Category Archives: High School Football

The Coin Toss

By | | , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

Before a high school football game, the referee flips a coin to determine who will first receive the ball to start the game. This happens just after the Friday night warmups in my area, so the gathering at midfield just before kickoff is merely ceremonial. The actual coin toss occurs even before the pre-game activities, including the marching band’s performance.

Inspired by Peter Read Miller’s book, On Sports Photography, (which really is a great sports photography book) I wanted to make an attempt at photographing the coin toss last Friday night. You’ve got to check out his coin toss photo in his book captured at the Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium!

As most of you know, lighting at these high school games is not typically very good nor very bright. However, this is not an action shot, so I thought I might get something decent even with the thin lighting.

The coin toss began with a few words from the referee and then the shaking of the hands of both teams. It is more like an amoeba conglomeration of people and I had to keep an eye on a videographer, too. This is the shot I ended up with during Friday night’s coin toss.

It is okay at best; certainly not stellar. The one good thing is the coin is in the with that dark blue sky and the referee is looking up at it. The main problem is the lack of any other faces being visible in the shot. The one almost face is obscured by the other official. I am thinking I should use a wider angle lens the next time and certainly get into a better position to capture the faces of the players. I am learning!

 

Two Sports Photographs Published

By | | , , , ,
Leave a comment

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

 

Stroudsburg v. Pocono Mountain East

Rain fell in Swiftwater as the Stroudsburg Marching Band played the pre-game ceremony. Once kickoff ensued, the action was fast and furious. Stroudsburg struck first, but Pocono Mountain East answered back in record time. The game was tied 7-7 late into the second quarter, but Pocono Mountain East was driving and knocking on the door.

The Cardinals punched it into the end zone with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half. Stroudsburg received the kickoff but could not drive the ball before the half ended. The second half was a different game for Stroudsburg.

Rushing and throwing seemed to come a bit more naturally, but an early muffed punt resulted in a turnover and a quick touchdown. Stroudsburg scored another follow-up touchdown to make it 28-14.

The Cardinals made it interesting by scoring a touchdown very late in the game but their on-sides kick was recovered by the Mounties who hung on to win 28-21. These two photographs of #21 Gerald Douglas crossing the goal line with the go-ahead touchdown are online at the Pocono Record. You can view the article here.

Pre-Game Portrait

By | | , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Allen v. Pocono Mountain WestAmir Blair sings his school’s Alma Mater in pre-game ceremonies this past Friday night as Pocono Mountain West hosted Allen in High School football.

The pre-game activities build to a crescendo as both teams prepare to do battle on the gridiron. Bands play fight songs, fans gather into the bleachers, and the players get wound up for battle! There is nothing quite like this pre-game experience!

 

 

Photographing the QB

By | | , , ,
Leave a comment

Allen v. Pocono Mountain WestPhotographing the quarterbacks in a football game is imperative. One of them, after all, could have a banner day or make the play of the game.

Some recurring problems exist, however, in trying to get good photographs of each QB. Bleachers, lights posts, and vehicles in the background are distracting features that need to be avoided at all costs. Separating the subject from the background is necessary but is sometimes difficult. This is especially true for wildlife photography because the subjects often blend into their backgrounds to keep them safe from predators. The same is somewhat true for QBs: they can blend into distracting backgrounds as their predators(opponents) try to sack them!

Shooting wide open with a large f-stop (small number) is a good first step in separating a subject from its background. What happens is the focus is one the subject but the background is blurred out of focus. The depth of field is shallow in this case and helps in separating the subject from its background.

Additionally, other players or referees can move between the QB and our camera. Keeping the QB separated from his opponents is not only the task of the linemen, but it is also the task of the sports photographer. My approach is to take some time during each game to focus entirely on the QB. Sometimes it works well and sometimes, well, I struggle. Lack of good light or distracting and overpowering light can lead to problems as well.

Focus on the subject and photograph the QB. This approach can tell an important part of the game’s story. Give it a try: focus on the quarterback!

 

Friday Night Football: Allen v. Pocono Mountain West

By | | , , , ,
Leave a comment

Allen v. Pocono Mountain West

This photograph was deemed worthy for publication in Saturday’s edition of the Pocono Record.

A few of my photographs from Friday night’s high school football game featuring Allen v. Pocono Mountain West appeared online today. You can see the short photo gallery here.

There isn’t quite anything like the atmosphere of Friday night in the fall. Get to a game and feel the excitement!

Photo of the Month

By | | , , , , , , , ,
Leave a comment

Pleasant Valley v. Lehighton

September’s Photo of the Month was likely to be a football photograph. For one thing, this is the time of year for football. After all, is there any better season than fall, and is there any better season than football season? I think not! We are definitely in the midst of football season!

It is incredible to me, but I still find myself getting butterflies on Friday nights before the games. I certainly did when I played high school football back in the early ’80s, but even now, as I am preparing to photograph a game, I find myself pacing back and forth a little bit and fighting off those nervous butterflies that fly around inside my stomach. Will I capture the moment at the exact right time with my camera? Will the photo be in focus? Will the referee run between my camera and the play? Yep, butterflies are still there flying all around in my stomach. There isn’t a feeling in the world to match it!

