Off Season with Rakhshani and Olson

A few weeks ago Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders AHL affiliate) forward Rhett Rakhshani and defenseman Benn Olson did some off season training with the Sound Tigers assistant Coach Matt Bertani in Pittsburgh, PA and I got to take a few photos during one of their sessions.  This was also the second week Coach Bertani was back on the ice after fracturing his c-1 vertebra in May.

I had a chance to talk with Rakhshani about his workouts and stay in Pittsburgh, you can check that out below!

Q. How long did you take off at the end of this season before getting back into a workout?

A. I took about 3 weeks off, then slowly got my body going again. 

Q. Do you change your diet in the off season?

A. I probably eat less carbs as I don't need quite as much fuel during the season than the off season.  I also try to eat all natural and organic foods as much as I can.

Q. What has Coach Bertani helped you with during this off season training that you feel will benefit you come next season?

A. I learned a lot about how to use my edges more efficiently and also to be able to turn faster.  Coach Bertani has also helped me to lengthen my stride by certain drills we did.  I feel all those things will benefit me this upcoming season.

Q. Did you get to see any of Pittsburgh during your visit?

A. Yeah, I got to see downtown Pittsburgh and some of the surrounding areas.  Downtown was really cool and Pittsburgh exceeded my expectations.

Q. What are you looking forward to most for next season?

A. I am most looking forward to an opportunity to make the Islanders and get into the NHL.

Meet William

Wow.  I have known William since he was like 3 years old.  His oldest sister is one of my best friends and it's crazy to think I remember him being so small and now he's all grown up and graduating high school!!  Today we ventured out to take his senior portraits.  Will kept it casual which was a lot of fun but he also is a great athlete so we threw in some of that while shooting.  Here is a sneak peek!

Meet my cousin Hayley

Meet my cousin Hayley.  We took her senior pictures a few days ago (I can't believe she's graduated High School already!!)  We had so much fun with outfit choices, she brought tons to choose from.  These are a few of my favorites.  I also had to throw in some of the goofy ones because that's just her. Hah.  I was so excited to be able to take these photos, she's a beautiful young woman who Im sure is going to change the world some day.  Enjoy :)

  

They grow up so quickly...

So far I have photographed Allison as a newborn, 4 months, and now 99 months old.  I can't believe how big she has gotten.  Those blue eyes stand out more than ever!  She was so animated throughout the whole shoot.  It took her awhile to get some smiles out, she liked showing off attitude, and trying to eat the daisy, hah.  But Mom and Dad knew all the tricks to get her smiling for the photos.

Mike and Jenn

This morning I met Mike and Jenn at Indian Lake for an engagement session.  This couple has been together 9 years!  It was great working with them because they were so comfortable with one another in front of the camera as I shot away.  Although it was overcast and humid both Mike and Jenn kept  it fun and had sense of humor as you can tell!  Here's a sneak peek.