There Ya Go
Sometime, a couple of years ago, I made one of the best buys in the history of buys. It was a stool, but not an ordinary one. Think of an accordion — it expands with a twist and pull, turning a round, compact object into something I can sit on.
That was a terrible explanation, but the point is, it proved to be a lifesaver when covering outdoor sporting events.
I’ve brought it to every Panther football game I’ve covered since it was delivered and it’s a blessing, especially when my back acts up (I have the back of a 65-year-old coal mine worker). At a game two weeks ago, I placed it near the home corner of the south end zone. After taking photos of the opening ceremony that took place to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I scurried over to my seat to rest before kickoff.
No sooner did I take my seat, Jackson Kruse fielded the opening kick, raced through a nice hole and down the right sideline for a touchdown.
I was still sitting. Didn’t even get up. But my camera did. I lifted it to my eye and held down the shutter. Click, click, click, click, etc. The result was, what I think, a great photo of Jackson beginning his celebration, knowing no one would catch him (it was in last week’s paper).
Getting good photos takes a couple of things. You need the right equipment, for sure, and a good eye helps, but you also need a little luck, as in being at the right place at the right time like I was for Jackson’s return — the dude was running right at me. Had I put my stool on the other end of the field, Jackson would’ve simply ran away from me. Had I not had my stool, maybe I would’ve been standing somewhere else along the sideline and got some blurry side shot.
I literally did my job sitting on my butt. Talent? Luck? I’d say more of the latter on this one, so I don’t dare brag about this money shot.
Having a bad back is no fun, especially when at least a modicum of mobility is required for this job, but on that night, it was a blessing in disguise for sure.
Photography, in general, is a lot of fun. When someone praises me for a photo, I tell them that I’m a writer who takes photos. That’s important when you’re relied upon to do both. Back in the day when I was a young sports writer for the Marshall paper, I didn’t always have to shoot games. We had two photographers on staff in the early ‘90s, and when one of them went to one of my games, I could focus on taking notes and not have to concern myself with developing film a half hour before deadline.
Times have changed for all of us newspaper people. We all have to know how to take photos and write, even at larger papers. Technology helps. Cameras are better, as you can view your images right after you take them, as opposed to keeping your fingers crossed that you got the shot until you developed the film later that night.
In that vein, today’s young journalists are spoiled when it comes to cameras; they probably have never seen a roll of film, yet alone tried to develop one. I’m glad I had to learn how to develop film back in the day — it makes me appreciate how good I have it now with digital photography, even when I’m sitting down.
