Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Texas Military Academy (TMI) Lacrosse


Living in San Antonio I have the opportunity to shoot a wide range of sports, everything from traditional high school football to Mexican-style rodeos, but last night was my first lacrosse game courtesy of the Texas Military Institute (TMI) as they played San Antonio Reagan in their league playoff game.

Lacrosse in San Antonio is pretty much what soccer was like in the '70's on the northside, a niche sport with no official UIL sponsorship. This hasn't kept the teams from growing stronger each year, with a recent Boerne High School star soccer player moving up to a lacrosse scholarship at Sam Houston State University.

For the sports photographer this was like shooting baseball played on a soccer field, with the players faces hidden in the shadows of their helmets, but once I got the drift of the game my soccer experience really helped...though keeping the players, a tiny ball and a large stick all in the frame is a trick. This is where post-editing and cropping really helps, even if it's time consuming.

End of the school lacrosse season, but hopefully I'll get a chance to shoot a bit more next year.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Boerne-Champion Softball vs San Antonio Brackenridge

WOW!... One long hot afternoon with two exciting Texas District 27-4A playoff softball games. While it turned out to be a great come-back for the Brackenridge Eagles after their Friday night loss, it was a heart-breaker for the Chargers after strong rallies in the last innings of each game.

I guess one of the hardest parts about shooting high school sports is you always know one team will have to lose, but where else will you find the opportunity for fantastic action photography and the next minute you're shooting emotions you'll rarely see outside someone's personal life....rarely in professional sports, that's for sure.