In the balance of life this was not a great year. However, I have many blessings  to be grateful for and I look forward to the challenges  and adventures that come my way in the months ahead.

I wish the best for everyone as the year unfolds. Thank you to all that support me and my work and offer the personal relationships that make it all worthwhile.

Just for grins, I would like to share several of my favorite images of 2009. Happy New Year!

During a December NFL game Denver Broncos Brian Dawkins cranked up his mojo

In June Samantha Sagaser of Conifer CO. modeled for my illustration for the Arts in Evergreen feature article in the Chamber of Commerce Annual Business Directory

During the BMX Vert competition at the Summer XGames in Los Angeles last August, Jamie Bestwick went high flying.

I was contracted by local craftsman Don Harris to photograph his collection in April. The challenge was to do justice to these eloquent hardwood pieces sculpted with TLC, immense detail and fine rich grain.

Last May I captured a red fox enjoying an early evening nap in the field grass near our home in Evergreen, CO.

During the bike portion of the 2009 Ford World Ironman Championship last October, cyclists were greeted by the stare of a goat skull mysteriously mounted on the post of a guardrail just south of Hawi. If you are wondering , I didn't put it there either!

This photo is in memory of Taupe, our 13 year-old Weimeraner we lost last fall. She accompanied me on an assignment near Kenosha Pass last summer when I photographed her in a meadow of wildflowers.

Dull as it is, this has been my view and office for seven days as I try to heal from a back injury.

Somewhere between the Queen Ka’ ahumanu Highway covering the Ford World Ironman Championship October 10, the Boston Patriots AFL throwback game less than twelve hours later  in Denver October 11  or the hike with the wife and dogs on October 18th , four hours before boarding a plane to cover the Monday NFL game in San Diego, a nerve in my lumbar decided it had had enough. About mid day on the 18th not long after the hike, my left hamstring started barking at me like an old ‘Coon” dog.

I first thought I tweaked  the “hamy”. Something I have done a gazillion times as a 10K runner and mountaineer. I stretched. I prodded. I massaged the back of my leg as I packed for my trip to San Diego. I figured a hot shower before I left would give some relief. I arrived in San Diego and began messaging and stretching once I got settled into my hotel room. As the evening progressed,  as I had dinner with my compatriots in La Jolla, the old dog really began to howl and I even started carrying a gimp.

The next morning, less than twelve hours before the game, my leg and foot were numb and I could barely walk. I threw up the rescue flag and called friend and team chiropractor Dr. Mike Leahy in his room. He said come right away. Hobbling down the hallway, past the team meeting rooms, getting odd stares and inquiries about my condition, I made it to Mike’s room and waiting message table. After about three thorough routines his prognosis determined a disk and nerve injury. He felt there wasn’t much we could do from that point forward until I could get a full exam.

At the stadium the stares turned to gawking. I sucked it up and did my best Frankenstein imitation shuffling up and down the sidelines. Team orthopedic physician Martin Boublik caught a glimpse of me as I bobbled by the bench. He scurried over and asked about my situation. Right then and there he ran me through several mobility tests and conferred what Mike Leahy had suggested.

Team doctor Steven  Geraghty was on my team bus back to the airport and in a rather genuine and heroic move offered to prescribe medication to start retarding the inflammation and promote healing. Dr. Leahy offered to see me at his clinic in Colorado Springs in the following days before he left for a conference in Toronto. Dr. Boublik updated his consultation on the bus as well.

Other than the medication, the only thing else I could commit to was their advise of ice, heat and rest. Thank goodness the team had a a bye week  last week as I was clearly on injured reserve!

So here I am seven days later making every effort to be ready for our next away game in Baltimore. Now I know how frustrated  injured players must get as they prepare their return to action.

Another thing folks should know is team often times goes beyond just the players and coaches.

Daniel Dhers flying in BMX Freestyle Park Final

I just returned  Monday from covering Summer X Games 15 in Los Angeles. It was my 14th year of covering one of America’s most unique and , I feel, sometimes underrated sports events. I missed summer 2004 when Denver Bronco John Elway  was inducted into the NFL’s Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio.

ESPN X Games senior marketing director Amy Lupo always busts my chops and tells everyone kiddingly, ” Eric needs to get his priorities straight. We can’t believe he would miss the X Games just to cover Elway’s induction!”

I got back at her this year however. I missed a portion of the extreme events because of a conflict with Denver Bronco training camp. Newly appointed head coach Josh McDaniels who hails from Amy’s beloved New England Patriots scheduled the opening of  training camp the same time as X Games. So when I broke the news to her that I would be a little late to “her” event, I told her that new knuckle-headed coach from New England needs to get his priorities straight.

