Beyond the Best Seat in the House

Changes coming

Hi friends!

You'll notice some changes in the blog in the next couple of days. The design and the layout are going to change a bit so that I can add some new pages and functionality. The biggest change is that I'm moving the blog off of typepad - so if you signed up for an RSS feed, it will go dormant and you'll have to sign up again at rodmarphoto.com.

I'm sorry for the hassle. I promise it will be a better experience - the blog will be searchable, I'll have room to put up some photo galleries and soon, I'll have a searchable archive.

You should know that the lack of posts is not from a lack of shooting. I've cranked out 10,000 frames in the last week. I'll have posts about those soon.

Sounders FC: Another colorful match.

Seattle soccer fans saw bright blue skies on Saturday, Sounders players only saw the black of Chicago keeper Jon Busch's jersey, and Freddie Ljungberg saw red, courtesy of referee Baldomero Toledo.

Sounders FC played to a 0-0 (that's "nil-nil" to those of you in the know) draw with the Chicago Fire at Qwest Field, despite having multiple chances to score.

Before the game, I saw some kids with great painted faces. They were in the shade of the tunnel where the players enter the field, and the open shade made for a soft light.

Check out this dude's ears -- how about that contrast from the paint?

(Nikon D3, VR 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 180mm, ISO 200, 1/500th sec.,f2.8)

Love this guy's face -- eyes, teeth, smile, paint.

(Nikon D3, VR 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 150mm, ISO 200, 1/500th sec.,f2.8)

One of my duties for the team is to document pregame. This procession of players in the starting lineup walking with local kids is always fun.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/500th sec.,f4.0)

At midfield, captains C.J. Brown of Chicago and Kasey Keller of Seattle met for the coin flip with referee Baldomero Toledo.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/250th sec.,f4.0)

Seattle controlled much of the pace of play in the first half, and only great stops by Chicago keeper Jon Busch kept the Sounders from scoring.

Busch denied Fredy Montero along the right side of the net.

(Nikon D3, VR 200-400mm/f4 lens @ 290mm, ISO 500, 1/1000th sec.,f4.0)

On a corner kick, one of eight for Seattle, Busch came out and leapt among the big bodies of Chicago's C.J. Brown and Seattle's Nate Jaqua.

(Nikon D3, VR 200-400mm/f4 lens @ 310mm, ISO 400, 1/1000th sec.,f4.0)

Later in the first half, Jaqua fired point blank, only to have Busch make the stop on the left side.

(Nikon D3, VR 200-400mm/f4 lens @ 300mm, ISO 500, 1/250th sec.,f4.0)

Chicago's Cuauhtemoc Blanco's free kick in the second half hit a wall of Sounders, denying the Fire a chance.

(Nikon D3, VR 200-400mm/f4 lens @ 300mm, ISO 400, 1/1000th sec.,f4.0)

Tempers flared through out the match because of rough play. With Chicago playing a man down due to a red card issued to John Thorrington, Seattle looked to have an advantage. However, that advantage was quickly negated when Seattle's Freddie Ljungberg was issued a yellow card for "simulation" (i.e. "flopping"), which was quickly followed by another yellow for "dissention" (i.e. "arguing"). Love how polite the language is, don't you?

(Nikon D3, VR 200-400mm/f4 lens @ 290mm, ISO 500, 1/2000th sec.,f4.0)

Ljungberg's ejection left both teams with ten men, and he left to a mixture of cheers and jeers.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 35mm, ISO 200, 1/500th sec.,f4.0)

Seattle had more chances in the second half, but couldn't break through. Fredy Montero hit the corner of the post with a shot and Nate Jaqua had another great chance in the second half. After getting by Chicago's keeper Busch, Jaqua had the ball knocked away by another defender before Jaqua could put it home.

(Nikon D3, VR 200-400mm/f4 lens @ 220mm, ISO 200, 1/1600th sec.,f4.0)

A tough draw for Seattle, but they maintain second place in the west. Players and fans alike were frustrated by the draw -- missed goal opportunities and the red card for Ljungberg dulled what otherwise was a beautiful afternoon at Qwest Field.

