Tony Bucci and Robert Cecchini look on as Nancy Kreatz-Cecchini dances the Charleston with Mary Cecchini, who will be celebrating her 105th birthday on June 2, while inside Mary's daughter Julia's house in Medford.
I had the great privileged of meeting Mary recently and was thrilled to be able to photograph her demonstrating her favorite dance step.
Hamilton firefighters work at the rear of this building on Highland Terrace in Beverly to extinguish a two alarm fire that started around 7 in the morning.
It happened to be a morning I was already awake when I received an email alert for a fire. I turned on my police / fire scanner and heard radio calls which sounded like the fire was pretty big. I didn't waste any time and got there in a few minutes. Access was difficult and most of the photographs I got were from the rear of the building.
Nikon D4s, 1/160 @ f/5.6, ISO 320, 70-200mm
A Danvers High School senior talks with a little girl before the start of the annual senior promenade march inside the Danvers High School gymnasium.
I was luck to catch this moment. While talking with a high school student, who was interested in photography and had a few questions about my camera, I noticed this scene that I photographed. The moment only last a second or so before they saw me and the moment ended.
Nikon D3s, 1/250 @ f/4, ISO 6400, 70-200mm
Will Butler, 10, who suffers from a heart ailment, reacts after beating his mentor Noel Siegert, a junior at Ipswich High School, in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe inside the library at the Doyon School.
My assignment was to photograph Will and Noel interacting during one of their mentoring sessions. I hung around while they played a few games in the school library. After taking photographs for a while the two were able to relax and ignore the camera and I was able to capture this slice of life moment. You can read about Will's struggle with a rare condition called scimitar syndrome here at Wicked Local Ipswich
Nikon D4s, 1/160 @ f/4.5, ISO 2000, 24-70mm
A Wakefield player safely slides back into the bag after taking a lead off first base during their game against Melrose at Walsh Field at Wakefield High School.
Baseball is a sport where you really need to pay attention and understand the game. There are a lot of small moves which make a big difference in the outcome of the game. It's a good idea to know what plays may be made and to be ready for them when they occur.
Nikon D4s, 1/2500 @ f/5, ISO 280, 300mm and 1.4x teleconverter
Photographing track and field can be a little tricky. There are usually multiple events going on at the same time and trying to capture it all can be difficult. I spend a little time at each event and capture what I see. I enjoy the variety and always look forward to a good competition.
Nikon D4S, 1/2500 @ f/5, ISO 200, 70-200mm
Boston Marathon bombing survivor Marc Fucarile talks with a group of volunteers who are making improvements to his home to help accommodate his injuries.
It was wonderful to see all the improvements these volunteers have made to help make Marc's life a little easier at home. Improvements such as an elevator, hardwood floors and ramps are just a few of the projects that have been worked on. I love how my camera helps me gain access to meet new people and learn a little about their stories. It's always been the people I've meet and the stories they've told that make me love my job so much.
Nikon D4s, 1/160 @ f/6.3, ISO 200, 24-70mm
Nikon D4s, 1/100 @ f/5, ISO 2000, 24-70mm
Softball and baseball are two sports where you really need to concentrate and focus on the game. Both of these sports have long periods waiting for key moments that happen quickly.
Seen in this photograph, a Saugus player reacts after a Swampscott runner was called safe at second base. The umpire called the runner safe due to the Saugus player having her foot off the bag. I like how the Saugus athlete is pointing down at the bag as she looks towards the umpire.
Nikon D4s, 1/2500 @ f/5, ISO 400, 70-200mm with a 1.4 teleconverter
Lucky the Boston Celtics Green Team mascot dunks the ball during an exhibition for students at the Glover School in Marblehead.
This was a fun, fast, and high energy assignment. The members of the Green Team really know how to put on a show. I arrived early to this assignment and the athletes were already warming up. This gave me a chance to see what kind of stunts were going to be performed and figure out the best place to position myself. There was a lot of high flying action and after a few stunts the show was over and the Green Team was off to help cheer on the Boston Celtics in their tournament run.
Nikon D4s, 1/800 @ f/6.3, ISO 25,600, 24-70mm
Candidates for Danvers town selectman (l-r) David Mills, Tom Manuel, and Dan Bennett prepare for the start of their debate at the DCAT Studios.
I recent was assigned to cover a televised debate at the local television studio in Danvers. I've photographed many debates before, mostly in town halls or school auditoriums, but having a debate in a television studios is added visual candy for a photographer. I was allowed on set briefly before the start of the debate and was able to capture a few creative images, here is one of them.
Nikon D3s, 1/320 @ f/4, ISO 4000, 70-200mm
One of the benefits to having photographed a sport many times in the past is gaining knowledge about that sport as well as knowing the best (safest) angle to photograph from.
Photographing high school discus athletes can be a little dangerous if your not paying attention. Knowing where NOT to stand is one of the most important parts of photographing track. I was able to find a safe spot and using a wide angle lens I captured this Gloucester athlete as he prepared to throw the discus during their meet with Saugus at Gloucester High School.
