*More NPPA Winners... (for April 2010)

The NPPA / MNCC (National Press Photographer's Association / Monthly Clip Contest) finally got around to posting their April winners. More props on a regional and national level, which is always good for the soul... ~cg.

April 2010: 1st. Place General News (Story)

April 2010: 2nd. Place Feature / Multiple Picture Story.

Happy Holidays from BorrowLenses.com

This from one of my new vendors, BorrowLenses.com in the Bay Area. ~cg.



Earlier this year I'd rented a Canon 600mm f/4 (below) from them for my coverage of President Barack Obama at West Point's graduation in May:


Here's my slideshow again with the first 16 images made with their rental 600mm:

"You Never Forget Your First Time..." December 2010

Not only am I listening to Classical music lately, I have just purchased Franz Joseph Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E flat for trumpet & orchestra, 3rd. Movement as performed by Alison Balsom:

http://www.balsomhaydn.com/balsom.htm

"Wow! Just Wow..." ~cg.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

"Untitled." Yarosliavsky Station in Moscow, Russian Federation on June 22, 2005.

REWIND - Images from the Archive.

A showcase for some of my favorite images here on the blog that aren't particularly in the working portfolio. Look for this occasional feature where I'll highlight a single image that's meant a lot throughout my career. Enjoy. ~cg.

*To see my previous posts of this ongoing retrospective, click HERE.

"Sitting on #11..." 23•Dec.•10

Spent about 10 hours yesterday waiting to make this image of yet another homicide victim here in my town. Yea, it's the Holidays and all that, but to me, the news just doesn't wait. Beginning to wonder what's in store for us on many levels in the coming New Year...? ~cg.

Newburgh Police Department Crime Scene Investigators and funeral home workers remove Everton Marcus Fray's body from 155 Chambers Street in Newburgh, NY on Thursday, December 23, 2010. Fray of Jamaica and Schenectady, NY is the city's 11th. homicide this year. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

"The Card. It's Here..." 22 December 2010

This year's card is en route to your doorstep, mailbox, desk, mail room or desktop. Special thanks to my very good friend and his family for having just "the right tree" on their property in Pottstown, PA two weeks ago. Wishing you all a very healthy, safe and prosperous 2011. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ~cg.

(Inside message): "Fresh Cut." Sunday, December 12, 2010. 4:07PM

(Rear of card): Marc, Leonie, and Joel Brooks return to their house after cutting a Christmas tree for a customer on their family run tree farm in Pottstown, PA on Sunday, December 12, 2010.

*Ricky Dobbs. U.S. Naval Academy QB. Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia, PA. 2010 & 2009.

"Hey, I already made that picture...!"
One of the best things about being a sports photographer is the proximity we're given to the athletes in games, practices, press conferences, etc. Particularly at the Division I college level and of course in the pro ranks. One such player is quarterback Ricky Dobbs (left) of the U.S. Naval Academy, who incidentally I knew nothing of until last year's Army - Navy game down at "the Linc" in Philadelphia. (Lincoln Financial Field.) Midshipman Dobbs put on a clinic in last year's game (lower right) when he ran for 113 yards on 33 carries and was named MVP of the game. He also set the single season record for rushing touchdowns by a NCAA quarterback at 24, after he scored on a 1-yard run. You don't easily forget a performance like that, especially in a big marquee game like the Army - Navy rivalry.

One of those secret little "wish lists" that I guess I sort develop a few days before a big game like this and file in the back of my mind is hoping that Dobbs would "make good pictures" for me during the game, just as he did last year. I remember telling a few colleagues on the field that we're "going to hear his name a lot today..." Well, Dobbs didn't actually have a career day against Army in Saturday's game - three fumbles and an interception, but I did make good images of him. In fact, since I'm obviously there for the Army side of the game, I couldn't help but keying (watching) on him quite a bit while looking to make good images of the Army defense. Dobbs is a player, that's for sure. While going through my take of Saturday's game, I came up with an almost identical image of him running the option and pitching out to his left, same as last year's game (below):

(2010) Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs (#4) pitches out on the option in the second quarter of the 111th. Army - Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, December 11, 2010. Navy defeated Army 31 - 17. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

(2009) Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs (#4) releases the football on a pitch out as he runs the option during the 110th. Army - Navy Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, December 12, 2009. Navy defeated Army 17 - 3. Dobbs ran for 113 yards on 33 carries and was named MVP of the game. He set the single season record for rushing touchdowns by a NCAA quarterback at 24, after he scored on a 1-yard run. Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON

"The Fumble..." 2010 Army - Navy Game. Philadelphia, PA. 11•Dec.•10

Navy safety Wyatt Middleton (#8, left) recovers Army quarterback Trent Steelman's fumble at the 2 - yard line in the second quarter of the 111th. Army - Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, December 11, 2010. Middleton ran for a 98 - yard touchdown on the play and was named the game's MVP. Navy defeated Army 31 -17. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

I've photographed a lot of great or "special" moments in my career, particularly in covering sporting assignments. Everybody from Michael Jordan & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Muhammad Ali signing autographs and HS basketball player Will Bouton's miracle basket, a last-second, three point shot (on two cameras) to send his team to the state finals two years ago. But Saturday's fumble by Army quarterback Trent Steelman (above) inside the Navy 5-yard line as Army was driving in the closing minutes of the first half, would be a play that I probably won't forget for quite a long time. I think my eyes got as a big as Navy safety Wyatt Middleton's when the ball was punched out of Steelman's hands, as the Navy defense literally stood him up again and stopped him cold. First and foremost, this was my fourth Army - Navy game I've covered since joining this paper, as I've sort of become the unofficial "West Point beat photographer" for most events big and small, and just about every game or competition at the academy in all sports. It would be my third game down at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL, and a ballpark I was becoming fairly familiar with. It was fitting that I'd be back on the natural grass field in South Philadelphia for this year's traditional battle between the two service academies. (I'd missed covering the Army - Notre Dame game at Yankee Stadium a few weeks ago, due to a lower back injury) and thought that my coverage of the Army - Rutgers game in October would be my biggest thrill in covering Army football this year. Little did I know...

