Long Time, No Sea
Week 14 had a similar ending to the first game in Seattle a couple of weeks ago, but at least round two wasn't in the rain and cold.
There are highs and lows to every game when it comes to plays/photos, but I'll stick to discussing my own job here.
This week was the league's My Cause My Cleats initiative where players are allowed to wear decorated footwear to honor a nonprofit organization of their choice.
My first task of the day was capturing a select few of those cleats in the locker room, and I used a handheld prism filter to make them stand out.
Most players only wear the cleats for pregame warmups, so I made sure to go out there early to capture a few in action.
My Cause My Cleats isn't limited to players. Coaches and staff also get custom shoes made to spread awareness for their passions, like tight ends coach Ben Steele:
With the team wearing black uniforms this week, I wanted to continue the dark mode in the photographs.
As a couple groups of players walked out to padded warmups, I set up farther back in the shadows:
I always enjoy capturing family moments for our team, and this week, Trey McBride's crew was in town decked head to toe in "85."
His niece was very proud of her "Uncle Trey" sign, especially after she wasn't able to bring one inside Levi's Stadium in Week 5:
Another exciting photo op was Kelvin Beachum with the artist who painted his cleats for My Cause My Cleats. The team welcomed Scout Rooney and her family onto the field to see her work in action:
The energy was palpable from all directions, from James Conner to Paris Johnson Jr.:
I've recently tried to get closer in on the pregame huddles during the team period to give fans a glimpse into what it would look like during a game:
I continued the dark mode vibes to player introductions with the shutter-drag flash technique:
I noticed I was in a side-profile mood for pregame portraits:
The game action started off quickly with a Michael Wilson touchdown.
I thought I was in a great spot to catch him from across the field while he caught the pass and started running:
But I was humbled by the referee in my way as Wilson neared the goal line:
I kept getting blocked during the celebration, so I switched to capture Kyler Murray's emotions instead:
It's always safe to focus on Budda Baker during any defensive drive, but especially this week:
I picked the end zone position for most of the game in order to get straight-on shots, and it worked out for the most part.
After Mack Wilson Sr.'s near-sack, I caught coach Jonathan Gannon screaming for the intentional grounding flag:
My positioning also gave me a closer look at some of the defensive plays:
Some more Budda Baker for good measure, including the signature way he gets up from the ground:
My positioning wasn't the best for offensive plays, but I did get James Conner's touchdown right in front of me:
I really wish this shot ended in a touchdown (as most fans probably also do), but I liked the sense of space that the wide angle lens gave:
After the two-minute warning, I dropped off my 400mm lens and stuck with my 70-200mm.
I got some closeups of the sideline before the last offensive drive:
I moved down the field with the offense and was surprisingly able to capture the action pretty closely:
I set up in the end zone as the clock ran out, which unfortunately did not end in a Cardinals touchdown.
I waited a little bit to run out to the middle of the field. It felt fitting to capture Trey McBride giving a visual of how everyone felt after that game:
