Some late game, clutch free throws to seal the win by Marcedus Leech Jr. #shorts

Some late game, clutch free throws to seal the win by Marcedus Leech Jr.
I am Walter Cronk of Walter J Cronk Photography. I have been doing photography for about 9 years and went full-time with my photography 3 years ago. Click the link below and go to the portfolio section to see some of my portraits, pet portraits, and sports photography work. We are in Kalamazoo, Michigan but cover just about the whole great state of Michigan!
Most of the year is spent doing sports photography. I shoot all levels of sport and all different sports. Summer season is spent primarily covering District 14 motocross here in Michigan and also covering races for Veteran MX Foundation. Donating time and photos to them is what got me started into Motocross Photography. Photographing amateur motocross and for the VetMX Foundation has led to meeting a ton of amazing people and being fortunate enough to photograph the outdoor Pro Motocross Championship twice at RedBud MX.
Once motocross season starts to end, our NCAA sports kick off! It’s not just 1 or 2 sports. Its a lot of sports! Very long ago I got my foot in the door covering Division 1 football at Western Michigan University. That led to shooting almost all the sports for Davenport University. A division2 college out of Grand Rapids, Michigan in the GLIAC conference. Men’s sports that we photograph are Football, Basketball, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swim and Dive, Tennis, Track and Field, and Wrestling. On top of all that we photograph all the women’s sports. Basketball, Golf, Lacrosse, Rugby, Soccer, Softball, Swim and Dive, Tennis, Track and Field, and Volleyball. We also cover a few of there non-varsity/club sports like Hockey and Rugby. That’s not just shooting the games, but we also do the athlete headshots for all those sports. So needless to say, but we get VERY busy that time of year!
Being fortunate enough to cover all those sports for a Division2 college has led to some pretty amazing opportunities like being able to photograph Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, Lake Superior State University, Michigan Technological University, Northern Michigan University, Purdue University Northwest, Saginaw Valley State University, Wayne State University, and University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
We’ve been fortunate to cover multiple GLIAC conference championships and in 2022 were hired by Queens University of Charlotte to photograph some of their athletes that earned the chance to compete in the Division 2 Track and Field National Championship. That was truly amazing to be able to see so many amazing athletes in one place compete at that level!
The first big break we had in our sports photography adventure came in 2016 when we got to photograph the International Champions Cup (soccer). Real Madrid vs Chelsea FC at The Big House! Even though I didn’t know much about soccer at that time I couldn’t pass up that opportunity! I’m a die hard Wolverine fan, so getting the chance to be on the field at Michigan Stadium was an absolute dream come true!
Finally, I’m a Canon photographer! I love my Canon equipment! The gear has never let me down and I have been 100% thrilled with every new piece of gear we get! I’m not the guy that runs out and buys every new piece of gear that comes out on the market. I purchase what I need and what works for me. I started off with a Canon T3i photographing amateur MMA/ Mixed Martial Arts in crappy lit bars here in Michigan. Eventually over time upgraded to a Canon 7d MKII, then a Canon 1DX that I have built MOST if not all my portfolio on and still use all the time to this day! Recently we purchased a Canon R6 mirrorless camera. With those Canon camera bodies paired with my Canon lenses, theirs not a sporting event around that I can't walk into today and get the shots needed for the customer/client!
#walterjcronkphotography #michigan #photographer #kalamazoo #grandrapids