"Kill him, Kill the Umpire..."; Some Photos from Saturday's Game

You'd think the coaches and officials at football games would understand we photographers are the really important ones.  We're recording the Outlaws deeds for posterity.  Why don't coaches run plays to the side of the field where I'm standing with my camera?  Even with my fancy 200mm lens, it is difficult to reach clear across to the other side for good shots (I could buy a 300mm for $600 but I'm too thrifty for that.)

Then the umpire - yes, they have umpires in football - is so inconsiderate that he steps right between my camera and the action.  In this photos, I think Ski is tackling someone but I can't see because the umpire is in the way.  This blocking of my shots happens not once, not twice, but often.

Look closely and you can see the football and carrier - but not
clearly because the umpire is block our full view.

Someone is making the tackle but I'll never know because the
Official is in my way. 

Saturday's game was not the way you want to end a season.  I shot hundreds of photos - some of which I'll post to my photo-sharing website later today.  When I can shoot around the officials, I sometimes get decent shots.  Even when the action is clear across the field, I can sometimes capture an Outlaw doing good.

Ski making a tackle way over on the Dallas side of the field.

Some of the fun for me is creating interesting photos.  To make the shot below, I did some editing.  In the original photo there was action in the left side of the frame and the three Diamonds are reacting.  I removed the action.  What's the expression in physics - for every action a reaction?  If you remove the action and leave the reaction to stand alone you get a funny result.



"Hold it!  I just thought of something..."


I love the intensity of the effort as athletes battle for one more yard.  This intensity is sometimes reflected in their faces. When I overcame my "thrifty" side to buy my Nikon D-40 camera, I learned even a novice photographer with just a 200mm lens can get remarkable detail in digital photos. If you visit my photo-sharing website you'll see a lot of experimenting with tight cropping - the following is a sample.

I was standing on the sideline Saturday trying to see around the officials so I could record the action.  On one play the coach actually did run the play to my side of the field.  I kept shooting as the action came my way.  An advantage of even a low-level zoom lens is that the objects in the lens are not as close as they appear.  The objects in my lens - a dozen or so well conditioned physically strong fast running women in football helmets - looked very close.  And getting closer very fast.  Unlike the dedicated photographers who cover the Dallas Cowboys, I will not sacrifice my body for a photo.  I scrambled out of the way and avoided injury.

I was struck by something I've observed before - these ladies play with a high intensity, high commitment.  They're going all out, full speed.

Which is just what you expect of athletes. 

Which is why it is so much fun to watch the Outlaws in action.