As usual the Games were full of solid action and the courses continue to get better as do the athletes. Here are a few of my favorites from X15.

Rune Glifberg pleases the crowd with this grab in Skateboard Park Final

Even fifteen years later, Andy Macdonald is still huckin' with the best of them.

Simon Tabron was in the money throughout the BMX Vert Final

New head coach Josh McDaniels,white cap in center, addresses his troops the first day of training camp at Dove Valley in Englewood Colorado

Denver Bronco training camp officially started today which means my summer is over once again.

Each summer for the past 26 consecutive years I have covered the team’s summer camp. Until recent years camp was held about 65 miles north of Denver in Ft. Collins Colorado on the Colorado State University campus followed by numerous years on the fields at the University of Northern Colorado just down the road in Greeley. At has become vogue for  teams  to switch to their hometowns for the two to three week drills. Denver followed suit and has set up camp right at its Dove Valley facility in Englewood Colorado.

Not to slight the folks up north, this arrangement is more efficient, cost effective and a whole lot easier on the players. There’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed, even if it is a Sealy Postropedic at the hotel down the road. Before guys bunked two to four players in school dorm rooms on the less than inviting beds.

I don’t miss the heat and humidity that seemed to prevail on the campuses due to overly soaked fields. But I love the excitement, anticipation and the unknowns that unfold every year at training camp. There is a new head coach, eleven new assistant head coaches ( three remain from the former staff) and forty seven new faces in uniform. To me, that’s a recipe for a wild and crazy ride through the NFL season.

Sindballe, shown here at the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii, was a strong, determined and well-respected figure.

I was saddened when I learned from a photo colleague today that Danish triathlete Torbjorn Sindballe had retired from triathlon competition due to a heart irregularity.

The Great Dane retired Tuesday June 30 after determining medical evaluations by Danish doctors showed signs of complications from an abnormal heart valve. He had been aware of the abnormality since 2005 but maintained regular check ups to ensure his well being for racing.

We see pro athletes come and go. Some not so willingly and others whose bodies have had enough. As a photographer who often covers professional sports, there are always some athletes you are glad to to see ride into the sunset on their terms. Then there are those you wish United Van Lines would pick up in the middle of the night and transport to some God-forsaken place never to be heard from again.

Torbjorn was one of those athletes you always rooted for no matter the circumstances.  He was a most likable guy.

Off the race course he always had time to converse and my Swedish photo partner Tony Svensson at the Ironman Championships never had trouble pulling the fun loving, jovial side out of Torbjorn. It was riot watching those two tall , strapping Scandinavians  carrying on a litany of one liners in a mishmash serving of Swedish  and Danish.

Sindballe was generally in the hunt in competitions. He was always easy to spot in his trademark white competition attire. His facial expressions were always worth noting. Photographically he made great images.

I recall last year coming up on him as he was systematically and rhythmically grinding out the last six or seven miles of the cycling portion of the Ironman Championship. He was focused and resolute but for one brief moment he calmly rolled his head to the left, looked at me as I focused in on him and he gave me a soft “how are you doing” smile and then went about his business.

All I know is he will be a champion at whatever he decides to do going forward after leaving the solitude he embraced in the saddle, on the road and through the water.

The Dane clocks out at the 2008 Ford Ironman Championships finish

Sindballe trying to cool down along Alii Drive in Kona last year.

Wednesday the 21st appeared to be the best day of the week weather-wise so I planned to be there ready to shoot that day hoping for good results. I am glad I did because the weather went in the tank from there. Snow flurries and thick overcast skies were the back drops for the rest of the week’s events. Fortunately it was mild, in fact too warm part of Saturday as a rain-snow mix fell at the lower base of Buttermilk.

Good light complimented this snowboard slopestyle shot at Buttermilk

The other challenge served up was the majority of finals were at night since the X Games are a made for television event. Good for tv but not so good for still photography.

One tends to lose a lot of of dimension and environment shooting into a cloak of darkness. ESPN contracted with Musco lighting again and its crews do a good job of lighting the near impossible. The lighting appeared to even be brighter this year but the stanchions were lower creating mega flare in many of the images.

So after one of the first evenings of grousing about the conditions I just took a deep breath and thought to myself ,”it is what it is.”

Snow flurries and Musco's made this shot.

Josh McDaniels greeted the media January 12 at the Dove Valley complex.

Yesterday, twelve days after releasing Mike Shanahan as head coach of the Denver Broncos, the organization under the direction of President and CEO Pat Bowlen,  chose Josh McDaniels of the New England Patriots  as the new coach after an extensive and ardent search.

