A Long Season Ahead

The Beavers lost again on Saturday which just tells me that this is going to be a long season. But lets not dwell on the negatives of the weekend. I'm back shooting for OSU!! Although this means a serious drop in my income because OSU Athletics pays next to nothing it does mean I get to focus on just taking good photos again. Here is what I came up with for my first week back.


I started of the day by shooting the "Beaver Walk" which is basically just the fans cheering for the team as they get off the bus an head to the locker room. Since I got there a little early I shot of a few frames of the cheer team warming up the crowds.
 Members of the UCLA football team arrive at Reser Stadium two hours prior to kickoff.

I haven't shot the Beaver walk in a while and forgot how crowded it can get so I quickly bagged my original idea of getting a lot of shots of as many players as possible and decided to focus on just a couple key members of the team. Below head coach Mike Riley high-fives fans as he leads his team to the Valley Football Center.

Probably the biggest story line of the day was James Rodger's return to the field on Saturday so photos of him would probably a good thing to get.

After the walk I wandered around the parking lot looking for some interesting tailgate photos but I began to realize that there just wasn't a lot happening. An overhead photo after returning to the press box would show the lack of tailgating.

Pretty sad.

During the Beaver's warm-up there is always a moment when the team comes together which usually make for a potentially cool photo. I have an idea for next week that should make this look damn good.

Up to this point everything was unfolding at a rather slow pace which was great because 85-90 degree temperatures are not fun to work in, and they are even more intense when your fighting a cold. Right after this photo I ran down the stairs and set myself up for a photo by the inflatable helmet.

Joe Halahuni, looks out at the field waiting for the rest of his teammates before entering the stadium.

 The Beavers take the field before nearly 45,000 of Oregon State faithful Saturday afternoon at Reser Stadium.

After the team ran past I snapped a quick shot of the team with the smoke from the fireworks still lingering in the stadium. I thought it looked cool.

 UCLA lines up during their first drive of the game.

Coach Mike Cavanaugh, and members of the offensive line cool off while the defense is on the field.

This is an example of a being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After I shot this photo of the stadium one of the teams called a timeout. This was bad because I was told to take photos of a presentation that would happened during the first timeout of the game. I forgot about that little assignment and was caught behind like 20 rows of people, but I booked it and somehow managed to get a photo. 

 Oregon State University honors Bill Enyart, after being elected to the College Hall of Fame During the first quarter of Saturday's game.

Markus Wheaton, runs through the UCLA defense after catching a pass from quarterback Sean Mannion.

 Taylor Embree, of UCLA brings down a pass for a touchdown putting the Bruins in the lead at 7-3 with 1:36 left in the first quarter.

 The celebration after the touchdown.

 I feel like I always have to add a photo or two of the cheerleaders at a college football game or it just doesn't feel like a complete set.

 Richard Brehaut (12) celebrates with teammates in the end zone after scoring on 5 yard QB run bring stretching the lead to 14-3.

Nelson Rosario, makes a catch near the UCLA sideline giving the Bruins a 1st down.

 Gran Johnson (70) of OSU gets set at the line of scrimmage.

Anthony Watkins (3) and Jordan Poyer (14) bring down Derrick Coleman (33) during the second quarter.

Halftime. 

Another one of my special assignments one Saturday was to take a few photos of the OSU Gymnastics team receiving their rings for being Pac-10 champs last year.  

The photo I completely missed. During this run Jordan Bishop, tiptoed along the sideline and dove for the pylon scoring a touchdown. This is the only photo I got of the play. Damn. 

Derrick Coleman, get the ball from QB Richard Brehaut, during the fourth quarter.

The game started to get a little scrappy towards the end and players started aiming for the face. 

OSU tried to return the favor. 

Well that is it for this game. I'm hoping the next home game the Beavs finally get a win. By then the celebration might be pretty good because they haven't had a lot to celebrate for the last six games they have played.