DePaul Prep Basketball Season 2017-2018

I thought I might put together a gallery of photos from DePaul Prep mens basketball last season, 2017-2018. Last year's Rams were the best group in many years. Very fun to watch. It has only been a few years and Tom Kleinschmidt and the rest to the DePaul Prep coaches and staff have brought the Rams back to the top of the Catholic League and rest of high school basketball. Interestingly, moving up from 2A to 3A improved the Rams playoff chances. This next season with this formidable group of seniors will be fun indeed. 

Shut Down the Ryan

I was out this morning so I thought I would drive down to 79th and the Ryan and see what was going on. I found a place to park right near the northbound entrance ramp to the Ryan 

I ran into one of the usual suspect sports photographers Patrick Gorski. Patrick is very talented and very nice. I look forward to seeing his shots.

I was struck with just how well planned this all was. Extremely so. To the credit of all concerned. I was out of place for many good shots. I ought to have stayed at the ramp entrance where I was initially. 

Interestingly, I did not see many newspaper photographers, only John J. Kim (@jkimpictures) from the Tribune. Looking forward to seeing his photos. 

I learn a lot every time I go to one of these things. Stay close to the action. Don't over think it. 

I hope you like the photos.

 

Robert Murphy Campaign Kickoff

I have been taking some photos for Robert Murphy in recent months. He asked if I could take some more photos at his campaign kickoff event at his house. He lives in that lovely little neighborhood tucked in the Forest Glen neighborhood just behind Foster and Cicero. 

It was something of a challenging shoot, bright sunlight and shadows. I knew I would need to use a flash to fill in the shadows. I haven't really done that before. I watched some YouTube videos on how to do it. I practiced a little and knew how to work the flash. What I didn't know is how strong to make the flash. I set it on 1/16. I could have used it stronger. But for the most part it worked well. It's going to take more practice. 

The photos are nothing special, technically competent and meeting the assignment but nothing inspired. Except for the photo of the sign. I like that one. That one can be used in campaign materials and social media. It's one of my best political photos. 

Maggie O'Keefe Fundraiser

I took some photos at a fundraiser for Maggie O'Keefe yesterday. I got some good shots but I struggled mightily trying to get the proper exposure with my speedlite flash. I need a lot of practice with that damn thing. 

Evanston Takes Down Lane Tech 9-7 in 4A Sectional Semi

Evanston played Lane Tech last Thursday (May 31, 2018) at Loyola's Munz athletic fields campus. It was a great game. Evanston jumped out to a two run lead. Lane rebounded with seven runs a couple innings later. Then Evanston put up seven runs of its own an inning later and took a 9 - 7 lead. The Indians were unable to make up the difference. Evanston won 9-7 and advanced to play Loyola on Saturday. 

The  photos were high shutter speed and high ISO. The Loyola announcer was gracious enough to let me shoot photos from the mobile press box which helped me get some great shots. 

Lane Tech Comes Back to Defeat New Trier 7-3 to Win Regional

Lane Tech Indians came back from 2-0 deficit to the New Trier Trevians going into the fourth with one run in the fourth and five runs in the sixth to hold to win the Regional Championship. It was a very entertaining game. It was a close game. There was some good baseball played--very few errors and walks.

As for the photography, I pushed the shutter speed even higher to 1/2000, 1/2500, 1/3200 and 1/4000. At 5.6 on the 300mm, the photos were too dark even with high ISOs. I think I found the outer limits of shuttter speed for day baseball with a telephoto lens. I got some more great shots of a play at the plate. Best play in sports.

I also worked much more on positioning. Inside the bags is tough because of interference from the base coaches. If you pay attention to the game, you can instinctively get good action shots. 

I hope you like the photos.

Lane Tech Defeats Glenbrook South 6-2 to Advance to Regional Final

Lane Tech Indians defeated the Glenbrook South Titans 6-2 at Kerry Wood Field Thursday evening (May 24, 2018). The Indians manufactured a lead in the bottom of the first with aggressive base running. With one out, Lane center fielder Mason Peterson walked then stole second. After a strikeout, Mason Peterson stole third. When the ball got away on the throw to third, he dashed home. The throw beat him but the Glenbard South catcher lost the ball and Peterson was safe on a close play. See the photos below.

