Dem Viet Nam

(January 31st) I haven't been shooting a lot of wildlife lately, but I've still had a camera in my hands. A couple of my friends invited me to extravaganze put on by the University of Michigan's Vietnamese Student Association. It was a wonderful time, and quite a challenge to shoot with stage lighting all over the map. I severely regretted not bringing a flash. The performance was amazing! One of my favorite numbers was an umbrella dance with stunning colors.

It was set-up much like a variety show with commentary between the acts. There was a mix of traditional Vietnamese entertainment with more modern, Western-style acts. Another traditional performance was this fan dance.

My friends put on a fantastic ballroom and Latin dancing medley. At different times the performance was filled with dominant strength, fiery passion, and irresistable coolness.

There were also several all-male dance numbers, like this contemporary rendition.

The show ended with an impressive fashion show as participants marched out in both traditional and modern dress. I couldn't believe how they could change so quickly...

Hockey Part Deux

(January 24th) I got a second chance at a hockey game. This time University of Michigan was playing their in-state rivals, Michigan State. The rink was packed with spectators, so getting shots without heads or arms took some work. All in all the shots came out much sharper the second time around. Almost right after the opening festivities, UofM went to work on MSU.

This game, the puck seemed like it was always moving at MSU's goal.

This was mostly because Michigan just dominated control of the puck.

The real story of this game was how violent it was. On almost every play there was excessive contact.

The tension rose to the breaking point and several times spilled over into altercations including one particularly brutal fight.

Hockey

(January 7th) This blog mainly has wildlife entries since that is my passion and love, but occasionally I do photograph other things. I lept at the chance for my first hockey game - I've been to games before but never trying to photograph them. I was eager to try out some of the autofocus adjustments I had made towards the end of my California trip. Hockey was quite a challenge, but that made it all the more exciting. I watched and shot the University of Michigan game against LSSU. At first, images of the goal and of face-offs were the easiest to frame and take.

The crowd was having a blast with the game, due to Michigan's comfortable lead. Some of the fans even broke out into dance...

Later on I had a little better luck with the action of the game. Much of the action in hockey revolves around players trying to control the puck and pass it off to others.

My favorite photo of the night was of a shot on goal. Unfortunately this one didn't go in for Blue, but still I like the story it tells. I have an increased respect now for sports photographers and I think hockey is one of the harder games to shoot - anticipating the play in time for the shot is the biggest challenge for me.