03.10.2016 - EPL Xball Event 1, NXL Vegas, MSXL, NCPA

My public gallery from the first EPL Xball event of the season is up! Check out some of the shots here.

Chad and the EPL know how to operate a proper event. It ran extremely smooth all weekend long and the competition was fierce. The EPL sets its rules based on what the players want, so it was nice to see a mix of Race to 4, no split deck, and no sideline coaching. Congrats to the winners, especially all my teams: the Scumdogs  took home 1st place in D4, East Coast Regulators took 3rd in D4, and Richmond Rage placed 3rd in D3. 

Next up for me is NXL Vegas Open. In less than a week i'll be hopping on a plane to visit the left coast. I'll be quite busy, but be sure to check out my social media pages and FaceFull for frequent updates. I also have room for one more team who wants photography coverage. Contact me if you're interested!

After Vegas it looks like I may be headed out to Louisville, KY for the first MSXL event! I've been wanting to cover one of those events for a long time and this one is going to be HUGE! I'll be taking teams who want photo and video work.

I'll also be attending the NCPA Nationals event in Florida in mid April. I'll be following my alma mater, Temple University, but I have tons of room for teams who want photography coverage. It's at a new venue, so I can't wait to see what the league has planned!

It's shaping up to be a pretty busy season, but I wouldn't have it any other way. See you on the field - g

02.29.2016 - Leap year // New gear // Big changes here

I would wait until the last (leap) day of February to make a "Welcome to 2016..." post. So here it is. Welcome.

I picked up a new camera during the off season so I could start offering video packages in addition to the photo work I so love to do. I put it through its paces by shooting a practice at the wonderful Pev's Paintball Park in Aldie, Virginia this past weekend. You can see those pictures here (videos coming soon). Since i'm offering videos this season, you should probably click on that YouTube icon at the top of this page and subscribe if you're into that sort of thing. You'll see a fair bit of raw footage and an occasional highlight video when the circumstances allow for it. 

The first event up is the EPL Xball event this coming weekend at CSP in Chesapeake, Virginia. They expanded the Xball league to host two different divisions and both are just about sold out. It should be an excellent weekend for the ball. After that, i'm headed out west for the NXL Vegas open. Lots of cool stuff going on there, so be sure to follow my Instagram to see daily highlights from that one. 

Finally, the big news is that i've decided to make a bit of a career change. I'll be working along side my wonderfully talented twin sister with her company Birdhouse weddings. We have worked together a handful of times and each one was an absolute joy. Being able to have the opportunity to pursue a creative career is a dream -- let alone with the person who I shared a womb with. While I enjoy the technical nature of engineering, it always felt a bit hollow. Creating, whether it be pictures, videos, or music, is what I was meant to do. -g

12.23.2015 - Top 10 Albums of the Year

I've listened to a lot of albums this year (for me anyway). My 2015 spotify playlist has grown a tad bit unwieldy at this point, so there are some albums that have been unfairly neglected or overplayed depending on when I added them. These ten albums for me signify ones that stood out -- I saw the band live, spent time travelling, or riding my bike while spinning the album excessively. Most of these artists are ones that i've known of for a while and anticipated their album release, while others (Zombi, My Morning Jacket, Dan Deacon) I had known of for years, but just never bothered to listen to. I hate when I make that mistake.

Continuing the trend from last year, there's a steady decrease in "heavy" music for me. Not that there aren't plenty of solid albums this year (Black Dahlia Murder, Intronaut), but RoN's album just trumped all. That album is so damn heavy, technical, and perfect in every way it made adding other albums seem silly.

You probably won't see Dan Deacon cracking many top 10's let alone topping one, but this album is just so much fun. His live show easily sealed the deal for me. One of the most energetic and positive  shows i've been to in a long, long time. 

That just about wraps up 2015 for me. I'm doing my top 10 pictures every day (starting yesterday!) on my Instagram and that will wrap up on New Year's Eve. Be sure to check those out. I'm also adding some old content to my YouTube page -- trying to resuscitate that one, so go subscribe if you're into that sort of thing.

