Assignments for Student Media

This week's first blog post (which really should have been last week's, but it was a really busy week) is mainly just some assignments that I had for yearbook and the newspaper. Unfortunately most of these stories didn't run (something you have to deal with in the world of newspaper) but I still had a good time taking these photos.

These first two stories are from a story that I didn't expect to run because it wasn't assigned (we didn't know about it and it happened on a Friday, so even if we ran it it would have been a week late) but I thought it was a cool story and wanted to take pictures of it. I was pretty happy with the two shots that I got.

This was the "safe shot" that I got. One thing that I have been noticing this year is that I have been thinking about photography assignments much more like a photojournalist. Whenever I get to the assignment I first think about the safest photo that tells the story but it easy to get. Then with the remaining time (most times there aren't a time limit, but it seemed like everything I did this past week there was) I try to be a bit more artistic.

What I like about this second shot is that it is from an unusual and unnatural angle (unless you are naturally 10 feet tall) that shows pretty much what the whole story was about (the landscape architecture group made two parking spaces into a small park).

I had to take some photos of Fike for the yearbook, and in the past it seems like most of the pictures have just been general pictures of the overview of FIke. So I tried to get some more close up pictures of people working out. These are a few of them.

The reason I was in Fike was to shoot the Orange and White Swimming and Diving meet. (Although this story didn't even run.) I have never taken a lot of pictures of swimming, and it was kinda tough because the action is mostly underwater, or you can't get a good angle on shot and the whole area surrounding the pool is water (which doesn't mesh very well with multi-thousand dollar camera equipment) so there are more than a few considerations when taking pictures at swimming events. But I think that I got some good ones, and as with anything, the more times I shoot in that environment the better the pictures will be.

This one I liked because it was a little artsy with the way that the water splash mimics the motion of the swimmers arm.

I also covered Glenn Beck's performance at Littlejohn Coliseum which was pretty fun, but to avoid a political discussion, I am just going to post these photos and not talk about the performance.

The last story I had for this week was CCIT moving to the library. I figured they would just want a photo of someone behind the help desk helping a student (they actually ended up using a photo of just the guy working behind the computer) but I took the opportunity to take some photos of the people behind the desks and the techies.

Anyway, that is all for this update. Sunday night I will have an update about all the sports that I have been taking these past few days, volleyball and soccer. It's not football but it is something. So, until then,

-joshua

Sorry

I know that I missed the update last week (nothing interesting was going on anyway) but although I have a LOT of photos and news this week, I really just don't have time (as I don't need to fall behind on my homework as I am already trying to catch up some) so for now I would just say check out the flickr and look for a post to be up later this week.

NCAA Football: North Texas at Clemson

So I shot the football game this last Saturday and it was really my first event shooting something since about the middle of basketball season last year. I just got wrapped up in school work and that took over last year, but it feels good to be back and I think that I got some good shots yesterday.

I got quite a few shots from the game yesterday, and I am going to post a lot of them here, but if you want to see the full gallery you can see them over here on my flickr. (Also, if you want to see the captions for the photos then go to the flickr.)

As I started to do in a few posts last year, I want to use this blog as a way to show you not only how I see things while I am down on the field, but also as a chance to explain my reasoning behind each shot and why I choose it out of the more than 800 photos that I took Saturday.

So, let's get started:

I have never taken pictures of the Tiger Walk, so I figured that this year I would try some things and shot it from a few different angles. This week I was up on the balcony in the West End Zone and I got some pretty cool shots. I know how it works now, so when I am back up there I will know how to get a few better shots, but I will also be trying to get some shots by walking with them next time I am at a game.

I always take these shots although I don't think that anyone would run them (except the organization - ROTC) but I like taking them. I also really like the balance and sense of place that is in this photo.

Obligatory cheerleader/rally cats photo. I didn't really focus too much on the cheerleaders and rally cats Saturday (actually this is the only photo I took of them) but there is still plenty of time in the season for some pictures of them.

I was up on the hill this Saturday trying to get a shot of Dabo and the other coaches on the hill, but this was really the only shot I got. I like it though and it gives a nice sense of place, but it is really a hassle to try to take photos and fight the crowd to get back onto the field and worry about getting everything in frame, so I am not sure how many more times I will be joining the fans up on the hill.

