Posts Tagged: Sports
The Spartan Race
The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
I am a Dallas headshot photographer and event photographer based in McKinney, TX. However, I still on occasion shoot sports where I began my photography career. This weekend at Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose TX, I photographed a little bit of the Spartan Race , which is a race combined with an obstacle course. There are several version’s offered throughout the world. The particular Spartan Race I attended is called the Beast where you are expected ro run, dive, crawl, swim, carry, drag, climb, slide and more across 13.5 miles of venue specific and terrain inspired obstacles. The racers, by the way are not given a map to inspect or plan the race. There is fire, mud, water, barbed wire, occasionally Hell on Earth and it is all a surprise to all those who enter.
Just about every participant I saw was muddy, bloody and stinky. And they were all loving it! It wasn’t just ultra fit race addicts that participated either. It was men, women and even children of all shapes and sizes from all walks of life. Many participated ran as families, friends and corporate groups. Some ran obviously as couples who probably work out on date nights. The common theme though was they all had a blast in order to reach the finish line and claim their: Finishers Medal, T-Shirt, Free Beer ticket if they are 21 and over, DJ Entertainment, Tired legs from climbing up and down the mountain, Good views of the area, Wet and muddy clothes, Beast Bragging Rights, not to mention a banana, an energy drink and a hot shower.
If you did any of the Spartan Races in the United States, you can probably find photos taken by the official race photographers by going to the Nuvision Images site, or you can enjoy some of my shots below:
- A woman reaches her objective during Tyrolean traverse at The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
Despite falling in a pool of pond scum, a wet racer and stinky racer is still full of positive energy during The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
A racer emptying the mud and water from his shoe during The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
A veteran providing moral support to A Wounded Warrior doing the Tyrolean traverse during The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
A Wounded Warrior is supported by his two veteran buddies during The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
Carrying a 5-gallon bucket of gravel up and down a large hill during The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
Carrying a 5-gallon bucket of gravel up and down a large hill during The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
Leaping over the ring of fire near the finish line at The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
Crawling in the mud beneath the barbed wire The Spartan Race photographed by Alex Cena at The Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.
Alli’s Headshot
Alli’s headshot by Alex Cena
The last six weeks have been absolutely crazy for me between portrait headhshots, proms, weddings, graduations and the 2012 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships. Not to mention my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary was just this past weekend. It’s the best excuse I have for neglecting my blog for the last month. However, I will do my best to catch up with some great images and comments on what has kept me behind the lens and in front of a computer all this time.
It’s probably best to start with the most recent, which is a headshot session with Alli who I have photographed throughout high school playing soccer and lacrosse. Most recently, she graduated from a D1 school in Pennsylvania where she was starting player for the women’s lacrosse team. As a graduate and someone ready to hit the career track, Alli needed a headshot to make her look confident and approachable. Here are some samples from the session, which was taken with a Mamiya RZ67 Pro IID with a 110mm/2.8 lens set to ISO 50, f/11, 1/60th using a Leaf DM33 digital back.
I will post images from other events soon.
PGA Golf Professionals at NEPA Resorts
Art McLain and His Daughter at Lakeland Golf Course in Fleetville, PA
With spring upon us and many golfers in the winter regions itching to get out on the green, I thought this would be a good time to show off some of the lifestyle portraits I created for Happenings Magazine who published an articled discussing hot tips from golf experts in Northeast Pennsylvania.
NEPA Golf Pros – Images by Alex Cena
The magazine commissioned my services to photograph PGA gold professionals including John Pillar at Woodloch Springs, Greg Wall at the Inn at Pocono Manor, Corey McLarney and His father at Scott Greens, Art McLain at Lakeland, Tom O’Malley at Buck Hill Golf Club and Joe Manley at Shawnee. It was a lot of driving around the Poconos, but it was well worth it, not just for the fees it generated but the education I received from these golf professionals. Also, I was amazed because I never knew these wonderful golf courses and existed only 90 miles from from either New York City or Philadelphia. At least three of them are all-inclusive resorts that offer not only golf but other outdoor activities as well as destination spa services where you get some really fantastic treatments.
If you need to get away from the big city, why not give one of these places a try. I have and loved it!
Winter Teams at Gill St Bernards
Portraits of some of the winter sports teams at Gill St. Bernard’s School in Gladstone, NJ. Photos were captured with a ripod supported Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III with a 35/1.4 and a Quantum QFlash Turbo 5d
