Above, a Great Blue Heron takes flight at Willows Run Golf Complex in Redmond on Wdednesday, June 30, 2010. I was at the golf course for another assignment, but sometimes just being there and aware of your surroundings can lead you to a nice image. Have a fun and safe 4th of July holiday!

Blaine Lints loves to run. Seriously. I was assigned to photograph the Newport High School junior for a feature about the aspiring ultra-endurance athlete. Blaine told me he has already run 60 miles continuously, and now has his sights set on 130 miles in 24 hours for an upcoming Relay For Life event in May. Like I said — Blaine Lints loves to run. More photos after the jump…

As the Seattle Mariners and MLB ramp up their season for the summer, local high schools and college baseball teams are in full swing. We’re not talking a warm summer day at the ballpark, but ducking between showers and cold fingers — for players and this photographer — this time of year. Above, Mercer Island baseball starting pitcher Max Dammeier throws a pitch at Sammamish HS last week. A set of photos from recent area games after the jump…

Runners break from the starting line during the annual Mercer Island Half Marathon on Sunday morning, March 21. My assignment was to focus on cover art for the print edition of the Mercer Island Reporter, and decided a vantage point on the hill across from the start area would do the trick. More images after the jump…

A quick photo recap of the Bellevue boys and Mercer Island girls tournament runs at the Washington State 3A Basketball championships at the Tacoma Dome last week. Above, Bellevue’s Will Locke flying high for two points against Glacier Peak. More photos after the jump…

It’s WIAA state basketball tournament time, and I spent the last two days at the Tacoma Dome following several 4A teams from the Eastside — Skyline boys, Newport girls and Lake Washington boys. Lots of  action, but I still try to vary my shooting postion or style to keep it from getting to look to uniform. Enjoy these and I’ll add some more posts as the 3A tournament kicks into gear next week. More images after the jump…

The 2A/3A boys swim season finale was held at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way on Saturday. I’ve covered this event for many years now and watched as Mercer Island High School claimed their fifth consecutive 3A team state title. I did have the pleasure of *finally* shooting from the underwater viewing tunnel. NOTE: I’ll be adding more caption info, descriptions and links to the associated stories soon, but wanted to get this posted as they are fresh. More images from above and below water after the jump…

As the Olympic Winter Games are upon us at our neighbors to the north in Vancouver, I had the opportunity to check out the sport of curling at the Granite Curling Club in Seattle. The club is the only  ice dedicated to curling in the Western United States. Besides winning a friendly a wager of coffee for best rock throw from Mercer Island Reporter sports writer Megan Managan, I dusted off the video camera that I seemed to have shelved in recent months and put together a motion piece. I’m always learning as this is a new arena of storytelling for me, and definitely some areas to improve. Favorite shot — near the middle of the video — was the poor man’s “Steadicam” as gracious club member Tom FitzGerald pushed me in a chair down the adjacent sheet of ice for a full length view of a curling shot. For for more local Winter Olympics news check out our company blog Passport to Vancouver 2010. Enjoy!

Foul weather is part of the Pacific Northwest in the fall and winter, and that can make for some interesting evenings under the lights. Newport hosted Eastlake for their homecoming game on Friday night, and as luck would have it for this photographer, some of the more nasty shooting weather in recent memory. Personally, I’d rather have the snow than the torrential down pour, but the bright side was it was a warm rain. The following images are some quick favorites that showcase the conditions for players and fans… Be sure you have an umbrella handy before viewing.

One of the largest –and loudest– draws to the region is Seafair culminating in hydroplane races on Lake Washington and the annual visit of the Blue Angels, an elite group of U.S. Navy pilots that perform airshow across the country. Here are some quick hits from this year’s assignment photographing the action and faces.

Nikon D300 | 400mm/f2.8 | ISO 400 | 1/8,000th sec. | f/5.6