Regular readers of this column are no doubt familiar with “Maddy’s Photos”, www.maddysphotos.com, the website where you will find more fastpitch photos than any site known to man (or woman, as the case may be). But if you have not visited since the end of the 2008 season, you may have missed the complete remodel of her website.
The new site is divided into three main galleries, “Sports“, “Events, and “Places“. (Well, and those “private galleries” under lock and key). To view them, click the “Galleries” button at the top of the main page. The fastpitch galleries will, of course, be found in the “Sports” section, and comprise the largest set of photos with still more to come. It is still a work in progress. While most of our readers spend the bulk of their time in the fastpitch galleries, you may wish to peruse the other galleries to see what she’s been up to. The “Places” galleries are favorite of mine, providing a perspective on the cities or towns that we visit during the course of the year (season).
Maddy has been shooting the game of fastpitch since 2002, when she took her little digital snapshot camera to Salem, Oregon, to shoot the 2002 NAFA World Series. She graduated to newer and better cameras annually (or so says Santa Claus), and started getting serious in 2004 with a trip to the AAU International Tournament in Orlando, Florida. While fastpitch was new to her in those early years, photography was not, and had been a lifelong hobby, back in the days of 35 mm camera and film. The digital age coincided with her introduction to the game of fastpitch, and grew to a passion.
Since those early days, she has been a fixture at the AAU, and other tournaments like Red Rock, Rose Cup, ISC II Tournament of Champions and ISC World Tournament, with side trips to places like the Bahamas, and Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada thrown in for good measure. Along the way, in addition to posting her photos to Fastpitchwest, and later her own website, www.maddysphotos.com, her fastpitch work has been published a dozen or so times in Softball Magazine, as well as in a number of newspapers. The most recent “feathers in her cap” in was a sports section front page shot published in the Kimberly, Wisconsin newspaper, and a recent “inside cover” shot published in the lastest issue of Softball magazine, her sixth “inside cover” in the magazine. Her photos have also popped up (with permission) on fastpitch websites, from the likes of Al’s Fastball to league and team sites, including some in other countries. Her photos have also been featured prominently in the last several ISC Media Guides.
The new website permits fastpitch players and fans alike not only to view the photos, but to order them if they wish. One of the most difficult things for her was trying to keep up with the myriad of requests for one photo or another. With a demanding “day job”, it was hard for her to keep up, especially as the collection of photos grew from hundreds to thousands. The decision to sell her photos was a difficult one for her, as she is certainly not shooting fastpitch as a money maker. The new site works through a well known company called “SmugMug”, an online photo store of sorts, permitting people to get the photos they want in an automated fashion. While her expenses to tournaments exponentially exceed the nominal sales of the site, it does help with some of her equipment and travel costs.
Maddy wanted to pass along her thanks to all who write to her about her photos. The feedback from those who have ordered online has been positive, with prompt mailing, and good quality photos.
For the Christmas season, (Maddy’s 12 Days of Christmas) she has reduced the standard prices for photos, and also added digital images to the mix. So if you are struggling for gift ideas like most of us, an enlargement might go well with that picture frame you bought. She also added other photo-gift options from SmugMug (stocking stuffer items like T-shirts, keychains, buttons, and such). (I found those items a little pricier, but SmugMug’s pricing dictates most of that).
So for Maddy’s 12 Days of Christmas, enjoy the reduced price of prints ($3, $7 and $12 for the standard sizes), or some of that well deserved year end time off, to just peruse the photos at her gallery. Looking for galleries from prior tournaments? Stay tuned, they will follow soon.
Click logo above or below to visit MaddysPhotos.com or here to go directly to the fastpitch galleries.
Readers may write to Maddy directly at maddy (at) maddysphotos (dot) com, or by clicking the “Contact” link on the main menu at her site.