Kyle R. Pochek Photo

Who ever said Lacrosse isn't physical is WRONG

2009-04-23T22:49:00.019-04:00

Just by the first picture of this blog and by the title you can see where this is going to be going. After 3 hours of covering baseball I was at Southern Lehigh's Football Stadium to cover a lacrosse game against Easton. By talking to some of the kids on the team this was going to be a huge game, they also said that Easton isn't known for their skills but they are physical so I was pretty excited and looking forward to the game.

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Above Long pole Brett Ryan looks like he is about to curb stomp a kid.

About 5 minutes into the game I knew that I was in for a treat and that this would be a hard hitting game from beginning to end.

Below middy Greg Parker levels a kid in the open field.

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Easton got out to an early lead with 2 quick goals in the first two minutes and kept going after that.

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Above middy Greg Parker attempts to block a shot on goal.

With the first half coming to an end I got one of the biggest hits I have ever seen in person. middy Dave Stohl was in the open field and got leveled on a break away. I put the shots into a movie, there are five clips of the hit total but it plays it through 3 times. Look in the middle of the shot and you will see the hit.

After getting about 5 txts from friends in the stands asking if I had got the shot I went up and showed them myself and they agreed that the hit would have made ESPN's jacked up list.

Here are a few stock shots from the game.

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Above attack man Jake Metzger out runs an Easton defender.

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Above middy Steve Lick sprints down field with his 4.6 speed lol.

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After I thought that the game was going great for me, I hadn't missed anything big and I had gotten alot of cool shots, I missed a BIG hit from Long Pole Brett Ryan. I let go of the shutter 1 or 2 frames to soon. Sorry Brett....

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And that wraps up a big hitting lacrosse game for me.

High School Baseball.......91mph???

2009-04-21T22:38:00.009-04:00

Last Friday I had to shoot two sporting events, Baseball and Lacrosse. The first game was at 4:00 so i got there at around 3:30 to get set up and get some good spots to get some unique shots. Being that it was the first really nice day of the year I was really excited to be out side and having a good time doing what I love to do.

This shot is one of my all time favorite image in my archive. I was sitting on the third base line about 30 to 40 feet away from the dugout and the sun was facing straight into the dugout. I notice that a coach had his face just outside and into the light so I under exposed the image by a couple stops just so have the light on his face and shoulder showing. Idk maybe it's not that great but I like it lol.

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Sitting on the first base line i was hoping to get some good batter shots but the sun wasn't cooperating so what ended up happening was just getting some good shot of home plate. On a past ball a runner tried to steal home and was tug out by the catcher in plenty of time.

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After a couple innings of not much action the pitcher for the other team came and talked to me. Being a former classmate of mine we talked for a minute or too and he said that there was a scout in the stands with a radar gun and that he was hitting 90-91 Mph. Now idc what level that is that is still pretty impressive. Being 18 years old I would say that he has a pretty good chance of going somewhere.

Here are the rest of the shots of the game. Sorry for the short blog I am 2 behind and its like 11:30 anyway.

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Portraits.......Day 2

2009-04-07T19:42:00.014-04:00

Today was my second day in a row shooting portraits. My good buddy Trevor and I set out to a couple places that I had been scouting at around 1. The first place we went to was right behind my house in a nice woody area that would provide a nice place for some pictures.

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After about 30 or 45 minutes Trevor and I decided to go to another place, a place that not many people know about. My Dad showed me this place when I was real little. He was a Police Officer for 15 years in Upper Saucon Township so he knows the area like the back of his hand. Anyway he showed me the biggest tree in Lehigh County. In all honesty it would take about 4 guys arm to arm to wrap around the tree.

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After we got done shooting at the massive tree we went to this old shack that is right next to a road. I'm not really sure what it was used for but it looks really rugged and good for pictures.

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Then we went back to my house and got some studio lighting going and had a little fun with his guitar and my poker table.

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After we were finally done Trevor did something dumb and got arrested. JK

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That ends my second day of shooting portraits. Thanks Trevor.

Portraits..........Day 1

2009-04-05T21:55:00.012-04:00

The blog that I am writing to you now is going to be 1 of 3 days of getting away from shooting sports. April 4th, 5th, and 7th I have portrait shoots. The first day will just be a practice day with my lovely girlfriend and maybe her brother or sister who knows they might want to get a picture or two.

This might be my second time ever doing portraits so what i have been doing alot lately is reading the blog of legendary photographer, Joe McNally. I also have been doing research on how to use multiple flashes to create a mood for the picture. My girl friend and I spent a good 3 hours in her basement so that I could get the hang out it before the actual shoot that matters which is tomorrow.

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Because I am poor (jk) I cant afford pocket wizards, so I used the fake Chinese triggers or aka (omg I hope to god they fire triggers). On more than one occasion they didn't fire and Amanda had a great pose and the shot was ruined. For the most part they worked great and I should stop complaing because without her Father I wouldn't have access to half of this gear.

