RAW EMOTION

Raw emotion — it's what I love about watching and covering youth sports. I haven't done much covering of youth sports since leaving the newspaper world, but I am doing plenty of watching it now with my son and my oldest daughter both taking part in sports.

My son is going to be entering his freshman year of football and I'm excited to see what high school will do for him with his football goals. 

My oldest daughter is keeping busy this early summer, competing in recreational soccer, 9U softball and also running club at school. She sure does have a lot of energy to be able to do all of this.

It's a thrill watching them when they make a big sack in the football game or score the first goal of the night or hit that ball flying out of the pitching machine for the first time. It's that reaction on their face that I love getting to see.

Just yesterday during recreational soccer, my daughter took the ball down field just after starting the game and kicked it into the goal for the first goal of the game. She clinched her fists, raised them and started to jump up and down. I'm sure it was a great feeling for her, but it was also for me to see the joy on her face.

My son had that joy when he was younger and in youth football and T-Ball, but now that emotion has changed slightly as he has gotten older. He gets more intense now as he's gotten older and while he may not jump up and down like he used to, you can still tell he enjoys it when he does something good.

There are several more weeks left to soccer and softball and then football starts up again soon, so it's going to be fun watching them as they grow and become more confident in their skills.

I know sometimes they might get annoyed with me for bringing my camera everywhere, but someday they'll appreciate having these photos to show their own kids, plus I'll always have them to look back at and remember their youth years.

Enjoy the photos!

Water Is Everywhere

Water is a part of life and it surrounds us all the time — within yourself, in your home, in your community, everywhere.

Why not take a closer look at water? That's what I'm doing with my latest 365 project - H2O 365. Every one of my photographs will have water in it in some form — liquid, solid, gas (steam). It can be a close up of water droplets or a wider view of a river flowing under a bridge or anything in between. 

Just for fun, here are a few facts about water:

• There are 15,074 documented lakes in Wisconsin (that's where I live). Of these, about 40 percent have been named. They range in size from small one- and two-acre ponds to 137,708-acre Lake Winnebago. The lakes range in depth from a few feet to 350 feet for Wazee Lake.
• Closer to where I live, near Three Lakes, Wis., is the home of the largest inland chain of lakes in the world, consisting of 28 interconnected lakes.
• According to the Food Surveys Research Group, on any given day, 76 percent of individuals age 2 years and over in the U.S. drink some plain water. The average daily intake is 3.9 cups per individual.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says there are 123,439 lakes in the U.S. Here are the top 10 largest by surface area: 

                       1) Lake Superior (31,700 square miles) 

                       2) Lake Huron (23,000 square miles) 

                       3) Lake Michigan (22,300 square miles) 

                       4) Lake Erie(9,910 square miles) 

                       5) Lake Ontario (7,340 square miles)

                       6) Great Salt Lake (Utah) (2,117 square                                                                                miles)

                       7) Lake of the Woods (Minnesota) (1,485 square miles)

                       8) Iliamna Lake (Alaska) (1,014 square miles)

                       9) Lake Oahe (North Dakota & South Dakota) (685 square miles)

                     10) Lake Okeechobee (Florida) (1,714 square miles)

All of the photos for my newest project are being shot with a DSLR camera and lenses — no camera phone this time. Take a moment and look through my images as they are updated daily on my website: CLICK HERE

This last time I did a 365 project was about two years ago when I did a camera photo 365 project with all the photos being in black and white. You can find those images on my website still here: CLICK HERE

Enjoy the photos!

COLORFUL CARS

 

     Probably one of my favorite on-going projects I have on my website at http://corydellenbach.wix.com/photo would have to be my collection of photos of vintage cars. It's always fun hitting the old car shows around the area and seeing what is out there.
     It's fun seeing how people spruce up those old vehicles, making them vibrant and keeping them on the road -- even some from the early 1900s!
     I'm not into the kind of engine that is in it or anything like that, what I like are the different colors, the metal the cars are made of (not the cheap plastic they are made of today) and seeing the changes throughout history.
     On Saturday, July 26 my daughters and I took a drive to Crandon to check out the Kentuck Day Festival and the classic car show there. It was quite impressive.
     Two vehicles really caught my eye ... an awesome looking orange truck and a yellow car with a theme of Tweety Bird.
     If you happen to check out my website, just click on the "PROJECTS" link at the top and go to the project called History on Wheels where you will see some of my favorite photos from the past couple years at car shows.
     Where is your favorite car show? What do you tent to look at more at the car shows -- Ford, Chevy, Dodge, colors, engine?
     Enjoy!

