Amir 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 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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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 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!
The High School football season kicked off last night in the #Poconos . I attended the Pleasant Valley v. Nazareth match up. Excitement was in the air well before the kickoff as fans drove and walked to the stadium, some bringing their back-supporting chairs for the bleachers. The bands’ music added to the excitement. The crowd was filled with excitement and enthusiasm for the first game of the season!
The above photo was printed in today’s Pocono Record, our local newspaper here in the #Poconos . I work as a stringer for the Pocono Record and enjoy photographing sports, which is one of my passions. There is something exhilarating about being on the field on a Friday night! It brings back many fond memories of my days of playing high school football and now I get to capture the action on the field with my cameras!
The anticipation rose to a crescendo as the two teams were announced and ran onto the field through banners held by the cheerleaders. Then the players stood at attention as the Star Spangled Banner was played by the home band. The kickoff to open the game and the new season was greeted with cheers and the game was under way!
The Blue Eagles attacked first by putting up 6 points after a missed extra point. Then they struck again by tacking on another touchdown, this time with a successful extra point. The game was 13-0 going into halftime.
The visiting band of Pleasant Valley took the field at halftime to put on a show that maintained the enthusiasm of the crowd on this opening night to the football season. The opposing band cheered loudly at times in support of the band on the field. Trumpets blared and drums kept steady beat as the band marched across the field.
The second half started with as much enthusiasm as the first. The teams rushed onto the field and the kickoff ensued. Nazareth received the kickoff this time and ran the field to score a TD on the opening play of the second half and went up by three touchdowns. PV could have rolled over. Instead, they put up 9 points of their own.
By the end of the game the players were showing some battle wounds and the final score was 31-9 in favor of Nazareth. Players and fans exited the stadium through the gates. The first game of the new season was complete!
