7/8 - Five hundred, ninety-five

Jim Thome, one of the most friendliest guy in baseball and also one of the most consistent hitter of this ERA, is quietly making his way toward the 600-homer mark, a record that only seven players has reached in the 120+ years of Major League Baseball.

When I was shooting at Target Field, I had the privilege of capturing his 595th home run. The reason why I chose to shoot from the first base side because I want to see his face watching the ball soar out of the park while jogging down the first base line and I think I captured it perfectly.







7/8 - Rochester Red Wings No-Hitter

When I heard at first that the Red Wings threw a no-hitter, I was pretty upset that I missed the game. But I got a wonderful opportunity to do a little private photo shoot with the four pitchers who combined for the no-hitter the next day. Here's some top images from the shoot:

Starter Jeff Manship threw four innings in his first game off the disabled list

Jake Stevens provided three strong innings in the middle of the game to preserve the no-hitter

Set-up man Kyle Waldrop came in the 8th inning and silenced the opposing team's bats

Fireballer Jim Hoey closed out the no-hitter in the 9th inning

(L to R): Jeff Manship, Jake Stevens, catcher Jair Fernandez, Kyle Waldrop and Jim Hoey

(L to R): Jeff Manship, Jake Stevens, Kyle Waldrop and Jim Hoey. The balls reprsents the innigs pitched for each pitcher

(L to R): Jeff Manship, Jake Stevens, Kyle Waldrop and Jim Hoey

(L to R): Kyle Waldrop, Jake Stevens, Jeff Manshiop and Jim Hoey

(L to R): Jim Hoey, Jeff Manship, Kyle Waldrop and Jake Stevens

7/5 - Their training wings come off, now a Twin.

Glen Perkins came in and struck out two batters to notch his first career save

Ben Revere connects for a single in the 8th inning

Ben Revere rushes toward home plate

Anthony Swarzak on the mound

Anthony Swarzak delivers in the 6th inning 

Rene Tosoni rounds third base after his go-ahead homer

Rene Tosoni (23) is greeted at the plate by Danny Valencia (19) and the hefty veteran Jim Thome (25) after a homer

Danny Valencia rips a 2-run double

Danny Valencia at third base

Danny Valencia at-bat

7/1 - St. Louis Arch

I meant to post this right after the Cubs-Cards post, but I missed it. Oh well.

Anyway, when I was in St. Louis during the first weekend of June, I visited the Arch for the umpteenth time, but first time as an "experienced" photographer, so here's some of the best shots of the day.


A video played about the construction of the Arch while we were waiting for the elevators to the top




This picture looks pretty "presidential" to me, don't ya think? 

7/1 - Jedi Master Joe Nathan

I'm sure Twins closer Joe Nathan had NO IDEA at all what he was expecting when he was sent from Minnesota to AAA Rochester on a rehab assignment. He didn't know that a Star Wars jersey was waiting for him in his locker in the clubhouse. I spoke to him and asked what he thought of the jerseys. He said that you just gotta love the minor leagues.





He really is a great guy to be around. Before and after each game when he was in Rochester, he'd spend about 20-30 minutes signing autographs and chatting with the fans and the front office staff. I'm grateful that I got an autographed baseball from him. 

And he has a world-class smile as well :-)

7/1 - May the Force Be With You

You gotta love the minor leagues. Seriously.

The Rochester Red Wings had a Star Wars night at their stadium and the players wore Star Wars jerseys ON the field! In my honest opinion, when I first heard of it, I was against it. But after a while, I realized it's only the minor leagues and they'll only wear the jerseys for one game, so I'm all for it. They actually looked pretty good in it too!!





Don't ask me how they got the lightsaber working in our universe. I didn't see George Lucas around, so yeah...

7/1 - Ontario Beach

During one weekend of June, my friends and I decided to hit up the beach on a hot sweltering day. Here's a few highlights from that day. Nothing fancy.

Yup. The girls made me into a mermaid while the kids watched in the background. Photo credit: Maria Nikolaou

Our pet bird, Squawk. Got the name from Maria.

Where's the Corona Beer?

Speeding along....

Charlie the duck. If you don't get this, you are NOT a 90's kid AT ALL. 

7/1 - Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals (early June)

Hey guys,

Sorry this took me a while get this up on here. I've been pretty busy this month, dealing with classes and work and just enjoying the beautiful summer days.

Anyway, during the first weekend of June, I got tickets to the Cubs-Cardinals game in St. Louis and they were great seats, so I brought my camera along and you know what happened there :-)