Bracebridge Dinner

Singers entertain the Squire and the Bracebridge diners.

Forty-eight years as a photojournalist with forty-seven of those covering Yosemite National Park, and I had never photographed the Bracebridge Dinner.  Not because the event hasn’t been around – it’s over 80 years old.  More because when I think about Yosemite the images in my mind’s eye are Half Dome and El Capitan erupting from the earth, icy streams cutting across sharp-grassed meadows, sugar pines, white fir, and giant sequoias soaring into pristine skies.  I don’t think about the already magnificent Ahwahnee decked out as a 17th century English manor, a seven-course feast of crab, duck, angus beef with-all-the-trimmings-and-then-some, lute players and ladies-in-waiting, jugglers and jesters, and enough yuletide spirit to fill the place to its 34-foot-high beamed ceiling.

At least I didn’t before December 18, 2009.  But I do now.  On that memorable evening, I covered The Bracebridge Dinner for the first time.  While the diners partook of music, merrymaking, and mountains of food, I photographed everything I could get my lens on.  I immersed myself and my camera in the images of the celebration just as the diners immersed themselves in the spirit of a Renaissance Yule.  The scents of the meats, pastries, and sauces, the sounds of the trumpets, trombones, and tubas, the textures of the velvets, satins, and furs-all had to be captured in my images.  I worked intensely, not wanting to miss anything, not knowing what might happen next.  I had to move around constantly, with hardly a place to pause because the dining tables consumed most of the room and the wait staff and performers filled the rest.   I held my breath and did a bunch of slower shutter speeds at wide open.

Over 900 images later, the event was over.  As the last wine was quaffed and the last mignardise were nibbled, I loaded my equipment into my four-wheel drive and headed for home through the deep snow.  A long evening followed by a long night – the life of the freelance photographer.

Editing was challenging.  The event is one richly colored, highly textured vignette after another, but the technical difficulty is at least a 9 (scale of 0-10).  I set my Nikon D3 at 6400 ISO for the entire evening because the giant room was so dark.  The shadow-to-highlight ratios were extreme because the high ceilings were lighted by candles and the performers by theatrical spots.  I used my 300 mm f2.8 Nikkor, 70-200 mm f2.8 Nikkor zoom, and 17-35 mm f2.8 Nikkor zoom.

Initially, I edited down to 200 images even though all turned out to be technically acceptable, most even excellent.  The best of these, 51 images, can be seen on Photoshelter.  Twelve of the final group are posted here.  They are only a tiny representation of the images I photographed.  But I think you’ll notice that the problem presented by the darkness of the room has been entirely eliminated.  It was a terrific night!  I had such a great time that I intend to do it again.

View of guests in Great Lounge enjoying cocktails and singing carols accompanied by grand piano.

Men in formal attire swap war stories.

Dining room with large beam ceiling is full of guests as entertainment begins.

Squire Bracebridge makes Jester King for the day.

Jester makes merry.

The Fish, the third course of the feast, is brought in by four servants.

The fifth course, Baron of Beef and Boar's Head, is carried past a magnificent stone fireplace into the dining hall.

The Housekeeper, played by Andrea Fulton a central figure in every aspect of The Dinner, and the French Chef sing a duet.

The Widow entertains diners with stories between songs, dances, and other performances.

The more-than-100 actors, singers, and musicians fill the central aisle as they leave the stage between courses.

The French Chef sings a plea to the Housekeeper about the menu and invites praise for his magnificent cooking.

Motor Fire Near Yosemite Entrance, August 25, 2011

 

Last Thursday I was working on a blog about my first season photographing the NFL, when I got an email from my friend Wes Schultz.  Wes sent me a URL from Wildlanfire.com that said there was a fire near El Portal and they were requesting recourses.  I could see a big column of smoke from my balcony.  So, I started getting my camera equipment ready and pulled all of my fire gear together.  They named the fire the Motor Fire because a motor home caught fire on highway 140 starting fires on both sides of the Merced River.

Before I left the house about 3:30 pm, I photographed this column of smoke.  We are looking east from my house.  The smoke blocks the view of Yosemite National Park.

After driving nearly 60 miles I was on Highway 140 close to the fire.  With my 400mm and a 1.4 extender, I could photograph the Helicopters dropping water directly on the fire.  If you have been there before, it is between Savages Trading Post and the Cedar Lodge.

I continued up river where I found helicopter 404 from the Columbia Helitack base scooping water out of the Merced River.

