Logan – BYU defensive lineman Brett Denney (92) sits on USU QB Diondre Borel after sacking him. BYU vs. Utah State University (USU) college football Friday, October 3, 2008.
I’m getting way behind in posting, so here’s a quick one until I put up something else.
Over a week later, my edit…
Brandon Bradley brings down Devin Moore
David Nixon, Shawn Doman, Russell Tialavea bring down Devin Moore
Fans watching Max Hall in action
Andrew Rich and Shiloah Te’o lift Josh Biezuns and slam him to the turf
Brandon Howard watches Greg Bolling pull down a reception
Wyoming players shove BYU’s Fui Vakupuna
Neill Chambers leaps over Tashaun Gipson
After a hard hit, a Wyoming player vomits
Sorting through 1300+ photos from the BYU vs. Wyoming football game last weekend, I noticed a few things. Like when David Nixon returned an interception for a touchdown. It was a tough shot from where I was, but Trib photographer Rick Egan had the good angle so all was good. The sequence is filled with colorful characters standing on the sideline in the background.
My favorite is obviously Startled Salad Man. Let’s enjoy the closeup:
I’ll do something serious (or not) about the game shortly. Right now I’m going to get a slice of pizza.
Since so few football photographs are made with wide angle lenses, they really stand out. You never know when the action is going to come too close for any other lens to work. And since it doesn’t happen often, most photographers keep their wide angle in the bag until the game ends.
These shots were all made in RAW mode, which takes up more card space, but allows for higher quality in the post-processing phase. Since I use the wide angle sparingly, I’m able to shoot that camera in RAW. For the telephotos I’m stuck with JPEG just to keep things deadline-manageable.
Vic So’oto leads the pre-game Haka. Look at cameraman Pete wade in there, fearless.
There’s a clue to how I got the camera up so high elsewhere in this post. For those of you who can’t figure it out, I was able to talk one of the men on the cheer squad to let me stand on his shoulders. Luckily I have the balance of a dancer.
All words in italics are lies.
BYU quarterback Max Hall gets a hand from fans as he heads to the locker room. I’m on the cheerleader’s shoulders for this shot, too. We were running all over the field, chasing down Max Hall.
BYU quarterback Max Hall lines up behind center in the red zone.
Again, my goal for football this year is to have good photos from each of three lenses (super telephoto, telephoto, and wide). These three were taken with a 70-200mm lens (and probably a 1.4x teleconverter)
The 70-200 is a go-to lens when the Cougars are within the twenty yard line and I can line up with the ball. For these three photographs I’m prone on the grass as low as I can get for a dramatic, right-on-the-field look.
BYU’s Bryan Kariya runs into the endzone for a score.
You’ll notice that in contrast to the tight shots taken with the 400 in the previous post, the 70-200mm lens includes a little more background information. In the photo below, the fans bring some emotion to the scene.
BYU’s Harvey Unga scores one of his three touchdowns.
As for the sharpness and clarity, I know something’s off. These aren’t as crisp and vibrant as you’re used to seeing here. I’m in the midst of re-calibrating everything so hang tight.
BYU wide receiver Michael Reed (3) runs for a touchdown.
Last post I talked about using three cameras for three different viewpoints from a football game. From last Saturday’s BYU home opener, here are my favorites taken with the 400mm/2.8 lens. This is the one that gets me in close.
BYU quarterback Max Hall.
BYU offensive coordinator Robert Anae watches the offense come off the field after a turnover.
BYU running back Harvey Unga.
I’ve talked a lot about storytelling in sports photography. The best sports photos to me are of the big play or a key moment. The other night at BYU vs. San Diego State, my key shot was when BYU’s Trent Plaisted took a charge, giving SDSU’s Ryan Amoroso his fourth foul. As you can see above, Plaisted let out a yell and Amoroso is, like, “What?”
After a moment like this, you realize that it will be worthless if the game ends up otherwise. BYU held on to win, so to me the photo told the story of the game perfectly. I sent it in but sadly it wasn’t published until now.
For you basketball fans, a couple of action shots. Everyone else can stop reading.
(Sam Burgess, above. Trent Plaisted, below.)
Something about tongues during this game. Above: Sam Burgess’ tongue.
Above: BYU Coach Dave Rose’s tongue.
Above: Sam Burgess, again.
During the pre-game introductions, you make a choice: Sit and watch, or stand and shoot. Above: Brigham Young’s Michael Loyd (left) and Sam Burgess.
Above: Trent Plaisted.
Above: Michael Loyd leads the BYU basketball team in screaming inside a swirling, chanting mosh-pit huddle.