The Indians added three in the bottom of the fifth on two walks, two infield singles and a hit batsman. Lane added two more in the bottom of the sixth all after two outs aided by some questions calls at first and the Titans through errors. 

After giving up a run in the top of the seventh, Lane held on to defeat the Titans 6-2 and advance to the  4A Regional Championship game against New Trier on Saturday at 4:00 pm at Kerry Wood Field.

As for the photography, I continued to stretch the ISO to see what results I would get shooting a night game at very high ISO and fast shutter speeds. The photos came out fine despite the noticeable graininess. Tack sharp focus shows up great on internet publication; graininess not so much.

I hope you like the photos.

40th Ward Sustainability Pop-Up Event at Gross Park

Maggie O'Keefe, candidate for 40th Ward Alderman, asked me to shoot an event she was putting on and inviting MWRD candidate Cam Davis to speak. Cam Davis is very impressive. We are lucky to have him as a public servant. And Maggie is always great. Another great citizen working to make our City better.

It was a challenging shoot because the background was in bright sunlight and foreground was in shadows. I took a lot of photos and a lot of test shots. I got a few good ones. I confess I do not catch the name of the dark haired woman in the photos but the photos of her turned out very nice.

I played around with the white balance a little going for different looks. The photo of the woman at the door of the field house just presented itself. So I took it. I hope the composition works. This was definitely a learning experience for me. Next time I will shoot faster shutter speed and try to get a little more crisp look.

I hope you like the photos.

 

DePaul Prep Defeats Latin to Win 2A Regional

The DePaul Prep Rams defeated the Latin Romans 8-1 in the IHSA 2A Playoffs this afternoon (May 19, 2018) at Kerry Wood Field. The Rams broke open the game with five runs in the bottom of the third. After the third, the Rams played excellent defense and held off the Romans. 

I should try my hand at sports writing about a game but not today. 

As for the photos, I remembered to bring my 300mm lens today so I could get in close enough. It was a late afternoon game and overcast. Light was an issue. I set the shutter speed at 1/1250th and the ISO on auto. The ISO was ranging from 800-3200. I also noticed that my 28-300mm, variable aperture was focusing a lot slower than I recall. I am spoiled by the 70-200mm, f2.8. The photos came out okay. Again, I was not concentrating on getting all the action. I was must mostly there to a photo of the Rams in the event they ended Regional champs. Nevertheless, I am pleased with the pictures. I think I have a handle on taking baseball photos now. It just confirms what Worsum Robinson told me about basketball--shutter speed is everything. So I am going to shoot as fast as I can. For internet publication, ISO does not matter.

I got that photo. Well done Rams!

Tremont Turks Defeat El Paso Titans 4-0 in IHSA 2A Baseball Regional

My brother-in-law Mike Souhrada is the manager of the El Paso Titans varsity baseball team. My nephew Jared Souhrada is his assistant coach. I took the afternoon off and drove down to Eureka to see Mike's Titans take on Tremont on Thursday afternoon.

Tremont's Turks (as is turkeys the animals, as opposed to people from Turkey) jumped out to an early lead on the Titans' star pitcher and University of Illinois recruit Nathan Lavender. Nathan gave up three in the first and one in the third. After that, he settled down but it was too late. The Titans could not get anything going against the Turks and were eliminated from the IHSA 2A playoffs 4-0. 

As for photographs, it was a clear, warm and sunny day with the sun low in the sky at the 4:30 start. The Eureka College field was in good shape except for the infield grass. The grass was so long that high hard hit ground balls barely made it to the infielders. High school and college baseball diamonds don't have spots for photographers. Generally, the only clean look one gets at a high school filed is either from a hole in the netting, an open doorway, actually standing on the field or inside a dugout. This day I had to stand in the dugout. It was not a bad spot but far from ideal with respect to the direction of the sunlight. 

I shot a high shutter speed at f2.8 most of the time with an ISO between 200-400. The photos came out pretty crisp. I did not have my 300mm lens so I shot the whole game with my trusty 70-200mm, f2.8. I had to crop in on most of the photos. The next day baseball game I do I am going to go much higher on the shutter speed and ISO. I want to see how that works. 

