Last week, I had the opportunity to photograph two basketball games at Cumberland University, which is just east of here in Lebanon.

I spent the evening at the gym, sitting on the cold floor and documenting the women, then the men take on another Tennessee college. And I couldn’t have been happier.

I fell in love with sports as a child, playing anything and everything when I was growing up in Memphis. I didn’t fall into photography until college, though, and it was through the student newspaper that I discovered my passion for sports photography. The ever-changing nature of the game attracted me, reminding me of my childhood, and I love the challenges of shooting all the different situations presented in sporting events.

And this passion grew each and every time I photographed a game, a match, a meet, etc.

But, since I’m new in this city, I had not had the chance to document any competitions since I arrived. And last Thursday night was a much-needed treat.

Here are some of my favorite images:

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What are you passionate about in your line of work?

Mailee, 3, of Oak Grove, tells Santa what she wants for Christmas as she is held by her mother, Mandy,Thursday afternoon at the Oak Grove Public Library. Children and their parents came to the library to take pictures with Santa. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Wednesday: Trees were lit during Lighting the Way to the Holidays at Southern Miss. MDOT launched a new traffic management program.

Thursday: “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” surprised a local family. Children and their parents came to the Oak Grove Library for pictures with Santa. (Photos coming next week in OG Today.) Southern Miss held a memorial to remember students, staff and faculty.

Friday: We went to Collins to speak to veterans about Pearl Harbor Day. (Story coming Monday!) It snowed!

Saturday: Work continued on the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” house. Hattiesburg and Petal held their Christmas parades.

Sunday: More work on the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” house.

And my weekly favorites can be found here.

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How was your week?

FCAHS's Aubrey Kidd (54) displays 'RIP Devon' in remembrance of his fallen teammate, Devon Byrd, Friday night during the first half of the Forrest County Agricultral High School-North Pike playoff game in Brooklyn, Miss. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Monday: Miss Mississippi spoke to parents and kids at Petal High School. (Photo gallery to come next week for Petal Today.)

Wednesday: Veterans were honored during the annual Veterans Day Service at Veterans Park in downtown Hattiesburg.

Thursday: The Southern Miss basketball team practiced before their first game. The Mississippi Secretary of Treasury spoke to students about going to college. Members of the local Junior Auxiliary set up for their annual ball.

Friday: Five Petal businesses held their grand opening. Forrest County Agricultural High School played North Pike and won during the playoffs.

Aaaand my weekly favorites are over here.

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How was YOUR week?

I know I said last Sunday that the week was crazy. Well, if that week was crazy, this past week was ridiculously busy. No worries, though, I made some lovely images while I was running around.

Staci Williams closes her eyes and holds family dog Daisy close Tuesday morning at Oak Grove's All Animal Clinic. Daisy fell down a 40-foot well Monday afternoon, cutting her shoulder, and veterinarian Dr. Kirk Frazier and Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department firefighters pulled the dachshund out of the well. Daisy spent the night at the vet's office, was given eight stitches and was sent home with her family Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Monday: Since Oak Grove’s game was canceled because of bad weather the previous Friday, they faced off against Brandon High School on the gridiron.

Tuesday: LIFE of Mississippi hosted its annual event, Walk With Me, to raise public awareness about the need for accessibility for all. A rescued dachshund was reunited with its owners. Measures have been taken in Mississippi for students to eat healthier at school. The WCU basketball team practiced.

Wednesday: Two teenage boys who died in an accident were laid to rest in their hometowns.

Thursday: Government-run healthcare was protested. Petal is digging a new sewer line and trying to dig out of debt. An elementary school is selling feathers to raise money to feed the needy.

Friday: A task force is tackling textbook prices. Southern Miss prepares to start their basketball season.

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How was your week? And what was the most exciting thing you did?

This week was a little hectic, as most of this past month has been, but it was good.

Rice Patrick, 8, and his friends are lowered after riding the swings Wednesday night at the Fair of Forrest County. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Sunday: Southern Miss hosted in-town rival, William Carey, in a baseball scrimmage. Heritage United Methodist Church hosted trunk-or-treat in their parking lot.

Wednesday: The Fair of Forrest County opened for its second day in town.

Thursday: Oak Grove Lower Elementary held a ribbon cutting for their new Project Fit America fitness equipment. The MTV reality casting tour hosted auditions in town.

Friday: Thames Elementary invited students to dress as their favorite book characters for a Book Parade. Petal faced off against George County on the gridiron, and it poured for most of the game.

Saturday: Men, women and children ran/walked in the first Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at Southern Miss. Two teenagers died in a oil-holding tank explosion accident. (So, so sad.)

Sunday: I attended the fair again and learned that goats like to eat paper. (As in, a goat ripped a few pages out of my reporter’s notebook while it was in my jean pocket.) Southern Miss baseball held a black and gold game.

My favorite images of the week can be found here.

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How was your week? And what was the most exciting thing you did?

I have received numerous doubtful looks when I tell people I played sports throughout my childhood and into high school. Throughout my collegiate years, I’ve lost the athletic build I once had as a post player-turned outside/right side hitter, and now, nobody believes me when I tell the story that once upon a time, I was an athlete. A pretty good one, at that.

