Good Dog Photography

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Excited for upcoming baseball/softball season

Spring is in the air, and I couldn't be more excited! I am a warm weather person and I love the months between April and October in Idaho. Another reason why I love the warmer weather so much is because this is the time of the year when my passion for baseball blooms!

Let me explain a little about my past. I grew up in American Falls, Idaho. I lettered in soccer, basketball, and baseball. To be completely honest, soccer and basketball were merely sports that kept me active. Don't get me wrong I loved participating and gave it my all as I was a 2-year varsity starter for our soccer team which we won our District Championship both years. I was also a starter on our basketball team, however, we weren't stellar by any means and finished with a .500 record. During high school baseball I started 2 years and was team captain my senior year. Those two years were also the first time American Falls had finished as District Runner-Up and eventually 4th in State. Immediately after the high school baseball season, legion baseball started! I played for the Marsh Valley Eagles team because American Falls had no program and Coach Jim Chandler wanted as many guys as possible to participate. I live for baseball, it is my passion in life and I have gained so many life experiences because of the game. During the summers we literally played between 8-12 games a week depending on which tournaments we were playing in. I loved being on the road and on the diamond! Those were great times!

For me baseball didn't stop after high school. I was invited to try out with the then Ricks College Vikings baseball team (now BYU-Idaho). I played a tough fall season but unfortunately I didn't make the final roster. Regardless I loved my time at Ricks and made the best of the situation there. I took a couple years off to serve a mission for the LDS Church in the Philippines and guess what I even ran into baseball there once in a while.After returning from the Philippines I found myself at Idaho State University, I soon got back into baseball and coached the club team from 2006-2009. During that time I also was an assistant coach for the Marsh Falls American Legion team. Once I stopped coaching I started playing again as a group of friends put together a traveling team from Pocatello and we played in the Cache Valley Men's Baseball league competing with teams from Smithfield, Logan, Providence, Hyrum, and Brigham City. Baseball is in my blood. My wife and I recently made a weekend getaway to Seattle to watch a weekend series against the Texas Rangers!

I am so happy as a photographer now I am able to share my passion for these spring sports through my imagery. I hope you enjoy the images I post on my website as I would love to help you capture those memories for your athlete!

1998 Marsh Valley Eagles Idaho Class A State Champions 60-4 record

1998 Marsh Valley Eagles Area C District Champions

2007 Idaho State Bengals, NOPAC Runner-Up, 1st time in club history we qualified for the Regional Tournament

Coach Harris and Jon Lauson

2009 Gate City Mavericks @ Weber State Wildcats

2010 Boise State Early Bird Tournament Champions

Sunday, February 23, 2014

High School Girls Basketball Comes to an End - 2014

I just started covering girls basketball games locally this January, during this short period of time I have come to a rememberance of why athletes are awesome! It doesn't matter what gender you are or for that matter what species, an ahtlete is simply just that...an athlete.

When I was studying at Idaho State University I remember frequenty discussing the changes that Title IX brought in the world of NCAA athletics back in the early 1970's. Now, I was not around to experience or see these changes first hand, but I am here now and see the positive that has brought to the sports industry.

I watched these young women work together as teammates with the same goal in mind. Sometimes they failed but more than not they were successful in acheiveing their goals. I believe this is what sports brings into our lives. Each of us have the opportunity to experience the ups and downs on a very intimate level with those we trust and work very closely with. You don't get this kind of relationship or connection anywhere else than in athletics. To this day some of the closest relationships I have are with those I called teammates back in the day.

This winter our small community saw all three of our cities girls basketball teams earn a berth to the state tournament. Two teams were district champions while the third was a runner-up. All three did a tremendous job over the entire season and each should hold their head high in what they accomplished. It is sad at the end of season because what was will not be again with the same group of people. To that end, I am a firm believer that with change brings great opportunity. I wish each of these athletes the best as they move on and to each their own successes in life.

Until next season, good luck!

Friday, January 31, 2014

Thoughts on Covering Local Sports

Recently with the launch of Good Dog Photography, I have had the opportunity to reconnect with the worlds of athletics. I have not attending regular sporting events for almost 5 years now. The last time I was very involved was when I was coaching the head coach for the Idaho State University Club Baseball team and the assistant coach for the Marsh Falls Eagles American Legion team. Back then I was on the diamond almost daily for 6 months of the year. The other 6 months were spent indoors at cages or reviewing recruiting routes and previous season statistics.

In the past month I have been able to attend ten (10) local high school boys and girls basketball games and one regional sporting dogs event. I have enjoyed being engulfed with the atmosphere once again that is high school sports. This is my passion and drive. I have really found something I thoroughly enjoy!

