Lacrosse

A few weeks ago I photographed my first Lacrosse game. I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about this sport other than it was invented by native americans. I went into it thinking it would be hard to photograph for two reasons, first because of the face masks and second because of the size of the ball and the pace of the game.

I was pretty happy with what I got but I'd love to hear from those of you who shoot this more than I do as well as players to see what you think.

Air Force Boxing vs. Army

When I got the assignment to photograph the Air Force Boxing match against Army on November 6, I hadn't heard a whole lot about the boxing team and with my perceptions of people in the Air Force versus people in the Army boxing seemed to be more in favor of Army. I was completely wrong! Our boxing team is one of the best in the country and Friday's match proved that. Here are some of my favorites from the night. Enjoy! All photos copyright USAFA Photos DenMar Services base photo lab J. Rachel Spencer 2009.

Falcon Football

This is a little slow going up but here are a few selects from the opening football game this season at Falcon Stadium! Enjoy! All photos property of USAFA Photos DenMar base photo lab 2009.

the Glo

Every labor day weekend in Colorado Springs for the past 33 years the Colorado Balloon Classic ( http://www.balloonclassic.com/) is held in Memorial Park. It is the largest balloon event in the state and one of the largest in the country. It is so popular that parking around Memorial Park over the weekend is a nightmare, but it is well worth braving to watch either one of the mass ascensions in the early morning hours or coming out in the evening to catch the Glo.

This event marked the last day of my internship with the Gazette last summer and was one of my favorite things I had the chance to photograph during that internship. I only got to photograph the ascension last year and this year it was great to go back and photograph both an ascension and The Glo.

For those of you who haven't been to the Classic, the Glo is an event which happens two evenings when all the balloons are inflated but do not take off and then their pilots make them all glow on cue lighting up the balloons against the night sky. Here are some of my favorites from the Glo.

Back in Colorado

I’ve made it back to Colorado. While I was biking with friends in the mountains around Breckenridge last summer I said that at some point I’d make it back to the Rockies and make Colorado my home. At that point I didn’t think it would be this quick, but it’s a welcome surprise! I’ve been bad about keeping up with my blog lately with graduating, moving first to Cedar Rapids Iowa and then very rapidly out to Colorado Springs, then being busy with finding a place to live and getting moved in. Now that the dust has finally settled I’m realizing it’s been months since I updated this and I really have no excuse and should immediately fix that issue.

Anyway, I think a brief explanation of where I’ve been is in order so here goes. I graduated at the end of winter quarter in March from Ohio University. A week before I left I was offered a six month internship with the Cedar Rapids Gazette in Cedar Rapids Iowa. I then left for a week of spring break/ graduation trip to San Francisco and Sacramento with my mom and grandmother. After getting back to Ohio I spent a day in Athens packing then drove out to Cedar Rapids. While I was at school I found out that a job had opened up at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs as a photographer and that I was being considered. I started work in Cedar Rapids that Thursday only to find out I got the job in the Springs. I stayed in Cedar Rapids for two weeks then moved to the Springs where I have been ever since.

Here’s some stuff from the past few weeks hiking in Garden of the Gods and driving up Pikes Peak- enjoy!

Some thoughts on audio

I’ve been thinking about Colorado lately. I was listening to my iTunes on shuffle and a song came on that threw me back to the Springs. I was listening to a lot of Sugarland’s Enjoy the Ride while I was working out there this past summer, and for me some music can just instantly transport me back. I can smell the air, hear the trees, feel the wind and the sun.

I like to think about that when I’m editing audio for my projects. I think good audio should do just what certain songs do for me, take you to the place they’re telling you about.

Recently I got to do an audio project on An Da Union a group from Inner Mongolia which does throat singing, which is one of the most unique sounds I've ever heard. I’d love to hear what you think.

Pikes Peak Marathon

The Pikes Peak Marathon is like no other marathon I've ever seen. Runners start at 7 am in Manitou Springs and head for Barr trail up Pikes Peak. They sprint up the mountain with an elevation gain of almost 6,000 feet and back down again. Thats 26.21 miles up and down one of Colorado's 14'ers. The only thing more amazing than realizing people actually do this is finding out that the winning time this year was 3:36:54 (which is apparently slow).

pixie bikes

Hill Climb Fan Fest

Sky Sox and Hill Climb

Thursday morning my alarm clock went off at 2:15 am and after dragging myself out of bed, at an hour that many people around me were just calling it a night, headed off to Pikes Peak for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb practice. The Hill Climb is a race up to the top of the peak along the road that visitors drive daily making the ascent in about an hour and a half. The racers do it in around 10 minutes. Despite being deprived of sleep it really was worth getting up to the 16 mile point of the race to shoot as the sun was coming up.







Sky Sox