Some of my goals for a good, quality football photograph include: 1) the face should be showing in the frame and hopefully the eyes will be visible, 2) the ball should appear in the frame, 3) a special moment or peak action should be captured. This photograph accomplishes all three of these goals. It was a special moment in time captured by a camera so it can be recorded for all time. This to me, is the goal of good, quality photography. It is a worthy pursuit and it keeps me coming back time after time to the field to try to capture another special moment.

The next day, this photo ran six columns wide in the sports section of the Pocono Record.

You can view this new Photo of the Month and previous ones here.

Sports Photograph needed for an Article

By | | , , , ,
Leave a comment

Lehighton v. Pocono Mountain East

The sports editor gave me an assignment to capture a few photos of a specific high school running back because they were doing an article on him this week. That was Friday. The problem was I only got the message after the game!

Fortunately, I took plenty of photographs and hoped I had some of this specific player. It turned out that I had six photos, which wasn’t bad. I learned my lesson though–check messages immediately before a game!

This sports photograph is not stellar but it does tell a story and is somewhat captivating. First, the good things about this photo: It shows the eyes of the running back, which really helps our eyes focus on him. The ball is visible in the photo. The player has good lean, which shows action. The blocking in the background by the linemen helps to add energy to the photo.

Now the bad things about this photo: I should have zoomed in closer. The subject is not isolated from the background enough. It would be better to have both of the subject’s feet in the air to reveal even more action. As you can see, I still have a way to go in improving my sports photography. I will keep trying and can’t wait to be out on the field this Friday night!

 

Capturing the Essence of a Game

By | | , , , , ,
Leave a comment

FB130906 1444

The Pocono Record published another gallery of my photos, this time from Friday night’s football game in Lehighton. You can view the photo gallery here. My assignment is first and foremost to get quality photographs that tell the story of the game for the following morning’s newspaper. Deadline for submission is 9:15pm, which means the game is often still going on and the final outcome may be undetermined as yet. Therefore, I need to provide photos from each team in action so the winning photo can be representative of the game and reflect the actual winner.

FB130906 1409

Secondarily, I provide a gallery of photos for the newspaper to display on their website. The goal here is always to capture photographs, which capture the essence of the game and the atmosphere we experience in-person at a Friday night high school football game. The options are plentiful, but some thought, creativity, and camera skills are required to pull this off. It is one thing to experience the exciting atmosphere of a football game, but it is quite another to communicate it through photos to help the viewer get a taste of the action.

FB130906 1207

I like to say it this way: Each game tells a unique story, which deserves to be told photographically. My job is to capture the action with my camera to tell this story and freeze the special moments to make them into lasting memories for a lifetime.

FB130906 1267

Friday Night Football

By | | , , ,
Leave a comment

Stroudsburg travled to Lehighton on Friday and took home a victory.

The Stroudsburg Mounties traveled to Lehighton to face the Indians in Friday night high school football. They found a team worthy of battle and a close contest the entire night. Stroudsburg struck first but it wasn’t until the second quarter. It was a defensive battle on both sides. Fans cheered as each stop was made and pads clashed. It was a nail-biter almost down to the wire

Stroudsburg travled to Lehighton on Friday and took home a victory.

The Stadium was abuzz with fans on both sides cheering for their team. The teams came into the game looking equally matched, having both won last week. Defense was stingy and yards hard to come for both sides. Some sizable runs were snarled by linemen and linebackers filling holes and making team tackles.

Stroudsburg QB Nickorak calls out the play against Lehighton on Friday night.

The final score, 13-6 in favor of the Mounties was indicative of the close game. Both teams put a quality team on the field and played a solid game. It was a great night for high school football!

 

A Young Pleasant Valley Team Looks at the Positives

By | | , , , ,
Leave a comment

FB20130830-2062

A Young Pleasant Valley Team Looks at the Positives
by Bob Shank

A young Pleasant Valley football team took on a strong, well-played team in Nazareth as the high school football season opened up last Friday night. With the exception of three plays, PV’s defense played a solid game and put their offense in a position to win the game, according to Coach Terwilliger. He told the team after the game in the end zone, “This was the best our defense ever played in an opening night game.”

Terwillger was happy with the effort but not proud of the results in this opening game. He informed the offense that “we need to do a lot of work. We didn’t get it done tonight, and that’s an attitude.”

When asked how he thought quarterback Brandon Leap will respond after the loss, Terwilliger was nothing but positive. He said Leap works hard and will respond well in the preparation for the next game against Dieruff. He said they are looking forward to putting this game behind them but admitted this game was a good experience for them, even with the loss. PV is a young team and lacks experience, according to Terwilliger. “This game was a good experience builder and will help as we continue to build the experience necessary to compete in our league.” He continued, “There was no quit in this team tonight and I am very proud of them for that.”

PV faced an uphill battle in the first half as Nazareth scored first and followed up with another touchdown. This forced PV to play catch-up the entire night. The defense was stingy, however, and kept them in the game. After a second-half opening kickoff return by Nazareth to open up a big lead, PV could have turned over and given up. Instead they battled back and scored 9 points. With their strong defensive performance and building on the experience this young team lacks, Terwilliger is excited to move forward and continue competing against their future opponents. If experience is a lesson on the gridiron, PV will be set to battle even harder this week!

Pleasant Valley v. Nazareth, 8/30/2013