Happy Hodag

   

 I have to get more consistent with writing these blogs, don't I? Sorry about taking so long on getting this one and the time between them.
     Well, this past weekend was the biggest concert weekend in the Wisconsin northwoods as the Hodag Country Festival was held in Rhinelander bringing stars like Neal McCoy, Darius Rucker (Hootie & The Blowfish), Josh Turner, Kellie Pickler, Kenny Rogers and more to this small northwoods city.
     More than 20,000 fans attended the show this year thanks to some pretty decent weather (except for a brief thunderstorm that moved through Saturday afternoon).
     I was covering the Hodag for the Northwoods River News in Rhinelander, helping with some preview stories by interviewing Pickler, Rucker, Easton Corbin, Sara Evans, Tracy Lawrence and Jerrod Niemann.
     During the actual fest, it was my job to get the photos for the newspapers daily special sections ... which isn't that hard to do at the Hodag. Pretty much anywhere you turn there is a photo opportunity there waiting for you.
     It's fun seeing the fans jumping and screaming for their favorite artists, seeing the singers rocking the stage and, of course, having some good food while out there.
     Here are some of my favorite photos from this past weekend.
     You can see more of my photos from the Hodag Country Festival on my website at http://corydellenbach.wix.com/photo and by clicking on "Projects" and then the "Hodag Country Fest" tab.
      Enjoy!

SPRING SPORTS

   
     I haven't really had much opportunity to get out and photographer too many spring sports competitions this year like baseball, softball, track, soccer, tennis, golf.
     This week I was finally able to get out and get some photos at a few area baseball games and then on Thursday I got some photos at a track and field meet in Three Lakes. I just wish the temperature was a little warmer than 40 degrees, it was a bit chilly out there with the wind.
     The spring sports season was always my favorite season to take photos in, the first was the fall season. I like being outdoors taking photos of athletes in action.
     Probably two of my favorite events at a track meet are the pole vault and the jumping events like the long jump and triple jump. I enjoy seeing the athletes reaction as they try to pole vault over that bar or come crashing into the sand pits of the jumping events.
     Regionals are beginning this week, but I'm not sure I've I'll make it to any of those, I hope I do.
     Enjoy the rest of the season! Summer is almost here!

SPRING IS FINALLY HERE

   
    Well, it took some time, but spring is finally here and there's nothing better in spring than sunsets. Yes, there are sunsets in other seasons, but the spring and summer seem to bring out the best.
     I love photographing sunsets. If you look on my wall at home, it is covered in sunset photos I have taken in the past -- on Shawano Lake, the Wolf River, the Wisconsin River and now Boom Lake as well.
     My favorite of all these is one I took about three years ago when I was working at the Shawano Leader as presentation editor. I was driving through Cecil as the sun was setting and was hoping I'd run across a nice picture. I was going past the dock that is right on Shawano Lake and there is was!
     It was a grandfather and his grandson out there fishing, silhouetted by the sunset. I pulled over, jumped out of the car and started making photos. The best one was as the grandfather and the grandson were facing each other and the grandfather was helping to fix his grandson's fishing line.
     That photo almost didn't make it in the paper. At first the grandfather didn't want his picture in the paper, but after about 15 minutes of talking to them about fishing and having Shawano Lake close to their home, he agreed to us using the photo.

     A photo I just took Wednesday night is probably my second favorite sunset photo of all-time now. I was driving over the County Road W bridge from Rhinelander into Pine Lake when I noticed the sunset creating a real awesome shade of red, orange and purple. I pulled over to the side of the road and shot a few frames.
     I don't know what it is about sunsets that I like the most, maybe it's because they are relaxing and I'm not thinking of anything else when I'm shooting those photos, or if it's the bright colors, but I don't think I'll ever get bored with sunset photos.
    Here are a few I've taken recently.
    Enjoy!