See you in 2016 -g

11.05.2015 - NXL World Cup Wrap up

All my galleries from NXL World Cup are now up! Head on over to the folder to check them out!

This event was an absolute blast to shoot.The venue was legit, the weather cooperated, and it was certainly nice to only have a 5 minute drive to the field each morning. The days were long and I didn't have much down time, so I was running around getting pictures of all the teams who hired me (thank you!!!) and others when I could. Face Full was awesome enough to get me a media pass so I was finally able to shoot some matches on the pro field and I took advantage of that whenever I could. I didn't really have a lot of down time to enjoy the area or relax much, but I spent what little time I had at night hanging in the bar at Shubee's, which is a killer little restaurant. I also got to enjoy some fine dining at the local Waffle House, which is always a good time.

I was able to publish a few highlight galleries after each day on Face Full, which was fun to do, but definitely tiring after shooting a full day. You can view those highlights here:

Set 1 -- Set 2 -- Set 3

It was great to see a lot of familiar faces and meet a ton of new people! I'm sad the season is over, but it has been a great one. I just want to say thanks to all the people who hired me, looked at my images, or gave me some feedback on my work this season. It has been a great journey and I can't wait until next year! -g

10.03.2015 - EPL East Coast Cup

My photos from the EPL East Coast Cup are live! Go check out the gallery - and maybe buy a print - here!

Check out my highlight gallery on Face-Full too!

This was the final EPL event for the season and it was a great one! Chad runs a phenomenal league. He and his staff work incredibly hard all season long usually running about 15+ events all over the mid-Atlantic, so needless to say they know what they're doing. Heck, I played his first Xball event this year back in February and that feels like a lifetime ago! This event was held at my home field, Pev's Paintball in Aldie, Virginia. Seeing all the popup tents and vendors gave it a national-level feeling, while all the familiar faces made it seem like any other Sunday at the field. There was fantastic competition all day long, and I do mean all day. The event ran until it was basically dark because they had so many teams signed up competing for the cup. It was a great event and I can't wait until next season! Congrats to Chad and co on another successful season!

The next stop for me is NXL World Cup in Florida. I'm super excited about this event because i'm teaming up with Stretch from 1904 Photography (you probably know who he is, but if not go familiarize yourself with his incredible stuff)! I've been a huge fan of his work for years, so it's an honor to get to take on some teams with him. That being said, we're only booking a very limited number of spots for the event. If you or your team is interested, just shoot me a message.

In social media news, my facebook page just squeaked past 1,000 likes. I don't push the page at all, so it's cool to finally achieve that milestone...after 2+ years. Of course my Instagram is well over the 2k mark and I did that in less than a year. If you're not following me, scroll to the bottom of this page and check out my social media pages! </shamelessplug> g

09.15.2015 - BPL Event 3

My photos from this past weekend's BPL event are up. Check out all the action here!

The BPL is a new league that is run out of Paintball Adventure Park (PAP) in Taneytown, Maryland. Despite a relatively small turnout, there were lots of great teams that made for an exciting day to capture. I haven't been able to shoot too many local events this season, mostly because my personal schedule conflicted with a lot of the dates, so it was great to finally see some familiar faces on the field. I had an awesome time shooting on the sidelines with some other great local photographers too! Make sure to check out their stuff and buy some pictures when you see their galleries go up! In fact, that goes for all events. SUPPORT YOUR MEDIA!

Face Full published another highlight gallery of mine for this event! You can see some of my favorites from the day here!

As I mentioned above, I haven't been able to cover too many regional events this season, but I hope to change that going forward. I'm stepping away from playing tournament paintball, so that should give me a few extra weekends to make some rounds at all the great local leagues.

I will be attending NXL's World Cup. If you or your team is interested in coverage, shoot me a message for details! I'll also be shooting at the EPL East Coast Cup at the end of the month. Same deal, message me if you're looking for top notch coverage! See you out there! -g

08.26.2015 - EPL vs GPL

My gallery from the first ever EPL vs GPL 5-man tournament is live! Check out all the action here!

