Blogged my session with the winner from the @TCE_Moms open house. Cuties. :) http://bit.ly/bmZluA 2010-06-10
I redesigned! I was ready for some brighter colors and bigger photos. I’m still tinkering a bit so feel free to let me know if anything is broken or missing. In the meantime, here are some photos I took last year and never shared, posted to celebrate the new largeness!
My friend Paul (St. Paul Paul if you know him via Flickr, Preflash Gordon as he’s known in the derby world) has been photographing the North Star Roller Girls for some time now. He mentioned joining him once quite awhile back so when I found out there was a bout this past Saturday, I invited myself to come along.
Prior to attending, everything I knew about roller derby came from watching a season of Roller Girls on A&E, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. This bout was held in the basement of the Minneapolis Convention Center (derby in the Convention Center? Really? Yes, really.) This is flat-track derby so the rink just consists of a roped off track off the floor, with another track around the outside for the refs. You can purchase rink-side tickets and never was there a truer meaning of rink-side. You sit right on the floor at the edge of the track, complete with warnings about who may slide into you and where your drinks may go (straight into your lap if you are the gentleman sitting next to me). But man can you see action from there.
The four teams (Delta Delta Di, The Kilmore Girls, The Banger Sisters and the Violent Femmes) are made up of all types of girls. Big, little, some whom you likely wouldn’t dare cross in broad daylight and some who look like they’d spend their Saturday nights at home baking cookies. No cookie baking here, though. It’s a rough and tumble sport – plenty of knocking, banging, pushing and connecting solidly with a hard, concrete floor. It pained me every time one fell but they always popped right back up.
Overall, it was a great experience. The crowd was diverse and excited, the girls, although hardcore, were extremely appreciative to the attendants, it was all quite exciting to watch and I think I’ve almost figured out what the heck is going on. I’m sad that it was the semi-finals and there are no more local games this season but I’ll definitely be back next season!
Nick Dawson: Looks like a lot of fun MK! Did you have to use a flash (and were they allowed)?. Love the reflections on the floor... I also love how much fun this looks. Wonder if there are leagues in Virginia...
mk: I did use a flash, yes. Paul warned me that it was nearly impossible (and also gross looking) without one. I believe they don't have any rules yet about photography - there were several photographers without media passes, in addition to the ones who had them. My program says the Dominion Derby Girls are in Norfolk, Va. That's the only listing for VA but those are just members of the Flat Track Derby Association so there may be others.
LK: GREAT photos!! And impressive uniforms!
dawny darko: I'm one of Pauls "derby wives” A status traditionally reserved for skater/refs, but who could resist Preflash Gorden? Thanks for the awesome shots! I particularly like IMG 8813. This shows my real life boss (in blue Miss Hannigan) practically sitting on my Captain (in green Granny Panties). Lots of action in that shot. I’m pretty sure it was Rhea Lentless (the Jammer in green in IMG 8819) who ended up taking out the drink of your neighbor. Miss Hannigan tells me it’s a hit from her that landed Rhea there. I hope you come back again and share more of your images and have more fun. You are in luck, there is one more game this season. The Final Championship bout on Saturday May 9th. This one will be upstairs and we’ll have plenty floor seating, bleachers and of course, track side (or suicide row)! Thanks again! Dawny Darko #286 Kilmore Girls, NSRG
tin lizzy: Hi M! Some fantastic shots you have from the bout - I do hope you come back again and snap some more! So glad you enjoyed the bout! And the good news is that the championship is May 9th - so you still have an opp to get to another one before the season ends! Thanks for giving us a write-up in your blog too! <3 tin lizzy :)
alan: hey there is one more bout this season on may 9th it is for the championship. It is the DElta Delta Di( in pink) vs the banger sisters ( in blue) and the kilmorfe girls( in green camo) vs the violent femmes in red) these are some incredible shot you took and I hope you can attend the last bout of the season. Thank you Bounty the quicker licker upper delta delta di asst bench coach
Mickey Dismantle: I'm so glad you had a good time! I do have a minor correction: we have one more home bout this season. The Championship will be on Saturday, May 9th at 7:30 pm (doors at 6:30 pm) at the Mpls Convention Center. I hope to see you there and meet you officially. Thanks again for the review and the terrific pictures.
