Why I Photograph Sports

A high school season moves fast.

At the beginning, everyone thinks there is plenty of time. Then senior night arrives, the final home game ends, and four years are suddenly over.

The photographs become more important after that.

They bring back the rain, the cold nights, the crowded gyms, the student section, the celebrations and sometimes the disappointment.

That is why I keep showing up.

More Than the Big Play

Yes, I want the diving catch.

I want the game-winning goal, the collision at the plate, the goalkeeper stretched across the net and the celebration after a big win.

Those photographs are fun to make. But they are not always the photographs I remember.

Sometimes it is a coach talking with an athlete after a mistake. Sometimes it is the bench reacting before everyone else realizes what happened.

Sometimes it is teammates laughing during warmups, a parent watching from the stands or a senior standing alone for a few seconds after the final home game.

Those moments never appear in the box score. Years later, they may be the photographs that matter most.

Parents Should Be Able to Watch the Game

Most parents come to a game because they want to watch their child compete.

They should not have to spend the entire event trying to photograph through a fence, over someone’s shoulder or from the top row of a gym.

Sports photography is difficult. The action is fast, the lighting can be terrible and the best place to make a photograph is rarely where the spectators are sitting.

I already have the equipment. I already have the experience.

So I make the photographs and share them.