This was my first good shot of the game, and while it isn't really an awesome shot, it is a really interesting shot of a fumble. The North Texas ball carrier got destroyed by about the whole punt return team.

Always good to have some nice stock photos of the QBs and other "famous" team members that did really well that game or that are expected to have a really good season. Unfortunately most of mine yesterday were of the North Texas QB, but there is still plenty of time in the season to get Clemson shots.

One thing to say about these "stock" photo shots is that they are the safe shots. Everyone can use a shot of the QB doing his thing (or another "famous" player from the team) because sometimes there isn't something particular that makes a game special (like a field goal kick in double over time or a game changing fumble) so it is always a good idea to take the easy shots when they come to you. Some of the first things I try to shoot are both teams QBs and the running back or wide receiver that had a really awesome game last week or is suppose to have an awesome game that day.

I am not sure if this photo would make it anywhere other than a newspaper's online gallery of the game, but I thought that it was a cool shot of the ball carrier being chased down the field.

This is a really nice shot here of the QB in action (he is being pursed by the Tigers player) and you can see his face and it has some nice emotion on it. This here is really a nice shot that shows what sports shots should be about: emotion, face, shot from the front, tight-cropped. Now of course there are exceptions to all these rules, but this is really the staple sports shot.

This is an interesting photo I think that shows some nice action.

This is a photo that I don't think would even make it into the online gallery but I thought that it was a pretty interesting shot of one of the North Texas players about to get stepped on.

Shots of the coach interacting with players are always good shots to have.

This was my favorite shot of the game; the North Texas ball carrier is sliding across the back of the Clemson player and there is a lot of intensity in his eyes. One thing that you really look for in sports shots is if you can see the player's face, because you really want to be able to feel the emotion that the players are showing. What I really like about this shot is that you can see the face of both the ball carrier and the Clemson player right beside him.

Two other shots from the sam play. I really like the action that is happening in the background in these shots.

Pictures of sacks are always a good thing to have. This one could be a little better (like say if you could see the Clemson player more clearly and if you could see the face on the North Texas QB better) but those things aside it is a pretty solid sack photo. In cases like this, the high action and the difficulty of capturing this type of shot (because there are usually other players in front of the QB, or other people rushing, or any number of things make shots like sacks and punt/kick blocks hard to get) make up for the other things that might keep a different shot out of a gallery. (Although angle is important here. In this case a side view might also be a compelling shot, but something from the back - where there is no chance at all to see the face - would make you not keep the photo.)

I find that some of my favorite shots in sports are the fouls and penalties. I have a really cool one from last basketball season of Booker fouling the daylights out of someone, and in this photo you can see that not only is the North Texas ball carrier facemasking number 36, he is ripping his helmet off.

It would be great if everyone in this photo were in focus and sharp, but the reason that I decided to keep this shot was because the intended receiver's face shows such good emotion that I thought it made up for the softness of the Clemson players and the uninteresting background. Wouldn't expect a newspaper to be interested in this shot, but you might be surprised sometimes.

Shots of players celebrating after plays are sometimes hard to capture because they will either turn to the fans closest to them (which usually leaves their back to you - or at least that seems to be the way it works for me lol) or run and interact with their teammates, which also leave them not facing you. So when you can get the shot, it is a nice one to have. A shot of a player celebrating can be the shot that best represents the game in some cases like if it is of a coach and player after the winning kick or touchdown or after the interception that seals the game. This picture here is actually after an interception in the third quarter, but it was nothing near game changing.

Tajh Boyd (our next quarterback) got to play for a little in the fourth quarter. I wanted to make sure that I got some shots of him since it was his first game, and I wanted to go with something safe. I figured that he wouldn't be doing anything too complicated, so I was fine with the positioning on the field even though I was set up a little further behind the players than I like to be.

So that is really it for this post, I have some school work to do before school today, and I might have some really exciting news coming up soon, so just stay tuned for that. I am not shooting the game this coming up weekend that I know of yet (though that may change) but I should have something else up this weekend if not football. Have a good week everyone, and until next time,

-joshua