Photographing My Last Game Of The Year

I say it every year, but football season flew by. There are never enough games to cover every year. This year I missed a couple down the stretch as well that made the season feel even shorter. I wanted to have some fun on Saturday and see what happened. I didn’t go in with a big plan. I just wanted to roll with the day and see what I could get. I ended up having a decent game.

When The Light Is Right

For some reason the best light of the night is usually during halftime. On Saturday though the light was great during the third quarter. After a Penn State touchdown I ran up into the stands to make this photo just before the ball was kicked. It was perfect timing to make a fun photo of the stadium.

Welcome Home Chris!

Early on in my Purdue fandom one of my favorite players was Chris Daniels. He was not the fastest receiver out there, but he got the job done. In 1999 with me up in the student section he caught 21 passes for 301 yards. Most of those catches seemed to be the quick out. Everyone knew what Brees and Daniels were up to, but nobody could stop them. It was really cool seeing Chris again.

Playing With Fire

For the second time on the weekend I photographed former Harrison Raider twirler Audrey Circle. This time she was twirling a fiery baton at halftime. This was a highlight of her time at Harrison, and it was cool to see her doing it again at Purdue.

Getting Low

After making the sunset photo prior to the kickoff I ran back down to the field to make the photo above. I was hoping for a drop back by the quarterback with the beautiful sky and the scoreboard in the background. I knew that this would probably not be my best photo of the night, but I was happy to have something different. I would love to try this again later when the stands in the background are full.

The Runout

This year I didn’t have the focus on the runout that I did last year. I was working for the opponent a few times so I didn’t really plan these photos out. Here with the sun setting I decided to run up and make a photo. The timing seemed a bit off as the flags took off way before the team ran out. I think that it worked here though as the flags were in the end zone allowing for something different for me. This was a different run out photo for me which I really like.

Getting Graphic

With the sunset going off I made this photo of the Tiller Tunnel sign in the north end zone. I wanted a more graphic look for this photo with a lot of dead space. The dead space is kind of the star of this photo so it made sense to me.

#85 Caps The Season

41 years ago I played my last football game. My number was 85 and I was a tight end. My last photo of this season was this one of the Penn State tight end scoring a touchdown. He was number 85 so it seemed like a good photo to end on.

The Elephant In The Room

I made this photo in the second half of one of the Purdue students in the stands. For a while I struggled with what to do with it. In the old days I wouldn’t have even stopped to make the photo. Now though my job is to cover news, and this is news. There is a lot about the photo that I like. I like that you can see the eyes through the bag. I love the prayer hands. What I don’t like is that this has to happen in the stadium. I am not happy with the season as a whole. There is a very real possibility of a 1-11 season with the only win being agains a lower division opponent. With how competitive college football is now, and the money needed to keep and build a roster paying a huge buyout just doesn’t make sense. I really hope that Walters can turn things around, and this will be a funny photo down the road.

More Photos From The Game

I really am lucky to get to do what I do for a living. I love photographing sports and football is one of my favorite to cover. I am always sad to see the season end, but this one to be honest I am kind of glad that it is over for me. Here are some of my favorite photos from the day.