Sweet Lighting » Sports

First Assignment in the Snow

admin — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:15:07 +0000

Here is the first assignment that I had to do in the snow, very cold and slippery. I wore heavy clothes, but I was still very cold because I didn’t move around very much. If I were a photographer that day, I would’ve been fine and had fun. But I was the videographer that day, and I had to stand still. It was not necessarily fun, but it was great experience for me.

City Football Fight

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:31:48 +0000

Salt Lake City is a very active city. If you just look at how the politics are involved in the sports activities; you would understand. As many people who live in Utah know, the Utes and BYU are big rivals in football and they will play against each other this year on Nov. 28. The two city mayors some time ago have decided that the losing team city mayor would ride a bike from his city hall to the winning team city hall. The total distance is about 50 miles. I think this is a pretty big deal for the mayors because it’s not only embarrassing, but also physically hard work. Last year, BYU lost to the Utes, and the Provo mayor Lewis Billings had to ride his bike from his city hall to Salt Lake City’s city hall.

This is a big football game not just between two colleges but as well as the two cities. I have to say that I am surprised to know that these two cities are right next to each other but are such big rivalries. Anyway, whatever the result will be, it’s an entertainment for everyone…except for the losers.

Provo Mayor, Lewis Billings, and Brigham Young University mascot, Cosmo the Cougar, left, and Salt Lake City Mayor, Ralph Becker, and University of Utah mascot Swoop, right, ride bikes to the press conference of the second annual Food Fight Rivalry Ride at the Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City, UT.

A Good Day for the BYU Cougars and for Me

Chen — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:31:39 +0000

Last Saturday was a good day for the BYU Cougars and for me. The BYU Cougars crushed the WY Cowboys in a NCAA college football game with the winning score of 52 – 0. Last Saturday was also good for me because it was a sunny day. I’ve heard that the weather in Laramie (University of Wyoming) can get really brutal sometimes. Thankfully, the weather had mercy on me. I didn’t have to use the big jacket and snow boots that my editor loaned me.

College Football Game: Utah Utes vs. Air Force Falcons

Chen — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:58:54 +0000

Today was a stressful day, but it was fun. I got the chance to take pictures of the college football game between the Utah Utes vs. Air Force Falcons. My day started out very differently than I planned. I was planning to get the 400mm lens from the office because the 400mm lens is a great lens for the game (almost every pro uses it). However, we only have one 400mm and one 600mm left in the gear pool, and I am not the only photographer for the game. The paper sent two photographers to the game. I ended up using the 600mm monster.

In the beginning, I really didn’t get used to the lens. I was like, just let me go to the roof of the stadium to take the photos because the focal length is so close. Eventually I got used to the lens and got some decent shots.

One more thing, during the first half of the game, the weather was not pretty at all, and I wasn’t prepared for the rain. I had to take off my jacket to cover the lens and the camera and I, myself, got soaked. But again, it was a great experience and FUN! Lol!

4A High School Girls Soccer Game: East HIgh School vs. Bonneville High School

Chen — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:39:29 +0000

I have to say that I am very lucky to be able to get these photos. I was really late for the game because of the accident on the way. I was hoping to get six good ones would be enough for me. When I got to the high school, I couldn’t find the soccer field because the campus is really BIG. When I finally got the soccer field, I couldn’t find any parking spot. I was so frustrated and stressed. It’s like one of those things that when you were in a hurry, anything that could go wrong went wrong. Finally, I was able to find a parking space far from the field, and I had to run to the field with my camera bag and a big heavy 400mm lens. And guess what, when I finally got to the field, I was at a spot shooting the pictures against the sun. I was like, now I am dead. I was not going to run across the field to shoot the game because I was way too tired. Surprisingly, I got some good shots, I think. You judge. I bet you couldn’t tell that I was rushed to the field before taking these photos.

Humane Society

Chen — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:51:39 +0000

Watching dogs run at Course A’Lure is an interesting event. I was sent to take photos of Humane Society of Utah’s “Fall in Love” Autumn Adopt-a-thon event in Murray, Utah. The dog, which runs the fastest in the course, wins the race. Simple, right? Wrong. The entire course was about 500 feet long, but there were dogs just didn’t care to win the race or not. They just stepped out of the track. The funny thing was that the big dogs usually got sidetrack and didn’t have any time recorded, and the small dogs often finished the course and got the fastest time.

An Honest Mistake

Chen — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:08:30 +0000

The most dramatic sports event I have seen this year so far has to be today’s 3A Utah High School Boys Golf Championships. You can read the whole story at the Deseret News here. The short version of the story is that the committee made a mistake announcing that the first two teams were tied and forced a playoff with each other. But then, Park City’s Jack Burrus stood up and shouted to the committee that they made a mistake, and he was right, one stroke less than his competitor, Judge Memorial High School, 603-604. That mistake sank the hearts of the Judge Memorial team hard. Some cried, and some were angry. It was not a good day for them to have, to remember. On other side of the room, the winning team, Park City High School players cheering for their championship title.

I was standing aside in the crowded conference room watching one team cry and the other shout for joy. The entire span of human emotions could be seen in one room at the same time. It was quite amusing to me.

My First College Football Game

Chen — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 07:36:27 +0000

Finally, this is my first college football game. It’s way more excited than the high schoolers’. The light was just beautiful. Although some photographers complained about light was too flat because it was a cloudy day, for me, I was really grateful to shoot a football game without boosting up my ISO. So here are some of the pictures that I am happy with.

The BMX Dew Tour

Chen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:18:17 +0000

Here are some photos I took at the BMX Park competition during the 2009 Dew Tour in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was amazing seeing the bikers doing the tricks in real life. I have only seen the competition on TV, and it seemed so far away. But when I was at the Dew Tour, it was whole different experience.

Bicycle Legend Fuzzy Hall

Chen — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:13:47 +0000

Kaysville motocross bicycle legend Tim “Fuzzy” Hall, or just Fuzzy Hall, is building a track for the BMX Dew Tour in Salt Lake City. The Dew Tour starts on Thursday, Sept. 17^th, and ends on this Sunday, the 20^th. You can go to the Dew Tour Web site and check it out. Fuzzy was cool guy, fast, straight forward, and helpful. The first thing I noticed when I met him yesterday was his arm veins. They look like that they were ready to pop out from his arm. I wish I had taken some photos of his arms, but I was on a tight schedule, so I only took few shots when he was packing the dirt with a golf cart.