One of the “chores” I am blessed to be able to do here is taking pictures of various sporting events. I especially enjoy baseball and softball, because I genuinely enjoy baseball and softball games. I do admit I often find myself so wrapped up in the game that I miss what would have been a very good photo of a player making a diving catch, etc. I usually tell myself, “That would have made a great picture.” Sometimes, I do wish life had a “rewind” button so I could get some of those unanticipated shots.
Even with those “missed” photo opportunities, I still find myself taking copious (meaning a lot) amounts of photos. I call it the “blind hog” approach to photography. You may have heard the adage, “A blind hog will find an acorn every once in a while.” I figure if I take a lot of photos, there may be one or two good ones in the batch. This also means there are many more photos that don’t make it onto the page than those that do. Some of the photos that don’t “make the cut” can still be rather amusing.
I was recently covering a sporting event, and I could see a “good photo” approaching. Whenever I see a kid running down the base line and it looks like it will be a close play, you can pretty well bet that a decent picture may result. As I was snapping away, another player became excited about the prospect of her teammate scoring a run that she stepped right into my line of sight. Instead of a photo of the dramatic play at home plate, I got a beautifully framed image of the young athlete’s backside. I laughed and showed it to the coach who was sitting near me, along with the young athlete who is in possession of the aforementioned backside. The coach laughed and the young athlete apologized profusely. I smiled and assured her I was not upset in the least. I told her I may have gotten her “best side” and may put the photo on the front page. Of course, I won’t do that out of respect for this nice young athlete.
One day, I may publish one of those “coffee table” books of photography. I’ll title it “Umps’ Rumps, and Other Unpublished Sports Photos.” I’ll let you know when it goes on sale at your local bookstore, only $14.95.