The Sharpe Image » Jake Delhomme

Novemeber 15, 2009 Atlanta @ Charlotte

Sam Sharpe — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:19:34 +0000

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers cornerback Richard Marshall (31) makes an interception against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

The Panthers played really well this game. I was happy to see them win. It was a great day to shoot, the light was just about perfect. I really did not feel as if I was hitting on all that I could have, I feel that I could have done better than what I did. I did get some cool stuff, I just don’t think that I could have done as well as I maybe should have………………I shot the above image after an interception. I did get the actual catch, but the run back was very interesting. Richard Marshall was doing just about anything that he could to gain yardage. I love this shot. I caught him jumping to get past some defenders. I shot this with my 300mm f2.8. I shot it at a shutter speed of 1250, at f3.2. The ISO was 800, and the exposure was straight up.

This next image is of Jason Snelling attempting to catch a pass. I really don’t know how I got this other than just hitting it right. I just thought that it was a great image when you look at the concentration in his eyes. I had to work with it in Photoshop. I shot it on Shutter Priority, and caught it in the shadow part of the field. The exposure was short of a real Fuck-up, but I was able to bring it back in PhotoShop. This image was shot with my 70mm~200mm lens. Shutter Speed was 1000, and it was shot at f4.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Jason Snelling (44) against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Final Score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

As I have said many times before, the passing game (at least to me) is the hardest thing to shoot in Football. I really wanted to try something different, so I went up top for part of the second quarter. Here is a shot I got of Steve Smith catching a pass for a touchdown. I shot this with my 500mm lens, shutter speed 1600, and at f4.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) scores a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next shot, I was walking from one part of the field to another. I was walking behind the Falcons bench when I was this bag of equipment sitting on the ground. I just really liked the way the light was hitting it. I shot this with my 17mm~35mm lens. I shot it at shutter speed 500, at f3.2.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons equipment against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In these following images, I tried to get some of the Key players of the Panthers coming out through the smoke during the pre game show. These guys all have something going on with them. Delhomme has been the subject of much controversy lately here in Charlotte, DeAngilo Williams has suffered some injuries this season, and Steve Smith is always the topic of conversation. All of these images were shot at f5 with a shutter speed of 1000. the ISO was 200.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme (17) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next shot, I really do not know what Matt Ryan is doing, I just thought that it looked cool. I shot this with my 300mm lens, my 1.4 converter, shutter speed 1000, f6.3, and the ISO @ 200.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

These next 2 images are of the same run. Late in the afternoon, the Bank of America Stadium has “pools” of light that gather towards the northern end zone. If the time of day is right, and the sun is shining, it can make for some interesting images. Both of these were shot at shutter speed 1250, f5, ISO 400, and I was over eposed by 1/3 of a stop.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Jason Snelling (44) against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Sometimes you just need a good Tackle Image. I thought that this one might do it. It was shot with my 300mm lens, shutter speed 1250 at f6.3. I thought that it rally said “football” when I saw it.

I thought that this next image of Jason Baker was somewhat unique. I never seem to get good shots of Punters or Kickers. To me, it is somewhat of a “let down” play. you either did not get a chance to get the 1st down, or you are settling for 3 points instead of 6. When I saw this shot, I liked it. It is just a different angle of the kick that you do not see often. Seeing the ball in the play is what makes it for me.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers punter Jason Baker (7) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

These final 2 images are just images from my take that I liked. Both were posted to US Presswire. I do not know if they were used are not, but I personally just liked them. The one of Delhomme and Deangelo Williams was shot with my 70mm~200mm lens. The other of the Teams praying was shot with my 10mm~17mm Fisheye.

November 15, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme (17) hands off to running back DeAngelo Williams (34) against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 28 Atlanta 19. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Thanks for taking time to read. I will soon be shooting the NBA…..I look forward to that. I hope that you check back and let me know how I doing at that.

Thanks,

Sam

October 11, 2009 Washington at Carolina

Sam Sharpe — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:32:19 +0000

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers safety Charles Godfrey (30) and corner back Dante Wesley (21) celebrate against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 20 and Washington 17 Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Carolina finally won!!! I am so happy! It had to happen, if they had not won, shooting the rest of the season would be like getting a tooth pulled every time I would have had to show up at the stadium. I think that they are a much better Team than what they have been playing like, it just seems as if it has taken them some time to really find and turn up the intensity…………Like I wrote in my last post, shooting Football is hard for me. I really don’t consider myself a “great” football shooter, it is something that I really have to work at all the time, and really put a lot of thought into when I am off the field. I have been trying to shoot other things other than the “plays” themselves, and this is what I came up with from this game. I was really happy to see them win, and I think that helped in my outlook while shooting. All of these were shot with my Nikon D300. I love the camera, but I am excited to see the D300s come out. Can’t wait to try one.

