. Apparently, that doesn't phase him.



So far, the team is a lot of fun, the coaches are full of excitement and positive energy. That's always a positive start.

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98/365 - Suited Up

Brian outgrew last year's baseball pants, so it was back to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy new ones. We held off until now because we wanted to make sure we purchased the proper color - you know, so the entire team matches. The coaches decided on white, so that's what we got.



We upgraded to the belted pants, too. So he can use a belt to keep them up!

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