An evening with Bill Fortney

I attended a seminar tonight at UNO which was hosted by Lakeside Camera. The speaker was Bill Fortney, a photographer and representative for Nikon. Bill has been a photographer for almost 40 years and worked in a number of areas including sports, nature, medical, scenery, etc. He has published 5 books on photography, the most notable being his two recent versions of "America from 500 feet"

I found Bill to not only be a fascinating speaker on photography, but he was also a down right great person. He is a two time cancer survivor, humble and seems to have his life and faith in order. In addition, he has a great sense of humor.

Without going into detail about his 5 points of taking better pictures, here they are. 1)It's going to take time. 2)Simplify your approach, gear and composition. If you have trouble explaining what your picture is about, the picture isn't going to work.3)See the light. Understand the role of light in a picture and when it is available. Loved the quote on the biggest impediment to great nature photography is "breakfast and dinner". 4) Get in touch with what you really care about. 5)Enjoy the Journey.

One thing to remember. Sharpness=Using a Tripod

You can visit his page here.

Fan Behavior at Youth Sporting Events

We've all witnessed it and somehow, it just will not go away. I'm talking about the behavior of some "adults" in the stands and along the sidelines at youth sporting events who just seem to take it too far. As a player, coach and official I've seen it far too many times. They seem to know more than the coach and boast to others how they would coach the game, they bark commands to the players and of course, they see the game and know the rules better than the game officials. As I stand along the playing field or court in my own little world of taking photographs, I can't help but hear them and wonder why they aren't out there coaching or officiating. It also makes me wonder what kind of discussions they have with their son or daughter following a game. Has the game become more important to them than to their child?

Developing players take their cues from someone. Usually, if the coach and parents are in sync for proper behavior and conduct, it is reflected on the playing field. Granted, there will always be the occasional reaction of frustration, but repetitive poor behavior is the result of a coach or parent who has failed the player. It has been my experience that in a majority of cases, you only need to look as far as the parent. Show me a group of well behaved parents at a youth sporting event and you can bet on the same behavior from their children. Likewise, disruptive and unruly parents spills over to the actions of their children on the field. Sadly, they don't see the big picture and understand that life is more than just about the game.

Recently, I had the unfortunate opportunity of listening to a group of parents yell and taunt at players from another team. Their behavior was something you might have expected at a professional sporting event or wrestling event, but certainly not an event played by teenagers. Their repeated taunting finally caused one of their own players to show his own frustration of losing by striking a player. Players were ejected, the game ended early and the unruly parents destroyed a perfectly good game. Sadly, that is probably not the last time that will occur with that group of parents and team.

For an interesting read on parental behavior at youth sporting events, read the following from the Rutgers University Youth Sports Research Council. You may also want to read, "It's not just a game anymore".

About ParkerWatersPhoto.com

Parker Waters Photography is operated with one primary goal. We want to provide you with meaningful images which capture that special moment or event in your life. In doing so, I will be professional, punctual and easy to work with. I will also be flexible in working with you to help deliver what you need or want. To help capture your photographic images, I use only professional quality Nikon cameras and lenses. Please browse through my galleries to get an idea of what I can do for you. I have created three different ways to provide you with your photographs. The first method is our online ordering site where you may view photographs we have taken for you and is described in the column below under Online Ordering. I also offer the option of ordering those same photos in a Digital Image. You may also wish to consider my other service which is called Hourly Rate/CD and is described below.I am available for photography in the entire New Orleans Metro Area. For jobs outside of the area, please contact me to discuss our availability and rates for travel.

For more information on ParkerWatersPhoto.com and to visit my website, please click here.