The Big Easy Rollergirls left New Orleans and hit the road to take on the Tallahassee Rollergirls on Saturday, April 14th. Though the All-Stars suffered a tough loss against Tallahassee’s Capital Punishment (270-28), they played hard and gave the girls of Tally a strong, clean bout that was action-packed from start to finish.

This bout was a tricky one to shoot. It was held at Skate Inn, a standard skating rink with very little light. I had the 85mm f/1.8 with me, which I used nearly the entire bout. I switched back to the 70-200mm f/2.8 occasionally for jammer shots, as the 85mm was having a difficult time focusing as they sped around the turns. Otherwise, the 85mm/7D pairing was all I shot with. Because of the dark arena, I had to rely on my flashes far more than I like to with sports. Overall, though, I was pleased with the shots, especially given the lighting. I particularly enjoyed shooting close in the pack this bout. With both teams creating walls and blocking hard, I think it made for some nice shots that show just how tough the sport can be.

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Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you… Underalls and The Overalls!

The Big Easy’s own all-rollergirl band, performing one song only, one night only: Friday, April 20, 2012. Come see this quintet of awesomeness at the All That Glitters Is Gold fundraiser. And if you applaud extra loud, they might play an encore for you! That’s the same song, twice in one night! Unbelievable!!!

For more information on this event, check out the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/201939179919096/

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The Big Easy Rollergirls All-Stars suffered a tough loss at the hands of North Carolina’s Cape Fear Roller Girls during their season opener on Saturday, March 31. The All-Stars played strong, giving 110% the entire bout, but Cape Fear jumped to an early lead and their defense kept the ladies of BERG from catching up, bringing the final score to 202-60. Despite the loss, the All-Stars looked sharp and fought hard, and seem more than ready to take on Capital Punishment in Tallahassee on April 14.

The night was not without its emotional moments, though. Long-time Big Easy Rollergirls announcer Rev. Psych Ward offered his talents for one final bout before retiring. The rollergirls bid him farewell in true BERG fashion, donning fedoras and kneeling around him, singing along to “You Are My Sunshine” during the opening ceremony before presenting him with a gift basket. A second surprise came later, when midway through the bout the announcers and audience members stopped for a moment to bow and pay homage to legendary Big Easy Rollergirl Deuce McMaliceHer, who was there rooting on her team from the side of the track.

From a photography standpoint, the bout was exciting to shoot. After experimenting with the 85mm f/1.8 in the first bout of this BERG double-header, I decided to stick with it as my primary lens on the 7D body. My only real complaint was that the 7D/85mm pairing put my 50D/70-200mm f/2.8 secondary setup to shame, especially in the dimly lit Human Performance Center on UNO’s campus. The 50D really struggles at high ISOs in comparison to the 7D. After looking through all of the photos from the night, I’m strongly considering using more primes this season than last. Even with the slower focus of the primes, the clarity of the photos just can’t be topped, not even with the 70-200 beast in the running.

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The Crescent Wenches opened the 2012 season for the Big Easy Rollergirls with an incredible win over Alabama’s River Region Rollergirls, 214-85. Though River Region’s Deadutantes played hard, the Wenches were unstoppable, even allowing everyone to jam at one point in the final period and still picking up more points. It was a great bout for the Wenches, and brought their record so far this season to 2-0. They look to continue their winning streak on Saturday, April 14, when they’ll host the Hub City Derby Dames at 7:00 p.m. at UNO’s Human Performance Center.

I went into the bout armed with both the 7D and the 50D, with the 70-200mm f/2.8 as my primary lens and the 85mm f/1.8 as my secondary. This quickly changed when I saw how ridiculously clean the shots from the 85mm were. Paired with the high-ISO performance of the 7D, the 85mm/7D combo might just be my new favorite for roller derby. This was my first time shooting with the 85mm, and though its focusing is a bit slower than I’d prefer for sports, the quality of the image it produced was quite impressive. I tried the 135mm f/2.0 last season during the Big Easy Rollergirls’ bout against Jacksonville, and found the focal length to be a bit too close on the crop sensor. And while the 85mm is not quite close enough at times, the clarity of the shots makes it well worth it.

In case you missed it, check out the photos from the Wenches’ pre-season bout against the Pearl River Swamp Dolls.

