Gary Splash’s Robert Eldridge (top) shoots up and over Lansing’s Carlos Gill during the fourth quarter at the Genesis Center in Gary, Ind., Sunday, April 17, 2011.

With the NBA playoffs underway, and scores of local fans chasing after the bandwagons of their “favorite” teams, I decided to dig through my archives and pull some of my favorite basketball images from the 2010-2011 season. While there are a couple of images from college and semi-pro teams, the majority of them were shot at high school matches. High school games always seem more emotionally “true” for some reason, probably because the players are in it strictly for the love of the sport, free from the haze of endorsement deals and celebrity pomp.

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Gavit High School varsity girls basketball team member Hattie Andrews poses during practice at the school in Hammond, Indiana. The 6’3″ sophomore has been playing basketball since the third grade.

As a lighting designer, one of the best things about location film and photography work is the always-challenging task of transforming an everyday space into an attractive environment for the lens. More often than not, I enter new locations flying blind, having never visited the space before. I never know exactly what I’m getting into, which often causes a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Have I brought enough equipment to light the space, and more importantly, the subjects within? For video shoots, is there enough power? Will I be fighting bright light from windows during a daytime shoot? Can I capitalize on any existing fixtures within the building to create something special in an otherwise bland location?

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A nostalgia funny car suffers an engine fire after crossing the finish line during the California Hot Rod Reunion at the Auto Club Famoso Raceway.

In the die-hard world of drag racing, a community of lifelong fans and devoted technicians alike fills the racetrack grounds with an unmistakable drive and passion. The group is present to do everything in their power to witness and attain two simple goals: Go fast, and be the fastest. Team members for each car are noble gear warriors, wielding chrome lances (usually taking the form of socket wrenches) between their fingers blackened with grease, fighting to tame their beasts on wheels.

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Professional midget wrestler Tony “Teo” Elliott of Lake Station, Ind., leaves the field at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago after throwing out the first pitch at a Chicago White Sox game against the Texas Rangers, Tuesday, June 1, 2010. Elliott stars in the new Spike TV series Half Pint Brawlers.

With the start of the latest incarnation of my web site and this blog, I’m going to make a vow to be honest with all of you here, even if it puts me in a less-than-favorable light. So, here comes the first morsel of truth: I’d be lying if I said I looked forward to each and every photo assignment I do. I fantasize about a world where every assignment was like the favorites I’ve done, from following Willy the pyromaniac at Willy Works blowing stuff up next to his store around July 4th, to holding a camera above my head in a Stearman biplane shooting the pilot behind me doing loops over Lake Michigan.

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