Sorry about that lag in prep football photo of the week. Here’s two of my faves from the OIA White game between Moanalua and Aiea last Friday. Enjoy!

Moanalua's Xavier Peterson soars over the tackle of Aiea's Kainoa Raguindin during first-half action of an OIA White football game between the Moanalua Menehunes and the Aiea Na Alii on Friday, Oct. 16, 2009 at Moanalua High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Moanalua's Tahje Canyon is brought down by a quartet of Aiea defenders during first-half action of an OIA White football game between the Moanalua Menehunes and the Aiea Na Alii on Friday, Oct. 16, 2009 at Moanalua High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Hawaii receiver Royce Pollard soars but can't come up with a Bryant Moniz pass while being defended by Fresno State's Moses Harris during first-half action of a college football game between the Hawaii Warriors and the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

I had an exciting, and rain-drenched, first half during last night’s Fresno State/Hawaii game, highlighted by perhaps my favorite UH football frame of the season so far (I know, I know, I have many favorites).  Here’s some more from the first half.  I was able to get outside the box, compositionally, on a few frames:

Fresno State quarterback Ryan Colburn eyes an open receiver during first-half action of a college football game between the Hawaii Warriors and the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Hawaii's Scott Enos reacts after his field goal attempt is blocked during first-half action of a college football game between the Hawaii Warriors and the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. The turnover set up Fresno State's first touchdown of the game, two plays later. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Fresno State's Ryan Mathews scores a touchdown during first-half action of a college football game between the Hawaii Warriors and the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Things seemed to be going in my direction!  I got mighty close to Ryan Mathews on this touchdown drive, and he even seemed to cheese it up for my camera:

Fresno State's Ryan Mathews reacts while prancing into the endzone for a touchdown during first-half action of a college football game between the Hawaii Warriors and the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

OKAY, FIRST HALF:  DONE.  MY T-SHIRT:  SOAKED.  MY GEAR:  SOAKED.

SECOND HALF:

Things still seemed to go my way!  Must be that gum I was chewing on.  Hawaii hadn’t scored, save for a field goal by Enos.  But I was in the right place, at the right time for the first touchdown (Granted, a 42-3 lead, then a touchdown?  Not much of a chance with about a third of the fourth quarter left).  Here’s the sequence:

Hawaii receiver Greg Salas lunges for the endzone while being stopped by Fresno State's Desia Dunn during second-half action of a college football game between the Hawaii Warriors and the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. Salas fumbled the ball, but team mate Jon Medeiros recovered in the endzone for Hawaii's first touchdown. Fresno State won 42-17. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Hawaii receiver Greg Salas lunges for the endzone while being stopped by Fresno State's Desia Dunn during second-half action of a college football game between the Hawaii Warriors and the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. Salas fumbled the ball, but team mate Jon Medeiros recovered in the endzone for Hawaii's first touchdown. Fresno State won 42-17. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

POP!  Ball comes tumbling towards my precarious perch….Uh-oh.  Big guys in pads, coming towards photographer!  But then, out of no where, receiver Jon Medeiros swoops in for Hawaii’s first touchdown:

Hawaii's Jon Medeiros recovers a fumble by team mate Greg Salas in the endzone for Hawaii's first touchdown during second-half action of a college football game between the Hawaii Warriors and the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. Fresno State won 42-17. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Well that’s the recap from Jammworld.  Stay tuned for Prep Football POTW later on!

…But the Range Rover won’t start!  This week’s Prep Football Photos of the Week is a humorous, albeit, problem-plagued gallery, but hey, we all need a little humor in our lives, right?  Let’s get started:

Game 1:  Kailua at Castle, Friday, Oct. 2

Castle's Moses Alimoot soars to intercept a pass intended for Kailua's Corey Lau during first-half action of an OIA Football game between the Castle Knights and the Kailua Surfriders Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 at Castle High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

So A few plays into the first quarter, and I was able to grab something decent, above.  “Okay, okay!” I thought in my wonderful inner monologue.  Both teams were passing–good news for me!  Guess what?  After that play, NOTHING came my way, at least in the air.  Rushing-wise, it was good, but I’m shooting for lions, not ZEBRA!

