Week 9 - Legacy, Legacy, Legacy
10,858 photos, 8 cameras, and 1 broken PocketWizard trigger later we’re officially through the halfway point of the season! I had a lot of creativity coming into this game so let’s break it down! I began brainstorming for this game a few weeks before. Being our only legacy game of the season I wanted to give it a unique feel and look in comparison to our other home games. My mind immediately gravitated towards film so I planned to shoot 35mm on my Minolta X-700 and 120mm on my Mamiya 645v. I decided on CineStill 400D as it was a day game and I am familiar with how quickly our field can be enveloped in shadows during the game.
I also wanted to incorporate remote cameras into my gameday setup as well. We’re always looking for celebration shots of fans and placing remote cameras in places I otherwise cannot be can prove to be effective provided the right moment. I also wanted to take that curiosity one step forward by setting up a remote “touchdown” camera. I’ve hypothesized the idea during my time covering the MLS however I never had a chance to execute it. The goal was to capture the unique endzone art and hoping that we would get a touchdown in that endzone (Spoiler alert, we got 3). With the goal being fan safety I chose the uppermost part of the stadium devoid of fans and made sure to double and triple check the safety of my camera setup.
After setting up my remote cameras I went to our Big Blue Carpet to photograph player arrivals. With our team photographer providing digital assets I decided to supplement that by capturing some of our guys on film to get a hang on the manual focus (Believe me I missed a lot of shots because of that). For my first time capturing arrivals I love that we get to capture their personalities and style before they put on their uniform and the whistle blows.
LSU Football Alumni Malik Nabers and Jayden Daniels were reunited at Metlife for the second time this season as Jayden decided to surprise Malik as he warmed up. It’s always important to be aware of player connections on and off the field as it helps you predict moments before they happen
I decided to switch it up with black and white editing to focus on the intensity of the players as they warmed up!
I will always love a great silhouette image! While Darius Slayton was warming up I decided to expose for the sky behind him which led to this high contrast shot, one of my favorites from the day. I also love how the red sleeves on his hoodie add just enough color to make it an even more dramatic image!
With it being our throwback legend game I wanted to try an unconvential editing style for our quiet moments in the locker room to emulate a film style
I captured our guys stretching during warmups, emphasizing the quiet moments. As well as our linebacker Ty Summers looking like a player straight out of a 1980s defense with the neck brace
Deonte, Isaiah, and Tyrone all posing for the camera!
Dexter Lawerence breaking down the huddle during pregame warmups!
This week featured our defense during player introductions as I captured our standout linebackers Azeez Ojulari and Bobby Okereke as they ran out onto the field!
Prior to LT ringing the bell I asked him for an impromptu portrait on the sideline. While the light leak takes away from the photo a bit, I’ll always argue the beauty of film lies in the imperfections. I have a story behind every film photo I’ve ever taken and I will always appreciate that about the medium
It’s always great to capture as a legend when they return to the Giant faithful and Lawerence Taylor wasn’t an exception. I always want to think of new ways to capture the moment from both a fan perspective and an ode to the legends as well!
A new game calls for new angles as well. During the first half I am usually assigned to roam in the upper 300 sections, to add to my deliverables I took my 300mm lens as well as my 14-35mm for crowd engagement shots. As I saw the action head toward the endzone I decided to take a few shots and was rewarded with some of my favorite compositions of the day. I love how Darius Slayton is pictured in the middle of all of the action as well as the 10 yard line providing context to the team driving down the field. For the shot of Daniel Jones evading a defender’s tackle, the harsh shadows add depth and contrast to the image as well as a clean background for the action.
My first opportunity to test my touchdown remote camera came early in the second quarter. Daniel Jones completed a pass to Chris Manhertz for the score. I captured the image on the left with a 300mm and the image on the right was taken with my Canon 1DX fixed with a 120-300mm lens(1/1000 F8 ISO 400). When working with a remote camera, there is skill in the preparation but also a little luck to have the action come right to you. Unfortunately a fan blocked a partial angle of the frame but on the flip side, their arm perfectly framed the touchdown away from the line of the scrimmage. It’s those little strokes of luck that make me appreciate an image more.
For halftime we had a performance by our “frisbee dogs”. I’ll admit I’m a bigger fan of the corgis however capturing these unique activations is always a welcome challenge. If you can capture this, then NFL action is a breeze!
I captured some photos of our helmets on the sideline as I roamed during the game. They’re a fan favorite and mine as well!
With Daylight Savings Time on Sunday morning, we were rewarded with more creative light in the afternoon. Our safety Jason Pinnock is seen directing the defense here as his jersey is perfectly lit through the shadows.
Malik Nabers made a crazy juggling catch as we drove down the field in the 4th quarter!
Daniel Jones scored his first rushing touchdown of the season with one of the meanest stiff-arm I’ve seen!
Theo Johnson caught his first touchdown on a streak from Daniel Jones! I decided to follow the action with my 300mm instead of switching to my 70-200mm. Although tracking the ball is harder the compression that a longer lens provides is great and luckily it happened right in front of me
That’s a wrap from Week 9! Up next Germany and a well-deserved bye week!