Freddy Kruelgirl: DUDE! IMG 8799 is easily one of my favorite pictures taken of me this season. For someone who has never photographed derby before you got some SWEET shots! xoxo Freddy
Steely Danielle, referee: WONDERFUL photos! My favorite is 8812. That's Becky Homewrecky getting checked by Stalker Channing. The look on Becky's face as she's going down is priceless! Thanks for coming to see our ladies...they are such wonderful athletes and human beings. Steely Danielle
Fotodog: Just a point of clarification. The league does have a photography policy. While we do allow people to do flash photography they are limited to where they can shoot from. We do have a dedicated Media team who manage photo passes and work with visiting/guest photographers to educate them on doing it safely as not to put themselves or the skaters at risk. On camera strobes are permitted, any off camera strobes or multiple light setups are reserved for the media team and approved media passes. While we love to have new people show up and shoot we also need to protect the rights of the skaters and the league. Profiting from images taken at the event, unless authorized by the league is strictly prohibited. (protecting the brand of the league) Each league has different photo policies and they can change at at a drop of a hat. Some leagues don't allow SLR/dSLR cameras, some don't allow flash photography. We are fortunate that NSRG has a pretty liberal photo policy as will for a long time as long as it is not abused and the safety of the skaters and fans is not put at risk. Thanks again for the blog and photos. Look forward to seeing you at future events! ~fotodog
mk: I stand corrected! I've marked off May 9th on my calendar and plan to attend. Thanks to all you rollerpeople for the comments!
I had a fun opportunity to try something new this week. I received a last minute offer of a photo pass to First Avenue to photograph the They Might Be Giants concert. I don’t have much interest in concert photography and very little experience (well, none would probably be more accurate, with the exception of various outdoor, afternoon concerts) but I’m a (admittedly rather lax) TMBG fan so I thought it might be fun to give it a try.
Let me tell you…concert photography? It’s hard. It was hot and crowded and very dark and the stage lighting was constantly changing and as the opening band played its fifth and sixth songs that sounded exactly like 1-4 and the girl next to me continued to dig her elbow into my side, I wondered what on earth I’d been thinking when I’d decided to go. But when TMBG finally got on stage, I was so glad I’d gone.
When I say I’m something of a lax fan, I mean it’s been quite awhile since I’ve listened to or followed the band. Their album Flood was actually the first cd I ever bought, back when I received a discman for Christmas (woowoo!) and my uncle took me to a used cd store on the Ohio State campus and I got to pick out something to listen to in said fancy new contraption. And I loved that album but that’s about the last time I listened to them so I only knew about five of the songs. Thankfully, it didn’t really matter. They had a great and energetic stage presence, the crowd was completely into it and their stuff was good and funny and entertaining. My photo pass allowed me to spend the first three songs right up at the stage and the remainder sitting in the stairwell which was blissfully free of other people. I left the show somewhat deafened and a bit tired but definitely glad I went.
(Incidentally, TMBG has several children’s cds out now as well – they played a few songs from them which were equally entertaining to the adults – so if you’re looking for new music for the kiddos and you’re over Raffi, you might check them out.)
Andy: I think you did a wonderful job! Nobody would know you haven't shot an indoor concert before.
wild child: Awesome!! You totally took amazing shots. You ROCK!
Betsy: Wow - Mandy. For a first time concert photographer (or a veteran, for that matter), these photos are absolutely amazing!! Seems you adjusted to the challenges really, really well. Nice work!
Roundup | Minneapolis Metblogs: [...] of Soul Photography talks about photographing They Might Be Giants at First Avenue. With photos from said [...]
Kavita: Wow! What the other commenters said - you'd never believe, from the high quality of your shots, that you've not shot concert photography before. Your work is good, pants sister!