The first of many striped officials, a common species on the flatland savannahs of the gridiron, comes into view. These species have been known to be standoffish towards photographers, and distance is advised.

Okay, okay, I can deal with it.  First half, done.  No pass plays went my way until the middle of the second half, but guess what?

A Castle Knight, a swift and efficient predator with its sleek jetblack body and beautiful gold crested head, swoops in on the kill.

Okay.  Game over.  A little frustrated as I head home after the game.  There’s always tomorrow.

TOMORROW

The game:  Kamehameha vs. St. Louis at the Stadium.

Scoreless through the first quarter, I was on edge and anxious to capture the first touchdown, be it Kamehameha or St. Louis.  Camped in the north endzone with Advertiser photographer Andrew Shimabuku, Kamehameha quarterback Tyler Christian Campbell hits a slant pass right in our direction!! Wooohooo!!!

BOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!

BACK

FOCUSED:

St. Louis defenders Marcus Umu, left, and Mika Wong react as Kamehameha's Blaise Cuban hauls in a pass untouched into the endzone for a touchdown during first-half action of an ILH Football game between the St. Louis Crusaders and the Kamehameha Warriors Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

My wonderful, perfectly autofocusing Mark III likes to do this.  But, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!  The frame above was usable in that it showed the St. Louis reaction to the touchdown.  I was able to make this frame milliseconds later in the same burst:

Kamehameha's Blaise Cuban finds the endzone for a touchdown during first-half action of an ILH Football game between the St. Louis Crusaders and the Kamehameha Warriors Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

The next drive resulted in a St. Louis touchdown, which I was fortunate enough to get also.  6-6.  What a game!  Exciting!

St. Louis' Duke Bukoski hauls in a pass for a touchdown over Kamehameha's Shayden Terukina to tie the game at 6 during first-half action of an ILH Football game between the St. Louis Crusaders and the Kamehameha Warriors Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Then, JUST when I thought, again in my wonderful inner monologue, “Exciting!”  the ZEBRAS came out in force…The Serengeti got NOTHING on this!

A striped official throws the autofocus off of my camera.

Zebras are agile creatures of the savanna...agile enough to be in this frame.

....and this frame.

....and THIS frame....

Okay, okay, so the zebra part of the safari is over.  I did manage to get something different, and no I’m not talking about any Thompson’s gazelle or hyena.

Kamehameha's Kekoopono Weisbarth-Tafaoimalo, without a helmet at right, helps team mate Brandan Marfil (11) in stopping St. Louis' Vonn Feao during first-half action of an ILH Football game between the St. Louis Crusaders and the Kamehameha Warriors Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Which brings us to the final part of the Jamm Safari tour, my favorite frame of the night.  After all, this is Prep Football Photos of the Week.

Kamehameha quarterback Tyler Christian Campbell dashes to avoid a tackle from St. Louis' Isaac Ava during first-half action of an ILH Football game between the St. Louis Crusaders and the Kamehameha Warriors Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Thanks for choosing Jamm’s Safari Tour:  THE premiere ride for your gridiron savanna experience!

