WKU vs Murray State Basketball - 12/16/12

2 days after finishing my first semester at WKU, I celebrated by shooting what was probably the best college basketball game I've ever seen in person. WKU traveled to Murray State for the 150th meeting between the two teams. The Hilltoppers came in banged up, and suffered more injuries throughout the game, but still made it extremely close. The Racers have always been one of my favorite teams, so it was a thrill to photograph them and my own school competing. Here are my favorite shots.

WKU/Bobby Petrino Press Conference - 12/10/12

The campus of WKU, the city of Bowling Green, and the college football landscape were rocked today when Bobby Petrino was announced as the new head football coach of the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers. I got the call this afternoon to go cover the press conference announcing Petrino as the coach. It was extremely crowded, and I really enjoyed what Coach Petrino had to say. Here are my favorite shots from the evening.

KHSAA Football 6A State Championship - Trinity vs Pleasure Ridge Park - 12/01/12

My shooting was capped off with the behemoth game that was Trinity vs Pleasure Ridge Park. I've always wanted to see Trinity play in person, and they did not disappoint, crushing PRP and bringing home their third-straight state title. Sadly, my take from this game wasn't as good as the others. Little action happened because Trinity dominated the game, and Trinity's team was so large, it made it next to impossible to get close (enough) for a great trophy shot. Nevertheless, here are my favorites.

KHSAA Football 3A State Championship - Bowling Green vs Cooper - 12/01/12

As the sun set, I switched off lenses and went at this game with a small telephoto and a super wide. It was a great game, especially during the crazy first half. Here are my favorite shots.

KHSAA Football 2A State Championship - Caldwell County vs Newport Central Catholic - 12/01/12

Day 2 of shooting the KHSAA State Football Championship games. I was secretly hoping for Caldwell County to pull out the win, because they're from my area. They played a fantastic game, despite their loss. Here of my favorite shots from the day's first game.

KHSAA Football 4A State Championship - Highlands vs Collins - 11/30/12

After a long and stressful week, it's nice to...do more work?! Not really. Tonight I had the chance to do something I love. My first "real" photos were high school football, way back during sophomore year, when I used a 15-year-old zoom lens and a flash for our poorly lit field. Today, I'm blessed to be shooting D1 football here at WKU, but it's nice to go back to what I spent so much of my high school career doing. Here are some of my favorite shots from the KHSAA Football 4A State Championship game between Highlands and Collins.

WKU Lady Toppers Basketball vs FIU - 11/19/12

Before I left for Thanksgiving break, I had the chance to shoot the WKU Lady Toppers's home game vs FIU. I went with two wide angle lenses on two bodies, and came away with some decent shots. D1 basketball is electric and it was a lot of fun to shoot. Here are my favorites.

WKU vs FAU Football - 11/10/12

Today I shot the first half of the WKU/FAU football game. It was the third football game I've had the chance to shoot this year, and probably the last. I can honestly say that I never thought I would be shooting D1 football as a freshman in college. It's been unreal and so much fun. This game was also different for me because I shot with a 300mm lens. The longer glass helped me to get some really sick shots. Here are my favorites.

WKU vs MTSU Volleyball - 11/09/12

Tonight was the WKU Lady Toppers' last home game before the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, and it was also senior night. Volleyball was one of my favorite sports in high school, and to witness the team became nationally ranked and win big at every game has been amazing. Tonight I shot with a 300mm lens, the best lens I've ever used for volleyball. It was a challenge, because the fixed focal length prevented me from getting close at all - and the lens was crazy heavy. My take turned out very well, though. Here are my favorite shots.

The Spoon Man - 10/31/12

On Halloween, I ventured downtown with a few friends doing some feature hunting. While we were out, we met The Spoon Man. He was quite the character, and showed one of us how he played the spoons. He told us that students from WKU always took photos of him, and he said they "even put me in the Herald once!"

WKU vs MTSU Football - 11/1/12

Not many good shots came from the WKU/MTSU game last week. The game was a defensive battle, with neither time spending much time in the red zone, which is the place I love to shoot. It was also a night game, and stadium lights are just annoying to deal with. Here are my few good shots.

