Wildcats take advantage of Sun Devils Muff

My schedule this year had prevented me from covering Arizona State football games all season, thankfully I had a free day which enabled by to cover their last game of the season against home state rival University of Arizona. It is always their biggest game of the year so that plus the fact the stadium is only 10 minutes from my house had me pretty excited for the shoot.

Right after landing following a short flight from Las Vegas I was picked up by fellow shooter Matt Kartozian and off we went over to Sun Devil Stadium to get all set up for the game.

As is normally the case I headed around the stadium to look for a few pre game photos to get posted up early.

Below, Arizona State fans wave an Arizona Wildcats stuffed animal around with a noose around its neck.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 200iso, f4, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

Wildcats players stretch their legs on the field prior to the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 200iso, f4, 1/2000th, Aperture Priority

With the game starting in the early afternoon (1:30pm), the sunlight on the field would be great for shooting above the stadium and taking advantage of the nice shadows on the field.

The light looked awesome in the below photo as the Arizona State players run out onto the field through some cool smoke.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 400iso, f4, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

Below, Arizona State Sun Devils linebacker Vontaze Burfict runs out onto the field behind the rest of the team.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 400iso, f4, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

Below, Arizona Wildcats wide receiver (89) Travis Cobb runs the opening kickoff against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 250iso, f4, 1/2500th, Manual

Just after the game began cloud cover slowly took over the sky which ruined the cool shadows that I had hiked to the roof of the stadium to shoot.

Arizona State Sun Devils wide receiver Kenny Williams (below) makes a diving catch in the first quarter. Its a cool photo but would have been much better with cool light and shadows.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 640iso, f4, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

With Tempe Town Lake serving as a nice background, Arizona Wildcat fans take in the action from the upper deck of the stadium, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 500iso, f4, 1/5000th, Aperture Priority

On the other side of the stadium police officers keep a watchful eye on the crowd below…far below.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 320iso, f4, 1/2500th, Manual

By going wide (below) I was able to include the Territorial Cup logo on the field along with the defenders trying to block the field goal by Sun Devils kicker Thomas Weber…..for the record he missed.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 200iso, f2.8, 1/3200th, Aperture Priority

The Sun Devils logo painted into the field provided a good background as quarterback Samson Szakacsy drops back to pass in the first quarter, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

While up on the roof I slapped on the fisheye to shoot the below overview of the stadium. If only the crowd was full. Oh well.

Nikon D700, 10.5-17mm, 320iso, f4, 1/4000th, Manual

Below, Sun Devils wide receiver Jamal Miles receives the kickoff.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

The shadows on the field helped out in the below photo of Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback (10) Samson Szakacsy as he throws a pass. Without the shadows the photo would be boring.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 320iso, f4, 1/2000th, Manual

At the end of the first quarter I packed up and headed back down to the field to see if I had some better luck.

Right off the bat I got a decent shot of Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback (10) Samson Szakacsy as he is sacked in the second quarter, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 500iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Arizona State head coach Dennis Erickson (below) paces the sidelines during the second quarter.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 250iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Aperture Priority

With todays digital cameras and autofocus lenses when tracking a moving subject the focus can sometimes change to something going through your frame in the foreground, like the below photo.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 500iso, f4, 1/3200th, Manual

Sometimes boredom will lead me to trying to shoot random crap during the game. One of my favorites is to try and shoot the ball as it flies through the air on a kick. Below is how the shot came out. Next time you shoot a football game try it, its harder than it looks.

Nikon D700, 400mm with 1.4 convertor (550mm), 500iso, f4, 1/5000th, Manual

Below is an example of a shot that I always seem to forget to do and for some reason actually sells from time time time. By standing near the line of scrimmage and shooting semi wide you can get players from both teams lined up such as the below photo of Wildcats center Jason Bertoni preparing to snap the ball.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 500iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

Nothing beats getting what would be a great photo blocked by someone standing on the sidelines.

Below, Sun Devils wide receiver Kyle Williams dives for yardage behind a yard markers ass. Woo hoo.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 500iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

The next few shots provide a nice example of why I love the light at Sun Devil Stadium.

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Nick Foles (below) throws a pass in the third quarter.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, f2.8, 1/4000th, Manual

Below, Arizona State Sun Devils tight end Trevor Kohl is bathed in nice light as he heads out onto the field for a play.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/5000th, Manual

Below, Arizona Wildcats halfback (37) Chris Gronkowski is lined up as he looks back at the quarterback waiting for the snap.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 640iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

Through the players lined up on the field for the play head coach Dennis Erickson looks on, below.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Playing in the final game of his college career, Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Danny Sullivan (below) throws a pass downfield…….

Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

……to tight end Jovon Williams (who dropped the pass).

Nikon D700, 400mm, 800iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Below is a standard fan silhouetted by ominous clouds behind the stadium photo.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 320iso, f2.8, 1/8000th, Aperture Priority

The below photo most likely would have been my photo of the game however I grabbed the wrong camera on the deep play and ended up with way too much lens (plus a lack of focus too) Good job Mark.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 1000iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Below, can you spot which fan accidently handled nuclear waste?

Nikon D700, 400mm, 1600iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Aperture Priority

With less than two minutes to go in the game the score was tied and Arizona State was receiving a kick and had plenty of time to get into field goal range to win the game.

Unfortunately the Sun Devils receiver muffed the kick and it was recovered by Arizona Wildcats cornerback Mike Turner (below) who celebrated for the booing crowd.

Nikon D700, 400mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/1250th, Manual

With the ball and great field position the Wildcats kicked an easy field goal to win the game.

Below, Arizona Wildcats kicker Alex Zendejas celebrates after kicking the game winning field goal.

Nikon D700, 80-200mm, 2500iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

After shooting the kicker celebrating I ran out onto the field with the wide angle to get some photos of the celebration by the Wildcats.

Below, Arizona Wildcats head coach Mike Stoops (right) celebrates with a coach on the field.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Behind me I heard someone shout “fight” so like a elementary school student I ran over to it to watch…and shoot photos.

I pushed my way past fans and photographers to get close to the action and held the camera over my head to shoot some wide angle hail mary photos.

Too bad my camera had other plans and decided not to focus on the fight (must be an anti war camera).

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

Within seconds of the fight starting Arizona DPS officers came barreling onto the scene to break up the fight, below.

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

In a scene of semi police brutality one of the officers put an Arizona State trainer into a choke hold (below) as he was trying to break up the fight!

Nikon D700, 24-70mm, 2000iso, f2.8, 1/1000th, Manual

After the fight was quickly ended I went back to shooting reaction shots of coach Mike Stoops as he walked off the field arms in the air in celebration, below.