Spring Valley Academy's Andrea Hoover

Andrea Hoover of Spring Valley Academy drives to the hoop against Dayton Dunbar on December 30th in Cincinnati at the 2010 Braggin Rights Classic

Hoover will be playing for the Dayton Flyers in 2011.

Photo by Vincent Rush of Cincinnati Sports Photography

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Celina King

Photo by Vincent Rush

Pictured is 12 year old basketball phenom, Celina King, playing at the 2010 Braggin Rights invitational tournament in Cincinnati Ohio.

Celina, at 12 years of age starts as a shooting guard for the Varsity High school women's basketball team, Spring Valley Academy.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Portrait Photography; Tips 6-10

Portrait Lens


Portrait lens is a prime lens (fixed focus-length lens), which trades off between the geometrical distortions caused by wide angle and vignetting effect of telephoto lenses. Portrait lenses are normal lenses having a focal-length between 85mm to 105mm, appropriate for portraits. Most often a zoom lens in this focal-length range can be used as portrait lenses. This focal-length allows the flexibility of maintaining distance from the subject and while keeping the geometrical errors out of the scene when zooming. Portrait lenses generally have a wide aperture which helps in blurring the background and creating the bokeh effect to the advantage of portraits. Along with the portrait lens you must also consider investing in soft focus filters. It is a special kind of filter which reduces and softens the facial details like the unflattering textures and blemishes etc. to soften the overall photograph.

Composition — Framing Portraits Appropriately

Composition is the key to interesting and unique photographs. Framing the portrait right in the center of the photograph often makes the image dull and flat. Placing the subject in golden ratio or according to the rule of thirds compliments the frame aesthetically. It naturally draws the human eye to the subject. When shooting portraits filling the frame with facial expressions. Experiment with close-ups too. Apart from this the backgrounds and surroundings also play an important role in aesthetically complimenting the frames. They add a context to the visual story of the character. While clear and focused backgrounds on one hand add a context to the portrait (and at times compliment the personality), the blurred background induces the dreamy bokeh effect. Photography is a lot about experimenting with unusual and creative compositions. Framing the same concept by varying the angle of shooting helps in portraying third dimension onto the photographic plane.

An Element Of Interest Makes Portraits Visually Appealing


Portraits can effectively benefit from interesting elements like some action, movement or interesting formation. The smoke out of a cigarette held by the subject, or the movement of the hand or perhaps the subject captured amid a phone conversation not only affect and create a mood, they also add a dynamic element of activity and interest. This is the edge some portraits have which makes them professional and outstanding.

Create A Mood In Portraits

The context and the surroundings help set a mood of the photograph. For example, including dark backgrounds in context of a portrait heightens the seriousness of character in the composition and highlighting the eyes can heighten the emotion. Creating moods in the photograph depends on the overall lighting and the ambiance of the scene. The inclusion of elements like fog, snow, clouds, fire, etc also help in creating mood which goes a long way in making the photograph interesting and draws the viewers attention.

Digital Re-touching — The Final Step In Portrait Photography

To add the final professional touches to the work some amount of post-processing is required. Make subtle changes, like enhancing the complexion, eliminating dark circles or blemishes, correcting the red-eye and so on. Try to avoid manipulating the image and making too many changes. Work on giving it a professional finish.

Remember, portraits portray a person, their personality, character, style, surrounding, culture, mood and tradition. Some of the best portraits are shot with the subjects in the context of their natural surroundings. A good portrait does not only reflect and represent the actual person but also portrays your art and creativity as a photographer.

Posted by Monroe Ohio photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Portrait Photography; Tips 1-5

Portrait photography is perhaps the most common form of photography practiced. Portraits are about people and representing their personality in the photographs. Portraits form one of the most prominent subject in any field of arts; it serves the purpose of communicating cultures, traditions, events and celebrations. Learning to photograph people is a great experience. Getting started with friends & family can help you eventually turn into a great professional portrait photographer. Portrait photography is just about tapping into the opportunities, discovering and implementing the right techniques. Visualize the people around you through your camera lens and capture their personality and character onto the photographic frame.
Types of Portraits

Portrait photography is an agreement between the subject and the photographer; to portray the subject’s identity on the photographic plane (in a pre-decided manner). Portrait photography is the medium of portraying expressions, personality traits, culture, traditions, moods and character of individuals. Portrait photography can be classified under various categories depending on what is to be portrayed, conveyed and the personal expression and creativity of a photographer. Head-shots are perfect for capturing expressions and you can opt for head and shoulders shot when you want to portray the personality traits of people. Portrait photography is all about posing people to reflect their social status, authority, physical attractiveness or personality.

