Panthers, Hogs, and Zebras.
HOT BALL!
Last weekend was the kick off of the football season with zero week for high school football in Arkansas. I shot 5 games but the last two days really started the official season. On Friday night, I was on assignment for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, covering Pine Bluff at Cabot. My main focus for the evening was capturing images of long-time head coach Mike Malham, who will be retiring after this season. I was able to capture some great images of him both before and during the game. Unless I get assigned another game, this will likely be my only trip to Cabot this season. I graduated from Cabot in 1989, so its always nice to get back and this assignment was special to me. Coach Malham has calmed down a bit since my days in school. But, as you can tell from my photos below, he still has a lot of fire in his belly!
On Saturday, I traveled to Fayetteville to photograph the opening game of the 2018 season for the Arkansas Razorbacks. I had planned to arrive early and get some photos of the new north endzone, but due to a wreck in the tunnel on 49 north, I lost an hour of cushion time and had to hustle to get out on the field for warm-ups. It was a hot day! I think I had a pretty decent shoot. I was happy with some of my images. I did struggle with position and missed the touchdowns as they happened opposite from me. That happens in this sports photog game. It's all about being in the right place at the right time. You never know when the ball will come your way and to be honest it's just luck.
I plan to take more shots of my day in the upcoming games so that you can see what I do.
And now, here are the images!
NIKON D4, F3.5, 1/3200, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
As mentioned above, my main focus was Cabot head football coach Mike Malham. Here, he watches his players during warm-ups.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/2500, ISO 200, MANUAL
Nice portrait of coach Malhalm.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/320, ISO 6400, MANUAL
I asked coach Malham if he would allow me to photograph him talking to the team during warm-ups. He was very gracious in letting me capture this moment before the game. Before I started working as a sports photog, I was a sports writer and also kept stats. I was fortunate over the years to see this scene many times while working with Augusta, Pine Bluff Dollarway and Watson Chapel.
NOTE: Indoor photos are always a little challenging in getting the image balanced. 6400 is a pretty high ISO and I never want to use a flash in this situation so, you have the make the camera work it!
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/2000, ISO 1800, MANUAL
Here is another one of those mixed light situations that I have discussed with you all previously. Both were in shadow, but as you can see in the background, there is still light from the sun over part of the stadium. I used auto ISO in this situation and it worked really well.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/2000, ISO 1800, MANUAL
Same situation as above except you can see the light in the background more pronounced in this photo. Again, this makes shooting a little tricky as you have to work to find balance in the exposure.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1000, ISO 640, MANUAL
Tight shot of Cabot running back T.J. Rogers.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1000, ISO 640, MANUAL
This image of Pine Bluff quarterback is a tad soft, but I still like it.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1000, ISO 2000, MANUAL
Coach Malham still has that fire as he shouts at his players during the first quarter.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1000, ISO 2000, MANUAL
This is the look you get when you respond with something that coach Malham doesn't like.
So, each night I shoot high school football, I transmit a group of images to the newspaper. I never know what they will use or where it will be. I was quite pleased to see one of my images on the front page:
Here is the image I shot:
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/640, ISO 800, SHUTTER PRIORITY
A couple of interesting items about this photo...Cabot is a hard team to shoot because they run so many dives and traps inside that getting a good photo of an inside run requires patience. I believe this was a power play, but could have been a dive. The other interesting thing is my shutter speed was 640, which is a lot slower than I normally shoot. I had accidentally rolled it down to 1/640 and didn't realize it.
This was my inside shot:
And, here is the photo I shot:
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1000, ISO 2000, MANUAL
This photo was actually a tad blurry, but it looked nice with the article.
Here are Saturday's shots from the Eastern Illinois vs Arkansas game:
NIKON D4, F3.2, 1/1600, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
I have a method when I shoot college games just like I do high school. When I shoot at DWR Razorback Stadium, I always grab some student shots when I come out of the tunnel.
NIKON D4, F3.5, 1/1600, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Pregame warm-ups is when you want to get some tight portrait art. Here, Arkansas quarterback Ty Storey looks to pass during a 7 on 7 drill.
NIKON D4, F4.5, 1/2500, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
A tight portrait of Arkansas defensive tackle McTelvin "Sosa" Agim.
NIKON D4, F4.5, 1/2500, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Arkansas defensive coordinator John "The Chief" Chavis during warm-ups. The only shots you get of coach Chavis are during warm-ups because he calls the game from the booth.
NIKON D4, F3.2, 1/1000, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Calling the Hogs.
NIKON D4, F8.0, 1/3200, ISO 640, MANUAL
Arkansas running back T.J. Hammonds carries the Arkansas flag onto the field to start the 2018 season for the Razorbacks.
NIKON D4, F5.6, 1/4000, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Arkansas quarterback Cole Kelley started and here he fires a pass during the first quarter.
NIKON D4, F5.6, 1/4000, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Kelley scrambles away from a Eastern Illinois defender during the first quarter.
NIKON D4, F4.5, 1/3200, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Arkansas struggled running the football to start the game. Ty Storey came in and provided a spark.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/2500, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
The Arkansas defense gave up some yardage at times but they also made big plays.
NIKON D4, F4.5, 1/3200, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Jordan Jones made a nice catch and run for Arkansas early in the second quarter.
NIKON D4, F6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Catching player portraits is an important task when covering games. Here, I caught Arkansas center and Denmark native, Hjalte Froholdt watching the game during the second quarter.
NIKON D4, F6.3, 1/1000, ISO 200, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Shots of the head coach are also on the list. Here I captured Arkansas head coach Chad Morris watching action during the second quarter.
NIKON D7100, F2.8, 1/1250, ISO 220, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Another shot of coach Morris.
NIKON D7100, F2.8, 1/1250, ISO 220, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Arkansas offensive line coach Dustin Fry watches action during the third quarter.
NIKON D4, F4, 1/4000, ISO 800, SHUTTER PRIORITY
The Arkansas defense made some big plays and forced several turnovers. Here, Devon McClure of Jacksonville, sacks the Eastern Illinois quarterback forcing a fumble during the third quarter.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/3200, ISO 500, MANUAL
For those of you that watched "Last Chance U" on Netflix, you will remember running back Rakeem Boyd. Here he is on the sidelines during the third quarter.
NIKON D4, F3.2, 1/4000, ISO 500, SHUTTER PRIORITY
Here is Rakeem Boyd on the field diving over a tackler.
NIKON D4, F3.2, 1/4000, ISO 500, SHUTTER PRIORITY
And, running outside. Shooting at this time of the day is fun because of the contrast of mixed light and also you get a reflector type light from the windows in the stadium.
One of the coolest things about shooting games is being able to see myself on TV. I've been in the background many times over the years and it's always kind of fun to look at my phone after a game and see tags of me. Below a screen shot from my wife, Robin and below is the photo I took.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1250, ISO 500, MANUAL
Getting the coaches handshake can be a challenge especially when it's a big game. Here I got a nice image of Chad Morris (left) and Arkansas alum and Eastern Illinois head coach Kim Dameron.
NIKON D4, F2.8, 1/1250, ISO 500, MANUAL
Arkansas players celebrate with the band and student section after the game.
This what my photos look like out on the wire. These images can be picked up by anyone that subscribes to ZUMA Press.