I really like this shot un cropped because it gives the shot feel. Doing what I do I get really excited when I look at a shot off the screen of my camera and I stare at it for like 30 seconds and automatically that is my favorite shot from the shoot not matter what else i get the rest of the time.

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People say that guys do better with real hard light......idk if I agree. The light in the above picture is really hard on the left side of her face (my left not hers) and I love the picture, once again the light gives the picture feel.

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Photo by: Alan Sunners

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Thanks again Amanda and Alan Sunners

Baseball on a nice day and a bad day

2009-04-04T11:23:00.012-04:00

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Today I went to Limeport stadium to shoot the baseball game of Southern Lehigh vs. Pen Argyl. I was planning on getting there early but some how that never works out. I was running about 45 minutes behind and by the time I got there everyone was done with batting practice and the game was about to start. This gave me no time to set up and get my stuff dialed in. I started out on the first base line and got the above shoot of the winning pitcher Gary McCool as he throws one of the last pitches of the inning.

SL started out kinda slow but Rocco DelPriore managed to get on base. He also managed to almost get picked off.......twice.

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SL only had a 1 nothing lead into the 5th inning and I wasn't really getting anything great from where I was set up so I decided to move to the third base line to see if I could produce anything better. Below coach Greenwald gives the players in the field signals.

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The weather and light were staying pretty consistent so I thought that I could keep shooting the rest of the game with this set up because it was working out pretty well for me. You know, I shouldn't say stuff like that even if it's to my self because as soon as I do everything goes wrong. A Pen Argyl runner steals second with the throw from the plate just a tad late.

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Normally I do every thing I can before I bump the iso above 1000, 1. because I HATE noise 2. because it looks unnatural. But because i made a comment on the weather being so nice I would end up having to do this and have pictures look like crap because they are noisy.

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For the next picture I really wanted to get the coaches sun glasses the only thing that was lit in the frame so I under exposed the picture by a few stops and this is what I got, nothing use full.

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Right after I got this shot I noticed a pair of sun glasses just sitting on top of the dugout and form where I was sitting looked like it had potential to be a pretty cool photo.

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To me it was worth the 15 minutes of waiting for there to be nothing in my way to get the shot. In the bottom of the 5th inning SL finally opened it up and had a break out inning.

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Right fielder Kyle Behemlander slides into home base and the catcher clearly has him dead to rights but he was called safe. A couple of my friends sitting behind the dugout yelled and to me and asked if I got it, I said yes. Then they go was he safe, I walked over and showed them the picture and they agreed that it was a bad call.

Team mates yell from the dugout to the batter to try and get on base. The final score from the game was SL 10 Pa 1

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New Sigma 120-400 and a Lacrosse game

2009-04-02T14:49:00.000-04:00

Today was my first time using my brand new, right out of the box Sigma 120-400mm lense. I have to say that I may be in love with it. The week before the game when it was on it's way I was really looking forward to using it on a sport such as lacrosse because it's a fast sport on a big field.

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Team mates Steve Lick and Nicky Daniels pose for a picture during warm ups. I got there way early to get a feel for the new lense and try to see what works with it and what doesn't. After about 45 minutes of me talking to friends the game started and my settings were still not dialed in. After I got to work it didn't take to long because it was a very nice day out and there was really really good light on the field.

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I really like these two shots because he is doing the "Jeter" lacrosse style, there isn't much difference.

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After a very busy first quarter from the Spartans the second quarter started out fast. Greg Parker #16 sprinting down the field and turns a defender around as he flys past.

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Whats funny to me is I got a great shot of him but I also got one that might make him a little mad that i put this up here. There was a ground ball around mid-field and Greg was going to get but didn't know that there was a kid behind him and he got trampled.

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I'll be hearing about that one for awhile in school but I still think its funny. At half time Greg's girl friend and a couple other of my friends were treated to some humus and pita, now this was my first time eating humus and I have to say it wasn't bad.

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Then once the game was over my friend Trevor thought he could throw a football better than Rachel.........sorry bro didn't happen.

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The Limeport Milkmen

2009-03-26T15:15:00.000-04:00

When you think of spring, you think of one thing......baseball. For the past couple of years the Southern Lehigh baseball team has reigned in the Colonial League and have been called the Limeport Milkmen.

This year one of their best players and one of my long time best friends has been diagnosed with leukemia and will see limited playing time. David Ortwein is a senior and has played baseball for as long as I can remember. His classmates, team mates, coaches, and family have been raising money to help him through this tough time.

The first home game of the 2009 season was against Central Catholic. It was my first time shooting anything at the stadium so i didn't really get much but i got two shots that i really like.

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This is one of my favorite shots I have from any 2009 sports season. I was shooting from the third base line and a right handed batter took one to opposite field and the second baseman was diving for the ball as the runner on first was sliding into second while stealing second base.

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That's all I got from the first game. The second home game was against Palmerton, from talking to the guys in school they said it should be an easy game......we'll see i said haha. The picture below was taken right before the ball was pulled right down the third base line and almost killed me, ok well idk if it was that close but it was close enough to get my heart going lol.