Hope you like the shots. 

2018 Ravenswood Run

The Ravenswood Run has been going on a couple blocks from my house for five years or so now. I have gotten some good photos over the years and learned how to shoot it. I switched things up a little this year. I boosted the shutter speed but kept a fast f-stop. The photos seem a little over exposed in spots but I got some good results.

The overall winner, Oscar Medina, set a record for the event with a time of 14:35, which is like 25 seconds faster than a prior record setting time I remember from a few years ago.

I enjoyed the event. Two hours of shooting and then a five minute walk home. 

Hope you like the photos. 

Lane Tech 10, Geneseo 3

I stopped over at Kerry Wood field last night and caught a few innings of the Lane Tech Indians against the Geneseo Maple Leafs game. (Geneseo is a town of 6,500 a few miles east of Moline.) It was a fun game. Not just walks and strikes outs like so many games. 

As for the technical photography stuff, I tested the limits of the my 24-300mm, f4.5-5.6 lens. As I already knew, it is a daylight lens. The f5.6 aperture is just too slow for night baseball. But what I did confirm is that 300mm is absolutely necessary for baseball. I am going to rent the 300mm f2.8 and see what I can do with that. 

Here are some photos. Not my best stuff, mostly just trying to find the limits of the gear. When it is a little warming I will set out to take a great set of baseball photos and we will see what I can do.

ESCC v. CCL All Star Game

I have to apologize for a previous version of this blog post. My remarks about Notre Dame College Prep's gym comparing the it light to light in some other gyms were, well, unfunny and ill-considered. I wrote:

Notre Dame "has a dated fluorescent lighting system. Clearly, one ought not judge the merits of a school by the quality of the light in its gym but maybe we ought rethink that a little. The light in DePaul Prep's and St. Viator's gyms is excellent. (Just a tip for you parents with kids in elementary school.)

I apologize. I wasn't trying to insult Notre Dame. The gym is just fine. It was a humorless attempt at some photographer inside baseball reference to different qualities and quantities of light in school gyms for the purposes of taking photographs. No other purpose than that. 

I feel especially bad from causing a problem for Coach Shea Boyle who I have been lucky enough to know for years now. He has always been so gracious to me. Forgive me. 

So, with written, back to the matter at hand.

Notre Dame College Prep hosted the all-star game on Friday, April 20, 2018. It was a typical all-star game--all shooting and no defense. But fun nevertheless. Nice to see these kids have some fun without all the pressure. I didn't really have a rooting interest. I attended St. Viator, a million years ago and my brother Dan teaches there now. But my kids went to Gordon Tech/DePaul Prep and I shoot a lot DePaul Prep events as you might have noticed if you looked at my portfolio page. 

The game wasn't exactly a true all star game. It was only seniors. And not all the schools sent players--DePaul Prep, Loyola, Mt. Carmel for starters, probably others but I didn't exactly keep count. 

I included more photos than I usually do so I could include as many of the players as possible. Some images might not be up to normal publication standards. I included a photo of the referees which I do not ordinarily publish. However, I wanted to honor these refs. Two of whom I see regularly working CCL games. They do excellent jobs. For the most part, all the refs that work CCL games are very good. On occasion, some are not so good but that's pretty rare. 

I hope you like the photos.

First Baseball Game of the Year; DePaul Prep v. Bishop Mac

Photographing high school baseball at night is a challenge. I went into this game looking to experiment more than usual. I wanted to shoot very high shutter speed and compensate with high ISO. The pictures turned out okay but I could have pushed the ISO even more for better exposure. The full frame cameras produce good quality images at very high ISOs. I was concentrating more on exposure than I was on capturing the action but I got a few good action shots. I retaught myself a couple more lessons about shooting baseball: 1) first base side is necessary to get good batter's box photos; 2) One has to pay attention to the game and anticipate the next play, particularly stolen passes and plays at the plate.

But the number one lesson that we all know, but can do precious little about--a 300mm f.2.8 lens is absolutely necessary. Too bad I don't have one and won't for a while yet. 