What To Shoot (When Shooting Portraits)

Portrait photography offers ample of opportunities and poses. You can opt for either directing the poses or going in for unposed and candid shots. The professional portrait photographers have to go by the words of their subject. They have to portray the subject as requested by the client; the opportunities in this case are very few. For a freelancer portrait photographer, imagination is the limit. Considering portraits as the subject, you can choose to portray the people in variety of poses, each conveying a distinct mood. Focus on the eyes to highlight the expressions, zoom-in and get close-ups to portray the physical attractiveness, go for unposed and candid shots for naturally aesthetic images, experiment with high shutter speed and capture the movement and activity of people around you or simply frame the contextual shots. Photographing people in the context of their environment, speaks about their personality more profoundly

Establish Rapport With Your Subject


One of the most critical issue with portrait photography is to get hold of natural looking poses that represent what a person or subject is. The essence of great portraits lies in capturing shots which represent the individual character of the subject accurately yet creatively. As such there’s a lot of scope for the talent of the photographer to fill this gap. Portraits look great in natural and comfortable poses, but the human consciousness comes in the way of making great photographs. Just make your subject feel at ease with you and your instructions. Be friendly and informal with your subject and start the session with some practice shots. Some of the excellent portraits are captured with the person in context of his surroundings or workplace. These two attributes characterize the person by forming a part of their personality.

Lights — To Portray The Character Of Portrait

The lights play an important role in getting the right mood and setting up the tone of the shot (as in expression). Use soft and diffused light to get a … look. When portraying personality attributes hard light may be used creatively to highlight these characteristics. Light falling from a steep angle will tend to bring out the texture in the facial features like old-age wrinkles etc. While soft light tones down the facial details thereby presenting a more pleasing visual. Portrait photography shows up the best results with studio set-up of lights — studios allow you an excellent level of control over light and its characteristics. On the other hand consider shooting in shade when shooting outdoors.

Camera settings For Portrait Photography


The most important of all, its time to set your equipment to appropriate settings to get the optimum output. While putting your camera to auto-mode is a good start for beginners, consider tuning the camera settings for a better control over equipment to get much better result in the final shot.



Camera Modes: The modern day DSLRs offer various modes; each best suited for a specific purpose. While shooting in auto mode is the perfect choice for beginners, you can always put your camera to manual mode and tune the camera to your preferences. Portrait photography is largely concerned with portraying soft and subtle effects, therefore you can consider the following modes to make a mark with portraits.

Portrait Mode: Setting your camera to the portrait mode automatically sets the contrast curves to low contrast which are appropriate for portraits. In this mode the camera sets the other details like the saturation levels, sharpening etc. The portrait mode thus is pretty intelligent and reliable to begin with. The flash pops-out automatically and you are ready to pay attention to the composition.

Aperture Priority: If you are looking to greater control and want to tune up for the finer nuances in the shot, you may want to use the aperture priority mode. This allows you to override the flash and flash settings and let’s you control the depth-of-field in the scene.

Black And White Mode: Black and white can give you a classy timeless effect with portraits. However, with digital a lot of things have changed. Today the best black and white shots are converted from color during post-processing. This has a two-fold advantage: you get a color shot and a high flexibility to apply filters, channel mixing during black and white converting on post-processing. So, leave the black and white for later. Quick Tip: Shooting in RAW let’s you shoot in black and white but also allows you to change this to a color mode with the RAW converter.

Zoom-In: Portraits is all about capturing the expressions and the expressions are profound in close-up photographs. I prefer tight crops even at the cost of cropping out some part of the hair etc. This helps to portray the facial expression and features. However zooming out allows to include the dress and wearings which are a part of the subject’s personality. Zooming also allows you to recompose while being lazy to move back and forth to frame the subject. However zooming-out is not a substitute for being close to the subject. Being close to the subject will induce geometric distortions which are unflattering to the person’s physical features. That’s the reason portrait lenses start at a focal length of 50mm (bare-minimum) and above.














Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Why Your Camera Doesn’t Matter

What makes a good photograph? Is it the photographer or his camera? It is almost like asking as to what makes a good painting or a good book. We all understand that an outstanding painting is the masterpiece of painter’s imagination and not his brushes. Similarly, a bestseller book is a result of writers own style of narration (and thought formation) and hardly depends on the paper, pen or typewriter.

In any field of arts, it is the talent of the artist which makes the difference. Just like a good painting is the outcome of painter’s own efforts and creativity; a good photograph is the result of photographer’s imagination. What contributes to a good photograph is not an expensive equipment but it is the photographer’s instinct, intuition, creativity, vision, imagination that make the difference.

The beginners and newbies waste a lot of time in running after expensive cameras and lenses and forget to focus on the integral element of photography — the technique. They get to realize the fact quiet late, that it is the artist that makes the masterpieces and not his tools and equipment. And during this process they often lose interest or get dis-heartened to see that they are not making great pictures.

There’s a particular process of turning reality into pictures — noticing the scene, visualizing the results, capturing them using the tools and showcasing them. A bottleneck in any of these stages will get you poor results. In the beginning the bottleneck is your experience (not your talent or creativity — a lot of which comes from experience). Once you are adept at understanding photography should it come to the camera. It is then when you may realize that under certain conditions your camera could perform differently or better or allow you more flexibility. And until then buying the greatest gear is all about giving in to your temptations — feels good to hold and all.