Nikon D4s, 1/640 @ f/10, ISO 200, 24-70mm
Georgetown students pose for a selfie with Harlem Wizards, Sky-Walker and Big J before the start of the Harlem Wizards vs. North Shore Thunder basketball game at Masconomet High School.
I arrived early to this assignment and as I walked into the school I saw a group of students following a few of the Harlem Wizard players into the locker room. I knew there was potential for a "behind the scenes" type of image to be made. I hung around as the ex-pro players talked and goofed around with the kids. I saw one of the players setting up to take a selfie with the kids and I positioned myself using a telephoto lens to focus on the cellphone screen for this image.
Nikon D4s, 1/1250 @ f/2.8, ISO 6400, 70-200mm
Beverly goal keeper Madison Jalbert is unable to make this save on a shot by Austin Prep's Courtney Colarullo during their Division 1 state tournament game at the O'Brien Rink in Woburn.
March is usually a busy month for sports photography. Between all the different sports tournaments there are a lot of good games to cover. One of my biggest problems with photographing hockey is shooting through the glass. Most of the hockey rinks I've been to have very marked up glass which makes focusing and getting a clean sharp image difficult at times.
Nikon D4s, 1/1,000 @ f/2.8, ISO 8,000, 70-200mm
High school wrestling can be a challenging sport to photograph. There are a lot of little burst of peak action as well as arms, legs and a referee to get in the way of clean images. Along with soccer, wrestling is great for capturing expressive moments, which are unobstructed by a helmet and face mask. The image below only happened for a split second and being able to see the athletes faces helps portray a sense of emotion after their match.
Nikon D4s, 1/1000 @ f/2.8, ISO 6400, 70-200mm
A hotel guest stands outside as Wakefield firefighters survey the roof at the scene of this two alarm fire at the Lakeside Inn on North Avenue in Wakefield, MA.
I heard about a the hotel fire as I was finishing editing one of my assignment from earlier that morning. Once I was done I drove about 20 minutes and finally arrived on scene. There was no smoke or flames when I arrived, so I walked around photographing the firefighters as they overhauled the building. As I walked around a tree I noticed a man wrapped in a blanket and was able to compose the image you see below. More can be read about the fire here.
Nikon D4s, 1/640 @ F/8, ISO 200, 24-70mm
Kit Nichols watches her daughter as she takes a bite of snow from her shovel, outside their home in Medford during a recent storm.
For a photojournalist covering snow storms can be part of your daily assignments. I usually spend part of the storm driving around looking for people outside doing various activities like, shoveling or walking dogs. I got lucky when I drove upon Kit and her daughter shoveling. I hung around for a while and photographed them as they worked and played and then drove off to find more images.
Nikon D4s, 1/160 @f/9, ISO 125, 24-70mm
A firefighter exits the building at the scene of a two alarm house fire at 61 Sagamore Avenue in Medford.
As I was walking into the Medford Vocational School for one of my assignments, I received a text notifying me of a fire 10 minutes down the road. I couldn't abandon my scheduled assignment, so after I finished I raced to the location of the fire. By the time I arrived the fire had been extinguished. I hung around and photographed some of the clean up before racing to my next assignment.
Nikon D3s, 1/2000 @ f/4, ISO 200, 70-200mm
Two people walk a dog at Breakheart Reservation during a February snow storm.
Driving around in the middle of a snow storm can be a little tricky. I had a few newspapers I needed to capture images for and spent the afternoon looking for people and interesting scenes. Snow storms always bring people outdoors, whether to shovel or enjoy the beauty and serenity. I made my first stop at Breakheart Reservation in Saugus, hoping to find someone there walking the trails. This image was captured in the parking lot a few minutes after I arrived.
Nikon D3s, 1/320 @ f/6.3, ISO 400, 70-200mm
Instructor Loralee Wood leads the new fitness program, Body Pump, while dressed in a Wonder Woman costume inside the Boston North Fitness Center in Danvers.
I didn't expect to see Wonder Woman while working!! I was at the Boston North Fitness Center to photograph an assignment for a Weight Loss Challenge program the center was offering and to my surprise one of the instructors was leading a class all in costume. The best part about this was how it seemed like I was the only one surprised by this and it makes for a fun photograph.
Nikon D3s, 1/200 @ f/4, ISO 2200, 70-200mm
Melrose Mayor Rob Dolan and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker lift up Mayor Dolan's daughter, Kiley, as they walk towards the stage at Memorial Hall during the beginning processional of the City of Melrose Inaugural Ceremonies.
Along with the start of the new year comes various inaugurations and state of town and city addresses. For this image I positioned myself in the center isle planning on capturing the mayor as he walked towards the stage. I was surprised to see the mayor, his daughter, and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker walking towards me. I was ready as they spontaneously lifted up Kiley Dolan.
Nikon D4s, 1/80 @ f/2.8, ISO 8000, 24-70mm