Kentucky, Day 6 (4-30-14)

Well I skipped a post yesterday, exhaustion has caught up with me. I have three more days left and I'm pretty low on energy, I might have to survive off of some energy drinks for the rest of the week.

I'm just posting two shots tonight. I decided to try a different angle and go in the track kitchen at the turn for home to try to find a nice feature of the workouts. I managed to make a picture during the short minute or two that the sun peaked out. I think Wicked Strong is turning in to my favorite horse, I keep getting pictures of him.. and just imagine the announcer yelling his name. The other shot is a night tight one of California Chrome, the favorite at a 5-2 odds, with his workout rider.

I also made a huge step forward in my photo story and I hope to complete it tomorrow - I kind of have to because I have to shoot races and features all day Friday and Saturday. I'm going to post it once it is finished.

Kentucky, Day 4 (4-28-12)

This is probably going to be one of my only posts ever at 6am. Last night I crashed after a long day and later today I'm coming straight back to the hotel to catch up on some sleep.

Yesterday morning had some crazy rain for workouts. Here are just a couple, oh and a panorama from millionaires row.

Kentucky, Day 3 (4-27-14)

Today was the first day in a really long time that I was up for the sunrise. That's going to stay the same for the rest of the week, so that means it's time for sleep soon.

Being at Churchill Downs at sunrise was pretty cool to see, but I didn't really know what I was doing and wasn't thrilled with the moments I got. Apparently when the horses come out to the track for workouts, they aren't out for very long.

I also had to be a bit creative in covering up a sunburn on my left arm by using the photo bib/vest from the Rolex event. It looked like a cast but it worked perfectly.

Tomorrow I get to finally start working on a story and I'm excited for it since I've been waiting months to get here for it.

Kentucky, Day 2 (4-26-14)

Today was pretty exhausting, I haven't had any break at all today and have been shooting since 9am. I was at the Rolex Cross Country event for most of the day and then headed over to Churchill Downs for opening night.

The first two photos are my favorite of the day, and the other three are in no order.

Kentucky, Day 1 (4-25-14)

For the next week I will be in Kentucky surrounded by horses, ending with the Kentucky Derby on Saturday May 3rd. I'll try to post a few of my favorite shots each day but they will be brief.

Today I decided to bond with some horses in their stables so I can get a better understanding and appreciation of them. It was also my first time being up close with horses.

Week's Work (4-14-14)

This week was pretty exciting. I shot my first MLB game which was also my first assignment for USA Today Sports Images, I shot horse racing for the first time and I won second place for Student Photographer of the Year in the Illinois Press Photographer Association's student competition (among other placements).

I have been working as a freelance picture desk editor for USA Today Sports Images for about four months now, but I haven't been assigned to shoot anything until this past week. I was given the series opener of the Red Sox vs White Sox game at U.S. Cellular field. They must know that the only way I would ever go to a White Sox game (that wasn't at Wrigley Field) was if I was getting paid to be there.

I was pretty nervous about it all, but after I talked with a few guys before the game, Scott Strazzante and Andrew Nelles, I thought I would be all set to go! I was pretty wrong about that. Chicago Associated Press staffer Charlie Arbogast and freelancer David Banks (for Getty that night) guided me throughout the night so I could keep my head on straight.

I finished off the week by deciding to skip all of the great speakers at the Midwest Photo Summit. Sounds a bit crazy, doesn't it? Well I have never been to a horse race before and I'm going to be shooting the Kentucky Derby for Eclipse Sportswire so I need a little bit of practice. I headed out to Hawthorne Racecourse and was there for all 9 of the races that day. It took a while to adjust to it but I'm glad I did it because I'm more comfortable about the Derby. The most exciting part of being able to be there is that I will be in Kentucky for 8 days, from Friday evening the week before it up until the Sunday morning after the Derby.

 Below are my favorites from this past week. The next post will probably Friday night or Saturday night with an image or two from Kentucky.

Random fact. The date of this week's work is the same backwards!