The primary purpose of photo-gear is to make the task simple for the photographers and learners. It in no way bestows interestingness (and attractiveness) to your captures, until you capture the shot with right technique. The basic element which go into making a mark with your photographs is your imagination.

Photography is the platform for showcasing your talent. Get hold of right technique, develop a creative vision and master your tools to get the desired results. Your understanding of photography concepts (that of exposure, aperture, shutter-speed, ISO, etc) and the way you interpret light makes the difference.

The attributes that set apart the photographs (as good) from the rest are good composition and lighting — none of which can be achieved even by the high-end cameras without the photographer. The camera does matter in making life easy for the photographer. It enables the photographer to easily shuffle between settings to achieve the required results. You can easily sift from aperture priority mode for attaining shallow DOF to shutter priority to capture movement and action. But then knowing the right thing at the right time does matter. What counts in photography is the knowledge of how to take and make photographs under varying circumstances.

It is the photographer, his technique and his knowledge that makes the masterpieces. Your camera can’t shoot great images if you as a photographer can’t envision the result and can’t command your camera to capture it too.










Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Duty, Honor, Country

December 7th, The anniversary of Japan's Attack on Pearl Harbor

This is the actual coat of Rear Admiral Marsh

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

USA Today...

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Stadium to Stage

Photo by Cincinnati Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

It wasn't the choicest of assignments for a sports photographer, covering the NFL draft. But there he was at the massive Jacob Javits Center in New York, and David Bergman had to come up with an idea.

"Most photographers stand in the pre-assigned position, they shoot a picture of the handshake and go home—I can't do that," said David, a New York sports and entertainment photographer whose images regularly appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated and other magazines.

"The first time I covered the draft I found a high angle to shoot from where you could see the green room, where the players were waiting with their families on one side, and the other players and the audience and all the excitement on the other sides. It ran as a two-page picture. Since then I've become SI's NFL draft photographer."

What's that about no good deed going unpunished?

"I feel like I have to get something new and different and unique every time," David said. "I take it upon myself to go the extra mile and make things just a little different."

David has worked hard to build a reputation as the guy who will come up with a shot that nobody else thought of.

"It's a big risk because you have to put yourself out there and maybe leave the safe position to get something different. Sometimes it doesn't work. But it's worth the risk because when you get the shot, it's a great feeling."

Case in point. David had been sent to University Park, Pa., by Sports Illustrated to cover a big game between Penn State and Notre Dame. David, the lone SI photographer, took plenty of action shots in the first quarter, then began to look around. What was different about this game?

"On a normal big game at Penn State, they do what they call a White Out. Normally it's just the student section—a big swath in the stadium that's all white."

But at this game, Bergman noticed, everyone was wearing white. "They called it the White House," he said.

"I realized that this could make an interesting picture. I left the field in the second quarter and went to the top of the stadium. I missed a lot of the game, but I was able to shoot the entire stadium, with everyone wearing white, just as the sun was setting."

It ran as a two-page spread in the next issue of Sports Illustrated. "I still get an email once every month from some Penn State fan somewhere in the country or in the world, wanting a copy of the picture." That's what Bergman likes to do and why he's in high demand.

"I like to show the scene. I like to show the setting. I like to give the viewer a feeling of place. It's not just a tight picture of the running back coming straight at me. It's the running back coming at me, and you can see the snow falling, and the stadium, and you get a sense of place."

Whether he's shooting the Nittany Lions at Penn State's Beaver Stadium, Avril Lavigne playing to a packed arena or an intimate portrait of, say, bassist Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy. Bergman's tool of choice is the Nikon D3. "It's my workhorse camera," he said. "It's built like a tank, and it's fast. I've shot in every kind of weather condition, from blizzards to monsoons."

Originally a music major, Bergman moves easily from the sports arena to the rock stage, shooting everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Barenaked Ladies to Gloria Estefan and Seal. He shoots editorially for publications such as the British heavy-metal magazine Kerrang!, as well as commercially for the artists.

"Sports and music are alike in a lot of ways," Bergman said. "Specifically, concert photography and sporting events are very alike. There's an element of unpredictability. You have to deal with changing lighting. There's a limited space where things are going to happen, and you have no idea what's going to happen.
"The portraits, though, are a very different thing.

"I used to travel with four or five heavy cases of equipment just to do a single portrait. You'd have to bring an entire photo studio on the road." That was before Bergman discovered the compact, portable Nikon Speedlight system.

"That has really changed my life," he said. "I can get on the airplane with one rolling bag and one small sling bag with light stands, and I have an entire studio with me on the plane. I can travel with six Speedlights and do just about anything I could do with those four big heavy cases I used to travel with."

One thing about using lights that are so small is I can put them anywhere. I can put them under a couch. I can put them up on a ledge. I can hook them to a bookshelf. I can stick these lights just about anywhere. With studio light you just can't do that."

