arivera626

I've come to a standstill in my life where everything is null and void. It could be too that I've hit a milestone in yet another birthday (today) and I could care less really. It very well could be the very fact of reassessing my life and after taking inventory I have come to the conclusion I have nothing by which to leave a legacy - that is, other than my photography.

I rank myself an amateur at what I do in terms of photography. I am learning new things every day but not enough where I would be able to move mountains. How significant is my life in this world? Very little. If it weren't for my kids, oh hell...who am I kidding. What legacy will my kids carry over into their lifetime and onto their children? Nothing.

Now that I've successfully managed to feel sorry for myself...

I often wonder..."could I be my son's biggest fan?" By way of definition, the dictionary lists the following:

–noun
an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc.: (ex. a baseball fan).
[Origin: 1885–90, Americanism; short for fanatic]

—Synonyms supporter, enthusiast, partisan, booster, addict.

I think I fit the mold for both the noun and synonym.

Call it what you want. Call it obsession. He makes me very proud to be his mother. I beam with delight whenever he plays baseball.

At the risk of sounding like a bragging mother, I won't. That's the last thing I want to do. So instead, since I am finally going to get my camera (it's enroute and I should receive it tomorrow), I'll just post more pictures.  It's my tribute to him. It's my picturebook. It's my storybook. It's my life.

When I first began to take photos of my son's baseball games, one of my biggest challenges was trying to get not only the player batting or fielding, but to also include one of the main components of the game - THE BALL.

With advice from one of my professors, he told me to "become the batter, the fielder or the runner."  With that said, I simply had to be in the "shoe" of the subject.

If it were the batter, I had to time it just perfectly in order to get the bat on the ball and make contact to send it for a line drive.

If I were the fielder, I had to anticipate a hard ground ball hit in the hole or "get dirty" and dive for a line drive hit up the 3rd base foul line.

It I were the runner on 1st base, I had to read the pitch and not get caught on a pick-off attempt.

No matter the situation, I had to BECOME the player.  Easier said than done.

After much practice; weeks of photographing; countless hours of downloading, critiquing, cropping and deleting, I think I have now found my niche.

I have been able to capture images of the baseball in flight, floating above the subject, or preparing to send it away into the atmosphere.  I have become the player.

I love my craft and am passionate about capturing the moment of impact.  

That's what sports photography is all about.  The event that excites!

As a photojournalist major, I am working on sharpening my skills.  I have the opportunity to do so almost every weekend at my son's baseball games.  I would like to get better at it where the pictures "jump" out at you.

In addition to baseball, the one sport I NEVER thought I would ever watch - SOCCER - I actually enjoy taking photos.

The most challenging of them all (so far) is volleyball.  I am working on it, but it's proved to be somewhat difficult.  The biggest fact is the NET.  I can't get around, passed, under or even over the net.  Sideview of the players aren't as glamorous either.  Because it's so fast-paced, it's really difficult to get close clear and sharp photos of the players.

Again, it's a work in progress.  Being the Sports Photographer intern at school helps a great deal.  I'll be exposed to mostly all the sports and all the teams on campus.  This is great for my resume and my portfolio.

Until next time.