404 has a new paint job because CDF, California Department of Forestry is now called Cal Fire.

The Cal Fire helicopter pilots are amazing.

Cal Fire 404 put water down in drainage to slow progress of the fire.

On the way out to make deadline, I could see the fire had reached Trumbull Peak.  That gave me an idea where the fire was going.  The next day I planed to got to Trumbull Peak from the old Coulterville to Yosemite stagecoach toll road.  This would be my last change to photograph the fire because Saturday and Sunday I was covering NFL football game.

I got a late start but I could see there was still smoke rising.  To say the road was a little rougher that I remember is an understatement.  My new rattle loose and I have to use Duck-Tape of keep it from falling off.  I had to ride up on the bank of the road along with a little brush smashing.  My Truck has the scars to prove it made the trip.  The next day the Forest Service closed the road for safety reasons.  By the time I got to just below the Peak, I met the Fulton Hot Shots come down the road.  The fire came up over the Trumbull Peak Lookout and they decided to fall back to where I took this image of the Motor fire jumping the Peak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buzzard Visit, August 10, 2011

Last Wednesday about ten in the morning, my wife called to me from outside our house.  She said the turkey vultures were flying very low and I should get my camera.  We live near the top of Greeley Hill where the up-slope winds allow big birds to soar for hours.  I already had my boots on and headed outside to see for myself.  She was right.  The buzzards were gliding just above the treetops.  I looked toward our driveway and saw a couple birds landing in a big sugar pine.  By my count, there were about ten or twelve vultures altogether, so I grabbed my camera.  My Nikon D3 and 200-400mm zoom were just what I needed.

This immature turkey vulture is coming in for a landing on a big bare limb of a sugar pine.  You can tell it is immature because of its black head.  Mature birds have a red head.

Gliding low over our property frightened the chickens and guineas.  I think vultures are the best flyers.  The adult birds’ wingspans average about six feet.

In October 1975, I photographed this vulture near LaGrange drying its wings in the morning sun.  This image was part of a feature I did for Associated Press Features, published in January 1976.  I learned while photographing this group of about 30 birds not to approach them in a threatening manner because they vomit.  Whether this reaction is due to stress or to lighten their load for a quick takeoff, it is gross when you’re at the receiving end.  Remember, they eat mostly carrion, so the smell is bad to say the least.

Here, five of the buzzards roost on one of our sugar pines.

This vulture has just landed and his wings are still expanded.

A mature bird and a youngster have a minor territorial squabble.

 

 


 

 

 

 

Cowboy Photography Workshop July 2011

Two weeks ago, the Erickson Cattle Company held a Cowboy Photography Workshop in Ackerson Meadow near Yosemite National Park.  Here is my record of what I saw during the workshop.  Photographers were treated to lots of real cattle ranch activity.  A late rainy season kept the wildflowers and grass alive and colorful until this mid-July date.  Normally the grass is brown and the flowers are gone.

With the help of Tim Hansen and Will Bennett, Dan Erickson moves cattle across Stone Meadow.  Cabin in background is the original ranch house built by Dan’s great-great grandfather in 1892.

Dan saddles up a second horse to give his first horse a rest.

Dan and Andra Erickson move cattle from back corral.

William Henderson and Julie Kitzenberger photograph morning mist on Stone Meadow.

Horses run through muddy bog.

William Henderson photographs dew on wire fence.

At day’s end, Dan moves horses back to corral.

During the day, Andra Erickson photographs her husband with son Logan close by.

At sunrise, Dan takes a moment to give his horse a rest.

Julie Kitzenberger photographs Tim Hansen near sunset.

Andra Erickson leads horse from upper meadow.

Photographer gets a chance to capture early light.

Wyatt Hansen ropes calf.

William Henderson in foreground, Julie Kitzenberger standing at left, Charlie Phillips standing on right, Wes Schultz on far right.

Group of cowboys and cowgirl move cattle from back of corral.

Dan Erickson slips reins around neck of horse to change mounts.

Andra Erickson

Tim Hansen uses rope to move cattle.

Wyatt Hansen takes a break during morning activities.

Dan and Tim walk horse into corral.

Will Bennett and Dan Erickson take calf down after Wyatt Hansen roped it.

Wes Schultz decided to photograph me.

Wes’s photograph of me.

