Before you read this, imagine the photo...

Before you read this, imagine the photo with a blue tint to it.

Usually when we shoot the sports section’s Athlete of the Week

feature, we are short on time with the subject due to practice or a

game. With Saami Khalifian of Newport Harbor, the football season was

over and we had no time constraint on the shoot, allowing me to try

something different, a blue tint. Since Khalifian was a defensive

player, I came in with the idea of shooting his face real tight while

he was looking serious. To make it a little more interesting, I tried

the blue gel to give his face a blue tint, to go with the school’s

colors. In the end, I created an portrait that was different from the

norm and truly one of a kind.

-- Mark C. Dustin, staff photographer