UW vs. Illinois Football Game

For a long time I have wanted to have the opportunity to shoot sports. Some of the downsides are that the gear is expensive and it's hard to gain access to the events. Luckily, I am fortunate enough to attend one of the top universities in the nation and a university that values involving their students in many aspects. I recently joined one of University of Washington's photography teams as part of their Student Life division. We cover all kinds of events, but our team is privileged enough to have access to top of the line gear and access to many of our sporting events to cover the action on and off the field. 

This past weekend, UW played Illinois at home in the second part of the home and home series. Last year, Washington beat Illinois 34-24 in Chicago. This year, I was able to be on the field for all the action. 

It was a beautiful sunny day and Husky Stadium was gorgeous and had to grab a photo of the stadium with the camera on my iPhone. I didn't have a wide angle at this time, so I was unable to capture the entire stadium with my main lenses.

For the action on the field, I made sure to gear up with everything I thought I would need. I was lucky enough to have access to a couple of Canon's sports bodies, the 7D, and the Canon 300mm f/2.8 and Canon 70-200mm f/2.8. Both these lenses were phenomenal. The autofocus was quick and the lenses are some of the sharpest lenses that I have ever used. These made capturing the action much easier. 

The game started out loud and the stadium was packed. Unfortunately for UW, the academic year does not start until a couple weeks after the start of football season, so not all of the students were able to make it. Needless to say, a lot of them came to see their Dawgs play at home. Part of the game experience was capturing the student body. It was easy to do with such an engaged crowd. 

Spotted my good friends Eric and Jake up in the stands. Still can't believe I was able to find them.

I made sure to get there a little bit early to try and figure out settings. One thing that is tricky about shooting in Husky Stadium is that there is uneven lighting during the day games. This meant that I had to rely on shooting in aperture priority. Shooting in manual, I would have either had to properly expose for players in the shadowy part or the sunny part, but not both. I made sure to keep my ISO around 400 to ensure a quick enough shutter speed to freeze the action. One feature that I wish the 7D had was a minimum shutter speed function that I could set. Hopefully this is one of the new features on Canon's newly released 7D Mark II, which is a tempting camera with the announced specs.

Head coach Chris Petersen wishes his players good luck before the game during team stretches.

Diante Cooper (6) points to the student section to make sure they're loud right before the opening kickoff.

The game started out quickly. Jesse Callier (24) converted a touchdown on the opening drive after a 54 yard kick return by John Ross III. 

Jesse Callier (24) walks in for a touchdown on the opening drive.

Cameron Van Winkle (48) attempts the PAT.

One thing that I was not expecting was the speed of the players. I often found myself dropping my 300mm and picking up the 70-200mm when the action came barreling towards my side of the field. Especially with John Ross III, he took off one play for a 75 yard touchdown pass. It came so quickly that all I was able to capture was his smile after a long catch and run. 

The rest of the game was a blowout. The defensive effort by Washington was incredible. Shaq Thompson came away with two touchdowns on an interception and fumble recovery. 

Shaq Thompson (7) runs away from Martize Barr (9) after picking up a loose fumble.

Shaq Thompson (7) reaches the ball over the goal line on the fumble recovery for a touchdown.

For the remainder of the game, it was all about trying out different spots on the field and trying to capture a variety of shots.

Travis Feeney (41) communicates with the defensive coordinator.

Andrew Hudson (93) and Hau'oli Kikaha (8) celebrate after sacking Illinois QB Wes Lunt (12).

Jarrod Clements (99) is able to catch Cyler Miles (10) and force the fumble on the QB scramble.

Cyler Miles (10) attempts to grab the loose ball after being caught from behind and loosing the football.

John Ross III (1) is dragged down by Illinois linebacker T.J. Neal Jr. (52).

Cyler Miles (10) slides for the first down to avoid being hit.

Zane Petty (21) knocks the ball away from Darrell Daniels (15) on what would have been a Washington touchdown.

After being up for a while, Washington took their starters out and they were able to cool off under the fans blowing mist on them. This provided for some cool photos.

At the end, Washington was able to walk away with a 44-19 victory. It was finally the first game that we looked good as a team. Overall, there was nothing that could compare to the unrestricted field access and being down their amidst all the action. I hope to be able to cover many more football games throughout my next couple years here.

Washington gathers as a team by the student section to celebrate their victory.