2010 High School Football Preview Cover
I shot this portrait of Eric and Blake Frohnapfel, players for Colonial Forge High School in Stafford, for our football preview last week. I had to sit on it until in ran in the paper. I managed to avoid shooting the 20 or so portraits of the featured players but I’m sure I’ll be doing our All-Area spread this year.
Redskins vs Bills 8.13.2010 – Images by Mike Morones
Well, it’s that time of year again – football season! I spent yesterday at FedEx Field and anybody who has been there knows what a joy that can be. The media room got a fresh coat of paint, warm hot dogs and wireless internet access. So I’ve got that going for me. Which is nice. Even though it mildly upset my sensibilities to see McNabb in burgundy and gold, any football is good football.
NCAA Football Recruiting
I shot a portrait of Tim Scott, a football player from Colonial Forge High School in Stafford, to illustrate a story about college football recruiting. In retrospect, there were a few technical details I should have addressed. In particular, I think I should have hit the front of the box with a little light as well as the background to minimize that shadow a bit.
Colonial Forge rising senior Tim Scott, holding a box of his recruitment letters, photographed at his home in Stafford, VA, on July 21, 2010 (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Mr. McNabb comes to Washington
I drove up to Ashburn this morning to cover the press conference introducing Donovan McNabb, formerly of the Eagles, as a Washington Redskin. As pictures go, it wasn’t exactly a barnburner, but the amount of media present was noteworthy. I’m told more members of the sporting press showed up for McNabb’s coming-out party than the second coming of Joe Gibbs. I wasn’t at the one where Mike Shanahan was introduced as head coach but I can’t imagine he drew this kind of crowd. In attendance, of course, was a salty group of reporters from Philly. Though I suppose saying ‘salty’ and “Philly’ is kind of redundant. I say it with affection as they are my people! Anyway, here’s a pic or three:
Donovan McNabb is introduced as a Washington Redskin by head coach Mike Shanahan at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Virginia on April 6, 2010. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star) -- NIKON D300 | ::20mm, f2.8, 1/400sec, ISO2000
Note to Redskins PR people - if you insist on having that video screen in the background, at least have the decency to turn off the ceiling lights and eliminate those heinous glares.
At least they stopped rolling out the three Super Bowl trophies. Maybe it worked for Gibbs, since he earned them and all. Now its just a reminder of nearly 20 years without an encore.
Having grown up in eastern PA, there was no question who you root for – it was either the mighty Iggles or you were a communist. Or worse, a Giants fan. I’m not quite as hardcore as my brother though and I am actually kind of excited to see what this year holds for McNabb & the Skins. I guess it can’t get much worse!
Redskins 27, Broncos 17. Wait. What? Seriously?
I went to FedEx Field yesterday expecting to see the Redskins get slapped around by the Broncos. I didn’t really care one way or the other being, you know, an objective journalist. Deep inside my heart of hearts though, being from PA, I root for the mighty Iggles and seeing somebody, anybody slapping the Redskins around brings me a bit of joy. Except Dallas. $%@# Dallas. Plus, seeing how badly they can lose was getting kind of interesting. Lo and behold, the Skins actually weren’t playing too badly and better still, I was in a good position for most plays. Except of course for the game-winning TD by Ladell Betts. I was on the left, he went right. It happens. I guess in the scheme of things, yesterday was a weird day in football – Bengals beat the Steelers, Skins win. The Pats going for it ( and failing) on 4-and-2 on their own 28-yd line. What’s next? Cats & dogs living together? Mass hysteria!
Northwest Region Football
I covered the Northwest Region quarterfinals yesterday at Liberty High School. Because of all the bad weather, the games had been moved from Friday night to Saturday, which made working on a day off a bit more palatable. The first game, Colonial Forge vs Franklin County was one of the better games I have seen in a long while. It was a barnburner – blow-for-blow scoring, great athleticism on the part of the players, great crowds and lots of emotion, all which make for good pictures. I also have to say that usually I can’t stand most high school bands, particularly when they butcher the national anthem but Forge’s band was even good! In the end, with seconds on the clock, all Forge had to do was hold Franklin on 4th down but the Eagles completed a pass, converting the first down. Forge held them off for two downs but Franklin kicked a field goal, leading 37-35 and leaving .8 seconds on the board. Point-eight?!?! As I was working the sidelines, trying to get a picture that showed the proverbial agony of defeat, an assistant coach gave me a hard time, telling me not to take a picture of a kid who was beside himself. I told him I’m trying to work here and he said he’d block my camera every chance he got. It’s funny how everybody loves you when they’re winning but when things get tough, that changes very quickly. I suppose he felt like he was protecting the kid but unfortunately for him we don’t live in a fuzzy and warm fantasy land where everybody is special and a winner. And I had already taken the picture. It gave me a some joy to tell him that.
After that game I was kind of tired – with that much action I found myself hustling back and forth all game long – but I had a second one to cover. I was hoping Brooke Point vs William Fleming was going to be a nice 14-10 kind of game. Initially I was right, the Black Hawks took an early lead. I thought, “Great, it is a nice slow game, they are winning so I won’t get any grief after the game.” And I said as much to a guy on the sidelines. Well, for my sins, the game quickly developed into another score-for-score slugfest. Brooke Point came out on top in the end 44-35 and I was whipped. The party doesn’t stop though – Redskins vs Broncos today and MORE high school playoff ball on Monday. It could be worse – I was originally slated to head to Virginia Beach to cover the state field hockey tournament. Nothing against the athletes but even after years of shooting the game, I am still baffled by some of the nuances of the game.
