The Week That Was In Sports

This is that time of year when I go crazy. Fall sports are back, and I can’t seem to find the time to photograph them all. I took some time off of sports photography this summer so the fever seems a little more intense this year. I really had planned on photographing a sporting event every day this week. Mother nature decided to step in and stop that though. It was still a fun week getting out there making sports photos again. As this post goes live I am hopefully out there making photos this morning. Below are a few stories that I liked from this past week.

Getting The Timing Back

As I said above I really took some time off this summer. For the most part the only sports that I photographed involved my kids. With that in mind I really felt rusty getting back out there. Slowly the timing is coming back. There are times though when I look at the back of my camera and start to question if I can still do this. Then I make a photo of a header off of a corner kick and I think that there is still at least a little bit of talent left.

A Quick Start

The Purdue soccer game on Sunday started with a goal inside of the first minute. I was screened for the goal, but I did manage to get some of the celebration. I have seen some quick goals at Folk Field by the Boilers. I have learned that I need to be ready from that opening kick. That being said it is always cool to see the home team go up so quickly.

Getting In Tight

During the second half of the match I sat closer to the action than I normally do. I was going back and forth between my 50-150 and my 300mm lenses. I really like the way that I was able to get right into the action here. A battle for the header in front of the goal. I need to sell out and go for it a little more in my soccer photos. I feel that I can get boring with them at times. Photos like this excite me a little.

Guessing Wrong

Late in the first half Purdue was up 4-0 and they were having some epic celebrations at the bench. I went to the defensive end with a Purdue photographer to try and make an epic photo of the hammer celebration. Of course the team never did it the same again. I am writing this portion of the post very early in the week. I hope to make it out later this week to get this photo right. I have an idea that could be really cool. I basically means selling out for it though. What we think is wrong can be someone else’s right though. The NCAA picked up on my friend Quan’s photos from this angle and ran it as a photo of the week.

Photographing Harrison Boys Soccer Again

It has been a while since I made a match of the Harrison boys soccer team. The team has a photographer so I usually try and go where there is a need. Fourteen years ago this is where I learned to photograph soccer. I was watching Fox Soccer at night going to bed to learn the game. A father of a player at the time taught me the rules and the why of the game. I still use a lot of those lessons today. I need to try to get to more of these games. They are fun to photograph.

Still Playing With The Halo Filter

I have been having too much fun playing around with the halo filter this fall. I will be honest. Most of my photos aren’t any good with it. Every now and then though everything hits and you get something good with it. I really like this image from pregame with Harrison.

Using The Light

The light was really good Monday night at Harrison. I really was trying to use it as much as I could. Here the players were moving to take a throw in, and the light was in the right place to make a photo.

Sunset Skies

This fall I haven’t had a proper chance to make a good sunset photo. Monday was the night for that to happen. When the light was good I put my big lens down, and I just made wide photos. They had a photographer at the game so I could gamble and make some wide photos.

Still Working On Volleyball

Volleyball is the toughest sport that I photograph. I really take any chance early in the year to make photos. The new lights at Harrison are better than the old lights, but they still make it hard to make photos. You are always making a compromise. Using my lenses at f/2.0 allows me to use a higher shutter speed. When I switch to a lens that is f/2.8 I have to adjust a little. It is always good to practice these balancing acts.

Going Up Top

I brought my 300mm lens with the thought of going up high for a set to try some photos. I usually like to be more head on to the action, but this corner is the best that I can get. You can still make good photos, but you really have to watch your backgrounds a little more. It is fun, and gives the gallery a different look. It is also pretty hard to nail a photo from this angle. I like that challenge.

A Record Crowd At Purdue Soccer

Every year Purdue seems to top the crowd from the previous year at Folk Field. It is pretty crazy how many fans they can crowd into the stadium. I went to the match knowing that I would have some backgrounds that I won’t have for the rest of the year. The packed stands make for some great backgrounds. Purdue took the energy from the crowd and scored seven goals for the second straight game.

Going Up Top

For the second half of the soccer match Thursday night I went up top to make some wide shots. the sky was cool and the large crowd made it worthwhile to give it a shot. I don’t know that I made anything crazy, but it was a different view of a cool night.

The Last Matchup?

The game between West Lafayette and Harrison last night was billed as the last matchup between the two teams. I really hope that it is not. I really have always enjoyed this game. These are the two schools that I photograph at the most, and it is always cool to see them battle it out. The games are usually pretty good as well. Maybe down the road they can find the time to play again.

The Grab Camera

I didn’t use my grab camera a lot on Friday night. Early in the game though I threw it up and made this photo of Zion Clopton as he scored a touchdown for Harrison. There was just something cool about this frame that I liked. I am glad that I had my grab camera ready for this one.

Taking The Light

Just before the half the sky was amazing. I really wanted the play to come my way so that I could make a photo with that sky in it. As Harrison got the ball I moved down the line a bit to get everything in one frame. As the sun set the sky shifted a bit, and I didn’t move. The play ended up going right to where I had been and that was probably the optimal place to make a photo of this run. I still like this photo though. It was a beautiful night for football, and this photos shows a little bit of that.

The Eyes Have It

Based on the formation I had a hunch that the play was going to be a bubble screen to this receiver. I stayed on him, and I was rewarded with this picture. You don’t always get lucky and the play that you think will happen actually happens. Here things went my way for a photo that I liked a lot. I don’t stay behind the offense often. Everyone wants the photos from in front of the offense. Here a bit of a gamble paid off.

Jump!

I really like this photo because of the two players rising above the rest. You can see just how close some of these plays are to completely flipping. Here West Side ended up with a nice gain. That Harrison player is high enough to block so many passes though. I really lucked into a cool photo here.

A Great Game

This is a game that went down to the wire. When you are photographing a rivalry game that is kind of what you want. You want to see both teams making the big plays. That happened last night. It will be fun watching both of these teams play the rest of this year.

Breaking Out The Halo Filter

Just after halftime I broke out the halo filter for a couple of photos while West Side was warming up. I knew those red jerseys would give me a cool look to this photo along with the stadium lights. I lucked out and made a photo that I really liked coming out of the break.

More Photos From The Week

We are at that time of the year when I have to apologize for how long this part of the post is going to be. If you get all the way through this thing you should get a medal. I can’t afford such things because I am a sports photographer, but if you can get yourself something nice. I mean really nice because this is going to be long.