As the press conference introducing McDaniels wound down at Dove Valley in Englewood Colorado I had a few brief moments to talk with Joe Ellis, Chief Operating Officer about the process of picking a new head coach after 14 years.

I congratulated him on the swift but thorough mission for which he and the football operations staff completed the search.

He commented that not only was it exciting but probably one of the most exhausting tasks he had ever encounter. This stands to reason. Like it or not sports and especially the NFL is big business. From its infancy in the 1960′s the Bronco organization has grown into over a billion dollar franchise. Winning is important in Denver much like most avid sports towns. In order to win you must have a successful program and to have a successful program you have to have good leadership, good coaches and athletic talent. This is something the Denver Broncos has striven for for years. Guided by Bowlen the team has reached the Super Bowl six times.

For a organization to make a change after 14 years creates excitement, uncertainty, new direction, formidable challenges and a specter of hope and success.

As a young offensive coordinator McDaniels has proven himself. The bar he approaches in Denver is pretty darn high but since he came from a winning program and has only known football since he was a tyke hanging around his dad’s teams I suspect he is looking forward to the reach.

As with any change you are not always certain what to expect but as team photographer I am looking forward to building a relationship with a young, tech savy coach who definitely showed fire in his eyes when I photographed him on day one.

Contestants at the start of the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship

When all was said and done, the day covering the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona Hawaii certainly didn’t disappoint myself or my Bakke-Svensson/ Ironman team members.

Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington provided stunning performances and the grit and determination offered by many of the challenged athletes inspired all once again.

Ben Hays ,Tony Svensson and myself began our coverage around 5:30 a.m. October 11, 2008 under a predawn sky. Much like the racers, we try to contain our butterflies and apprehensions of the day’s challenges and the race course’s unexpected notions. Generally we wander the athlete staging area after we have ramped up our computer and stowed our extra gear and a fresh set of clothes (for the night time finish line coverage) in the King Kamehameha Hotel across from the starting area for the swim and the finish line. We wander and photograph athletes putting the finishing touches on their equipment and transition bags amongst a sea of bicycles personally anointed with various shapes and colors of helmets, water and energy drink containers, and good luck charms.

Before the start of the pro race, traditionally we gather as a trio for our ceremonial high five or three-clasped hand shake and offer good luck to one another. Then it’s each man for himself  about the next eight hours before we reconvene at the finish line for the pros anticipated arrivals.

Once the early age group athletes and the pros burst out of the water from the swim portion of the race the day seems to propel into hyper mode. Every year, I for one, am amazed of how fast these folks are on road bikes. Fortunately we are escorted on motorcycles by the safest and best drivers in the world. Boulder Colorado’s Alem International drivers make our jobs a lot easier. If we need to get from point A to point B fast or pinch between a NBC live shot to get ahead of an athlete these skilled professionals can get it done. Besides being fun to be around they are always willing  to stand in as a grip as well.

And when it comes to trying to track down a specific special athlete and his or her bib number, the Alem drivers  do a darn good job of spotting a number in a head-whipping blur up to about 45 mph.

Each phase of the race has its own characteristics and drama but clearly when the athletes hit the pavement this event takes on a unique personality. This is where every athlete no matter what age digs deep and I mean deep-as in puking on the side of the road or expelling down the back of the legs from their running shorts- in an effort to keep going and ultimately crossing the finish line before 17 hours has expired.

Even Chrissie Wellington had her doubts early in the race.

The pro finishes, much like this year, are exciting and awe inspiring. But once the seasoned professionals cross the line the truly magical, heart tugging  episodes begin.

Svensson, Hays and I gather again near the finish line after several more hours of early evening road coverage to document every mom, dad, granddad, teacher, firefighter, Big Island local, you name it competitor coming into the promise land.This is the time every year for as long as I have covered this event I get choked up. This is when the Ironman comes alive with hear and soul. The finish line crowd is in complete fervor. Singing, chanting and carry every competitor to the finish line with a bravado of cheers and encouragement.

One of the age groupers that finished this year visually summed it up for me. This dude had attempted the race five times and did not finish ( he didn’t fail just didn’t finish). But this year he made it in a very respectable time. And as he crossed the finish line he raised his arms and looked  to the sky above, paused in a frozen moment, then lowered his head and gave a soft but determined smile.

Sixty eight year-old Charles Maxwell was definitely happy with his finish.

As a photographer, a person and an adventure enthusiast myself  race day of the Ford Ironman World Championship is probably the best day of the year.

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