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