Twisters

October 2009: Costa Rica cheer gym

Before heading home we stopped in to visit our friends at Costa Rica Twisters in Sabana Sur. I guess this was our way to transition from jungle life back to work.

We met Chino, the gym owner and head coach, at the Worlds Cheerleading competition a few years ago. He works really hard to promote All-Star cheer in Central America. Chino's kids are very talented and work really hard, we are looking forward to catching up with them again at Worlds in Orlando.

It was a little dark in the gym but I squeezed as much light as could out practice, here are three from our visit.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Morning views

October 2009: a few details from around the house

I am really not a big morning person but I tried to make a habit of getting up early and shooting a little bit every morning on this trip. Just to watch the clouds roll across the mountains in the morning is an amazing thing. Here are three detail shots from around the house in Tres Rios.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Swim hole

October 2009: Nature's water park

A short walk from the tilapia farm is a really cool swimming hole along the river. There is a spot you can jump into the rapids and it will shoot you out about 10-20 feet down the river.

Here are a few from the little water park in nature.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Jungle boat

October 2009: from a few scraps of wood

Some people just see things a little different than everyone else.

After looking at a piece of wood Dave can see what it will be and goes to work. After hand picking a few scraps of wood from around the house he went to work and created a ship at sea. He is one of the most talented people with his hands that I know.

Here are three from a boat that built.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Life's a beach II

October 2009: A few more pix from the beach

Here are three from a trip to Dominical, one of the bigger surf beaches in the area.

-A game of soccer on the beach.
-A surfer heads out of the water.
-Checking out some crafts along the beach.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Portraits on the road

October 2009: A few people I met along the way

Time for a quick trip through the rest of Costa Rica. I grabbed a few portraits of people that I met along the way in Costa Rica. Because of the language barrier it is tough to get too creative but here are three this trip.

-A new owner of the soda by the ferreteria near Ojochal.
-Mother and son who run a tilapia farm and restaurant near Tres Rios.
-William who does a lot of the work around the Tres Rios house.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

[ mah-muh • chee-noh ]

October 2009: with a little helps from some friends

A few more posts from Costa Rica before I get back to the real world.

There are certain things in life that you would never experience without a little help. I was introduced to a new fruit on this trip, the kids called them momma chinos.

Mamon chino is the mamon's exotic cousin, with a red shell and soft spines with a large tasty grapelike fruit inside.

I have seen people selling bags of these fruits along the roads but never knew what they were. They go for about 7 bucks a pound if you can find them in the US, but in Costa Rica they are about a buck and a half.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Be Back Soon

I am in the middle of a big edit right now. I will be back to catch up on some posts very soon.

-john

Life's a beach

October 2009: On the south Pacific coast.

Costa Rica is full of beautiful beaches and the house is only about 2 kilometers from the ocean so there are plenty to choose from. The Costa Rica coastline stretches over 1100 miles and all of the beaches are owned by the government so except for a few rare exceptions you cannot actually own beach property. All of them have beautiful views and there is something for everyone; from rocky shores to gorgeous palm tree lined white sand beaches.

We were in the south Pacific coast where the beaches are more remote with the exception of Playa Dominical which is a very popular surf beach. Some of the most developed beaches are found up north along the Guanacaste coast and the Caribbean coast offers a ‘Rasta’ culture and lush vegetation.

I need to spend a little more time exploring more beaches on our next trip. Here are a few shots from Playa Dominical and a sunset at Playa Tortuga.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

The adventures of super perro

October 2009: and a few more photos from around the house.

Here are a few shots from around the house in Tres Rios.

-If dog diving were an event in the Olympics Amigo would be right up there with the best of them. Tori watches as he chases the kids into the pool.
-Jake practices a little futbal on our newly mowed soccer field.
-Grant takes a siesta on one of the hammocks.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Rollin', rollin'...

October 2009: ...rollin' on the river.

We did a little exploring and took a stroll on one of the rivers in Tres Rios. The water was running pretty strong but not too strong to cross. Here are three from the trip.

-Dave and the kids hold hands as they cross the river.
-Vilma hangs out in a rapid.
-Jake takes a turn in a natural water slide.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Tres Rios house

October 2009: A peek inside.

