Betsy Dynako Photo Blog

K-3 Drama at the Board

2011-06-06T13:51:00.015-05:00

While directing at the National Youth Action Chess Tournament in November of 2009, I snapped this shot. From time to time, I would wear a camera around my neck during play. As I was busy tending to chess matters, I often snapped a shot without even looking through the view finder. This is a skill that is worth perfecting, but with multiple lenses and different focal depths, it does take some time to get right. Brendan Duffy, seen in this photo having a cry at the board, was literally shot from the hip.

I was called to the board by Duffy’s opponent to solve a touch move dispute. Touch Move is a rule in tournament play that states the player must move the first piece he touched. It's a rule that is often invoked yet rarely enforced, because it is difficult to determine whether the rule was violated, unless the the violation was witnessed by a director or the guilty player confesses.

Duffy’s opponent, who was playing white, told me black had picked up his queen, captured one of white’s pieces and then white captured the black’s queen. Duffy protested, saying he moved his queen to a different square from which white could not capture it. The opponent did not relent, and Duffy burst into tears. I then asked Duffy to show me what he did. Often a player will claim one thing then when asked to reenact the move will show something contrary -- the truth.

I reminded Duffy of the rules, after which his crying increased. I handed him several tissues and gave him a moment to pull himself together. I returned the pieces on the board to the correct position then let Duffy know he could make his move when he felt ready. I took a result from another game two boards down then looked back to see if he had moved. Before I could study the game, Duffy's opponent’s hand flew up and he locked eyes with me.

I returned to the board and Duffy's opponent told me Duffy wouldn’t move. I reminded the opponent that he had a lot of time and would make his move when he was ready. He retorted, “If he is just going to cry then I should win.” Duffy’s nearly dried tears became newly wet as he let out a cry of pain at the thought that he would lose. After talking both players down, I left them to finish the game but not before I decided to capture the moment and snapped the shot.

I passed by the game several times during the round, and while Duffy was still putting the tissues I gave him to use, he was making regular moves. As the games around me drew on and my camera became heavier around my neck, I decided it was time to put it away. As I placed the camera into its bag, I took a look at the photo of the crying little boy. I was happy to see I was able to get a clean shot, but I felt bad for capturing a child in misery. How could I ever let others see this picture? I felt that I must be heartless to sneak a picture of a kid crying over a game of chess.

Before much longer Duffy’s hand went up, and I hurried over to his board. He was smiling, but his opponent was not. Duffy had checkmated -- a clear clean mate -- and won the game. I was happy for him, and I was also happy for myself. Since the story of the photo now had a happy ending, I didn’t have to feel guilty about sharing it.
Side Note: This was only the third USCF-rated tournament Duffy played in. He was one of 130 children playing in the Kindergarten through third grade section. He finished 88th over all with four wins out of nine games.

Shaking Hands with History

2011-05-05T17:12:00.007-05:00

Shaking hands with history. That is what I had the honor to do at the end of an all-too-brief photo shoot with retired Federal Judge George Leighton of Chicago. At age 98, he has retained several text books worth of history in his head, with many chapters that could easily be written about him.

Judge Leighton entered Howard University at age 24, no small feat after dropping out of school in the 7th grade to work on an oil tanker. One of the jobs he held during his undergraduate years was working in a kitchen where he peeled potatoes. On Saint Patrick’s Day 1936, Leighton came upon a potato into which he could not get his knife. He soon realized he was actually trying to peel a rock impersonating a potato. He promised himself he would keep that potato rock on his desk someday as a reminder of the hard work he had done. The potato peeling didn’t go on forever, just as he predicted, and Leighton graduated with honors and went on to study and graduate from Harvard Law School in 1946.

Leighton made a name for himself after graduation by defending civil rights cases. Ironically, he once found himself in the defendant’s chair. That experience was one he never forgot and it served to influence him on the bench. Unlike some judges, Leighton said he took it seriously whenever someone claimed to be not guilty, for he had once stood wrongly accused himself.

In 1964, Leighton earned his first judgeship when he because the Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County (1964-1969). Later he severed as a Judge of the Appellate Court (1969-1976). In 1976 Leighton become the first African American Federal Judge when he was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois. Though Judge Leighton "retired" at age 75, he has continued to practice law in Chicago for the past 23 years. He has been staunchly opposed to the death penalty and has taken on many death penalty cases in Illinois. It was a joyous day for him this year when the death penalty was finally laid to rest. Perhaps this is why during my meeting with Leighton he claimed the current case he was working would be his last.

