The Second Half - Available Darkness

Available light.  That photographer-speak for shooting in low light without a flash. 

Notice the sky.  The sun is setting. 
The second half, I'm shooting in available
darkness.  That's Lily Messina in the
foreground.

Way back when I first thought of being a photojournalist, I did some photography for the Battle Creek (Michigan) Enquirer.  The photo editor was Corky Wherret (spelling?).  He was shocked when I resigned my day job to do full time photography.  And his shock validated when a few months later I returned to my day job because photography wasn't paying the bills.  He called photos "pieces of art" rather than photos.  I asked myself but not Corky why he'd call a news photo "art".  (The question calls for a separate posting about what is art and what isn't and how you can tell.)  I didn't care what they called it as long my photos got published and paid. 

Corky hated low light photography.  He called it shooting in "available darkness."

His solution was a good strong flash, one that would light up an area of 75 to 100 feet.  His flash was plugged into a battery pack that was about half the size of a car battery and hung over his shoulder by a big strap.  My own flash wasn't nearly as effective as Corky's.  It operated on four AA batteries and had a reach of maybe 30 feet.  These days no serious sports photographer uses a flash.  Instead they have $10,000 lenses with huge glass that can inhale lots of available light.  My lens cost $500 and just inhales darkness. 

I suspect  you visit my blog out of an interest in football, not photography.  I won't bore you further with technical issues involved in shooting under low-light conditions.   Rather, I thought you might enjoy the artistic work of a not-very-artistic photographer dealing with available darkness.  The photos that follow were shot in the second half of the Houston game.  By the second half the sun is setting.  The stadium lights come on.  My camera with my lame little $500 lens becomes useless at shooting action on the field.  So I start looking for any subject, any image, that will capture some of the fun of football. 

And the result?  Pieces of art?

This is Bobby James.  The photo is shot about halfway through
the third quarter.  I think I was shooting the sky and Bobby
just got in my way.  You can see I'm not an artist.  The
composition isn't quite right.  But I still like the shot.

 

Players returning to the field after the half-time break.  There's still some light but not enough.  Sometimes the background is interesting.  Like the scoreboard showing 469?  I think that means the second half kickoff is 4 minutes and 69 seconds away.  Wait  a minute?  69 seconds?

 

Another sky photo in the third quarter.
Bobby getting in the way again.  And a
lot of other people in the way, too. 

 

 

Notice the sky is totally dark now.  This is a fourth quarter photo.  Players are taking a knee, which
suggests there is an injury on the field. 

 

I don't know if this is connected to the photo above.  This
is Rubi Reyna telling the team trainer her elbow is fine, just a
little tender, and she's ready for play.  Trainer says "No." 
Later x-rays reveal a fracture.  Rubi is tough. 

Okay, enough of the sky photos.  I like candids and when the light is low I start looking for interesting shots of the people associated with the Outlaws and I try to capture some of the feeling of the game by capturing the people watching it.

 

Stephanie Marshall, normally a defensive back
but now carrying a clip board as she recovers
from a knee injury.

Does this one qualify as art?

Expressions of players behind in the score and
running out of time.

The Outlaws lost this game.  Can you tell from sideline expressions that things aren't going well on the field?

Coach and player talking strategy.  I always wonder just
what he is telling her.  Or is she telling him?

 

His name is Julio. His daughters, Maile and Malia, play in the line for the Outlaw and he
helps out with the chains and down maker.  And he also helps keep Jackson cool with
a refreshing spray of water.  My intent with candid photos is that the subject doesn't
know I'm shooting.  I think Julio knew.  My clue?  He asked "Did you get that?"

Cookie Rivas visiting with Vero Narvaez during a break late in the game.  My candid shots sometimes catch hidden stories.  Note Vero is holding a candy bar.  Note Cookie is licking her lips.  Vero's expression is saying Nope, you aren't getting my candy bar.

