Tag Archives: Vegas Shoot

wheels: not back on

1 March, 2020

It was pleasing to read that Sarah Sonnichsen, who hasn’t really been seen on the international circuit for two whole years, was spotted in Vegas shooting in the compound flights, where she put in a decent but not extraordinary 885. We last caught up with her here.

But essentially, she’s still completely quit, because she’s happier not doing it than doing it. Not many people right at the very top of the sport have straight-out quit before, but it’s an oddity and a shame that with female compound archers – the side of the sport with just a literal handful of professionals – it’s not been the biggest deal.

Whatever Sarah finishes up doing; you hope, of course, that it’ll make her happier than full-time archery, anyway. And also, that we shouldn’t forget the people who decide to hang up their bow forever.

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❗Long post ahead❗As some of you have noticed I was at #TheVegasShoot and shoot in the flights. I wanted to let ya’ll know I only did this to prove to myself I could do it without feeling terrible, having bad anxiety or having a panic attack and because I needed a short vacation. This unfortunately doesn’t mean I’m back at shooting at all. My life is looking alot different now and I don’t have the time for it in the moment. Neither do I want to get back to shooting. To say I don’t miss it at all would be a lie but I need to go another way with my life right now. So for now I’m back studying and using all my energy and time there instead. 🤓 But I’m happy to say I’ve never felt as good about my shooting and a competition as I did in Vegas. Everything was way more controlled than its ever been. This was a huge milestone for me and just prove how far I’ve come on my road to recovery and that quitting archery was the right thing to do. I’m way more in peace with myself and calm without archery and everything that evols it. Maybe one day I’ll be strong enough to go back to shooting and dealing with everything and everyone that comes with it without letting it affect my health. I’m a sensitive person and I take many things way to personal and let it affect me way too much which in the end got the best of me. It’s something I have to deal and work with and it’s just not possible for me while shooting… I wanna say a big thank you to all the people who’ve reached out. Your loving and encouraging words mean more than you’ll ever know! And I encourage you to keep reaching out to people in need! It saved me!❤️ I had some amazing days in Vegas with @danielle_reynolds531 and actually got to see and experience Vegas but that’s it. I am sorry I didn’t get to see ya’ll but one thing at a time. Maybe one day I’ll be back but for now it’s all only for fun and I’ll take things as they come. #RoadToRecovery #NewAdventures #TheTruth #AllTheFreakingDrama

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Vegas Shoot – photo diary

14 February, 2019

So I went to Vegas, to take photos for the NFAA. Lots of them. So many. More than you can possibly imagine. And it was a lot more difficult than I thought it might be. Nah, who’s he kidding. I’d like his job. Yeah, I’m pretty lucky really. 

My brief was mostly cover ‘real people’, rather than serious competitive archers, who obviously aren’t real people. But I did some of those anyway. 

The photos were almost all pretty straightforward, but The Vegas Shoot is by turns the greatest thing ever and the most exhausting weirdness, sometimes at the same time. I hope I occasionally got a shimmer of that, anyway. 

During the practice ends I decided it wouldn’t be that intrusive to break out the 20mm lens, on the ends of the line. This is an ultrawide lens that requires you to get really close to your subject – too close, really – but rewards you with a grandiose, yet personal feel if you get the right background. Closer to what the eye sees than a fisheye, but still unreal.  

The barebow lines had all the interesting people. And this service dog. With some shoes. 

Fatemah Ghasempour is, apparently, the first female archer from Iran to shoot barebow. Ever. 

It hurts, frankly, to push the supplied pins into the bales with your fingers. Some people even bring hammers. Or make their own arrangements. 

Sara Lopez (Colombia). Looking at the screen. Or maybe praying. Both very possible.

Just before the final championship shootdown I did exactly what I did last year, which was position myself by the screen that the final 900’ers have to walk past, one by one, to get into the arena. Again with the ultrawide, you are right in people’s faces. There is no element of quietly documenting. You are very much taking a picture of someone, and they are hyper aware of it. I tried to be quiet and polite and unobtrusive, but just not hide in any way what I was doing.  The camera is only a foot or so away from their face. Which makes for some interesting results. Some played the all-American superman, some enjoyed it, some ignored it, some were super nervous, and PJ Deloche looked at me and just gave a cheeky grin. 

Thanks for looking. 

in pursuit of perfection

12 February, 2014

Crystal Gauvin at the 2014 European Archery Festival. © 2014 The Infinite Curve

Reblog of a great couple of posts by Crystal Gauvin about her experiences at the Vegas Shoot, where she finished second in the ‘freestyle unlimited’ division (compound) as well as the Indoor World Cup final. Compound indoors, especially at Vegas, becomes all about achieving the maximum score in each round – the magical 300 mark usually referred to as ‘shooting clean’ – and she gives great insight into the difficulties of trying to achieve that least human of qualities: perfection.

Read both posts here:

Vegas Baby!

World Cup Finals