Wildcat Roundup

I have been covering UK basketball for 16 years. No telling how many ways I’ve found to show the excitement in photographs. No telling how many individual pictures I’ve taken.

But this year I “saw” it for the first time in sound. I went to several games and spent the entire time pointing a microphone instead of a camera. It’s amazing to hear the layers of sound that fill the arena when you really pay attention. There are the obvious noises of the announcer, the cheerleaders, the band, and the rabid crowd. Tucked into that audio lasagna are the subtler sounds—the squeak of sneakers, the stamping of Tubby’s foot, and the stray word or conversation that seems to have no relevance to anything. I combined these sounds with a collection of staff photos to create the show. This photo of Tubby was taken by Charles Bertram.

You can watch my newest attempt at multimedia, Wildcat Roundup, on our Herald-Leader photo page.

Poker face - or Pokemon face?

When I’m covering an event - like Saturday’s 2006 Kentucky State Pokemon Championship at A+ Comics & Collectibles - I’m always on the lookout for expressive people who will help visually represent the essence of that event. OK, that’s maybe a bit unfair to all of those unexpressive types who keep their emotions to themselves - they don’t often make for those story-telling photos I’m looking for.

But when I spot someone like Louisville’s Megan Kramer, whose intensity and competitiveness radiated from across the room, I lock on. Unfortunately, Megan lost her first match, but quickly rebounded after a very sportsman-like Benjamin Childress from Lexington congratulated her on a game well-played.

So to my editors - don’t send me to a poker tournament. Not unless Megan is playing.

Shot with Canon MkII, 70-200mm, 60th sec @f2.8, ISO 1000.

Strobe Basketball

I hope some of you Final Frame readers are taking a look at our high school basketball slide shows (like these) .You might notice that a lot of the high school games are lit with strobe. Here’s a photo from Henry Clay vs. Scott County showing just how much area two small Nikon SB strobes can cover AT HALF POWER! I usually put each strobe (you can see one at right) on a handrail on both sides of the baseline, using a Pocket Wizard to trigger them. Many times there are other photogs using on-camera strobes that could trigger a conventional electric eye “slave”, so we use the Pocket Wizard radio slaves. –Dave Perry

Tech info: 16mm lens, Nikon D2H, 400 ISO, f 3.2, 1/250 second.

Crayons That Pay

If you think things are going bad, just turn the corner and reality can change your outlook very quickly. While driving to Union, Kentucky, to photograph Maddox Johnson, a seven-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with cancer, I tried to imagine what I would find.

I couldn’t get it out of my mind just thinking how I would handle the situation, when my cell-phone rang. My wife had called to tell me that one of our six-week-old twin grandsons had been admitted to the hospital with a serious respiratory problem. My thoughts of Maddox vanished and my only thoughts were on my grandson.

When I arrived at the Johnson home, Mrs. Johnson, Maddox’s mom, was out front sweeping the walk. We talked awhile and she asked if I had any children. I told her I had two children and four grand children and as a matter of fact one of my grandsons had just been admitted to the hospital. We went inside and I was introduced to Maddox, a shy but very polite little boy. It was yes sir, no sir, something you don’t hear from children these days. Maddox paints, draws and colors pictures that he sells on Ebay to help with the mounting medical bills brought on by his illness. I spent over 30 minutes with this little boy of wonder and forgot about my grandson and my problems. Maddox’s attitude, grin and his love really caught me off guard. I was touched by his story and the time I spent with him.

But what happened next took me off my feet. As I was leaving, Maddox’s mom told me that my grandson would be in their prayers. Storing my equipment and getting into my car, it struck me; Wait a minute, my problems are nothing compared to theirs,. And yet they would pray for somebody that they didn’t even know. I had to sit there a couple of minutes to gather my thoughts before driving off. My thoughts remained with Maddox and my grandson as I returned to Lexington.
If you might be interested in purchasing some of Maddox Johnson’s paintings, drawings, search e-bay, at maddoxjohnson.com
Frank Anderson

To read the complete story, read it online here.

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