Two of the biggest leagues in the mid-Atlantic combined for what felt like a mini-national event. Over 50 teams competed on Sunday alone! They had three fields going all day and it seemed like everything was running very smoothly from what I could tell. Just my 0.02 here, but I really think if all the regional leagues would combine into one mega league - ala MiLP/WCPPL - every single event would be just like this one. Winning would feel even more prestigious when you best 40+ other teams instead of 10 or 20. The prizes could be even better and it may help grow the sport in the region. Granted, OXCC was a great halfway point for teams coming from NC up to NY and maybe even beyond. Just a thought!

I also had a highlight gallery published on Face Full! You can check out that gallery here! That's the second time this summer I was able to get featured; the first being on PbNation's front page. It definitely feels nice to get a little recognition in the wide world of paintball.

The paintball season is quickly coming to a close. There are a handful of regional events i'm planning to attend - PGPL, EPL - and then cap it off with World Cup in Kissimmee. I say this every blog post (i'm starting to think no one reads these things), but it's never too early to contact me about booking, especially for World Cup. -g

08.13.2015 - NXL Virginia Beach

My galleries from the NXL's Virginia Beach Open are live! Check them out here!

This was the second event in the (new) NXL's history and it was certainly on par with the first one in Cleveland. The facilities were quite different for a paintball event... a farm with a complete petting zoo! The fields were good, they had free water once again, the reffing was definitely improved, and the vendor area had a great showing. The venue itself was only a few miles from the beach, which was awesome! This league has things headed in the right direction and i'm very excited to see what the future holds for tournament paintball.

Fortunately/unfortunately for me, I didn't get to shoot a lot because my team had some late afternoon matches both days. We came out top of our bracket after Saturday with a record of 3-1, which was awesome, but we dropped our quarter-final's match to Ohio Power 4-3. It definitely felt great to make it to Sunday though! 

Because of that, I wasn't able to take on any teams for this event, so all the images in my galleries from this event are free to download, since I cannot sell them. If you like what you see and feel like making a donation you can send them via Paypal to:    info@favaphotography.com

I am planning to attend world cup in October and only take pictures, so if your team is interested in top notch coverage it's never too early to get in touch! -g

06.25.2015 - NXL Great Lakes Open

My galleries from the inaugural National Xball League's Great Lakes Open are live! Check out all my weekend coverage here!

The event itself ushered in a new era of tournament paintball. Being both a player and member of the media I had quite a unique experience. 

The split deck format was extremely fun and all of the fields seemed to run it well. They had some minor issues with the scoreboards throughout the weekend, but that is something that should be remedied by the next event for sure. The format doesn't seem all that different than the former standard, Race-to-X. Play one match on it and you'll see it's not much different, but it allows the matches to finish a lot quicker, saving time each day. The pits felt luxurious with respect to space and amenities. Oh, and they had free water flowing all weekend long! It doesn't seem like a big deal, but as a player, it's just one less thing to have to think about and it was a very nice surprise. Everyone loved that. No coaching is probably the best modification by far. Spectators respected the rule and it made playing significantly more enjoyable.

The venue itself was awesome and extremely easy to get to. There were also lots of good places to eat and things to do not too far away. I wouldn't be upset if they decided to go there again next season. They even hosted a player's party on Saturday night with free beer, volleyball, corn hole, and live music! It wasn't particularly well attended, but those who were there had a great time and I hope they continue these in the future.

 All of the staff I spoke with were extremely friendly and wanted to hear everyone's two cents. I think the bottom line is that this league is moving paintball forward in a positive direction and I can't wait for the remaining events this season!

One cool note, Pbnation.com featured my gallery on the front page! If you want to check out my thread, you can see it here! Go check them out, make sure to register, and  go follow them on instagram @pbnation

The next event is going to be at the Hunt Club Farm in Virginia Beach on August 7-9. If you're looking for media coverage, shoot me a message for details. See you at the beach! -g

05.21.2015 - PGPL Event 2

Pictures from the PGPL's Event #2 are live! Check them out here!