Here are three photos from the inside of the house. There are 2 bedrooms with AC, a full kitchen with a nice sitting area to read a book or watch a movie at night. The area just got phone service in the last year and is supposed to get high speed internet in the next few months.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

R & R

October 2009: My favorite getaway.

We just got back from spending a little time recharging our batteries in Costa Rica. This was our first trip in October which is the rainy season in Costa Rica and they usually have more rain than sunshine during the month. For our trip most of the rain on our trip came overnight so we had plenty of time to play outside. The dry season is December through May.

I traveled really light this trip and only brought one camera with a wide zoom and an old manual focus 85 mm f 1.4. I tried to shoot little everyday so the next posts will all be from our trip.

Here are a few exteriors pix of the house we stayed in in Tres Rios. It is in the southwestern part of Costa Rica with a built in pool, a mountain view and it is about 2 kilometers from the ocean. The house is available for rental by the week, I will post a link later or I can hook you up with the folks managing the property.

• Not a bad view from any of the hammocks.
• Early morning look at the pool and house.
• The front of the house is a nice place to have a cup of coffee and enjoy the view.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Leaf malfunction

October 18, 2009; Watch out for falling leaves

For this portrait we had a nice little back lit location, a small bale of hay and a few pumpkins. We just needed a few leaves to close the deal.

I had a friend toss some loose leaves into the scene and everything went well except for one toss when the leaves are a bit wet and did quite float through the air as planned.

Glad I was not tossing the leaves.**

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

**No children were injured in the making of these photos.

Park portraits part two

October 18, 2009; A little more fun in the park

I was back out at Veteran's Acres Park in Crystal Lake for a second round of portraits Sunday to shoot a few families that could not make it last weekend. The weather was a bit warmer and the trees a touch less colorful but we had a good time.

Here are three from our morning session.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Here's a story

October 17, 2009; ...of a mascot named Jammy

I would much rather be working on a good story than shooting general photos so I am always looking for a story to follow.

A lot of cheer companies look for something to set themselves apart from the rest. One of the things Jamfest has is their mascot Jammy. I'm not sure exactly what he is but he hops around the kids in his 7-foot-tall inflatable costume and the kids go wild.

Here is a short triptych essay on Jammy from the Peoria competition.

-Jammy steps onto the stage area to a crowd of cheering cheerleaders.
-He gets ready to hand out the spirit award.
-Cheerleaders from Ultimate Athletics are entertained by one of Jammy's many talents.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Boot camp

October 17, 2009; Jamfest

I was scheduled to shoot the Maine South football game in Park Ridge Saturday for CoachesAid.com but I got an e-mail on Friday letting me know they did not need the game.

With an open Saturday I had a choice to hang out at home and get ready for an out of town trip or go to Peoria to watch our cheer squads. I am still learning a bit about web design and I try to keep the 5 Star Academy website updated with current photos so I was off to Peoria.

With our first squads hitting the floor at 1 pm I left home at 7am which put me in Peoria just before noon. As I walked in the building I was approached by a photog who was shooting for the event company LightSpeed and he told me that 2 people had not shown up and they were looking for someone to help shoot. I have already been talking to Gil Courson of LightSpeed about helping him out with some upcoming events so I jumped in to help out.

Shooting cheerleading events is my boot camp, I figure if I can survive those days everything else is a little easier. At a big meet the days can be 10-12 hours long, shooting 100 teams or more, every routine is different and trying not to miss a kid with squads of 8 to 30 kids is a lot of work. The time to take a break to grab a bite to eat or hit the can is sometimes filled with award sessions. Oh yeah, did I mention the loud music and screaming fans?

This day was a little longer than I intended but that is a good thing. Here are 3 from the competition.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Secondary game

October 16, 2009; Prairie Ridge vs. Johnsburg

The big high school football game of the day for the Northwest Herald was Cary Grove vs Crystal Lake South so that gave me a chance to pick up the secondary game for the paper. An added bonus is that it is only 10 minutes from my home.

Shooting football the past few weeks I have been spoiled with no tight deadlines. Tonight I had to get my pix to the paper by 10pm so that meant I would have to cut out before the game was over. If I had a wireless card I could send at the half and shoot the end of the game but right now my freelance gigs do not support the extra expense of a wireless card.

Working as a picture editor for the last 14 years I always tried to make sure all my assignments had complete information including contacts and phone numbers so my photogs were always well informed going into their assignments. I like walking into a game with some idea of who the underdog is so, after a little hunting online, I sent an e-mail to myself with the standout players to watch on both teams.