Redskins vs. Bucs
Washington Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss (89) celebrates his third-quarter touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
I covered the Redskins win over the 0-4 Buccaneers yesterday at FedEx. Going into halftime, I was pretty sure the Bucs were about to snap their losing streak but I guess Jim Zorn worked some kind of Zen mind trick in the locker room and it turned into a game a play into the third quarter. For much of the season I’ve been shooting kind of loose with a 300mm. Yesterday I decided to break out the 400 and spent a lot of time shooting with a 2x teleconverter. While that gave me some reach downfield, it made it a bit more difficult to focus and when things got close, it was way too tight and I missed a few pictures. So, next time, maybe I’ll use the 400 again but no teleconverter. Anyway, here’s a selection from the game…
TGFF*
*thank god for football
I tend to get down in the wintertime. I guess it is the cold and the gray skies. My wife on the other hand told me she can’t stand the summer, especially August. Come to think of it, I don’t like it either. And not just because I sweat like a pig at a sausage factory. I think it’s because there is no football. But that is all behind me. Football season is in full swing and I am beginning to get into midseason form. I must admit my first two weeks were pretty ugly – think of it as the photographic version of the Redskins!
Plus I decided to change up my approach. Last season I toted a 400mm lens to most of the games I covered and the ‘look’ began to get a little stale so this season, I decided to go a little looser with a 300mm. The longer lens gave me a little less reason to move around and find different angles. I would sit in a general area, pop on a teleconverter and wait for the action to come to me. Now I’m staying much closer to the line of scrimmage and moving more. So thank you to SI’s Robert Beck and his article at sportsshooter.com for motivating me to change up my game!
So here are a few pictures from some recent prep games. The puddle one was from the first game of the season. I think its an ‘almost’ -too quiet a picture for the paper. Probably too quiet a picture to ever see the light of day, really. I think I need to make an effort this season to take some time at each Friday night game to make more ‘flavor’ pictures. Mostly because the action is usually fairly lackluster. That is my mission tomorrow night!
Massaponax players, reflected in a puddle following heavy rain, watch their teammates warm up prior to the start of Friday's game against Spotsylvania. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Christian Barham, center, and his Eagle teammates listen to the pregame prayer before the start of Fredericksburg Christian School's first football game. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Chancellor's Tony Russell tries to avoid Massaponax's Andre Wyche on a punt return during Friday's game at Massaponax. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Massaponax football players lay their hands on a stone with a plaque honoring Ryan McGhee, a Massaponax graduate who died in Iraq, before the start of Friday's game against Chancellor. His jersey, number 33, was also retired. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Redskins vs Steelers
I spent yesterday at FedEx Field in not-so-sunny Landover for the first home game of the Redskins’ season. Surprisingly they won but I wasn’t there to see it – I bailed early as my deadline had come and gone, I was having a hell of a time sending pictures out and well, it is FedEx Field which is a notoriously unpleasant place to work.
I’m pretty sure it is the only venue in the NFL where you have to pay for an internet connection. They put out some hot dogs that look like they are left over from last season though I should give them a little credit – this year they put warmers under the trays! The sidelines are really tight as they want to maximize space for seats and unless you pay for a parking pass, you have to park at a demolished mall and ride a bus. This year they said buses will NOT run for the hour or so following the game in order to wait for fans to clear out. So, had I stayed I would have been there till about 12:30am. No thanks. Not for a preseason game, anyway. Before this degrades into an angry rant, here are a few photos from last night’s game:
Pretty standard pictures but I felt like I was getting back up to speed. It can be easy to forget how fast the NFL is compared to other levels of football. Plus I’m used to shooting with a 400mm lens and ours is in the shop so I went with a 300mm. plus it is easier to handle with rain covers. It does force you to position yourself differently though and it was kind of a nice change of pace. At this point I’m not sure if I’ll be back for the Patriots game next week as I think Friday is the start of the high school season so we’ll see…
Some recent work
I haven’t had many positive things to say and I’m trying to minimize my griping about the newspaper business. I guess I should address that soon though as it has a bearing on my work. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from recent assignments including the Redskins/Ravens preseason game, a balloon festival, the start of high school football practice, the area’s sole remaining cannery and a portrait of a young man heading to college.
Samantha Schuldt, 10, of Fredericksburg, holds onto line attached to a 1/4-scale balloon while pilots waiting for fog to dissipate at the Annual Balloon Festival at The Flying Circus Aerodrome in Bealeton, Va. on Saturday, August 15, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Children stand inside of Richmond resident Bubba Winslow's balloon at the Annual Balloon Festival at The Flying Circus Aerodrome in Bealeton, Va. on Saturday, August 15, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Washington Redskins punter Hunter Smith punts the ball from deep in Redskins territory. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis fumbles the ball in the second quarter of the first preseason game in Baltimore, Md. on August 13, 2009. Davis recovered the ball on the play. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Caroline County High School graduate Marcel Anderson is heading to Norfolk State to start college on Saturday. photographed at his Doswell home on August 12, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
Andrew Lucas, a football player at Fredericksburg Christian School, take a water break during the first day of practice on August 10, 2009. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
John Brown pulls a basket of tomatoes from a steamer at the Caroline County Cannery near Bowling Green on August 6, 2009. The Cannery nearly closed but will remain opne for at least another year. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star)
