Flashback Friday – The 2018 Phoenix Suns Dancers Auditions

In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look back to the 2018 Phoenix Suns Dancers Auditions.  I loved covering the Phoenix Suns Dancers Auditions because they were a very fun event to shoot, but the last two years that I attended, the Suns only allowed us to shoot the first round as opposed to the entire event.  The auditions were held at the Talking Stick Resort and it was a nice place to hold auditions but I thought that it was a little strange to perform on carpet as opposed to a hard surface, like a basketball court.  I would think that some movements would be harder to perform on carpet, but I am sure the girls would adapt and adjust.

Anyway, I loved covering the Suns Dancers Auditions because the girls were gorgeous and it was always fun to shoot the event.  I usually got some great shots and the above photo is one of my favorites from the event.  I hope you like it too.

Flashback Friday – The 2017 Los Angeles Charger Girls Auditions

Sorry for the late post.  I just got back from a comedy show featuring Ronny Chieng at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.  He was great, if a little anti-Maga and anti-boomer.  I guess he was just playing to the audience.  But hilarious, nonetheless.  Well worth seeing.

On to this week’s feature…it’s a photo from the 2017 Los Angeles Charger Girls auditions at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.  As I have said many times before, this audition attracted over 250 dancers, many of whom had danced professionally for other squads and there were many college dancers in attendance that I recognized.

This photo is of a former Ladies of Ontario Fury dancer and she was one of several girls from that squad who tried out for the Charger Girls.  That was one hot squad and I enjoyed photographing them, but the conditions inside the Citizens Bank arena were always challenging…mainly due to the darkness.  But the girls were hot and I was happy to see them at the Charger Girls auditions.  They were special.

Flashback Friday – A USF SunDoll Cheerleader at the 2018 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta

It’s been almost six years since I last attended the P-R-O Convention.  The times have changed, but I still enjoy sharing photos of beautiful cheerleaders.  This week, we feature a lovely USF SunDoll dance team member that was in attendance at the 2018 P-R-O Convention.

For 10 years, I covered the P-R-O Convention for the now defunct UltimateCheerleaders.com and I was fortunate to photograph many wonderful professional cheerleading squads.  Though this convention was primarily intended for professional dance teams, a few pro style college dance teams showed every year and one of them was the University of South Florida’s SunDolls.  As far as I know, the SunDolls do emulate a more pro dance team style and it is readily apparent from their uniforms to their dance style. They are a rather eye catching squad and I was able to snap a few posed photos of this lovely USF dancer.

Flashback Friday – 2015 Laker Girl Shelbie

One of the three iconic professional cheerleading squads is the Laker Girls.  They have had movies made about them and are the most notable dance team in the NBA. In this week’s edition of Flashback Friday, we feature a notorious Laker Girl, Shelbie K.

If I recall correctly, Shelbie was a ASU Sun Devil Dance Team member and I seem to remember seeing her featured in the Sports Illustrated online edition.  She went on to dance with the Los Angeles Laker Girls and the Los Angeles Rams Cheerleaders.

I was fortunate to photograph her three times…once as a Laker Girl at a D’Fenders game, once as a Rams Cheerleader in a preseason game and once at the 2016 P-R-O Convention in Atlanta.  What stands out about Shelbie, is her graceful body lines (especially while performing), her gorgeous eyes and beautiful smile.  She really sparkled while performing and she really knows how to pose when doing candids.  I was able to snap a few posed photos of her while at the P-R-O Convention and maybe I’ll share them in a future edition of Flashback Friday.

Flashback Friday – Cincinnati Ben-Gal Cheerleader Lauren at the 2017 P-R-O Convention

In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look back to the 2017 P-R-O Convention and feature a gorgeous Cincinnati Ben-Gal cheerleader Lauren.  In 2017, the Cincinnati Ben-Gal Cheerleaders sent four girls to the convention.  I think all four were Captains and they were quite good dancers.  Anytime there’s a new squad in attendance, I want to make them a priority because that’s a rarity.  And I was able to shoot three of them, if I recall correctly, and I was able to get a few great dancing shots of Lauren during the showcase.  This is one of them.

Flashback Friday – The 2017 Los Angeles Charger Girls Auditions

This week, we take a look back to the 2017 Los Angeles Charger Girls auditions and feature a lovely blonde aspirant.  I don’t know her name and don’t remember if she made the squad, but she caught my eye and that is something because there were hundreds of beautiful and talented dancers who were former pro cheerleaders and college dance team members.

What I remember from that day was that this was a big time audition that attracted the best dancers in Southern California.  I recognized many cheerleaders from other squads and it was a great turnout. I had a blast covering the event and got many amazing shots.  It’s a shame that the Charger Girls couldn’t take them all because this was truly a gifted group.

Flashback Friday – 2018 Houston Texans Cheerleader Mallory

In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a look back to the 2018 P-R-O Convention and feature the rather impressive Mallory.  I have shared this anecdote before, that what impressed me about Mallory was that when she was a rookie, she lined up at the convention right in the front…where the more veteran and skilled cheerleaders usually lined up.  There was a sort of unwritten rule that the show floor was assigned by team and usually the most senior cheerleaders from each squad were in the very front and the rookies were toward the back of their section.  But in this instance, Mallory was lined up in the front and center of her section of Houston Texans Cheerleaders.

Such unmitigated gall of the rookie!  I liked that and needless to say I was rather impressed with her confidence.  And I could see why she would do so.  Mallory was a very talented dancer and she was rather strikingly good looking.  So, I wrangled her at the lunch break to take a few posed photos of her and this is one of those photos.  I think she liked the attention.

Flashback Friday – 2016 San Diego Charger Girl Rebecca

In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take look back to the 2016 season and feature one of my favorite Charger Girls to photograph, Rebecca.  This photo was taken almost eight years ago and I remember that Rebecca was always interesting to photograph.  She was gorgeous and had a great smile. And she was very photogenic.  These are the traits that I find compelling about the cheerleaders that I have photographed and Rebecca was one of my all time favorites to shoot.

Flashback Friday – An Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader at the 2018 P.R.O. Convention in Atlanta

Every year, I used to photograph the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders once or twice a year.  I used to cover their auditions and they used to be a regular at the annual P.R.O. Convention in Atlanta.  I liked photographing their squad because they always have some attractive girls and they have a distinctive Arizona Girl look…a combination of girl next door with an outdoorsy quality…you know, the kind of girl you would hang out with at the river (the Colorado River) on a lazy weekend.

Well these all American, girls next door can also glam it up and put on a show, as you can tell in the above photo.  Yup, they can dance and I’ve been to a couple of Cardinals games in Phoenix (yes, I know it’s technically Glendale, Az.), which is a lot of fun.  Good times.  You should go.

Flashback Friday – 2012 Charger Girl Kayla

Has it been twelve years already?  In this edition of Flashback Friday, we take a long look back to the 2012 season and feature a lovely Charger Girl named Kayla.  It has been so long and I can’t remember how long she was on the squad, I think two years, but I recall those squads as being amongst my most favorite to photograph.  I was beginning to getting the shots that would eventually develop into my cheerleader image visual style and I was experimenting with new equipment, new photographic techniques and new software processes.  I really enjoyed this time and I really enjoyed my time photographing my Charger Girls.