Dexter Strickland vs. Georgia Tech
I’ve been cover the UNC men’s basketball team this year. I have to admit that my photo game was pretty rusty to start, but thankfully I’ve been able to improve. Here are some recent games:
UNC Men’s Basketball vs. Presbyterian photo galler
UNC Men’s Basketball vs. Marshall photo gallery
UNC Men’s Basketball vs. Rutgers photo galler
I am really excited about a new photo project that I have been working on in collaboration with Cherry Crayton and Molly Renda of the NC State Alumni Association. They approached me before the season to see if I was interested in being the photographer on a story that would cover new head coach Kellie Harper, who was named to succeed coach Kay Yow, former head women’s basketball coach at NC State. The opportunity was irresistible of course. I had done previous projects with former NC State pitcher Andrew Brackman in 2007, and the UNC Men’s lacrosse team in 2007-2008. These projects followed the moments off the field to document the lives of the athletes and coaches.
This new project will have Coach Harper as its focus. Indeed, we have already spent a fair amount of time with Coach Harper, both at her house and at Reynolds Coliseum. She has been so far, well, awesome. Very friendly and humble; she has been a dream to work with. In the short time I’ve worked with her, it is clear her players adore her.
Most of the photos are embargoed right now; more will be released after it runs in print in the Alumni magazine this summer. But I will share one with you. In black and white, of course.
Coach Kellie Harper, before playing (and beating) the university of Maryland
Tyler Zeller photo that was ref assed.
Here is another in our series on ref ass, and their ability to block great photos. If you have a fetish for ref ass, basketball is where you will find bliss. 3 refs contained on a small court is just a recipe for blocked photos. Usually I delete them, but every now and then sharing my pain is therapeutic. Indeed, many ungentlemanly words have left my lips from my spot on court side when a good photo is ref assed. (I think I just created a new term).
Tyler Hansbrough waves to the crowd during the final game of his career at the Smith Center
Has it already been four years? That time flew by. It seems like only yesterday that this kid Tyler Hansbrough arrived on UNC’s campus. Then on Sunday I saw him give his farewell speech to the Carolina faithful during his final game at the Dean Dome. It finally hit me. Tyler Hansbrough has finished his career at the Dean Dome. Not that we are going to forget him any time soon: His jersey will soon be hung from the rafters to honor his accomplishments.
The game was bitter sweet. It’s always fun to do a Duke vs UNC basketball game, but knowing the regular season was ending was a total buzz kill. A highlight though of the day was getting to see Sports Illustrated photographer Bob Rosato. Had a chance to have dinner with him and a couple other photographers after the game.
Here are some of my favorite photos from UNC vs. Duke Basketball that I took Sunday.
Tyler Hansbrough
So the above picture took me by surprise last night. Normally I would have deleted it because while it’s a nice slam dunk, I can’t see Tyler’s eyes. My mentor always told me that in every photo I should be able to see “the white’s of their eyes”. Otherwise, its a deleter.
But before I hit the delete button I did a double-take on this picture. A split second before the photo was taken, the player on the left had a hold of the waistband of Hansbrough’s shorts. He released them but no doubt I took the photo right between the time when he let go and before the shorts had time to snap back. The odds are 1 in a million.
And no, it is NOT Photoshopped.
We knew she was sick, but it is still hard to believe. She was strong. Whenever the cancer struck her, she struck back harder. Always a survivor. When it tried to break her spirt, she came out stronger. The photo below I took in March 2007 when NCSU lost in the NCAA tournament. We all thought it would be her last game as a coach. A year later, she proved us and the cancer who was in charge as she was still out on the court directing her team to victories even a year later. But in the end, NC State head basketball coach Kay Yow lost her battle to breast cancer. It took decades to finally take the strong-willed woman home; but last night it finally won.
