Barbara Blake

I am your go-to for all your photo needs, credentialing, scheduling and photo sourcing. I started at ESPN in 2005 within marketing's creative services team, managing print and digital production, photography and print buying. Prior to ESPN, I worked in magazine production, photography and was a jack-of-all-trades, jumping in whenever and wherever needed to layout pages, write articles, set up photo shoots, go on press and help with marketing. I am a fan of the New York Ranges, Atlanta Braves, Duke Basketball and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a proud owner of the Green Bay Packers.

Recent Posts

posted by on May 16, 2013 11:26 AM

From intern to Senior Director, ESPN’s Tim Reed has seen the rise of the X Games

Tim Reed at X Games Barcelona 2013 (Tom Zuccareno/ESPN Images)

ESPN’s Tim Reed at X Games Barcelona 2013
(Tom Zuccareno/ESPN Images)

BARCELONA, Spain — “My first job,” said Senior Director of X Games Content Strategy Tim Reed, “was doing athlete registration back when we used to take Polaroids of each athlete to laminate on the credential.”

Both Reed and the X Games — the Barcelona leg kicks off today (Noon ET, ESPN) — have come a long way since 1997 when he began work with the company at X Games 3 in San Diego. Now Reed is helping to expand the ESPN franchise as more than just as a competition and into a true international festival. His team not only manages the sports and competition side, it handles the lifestyle elements including fashion, music and cultural elements at each of the six locations. continue reading…

Filed in: Behind The Scenes, X Games 2013

posted by on March 20, 2013 12:45 PM

Getting the mountaintop view from X Games Tignes

ESPN Images photographer Phil Ellsworth scaled the French Alps to shoot scenics for X Games Tignes which will be used during the broadcast, in marketing campaigns and on social media. The photos are a great backdrop for the on-air team to show where the event is taking place during starting line-ups, bumps and transitions.

Ellsworth carried his three Nikon D4 cameras with two different lenses – a 70-200 F2.8 and a 14-24 F2.8 – through three feet of fresh powder to capture the scene. Truth be told Phil didn’t exactly scale a mountain, he rode the Funiculaire, a monorail which traverses through the mountain for 3484 meters to the Grand Motte Glacier.

In the gallery above, Ellsworth shares some of the shots he took. Also be sure to check the photo stream to the right for constant photo updates from Tignes.

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on January 25, 2013 4:15 PM

X Games behind the scenes

Editor’s note: A variety of X Games Aspen 2013 content from Buttermilk Mountain will be available live through Sunday across multiple platforms — television, smartphones, tablets, online, social media and more.

ASPEN, Colo. — ESPN Production has taken over the Aspen Inn at Buttermilk Mountain to produce X Games Aspen 2013.

The photos above provide a behind-the-scenes peek at the people and the elements involved.

Day 2 at X Games Aspen started with the Snowboard Street competition, then 16 slopestyle skiers vied for a spot in finals. Check out xgames.com for details.

Filed in: Behind The Scenes, X Games 2013

posted by on December 4, 2012 8:00 AM

College GameDay’s visit to Atlanta for
SEC Championship Game

ATLANTA — This past weekend ESPN College GameDay was stationed in Centennial Park for the SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia.

The park was decked out for the holidays and fans from Georgia (including a bulldog wearing a Georgia sweater), Alabama and even Notre Dame showed up to support their teams (or scout their next opponent!).

In between segments Samantha Steele took time to play football with the kids near the set.

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly stopped by and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was the guest picker. To the dismay of the Georgia fans in the audience everyone chose Alabama to win, including former UGA All-American David Pollack.

Alabama went on to beat Georgia, 32-28, to secure a berth in the Discover BCS National Championship on Jan. 7 against Notre Dame, which will be on ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN 3D, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on November 27, 2012 1:30 PM

College GameDay visits USC

A week after visiting Eugene, Ore., College GameDay Built by The Home Depot stayed on the West Coast for the Notre Dame versus USC showdown.

The crew began on setting up the stage outside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday, breaking for Thanksgiving dinner by the Roadkill Grill and finishing up on Friday.

While the crew was working on the set, GameDay’s Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Tom Rinaldi, David Pollack and Samantha Steele were in the Los Angeles Sports Arena prepping for Saturday’s show.