The storyline had to have something to do with Johnsburg's stud player, C.J. Fiedorowicz, who is expected to go to a division 1 school and their sophomore quarterback brought up to fill in for the starter who was injured last week. That said, both teams were fighting for a playoff position and this looked like it this was Prairie Ridge's game to lose.

Fiedorowicz was the star of the game and dominated on both sides of the ball and Johnsburg pulled off the upset.

Here are three from the game.

-Johnsburg sophomore quarterback Jon Torgerson scrambles to avoid Prairie Ridge defender Corey Peterson.
-Johnsburg running back Justin Peete (21) loses the handle on the ball in the first half.
-Johnsburg's C.J. Fiedorowicz (right) stays focused and makes a catch as Prairie Ridge defender Kyle Peterson hangs on in the second quarter.

-john

All photos © 2009 John Konstantaras/Northwest Herald

Home(coming) again

October 16, 2009; Hampshire pep rally

Some days you show up to an assignment and just kind of stand around and scratch your head trying to figure out where to start. I shot a homecoming Pep Rally for the Northwest Herald on Friday at Hampshire High School and that is how the day started.

I have shot enough of homecomings over the years to know I need to get football players, the King & Queen, and something offbeat and fun. The key is to find someone who knows what is going on. At this rally a few male teachers were going to be heading out to do a Pom routine, that's a start.

I worked the rally but nothing really great jumped out at me. Here are three from the rally.

-Senior football team members join in with the cheers
-King Ryan Burke (left) and queen Sam Anderson hug after they were introduced.
-Math teacher Dennis Wozniak fires up the students before their routine.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Back to the pitch

October 13, 2009; Harvard vs. Chicagoland Jewish

I covered the an IHSA regional quarterfinal soccer game between Harvard and Chicagoland Jewish for the Northwest Herald Tuesday night.

It has been a few years since I have covered a soccer game but shooting sports for me is like riding a bike. The challenges lie more in lighting, weather and finding a close WiFi hot spot.

Lighting at many high school fields leaves something to be desired and this field did not disappoint. The first half hour of most night games, before daylight savings time, is crucial because there is still a hint of ambient light to work with. After the sun set my exposures at this field varied from frame to frame about 2-3 stops and the color shifted between frames as well.

The weather was cold and windy but dry so that was good. As far as WiFi, I should have done a little more homework to find a hot spot but I had enough time to drive home and send from there.

Harvard handled the game and advanced to the next round with 6-0 win.

Here are three from the game.

-Harvard's David Martinez kicks the ball past Chicagoland Jewish's Tyler Weber (left) in the second half.
-Harvard's Ivan Pichardo (right) celebrates a second half goal with teammate Alberto Martinez.
-Harvard's Nathan Reckamp (left) and Chicagoland Jewish's Joshua Perry battle for a header in the second half.

-john

All photos © 2009 John Konstantaras/Northwest Herald

Portraits in the park

October 11, 2009; Ready for their close ups.

I did a portrait session Sunday morning at Veteran's Acres Park in Crystal Lake with some 5 Star & Ultimate Athletics cheerleaders. It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining, the leaves were colorful and the park was pretty empty.

The only thing we needed was a space heater to take the chill off the mid thirty degree temperatures. The kids gutted it out and we played with some different angles.

Here are three from the morning take. The first and third photos were shot laying in the wet leaves and the middle photo I climbed a tree to try something different.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Something to cheer about

October 10, 2009: Special needs squad first practice

We have started a special needs cheerleading squad at 5 Star Elite, it is something we have wanted to do for a long time.

The team is called Shooting Stars and we have 3 cheerleaders working with each kid on the squad, it is really great to see these kids having a great time.

Here are a few photos from their first practice.

-john

All photo © John Konstantaras 2009

Party girl

October 10, 2009: Guinevere's third birthday

Here are a few photos of Guin at her third birthday party, wow how time flies.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Dead on

October 9, 2009: Bolingbrook vs. Lincoln Way East

I covered a high school football game down in Bolingbrook for CoachesAid.com on Friday night. It was over an hour drive but the game was worth it. Every now and then everything seems to be dead on, this was one of those days and the rain even held off.

