When shooting a football game, we often look for more than what’s going on out on the field. Often during breaks in the action, I scan the bleachers for something out of the ordinary. During a recent game between the Chavez Titans and the Tracy Bulldogs at Franklin High School in Stockton (Chavez’s field is [...]
In photography there’s a saying that goes “it’s not the camera/equipment that takes a great picture, it’s the photographer.” In shooting football, that’s mostly true. Mostly. Most people think that to shoot sports such as football you need a super long telephoto lens. That’s mostly the case. In photographing football (and sports in general), given [...]
One Monday way back when I was on my JV football team, we reviewed a film of the previous Friday’s game. If I remember the game, we won handily, but on one kickoff the opposing receiver broke several tackles and was on his way to an open field and a potential touchdown. Only one of [...]
You would think that if the football team you’re sent out to cover is head and shoulders above its opposition that they would be easy to shoot. But sometimes that’s not the case. Several weeks ago, I shot the Millennium High Falcons of Tracy as they took on the first-year Emery Secondary School Spartans in [...]
“The Hey Song” has become a high school marching/pep band staple. The song, also known as “Rock and Roll” by 70s British glam rocker Gary Glitter, has an infectious beat and a rousing chorus of the single word “hey!” for everyone to sing (or shout as the case may be) in unison. Several weeks ago, [...]
I was an offensive lineman on my high school football team in the late 1970s. My job, as with all interior linemen, was to protect the quarterback and make holes in the defensive line for the running backs to run through and to block those who might tackle him. During downfield blocking assignments in addition [...]
I shot a varsity football game between McNair High and Lodi High at McNair’s Stadium in Stockton. It was an early-season game and was kind of sloppy. Penalties were being committed left and right (they were called on both sides, but Lodi seemed to shoulder the majority of it). Some big ones, too. Holding calls [...]
I’ve never been rained on during a football season more than I have this season. Over my 26 years at the Record, the sky has poured down on me on average less than once a year. This year I’ve shot football in the rain four times. Unlike baseball games which can be delayed or even [...]
Although I photograph a lot of sports, I don’t follow the teams that closely. Often I’ll shoot a game and not know who’s favored to win. Recently I shot a match of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I volleyball playoffs at Lincoln High and I knew exactly who would win even before the contest started – [...]
With artificial turf football fields becoming more and more prevalent, one can almost forget that how much abuse a real grass field can take. With the prep football season not quite half over, Franklin High’s natural turf is showing signs of heavy wear and tear. Additional lines painted in red on the ground indicated that [...]