Bergman shot four World Series games, again turning to the Nikon D700 "and my favorite Nikon lens, which is the NIKKOR 200-400mm zoom."

Each of the resulting images, shot from centerfield, actually comprises 675 individual photos shot over 53 minutes.
"When you stitch these together into one giant photo it's ridiculous," he said. "It would be nearly 30 feet wide at 300 pixels per inch."
He almost makes it sound easy. Bergman knows, however, that a good picture is hard work, whether you're shooting a stadium filled with baseball fans or just the family.

"When I pull out the camera it's because I want to make a picture," he said. "I'll go through the extra effort because I want to make pictures that people remember."

See more of David's work visit his website. http://www.davidbergman.net/

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Professional Sports Photography Tips from SI's Robert Beck

My friend and mentor, Amway Diamond Alan Leininger

Robert Beck is a Sports Illustrated contract photographer with over 25 years experience shooting all manner of sports events. He's as comfortable applying his skills to his son's flag football game as he is to prowling the sidelines at the Super Bowl. We recently asked him to share some tips from his A-list of sports shooting advice.

• The first thing I look at is the background. Whatever the action is, the background will complete the picture. I don't want a busy background—a lot of fences or light glaring off a fence. A lot of people in the stands are okay, but I don't want one person walking by or just standing around. Some sports are good with the bench as background, like lacrosse or football, with coaches and players behind the action. Shooting Little League is trickier. The field is an odd shape, and I try to crop out distractions. I shoot the batter so the bench is in the background as opposed to two parents and otherwise empty aluminum stands reflecting light. The rule of thumb: real clean or real real.

• The first lens in my kit is the 70-200mm zoom lens [AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED]. Very sharp, very fast, and if I have to shoot through a fence, I shoot wide open and the fence won't even show. It also offers me a lot of flexibility in composing; too tight, I zoom out, too loose, zoom in. My next lens is the 200-400mm [AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED]; fabulous for any sport, just perfect.

• I'm shooting D3 right now almost exclusively. I also have a D700 and a D300. Focusing is quick on all, but the D3 is a little faster in its burst. But I suggest you don't get caught up in shooting sequences. In reality the high point of action is really one or two frames, especially in sports where a ball is struck. The ball is only going to be in there for one frame, and if a kid is fielding the ball, the ball's only there for three frames. Generally, five frames per second is fast enough.

• The truth is that professional sports are almost easier to shoot. The younger the kids, the less you can anticipate—they don't have a sense of timing like the pros or older kids; the young kids are all a little bit off the timing. Be prepared.

• Some parents go to a game and just follow their kid. In soccer or football, that's kind of hard because it means they are not in tune with the game. Just follow the game and shoot the ball and the flow of the game; you'll get more good pictures, and when the ball gets to your kid, you'll be on it.

• When people see a great pro sports shot in a magazine, they don't realize that picture was culled from 600 or 700 images. You may not get a good shot of your kid in one game; think in terms of a season and hope for ten or 12 good images. If you get one or two good images from a game, you're in there. And don't give up because you didn't get one—referees get in the way of pros, too. Keep shooting.

• Check the schedule of the games. You're going to get the best light in the early morning or late afternoon. Shoot more at those games. In the middle of the day the light is harsher. But if you have to shoot mid-day, use your Nikon's Active D-Lighting. Turn it on in your camera menu; there are several levels of it, but all of them work very well to open up shadows. If your son is playing a baseball game in the middle of the day and you properly expose it, you'll lose his face because of the shadow of his hat; Active D-Lighting will keep that detail open.

• I shoot in manual. Over the years I've learned what the settings are for various situations. I’m always within a little bit—and now with the preview on the back of the camera, it's a no-brainer. If I were to use an auto setting, I'd go with shutter-priority and then move my ISO up or down accordingly. I'd try to keep the shutter speed at 1/1000 or 1/2000 second. I like to shoot wide open because it makes the subject stand out. If you're shooting your kid, keep a very shallow depth of field—it'll make your kid pop out from everyone else. Most pros shoot wide open for that pop out factor.

• With any lens from a 400mm on up—including the 200-400mm—I'm using a monopod; 300mm and down I can hand hold—and I prefer to be mobile.

• On my D3 I can change the focus tracking setting so that the camera will hold focus longer on a moving subject even if someone else crosses in front. In football if I'm following a running back and players cross in front of him, I don't want the focus to change too quickly, to lock on to the other players. But in swimming or in water polo I want the focus to change quickly. In the camera's menu I have the ability to change the time the camera will hold the focus.

• Frankly, I don't worry a lot about exposure. The [RAW] files are amazing on the Nikons. I can be a stop-and-a-half to two stops underexposed and still get detail. If you're going to make an error, underexpose, don't overexpose. I use Matrix metering when I'm shooting wider pictures—a group shot, a field shot; otherwise I use spot metering. And when I meter, if I can't meter off a uniform, if there's no gray spot, I meter off the grass. That'll give a good reading of what the overall exposure is going to be.

