Grant Campbell launches first V-bomb

Garces High sophomore Grant Campbell has carried a weighty responsibility for the Rams' varsity baseball program. He was inserted as the team's clean-up batter during his freshman season and carried it into this season. Grant, a powerful free-swinger who seems to always puts the ball in play, was missing only one thing in his impressive tenure in the number 4 slot - that first-ever home run as a Ram. It was only a matter of time, and that time came Wednesday at Bakersfield High when Grant launched a rocket shot to left-center field, easily clearing the 360-foot marker in the Drillers' spacious field. His first varsity bomb! I even got excited, and I'm not supposed to do that!

Our first picture of Grant, taken in October 2001.

I took my first picture of Grant, then 7-years-old, in October 2001 when I photographed his older brother, Jack, in a championship football game. Since then, the Campbell family has trusted Shooting Star and John Harte Digital Photography Services with their photography needs. We don't just shoot pictures; we have for eight years been weaving a tapestry, through our well-honed photojournalism skills, of the most important moments in the lives of this super close-knit family.

Grant's excited mom and dad, Bonnie and Jack, with little brother, Joe, after the home run.
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Here's a slide show of Grant's first home run.


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Then and now: New job for Kerianne's legs. Marathons!

Kerianne Kreger's legs made her one of the best volleyball hitters in the area, helping her power the Garces Rams to the section championship in 2002 and landing her a scholarship to play volleyball at Cal State Bakersfield. Kerianne graduated in 2007 with her degree in business administration. She moved to Newport Beach last year and works for AAA Insurance and has found a new job for those "leap-out-of-the gym" legs. She's running half marathons!





Kerianne ran her first one in October, and completed the 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 49 minutes. She is training for another that she will run on May 9th. She says it was a bit of a challenge transitioning from volleyball shape to marathon shape, a process that took about six months. Kerianne also practices yoga and loves to travel and has a pretty interesting career goal. She hopes to form a non-profit organization that will let her combine her love of yoga and travel to help people in need around the world. And while Kerianne's competitive volleyball days may be finished, she's not yet done with the sport; she plans to start playing beach volleyball for fun!
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No waiting with Jarret at the bat

We have added Jarret Martin of the Bakersfield College Renegades, one of Central California's most prolific home run hitters, to the Shooting Star family of athletes. Our big question was how long would it take Jarret to launch a bomb while we were photographing him? Uh, how about one swing? During our initial shoot Thursday, Jarret homered on his first swing, then launched another in a four-for-four performance to power the Renegades to a win over LA Valley College while leaving us thrilled with the set of pictures we came away with!


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One of the most exciting baseball talents to come out of Bakersfield in a long time, Jarret set the CIF central section record for home runs last year when he hit 18 during his senior season at Centennial High. He is currently chasing the season homer record at Bakersfield College. He has 10; the record is 11 and the 'Gades have three games left. Jarret was drafted in the 19th round by the Baltimore Orioles last year, but chose to attend Bakersfield College with hopes of improving his position in a future draft. He's in good hands, as coach Tim Painton and his staff have a nice track record of having Renegade players drafted.

To view a full-frame version of Jarret's gallery, click here.

Nick Sak ducks some high heat!

Take a look at our client Nick Sakowski of Garces getting out of the way of some "chin music" during Friday's game at Golden Valley. The Sakowski family have been clients for four years now. We started with Nick's cousin, Jenna, in basketball and did our first portfolio on Nick last year. Nick is quite a talent; he started at shortstop for the varsity Rams as a freshman last year, and most likely play the position for the Rams throughout his high school career. The Sakowskis are a fixture at Garces High. There were even Sakowskis there in the 1970s when I was in high school at Taft.
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A fun pick-me-up for the Shooting Star gang

Here's a little something for the weekend that I think will bring a smile to all in the Shooting Star community. Enjoy.

Alana gearing up for third state meet

Our initial shoot on Centennial's super track athlete Alana Alexander as she gets ready to make her third run to the state track and field championship meet also provides a glimpse at the incredible care, attention to detail and planning we put into our portfolios. One thing you'll notice in this initial set of Alana's images is they contain only a few action photos.


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That's because the configuration of the track was not to our liking. The backgrounds were cluttered, the long jump and triple jump pits - Alana's specialty - were severely backlit, with a milky-white sky. Not good for pictures; not good at all. But we know that in a couple of weeks, we'll be shooting Alana in the league meet and the area meet in a venue more favorable for the action shots we need. So we call an audible, take the action shots of Alana where we can obtain a favorable result, but we don't force the issue. Quality of light and clean backgrounds are an obsession with Shooting Star. We decide that we will do most of our action shots next time.

Still, there's plenty of work to be done for Alana's portfolio. We spend the afternoon gambling on a few different angles, a few motion effects and mostly taking all of the extra intangiable photos that make our portfolios so special. Alana with her friends, family and coaches; the intensity of Alana as she peers down the track; Alana being Alana. We're so much more than just action shots. Alana's portfolio is not a set of pictures, it is a carefully woven story reflecting a very special time in her life. And we'll deliver big time. Good luck, Alana, we're rooting for you!

To view the above gallery in full-frame, click here.

