Let’s talk about how to take great pictures at your kids’ soccer games. That nice camera in your hands (or the one you really have your eye on!) is a fabulous tool, but you know you can create better photographs than the ones you’ve been getting recently. You’re not giving up your day job to pursue a career as the next great Sports Illustrated or ESPN Magazine photographer — you just want to capture great shots of your kids and their teammates.

Your frustration is about to end, my friend! I’ve shot for ESPN, I make a living at professional photography, and I’m here to help. Prepare yourself to be a hero to your fellow soccer moms and dads!

TIP #1: THE CAMERA

You need a digital “SLR” camera.
A “point and shoot” camera will not get the job done.

SLR cameras, like the one on the left, do not have the infuriating shutter delay that comes with a “point and shoot” camera, plus the SLR optics and quality just can’t be duplicated in a “point and shoot.”
The top SLR manufacturers are Canon, Nikon, and Sony (there are others, but those are the big three). You can’t go wrong with any of them. Most professional sports photographers use Canon, and so do I, but you can get great images from a Nikon or a Sony as well. SEE MANY CHOICES HERE. You can spend as little as $500 or you can drop thousands of dollars. Spend as much as you can afford and still have money left over for TIP #2:  …keep reading…
continue reading "Photography tips for the sidelines"

These Puma videos from last year’s Valentine’s Day were too good not to share again….

For all you dudes who want to be watching (or playing!) soccer instead of “celebrating” Valentine’s Day…
They want to be in your arms.
You want to be at the game!
What do you do when Valentines Day falls on game day?
Dedicate this song:

Happy Valentines’ Day!

PS: Here’s the Italian version:

Ciao bella!

Ronaldo: moving on to his next Armani shoot
Rooney: chillin’ at home
Drogba: nursing his broken arm back to health
Anelka: pouting back in France
Robinho: who’s that again? did you mean ronaldinho?
Messi: did he even play in South Africa? didn’t see him.

The world (especially America) is so focused on individual star power that we’re told we need to be stunned and shocked when excellent teams like Netherlands and Germany eliminate the likes of Robinho and Messi from the World Cup.

Now that the USA’s soccer team is out of the World Cup, what’s been dominating headlines on ESPN and Sportcenter?

“Where will Lebron play next season??” One man. One player. Wherever he and his newly enlarged bank account land, according to the media at least, will be the power of the NBA.

In my humble soccermom opinion, this is a big part of why soccer will never be a mainstream sport in America. And, frankly, I don’t mind.

The “mainstream” sports here in America are riddled with individual over-hyped materialist egomaniacs. The soccer “greats” in other countries are spoiled rotten multi-millionaires who have returned home from South Africa much earlier than anticipated.

To the rest of America: You can stop watching soccer now and resume obsessing over Lebron’s future contract and your fantasy football draft. We soccer folks will get stronger, faster, more fit, and we’ll keep enjoying our (superior) sport without you.

Don’t worry. We’ll warmly welcome you back four years from now, when we’re all watching the action in Brazil.

I was at Target this morning and saw these “Personal Misters” in the dollar bins by the entrance.
(They’re $2.50 instead of $1)
One came home with me, and I tried it out.
It works wonderfully!
So, I went back to Target and bought a few more.

Personally, I get annoyed when I fall in love with something in the “Dollar Bins” at Target, and it turns out to be one of those $2.50 items, but look at what I found on Amazon:

It’s the exact same thing, and they say the MSRP is $29.99!

THIS is the kind I had before, and it’s cumbersome with the little tubes & turn-valve.

I’ve got a feeling that those will be flying out of the dollar bins, so go get some before they’re gone, and your little soccer player will have it in the backpack for those hot tournament days!