Sports | Alex Farris Photo Blog

I'm still editing photos from a high school friend's wedding, so those will probably go up this weekend. Before that, two bits of news: The first session of summer classes is over, and I got A's in both of them; and I covered my first Indiana Fever game for the Star.

The Fever lost to the Tulsa Shock, 107-102, but it was an exciting game, stretching into overtime. It matched well with the other exciting development of the day, as U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young ruled that Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. It's a big deal, given that earlier this year, the legislature was debating whether to send a ban codified as a constitutional amendment to voters. The Star, of course, was all over it, covering the licenses granted and ceremonies performed in the Marion County clerk's office shortly after noon.

All in all, a big day.

Shock center Courtney Paris hits Fever forward Erlana Larkins in the face during the Indiana Fever's 107-102 overtime loss to the Tulsa Shock at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Wednesday, June 25, 2014.

I had a record ten assignments for the Star this past month. Some of those assignments have already been posted, but here are a few that happened after the Tegan & Sara concert. They include a preview party for the Broad Ripple Art Fair, The Wanted concert (and all the fans!) at the Egyptian Room, the Sectional 13 softball championship game, and maybe the most surreal photo assignment I've ever had, a very intense Rock Paper Scissors tournament at White Rabbit Cabaret. Enjoy the photos!

Tomorrow starts the first weekend of wedding photos this season, as I will be covering the marriage rites of a good high school friend in West Lafayette. If my past wedding work is any indication, it should be a lot of fun.

Franklin runner Shelby Taylor makes her way back to second base before the tag by New Palestine shortstop Adie Lorsung during the Sectional 13 softball championship game at Franklin Community High School, Wednesday, May 28, 2014.

There are some things in life that just make me smile. The profundity of seeing the million-year-old light of stars in the night sky. The connection I make between something I learned in organic chemistry and something I've observed and wondered about throughout my life. The friends I made in Madrid, and the fortune I've had in seeing them many times since we studied together.

On Friday, what made me smile was the exit off State Road 37 into Bloomington. At 1:45pm that day, an hour after finishing my physics lab in Indy, the exit meant I was that close to the Little 500, an experience that is simultaneously just a pair of bicycle races and so much more than just a pair of bicycle races. It's spring, it's college, it's athleticism, it's determination, it's the pinnacle of life in a great many ways. For me, it's the memory of good times at the IDS, it's where I first earned a photojournalism award, and it's a reminder of how vivacious life is and can be.

That's how I describe it when I'm away from the race. When I'm there, though, the only words I can say are "Wow" and "Woo hoo!" and "This is the best!" I have neither the time nor the presence of mind to put those emotions into words; I'm living the emotions, and there are photos to make! And make them I did, including my first good crash photo and the winning moments in both the women's and men's races. The sound I made when I saw that I got Brenna McGinn of Kappa Alpha Theta crossing the finish line, hand over her mouth in jubilant realization, is something hard to replicate. If you see me in person, ask me about it, and I'll try my best to make it. It was some sort of squeal.

I was covering the race for the Star, and they posted photo galleries, of course. Their gallery-posting system is still a bit off, though, and it resulted in crops I didn't make (to be fair, I'm certain the photo editors didn't make them, either). So, here are galleries of the women's and men's races, but original versions of 32 photos (16 women's, 16 men's) appear below.

Happy Little 5, everyone, and happy spring!

Brenna McGinn, Kate McDougal and Elizabeth Lieberman celebrate their victory in the women's Little 500 at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Friday, April 25, 2014.