Red belts

Alex and I were awarded red belts in Krav Maga last Thursday. If white is a 1, and the black belt is is a 10, this is an 8. Next comes half red/half black; then the black belt in hopefully another 12-18 months. Congrats to the students who survived the tests yesterday to earn their brown belts. Pictures are here.

Some of the best things in life are red

It took less than a minute for word to get around, that we had restocked the bird feeder. Snow here is up to about 14 inches.

This was a studio session at America's Best Defense in North Easton, MA. I shot pictures of three instructors and some of the advanced students in action. This is a mix of self-defense moves and karate jumps and kicks. Thanks for a fun photo shoot to all who were involved! Pictures are here.

Congrats to Payal and Mohit

Congrats to Payal and Mohit, who were married in Boston, recently. More photos are here.

A kick to the head...

This was another Krav Maga brown belt test. This class ranged in age from mid-twenties to over 60; all of them tough and well-trained students! The test involves a review of about 18 months of Krav Maga curriculum, including self-defense tactics, about 6 different combinations of kicks and punches and a couple of tests of endurance. You have to run a mile and complete 75 push-ups; 50 of them non-stop. After this, they sparred for about 30 minutes, changing partners every minute or so. You sleep well at night after a workout like this. More stills and video are here.

Congratulations to Mohini

Congratulations to Mohini, who recently celebrated her arangetram in Sharon, Massachusetts. Thanks for the pleasure of being there and shooting the dance event. Pictures are here.

Congratulations to Nupur

Congratulations to Nupur, who celebrated her arangetram recently, in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. I was honored to invited to photograph the event. Pictures are here.

leehammondphotography.com

The domain squatters have pulled the home page from leehammondphotography.com. Please go to leehammondphotographer.com until we can move it to a new server. Please never use HostOnce as a domain host. They are bad for business and are refusing to release my domain name.

Congrats to Beccy & Michael

I was invited to the wedding reception of Beccy and Michael yesterday. I am friends with Beccy's parents, so I have known her since she was..ummm...very small indeed. They didn't have a pro photog covering the event but they did have lots of people with cameras; and some crazy idea for people to download their images before they left. Here are some choice images. As you can see, Beccy really doesn't like to be the center of attention.

Sensei Tiano photo session

This is Sensei Tiano from America's Best Defense in North Easton, MA. This was a 10 minute session [including setting up the lights], so I was shooting as quickly as possible, in between classes. After we had the easy shots, I wanted some cool action pictures. I asked him for some kicks or jumps and he explained that he wasn't really warmed up and didn't want to damage any muscles. So this is not a full-action Axe kick? No, not very high at all. More here

Spring in MA

A 10 minute garden session with the G9. I notice I am not sneezing like last year. More pictures here

Old man in the park

My sister joked that this immortalized our Dad, in Sefton Park in Liverpool. It is too good a likeness to walk past and not photograph! To be fair, he didn't have that bump in his nose. More Spring pictures here. Make a mental note to keep shaving at least once a week.

Arangetram session

Many thanks to Veena Teli, again, for arranging this photo session. Thanks for Mohin for being a very patient model and to her Mum, who wanted to pay me a second time! Pictures are here

Rang Pravesam studio session

Here are Photos from a recent studio session for a Rang Pravesam publicity session. Thanks to Prafulla Velury for her help with dance positions and Sailaja Chaudhary for her excellent make-up skills.

Viva la Evolucion

Evolucionistas! Buy one now from here

Muchas Gracias, Senor Torres

Snow in England? No, really, the optimism continues. Liverpool beat Chelsea today, for the second time this season. After dominating possession for most of the second half, we saw some magical play from Fernando Torres. This photograph was taken by Fiona Hammond. I am sure the ground was shaking as she took it. If you can't read it, it says Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0.

Optimism...

Bruce Springsteen:

"I spent most of my life as a musician measuring the distance between the American dream and American reality. For many... the distance between that dream and their reality has never been greater or more painful. I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and work. I believe he understands in his heart the cost of that distance in blood and suffering in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president he would work to bring that dream back to life.

"So I don't know about you, but I want my country back, I want my dream back. Now is the time to stand together with Barack Obama and Joe Biden and the millions of Americans that are hungry for a new day, roll up our sleeves and come on up for the rising."