Purdue Comes Back To Take Down Minnesota

Last night I really expected an easy win for Purdue. I had a gameplay to make photos with that in mind. Purdue though decided to keep everyone on the edge of their seat until the end. The important thing from here on out though is that they won. The win keeps them in first place with a little bit of cushion as well. When Purdue was at our end the best play photographically was the first play of the game above. You had big Zach with a shot attempt that was blocked by Payne, but Zach still made the shot through the block. It is weird when you know that you made a good image right off the bat. You hope that you can top it, and it always feels weird when you can’t.

Using A 400mm Lens For Basketball

Five years ago I wrote a post about using a 400mm lens for basketball. At the time I was off to the side a bit and using my old 400mm lens. That lens weights a ton, and is not the fastest focusing lens anymore. With Big Ten swimming coming up next week I am borrowing a 400 from a friend for the next week or so. I wanted to play around with it a little so I took it out on the court pregame to try and make some detail shots. Of course with a new toy I took it out for the second half to just use for a little while. I had so much fun with it that I never switched that camera back to my smaller lens. My 300mm lens could show up next week so I would be very excited to use it at the last couple of basketball games.

Lance Gets Them The Chicken

With Pharrel Payne at the line for Minnesota we knew that it was a good chance for him to miss two free throws to give the students a free chicken sandwich for the second game in a row. After missing his first shot the crowd really got into it making noise as he prepared to take his second shot. The fans are all in the stands far away from the action. Using his court access to his advantage Lance joined the crowd in making some noise. You can see how much fun he was having doing it too. Lance is gold when it comes to photos. His joy for everything about gameday just photographs well.

Welcome Back

Last night at halftime I photographed Dave Schellhase as he came back to Purdue. It always amazes me that I am the only one who seems to be photographing these things when they happen. I just had to deal with the steady cam operator and I could pick my angle. I liked this angle the most though because Dave’s number is up in the rafters over his shoulder. I became a Purdue basketball fan late. It is fun to see some of the greats up in the rafters come through though from time to time.

Following Zach

Part of my goal for the year was to photograph all of the ways that Zach battles on gameday. With the 400 it really let me show some of the grind on the other end of the court. It also let me have some fun with things like the script Purdue in the background. I waited a few possessions keying on Zach hoping for him to post up in this area. It was a photo that I had not made yet this season, and I really am glad that I stubbornly waited for it. Because of various factors I really missed out on photographing most of Zach’s career at Purdue. This year when I got my pass I decided to try and make up for that. I am sure that he will get his own season wrap up post of favorite images.

The Dunk Of The Night

It was a slow night for great dunks. It took until very late in the game for us to get a dunk at our end of the court. It was not the best dunk in the world, but the player was facing in my direction so I will take it.

When You Just Luck Out With One Player

This was one of the first photos that I made on the night. I had no idea that when I put this story from the game together that Payne would be in nearly every photo. For some reason he was the Minnesota guy doing things that looked good last night. I really like this section of the walk to the court in Mackey. With that being said I am leaning on it a bit too much lately. I need to find another area of the floor to exploit next week.

More Photos From The Game

I think that unless I luck out Saturday afternoon I will miss the next three games played at Mackey. With swimming coming to town next week that really locks me down for a few days. At this time of the year though I feel like I start to make the same photos over and over though. The 400 helped me break that up a bit last night. By the time that I am back on the court at Mackey things will be winding down for this men’s team. I don’t want to jinx it, but I have never photographed the confetti show from the court. Maybe this will be the year when I finally get my chance. Here are a few bonus photos from the game last night.