I headed up to Boulder on Friday night, even with the pending Mayan Apocalypse looming before us, to shoot the Colorado Buffaloes host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks basketball team in a non-conference game at the Coors Event Center on the campus of the University of Colorado.
December 21, 2012: Colorado Buffaloes sophomore guard SPENCER DINWIDDIE (25) drives past Northern Arizona Lumberjacks senior guard GABE ROGERS (11) in the NCAA Basketball game between the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colorado (Carl Auer)
I headed up around 4:30. The game was at 6:30, and I like getting to college games at least an hour before the game starts to allow me to get from the parking lot up to the media entrance, then around to the elevator to court level, and into the media room to set up my computer, and get my gear ready. It also allows me time to chat with other photographers. Also, the earlier you get there, you get a better work location.
December 21, 2012: Colorado Buffaloes junior forward ANDRÉ ROBERSON (21) elevates to the rim for a dunk during action in the NCAA Basketball game between the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colorado (Carl Auer)
When I walked into the media room, I was the second photographer there. The first was one of the CU team photographers. So there was plenty of spots to choose from and set up in. What amazed me, no other photographers showed up to the media room. No one from Getty, USA Today Photos, Daily Camera or the Denver Post. It was weird. Normally the media room is packed. During the game, I did see the Daily Camera/AP guy, but it appeared that he was not there for long.
December 21, 2012: Colorado Buffaloes freshman forward JOSH SCOTT (40) sends a rim rocker through the hoop during the action in the NCAA Basketball game between the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colorado (Carl Auer)
I grabbed a roster to double check my code replacement file to make sure I had names spelled right, and the correct players listed. After that, the CU Photog and I chatted and I headed out to the court to find a place to shoot. The seats in the arena were pretty empty, but word floating around was that the game was sold out, so hopefully my backgrounds would not be full of empty seats. As we got closer to tip off, the seats did fill up, but with CU on winter break, the student section was not totally full like normal.
December 21, 2012: Colorado Buffaloes sophomore guard SPENCER DINWIDDIE (25) lobs a pass up for an ally-oop in the NCAA Basketball game between the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colorado (Carl Auer)
The game started and the nice thing to see was “Ski” Booker had snapped out of his shooting funk, hitting shots outside, inside, anywhere at will. He is such an explosive player, it was good to see him start hitting. The Buffs will need him when PAC-12 play starts.
December 21, 2012: A Colorado Buffaloes cheerleader in action during a time out in the NCAA Basketball game between the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colorado (Carl Auer)
The Buffs had a huge lead as I headed into the media room to download and transmit photos at halftime. I got in, downloaded, edited, captioned photos and transmitted them to Cal Sport Media. With no other major wire shooters there, I hope I got them up fast enough for some sales.
December 21, 2012: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks senior forward BEN OLAYINKA (40) blocks a shot in the NCAA Basketball game between the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colorado (Carl Auer)
I headed back out to the court for the second half, and the game was, at this point, a scrub game. What is a scrub game? The bench players that never get to see play time were starting to see some game time. The Lumberjacks just could not stop the Buffs.
December 21, 2012: Colorado Buffaloes junior center BEN MILLS (32) receives a pass under the hoop in the NCAA Basketball game between the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colorado (Carl Auer)
Coming close to the end of the game, the Buffaloes were closing in on 100 points, but some of the veteran players on the court took control of the ball and just held on as time ran out. This was a good win for the Buffs to go into the Christmas break with.
December 21, 2012: A Colorado Buffaloes cheerleader during a stop in the action of the NCAA Basketball game between the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks and the Colorado Buffaloes at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colorado (Carl Auer)
Next up will be the Hartford Hawks on December 29th, most likely my last game of 2012. Hopefully the New Year will bring me lots of sales so I can keep doing what I love to do.