This was my first time to the playground since the fall and it was great to be back. Their staff know how to run an awesome event and the prizes....$2,000 cash for 1st place in D4 Race to 2. Yeah, i'd say that easily the best prize around. If you live near Mantua, NJ you really need to check this league out! They also do a D3 Race to 4 that puts out $5,000 for first place. Not too shabby!

Next stop is Cleveland for the first NXL event! My team will be playing the D4 Xball, but I may be taking pictures as well. As always, if you're interested in coverage shoot me a message for details. See ya in a few weeks -g

03.30.2015 - MiLP Event 2

Holy *!#@. What a trip. 

Here's just a little backstory from my adventure down to MiLP #2. I flew into Atlanta on Friday afternoon. The flight was extremely full and unfortunately they had run out of carry on space. Myself and a dozen or so other passengers were forced to check our bags. Unfortunately for me, my camera bag had to be stowed and picked up at the baggage claim at Hartsfield-Jackson. Gulp.

I rushed off the plane and arrived at baggage claim 2 and waited...and waited...but no bag. I noticed a similar bag that was still on the carousel. I checked the tag and it belonged to someone on my flight. My hunch was that this person picked up my bag instead. Don't ask me how you make that mistake when mine has stickers and locks on it, but whatever.

The staff at Delta were surprisingly helpful. One person in particular, Johnny, went above and beyond. He called me constantly giving me updates and took my claim very seriously. Long story short, through some fine detective work he was able to track down this individual and locate my bag. Yay! The bag and all the contents were in one piece, but unfortunately I was without it and its contents for the entire weekend.

Thankfully there are some truly amazing people out there who helped me greatly! Rachel from Fly Photo was generous enough to lend me her camera all weekend so I could cover my teams I flew in to photograph. Will Lumpkin, who runs the league, helped me out with a brand new media badge since mine was in my camera bag. My buddy Nick loaned me a mask and all my teams stuck with me! Despite the stressful situation and dealing with the airline in between matches, all these wonderful people helped make the weekend a success!

I also want to give a plug to some of my forum buddies from PbNation. One in particular saw my situation and wrote a list of some extremely helpful tips about how to avoid a situation like this. Take a look if you have a minute.

Anywho, the galleries from event #2 are now live! Check them out here!

The event itself was fantastic! The competition was fierce and the staff truly know what they're doing. They even had a few vendors out there (DLX, Planet Eclipse, and Exalt) which was cool to see for a regional series. 

Event #3 is a combined event with CFPS and is happening in just a few short weeks. If your team is looking for coverage shoot me a message through the contact page here! -g

02.18.2015 - MiLP Event 1

Welcome to the new year...about a month and a half late! 

The first event of the season is already in the books. I traveled down to Birmingham, Alabama on February 6th for the first Minor League Paintball (MiLP) event of the season. Both galleries for Saturday and Sunday are live! So go check them out!

This was a new league for me, but i've been following it for quite some time. It's one of the biggest regional series in the nation and certainly on the east coast drawing talent from D5 up to D3 and some D2 ringers for good measure. I was fortunate enough to cover 7 teams throughout the weekend. Of those, three of them made the podium taking 1st, 2nd (D4), and 3rd place (D5)! I can't say enough good things about this league. It really does give you that "national" tournament feel on a slightly smaller scale. If I were living in this region, this is definitely the league i'd be playing in.

I got to meet a lot of great people and cover some top notch divisional paintball! Needless to say, i'm planning to come back for more!

If your team is playing Event 2 in Perry, GA feel free to contact me for information! - g

12.21.2014 - Stickers!!!

Get your Fava Photography stickers right here folks!

Sticker Dimensions: 4" x 0.5"
Designed to fit as lens trim for just about every goggle out there. Can be used on hoppers or where ever else you can think of!

Also included is (1) free digital image from my website. During the PayPal checkout, leave the Image number and the Gallery in the notes for the one you want. I will email you the one you choose. This applies to images from Galleries under paintball, bands, and allscapes.