 

Zebras - part 1 1/2

Blogger's note:  Every day about twenty-five of you visit the blog.  I hope you visit because you've enjoyed past posts and hope to find some new entertaining or informative stuff.  I feel I've let you down if there is nothing new for you to enjoy.  I love doing this blog.  My aim has been to post at least twice each week and normally thrice.  But other things in life have been getting in the way.  My current pace is one post per week, normally on Monday or Tuesday.  I'm planning to stick with one serious or silly post early in the week.  And later in the week a picture post, a fun photo or two from hundreds in my files.  You may have noticed I've been announcing blog projects.  Today was supposed to be about Calvin, one of my favorite officials.  And next the Capers-Cristobal sisters.  I'm going to stop doing that.  Those posts require visiting with Calvin and Malia and Maile and I just haven't had the time.  So today's post is a fun continuation of last Tuesday - fun photos and some comments about the zebras.  

Best seat in the house?  I read a book by a baseball umpire titled "Best Seat in the House But You Have to Stand Up."  I don't think football officials have that same best-seat fringe benefit.  Football officials have to run all over the place to see what is happening. 

Actually, two camera guys, plus me, seem to have a better
view of this play than the official.  He has had to run to
keep up while we were already in position.  For you
who are interested in sports photography, I have often
tried to get a different angle on things, different from
other photographers.  In this case I was in the end
zone, which gave me a cool angle for the shot.

Unlike baseball umpires, football officials have to run with
the action.  Often trying to keep up with fleet running backs
or receivers.  Aside:  Nice Socks!  (If you've been following
this blog for awhile, you'll recall some posts where I comment
on socks our players wear.)

Sometimes the players get in the way, blocking
the officials view of the action.

And sometimes it is difficult to see what is happening because there are so many players on the field.  Or the action is spread out so it is difficult to see everything.








The ball carrier is to the extreme left.  There's some action
in the middle of the photo.  There's an Outlaw coming up
behind the official.  How does he "see" everything?



Still they manage to do a great job.  I've been watching Outlaws games for several years and I have yet to hear complaints about the officiating.  They are professional in their approach to their job.

I like this photo because the official is on top of the action.
I also like it because the Outlaw tackler is driving for the
runner's legs.  That's the way it should be done.

I've noticed something else in the officiating.  They seem to have a genuine appreciation, respect, fondness(?) for the players.  In my previous post I quoted Calvin saying the referee's job is make certain the quarterback doesn't get killed.  The officials not only carry out their responsibilities of overseeing the play, they genuinely like the ladies who play this game with such energy and dedication. 

I don't know if you can see it.  Maybe I'm imagining
it.  But it looks to me like the official is feeling the pain
of the lone Outlaw surrounded by four Dallas Diamonds.

The referee's job is to protect the quarterback.  Cookie is in trouble.  When should he
blow the whistle?  He isn't allowed to step in and make a block.

I had to study this photo awhile before I realized what was happening.  Between plays the officials are bantering with the players.  The zebras are nice guys.  Who would have thought?

I have one more post coming about officials at Outlaws games.  Maybe next Monday.  Or who knows what my next post will be?  I don't.

Faces of Football

QT Preston

The first time I saw QT I liked her because of that smile.  She was smiling then, she's smiling now.  One of these days, if okay with her, I'll profile her in this blog. 

This was her rookie year in football and she did good.  It will be fun to get to know her and tell her story to you.

Today's post is just a collection of photos of Outlaws, up close.  Photos I like.  I hope you like them, too.

This is Tiffany, another happy player.  She's been with the Outlaws a long time, which is why I know her name.  I'm not going to name all the players below.  I'm terrible with names and player numbers don't show up in many of these photos.  Tiffany and QT are happy Outlaws.  I think the rest of the Outlaws in this post are also happy but you'll see that some are a little more serious.  At least they were when I snapped the photo.

I hope you can see the photo above the way I see it on my computer.  I love the serious expression.  This young Outlaw is fully engaged just about an hour before kickoff.  And I like is the quality of the focus, the clarity of the image.  I shoot action and candid shots.  Often the exposure is imperfect, the focus slightly off.  This photo is sharp and clear, about as good as I get.  So I like her expression and I like my perfect picture.

