Doing what you love.

 

“On Wildfire we're gonna ride

We're gonna leave sodbustin' behind

Get these hard times right on out of our minds

Riding Wildfire.”

There are times when I imagine something I would like to photograph, and then I open my mouth and see if I can make it happen. I have hung out of window, stood next to a ski jump, and a few other dumb things. 

Couple of things I have asked for and gotten a flat out, “No!” were…photographing in the rafters at the United Center during a Chicago Blackhawks game, having a motorcycle jump over me as I lay on the ground, and remaining in the photographer’s area at a Lady Antebellum concert. (I was in the area for about 20 minutes, and after I could not show credentials, I was pretty much kicked out—that’s okay, I took more than 400 pictures.)

Being in sales, as my profession, has really helped me in photography. It’s interesting because most photographers are pretty adamant about becoming a wall flower when they are shooting, and that’s really the correct way to do it; but for some reason I can’t keep my mouth shut when I am doing it. On the football field I talk to the players, the refs, and fans…I am so happy to be there, I want to live the moment. I have actually asked a ref to move so I could get a better vantage point. They usually move and I say, “I was kidding, you’re the ref!!”

However, when the action really starts, I am on the move. I have used my phone to count steps during games, and there are some games where I would suspect I had the most yards during the game. I will go from end zone to end zone to make sure I am where the action is. One game of what I recall, I walked about 6 miles during the game; it is always worth it. The only part that makes it a little more difficult is the weight of my camera and lens—-don’t feel sorry for me, but when I use one of my larger lenses, with my best camera, the weight is more than 12 pounds. I might be sore when I am done, but I looked like I knew what I was doing—-even if I didn’t!

The photo above was taken at a riding center near where we live. It took a lot of convincing, but I was finally allowed in the riding area and allowed to lay down when the horse was jumping. Was I scared? Yes, I was. But I knew if I rolled the right way, I would get a really cool picture. If I rolled the wrong way, well…let’s not go there.

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