Here are a few photos from the game.

-Bolingbrook wide receiver Dan Fisher catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Lincoln Way East defender Jimmy Wilson (right) in the fourth quarter.
-Bolingbrook's Maurice Armstead (right) pulls in an interception in front of Lincoln Way East's Brandyn Jackson (5).
-Marcus Lee celebrates a Bolingbrook fumble recovery.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Walking small

October 5, 2009: Amira takes a few steps

Here is one for the family, we went over to visit Sue and the kids and all of a sudden Amira is walking just before her first birthday.

A few photos from our visit.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Cheer is here

October 4, 2009: First meet of the year

I am catching up on some of my older event as so I can get to some photos from Costa Rica. Here are some photos from a few weeks ago.

The 2009/2010 cheer season is officially here. This year a handful of our 5 Star Elite cheerleaders have joined forces with Ultimate Athletics. Here are a few photos from our first competition in Bartlett.

I will also be the official photographer for National Cheer Stars so there are a lot more cheer photos coming.

Cheers (heh heh)

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Shooting a little Thunder in Chicago

October 3, 2009: North Park University vs. Wheaton College

I covered the North Park Vikings homecoming game against the Wheaton Thunder in Chicago Saturday to help out a good friend, Steve Woltmann, and it was a real treat to be able to shoot football at an ASA below 1250.

There was a chance of rain in Saturday's forecast but it was so nice as I walked up to the field I left my umbrella in the car and hoped for the best. I made it to about the middle of the second quarter when the rain drops started to fall so I did a quick gaffer tape garbage bag wrap on my cameras and finished the quarter.

At halftime I darted to my car and grabbed my rain gear only to have the rain stop just as I got back to the field. Sometimes just having your rain gear close by holds the weather back.

I was looking for a little of everything on Saturday; pregame, cheerleaders, coaches, fans and action.

Here are three I liked from the game.

-North Park defender Calvin Gant breaks up a pass on the goal line intended for Wheaton receiver Charlie Antal in the second half.
-Viking's fans cheer on their team from the stands.
-Wheaton College's Dan Shear is upended by North Park's Calvin Gant after a complete pass.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Rain, rain go away...

October 2, 2009: Huntley vs. Cary Grove

Friday night I was out at Huntley High School covering their football game against Cary Grove for CoachesAid.com.

This was my first cold rainy football game of the year and boy I miss the warm weather already. The key to shooting in bad weather is to pack light and be prepared, today I was ready for the rain.

I grabbed a couple of Bogen Super Clamps and piggy backed them together so I could clamp an umbrella to my monopod, if umbrella's are allowed on the sidelines this is my favorite setup. I have not found a waterproof bag that protects my gear from the rain and is easy to use but I am still looking.

Back in college I shot a season and it rained every weekend. It was a soak, dry, repeat season before cameras and lenses were loaded with electronics. We would wrap ourselves in plastic garbage bags, shoot the game, take my gear apart to let it dry out for a few days and do it again the next weekend. It was a long season.

When the rain comes down hard you do not expect the quarterbacks to air the ball out but both teams tried and they both gave up interceptions. Cary Grove shut out Huntley 23-0 to stay undefeated in the Fox Valley Conference.

Here are three from the game.

-Brandon Luczak, center, celebrates his interception in the first half.
-Cary Grove Alex Hembry breaks free for a touchdown in the third quarter.
-Huntley quarterback Brett Kleckner is stopped in his tracks by Cary Grove's Kyle Leibforth (44) after a bobbled snap in the second quarter.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Imagine

October 2, 2009: 2016 dream comes to an end

Friday I took a trip downtown to meet a friend for lunch and check out the 2016 Olympic Rally in Daley Plaza.

Like many Chicagoans I figured we would at least make it past the first round and had a pretty good chance of getting the bid so I did not kill myself getting downtown. Just before 10:30 am, as I was sitting in traffic on the Kennedy, the first round of voting in Copenhagen started. I listened as the radio reporters painted a picture of the stunned crowd and Chicago was eliminated. The once overflowing Daley Plaza crowd thinned out and the seven year party was off.

Since the winning city was still to be announced just before noon I took a walk to check out what was left of the rally. There were still a fair amount of people hanging out still stunned from the announcement, waiting in line to get free t-shirts and waiting to see who would get the bid.