That morning, Major League Soccer and Team USA star Landon Donovan visited the set as the guest picker. He and Corso chose Notre Dame to defeat USC; the Fighting Irish defeated the Trojans 22-13 to remain undefeated and secure a berth in the BCS championship game in January.

Photos by ESPN Images’ Allen Kee

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on November 20, 2012 8:00 AM

College GameDay: David Pollack

Each week David Pollack tweets from a different campus for College GameDay.

ESPN Images has captured the self-proclaimed “goofball” around campus while he finds the perfect spot to tweet. David has found himself sitting on a statue in Oregon, in an empty stadium in Florida, on the bus with Revielle at Texas A&M, whipping up pecan pie in South Carolina, in the Dairy Store at Michigan State, sitting on top of a gun on the USS San Diego and tweeting from a quiet corner in Tennessee.

Photos by ESPN Images

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on November 14, 2012 10:30 AM

College GameDay visits USS San Diego

SAN DIEGO — This past weekend College GameDay visited the USS San Diego, stationed at San Diego Naval Base, in support of Veterans Day.

Last Wednesday the ship set sail for a test run with one of GameDay’s editors, Ken Wagner, a former gunner’s mate technician third class on board. Wagner set up GoPro cameras throughout the ship to produce video of the ship in action, which was used during the show’s broadcast.

The Navy’s hospitality was extended to all of the GameDay crew: Samantha Steele and David Pollack were given a tour of the ship on Friday including a peek into a Humvee. That same day, Kirk Herbsreit and Desmond Howard stopped on their way to set to talk to the sailors and Marines on board. On Saturday, active military personnel and their families lined up at 3 a.m. to board the ship for the telecast while carrying signs supporting their alma maters.

The ship’s navigator, former Navy wide receiver Curtis Sharp, was last week’s “guest picker.” Even Bill the Goat made an appearance with Lee Corso, who chose Navy to beat Troy.

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on November 6, 2012 12:45 PM

Go behind the scenes with College GameDay’s coverage of Alabama-LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. — This past weekend ESPN College GameDay headed to purple-and-gold country for one of college football’s biggest rivalries, No. 1 Alabama versus then No. 5-ranked LSU.

It was a rematch of the BCS National Championship Game played in New Orleans last January, which Alabama won. The Crimson Tide prevailed again this past Saturday, winning 21-17.

In the photo gallery above, you’ll see how the College GameDay team prepared for the show on the LSU campus as well as some of the color on the set. Olympian and former LSU track star Lolo Jones was a guest of the show.

In the production area, the team spread out its notes, laptops and iPads to debate the strength of the week’s matchups and set forth a plan of action for the show.

During some down time, Kirk Herbstreit showed that he can still toss the pigskin around; David Pollack sat down for a quick haircut; and Lee Corso planned his theatrical pick of Alabama.

Chris Fowler and Pollack were there for pre- and post-game coverage from Tiger Stadium.

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on October 31, 2012 8:00 AM

College GameDay unveils its Halloween Edition at Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. — While visiting the campus of University of Oklahoma last Saturday for the Sooners’ game against Notre Dame, College GameDay celebrated Halloween a little early.

Pumpkins were carved in the likeness of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Tom Rinaldi, David Pollack and Samantha Steele.

Students dressed up in costumes while supporting the Oklahoma Sooners and Pollack, who was dressed as Clark Kent, took a leprechaun’s gold.

Meanwhile, the show’s hosts donned wigs, masks and shirts of college football coaches across the country: Chris was Alabama’s Nick Saban, Desmond was Oregon’s Chip Kelly, Kirk was Florida’s Will Muschamp, Lee was Kansas State’s Bill Snyder and David was Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly.

Filed in: Behind The Scenes

posted by on October 23, 2012 8:00 AM

Venture behind the scenes with College GameDay in Gainesville

For the past eight weeks, ESPN Images has been documenting College GameDay through photographs.

This past weekend we were in Gainesville, Fla., home of the University of Florida Gators. They defeated visiting South Carolina 44-11.

We were visited by Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel, head coach Will Mushchamp, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and two live alligators.

Fun fact: The College GameDay set was broken down in 30 minutes to accommodate the Gator Walk prior to the game.

Photographs by Scott Clarke

Filed in: Behind The Scenes