Weddingsit's been a long rainy winter, but spring has finally arrived with it's traditional gift...
glorious sunshine that just makes you feel good all over.
now, i've been a fan of spring for a long time.
spring training. spring break. spring rolls. i love them all.
this year i have one more reason to love spring. rain started playing softball.
i love this shot kim took.
when i heard that the coach was letting the girls pick the team name i braced for the worst. would they be "the extreme unicorns", "the cuddle bears", "slytherin", or worse yet... the team who shall not be named (the dodgers). apologies to my friends in l.a. you know i love ya. (go Padres!)
as it turned out, the girls came through with perhaps the sweetest of all children's softball team names...
"THE SHARKS!"
these girls rule.
i now invite you all to pull up a bucket and take a look at our 2008 home team SHARKS.
isabelle.
zoey backing up lauren on a fly ball, coach george has taught her well.
after weeks of preparation, game day was upon us.
opening day 2008.
the girls finally got to put on their uniforms and play in front of the masses.
the infields were chalked.
the gear was broken in and ready to go.
rain, brooke, and alexia were...
laughing?!
having fun is what it's all about.
these girls didn't come to just play around. they came to win. their secret weapon... eye black. works every time.
rain got to pitch for a bit and actually struck out the last batter of the game. her first k. sweet.
inside the shark cage.
know the strike zone you must. know it not and fail you will young padawan.
secret weapon number 2... alexia's strike zone.
catchers rule!
at the end of the day it's all about teamwork, celebrating your accomplishments, learning from your mistakes, and of course, having snacks with your teammates. i love this game!
58 comments:
these photos made me smile big smiles. they're fab.
go sharks!
Oh man loving the action shots, so fun with kids! So funny too they're called the Sharks, such a popular team name. My son's soccer team was the Blue Sharks, lol. And I'm diggin' that shallow DOF, was that with the 85 1.2?
Man, green grass, chalked lines, broken in gloves, snacks after the game.....
I love it.
Hey how'd the Padres do against my Rockies last year? Just wondering. ;)
Jeremy (from KC)
Awesome shots! I LOVE that first one. I think Sports photography is your new niche :) What can't you photograph, dang you are good!
GO SHARKS!!
how fun! Love that late day sun silhouette shot! beautiful! Good job on the strike out Rain!
LANDSHARKS!!! that was the name of MY soccer team when i was about 5 years old! Wow! you brought me back for a second! great photos, great family, great post!
later,
mark
love, love, love that first one of Rain! And the back shot of the batter, where the chicken wire intersections look like glowing lights! So awesome!
Looks like you got a tilt-shift lens? Soooo jealous!
i love this series of softball photos!
Softball RULES!!!! I love how happy all the girls look in these. My favs are your b&w's.
I played softball forever as a kid, I miss it soooo much. This post brought back rad memories!
GO SHARKS!!
The Sharks!! How killer is that name! Girls softball is so fun! The blue sky in those last few is insane! That late afternoon light is yummy. My favorites are the silouette, the helmet through the fence, the action batting one and the b&w of the girl against the fence. They're all so great!
Rock on Sharks!! =o)
~Sarah
okay...this TOTALLY seals the deal...Rain and Cassi have got to get together! Cassi is in her 5th year playing softball and I just got home from her game...she plays for the Lil' Aztecs (named that because her coach also coaches for SDSU and they were hoping for some cool SDSU stuff that way!! I am a huge Padre fan and (so sad...) can claim Gary Sheffield as my first fav Padre...and then there was the Caminiti craze....I could go and on! I love the story behind your pictures! Go Sharks! Was going to take the camera today but Geri and I did an engagement shoot this morning and I took out the camera card! Our girls would get along famously!!!
THESE ARE UNBELIEVABLE...I CRIED...YOU ARE THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHERS EVER...I CANNOT BELIEVE IT...THANK YOU FOR THIS...WENDY
Absolutely Beautiful!
Thank You!
Mike
OK, seriously David and Kimi, these are some of the BEST. IMAGES. EVER. Sooooo may great shots and great details. I'm so inspired by this post! You should totally blow up that first one of Rain on canvas - it's insane!! And absolutely LOVE the processing on "isabelle". GREAT WORK on all, though!!
great shoot of the rain my fav
too cute!
Those are FANTASTIC! I felt like I was at the game! You really captured all of the intensity and their expressions. That little girl with the freckles and strawberry blonde hair-- that was what i looked like at that age!
That shot that Kim took that you like too--really really gorgeous!! They're just all really great. So impressed.
Thanks Dave and Kim,
Your shots are magnificent.
They capture so much of the girl’s prowess and (growing) skills.
Bob (Kenzie’s Dad)
We love your pictures - are you kidding!!
They are so natural and candid!
We noticed that you have many of Isabelle -
How do we get them!?!
Thanks,
Susan
Blog looks great!
Keep it coming. You have some great shots of the team!
Dude...you guys got some great images here - but that ball in glove shot is amazing! Very cool story-book post.
-E
Awesome...so many cool shots! You should put a little book together for Rain!
How fun! You have got to make an album for every parent on that team! These are too cool. Who knew girls softball was so hardcore? The shots look so magical too:) Great work as always.
AWESOME!!! Man the parents on this team are going to be blessed! You guys rocked it as always :)
These shots are FABULOUS! Love them! Great detail shots and wonderful 'mood'!