The Honorable Judge George Leighton has undoubtedly earned himself a full retirement. I wish him good health and joyous times with his family and friends for many more years. I hope this blog entry has inspired you to learn more about the Judge and to look around for living history in your midst. Of course, you could just go out and make some history yourself ;)

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

2011-03-29T12:07:00.016-05:00

Generally when a movie comes to Chicago for filming it is kept on the down low. It isn’t unusual for films to shoot under assumed names, hide props from the public and avoid the press. However, when "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon" came to the Windy City to film in the summer of 2010, it was no secret.

During the hot months of summer, fans posed with the Transformers (that where still in the form of cars and trucks) and laughed when they read signs that said no robots would be on the set. People took photos of pieces of the set, which occupied vacant lots in the Loop and walked by signs warning of scenes being filming with explosives. Anytime there were questions, yellow-shirted Transformers 3 Public Assistance personnel, who were assigned to man barricades, answered the fans.

Though it seemed the the filming of the next big summer block buster was just one big movie-making fan fare, the sets were closed and the stars of the shows were often kept under wraps. Some fans left down town disappointed they didn't catch a glimpse of the big stars. The women and girls missed seeing Shia LaBeouf and Josh Duhamel while the boys and men were dismayed to learn Megan Fox was replaced with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as the new love interest of Sam Witwicky.

After weekends of being surrounded by explosions and feeling hounded by low-flying helicopters, I decided I couldn’t escape the filming and thought I would join in however I could. With my camera in hand one weekend, I shot what the general public wasn’t able to see. On a dark and cloudy Saturday, there was filming of long shots where Transformers would be CGI'ed in later. Another scene included a car wheel ablaze and rolling down LaSalle Street, surrounded by burning vehicles. Security had to chase off one man who crashed the set to take photos by jumping out of an SUV that broke through a police line.

On Sunday, I thought I had had my fill of capturing the filming but ended up heading out again after the action kicked up on Randolph Street, not even half-a-block away from my home. The block had been turned into a set with blown up cars, building parts, and papers flying around. Extras made up to look like wounded victims of an attack stood in a parking lot waiting orders. Cameras on rigs hung over the street and the crew pumped in smoke.

Several run throughs were staged, with cameras setting up the shot. The extras were positioned under and on top of cars and desks and other debris and the scene was filmed. Of course, no robots were on set but you could tell where they were intended to be by watching the camera work. Soon it became clear why the bystanders were kept further from the set than usual that day. The stars of the film were near by.

With fresh smoke billowing over the set and the extras in place, explosive pops went off and the stars ran down the street to take cover. Just where in the movie the scene will be or if it will make the cut is to be determined. But LaBeuf himself is claiming that this is the best Transformers film of them all, so I am sure fans and curious Chicagoans alike will take a break from the heat this summer and take in the film in a nice air conditioned movie theater. See you at the movies :)

Eclectic

2011-03-17T10:52:00.010-05:00

Assignment: Take a simple mid-west girl and show her more "Eclectic" side.

Mary Lemanski was born one month premature, weighing only 3 lbs., 11.5 oz., but she has been living large since. At age 11 she made her first TV appearance while competing in a talent show. Today Mary may be best known as a songwriter, but she is also a great performer. In June, 2010, Mary released her first full length CD of her own original work, entitled “Eclectic”. One her songs off of the CD “Man of My Dreams”, which was originally written for Jessica Simpson, has been certified as a Top 40 hit by the International Association of Independent Recording Artists.

Mary and I spent a fall afternoon in Chicago collecting shots for her in CD, "Eclectic". Mary wanted to make sure we took the time to photograph her at the Cloud Gate sculpture (aka the "Bean", by British artist Anish Kapoor) in Millennium Park. Due to crowds and fading light, I knew the classic shot, a person beside the bean with a view of the city reflected, just wasn’t going to work. Despite her disappointment, Mary took my direction and followed me under the sculpture. Thanks to my friend (the SB-900 flash!) and a willing subject, I was able to take some fun and unusual shots underneath the "Bean".

Learn more about Mary and her CD “Eclectic” at www.marylemanski.com

Sam-and-Dean's-No-Brainer-Face-Off

2010-09-29T17:01:00.004-05:00

As you can see from this photo, chess isn’t always just about brains. International Masters Sam Shankland (left) and Dean Ippolito were paired to play in round four of the 2008 Frank K. Berry U.S. Chess Championship. Both had arrived in the playing room before the round was to begin to socialize with other participants. I was taking some pre-game photos, when the socializing turned into good-natured pre-game “trash talk.” Shankland was an easy target. He was still in high school and was rising in his chess career. Next to Ippolito, a more seasoned player, who is also a body builder, Shankland didn’t seem to stand a chance.