Football is serious.  Fun, sometimes funny, but it involves hitting and hitting is serious.  Many of my candid shots involve various forms of serious.  Such as the three below.

Smiling Outlaws.  Serious Outlaws. Silly Outlaws?  Well, normally I'm the silly one but sometimes...

In my previous post I acknowledged something you've already noticed - I'm kind of silly.  Silly thoughts, silly photos.  Football is serious but I'm not playing or coaching, I'm a (wannabe) photographer looking for pictures to post on my blog. 

Ereka Howard has become one of my favorite photo subjects.  She represents the range from serious to silly to interesting.  Here are two photos of Ereka.  The first is silly.  She saw my camera pointed her way during a game and knew I needed help getting a fun photo.  Silly?  Thanks Ereka.

Ereka Howard, clowning for the photographer.  I don't like the black mouthpieces.  When I played
I don't think we used mouthpieces.  Now players use a variety of colors.  Who would think the moutpiece
would become a fashion statement.  "I matches your uniform,,,"

Ereka also gave me one of my all time favorite photos.  This was accidental  led to an interesting shot that fits the faces of football theme.  Ereka's facial expressions are always interesting.  Always expressive

She was running a pass pattern with her usual exuberance.  The ball was sailing toward her and her facial expression says it was going to be a difficult catch.  Unnoticed by her and by me one of the coaches stepped in front of my camera appearing as a ghostly apparition in the right side of the frame.  Everything came together for a perfect picture. Ereka's eyes appear to be on the ghost.  Her expression shocked, frightened, appropriate to the situation.  I don't know if this really fits the theme of "faces of football" although it truly is just that.

Finally another accidental faces-of-football photo.  My last post was a playful look at the biggest Outlaw, Maile, and the smallest Outlaw, Rubi.  I had asked them if "they'd join me in a little fun project."  They agreed and we spent a little time at the park shooting dozens of photos intended to playfully illustrate the size differential.  Most of the photos didn't get used.  There's only so much space in the blog and, sadly, many of the shots didn't do what I was trying to do. 

As I looked for photos for this post, I revisited the Rubi/Maile photo shoot and I found the picture below.  In fact, it is part of a larger photo we didn't us.  Remembering when I was a kid (a loooong time ago) I recalled parents having sons, daughters, cousins, stand back-to-back to see who was growing fastest (a contest I often won).  I figured if it worked for kids it would work for Outlaws and I had had the players stand back-to-back.  I was wrong.  I didn't work with Rubi and Maile.   

But the theme of this post is faces and when I revisited the back-to-back I zoomed in to faces.  And I like the result.  Not silly, not serious, not eerie.  Just two Outlaws, a quarterback and linewoman, enjoying teaming up, this time not to win a game but to help me with my blog.

Rubi and Maile

 

The Long and the short...

A woman  writer lamented that there are support groups for just about everybody.  Whatever it is that makes you different from some socital norm, there's a support group to help you cope.  Too tall?  Check Google for support groups for tall people.  You'll get millions of hits.  Too short?  Too thin?  Same.  Too fat?  ...now I'm hitting close to home; there are some who suggest I fit this category and would enroll me in one of the weight-loss groups identified in 148,000,000 Yahoo hits for fat people support.

Not many would enroll me Mensa, a group for people with high IQs. 

I searched for support for silly people which describes me.  There were lots of hits but most offered support for you, people who have to put up with us silly people.

There are lots of groups with "anonymous" in their names, inspired by alcoholics anonymous.  Debtors anonymous, gamblers anonymous, messies anonymous (for messy people - they should be playing defense in football, which you know if you've read a recent blog post), social phobics anonymous, narcotics anonymous, overeaters anonymous... you get the idea.

The woman writer who inspired this web search complained that there are no support groups for "normal" people.  Of which she claims to be one.  A normal person.  She is neither tall nor short, fat nor thin. not super smart nor dumb.  She isn't given to any of the habits that inspire groups anonymous.  She is neat but not obscessive. 

