The Week In Sports

This was a week filled with softball. It is just that time of the year for me. I photographed four softball games last week, and as this goes live I will be at the field getting ready for two today. This should be another softball filled week. I have been having some fun making softball photos this year, and this will be another week filled with chances to make softball photos.

The Highlight Of The Week

The highlight of the week had to be Thursday night. West Side was one out away from the win and win number 100 for head coach Chauncey Fry. Twin Lakes put together an amazing two out rally to actually take the lead. Having the win snatched away at the last second could make a team fold, but West Side came back and tied the game to send it to extras. Both teams made plays in extras to keep extending the game. In the tenth though West Side sophomore Eleanor Hurt hit a walk off home run. The win was the 100th for Coach Fry, and a big conference win as well. It was an amazing moment to see and photograph.

The Home Run Celebration

Softball is great for the celebrations. For both home runs on Sunday I was in a great spot to get the player who hit the ball coming into the team at the plate. For the tournament coming up in less than a month I need to figure out a way to keep making this shot better and better. I like how this one turned out though.

Using The Ghost Filter

The ghost filter is a fun tool. Sunday at the Purdue softball game I was having some fun using it to change things up a little. With so much softball coming up I keep looking for ways to keep my photos fresh. Last year by the end I felt like I was just making the same photo over and over again. This year I need to keep trying to evolve as the season goes on. Using some tricks is a good way to make something different for the gallery.

Off The Net Pete!

In my old life working with the school this would have been a great photo for me to make. Now though for the wire it is not something that they want. It was a fun moment at the game though so I made it anyway. I thought that it would break up my Instagram photos a little. When I first started with the wire I wouldn’t make these photos because they wouldn’t sell. Now though I have learned to make whatever my eye sees. I can sort them out later, and it helps keep me from feeling like I am just doing the same thing over and over.

Finding The Emotion

These are the photos that I love to make. The little moments during the game. You have one from a high school game and one from a college game. The moment is there in both of them though. These are the little things that make me happy when I am putting my gallery together at the end of the day.

Documenting The Year

Part of what I have decided to do on the high school side of things is to document the season for this team. That tweaks what I do just a little bit. Here I loved the parents parked up on the hill so I wanted to work that into a few of my photos. It is a way to show that the team was away, and a little bit of what that day was like. I need to do more of that for road games. Showing the venue off a little. It is a good way to change up what my galleries look like as well as giving me new things to photograph throughout the season.

Great Light

The field that we played at on Tuesday night had some great light as the game went on. The game ended an inning early because of the run rule. I was a little cold, but that extra inning would have been even better light. As the season goes on the light will be a little harsher a little longer. I have to have some fun and use the light when I get the chance.

Knees Weak, Arms Are Heavy

I noticed one very fun thing on Tuesday night. For these games I am usually pretty calm and just making photos. It is relaxing for me. When my oldest gets up to the plate though I get a little nervous. It is kind of like the old days. I don’t want to miss the photo if something awesome happens. I have never gotten that nervous making photos. Early on I realized that sports are messy and you will miss things. Worrying about that doesn’t help you at all. When my oldest gets a chance at the plate though I tense up a little bit. I start to second guess my lens choice as the pitch is being thrown. For some crazy reason I kind of like that.

Blue Hour Fun

After hitting the walk off homer in the variety game sophomore Eleanor Hurt would pitch the shortened JV game. With the moon rising the the blue hour sky looking good I moved over to the third base side to make this photo. I don’t know if anyone on the team will like it, but I liked making it.

Using The Blue Hour Sky

In the JV game I tried to get as many batters as I could with the blue hour sky. It really looked great, and I was hoping for a long first inning to get as many players a photo like the one above.

Close Plays At The Plate

Thursday night I was in a pretty good spot for a couple of close plays at the plate. I also was out of position for a couple plays, but over the course of the season you have to move around a little. I really like how this one turned out.

Using The Light

In extra innings there was a little patch of light around the on deck circle. I already had batting photos for the day so I just sat there waiting for someone to move into that light. I got lucky and made the photo above. It was a little patch of light, but it made for a good photo.

As I said above this was a fun week filled with softball. Softball has become my favorite sport to make photos of. As this post goes live I will be at the field making photos during a doubleheader today. That is a quick start to another week which should be filled with even more softball. Right now looking at the schedule there are at least six games that I will potentially photograph. That is not including practices for the little one. We are definitely into softball season now. Next week could be a fun post.