As a team photographer, I have photographed many coaches, in many sports and at many schools. Coach Yow I always liked. While doing a photo shoot for NCSU’s athletic department for the W BBall media guide, I had the opportunity to work with her. She was a delight. Patient, friendly and kind spirited. I left that photo shoot thinking what a wonderful person she was. I have not always left with that feeling with other coaches.
Coach, we will miss you. But no one is going to ever forget you. Say hello to Coach V for us.
NCSU head coach Kay Yow in March 2007. (Photo: Peyton Williams/NCSU Athletics)
Just wanted to share this old photo that I took of former UNC head basketball coach Dean Smith. I took it back in August 2004 during the Carolina Basketball Alumni Event. Jerry Stackhouse introduced coach to the crown and I snapped this pic while he waved to his adoring fans. I only had a 300 2.8 with me, but I like how the shot came out.
Former UNC head coach Dean Smith
Tyler Hansbrough wills the ball back to him.
Oh basketball….how much have I missed thou?
Basketball is back in gear here in ACC land. I have been to two games so far at UNC. A couple I had to miss due to travel committments, or being previously booked for work. I am also missing their game on Thursday. The Thursday game has special significance because Tyler Hansbrough could break the UNC all-time points record. So imagine how bummed I am to miss that game. But such is my luck.
Here though find some pictures from the two most recent games that I have photographed:
UNC Asheville vs. North Carolina Basketball photos (11/30/08)
Oral Roberts vs. North Carolina Basketball photos (12/13/08)
Cover of 2009 ACC Basketball Handbook
The cover of this year’s ACC Basketball Handbook features North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough in a photo taken by me when UNC played Wake Forest. Always nice to get your work on the cover of a magazine. (and pay the bills too)
Also inside are a good number of my photos used for a story on Duke’s Coach K. You can find a copy in many bookstores, or you can order online.
This reminds me…this is going to be the last year of Tyler. That is hard to believe. The last 3 years with him flew by.
Also inside are some fantastic photos by basketball photographer extraordinaire Bruce Schwatzman and some writings from various authors including Tim Peeler at NC State.
So college football season has started, and I am back in full force on the sports photography circuit. Last week I traveled on the team buses down Columbia, SC with the NCSU Football team when the played the Ol’ Ball Coach.
It goes without saying that with a final score of 34-0 for South Carolina, it was a rough game. Worse though was the injury of QB Russel Wilson. I was walking around USC campus with Brandon in athletic communications saying that with all the injuries, the only thing that could be worse if if Wilson was hurt.
Beyond the score and injuries, I had a great time down in Columbia. Brandon and I toured the campus and I was able to by my always essential survenior for every campus I visit: a shot glass. I also had a great talk with team orthopedic surgen Dr. David Fajgenbaum, whose son, also named David, I’ve known back when I worked at Georgetown and David QB’ed there.
The enviroment was also a fun one. The fans certainly get into the game, and it was loud there. I can only imagine the intensity that comes from a Clemson – USC game. I did hear that the NCSU fans said the USC fans were welcoming and respectful, which was great to hear. Good to have an intense, but cordial enviorment.
Speaking of enviroment, one of my favorite photos was of Andre Brown, just as the team was about to enter the field. He was checking out the stadium, and I was only about 2 feet from him when I took the photo.
Wednesday, with the help of my friend Danny, I did the team photo for NCSU men’s basketball. Usually it is one of my more stressful events of the year, but this year it went off without much of a hitch. Brian Reinhardt, media relations director for basketball, had the day’s events remarkably organized, arriving with a diagram of where each coach and player would sit or stand.
We also did some photos for marketing. They needed some photos of Ben McCauley, Courtney Fells and Brandon Costner. In a light hearted moment, I snapped them doing a faux pose before we did the real photo shoot. (sorry it is not composed very well; I brought my camera up from the floor and snapped this moment real quick) Moments like these are great because they remind you that these guys are just every day guys like you and me who have a sense of humor, and I think most fans would really appreciate that.