Why, she lamented, aren't there support groups for normal people?

And I got to thinking.  Are there enough normal people to form a group? 

Nope.  And that's good.  This world is an interesting place because of the differences in people.  Don't you think?  I'm glad we aren't all "normal," whatever that means.  I tire of people trying to make us all the same by forming groups to help change us, conform us.  Viva la difference.

Rubi extending arm so Maile
can walk under.

This long introduction is a lead in to what I hope is a fun blog post.  One reason I love football is that it accepts people who are different.  If you're bigger than average, the team needs you.  If you're smaller, there's a place for you.  Tall or short, come on.  If you can play, we'll find a place for you.  I've posted on this general subject before - I think I used the label "Bein' big."  If I were a good blogger I'd put the link here.  This post is inspired by two of my favorite Outlaws, both of whom will be profiled one day soon.  I noticed something about them and asked them if they'd join me in a little fun project.

One is Maile Capers-Cristobal.  The other is Rubi Reyna.  I noticed that one of them is the tallest Outlaw, the other the least tall.  And I suggested we do a blog post visually depicting the difference.

One visual way to represent tallerness is to hold your arm out to the side and have the shorter person walk under you.  As in the photo above, Rubi is extending her arm and Maile fits nicely under.  It helps if you cheat just a little and raise arm above a strict horizontal position. 

See how we pulled off the
first photo - we cheated.
Call it photetic license.

It helps even more if you stand on a park bench.  In fact, Rubi is 5'2" and Maile 6'1".  Almost a foot taller.  There's a weight differential, too.  Maile's weight has her well suited for line play, Rubi's for scooting through small gaps in the line for large yardage gains.  The point is that football has players both large and small and the difference is sometimes substantial.  We met at a park and spent a little time trying to create visual images to illustrate.

Really Maile is the one whose
outstretched arm about clears
Rubi's head.

Getting a little more serious we reversed roles in the walk-under-my-arm visual and put Maile in the true perspective.  If you are an astitute observer you'll notice we had to put Maile on a slightly higher elevation.  She says it was because Rubi has her hair combed in a style that exaggerated her true height.  You be the judge.  I'm not going to quibble over an inch or two.

Perspective gained by having Rubi
stand in front of Maile.

I like this shot (above) because it gives a perspective.  Maile's eleven inch height advantage isn't quite enough to have Rubi stand directly in front of her, which was my original vision for the shot.  Still, imagine Rubi carrying the football and looking up over her left shoulder and seeing Maile.  And being so happy they are on the same team.

You generally don't see quarterbacks or running backs in a three point stance facing off agains a linewoman.  And you can see why in the photo below.  Notice my models are having fun.  I asked Rubi to turn to the camera and look afraid.  She tried but she and Maile are friends and she just couldn't generate fear.

Rubi is happy she's not a linewoman.  Though I've seen her in games throw blocks at
defenders who were much larger than she. 



It can be fun having strong
friends.  Rubi riding on
Maile's shoulders.

There's a smart aleck question often directed by average size people to tall people:  "How's the weather up there?"  To which one of my tall cousins returned a smart comment about it being fine, how is it down there around my...  Rubi didn't ask such a question of Maile but did get an opportunity to check both the weather and the view from 6'1" above the ground.  Maile is strong.  Very strong.  Carrying Rubi was no test for her.  Not at all.

This post is getting a little long.  I'll be making future posts on the subject of people being different from socital "norms" and the world being a better place because of it.  I've focused in the past on being big because I've experienced that.  Maybe I'll expand the discussion to include being small. Or average? 

Future Outlaw QB; Answers to Some Questions

I have too much to do with today's post.  Don't even know where to start.  

In the last post and one before that, I raised some questions.  This because I'm naturally shy and quiet.  I'll be wondering something but then I won't ask.  So I had three questions unasked and ergo unanswered.  But I did ask them in my blog and now I have the answers you've been waiting for.  And I'm going to share them with you below.