 

 

Jess Tharp — Fourth of July, 36 Years Ago

In the middle of June 1975, Laurelei Mullens, Modesto Bee features editor, sent me to south Modesto to photograph Jess Tharp, an 80-year-old cowboy saddle maker.  Mullens was doing an advance story for the big Modesto Independence Day Parade.  She wanted to do the story about Tharp because he would be the oldest rider in the parade and had been making and repairing saddles for over half a century.

When Tharp returned home in 1919 after serving our country in World War I, he changed careers.  Before the war, he had been a full time cowboy.  After the war he was offered $35 and beans for breaking horses, a job that had paid twice as much before the war.  He said, “Forgit it.”  From 1922 on, he would be a saddle maker.  He got his start in a saddletree shop in Utah.

Jess’s saddle shop in Modesto was full of smells that were familiar to me.  I grew up in my father’s shoe repair business.  Golub’s Shoe Repair smelled of freshly tanned leather just like this saddle shop.  There was a heavy coat of dust that came from shaving leather and the tools were similar to those I played with as a kid.  To see Jess’s images on Photoshelter click here.

Jess took cheerful pride in the saddle he was going to use in the 4th of July parade.  He used a saddletree that was older than he was, made in 1882.  He restored the saddle the year before, but this would be the first time he used it since the restoration.

He told me he would be the oldest rider in the parade and would wear his 60-year-old spurs, saying “I’ve rode many broncs with those spurs since 1915.”

Jess gave me a quick lesson in hand tooling.  He let me practice making an acorn pattern on a scrap of leather.

He hand tooled the Main & Winchester trademark on the fender of the saddle. The Main & Winchester Saddlery was one of the best known among the Old West Saddleries.  They were a San Francisco based business that started up during the Gold Rush of 1849.

When asked why he kept on working into his later years he said, “If I’d just sit down and do nothing. I’d be a mess.”

“Sure, I worked as a cowboy for three years steady, getting $70 a month for breaking horses, but that was before the war.”

Jess works a hand-operated cutting machine for making leather strips to be used as reins and other rigging.

Special sewing machine is used to groove and stitch leather reins together.  Being in Jess’s saddle shop was like going back in time.  Jess told me about his days in Colorado when he carried a .32-20 Colt in his chaps pocket.  “It was one of the long barreled jobs.”

On the cantle of the saddle was the original trademark.  Jess’s pride and craftsmanship reminded me of my father and the shoemakers that worked with him.  I know my craftsmanship and sense of pride for my photography comes from what I learned from my father.

 

 

Muhammad Ali visits Modesto, California 1971

 

When I heard that Muhammad Ali was going to speak in Modesto, I immediately started asking Darell Phillips, the Modesto Bee’s Sports Editor, to give me the assignment.  It wasn’t until the next day that I checked the photo schedule and saw I was on nights that week, so the assignment would be mine anyway.  Lesson learned; check schedule before asking about any assignment.   Photoshelter

I identified with Ali as a peer, not only because he is only eight months older than I am, but also because his controversial, witty, and wild statements were compatible with my own outspokenness.  I loved his bodaciousness.

My father loved boxing.  I learned to love it too, not quite at his knee, but when I was pretty young.  Dad and I both liked Ali from his early years when he was still known as Cassius Clay.  My dad had some doubts about him when he renamed himself Muhammad Ali, but his enthusiasm for Ali’s boxing style never waned.

As for my own attitude, I admired Ali’s courage and determination in sticking to his convictions.  When he joined Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, I was a little concerned, so it was reassuring to me when he joined a Sunni Muslim mosque in 1975.  I respected his stance on the Vietnam War and the use of the draft during those years, even though I had served four years (and eight days) in the U.S. Air Force and would have served in Vietnam if called.

To say Ali was entertaining during the press conference would be an understatement.  He disarmed the more conservative and critical reporters with quick, clever answers.  When asked about fighting George Foreman, the reigning heavyweight champ, Ali responded, “He ain’t in my class.  Foreman fighting me would be like putting him in Vietnam with a B-B gun.”

Darell and I got to spend some down time with Ali in a motor home when he was a little more laid back.  In that more private setting, he was straightforward and honest without any hype.  He talked a lot about being a role model for others and working to get his career back on track.

When we arrived at the SOS, Tom Mellis gave Ali a whirlwind tour of the Sportsmen of Stanislaus Club.  While they were looking at the Olympic-sized swimming pool, Ali said to Tom, “this place is so nice, I think I will build me one.”  I chuckled under my breath, but I don’t think Tom got the joke.