I ran into a bunch of old friends from the Chicago media waiting patiently with a small group of Rio supporters. By this time the media far outnumbered the subjects. I have been stuck in these photo gang bangs before and was pretty happy I did not have to fight to get to the front of this pack.

One of my pet peeves has always been having to battle for a shooting position with a people using cell phones or someone working on their portfolio so I stepped back, shot a few over the top and stayed out of the way.

To top this situation off about 5 minutes before the bid city was named a television crew stepped in front of everyone and planned to interview the fans when the announcement was made. Luckily they were told to step aside by the Rio supporters.

Here are three from Daley Plaza.

-A man in a patriotic hat stands alone and watches from the back of Daley Plaza.
-After Chicago was eliminated, a man with a group of paralympic supporters talks on his cell phone.
-Surrounded by a pack of media, Rio supporters celebrate as the announcement is made.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Shooting from the strip

September 26, 2009: Taking a walk on the wild side

Vegas is the most visually rich city I have ever visited. This trip I spent a little more time inside shooting tumbling and could have used an extra day or two just to shoot more photos on the strip. After checking out of our hotel and before flying home Sunday I spent a few hours walking with the strip.

Here are three from the strip that I shot from the hip.

-A shot from the hip looking toward New York New York from the M&M store.
-The card flippers are not around early in the day but the remnants from the night before litter the street.
-A worker cleans up in a mall on the strip.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Trampoline, Tumbling, Double Mini

September 26, 2009: Final Selection

We were out in Vegas with two of our 5 Star athletes for the USAG Final Selection Trampoline and Tumbling Meet to compete against the best in the nation and qualify for a trip to compete St. Petersburg, Russia in November.

Here are a few action photos from the weekend.

-Senior Elite trampolinist Logan Dooley of World Elite in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA sets a new US difficultly record with his 17.1 routine in the finals.
-Austin Nacey of Dyna-Mite Trampoline and Tumbling in Highland, IN qualifies on Level 10 tumbling.
-James Lichtenstein of 5 Star Academy in Crystal Lake, IL qualifies on Level 10 Double Mini Trampoline.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Look at the birdie

September 13, 2009: testing out a new camera

One of my dad's favorite trips was always his annual hunting outing, a chance to hang with the boys and shoot their guns. We still have a pair of geese and a pheasant in my mom's basement that she want's us to post on Craig's List so I shot a few photos.

I just got a 5D Mark II and I am working on learning all the new bells a whistles so here are a few detail shots.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Feature and a pair of actions

September 18, 2009: WWS vs NC

I was back on the sidelines Friday night shooting another high school football game for CoachesAid.com. This week I covered the Wheaton Warrenville South vs Naperville Central.

The last time I covered the Tigers was about 20 years ago when they were Wheaton Central. They were a dominant team back then and still are today.

Here is a feature and a few action photos from the ball game.

-Wheaton players are introduced before the game. Usually the cheerleaders hold the banner with the words facing out but for some reason the banner was turned the other way so I shot them from a little different angle.
-Wheaton Warrenville South's Greg McAndrew (bottom) celebrates in the end zone with Mack Tracey (8) catching a pass and running it in for a touchdown in the second quarter.
-Joseph Krob (bottom) breaks up a pass intended for Naperville Central's Cameron Brate (8) in the fourth quarter.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Liz & Joe

September 20, 2008: Looking back at their wedding day

Almost a year ago I had the honor of shooting Liz and Joe on their very special day. Here are a three images from their wedding in Lake Geneva.

-A little lighting help from above at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Fontana.
-Sitting in the bar at Kirsch's, Liz watches the Cubs pull off a win.
-Liz and Joe on Lake Como.

Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2008

Back to school

September 11, 2009: Glenbard North vs Naperville North

Friday I took a ride out to Carol Stream to shoot a football game for a new high school sports website getting started in Illinois called CoachesAid.com.

I could not have asked for a better night to shoot a football game and since I did not have a tight deadline I was able to leave the MacBook behind and shoot the whole game.

I have always loved shooting high school sports. When I started my first job at the Northwest Herald back in the '80's I remember my goal was to try to bring Sports Illustrated style photos, great action and creative portraits, to the newspaper sports pages.

It has been at least 5-6 years since I have shot any high school ball and the big x-factor is always the light. Today it was good.