$3 for 5 stickers. Send payment to info@favaphotography.com

12.06.2014 - Top 10 Albums of the Year

As much as I enjoy both covering and playing paintball, my first true love will always be music (I do actually take pictures of bands from time to time). I grew up playing in bands and for that reason i'll always have a soft spot for supporting music that's more in the "underground" (yes, there are a few exceptions in the list below). Not to say that artists who have made it didn't have to work to get there, but some genres of music will forever appeal to a much smaller portion of music fans. The process for these artists then truly becomes a labor of love and that's something you have to respect.

Below are my 10 favorite albums from 2014, plus an honorable mention. It was difficult to whittle the list this year and I left out a lot of very solid albums by artists I truly enjoy. Floor, Behemoth, Junius, Toothgrinder, Job for a Cowboy (can't believe i'm even writing that, but it was a solid album), and that's just to name a few. 

The list predominantly comprises heavy music, but there are a few surprises, especially for me; Zola Jesus, Flying Lotus, and Future Islands. That last one is probably the catchiest album i've heard in recent memory and I haven't stopped listening to it since it was released. They're definitely gaining popularity, especially after their performance on David Letterman, but they're one of those artists who have been grinding it out for years and are now enjoying the fruits of their labor. 

If you're a fan of music, the best thing you can possibly do is get out there and support your favorite artists when they come in town. They all survive off of ticket and merchandise sales, so get out there!! Pollstar is a great website for tracking your favorite artists, so now you really have no excuse. -g

Honorable Mention:

11.24.2014 - Skyline S3X

Pictures from Skyline's S3X 3-man Xball event are up here.

Despite the cold start, this event got rolling and went off without a hitch. The competition looked solid all around and the staff/facilities were excellent! Skyline does a great job with the CFOA events and it showed here. Hopefully they do another one of these in the new year.

It looks like this was the last event for me for the season. I'll have season wrap-up post coming before the end of the year, but I just want to give a quick thanks to all the teams and players who hired me this season! Can't wait until next year! -g

11.04.2014 - NCPA NEIC Event 1

Photos from the first NCPA NEIC Event #1 are up! Check them out here.

It has been quite some time since the last update. I covered a local practice back in August that included PSP Champion's team Baltimore Revo, Syndicate, and KPS. Those photos are up in the paintball gallery, but I also tried my hand at making a video. You can check that out here (and add me on youtube!). 

This most recent event was a blast to cover. As a Temple alum, it was great to see the owl's line in action. They played very well and look like they will have a great season. The other teams that competed did a phenomenal job! The NCPA format is grueling for sure, but fun to watch. Hopefully i'll make it out to the next event sometime this winter.

The last event on tap for the season will be Skyline's 3-man Xball event on November 15th and 16th. Registration is filling up, but you can get all the info for the event here. If your team is interested in coverage, I have special rates for this event, so shoot me a message for details! -g

06.29.2014 - EPL Xball

Photos from the EPL's first Race to 4 event are live! You can view them here.

The event was a huge success. Games ran on time, the reffing was fair, and the competition was top notch. As a whole, it ran smoothly and there were very few hiccups throughout both days of intense matches. There were a few games  that even came down to the very last seconds and it made for some exciting times.  

Rumor has it they will be hosting another Race to 4 event at the same location in September, so keep your eyes peeled!  -g 

06.07.2014 - PGPL Event 2

Pictures from the PGPL's Event #2 are up! Check them out here.

This was another great event from the Playground. They had more teams registered than the first event and the competition was top notch. I expect the next one to be even bigger, so get your team registered! Regardless of using  PSP's MAO layout, which tends to play on the slower side, the event as a whole ran smoothly and just about on schedule all day. Congrats to all the teams who competed! 

Next up will be the EPL's first Race-to-4 event at Chesapeake Sports Park (CSP). I'm looking to take on a few teams for this event, so if you're interested  or know someone who might be, point them in my direction! See you in a few weeks! -g

04.18.2014 - PGPL Event 1

Pictures from the PGPL's first event are live! Click here to go check them out!

As far as I could tell, the first event was a huge success. There were 23 teams registered across the D4 Race-to-2 and D3 Race-to-4 divisions. Tons of great competition, fantastic staff, and AWESOME prizes ($5k in cash and 5 Luxes for 1st... not too shabby right??).

