It's a game of angles.

 

“Ah, might as well jump (jump)

Might as well jump

Go ahead and jump (jump)

Go ahead and jump.”

When I started getting into photography, I would pretty much shoot straight forward. Why not? I was photographing what was directly in front of me and they came out okay. 

Then I started to look at photography books; specifically books on sports photography and I couldn’t figure out how they got that shot—-it was at such a strange angle. The book that I fell in love with was called “Hot Shots.” I would look at the photos, see who the photographer was, and then look them up on the web. One of my favorites, and he still is all these years later, is Neil Leifer. You might know his most famous photo…it’s Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston. It has claimed the top spot in the history of sports photography.

What I finally figured out was the importance of angles and shooting locations. I started to practice what I had seen in the books, and sure enough the photos became much more interesting. At least to me. Since football was my primary sport I shot, I started to apply this new “knowledge” when I was on the sidelines. So, while everyone else was standing in their usual positions, one photographer was lying on the ground. You can probably guess who that was. 

One of the other photographers came up and asked how my photos were coming out and I showed them to him. He said, “Do you mind if I do the same over there?” I said, “Sure.” It’s not like I invented doing this and/or had a patent for photographing this way—-in fact I copied off of other photographers who I believe are some of the very best. 

Over the years, I have photographed from above, below and on my stomach and side. I have found the only time it’s difficult to do this is when the weather is bad. But, that has not stopped me. I have sat in water when it was in the mid-30s, laid on the ground in a snowstorm, and have been filthy from a mud game. These are some of my favorite games I have ever shot.

The photo above was taken for a project for our local YMCA. They were looking for someone who could help out and I said, “as long as you let me be creative, I am all in.” With this photo I wanted to make it appear that this young man was flying—-and so I had him jump off a picnic table and I was below shooting up. I think it worked.

Thanks for stopping by.