Sports photography in Austin
Juan Castillo, left, and Cody Lofgren celebrate after Lofgren scored a goal during the Panthers 3-2 loss to Frisco Wakeland in a shoot out during the 4A state championship soccer game in Georgetown
These past two months have felt like a whirlwind as I’ve been rushing around taking pictures as a freelance photographer in Austin, Texas. I’ve managed to shoot every high school state championship event, along with the women’s NCAA championships at the Erwin Center, a small ad campaign, portraits, general assignments and somehow squeezed in time to move to a new house in downtown Austin and put in some time on the bicycle.
I shot 6 high school state basketball games for various news outlets across Texas and had the chance to meet some great kids and take some photographs that I enjoy….even though these are all from one game… -
Adrian Tepker hoists the state championship trophy for the Fort Bend Bush fans to see following their 65-58 state championship win over Lakeview Centennial in Austin
Texas Governer Rick Perry presents the Fort Bend Bush basketball team with the state trophy.
The Fort Bend Bush basketball team celebrates following their 65-58 state championship win over Lakeview Centennial in Austin
I also got to spend three days shooting the state soccer tournament, which is always a blast. I started photographing soccer in Austin last year when I covered my first Austin Aztex game for a local newspaper and I’ve been hooked since.
Ryan Nolan, right, wins a header over Frisco Wakeland's Len Smith during their 4A state championship loss to Wakeland.
The backgrounds are so ugly at the Georgetown stadium that I spent a lot of time up in the stands shooting down on the action with a long lens. Even with the terrible backgrounds, the staff at the stadium were awesome. It was the most well staffed state championship I have ever been to. Not only was everyone helpful, they constantly had the fridge packed with food and even had breakfast tacos for those 8am games. I wish the UIL could take note of the accomplishments that Rhonda Farney and the rest of the staff pulled off in making the event bearable for the media. Thanks GISD!
Kyle Trimm, left, and El Paso's Jose Moreno fight for the ball during Kingwood Park's 5-2 semifinal win over El Paso on Friday.
Kingwood coach Ryan Smith talks with his team before the start of their 4A state championship match against Frisco Wakeland.
Kylie Cook, left, and Meghan Gibbons celebrate after Cook scored on a penalty kick in the final minutes of the Highlanders 3-2 state championship win over McKinney Boyd.
And in a total different direction, I’m still editing down my take of photos from my Arizona road trip. I took a few hundred photos while riding shotgun and in the backseat with the
View from the car seat in Arizona.
View from the car seat in Arizona.
View from the car seat in Arizona.
I’ve also shot a few games of Texas baseball. There is something great about being on the 40 acres shooting baseball on a brisk, sunny day.
Austin Dicharry delivers a pitch.
I also spent some time at the 2010 Texas Relays at the University of Texas. The Texas Relays are always a blast to shoot and are one of my favorite events to cover. I shot a number of high school, university and international athletes for a few clients and somehow managed to not get sunburnt over the course of three days.
Yesterday was another fun day for me as well, as I got the call to shoot the 26th Annual MS 150 Bike Ride. The MS 150 takes cyclists from Houston to Austin, via a 180 mile back country route, in order to raise money for multiple sclerosis. I’ve wanted to do the ride for the last couple of years, but I can’t seem to find the time.
Riders participating in the 26th Annual BP MS 150 Bike Ride celebrate as they cross the finish line Sunday morning near the Texas State Capitol.
A cyclist participating in the 26th Annual BP MS 150 Bike Ride celebrates with fans while riding through a bubble machine near the finish line Sunday morning.
It was a blast seeing everyone in such high spirits, including the riders on the tail end of their near 200 mile ride. I managed to capture a few moments here and there and even nabbed another 1A lead art photo for a local paper.
Houston Chronicle
Our local professional soccer team in Austin, the Austin Aztex, also kicked off their second season with a 2-0 win over last years USL-1 defending champions and took down another opponent to stay unbeaten on the season so far. Like a lot of my other jobs, shooting for the Austin Aztex is always fun.
Austin Aztex
And you can’t forget the loyal fans who have made the move to House Park with the team. These guys and gals rock. The billboard agrees.
http://www.chanticosarmy.com/cajoomla/
The Aztex are kicking up some waves online using social networking tools and have made a few funny videos to help promote their upcoming season. My favorite so far…Heads Up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO8bpql9aRU
And last but not least, I’ll leave you with one of my more light hearted assignments from a few weeks ago. There are a few people in Austin that love their pets so much that they will go to extremes to help them live better lives. Jake happens to be one of those dogs. His owners spent a lot of money buying up a small parcel of property behind their condo, installing a doggie door with a ramp, and having the stairs built at an angle that suits the older dogs aging body…Talk about awesome!
A dog door with a ramp helps Jake, along with two other elderly beagels, get in and out of the condo.
I’ve got a lot more photos that I want to share with everyone, but they are going to have to wait until next time. Thanks for stopping by.
Photographs by Austin photographer Patrick Meredith www.patrickmeredith.com
Some new-ish pictographs
I have been swamped shooting sports, portraits and personal work these past few weeks. I’ve shot cars, food, bikes, celebrities, soccer, softball, swimming, fencing, football and concerts…to name a few. I haven’t had a chance to get this site going 100%, but here is a quick peek at what I have been photographing in Austin, Texas.
Jeff Sadler - 360
The annual Halloween Jam at 9th Street Trails in downtown Austin was pushed back from this Saturday to next week because of all the rain we have been getting, so a bunch of people got together at Sunday’s trails in east Austin instead.
Garrett Guilliams
Salty
Chase Hawk
I’ve got so much on my plate right now it is hard to type about it all. Here is a few more random shots from the last few weeks….
2010 Camaro
Stony Point's Aaryn Sharp peeks of the tunnel before the start of their game against Cedar Park.
Brammel Harrison
University of Texas Softball
Cedar Park's Brian Hogan dives for the first down.
Jeff Sadler
I’ve got so much more, but the weather is too nice to be sitting on the computer talking about photography.
More to come….
Welcome to PatrickMeredith.com!!!
After a long, long time on the back burner, I’ve finally linked together my portfolio and blog in one simple, easy to use site. Thanks to Tyler Nutter for slapping me around and motivating me to get it going, I hope to continue on like I did with my last blog. And for those of you who are new to the site (sorry for the spam email!), thanks for visiting. I’m trying to get my archives pulled over from my old site, but in the meantime, you can view some more recent work of mine HERE.
Thanks!
PM