Sounders FC: Getting Friendly with Chelsea

Sounders FC played a "friendly" (read that, "exhibition" match) against Chelsea FC, one of the most famous clubs in the world. Chelsea plays in the English Premier League, arguably the top league in the world.

As this was a friendly, action photos from the match were not as important to me as capturing the atmosphere of the event.

The day was perfect. Bright sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70's. Qwest Field was packed.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm/f2.8 lens @ 14mm, ISO 400, 1/1000th sec.,f8.0)

Shooting "color" was not a problem.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/250th sec.,f7.1 + fill flash)

This fan's shades were not only Rave Green, they also reflected the distinctive arches of the stadium.

(Nikon D3, VR 200-400mm f4.0 lens @ 400mm, ISO 400, 1/640th sec.f4.0)

The notoriously loud and raucous fans in the south stands were in full effect with their flags and chants. Note -- the flags make a great photo. The chants? Not so much.

(Nikon D3, VR 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 125mm, ISO 200, 1/1250th sec.,f4.0)

World-famous glass artist Dale Chihuly was on hand to receive the Golden Scarf before the match. He also donated an original glass piece to each club to commemorate the event.

(Nikon D3, VR 200-400mm/f4.0 lens @ 270mm, ISO 400, 1/800th sec.f/4.0)

One of my duties in working for the Sounders is to document things other than the team. For example, the club has begun selling seats that are right next to the pitch. That's right. For the right price, you and friends can sit on along the sidelines, right along the midfield stripe, with food and drink served to you all game long.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/640th sec.,f5.6)

Not only do you get the view and the food, you're also so close to the players that they'll come over and pose for pictures. Pretty cool. (And no, I don't get a commission for selling them, even if that did seem like an ad...)

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/250th sec.,f4.0)

The game started, and there was plenty of action, even for an exhibition. Chelsea's Frank Lampard had no problem taking down Freddie Ljungberg in the first half.

(Nikon D3, VR 600mm/f4.0 lens, ISO 400, 1/1250th sec.,f4.0)

Seattle did a decent job of keeping possession and applying pressure near the Chelsea goal. Chelsea's Michael Ballack heads a cross back out of his team's area.

(Nikon D3, VR 600mm/f4.0 lens, ISO 400, 1/1250th sec.,f4.0)

Kasey Keller was very busy back in goal for the Sounders. Chelsea scored in the 12th minute and made it look easy, but Keller kept flying around to make saves.

(Nikon D3, VR 600mm/f4.0 lens, ISO 400, 1/1250th sec.,f4.0)

Post-match, Ljungberg, who used to play for Arsenal in the Premier League, visited with friends who play for Chelsea.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/250th sec.,f4.5 + fill flash)

Always great with the fans, he also stopped to sign autographs for fans near the tunnel leading to the locker room.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/250th sec.,f13 + fill flash)

The Sounders, juggling three different commitments, face the Houston Dynamo on Tuesday night in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup. Yes, that's the same team they face last week in M.L.S. competition. For those of you keeping score at home, the Sounders are involved in league play (Major League Soccer), tournament play (U.S. Open Cup) and exhibition play (friendlies against Chelsea and Barcelona).

Marathon Man.

ROCK 'N' ROLL, DUDE!

Sorry for the caps lock, but that's what the alarm sounded like when it rang at 3:45 am, as my amazing wife and I struggled out of bed for a long day of work.

The assignment was to shoot the Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Seattle. 25,000 others also getting up early that day, but they had a much harder job -- running 26.2 miles of a marathon. Okay, the majority of the runners chose the half-marathon, but still, 13.1 miles is about ten more than I can struggle through on any given day.

My specific job that day was to photograph the race leaders throughout the course. This meant riding on a motorcycle facing backwards as we moved ahead of the lead group.