And there you have it—Robert's rules of keeping sports orderly.

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Ferrari at Paul Brown Stadium

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Ferrari 360 Spyder

Ferrari 360 Spyder. Ferrari pictures, images and automobile photographs, by Cincinnati Photographer and Dayton, Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio and Cincinnati Sports Photography; http://www.CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Over the next few days, I will be posting some pictures from a photo shoot I did for a very important client in Cincinnati on November 6th.

A year or so ago, when I began a blog, it was for the purpose of putting fresh content on the web, promoting my name in Google searches and opening new opportunities to me as a result.

I really don't know if anyone actually reads it, but it effectively serves its purpose. Such as this particular assignment.

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Senior Picture Shoots

Eaton, Ohio high school senior Tessa Melling who happens to also be a second baseman for the Eaton Eagles, poses at Miami University Redhawks, womens softball field in Oxford, Ohio.

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

"Protect This House"

"Protect This House". It's commonly known as being the marketing slogan for sports apparel company Under Armour. But for Monroe Hornet football player Jake Centers, it has more to do with the armour of  Ephesians Chapter 6 versus 10 thru 18.

"Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.


"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints...." Ephesians 6:10-18

God's armor brings victory because it is far more than a protective covering. It is the very life of Jesus Christ Himself.

"Put on the armor," wrote Paul in his letter to the Romans, "...clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 13:12-14)
When you do, He becomes your hiding place and your shelter in the storm -- just as He was to David. Hidden in Him, you can count on His victory, for He not only covers you as a shield, He also fills you with His life.

"I am the vine; you are the branches," said Jesus. "If a man abides in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Since living in the safety of the armor means oneness with Jesus, we can expect to share His struggles as well as His peace. Remember, God offers us His victory in the midst of trouble -- not the absence pain. So "do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you, but rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ..." (1 Peter 4:12-13)

Committed Christians who face torture for their faith continue to testify to the supernatural strength--even joy--that enables them to endure unthinkable pain. They affirm with Paul--

"that in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.... For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers.... will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

This wonderful truth has become reality to all who believe and follow Jesus. When you put on His armor, His life surrounds you and keeps you safe in Him. He is your precious friend, and you are His! So "put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27) He is your victory!

I was in the locker room waiting on coach Brett Stubbs of the Monroe Hornets to address his men before taking the field on Friday night against the Eaton Eagles.

Each player was in his own mental place, meditating on the task at hand. The only sound was an over sized "boom box" blaring out some rap music, laced with profanity, "F Bombs" and the likes.

I happened to look to my left and there was this one player reading scripture to himself. As he closed the book and lowered his head to pray, I snapped the picture.

Jake Centers is a special young man. A good kid with a loving Mom, who is at every game Monroe plays. The struggles he has had to overcome, may not be that foreign in today's cultural landscape but they are his own mountains none the less.

Becoming a born again Christian this past year has given him a new found strength to deal with life's pressures. It has also caused him to have to deal with another sort of adversity. The kind of adversity from friends who don't quite understand his new walk.

When I became a new born again Christian there were many who poked fun at my new lifestyle choices. They routinely challenged me on the steadfastness of my new found faith and wondered how long the fad would continue.

That was some 20 yeasr ago. And while I still screw up and still make many mistakes that would be considered "Un Christian Like", many of those who proved to be real friends, came to respect my choices and appreciate the fact that I did not pass judgement upon them as non believers at the time.

Today, many of those friends are now born again belivers themselves.

So how does one "Put on the armour of God"?

This life in Christ begins with knowing and trusting each part of the armor. The first part is TRUTH -- God's revelation of all that He is to us, all that He has done for us, and all that He promises to do for us in the days ahead. This wonderful, everlasting TRUTH is written in the Bible, revealed by the Holy Spirit, and realized through Jesus Christ.

It cuts through all the world's distortions, deceptions, and compromises. When you study, memorize, live, and follow TRUTH, He enables you to see the world from God's high vantage point. For He is the Truth! Putting on the first piece of the armor means feeding on truth through daily Bible reading and making it part of yourself.















Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

2010 Monroe Homecoming Royalty

Monroe High School in Monroe, Ohio celebrated their Homecoming by naming Logan Stanger and Taylor Hartman, King and Queen for 2010

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Reds fans didn’t expect much when Jay Bruce was called up to the Reds in May of 2008, other than relentless greatness.

The Bruce whose walk-off homer gave the Reds the NL Central title Tuesday night was the Bruce fans initially expected to be the next Ted Williams – roughly every night, thank you.

“It’s been some ups and downs for me, but I’ve battled,” Bruce said, blinking champagne from his eyes in the postgame clubhouse. “This is unbelievable. There’s nothing like it.”

From the time Bruce became the Reds’ No. 1 draft pick in June 2005, he was tabbed a future star. After hitting his way up and out of Triple-A in May 2008, Bruce provided immediate dividends by going 11-for-19 to start his major league career. Expectations flew off the charts.

