I’m not complaining about my job; any day shooting (especially football) is a good day. But sometimes everyone has a bad day.
Sometimes the team your shooting doesn’t win. Sometimes they look so bad you’re not even sure what to shoot. Sometimes the stadium is so dark that your photos look like they’ve been dragged through a fire. Other times internet connections quit working at the worst possible time. Other times it’s cold and it rains. And then there are those times when all of those things combine to make a tough weekend.
I shot the Blanco v. Hempstead game on Friday in Bastrop and the Regents v. Bullard Brook game in Killeen on Saturday for the Statesman. Both of the Austin area teams (Blanco and Regents) lost pretty badly.
The Blanco v. Hempstead was a more difficult game to shoot action-wise, but the Regents v. Bullard Brook game offered more personal challenges. It was a state championship game that Regents was expected to win, but Bullard Brook clearly dominated. The stadium was very dark, there was a high chance for rain and I tried four different internet connections before my photos made it through the ftp site.
Really, it’s not quite as bad as it sounds. All of my equipment worked, there weren’t any rainy downpours, both stadiums had comfortable press boxes with food and drink, and, with a lot of help from other people, my photos did (eventually) reach the paper by deadline.
It’s more fun when everything goes my way, the weather’s nice and the home team wins, but that just wasn’t the case this time.
Alright, now for the pictures. I’m combining 2 games this post, and the photos should reflect the home teams’ struggles. (Blanco is blue and yellow, Regents is white and gold.)
Click here to read the Blanco v. Hempstead game story by Steve Habel.
Click here to read the Regents v. Bullard Brook game story by Rick Cantu.