The Week That Was In Sports

We are back to that time of year when these posts will start becoming normal again. This week I had planned to photograph four games in two days at the end of the week. The weather kicked in and the flag football game that I went to was cancelled. This week is already off to a bad start as the soccer match that I should be at as this post goes live has been cancelled. With that being said I was able to make it to three scrimmages. The scrimmage is a way for the teams to get used to playing against an opponent. It is also a way for me to get used to photographing a sport again. Next week is still up in the air except for Friday. I know where I will be then. Other than that I am just finding places to get better before things really get going. Below are a few stories from these scrimmages that I liked.

Out Early With The Boilermakers

Thursday morning I was out at Folk Field to see Purdue scrimmage Evansville. This game was not originally on my schedule for the week, but the earlier start made it easy to attend. The early start combined with the weather that we have been having meant that the grass was very wet to start the match. The water was a big part of the story early on. Every kick had a water trail with it. It was fun, and I went backlit to capture that. The purpose of the day was to get my timing back, but the water provided some extra fun while I did that.

Timing Is The Word

I have never taken time off of sports photos like I did this summer. I photographed my kids sports and very little else. Photographing sports as much as I do can be punishing on the body. As I get older that seems to multiply that effect that it has on me. Taking some time off allows me to be a little fresher going into a very busy time for me. That time off though means that I am rusty. These scrimmages were very much needed to get me back into the swing of things.

Breaking Out The Filter

Last week I talked about the halo filter that I bought for my 50-150. Last year I used it a lot on my 16-35mm lens, but I wanted a little more reach. I have been trying not to overuse the thing, but it is a way to try and get creative. That creative muscle has to be exercised a little every now and then too. I tried it out under midday sun hoping that it could do something close to what I got at football. What I found is that it really loved the dark image here. That will be something to keep in mind as I keep trying this thing out. I also used it at volleyball. I tried some stuff during warm ups, but I didn’t love what I got. This arena photo though was different. I have photographed in Holloway for 14 years. That doesn’t seem possible, but it is right. Anything different is good.

Practice Volleyball

If there is every a sport where I always feel that I need more reps it is volleyball. Volleyball is so fast that even when I am making photos of it multiple times a week I feel like I need more. It is probably the hardest sport that I photograph. I was thankful for some time this week to get some practice in. Purdue is not home as much as they normally are to start the season. That means that I will have to find somewhere else to get some practice in.

The Moment Before The Moment

I always think that the best photo in volleyball is just before the player hits it. Sometimes you want it a little away from the hands so that you can see the face. That means that you have to be there before the ball gets to the player which is why this sport can be so hard to photograph. When you do it though it is a very satisfying feeling.

Jube!

We all know that the best part of photographing volleyball are the celebrations. With this being a scrimmage they weren’t always the celebrations that you would expect. At one point I went to the Ball State side of the court just to get a few. They were really putting on a show.

Back On The Gridiron

This is the second week in a row that I have photographed a football scrimmage. This one was a little harder as the rules and direction of play seemed to be changing on the fly. Next week it starts for real though, and the real fun begins. It is hard to predict plays when it is a scrimmage. Last week it was a little easier and I felt that I could get more creative. This week I always felt like I was trying to catch up a bit. That made it harder to get creative. When things start up for real next week it is easier to predict and also to be creative. This team already has a full time photographer so my stuff really is just extra. That is a great freedom to just go for it. I don’t need a huge gallery. That is already being made. I can just have fun and mess around. This is my 16th year photographing this team. It is kind of nice to not be the person that has all the pressure on them to make the photos.

Who Is This Guy?

For the past two weeks I have said that pretty much anytime this player has touched the ball. Without a roster handy I still don’t know. All that I know is that he makes things happen when he does touch the ball. Shedding tackles always looks good for the camera, and he seems to do that with ease.

A Quick Portrait

The scrimmage was scheduled for a certain amount of plays no matter what happened for each side of the ball. When that was over the players would jog off the field. I used that time to make some portraits of the players. I could predict when they would come right at me much easier this way. This was my favorite of those portraits.

More Photos From The Week

I really was just working on one lens and timing this week. That being said I still tried to make good images. Here are a few bonus photos from the week that I liked.