Browns game!!

Last Friday night I got the opportunity of a lifetime, something that I have been dreaming of since a little girl. That opportunity is the chance to be on the field and photograph a professional football game. Football is one of my favorite sports and despite the Browns poor record, I am still a die-hard fan.

So, when I met the Browns beat reporter at training camp, he asked me if I was interested in shooting the game and of course my answer was heck yes! I talked to the photo editor and asked him if I could shoot it and he said I could but there would also be another photographer down there from the paper because they normally send two people down to shoot the games.

That day finally arrived when I was getting ready to shoot the game and as it turns out I was the only photographer from the paper shooting it because it was also the start of high school football and that is a huge thing for the paper. That is probably their biggest sport they cover just because high school football is a huge area sport for Northeast Ohio.

Anyway, first I had to get down to the game which was a story in itself because I was taking a couple of friends down to the game too who just happened to have seats they bought for themselves. Once we made it on the freeway, just my luck there was a major accident in the right hand lane so that slowed us down again. Even though the accident had been cleared for the most part, traffic was still slow because of people gawking at it and trying to find out what had happened.

Once I arrived at the game and got through the media gate, I got my official NFL photographer’s vest on and headed to the media room to drop my stuff off and grab some food. So, I got some food and then started talking to the other photographers there and I told them that I was taking this sports photography class this semester, which I am and I told him my teacher’s name. And the photographer said he’s here at the game. So I introduced myself to my new photo teacher while I was at the game. Not many people can say that sentence.

After introducing myself, I made my way onto the Browns field for the first time. That was an outerbody experience to me. It is such a strange feeling to finally be on that field, right where you belong. So, I started looking for feature shots the paper might like and began shooting away towards the crowd. Those types of shots pretty much mean child and parent, so found one right away and snapped away. Afterwards, I went over to the other side for the kickoff and learned a very important lesson about Browns games.

Because there are two cameras built into the stands on the ground level, you have to duck every time you walk past one of them. This is something that I did not know until it was pointed out to me. Oh well, we all make mistakes. The game itself was pretty uneventful. The first half was really where the most starters would play since it is preseason. At halftime, I went into the media work room to start editing my photos which I finished after the game was over.

However, during the second half I made a major mistake. It is important to note that most photographers carry two bodies with two different lenses on them when they are at these games for different reasons. We carry a long lens for action that is far away and a small lens for action that is up close and personal.

Well, I was primarily using my long lens, but then there was a touchdown right near me and I mean like I moved my head and there it was. I had both of my camera bodies on and focused and everything, but during the moment where I should’ve gotten the shot I had my other body around my neck and missed the shot! This is an important lesson for me to learn because that could have been the play of the game. If this was a real game and not a preseason game and that was the deciding play, my editor would not be happy with that result.

Fortunately, it was just a preseason game so it is not a big deal. Anyway, this is my last post as a News-Herald intern because I am back at school. But, I will still update this post whenever I can with details of my new job!! Thanks for following my adventures as an intern!