MY YEAR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

2017 has been a memorable year of twists and turns causing stress and anxiety for people around the globe.  The events and their implications will be debated in history books for decades. This post is not about them. It is about how photography brought me great joy. So, in the waning hours of 2017, I want to recap my year of photography.

The year began with photographing the Tuscarora High School Girls Basketball Team.  The Coach, who worked with my wife, asked her if I would take pictures at their games. One of my pictures the previous season was printed in the Loudoun Times Mirror.  He wanted the team to get more press coverage.  Of course I said I would. He gave me a pass so I could get into the games for free. In January, February, and March I spent a lot of time at girls basketball games and a couple boys games.  A few of my photos made it to the print editions of the LTM, while several others were posted on their website.

A photographer friend did me a huge favor for the last home game. It was their regional championship game. He let me borrow his Canon EF2.8 70-200mm L series lens. The jump in quality was amazing. The price tag was too high at the time. However, after having another photo published in September, my wife encouraged me to buy the lens. It has been a workhorse for me ever since.

The experiences with photographing the basketball team planted a seed of taking my hobby more seriously. This blog was a product of the heightened interest. I went into it with some hesitation because I didn’t think I had much to add to the discussion over the craft and its techniques. It began as a way of combining photography and writing hobbies to keep my thoughts together and keep track of what I accomplish. The few comments I received so far were a surprise because I have not promoted the site or let many people know about it.

After taking pictures sporadically over the summer, it kicked into high gear in the fall.  One of the seniors at the high school asked my wife if I would come out an take pictures at their first game of the season. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige. After the LTM printed a photo from the game, we bought my new lens and the school Athletic Director gave me a Media Pass. I photographed at all of the team’s football games all the way to the State championship game. Along the way, the LTM and the Alexandria Gazette Packet printed some of my photos and posted many more.

My biggest photographic disappointment of the year was the Fall colors. We had a lot of rain this year and the foliage was looking good. Everyone expected the leaves to be very colorful, but it was not meant to be.  The weather stayed warm longer than normal and made some abrupt changes. The colors were dull and inconsistent. They were so dull that my landscape photographer friends didn’t make any treks to get pictures.

My year is rounding out with the girls’ and boys’ basketball teams again. They are a very strong team with a 9-0 record so far. I’ve only been to a few games so far due to conflicts with the football schedule. But once they get started in 2018 you can bet I will be there to capture what may be a run for the State title. If so, I plan to be there.

2018 promises to be a good year for my photography. I have been tapped to take photos at my boss’ retirement ceremony. This is nothing new – I photographed three retirement ceremonies for Coast Guard – but I hope to do better with my newer equipment and skills. I will be taking more sports photos beyond basketball, including soccer, lacrosse, and maybe volleyball. Some many things to photograph!!

TOUCHING MOMENTS

Some readers may be drawn in by the headline with expectations that this entry will talk about those moments where the underdog overcomes great obstacles to finally win a championship. Or a player extends a hand of friendship to a losing player to comfort them in their moment of sorrow.  This entry is not about those moments.

The touching moments I am talking about are those rare fractions of a second where an athlete is barely in contact with the ball. It takes a lot of luck to capture such a moment. Shooting basketball and football games over the past year have produced a few. Shots of the quarterback making a pass or a receiver catching the ball generally show the ball inches away from the hand, or in firm contact.  Basketball games have a lot of contact as players dribble or shoot, but tipoffs are harder to get because they only occur once a game, or maybe twice if you are lucky. Last winter, I was lucky to capture a tipoff when BOTH players are just touching the ball simultaneously. This past Sunday at the State Title Football Game, I got lucky again and got the football just as it was leaving the quarterback's fingers. Lots of luck was involved.

PHOTOS IN THE PAPER

Last Thursday, I was honored to find three of my photos in the print edition of the Loudoun Times Mirror newspaper! It is always great to see your photos and name in print.

THE TOUCHDOWN CELEBRATION VERSUS THE DIVE

Saturday evening was the Virginia State Division 5 Semifinal football game. It was an exciting game that came down to a field goal at the final buzzer. There were a lot of great photographic opportunities along the way. Here are two of my favorites. The first shows the players celebrating a touchdown as the runner is holding the ball over the goal line. The second shows the runner diving toward the end zone, although he came up a foot short. The local paper used the first one to illustrate the online article about the game. Personally, I like the dive better because it has better action. But the editor chose the first one because it shows the excitement of the players at getting a touchdown. It just shows that the value of a photo is in its intended use. 

Catching the Key Plays

Halfback Leron West passing for Touchdown

Friday was the Virginia Region 5C football championship game between the Tuscarora Huskies and the Stone Bridge Bulldogs at the “Dog Pound,” the Stone Bridge’s stadium. Stone Bridge was undefeated and had previously won against Tuscarora by a single point in the regular season. It was a perfect day for photographers. Bright and sunny. I could set my ISO to 800 and f-stop to around 5.6 and still get very fast shutter speeds. At least until late in the game when the sun was setting.

Kyle Jenkins catching Leron West's touchdown pass

The game was exciting and fitting for a championship game. The Bulldogs scored first but the Huskies scored three more in the first half, two of which were scored in the final 41 seconds of the half. The third touchdown was with five seconds to go on a halfback option pass from Leron West (# 4) to Kyle Jenkins (# I). Fortunately, I was in a position where I was able to capture the pass and the reception.

An exciting second half came down to the final three minutes. Leron West scored a touchdown to tie the game at 27 all. The ensuing extra point kick put the Huskies ahead. But it was not over. With less than a minute to go, the Bulldogs got a chance to win with a field goal, but it fell short and the Huskies won the championship.

Leron West scoring winning touchdown in last minute

I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to be the team’s unofficial photographer and get many pictures posted by the local weekly paper. Being able to capture key plays like the ones on Friday make it even more exciting.  

Blessed by the Photography Gods or Luck

Action photography is part preparation and part luck. Take this photo from a high school football game. By being about 15 to 20 yards downfield, I was blessed with having an open view as the quarterback scrambled through the line and dashed for a long touchdown run. Not only was it a blessing to have an unobstructed view of the run, I was doubly blessed to capture the defender running in parallel. I love how the defenders eye is just visible over the helmet. That is luck!

STADIUM LIGHTING ISSUES

Friday I went to a football game at a new high school stadium. I say new, but it is five years old. Maybe “newer” would be a better description. The stadium lights were lower than the ones I see at Tuscarora High School and caused a lot of glare on the artificial turf. I suppose a polarizing filter would help, but the loss of a f-stop could be overcome. But I didn’t have it with me. Oh well.

Glare wasn’t the big problem – it was white balance. My camera was set for auto white balance. One shot would be okay, and the next couple would be too warm. I tried different settings, but they were worse. At times it looked like the camera was adjusting the white balance so that it went warm when the focal point was on the blue jerseys and okay when it was on white jerseys. But even that was inconsistent. My only option was to continue and hope for the best.

One of the professionals told me the problem was the stadium lights had a flicker to them and the color was changing. Not that you could see it with the naked eye. It was only when the pictures were taken. His camera had a flicker correction that would slightly delay the shot based on the flicker. Mine does not. The situation got better as the game went on and the stadium lights got hotter and slightly more consistent. But the flicker never went away.

Back to back shots on fast burst mode.