I admit that, so far, 2010 hasn't been my favorite...but...I find myself thinking a lot about what it is that I do and get to do everyday. To me, an ideal day is having about three photographic assignments and enough time to dedicate to them to fully realize them and gain enough understanding into the story that I can find somewhere within the story the visual elements to help convey that story to others. One of the things I love to photograph is sports--not because I'm a sports fan--but because its real and happens before me and all I have to do is capture it. Not an easy task sometimes, but an enjoyable one. Since I photograph sports nearly every night and have done so for nearly 13 years, I get a chance to try different things from time to time. I'll take a lens that is a little too long for inside a gymnasium and shoot my whole take with that lens just to challenge myself. Sometimes I'll try some slow shutter speed stuff like I did to get this picture of Meadville wrestler Shelton Mack on Wednesday. I've been doing this long enough where I have confidence in myself that even when I push the limits of what may or may not work, I feel I'll come away with something. It isn't a stagnant thing for me, I need to try different things to achieve different looks in the paper each day. When I am photographing and living a creative photographic life I really do love what I do. I wish everyday was nothing but this. Meadville Tribune photograph by Richard Sayer