A Little News

Once in a while a small town guy gets to play with the big boys. Sunday was just such a day for me. I relish these days. I had the assignment to shoot the Tennessee Titans game with the San Diego Chargers. The reason for this luxury is the Chargers’ quarterback, Philip Rivers, grew up in Decatur and played his high school football at Athens High, about fourteen miles up the highway. So really, my job was to shoot Philip Rivers regardless of the outcome of the game.

I certainly earned a new appreciation for the job of NFL quarterback and am very thankful that Philip was the one taking the pounding and not me. The Titans spent the day in his face, wrapped around his legs or on top of him. He took a real pounding. Kyle Vanden Bosch practically lived in the Chargers’ backfield and he ended up pounding on Rivers more than any other player.

For me, the job was really different. I had never been assigned to shoot a single player. It was both challenging and liberating. I didn’t have to worry about missing the big play unless Philip was involved in it. It was challenging too because I am so accustomed to shooting the game I found myself missing pictures of him because I would be following the play. Thanks to the good folks at Nikon I had the use of an excellent 400mm f2.8S lens. You guys can’t believe how nice that thing is and how absolutely tack sharp it is.

I shot three lenses; the 400, an 80-200 f2.8 and a 17-35 f2.8 at the end of the game. I shot with the D2Hs with the 400 on it and the D2H with the 80-200 on. There is not really a lot to it technically. The main thing I wanted to be conscious of was being in a place to see Philip’s face as much as possible and being in position for the sacks which seemed to happen all the time. Even when he wasn’t being sacked, Rivers was under intense pressure was hit often after throwing. My choice was whether to stay behind the line of scrimmage or in front of it. I did a little of both just mixing it up based on what the game felt like and what my gut was telling me.

Here is an important note that relates to anticipating the play. Watch the momentum of the game and position yourself accordingly. For the first three and a half quarters, the best place for me to be was behind the Chargers offense because the Titans were really putting the pressure on the quarterback. Late in the game I got just a little ahead of the offense after the momentum shifted in the Chargers favor. That way I could see Philip’s face as he was throwing. It’s one of those small things that adds up to nice pictures.

You can check out my Sportsshooter member page to see a ten shot show. Later on I will post a lot more pictures on the Decatur Daily website and I will post a link to it when it is up.

Photos copyright The Decatur Daily. The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.