Brad Hawpe, a smoke machine, and too much wind!

Last month, I had the opportunity to photograph Brad Hawpe for the cover of the June 2009 issue of Rockies Magazine, which also doubles as the game program at Coors Field for the month.
The last time I photographed Brad, it was a last minute thing and we did a pretty ho-hum cover that wasn't all that exciting. So, this time, I wanted to dress it up and we did just that by renting a smoke machine and playing with that.
We shot this in front of Gate D at Coors Field which doubles as a wind tunnel which made things a little more difficult than we hoped. But thanks to some expert smoke fanning moves by my coworker Ryan Mckee, we pulled off a great shot.

Enjoy!

TSB2

Cutie Hadley

A Couple weeks ago I visited my friends Dave and Christy and shot some pics of their adorable daughter Hadley while I was there.  Looking at her today, you'd never know that this little one spent a couple weeks or so at Children's Hospital a little over a year ago when she was diagnosed with Botulism.  You can read more about Christy and Dave's emotional roller coaster through it all here on Christy's wonderful blog.

After having Shaw, I can't imagine having to go through something like that.

Enjoy the pics.

TSB2

Trevor "Shaw" Brown III

On March 4, 2009, my life changed forever in ways that words cannot adequately explain.  My wife Kristin gave birth to our first child, Trevor "Shaw" Brown III.  In the two weeks that have followed, I have experienced some of the deepest emotions of my life, all of them joyous.

Since January, I filmed Kristin's journey through her pregnancy with Shaw. The video that I have posted below is the final product of this odyssey in which Kristin had to deal with bed rest and gestational diabetes in addition to the extraordinary changes a pregnant woman's body experiences.  Despite these difficult experiences, she kept her spirits high and didn't lose sight of the finish line.

While nothing will be able to completely express what I have felt over the past couple weeks, I hope this provides a glimpse into the whirlwind that has brought me to tears out of pure happiness.

Enjoy!

TSB2

You can watch it below, or you can also see it in full HD here

Expecting Shaw from Trevor Brown on Vimeo.

Luck o' the Irish

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to photograph a wonderful student-athlete from Cherry Creek High School named McKenzie Brown.  She is heading to Notre Dame to play lacrosse next year and is being featured in Lacrosse Magazine next month in the 'Give and Go' portrait on the back page.  Since she's heading to Notre Dame, I chose a green back drop for the whole 'luck of the Irish' theme.

She was awesome to work with and I think this frame really captures her energy and youthful spirit.

Enjoy,

TSB2

False Alarm...

So, on Saturday we had a bit of a false alarm...but judging by the first photo, you can see that we had good reason to believe it was about to go down. Hopefully the next post will be one with a new member of our family! We'll keep you posted!

Timing Contractions...

Getting ready to go to the hospital.  Girls...

Even Joe thought we were going to have the baby...

Our current "Bible."

Feeling the Contractions...

Talking to the Doc...

Arriving at the hospital...

Signing in...

Shakin' it.  Trying to get the baby going...

Having some fun with a security camera bubble in the hospital...

Portrait in gown...

Us...

Portrait...

Walkin'...

Paying Respect

A couple of days after the Cape Cod assignment, I hopped on my least favorite airline and headed down to Washington DC to shoot a fairly unusual assignment....A full honors memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery.  I was asked to do this by a family friend whose father was a decorated WWII veteran and passed away in March.  Having recently been the photo editor on a book that my company put together, I felt I was up to the challenge despite having never photographed a full honors service.  While editing the book, I had pored through thousands of photographs of services over the past few years and felt I had a pretty good idea of what went on.  Despite this, there were a few things that made this one of the more difficult assignments I have ever shot.

1) The humidity/rain...Dear Lord, I don't know how anyone can live in DC in the summertime. It's Horrible!!!  I mean honestly, anyone who looks you straight in the eye and tells you that they 'just get used to the humidity' is flat out lying.  I mean come on, I don't care who you are...nobody ENJOYS going outside and having their clothes stick to them within seconds.