The trash talking between the two lead to most of us in the room joining in and having a laugh. Eventually the tension was too much and Shankland and Ippolito wanted to start the game early to get the show on the road, but chief Arbiter Berry wouldn’t allow that to happen, as it wasn’t appropriate. A speed game of chess was contemplated, as well, but soon they arrived at a consensus on the perfect solution: arm wrestling.

And so it was. Shankland and Ippolito decided to muscle it out beside the board instead of over it. It didn’t seem like a fair fight and it wasn’t. Ippolito didn’t break a sweat, as Shankland put every ounce of himself into the wrestle, turning beet red before Ippolito took him down.

Ippolito was victorious in the arm wrestling match but not in the chess game. Perhaps the pre-game loss Shankland suffered only inspired him to win when it really counted.

Side note: The Shankland/Ippolito arm wrestling duel created such a buzz that it lead to a group arm wrestling match in the hotel lobby after the closing ceremonies were over. The primary participants in this impromptu smackdown were the women who had played in the 2008 U.S. Women’s Championship held simultaneously with the 2008 U.S. Championship.

If you ever wanted to be part of breaking a Guiness World Record now is your chance. Dean Ippolito will be going after the record for most games played in a simultaneous exhibition.

The World Record Attempt Will Take Place on November 27, 2010 at the HealthQuest Sports Dome in Flemington, NJ.
Sign up at www.chessworldrecord.com

US Women: Chess and Friendship

2010-06-22T14:16:00.041-05:00

Irina Krush vs Iryna Zenyuk

In honor of the 2010 US Women’s Chess Championship, I thought I would give the backstory on this shot. It was taken during the opening ceremonies of the 2009 US Women’s Chess Championship, which was held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

Featured in the arm wrestling photo are two ladies who will be playing again this year. Affectionately they are known as the Irinas: Irina Krush and Iryna Zenyuk. They are fierce competitors but also close friends. All too often the only time they see each other is when they compete.

The Irinas wanted to make sure they had lots of photos of themselves together. In this shot they shared Iryna Zenyuk’s dress gloves to create a dramatic pose, setting the tone for the competition that lay ahead. After seeing the Irnias together that night posing for photos and laughing, no one would have thought that the gloves would later come off, as they fought it out in the 5th round of the tournament when the final knock out of the game went to Krush.

It might be surprising for chess outsiders to learn that it isn’t unusual for chess players who are friends to be forced to face off across the board - and often for high honors. The community of top players is a small one. Many players have known each other since they were quite young and up-in-coming in the game.

In 2007 and 2008 the title of US Chess Champion seemed to come down to just two men: Alexander Onischukand Yury Shulman, who have been friends since high school. In 2007, Oninschuk won the US Championship, after a final play off game between the two, and the following year Shulman walked away with the title.

During the 2010 US Women’s Chess Championship, ten ladies will be battling it out for top honors and a $16,000 prize but they will also take time to be together. Plans will be made for lunch and dinner gatherings. The ladies will have get togethers in the gym, and late night talks and walks will just naturally happen. Those who don’t visit the tournament would never realize how much socializing happens when the women aren’t fighting it out across the table from one another. Yet the chess world is even smaller for the women than it is for the men, and girls have to stick together.

2010 US Women's Chess Championship Players

Anna Zatonskih, Irina Krush, Tatev Abrahamyam, Iryna Zenyuk, Katerina Rohonyan, Sabine Foisor, Camilla Baginskaite, Alisa Melekhina, Beatriz Marinello, and in her US Women's Chess Championship debut Abby Marshall.
2009 Competitors

To my girlfriends: I wish you each do your best, play the fighting chess I know you are capable of, and find time to enjoy each other’s company.

Hug in a Hard Place

2010-04-29T18:52:00.010-05:00

SSDN (South Side Day Nursery) was founded in 1886 and is an anchor for the South Saint Louis community it serves. The school delivers high-quality childcare and preschool education that prepares children for success in school, while enabling their parents and guardians to work, receive job training, or attend school. SSDN is able to take in 101 children at a time.

While a majority of the families SSDN serves work hard to make ends meet, they aren’t always able to. Children in the school often go homeless and hungry. The number one must-asked-for item last Christmas was a pillow. SSDN provides not only education but food, health care, and a safe place to sleep.