My favorite photos have always been sports features. Action is all about focus, timing and being in the right place at the right time. Features are all about being able to see moments.

Since it was the anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attack there was a ceremony before the game with local police officers and firefighters. I worked that but just did not pull off anything I really liked. I need to work a little more to get my features edge back.

Glenbard North dominated the game on both offense and defense cruising to a 21-0 win. Here are three of the Glenbard North defense in action.

-Glenbard North's Chris Wahrman (9) celebrates his interception late in the game.
-Nick Abbate (42) and the Glenbard North defense pick up Naperville North quarterback Matt Lacosse for no gain on a keeper in the first half.
-Naperville North quarterback Matt Lacosse (10) loses the ball as he is sacked by Glenbard North defender Nick Abbate (42) for an 8-yard loss in the first half.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

One...

September 6, 2009: Amira

Sunday was Amira's first birthday party. Here are three photos of her from the day and three more triptych's of the other kids at the party.

-Getting ready for cake with dad.
-Mom hold Amira as she watches the cake get cut.
-All dressed up a ready to go out.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

...two...

September 6, 2009: Guinevere

Here are three of Guin from Amira's first birthday party.

-Trying to climb the wall in the inflatable play center.
-Checking out Amira's new gift as she plays with one of the toys.
-Munchin' on a little apple sauce.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

...three...

September 6, 2009: Lyric

Here are three of Lyric from Amira's birthday party.

-Jumping in an inflatable play center
-Watching Amira open her presents.
-Giving dad a hug.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

...four

September 6, 2009: Quest

Here are three of Quest from Amira's first birthday party.

-Riding a toy car on the deck.
-Rocking on the Baby Einstein caterpillar.
-Hanging out with Uncle Adam.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Last rides

September 5, 2009: Taking a trip on Chicago's smallest rail line

I could not resist, here is one more look at Kiddieland.

On the corner of the ticket window at Kiddieland Amusement Park in Melrose Park, IL a small sign reads:

"The following attractions will be
closed today:
Polyp
Volcano Ball Crawl"

At the end of the month an 81-year tradition on Chicago's west side will close it's doors to the public for good. Everyone has their favorite parts of the park and the owners are letting people bid to be the last to ride their favorites during their closing ceremony Sunday, October 4.

Bids start at $50 and as of September 9, 2009 the highest bid for a ride was $500 for one of the 36 seats on the Gas Train. The most bids are 26 for one of the 34 seats on the Steam Train. You can check out current bids HERE.

According to the Kiddieland website portions of the proceeds will be donated to various charities and organizations dedicated to the preservation of Amusement Park history and memorabilia.

The Steam Train is one of the classic rides and was added to the attractions by the late 1940's. Here are three photos of the Steam Train.

-Stopping traffic in an already crowded parking lot the Pioneer Limited takes another load of passengers on a journey around the park.
-Guinevere checks out the view from her seat on the train.
-With cars marked for all the Chicago train stops, a child prepares to get of the Melrose Park car.

-john

Check out a few more pix HERE.

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

First & last

September 5, 2009: A trip to Kiddieland

Riverview, Old Chicago, Santa's Village and now Kiddieland. I wish I could remember Riverview but the other three amusement parks hold special place in my childhood memories.

On Saturday we took our granddaughter Guin to Melrose Park for her first visit to Kiddieland as the park prepares to close in a few weeks after 81 years of operation. If we lived a little closer I would spend more time documenting the final weeks of the park.

As I made a few photos of our visit I tried not let myself get pulled to far away from enjoying the experience of taking my granddaughter to the park. There were tons of great moments on Saturday, here are three from our visit.

-Children three and under are still free so for forty bucks we were in.
-Located right across the street from Maywood Park there were a lot of cameras trying to capture those last memories in the park.
-As the sun goes down the park lights up. Riders enjoy a spin on the Tilt-A-Whirl.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Friday night sights

September 4, 2009: Lingerie Football League is off in Chicago

Friday night I covered the inaugural Lingerie Football League game between the Chicago Bliss and the Miami Caliente for the Daily Herald. It was great to be working on deadline again, I really missed the adrenaline rush I get when covering a live event.

I got to the Sears Centre just before 7pm for the 9pm scheduled kickoff and worked the tailgaters a bit before heading into the arena. At a 6pm presser, "Da Coach" announced an ownership stake in the Chicago franchise so I also wanted to make sure a found Ditka during the game.