Ali listened carefully to the reporters’ questions, but didn’t always answer them in a serious way.  He put on his bigger-than-life persona just like putting up his guard in a fight.  In this image, he appears to drop his guard just as he would do in the ring to see if someone would take a wild swing or, in this setting, ask an easy question, so he could counterpunch with a quoteworthy response.

During the tour, he checked out the piano and the pool table.  He seemed really familiar with the pool table.  During a receiving line with bigwigs like Julio Gallo, he just changed the subject every time something serious was asked.

On the subject of his March 1971 boxing opponent, Joe Frazier, to whom he had lost one fight by decision Ali said, “Man he hits hard, so hard.  He hit me so hard in the fifteenth, my kinfolk back in Africa felt it.”  A few years later, Ali would turn the tables, beating Frazier in two fights in two years.

Mel Williams, a community leader, contacted Ali and got him to visit the Modesto African-American community.  Mel got the word out with only a couple hours notice.  As Ali walked into the King-Kennedy Community Center, several hundred people swarmed around him.

In the Center’s multipurpose room he signed autographs and hugged babies.  Young and old alike, everybody wanted to touch the champ.  He didn’t have to say much, just his presence made the crowd happy.

Rev. Monroe Taylor, Director of the King-Kennedy Community Center, watches as Ali signs an autograph.  Mel Williams is standing in the back.  The Center, built with funds from the city and a federal antipoverty program, was barely two years old at the time.    Photoshelter

 

John V. Tunney California Senatorial Campaign 1970

Last week I blogged my 1968 experience with national politics and campaign trains in my blog “Robert F. Kennedy 1968.”  A little more than two years later, I got the opportunity to put into action what I had learned when I was given the assignment to cover 1970 U.S. Senatorial candidate John V. Tunney.   The press arrangements required reporter Fred Youmans and me to meet the train twelve miles south of Modesto in Turlock.  We identified ourselves to Tunney’s campaign staff and security and got on board the historic observation car known as the “El Dorado” — built in 1924 by Union Pacific and previously used by President Franklin D Roosevelt.  I quickly got to work photographing candidate Tunney and actor Burt Lancaster.  All too soon, we were in Modesto.  Photoshelter The minute I jumped off the “El Dorado,” I hurried to get close under the observation deck.  Tunney was rousing the crowd with a rip-roaring speech and they were responding with enthusiastic cheers. Tunney’s security guards were out in force because there were demonstrators from opponent Senator George Murphy’s campaign.  For me, the guards were easy to deal with because I followed their rules and checked in with Tunney’s staff on the train.

While on the ground, I used my newly acquired Nikkor 20mm f3.5 lens to get good images from the east side of the train.

Burt Lancaster, 1960 Oscar winner for “Elmer Gantry” and politically-ahead-of-his-time Hollywood star, was easy to photograph in the “El Dorado.”  I also spotted Rafer Johnson in the “El Dorado” but didn’t get to photograph him before I had to go. (for more on Rafer Johnson, see last week’s blog “Robert F. Kennedy 1968.”)

Before I left the “El Dorado,” I got a chance to shoot behind the candidate.  This 105mm shot into the audience shows the face of Stanislaus County in 1970.

Took this basic talking head shot of Tunney talking to Fred Youmans.  You should always shoot lots of portraits and talking head images.  These images or mugs always become more important later.

I jumped up on the step below the observation deck and held on with one hand while photographing the crowd with the other.

The protesters and the supporters seem to be having a little pushing match with their campaign signs.

By the time I got over to the west side of the train, Burt Lancaster was speaking.  According to the briefing, this meant the train was going to pull out of the station soon.

While I was behind Tunney on the observation deck, I used the old hands-over-my-head with the 20mm to make this image.

As planned, Ted Benson picked me up at the train station and gave me a ride south to Turlock to pick up my car.  This image was taken a couple years later of the two of us walking together after a similar campaign event.  Can’t remember who gave us this transparency.  The photographer documented our appearance.  Need I say more?

 

 

Robert F. Kennedy 1968

In March of 1968 I had been on the Modesto Bee photo staff just under two years and had long since earned my stripes with the editors and photographers, so I was given my first big assignment of national importance: to photograph Robert F. Kennedy at the Senate Hearings in Stockton, California.  As a lifelong Democrat, getting to photograph RFK was a dream comes true. The Photo Assignment appeared simple and straightforward, “Old Stockton High School Auditorium, Stockton, Senate Hearings, Robert Kennedy, 1:00 p.m.”  Chuck Rodgers, the chief photographer at the time, called out to me with a big grin as I went out the door, “Screw on your objectivity glasses!”  I knew what he meant.

