The Sharpe Image

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons line up against the Baylor Bears at Groves Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

This was the very first College Football Game that I have ever photographed.  I really did enjoy myself.  The game was much more “dynamic” than a normal NFL Game, and the atmosphere was just really enjoyable.  Wake Forest has one of the BEST Facilities that I have ever seen in Sports, PERIOD.  They really know what it takes, and they do it.  Way to go Demon Deacons!

As most of you know, I have photographed Auto Racing for most of my 17 year career, so I am having a ball now that I get to shoot other things.  Now in Auto Racing, it is not really all that uncommon to shoot from the Roof of a MEDIA Center, so as you can imagine, I was blown away by the thought of shoot a football game from the roof.  And boy, what a “Photo Deck” Wake Forest has.  The above shot was taken from the deck, as well as the next shot below.  All were taken with my D300 camera.  On the shot of the Teams lined up, I used my 70mm~200mm lens.  On the shot below, I used my 300mm lens with my 1.4 converter.  Both were shot at shutter speed 1000.

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons wide receiver Devon Brown (3) against the Baylor Bears at Groves Stadium. Final score Baylor Bears 24 and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 21. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next shot, I really wanted to capture the Cheerleaders, but by doing something different.  I used my 10mm~17mm fisheye to capture them running on the field.  I also wanted to capture the “sense” that it was College Football Season.  I shot this at Shutter Speed 1000, f4.2, with a 2/3rds under exposure.

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; The Wake Forest Demon Deacons Cheerleaders take to the field at Groves Stadium. Final score Baylor Bears 24 and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 21. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

I really liked this next image due to the fact that I cought the running back vertical diving to try and gain some yardage.  I believe that there are a lot of distractions around him with the legs of the other players, but I still feel that it worked.  I fot this with my 300mm and my 1.4 converter.

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Baylor Bears offense dives and moves the ball against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Groves Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Robert Griffin III had a great game.  He was really able to control the pace of the game as well as fool the defense at every turn.  I wanted something different of him, so I chose this shot of a snap with the ball in the air.  I think that the ball in the air gave it just enough of a “hook” to make it work.

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Baylor Bears Quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) takes the snap against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Groves Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

These next 3 images I thought were just good “play action” images.  I shot each one with my 300mm lens and my D300.  I love that set-up.  I almost love it more than my 500mm f4 lens…….naww, just kidding!

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons running back Kevin Harris (23) at Groves Stadium. Final score Baylor Bears 24 and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 21. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Baylor Bears run against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Groves Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons Defender knoks down a pass for the Baylor Bears offense at Groves Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.theSharpeImage.com

Talk about “Gang Tackle” here it is.  The thing I love about these guys is that they really fight for every inch.

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; The Baylor Bears return a punt against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Groves Stadium. Final Score the Baylor Bears 24 and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 21. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Sep 5, 2009; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Baylor Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) runs the ball against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Groves Stadium. Final Score the Baylor Bears 24 and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 21. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

I really loved shooting this game…..I plan to do more in the future.  Look for my post from the Panthers opening game this weekend

Thanks for looking.

Sam