A WINTER DAY

 
   Rhinelander got his with about two or three inches of snow last night, just enough to make the outdoors look pretty awesome up here with snow covered trees and signs and everything else.
     I snuck out of the house and decided to drive around for an hour looking for photos. I found some that I like, but I wish I could've stayed out a little longer, but oh well, there's still plenty of winter left.
     Sometimes winter photos can seem to blend together after a while -- making them all look similar, so you have to try and find some different things to add into them.
     Today, against a back-drop of snow covered trees I found an American flag on a pole. The bright red stripes really stand out amongst the gloomy trees.
     I also found a pretty cool barn in the Town of Pine Lake.
     So far I'm making it through winter, just as long as the wind chill doesn't sink all the way down to -55 anymore.
    I've also updated my website with a slightly new look. Check it out! http://corydellenbach.wix.com/photo
    Enjoy!

 

WELCOME WINTER

     While much of Wisconsin is facing the threat of a winter storm tonight and into tomorrow, I am in my nice, warm home looking over some photos I took today before and after picking up my son in Arena, Wis. (near Madison).
     That part of the state got a pretty nasty ice storm on Friday night and still on Saturday many of the trees and fields still were covered in ice, which made for a nice trip down there and back.
     Saturday marked the first official day of winter -- even though many of us in the state already had snow for about the last month. Winter is probably my second favorite season to take photos of - after autumn. I like how the snow and ice make everything look so fresh.
     Here are some of my images from today.
     Happy Winter! You can see more of my images from today by clicking HERE and then clicking on "winter".

DECORATING FOR THE SEASON

 
   It's about three weeks away from Christmas, lights are up on the house, tree is up and the whole family is starting to get in the spirit. How about you, are you?
     We also received our first real big snow fall of the year this week, getting about four inches of the white junk on Tuesday and another two inches or so on Wednesday night. While I hate driving in the stuff, I love taking photos after a fresh snowfall. Things seem so peaceful at that time.
     I decided to take a walk into my backyard and mess around taking photos back there during the snow fall and the Christmas lights I already had up.
     It's a fun time to to experiment with your camera, with low-light situations and just see what you come up with when it comes to taking photos of Christmas lights.
     Here are a few of the photos I ended up with.
     Enjoy the holiday season!

NEW EQUIPMENT + SNOW = FUN

   
     Well, my new camera equipment came in a couple days ago. I decided to go with a Canon 60D with an 18-55 F3.5 lens and a 70-200 F2.8 lens. I liked the options the 60D had, especially the video option, which I will be experimenting with in the coming weeks as the holidays near.
     On Wednesday night Rhinelander got a nice, fresh layer of about 2 inches of snow, so I decided to take a drive around town and see if I could come up with any photos using the new camera equipment. I did and it was fun taking the photos with the new camera.
     Rhinelander is the county seat for Oneida County and the courthouse is pretty neat. The green dome is lit up every night and I thought that it would be a nice spot for some photos last night. I was only out for about a half-hour, so I stuck around the downtown area.
     I'll be going out to play with the camera more this weekend and as the winter sports season kicks off. I'd like to try it at some basketball games to see how it does.
     Anyone have any big plans for the holiday season? My family and I will be visiting other family in the Green Bay area, so it's going to a busy next few weeks.
     Enjoy!

KEEP ON GOING

   
     As many of you may know already, my car was broken into on Sunday night and all of my camera equipment — my Canon 50D, my Nikon D7000 body and two lenses attached (a 70-200 F2.8 Sigma and an 18-105 Nikon) were stolen out of my car.
     It's the first time his happened to me and I'm not too happy about it. After filing a report with the Rhinelander Police Department, there isn't much more I can do except to wait and see what happens and save up money for a new camera and lens.
     It may take a while for that to happen, but at least my "Photo of the Day" Project will continue — all of those photos are taken with my Nokia Windows Phone.
     Speaking of my "Photo of the Day" project, I'm not up to 177 images as of yesterday, Monday, Oct. 7, 2013. It's been a challenge some days finding something to take a photo of, but it's fun to be challenged each day by it. Getting close-ups of items that you normally don't see that close, seeing what it looks like in black and white and making sure its the right image I want to post.
     Some of my favorites lately are posted below, but of all my favorites from the past couple days, the one at the top of this blog is probably my second all-time favorite since starting this project. It's just a simple autumn leaf laying on a grate walking path of a dock. All that dark stuff under is the calm water under the dock.
     Enjoy and don't forget to check out my Photo of the Day project by CLICKING HERE