At most professional sporting events there is a media room where you can get rosters, snacks, water, find a PR person to answer questions and hook into the internet. Give me wifi, a set of rosters and a bottle of water and I am good to go at just about any sporting event. With the help of freelance photographer David Banks I was able to hook into two of the three. David let me copy the only rosters I saw at the game and helped me get into the wireless network.

I have shot pro, prep, peewee, college and arena football and have seen sidelines and shooting positions shrink a lot over the years. At the Sears Centre they let the photographers shoot from one end zone and the teams did not change directions at the half so we never had the Bliss offense driving toward us.

I wandered out of the shooters zone to shoot the pregame coin flip with Ditka and worked my way back to shoot the players getting ready to take the field before I was told that area was off limits to the media. Unfortunately that was right before the team ran onto the field so I did not get them running out with all the pyrotechnics going off but at least I got something a little different back stage. I always encouraged photographers working for me to try something different, it is worth the risk to try a new angle to get a shot no one else has.

The teams played a competitive game but I do not think many fans came to watch the game.

I filed about 9 photos by my 10:30pm deadline and another 10 photos after the game. Here are 3 frames from the night.

-As the Caliente players take the field Chicago Bliss players get ready for their introductions.
-The shot almost everyone came to the game to see but you will never see it in the newspaper; Chicago QB Ellie Cartabiano is almost stripped but hangs onto the ball.
-Bliss player Danielle Moenay celebrates with fans after their 29-19 win.

-john

To see more photos check out the Daily Herald gallery HERE or check out my SportsShooter gallery HERE.

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Bingo Bango

July 7, 2009: Following up with 80's Clown

Here are a few photos I made in July to follow up to my Jodie Evenson, 80's Clown story. He was performing at Bingo Bango at Silvies in Chicago. Once again the lighting was nothing to write home about but that is more the norm when you are shooting in small clubs.

I am always looking for something a little different away from the stage, this time I found a mirror that worked well for me.

cheers,

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Passive Aggressor

July 25, 2009: Rockin' out at Reggies

We went down to Chicago to catch Passive Aggressor playing at Reggies. I usually prefer to shoot available light during concerts but the lighting was pretty bad and I had to break out the flash for a few frames.

The bar was very cool, the food was good and the band was great. Here are a three frames that I liked from the night.

To view more photos from the show click HERE.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Joey's momma

March 22, 2009: Hanging out in the Kentucky Outback

I am always looking for a nice slice of life or a picture story, it is just the journalist in my blood. On our way home from a weekend camping trip we ran into Shannon and Paco at Kentucky Down Under in Horse Cave, KY. Shannon let me hang out with them for a few hours so I could put together a story proposal for the Tribune. Unfortunately instead of getting the okay to follow up the story I was asked to use a few photos from my proposal and write a short story for the Travel section.

I was happy that they liked the photos but never made it back to Kentucky to chase down any real moments. I parted ways with the Tribune before this ever made it in the paper but, here is the story that was written to go with the photos.

Six hours south of Chicago Shannon Sharpensteen, an animal crew member at Kentucky Down Under, goes about her daily routine giving cave tours and taking care of animals with her 11-month-old baby Paco at her side. As she walks though the gift shop Paco pokes his head out of his pouch and a small crowd gathers to check out the baby.

Paco is a red kangaroo and Shannon is Paco’s “joey momma.” At Kentucky Down Under joey's move in with an adoptive momma when they are about 6-months-old and they are hand raised for 15 months before moving to the outback with the adult kangaroos.

“Most people are very curious, the first thing they want to know is what he is." Shannon says, "I've had questions like ‘Is it a donkey?’ ‘Is it a rabbit?’ Just about everyone gives us a second look.”

Michelle McGuire, marketing director at Kentucky Down Under says, generally we choose a “full time staffer that is willing to make the time and emotional investment into being a joey mommy." Since it is just like being a real momma they really need to have a nurturing personality. Joey mommas feed around the clock, toilet train and do all the other things you would for a real baby."

Shannon has two boys of her own but this is her first Joey. “Paco stands about as tall as my boys and when we first got him Paco decided he was going to be the boss and dominate them. The boys did get kicked a few times but after that he was fine and loved them ever since,” Shannon says, “My oldest son considers Paco to be his ‘other’ brother.”

