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:

…

What are you passionate about in your line of work?

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?

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…

I jetted throughout the Pine Belt last Saturday, shooting the preparations for this weekend’s EagleMan Triathlon, Barkfest, then the Mobile Street Renaissance Festival. No, it’s not the traditional kind of Renaissance festival, including turkey legs on a stick and medieval costumes, but people gather together on this particular street, spending time outdoors, walking, checking out vendors, eating delicious food and all-in-all enjoying themselves. (In fact, it kind of reminds me of the Cooper-Young Festival in Memphis…)

It was a weekend of fests (and I wasn’t able to attend one of them because I was so swamped!), and I loved it.

First, we have one of my favorite images from the Renaissance Festival.

Dana Milner paints a rainbow on 2-year-old Alexandria Dungy's cheek at the Enchanted Realms Facepainting booth Saturday afternoon during the Mobile Street Renaissance Festival. The event, held yearly on Mobile Street, features music, food, crafts and activities for children. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

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

Another event I shot was the preparations for this upcoming weekend’s triathlon in Lamar County.

I used to be a sporty girl in high school, lettering in two varsity sports, but since I went to college, the sporty-ness went downhill. Unless you count my two season stint with the college newspaper’s basketball team… We won our first game in THREE YEARS the last game of my first season with them. Sad, but true… But there is something about these triathlons that piques my interest.

No, I’m not a runner. No, I haven’t swum in years. I haven’t picked up a bicycle in a long time, either.

But something about these events makes me want to be active. Something about these events makes me want to give it a go, even if I fall on my face. Some of the people I met last weekend setting up were trying to convince me to sign up for a triathlon, train for it and document it via a column in the newspaper every week or month.

While I don’t know if this will come to fruition, I made some nice images Saturday morning and look forward to spending tomorrow morning out on the course. If nothing else, it will be fun. And a learning experience.

Here is one of my favorite setting up images from last Saturday:

Chris Boyd, from Hattiesburg, places orange fencing on the ground to outline the bicycle area Saturday morning at the Heritage subdivision in Lamar County. Volunteers gathered to prepare the course for next weekend's EagleMan Triathlon. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

More images here.

Sunday, I photographed two church events: a groundbreaking at Parkway Heights UMC and First Baptist held the first service in its new sanctuary.

What did YOU do last weekend?

I know, I know. I’m a week(ish) late on this post, but things have been busy in Mississippi. Not only have I entirely moved out of one apartment and into another (with relatively little mess), I have also been working full-time, dodging overthrown footballs AND been offered wine on assignment (and turned it down) at 1 p.m. from a native New Orleanian.

I photographed the North Forrest-Sumrall matchup last Friday night.

Most of the area games were delayed or cancelled due to a HUGE front of thunderstorms rolling through the area about an hour before the games kicked off. Luckily, my game only started 20 minutes behind schedule, and I was able to stay for the entire first quarter before heading back to the newsroom to submit my photographs.

Since the game started a little late, I took the time to make some feature images.

North Forrest wait beneath the concession stand before the North Forrest-Sumrall game Friday night at North Forrest High School. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

North Forrest cheerleaders Emily Patton, left, 16, and Laykin Posey, 16, hang a sign before the North Forrest-Sumrall game Friday night at North Forrest High School. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

You can check out more images from the waiting and the actual game at the Hattiesburg American Web site.

This past week has been pretty crazy, work-wise AND personally.

Want to know why?

Check out all these links and photo galleries. I think they explain it all.

Miss Hospitality pageant photos (here and here)
First Tee of the Pine Belt celebration (here)
Regina Adams appreciation at Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist (here)
Body found in apartment (here) –> This was a surprise Sunday afternoon, and now knowing what happened makes it pretty crazy.
PCS teachers prepare for school (here)
NFHS football community service (here)
First day of school at the DuBard School (here)

And last but not least, Sumrall football practice.

Sumrall High School player Brian Hartfield (12) dives to catch a pass Wednesday afternoon during practice. (Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

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

What have you been up to recently?

When I was a kid, I remember spending HOURS at a local baseball/softball complex during the summertime. I played on church teams from the time I was in first grade until my sophomore year of high school, which led to numerous nights at the ballpark, countless dinners from the concession stand and one ice-cold Coca Cola after every game, win or lose.

This week, I have already spent about five hours at the new baseball complex photographing the Dixie Youth Baseball South State Tournament. (Whew! Long name!) While I captured a lot of fantastic game action, one of my favorite images from the evening was snapped during the downtime between games.

I knew I had to find a feature image, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to shoot for it. Sure, there were lots of kids warming up. Sure, parents were sitting in the stands cheering. Sure, there is a huge mister machine, and some kids were bound to be around it. But when I walked out from one of the four fields, I noticed a little girl hanging wooden stars on the back of the bleachers before her brother’s game started.

The following image of her is my favorite from the evening:

Maggie Hogan, 8, hangs stars for the Petal team before the Petal-Marion County game Monday night at Tatum Park. (Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

More photos from the tournament can be seen at the Hattiesburg American Web site. (Click it! The link takes you directly to the photo gallery!)

I worked this weekend, and like any other, it was busy, busy, busy.

Friday night, I was called out to a HUGE house fire. (True story: I could see the smoke from my apartment.)

Hattiesburg firefighters battle a blaze Friday night at a house on North 39th Avenue. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

Saturday morning, I attended the Juneteenth festival and celebration at a local park.

Myron Lott snaps a photo of his son, Camron, 6, as he rides the swings Saturday morning at the annual Juneteenth celebration and festival at Vernon Dahmer Park. Juneteenth celebrates the historical June 18, 1864 signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

And Saturday afternoon, I hiked it over to the local skate park to photograph its first competition.

Dylan Johnson, 12, from Helena, Ala., competes in the beginner division Saturday afternoon during the Petal Skate Park's first competition. (Photo by Erin Parker / The Hattiesburg American)

And today? Well, I shot baseball and weather art today.

All in all, a good, productive and HOT weekend.