Shot of the Day

Anne Vaughan (11) and Krystena Castro (14) attempt to block a shot as Morgan Johns (10) looks on during FAU Volleyball's opening weekend. The Owls took two of three matches, beating Bethune-Cookman and North Florida and losing to Northern Iowa.

Reaching Higher

FAU Football opens their season today at Texas. A victory would be a tremendous boost towards their goal summed up in the title of their 2008 theme, "Reaching Higher," as seen here on the media guide cover.

This past summer I shot the cover on the beach in Boca Raton. Rusty Smith and Frantz Joseph were very patient has I had them jumping about two dozen times in an attempt to get this shot. One of the outtakes can be seen here. We also had to Photoshop Rusty's #11 on his jersey as his New Orleans Bowl jersey could not be found.

Stadium Debut Reflections

I pondered how to document last night's Dolphins Stadium debut for the 'Canes, and kept coming up empty, like many of the seats reflected in Aldarius Johnson's visor (above). I thought about a fisheye shot of the stadium. Some kind of wide shot of the team running through the smoke.

However, the field wasn't painted in UM colors, and a third of the 45,000 fans who did show up were either stuck in traffic or still in the parking lot. Not exactly an image worthy of documentation.

So what remained was the "wraps" on the walls and facade of the upper deck. Below is Shawnbrey McNeal throwing up the "U" to the crowd, with the wrap in the background.

Swimming with the Dolphins

A new era begins tonight as Charleston Southern comes to town to face UM at the 'Canes new home at Dolphins Stadium. Its also the beginning of the Marve/Harris era at quarterback.

This year's media guide was inspired by a shot taken during last season, but needed to be re-shot this summer for aesthetic reasons. If you look close, you can see the reflection of the Hecht Athletic Center in the helmet.

Screaming In Digital

Above is a HDR image of the FAU Arena on the Boca Raton campus at sunset last night, using three different exposures merged and tone mapped with Photoshop CS3. Special thanks to FAU Football video coordinator Steve Cutcher for providing the lift to get airborne for the shot.

Gratuitous Cheerleader Pic #20

Shot of the Day

FAU's Janelle Blake outduels the Gators' Sarah Chapman for control of the ball during Florida's 2-1 overtime victory in Boca Raton today.

Gratuitous Cheerleader Pic #19

Shot of the Day

Yesterday I shot new FAU Men's Basketball coach Mike Jarvis for the media guide cover.

Gratuitous Cheerleader Pic #18

Gratuitous Cheerleader Pic #17

Gratuitous Cheerleader Pic #16

After a long absence, the "Gratuitous Cheerleader Pic" series has resumed. Thank God for football season!

Smug Mugs

Barry University men's soccer head coach Steve McCrath reacts as a permanent resident of the science classroom at Barry's Health and Recreation Center leans into the frame.

Shot of the Day

Today I was at Division II Barry University in Miami Shores for part one of their "Photo Day," which included men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball. All three sports did a "crazy" shot after the normal team photo, and I'll reveal those in the coming days. First up, the 2008 Women's Volleyball team.

I also shot head shots for the same three sports today, and Rey Fuentes' spirit still roams around the science classroom, where I typically shoot the early season mugs. Rey was recently hired away from Barry by the 'Canes and I blogged about him here. I have several pics from today's session that will appear in the coming days.

Shot of the Day

Today's SOD is FAU's Frantz Joseph from a shoot for an upcoming issue of Unrestricted Magazine.

Shot of the Day

More Volleyball! Today was FAU's turn in front of the cameras, and the 2008 sophomore class took full advantage resulting in this shot.

Shot of the Day

Juniors Cassie Loessberg, Genny Mayhew and Griffin Udelson pose for yours truly at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne after a rainstorm during UM Volleyball's Photo Day today.

Brett Favre

It looks like the Brett Favre saga is coming to a conclusion, with this morning's rumors of an impending trade to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While Packer fans (some of the nicest fans on the planet) privately seethe at Packers management about the team's handling of the situation, other NFL fans have no problem playing word association with the photo below...



I've seen many NFL superstars meet with fans and spend milliseconds interacting with them. Favre, before a 2003 game at Detroit, met with a wheelchair-bound fan and spent a good 5 minutes with him and his family...

Shot of the Day

While at UM today I got a call that a friend of mine was at ARod Park with a client of his, working him out in front of some MLB scouts. When I walked in I was surprised to see his client was Freddy Garcia, the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the White Sox' sweep of the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series.

Freddy signed with the Phillies in 2007 and won one game (famously known by Phillies fans as the "10 million dollar win") before injuring his shoulder. The injury required surgery and Philadelphia didn't re-sign him after the season.

Seeing how there were at least two dozen scouts on hand and that Freddy was hitting the high 80's on radar, I think we'll see him on a MLB roster by September.

Shot of the Day

FAU head football coach Howard Schnellenberger shows ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit a move from the era of smaller facemasks during the "National City's College Football Kickoff with Kirk Herbstreit" at the Boca Raton campus today.

Shot of the Day

UM grounds crew chief Chris Denson adds some finishing touches to Sebastian the Ibis on the 50 yard line of the 'Canes main practice field prior to Photo Day last Friday.

Shot of the Day

'Canes offensive coordinator Patrick Nix gets in the earhole of wide receiver Kendall Thompkins during this morning's first football practice of the season.

Shot of the Day

The annual UM football "Men of Summer" photo & poster returns after a one year hiatus. This season's version was shot during this morning's annual photo day, preceding this afternoon's media day.