Throughout my 37 year newspaper photojournalism career I’ve had the privilege of shooting tens of thousands of games and taken millions of frames of everything from t-ball to the NFL and MLB and I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them (admittedly some more than others!) The rapidly changing conditions, unpredictable action, technical challenges and sometimes just the need to get something out of a really bad game (they happen) has always kept my creative desires moving.
On the Range I’ve covered two generations of high school athletes and captured some of the biggest sports moments over the past almost three decades. State Championships, career milestones, historic coaching moments and yes, the agony of getting so close to the dream.
I’ve been asked more times than I want to remember, “How do you get to do the big games?” “How do you get access to US Bank or Williams Arena?” Because if I can do that then I can do “Real” Sports photography.
I always tell them and firmly believe it that where you shoot and who you shoot doesn’t matter. In fact, some of the very best sports you can cover with a camera happen on the dusty back fields, or overgrown school yards scattered across nearly every town and neighborhood.
I’ve been honored to do the Rock Ridge Youth Baseball team and player photos for the past seven or eight years and it’s a joy to see the excited young players every season. And even more so, staying to cover their games.
The pure excitement some of the youngest players have, picking up a bat, not even knowing which direction to run, not caring what the score is, excited about being in a new position each inning just brings a smile to your face. It’s why the pros got into sports in the first place, They all started on a sandlot somewhere. I’ve been having so much fun capturing moments and sharing the enthusiasm of both the players as well as the volunteer coaches and parents and grandparents coming out each and every night to cheer them on.
The NFL is great, don’t get me wrong, but at that level it’s a job, a job for the players, a job for the coaches, a job for the photographers. Even the fans who spent hundreds of dollars have an investment in the outcome. I love covering the NFL, even if I don’t get to do it very often anymore, but for the pure joy of sports, you cannot beat watching two teams of six-year-olds taking the diamond!
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