L1: Ummm....like wow and stuff. These are terrific. They should pay you giantly, all might aside. ;)
Kelly: The photos turned out great! How fun!!!
Websites tagged "tmbg" on Postsaver: [...] - They Might Be Giants saved by superflat2008-10-04 - Sacks and Cowles Added to TMBG Team saved by eissimuf2008-10-03 - [...]
Roundup | fresh.mn: [...] of Soul Photography talks about photographing They Might Be Giants at First Avenue. With photos from said [...]
Amish Gramish: Those pictures are great! At least I can have a helpful reminder of that show with the Giants not selling the MP3s of the show. *tear*
A big fat sneak peak for the D Fam because I had way too much fun at their session. Ben is another photographer friend of mine (yes, about 99% of my friends are photographers, it’s kind of wacky) and I met him and his family at Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington one evening. The weather threatened storms but turned out to be quite perfect for photos and we had the area pretty much to ourselves.
(In case you are wondering, the nature center has lots of frogs but no alligators…that we could find anyway.)
I did not steal either of the kids to take home with me, although I was pretty tempted and might reconsider sometime soon. Thanks for a fun session, guys!
Heidi Fazio: Love these shots, especially that last one!! Cute family!!
Shannon Dodds: THANK you so much... I posted a link on my blog and EVERYONE is saying "more, more"... They love your shots... You might just have to post a few more when you are done (no rush) to make my friends and family happy :D... THANKS again, you are so talented!
L1: Those last two rock! Perfect family photos. :)
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Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to shoot a wedding at the Semple Mansion with Daniel Snow. The Mansion is a beautiful location and the wedding was beautiful as well. I wanted to share a few quick shots while I’m in between editing sessions!
tara bjerke: What a gorgeous location! (and fab photography too!)
Betsy: Breath-taking, Mandy!
Someone has been neglecting the blog a bit! It’s not entirely because I’m spending all my time with my beautiful new iPhone but I can’t say that I’m not already loving it. :) Okay, I’ve actually been really busy taking photos, preparing print orders and working on a few fun, upcoming projects.
Last weekend, Julie came over to my home studio so we could do some maternity photos. She arrived with a bagful of wonderful wardrobe and accessory options so we did a little bit of inside and a little bit of out.
Her husband came with her and we grabbed a few photos of him too before he did some serious studies on the comfort factor of my new hammock.
I know the sex and name of the baby-to-be but I’m not sure if the J family is sharing that publicly yet so I’ll just say that it’s a super cute name. Thanks for coming over guys and congrats on your new addition!
LBK: These are great, and what a cute new mom!!
L1: Just wonderful...as usual. I was almost freaking out when I saw the title was "expecting" but then I figured it was more belly pics. ;)
Jennifer: Love the belly bump I think my favorite is the pink scarf that's so original and fun! She looks amazing and so happy!
jenniferchaney: These are great! I love her eyes and her hair color...
Emily: Beautiful! She reminds me of Tilda Swinton.
Jennifer Chaney: These are really beautiful! And I love your new blog!!
Sara Montour: LOVE that last one!
LaurieK: These pictures are AMAZING!!! So moody and beautiful! You blog looks AWESOME!!
Vanessa Lam: This are amazing! Great look on the blog too. Congrats!!!
LK: I like it!!
Kathi C: Wow! Wow! Wow! What incredible images.
christy: Holy cow, Mandy! These are stunning!! LOVE how your work that dramtic lighting! Lovin the new blog too. Your pictures deserve to be HUGE!
~SarahInParis~: Love this session. The images are just stunning and se is really beautiful. (Love the larger images too!)
Tendrils: Beautiful new design! I love your photos!
Sara Moon: holy crap. she TOTALLY looks like Tilda Swinton. I actually thought it WAS her! These are stunning. Stunning. Stunning. Can i Say it again? Stunning.
Nichole: WOW, these are awesome love the last one & 2nd one!
Dana Fontaine: your images make my heart ache - in the best of ways. beautiful work, my friend.