Question for the two Floyd County High School volleyballers at the final game of the season this year:  Were they psyching out  the opposition?  Feeling like they were in jail behind the net? Posing for the camera?

Hard to tell.  This is a favorite shot from that game. Volleyball is a athletic sport that is a joy to photograph and moments like these are fun to capture on film…er, my mistake, on compact flash cards.

So was football this year.  And cross-country. Sadly, I didn’t get to all the games I wanted but those I did make provided many opportunities for capturing young athletes striving to be the best they can be in their sports.

I’ve said it many times but it bears repeating:  Photographing high school sports is a pure highlight of my return to Floyd County in 2004 and returning to work as a reporting/photography contractor in my what are laughingly called “retirement” years provides a purpose.

Basketball season starts in the first week of December and wrestlers are loosening up for their one-on-one matches.  I will shoot the junior varsity and varsity boys basketball team Tuesday night in a scrimmage for next week’s Floyd Press  and then Amy and I will head into the Thanksgiving weekend with lots of gratitude to those here who have welcomed her to the community and allowed me to return home after four decades away.

With luck and relief from a gout-ridden foot and I will shoulder my video camera and capture the the weekend of music, the Christmas parade and the arrival of Santa Claus for the season.

Let the week begin.