Excuse me while i gush a bit…

Shock Exchange played a beautiful game on Saturday and I really had a great time shooting it. I gotta tell you it’s a bit hard shooting derby. Sometimes I get really into the game and lift my head up from my viewfinder and I miss an amazing shot! For example Vader had this huge hit, knocked the guy out of bounds, and then held him out by staying at the back of the pack. It was a bee-yoo-tiful play and of course, no photo because I was too busy cheering. (Did I mention he got MVP?) Well here are some of my faves from this set I posted on my Flickr.

Team photo after the win. Everyone smells great here. That’s what winning smells like.

A quick-footed Ladies Knight with Circle Jerk hot on his tail.

Connecticut Death Quad’s Circle Jerk trash-talking from the box.

 

 

Shock Exchange’s 2011 Season

The New York Shock Exchange is preparing for it’s 2011 Season with a really clever campaign on their Facebook. All the skaters are submitting photos of how they prepare for the upcoming season. Vader and I put this one together… In case you’re wondering, yes, that’s tiger’s blood. (no animals were harmed, Mom. you can hang up with the ASPCA now.)  The Undefeated Shockers will be playing this coming Saturday, March 12th out on Long Island if you wanna swing by and see some amazing (and did I mention totally hot?) Men’s Derby. Here’s the link for tickets.

we interrupt this regularly scheduled study session….

to post that i’m missing you all, very much. the holiday was just delightful, as i studied in bed while vader snuggled up with World of Warcraft. heaven. my quest for the holy 4.0 prevents me from doing anything other than studying but i will try to sneak some photos from the last Garden State Rollergirls game up some time this week. xoxo

my other life

pssst. i have a secret. well actually i have a secret life. it doesn’t involve crime-fighting or anything like that but it does involve shiny spandex hot shorts. it’s roller derby. i have played roller derby for 4 seasons and many know me as eden mydust. or just eden for short. (in fact most of my derby family only know my real name from my twitter feed. lol) while i adore my team, The Garden State Rollergirls, photography and my children have priority right now and so i am on leave. being away from derby is actually pretty hard for me because i miss the love of my teammates, the motivation they give and the inspiration to work harder. these are things i never experienced before roller derby. but i’ve found that i can still be involved in roller derby, just not play. i volunteer and promote but mostly i shoot. yay! photography saves the day again. since my husband, Vader, plays on the  NY Shock Exchange, we travel quite a bit and i have the pleasure of shooting for them. shooting derby is unlike anything else i shoot, and so i enjoy it as a refreshing change. it’s not the campy sport you may remember from the 70’s but really a true athletic endeavor with most skaters practicing 2-3 hours 3 or 4 times a week, not to mention all the plyometrics and strength training involved to keep them fast. it’s really an amazing sport. i strongly encourage you to go see a derby bout in your area. it won’t dissapoint. here are some photos from Holyoke, MA from this past weekend. Shock Exchange took on Pioneer Valley Roller Derby.

Jonathan R, the Shock Exchange’s captain, proudly skates his team through introductions.

An awesome Shock Exchange fan

Of course I had to include a picture of my husband roughing up Pioneer Valley’s The Rev. One of the beautiful parts of roller derby is that on the track you may be fierce opponents but at the after party, you’re friends and you share a beer together.

and I couldn’t resist this one. Our friend, the beautiful Jess Bandit of Montreal Roller Derby sported this amazing mustache. (She had to take it off because it was shedding.)