As we wrap up the year, I’ll be counting down my top 20 photos of the past semester. This first installment will cover the top 10 action photos and next week’s will cover the top 10 feature-style photos. Without further ado: enjoy this recap!
10.
I do think it’s important to consider context when thinking about what photos are strong enough to make the top 10. For football I don’t typically shoot from the stands because it’s not usually very practical. In fact, this was the only time the entire season
I shot from this vantage point, which makes it all the more lucky that I got this (thanks again to my friend Kolden Lam @k.lam.era for asking that I get a shot from up there!). The blocked extra point wasn’t necessarily a great moment for the Tigers, but the uniqueness of my positioning to be able to get this overhead angle combined with the uncommon occurrence of the result of this play makes it stand out to me. This was also one of the first photos I took for Rock M which is pretty cool!
9.
Before I shoot any event, I try to ask the writer for the corresponding article if they’re looking for anything in particular from me. This communication helps me make sure that I’m doing my job in a way that helps others and I also just think it’s generally courteous in case there’s something I’m not thinking of that could be supplied visually. This photo is an example of that communication in that it was initially taken with the intention of getting photos of the Missouri defense. Because I wasn’t following the play like I would typically do, I felt more confident to shoot tighter on the players (which was also helped by the fact that they were still close to the end zone where I was positioned). There’s a bit of risk there with regard to the potential for missing a big play, but it also pushes me to be more aware of my surroundings and be adaptable if something develops. It ended up being a really nice neutral-toned photo of both teams that I think could make for a good stock image for a preview ahead of a future game against a non-conference opponent.
8.
You might consider this more of a feature-style photo since it’s a less dramatic, obviously action-focused moment, but I choose to think of this as an action photo. The moments directly leading up to the beginning of a play, or an event in this case, are no less important than the big moments. One thing I think this photo demonstrates really well is the importance of observation and an appreciation for those less intense times. I mentioned this before, but I wasn’t anticipating there to be a visual cue and I initially wanted to get a photo demonstrating the Missouri swimmer’s tension before beginning his event. Without having attempted to make that photo, I never would have gotten this one. It’s that specific part of the photo, the reflection of the light, that truly makes this photo rise to be included in my top 10 of the semester.
7.
I can say with a good amount of confidence that basketball is what my high school is best known for. During my years at Whitney Young, I had countless opportunities to shoot games, including a trip down to the University of Illinois for a chance at a state title my junior year (we lost, unfortunately). In that time, I had a tendency to shoot as wide as possible so as to not cut off anyone’s limbs. You’ll notice that in most of my basketball photos, including some later on, I don’t shoot as wide as I do here.
Since coming to MU, I’ve learned that sometimes that can be too much, and it’s okay to shoot tighter but it’s also important to be aware of your framing and composition when you go tighter so as to not cut people off in an awkward way, so I’ve started adjusting to better align with that. I do occasionally return to that old way of thinking when it makes sense for the situation, like it would for a dunk like this one. I chose to include this here for that nostalgic-adjacent reason on top of the visually pleasing parts (Stone facing my direction, swinging on the hoop, creating a line from the top left corner to the bottom right corner of the photo) and the fact that it’s a big moment that’s still compositionally clean. In all, I think this is the best dunking photo I’ve taken this season, even if it’s not super exciting (hence why it’s only at no. 7).
6.
Somewhat in contrast to the energy of the previous photo, this one is more quietly intense. Where the dunk was a big moment paired with a calm expression and a clean frame, this photo shows more of that relationship between opponents and the two teams’ efforts in the game. We can see the calculation in Abbey Schreacke’s face where she takes time to think about her next move (similar to the calmness on Stone’s face) while the Cal defender appears more tense, which elevates this photo to no. 6. This is more of an ‘in-between moments’ kind of photo, but there’s still something here that highlights the amount of skill and knowledge needed to be a college athlete.
5.