I had mentioned via Twitter that I was going to start a “photos of the week” gallery on my blog for prep football.  Well, here it is folks, since the lack of space warrants only one photograph can run in our print edition.
The game:  Leilehua vs. Waianae at Waianae, 9/25/09

Leilehua's Elijah Barro hauls in a pass while being defended by Waianae's Eldridge Kuiee during first-half action of an OIA football game between the Waianae Seariders and the Leilehua Mighty Mules Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 at Waianae High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Leilehua's Carlos Marshall leaps for yardage on a rush during first-half action of an OIA football game between the Waianae Seariders and the Leilehua Mighty Mules Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 at Waianae High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Waianae's Keone Napierala-Rose is hit by Leilehua's Austin Schmidt during first-half action of an OIA football game between the Waianae Seariders and the Leilehua Mighty Mules Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 at Waianae High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Waianae quarterback Puletua Wilson tries to shake a gaggle of Leilehua defenders during first-half action of an OIA football game between the Waianae Seariders and the Leilehua Mighty Mules Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 at Waianae High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Waianae quarterback Puletua Wilson pitches the ball to Keone Napierala-Rose during first-half action of an OIA football game between the Waianae Seariders and the Leilehua Mighty Mules Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 at Waianae High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

All images shot with a Canon EOS 1D Mark III and EF 400 f2.8L IS, exposure mode:  Manual, 1/640@f2.8, ISO 3200, 4200K whitebalance.

Sometimes, shooting a location portrait means cluttered backgrounds, gawking parents, jeering students, and the list goes on and on and on.  Basically, setting up for one with any of the above elements means you’ve just turned on the “Hi look at my lightstands and big cameras, everyone!!,” sometimes making the subject a little self-conscious.

This is what happened during my portrait session with Castle High School receiver Shaydon Kehano.  I arrived, and it so happened to be team picture day–read:  ENTIRE JV and VARSITY are on the field with the team photographer.  Clean background?  Fah git aboutit!

I had to think on the fly, and noticed a nice puddle by the track, and the sky had just started to clear from a passing shower–perfect backlight.  The solution?  Cook the subject, and under-expose everything else!!  I had two lights at full power, and got the result I wanted.

Castle receiver Shaydon Kehano poses for a portrait Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 at Castle High School. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 15 mm f2.8, Exposure mode: Manual, 1/250 @f22, 200 ISO, daylight whitebalance. Lit with two snooted Nikon SB 28 flashes at full power.

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the long lag in posts–it’s currently the middle of the fall sports season, and I’ve been up to my eyeballs in football and volleyball.  Here’s a quick update.  Currently my favorite football photo of the year so far.

St. Louis' Marcus Mariota leaps but comes up short of the goal line during first-half action of an ILH Football game between the Punahou Buffanblu and the St. Louis Crusaders Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 at Aloha Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin). Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200 f2.8L IS at 178mm, Exposure mode: Manual, 1/500 sec @ f2.8, 4200K Whitebalance.

This Friday night, I was assigned to photograph a high school football game between the Roosevelt Roughriders and the Farrington Governors at Roosevelt.  I covered the game as I would normally, with no issues.  Visually, I always try to capture the story of the game, and I supplement that with secondary peak action or peak emotion shots such as celebration/dejection etc.

Today one of our readers had emailed me inquiring why a key touchdown play wasn’t covered or run in today’s coverage of the Farrington/Roosevelt game.  This email made me think, and sure enough, the photo that ran was a very static photo of another running back, with the defenders cropped out–but NOT the running back that made the defining touchdown.  For posterity’s sake, I am including that photo here, because I feel that key moments in a game should be shown regardless of lack of space or a decision made by a page designer under deadline to run another photograph.

Farrington's Scotland Smith breaks downfield on a kick return for a 99-yard touchdown to make it a 20-7 Farrington lead during first-half action of an OIA Football game between the Roosevelt Roughriders and the Farrington Governors Friday, August 28, 2009 at Roosevelt's Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium. The Governors held on to win, 20-7. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

A newspaper takes many hands, minds, and eyes to craft.  Every day, the recipe changes.  Every day, not all decisions made are agreeable with everyone.  Determining what photograph tells the story of the game is very difficult and elusive–not just for myself, but to our editors, page designers, and writers.  Often times, I may simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time when something important happens–and I’m just out of luck!  I have to make a different photograph because it didn’t go my way.  It is still early in the season, but in my five years of covering football for the Star-Bulletin, I’ve gotten to know the teams’ players, strategies, coaches, and game plans as the season progresses.  This is very advantageous and helps me to cover football games the way a photojournalist should.  It’s the responsible thing to do because we are storytellers–visual storytellers.