Thank you following me on this journey! I hope that I continue to develop as a photographer I will be able to always share that with you, the viewer. My goal everyday is to find and capture something meaningful and worth remembering through the lens.

Here's to the future! Cheers!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Rocky Mountain Sled Dog Championships

Rocky Mountain Dog Sled Championships, Soda Springs Idaho January 25, 2014

Event Sponsor and Host: Skyline Racing Kennels

Amazing is a great word to start this article! The athleticism these dogs and handlers have is simply amazing. I was able to attend the Saturday races which included a 6-dog sled and an open dog sled race before I needed to leave to get back to Pocatello.

I am so glad I was able to attend because the time there was well spent visiting with old friends and meeting new people with fun ties to each other! I hope you enjoy this post, if you would like to see the entire gallery you can on my website at www.gooddogphotos.com

The backdrop for this event was absolutely amazing. The weather was perfect too with absolutely no wind!

There were a whole lot of tongues flapping in the wind :)

Watching these animals with their handlers shows the amount of training and dedication it takes to successfully run a sled dog team.

This guy was my absolute favorite! The intensity in the eyes and pure joy on his face!

These teams were really moving through the turns!

Another one of my favorites, this is pure joy! Love it!

Another shot of the amazing back drop I had today! Could not have asked for a better day during an Idaho winter for this event!

This team stood out to me because of their sheer beauty. The colors in both the coat and the eyes are beautiful!

Another happy dog doing what he does best! MUSH!

I really appreciate the grin on her face! You can tell the team leaders are having just as much fun as the dogs are!

I felt this was the best picture to sum up and end this entry. Great work to all the teams today! Thank you for allowing me and many other to enjoy such a wonderful day of racing!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Idaho State Baseball ranked 13th in Pre-season Polls!

Exciting news today out of Pittsburgh, PA. The President of the National Club Baseball Association (NCBA), Sandy Sanderson, announced the Rawlings Top 20 pre-season poll. The top 5 spots in the poll are:

Texas A&M University
Penn State University
James Madison University
University of Florida
University of Illinois

The exciting part of this poll is that our very own, locally home grown Idaho State Bengals are ranked 13th! That's right folks, you heard me right, 13th! After winning the conference last season and finishing 2nd in the Regional tournament to Western Washington University. The Bengals found themselves finishing 15th in the polls at the end of 2013.

In 2013, the Bengals finished with an 11-1 conference record and a 35-11 overall record. The Bengals are coached by Bob Hunt, Treavor Williams, Gary Anderson, and led by club president Jake Munns. The Bengals are part of the Northern Pacific South Conference which is compiled of teams from Utah State University, Weber State University and Boise State University. They are also part of a larger region which has teams from Oregon, Washington, and Montana.

In 2014, the Bengals will be returning 12 players including these All-Americans and All-Region Award winners:

Tucker Daley, All-American and All-Region
Trent Seamons, All-American and All-Region
Tanner Daley, All-American and All-Region
Logan Horrocks, All-American and All-Region
Cameron Stauffer, All-Region
Connor Moore, All-Region
Jake Munns, All-Region
Kris Gokey, All-Region

Follow these links to access the pre-season poll on the NCBA website as well a full and complete team preview on the NOPAC conference website.

You can also follow the Bengals this year from their Facebook Fan Page and from their homepage here.

You can also join Willy Harris and Good Dog Photography as they follow the Bengals in 2014 by capturing and posting images from all their home games!

Friday, January 17, 2014

My review of the Nikon D3200, an entry level DSLR

If you have read my blog before you are aware that I just launched my photography business, Good Dog Photography in Pocatello, Idaho. I specialize in capturing action photos primarily in youth and amateur sporting events. I decided to launch this new project because I have had a passion for photography for a long time and after I purchased my first DSLR, I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to get out and practice my passion.

You can read more about the equipment I use on the equipment page above, most of the images there have a link to a specific site which will go into much more detail on the specifications, etc of each piece of equipment.

In today's blog entry I want to share with you all a video of my first impressions of the Nikon D3200 after I have been using it for about 5 months now and what my initial learning curve entailed. Enjoy :)

p.s. please ignore the noobness of this video as it is one of my first reviews ever :) Thank you for watching and please subscribe to watch more on my channel.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Rams trample Knights...

Conner Harding, Sophomore Guard

The Highland Rams came ready to play tonight! The first place Rams didn't hold anything back as they took on the Knights on Friday night in Pocatello.

Conner Harding and the Rams started out strong and never looked back. The Rams outscored the Knights in the second half 32-16 and finished the game beating the Knights by 21 points.

The Rams are now 3-0 in conference and are in first place. Senior guard Stefan Gonzales and Junior Kyler Manu had strong nights as well for the Rams.

See the complete gallery HERE

Pages