I either had the best or worst assignment, depending on how one looked at it. Most of the photographers thought it was pretty cool. However, one experienced marathon shooter looked me dead in the eye and said, "You're crazy. I did it once, Never again."

Party on. I was fitted with a helmet and matched with a rider. I asked one of the experienced video guys if he had any advice. He told me to scout the bikes and choose one that didn't have too wide of a seat, and didn't have raised handles for the rider to hold onto. He said that after a couple of hours, raised hard plastic handles are NOT friends of your thighs.

I wasn't really nervous. The Rock 'N' Roll Marathon series is a big deal, professionally run, with events all over the country. They'd keep me safe, right? Before I hopped on the back of my BMW motorcycle, I shouted at my driver through the muffled helmet. "You've done this before, right?". He answered, "Ridden this bike? Yes. Ridden someone backwards at a marathon? No.".

Okay, now that we had that settled (two rookies leading a marathon), we were ready to go.

There wasn't much time to think once the race started. Luckily, we were weaving through streets of Tukwila and south Seattle that weren't really photogenic, so I had some time to get my bearings. The race organizers wanted me to focus not only on the leaders, but also to make images that showed the landmarks of the city as the runners made their way through the course.

Participants stretched near the starting line before the race:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 28mm, ISO 200, 1/320th sec.,f2.8)

The 25,000 runners started in stages, with the elite athletes leading the pack. We're already moving on the motorcycle trying to stay ahead of them:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 70mm, ISO 400, 1/1250th sec.,f2.8)

Here you can see one of other motorcycles, this one with a video camera operator on the back, as we wind through south Seattle:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 120mm, ISO 400, 1/1250th sec.,f2.8)

We were able to stay comfortably ahead of the lead groups (there were two -- one for the half-marathoners who took off at a faster pace, and one for the marathoners). The only time we had a bit of a jam up was when the big truck carrying media on a flatbed couldn't negotiate a tight turn in front of us. We had to hit the breaks (nearly throwing me off) and then the lead runner ran right up against us and had to slow for a second or two:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/125th sec.,f7.1)

While the first five or so miles of the course weren't very photogenic, soon we were along Lake Washington in the pretty morning light:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/1600th sec.,f3.2)

Those running the entire 26.2 miles separated from the half-marathoners at the I-90 bridge:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + 1.4 ext @ 240mm, ISO 400, 1/1600th sec.,f6.3)

Running through the Battery Street tunnel made for different visuals, as the darkness and concrete was such a contrast to the sunny day outside:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 200mm, ISO 4000, 1/400th sec.,f4.0)

The last half of the course had the best visuals, as the runners ran on the Alaskan Way viaduct along and over the waterfront, with the Qwest Field, Safeco Field and Mt. Rainier as a backdrop. Unfortunately, a morning haze prevented the mountain from being clearly visible in photographs:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 120mm, ISO 400, 1/2000th sec.,f4.0)

Along the Alaskan Way viaduct headed south with the Smith Tower in the background:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 200mm, ISO 400, 1/1250th sec.,f4.0)

Peter Omae crosses the finish line first to win the men's marathon:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/1250th sec.,f4.0)

After shooting the leaders, we headed back onto the course to shoot groups of runners further behind in the pack, as they tend to be more grouped than the leaders, who are often in singles or pairs:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 170mm, ISO 200, 1/1250th sec.,f4.0)

Half-marathoners on the bottom portion of the viaduct:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + 1.4 ext. @ 280mm, ISO 200, 1/1600th sec.,f4.0)

Runners cross the Aurora Bridge:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + 1.4 ext. @ 280mm, ISO 200, 1/1600th sec.,f4.0)

Shooting my first marathon from a motorcycle was a great deal of fun. The light was alternately good (low early morning light) and not-so-good (high, hazy light), but photographing all those athletes was inspiring and a good challenge.

I wasn't able to put it all into perspective until the next day, when a Seattle police officer asked me, "Weren't you riding on a motorcycle yesterday? Backwards?". When I told him that was me, he just shook his head and said, "You crazy or something?".