(Here's how it all sort of shakes out for me...) Working the Army - Navy game has sort of become my World Series, Super Bowl and Mardi Gras all wrapped up into one. Well, maybe not the Mardi Gras part as I don't get to participate in any of the pregame parties or formal balls in Center City, Philadelphia the night before the game, or of course get to tailgate hours before the game in the stadium parking lot. What I do get to do is worry. And sweat. And ache. My workday for the game usually begins with a 4:30AM wake-up, since I want to be on the road by 6AM for the 3 -/+ hour drive to Philadelphia. But all this is to be expected, especially since I'm already familiar with the logistics of the stadium, press parking, photographer's field level workroom, etc. It's good to get to the ballpark with plenty of time (approximately 5 hours) before kickoff and sort of decompress from the long drive, have a cup of coffee, set up my workspace to send test emails to the office & back to myself, and begin the routine of how I'm going to go about installing my overhead remote in a TV press box either in the end zone as in previous years or in a main press box overlooking midfield. All this of course requires riding the service elevators to the top concourse of the stadium, and climbing the stairs up to either press box. Covering this game is all about preparation for me, as evidenced by the overhead remote image I really enjoy making. It sort reinforces the idea and ideals that everything in my gear bag(s) have to be in working order. Not to mention the three trips I made to the top of the stadium to insure that the remote camera had made this image...

The West Point Corps of Cadets fill the field during the "March On" prior to the 111th. Army - Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, December 11, 2010. Navy defeated Army 31 - 17. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

All in all it was another exceptional experience to again photograph such an
important game between the two service academies. The weather never became a factor either, as most of us were able to work without gloves well into the second half as well. It was also good to see a few familiar faces in the photographer's workroom and meet some new colleagues as well. ~cg.

Here's a slideshow from my take on the game.

*(Use the arrow at the bottom left of the player or click the image to start the slideshow. Enable full screen viewing by clicking the 4-way arrow icon above the credits button at lower right of the player. Pause the portfolio slideshow in the right column by clicking the "II" pause button.)

Click these links to view my previous year's Army - Navy Game coverage in 2009 and 2008.

Countdown to Philadelphia. West Point, NY. 9•Dec.•10

West Point cadets cheer during the annual bonfire and send-off for Army's football team at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY on Thursday, December 9, 2010. The cadets traditionally burn an effigy of a Navy boat representing the Naval Academy before the Army - Navy game. Army will face Navy in the 111th. annual Army - Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

"Back on the Block..." Basketball 2010.

I'll start right here: "BBall.", "Hoops.", "The Pill.", "The Rock.", "Square Up.", "Box - Out.", "Swish.", "Pop - Out.", "Shake 'N Bake.", "Pick and Roll.", "Gotcha.", "Face.", "And One.", "Down Low.", "Trap.", "Press.", "Coast to Coast.", "In the Paint.", and back "On the Block..."

NFA guard Will Williams gathers his thoughts during varsity basketball practice at the high school in Newburgh, NY on Thursday, December 2, 2010. Defending Section 9 Class AA Champion NFA opens their 2010 - 2011 season at Minisink Valley on December 9th. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls flips the ball over his head toward the basket in the closing seconds of the 1998 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, February 8, 1998. Jordan was named the MVP of the game. © Chet Gordon/The Journal News

Photographing basketball is probably my favorite sport to shoot. I mean besides football, baseball, boxing, track & field, swimming, lacrosse, hockey, tennis, soccer, field hockey, horse racing, car racing, bungee jumping, hang gliding, wind surfing, marathon running, weightlifting, etc... Well, you get the idea.
Basketball offers more opportunities for good pictures at a given game or venue, and sometimes even great pictures. Within the boundries of the rectangle of hardwood we know as the court, there are literally unlimited possibilities of viewing angles, shooting positions for me, as well as for remote cameras, and ways to cover a game. From the pee-wees and youngsters in neighborhood playgrounds and gyms, all the way up to the big boys in the NBA, I've been around basketball my whole life.

MOMBASA, KENYA. A Kenyan boy watches a basketball fall through a netless hoop in the Miritini Estates neighborhood of Mombasa, Kenya on Sunday, April 9, 2006. © www.chetgordon.com/blog

At one time I was a pretty decent player through high school and like other sports, I have a deep appreciation of the game with all it's nuances and intricacies. Basketball offers a working photographer a means to get close to the players and coaches, where one can usually freely approach the team benches (or locker rooms) for good feature or "B - roll" images from games and even practices.

As I begin my fourth season here covering basketball at this newspaper, it's always a good time to sort of look ahead while looking back at the work at the same time. This will of course include a fair heaping of high school games, as well as college games at area universities and the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. One good thing in looking ahead is that I've become familiar with the area gyms and arenas these past seasons, and am really looking forward to trying a few new things, as well as tweaking some of my dependable routines.

Anfernee Hardaway (#1, center) of the NY Knicks drives to the basket between Kenyon Martin (left) and Rodney Rodgers (right) of the NJ Nets in the first half of their Game #1 playoff game at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ on Saturday, April 17, 2004. Hardaway led the Knicks' scorers in a losing effort as the Nets defeated the Knicks, 107-83. (Photograph by Chet Gordon for The New York Daily News)

I am working now to add a slideshow of some of my career & recent favorites in covering basketball, so please check back on this post again soon... ~cg.