Bruce returned to planet Earth and finished with a .254 average (21 homers, 54 RBI) his rookie year.

In 2009, Bruce had some wondering if he would ever make it. He hit .223 with 22 homers and 58 RBI, and also missed two months with a broken wrist.

Come 2010, Bruce again has been streaky. A midseason funk included a paltry July, when he had no homers and five RBI for the month.

But, Bruce since Aug. 1 is hitting .319 with 12 homers and 25 RBI. For the year, he is now at .275 with 22 homers and 66 RBI. Defensively, his strong arm and range have made him one of the top right fielders in baseball.

Was Bruce thinking homer on his game-winner?

“No, no, no, no,” Bruce said. “I was just trying to get on base. It takes 25 guys to do it.”

Manager Dusty Baker started Bruce on Tuesday, even though Bruce was 1-for-17 lifetime against Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez. Baker had sat Bruce when the Reds faced Rodriguez in Houston recently.

Bruce went 0-for-3 to start the game Tuesday, then pounded a Tim Byrdak pitch to Kingdom Come.

“Hey man, law of averages,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “Tonight it didn’t quite work, but I’m glad he was in there to face Byrdak and be a winner. Sometimes you’ve got to stick with guys. Sometimes people don’t understand that you’ve got to show faith in them, in order for them to grow and get better.”

That is Bruce, who at the ripe old age of 23 has been through plenty in the majors.

“I feel like I’ve learned a lot,” Bruce said. “The guys here, players, coaches, everyone has really stayed with me and stuck by me. I really appreciate that.

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Bruce Almighty Leads Cincinnati Reds to the Promised Land!

Reds Top Astros 3-2, Clinch NL Central

Cincinnati Claims National League Central Division Championship

CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Reds defeated the Houston Astros and clinched the National League Central Division championship on Tuesday night.

Fans spent Tuesday snapping up tickets ahead of the historic game. It was the first time the Reds won the National League Central Division title in 15 years.

A Jay Bruce walk-off home run sealed the deal for the team.

Bruce homered on the first pitch from Tim Byrdak in the bottom of the ninth for the 3-2 victory that secured the NL Central title.

It was a fitting finish to the unexpected championship drive. Cincinnati has won 22 games in its last at-bat, second-most in the majors.

Left-hander Aroldis Chapman (2-2) pitched a perfect ninth, topping out at 101 mph while showing playoff opponents the nasty stuff they can expect.

Bruce latched onto the first pitch from Byrdak (2-2) and lined it over the wall in center, sending teammates sprinting to home plate to pummel him after he touched home with the title-winning run while fireworks went off overhead.
With the title, Dusty Baker joined Bill McKechnie as the only managers to lead three different NL teams to the playoffs. Baker also has made it with the Giants and Cubs.

The Reds sold 30,151 tickets for the clinching game -- above-average for a cool September weeknight -- and took the field almost tasting it. Second baseman Brandon Phillips said he doesn't drink and has never taken so much as a sip of champagne.
"Everybody is looking forward to seeing me do it," Phillips said. "I don't know how it's going to taste. I don't know what's going to happen."

Most Reds were novices at the sip-and-spray tradition. Four female fans in the upper deck wore shirts that, side-by-side, urged the home team to "Show Us The Bubbly."

They showed some defense when Drew Stubbs stretched above the wall in center to steal a two-run homer away from Carlos Lee in the third inning, drawing a standing ovation.

The crowd was on its feet again in the sixth, when the Reds loaded the bases with none out. Phillips tied it at 2 with an infield single to the hole at shortstop, but Bruce grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Bruce made up for it on his next swing.

The Reds celebrated their title a day after Philadelphia clinched its fourth straight NL East title - no surprise there. The Reds' recent history made them a most unexpected playoff team.

The Reds hadn't reached the postseason since 1995, when Davey Johnson took them to the NL championships series, then lost his job because owner Marge Schott didn't like him.

After that, Cincinnati lost its way.

The Reds went through three owners, five general managers and seven managers without once making it back to the postseason. They came close in 1999 under Jack McKeon, losing a playoff for the wild card to the Mets. Ken Griffey Jr. arrived the following year, raising expectations for a long run of division titles.

Instead, the bottom fell out.

Griffey was hurt often and the Reds plunged into a streak of nine straight losing seasons, their worst in a half-century. Not even the move into Great American Ball Park in 2003 made much of a difference. Junior came and went. The losing went on.

Cincinnati finished fourth last season, its second under Baker, but the franchise thought it had the makings of something and kept the roster intact.

Right call.
The Reds got into the race in mid-May and didn't crack under pressure. Instead, the defending-champion Cardinals fell apart. The two teams were separated by no more than three games from mid-May to mid-August, matching each other win-for-win.
An emerging core of young players pulled it off.

First baseman Joey Votto grew into an MVP candidate this season, ranking in the top three in batting, homers and RBIs. The Reds' youth-laden lineup became the NL's most prolific, leading in batting average, runs and homers. The defense became one of the NL's best.