Seahawks: Fill 'er up with 23,000 lbs of jet fuel, please

You know how it is when you're on a long road trip.

Can never find a gas station when you need one.

I was lucky enough to tag along with Seahawks coach Jim Mora, strength coach Mike Clark and tight ends John Carlson and Joe Newton as they went on a little field trip to watch some refueling...at 25,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean, going oh, say, 400 miles per hour.

As guests of the Washington Air National Guard, we were invited to ride on an Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker as it refueled F-15 fighter jets in midair as part of a training mission.

Yes, one of the great things about my job is some of the perks that go along with spending your life visually documenting the world.

Some of my friends argue that my entire career is a perk. I can't say I would argue.

We knew we were welcome when we saw the Seahawks logo painted on the tail of our plane.

(Nikon D3, VR 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 200mm, ISO 200, 1/320th sec,f5.0)

Unlike a commercial 707 (which is the same body as the KC-135), there are only a couple of windows along the fuselage, so the cabin is very dark. But we were fortunate there were actual seats (although they faced the rear of the plane) so we didn't have to sit in the webbed seats that military personnel have to use.

Seats facing backwards (or, more correctly, "aft"), resulted in a spate of jokes about frequent flyers (as most who cover sports are). Which way is first class? Is it the first rows, which are in the very back? Or the last rows, which are in the very front?

Turns out first class is the little seat behind the pilots. I found this out because that's where Coach Mora was seated as we took off.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 800, 1/200th sec, f4.5)

Bryce Fisher, former Seahawk and longtime NFL player, graduated from the Air Force Academy and helped coordinate the flight as part of his duties with the Air National Guard. He chatted up some of the Air Force personnel during the flight.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm/f2.8 lens @ 22mm, ISO 400, 1/60th sec, f4.0 w/ flash)

Seahawks tight end John Carlson took some photos out of the window as we headed out to the ocean to meet a group of four F-15s that had taken off from Oregon.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 800, 1/100th sec, f2.8)

In case you're wondering, this is what he saw (cue "Top Gun" music):

(Nikon D3, VR 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 160mm, ISO 200, 1/2500th sec,f4.5)

Pretty cool.

Back in the refueling bay, there was room for two guests to lie down next to the the person doing the refueling, in this case Sergeant Steve Tilford. Joe Newton squeezed his big frame down next to him for a bird's-eye view of a fighter first approaching, then refueling, finally falling away after a thumbs-up from the F15 pilot.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 14-24mm/f2.8 lens @ 14mm, ISO 800, 1/640th sec, f2.8)

Here's the view:

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 44mm, ISO 200, 1/2500th sec, f4.5)

Yeah, in my professional photographer opinion, that's worth a photo. We were so close it was like you reach out and touch the fighter. How close? The photo above is shot with a 44mm lens, which is wider than the "normal" 50mm fixed length lens that used to be standard on cameras.

That's a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo. This image, shot with a 200mm lens from over the shoulder of the John Carlson, puts in better perspective.

(Nikon D3, VR 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 200mm, ISO 200, 1/1000th sec,f4.0)

Upon landing, the Air Force guys gave us a walkaround tour of the plane. Coach Mora checked out the bottom of the refueler where there aredirectional arrows and lights that show the F-15 pilot whether to move forward or back in order to position the fuel pipe.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/200th sec, 2.8)

As much of a highlight as the flight was for us, the opportunity to meet Mora and the players was great for our military hosts.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 34mm, ISO 2000, 1/200th sec, f4.5)

They talked all afternoon about the signed 12th Man flag that was presented to them on behalf of the team.

Afterward, there was time for pictures and an autograph session. The usual assortment of posters, helmets and footballs was signed, but the most unusual item of the day was this training bomb (filled with cement, not explosives) that was passed down the table.

Definitely NOT the type of bomb that football players usually catch, but John Carlson didn't bat an eye when he signed his name.

(Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/200th sec, 2.8)