Last Friday, I was contacted by a magazine in Florida to cover the Tennessee-Florida game. I jumped at the chance since that's one of the few things I miss about working at a newspaper. I covered UT games every year for 10 years while working at the Daily Beacon and the Daily Times, so last year was a little sad for me since it was our first year doing this full time and I didn't get an opportunity to shoot a game all season. Danielle said I was like a kid in the candy story Friday night preparing for the game!
Yeah it was a sucky game if you're a Vol fan, but I was just stoked to be back on the field again, deafened by the roar of the crowd and roasted by the afternoon sun. I have to admit, it was a little strange focusing on the visiting team instead of my alma mater, but I got some great images nonetheless (it helped that Florida beat the crap out of the Vols).
Here are a batch of some of my favorites (although I wanted to show you all 1200 I shot):
[NOTE: Remember that we own the copyright to these photos. DO NOT steal these pics and use them anywhere else. I hate that I have to say that, but I've found my photos of the Eric Berry and Aryan Foster scattered all over the net since my blog post a few months ago about a freelance assignment for another magazine. Don't steal. It isn't cool. And I really don't want to have to hunt you down. Thanks!]
I'll start off with a little self-portrait. A BIG thanks goes to my buddy Patrick Murphy-Racey for loaning me a 400 (that's the big white lens you see there). I sold off my biggest telephoto lens long ago because I couldn't justify keeping such an expensive hunk of glass when I just wasn't using it that often. Yeah, I could have gotten by with what I have, but I wouldn't have gotten nearly the amount of great moments without this lens. Thanks again Pat!
Four separate frames from the student section.
The Honor Guard prior to kickoff.
Alright, here's where I'm going to slack off. Instead of taking the time to tell you every guy's name, rank, and serial number, I'm just going to let the photos do the talking.
The Vol is Brandon Warren... I covered him when he played at Alcoa a few years ago.
Gettin' stuffed. This pretty much sums up the Vols Saturday.
Everyone always asks me what it's like being down on the sidelines. It's work. A lot of kneeling, running up and down the sideline toting heavy gear, dealing with morons who shouldn't be there, the heat, the noise, the pressure to get "the play"... it's not easy that's for sure. But it's still a ton of fun! Here's the view during a timeout.
There you go. I hope you enjoyed them (better than the game at least). Be sure to let me know what you think. Maybe things will start to look up for the Vols this season. And maybe I'll get hired to shoot more games. I certainly wouldn't mind!
-Wes
