Caution - Delays ahead

I'm turning the corner from simply busy to insanely overscheduled for the next few days - don't get me wrong, LOVE being this busy - but it means some things are going to slip more than normal.

The main thing to pay the price for my busy schedule may be photo uploading from games.

I shot the BFA-Fairfax-Richford softball and baseball games on Friday and Saturday I'm planning on photographing over a dozen Little League games.

On average, it takes a couple hours to edit each game and those are hours that I will not have (because I'll be photographing games, seniors, teams and leagues galore) in the days to come.

I have two choices - neither of which appeal to me.

1. Upload the photos without editing them.

2. Waiting until late next week to upload photos.

The downside of uploading without editing is that the photos don't present as well. They can be cropped by anyone who wants to buy them to make them look great, but most people don't buy my photos, they want to look. And looking at unedited photos isn't as fun as looked at the finished product.

The downside of waiting is ... well, uh ... the wait.

Right now, I'm inclined to upload unedited photos and hope people understand that they click on a larger view of the photo to see it better and they can crop it to their liking if they choose to order.

As always, if you want to see if a game has been uploaded yet, just click on this link and I'll indicate if it has not been edited.

Happy weekend!

Make mine a triple

Originally, I planned on getting to four games today, but the best laid plans ...

I did, however, get to three games today.

First, I saw the first half of the BHS-BFA-St. Albans boys lacrosse game.

A couple of observations: 1. Every school needs artificial turf. Sure, not all can afford it, but sports on turf are better than sports on grass. It's not an opinion, it's a fact. Especially in the spring where grass is sketchy at best. Burlington's facility is a great place to play, to watch and to photograph.

2. I don't know enough about lacrosse to say who's good and who isn't, but I've seen BFA play twice this year and they can possess the heck out of the ball. Not sure if that translates into wins, but they had the ball for huge huge chunks of time in both games. Of course, this might mean they are terrible. My knowledge of lacrosse is only slightly worse than my knowledge of field hockey. Although lacrosse is rapidly becoming my favorite spring sport to photograph.

A quick check of the Free Press website reveals the Bobwhites won 6-5, second one-goal win in three games this season. They lost their first game by two goals, but it was tied into the fourth quarter. They won their second game of the season in double overtime. Guess they are determined to put some grey hairs on coach Scott Cooledge this season.

After my trip to B-Town, I made a not-so-quick rush-hour trip to Milton to catch the Yellowjackets against South Burlington in softball and baseball.

How about those Rebel softballers! They beat Milton 2-1 to match their win total from the previous decade. (OK, that's a slight exaggeration - I think.) Milton coach Steph Hurley was gracious - as usual - in defeat, remarking that SBHS has some kids who can put the ball in play with authority. They also have a decent pitcher. Sure, they aren't going to knock off a BFA or an Essex anything soon (right?), they seemed headed in the right direction.

Same, too, for the Rebel baseball team. They opened with a 6-0 win over the 'Jackets. Ben Jenkins was dominant on the mound for SBHS, besting Milton ace Matt Goulet. The 'Jackets made a lot of mistakes, but they are young and coach John Geary will use this game as a teaching tool, I'm sure.

With rain in the forecast tomorrow, I'm planning on a day away from games Friday before resuming my schedule with a game at Enosburg on Saturday, weather permitting.

Shooting some birdies

OK, my golf days are long behind me - and given the way I play that's probably a good thing.

Nowadays I'm lucky to get in one round of golf a year in a five-some playing in the Luc Gates Foundation Tournament.

Someday, I hope to resume my playing career, but for now I'll settle for shooting real birdies.

And not with a gun - not that there's anything wrong with shooting things with guns, mind you. Just not my cuppa tea.

Instead, I use a Canon, not a cannon, to shoot my birds - like these in the backyard today.

A chickadee, of course.

A chipping sparrow.

A Junco

Thanks goes for No. 1 daughter Molly for the ID-ing help and for suggesting we start feeding the little critters in the first place.

We had a ball watching them today - nice sometimes to take a break, listen to the small sounds around us and smell the roses, if you catch my meaning.

Take care.

I'm playing for the Vermont Voltage now ... sort of

Sure, it feels a little chilly still, but here it is April 11 and I've already been to a half-dozen spring sports games. Pretty remarkable, really.

And there's a lot more to come.

I've adjusted my schedule to allow me to get to more games this spring than last year and will once again keep those who care about such things up to date with my travels and tribulations in the days and weeks to come.

I also want to announce a new partnership of sorts with the Vermont Voltage. CHP will be the official photographer of the Voltage this summer and I will be working with the team as a public relations consultant.

This is very exciting news - I've known team owner Bo Vuckovic for over a decade and have marevelled in what he has created in Franklin County. We've toyed with the idea of joining forces off an on again over this span of time, but finally the stars aligned and I'm happy that CHP and the VV are able to team up - here's hoping its the start of a long relationship!

While I'm at it, I would like to thank these organizations for officially jumping on board the Cold Hollow Photo train and allowing me to take their team/individual photos this spring.

Johnson State College softball - my first-ever college gig - a lot of fun and some friendly faces to boot - former Enosburg stars Julie Gervais and Maria Lovelette were on basketball teams I helped coach at Enosburg H.S. and Kaitlyn Mackey was a BFA-St. Albans slugger I covered over the past few years. There were also a trio of players from my alma mater - Hazen Union - inlcuding one, Desiree Lacasse - whose father was a next-door neighbor for a while when I was growing up - man that makes me feel really old.