Thankfully, the service took place on a relatively 'cool' day and it only felt like it was 95 degrees or so.  It was smooth sailin' until I had to start RUNNING LIKE A MANIAC to catch up to the procession once the service left the staging area to head to the gravesite.  I was sprinting all over the cemetery (like a gazelle, of course) in a jacket and lofers and before I knew it, I was soaking which leads me to my next point...

2) The reason I was running is that the cemetery cranks out 25+ funerals a day!  So, they have it down and when they do a full honors service, it's done with serious precision.  As you can imagine, this is a photographer's worst nightmare since it all happens very quickly.  If you haven't photographed a service at Arlington before, you're in for an adventure that starts pretty easy, then changes pace quickly and by the end of it you want to ask them if they can just run through it again so you can get a few more snaps in.

3)Lastly, it rained at the end of the service.  In all seriousness, I was pretty psyched it did because it created an opportunity to make some different photos and all of a sudden, I wasn't the only one soaking wet!

It was a great trip though and I hope you enjoy the photos.  And as always, say a prayer for those who are serving to protect our country.  It's the least you can do.

TSB2

On the shuttle to the service...

In the family waiting room, checking out the monitor of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier...

They handle the remains with the upmost care...

The guys I had to chase...

One of my favorite images from the shoot...

When you're part of a procession like this, it's quite moving, especially at Arlington.  You truly feel that everyone who is buried there is paying their respects as the caisson passes.

The moment when everyone started looking like the 'sweaty photographer'...

The precision...

The rain provided a nice, soft ethereal feel...

My favorite photo of the shoot since it has a spiritual quality to it.  Shot it from the bus when I saw some funky reflections in my window.

Cape Classic

At the beginning of the Summer, I had the chance to shoot a wonderful one day, "just go there, and find something" shoot.  I visited the town of Wareham, MA to shoot a one day story on the Gatemen, the town's local Cape Cop Baseball League Franchise.  For those of you not familiar with the Cape League, for some time it was one of, if not the only summer league to use wooden bats.  For this reason, it has always been one of the most popular Summertime baseball destinations for upcoming college players and professional scouts alike.  Additionally, there is a deep connection to the local community, as demonstrated by the large crowd I witnessed.  The players are invited not only to play baseball, but they're also invited into the homes of various host families for the summer.  The players are not paid and they find jobs in the local community, sometimes with the help of John Wylde, the Gatemen's President and more importantly, PA announcer who has been with the club for 25 years now.  The local library often has players work there in the Summer, and its courtyard out back is named after Wylde.

He often gives his books to the library when he is finished with them and one librarian described them as 'like new' when she gets them.  The respect for all aspects of the baseball-community friendship, large and small, are honored by everyone involved.  This was evident on the night they honored John Wylde who is dying of liver cancer.

Now that it is out in print, I can share the photos with you.  You can also see it online at the NCAA's website.

I hope you get a feel for what I witnessed.  This wasn't an ordinary baseball game.  This was untainted East Coast Americana that brought everyone together to honor a man who has spent every ounce of his energy giving back.  I'll never forget this story.

Enjoy the pics...

TSB2

A pregame 'snack'...a gigantic chicken parm sandwich...

Heading out to the field...

Photo day...

I had to lean out of a balcony that had a slight angle into the press box to get this photo of John Wylde.  You'll see why in the photo after this one...

Since John is so susceptible to infection, they keep him as far away from people as possible...

A player and a team volunteer selling 50/50 raffle tickets.  50% of the proceeds go to the team, and the other 50% is the grand prize.  Local businesses also contribute various prizes to the raffle.  Tickets are 1 for a buck, three for two bucks, an arms length for fuve bucks, and a wingspan for ten bucks.  People complain when a pitcher isn't selling tickets since they have the longest arms...

It was a packed house on John Wylde night...

Scouts get ready for the game behind home plate...

I was exhausted at the end of the day, but I stuck around for a little while longer and got rewarded with an incredible sunset...