I spent three days at SSDN photographing the students, teachers, parents and daily activities. It was hard work and I volunteered for it because I believe in the mission and the needs that this school serves. I experienced many emotions in those three days. Sometimes I laughed with joy and other times I was in tears.

I found that a lot of the children were starving for physical contact. I saw it the most in the older children. Maybe it is because they are a little less afraid to reach out. On my first day at SSDN, I entered room 5 and one little boy came up to me very slowly. I assumed because of the size of my camera that he was coming to get a closer look. Instead, when he was within arms' reach, his hands reached up to the sky. I looked down on the little boy and as our eyes met, his tiny hands touched my hips. It was not quite a hug but more of an attempted hug, and before I could pull him closer or even touch his head he was gone.

Not so far away was a little girl who had been watching me. When she saw I was giving out hugs she ran up to me, coming to a complete stop with the toes of her shoes nearly touching mine. She peered at me with large brown doe eyes. I asked her, “Would you like a hug?” Her little head nodded up and down and as she smiled, I opened my arms, and she fell into me. She gave me a squeeze then off she ran to her assigned spot on the rug for circle time.

At first I questioned myself: Had I done something wrong? Is hugging allowed here? I made a mental note to myself to ask an adult if I had broken a rule. And while I would feel badly if I learned that I had done something wrong, a part of me didn’t care. Those little children just needed a moment of love -- a touch that said, "You are accepted." I was happy that I could provide that feeling, but they in turn, had given it back to me.

It was especially hard to leave for home when I overheard one two year old little boy tell his mother that I was his friend. But home I had to go.Learn more about my time at the school in a dedicated gallery at:
http://www.betsydynako.com/svmanager/g20/
To learn more about SSDN or even make a donation please visit www.SSDN.org

Mating Season

2010-03-02T17:05:00.009-06:00

Since I was five years old, I have dreamed of running away to Africa with a camera, where I would live for months among the animals taking their pictures.

It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that my favorite after school activity was watching nature programs on PBS, while having a snack in front of the TV. I wanted to be just like Jane Goodall, and I would sit for hours watching mourning doves or ground squirrels. Truth is I still have a journal of observations from stalking Canadian geese that lived in a pond at the school where my mother took classes.

When I had saved long enough to afford a Nikon D80, I decided to take the new camera for a spin and took a walk around my hometown of Chicago with my husband and our dog Stella. Our route took us to the corner of Wacker and LaSalle on the Chicago River, a favorite hangout for pigeons and a good place to shoot a favorite building of mine.

Luckily for me, the sun peeked through the early spring clouds as I reached the corner. The sun, close to setting, lit the building perfectly in hues of orange and red. I shot the building, but I soon turned my attention to the pigeons, which were everywhere and partly in my way. It was after watching the pigeons for just a second that it was clear this was mating season. My childhood love of animals and dreams of an African safari took over, and I turned my camera on the birds.

One male in particular caught my eye because he was relentless in trying to win over a certain female.This female didn’t seem to be anything special; her feathers where not silky or smoothed down. In fact, of all the birds there she looked kind of homely. While other males were wooing, jumping from girl to girl, this one had chosen this girl for himself. He was steadfast in his courting, fully willing to invest whatever time it took to tame his shrew. No other males paid this lowly-looking female any mind. Perhaps it proves each of us really only needs one true love.

Nakamura 2009 U.S. Chess Champion

2010-02-10T09:15:00.018-06:00

To capture this photo I said the immortal words, “trust me.” These two words are a loaded gun. I try to be careful about using the phrase, as it makes me think of unscrupulous sales people or of a doctor prepping to give a shot. How many sincerely good things have truly followed the words, "trust me"?

This photo of 2009 U.S. Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura was taken as the closing ceremonies for the event were winding down and the sun was setting on nine grueling days of play. Not only did the Nakamura take home a check for $40,000, thanks to the generosity of the Saint Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center founder Rex Sinquefield, he was also given a custom jacket and ring. I had photographed the newly-crowned champ with his prizes several times and was not happy with the images. My main objection to these initial shots was that he posed with the prize ring in its box, which appeared unnatural. It would look better if he were wearing it, I thought.

Nakamura seemed uncomfortable, at first, with the idea of putting on the ring, since it wasn't yet sized for any of his fingers. Eventually, after he gave in and found a comfortable finger to display the ring, he was at a loss for what to do with his hands. After trying to communicate with him through the party noise and excitement and not succeeding, I finally lowered my camera and bent his arm into the final shot position.