In light of this, it should come as no surprise that I enjoy shooting sports, and Sunday, I had the opportunity to photograph the Southern Miss volleyball team.

Volleyball, I’ve learned, is a complicated sport to shoot. It’s unpredictable in high school, when most teams scramble to simply return the serve or hit, but it’s calculated in college. While the game still partially unpredictable, you have more leeway in shooting because you have the general idea that the team will follow the pass-set-hit sequence to get the ball over the net. And, as someone who played the sport, I have a good idea of what is happening.

These girls didn’t disappoint, and I came out of the day with some pretty good images.

Southern Miss setter Kelsea Seymour (17) sets the ball during the Southern Miss-Rice match Sunday afternoon at the Reed Green Coliseum. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Southern Miss players celebrate after a kill during the Southern Miss-Rice match Sunday afternoon at the Reed Green Coliseum. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

More images can be found on the Hattiesburg American Web site here.

What did you do Sunday afternoon?

Friday afternoon, I was editing images and chatting with my co-workers in our litle photo room when we heard the all-call signal over the scanner. A train had struck a car.

The three of us rushed to the scene to find a partially-smashed car and a stopped Amtrak train that was apparently heading out of town.

We arrived before the paramedics and learned from the throng of bystanders what happened. Luckily, none of the three passengers in the car sustained life-threatening injuries.

The following is one of my favorite images from the wreck, giving a different perspective:

A boy peers beneath the train to look at a wrecked vehicle after it was struck by a westbound Amtrak train around 5 p.m. Friday afternoon near the intersection of 6th Avenue and Railroad Street. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

More images from the wreck can be found at the Hattiesburg American Web site here.

When I arrived at work yesterday afternoon, I had one assignment: marching band practice at Southern Miss. As someone who never played in the marching band, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, other than lots of music and possibly some marching.

I unknowingly arrived 45 minutes early, so I sat on an old bench and chatted with a few of the band members as we waited.

I always find the questions people ask me amusing because, more often than not, they think I’m a kid working for the student newspaper. (And I am totally OK with looking young as long as I continue to age slowly and gracefully and be confused for a 30-year-old at 40. Or something like that.) Did I ever play in the marching band? No, but I played the violin. Did I go to school at USM? No, I was an LSU Tiger. How in the world did I move to Hattiesburg after living in Baton Rouge? I got a job. And so on.

The sunshine came out of the clouds right before 3:30, and the band director made a quip about how it was practice time because of that. And then the music began, color guard girls commenced their practice, and so did the baton twirlers.

I was impressed by the sound and skill of everyone, and I spent nearly 45 minutes documenting their practice. I headed back to the office when dark clouds covered the sun and threatened me staying dry.

The following is one of my favorite images of the day:

Alisha Hogan and other members of the color guard perform a routine Thursday afternoon during the Pride of Mississippi Marching Band practice at the University of Southern Mississippi. The marching band, which has been in existence since 1920, has 260 members and will be marching in next year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

More images can be found at the Hattiesburg American Web site here.

Happy Friday, y’all!

It rained for most of the morning Saturday, making the Heritage EagleMan Triathlona soggy one and getting in and out of the field parking lot a challenge. It was a good day, though, and I heard the weather was perfect for the race itself.

While I ended up being soaked to the bone, I made some nice images. And, as a photographer, that’s really all I can ask for, though I get some hilarious and odd stories from being out on assignment. Trust me.

Here are some of my favorite images from the race itself:

Casey Lee, from Madison, Miss., secures her swim cap Saturday morning before the Heritage EagleMan Triathlon in Lamar County. More than 350 people registered for the event, but only a little more than 250 triathletes actually competed. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Audrey Jackson, 7, grabs her father, Brad Jackson's, hand and they cross the finish line together Saturday morning during the Heritage EagleMan Triathlon in Lamar County. More than 350 people registered for the event, but only a little more than 250 triathletes actually competed. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Paul Steudlein, from Lacombe, La., runs toward the finish line Saturday morning during the Heritage EagleMan Triathlon in Lamar County. More than 350 people registered for the event, but only a little more than 250 triathletes actually competed. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

More images can be found at the Hattiesburg American Web site here.

I left my house around 6:45 this morning to make it to a local triathlon with time to spare. (And boy, was I thankful for that!)

Start time was 8 a.m., and I arrived shortly after 7:30, giving me plenty of time to guide my car through a muddy field (and not get stuck!), wade through said field, snap some preparation photographs, as well as plot what I would do throughout the race. While the light rain made things a little complicated camera-wise and transportation-wise, the cloud cover was a Godsend. I remember sweating at the same event last year because of the sunshine.

I spent a few hours documenting the event, and I ended up turning about 40 images for the paper’s Web site. (Whew!)

The following didn’t make the cut for the Web site, but it is one of my favorite outtakes.

Competitors ride their bicycles during the cycling portion of the Heritage EagleMan Triathlon in Lamar County on Saturday morning. More than 350 people registered for the event, but only a little more than 250 triathletes actually competed. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

More images to come after I get some rest and cheer on my Tigers to victory…