Northwest Ice U-10 AAU Basketball - Thanks for Shaun Montague and Jeannette Larivee for thinking of me for their team photos. A cute group, to be sure!

Fairfax-Westford and Milton Little Leagues - Our first two Little Leagues! (I've done tons of LL photos, but always as a photographer working with VSI) Very excited to add these groups to the CHP roster - always a little nerve-wracking the first time around, but my contacts there are super to deal with so I'm feeling very excited about this opportunity. Thanks Mary Beth and Cheryl for putting your faith in CHP!

Vermont Voltage Youth Soccer Club - This one is still in development, but the plan is to take their photos sometime in May and is an offshoot of my new relationship with the Voltage.

Thanks one and all for working with CHP and thanks, too, for those schools and leagues that we work with that I didn't mention. You are all very important to me and I appreciate our relationship. While it sounds like we are busy - and we are - there's always room for growth. If you know of a team/school/league that wants to have its photos taken by CHP, just shoot me an email shawn@coldhollowphoto.com or call me 782-5317. If you'd like to see samples of our work, check out the sample page on my website.

Take care and see you on the sidelines.

Shawn

Spring sports photo list

Here's a list of games I have shot during the spring sports season - from April 1, 2010 - June, 15, 2010.

If you are looking for the Winter 2009-10 sports photo list, click here.

Fairfax-Fletcher-Westford Little League games

The games that have been uploaded are highlights in blue (click on the link to go to the gallery) Games not yet posted are in black. If you want to know more about the FFWLL photos we have taken, click here.

Catamonts vs. Angels, Softball, May 1, 2010

Georgia vs. Phillies, Farm Softball, May 1, 2010

Grasshoppers vs. Champs, Farm Softball, May 1, 2010

Indians vs. Marlins, Farm Baseball, May 1, 2010

Muck Dogs vs. Rangers, T-Ball, May 1, 2010

Red Sox vs. A's, Majors Baseball, FFW May, 1, 2010

Vermonters vs. Rockies T-Ball, May 1, 2010

Red Sox vs. Braves Minors Baseball, May 5, 2010

Indians vs. Padres Farm Baseball, May 5, 2010

Red Sox vs. Braves Minors baseball, May 5, 2010

Diamondbacks vs. Braves, Minor Baseball, May 8, 2010

FFW Padres and Marlins Farm May, 25 2010

FFW Red Sox vs. A's Majors May 25, 2010

FFW Red Sox-D-Backs Minor May 25, 2010

Milton Little League games

The games that have been uploaded are highlights in blue (click on the link to go to the gallery) Games not yet posted are in black. If you want to know more about the Little League photos we have taken, click here.

A's vs. Red Sox Majors Baseball May 15, 2010

Dodgers vs. Padres, May 23, 2010

MLL Astros vs. Rays May 23, 2010

MLL Cubs vs. Braves May 25, 2010

Baseball

Stowe at Enosburg, April 7, 2010

South Burlington at Milton, April 15, 2010

BFA-St. Albans at MVU, April 20, 2010 - Slideshow on Examiner.com

Middlebury at BFA-St. Albans, April 24, 2010

MVU at Rice, April 29, 2010 - slideshow on examiner.com

Richford at BFA-Fairfax, April 30, 2010

Enosburg at Winooski baseball, May 5, 2010

Fairfax vs. Richford baseball May 27, 2010

Oxbow at BFA-Fairfax D-3 quarterfinals, June, 4 2010

Softball

Stowe at Enosburg, April 7, 2010 - Slideshow on examiner.com

Maine Maritime at Johnson State, April 10, 2010

South Burlington at Milton, April 15, 2010

BFA-St. Albans at MVU, April 20, 2010 - slideshow on examiner.com

Lyndon State at Johnson State, April 21, 2010

Middlebury at BFA-St. Albans, April 24, 2010

Richford at BFA-Fairfax, April 30, 2010

Peoples at BFA-Fairfax, May 8, 2010

BFA-Fairfax at Richford softball, May 27, 2010

Oxbow at BFA-Fairfax D-3 softball semifinal, June 8, 2010

Girls lacrosse

BFA-St. Albans at Burlington, April 9, 2010 - story on examiner.com

Mount Mansfield at Burlington, April 23, 2010 - recap on examiner.com

Mount Anthony vs. Middlebury, Division I title game

Chelsea vs. Burr and Burton, Division II title game

Boys lacrosse

Rutland at BFA-St. Albans, April 10, 2010 - recap on examiner.com

BFA-St. Albans at Burlington, April 15, 2010 - recap on examiner.com

Spaulding at South Burlington, April 23, 2010 - recap on examiner.com

Rice vs. Harwood, Division II title game

Track and Field

MVU, Richford, Lake Region, Enosburg, Winooski at Milton

Enosburg, Milton, MVU, BFA-St. Albans, BFA-Fairfax, Colchester at BFA-St. Albans, May 4, 2010

Division II state meet

Tennis

BFA-St. Albans at South Burlington boys, April 23, 2010

Essex at BFA-St. Albans girls, April 17, 2010