"How many people can say that they have a roo hanging from their bedpost?" Shannon says, "Paco is a delight to have around the house and we will never be the same without him, we are just a little sad though because we know that our time with him is very short and we know that he will be leaving us very soon."

Kentucky Down Under has 8 handlers trained to raise joey’s and they have averaged about four joeys a year for the last 19 years. They currently have four joeys with mommas, two in the outback and one in pouch. There are 15 kangaroos and 8 wallabies at Kentucky Down Under but that number can change since kangaroos are sold or traded with other zoos from time to time.

Aside from kangaroos visitors to Kentucky Down Under can learn about life in the outback, feed nectar to a rainbow lorikeets, see turtles, lizards, wallabies, emus, white ibis, camel, watch border collies in action herding sheep and play a didgeridoo.

Here are three of the images that I included with my story proposal.

-Shannon Sharpensteen, left, says hi to Paco after gift shop manager, Courtney Eaton babysat Paco for a bit.
-Paco gets out of his pouch and gets a little exercise in the outback.
-After a cave tour kids look to get a closer peak at Paco.

-john

To see a few more photos from my Kentucky Down Under trip click HERE.

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Family portrait

June 29, 2009: Quick & dirty

I was hangin' out working on the blog and Paulette got a call from my step daughter Sue that they were going to be at a wedding in McHenry with the kids and they were all dressed up so I ran out to shoot a few photos.

We always referred to getting to a job making a good photo and getting out real fast as quick and dirty, here are a few photos from our 11 minute portrait session.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Lake Effect

August, 28, 2009: Great night, great cause

I am still trying to figure out how it is that even though I am not working I am still crazy busy. I guess some things never change, I would rather be runnin' than sitting around waiting for something to do. I have been shooting a lot in the past couple months and I hope to do a little catching up on the blog this weekend.

Friday night the Plain White T's from Villa Park performed at the Palmer House for a benefit for Rainbow Hospice's Good Mourning Bereavement program. It was a great night for a great cause. My sister Angie works for Rainbow and this was a night for fun but I did bring one camera with.

Yeah, I am starting to admit that I think there is something wrong with me, I think in pictures and am way more comfortable at any event behind a camera. Trying to travel light, I only brought a wide angle zoom so I shot a little around the front of the stage. I am always looking for something a little different, here are a few I liked from the night.

Cheers,

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Wes & Kate

June 7, 2009: Good wine, good friends, good times.

I have been running to tumbling tournaments for the last 2 weeks first a week in Amarillo, Texas and now I am in San Jose, California for a week. I will pull together some photos from these trips soon.

Here are some photos from earlier in the month at Wes & Kate's wedding reception in Chicago at the Columbia Yacht Club. It was great to see a bunch of good friends from my Tribune days.

- Jose Osorio peaking from behind his wine glass.
- Chuck Cherney always able to generate a laugh.
- Laura Garcia shooting as Wes Pope packs up the lights before heading to the Goat for one more round.

-john

All photos © John Konstantaras 2009

Rock Stars

Saturday June 6, 2009; Lola Balatro’s CD release party

"Forged in the still-smoldering ashes of turn-of-the-90s cock-rock and grunge,
Lola Balatro has begun its riveting ascent up the sacred mountain of rocklore."

The official CD release party for Lola Balatro, a rock/alternative/comedy band, was Saturday June 6, 2009 at Goose Island in Wrigleyville. There were a number of warm up acts, characters from the bands first music video Rock Star and the release of their new video "Questionable Beef."

I was at the party to shoot photos for a story about 80's Clown that I am working on and got to enjoy a really great event. The night was a lot of fun topped off with Lola Balatro performing the songs from their new CD.

Lola Balatro is Jeff Madden, Paul Thomas and Cork Kangas. You can check them out at their website HERE, on MySpace or become a fan on Facebook.

There next show is June 13th, 2009 at Montrose Station at 7pm, check ‘em out.

Here are a few from the show.

TOP: Jeff, Paul and Cork (left to right) belt out one of their songs on the new CD.

MIDDLE: Paul at the microphone.

BOTTOM: The show girl puts on a little extra for the final song of the night, "Rock Star."

-john

To see more photos from the night click HERE.

all images © John Konstantaras