MDA Sports Photography

2011 Photo YEAR IN REVIEW

2012-01-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

2011 in Review - Images by Mark Abbott

Marine training moving on - SOI WEST GRADUATION

2011-11-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

My last post was my oldest son graduating from Parris Island Boot camp in July 2011. On November 2d 2011 he graduated from School of Infantry West at Camp Pendleton Ca. We decided to make the trek west for the event and to celebrate 23 years of marriage. Our home base was Del Mar Ca. where my Brother in law lives, he offered his home as a base for this adventure (more on Del Mar in another post)

before the graduation there was a weapons display of weapons Infantry soldiers were trained on

Some photos from the Graduation Ceremony

[gallery]

After graduation we had 40 minutes with our son before he had to report for the next phase of his training MART (Marines awaiting Recon training) . It was great to see all these fine young men graduate and moving on in their Marine careers. They are an example of all that is good with this generation. They should be an inspiration to us all!!!!

WE MAKE MARINES

2011-11-15T05:21:00.000-08:00

[caption id="attachment_1127" align="alignnone" width="590" caption="Parris Island July 14th 2011 Family day"][/caption]

My oldest son came to us last summer after coming home from college and announced he wanted to join the US Marines. He had expressed interest all through high school in joining the Military,we talked him into trying college first. He did well in college but decided he had no clear Major interest . So instead of throwing money and time at the "American Dream" (OUR DREAM) he entered the DEP of the Marine Corps. Ever since the attacks of 9/11 our son has expressed interest in Military service. He was deeply effected by the attacks and drawn to the commitment of service to our nation. The week of April 18th 2011 he boarded a bus in Raleigh NC bound for Parris Island SC and the toughest basic training in the US Military. Recruits are on Parris Island for 13 weeks, guided and molded by a group of dedicated Drill Instructors.

We left Durham on July 13th to head down to the July 15th graduation of 1st Recruit training Battalion Co Delta, our son had become One of the Few, The Proud, A Marine .

[caption id="attachment_1129" align="alignnone" width="590" caption="Brigadier General Lori Reynolds Commanding General Eastern Recruiting Region Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. Leads Delta Co on Moto Run on Family day July 14th 2011"][/caption]

TOBACCO ROAD Duke vs UNC Mens Basketball

2011-02-15T05:29:00.000-08:00

I got to photograph the recent Duke vs Carolina mens basketball game- great game great rivalry here are some of my photos

"

DUKE vs UNC MBB Jan 9th 2011 ACC - Images by Mark Abbott

Duke mens Basketball vs Boston College

2011-02-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

No. 3 Duke Tops Boston College, 84-68. Curry scored a season-high 20 points in his return to Duke’s starting lineup, leading the third-ranked Blue Devils past Boston College 84-68 on Thursday night. “You’re hitting big shots, you’re having fun out there,” Curry said. “It’s hard not to show it.”

"

Duke vs Boston College ACC MBB Jan 27 2011 - Images by Mark Abbott

DUKE WBB vs Clemson

2011-02-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

No. 3 Duke blows out Clemson, 92-37 at Cameron indoor stadium!!! Jasmine Thomas scored 14 points to help Duke beat Clemson 92-37 on Wednesday night. Tricia Liston added 12 points for the Blue Devils (20-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who got their 14th consecutive win over the Tigers. Krystal Thomas added 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Chloe Wells added 11 points for Duke. Chelsea Gray scored 10 points for the Blue Devils. [slideshow]

Duke vs Maryland WBB 2011

2011-01-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Duke women beat Maryland 71-64 to remain undefeated on the season.

FULL STORY HERE

"

Duke vs Maryland WBB 2011 - Images by Mark Abbott

Duke vs Maryland MBB 2011

2011-01-11T19:14:00.000-08:00

In Dukes win over Maryland -Curry, Thornton Spark 2nd Half Run to give Duke a 71-64 victory

"For a youngster in a game like this not playing in the first half and really he's not in that seven-man rotation for Tyler to play as well as he did tonight is really one of the things that make you love coaching," Krzyzewski said. "That's just a great performance, he had four steals, he took a couple of charges, he played 12 minutes but he gave us energy."

FULL GAME STORY HERE

"

Duke vs Maryland MBB 2011 - Images by Mark Abbott

Duke vs UAB MBB 2011

2011-01-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

Nolan Smith Scores Career-High 33 Points in 85-64 Win Over UAB

Full Story Here

"

Duke vs UAB MBB 2011 - Images by Mark Abbott

NC ART MUSEUM

2011-01-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

Latest

NC ART MUSEUM

i Rate This

Went over to NC Art museum yesterday to take in the Norman Rockwell exhibit and to see new building. Great Rockwell exhibit in the old building ,lots of classics and a timeline of Post covers he did throughout his career. after the exhibit we toured the new building which houses the museums permanent collection. The design of new building is striking inside , great natural light and nice spaces. I took a few pictures outside and have included them here. Next time you are in Raleigh take time to stop at the Art Museum.

"

NC ART MUSEUM DEC29 2010 - Images by Mark Abbott

Oak Island NC weekend away

2010-12-23T05:47:00.000-08:00

My wife and I got the chance top get away to the beach last weekend. Some good friends have recently purchased a house on Oak Island NC. It was great empty beaches for long walks --I love to beach in the winter. Here a re some photos from the trip.

