West Lafayette And Lafayette Jeff Renew Their Rivalry One More Time

As of this writing the game Friday night between West Lafayette and Lafayette Jeff was the last in a four game series between the two teams. I really hope that they can keep this rivalry going. The two games that I was able to attend in the series were both very good games. The local fans really are the winners when these teams match up.

The Sky As A Canvas

As the first half was winding down the sky was really doing some amazing things. At some point I realized that the game action was being covered. There were many photographers on the sidelines covering the game. I decided to try and capture this amazing sky. Part of the fun of being somewhere for fun is just being able to drop everything and chase something cool. This was that moment.

A Second Chance

This was a game where I lost some photos while trying some things out. Like I said above though I was there for fun and people were covering the game action. I was panning for a while when a big play happened for West Side. Over my shoulder I saw a young man very excited with the blue hour sky and the press box in the background. I tried to quickly change my shutter speed to capture the moment, but it was too late. During the next quarter I had another opportunity with the same player and it worked out well here. Watching him play Friday night you can see that he would just make photos. He is always into the game even when he is on the bench. Those are the kind of players that make a gallery.

Don’t Forget The Band

At these games the band even has their own dedicated photographer. If you are telling a game story though they are part of it. The first photo that I made on the night was of the drum major starting things up. As the sun was setting it was pretty cool so I got down as low as I could to try and make a cool silhouette. It was a fun way to start the game and a good way to let myself know that this could be a fun game to try some things. By the way having the band and the fans at the game just added to the experience. I know I talked about it yesterday but the first game at Ross Ade is going to be amazing. The band is what makes college football what it is. Football and basketball last year were just not the same.

Setting Goals

When you are not making images for a purpose you can meander your way through a gallery. Before the games I set some goals for myself. I basically gave myself a shot list that I had to get. One of those things was a photo like the one directly above. I wanted to capture the ball just before it went into the receivers hands. I was very lucky and I made that photo on the first drive of the game. When I used to work with Purdue football I used to come up with a theme for each home game. In that theme would be ideas for photos throughout the day. It was a good way to keep me focused and heading towards a goal.

More Photos From The Game

Here is a link to my gallery from the game that I published on Saturday morning. Games like this make it fun to put the gallery together. Next Friday night is still up in the air. I had so much fun last Friday though that I am looking for a way to do it again. The football season goes by so quickly that you have to soak up as much of it as you can.