And Chapman put some sizzle in the stretch drive when he was called up in August and hit 105 on radar guns.
It was an emotional night for Baker, who won his fourth division championship as a manager. He also took the 1997 Giants, 2000 Giants and 2003 Cubs to the playoffs. He's the ninth manager to lead three different franchises to the playoffs, joining McKechnie, Johnson, Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Billy Martin, Lou Piniella, Joe Torre and Dick Williams.
Baker's father, Johnnie, died last November after a long illness.
"It's really special for me this year because I think about my dad a lot," he said. "Last year was very difficult. Every midnight call I got I thought was about my dad. He wasn't supposed to live past the All-Star break, then he wasn't supposed to live until August, then he wasn't supposed to live until September. He lasted until I got home.
"So I just knew when the season started that my dad was with me big-time."
The Reds won't be a postseason favorite, given their inexperience and their struggles against other top teams. They've gone 58-28 against losing teams, only 30-41 against those with .500 or better records.
For them, just getting there was a breakthrough.
Had the Saint Louis Cardinals lost their game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, that would have also given the Reds the division title. A Cardinals loss would have also triggered fireworks.
The team had a big fireworks display after the win.
 
Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Target Field Home of the Minnesota Twins

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Last Ride

Posted by photographer Vincent Rush, Cincinnati Sports Photography and Dayton Sports Photography of Monroe Ohio. Vince Rush can be contacted by phone at (877) 858-6295 or by email at vrush@rushintl.com or visit http://CincinnatiSportsPhotography.com

Splash Down

I shot this sports photograph was shot in May of 2010 at the University of Cincinnati Big East Track Championships.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. Contact (877) 858-6295

2 for 2

In this sports photograph, a wide reciever for the College of Mount St. Joseph climbs the ladder to pull in a pass for a TD against his counterpart.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. Contact (877) 858-6295

Strike Up The Band

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. Contact (877) 858-6295

Dirty Business

Professional Motorcross action at the track.

If you ever wondered why MX riders wear goggles, here you have the answer.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.Contact (877) 858-6295

Citi Field 2010

Citi Field, home of the New york Mets.

Shot at night from the upper deck.

                     Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monro,Ohio.  
                                                              Contact (877) 858-6295

Miller Park 2010

Miller Park, home of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers

                Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.

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Chad Ochocinco ? How about, Noshow-cinco

Chad Johnson, aka, Chad Ochocinco was his usual Noshow-stinko during the Cincinnati Bengals butt kicking that was handed down to them by the New England Patriots during the opening Sunday of the 2010 NFL Season.

Oh sure, the game line will show that he had great stats for the day. 1 TD, bunch of catches and over 100 yards receiving. What the game line won't show is that it all happened when the game was well out of reach and the Pats were laying back playing prevent.

I can't remember the last time that Chad was present during a crucial game or crucial game time situation. Adam Dunn was always criticized in Cincinnati, despite putting up 40 home runs and 100 RBI's, because it was always said that his numbers came in non crucial situations.

I'm really surprised that after all these years, Chad Johnson Ochocinco, Nachostinko, Noshowstinko still never gets called out on that fact.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. Contact (877) 858-6295

Gut Shot

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. Contact (877) 858-6295

Faces In The Crowd

One of the things I always love to shoot, is what other photographers never do.

There are plenty of sideline shooters looking for the "Immaculate Reception" picture. I'll admit, I am always looking for it to. But being a good photographer is also about being versatile and creative.

In today's High School culture of school spirit, there are some colorful face painting and costume selections in the student sections.

One of the tings I always take time to do is to try to create flattering pictures of the kids. If I see a kid in the picture with bad acne, I will clean it up before I post it. If I see someone with teeth that are not very white, I will touch them up. I always try to be careful and remember how those things affected my self esteem when I was that age.

You also have to double check your images to make sure no one in the background is giving you a "one fingered salute" or showing something they shouldn't. (Yes that has happened!)

I like to use "Selective Color" to bring my subjects to light and blend out the back ground of random fans.

Lets face it, parents or kids, are more likely to buy their pictures, if they look good in those pictures.

This particular photograph is from the Monroe Hornet student section in Monroe, Ohio during a Friday night contest.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. Contact (877) 858-6295

Digital Photo - Use A Polarizer All The Time | DPmag.com

Digital Photo - Use A Polarizer All The Time DPmag.com

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. Contact (877) 858-6295

Great American Ball Park

Home of the Cincinnati Reds

              Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.
                                                             Contact (877) 858-6295

Hornet Country

                Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.
                                                                  Contact (877) 858-6295

Taking it to the House!

Even today, this photo of Monroe Wee Hornet Running Back, Davis Carpenter, who was in 3rd grade at the time, remains one of my all time favorite sports photographs.

This is an example of what I always teach, when I say "Get at eye level with your subject. See it from the players perspective.

I also think that this sports image, may have been about the 600th I shot of that game. It was also among the last that I captured on that Saturday.

