Link to the challenge page here.

Unforunately, I was only able to take photos of half of the first session of gymnastics (out of three total sessions) before I was told to put my camera away. There were definitely some insane camera restrictions going on. It really stunk to have to stop taking photos, but I finally watched a meet like a normal spectator and I must say, it was pretty fun.

Here are a few of my favorites from the session. A link to the complete gallery of the session is at the end of this post below the photos.

*COMPLETE GALLERY FROM THE SESSION*
Juniors Session 1

My other blog posts about gymnastics here.

Last year after my trip to Nationals I was stuck with the dilemma of “what to do with all of my favorite photos from the meet?”

My solution? Photo books. I made a photo book to put on the shelf and keep the rest of my gymnastics books company. This was so much fun for me since many of my photos never make it off of my computer. Some of the lucky few (my absolute favorites) make it to my walls, but if I were to hang every photo I loved, there wouldn’t be a millimeter of clear space. Although, if you have ever been to my house, you probably know that adding more books to my overwhelming collection isn’t the greatest idea either. But hey, I can lie to myself and say that piles of books are a good thing, right?

This first book is a layflat hardcover book. When it sits on the shelf with my other books it looks right at home!

This second book is something I made for one of my gymnasts. We did a really fun photoshoot a few summers ago so I took a bunch of her photos from that day and put them into a little linen softcover book. I really love how this one came out. Of course, this one is much more personal to me.

You can see the linen paper pretty well in this shot.

A two-page spread.

I am in love with the photo on the right.

This last book is from a meet earlier this year. This was the first elite qualifying met I have ever been able to go to. I had a blast. It was so fun to be able to watch all of the up-an-coming gymnasts try to qualify for the presitigious National Championships. There was SO much talent in one meet!

Front cover

Two-page spreads.

And those photos I mentioned at the beginning of this post? You know, the hundreds of favorites for which I have no space? You can check them all out here.

So, since I love basics, I loved this little gymnast from the Season’s Greetings meet on Saturday. She had great basics, great form and really sold her routines…so refreshing! She stood out among all of the gymnasts there and was in a class of her own. Such a cutie!

I had been twirling ideas around in my head about making a hardcover book of my favorite photos from Nationals this year. I had a long debate with myself as to which company I wanted to try, and decided to go with Mpix Pro. I am a professional member with them and I love their quality, but I hadn’t tried any of their press products yet. The final decision ended up being an 8×12 hardcover layflat book. I love it!

This is the cover and two spreads.

This is a spread of the Junior and Senior National Teams, the binding, and a little outline of Ivana Hong I put on the spine.

It is now sitting on my bookshelf with all of my other gymnastics books and I am thinking I am going to make this my project for every major gymnastics meet I attend. What do you think?

If you missed out on the galleries from Nationals, they’re still here.

I am starting with the Junior women’s prelim session and going alphabetically down the line. I have been able to add about 30 new photos per night so you can check out the galleries each morning for a little morning pick-me-up or you can wait until I announce that I have completed the uploads for each session (you’ll have to follow along on Facebook or Twitter if you want to know when that happens).

And a big “Thank You!” to all of the girls who are some of the most amazing subjects a photographer could ask for!

**Complete photo galleries from the 2009 Visa Championships**