Hope you like the photos.

Palm Sunday Visit to Montrose Harbor and Loyola Campus

Fresh of the Loyola Ramblers' unlikely NCAA tournament victory over Kansas State, I got up early on the Palm Sunday morning (March 25, 2018) to drive some things down to my son Dan as he was going back to school after his Spring Break trip. 

On my way home, I detoured to the breakwater off Montrose Harbor and the Loyola campus and strolled around about 0700 taking some photos.

The early morning light at Montrose Harbor made everything look especially gray. I loved the chop on the grey water.  Some fishermen and geese happened into the shots which is always good.

I lot changed on the Loyola campus since I was there 33 years ago. I have been back many times since by never for the express purpose of taking photos. 

No one was out yet. Just me and the police. 

Marian Catholic Wins IHSA 3A 3rd Place over North Chicago 58-48

Third Place games never very interesting. I didn't even watch the 4A third place game. I shot this game mostly because I was there. It was a well played game. North Chicago rebounded from its historically poor shooting performance in Friday's semi-final. Marian Catholic made a case for being the second best 3A team.

DePaul Prep Falls to North Chicago 66-58 in 3A Sectional Final

It' is not surprising that the more interested I am in a basketball game, the crappier my photos are. I really wanted to see the DePaul Prep Rams advance to Peoria. These photos are pretty ordinary. Maybe it's just that I feel like I have taken all these shots many times this season.

The best are the North Chicago team photos. Those kids know how to pose for a proper team photo. 

I did not plan on the blurry one. I accidentally slowed the shutter speed and zoomed the 24-70mm out. I rather like the effect.

Maybe next year I will go to a game as a spectator and leave the cameras at home--well maybe just in the car. 

DePaul Prep Meets North Chicago in 3A Sectional Championship

Okay. This is it. Rubber meets the road. Go time. Put up or shut up. No tomorrow. Win or go home.

16 good teams left in 3A. Morgan Park, Bogan, Farragut, North Lawndale, Sterling, Metamora, Marian Catholic, Kankakee, Marion, East St. Louis, Lanphier, Springfield Southeast, DePaul Prep, North Chicago, Burlingto Central and Boylan.

After tomorrow, eight.

The DePaul Prep Rams come into the their game tomorrow against North Chicago with a record of 26-6. The Rams haven’t advanced this far into the IHSA playoffs since . . . well, last year. They lost to eventual 2A state champions Orr in the only game that Orr played in the playoffs that was even close. The Rams were within 5 or so most of the game and eventually lost 64-54 after taking some defensive chances at the end and giving up some easy buckets.

The North Chicago Warhawks come into the game 19-8 overall and 14-0 in the weak Northern Lake County Conference. The only common opponent that North Chicago and DePaul had was Antioch. Neither team had any trouble with Antioch. In fact, North Chicago beat them twice.

Max Preps has the Rams ranked 9th in 3A and the Warhawks ranked 41st. Those Max Preps don’t mean a great deal but it is does show that based purely on record and strength of schedule the teams are at much different levels. Even so, they are still going to play the game. Don’t look for a Tom Kleinschmidt coached team to stumble. They have been here before, last year. I have seen these Rams play most of their games this year. They did not lose a game to any team that did not turn out to be a regional champ, except Fenwick. Oh, and Fenwick was the Catholic League Blue champ and last year’s 3A runner-up. Plus the young men just look serious. The tough boxing matches that were the Catholic League regular season games were good preparation. The Rams have been all business in the playoff games. No goofing around, even against competition in the Regional that was not even close to top tier.

North Chicago won a state championship just a few years ago and rolled over Gordon Tech to get it. The Warhawks did not stumble either. 14-0 in conference. They took care of business.

A win over North Chicago and then, next Tuesday, a win over either Burlington Central or Boylan and then will be going to the State Tournament in Peoria.

Curiously, such talk just makes me more focused. I have been charging my batteries, cleaning my lenses, erasing my memory cards and packing and repacking my camera bag since I got home late Tuesday from the Antioch game. He even reset and practiced my auto-focus settings. I’m ready. Let’s play ball.