Eric Bellamy's Blog

Cirque du Soleil

ericbellamy — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:22:26 +0000

I love shooting gymnasts/acrobats! In many ways I think that they are the best examples of what the human body is capable of. They are a combination of raw strength, endurance and flexibility. Unfortunately I had less than an hour to shoot them rehearsing before the opening night show at the Budweiser Events Center.

As always thanks for taking a look!

National Western Stock Show

ericbellamy — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:00:25 +0000

I shot the National Western again this year. Its always a feast for the eyes and tons of fun to photograph. Thanks for Looking.

Return

ericbellamy — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:12:32 +0000

So it has been over a year since I blogged last. I am not even totally sure why, though it does seem to coincide with the time that my daughter started crawling. Then her brother arrived last summer sooooo. We’ll see what happens when he starts walking.

So I think I’ll talk about the weather. I shot this photo yesterday after working my why around two road blocks to shoot an 18 car pile up on the highway. This poor guy was still a bit shaken up by the wreck. The scratches and bruises on his head are proof that this was no fender bender. I froze my butt off shooting this but that is nothing compared to what he went through.

ICE Raid Vigil

ericbellamy — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:27:52 +0000

This past weekend we had a vigil here in Greeley on the anniversary of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on the local meet packing plant. I was not working in Greeley at the time, but I heard about the raids. When I started here at the Tribune the ripples were still being felt six months later.

Families were torn apart as hundreds were arrested. Some were deported or jailed and others are still waiting for their day in court. The vigil was held in front of the Al Frente de la Lucha (At the Front of the Fight) community center in north Greeley.

Thanks for looking,

Day Before Thanksgiving Feast

ericbellamy — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:57:49 +0000

The annual First Assembly of God Day Before Thanksgiving Feast serves thousands in the community who need a warm meal, a jacket, care package or just companionship. This was the first time that I have shot the event and was amazed at how many people showed up for the meal and donations. Diners ran the range of emotions from proud to embarrassed to grateful and everywhere in between. I hope to cover this event again next year, it was a very moving experience.

State Volleyball Reaction

ericbellamy — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:08:37 +0000

I shot state volleyball on Saturday in Denver. I had a lot of fun shooting the highs and lows of the two teams I was covering. Especially Savannah Garcia #1 of Valley High School. Having covered her team earlier in the year and knew that she really gets into it. She plays with so much heart, every point is so important. It was sad to see her team lose in the finals. I could have just done a blog on her alone but I threw in a few others from the day. Enjoy.

Metals Collector

ericbellamy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:17:14 +0000

I had driven by Paul Ansley many times. The first couple times he was just some guy picking up cans on the side of the road. Around the third or fourth time I saw him in yet another spot collecting metal I knew there had to be a story there:

You may have seen him as you went flying by on U.S. 85 or U.S. 34: An elderly man in a bright orange hat and yellow reflective vest walking along the side of the road or bent at the waist in the median.
Five or six days a week, 85-year-old Paul Ansley of Kersey makes a small living picking up aluminum cans and other bits and pieces of metal. He can make anywhere from $2 to $40 a day filling buckets with metal.
As a young man during the Great Depression, Ansley drove cattle for 50 cents a day. He couldn’t afford lunch, but a neighbor of the ranch he worked at would let him pull peaches and plums from the trees along the road.
Ansley’s father taught him the value of hard work, telling him, “Don’t ask for nothing.” He’s retired from ranching, but Ansley still heads out for a workweek of cleaning up metal from the roadside.
Looking at a pile of garbage dumped beside the highway, Ansley says, “If I knew who did this I’d pack it up and take it to them.” He says that it would be better if more people went and picked up trash along the roadways. “Our country would be a prettier place.”

Mary and Rett Syndrome

ericbellamy — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:11:08 +0000

Caption: After receiving her tickets to meet Toby Keith Mary Kimmel, 8, sits in her wheel chair in front of her family’s home north east of Nunn. Mary has Rett syndrome a neurodevelopment disorder that strikes only girls and can lead to an early death.

Mary Kimmel was born with Rett Syndrome. The neurodevelopment disorder prevents her from maturing like a normal child her age. She can walk with help but spends most of her time in a wheel chair or her own miniature recliner. The disease means Mary will need care and assistance for the rest of her life, which can last any where from 18-50 years.

I shoot a ton of pictures in a week and frankly a lot of the people I meet don’t make an indelible impression on me. Mary and her family on the other hand will stay with me for ever. Being a new father I think the story had more impact on me as I imagined how well I would do if my daughter had Rett Syndrome.

Her family is amazing. They take Mary to school everyday, take her on camping and fishing trips and interact with her like any other member of the family. I know that is how it is supposed to be, but imagine having an eight-year-old that behaves like an infant. I find an infant who behaves like an infant challenging enough.

Please enjoy the photos and let me know what you think…

ericbellamy — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:29:44 +0000

So I’ve fallen behind a bit on my posts. The problem is that I have been shooting a lot lately and working on getting the photos to my clients. I guess that isn’t really a problem.

So a few weeks ago I shot some photos for Winter Park Resort. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and we did not get the sunset we were hoping for. So we put some warming gels on the lights and did our best to duplicate a mountain sunset. Weather problems aside I had a great time and I look forward to seeing them in use.

Thanks for looking!

Dog Show

ericbellamy — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:45:15 +0000

Rushing to get their Portuguese water dogs ready for the Greeley Kennel Club Dog Show are from left, Colton Johnson, Heather Johnson, Katie Mazurowski, Carrie Johnson, and Candace Mallette all of Colorado Springs on Saturday at at Island Grove Regional Park. Showing and breading dogs is the family business for the Johnsons, they also run two kennels in Colorado Springs.

I had a rare opportunity to spend the better part of my day at a dog show two weeks ago. These days it is rare that I get more than an hour to shoot an assignment. This time I shot for over five hours and I think my best photos came towards the end of the day. At some point I stopped the scramble for graphic or colorful photos and really started watching the people and the dogs. That is when I started making my best photos of the day. Possibly the most fun I have had shooting in several months.

Thanks for looking!