I would say all sports have a quintessential photo that everyone thinks of when they think of that sport (for basketball: a dunk, for soccer: a header, etc.). A photo of a volleyball player diving is what I would consider the quintessential volleyball photo. Cliché? Maybe. But that doesn’t stop me from putting this photo at no. 5 on my list. It’s hard to compare photos from different sports (apples to oranges, perhaps?), but what makes this photo stand out to me above some of the others is the angle and details. The lighting in the Hearnes Center is pretty rough and sometimes shooting from a higher angle can result in better photos than a low angle which I would say is generally preferred for volleyball. I’m not sure I would’ve been able to get this same photo if I was lower because other players may have gotten in my frame. My favorite part of this photo that makes it even better to me is the tigers on Maya Sands’ socks. Small details like that can really make all the difference in the quality of a photo, even if I’m the only one that noticed that.
4.
One example of a big moment that made it into the top 10 is this catch by Donovan Olugbode from the Tigers’ game against Alabama. I don’t usually sit on the sideline near the end zone because my mindset is: if I’m all the way down there, I might as well just go behind the end zone so the players run toward me. In any case, I was sitting on the side for this photo and was able to capture not only Olugbode catching the ball, but him doing so mid-air, directly from the side, and with Alabama’s DaShawn Jones holding onto him. This play didn’t result in a touchdown (though the next one did), but the catch itself was still an exciting moment and was great to capture as I did. Had I been behind the end zone, I doubt I would’ve gotten a good photo of this at all because he would have been facing away from me.
3.
Here’s another big moment that’s even stronger than the previous shot. This touchdown photo shows the exact moment Ahmad Hardy crosses the goal line. His foot is right over the line and his body is leaning forward as he runs the ball in. The ball is clearly visible and the fact that the photo is cropped tightly but we can still see the action around him emphasizes the effort it took to get to this point. Hardy is also facing my direction here, which – and I cannot say this enough – really makes this photo better than if he were facing away from me.
2.
Synchronization moments in sports are really beautiful. There’s lots of “glitch in the matrix” sports compilation videos on YouTube, and it’s not that hard to find when you know to look for it. In this photo specifically, T.O. Barrett and Tyler Byrd from Alabama State are moving in sync as they both try to do their jobs on the court. In basketball coverage, I’m almost always following where the ball goes, and this drive facing me was unique for a few reasons. The specific beauty of this photo comes from not only their symmetry in frame, but the shapes they create with their bodies that fill the frame. That shape interest as well as color and contrast interest in the jerseys and clothes of the people on both sides of the photo really adds to this photo and makes it one of the strongest photos I’ve taken, in my opinion.
1.
The title of my no. 1 favorite action photo of the semester belongs to this shot of Kaia Tanskanen! On Dec. 12, the Tigers hosted an intrasquad meet where they split into two teams and competed against each other. For most sports, photographers are given a good amount of free reign for where they can position themselves, but gymnastics is a bit different, I assume due to safety reasons.
Going back to that idea of shooting wide vs. tight, this is an opposite example to the dunk photo from earlier. I still shoot wide sometimes, especially in the case of sports where athletes are far away from me or when the entire body is relevant in that specific moment, but one of the biggest things I’ve had to push myself to do over the past several years is to shoot tighter, and crop tighter as well. With that in mind, I intentionally tried to shoot tighter here, even though I was concerned about keeping Tanskanen in focus or the upper part of her body fully in frame as I tracked her in my viewfinder. My favorite part of this photo is the way her eyes are framed by her fingers and everything’s still in view while using the vault to show where she’s looking and going and to display the compositional technique of foreground interest.
My photography skills have improved vastly in the past five semesters at MU and being able to start thinking about photojournalism as opposed to strictly photography while surrounding myself with peers interested in a similar field. One thing I still somewhat struggle with though is making really good action photos. In regularly taking photos of different athletic events for Rock M, I think I’ve developed even more, but I know there’s still a lot more progress I can make to truly set myself apart.
I hope this was insightful and helps outline some of the things photographers and photojournalists think of when taking photos, in addition to what photo editors consider when making an edit (basically what I do every week pulling content for this column). Check back in next week to see my top 10 feature-style photos of the semester and hear about why I care so much about features and photography/photojournalism in general!
