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Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Depth Of Field: Week 13 at Minnesota
Exploring the 2024 game against the Vikings through the lens of the Cardinals team photographer
By Caitlyn Epes Dec 03, 2024
Photographs By Caitlyn Epes

Cold Shoulder

The Week 13 game in Minnesota was a hard fought battle against the Vikings that didn't end in the Cardinals' favor.

Scoreboard aside, there was still some nice light, splash plays, and good photos to be found.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

At U.S. Bank Stadium, the visiting team walks across the field to their locker room, which made player arrivals more photogenic than the traditional pre-security concrete walls:

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Baron Browning (53) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins (25) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

There is also a long tunnel from the locker room back out to the field, so I brought out my flash for the first round of players during pregame:

Arizona Cardinals running back Trey Benson (33) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

I like to add variety to repetitive moments in any way I can, so I moved out onto the field to capture the next few rounds of players with the dark and moody tunnel lighting:

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. (70) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

Defensive lineman Darius Robinson made his Cardinals debut this week after returning from injury, so he was a main focus during pregame warmups:

Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Darius Robinson (56) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Darius Robinson (56) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Darius Robinson (56) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

The locker room provided a lot of different views this week, from a personality pic of the tight ends ...

Arizona Cardinals tight end Tip Reiman (87), Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) and Arizona Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins (84) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

... to pregame preparation:

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins (25) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Naquan Jones (96) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

The Vikings turned down their indoor lights for their team introductions, and with the half-windowed roof, I got a couple of interesting portraits out of it:

Arizona Cardinals running back DeeJay Dallas (20) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. (70) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

I appreciate the time I have during away games to roam the bench area before the National Anthem.

While our team waits for the home team to be introduced, I can focus on more players and details:

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Kyzir White (7) and Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. (2) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Max Melton (16) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman L.J. Collier (91) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

One downside of an away game is that I don't know the ins and outs of their in-game entertainment, so when I prepare a shot in my mind, it might be affected by things like the giant flag being taken off the field:

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Kyzir White (7), Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6), Arizona Cardinals cornerback Garrett Williams (21) and Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

I struggled a little bit during this game with getting clean action shots; "clean" meaning nothing blocking the action.

Nevertheless, she persisted!

Photos like these are sometimes more dynamic due to the added foreground and background:

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) and Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt (72) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman L.J. Collier (91) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

One of my favorite celebrations is when the defense recovers a turnover and the group poses in the end zone.

Even though I was close to the right position after Roy Lopez's fumble recovery, I watched as they all ran towards the wrong camera at first:

Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Roy Lopez (98) and Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

But, once I moved more into their eyesight, they knew who they were supposed to pose for!

I also like to wait a little bit as more players move into frame:

Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman L.J. Collier (91), Arizona Cardinals safety Dadrion "Rabbit" Taylor-Demerson (42), Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Naquan Jones (96), Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Roy Lopez (98), Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jesse Luketa (43) and Arizona Cardinals linebacker Victor Dimukeje (52) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
The Arizona Cardinals during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

Michael Wilson has been making some really exciting catches recently, and I was glad to have captured two this week.

The first was straightforward:

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson (14) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

The second, however, was insane.

These snapshots don't show how he secured the ball, and looking back it's even crazier that he did after all of this:

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson (14) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson (14) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson (14) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

Ironically, football is a game about hands.

I liked these photos focused on hands, from Trey McBride basically holding hands with the defender to a sideline handshake:

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
The Arizona Cardinals during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

After halftime, I wanted to utilize the dark tunnel lighting one more time:

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado (31) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

As the game went on, the half-domed stadium created dynamic light across the bench area, so I focused on getting a couple of portraits:

Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Roy Lopez (98) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas V (24) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Darius Robinson (56) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Naquan Jones (96) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

The defense was staying strong throughout the second half by forcing a missed field goal ...

Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Dante Stills (55) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

... and Mack Wilson Sr.'s hard-hitting sack:

Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. (2) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. (2) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

I have recently been choosing the 70-200mm lens as my go-to for red zone plays, and I'm glad that I did this week as it was the perfect lens for Marvin Harrison Jr.'s touchdown and celebration:

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) and Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. (70) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

My positioning towards the end of the game allowed me to capture some symmetrical frames using the goal post, which I think creates a more unique portrait:

Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Jonathan Gannon during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.
Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

Once the game ended and all the photographers rushed towards midfield, I was looking around for Kyler Murray so that I could get the typical "opposing quarterbacks meet" shot.

Instead of following Sam Darnold around in hopes he would find Kyler, I put my head on a swivel and found Kyler sitting on the bench:

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

I kept a respectful distance as he was obviously emotional, but I continued to take photos as Michael Wilson came over to pick up his teammate after a tough loss:

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson (14) during the Week 13 regular season game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Dec 1, 2024 in Minneapolis, MN.

The whole team feels a certain way after losing, but the real camaraderie is shown in the way a team responds.

This team will respond, and I will be there to capture it all.

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