I suspect the remaining events will be equally if not more well attended since this was such a hit. Make sure you get your team registered for their remaining events here.

I've got a bit of a lull for the next few weeks, but hopefully i'll get some new material up. My team (Grand Theft Paintball) is playing PSP's MAO event, so come say hi, we'll be in the D4 Race-to-2 division. I'll also be attending Living Legends 7 out at CPX in Joliet, IL and might have some time to squeeze in a few pictures. -g

04.01.2014 - INVSN @ DC9

Last week I was browsing one of my favorite metal blogs and, of all places, heard this band called INVSN. The blog was reviewing some of the best acts they saw at this year's SXSW and this was one of them. I really liked what I heard, so I checked if they were touring and lo and behold they were playing that same night in DC. The main reason this band was featured on that blog was because the singer was also in Refused. This band sounds nothing like them...but it's still a good thing!

The other two bands on the bill were Technophobia and Color Film. I got there late -- gotta love night classes -- so I only caught the last song from Technophobia. They have a dark, electronic sound and were quite entertaining. 

Color Film played next and i'll be honest, I didn't really look into them at all beforehand. In a way i'm kind of glad I didn't. As soon as I saw the singer on stage and heard his voice, I immediately recognized him as Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw/Head Automatica fame. Side note: Worship and Tribute is an album I still listen to on a regular basis, so not knowing he was the singer for this band sorta blew my mind for a bit. 
They had a very unique sound and all the musicians were stellar. Definitely worth checking out if you get a minute.

As I expected, INVSN killed it. Dennis' stage presence is unbelievable and seeing him in such a small venue was a blast. The entire band sounded phenomenal. I haven't been able to listen to much else in the past week as the songs get stuck in your head very quickly.

Photos from the night can be seen here. Until next time... -g

03.19.2014 - For Hire: PGPL Event 1

I'll be covering the first PGPL event on Sunday April 6th. I'm looking to take on a few teams, so if your team wants dedicated coverage, just get in touch with me through the contact section here. 

If you're a PbNation user, feel free to visit my for hire thread here. -g

03.11.2014 - Skyline CFOA Event 2

Last weekend was Skyline's second CFOA event. Pictures from the event are up here.

The weather was much better this time around. They were able to run both fields, which meant the day went much faster, but I also wasn't able to spend as much time covering each team as I had to bounce back and forth between fields. For future events, if your team would like dedicated coverage just contact me and we can discuss some options.

The competition in both divisions was very close. There were a lot of great squads out there and if they keep showing up, it should make for a very entertaining year.

I have a few events in the works, which i'll announce very soon. The schedule should cover events from now until October. That should make for a very busy season!

Make sure to add me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to keep up with all the latest happenings.  -g

02.25.2014 - Skyline CFOA Event 1

The first event of the year is over and pictures from it are up here. 

Skyline Paintball sure knows how to host a great event , so make sure to get your team registered for their next one on March 8th. Hopefully it'll be a little warmer and we'll have significantly less snow this time.

The paintball season is really about to get underway in the next few weeks. I've got my eye on a couple of events in particular and i'll be announcing those shortly.

As always, if your team is looking for dedicated coverage feel free to shoot me a message on here or any of my other social media pages. -g

02.05.2014 - Pev's Practice, For Hire: CFOA 

Updates!! Check out the latest gallery from a recent practice at Pev's here.

The 2014 paintball season is about to get underway. I've got plans to cover the CFOA series, which is hosted at Skyline Paintball, the GPL series, and a few other events throughout the year. I'll update this section, as well as my other social media sites (see the bottom of this page for links), when an event is coming up.

If your team is looking for dedicated coverage at an event, just send me a message through the contact section to get the ball rolling.

See you on the field! -g

01.05.2014 - New site, logo, and more!

Launching of the new website and logo - compliments to my lovely wife Kristen and her company Rexmake! Higher quality images in the galleries, smoother and quicker loading content, less obtrusive watermarking, better checkout system. Oh, and there's some new content too... -g