Monday Night Madness
The Cardinals' Week 14 game against the Patriots left a lot to be desired and even more to be worried about with turnovers, penalties and injuries.
But from a photography standpoint, this game wasn't half bad!
We'll start off with some close-ups of cleats to celebrate the My Cause My Cleats initiative:
During pregame, I switched out my 70-200mm lens for the 85mm f/1.8. I have previously only used the 85mm for travel and arrival shots since it is a fixed focal length and, I'll admit, I've been scared to bring it out for pregame.
But the whole reason I have the lens is to get up close portraits and detail shots with crisp, clean "bokeh" in the background, and since I don't even use the 70-200mm very much pregame, I bit the bullet.
I had it set to f/2, and I need to practice a little bit more since the depth of field is so shallow and focusing was difficult.
I kept my 24-70mm as my other pregame lens since I knew I wanted to get the typical huddle shots and needed a wide lens for it.
Markus Golden was really hyped and getting all the defensive guys to jump around and mosh a little in their huddle.
Right before I went to go grab my 400mm lens for kickoff, I snapped Zach Allen, Leki Fotu and Jonathan Ledbetter looking like some guys just hanging out. Pretty wholesome if you ask me.
Here comes the rough patch.
I can't take you through this game without talking about Kyler Murray's injury. I did not get any photos of him actually getting injured (thank goodness), but here is what it looked like before and after.
He ran too close to the sideline for me to see what happened, and whenever I tried to get any photos of what was going on, I was blocked by his teammates crowding around him.
It was obviously a very sad moment, but it was nice to see both Cardinals and Patriots players wishing Kyler well before he was carted off.
Enter Colt McCoy.
We didn't expect to see him on the field that night, but it did change how I photographed the game. Every player is different, so switching quarterbacks forced me to pay more attention to that position instead of just predicting where the ball would go on each play.
Photographing practice each week allows me to get a feel for certain plays, but the QB change erased all of that for this game.
Now for a photo I have been waiting years to capture.
When the defense gets an interception, on a lot of teams around the league, they run to the end zone and pose for a photo. Being a team photographer, you always hope they see you and come right to your lens, but that rarely happens.
And it had never happened to me, until Monday night!
I was photographing the play from the end zone, since I was set there from the beginning of that drive, and right as I was about to move, Isaiah Simmons intercepted the ball.
The play itself was blocked from my view, but I started photographing the celebration from about midfield with my 70-200mm lens.
I then knew I had to move quickly to my left so that I would be very obvious as the only photographer to come pose in front of.
I was shuffling and shooting simultaneously, which always leads to mistake photos like the first one below.
But then I kneeled down and waited for the shot to come to me, and I got more than one out of it!
To continue on the defensive trend, I loved Zach Allen's sack and celebration.
You can see Mac Jones bracing for impact in the first photo, and J.J. Watt cheering his teammate on in the second.
For James Conner's touchdown, I was positioned on the side of the end zone poised with my 70-200mm lens just in case a throw came my way. I honestly did not expect that particular play to be a scoring one when it started, but James pushed his way through and landed right across the goal line.
I originally wished I had shot something tighter, but I love how you can see the aftermath of everyone he ran through to score, and in the celebration photos you have his teammates in the background.
I was also able to spin around to catch guys coming off the bench to celebrate with James.
I noticed James pacing up and down the sideline a couple times, so I decided to get some detail shots of his jersey. I think it's always so cool to see the physical wear and tear the uniforms go through during a game.
Field positioning in general was sort of difficult during offense of this game, but I did get some clean shots of a couple awesome catches.
I still have no idea how Trey McBride held onto that ball.
It is rough on a personal level when plays get called back, especially when you get great shots of what was supposed to be an awesome play.
Instead of sealing these photos in the dead-play vault, take a look at what could have been a Zaven Collins pick six.
Players respond to adversity in different ways. Some throw their helmets, some sit silently on the bench, and others, like Budda Baker, stand as close to the field as possible just waiting for the moment he can get out there and help.
There will be more opportunities to respond in the next few weeks, and we need that energy more than ever.
