For our second to last column, it’s all about Mizzou baseball’s series against Vanderbilt! Dan covered the first game that spanned two days due to insane fog, I covered the second game which started later and featured a weather delay, and Margo wrapped things up with the third game, which was also senior day. Keep reading to see what we came back with!
The composition of this shot of Mateo Serna bunting is very appealing to me. The way his eyes are following the ball while his legs are already starting
to carry him down the baseline is more interesting than if we had just been able to see him running or if the ball was out of frame. To me, it feels like this was shot (or cropped) with the proper amount of space around Serna to show the scene.
In my opinion, this is a very clear example of the difference between sports photography vs. photojournalism. If we think of sports photography simply in terms of getting great action and reaction shots, this photo may not have been made by a sports photographer. But if you’re also aware of the context of the fog and the significance to the story of the game (especially that it caused the game to be suspended), that’s where the photojournalism brain kicks in and tells you to grab a wider shot of the overall scene. Props to Dan for recognizing this and responding!
This is a fantastic shot of Vanderbilt’s Rustan Rigdon’s failed attempt at stealing home! We can see Rigdon’s face clearly and the turf is kicking up, emphasizing the action. I do wish it was a bit less of a butt shot of Serna, but there’s not a lot we can do about our placement in any given moment or the lighting situation. Regardless, Dan was definitely in a great position to get this play.
Like every time I shoot, I try to check in with the writer to ask if they want me to get photos of anyone in particular, and I was asked to get photos of Chris Patterson since he hadn’t played in a while. Baseball can be a bit more difficult than other sports for this purpose, because you can’t always predict where a play will happen, and you may be on the wrong side of the field for it. I shot from closer to third base for a while, but my best photo of Patterson was actually this one taken from along the first base line. Looking back, I think I prefer this angle to any photo I may have gotten from third because I’m able to see his face better.
Here’s another play at the plate! This time around though, Mike Mancini was safe and earned a run for Vanderbilt. I had another photo after this shot where the ball was in frame but Mancini was just out of view behind the umpire, which led me to choose this one instead. That being said, I do wish we could see Mancini a bit better here (the curse of the umpire/referee being in the way continues…).
Woita was another player I was asked to get photos of, so I spent some time hanging out around first base. First base is a more reliable location to hang around and expect something to happen at, so I felt better sticking there for a while. During the ninth inning, Woita made this play tagging out Mancini and it felt a bit more interesting than your typical out at first, so I included it here.
I’ve probably said it so many times by now, but while it’s easy to get a guaranteed shot of the pitcher, it’s not as straightforward to get a truly interesting photo. With a motion as consistent and repetitive as a pitcher throwing a pitch, there’s a lot you can do with the composition if you think about the positioning of the rest of the things or people in frame too. What stands out to me about this one is the stances of the pitcher and batter, the ball perfectly between them, and the positioning of the umpire and second base in relation to the rest of the frame. I took a similar photo at Saturday’s game but Margo’s is definitely better and more eye-catching to me!
Another play at home plate?! (I’m sorry… I know it’s repetitive, but they’re all just so good. Plus they’re all at least a little different!) Dan, Margo and I all just so happened to get great photos during this series. This time, Margo was shooting from along the third baseline and got this shot of Kam Durnin diving into home. I love that he’s suspended in midair while the people in the dugout behind him are all looking very nonchalant at the scene in front of them.
For our last photo, I went with this one by Margo of the post-game handshakes. You all know by now that I love feature photos and this is something a little more unexpected. In Margo’s words: I cropped really close because I liked seeing all of the little Ms and the contrast of the few black hats going into the crowd. She’s spot-on there from my perspective, because I would’ve said the same thing! The contrast is really nice and I like that she chose to go tighter with her crop as opposed to the more common wider shot of the handshake lines.
And there we have it! I’ll be back next week with one final column showcasing my top ten favorite photos of the semester, so be sure to check that out before my time here comes to a close. Thanks for reading!
