Savage Academy Boxing Tournament at EB Fitness

Photographing boxing is a REAL CHALLENGE!!!

The whole purpose of the sport is to inflict damage, while avoiding being hit. So the athletes are constantly bobbing and weaving, moving eratically all over the ring, trying to avoid being hit…which translates into “avoiding being photographed”! Not to mention that the ring is surrounded by ropes that block your view and screw up the autofocus. But the worst part is, the ring is usually poorly lit…forcing you to shoot at obscenely high ISO if you have any hope of freezing the frantic action!!!

It was an honor to be invited by my friends Jason and Erica to come out and photograph a boxing tournament at Erica’s gym last weekend. This was my first time photographing boxing. I have a newfound respect for those who photograph this incredibly challenging sport!!!

* Nikon Z9, Nikkor 24-70 f2.8 Z, Nikkor 70-180 f2.8 Z, Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 Z, ISO 10,000 with Lightroom AI Noise Reduction *

Orange Grove Elementary Volleyball

My friend, Erin, is an amazing teacher, a wonderful photographer, and a fantastic coach to her Orange Grove Elementary students! So when she asked if she could hire me to come out and photograph one of their games for her, I jumped at the chance!

I played volleyball in high-school, as well as in intramural competitions at college. Even though I was a setter, I was still too short to play on the team in college…but our intramural teams were still really competitive.  Plus I was already playing on the college soccer and tennis teams! I feel that volleyball, and team sports in general, are truly instramental in developing confidence, structure, discipline, communication, and social skills for young people.

It was great to see the kids out there playing hard and having fun!!!

* Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 24-70 f2.8, Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8, ISO 8000 with Lightroom AI Noise Reduction

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 9

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

Although it started out cold and overcast, the rain had passed in time for our Sunday Finals. As the competition heated up on center court, so did the weather. By the time the dust from the iconic green clay had settled, the sun was back out, and the Credit One Charleston Open had a NEW CHAMPION!!! After 9 looong days of non-stop mayhem, constantly shooting and editing for 10-15 hours per day, another tournament was in the books. But before we could wrap things up and go home, I had the pleasure of photographing a private shoot with our new victor, Ons Jabeur. It was a particularly special moment for me since Ons is the most successful professional tennis player to come out of Africa. She was born in Tunisia. I was born in Zaire.  So we share that common bond of having African dust on our feet and African roots in our hearts.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ons as she continues to break barriers and win fans with her genuine smile and gentle spirit!!!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 8

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

Semi-finals Saturday was plagued with thunderstorms on and off all day. So I managed to capture a few behind-the-scenes shots of the Media Center and some of the members of media in action.  But somehow, by the end of the night, we were able get in some electrifying tennis!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 7

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

With bad weather predicted for the weekend, Day 7 seemed to have an added urgency for getting great photos of the action on Credit One Stadium, fans having fun around the grounds, autograph sessions, TV appearances at the Tennis Channel desk, and VIP suite visits!  Plus I got to photograph the trophy sitting proudly on center court.  🙂

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 6

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

By Day 6, the player field is getting narrowed down. That gave me more time to capture the subtle nuances of each match…plus I could slip in more shots of fans, press conferences, TV appearances, autograph sessions, and VIP suite visits. Oh, and I finally had time to capture a few shots with the drone!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 5

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

Day 5 of the COCO started off with a private shoot at Charleston Place Hotel with doubles specialists, Sophie Chang & Angela Kulikov, to promote pickle ball!  Then it was on to Credit One Stadium for some amazing matches, player interviews, and VIP appearances.  What a great day of tennis!!!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 4

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

Although there were tons of TV appearances, autograph sessions, player interviews, and VIP influencers on sight for me to photograph…Day 4 at the COCO was all about the action!!!

Credit One Charleston Open – Media Day

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

On the afternoon of Day 3, I was honored to photograph the Media Day appearances of the top-seeds and trending stars who were requested by the nations television stations and magazine jouranlists for private interviews. It was so cool being a fly-on-the-wall with the biggest stars like Shelby Rogers, Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Madison Keys, Belinda Bencic, and Emma Navaro!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 3

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

Day 3 was the first round of the main draw, featuring some AMAZING singles and doubles action. The stands were packed! Plus there were a ton of great autograph sessions and player interviews for fans to enjoy. The ball kids got a private meeting (and group photo) with Storm Hunter.  And Sloan Stephens made a VIP appearance after her win!!!

Credit One Charleston Open – Player Party

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

After 2 days of qualifying rounds, the tournament welcomes all the main draw players, as well as those who made it through qualies, to a wonderful Player Party before the competition begins. This year’s Player Party was held at the historic Riviera Theater!

Credit One Charleston Open – Day 2

It was another EXCITING year for me to be covering the Credit One Charleston Open!!!

Since 1973, the Charleston Open has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports, creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. Much has changed over the years. But to this day, the tournament remains the largest women’s only tennis tournament in North America. This year’s roster included 5 of the Top 10 women on tour, 5 past champions, and 5 Grand Slam champions. Previous winners include notable names like Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams, Tracy Austin, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Nadia Petrova, Madison Keys…and so many more!

Day 2 was the second day of qualifying rounds. Plus there were more fun activities for Family Day, great autograph sessions, and lively player interviews by the always animated Bethanie Mattek-Sands!