DARK DAY IN QUEEN CITY
A cold day in Charlotte ended in a loss of hope for the Cardinals as the team was officially eliminated from the playoffs.
The show must go on, and the game turned into a lemonade-from-lemons scenario with the photos I was able to get.
The walkway to the locker room provided a some blue lights and the perfect backdrop for long-shutter flash photos:
It was definitely chillier than Phoenix, represented by the visible condensation appearing with every breath.
I thought this was a funny visual though with Krys Barnes still rocking short sleeves:
The early morning sun was creating unique shadows on the turf and equipment:
I loved the harsh contrast that was being created in the tunnel area with streaks of light hitting everything in front of the dark background:
It was made even cooler with the icy white uniforms:
The theme of pregame was definitely finding the nice light, and I favored the same direction so that the sun would be shining towards the subject:
When the sun was behind the subject, it showed a starburst effect on the helmets:
With Paris Johnson Jr. out this week, Hjalte Froholdt took the lead in the big man huddle.
He made sure to say "get in tight, I won't punch you guys like Paris does."
Even in the low temperatures, Naquan Jones needed a cool-down:
I went into the locker room before some of the rest of the team so I was able to catch a couple portraits:
I noticed a couple new frames this week in the locker room, from Elijah Higgins juggling against a wall to Kyzir White giving me the staredown:
I skipped the tunnel introductions since I had gotten similar shots earlier in the day. I really liked the light that was happening in the end zone for some pregame prayers:
Surprise surprise, I also liked the light during the National Anthem.
The direction of the light and the camera's position affects the image, as you can see in this photo of Kyler Murray shot during the same time as the above photos, just from the opposite way:
The Cardinals started off being backlit in the first half, which is hard to expose for in-camera.
With the right settings and some slight editing, I still created some nice images:
I did think the giant panther eyes were a cool background. It's definitely something different that sets this stadium apart:
It was interesting to see the way the light moved throughout the day, even within the same play.
Using my 400mm lens on this first James Conner shot, there is much more contrast to when I had to switch to my wide angle lens as he came closer:
When we switched sides for the second quarter, the photos were drastically different due to the sun's direction:
I liked using my 70-200mm as the team got closer so I could capture a lot of different contrasts in one frame:
I stuck with that lens for James Conner's touchdown:
But, for DeeJay Dallas' touchdown, I had to use my 400mm since it was all the way across the end zone from me.
The shade and obstacles made it hard to get a perfect frame of the celebration:
I wanted to try getting some cool shots of the players running back out to the field after halftime. It was a tight squeeze to get a clean frame, but I got a couple of nice looks:
I turned to the bench area in the second half to get some detail shots:
Despite the end result, there were still some moments of celebration throughout ...
... even after Joey Blount got injured and hyped up the crowd on his way out:
I was in the perfect spot for Kyler Murray's touchdown run, even catching some sideline celebrations in the background:
The late afternoon sun was creeping in towards the end of the game ...
... and at one point was perfectly framing General Manager Monti Ossenfort:
I'm glad I didn't stop shooting this sequence after it looked like Trey McBride wasn't going to catch the ball.
Looking at the individual photos, you'd never know he actually secured it after all this:
Chad Ryland kept us in Charlotte a little bit longer with his game-tying field goal:
It also gave us more time for good photos:
I stayed near the Cardinals sideline to capture some emotion, whichever end of the spectrum it would turn out to be:
Unfortunately, it ended up being the not-so-happy end.
While everyone was rushing onto the field and the photographers were flocking towards the Panthers celebrating, I focused on our team and saw Kyler walking slowly towards midfield.
I knew he was looking for Bryce Young, and surprisingly, they met each other with only myself and one other photographer to capture the moment.
The lesson to be learned from that moment is ...
No matter the noise, there's still work to be done.
