The Week That Was In Sports

This was always going to be a slow sports week for me. In fact I shot more than I thought that I would when the week started. I had things other than sports to take up my nights for once. That is kind of where I am trying to get to so that is a good thing. Having some diversity in my work is always good. This is also the first week in over five years that I have had my full kit back. It is pretty crazy to think about how I have kind of been finding ways around having all of my tools. It feels good to finally have everything that I need again. As this post goes live I will be leaving for the Purdue football game against Notre Dame. Next week should be a good one two, but before I get ahead of myself here are some of my favorite stories from last week.

Purdue Wins The Stacey Clark Classic

On Saturday I went down to campus to cover the final game of the Stacey Clark Classic. When I first started this photography journey Stacey was one for me the first fans of what I was doing. That didn’t make me special. She was a fan of anyone who was a part of this program. She was the special one. She had an infectious smile, and always had a kind word when we would see each other. Over the years I have come into contact with some very special people at Purdue. Stacey was one of those. I try to get to at least one game of this classic every year because of that fact. It is hard to believe that she has been gone for over ten years now. It is great to see that Purdue has kept her spirit alive with this tournament.

Up Top Again For The Win

I really like my photos from up top during volleyball season. For most sports my goal is to get as low as I can. For volleyball it seems like the opposite is true. I am always looking for a place up top to make photos. The action at the net can be great, and that upper vantage point allows me to capture that. I think that my favorite actions shots this year have been from up top.

Looking For Something New

This is the point of the volleyball season when I feel like I am just doing the same thing. When I planned for this match I had a three set plan thinking that Purdue might sweep. I knew that I needed UCF photos for the wire so I sat on their end to start things off. I then moved up top to get Purdue at the net. For the final set I was back to where I started for UCF to make dig photos of Purdue. There are only so many places that you can photograph from in Holloway, and I feel like I have used them all too much already this season. This is that weird point of the season where an easy game like this can feel boring to me because the emotion is not really there. That will all change with the Big Ten season starting. There are very few easy games in the Big Ten season so the emotion will be there.

Cousins At The Net

There were not many times that these two had a battle at the net during the day, but I liked this photo of two cousins playing against each other. You know that the battles that they had were important. Family get togethers could be harder if you don’t come out on the right end of them.

Practice!…We Talkin’ Bout Practice?

Monday I got my first basketball action in a while as the Purdue women’s team started their practices. I am not always a fan of photographing a practice here and there. It is hard to make good photos when you rarely know what is going on. I never want to be in the way so I usually make sure the drill is not going near me before I start to make photos. With the current state of college sports though this is the first time that I saw many of the new faces on the Purdue basketball team. I think that three players remain from last years team. The rest are new faces, and it was cool to get to see them in action before the games begin. You have some idea as to what they can do. It is hard to believe that basketball season is almost here. The games will be starting before you know it though.

More Sports?

I will admit that I had this post locked and ready to go on Tuesday thinking that I didn’t have any more sports this week. I had conflicts that would make it hard. Then I got a text about a rivalry flag football game that I could maybe squeeze in. I knew that it would mean more editing and a little harder night, but it also seemed like fun. I am glad that I found out about the game because it was the perfect way to end the sports week.

The Bell Comes To Harrison

Harrison and McCutcheon flag football plays for the bell. I don’t know much about the bell, but anytime that you put a trophy to a rivalry game the teams want it bad. Last year was the first year of the bell and McCutcheon won it. This year Harrison took it back with a convincing win. I knew that I wanted to be close for the celebration with the bell so I used my 16-35mm lens and got right into the action. I love how the photos turned out, and it was great to capture the first time that Harrison held the bell.

Photographing Flag Football

I really love this sport. It is quickly becoming my favorite to photograph. No helmets means emotion. The shorter and small field also helps me make better photos. Here the narrower field helped me make a photo that I never could at a regular football game. It almost looks like I am on the field here. I need to find out ways to get to more flag football games. They are so much fun to cover.

More Photos From The Week

This was a shorter week for me as far as sports goes. That is okay. Sports can be like that. A light week can be followed by a heavy one. You take the small break when you can get it. Below are a few bonus photos that I liked from the week.