Chicago Bears Training Camp 2014 | 7 Images

July 27, 2014  •  1 Comment

July is almost over and that means the NFL teams have started training camp.  The Chicago Bears are only about 35minutes away from Dwight in Bourbonais so we went to see them on Day 2 of their camp.  The Bear's Media team was very accommodating and it was awesome to be inside the lines to get some images for The Paper.

One of the first things I noticed at camp is that Coach Trestman is everywhere.  There is a reason he is in shape.  He is hustling on every play.  Everything at Training camp moves very quickly.  They don't seem to waste any time.

NFL players are buff, but on TV its hard to tell just how athletic they are with all their pads on.  Today's practice they were only in helmets so it was impressive to see just how athletic these players are.


As some of you may know, we root for the Minnesota Vikings in our house so it was both good and bad to see Jared Allen up close in a Bears uniform.  I was very impressed with how athletic he is and he seems to have a really great personality on the field.  He will be a great asset to the Bears.


It was a great day and a great experience.  The photographer next to me was in possession of about $30,000 worth of equipment, but I was happy with my images and the experience and I compared my images with his that were posted on www.chicagobears.com - I was very happy with how I compared.  I will wrap up with a few of my favorite images from the day.  The rest of the images will be posted in a special edition gallery on The Paper's web site and I will put out a link when those are available.
 

The Handoff

 

Brandon Marshall

Matt Forte's Visor is very cool!

Thanks for checking out the images.  I will send out a link to the rest of the images as soon as they are available.

Jake

 

 

 


Bulls vs. Pistons | United Center | 12-7-2013

December 08, 2013  •  1 Comment

Well it finally happened.  I had the opportunity to shoot a professional sports team from the (in this case) the baseline.  Many thanks to the Seneca Fighting Irish and Dwight Trojans who were given the opportunity to play earlier in the day on the United Center Floor.
(pictures on www.facebook.com/J7images)

It was very hard to pick through them, but here are my favorite images.

This shot was from our seats before the game.

Benny the Bull is quite the character.  Here he is during the introduction of the Piston's starting line up.

Here were some of my favorite action shots.

Here were some player images that were my favorites

Nap Time?  He was ok, just resting. I think this image described the night for the Bulls, the game was just of reach.

This was my favorite image from the game.   

This was an amazing experience.  The floor at an NBA game is another world, but, if you have the media pass you pretty much get to go where you need to go and the other photographers were very nice.  I only shot the first half so I could return to my seats and watch the second half with Jill and the boys.  I would do it again in a heartbeat and now that I kinda understand where to go, I hope i get the opportunity to do this again. 

Special thanks to Mary Boma at The Paper for trusting me with an Illinois Press Association Press Pass and the Chicago Bulls Media team for allowing me the opportunity and the for the Coaches and Administrations at both Dwight and Seneca for putting together such an amazing day.

Jake
www.J7images.com
@J7images
www.facebook.com/J7images

 


Megan & Jacob | Maternity Shoot

March 08, 2013  •  4 Comments

When Megan asked if we could do her maternity images at Starved Rock Lodge, we were very excited.  It had been a long time since we had been there, but luckily we had a great day, plenty of place to work and Megan and Jacob came prepared with their ideas. 

Here are 7 Images from our session with Megan and Jacob (and a little guy to be named later).

 

Oh and their dog Tyson was along for the shoot as well.

 

 

Megan and Jake had brought along some ideas of shots they liked from Pinterest, we did our best to take the concept and create images that were original for them.

 

The windows at the Starved Rock Lodge allowed for some great natual light for our shoot.

 

Megan and Jacob were very easy to work with and a lot of fun.  Jacob made a bad joke about a picture with a vending machine in it, well here it is.  The blue blur is actually a Dasani Water Vending Machine - Shh, our secret, looked pretty cool with the blue shoes.

 

 

Here's where things got a little dicey.  Looks like the new addition is going to have some decisions to make early on.  At least we know he will be a huge fan of NFL football.  This was my personal favorite from the shoot and I love that they brought along these props and were patient while we set up some lighting for this image.