"

Oak Island NC Dec 17th 2010 - Images by Mark Abbott

Strobist Model Shoot

2010-11-22T07:12:00.000-08:00

I did a Strobist shoot over the weekend. Using 3 SB800's one with a home made beauty Dish on it the other had a Soft box and one behind to light back ground.I used Ebay triggers to fire flashes which I did an antenna modification to. I perhaps got the Background light a little hot in a few- But all in all I was happy with the results

No. 1 Duke Drops Miami (Ohio), 79-45

2010-11-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

The top-ranked Blue Devils beat Miami of Ohio 79-45 on Tuesday night with 17 points from Seth Curry and a strong defensive effort that held the RedHawks to 33 percent shooting.

Game story can be found here

More of my Pictures from the Game.

"

NCAA BASKETBALL- Nov 16- Miami (Ohio) at Duke - Images by Mark Abbott

No. 6 Duke beats USC 75-50

2010-11-16T06:31:00.000-08:00

Jasmine Thomas scored 14 points to help No. 6 Duke defeat Southern California 75-50 on Monday night for McCallie’s 400th career victory.
“I don’t know if that’s good or bad or what that is,” McCallie said. “I just hope there’s many more.
“I have been blessed with a lot of great people to work with,” she added. “In 19 years of coaching, there have been a lot of great staff members and a lot of great players. It makes it fun.”
"

DUke vs USC WBB 2010 - Images by Mark Abbott

No. 1 Duke Routs Princeton, 97-60, in Season Opener

2010-11-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

Nolan Smith scored 22 points and the Blue Devils forced 27 turnovers in a season-opening 97-60 rout of the Tigers on Sunday in the first round of the CBE Classic. Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson had this to say about Duke "I don't know how many teams are going to be able to play with" Duke, Johnson said. "There might be 10 teams in the country that can handle all the things that they throw at you. So, good luck to those guys, because Duke's pretty good."

Here are a few of my Photos from the game

"

DUKE vs PRINCETON NCAA MBB 2010 - Images by Mark Abbott

DUKE vs BYU WOMENS BASKETBALL

2010-11-15T03:50:00.000-08:00

No. 6 Duke Tops BYU, 69-54, in Season Opener at Cameron Indoor stadium Durham NC. Dukes head coach Joanne P. McCallie had this to say after the game. “It was a great, hard-fought battle,” Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “I’m very pleased our team was able to take them out of the rhythm of their game because they’re very, very good. I’m going to project them as the Mountain West winners this year. I liked our team’s fight. Jasmine getting 11 rebounds and nine defensive, that talks to a certain alertness on the floor.
Here is a slide show of more pictures from the game.
"

DUKE vs BYU NCAA WBB - Images by Mark Abbott

DUKE VS BOSTON COLLEGE NCAA FOOTBALL

2010-11-14T06:45:00.000-08:00

Duke comes up short 21-16 as Boston College holds on for the win in front of 21,420 fans at Wallace Wade Stadium.

"

duke vs Boston college NCAA MFootball - Images by Mark Abbott

DUKE WOMENS BASKETBALL DEFEATS CARSON-NEWMAN

2010-11-12T17:50:00.001-08:00

The Duke women's basketball team had seven players score in the double figures as the Blue Devils downed Carson-Newman, 121-65, Sunday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Duke's final exhibition game of year.The Blue Devils controlled the game beginning, pushing their lead to 20-0 in the first seven minutes. The Blue Devils closed out the half with a 30-17 run, taking a 62-29 lead into the locker room at halftime. WORDPRESS BLOG

Favorite Sports Photos

2010-11-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

I have put together a slide show of some of my favorite sports shots over the last year. I have had the pleasure of covering some wonderful sports teams in the Durham NC area.

"

Favorites - Images by Mark Abbott

DUKE MENS BASKETBALL VS Cal Poly Pomona

2010-11-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

Duke took a 6point lead into the locker room at halftime against a tough Cal Poly team. A second half scoring frenzy pushed Dukes lead to 31. Dukes head coach Mike Krzyzewski stated during post game press conference-I've told you right from the start, we're going to be a developing team, we're not going to hold anybody scoreless, we are going to be down in games, we are going to look bad, and overall we're going to try to get better." Here are a few photos from the game.

"

Duke vs Cal-Poly NCAA MBB - Images by Mark Abbott

Quick Strobist Portrait session

2010-11-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

I did a quick portrait session for a friend last night. Basic setup Grey paper background, sb800 in soft box camera right, sb800 beauty dish camera left and sb28 as hair light. Flashes fired by cactus triggers. Here are a few photos from shoot.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL -Alabama rolls over Duke

2010-11-08T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Crimson tide rolled into Wallace Wade stadium saturday

Looked like the aftermath of a Tsunami when the Crimson Tide pulled out of town. It was great opportunity to photograph a top ranked football team in action. Here are few shots from the game. Halftime score was 45-13 BAMA Final score 62 -13

Belle Cher 2010

2010-09-01T12:43:00.001-07:00

We went to Asheville NC for the Belle Cher arts festival this past weekend . Great city with great old buildings

Duke Gardens

2010-06-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

Living in Durham we have Duke Gardens at our door step. A great place to get out and walk take in the flowers.

these photos are from a walk last week

Dream Realized

2010-06-10T09:02:00.001-07:00

My wife and I have been looking for land in Western NC for quite a few years. It is a place we enjoy all 4 seasons of the year. We have recently made an offer to purchase 21.5 acres in the Bethel Community outside of boone, offer has been accepted and paper work will be finalized next week.

Here are a few Pictures