Baseball
Cheyenne Post 6 vs. Gillette baseball
I really like baseball not as a fan, but as a photographer. It’s nice to shoot. There are no poorly lit gyms, territorial cheerleaders on the sidelines or loud bands. Even better: the players never come crashing into you at full speed. Although in baseball you occasionally have to duck, dip, dive or dodge those heat-seeking foul balls that tend to come directly into the dugout. For the most part, baseball is relaxing. You have to be on your toes the entire time or you might miss a double play, which really trains you to have quick timing. The light for the evening games is almost always incredible. That helps as well. Tonight I got to shoot my first baseball game of the year, the first since working at the Austin American-Statesman last summer. Not surprisingly, I was extremely rusty today. I didn’t get that shot of a play at home plate or at second base. Instead, I shot a lot of the pitchers.
Peoria-Clinton minor league baseball
Astros prospect Jordan Lyles makes Triple-A debut
My afternoon assignment on Tuesday was photographing a 19-year-old Houston Astro’s prospect who was making a Triple-A debut with the Round Rock Express. Although my single focus was on the young pitcher, I shot a few features in the ballpark and happened to catch the umpire calling a runner safe at home plate (third photo). One thing I loved about the assignment was the light. The game started at 7 p.m. with long shadows on the field that progressed as the sun set in the West. Instead of avoiding the sunlight or exposing away from it, I made some photos with an emphasis on the harsh contrast between shadow and sunlight. This is something I’ve really developed an eye for this summer. Now when I go on assignments, I often find myself looking for this.
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An evening at the ballpark
Here’s a feature I shot tonight up at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The Statesman had a suite reserved at the minor league game there for the interns and a few staffers.