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| From Blogger Pictures |
Here's a snap from Boise State before the game. It's shocking how much different the attitude toward the Ducks changed so dramatically from before the game to after the game. This photo looks a little different because it was highly processed in Color Efx Pro and Aperture. I a few hours, I'm taking off for Eugene to shoot the Oregon vs. Purdue. We'll see how that goes.
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At this point, I'm leading the pack with seven votes. Please go HERE and enter you email address and vote. Thanks!
You will need to enter your email address and if it's not at the top of the page you may need to enter my name on the search field. It's very easy. Do it now loyal blog readers!
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| How LeGarrette Blount's Ducks career ended |
Here's short video featuring a few of my photos I shot from the field.
For a new angle on the punch see Tom Ward's video from KVAL here.
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LeGarrette Blount - University of Oregon - Images by Thomas Boyd
I shot this portrait of LeGarrette Blount during media day at the University of Oregon. During the short time I had to photograph LeGarrette I found him to be personable, funny and accommodating. He had a great sense of humor and seemed comfortable in front of the camera. Given the circumstances of the shoot, that's actually saying something. When we do this sort of shoot, we are cutting in on their time between duties. In this case, it was after practice during a short break before heading off to do something else. Their time is precious and he was generous with it.
I was also on the field in proximity to Chip Kelly when LeGarrette punched Boise State's Byron Hout in the jaw. Like Kelly, I didn't see the punch but saw the immediate aftermath of the punch when his teammates were trying to calm him down and then as coach Kelly handed him off to coach Frost.
I wish LeGarrette Blount the best and hope he takes his punishment with dignity and fortitude. I believe Oregon is doing the right thing by not sending him home. I believe he'll survive this if he sticks close the people who are care about him.
He managed to make a bad move in the center of a perfect storm of circumstances. His quote in SI, his poor performance, his team's poor performance, national media coverage, a slow sports news day and a new coach's first game all aligned to make his actions seem worse.
>Read about it here. He also posted some of his favorite photos from the Portland Timbers game.
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| From Columbia Gorge FIre in Mosier, Oregon |
While covering the Microwave fire early Friday morning in the Columbia Gorge, I decided to go to Courtney Road across the river on the Washington side to get a better view. I had been up there before and knew it would be spectacular. Reporter Stuart Tomlinson and I were not disappointed. An air tanker made a few drops right in front of us. I moved a photo from my car before leaving. While there I was also thinking ahead to what I could shoot later in the evening.
I know from covering dozens of fires over the past 19-years that the view from Courtney Road was very rare and special. I also knew the flames would glow just after sunset and make a great photo.
I made plans to return no later than 7:45 p.m. Friday night. One thing lead to another and I didn't get into position until about 8:10 p.m. My deadline for page one was 8:30 p.m.. When I finally got there, I set up my tripod in and fired up the Canon 5D Mark II and started shooting immediately. It took me a few frames to get the exposure dialed in and then I cracked off about 10 more frames with different compositions and hustled back to my car. My laptop was already sitting there online and ready to go. I imported the raw images in to Aperture, made some quick and adjustments and and uploaded it to The Oregonian's ftp site. I made the call and told them I had just sent their page one centerpiece photo. I looked at my watch and it was 8:24 p.m. I made deadline!
With that done, I went back to shooting. The flames grew the fire moved quickly down the hill toward Mosier. I and everyone around me on the hill thought for sure Mosier was being swallowed by the fire. It just looked like the fire was ending up right in town. Flames were crowning in the trees, and large bright areas would appear as if a house was going up. It was an unbelievable sight. Hwy. 14 was lined with cars and there quite a few up on Courtney Road watching the action. Thankfully, very little damage was done to Mosier.
Interestingly, the moon made a brief appearance from behind the clouds and then was obscured again. I got all excited about that, because the brightness of the moon was pretty close to the brightness of the fire below. I knew it would make an even better photo than I had shot earlier and kept working on it. The view of that fire from Courtney Road on Aug. 28, 2009, was something I'll never forget.
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| Saturday afternoon update on the Microwave Fire |
Here's a quick news video I shot today in Mosier, Ore. See The Oregonian's coverage here from Stuart Tomlinson, Jake Cohen, Alan Brettman, and Randy Rasmussen.
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Grandpa and I took my daughter Greta and her cousin Payton to the Iowa State Fair. It's something he's always wanted to do so we went for it. While we were there, we went to the Big and Rich concert. I'd never heard of them before this, but their show was really well done. Here's a gallery of snapshots so my mother can order prints.
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Pickathon 2009 - Time Lapse from Pickathon on Vimeo.
I helped Tim LaBarge build a waterproof housing and mount the camera on pole before the crew at Pickathon started setting up. I think it worked out great. See Tim's post here about it.
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As I have done many seasons in the past, I shot portraits of some key players on the Oregon and Oregon State football teams, including a portrait of LeGarrette Blount who was just suspended from the team for punching Boise State player Byron Hout on the jaw after the game.
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| From Blogger Pictures |
I was shooting a time lapse of the sun setting behind the Portland skyline and shot this with my 5D Mark II as the other camera clicked away every 10 seconds. I will show the time lapse when it's completed.
>On October 1, 2009, I'll be one of the featured speakers at Craig Mitchelldyer's free workshop. Click here for informatin and to register.
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Pickathon takes place very close to my home and this the first year I've been. I must say it's the coolest best music festival I've ever seen. There's a super cool vibe, no oppressive rules, camping everywhere, good food, and great Amercian Roots music on several stages. Best yet, a lot of my friends spend the entire weekend there. I really enjoyed C.W. Stoneking, Justin Townes Earle, Hillstomp, The Wiyos and Big Sandy.
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| Enjoying Portland's heat wave |
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Susannah Mars plays "Evita" from Thomas Boyd on Vimeo.
Here's a quick video I made of Susannah Mars who plays "Evita".
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| From Blogger Pictures |
Tonight I rode my motorcycle up to Trillium Lake. I got there right at sunset, but it was a lot colder than I expected it to be and I had to buy some hand warmer packs at a ski shop at Government Camp to make it home. Here's a snap of a mother duck and her ducklings.
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Allison and Laef Morris - Images by Thomas Boyd
Allison and Laef Morris marry on Manhatten Beach in Los Angeles, California, July 18, 2009.
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I've covered nine military funerals since the war started and this was possibly the saddest of them all. I feel for his family and friends and hope my presence wasn't too disruptive.