Dark Mode
The Arizona Cardinals debuted their all-black uniforms this week against the Cincinnati Bengals, and while they didn't come away with a Week 5 win, there were definitely some moments of which to be proud.
Lucky for all of you, I captured most of them on camera!
Let's start at pre-pregame warmups with Dante Stills letting me get his serious face before flashing the classic peace sign.
"Game faces" were popular this week as I got a couple of stare downs during team stretches ...
... in addition to some shiny teeth from Marquise Brown and bright yellow gloves from Zach Pascal.
One face we apparently aren't allowed to see? James Conner. He opted for the "no cameras, please" pose instead.
Do not fret, dear readers, for I was able to capture the elusive D.J. Humphries huddle speech on camera. (Editor's note: If you couldn't tell, this is sarcasm ... he does this every week).
In the locker room during pregame, after getting all of the photos I usually get, I waited for something to catch my eye. Kei'Trel Clark gave me something new by sitting in the middle of the room instead of on the side like he usually does.
Kelvin Beachum's chair was faced outward this week, so I was able to capture him getting in the zone. What this photo doesn't show is his burst of laughter after trying to hold the serious face for the camera.
I also zoomed in on his hands since he was rocking a rare combo of regular tape, glove and wrist wrapping.
Kevin Strong Jr. was in the process of taping his hands and wrists, so I stood by him and captured that process for a while. It's difficult to have the camera focus on the tape when it moves around so quickly.
Because this was the first game with the new black uniforms, I wanted to try something completely new for team introductions. I brought my flash into the tunnel area and changed my settings to have a longer shutter speed so that the subjects would drag across the frame and create light trails.
I tested it on the coaches since they came out first.
Once I had my settings where I wanted them, I just kept shooting and moving my camera to create the effect. With some editing afterwards, these are the results.
Coin toss is when things start to get amped up as the game is about to begin. The captains were having a big laugh before they walked out, but once they took their first step, they were locked in.
From the time I leave the locker room to when I get set for kickoff, I am running around taking photos and do not have much time to think about anything else. This game, I switched out my 85mm for my 70-200mm right before kickoff. What I didn't do was remember to take the lens cap off of the 70-200mm before trying to shoot with it.
Elijah Wilkinson caught me trying to take this photo with that lens cap on. I heard someone say "I saw that" and looked up to him and Kelvin Beachum laughing before turning around again so I could get my shot.
I ended up in the perfect spot for Marquise Brown's touchdown, and an even better spot for his jumping-into-the-crowd celebration.
I was using my 24-70mm lens placed at 50mm for the action shots, and while I don't love how wide they are, with a little bit of crop I think it makes for a cool frame. Especially when you notice Michael Wilson and Zach Ertz cheering Marquise on in the background.
Because all of his teammates were so far away from him, he decided to leap into the stands close by and the fans were absolutely loving it.
I kept holding down the shutter as Michael Wilson and Zach Pascal finally joined in to help Marquise down. I'm still figuring out a good name for this celebration, the best I could come up with was "Hollywood Hop." Let's see what Cardinals fans can think of.
Another time I loved the background of an image during this game was when Zach Pascal came running down after a kickoff and celebrated like he usually does, but this time with a "GET LOUD" in the perfect position in the frame.
James Conner's run that got the team into scoring position ended with a flourish as he was flipped into the air. It happened right in front of me, so here's the sequence of events:
- I grab my wide lens and pray that the referee moves downfield with James so he's not in my shot.
2. James gets tripped up and I'm thinking "Oh my goodness this is crazy."
3. My lens slightly loses focus and I freak out as James is literally midair.
4. James goes completely horizontal and I get a crazy frame out of it.
Finally, after a brief moment of all of us hoping James is alright, he reassures everyone by hyping the crowd up and celebrating.
That run put the Cardinals into scoring position, which ended in a Zach Ertz touchdown. I was blocked by the defense for Zach's actual catch, so once I saw him on the ground in the end zone I started my sequence.
I got some really animated photos of the celebration, though. I love how isolated I was able to get him with my 400mm lens and some cropping.
Emari Demercado's touchdown later was unconventional in terms of what photos came out of it, since I've never captured a player being tackled into the end zone through the pylon before.
I almost got completely blocked by the referee during the celebration, but I kept shooting in hopes I'd get something out of it. I did, although I could go without the zebra stripes.
On the defensive side, I liked Zaven Collins' sack because watching it through the viewfinder was very exciting. I was focused on Joe Burrow, and I watched frame by frame as Zaven pulled him down and Dante Stills dove on top.
It's always nice photographically when players run away from the play to celebrate, like Zaven did here. I also like when I can get clear photos of them high-fiving their teammates, so thanks Zaven.
The last play I'll show is K'Von Wallace's interception. I was able to capture him going down with the ball and his initial run with the rest of the defense from my position towards the Bengals end zone.
After I shot those, I scrambled to run to the back of the end zone knowing they would run all the way there and celebrate by posing for the camera.
And when I say I scrambled, I mean it.
I was hustling down there while also holding down the shutter in hopes of getting something in focus. Hope did not give me what I wanted.
But the good news is that my instincts were right and they did want to pose in the end zone, so while trying to catch my breath from attempting to run, I was able to capture these.
Throughout the game, I saw coach Jonathan Gannon watching from the sidelines and tried to capture some storytelling photos of it. This one came towards the end of the game when a win was out of his reach, but I think the passion and drive is still there.