 

 

 It took us a few tries to get this one perfect, but I love the end result.

 

The setting was amazing and this shot was too easy after Jill set them up perfectly and the couple just relaxed in the moment. 

We really enjoyed the shoot and wish Megan and Jacob the best.  We were able to turn around the finished images in less than 24 hours and since Megan chose to purchase the full resolution digital files, she was able to put together a great image book for her baby shower that took place just a few days after the shoot.

Thank You  Megan and Jacob for trusting J7 with your Images.

Jake & Jill | J7 Images

 


7 Images From the 2012-2013 Basketball Season

March 08, 2013  •  2 Comments

Its only been 2 weeks since the end of the 2012-2013 season, and while I am enjoying some time at home, I am missing the season.  Here are my 7 personal favorite images from the 2012-2013 season.

Enjoy

Dwight does this tradition better than anyone else in the State, nothing better then getting the students, fans and parents involved in the action.

 

The Lights Out introductions were a nice touch this season and an exciting addition to the pre-game rituals.

 

I love this image, because it was taken with 8.6 seconds on the clock in a game where we were losing by almost 30 points, yet we were still hustling until the end and there are still fans in the stands.

 

This represents the peak of our season, following this time-out we secured a win vs. Hercher and began and nice winning streak to finish out the regular season.

 

We had an amazing student section this year led by the Class of 2013.  Always fun to shoot the fans reactions.  I am going to miss these Seniors.

 

It was great to see the lighter (or shorter) side of coach.  We think he borrowed this tie from his 8 year old.

 

All good things come to an end and despite a loss in the first round of regionals, the Trojans went out with class as our 5 seniors finished the game together for the last time in their high school career.

 

While I am looking forward to warmer weather, I am alway sad when the Basketball season is over.  Just 3 short years ago the see was planted for J7 Image when we began posting some pictures from basketball games.

We are offering a DVD of these and all the other images from the 2012-2013 season for $25, just let us know and we will make sure we get these memories in your hands.

Thanks for another great season Trojans.  We are going to miss Jacob, Kiefer, Blake, Carson and Ryley and wish them the best in their future adventures.

Jake

 


Kacy

August 24, 2012  •  Leave a Comment

Kacy | 7-27-2012

We first met Kacy during basketball season.  He high flying cheerleading skills were very impressive.  Our favorite image of Kacy was from before our 2012 before prom images. She did a perfect toe touch, on a trampoline, in her prom dress.

 

Only an hour before our scheduled Senior Image session the clouds were dark and huge strorm looked to be taking over Dwight.  We decided to hope for it to blow over and luckily it did.  After the clouds rolled through (and barely dropped any rain, much to the disapointment of Kacy's father and other farmers in the area) the sky was absolutely amazing.

Kacy and her Mom selected a site just south of town and a place we had worked once before.  The combination of the sky, the location and of course Kacy's natural beauty resulted in some of our best images to date.

"Hey Jake, how about here" - resulted in 2 of my favorite images to date.  I loved how Kacy and her mom Jill had ideas and help my Jill and I see details and try different areas of the location.  It was a total team effort and the proof is in the images.

This shot was Kacy's Mom's idea, and the result was awesome with the evening sky and a little moon.

What a great evening for a shoot and what a great Senior to help us start off our Class of 2013 sessions.  Kacy and her mom were great and we enjoyed getting to know both of them a little better.

We can't wait to see more of Kacy in the future as she is very excited about getting in the some sessions at addtional locations.  You can see more images from our shoot at http://j7images.zenfolio.com/kacy  

Our final shot was a result of our being delayed.  While we were sad that we couldn't move on to our next location, I was excited that I took the time to get this image while we were waiting.  (For details on why we were delayed you can speak to Jill (Kacy's Mom) or Kim Trainor who saved the day.)

Here is our final image for now...more of Kacy coming soon.

Jake & Jill

J7 | www.J7images.com

 


Archive
January February March April May June July August (1) September October November December
January February March (2) April May June July August September October November December (1)
January February March April May June July (1) August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December
January February March April May June July August September October November December