All Fall 2011 Dynamo Soccer are Online!

This past weekend was the makeup weekend for the Dynamo Soccer Fall 2011 Recreational League. Other than a few random drops, the rain held off and I managed to get all of the teams photographed. All told, I shot over 3800 photos over this Fall. That's about 500 more shots than I did in the Spring.

All of the photos are online, sorted by team. The Fall photos can be found here:

http://photos.paulrichardwossidlo.com/g/dynamo_soccer_fall_2011

There is a 15% "Early Bird" discount for all orders placed by October 1 (that's this Saturday), so you still have a couple of days to order and save!

Dynamo Soccer Fall 2011 Photo Day

This past weekend was Photo Day for the Dynamo Soccer Fall 2011 Recreational League. I was at Schenley Park both days to photograph all 68 teams. As usual, the weather played a factor. Both days had a chance of rain and thunderstorms. Saturday we had sunshine and warmer temperatures until 4 pm, when the skies suddenly opened up (even though the sun was still shining) for about 30 minutes, killing my chances of getting any photos of the teams scheduled for 4 pm games. And all that rain on Saturday meant that the grass fields were a mess on Sunday. All told, I shot almost 2500 photos over the two days.

The makeup weekend is scheduled for the weekend of September 24 and 25, when I'll be at the field to photograph anyone who missed the first weekend.

I've started posting the photos online. Currently I have all of the photos from the Saturday games up, and I'm working on the Sunday games now. The new gallery can be found here:

http://photos.paulrichardwossidlo.com/g/dynamo_soccer_fall_2011

There is a 15% "Early Bird" discount for all orders placed by October 1, so order now and save!

By the way, a bit of explanation for the above photo is in order. Sometimes the players want to ham it up for the group photo. Since I usually shoot several group shots, I will tell them that if they give me two "normal" group shots, they can have some fun with the third shot. So the U10G California Blue girl's team decided they wanted to be "Drama Queens". The result is just plain fun!

"Last Chance Sale" for Dynamo Soccer Spring 2011 Photos

Mark your calendars. Photo Day for the Recreational League Fall 2011 season is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of September 10 and 11. I'll be at Schenley Park both days for both team/individual photos, and also for in-game photos. The makeup weekend is scheduled for the weekend of September 24 and 25, when I'll be at the field to photograph anyone who missed the first weekend.

Since I'll soon be posting new photos, I need to make room by taking down the current Spring 2011 photos. This is your last opportunity to purchase photos from the Spring 2011 season. As an added incentive, I've added an automatic 10% discount on all soccer photo orders placed from now through September 10.

The link to the Dynamo Soccer Spring 2011 gallery is:

http://photos.paulrichardwossidlo.com/g/dynamo_soccer_spring_2011

Michael and Valerie

August 20th I got a chance to photograph Michael and Valerie's wedding out in Westmoreland County. This was my first "Second Generation" wedding, in that I had photographed Valerie's parent's wedding over 20 years ago. I had also photographed Valerie's aunt's wedding around the same time. It was interesting to see everyone again, and a reminder as to just how long I've been doing this...

The bridal party was a wild bunch and all the guests really enjoyed themselves. But we still had time for a simple, elegant portrait before entering the reception.

Quick & Easy Outdoor Portraits

I got my start professionally photographing portraits and models outdoors. As a poor college student, I didn't have the funds for flashes, umbrellas, and the other paraphernalia that indoor portraits require. Fortunately my alma-mater, Michigan State, had extensive park and garden areas available that made ideal locations.

I still enjoy working outdoors. Lighting is much more natural, and being out of a studio environment tends to relax subjects more. I try to avoid an overly elaborate setup, preferring a flash with diffuser attached to the camera with a rotating flash bracket. Put the sun at the subject's back, add enough flash to fill in the facial shadows, and everything's ready to go.

Last week I was contacted by a member of my synagogue, asking if I could shoot a portrait for use with her daughter's upcoming Bat Mitzvah announcement. It needed to be done quickly, and the fact that I would come to their house to shoot the photos was a big plus. We had the option of shooting inside (I had my flashes and umbrellas in the car), but we had a nice day and they had a nice front yard, so everyone agreed that outdoors was preferred. The rest of the family sat on their front stoop while we shot. I used the dark hedges for a background, making the hair highlights really jump and helping to separate the subject from the background.

Deanna

I just finished a shoot with another OneModelPlace model who goes by "Deanna Destruction". She's a total professional who is a blast to work with. She's got a great head of hair that looks great when the wind catches it.

We did part of the shoot under a highway underpass, and I turned it into an outdoor studio. I set the exposure manually to kill the ambient light, and then used three flashes (one on-camera, one from behind on the left, and a snooted flash high and on the right. The results were dramatic and exciting, with an old-school glamor flavor to them.

2011 Spectrum Charter School Graduation

My older son KJ has been going to Spectrum Charter School in Monroeville for four years now. Spectrum is specifically set up for high-schoolers with autism spectrum disorders. All of the kids there thrive and grow in that environment. Every May, a few of them graduate, and the entire student population, family, and friends attend. It celebrates just how far they have all come.

The gallery of photos can be found here.