Woah's and Woes
The Week 8 game in Minnesota gave me a lot to work with. Indoor snow, unique lighting, a blocked field goal and a one-handed catch allowed me to capture the story of the Cardinals against the Vikings.
I have only worked one other game at M&T Bank Stadium, but it was at night. This Sunday's matchup was at noon, so the pregame lighting out of the tunnel and on the field was beautiful.
J.J. Watt went into this game with something to celebrate: the birth of his first child! He showed off his custom cleats for me during warmups, pointing out the name "Koa" with tiny footprints.
At the end of pregame stretches, one player is designated to lead the team huddle and make a speech. Each week, the videographers and I wait to find out who it is and try to get in a good spot. This week it was Colt McCoy, and while his speech was short and sweet, I was front and center.
When the players go into their position groups, I keep an eye out for all of the small huddles. I had to speed walk to get this photo of the linebackers' hands since I wasn't sure how long they'd be huddling for.
A fun moment happened in the locker room once we all went inside after warmups. Maxx Williams asked to borrow my camera to take some photos, so I gave him my D6 with a 24-70mm lens.
I need to start giving out my 70-200mm instead, since if the players take my wide angle lens I can't photograph them using it as easily.
Maxx didn't take many shots, but his teammates loved the interaction. Here's one of those "photographer vs. the photo" moments:
Not all of his photos were great though... I taught him about back-button focus, but he forgot a couple of times!
Eventually I had to take the camera back so I could do my job, sorry Maxx!
I really liked the way Myjai Sanders was taping his hands and how that corner of the room was preparing for the game ahead.
The Vikings, being in Minnesota, use fake snow inside for their introductions. It ended up being a really cool added element to some of my photos, including this one of Jalen Thompson with the clean black background.
I stood right behind the pylon for introductions, which allowed the players to run on either side of me. Trey McBride took the direct route and flexed for the camera.
He seemed really excited for the game, as you can see in the second photo of him pumping himself up before coin toss.
I stopped a couple times behind the bench area to see if there was anything worth capturing. I ended up focusing on these two moments, with the second one being a rare sight for me. Coach Kingsbury is pretty elusive to cameras while he's in the middle of the bench!
The purple and yellow color scheme of the Vikings fans made for a really neat background. When I found time in-between plays, I tried to isolate some players on it. This shot of Kyler is one of my favorites, especially with how the light illuminates his face.
DeAndre Hopkins' one-handed touchdown catch was an extraordinary sight to see up close. It was also one of those "please for the love of God be in focus" photo moments.
Luckily, I was zoomed out just enough to get his full body in the frame as he caught it.
I kept my finger on the shutter throughout the whole sequence and ended up getting some added details in the background.
Notice the other players, including Kyler who threw the pass, in the bottom corner of the first photo, and Zach Ertz celebrating in the second one.
Speaking of Zach Ertz, he had a pretty spectacular touchdown as well! I had just rushed over to the end zone corner when the ball was snapped, and I quickly brought my camera up to my face to start shooting.
I tracked him the whole way and was so lucky to be in a good spot, especially as the play was taking some time to be ruled a touchdown and Ertz and Hopkins celebrated right in front of me!
Unfortunately, my luck ran out and I wasn't in a great spot for Rondale Moore's touchdown. I did get this photo of him looking back at the lack of defense as he strolled into the end zone, and the next shot of him celebrating with his teammates.
Of course the one time I try to be creative and photograph a field goal with a wide angle lens is the moment when the Cardinals block it and cause a turnover. I think it still makes for a cool moment, but right after this shot I had to go to my 400mm and catch the celebration.
J.J. Watt had some great plays, and I love the photo of him sacking Kirk Cousins with the third down marker in the background.
I got that shot, but totally missed focus on his second sack. It happens! I am glad I captured his celebration though.
The game did not end how we wanted it to, and Kyler stayed kneeling on the midfield logo for a while after the clock hit 0:00. I ran out just in time to get some Vikings players being good sports and commending him on the game.
