Nathan’s Portrait Session
I had these under embargo as it was for a Christmas surprise – but never brought them to the blog! Nathan was a first grade football player for the Lanier Bowl winning Midway Park Wolverines team. Nathan played both ways during the season and some of his action photos also appeared in the blog.
With the weather we had in early December, we scheduled studio time instead of a location session. The portraits were part of a photo book that I put together for Nathan’s Dad as a Christmas surprise.
Good Light
It seemed like every week of the season was either rainy or overcast. On the last weekend before the Lanier Bowl – finally had that elusive “Golden Hour” game.
Forward Motion
Football, like all other sports, is about bodies in motion. However, Sports Photography in many cases is about freezing a moment of that motion crisply. In some cases though, the motion of the athlete still comes through in the frame.
The Eyes Have It
I’ve always thought the eyes were very important in any sports image – it gives the best view of what is going on in the mind of the athlete. It’s why the photographs with the greatest impact always seem to have compelling eye contact with the subject.
The Big Catch
“Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it’s so incredible, it’s unbelievable.” – Tom Landry
How often do you see an over the shoulder catch of a downfield pass in a sixth grade football game?
Gang Tackles
Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. – Vince Lombardi
On the Line
The offensive and defensive lines in football: None of the glory of the ball carriers, but lots of hard work and contact!
Ready for attack!
In the midst of battle individually…
And as a team, the chaos of the battle.
Giving the Stiff Arm
When the lone tackler comes calling – the runner responds with a stiff arm!
And the tackler has his own response!
Close Calls
Passing doesn’t happen much in youth football. When it does, the receivers and cornerbacks battle it out for the ball and give everything to try to make the catch.
And even after the first tip, the players still try and make the catch (check out the wide open eyes on the fallen Sharon Springs player in the white jersey):
In the Downpour
After two games in the blazing heat, Saturday was a change of pace: pouring rain. The rain started on Wednesday and continued straight through the weekend and was the foundation of the Atlanta flood. The rain continued through the day with only short breaks.
The games went on as planned – and the kids still brought their best game out, so I made sure I was ready for the action.
Like a Heat Wave
With Forsyth County installing artificial turf (the Sprint Turf type) type last winter on the main playing field at Midway Park, I’ve been introduced to the joys of artificial turf on a regular basis. It has been an increasing presence at the High School level over the past several years in metro Atlanta, with my first exposure to it at St. Pius X and Dekalb County’s Halliford Stadium.
The park’s fields have heavy usage during the fall – Football practice five days a week and football games Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM everyday. With Atlanta’s water usage restrictions and a county parks budget, they stand little chance of surviving deep into the season.
The Sprint Turf variety of artificial turf is more like regular grass than the old Astroturf. It has a longer, grass like fiber and is filled in with rubber “dirt” that helps make for a more cushioned, bouncy surface. The downside to the surface is the magnification of the heat level at the field surface level, which for Georgia in August and early September is significant.
For a photographer, it means several things:
- Extreme dehydration from sitting in the sun, on the turf’s surface. The actual surface of the field measured in excess of one-hundred degrees in the sun.
- Heat waves in the photos.
Go Tight….or Go Home
My philosophy for photographing youth Football? Go Tight…or Go Home.
A hole opens in the line for the tailback in a goal line play.
A defensive back attempts to beat the ball carrier to the corner.
A ball carrier advances upfield.
Football on a Smaller Scale
Following up my photography at the Lanier Bowl last fall, I’ve been invited to photograph games at Midway Park in Forsyth County. The Midway Wolverines, formerly the Midway Packers, is the largest football organization in Forsyth County and has proven to be highly successful. The name change occurred earlier this year to align the park with the local High School, West Forsyth High School.
The game is still played the same at the younger level as it is at High School, but the ratio of equipment to player mass is a lot different at the youth level. At the Kindergarten-First grade level, the kids are just beginning to learn to tackle and what’s needed to take down an opponent.
Looking for Light in All the Right Places
After working the high school football circuit for three seasons, I’ve come to acknowledge the fact that the light in your average high school stadium on Friday night will be of poor quality and quantity, with few exceptions.
When I get the odd opportunity to photograph a game during the late afternoon or early evening, I take full advantage.
North Forsyth High School’s Stadium’s west end zone sits in the shadow’s of the school’s Gymnasium and video scoreboard, allowing a small window of light to pass through and light one strip of field. The lit area is substantially brighter than the shadows and it creates a natural spotlight for the players to shine in.
A Full Slate of Youth Football
There’s nothing quite like football in the South.
I was introduced to Southern Football 13 years ago as a Freshman at Georgia Tech, when I watched Tech take down a favored Maryland team 31-3 on Thursday night. Several years ago I started photographing High School football in metro Atlanta and found the same fervor that happens on Saturday afternoon also happened on Friday night.
