We are right in the thick of Football Season and I am really missing watching my team from the sidelines. I was the volunteer photographer for our three son’s homeschool high school football team for five years. Every Friday my husband and I attended their football games, he in the stands cheering them on, and I on the sidelines taking still and action shots. I used a 70-200 Lens on my camera that would get really heavy after awhile, so I would attach it to a monopod. I would then have to be really careful as I walked up and down the sidelines so that I wouldn’t accidentally trip someone. There were several times that the action on the field would head straight for where I was standing, in those moments I had to decide, do I attempt to get the shot and sacrifice my camera and lens, or do I protect both myself and the camera? Easy choice, the camera won, the lens was not cheap. That evening I would go home with anywhere from 600-800 still and action shots of our team and I would share them for everyone to enjoy. For me, being on the sidelines taking those pictures, meant I was in my happy place.
Friday Night Lights, watching our boys play, is a distant memory these days. They have all graduated and are out on their own. This time of year when the weather turns cooler, I am especially reminded of our time on the field. I have memories of wearing sweatshirts with our team’s name plastered across the front, asking my husband to make multiple runs to the concession stand for hot chocolate, trying to keep moving to warm up. Good times for sure!