COLORS SHOWING UP

   

 Autumn is officially here — as of Sunday at 3:44 p.m. — and the orange, reds and yellows are starting to show up in the leaves in Northern Wisconsin. Over the past week the colors have really started to pop a bit.
     On Sunday afternoon I gathered up the family and decided to take a little drive out to CAVOC (Ced A. Vig Outdoor Classroom) here in Rhinelander. It's a neat little area that the Rhinelander School District uses throughout the year. The trails are wonderful, paved areas and very easy access.
     Of course I dragged my camera along with me in hopes of catching some nice fall color-type photos. I found a few out there, but probably by next weekend there will be even more, maybe I'll take another swing out there if the weather is nice.
     For those of you who plan to go out and get some fall color photos, here are five easy tips:

1. GET CLOSE — You may be tempted to get those wide shots, of entire forests or hillsides with all that color, but try some up close photos too. A lot of great fall color can be found in the details. If you have a Macro lens, try that. If not, stand a little further back with a telephoto lens. 
2. LIGHTING AND TIMING — If you want that perfect fall color photo, you should try and go out into the forest/woods at the perfect time. The ideal times to shoot are during the golden hours — the first half-hour right after the sun rises in the morning and the last half hour before it sets at the end of the day. The sunlight will have that warm glow to it.
3. LOOK BEYOND THE COLOR —For most people, one of the most difficult aspects of fall color photos is looking beyond the color. Sure, you can just point the camera at a leaf and take the photo, but take a step back and look for a minute first. Look for the perfect subject, composition or lighting. Find something that looks interesting. Don't just point and shoot at the leaf just because it is a pretty red color.
4. TRIPOD — If you have a tripod, take it with you and use it. If you're using a Macro lens or trying to get a close-up photo of something, you'll want that camera stead and a tripod is the best way.
5. CONTRASTING COLORS — Look for color contrasts. Look for those bright red or orange trees against an evergreen background. It'll make the colors pop that much more.

     Here are some images that I captured this past Sunday. I'll soon have a link on my website for "Colors of the Season" where you'll be able see more of my fall color photos throughout this season.

     Enjoy!

REGULAR SEASON IS HERE

   Ah yes, the NFL regular season is finally here! Actually, it was last week, but this past Sunday was the Green Bay Packers home opener. The Packers hosted RGIII and the Washington Redskins for the home opener.
     The Packers gave the fans a real treat, defeating Washington 38-20 with a big performance by quarterback Aaron Rodgers throwing for 480 yards and four touchdowns. Not a bad day at all.
     I was lucky enough to be on the field taking photos for a local paper and got several nice images, especially from Green Bay receiver Randall Cobb and running back James Starks.
     I was worried heading to the game as it rained the whole way from Rhinelander to Green Bay and I thought that it was going to be raining throughout the entire contest. Thankfully I was wrong. The rain lingered a bit into the first quarter, but after that it was dry, overcast and cool. Perfect football weather.
     One of my favorite photos from Sunday's game was when Green Bay's Sam Shields good a Washington receiver by the shoulder pads and whipped him to the ground. There was also some good emotional photos like players reacting after just missing an interception.
     It's just the start of the season and I have three more games that I'll be shooting this year. So far it's off to a good start.
     Enjoy!

GOING RACING!

 
     Don't worry, this won't be a post about covering sports, but there was some racing involved.
     This weekend marked Rhinelander's first Potato Fest with several activities to take part in. I wanted to check out the Couch Potato Racing event. I've heard of other communities doing something like this, but have never seen it. So, of course, I brought my camera along with me.
     The rules are pretty simple:

1. A couch on wheels with one person riding and four others pushing it. 
2. Halfway down the road, the person on the couch and to jump off and compete in a bean-bag toss.
3. The teams then raced down to the end of Brown Street, turned around and stopped again halfway back. 
4. This time the person riding on the couch had to play the ladder golf game and get one sting of golf balls on a bar before continuing. 
5. The fastest team won.