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The Big Easy Rollergirls‘ own Crescent Wenches pulled out an exciting win over the Pearl River Swamp Dolls in their pre-season bout on Saturday, March 10. After trailing through the first half, the Wenches came back after halftime pumped up and ready to kick ass, and pulled out a win, 121-99.

This was my first time shooting in the Northshore Harbor Center, and I was a bit disheartened when I got in there and saw how little light I had to work with. The lighting was reminiscent of shooting college basketball games, which is fine for hoops but a bit tricky with a sport as fast paced as derby. Still, the 7D/70-200mm f/2.8 pulled through once again and managed to make shooting in there easier than expected. One thing I enjoyed about shooting on the Swamp Dolls’ turf was the floor. While moving around the track, I noticed that the surface was actually somewhat reflective, which was a nice little bonus. The track kicked up a bit more light than what I’m used to at UNO’s Human Performance Center, and also added some nice color when it picked up the girls’ uniforms as they skated through the turns. All in all, it was a good night of shooting and I’m pleased with the results.

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The 2012 Mardi Gras season was one of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve experienced so far, in part because I was given the opportunity to walk in two parades with New Orleans’ own Big Easy Rollergirls. The Krewe of Pontchartrain was the first of the two, and I brought my cameras along to capture the fun.

If there’s one thing I learned from marching with BERG, it’s that New Orleans loves its Big Easy Rollergirls. While the girls skated, danced, and performed tricks, the masses of parade goers oohed and aahed, danced on the side with a roller girl or two, and doled out more high-fives than I’ve ever seen in my life. It was definitely one of the best Mardi Gras experiences I’ve had, and the excitement got me pumped for the upcoming season. Come out and cheer on the Crescent Wenches and the All-Stars in their opening bout of the season on March 31 at UNO’s Human Performance Center.

For more parade action with the Big Easy Rollergirls, check out the photos from Krewe of Jingle, New Orleans’ official holiday parade.

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The Krewe of Jingle hit the streets of downtown New Orleans on Saturday, December 3, and the Big Easy Rollergirls joined in the fun. New Orleans’ official holiday parade started just four years ago, and includes all the attractions of an authentic Mardi Gras parade, from large, decorative floats to marching bands, sprinkled with holiday flavoring, such as local Christmas icon Mr. Bingle. The girls of BERG skated their way through the parade, performing tricks and throwing candy and beads along the way. The parade was the perfect way to celebrate the holidays in true New Orleans fashion.

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In perhaps the most violent, controversial night of derby I’ve seen thus far, the Big Easy Rollergirls closed their season at home with a double-header featuring both the Crescent Wenches and the All-Stars fighting their hearts out in two very close bouts. The Wenches lost by one point to the Acadiana Good Times Rollers in a nail biter of a bout that went down to the final second (205-206), while the All-Stars pulled out a victory over the attitude-driven Sonoma County Roller Derby team (119-114). There were time-outs galore, screams from the coaches, conflicting calls from the refs, and quite a few trips to the track by the EMTs, but it was one hell of a night.

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I had the pleasure of shooting Patrick and Stephanie’s wedding on October 1st at the beautiful Middle River Manor in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The three-story castle was a perfect setting for the elegant wedding, and it made for some very lovely backgrounds and photographs. The day started out bright and sunny, but a few clouds later in the afternoon provided nice even coverage and helped bring out some of the rich Floridian colors. Stephanie looked stunning, and she and Patrick were so happy together. I’m very glad I could be there to capture their special day and celebrate with them.

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The hard-hitting gals of the Big Easy Rollergirls decided to mess with Texas, and they won. The All-Stars got an early lead over the Alamo City Rollergirls and never lost momentum, with jammers Coalminer’s Slaughter and Persephone Danger showing mad skills throughout the bout.

I shot almost entirely with the 70-200mm f/2.8 on the 7D, focusing mostly on getting some close-up action shots. With the girls skating in such tight packs, it’s always a fun challenge to capture a shot through traffic. The Big Easy Rollergirls will have their final bout on Saturday, October 15. It’s a double-header, and the action starts at 6:00pm. If you haven’t already come to a bout, you should definitely make it to this one. And if you think you’ve got what it takes to skate with the best of them, tryouts are being held on October 8th at 8:00am. You can find out more at bigeasyrollergirls.com.

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