Recent work
Hank
I cut my teeth as a photographer as the photo editor/sports photographer of my college’s newspaper (a MONTHLY newspaper!!!) using a camera that took floppy disks and a version of photoshop that didn’t have a BACK function. I guess a lot hasn’t changed in the last 5 years…I still have that Sony Mavica somewhere in a closet and my current version of photoshop isn’t much newer, but I’m having more fun than ever shooting in Austin, Texas.
Since my last update, I’ve been fortunate enough to make some new photographer friends, put several hundred miles on the road bike, mentor two photographers who are new to the ever shrinking world of (paid) photography, eat lots of Tex-Mex and shot some photos of my best head tilting pal, Hank (above).
May is a pretty crazy month for freelance photographers in Austin, as the spring UIL championship season is in full swing. I spent an entire week shooting Texas UIL State Golf, Tennis and Track for various outlets, big and small, across Texas.
Daniel Brown, of Montgomery, celebrates his state championship win over Brady Bohrnstedt.
Like I say in just about every update, shooting sports is a blast and photographing the top high school athletes in Texas makes it that much better. I spent 4 days waiting out rain showers, running between 12 courts while shooting the Texas UIL Tennis Championships in Lakeway.
Nate Lammons, of Conroe The Woodlands College Park, returns a short ball.
For a really good reason, the UIL also schedules the golf state championships on the exact same day as the tennis championships…Meaning the poor media folks (like myself) get to drive 50 minutes across Austin trying to catch the winning player making the winning shot while not missing the any other shots at either venue. Pretty fun and a little stressful…
Portland Rosen, of Clements, attempts to talk her ball onto the green after teeing off during the 2010 UIL Golf State Championships in Austin on Thursday.
The Texas UIL Golf State Championships weren’t as exciting as they were last year (no one threw their clubs into the lake this year!), it was nice to relax under cloudy skies and not get too bad of a sunburn. On the last day of the tournament, the skies opened up and a 4 hour and 50 minute rain delay nearly cancelled the tournament. It was choas as everyone tried to stay dry under what little cover there was and we all just waited….and waited for the storm to pass.
Claire Thompson, second from left, checks her cell phone as other members of the Katy Seven Lakes golf team take a quick nap during a 4 hour and 50 minute rain delay during the 2010 UIL Golf State Championships in Austin on Friday. Surrounding Thompson are, from left, Evelina Keifer, Cecilie Nordahl and Maren Platou.
After the rain delay, an emergency trip to Rudy’s BBQ, and following our golf cart disaster (think the biggest splash ride at Six Flags…Water went OVER the top of the cart..Sorry Jenny!), I got on my way to shooting a few kids before running over the the Texas UIL State Track and Field Championships.
Christina Stringham, of Pasadena Memorial, shoots out of the bunker during the 2010 UIL Golf State Championships in Austin.
Taking a break from high school sports for a few days, I shot the Austin Aztex, Austin’s professional soccer team, like I do every home game.
Austin Aztex
Last night’s game was absolutely amazing, with over 6,000 people in attendance. While a 3-3 draw wasn’t the score the Aztex were looking for, it provided the fans, many of them new to Austin’s soccer team, a lot to look at.
Austin Aztex
Goals went back and forth all night, until Tampa tied the match late in the final minutes of play.
Austin Aztex
You can always see more galleries at www.austinaztex.com and a few photos here and there at USLSOCCER.
I’ve also been shooting a little bit of music here and there. I got the call to shoot the supergroup The Dead Weather, but I was more interested in the band that opened for them, The Ettes.
The Ettes lead singer Lindsay "Coco" Hames performs at Stubb's in downtown Austin on Friday.
Apart from sounding better, they actually had lights on them! I haven’t shot a lot live music, but The Dead Weather was one of the darkest, most backlit bands I have ever shot….Except for these sporadic bursts of a bright strobe light which I set my camera settings for. I don’t understand it, but I only had to sit through three songs so I can’t complain too much!
The Dead Weather's Dean Fertita, from left, Alison Mosshart and Jack White perform at Stubb's in downtown Austin on Friday.
I’m still waiting on the call to cover Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen myself. (Although I did shoot and get to meet Lyle at a private event a while ago!)
I’ve also been shooting a lot of University of Texas softball recently. I’ve had a blast doing it because the access is great, the girls are hilarious, it isn’t crowded with other photographers and the backgrounds are clean!
The University of Texas softball team celebrates on home plate as they wait for Amy Hooks to round third after hitting a solo home run.
Georgia's Laura Trout rounds third base after hitting a solo home run off of Blaire Luna.
Blaire Luna delivers a pitch during the Longhorns game against OSU in Austin.
Apart from all the usual events I cover, I try to spend as much time with friends, my dog, and now that it is summer, swimming! I love taking my dog, Hank, out to the local dog parks and everywhere else I can. He loves soccer balls!
Hank at Zilker Park.
Hanson Little at Barton Springs.
As usual, I’ve got many more photos that I want to show, but work is calling and I’m off to shoot the NCAA Regional Championships here in Austin. Look for another post soon! -PM
(all photos by Austin photographer Patrick Meredith)
Photos Photos Photos
I’ve been wanting to sit down and update my blog with recent photos, but I haven’t been able to find the time. I’ve moved twice in the last few months, along with being busy taking photos in Austin. I’ve shot the University of Texas Longhorn baseball team, basketball team, and swim team, along with UIL swimming, wrestling, basketball and more portraits and general assignments than I care to talk about.
Here is a mixed bag of photos from the past week or so. I’ve been experimenting with turning photos B&W in Photoshop, so please bear with me.
I shot the UIL State Wrestling Championships held at the Austin Delco Center, which is one of the darker gyms in Austin. Luckily I shot a basketball game here a few days before this assignment, so I knew to bring some lights. I went for a backlight look for this match and I think it turned out alright...