     There were only eight teams signed up for the event, but the crowds watching seemed to really enjoy it. I thought it was pretty neat seeing how the teams dressed up. We had a team there with the Duck Dynasty theme, a Charlie Brown theme, a sports theme, a radio station theme and others.
     There was some fun emotion to take photos of too, like teams cheering for each other as they pushed the couches, celebrating with a fast time and reaction if a wheel fell off.
     Here are some of my images from the Couch Potato Race held in Rhinelander.
     Enjoy!

SUNSETS

"There's a sunrise and sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them." — Jo Walton, science fiction writer    

     I love take photos of sunsets, not one looks like the other. Even ask my wife how much I enjoy taking photos of sunsets, she'll probably tell you about a whole wall at our house littered with sunset photos that I've taken over the years.

     This sunset photo here to the right is one I captured this past Saturday, Aug. 24, while making a quick stop at work. It was right off the dock at Town Line Lake in Three Lakes with a boat coasting slowly along ... I wish I had a boat, I'd be out there every evening. Anyone want to donate one to me? 

     Sunsets can be a little tricky for some to get photos of. If you have just a point-and-shoot camera, it can be even more difficult, but here are some pretty basic tips I can give you for shooting sunsets.

• Slow down and look around — Don't always be in a hurry. Slow down and look at your surroundings, beautiful sunsets happen quite often, but if you're in a hurry, you'll never see them.
• Follow the lines — Look for leading lines, which are elements in your photo that can be used to compose and draw your viewer into the photograph. Some good examples are docks and trees or even boats.
• Silhouettes are fun — Look for silhouette options. They don't work all the time, but one of my favorites (which you can view here) is a silhouette I captured on Shawano Lake a few years back. Trees are real good for silhouettes too.
• Find something in the photo — Put something in the foreground. If you're shooting a sunset and just have the sunset in the photo and nothing else, it might look a bit boring. Try putting in shrubs or trees or something in the foreground to make it more interesting.
• Low ISO — I like to keep my ISO at 100 for sunsets and adjust the shutter speed. This way there is less grain in the image and the colors seem to pop that much more.
• Take a lot of photos — The last time I can offer you is take a lot of photos of a sunset, from different angles. You never know what you'll end up with.

     Now, go out and try getting that sunset photo. Oh, and don't forget to check out my other sunset photos and my website at corydellenbach.wix.com/photo

PRO FOOTBALL TIME AS WELL

Green Bay Packers TE Andrew Quarless leaps forward for
more yards as he is tackled in the fourth quarter.

     The other day I blogged about getting back to taking photos at the high school football level. Well, this past Friday it was back to the pro football level also, covering the Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers preseason contest at Lambeau Field.

Cornerback Loyce Means reacts after giving
up a touchdown to the Seattle Seahawks.

     I'll be covering four games this regular season, so being able to shoot the preseason game was a good way to warm-up for the season. It was fun getting back to the historic stadium. Your blood always gets pumping as you walk down that tunnel to the field -- even when you're a photographer.
     Covering pro sports is a lot of fun. The speed of the game is a lot faster -- minus the TV timeouts -- and the hitting is usually a lot harder, which makes it fun to photograph. Seeing the stars up close is pretty cool too, but at the same time after covering the Packers since the 2002 season, you learn fast that these are just regular people who are doing a job -- and getting paid a lot to do it.
     There are some things I've learned from covering pro football that I now use when I cover high school football, like kneeling on the field to get a better angle of the athlete, learning how to keep your eyes on everything on the field so you don't miss anything and how to dodge a hit if they come running to your sideline.
     The next Packers game I'll be at will be the home opener against the Washington Redskins. Here's hoping for a good season.
     Tomorrow I'll be getting another level of football, middle school, but this time I won't be covering it for anyone. My son will begin his 7th grade season down at River Valley Middle School. Good luck Blackhawks!

Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews sacks Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson in the first quarter.

Baloons are set free following the National Anthem.

Green Bay Packers TE Jermichael Finley attempts to gain more yards as he is tackled in the first quarter.

Packers quarterback Vince Young looks for an open receiver while under pressure in the third quarter.