KMEA State Marching Band Finals - 10/27/12

Saturday night after the 5A semifinals, the KMEA State Marching Band Finals rocked Smith Stadium. All classes, from 1A to 5A performed in hopes of taking home a Governor's Cup trophy. It was super intense - and ridiculously cold. It capped off a day of 12 hours of shooting. I was sore, freezing, and extremely tired by the end, but I got some great shots. Here are my favorites.

KMEA State 5A Semifinals - 10/27/2012

This past weekend, WKU hosted the KMEA State Marching Band 5A Semifinals at Smith Stadium. I had the blessing of obtaining credentials for the event, and I was blown away. My school never had a marching band, so I have never been exposed to the sheer pageantry that is a marching band competition. It was so much fun to watch, especially considering the 5A schools filled the entire field with color guard, props, and the band. Here are some of my favorite shots. 

WKU vs ULM Homecoming Football Game - Part 2

Here's part two of my homecoming football game photos. These are the shots from the second camera I carried, with a fixed 50mm lens. 

WKU vs ULM Homecoming Football Game - Part 1

Today I had the extreme (and lucky) pleasure of shooting the WKU/ULM homecoming football game. Since most (read: 95%) of the photographers on campus were at Mountain Workshop, I was able to take advantage of the opportunity and live out a dream of mine: shooting a Division 1 football game. It was an absolute blast. The atmosphere was electric, the game was great (even though WKU lost in overtime), and it was just a lot of fun. I'm splitting this up into two blog posts. This first post is photos mostly of the game itself, but all were taken with my main camera and telephoto lens.

WKU Lady Topper Volleyball and Hilltopper Hysteria - 10/12/2012

On Friday night I shot yet another volleyball game, with the Lady Topper demolishing Florida Atlantic University. However, I also had the pleasure of shooting Hilltopper Hysteria, the opening of the men's and women's basketball seasons here at WKU. It was a lot of fun. Here are some of my favorite shots from the evening.

Bowling Green International Festival - 09/29/12

Today I went to the Bowling Green International Festival in hopes of shooting for both the Talisman and for my Intro to Photojournalism class. I probably accomplished the latter, but overall, I was really disappointed with my shooting. I walked around for over an hour and simply could not find anything to shoot. Maybe I'm being too picky, or maybe I'm finally realizing how far I have to go to become a good photographer. Regardless, I sat down dejectedly at the fountain and observed a boy running through it. Soon after, several more joined him, and thus came my best pictures of the day.

I'm really not happy with all of my shots of regular events lately. Sports was my thing all through high school, and I believe it still is. It's taking me outside my comfort zone to try and photograph events and people that are spontaneous and frankly sometimes boring. I hope that as the semester progresses I'll get better at this - I have lots of ground to make up between myself and the other amazing photographers here at WKU. 

WKU Lady Toppers Volleyball vs Troy - 09/21/12

Tonight I shot the WKU Lady Toppers Volleyball match vs Troy. It was Toga Night, and the student section was well dressed out, The game was also my first "official" sports assignment for the Talisman. Sadly, it was one of my worse nights. I was shooting with a bit too high of an ISO, so most of my shots are a bit grainy. I did try a few new things, though. I shot with my 50 1.8 for most of the match, opposed to my 70-300 I used at the last match. I also sat on the court and at the press tables, and while my shots from there were about 50/50 good/bad, they were some very different angles that I hope to explore some more at future games. Oh, and Big Red sat behind me and had a wonderful interaction with a little girl. Loved it. 

Egg

My first Intro to Photojournalism assignment was devilishly (egg pun!) simple: shoot an egg. It was difficult for me, because I'm so used to the fast and furious action of sports - and even the few portraits I've done have been people, with expressions and skin tone and basically everything that an egg doesn't have. To maximize my creative output, I limited myself to shooting around campus, hoping that a small area would keep me from overcomplicating such a simple subject. The third shot is the one I ended up submitting. 

WKU Lady Toppers Volleyball - 9/11/12

Fittingly, my first true photojournalism experience at college was a Lady Toppers volleyball match. WKU slaughtered Lipscomb that night, and it was pretty awesome. College volleyball is much more intense than even the best high school teams. Plus, as a photographer, you have way more freedom to move around and shoot from different angles. It made for a fun night and a great group of shots.