But first I want you to meet a future Outlaw's quarterback.  I don't know her name - I was too shy to ask.  Maybe I'll have her name by my next post. 

Before the game she was out tossing the ball around with some friends.  And I got to watching.  She was throwing a good long distance.  Nice spiral.  So I got some photos of her. 

Later I saw her helping some guy - I think this is her dad because he acts kind of proud of her the way a dad will - helping with the chains.  She's learning about the game up close and personal. 

Okay, now about those unanswered questions. 

First is about Deidra Holland.  I was intrigued at the way she was jumping just as the ball was snapped.  I notice this was only on plays where she was going to get the hand off and I wondered if this might be a mistake, tipping off the defense about who they'd have to block.  Or maybe - forgive me Deidra for this silly suggestion - all the abuse running backs receive had her jumpy.  She told me, nicely, "I am not worried about the hit.  It comes with the game."  

Then she explained the hop.  If you study football you know things happen fast.  Quarterback takes the ball from center and tucks it into the arms of a runner who is already running.  Runners tend to be fast, which is how they get the job.  What if the runner is too fast?  What if she runs so fast she gets to the quarterback before the quarterback is ready to make the hand off?  Fumble! 

Timing is something teams work at in practice.  It takes total awareness on both quarterback and running back of just how long - we're talking fractions of a second - it takes for the quarterback to get the ball from center, turn, transfer the ball to her right hand, and put it where the runner can wrap her arms around it; and long it takes the runner to move from her set position to where the quarterback will have the ball. 

Impressively Deidra has worked on the timing and has it down to a fine science.  Her little hop, her jump, is a timing adjustment.  It delays her launch toward the line just long enough to allow Cookie to turn with the ball. 

Impressive just how much goes into playing a violent game like football. 

The second question had to do with a funny photo of my friend Ereka Howard high in the air and also in the arms of a tackler.  It struck me as an odd position to occur in a football game and I wondered in my blog post what was happening.  Ereka caught up with me Saturday and said she was jumping.  Not the way Deidra was jumping to fix the timing.  Ereka had a theory.  Caught by a tackler, she thought that if she jumped on the tackler, her weight would be sufficient to knock the tackler down and she, Ereka, could land on her feet and run a few yards more.  That was her theory when she jumped.

I asked, "Did it work?"  She answered, "Nope."

A third question came from that amazing tackle by Charmeine Jackson in Saturday's game against Houston. 

I won't re-post that photo here.  You can just scroll down to the previous post to see it and the attending shots.  What struck me was the after-tackle photo, the one I am re-posting here.  I was intrigued by the expression on Maine's face.  She looked serious, almost angry.  I wondered what she was thinking right then. 

So I asked her, by facebook message if she was angry.  And she replied.  I like her answer enough to just post it here in her words: 

I think angry is a good word to use.  I've just learned to bottle all of my pain and frustration and release it during our games.  ... Right after the play I often ask myself what happened? I seem to go blank during the hit, the only thing I ever remember myself saying is go faster and hit harder and make sure that you use each player to be an example for the rest of their team. Even if they don't drop the ball I want them to know each time I'm going to come harder and faster than the time before. To me football is mental before the ball is snapped I need to get it in my head that I need to set the tone with players from the opposite side of the ball, because if I don't they will.

An earlier post in this blog was titled "Intensity."  One of the things I love about sports and love about photographing sports is the intensity.  I see individual digging deep within themselves to perform the very best they can.  I see players shaking off the pain of a severe hit and climbing back up to play again.  I see the months of practice, the conditioning, the working on timing, the studying of technique, the mental discipline. 

Sometimes I catch that with my camera.  As I did with Charmaine in Saturday's game.

 

Saturday's Game - Charmeine's Big Hit; Telling on Deidra

You don't want to mess with
Charmeine Jackson

Does this young lady intimidate you?  Would you want to meet her on the football field if you had the ball?  Hint:  NO!