In the image below, I wanted to show the Breast Cancer Awareness logo on the goal post. I would have preferred to be more in front of it, but security was all over me as it was. This was shot with my 10mm~17mm fisheye lens.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Washington Redskins tackle Chris Samuels warms up during pre game against the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

It was Breast Cancer Awareness day at the Stadium, so I wanted to try and pop off some images that showed that. Something that was different, but still had the “NFL” flavor to it. Here are 2 images that were published:

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; The Carolina Panthers bench has pink gatorade towels in order to bring awareness to breast cancer against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers DeAngelo Williams (34) wears pink in order to bring awareness to breast cancer against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

I sometimes tend not to get as much “celebration” or “let down” moments as I should. I really have made it a priority to get these kinds of things. These images sell bigtime, especially if it is a player that is a marque name, or a Team that is really on top or in the dumper. I tend to forget about these moments after the play happens. I attribute that to racing……….the only time there is really any kind of celebration is in Victory Lane, and you are looking for it there. But here, I really have to step up the plan on this. Here are some images that I shot

This image below is of Dante Rosario after he missed a pass. I shot this with my 70mm~200mm lens, f2.8 at 1250 of a second.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Dante Rosario (89) against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 20 and Washington 17 Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

This nect shot is of Coach Fox on the sidelines. I really have to concentrate on Coaches. They are big sellers. I just get lazy and forget about them since it is really hard to see them on the sidelines. This image was shot with my 300mm lens at f4. The shutter speed was 500

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

I love this next image. I know what the criticism is going to be already………..the players blend into the background. I agree with that somewhat, but when I looked at it on the computer screen blown up big, I just really did not get that effect too much. I just love how high they are in the air, and it just seems as if the are suspended there.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Dante Rosario (88) and wide receiver Steve Smith (89) celebrate after a touchdown against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 20 and Washington 17 Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

This next shot is of Steve Smith after he caught a pass for the 2 point conversion. He did not get all crazy with the celebration like normal………just clean and simple.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) celebrates after a touchdown against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 20 and Washington 17 Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In these next images, I was really just trying to capture something different. In the shot of Steve Smith coming out of the tunnel, he knelt down and was telling the crowd to “hush up.” Kind of a strange thing to do……but it made a very cool shot. I really liked it. This was shot with my 300mm lens across the field at f5.6. The shutter speed was 250.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In the next image, John Kasey was leading some of the players in prayer after the game. It was very interesting moment. One that I was not expecting, but was able to capture it anyway. I shot this with my 10mm~17mm fisheye…….I held the camera over the players and shot it. I got lucky on it.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Both Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins players gather for a prayer after the game against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 20 and Washington 17 Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next Image, I wanted to get the Redskins taking the field. I have shot this image of the opposing Team often taking the field, but it really has never been a shot that has thrilled me. This one is different. I was able to get the quarterback Jason Campbell (17) coming out. That is way I chose to publish it on US Presswire

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell (17) takes the field against the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

This next image is of Albert Haynesworth (92) of the Redskins. He got shook up on a play and was slightly injured. Normally, I can NEVER get a good shot of a player that has been injured, but I think that I did OK with this one. You can see his face, and that is what I really like about it. Most of the time I get an image of a bunch of guys huddled up around the player. That does no one any good……only good for the “delete” button.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth (92) is injured against the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 20 and Washington 17. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

I vowed to work on my passing game, so here it is. It is something that I have to CONTINUALLY work on and think about. Both of these images were shot with my 500mm lens. They are from the same series. I really nailed it this time. I am proud of them. Believe me, I am still going to continue to work on it……….I have a long way to go!

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Washington Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers defends the pass against Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) against the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 20 and Washington 17. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

This next image is one that I took with my 300mm next to the end zone. I has just walked out of the tunnel from the Media Room after posting some images, and the play started to develop right in front of me. I slung my camera body up, aimed and fired. This is what I got. Jeff King (47) is actually in the end zone in this shot. I did not like it at first, but I received compliments on it from other shooters……so you be the judge.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Jeff King (47) catches a pass for a touchdown against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Final score Carolina 20 and Washington 17 Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next shot, Julis Peppers (90) to me really stands out. He is the defensive player with his arms outstretched tackling Clinton Portis (26). I really got lucky with this one. Julis Peppers has been the subject of much controversy here in Charlotte. He is getting paid 1 Million dollars a game………….That’s right……..1 Million. His performance on the field has been less than “par” according to some……….so this image is good from a “sales” point of view. Besides that, I just thought that it was a cool image.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis (26) is stopped by defensive end Julis Peppers (90) for a safety against the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next shot, I was really worried about the outcome of the game. This shot was taken early on, and the Panthers did not score. In this series of downs, they kept trying to get DeAngelo Williams (34) up over the top and into the end zone. As you can see, it was basically useless. this is as close as he came before they had to settle for a field goal. This image was shot with my 70mm~200mm at f2.8. The shutter speed was 1250.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) is stoped at the goal line against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheShapeImage.com

I just liked this next image. I missed the reception, but I stilled liked it anyway. Dante Rosario (88) had a good game this day, so it was also important that I include images of him. This is one of the better that I took. This was shot with my 70mm~200mm at f4. The shutter speed was 1000.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Dante Rosario (88) against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

My editor keeps on me to stay on top of images of quarterbacks. They are always good sellers……….but you want to try and get something that is a little different with them. I get tons of shots of them throwing the ball, so I want to do something different. Here are some of the shots that I published from the game. The image below was shot between the legs of a line judge with my 70mm~200mm lens. It was shot at f4 with a shutter speed of 1000.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell (17) and his offense lines up against the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

This next shot of Jake seemed to just tell the story of how people have hammered him for not taking enough “charge” of the offense. With the Victory, I liked this, because it seemed as if Jake had finally got his “command” back.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme (17) against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

In this next image, I opted to publish something that was play action instead of the typical “pass” pose. I think it worked out pretty well.

Oct. 11, 2009; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhome (17) against the Washington Redskins at the Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe/www.TheSharpeImage.com

Well, that is it for now. My next game is November 15th against the Falcons. It will be all about auto racing for the next couple of weeks. As always, thanks for reading

Sam