He looked at me with eyes that expressed a mixture of surprise and disbelief. I am sure I was saying things like, "You look great," or, "That is the perfect," but again Nakamura wasn’t able to hear me. Than I said it: “Trust me.” I was horrified that I uttered those words. I felt like I might as well have said, “Pick your nose, it will look great. Trust Me.” Luckily Nakamura indeed trusted me and settled into the shot. I like this shot more than any of the others I posed of him that night. I feel like I bonded with my subject in that moment, and I was able to capture a winner’s smile that conveyed the relief of knowing the relentless hard work was over and well worth it.

Nakamura vs. Kamsky Round 5

Perfect Health

2010-01-22T09:41:00.013-06:00

Perfect Health is my first award winning shot but it isn’t important to me for that reason. Primarily it's because of the situation under which it was taken. I was shooting away with my first digital camera, a cheap Pentax point and shoot consumer model. I was taking photos of some Gerbera daises using the textured green walls in the entrance of my home as the backdrop. I had been using my feet to balance a flower in the perfect position for a shot, and when I grew tired I rested my feet on the wall in front of me.

Whatever force you believe moves you/us - whether you call it intuition, God, instinct or the inner voice - mine said "snap the picture." My initial thought was that my feet holding a flower between them wasn’t very interesting, but I obeyed and did as I was told.

The second reason this photo is important to me is because of the role it has played in my overcoming an illness called Endometriosis, which I had since I was 18 years old. I have always associated green with healing and health, while pink makes me think of love. Seeing my feet against these colors sparked within me an affirmation (See Below).

Finally this photo is important to me because of how it has touched others. The process of taking the photo and writing the affirmation lead me to creating a three-piece work of art that described my journey with Endometriosis. This art piece was shown at the ARC Gallery in Chicago in 2004 as part of a show titled, “Endo Expressions”. After the show, word of the impact of the piece spread, and I was asked to show it again at the International Endometriosis Conference held in Wisconsin. There the piece moved many people to tears. For some it put their own feelings into words they had not been able to express, and loved ones of women with the disease felt that for the first time they understood how the person they loved felt.

While "Perfect Health" was powerful as part of a trio of works, it lives on today as a solo act. Today this photo is most commonly seen in the form of a greeting card with an affirmation of health. It has been given by many to inspire others along the path to perfect health and healing. The inside of the card contains the affirmation given to me years ago.

Endo Hell
This piece tell the tale of the first ten years of my life living with Endometriosis. I was 17 years old when symptoms first began. Almost years later I was diagnosed. Like most women I have had numerous doctors and surgeries, unnecessary tests, drug treatments that only made me more ill, and pain pill that had no affect of the pain.

No Cure

Reality sets in. There is no cure for Endometriosis. Most doctors are ignorant, at best, about the disease. I must learn to live with the pain. I have to get part the scars in my head, my heart, and on my body. I am not defined by what my body
can and cannot do.

Perfect Health

I am a child of God; I do not inherit illness.
I am made to be healthy,

To have joy, and share love.
This idea blooms in my heart and mind as
I Walk on the path of healing.
I am grateful. I am stronger. I am wiser.
I am more compassionate. I am blessed.
Thank you God.

Side Note: Learn more about Endometriosis at www.endometriosisassn.org

The Game Face of Williams

2010-01-12T17:13:00.012-06:00

Aeneas Demetrius Williams

The Game Face of Aeneas Williams

Born January 29, 1968 in New Orleans Williams is a former professional football cornerback and free safety who played for the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams. No doubt a personal career high was playing in Super Bowl XXXVI for the Rams, but Williams might be best known for delivering the tackle that ultimately ended the Hall of Fame San Francisco 49er’s quarterback Steve Young’s career. After his own injury Williams retired from professional play in 2005.

Today, Aeneas Williams is a minister with at Spirit of the Lord Family Church in Clayton, Missouri. He visited the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis (CCSCSL) during the 2008 U.S. Chess Championships to meet founder Rex Sinquefield and Major League Baseball pitcher Todd Worrell. All three men are concerned about the education system in the city and are working to improve the lives of children in St. Louis.

Williams and Worrell were moved by the works of the CCSCSL, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing their first game of chess with help from Sinquefield and Executive Director Tony Rich. The born competitors weren’t willing to end the game even after the press coverage ended.

As part of their VIPtreatment, Williams and Worrell posed for photos, just like the top 24 chess players competing in the tournament had. Worrell gave a game winning smile, but not Williams. Williams said chess is too serious and decided it was best to put his game face on.