I wish I could say it was 'spring' here!
Dude got me looking forward to sping looking at these picture. All of them are awesome! Love the sun flair in the 2nd one and the texture on Isabelles pictures Great work.
Love these!!! I so NEED to do this for my kids team. These are great and tell such a fun story (with and without your tag lines). Beautiful silhouette of Rain, nice job Kim!
Can you let me know what lens(es) you use for the field shots? Is it the 70-200? Do you have an extender on?
Thanks for sharing!!
thank you so much everyone!! these girls are so awesome and fun to photograph!
shii ~ thank you! on some we used the 50 1.2 but for the majority of the images we used the 85 1.2 and 70-200 no extender. i had the extender on for a bit, but found that i didn't really need it. hope that helps!!
Yay yay yay! I cannot tell you how happy it made me to look at these pics! :) I was a MAJOR softball player from the age of 8 all the way to college! :) Way to go, Rain!
How lucky are those girls and their parents to have you there to capture all those great memories?!? Awesome job!
I love all the girl's faces! They aren't only cute but fierce too!! These parents are extremely lucky to have photographers capture these memories. These moments fly by so quickly.
oh to be a kid again!
I have to say i think this is a fabulous series.
what i see when i look at those girls faces is 'determination.'
Great captures.
Good morning,
Okay I was finally able to look at your blog and Oh My Gosh!! What talent you both have. How can I get a copy of that amazing picture of my girl? Thank you so much!!!
Have a safe and beautiful day
Kristen
you guys always have the funnest photos!
These are fantastic, guys! Rocking that DOF! Soo soo fun!
Fantastic!!! The first few are really really cool!
Great pics and funny commentary. The girls are lucky to have you to capture the memories for them.
G*O* S*H*A*R*K*S
I hope to see you guys too! How does it work in Vegas, exactly? Do we all just run into each other?
Yay for the spring! Oh how I love baseball (or in this case softball) season! Everyone on the team is so lucky to have you around to document!
These are great! I enjoy the way your pictures tell stories :)
Kim must be proud!! Another softball player in the family! :) Looks like all the girls are having a great time. That's what it's all about! You guys are obviously proud parents!!! I've never seen so many pictures posted. :) Love you guys!
hey thanks for the visit to my blog and the totally sweeeeet comments! It's so great to get such positive feedback from great photogs ;o) Sell them? I guess I never woulda thought there'd be a market out there for that...maybe I should check into that. Do you sell "fine art" prints? Just curious as I'm still exploring the all the facets of photography that have opened up for me :o)many blessings...
Great images, what fun fun fun!!!
Isn't it wonderful in San Diego right now? :)
Steph and I will be there Sunday (the 16th) through Thursday AM (21st). We're spending most of Thursday with my aunt who lives in Vegas and then we're flying home on a redeye that night.
I'm awful with names, but better with faces... I think most people recogize me because of my red hair though (there are only 2% of redheads in the world, fyi:)). Steph is blonde... so that won't help you much.
I'm SO pumped. Are you going to the awards' show on Wednesday night?
Oy! That is EARLY!! Oh well, at least you know it won't be dark and scary when you get there:)
I'm lovin' the pink softball glove! Mine was a boring tan color growing up...so fun to read this post and stellar images!
I went back to my own childhood with some of these I love them! I cant wait til my little one is old enough to play! These are just awesome!
Oh I wish I had pictures like this of me when I was playing softball!! I played from 3rd grade all the way through high school, and I HAVE MAYBE two pictures--crazy right!?!?
These are AMAZING!!! I love them all but the pitching ones are my favorite. That's the postition that I fell in love with--good ol' windmill. :)
I hope one of my girls gets the softball gene. lol
Were these taken with your 85mm 1.2too??
love love love these!! you are awesome!!
GO SHARKS!!!!
hi nina!
kim was thrilled that rain was chosen to pitch. 3rd base, shortstop and pitching were her positions. pitching was her favorite, because she was in control of each play. hmmm...that's hits a little too close to home :)
we used the 70-200,50 1.2 and the 85 1.2.
thanks for the blog love! have an awesome weekend!!
dude! you are a stud, do you realize that you have over 50 comments! I knew i picked a good "favorite photographer"! -candice
Not just a wedding photographer but a sports photographer too! Niiiice shots! See you guys at WPPI?
This post is on fire, and I can see why! I love the texture shot of Isabella....amazing. And the one April took of your daughter's silhouette. You guys are some seriously well-rounded photographers!
Now see...only you guys can take a girls softball game and turn it into some of the best (seriously guys!) photos I have EVER seen for a kids sporting event.
And to think I came here to see what was up with the Baxters only to be blown away with images about softball. What can I say...you guys are 2 cool 4 me! :-)
BTW, saw your mug on Jess Claire's blog. Dude, enjoy WPPI and share when you get back!
Yummy bokeh! Really enjoyed the shots.
David and Kim,
I love these pics from softball. I'm the assistant coach for both my sons baseball teams so I don't get to shoot them like I'd like to. Valeria is gonna have to pick up the slack on that end. Thanks for the inspiration.
Mark
Great work! The gift you are giving your family and future generations with these pictures is priceless.
~rc
How lucky are the parents of these girls to have these special times documented and mostly documented beautifully! LOVE THIS POST!!
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