This is Charmeine Jackson, defensive back for the Austin Outlaws.  If you were at the game Saturday you remember her big hit.  Football is a collision sport.  One of the Houston receivers collided with Charmeine. 

At the games you don't get video replays.  So you have to hope I or MaryLou will have captured the moment with our cameras.  Don't know about MaryLou but I got it.  I got Charmeine's big hit.  I'm going to archive it as one of my best sports photos ever.    You're going to get a chance to see it but please remember all my photos and words are copyrighted.  You can view but I'm the only one who can reproduce and sell. 

This big-hit photo is coming later in this post.  Because I'm not a good blogger.  I have all this stuff along the right side of the screen.  If I post a really large photo early in the blog posting, the photo overlaps the stuff.  Don't like that at all.  The only way I know to fix it is to write words and post normal size photos until the post is long enough to get below the stuff.  And that's what I'm doing with Charmeine's big hit photo.  Saving it for the bottom where I can post it L-A-R-G-E.  Because it is a large hit.

But don't worry.  I'm not going to bore you between here and there.  I have a fascinating little series of shots of Deidra Holland.  If you know her or have her email address, please ask her about these photos.  Remarkable.

I've never played poker but I'm told really good poker players watch other players at the table, looking for any unconscious action that will give away the player's hand.  Maybe every time he has a good hand he blinks or rubs his chin or yawns.  These little signals are call "Tells."  Watch for the tell to get an idea of what the player is holding.

Deidra jumping just before getting the handoff from Cookie.

I noticed in one of my photos Deidra doing something odd.  Just as the ball is snapped she jumped.  Both feet in the air.  I took a closer look and she really is jumping in this photo.  In the following photo (not posted) Cookie handed the ball to Deidra. 

Another play, another jump, followed by another handoff to Deidra.

I thought this a fluke but just a little later there was another snap and another jump.  This looks like the same photo but it isn't.  It is another play, another jump, another hand off to Deidra.


Then I started watching and sure enough, it happened again...

Yet another jump before getting the handoff.  Or is this a
half-jump since the left toe appears to be still on the ground?

Jumping again, before taking the handoff.  This the fourth
time I saw this action. 

Which got me thinking. Why? What was making Deidra so jumpy? The photo above may answer the question. Sometimes running the ball can be unpleasant.  

Running backs often find themselves in unfriendly hands.  Deidra here is surrounded by
Houston tacklers.  Maybe it is the memory of getting tackled that makes her
jumpy when she is about to take a handoff into enemy territory?

Okay, we're below the side-stuff.  Let's check out the Charmeine Jackson tackle.  It starts with a pass reception by the Houston receiver.  I have a poor photo of the catch but lets take a look at the photo right after the catch.  Study the receiver's face.  Is her brow furrowed?  Is she worried?  She should be.  Look at Charmeine's body language.  It looks like she's flexing her bicep and making a fist to intimidate the receiver.  And it appears to be working. 



Receiver just has to get by one tackler to make it to the
end zone.  She doesn't make it.

And now, here's the big hit, the hit that has made my all time hit list. 

All four feet off the ground.  This a devastating hit.  This is football the way it was
designed to be played.  Check the reaction of the sideline.

 The follow through is remarkable, too.  Charmeine lands on her feet...

Charmeine comes down on her feet, keeps her balance...

...and strides away from the scene looking for anyone
else who might want to invade her territory.

And strides away with that look in her eye that says "Don't you be invading my territory." 

The Houston player got the wind knocked out of her but was otherwise okay after the big collision.  Remarkably she maintained control of the ball.  In football big hits by defensive backs are intended to shake the ball loose, and the often succeed.  But this Houston receiver,  Smith?, kept control of the ball.  Tough girl.

Coming in future posts - lots more photos of Saturday's game and of the Outlaws season.  It was a difficult season, disappointing in many ways.  But many of the players impressed this old sports fan.  I'll be telling you about some of them.  I need to post more profiles like the one I did on Cookie awhile back (that only took about a year of communication back and forth with her.  I may not be fast but I sure am slow.)