New Season

Linebacker Shawne Merriman was sporting a new mohawk during pre-game warm ups before the Chargers pre-season opener against Seattle at Qualcomm Stadium.

Since the NFL allowed both the Raiders and the Rams to leave Southern California about 10 years ago, I’ve had to put a lot of miles on the SUV in pursuit of shooting professional football. The drive from my home north of Los Angeles to Qualcomm Stadium, the home of the San Diego Chargers, is about 170 miles. Google Maps puts the drive at 2 hours 44 minutes and 4 hours and 45 minutes in traffic. Usually it takes me the longer of those two estimates…

It was worth the drive to San Diego just to hang out with good friends Arnie & Rod Mar.

This weekend was the pre-season opener for most NFL teams, with the Chargers playing the Seattle Seahawks. Ordinarily I don’t get too excited over pre-season football, but with my good friend Rod Mar now the Seahawks’ team photographer and the duo of Mac & Murph (SI’s John McDonough and his sidekick Jordan Murph) also assigned, it would be worth the drive just to see those guys.

Traffic was a total nightmare and the drive to La Jolla where we meet up for a pre-game lunch at El Torito took a blazing 4 1/2 hours! Luckily I had Rod’s cool brother Arnie riding shotgun and he and the “big-ass” Starbucks iced coffee kept me awake on the drive south that had long stretches of bumper-to-bumper traffic. The worst stretch? South Orange County. Totally sucked.

Getting to the stadium early: LaDainian Tomlinson stretches in the light.

USA TODAY’s NFL desk had a fairly short list of players they needed for upcoming stories and previews, #1 was Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson. In the past 3 or 4 pre-seasons, Tomlinson has carried the ball exactly ZERO times, the team feeling it best that he not add to the pounding he takes in the regular season.

But with the thought that I’d get to spend some time with a few good friends and get my feet wet shooting football, I figured at least I could get Tomlinson during warm ups early and that #2 on my list, linebacker Shawne Merriman (coming back from a knee injury that forced him to miss all but one game in ’08) would play at least a couple of series.

The new Aquatech Soft Lens Hood helped save space in packing a 600mm in the TTP Airport Security Roller for the game.

I packed my Think Tank Airport Security roller with the 600mm, 2 bodies, 24-70mm zoom, 70-200mm zoom, TC-14 and TC-17, card wallet, G10 and other misc. small items. The new Aquatech Soft Lens Hood was a big help in getting all of the gear fit easily into the roller without the usual bulging-zipper busting-gear clattering problems I usually packing the 600mm. The Soft Lens Hood saved about 3 – 3/12 inches in width, so packing cameras and shorter lenses with dividers around them was very easy.

(I’ll be writing a full review on the Aquatech Soft lens Hood in the next edition of the Sports Shooter Newsletter.)

Covering a pre-season NFL game, getting out o the field early and shooting a lot of pre-game is very important. You never know who is going to play and you certainly cannot count on any starters, especially stars, playing more than 2 or 3 series at best.

Getting out to the field early at Saturday’s game also gave you some shooting time in nice light. With a 7pm kick off, gave action was not going to have one ray of sunlight.

I like to games to any game usually 3 hours before the start, if anything to just take in the stadium. It’s pretty quiet and the little things going on can make for interesting, cool photographs.

There was Tomlinson on his back, stretching out in the sun and shadows in the west end zone alone. Merriman circling the field listening to a iPod, sporting a mohawk ‘do.

Jordan Murph and John McDonough during pre-game warm ups. They had to be care: There is no talking allowed on the sidelines.

But the best thing about getting to the game early is hanging out with friends…but with the new “rule” instituted by stadium security, you had to carry on your chatting away fro the sidelines. (“No talking on the sidelines is allowed,” a red shirted security person barked at us while we were shooting features hours before kick off, “This is a work area, so no talking!”)

There had been a hint in the local paper that Tomlinson would play a limited number of snaps during this pre-season. When the Chargers offense took the field after the opening kick off, low & behold, trotting out to the huddle was Tomlinson!

But for how long?

He carried the ball FOUR times for 10 total yards. Fortunately on his last carry, he squirted through the line, breaking one tackle and then dove forward for a six-yard gain.

Tomlinson breaks a tackle for a six-yard gain. This one play made the 6 1/2 hours of driving on the day worth it! Tech notes: Nikon D3, 600mm with a TC 14; Exosure: 1/800 @ f/5.6 ISO3200. Tomlinson breaks a tackle for a six-yard gain. This one play made the 6 1/2 hours of driving on the day worth it! Tech notes: Nikon D3, 600mm with a TC 14; 1/800 @ f/5.6 ISO3200.

SUCCESS!

Tomlinson ran right at me and I was able to make a sequence of 10 frames of the play. Not the greatest action, but classic Tomlinson…slashing through the line, breaking out of the grasp of a couple of defenders and squirting for a few extra yards as he brought down by an ankle tackle.

I’ve been using Nikon gear for 18 months now and I still cannot get over the quality of the D3 files at HIGH ISO. I was shooting a lot with the 1.4 converter on the 600mm, since this was mostly a “file shoot” because I needed to isolate players. Even at ISO6400, the sharpness, low noise and overall crispness of the D3 files still amazes me.

The ability to use a TC1.4 converter on a 600mm — at a night game! — allowed me to "reach out” to isolate on Merriman during his limited time in the game.

No, I am not on the payroll of any camera manufacturer … I am just finally happy that I am able to shoot sharp photographs and that images that I “see” in my mind translate to that little compact flash card in the digital camera.

All of the starters, which meant everyone on my list, were on the sidelines wearing ball caps and sneakers before the 2nd quarter even started.  I shot backup quarterbacks. Back up to back up quarterbacks  Backup running backs. Place kickers. Punters. Coaches on the sidelines.

San Diego defensive back Kevin Ellison upends Seattle runningback Justin Forsett during 3rd quarter.

Finally by the middle of the 4th quarter, it was time to “beat feet” and make the trip back home.

(Ordinarily if this were a regular season game, I would be in the digital workroom, editing and transmitting images for deadline.)

It was a long drive, but no traffic except a short backup in North San Diego County and we were back home by around 12:30.

Long day.

But worth it!