My 22 Favorite Photos From The 2021-2022 Athletic Season At Purdue

This was a fun year getting back out there and making photos at field level for Purdue sporting events. This is the thing that I have always wanted to do, and to get that chance and access has been a dream come true. When Covid hit I was not sure if that would ever happen again. To get the chance to do it one last time was a great thing. It is hard to take an entire year and to condense it down to twenty-two photos. I tried to show all of the sports that I get to cover as well as a few great moments from the year. Here are my favorite photos from this past year.

21. This was the year when the Purdue women’s basketball team was having fun again. They played a fun brand of basketball, and it was great to hear Mackey loud for them again. Hopefully this is the start of something really great.

20. I made this panning photo during the only track and field event on campus this year. When I first started this journey with Purdue we had a couple of indoor and a couple of outdoor events. My first year really helping out we even hosted the Big Ten outdoor event. This year I only had one opportunity to make photos of these amazing athletes. It really is something as you look around what each of these young men and women are able to do. If you have the chance get out to a track meet.

19. After a basketball game this year the Purdue wrestling team took on Wisconsin in Mackey. I went because I had not photographed an actual wrestling match yet during the season. I made this tie up photo early on in the day, and it was one of my favorite wrestling photos of the year.

18. When I moved back to Indiana from Iowa the basketball stars on campus were Carl Landry and Katie Gearlds. This year I had the chance to photograph both of them up close. The photo of Katie I made as she made her way to the court for the first time as the head coach of the Boilermakers. She is a really good coach, and I think that she can take this team to great places. On the bottom Carl addresses the crowd at halftime. I couldn’t believe that I was the only photographer there making photos of Carl as he spoke. Carl was such a great guy during his time here that I thought that he would have a bigger crowd documenting his return.

 

17. Can you tell where this list is headed? I really lied to you at the top when I said top 22 photos There are 22 headings, but far more photos than that. One of the fun things about photographing Purdue athletics is the venues that you get to do it in. Here are some of my favorite photos highlighting those venues from this past year.

16. One thing that I really had fun with this year was the American flag. With two new video boards at baseball and softball it gave me an even bigger flag to work with there. Here are three of my favorite anthem photos from the year.

15. In October of 2011 this blog started with a photo of an Anthrop. At the time it was just my favorite photo from the game so it started this blog. Here we are so many years later and an Anthrop is still on the field. It has been a fun ride documenting this family as they made their way through Purdue.

14. One sport that really gets no love at Purdue is tennis. They are fun to watch and they show a lot of emotion. I never made it to a men’s match this year, but I was able to get to a few women’s matches. This is my favorite photo from those matches.

13. On this blog you have heard this story before, but I remember Jaden Ivey from when he was behind the Notre Dame women’s basketball bench years ago. It was cool to not only see him play basketball for Purdue, but to do it so well. I hung out a little longer after the game to make a photo of Jaden and his mother.

12. I still don’t know what karate move was made on this tackle, but it was one of my favorite action photos from this past football season.

11. Rachel Becker was one of the best to ever play Purdue softball. She really could hit. She also had some fun while on the diamond as you can see here. One great thing about Bittinger Stadium is the fact that you can make some fun photos while the players are on deck.

10. This year I covered the Big Ten championships at Purdue for another school. When my team had some downtime I made a few photos of the Boilers. Here are two freshman divers with a big future ahead for them. Tyler Downs and Jordan Rzepka both excelled on the big stage. These are two favorite photos that I made of them from the championships.

9. A little pregame and postgame fun with Purdue baseball. The pregame photo I made during a fun day with a great sky. You can never beat blue skies and baseball. At the bottom you have the team mobbing Evan Albrecht after his game winning hit. This team has been fun from start to finish to photograph.

8. One of my favorite moments of the football season was watching George Karlaftis pick up a fumble and rumble down the field for a touchdown. Early in the run you could tell that he wouldn’t be caught. As he ran down the field I was hoping that he would run in my direction which he then did after he scored. It was a fun series to make of a great Purdue player. It will be fun watching him play in Kansas City this year.

7. A packed Mackey is a fun Mackey. This past year we were able to see Mackey packed. Both in the stands and on the baseline. There often was not a seat for me to make photos, but at the end of the day that is a good thing as more national media wanted to cover Purdue. It is a weird trade off. I could have a great seat and a bad Purdue team or no seat and getting to see a good Purdue team. I will always take the latter. This coming year I will have to figure out a way to score some tickets to a few games to see the Boilers in action.

6. This was a fun year covering Purdue football. The crowd was back, and they were ready to cheer for the Boilers. That made moments like this TJ Sheffield touchdown so much better.

5. Folk Field has the best sunsets on campus. This year I was not at any games with a great sky, but here you can see how the late day sun can make a photo better.

4. Trophies are what it is all about. Here are some favorite images from the year of Boilers holding their trophies.

3. I made many photos during pregame at the Purdue basketball games. For some reason these three of Trevion Williams stood out to me. Trevion was a fun player to cover during his time as a Boilermaker. I was lucky enough to be there during his breakout game against Notre Dame in Indy, and he never looked back after that.

2. This was a fun day. I showed up at the final set of an upset of the future national champions by the Purdue volleyball team before heading over to the soccer field to see Purdue host a Big Ten Tournament match. We will get to soccer later, but first this Purdue volleyball team was fun to watch. These two frames after the upset are two of my favorite Purdue volleyball images that I have made. Coach Shondell rarely celebrates with the team, but here he apparently couldn’t resist and it led to a great moment.

1. This was my favorite moment of the season. Purdue soccer had a year to remember. They kept the party going after the regular season was over with home wins in the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. Here they celebrated a golden goal in their NCAA Tournament victory. It was a great year for the team, and I was glad to be a part of this day.

Putting A Bow On Things

This was a crazy year. In some respects it was getting back to normal as far as sports was concerned. On the other hand my role at the school was phased out. You could look at that fact in a bad light. That is an easy thing to do. If you look at it from the perspective that I was able to do my dream job for a short period of time it is impossible to spin that into a negative light. This was a good year to get back out and make photos at all of the venues. A victory lap is what I started calling it when I saw the writing on the wall. I had the chance to say goodbye that I did not get when Covid hit. I have always tried to photograph every game like it might be my last in that venue. This year that felt like it was much more possible. I know for a fact that I am not done making photos at Purdue venues, but I never wanted to be that guy that just gets a pass because he always has. I see too many of those people clogging up the sidelines as it is. My theory has always been that if I didn’t have a purpose at the games then it is time to go. I do know right now that I will be back for at least one football game next season, but for one of the opponents. No matter what this has been a heck of a ride. To go from making crappy photos in the stands to being part of the photo team was amazing and something I never dreamt would have happened. I am very thankful that I had this year to get out and make some photos again.