Maxwell a Golden Hawk multi-tasker

Bryan Maxwell, one of our new athletes this spring, is proving himself to be quite a valuable player on several levels for the Centennial High Golden Hawks as they battle arch rivals Stockdale and North in the tough Southwest Yosemite League. Bryan is putting up some impressive numbers on the mound for the Hawks, leading the team with a 6-1 record and a 2.22 ERA. He's struck out 48 batters in 41 innings. At the plate, Bryan is batting .340 with 18 RBI in 19 games and his 12 walks has him reaching base just about every other at bat.
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Bryan is best friends with two of our other clients, Riley Showers of Bakersfield Christian and Nathan Ketelhut of North. All three players were referred to us by Centennial mom Mary Westendorf, after we shot a wonderful, emotional portfolio of her son Sam, who is now playing for the Bakersfield College Renegades. You can keep up with Bryan's season stats here.
To view full-page galleries of Bryan, Nate, Riley and Sam, click here.


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Then and now: Volleyball still Jackie's passion

We were still experimenting with our format in 2001 when Jackie Bernardin's parents found us just in time and commissioned us to photograph Jackie (Centennial High, 2002) as she played her last home volleyball match. And Jackie delighted us with a spirited, emotion-charged performance that eight years later remains one of our most memorable.





Jackie played for and graduated from the University of San Diego in 2006 with a degree in communications and leadership. Volleyball is still big in her life; in fact, volleyball coaching is what she does. She did stints as an assistant volleyball coach at the University of San Francisco in 2006-2007 and the University of New Mexico in 2007-2008. She is currently living in San Diego and is coach of the Coast Volleyball Club, 16-1 division team which is ranked fifith in southern California. Jackie reports that she is about to open her own volleyball business and will provide details shortly.
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Riley still smoking hot

Our newest athlete, Riley Showers of the Bakersfield Christian High Eagles, is off to a smoking hot start this baseball season. Riley is batting .467 with 7 RBI in seven games. And he will have a beautiful set of photographs to remember his great senior season.

Update April 22: Riley is now batting .563 through 18 games with 28 RBI and an amazing 10 triples. Keep up on Riley's stats here.

To see a gallery of full-frame images of Riley, click here.

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Of family, friends and faith

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Almost without exception, the pictures that resonate most with our clients are those special moments that help us craft the visual story of the special time in your athlete's life. Sure, we're proud of our action photography skills, but it's those moments between our athletes and their friends and family, their coaches and fans, sometimes even their faith, that makes our portfolios so special to our clients. And it's those story-telling skills, honed from nearly 30 years of experience, that sets us apart - light years apart - from all those "Uncle Harrys" who just bought a digital camera and have declared themselves sports photographers. Yeah, right. Maybe I'll buy a scalpel and declare myself a surgeon!

Scott, Putman named Terrio Edge All-Stars

Congratulations to our clients Riley Scott and Andrew Putman of Garces High, who were selected to next month's Terrio Edge Arena Bowl. The Arena Bowl is one final showcase for local seniors and has really caught on with fans. It is unusual in that it is played indoors at Rabobank Arena on an arena football field.





Riley, pictured above, scored six touchdowns as a combined receiver-running back last season. He averaged just over 5 yards per carry as a runner and an impressive 16.6 yards per catch. Andrew, pictured below, was a disruptive force and an emotional leader on the defensive line, and had 56 tackles, second on the team.
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Brandon, Brent have eyes on "The Show"

Two of our outstanding clients continue their development in professional baseball with the intent of making it to the big leagues.

Brandon Roberts, whom we photographed at both Centennial High and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, has been assigned to the Minnesota Twins' AA New Britain, Conn. Rock Cats. Brandon has been named to three minor league all-star teams and had several .300 seasons before he was slowed by injuries last year. Here's hoping he stays healthy this season and continues his march to the Twins' big league club. Follow Brandon's season stats here. 

Here's Brandon during a portfolio shoot at Cal Poly:







Brent Morel, our most photographed client -- we recorded his entire high school career at Centennial High -- has moved up three levels in the Chicago White Sox organization since being drafted out of Cal Poly last spring. He is starting this season with the White Sox's high A level affiliate, the Winston-Salem Dash. Brent hit .318 with six homers last season in rookie and lower A ball. Interestingly, Brent and Brandon were teammates on Centennial's 2002 section championship team. Follow Brent's season stats here.

Here are some photos from Brent's junior season portfolio:
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We've been waiting for you, Cole

We're happy to have Centennial High shortstop Cole Hallum as one of our new athletes. Cole's grandfather, Bob Hallum, was one of my first clients when I started Shooting Star 10 years ago (I did some automotive pictures for him) and I remember him telling me about his then 5 or 6-year-old grandson who I would end up photographing in a few years. And here we are. Cole is quite a ball player. He's batting .433 on the 14-1 Golden Hawks and he's just a sophomore. Keep up with Cole's season stats here.
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Because details matter...

I shoot thousands of images for my clients, constantly seeking those special story-telling photos that make our portfolios the best sports photography product in the world. And it's the "detail shot" that just might be my favorite of all. I never set them up, I just shoot what I see. Fast forward 10 or 15 years from now when you're looking at your portfolio, and there they are. The batting gloves you wore during your senior season; the measuring tape lying on the grass after you ripped off your personal-best triple jump; the lineup card with your name and the names of your teammates. Detail shots help us craft a story very personal to you, and set us apart from all those other folks you see running around with cameras. There's something to be said for experience, and we have plenty. Here are just a few of the detail shots I've done this spring for my clients.
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Honors for Natalie

Congratulations to Garces High's Natalie Kobliska, who earned second team soccer honors in the super-tough Southeast Yosemite League, which features the dominant Bakersfield and Liberty teams. The Kobliskas have been clients for the past three years; we also did a portfolio on big brother Kevin in football. Natalie also runs track and does the long jump for the Rams.
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