Roosevelt's Tyler Jake Kila can't come up with the pass after a double hit from Farrington's Vaughn Tomas, left, and Seth Ilae during first-half action of an OIA Football game between the Roosevelt Roughriders and the Farrington Governors Friday, August 28, 2009 at Roosevelt's Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

Shot the Wahine Volleyball team’s first scrimmage and made a pretty neat image of Coach Dave.

Rainbow Wahine head coach Dave Shoji watches warm-ups during the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team's first scrimmage of the season Saturday, August 22, 2009 at the Stan Sheriff Center. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

I also had the privelege of chatting and meeting KSSK radio personality Larry Price the other day to photograph him for our Centurions tab for UH Football.  The two hours spent with him were amazing–the stories and recollections he had from his days as a player and coach were so interesting that I caught myself just holding my camera because I was just intently listening to his conversation with Dave Reardon.  Here’s my favorite photo of him from that session, which didn’t run unfortunately but I thought I’d share with all of you.  Enjoy!

And, for the record, I’m back in effect! Sorry for the hiatus!

Larry Price, former UH Football player and coach, is reflected on the Clark Shaughnessy Trophy, the only piece of memorabilia he owns from his days as UH Football coach Monday, June 15, 2009 at the KSSK Offices in Iwilei (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Bulletin).

…Well, not really, but for all of the gear heads out there who are curious as to how I travel with my gear, this post is for you!  Being that I went to Maui on Saturday to cover the scrimmage, and the many who ask what I carry with me when traveling, I’ve photographed my bags as they are packed, and I’ll describe what’s inside.

1.  Carry-on bag, INSIDE Lowepro Vertex AW backpack:

1-Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN Body, battery attached

1-Canon EOS 1D Mark III Body, battery attached

1-EF 400 2.8 lens

1-EF 16-35 lens, hood detached (more on that later)

1-EF 70-200 lens, hood detached

1-1.4x II teleconverter

1-2x II teleconverter

1-580EX speedlite with omnibounce attached

1-ST-E2 wireless transmitter

1-Canon right-angle finder

1-each, spare battery for Mark IIN and Mark III

Think tank pixel pocket rocket CF card wallet with 16 gigs worth of cards/SD

Inside of my carry-on.

2.  Carry-on bag, OUTSIDE:

-Mac Powerbook 15″

-Laptop security lock

-Power supply for laptop

-Think Tank Cable Management pouch containing the following:

2-CF card readers, firewire and USB2

2-SD card readers

1-Verizon EVDO aircard

1-telephone cable

2-iPod USB2 cords (for iPhone)

1-Calculator (for expensing in the field)

1-2 gigabyte thumb drive

Outside of my backpack. Not shown: iPod shuffle, Listerine mist spray (because I like to be charming to my seatmate on the plane! Nothing worse than breathing fire, especially on long flights))

3.  Check-in bag, small roller:

2-Aquatech sports shield rain covers, for 400mm and 70-200mm

-All lens hoods, 400, 70-200, and 16-35

1- Gitzo carbon fiber monopod

1-Pacsafe security net

1-Extra set of clothes (just in case of stranding, which has happened to me)

1-Think Tank Changeup wastepack with Think Tank Whip it Out pouch attached

Optionally, I also pack the chargers for camera batteries, although on day trips, I don’t take it.

My philosophy on checked bags is taken from many of my colleagues.

A few of my mentors and colleagues say it best when it comes to traveling.  Basically, you carry-on EVERYTHING you need to shoot the assignment/job.  Anything that can be replaced at your destination, small items such as monopods, etc. are checked.  Lens hoods are not essential, and take up room in the backpack so they are checked in also.

That’s it!