It ended up being published in the 2008 edition of Capture Cincinnati.

                Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.
                                                         Contact (877) 858-6295

Designing Digitally Endorsement

"I wanted to say that we recently worked with Vince on a project requiring photography of some of the local businesses and he was excellent to work with. Took some great shots (as usual) and was more than willing to retake any of we felt we needed something different. I would definitely recommend working with him."-Abby Hughes, Owner of Designing Digitally

http://www.designingdigitally.com/

                 Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.
                                                   For more information (877) 858-6295

Stuffed

Sometimes a little selective color effect goes a long way to add drama to a picture.

While shooting for a client at a Monroe Hornets home high school football game against Meadowdale, I caught one of my subjects delivering a "slobber knocker" of a hit on an opposing RB.

I'm a big believer in ALWAYS making the home team look good. I see too many "photo dumps" into galleries that have multiple pictures of the home team dropping the ball, getting run over by the opposition or just plain looking awkward.

My sports photography rule of thumb; If you wouldn't be proud to post it on your own wall at home, what makes you think a parent is going to want to buy it and post it on theirs?

For example, I was browsing another photographers page today of a recent game. Their were 6 pages of images, 5 really good shots, (By good shots, I mean, I would have been proud to have shot them) and 100 plus images that were either out of focus, off target or left the viewer wondering, "What the heck was going on in this picture?"

Always make the player or home team you're shooting, look like pros. Always make sure your picture tells a story. Every camera has 1/1000 to 1/1600th of a second shutter speed. Don't fall in love with every image you capture. In a typical football game, I will shoot 700-1200 images yet only keep 20-60 of them.

              Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.
                                               For more information (877) 858-6295

Opposite Field

Here is a nice shot of my son, Zachary Rush, during a Fall League Baseball game in the Lakota Youth Sports Organization in West Chester, Ohio.

Zach hit a nice fly ball that landed inside the left field line for a double.

One of the secrets to great youth sports photography. is shooting just below eye level. Shooting at this angle, not only makes the player look slightly more majestic, but it also lets the viewer see things from the players perspective.

                 Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.

                                                    For more information (877) 858-6295

Hornet Pride

Monroe high school 1st year head coach, Brett Stubbs, gives an inspirational heart felt speech to the Monroe Hornet Seniors before they take the field in Stubbs first game as the leader of the Hornet Football Team on August 27th, 2010

I used a little selective color technique on this shot to add some pop to the locker room setting and bring some drama to the picture.

The Hornet's soundly defeated Meadowdale high school on this night, 17-6.

               Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.

                                                 For more information (877) 858-6295

Self Sportrait

I had the opportunity to be on the opposite end of the lens the other night in Chicago at Efflin Stadium, home of the Kane County Cougars, the Single A affiliate of MLB's Oakland A's

I've been blessed to carve out a nice career in Amway since 1991 and became an Emerald about 10 years ago. I've also been fortunate enough to be on the team of Amway Double Diamond, Joe Markiewicz. As a result of that affiliation, we have had the opportunity to do many cool events, that we would have never even come close to doing in the normal hum drum 9-5 life as an employee.

We began renting out Nashville's Greer Stadium 10 years ago and suiting up to play, not softball, but actual baseball, complete with pitchers, catchers and umpires.

Along the way I've had the experience of hitting 6 home runs, catching a few 9 inning games and living out a dream.

I've also rented out University of Cincinnati's Marge Schott stadium a few times for my local team in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville.

I had a good friend of mine shoot this one so that I could do a little selective color work on myself.

 Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio.

                       

Freedom Fighter Baseball

My son, 12 year old Zachary Rush in his first Freedom Fighter baseball game at Marge Schott Stadium, on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.

I rent the stadium out each year for a baseball tournament between a group of my Amway and LTD business partners from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Sunset Samurai

An example of what I like to call a "Sportrait"

Silhouette photography of Karate Champion Amanda Joiner shot at 9:15 in the evening, on a cemetery hill while standing on the roof of my new Jeep Liberty

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Stephen Strasburg

Wahington Nationals rookie pitcher, Stephen Strasburg pitching for the first time against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 21st, 2010.

For more shots please visit http://www.cincinnatisportsphotography.com/Sports/Sports-Photography/3377701_vAkPd#944384108_pWztZ

Cincinnati Reds Picture by Dayton Ohio Photographer and Cincinnati Sports Photographer, Vincent Rush of Cincinnati Sports Photography.

 

http://cincinnatisportsphotography.com/

 

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Swim Meet in Monroe

Sports photograph from Monroe, Ohio Swim Club.

Picture by Dayton Sports Photographer and Cincinnati Sports Photography.

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Monroe Ohio, Light Up the Sky

Fireworks photo from the annual Light Up the Sky, 4th of July celebration in beautiful Monroe, Ohio

Phot by Cincinnati Photographer Vincent Rush

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295

Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto

Cincinnati Reds First Baseman Joey Votto

Photo by Cincinnati Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295