I arrived at the school an hour early and was greeted by some of my fellow photojournalist friends who asked me, “Why weren’t you on the tour?”  There was a tour?  I didn’t know about any tour.  They quickly informed me that since the hearing was about poverty in America, RFK had taken a tour into Stockton’s poorest areas for several hours that morning.  One of the more blowhard photographers gloated about the great photos he got, as Bobby talked one-on-one with kids.  Immediately, I realized the missed chance to get great classic images of Bobby in the midst of real poverty and real people in the Delta.

This first lesson was one of those hard experiences that have made me a better photojournalist.  I never again left so much to the assignment editor.  When I finally talked to him later that day, I found out that his priorities were different from mine.  He knew about the tour but dismissed it because he didn’t think it would contribute to the written piece he planned (even though it would have).  From that point forward, I did my own research so I wouldn’t miss a morning tour or whatever extras might enrich an assignment beyond what the assigning editor had envisioned.  I also learned that it was essential to discuss with my editors what factors they believed were visually important to a story—not only so that I would capture the images they wanted, but also so that I could anticipate what they had overlooked.

This image of Bobby is my favorite.  Using a clunky Nikkor 300mm f4.0, wide open at 1/60th of a second, I squeezed off a handful of images from the press area.  To see my images on Photoshelter click here.

Before the hearing, a good-sized group surrounded RFK and greeted him with smiles and outreached hands.

This image was taken from stage left on the steps leading to backstage.  I went through a side door that I calculated would get me backstage.  This is where Rafer Johnson, 1960 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon and RFK bodyguard, taught me the second lesson of the day by knocking me into the stage rigging as he demanded, “Where is your pin?”  He then explained the credentialing process as I apologized.  He said he would have hit me harder if he had really thought I was a threat.  It was a memorable introduction to the importance of credentialing.

The crowd was cheerful and excited except for this nun who caught my eye.  She started crying when Bobby came close.

I haven’t done much with these portraits of RFK.  At the time, the Modesto Bee ran only the photo of the crowd greeting him as he arrived at the school.

Members of the Mexican American Political Association greet the Senator on his arrival at Stagg High School.

Stagg students get their chance to shake Kennedy’s hand.

By May of 1968, Robert F. Kennedy had declared his candidacy for the presidency and was in the thick of the California primary.  On May 30, 1968, Kennedy and his wife were traveling up the Central Valley on a train doing whistle stop campaign speeches.  AP and the bigger papers were on the train the full trip, but we were told a photographer and reporter could get on the train in Turlock and ride as far as Modesto.  I wanted that assignment, but it went to Chuck, the chief photographer.  I would be on the ground at the rail station in Modesto.  So I set out to make the best images from the vantage point I was given.  At first I was disappointed that the Los Angeles AP photographer was in my frame, but now I like the whole feeling of a hectic campaign stop.

The train arrived in Modesto late in the afternoon and most of the activities were in the backlight.  Golub’s Corollary to Murphy’s Law states that the best possible image comes in the worst possible light.  I knew before I got there that I wanted to shoot from the left, from the right, and from the center.  I was so inexperienced I didn’t know that capturing all these angles should be standard.  Photographers often take too many shots from one side because crowds can be difficult.  This crowd certainly turned out to be hard to move through, but I stuck to my plan.  First, I worked my way to the East side of the observation deck and got as close as possible to the candidate.  Next, I pulled back and cut a path to the other side where I saw Ethel Kennedy waving to the crowd.  Finally, as the train pulled out of the station I moved to the rear of the crowd and got images of the spectators and candidate’s party as they left.

Ethel Kennedy waving to the spectators with full sun on her.

My back-up camera was my Rolieflex twin lens reflex, so I used it to get all of the images of the crowd as the train left the station.

I learned a lot from these two assignments, although it was also clear that at the age of 25 I still had more to learn.

 

Cattle drive near Yosemite National Park

For over a hundred and twenty years, the Erickson family has been driving their cattle from the Merced Falls area to summer grazing near the border of Yosemite National Park.  The drive takes the same route; of course there are three major highways now not to mention a bridge over the South Fork of the Tuolumne River.  The last six years, I have been following the drive.  If you would like to see more of my images of the Erickson Cattle Company drive click here for my Photoshelter gallery.

