Where has the year gone?

It has been one full year since my last post! So much for my commitment to post at least once a month. You miss a month. Then two. The next thing you know a year has gone by. 

What a year its been. Soon after my latest post, I decided to go all in on my sports photography. I splurged on a top of the line Canon R3 mirrorless camera. In addition to covering games for VivaLoudoun and our newspaper, the Loudoun Times Mirror, I began shooting yearbook candids for local high school sports. My schedule got out of control at some points but it was great fun. 

Highlights of this year include covering: several D1 college football games as well as NFL and XFL games; Major League Soccer, National Womens Soccer League, and United Soccer League games; as well as all levels of high schools sports up to and including a state championship game. What a great time. Here are a few shots from the Tuscarora Girls soccer team in the Virginia High School League class 4

state championship game.  

 

Is it Fun or is it All Business?

 

My Mother recently asked if I have fun when I’m covering sports events or if it is all business. The question took me by surprise because I never thought about it that way. Yes, I have to take an all business approach to focus on getting an image that captures the essence of the game or a critical play. But part of that business approach is the enjoyment I get from being on the sidelines witnessing the action up close. It is a different perspective than when I’m sitting in the stands as a spectator.

After covering several collegiate and professional sports you get to know different photographers from freelance photographers to major media outlets like Getty Images, USA Today, Washington Post, etc. to name a few. They focus on their business but also take time to enjoy the event and socialize with each other.  For example, after the FC Bayern Munich at DC United soccer match, we were all putting our gear away and having a good time talking and joking around. Then Berni, the FC Bayern mascot walked by the photographers corral. What did we do? Naturally, we all wanted to get selfies with Berni!

So my answer is – It’s a fun business on the sidelines!

High School Playoffs

 

ABC Wide World of Sports used to have a catch phrase – “The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat” that they would say as they showed clips of victorious athletes celebrating interspersed with clips of a skier wiping out on the ski jump and other athletic failures. That phrase captures the range of emotions on display during the high school soccer playoffs in Virginia this year. Tuscarora High School in Leesburg had a successful athletic spring season with five teams making the post season playoffs and two teams making it to the Virginia High School League Class 4 championship game. Along the way, I was able to capture several shots of athletes celebrating when they scored or won while the opponents showed their agony or consoling teamates. 

Memorial Day

 

Happy Birthday Dad. We all miss you. It’s May 30

th, your birthday and the traditional Memorial Day in the U.S., or as my grandparents called it, Decoration Day. Although his birthday was a day to celebrate, it was also a very somber day as the nation honors the service of military members who paid the ultimate price for their service. Dad served but we were fortunate that he did not pay the price unlike so many others through the years. WWII ended before he was able to join the Marines and served for a couple years.

Our family had one veteran who paid the ultimate price – my Great Uncle Lynn Mort. He fought in France during the first world war. He contracted Spanish Flu, which was a pandemic at the time, and passed away from it like so many other military members. He was honored with the naming of the Lynn Mort American Legion Post in Lake Elsinor, California. Today, both Dad and Lynn are memorialized in our hometown with these flags on a pole outside my boyhood home.

Penn State Blue-White Game

It was a great day at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium last Saturday. It was the annual Blue-White football game at the end of the Spring practice sessions. The best part was having a field media pass that enabled me to get some great photos. I’ve covered a couple Penn State football games when they visited the University of Maryland, but this was the first time with access to Beaver Stadium. I am definitely planning to get back there in the Fall to cover a game. 

Penn State football is one of the nation’s top programs with a devoted fan following. Like the other top teams, they have been doing Spring practices to review their new talent and get ready for the fall season, impress potential recruits, and entertain their fans. Penn State delivered on all three areas. Several new players were showcased and around 200 recruits got the Happy Valley experience in front of an estimated 62,000 fans. I can’t wait to cover a real game there this Fall.

A few iPhone shots

 

Not all my photos from the Washington Wizards game were taken with my DSLR. My camera gear was limited to a 70-200L and a 300L lenses. My 45-105L was left at home because it would not be very useful from the distance the photographers in my group were stationed. My iPhone was pressed into service to get a few wide shots of the court, scoreboard, and stands.

Covering an NBA Game

 

Last weekend, I covered the San Antonio Spurs at Washington Wizards basketball game. My first National Basketball Association (NBA) game! Saying it was a different experience than covering college and high school games would be a gross understatement.

I went in with good ideas about how to cover the action. I’ve covered a few D1 college games at George Mason University in addition to numerous high school games. Photographing these games is relatively easy. Your access lets you shoot from behind the baselines or sidelines and move around.  But not at the Wizards game.

My media credentials were for Tier 2 access, which put me in an assigned seat in the media area at the top of the lower bowl of the arena. As the photos below show, the view was looking down rather than my preferred court level location (very limited – Tier 1 only). However, the different angle made it easier to capture some of the action. At court level, player movement can easily block the photographer’s view.

The game was a blast. The score was close the entire game with Spurs pulling out the win 157-153 in double overtime. It was the highest scoring NBA game of the season at that point. An enthusiastic crowd added lots of excitement.

[My recent resolution called for me to post each month. Okay, okay. I missed February! Since February is only 28 days, I counting this post as meeting my resolution! 😊]