Three days after the 4th of July game against the Red Bulls, I was back at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park for the match against D.C. United. There were going to be fireworks again after the game was over, and I brought my tripod with the intention of heading down onto the field to shoot the show, but after editing my second half photos I was wiped out and decided that I would head to my car instead and try to beat the traffic. Prior to the game starting I wandered around a little looking for some fun photos. It was Military Appreciation night and so there were a lot of military in uniform, Humvees parked outside the stadium, and like the 4th of July game, they unveiled a huge American flag on the field. There was a Color Guard made up of all branches of the Military and it was looking like it was going to be a fun night. However, it was a bummer of a game. After the Rapids took a 2-0 win a few nights earlier against the Red Bulls, I was expecting to see them destroy D.C. United who is winless on the road this season, but while the Rapids dominated the game, they just could not find the back of the net. So, we ended up with a 0-0 tie.
Here are my 10 Shots from the game. Enjoy.
I missed the flag above on the 4th of July because I was on field level. After I got to the media room for this game I noticed that they were out on the field practicing with the flag and ran out to get a shot of it. I kind of like the empty stands with the flag.
On of the military vehicles on display outside the stadium before the game. I have always been a fan of these vehicles and was pretty sad when the H1 civilian version was discontinued.
One of my goals for the rest of the season is to grab a great shot of the delivery of the game ball to the Rapids mascot Edson the Eagle. I think I may have to go up into the stands to get the angle I want.
I thought this was very cool. A color guard representing every branch of the military including the Navy and Coast Guard. Pretty nice since we are a mile high in the Rocky Mountains!
One of the few corners that actually took place near me during the game. This was a grab shot with my second camera, my 1D Mark II with 70-200 on it.
Like both high school boys and girls soccer this last school year, I am starting to focus on getting a great header shot this season. This one came out ok, but I had a better header later on.
This shot just makes me think of O’Neill as a young Jedi, using the force to control the ball….
Not much exciting from D.C. United during the game. I did like the extension and stretch by Thorrington as he launched this pass.
Finally nearing the end of the match the ball started to see some good play from both teams close to me. There was a nice battle for the ball between the Rapids Klute and D.C.’s Pajoy giving me about a dozen nice shots.
This final shot was my better header, but unfortunately it was in the dead zone of the field. A Dead Zone, or more commonly referred to as a Black Hole by photographers, is part of the playing field that has little light or much less light than the rest of the field. This area around midfield on the sideline opposite of the benches is blocked from direct stadium lights by the roof over the stands. But this was too nice a play to junk because it was underexposed, so with a little tweaking in Lightroom I was able to save it.
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