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One type of baseball pictures that I really like are of the pitcher, so for about half an hour I tried really hard to get a couple of cool looking pitcher shots. This is what I got.

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I will stop rambling now and show you the rest of the pictures from the game.

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And btw it turned out to be an easy game.

A friend, a car, a board, a camera......

2009-03-22T21:18:00.000-04:00

So today after work my brother asked me if I wanted to go play basketball at the park, since I was just getting home from work I was a little tired and cranky but I went. So after about an hour of playing 3 on 3 basketball with a few friends another friend of mine drove by and saw us and quickly pulled a u turn to come say hi. When he came over to the court I asked him where he was going and he said that he was going to skate at a high school about 5 or 6 miles away. As soon as he said that the wheels in my head start turning and I asked if I could tag along, he excitingly said yes.

After a quick stop at my house for a change of clothes and my gear we hit the road. Our first stop was the local middle school (which is where the lax pics came from) where there was a freshly paved construction area for the new intermediate school being put in. Tyler had scouted the spot the day before and was pretty stoked for the shoot.

Right where I put my back pack down there was a drain the clearly said "DUMP NO WASTE" and there was about 5 bottles from the day before.

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I thought it was kinda comical but after I snapped the picture Tyler was ready. It was kinda cloudy out but it made for a nice background.

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The sun was behind us so I had Tyler come from the other way so could get a nice silhouette of him and the clouds.

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After that I thought about going to my grandparents house which has a massive 3,000 square foot basement that isnt finished and the floor is smooth as glass for Tyler. When we got there I really wanted to find a way to blur the backround but keep Tyler clear, normally you just pan with the subject but I tried something else way more high tech.

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This ghetto chair made it easy to match his speed and get the look I wanted.

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After we got some good stuff there we went to the place were we originally wanted to go. My brother met us there and being his usual self he hoped on the board and messed around.

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But i give him credit because he came up with the idea of this pucture and at first I didnt really think that it would come out this good but I really like it.

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Lax season starts off with a bang

2009-03-22T16:48:00.000-04:00

Yesterday marked the first game of Lacrosse season and i had be planning my schedule between lacrosse and baseball for awhile now because out of like next 60 days i think 45 or 46 of them I have something to shoot. Its gonna be insane but that's neither here nor there and ill shut up now and talk about yesterdays game against Exeder.

First off I got there a little late because I was cutting down trees for my grandfather about a mile down the road from the game so it kinda worked out but not really. When I got there I was scouting the field to see where the best place would be to shoot so I picked the mid-field line to start.

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About 5 minutes after this shot a good friend of mine a incredible move on this kid and went down and scored. This is what i got of the move.....

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Trust me that the juke he put of this kid was 100x better than the shot i got. After that it was half time and i decided to move positions to try and get some shots on goal, didn't happen. So after that failed attempt to try and get something cool I moved again and thankfully I did because I got Colby Kent get planted around midfield and the other two photographers and I let out a simultaneous.......woooooow.

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So after laughing about the hit for awhile i got back to shooting and got a couple cool shots.

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And of course Brett and his faces.....haha thanks bro

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And that wraps up the first day of lacrosse.

The story of the 1000 point scorer

2009-03-17T16:34:00.001-04:00

This year I have been covering every game of the Souhtern Lehigh Basketball team, from some of the best gyms in the state to ones where I walked in and said "are you freakin kidding me". For most of the games i was using a standard set up of a d200 and and on camera sb-28 flash.

From the start of the season there was one stand out player who has been a four year starter and is just an over all great athlete. Standing at 6'2 and weighing in at a solid 185 Cory Scgmidt would be the talk of the league.

For the first picture Cory (#21) is obviously being fouled but as usual it went uncalled and the game continued.

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In this gym (were i go to school at) the court is bad and the light is worse. I like this shot because it shows that he has the power to drive the lane (even though he is a little blown out).

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Ok this is by far my favorite place to shoot in doors simply because THERE IS A BLACK BACKROUND i can not tell you how happy that makes me, to be able to walk into a gym shoot a picture and have a black backround ans say to myslef "its gonna be a good night".

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This is one of my all time favorite basketball pictures because of the look on his face and the player in the backround. Southern Lehigh was up by 2 points with 2.8 seconds left to go in the 4th. Upper Schuylkill had the inbound and put up it three times and missed all three times, when the ball finally hit the floor the Southern Lehigh Spartans were on their way to the state playoffs.

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After they had clinched state playoffs the spartans were on their way to the district champion ship and this is really all i got........1 blown out posed picture but even though it sucks there is something about it that made me put it in my blog because it does look a little cool haha.

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It's here.....finally

2009-03-17T14:59:00.000-04:00

Ok after reading blogs from Mark J. Rebilas, Guy Rhodes, and Dustin Snipes I have decided to finally make my own blog. I will start posting events that I have covered asap.

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