It was pretty amazing, watching some of these athletes compete. This kid had a separated shoulder but he fought through the pain and won the state championship.
I also shot some swimming at the University of Texas, which is usually a blast. It is always fun to see my old photography buddies from across the state converge onto Austin for the state tournaments.
Kara McCormack Speaking of swimming, I also shot a few photos of LBJ diver Kara McCormick. She was a trooper and let me splash her with water.
The girls basketball state championships were in town the last few days, so I spent a good amount of time in the Frank Erwin Center shooting the best teams in Texas.
But along with the celebration, I shot a lot of dejection. I really felt for the Wylie team as they missed a three point shot with a second left that would have won them a state title.
While shooting the girls hoops, I also set up a basic remote kit near my lap. Camera with a 14mm lens, pointed up to get the big lights and scoreboard in the shot. It was pretty cool seeing the Haley Fowler show. The girl scored 35 points in the championship game (2 of them are above).
Even the coaches were getting in on the celebration action during the game. It is always great to get a shot of a coach outside of them sitting on a bench with their arms crossed.
It also snowed in Austin! It dumped about an inch at our place up north, so I took the dogs out for a little romp in the snow. Not necessarily work, but it was fun!
I shot some motorcycles out at a track in San Marcos. That was a blast. It was pretty crazy watching these guys and girls haul along the track.
Jordan Etier I've also been shooting a little bit of the University of Texas Longhorns baseball. I've got a few hundred photos that I'm going through to put on Photoshelter...I've been running a little late!
It is always fun shooting the winning team. I'll share more Longhorn baseball photos in the near future....
I also got to meet and photograph a cool kid by the name of Kevin, who races mountain bikes all across the world. Hopefully I'll have a few more photos in the future of him. I'm pretty jealous!
Elle Pishny Austin Marathon I also shot the the Austin Marathon. It was pretty awesome, except I made the mistake of riding in the press truck. I ended up shooting the same person for about 2 hours, until I finally got off the truck and made it to the finish line.
Elle Pishny was the first woman to cross the finish line. I've got some ideas for next year, so I hope I get the chance to shoot it again!
University of Texas fans I also shot the last University of Texas home basketball game at the Frank Erwin Center. It is always a blast shooting UT sports, and the fans never seem to disappoint either.
I'll be updating my Photoshelter with Texas Longhorn basketball images as well, so look for more soon!
(ok, one more)
Arizona I also went to Arizona and I have well over 4 gigs of photos that I still need to go through. I shot a sunset there...It is amazing with the mountains, saguaros and other awesome scenery.
Arizona And there is much, much more but it is 12 at night and I'm going to sleep. More to come!
And there is much, much more but it is 12 at night and I’m going to sleep. More to come!
University of Texas baseball
Over the last two years, February has become one of my favorite months of the year. On the 19th, the Longhorns will kick off their 2010 season with a game against New Mexico…and so begins one of my favorite sports to shoot…baseball.
With that in mind, I went through my hard drive and pulled a few of my favorite images from last season where the Horns almost brought the national championship back to Austin. Here is to the #1 ranked college baseball team for the 2010 season…
- (taken around 12 a.m. during the longest NCAA baesball game in history)
Colt McCoy – Winningest NCAA Quarterback
See more images of Colt McCoy from the Longhorns 51-20 win over Kansas here: www.sportsshooter.com/meredith
So many irons in the fire, not enough time in the day to properly update. I need to get my hockey (!), tennis, volleyball, football and the rest of my softball images online. These past few weeks have been crazy and I’m trying to take a couple of days off with family up in Missouri….That said, have a good Thanksgiving!
Busy Busy
Things have been crazy being a photographer in Austin, Texas lately. University of Texas sports are in full swing, the tragedy in Fort Hood, major high school sports are in the final stages and things just don’t look like they are going to slow down. I get to take a few days off next week to drive to Missouri for Thanksgiving and I’m really looking forward to that.
The Brenham volleyball team storms the court after sweeping Richardson Pearce in the 4A State Semifinals in San Marcos on Thursday.
I’m shooting the 2009 UIL State Volleyball Championships in San Marcos and it is a blast, as usual. I’ve shot state volleyball tournaments consecutivly for the last 4 years and I always enjoy it…Even if they did turn off the ‘tv’ lights this year, making the court two stops darker. Unfortunatly I can’t make the championship games on Saturday because the Texas Longhorn football team is hosting Kansas…I just hope the rain holds off long enough for me to shoot a few frames of Colt McCoy breaking NCAA records….
More to come…
The challenge…
Regent volleyball players attempt to block a kill during practice on Wednesday.
The challenge in shooting high school sports is to harness and exploit what little light there is inside a gym or on the field and to get a nice clean background in your photo. Sometimes you win with plenty of light and clean images, but sometimes you lose with poor light and clutter everywhere. I fell into the latter category tonight, but after attending the SportsShooter Academy Workshop in California, I’m working my butt off to find an image and capture it.
Regents volleyball practice 1 – me 0
I am photographing AC/DC this week and I’m really looking forward to shooting some live music again….
University of Texas basketball
Instead of my usual Thursday-Friday night football games, I spent the last two evenings shooting fencing and University of Texas womens basketball.
Gail Goestenkors talks with the University of Texas basketball team following practice on Friday.
It was pretty fun shooting in the Erwin Center, as I haven’t shot a game in there since moving to Austin several years ago. I’ve seen tons of photos of it, but I didn’t realize just how big it was until I was at the top of the stadium…Pretty awesome. I’ll share some more photos later. Football this weekend!!!!
A view of the Frank Erwin Center before the start of basketball practice on Friday.