John Boal Photography

Once summer rolls around, many of the assignments you are used to shooting aren’t there anymore because school is out, and people are on vacation. So instead, you find yourself searching community centers, pools…etc for interesting pictures. Sometimes you find them, and sometimes there isn’t anything to be found and you just make it up. For those not on the east coast, it’s really hot. It is so hot, the A/C in the car doesn’t work unless it’s past 2. The sun just blasts away any feeble dribbling of cool air that whispers out of the vents. So you crank it, until you are cold, then turn it to 1, realizing a minute later you may as well turn it back to 2 or 3, and point the vents into the vacant space around your body, trying to create some cool environment in the car, and not so much blast icy air onto your face or chest. I’ve become pretty adept at figuring out the best positioning of vents to achieve that goal. I’ve also become quite adept at finding shade in a parking lot, or if ther...

I haven’t posted in a bit, and it’s generally the same reason as always. I decided I didn’t like anything from the past several weeks to post. But often times, several weeks pass, and an opportunity presents itself for reflecting on the work you’ve done, and you are pleasantly surprised. The school year is finished, but between the last weeks of May and the first couple of June, my days are full with sports. Player of the year for this, playoffs for that. And knowing I’m not much of a sports photographer, I brushed aside any of my work from this period, assuming it not blog-worthy. Lo and behold! As I corralled my work for the quarterly VA News Photog. Assoc. contest, I found what I thought to be several interesting photos. Many of which, unfortunately, went unpublished. But that doesn’t deter me, because I know what I’m doing, even if the publisher does not. And my personal progress is ultimately what matters in this context. Naturally, I hope these are interesting to you, t...

Greetings! Here is my annual These-Kids-Are-Either-Really-Bored-or-Tired-or-Anxious-or-Both at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC. I generally had yet another good time at the Bee. It's a great time to run into other photographers I haven't seen in months, and drink tons of free coffee and eat free pastries. Last year I posted much of the same. I find these things to be highly amusing, since, for many of these kids, this is as close as it gets to "Prime Time" as they'll ever get, and here they are being kids. They are bored waiting for everyone to finish. Or they are incredibly anxious. Or both. So when people yawn, or stretch, or rub their eyes, it's funny to me. At the very least, it provides entertainment, or a challenge for the 99% of the time I'm actually waiting for the one person I'm there to photograph. Enjoy, until next year....

Recently I had the privelege of photographing Brandon DeLaney, a local kid who's put some of his own stuff online, via Youtube, called "Imma Champion", in addition to the song(s) he has on iTunes. Just another example of why the music industry is in better shape than ever for the consumer. Not so much for the recording industry, mind you. But with people like this, the creative possibilities are endless. And this is from someone who records out of his tiny Manassas townhouse bedroom. This is why bands like Animal Collective and LCD Soundystem exist. Because record companies no longer hold sway over what we can record or purchase. Thank you technology. Because with you, artists like these can create, and people like me can blog about it. The problem of course, rests with sifting through all the crappy noise. As a musician or as a photographer that means distancing yourself from the competition. Somehow being able to brand yourself 'special' is worth it's weight...

I recently had the opportunity to travel to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to photograph some veterans playing wheelchair basketball. I met some men who sacrificed body and limb to be in Iraq, only to step on a homemade explosive device and just like that, both legs and part of their left hand is gone. They were going through a kind of therapy, playing sports, trying to regain some semblance of “normal” into their lives. Prosthetics have come a long way, and in no way are these men incapable of getting around and leading relatively normal lives. Nor are they, as evidenced by what I had seen, unable to enjoy themselves, albeit differently than before, by playing sports like wheelchair basketball. But there is no way to spend three hours in a gym with a dozen amputees without calling into question the whole of it. I understand the broader goals of making a better world for those less fortunate than ourselves. But I wonder if future generations will ever figure out how to resol...

Nothing much to say with this post other than they are a collection of what I've been up to over the past few weeks. Players' of the year, and spring sports previews. Here are some of my faves... Freedom-Woodbridge. Tiera Williams, shot put, track preview Forest Park. Jorge Mendez, Wrestler of the year. Ariel Karabinus, winter track Athlete of the year Forest Park. Paul Boehme, soccer preview Potomac. Justin Burrell, hoops player of the year. Woodbridge. Tyler Thomas. Top-rated sophomore in Virginia, Baseball preview. and finally, Stonewall Jackson. Jerry Budd, Spring Track Preview.

I just got back from Richmond, Va where I checked out the Virginia News Photographer's Association yearly get-together. Mostly it was judging of photographs from all around the state. It is a weird feeling, however, when they see your image(s) and say "out". Or even stranger when they comment on how much better your essay would have been if... But, I did win an HM for one of my photos, though. It was in the portrait category. It is of Amber, Miss ODS. She was part of a slideshow I did on the PWC Fair last August. Check the link here : http://media.gatewayva.com/isn/slideshow/Fair2009/publish_to_web/indexpix.htm