celebrity

2010 Remembered

Published December 31, 2010 | By micheleeve

Looking back at 2010, wow what a year! From the awesome people I met, new friendships I made and unfortunately some really good friends I lost along the way. There were many lessons learned and even a few taught. I moved 3 times in 2010 and couldn’t tell you how fast pace my life has been. I even broke a couple of bones along the way. I actually think it was work and staying creative that kept me well…let’s just say.

In 2010 I shot well over 100 events which don’t include other photography work I have done. Out of those events there are some that stand out more than others. Probably the Super bowl had the strongest memories for me and breaking the unprecedented record with The Palm Beach Post with my coverage of the event.

I remember my phone nonstop ringing with agencies wanting the photos from the Super bowl. The main celebrity shots being Angelina, Brad and their son as well as the other 40 or so celebrities I photographed that day, mainly A list. This day was far more than an event; it was a 12 hour adventure that actually started with a hotdog at the game and finished with one but everything in between can’t be compared.

Events leading up to The Super bowl were also very special to me. I was very excited to photograph and meet Mike Ditka and all the other powerful sports legends that I grew up with who attended his charity event. The entertainment at the event was Jamie Foxx who played the piano and hosted. I stayed in front of the piano the whole time during his performance, photographing and listening to him. I was a very happy camper that evening.

I had the opportunity to cover mostly every type of pro sporting event this past year and they all were exciting. The three athletes that stood out the most for me in order was Dwyane Wade playing basketball, Phil Dalhausser in Men’s Volleyball and John McEnroe in tennis. The first two athletes are just simply amazing to watch. They are like watching Baryshnikov at the theatre, just superior athletes. McEnroe, was pure and simply McEnroe. Cursing, complaining and carrying on. Yes, and extremely entertaining. I look forward to photographing him again in February.

Polo, what can I say, it was a great season and so happy to be part of it. Photographing some of the top Polo players in the world and their supporters of the game made Sunday’s a good day to go to work.

The sport of car racing was so exciting but I actually think I enjoyed photographing the team at The Pit Stops the most. There is so much adrenaline and excitement when the racecar enters the pit stop. It is really mesmerizing to watch. For me it was pure photojournalism.

Many people have asked me, you need to make time for yourself to do some personal shooting. At every event I shoot, there are moments I personally shoot what I want The Commissioning of The Jason Dunham and photographing The Allure of The Seas are perfect examples. As a photojournalist The Commissioning of The Jason Dunham was a very moving event for me to shoot. I was also honored to be the exclusive photographer the day before the Commissioning to photographing the whole ship in detail. Some of those moments that I viewed and photographed will never leave me. The Allure Of The Seas – Loading the new ship was just plain fun to document. Life size candy canes and Nutcrackers and bomb dogs watching on.

Concerts this year really rocked! The usual three song photography limit plainly sucks! But I have been lucky this season, most concerts I have shot have gone beyond that to most going through the whole concert. Not all concerts were rosy and pink to shoot, especially shooting through glass at one venue. Yes we buy minimum $2000 glass to shoot through more glass. What are people thinking? That’s when it’s time to use a little resourcefulness.

I had several favorite concerts to shoot but all in all I always look forward to covering Think Pink Rocks, with Akon, Flo rida and several other very talented artists. The moment Akon dives into the crowd I am there to photograph him from on stage. It’s always a blast.

I could go on and on from other Charity events including wild animals, Le Bron James, ex Presidents, governors, Lady Gaga, pregnant Celine Dion, to drag queens, tattoo shows but I think I will wrap it up for now. It has been all and all an exciting year and met some amazing people along the way. It’s time for new adventures, new stories to tell, winning shots to create and new friends to make in 2011. Some photos from 2010 remembered.