The North Little Rock Charging Wildcats defeated the Rogers Lady Mountaineers with a 10-0 shutout Saturday afternoon at Bogle Park in Fayetteville to win the 2013 class 7A state softball title.

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Men’s basketball is A LOT faster than women’s, and this game proved it. North Little Rock was HUNGRY for the win and they just seemed to keep stealing the ball and putting pressure on Fayetteville. While the Bulldogs could keep up for awhile, even breaking ahead with minutes left in the fourth quarter, they were ultimately defeated, 64-52. Great season to both teams!

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The girls game was physical tonight with several turnovers mid-court and lots of tumbles. The more aggressive the games are, the more exciting they are to shoot. Always keeps me on my toes (even though I’m sitting most of the time).

This was my first time shooting basketball in Fayetteville’s new gym and unfortunately I didn’t have two sync cords for my strobes. I thought the one may automatically slave to the master, but alas, it did not. Thankfully, the gym is pretty well lit, so the photos still turned out well.

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The Fayetteville High School Bulldogs hosted the Siloam Springs Panthers Tuesday evening as the boys and girls squared off on the court at Fayetteville High School.  Here are a few of the photos from Tuesday evenings games.  Check out the details of Tuesdays game here.

12-0 Bentonville hosted 9-3 defending state champions Fayetteville Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. I though the game could go either way – a perfect season for the Tigers or a back-to-back state championship for the Purple’Dogs. Either would have been cool to see, but alas, only one could prevail. While Bentonville drew first blood, two interceptions in the second half helped Fayetteville to win the game. Congrats to Fayetteville for their 31-20 win.

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Tuesday, the Lady Mounties hosted the Lady Wildcats at King Arena in Rogers. I think this was the first time I photographed volleyball in this gym and I only had one light (I like to work with two). I did my best to throw the light to the center of the ceiling as best I could to light both parts of the court. By doing this, I could photograph both courts from the north and east sides of the gym. From the south and west sides of the gym, I just had to be careful not to catch my light (mounted on the stands in the northeast corner).

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Cross-town rival Springdale High School hosted Springdale Har-Ber High School Friday, May 4, 2012 at Tyson Sports Complex in Springdale.

Right off the bat (pun intended!), I noticed some aggressive base running by Springdale – there were some players who seemed to be instantly and permanently caked in a layer of dirt. The loose dirt made for some dramatic imagery too! A brief storm rolled by with thunder that delayed the game for about an hour, but it eventually passed and the players resumed play, this time with the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

I was definitely impressed by the offense of both teams. A number of players got some nice shots up the middle, dropping the ball in an unmanageable spot. I couldn’t stay for the finish, but it looked like Har-Ber was determined to take this game.

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Tonight’s game was very physical. In fact, I realized tonight that soccer might be the most physical sport I shoot in terms of girls athletics. I think it makes for some interesting photos – images you can feel the intensity and determination of the player.

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I had the wonderful pleasure of not only photographing Fayetteville High School’s boys basketball team for the first time, but it also photographing my first state championship game. Little Rock Hall was a very tough opponent for Fayetteville to take on and the Bulldogs certainly held their own in the first half of the game. Unfortunately for the Purple Dogs, Hall won the game, 42-31, putting up 27 points in the second half.

The lighting in Summit Arena was incredible so there was no need for me to light the gym. It really reminded me of shooting at Colorado State University basketball (my alma mater), so I was instantly charged and ready to shoot. To my dismay however, one of the referees seemed to love standing in my way, so I wasn’t the happiest of campers. I also was bummed out when my wireless cable release did not work properly.

However, on a funnier note, I had to dive out of the way in the first half the game when Kile Graves of Fayetteville charged  into the baseline to save a ball. Not only did he have to jump over me, but he half jumped, half fell, into the table directly behind me. Luckily, Graves wasn’t injured in his spectacular dive. It’s been awhile since a player has almost (or successfully) taken me out, so it was fun to be reminded that it can happen!

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