Legion baseball wraps up

Brooklawn, NJ runner Pat Kane slides in safe at home past Bellevue, WA catcher James Sinatro to score the winning run in the 10th inning of game eight at the American Legion World Series in Shelby on Sunday August 19, 2012.

Here's a few of my best photos from the last few weeks of American Legion baseball playoffs.

I don't consider shooting baseball to be one of my strengths as a photographer, but looking over all the high school, Gastonia Grizzlies and American Legion baseball I shot this summer is boosting my confidence a bit. I think for the first time in my four-year career I can say without hesitation that I'm proud of the work I did.

I can't take all the credit, of course. No matter how good you are as a sports photographer, you're always at the mercy of what's actually happening on the field. With baseball that is often extreme boredom and monotony punctuated by moments of dramatic and decisive action, such as the play-at-the-plate above.

All things considered, this year I felt like there was simply more action, and I can't complain about that.

Hickory Post 29 left fielder Tanner Dillard reaches over the fence to rob a Gaston Braves batter of a home run during game four of the American Legion playoffs series at South Point High in Belmont on Thursday July 19, 2012.

Cherryville Post 100 second baseman Brett Huff knocks off Gastonia Post 23 runner Trevor Bridges' helmet after forcing him out at second and winding up to throw to first for the double play during the American Legion playoffs game at Sims Legion Park on Wednesday July 4, 2012.

Everything's better with Butter

U.S. Olympic Team member Eric 'Butter' Hurd poses in his paddling gear at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte on Tuesday June 26, 2012. Hurd and his teammate Jeff Larimer will be competing in the tandem canoe slalom event in London this week.

I have the unique privilege this year of pulling for one of my friends, Eric "Butter" Hurd, who is competing with teammate Jeff Larimer in tandem canoe slalom at the London Olympics this week. 

I took the photos above a few weeks ago before he left for London (Jeff lives in Atlanta and wasn't available) and the photo below is from U.S. Team Trials at the whitewater center earlier in the summer. 

U.S. Olympic athletes don't get much support, unless they play basketball or they're an attractive female. That sounds rough, but it's essentially true. It doesn't help that in North America NBC has a monopoly on using the Olympic Games to fill space between commercials. As long as that practice is allowed to continue, only the popular sports will generate lucrative sponsorships for a few select athletes that make good talking points.

In any event, I'll be pulling for Butter this week, and if you want to show your support he has T-shirts on sale for a small donation with a design based on my photo below. I think they look pretty cool. (Disclaimer: I receive no profit from the sale of the shirt. The screen printing company is taking a chunk, but most of it goes straight to Hurd). 

Here's the link to buy a shirt.

Perilous Peaks

Most people don't know this, but there are at least six small aircraft wrecks in the Black Mountain Range, home of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in Eastern North America.

All the ones I'm familiar with are small Cessna type planes like this one. Some crashed into the mountain due to weather, and at least one set down under control after a mechanical problem. The pilot and passenger in that one both survived. Most others were not so fortunate.

It isn't too hard to fathom why there are so many. Most of these planes fly below 5,000 ft in unregulated airspace. Most of the Black Mountain range is over 6,000 ft in elevation and often obscured in clouds.

The saddest part of the story, perhaps, is that both of the crash sites I've been to so far are only fifty feet below the ridge line. A little bit more altitude and they probably would have made it.

I'm currently trying to find out more about the history of some of these incidents and hope to locate all the wrecks. If you know anything please let me know.

A second chance for the Loray?

A view of the Loray Mill in Gastonia on Monday June 25, 2012. Gastonia leaders announced Monday the acquisition of a Federal Housing Administration loan of almost $21 million to reconfigure the historic mill into loft apartments and retail space.

A few weeks ago a developer announced plans to redevelop two historic high rise buildings in downtown Gastonia into apartments. This week it was announced that another developer has secured a major piece of the funding necessary to start a project to redevelop the historic Loray Mill into apartments. 

For a lot of people in the area, myself included, this is great news. For all too long these structurally sound but very old, and in the case of the Loray Mill, historically significant structures have been abandoned for decades. 

There are still quite a few challenges ahead for the projects, but I'm just glad to see these buildings put back to good use. 

Read Out in Pride

People circle in Center City Park on Main Avenue in Gastonia and light candles during the PFLAG Gaston (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) 'Read out in Pride' event on Thursday June 21, 2012. The group is touting the event as the first ever LGBT pride event in Gastonia.

Your Out!

Queen City Mustangs catcher James Snover tags out Gastonia Post 23's Garrett Lowery at home in the first inning of the game at Sims Legion Park on Sunday June 17, 2012.

Eating Champs

Zane Riley, right, keeps an eye on his competition, Michael Toller, while competing in a wing-eating contest between innings of the Gastonia Grizzlies vs Petersburg Generals Coastal Plains League baseball game at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia on Tuesday June 19, 2012.

Nightscapes

I took a few night street scape photos of downtown Gastonia, above, and Belmont  recently for an ad campaign for a local car dealership. I've yet to see what the paper did with them, but I figured I would go ahead and share them here.

For those who are interested, the bottom photo was made by "light painting" the scene with a flashlight during the long exposure.