October 23, 2008.  Near Lake Don Pedro subdivision a cowboy and his dog move cattle along Highway 132 toward Merced Falls Road and a rock corral.

October 26, 2006.  After the herd spent the night at Uglow Ranch on Penon Blanco Road, Chuck Shepard watches cattle carefully to make sure the cows stay together while they move though the Lake Don Pedro subdivision.

May 12, 2008.  Cowboy moves cattle up Cuneo Road after leaving Boneyard Creek corral.

October 23, 2007.  After coming over Dante Pass Road from Kassabaum Meadow cows move down Cuneo Road.

May 09, 2008.  Cowboy moves cattle down Merced Falls Road heading to Uglow’s Ranch on Penon Blanco Road.

May 08, 2008.  Jack Kiernan works quickly to keep cows together on an open part of Merced Falls Road.

May 09, 2008.  Dan Erickson and his dogs keep cattle organized along Merced Falls Road.

May 31, 2007.  Cowboys move cattle down dusty Forest Service road to Lumsden Bridge to cross the Tuolumne River.

June 9, 2005.  Erickson Cattle Company drives cattle on the Highway 120 bridge over the South Fork of the Tuolumne River near Buck Meadows, California.

October 26, 2006.  After the herd spent the night at Uglow Ranch on Penon Blanco Road, cattle come to Granite Springs Road intersection before going through the Don Pedro subdivision.

October 24, 2006.  Les Weidman works cows along Hell’s Hollow Road after herd crossed Highway 120 from Kassabaum Meadow.

October 25, 2007.  Jeff Prosser moves cow back to herd along Penon Blanco Road.

October 25, 2006.  While Barbara Silva holds traffic, cows cross Highway 49 at Penon Blanco Road.

June 15, 2005.  Traveling from Buck Meadows to Packard Canyon, cowboys move cattle over bridge on Highway 120.

May 30, 2007.  Cowboys move cattle on Cuneo Road

October 26, 2006.  Jeff Prosser controls traffic while moving cattle through Lake Don Pedro subdivision.

May 11, 2011.  In springtime, calves want to stay with their mothers on Merced Falls Road.

May 09, 2008.  Cowboy Jim Short takes a break before chuck wagon style lunch is served at the Uglow Ranch.

 

 

Raiders 2010-11 Season

Still hoping the National Football League and the Players Association will come to an agreement so they can play football this year.  I have been photographing the Raiders almost as long as I have been covering the 49ers.  The drive is shorter and it is easier to get in and out of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum than Candlestick Park.  The Silver and Black had a little better season than the Niners.  But 8 and 8 wasn’t good enough to save Tom Cable’s job.  Check out my gallery on Photoshelter, if you would like to see more images.  Raider fans have lots of enthusiasm.

November 07, 2010

Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles #25 stiff arms Oakland Raiders safety Mike Mitchell #34.  Raiders beat the Chiefs 23-20 in overtime.

September 19, 2010

Oakland Raiders defensive tackle John Henderson #79 and linebacker Rolando McClain #55 tackle St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson #39.  Raiders defeat Rams 16 to 14.

October 10, 2010

Oakland Raiders punter Shane Lechler #9 on the sidelines.   Raiders lose to Dolphins 17-33

November 07, 2010

Oakland Raiders defensive end Matt Shaughnessy #77 sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel #7.  Raiders beat the Chiefs 23-20 in overtime.

October 17, 2010

Oakland Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell #8 attempts to pass the ball while San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks #55 and linebacker Parys Haralson #98 tackle him.  49ers beat Raiders 17-9.

October 31, 2010

Raider fans love to dress up.  Every game is like Halloween.  Raiders win over Seahawks 33 to 3.

September 19, 2010

Oakland Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski #5 scrambles to avoid defenders. Raiders defeat Rams 16 to 14.

December 19, 2010

With Oakland Raiders defensive end Matt Shaughnessy #77 bearing down on Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow #15 makes pass during game.  Raiders beat Broncos 39-23.

December 26, 2010

Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Fili Moala #95 finally pulls down Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden #20.  Raiders lose to Colts 26 to 31.

September 19, 2010

Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden #20 breaks tackle from St. Louis Rams linebacker Larry Grant.  Raiders defeat Rams 16 to 14.

 

October 10, 2010

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Davone Bess #15.  Raiders lose to Dolphins 33-17.