Gersh Photo Post | Max Gersh | Multimedia Photojournalist

I grew up riding a BMX bike. VERY poorly. I had the benefit of living only a few miles from one of the nations premiere BMX tracks, EP Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, KY. I rode with my friends through middle and high school. Never once did I consider myself even remotely good at the sport.

A few weeks ago, I was assigned to photograph the ABA BMX Midwest Nationals at Searls Park in Rockford. Only then did it hit me that I had never photographed BMX racing or any bike racing for that matter. I probably should have stopped riding BMX long before I did and picked up the camera earlier. It was a heck of a lot of fun to shoot.

The track layout was very similar to the track I rode on in Louisville. I think my limited knowledge of the sport helped me position myself for some decent frames.

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Riders take off from the start gate Thursday, June 16, 2011, during practice runs for the ABA BMX Midwest Nationals at Searls Park in Rockford. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Riders take off from the start gate Thursday, June 16, 2011, during practice runs for the ABA BMX Midwest Nationals at Searls Park in Rockford. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Shawn Whitfield of Rockford puts together a new bike for Snap Factory BMX rider Chase Pauza (not pictured) Thursday, June 16, 2011, before the ABA BMX Midwest Nationals at Searls Park in Rockford. Pauza, 13, of Huntley, Ill., said he wanted the theme of the bike to be lots of color. "It got to the point where matching colors became a hassle so I just got whatever was in stock," Pauza said. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Erik Meyer,12, of Libertyville, Ill., comes down over a hill Thursday, June 16, 2011, during practice runs for the ABA BMX Midwest Nationals at Searls Park in Rockford. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Henry Chudzik, 7, of Chicago rides the final section of the track Thursday, June 16, 2011, during practice runs for the ABA BMX Midwest Nationals at Searls Park in Rockford. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Andres Papajohn, 9, of Gardnerville, t

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Trever White, 15, of Aberdeen, S.D., catches air Thursday, June 16, 2011, during practice runs for the ABA BMX Midwest Nationals at Searls Park in Rockford. ©2011

MAX GERSH | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Brandon Ceslok (center), 15, of Janesville, Wis., takes the outside edge on a turn Thursday, June 16, 2011, during practice runs for the ABA BMX Midwest Nationals at Searls Park in Rockford. ©2011

Someone once said the camera that takes the best pictures is the one you have with you… or something like that.

I’ve never been one to carry a point-and-shoot camera. If I’m going to have a camera with me, I’d rather it be my beloved SLR. But let’s be real. It’s not always practical to carry around a big camera rig like that. My Canon 1D Mark II with a 24-70 f/2.8 L lens takes great pictures but it also takes a lot of space. If I’m out for dinner, I don’t really want to plop it down on the table during the meal.

As much as I would enjoy something like a Canon G11, I can’t personally justify owning one at $500. It will never be as good as my SLR.

Recently, I got a Droid Incredible cell phone. I decided I’d take more of those random photos that I’ve missed over the past few years. While it is no super camera, it is the best cell phone camera I have ever used. Eight megapixels packed into a sleek package.

Famous Dave's BBQ in Louisville, KY. ©2010

A light hanging over the sidewalk in downtown Louisville, KY. ©2010

Besides using the regular camera app, I’ve been using the Retro Camera app that allows for some stylization that mimics a variety of cameras including a pin hole camera, Polaroid and a Holga. That has been yielding some great results.

One afternoon in Louisville, I laid out on my parent’s hammock snapping photo after photo. From my swaying comfort, I got photos of myself, the family dogs and any other random thing that looked interesting.

A camera-phone self portrait. ©2010

My parent's dog, Elsie. ©2010

My parent's dog, Oliver. ©2010

The phone also is handy for snapping random “artsy” photos around town.

Halftime at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. ©2010

A water tower in New Castle, Indiana. ©2010

At the end of the day, I would rather shoot these photos with one of my SLRs - my Canon 1D Mark II or Hasselblad 500 C/M. But I snapped these at the spur of the moment. Having a decent quality camera in my pocket provided me an opportunity to capture an image that I otherwise wouldn’t have.

Over the last few months, I’ve ended up with a few photos that didn’t warrant a blog post nor did they go with anything else. Therefore, here are my odds and ends - the photos that had no other place to go.

A chipmunk sits on top of a natural gas line in my family's back yard in Louisville, KY. ©2009 Max Gersh

Bourbon barrels age at the Heaven Hills distillery in Bardstown, KY. ©2009 Max Gersh

Casey Miller, dressed as a zombie for the student film, Heaven is Dark. ©2009 Max Gersh

I was in Louisville, KY a few weeks ago and again had the opportunity to photograph the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) state championship track meet. This is a huge day-and-a-half long event that allows for me to have creative flexibility.

My job is to shoot a bunch of pictures for KHSAA so they can use a few in their program the following year. I have the luxury of not having to get athletes names or to focus on specific schools.

Every year I try to shoot a little differently. I think of different ways to use lenses and light to craft a beautiful and clean image. This year was no different.

The first event I shot was discus. My goal was to achieve the right moment while framing it in a square of the protective netting.

Discus thrower - ©2009 Max Gersh

After shooting a bunch of races from track level, I carried all of my gear up a ladder on top of a press box. It is kind of difficult to climb these ladders one handed with a 400mm f/2.8 lens in the other hand. The elevated shooting position allows for the track to become a clean background for the runners.

Runners - ©2009 Max Gersh

While in the mindset of shooting with clean backgrounds, I got really low on the track to shoot the pole vault. I wanted to get a tight shot right at the top of the bar. Since my frame was so tight, I pre-focused on the bar and waited for the vaulter to enter my frame. The sky provided a clean background.

Pole vault - ©2009 Max Gersh

On the first frame, I partially cut off the athletes left arm. However, his body was spread in a pretty cool way. The second frame was also a cool moment as he was coming down on the other side, releasing the pole.

Pole vault - ©2009 Max Gersh

As night began to fall, the stadium lights came on giving a cool night time shadow look. The darker it got, the less I focused on action and the more on interesting framing and composition. This was runners at he starting blocks just before a race.

Runners at the blocks - ©2009 Max Gersh

For some of the races, athletes were corralled into these waiting areas track side. It gave me an opportunity to silhouette the runners against the sky.

Runners waiting - ©2009 Max Gersh

All of these images were shot on the first day of the meet. I haven’t even looked at the second days images yet. As soon as I do, I’ll have a few more images up.